Product Reviews

The Chanel Pearl River Ombres MatelassÃ©es Eyeshadow Palette From the Hong Kong Collection: A Pearl River in a Gilded Land of Quilted Pans, Coral Fans and Golden Tans

February 21st, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

Chanel Pearl River Ombres Matelassees Eyeshadow Palette — Wearing the Chanel Ombres MatelassÃ©es Eyeshadow Palette in Pearl River ($80) from the new three-piece Hong Kong collection for eyes and nails, available now online

Chanel and gold eye shadow. Gold eye shadow and Chanel. The two go together like…short-sleeve t-shirts shirts and Jeremy Renner’s arms, high heels and pencil skirts, breakfast and Tiffany’s, perfume and pajamas…

In other words, things that go together well. 🙂

Add a pinch of peach and a drizzling of dark chocolate brown, and you get a veritable dream team palette to accompany those springy coral cheeks and lips you’ve been — okay, I’ve been — obsessed with lately.

There’s no real way to get around the fact that Chanel’s $80 Pearl River Ombres MatelassÃ©es Eyeshadow Palette demands an arm, a leg, a low-hanging tabby tum AND a twitchy tail. Chanel ain’t exactly budget, if you know what I mean.

But oh! — the extras you get, like the quilting on the pans and Chanel’s trademark black velvet storage pouch (it looks like a tiny makeup sleeping bag!). It’s the little touches that make it so easy to stay on Team Chanel.

As for the palette itself? Picture this: five (a shout-out to Mademoiselle’s lucky number, perhaps?) powder eye shadow shades based on the luminous reflection of Hong Kong shimmering in the South China Sea.

[Continue reading…]

Zoya Neely Nail Polish Makes Me Seafoam

February 21st, 2013 by Karen 42 Comments

First new favorite thing of the day/du jour: French toast 2.0! I made it again, this time actually for breakfast (I’ll explain the 2.0 version in a minute).

Second new favorite thing of the day/du jour: Zoya Neely nail polish, a creamy seafoam green, and the only thing I’ve been wanting to wear on my nails lately.

Every time I glance at my hands when I’m wearing it, I smile. 🙂 It’s just so cheerful.

Two coats provides pretty complete coverage, but I’m wearing three for these pics.

Last time I applied Zeely, I didn’t use a base or top coat, and it lasted three full days before I started seeing tiny chips appear along the edges of my nails, so it seems durable. And it made it five days before the really honkin’ chips appeared.

Next time I’ll wear it with a base coat, at least, because it naturally emphasizes the ridges on my nails, which I actually think looks kind of neat, but a base coat applied before Neely should smooth things out, and improve the wear time.

[Continue reading…]

COVERGIRL Clump Crusher Mascara’s Curved Brush Conquers Clumps While Lengthening Lashes

February 20th, 2013 by Karen 52 Comments

In every single picture I’ve taken today, I look like a grumpy piano teacher (see above).

Yes, I know this for a fact! When I was a kid, I took piano lessons (mostly against my will), and every week, my teacher, Mrs. L, would sit there with pursed, tight lips as I pounded away at the keys like a gorilla in a Hello Kitty T-shirt.

Sometimes I’d see Mrs. L frowning out of the corner of my eye, so I’d bang out all the wrong notes on purpose, look up at her, and smile ever-so-sweetly…

Hahaha! Sorry, Mrs. L. 🙂

I’d be cranky, too, if I had to teach a surly, disinterested student clearly counting down the seconds to freedom, but maybe I’d look a little less tense (perhaps cheerful, even) if I were wearing a few coats of COVERGIRL’s Clump Crusher Mascara ($6.99).

COVERGIRL Clump Crusher Mascara Brush — Curved brush!

It landed on drugstore shelves a couple months ago in four “shades” (Black Brown, Brown, Very Black and Black).

The hook/special sauce? The curved brush. COVERGIRL says the little plastic stubs and the shape of the brush help it separate lashes while coating them from root to tip and dodging lumps and bumps.

