Product Reviews

How Sweet It Is To Wear These Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments

June 6th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

I’m going to file these Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments under, “GURL, what in tarnation was I thinking?! Why did it take me so long to get on this train?”

Shoot, I’ve walked by these so many times at ~~my home away from home~~ Sephora, thinking to myself, “Cute! But $22.50 cute? I dunno…”

I mean, let’s face it — they’re lip treatments. I figured there would be dozens of things just like ’em, but cheaper, at any drugstore.

These Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments, which are available now in 10 shades, have been around a good long while. They seem to send beauty lovers into a crazy-pants tizzy every time a new color joins the fam.

I just haven’t understood the hype, ever since I got sample in a Sephora VIB gift set a few years back. I wasn’t impressed with it then, but looking back now, I think I may have gotten a bad tube, because the three colors I’ve been wearing this month — creamy pink Petal, sheer red Cherry and bold juicy Coral — are the cat’s meow.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments counterclockwise from the lower left: Coral, Cherry and Petal — Counterclockwise from the lower left: Coral, Cherry and Petal

Being the perfect time of year for casual lip looks, these kittens love summer. They have just enough tint to show up clearly on my pigmented lips but aren’t fully opaque, so I can still see some of my natural lip color.

And, hello moisture! When I use these throughout the day, all ye flakes be gone.

Mmm…

Oh! — my bad. Pardon me while I sit here rubbing my lips together all day long like a weirdo makeup pervert. 🙂 Because these feel fantastic on my lips. Just really buttery and comfortable.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Swatches from the left: Petal, Coral and Cherry — Swatches from the left: Petal, Coral and Cherry

Some folks aren’t big fans of the flavor and scent, but I kind of like ’em. They remind me of lemony fresh sugar cookies. I quite enjoy them.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Cherry — Cherry

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Will New Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer Help Your Shadows Stay Strong While You Dance Till Dawn?

June 5th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

It’s been a while since the last time I wore the same makeup for a full 24 hours.

I seem to recall something about a nightclub and having to run a race early the next morning. But, as these things sometimes go, one thing led to another, and pretty soon eating French fries at the witching hour seemed like a really good idea (“I’m carbo loading!”).

Then you’re doing the robot at the End Up (the club where you “end up” when all the other clubs in San Francisco close) while the sun is rising outside…

Anywho!

If you’re all about that 24-hour, French-fry-eating, robot-dancing life, or you just like wearing eyeshadow all day, errr-day, the new 24 Hour Photo Finish Eye Primer by Smashbox says, “Hey, girl, haaay!”

That’s a name with a bold claim right there. It’s supposed to lock your shadow down for 24 hours, even under extreme conditions — perspiration, high humidity, thunder showers, you name it. It also promises to amplify the vibrancy of any shadows worn with it and prevent creasing and smudging.

Just give it a squeeze (the tube, not the tabby’s tum), and apply a thin layer of the colorless primer to your lids. Wait 30 seconds for it to dry, then go at it with your brushes and shadows.

I’ve been using it for about a week now with powder shadows, creams and various eye combos, because girlfriend likes to play. 🙂

The smooth formula feels wonderful — like a silky eye cream — and doesn’t change the color of the shadows I layer on top.

Everything stays true.

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The New Smashbox Full Exposure Palette, Also Known as the Mullet of the Neutral Palette World

June 2nd, 2014 by Karen 26 Comments

I know what you’re probably thinking… Cats are the most incredible animals to have ever walked the earth.

Wait — that’s not what you were thinking? Oops! Sorry, my bad. 🙂

After seeing my eye look in the top pic, you might be thinking, “Good grief! Another neutral eye palette, Karen?”

OK, fair enough, but before you leave to pet your cat, who for unknown reasons decided to grace you with his presence today (SHOCKER), hold on a sec.

This new Smashbox Full Exposure palette is like the mullet of neutral eyeshadow palettes! — and I mean that in the best possible way — except that instead of being all party in the front and business in the back, it’s party on the top and business on the bottom. Equal parts play and work.

We’re talking major possibilities.

