Product Reviews

Dry Skin Goes Coco-Nuts for Three Whishes Coconut Body Wash

June 29th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

Trader Joes Coconut Fruit Floe

Three words for ya: Coconut Fruit Floes.

Coconut Water Fruit Floes I brought home a box this week from Trader Joe’s (four for $1.99) instead of my usual Mango Cream Bars, and holy wow, Egyptian mau! — they’re coco-nutty!

You know those coconut juice drinks that come in the tall cans? I like to get one whenever I go to my favorite Puerto Rican restaurant or go out to get Thai food. Well these are like those…except frozen, and more concentrated, and shaped like a Popsicle.

So tasty if you like coconut and fruity frozen desserts.

On these warm evenings at home, I’ve been opening the windows, cranking up the overhead fan, and posting up on the couch in front of the TV (last night it was Hollywood Exes) with a Coconut Fruit Floe.

Since I can’t go to the tropics right now, Trader Joe’s is bringing the tropics to me. 🙂

It’s been a nice, relaxing ritual this week, and I’m wondering if these frozen coconut concoctions have had anything to do with my affinity for Three Whishes Coconut Body Wash.

All signs point to yes.

Three Whishes Coconut Body Wash

It’s been warm here lately. Not terribly hot, but still hot enough that I’m covered in a sticky layer of sweat by the end of the day (the worst are the backs of my knees, yuck!). So right before bed, I’ve been jumping in the shower to quickly rinse off.

I almost always grab Gud from Burt’s Bees Cherrynova in the mornings after workouts, but at night, Whish’s coconut shower gel ($18 for a 13-ounce bottle) has been my new pre-bedtime jam.

Ahhh… It’s like a coconut daiquiri and a shower under a waterfall, and I love the authentic scent, organic ingredients and moisturizing, cruelty-free formula.

In blending this beauty, Whish left out many drying ingredients like sulfates, as well as parabens, petrochemicals, TEA (triethanolamine) and DEA (diethanolamine), and added moisturizing marvels like organic shea and raspberry butters, and organic aloe, which is the second ingredient on the list.

And to make it even easier on sensitive skin, they added organic marigold and cucumber.

whish coconut three whishes body wash label
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Today I Tried to Answer the Question Tarte Poses With Their New Makeup Kit, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?”

June 28th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

This morning, while Janet rocked, “What have you done for me lately?” I sang something similar while applying the products in Tarte’s latest makeup kit.

What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately? — that’s a good question, and it’s also the name of the $49 six-piece kit (a QVC exclusive).

Listening to Janet, I came this close to teasing my hair and slipping into something with shoulder pads, but then I came to my senses, thankfully, because real life ’80’s fashion wasn’t always as cool as a John Hughes film… 🙂

For this look, I’m wearing all of the products in the kit except for the Maracuja Oil, and I’m also wearing Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Peaceful on my cheeks, because the kit doesn’t come with a blush.

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately
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A Liner Poseidon Would Use: The New Trident Shaped 3*Way Lash Lining Tool From Too Faced Creates Thicker, Fuller Lashes

June 28th, 2012 by Karen 41 Comments

too faced 3 way lash lining tool

I need another black liquid liner like I need another reason to watch Magic Mike! — but that’s not stopping me from wanting another black liquid liner, especially a good one with the power of innovation. 🙂

Fellow liner lover, walk with me for a bit as we bat our lashes at the new 3*Way Lash Lining Tool from Too Faced ($22).

Do you suffer from chronic tardiness? (I do!) Thin lashes got you down? (Yup!)

If you answered in the affirmative to either of those inquiries, Too Faced feels they can help, and their solution takes a three-pronged approach.

The new 3*Way has a three-pronged tip — kinda like a trident — designed to create the illusion of a full lash line; the product doubles (triples?) as a liquid liner to draw both thin and thick lines, hence the name.

too faced 3 way lash lining tool tip

It works like this: starting at one end of your upper lash line, place the prongs at the base of your lashes between the roots. Gently apply pressure to dispense the liquid, stamping three black dots. Repeat along the full length of your lash line, filling in the spaces between your lashes.

When you’re done, your lash line should look a whole lot thicker.

Alternately, to use the 3*Way as a liquid liner for super skinny lines, just drag the edge of one of the three tips along your lash and water lines, or for thicker lines, like for cat eyes, make contact with all three tips placed flat.

