Product Reviews

Need a Lift? Score Lashes That Soar Sky High With the New Too Faced Lash Injection Extreme Tubing Mascara

July 6th, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

too faced cosmetics lash injection extreme volume tubing mascara

It occurred to me this morning as I was dressing up my lashes with a layer of Too Faced Lash Injection Extreme Volume Tubing Mascara that I could (and often do) spend entire days playing with eye makeup.

Entire days.

A few hours patting primer here, a few more drawling liner there, shadow blending, blending, blending, and then the sun sets behind Novato’s verdant hills in the distance…

Of course, I do take breaks for tabby play time and pasta (of course!). 🙂

Naturally, good chunks of time are devoted to applying mascara, since my natural lashes are a little on the uninspiring side, and I feel like my eyes look much bigger and brighter when I’ve lifted, curled and lengthened my lashes.

My latest lash love stars Too Faced Lash Injection Extreme Volume Tubing Mascara.

Whew! Now that’s a mouthful.

Too Faced reformulated their old-school mascara of the same name and gave it a new outfit. It’s $21 and available in a single shade called Black.

If you’re unfamiliar with tubing mascaras, no, they are not named after the popular pastime that usually involves bodies of water and coolers filled with adult beverages. They’re named after the way the formulas encapsulate lashes forming tubes that surround each hair to extend and thicken them.

Brands often claim that tubing mascaras are particularly great for humid climates as they resist flaking and smudging.

I never gave the original Lash Injection a try, so I don’t know how it compares to the new one, but Too Faced says that it’s much improved. Version 2.0 is supposed to stretch and lengthen lashes better than before.

How does it fare? Well, like a push-up bra for my fringe! Two coats of the waterproof formula applied with the included brush (in the style of a DiorShow brush) boosts my lashes with lift and length.

The formula does a pretty good job holding the curl, too, keeping it firm but flexible, and I don’t detect any smears of flakes, not even at the end of the day.

too faced cosmetics lash injection extreme volume tubing mascara before and after
Before (top) and after two coats (bottom)
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It’s My Latest Love’s Time to Shine: L’Oreal’s New Paris Infallible Never Fail Lacquer Liner 24H in Blackest Black

July 5th, 2012 by Karen 43 Comments

LOreal Infallible Never Fail Lacquer Liner

Not to get all Real World confessional on you, but can you keep a secret…?

I’ve been holding it in so long that I’m going to explode if I don’t tell someone!

Here goes… Deep breath, Karen.

I’ve been cheating on the love of my life, and I don’t plan to stop any time soon.

Wait — did you think I was talking about El Hub? Oh, gawd no. I’m stuck on that man like cheese on macaroni. I’m referring to my other love, my favorite black gel liner in the whole wide world, also known as MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack.

I don’t know why I did it… Boredom, perhaps. Blacktrack and I have been rolling deep since 2007, and despite dalliances with many other gel liners along the way, I’ve always, always come home to Blacktrack. I think it’s just the smoothest, longest-wearing, darkest black gel liner around.

But then my eyes wandered to a new gel liner last week called L’Oreal Paris Infallible Never Fail Lacquer Liner 24H in Blackest Black ($9.95), looking all mysterious in its little pot, and I couldn’t restrain myself.

It actually reminds me of Fluidline in some ways. Both of them deliver smooth, dark lines, either sharp or smudgy, on my lash and water lines in just a swipe or two.

L’Oreal claims Blackest Black is able to last 24 hours, but after spending time with it for a while, I sense a bit of beauty bravado there. I get more like 6 hours along my water lines and 9-12 along my lash lines when I wear it without a primer on my combination dry/oily lids.

Not too shabby, cocoa tabby, and again, comparable to Blacktrack.

So what’s the attraction? Why haven’t I been picking up one of the five pots of Blacktrack scattered around the house (no, seriously!)?

Two words: glossy finish.

LOreal Infallible Never Fail Lacquer Liner
Each pot of Infallible Lacquer Liner comes with a brush, which works surprisingly well!

LOreal Infallible Never Fail Lacquer Liner Swatch
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The Ultimate Moisturizer for Lazy Lasses! ELF Milk & Honey Lotion Wipes Wipe Out Dry Skin in 30 Seconds or Less

July 5th, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

elf lotion wipes review

Saw the new Spider-Man movie last night (loved Andrew Garfield as Spidey!), but there’s a creature in the movie, a scaly reptilian beast, that reminded me of my shins.