And when it comes to length and separation, ala long, fanned-out lashes for interested, perky looks, I think Clump Crusher’s great. It doesn’t come with a bunch of bells or whistles, like lash conditioners and vibrating brush wands, but it lengthens, separates and holds curls like a champ. Plus, it’s only $6.99, which isn’t bad at all, especially beside an increasing number of drugstore mascaras in the $10-13 range.

[Continue reading…]

The Aerin Beauty A Garden at Dusk Face Palette: Sunset in a Garden of Gorgeous, Subtle Colors

February 20th, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

Botany enthusiasts/luxury makeup lovers who like late afternoon gardening and subtle colors will love Aerin Beauty’s new A Garden at Dusk Face Palette.

Um…yeah, that’s a very targeted market. 🙂

The second of two $70 limited edition eye and cheek palettes in Aerin Beauty’s spring line (A Garden in Bloom is the first) shares many traits in common with its equally expensive sibling, like pretty packaging; subtle, cool-toned, sheer shades; and easy-to-blend powders.

Aerin Beauty A Garden at Dusk Palette Swatches — Blush on the far left, eye shadow on the right

[Continue reading…]

New Easy, Everyday NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Puts Purple Circles Out to Pasture

February 19th, 2013 by Karen 41 Comments

Remember when dark circles were something that only happened to other people? Back when you had no clue that you yourself would someday be visited by those evil purple half-moon monsters at the crack of dawn?

Yup. Good times…

If you get as nostalgic as I do for those days of yore, let me get straight to the point. Dark circles are a serious business, and we have no time to waste. The new NARS Radiant Cream Concealers ($28) will cover those bad boys brilliantly.

Like a knight’s vorpal sword, they’re designed to vanquish! — only in their case, they vanquish the darkest of dark circles, as opposed to more traditional enemies. 🙂

The new line of under-eye concealers has a thick mousse formula that dries to a satin finish, and NARS says these will disguise imperfections all day long, without creasing, by diffusing light and applying a soft focus filter to fine lines.

The shades from lightest to darkest, according to the official PR:

Chantilly: A true ivory for the fairest complexions

Vanilla: A slight pink cast for fair complexions

Honey: A warm peach tone for light and medium complexions

Ginger: A golden undertone for medium complexions

Biscuit: A medium dark shade with a natural balance of pink and yellow undertones

Caramel: A medium dark yellow with golden undertones

Amande: A medium dark shade with golden undertones

Cafe: A dark shade with warm red undertones

Cacao: A dark shade with deep golden brown undertones

One swipe — just one, because a little goes a long way — of Ginger with the doe-foot applicator, followed by some brief blending with a MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush, and my under-eye area appears noticeably brighter, which in turn makes me feel considerably better/less grumpy.

Sh*t covers EVERYTHING! — yet still looks like real skin. Not heavy or cakey, even with multiple layers. Plus, it stays put and photographs well.

You can use it anywhere on your face, too, like for blemishes and skin discolorations, but it really excels under eyes.

Um…I think it’s kind of amazing, really, and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror with it on, I’m like, “Who’s that!?” That girl looks almost like the 23-year-old Karen who stayed up all night before graduation and took pics the following day without any under-eye concealer.

Ah, those were the days…

Of course, there is one catch (isn’t there always?).

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Pictures Small — From the left: Chantilly, Vanilla, Honey, Custard, Ginger, Biscuit, Caramel, Amande, Cafe and Cacao

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Pictures Wands — From the left: Chantilly, Vanilla, Honey, Custard, Ginger, Biscuit, Caramel, Amande, Cafe and Cacao

[Continue reading…]

Unzipped, Aerin Beauty’s A Garden in Bloom Face Palette Calls to Upscale Makeup Lovers Longing for Watercolor Washes on Eyes and Cheeks

February 19th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

Wearing the new Aerin Beauty A Garden in Bloom Face Palette ($70) on my eyes and cheeks

I think there’s something very cool, very “power to the people!” about products able to work well for a wide range of beauty lovers — different skin types and tones, young people and older folks — especially when those products aren’t too expensive.

