Product Reviews

Setting a New Gold Standard for Lip Luxury That Actually Includes Gold, the Hourglass No. 28 Lip Treatment Oil

April 16th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

Hello, obsession. 🙂 Well, to be more precise, “the luxury lip treatment obsession I’m keeping on call for when Bruce Wayne shows up at my doorstep and offers to fund my lavish cat lady lifestyle, no strings attached (’cause he’s nice like that).”

Gold. Luxury. $42.

This new No. 28 lip treatment flat-out exudes luxury, and it wants to share that luxury with your lips.

Like, literally.

Hourglass outfitted it with a 24-karat gold-plated tip!

Recently added to the company’s permanent line for summer, it contains a blend of vitamins and 28 cool plant compounds and essential oils.

Oh, yeah. And then there’s the gold tip.

Gimmicky? Why, yes. Yes, it is. But it sure is bright and shiny! — and it feels like love on my lips. Cool, refreshing (and mildly addictive).

Of possible interest to germaphobes and Purell enthusiasts, Hourglass also says the gold-plated tip is anti-bacterial (interesting).

Something about it reminds me of The Hunger Games…but maybe that’s just because Cinna’s been on my mind. I can totally see him pulling one of these out of his man purse to moisturize Katniss’s lips between events (more on that in a sec).

Hourglass claims that their proprietary blend of 28 plant-based essential oils and vitamins helps to condition lips, reduce wrinkles and improve overall lip shape and volume.

“Like No. 28 Primer Serum, this product is enriched with 14 essential oils: Bois De Rose, Lavender, Geranium, Petitgrain, Lemon, Rosemary, Vanilla, Clove, Amyris, Orange, Ylang Ylang, Eucalyptus, Cedar and Rose Geranium; 10 lipid-rich plant oils, including Hazelnut, Kukui Nut, Rose Hip, Borage, Olive, Green Tea, Cherry Pit, Sweet Almond, Jojoba, and Evening Primrose; and is fortified with 4 Vitamins, A, B5, C and E. The 28 ingredients create a protective barrier for lips.”

— From the official PR

I’ve been swiping the clear treatment, which has a light sheen to it, on my pout throughout the day and right before bedtime, and my lips have felt a little softer lately.

The medium-weight, comfy formula has a slightly sticky feel and a strong lavender and eucalyptus flavor and scent. The formula lasts on my lips from 1-2 hours, and I’ll wear it by itself or layered atop a nude lip liner.
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I’m Matte About a Mallard Named Canard: Laura Mercier’s Canard CrÃ¨me Eye Liner

April 16th, 2013 by Karen 23 Comments

Laura Mercier Canard CrÃ¨me Eye Liner ($22), from the Folklore summer 2013 collection

If I’m gonna wear teal on my upper lash lines, it needs to be flashy. Flashy enough for New Year’s and divas at drag queen karaoke at the very, very least.

I mean, it’s teal, right? — the kryptonite of “no-makeup makeup” eye liner looks.

Laura Mercier Canard CrÃ¨me Eye Line ($22)

But ever since Laura Mercier’s new $22 Canard CrÃ¨me Eye Liner debuted on counters with the rest of Laura’s Folklore summer 2013 collection, I’ve been rethinking my stance.

Canard, or “duck” en franÃ§ais (shout-out to high school French!), shares much in common with Laura’s other CrÃ¨me Eye Liners. Despite its low-key flat matte finish, it’s packed with pigment, doesn’t get patchy, and best of all, it has the grip strength of a heavyweight MMA fighter! — even when worn without primer.

Laura Mercier Canard CrÃ¨me Eye Liner Swatch

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The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil in Mushroom: A Neutral Shadow With a Can-Can Kick

April 12th, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

Urban Decay Mushroom 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil in Mushroom — On my lids: the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil in Mushroom ($20)

There’s a fungus among us, ladies and gents. With Urban Decay’s new 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil in Mushroom, you’ll be able to knock out neutral looks in a flash.

And not just any old neutral looks. Neutral looks with pizzaz! — as this waterproof, long-lasting gray eye shadow also shimmers.

Right now it’s driving my Blanche Deveraux side wild, but she was mightily concerned at first…

When I showed it to her, she feigned almost passing out, raising the back of a wrist to her forehead and steadying herself against one of the posts on the veranda outside (also known as the back deck). “Oh, dear,” she declared in her thick Southern drawl, “if you’re gonna wear another boring gray shadow, I’ll just die. JUST DIE!”