Now, dotting liner along the base of your lashes and between the roots isn’t a new trick. Sometimes it’s referred to as “backing the lashes,” and truth be told, most any black liner, be it liquid or pencil, can deliver a similar effect.

too faced 3 way lash lining tool swatch

too faced 3 way lash lining tool hand
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Lighten Your Load and Perfect Your Pout With Too Faced Perfect Lips

June 27th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

too faced perfect lips
Wearing Too Faced Cosmetics Perfect Lips in Perfect Red

QUESTION: Besides their affinity for beauty products, what do Tabs and the makeup bag I haul around in my purse have in common?

ANSWER: They both weigh almost 20 pounds!

Yeah, something here desperately needs streamlining, and this time I’m not referring to the cat.

Okay, 20 pounds is probably an exaggeration (for the bag, not the cat). It’s probably more like 1-2 pounds on most days. Maybe 5 every so often.

However much it weighs, it’s a lot.

All of those glosses, lipsticks, compacts, palettes, lip liners, and (occasionally) cans of Fancy Feast (always in gravy) definitely take some muscle to haul around, she said, her shoulder pulled low by the weight of a dozen products.

But my overworked shoulder felt a sudden rush of relief the first time I lined my lips with one of the four new Too Faced Perfect Lips liners ($17 each and available in four twist-up shades), not to be confused with the company’s Perfect Lips Universal Lip Pencil Liner, which only comes in a single shade and lacks a twist-up tip.

Perfect Nude, Perfect Pink, Perfect Spice and Perfect Red line and prime lips to boost the wear time of lipsticks and glosses worn on top of them, and they’re designed to wear well with a wide range of colors.

Take Perfect Pink, for instance. Even when I’m toting around 10 tubes of pink gloss (which happens), it’s neutral enough to work with just about all of them.

too faced perfect lips
From the left: Perfect Red, Perfect Nude, Perfect Pink and Perfect Spice

too faced perfect lip swatches
From the left: Perfect Nude, Perfect Pink, Perfect Spice and Perfect Red
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The Three New Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eye Liners Are Perfect for Pool Parties and All-Day Beach Barbecues

June 26th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

Too Faced Perfect Moss
Wearing Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof liner in Perfect Moss

Forthwith, and with great alacrity, please accept the following addendum to my list of weekly goals from yesterday’s Monday Poll:

“Until further notice, I’m only shedding tears of joy.”

So if/when you share some great news with me, I’m totally allowed to get a little misty eyed, but I’m not allowed to shed any more sad tears (at least for now) or showcase runny eyeliner.

But don’t you worry — I’ll be prepared for any and all waterworks, rain storms and sweaty dance sessions with the cast of Magic Mike (80% on rottentomates!) thanks to the three new additions to the already awesome Too Faced family of waterproof pencil liners.

New for fall but available for pool parties and beach barbecues now, Perfect Moss, Perfect Navy and Perfect Espresso ($18 each) have perfect summer-timing and plenty of long-lasting pigment for lash and water lines. When I don’t feel like tugging or having to apply in layers, these no-budge liners really do the trick.

too faced perfect eyes

Like smoother, silkier Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils, they also come with a firm yet flexible beveled smudge-er on the back end (reminiscent of a spatula). Mighty convenient for smoking out the edges of my lines.

Perfect Moss, with its shiny finish, revs my motor the most…

too faced perfect eyes
From the left: Perfect Navy, Perfect Moss and Perfect Espresso

too faced perfect eyes swatches
Swatches from the left: Perfect Espresso, Perfect Navy and Perfect Moss
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Say High Shine! These Full-Coverage Lip Creams From Too Faced Are La CrÃ¨me of the Crop

June 26th, 2012 by Karen 30 Comments

Too Faced La Creme in Juicy Melons
Wearing Too Faced La CrÃ¨me in Juicy Melons

Between the cooking, cat walking, housecleaning, crying and quiet rumination I did last weekend, I also…

1. Got a massage

After two days inside, I had to get out of the house, so I finally used the spa gift card I’d been saving since Christmas to get a deep-tissue massage.

And I learned a valuable lesson that day about massage technicians formerly employed by professional football teams — that it’s not a good idea to tell one, “Gimme all ya got! I have a high tolerance for pain.”

Unless, of course, you really, really do.

2. Posed with The Biebs

No, seriously! He was at Macy’s. There he was, standing perfectly still by a display for his new fragrance, Girlfriend, so I just walked up, whipped out my iPhone, and click!