Yes, I believe I’m on the verge of a dry skin crisis, one brought on by professional exhaustion.

You see, ever since his movie career started taking off, Tabs has been working me to the bone.

On the one hand, it’s good overtime, but by bedtime, I’ve been so exhausted that I haven’t been wanting to moisturize my bod after my shower, so I’ve been skipping the lotion and crawling straight into bed, ashy legs and all (please don’t tell my mom).

I come from a long line of dry skin sufferers… Growing up, lotion was revered in our house like it was manna from heaven, and if I had a penny for every time I got lectured about applying lotion on my legs before going outside to play, well, I’d have a few hundred extra pennies right now.

Segue to ELF’s new $3 Milk & Honey Lotion Wipes. Yes, babe: wipes. 🙂

They’re like makeup remover wipes, except instead of containing makeup remover, they’re soaked with a lightweight liquid moisturizer.

They come 16 wipes to a pack, each of them infused with helpful hydrating ingredients like aloe, cocoa butter, vitamin E, soy, gingko biloba, coconut milk and sweet almond oil.
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It’s All About the Essentials This Fall at Chanel: The Chanel Fall 2012 Les Essentiels de Chanel Collection

July 4th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

Chanel Sweet Beige
Chanel Fall 2012 Les Essentiels de Chanel Levres Scintillantes Glossimer in 297 Sweet Beige on my lips

Okay, so I think I’ve finally figured out my plan, and I have to thank the new Chanel Fall 2012 Les Essentiels de Chanel collection for this bit of inspiration.

It’s not “The Plan for the Rest of My Life,” which I’m still working on (I get the feeling this one will take quite a while), but my fashion plan for the rest of the year. The one-sentence summary: hunt for iconic Chanel-esque pieces to up my wardrobe game.

The plan is just a first step, I know, but seeing as how I can’t even commit to a dining room table, it still feels like I’m making progress on something.

The idea hit me like an airborne canvas shoe at a middle school dance when I was thinking about how Chanel Makeup Creative Director Peter Philips translated Coco Chanel’s timeless fashion sense — quilted handbags, two-toned shoes and little black dresses — into the 27-piece collection.

Strutting its stuff now on Chanel counters and chanel.com, the elegant release features a mix of limited edition and re-promoted pieces for lips, eyes, nails and cheeks. Classic pinks and natural beige shades softly define faces and lips while fuchsia and black accessorize nails.

Pish-tosh, you might be thinking. More basics?

Well, don’t hit the snooze button quite yet. I think there’s some pretty interesting stuff going on here from what I’ve seen so far.

Secret micro-glitter, subtle color shifts and sheen finishes spice up these seemingly everyday shades.

The four pieces I looked at today seem every bit as classic to me as a black quilted Chanel purse. They’re understated, and yet able to make a statement without having to shout.

Chanel Lumiere D'Artifices Beiges Illuminating Powder
Lumiere D’Artifices Beiges Illuminating Powder

Chanel Lumiere D'Artifices Beiges Illuminating Powder

Chanel Vertigo
Le Vernis Nail Colour in Vertigo
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Bold, Shimmery Eye Makeup That Doesn’t Break the Bank: It’s Easy to Fall for These Six New L’Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadows

July 3rd, 2012 by Karen 52 Comments

loreal infallible endless
Wearing L’Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadow in Endless Sea

I’ve been kind of feelin’ the spirit lately with my eye makeup, you know, wanting to wear looks with 20 steps involving primer, 10 different shades of eyeshadow, liner (pencil, liquid, gel AND cake) and false lashes. Basically any and all eye makeup I can get my furry little hands on.

SIDE NOTE: And I’m so not kidding about the fur! Here’s what nobody tells you about your dirty thirties: they’re hairy, as in you start noticing hair growing in odd places (LIKE ON YOUR FINGERS), and suddenly questions like, “Is it faux pas for a woman to shave her hands?” cross your mind.

Ahem! Inside voice, Karen.

Right. But what about those days when Tabs is blowing up my phone with “urgent” pet assistant requests, like, “Please alphabetize my gravy cans, thanks!” and I have the inkling, but don’t have the time, to indulge in complicated eye makeup?