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette Box — The palette also includes a dual-ended brush and a mini mascara

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette Packaging — The front of the palette’s packaging

Full Exposure and I spent last weekend together. Just the two of us (and El Hub). On Friday night, we did a cool-toned smokey eye (like what I’m wearing in these pics) and went out to dinner. Then on Saturday we did a nude shimmery lid with a little liner, stayed home, did laundry and watched Game of Thrones (the palette is not a fan of House Lannister). I whipped up this warm brown cat eye while unsuccessfully trying to stop Tabs from jumping into a pile of clean shirts and jeans that needed to be folded…

On Sunday I just kept things simple with a nude matte lid and a smidgen of brown liner along my upper and lower lash lines.

So many possibilities!

And with all of the looks I tried, I still always felt like me, and not like “me with a sh*t-ton of eye makeup on,” if that makes any sense.

Full Exposure is one of those palettes that packs just enough pigment to define and call attention to my lids, but not so much that I feel like a rodeo clown…

Hahaha! I just totally made myself laugh. 🙂

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The Shimmery Jewel-Toned Eyeshadows in the NYX Suede Palette Are Anything But Typical for Summer

May 30th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Dust off that stick of MAC Costa Riche liner (or any of the warm reddish brown eyeliners or eyeshadows in yo’ collection, for that matter), because the new NYX Suede Palette ($15) wants to make magic with it.

This new palette of shimmery, pearlescent jewel-toned eyeshadows is like the partridge to a warm reddish brown’s pear tree. I’m thinking a warm reddish brown with a matte finish…a la MAC Costa Riche, Swiss Chocolate or Embark.

Because all eight shadows in the palette have a shiny finish that borders on metallic, incorporating a matte to contrast with the shimmer should balance with the shadows quite nicely. For these pics here, I used good ol’ MAC Costa Riche on my water and lower lash lines, but I think I’ll sweep a matte brown in the crease as well next time I try this.

These shadows sure are easy to work with. Hardly any fallout at all, lots of pigment, AND they’re easy to blend. The only issue I’ve really had with any of them at all is with my eyes watering — not a lot. Just a tad. My eyes must be super sensitive today because my left eye got a little teary after I smudged the dark blue teal along my lower lash line.

NYX Suede Palette Swatches — Swatches of the top row

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For a Pop of Color From Santa Monica, Try the New Colour Pop Super Shock Shadows

May 30th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

Bargain hunter says what now?! The new Super Shock Shadows by Colour Pop are only $5 each?

A new makeup line from Santa Monica, California, the brand does eyeshadow singles in a double rainbow of hues and finishes for just $5 each.

Other than being totally affordable, they feel pretty interesting, too. While they look like powder eyeshadows on the skin, they feel more like a creamy mousse to the touch.

To get the most intense color on your lids, Colour Pop recommends applying the shadows either with a finger or a flat eyeshadow brush.

I’ve tried applying and blending them with a bunch of different brushes, and for me, fingers or a flat eyeshadow brush create the most vibrant colors. Most of the time, I’ll grab a domed, tapered fluffy brush because, you know…girlfriend is not about to sweep a bright purple into the crease with a finger, even though it would be possible, but my clumsiness knows no bounds, and it could also be a recipe for disaster.

The fluffier the tool, the more it tends to diffuse the shadows, which is why these appear super intense in the arm swatches (where I applied them with a finger) and mellower on my lids.

Just an FYI…in case the thought of parting with yo’ 217 or 224 freaks you out.

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You Can Always Count on Cat Butts…and Something Casual and Summery From Clarins, Like Their New Lip Balm Crayons

May 30th, 2014 by Karen 28 Comments

The new Clarins Lip Balm Crayons, $20 each

There are some things we can always count on, like…

That cats will stick their kitty butts in our face, often at inopportune moments
That Clarins will knock out a new line of lovely lip products for summer

Clarins is just so good about the whole glossy, effortless lip look thing — the kind of makeup where it looks like you were summoned by the gods and washed up on a tropical shore solely for the purpose of looking seductively pouty, with your luxuriously wavy hair (seaweed artfully woven into it); bronzed, glistening skin and your lips that shine bright like a diamond (Shine bright like a diamond).