See, my Blanche Deveraux side believes that neutrals should only be worn when shopping for sensible shoes, filling out Excel spreadsheets and cleaning cat barf from the carpets (seriously, Tabs, couldn’t you have aimed for the tiles?). In her mind, why bother with a boring gray when there are so many sparklier shades out there (she said, while batting her lashes at a pair of French naval officers on shore leave)?

But then she took a closer look at the tip…

And totally changed her tune. She saw an intense, warm gray with a shiny, silvery pearl finish.

When I explained how the easy-to-blend formula lasts all day long when worn with or without a primer, she snatched the pencil from my paws, and before I could protest, applied it to her lids.

Urban Decay Mushroom Noise 247 Glide On Shadow Pencil — Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Shadow Pencils in Mushroom (left) and Noise (right)

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In Daydreams, I See Oceans of Shimmer: The Glossy, Glittery Glossimers From the New Chanel Revelation Collection

April 11th, 2013 by Karen 46 Comments

Chanel Daydream Glossimer — Starring in a reverie near you, Chanel’s $29.50 Daydream Glossimer…

“When in doubt, Chanel it out.”

Wouldn’t that look great on a t-shirt? Or a bumper sticker? Or maybe tattooed on a Chanel addicted beauty fanatic’s inner wrist (in sans serif font, of course)?

This, my friend, is my new makeup mantra: “When in doubt, Chanel it out.”

It occurred to me earlier this week — a revelation of sorts — as I was trying to figure out to wear to that work lunch I went in the city last Tuesday.

I was stumped and rutting around through my makeup drawer. Couldn’t figure out what I wanted to wear, and then I remembered the quad and blush from the spring 2013 collection and spotted one of the new Glossimers from the new Chanel Revelation collection.

“When in doubt, Chanel it out.”

Oh, babe! The spring collection’s glosses, and that Taboo nail polish, are fodder for daydreams. Think glossy, glittery lips and rich, interstellar indigo tips that twinkle like little stars.

For the season, Coco’s crew positioned the Glossimers as essentials for your makeup kit, like must-have purses and shoes — wearable, flexible, because they can go with so many different outfits and looks. The collection includes a mix of 10 new and re-promoted glosses, some of them on the sheer, subtle side, like sheens, and others sparkly metallics.

The new Chanel Collection Revelation collection of Glossimers ($29.50) and Taboo Nail Polish ($27)

Chanel Ocean Shimmer 171, Rose Sauvage 172 and Daydream 174

Chanel Collection Revelation Swatches — From the left: Ocean Shimmer 171, Rose Sauvage 172 and Daydream 174

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More Runway Than Everyday: The Six Cream Colour Shadows in MAC’s Limited Edition Fall ’13 Forecast/Eyes Palette Pull a Disappearing Act

April 10th, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

MAC Fall 13 Forecast Eyes — That there is Rustic Red and Purple Fusion on my lids and lash lines from the MAC Fall ’13 Forecast/Eyes palette

Cue the lights! Music! Now Models, hit the runway! And you, vertically-challenged 30-something cat lady girl, hit the hallway! The show is about to begin!!

Straight off the catwalks of Paris and New York (and the hallways of Novato), beside the Fall ’13 Forecast/Lips palette (SO GOOD), comes MAC’s new $40 Fall ’13 Forecast/Eyes palette of six new Cream Colour Shadows in fashion-forward fall colors.

The moderately pigmented, easy-to-build colors in the pocket-sized palette range from rockstar Oil-Slick Black to admin assistant Oyster.

The first time I patted one of these thin, slightly sticky cream shadows on a bare lid, I purred, then oohed and ahed at how easy it was to blend with the other shades. Then I thought, “Now when I walk Tabs, I can pretend I’m walking a Marc Jacobs catwalk.”

BAM! Pop that hip! 🙂

MAC Fall 13 Forecast Eyes Swatches — MAC Fall 13 Forecast Eyes swatches from the left: Oyster, Scarab Green, Smoked Indigo, Rustic Red, Oil Slick Black and Purple Fusion

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On Your Mark…Get Set…Save! Flower Beauty’s Long-Lasting On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner Delivers a Dior-Like Look for $7

April 10th, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

Makeup lovers, on your mark… Get set… GO! “Here I’m wearing Flower Beauty On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner in Black ($7) on my upper lash lines!!”