Well, there’s always one of the six new L’Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadows ($7.95 each). 🙂

Liquid Diamond, Golden Emerald, Endless Sea, Glistening Garnet, Bottomless Java and Smoldering Plum join 12 existing permanent shades in L’Oreal’s faboo Infallible Eye Shadow line of long-wearing, easy-to-blend powder shadows so satiny smooth that they make velvet jealous, and so shimmery that I keep expecting cherubic angels to emerge from the clouds and say, “DAYUM, GINA!”

And did I mention they’re long lasting? Worn with a primer, they cling to my lids for 8-10 hours without creasing.

loreal endless sea
Endless Sea

loreal infallible golden emerald
Golden Emerald

loreal infallible glistening garnet
Glistening Garnet
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Buff Your Way to a Flawless Finish With Urban Decay’s Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush

July 3rd, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

urban decay optical blurring brush

Urban Decay’s new foundation brush promises to blur the lines. Borrowing a page out of Hollywood’s Golden Age powder-puff playbook, where actors and actresses were often blurred in their closeups, the Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush ($24) buffs away lines to create seamless, smooth skin.

It reminds me of my own experiences with a different kind of optical blurring…

When my BFF Jen and I were younger and looking for love in all the wrong places (Club X and 1015 Folsom come to mind), the following conversation would go down at least once or twice every night we went out on the town…

ME: I think I see a potentially cute boy.

JEN: Where?!

urban decay optical blurring brush ME: Standing over there at the bar, in the striped button-down shirt and dark pants.

JEN: (…) Every guy in here is wearing that outfit.

ME: No, really! I think he’s looking this way. Over your shoulder, six ‘o clock.

JEN: Oh, no baby. Did you forget your glasses again? We have to get you some contacts, like soon. That boy is kinda scary. Trust me on this.

Haha! Nothing like poor eyesight to mess up your game. 🙂

Luckily, the Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush is designed to improve it.

I met it through Urban Decay’s new fall collection, and it quickly became one of those little lifesavers that I never thought I needed before, but now can’t function without.

The soft, dense brush head feels almost as good as favorite husky tabby’s fur. Mrrow!

UD says they designed the brush to be used with their new line of Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup, but there’s nothing stopping us from using it with foundations or tinted moisturizers from other brands.

I can’t hang with streaky foundation, and the Optical Blurring Brush’s densely-packed, soft synthetic bristles and rounded tip definitely take care of streaks. Lately I’ve been using it apply Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer by NARS, and seriously, I think the application looks flawless.

I’ve also heard that synthetic bristles, being less porous than natural fibers, are less conducive to the growth of bacteria, potentially leading to fewer breakouts.

urban decay optical blurring brush
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The New $10 L’OrÃ©al Paris Colour Caresse by Colour Riche Luminous Lipcolours Are Rich in Pigment But Light on Pocketbooks

July 2nd, 2012 by Karen 51 Comments

loreal colour caresse colour riche violet chiffon 175
Wearing the new L’OrÃ©al Paris Colour Caresse by Colour Riche Luminous Lipcolour in Violet Chiffon

It’s been an exciting afternoon! First, I discovered what might be my new favorite drugstore lipstick (more on that in a minute); then, I improvised a pasta dish without following a recipe, and it didn’t turn out completely terrible. 🙂

loreal colour caresse colour riche If you’ve ever partaken of my improv cooking before, you’d know that it’s a crapshoot. Sometimes it works out, but sometimes, well, let’s just say that calling it “whack to the Nth degree” would be kind.

Luckily, I had some good ingredients on hand. I made a sauce of olive oil, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, halved cherry tomatoes and clam juice from a can, threw that in with some spaghetti, and garnished it with basil and salty Pecorino Romano cheese.

I wanted to add the clams for protein but didn’t realize they were whole clams until I opened the can.

Eww! I like diced clams, but I can’t deal with chopping them up when they’re whole. They’re just so…squishy and rubbery, and there’s that dark stuff that oozes out of ’em.

I ended up leaving out the clams, but I did add the clam juice to the sauce for flavor.

The dish was probably the best improv pasta I’ve made in a while, and I should have immortalized it with a pic! — but blast if I didn’t forget to take one before I finished devouring the meal.