At the same time, I also like products designed with a very specific girl (or guy) in mind, like Aerin Beauty’s new $70 A Garden in Bloom Palette, which focuses like a laser on beauty lovers with some extra spending money.

There’s a good chance A Garden in Bloom girl already carries a Chanel bag, and all of the sales associates at Neimans and Saks know her by her first name. One of her inspirations? Audrey Hepburn, and the classic eye look she wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. 🙂

She likes a very specific makeup look, too, with her eyes and cheeks defined by light washes of color, and only rarely ventures into bolder, brighter territory. Luckily, this limited edition spring palette, with its three cool-toned, moderately pigmented powder eye shadows — a pinkish beige with a satin finish, a matte taupe and a purplish gray — and matte rosy pink powder blush, offers exactly that.

Aerin Beauty A Garden in Bloom photos pictures packaging — The cloth-covered, zippered packaging looks pretty to me, but it sure isn’t easy to keep clean…

Aerin Beauty A Garden in Bloom Face Palette swatches — Blush on the far left; eyeshadows on the right

[Continue reading…]

A Desert Rose Is Blooming on Bare Cheeks This Spring: Palladio Herbal Mosaic Powder in Desert Rose

February 18th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Palladio Desert Rose Herbal Mosaic Powder Pictures, Swatches, Review — Wearing Palladio’s $8 Herbal Mosaic Powder in Desert Rose on my cheeks; available now online and at Ulta and Sally Beauty Supply stores

Imagine strolling into a Santa Fe art gallery one sunny afternoon and finding a makeup mosaic for $8.

Yup, Palladio’s Herbal Mosaic Powder in Desert Rose is a little like that.

The pan has a mosaic pattern with five complementing powders you can wear individually, or swirled together, as a bronzer, blush, eyeshadow or highlighter.

Since the individual strips of color aren’t all that wide (the entire pan fits in my palm), I usually mix all of the shades together, and apply them to my cheeks with a fluffy blush brush.

On my NC 42 skin, a single layer delivers a rosy, peachy flush with golden pearl. Pretty! — especially for weekends or for casual makeup looks… Which reminds me, worn as a blush on bare skin or atop tinted moisturizer, I think Desert Rose looks a heck of a lot more expensive than $8. Shoot, it looks downright high end.

[Continue reading…]

From the Moment I Laid Eyes on Guerlain’s Ã‰crin 4 Couleurs in Coup de Foudre, It Was, in Fact, Love at First Sight

February 14th, 2013 by Karen 34 Comments

Love at first sight.

This, according to Google Translate, which tells me that Coup de Foudre, also known as the name of Guerlain’s new spring quad, means “love at first sight” in English.

And yes, it was (love at first sight). First time I opened this gorgeous gold compact, I made goo-goo eyes at it and twirled a lock of hair around a finger like I was trying to get it to buy me a drink at the bar.

Haha! 🙂

Guerlain Coup de Foudre — Hey, baby, what’s your sign? I’m a Gemini, in case you were wondering…

Coup de Foudre shocked me in a couple different ways. First, the $59 price is alarming. Second, I think it’s supernatural… I keep expecting to see it on an episode of Lost Girl or Grimm!. Its gray, jade green, khaki and coral powder shadows are so enchanting that I bet even sirens and succubi would struggle to resist them.

Why?

Because this is a damned fine quad, babe! An expensive one, for sure, but I think Guerlain struck near perfection.

I mean, where do I start?

How ’bout here: when you’re 37, sometimes you have to do the math in your head to remember your age (mark my words, it’ll happen). On top of that, shimmery finishes become really challenging.

Most shimmery finishes, that is. Coup de Foudre has magic shimmer — shimmer that glows on my lids without accenting my fine lines.

When I wear these shadows and look in the mirror, I feel like asking, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s that 27-year-old looking back at me!? Hot damn and hallelujah!!” 🙂

[Continue reading…]