Clarins Lip Balm Crayons from the left: 01 My Pink, 02 Tender Pink, 03 Tender Coral, 04 Sweet Cherry, 05 Delicious Plum and 06 Soft Coffee — From the left: 01 My Pink, 02 Tender Pink, 03 Tender Coral, 04 Sweet Cherry, 05 Delicious Plum and 06 Soft Coffee

Their new line of limited edition moisturizing Lip Balm Crayons (which taste and smell like vanilla milkshake, OMG, YUM!) totally nails that summery lip look. Each retractable pencil lavishes lips with sheer color and glossy shine, while a moisturizing, lightweight mix of mango, apricot and shea butter hydrates your parched pout.

Clarins Lip Balm Crayon in My Pink — 01 My Pink

You might find yourself craving all six shades, but you may only need one (or two), because at some point, I think they all start to look the same, especially if your lips are quite pigmented like mine.

I suppose you could blank out the natural color of your lips first using something like OCC’s Tarred + Feathered Lip Balm Duo, and then layer a Clarins Crayon on top to coax out more of its color (you makeup overachiever, you!), but, you know, it’s a lip balm… I don’t think it’s supposed to be that complicated.

Clarins Lip Balm Crayon in Creamy Pink — 02 Creamy Pink

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The NYX Dream Catcher Palette in Golden Horizons Hopes To Broaden Your Horizons on Baked Neutral Eyeshadow

May 28th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Technically, Mercury doesn’t enter retrograde until June 7 (I know this because I’m all over Susan Miller’s Astrology Zone like sweat on Daryl Dixon’s biceps), but man, oh man! — it feels like Mercury is already retrograding all over mah face!

I don’t know why, but for the past couple days, Murphy’s Law has ruled my makeup life with an iron fist. Anything that can go wrong with my eye makeup has gone wrong with my eye makeup. Uneven liner, botched blending, cray-cray clumpy lashes — you name it. It’s been a hot mess, so I’ve decided to stick to nudes and neutrals until whatever this is passes.

Until then, I’ll just chill with neutral palettes like the NYX Dream Catcher Palette in Golden Horizons.

This $15 cutie is one of three limited edition NYX Dream Catcher palettes released earlier this year. Each one comes with 10 baked eyeshadows and its own personal outlook on neutrals.

Compared to Dusk Til Dawn, the other Dream Catcher palette in my collection, Golden Horizons is heavier in the matte and satin departments, as opposed to shimmer.

I think it’s a little tamer because its shadows aren’t as pigmented as the ones in Dusk Til Dawn, but that could be a good thing if you don’t want to deal with blending drama, and/or have a legitimate fear of your lids looking like an unfinished painting from Picasso’s Cubism period (#thestruggleisreal).

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Benefit’s New Tinted Lip Balms in Lollibalm, Chachabalm, Posiebalm and Benebalm Go Easy on the Tint, Heavy on the Moisture

May 27th, 2014 by Karen 25 Comments

Benefit Lollibalm Tinted Lip Balm — Lollibalm, one of four new Benefit Tinted Lip Balms available now

Granted, there’s not a dramatic, in-your-face difference among the four shades in Benefit’s new collection of Tinted Lip Balms ($18 each) when I wear them on my lips, but ooh! — they just look so darn cute chillin’ in my makeup bag.

Benefit Tinted Lip Balms — They each have their own personal outfit…

And every. Single. Time. I’ve taken out Chachabalm, Lollibalm, Posiebalm or Benebalm for a touch-up (which I have to do about every hour or so when I wear them) within sight of a gal, I’ve been asked something along the lines of, “Where did ya get that?! It’s adorable!”

So, yeah, fellow packaging suckers, that’s the sign of an eye-catching product. 🙂

Benefit introduced these hydrating lip balms earlier this spring in colors to match their liquid blushes in Cha Cha Tint, Lollitint, Posie Tint and Benetint.

They feel a lot like the Revlon Lip Butters and Dior’s Addict Lip Balms to me — smooth, non-sticky, and firmly on the thicker formula side, as far as lip balms go. My nose and taste buds also detect a mild violet hard candy flavor and scent.

Thumbs up for mega moisture, too, as these are loaded with the stuff, and my dry, flaky lips lap it up.

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