Finding my new favorite drugstore lipstick this afternoon helped to soften the blow. The new $9.99 L’OrÃ©al Paris Colour Caresse by Colour Riche Luminous Lipcolours are more than just mouthfuls. They’re also all kinds of rad.

loreal colour caresse colour riche
From the left: Pink Cashmere 171, Blushing Sequin 172, Violet Chiffon 175 and Pink Vinyl 183

Loaded with pigment and moisture, these 16 creamy, modern marvels are rarities among moisturizing lippies because they don’t highlight any flakes on my perpetually parched lips. L’OrÃ©al’s lightweight Luminous Lipcolours are pigmented enough to satisfy my almost insatiable thirst for color, even with a single swipe, and hydrating enough to keep the flakes at bay.

After trying four of the colors so far, my lips and I are happy, moisturized and utterly impressed.

The unscented, unflavored pinks, neutrals and berries in the line headline the show like silent movie matinee versions of the far more expensive Pure Colour Sensuous Rouges from Estee Lauder ($28 each) and Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shines ($32).

loreal colour caresse colour riche swatches
Swatches from the left: Pink Cashmere 171, Blushing Sequin 172, Violet Chiffon 175 and Pink Vinyl 183

loreal caresse colour riche blushing sequin 172
Wearing Blushing Sequin
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The Urban Decay Smoked Palette: Smoked Signals That Urban Decay Is Thinking About Jewels and Neutral Colors This Fall

July 2nd, 2012 by Karen 56 Comments

urban decay smoked palette

Vacations are synonymous with summer in many parts of the world, especially those parts that get downright chilly in winter, but I like to set aside some time for a quick trip or two each fall.

Temps are usually a little cooler, the crowds a little smaller, and, beauty weirdo that I am, I like being able to use the season as my rationale for wearing smokey eyes almost every day, and in all of my vacation pics. 🙂

LOL! I had a feeling you’d understand. Now let’s pinky shake for being makeup nerds 4eva!

Thanks to Urban Decay, I think I may have found a perfect palette to take on my next fall foray. It’s called Smoked, sells for $49, has smokey eyes written all over it, and arrives at Sephora and Ultra stores, Macy’s and the Urban Decay website later this week.

urban decay smoked palette

Comprised of mostly neutral colors with a few smouldering jewel-toned shades, lacking any electric hot pinks or teals, it seems almost subdued for Urban Decay, but not at all in a bad way.

These are colors a rock goddess might wear to a black-tie affair with fishnets beneath her formal gown and heels bristling with chains and spikes.

It’s as if a warlock took Urban Decay’s Naked and Naked2 palettes, dropped them into a boiling cauldron, added the Black and 15-Year Anniversary palettes, let that stew for a few hours, and then poured the mixture into the Midnight Emergency Kit’s packaging.

The sleek zippered case contains 10 Eyeshadows, five of them new and five repromoted, but all of them in Urban Decay’s new eyeshadow formula; one full-size 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (repromote), an inky black the color of a starless sky at midnight; a travel-sized Primer Potion (repromote), and a booklet called the Smoked Get The Look Book, with 12 step-by-step smokey eye tutorials (new).

Truth be told, I’d probably leave out the Primer Potion, as I have a tough time blending shadows on top of it (I don’t think it’s “slippery” enough for me), but I do know many gals who swear by it. If I were going on, say, on a 10-day trip to Italy this fall (hi, El Hub! Hint-hint!), that’s the one piece that come with the palette that I might just leave behind.

Ah… I can see it now — traipsing across the country on a quest to find the perfect pasta, and eating plate after plate of fettuccine, fusilli, spaghetti, ravioli and linguine with clams, perhaps while wearing a look like the smokey cat eyes I’m wearing here.

And I wouldn’t even have to worry about having to reapply after having that second cannoli because these easy-to-blend shadows, which exhibit very little fallout, stay put for at least 12 hours without fading or creasing.

My lower lash and water lines, however, might need a quick touch-up with Perversion pencil after 5-6 hours, but I can live with that.

If I happen to be in a more dramatic mood, because lawd knows that nothing goes with bread, wine and cheese like two smouldering smokey eyes (LOL!), I could even follow one of the tutorials in the Get The Look Book, or line my lash and water lines with Perversion, and then smudge one of the shimmery shadows along the lash lines.

urban decay smoked palette

urban decay smoked palette k4
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