Yea! Great product name! 🙂

But I feel like Flower Beauty should have added an ellipses at the end of their new $7 On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner, because that’s how I say it in my head.

“On your mark…”

With the pause at the end. LOL!

I’ve been all about liquid liners with shiny finishes lately — liners like the $30 Diorshow Art Pen, which might as well be Velcroed to my hand — paired with some of this season’s raddest lipsticks from Buxom, NARS, Laura Mercier, MAC and Milani.

Some products just seem so right together, don’t they? That’s how I feel about liquid liner and lipstick. They’re a classic pairing, like scrunchies and side ponytails, or Katniss and Peeta (which reminds me, The Hunger Games is now available on Netflix, holla!).

Unfortunately, the Diorshow Art Pen costs three hamiltons (which doesn’t flow off the tongue as well as “benjamins”), so I’ve been looking for a drugstore alternative that lasts just as long and is just as easy to apply.

I think I may have found it, too, in Flower Beauty’s water-resistant On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner, which has a flexible felt tip that lays down lines just as smoothly as the Art Pen from Dior.

So long-lasting (12 hours)! So perspiration-proof (I ran 3 miles with it on, and it didn’t even budge)! So affordable at just $7!

I haven’t been able to keep my hands off it, and I think my Dior liner’s even getting a little jealous…

Flower Beauty On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner swatch — Flower Beauty On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner in Black on my NC 42 skin

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Get a Long-Lasting Luxury Lip Gloss Look for a Penny Less Than 9 Bucks With Sonia Kashuk’s New Luxe Lip Gloss

April 9th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss in Prettiest Pink ($8.99) — In the category of “Favorite Drugstore Lip Gloss,” I’m currently crushing on Sonia Kashuk’s Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss in Prettiest Pink ($8.99)

Lucky number nine!

That’s how many shades Sonia Kashuk crafted of her new $9 ($8.99 to be exact) Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss. Partial to pale pinks? Check. Nudes? Got ya covered. Rich plums? Right here.

Right now I’m hooked on Prettiest Pink and Polished Plum, both of which, like the other colors in the line, are unscented and unflavored. Every time I swipe one of their brush applicators across my lips, I’m blown away by how evenly they apply, and I think the pigmented, non-sticky formula feels fantastic (and lasts from 2-4 hours). It’s juiced up with papaya extract, glycerin and antioxidants to make it hella hydrating, too.

“This next-generation lip gloss formula delivers beautiful, buildable color with instant softness and multi-dimensional shine. This lightweight, gel-like texture glides on comfortably to leave lips feeling kissable and moisturized — never sticky. Shades range from subtle nude to bold brights. Infused with Glycerin, Fatty Acids and emollients to hydrate lips and Papaya Fruit Extract, a natural skin softener, this multi-tasking gloss enhances skin’s elasticity and protects lips with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.”

— target.com

Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Glosses in Polished Plum on the top and Prettiest Pink on the bottom ($8.99) — Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Glosses in Polished Plum on the top and Prettiest Pink on the bottom ($8.99 each)

Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss Swatches in Prettiest Pink on the left and Polished Plum on the right

Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss in Polished Plum

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The MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinishes Sculpt and Spotlight Skin, Getting You Ready to Take the Stage

April 9th, 2013 by Karen 28 Comments

The three MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinishes ($30 each for a 0.31-ounce pan) round out the new MAC In Extra Dimension collection. Face and cheek duos, they have a luminous liquid-powder formula, and I’ve been alternating between two of them this week in Definitely Defined and Shape the Future.

Putting a highlighter and bronzer together in each pan takes the guesswork out of figuring out which colors go together (love that), but man! — these bronzers sure do shimmer.

The effect gets a little lost in these pics, but in real life it’s like WHOA! The other day I applied one of these as a contouring color before heading out to run errands, and I swear — I looked like a backup dancer on Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance.

MAC Definitely Defined Skinfinish, a silvery pink and a soft rose with shimmer

MAC Shape the Future Skinfinish, an iridescent pastel pink and a soft brick with light shimmer

Definitely Defined on the left and Shape the Future on the right

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