Which reminds me: Dear Justin, while I have absolutely no desire to wear this or any scent designed by a teenage boy, your display cutouts? — awesome.

3. Hardly wore any makeup at all

Heck, I barely had the wherewithal to fill in my brows, which for me is something tantamount to breathing, or wearing underwear, or eating on a regular basis.

Tabs did not approve.

He kept sending me passive aggressive texts about my wayward workplace appearance with excerpts from his new book, Tabs the Cat on Style: Everything You Need to Know to Live a Fashionable Life, like this little nugget: “A full-coverage lip color in a classic, elegant shade will do wonders for your look.”

crankypants-tabs-orange-ribbon
Crankypants!

Today is actually the first day in a week that he hasn’t given me the above “evil eye,” and I think it has something to do with these new Too Faced La CrÃ¨me lip creams ($21 each), which are basically super soft lipsticks packed with pigment and shine.

too faced la creme
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Bright Time Is the Right Time With the New Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams in Acid Green, Yellow, Pastel Blue and Summer

June 20th, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

make up for ever aqua cream 23
Wearing the new Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in 23 Acid Green

I feel like in summer we should all get passes to go completely buck wild with our eye makeup, no matter what we’re doing or where we are.

I mean, we can do that now — wear whatever we want — but there are social mores, workplace policies and dress codes, and those are what the passes would cover. 🙂

Want/need to run to Trader Joe’s for an emergency box of Mango Bars, but you glance in the mirror and notice that oops! — you’re wearing bright yellow eyeshadow all over your lids? No problem, because you’ve got the pass.

When I started getting into eyeshadow in my 20s, I only wore two colors, brown or beige — unless I was feeling extra adventurous, in which case I’d spice things up with a soft seashell pink, haha.

Hello, change. My name is Karen.

The old 20-something me probably wouldn’t even recognize the 30-something me who groans like a brain-hungry zombie and makes grabby hands in the air when she sees bright products like the four new Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams in 23 Acid Green, 24 Yellow, 25 Pastel Blue and 26 Purple ($23 each).

“Brains! Brains! — No, I mean shimmer! SHIMMER!”

Please tell me you’ve experienced the nirvana that is the mighty Aqua Cream. If you have not, joy awaits.

These potted creams, which first appeared back in 2010, are some of my absolute favorite products in the Make Up For Ever line. They come in a ton of colors and finishes now, too — some for Eyes and Cheeks, others for Lips and Cheeks — and all of them have the same special ability.

Once you get them on your skin, they DO. NOT. MOVE.

Special evaporating oils help the pigments stick to skin, rendering them smudge-proof, waterproof and sob-proof.

make up for ever aqua creams 23 24 25 26
Clockwise from the yellow pot on the lower left: 23 Yellow, 23 Acid Green, 25 Pastel Blue and 26 Purple

Seriously, you could have a nervous breakdown at an ATM machine, not that I’d know anything about that (“Holy crap, did you just eat my card?! A Windows blue screen — are you kidding me? FREAKING MICROSOFT!”), and your shadow would still look as fresh as a daisy.

So yeah. Love these things. 🙂

These four new summer shades, all of them for eyes and cheeks, might look a little cray in their pots, but babe, the second I got that first batch of swatches on my arm, I wanted to smear them all over my body like a technicolor tart (I suppose this is how some folks feel at Burning Man after one too many special brownies in the body painting tent).

To be blunt, they’re beyond bright!

make up for ever aqua cream swatches
Swatches from the left: 23 Yellow, 23 Acid Green, 25 Pastel Blue and 26 Purple

make up for ever aqua cream 26
26 Purple
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Today I Was Gud and Grumpy With a Side of Cherries: Gud From Burt’s Bees Floral Cherrynova

June 19th, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

novato-farmers-market-cherries
Life is just a bowl of these…

Hey, friend. Typing right atâ€˜cha from the trenches of my living room couch. I just finished a slow, arduous 5-mile run — arduous because I really wasn’t feelin’ it, but I’m glad I did it anyway — and now, in my freshly showered state, I’m basking in a post-workout high, babbling in print and breathing in the scent of Gud From Burt’s Bees Cherrynova Body Wash on my skin.

But more on that in two seconds. 🙂

I’m also half watching Avatar on TV, eating a big bowl of cherries and trying, so far unsuccessfully, to deter Tabs from scratching my Pier 1 chair.

You know the old saying, “Life is just a bowl of cherries”? Well, I’m feeling that way now thanks to Cherrynova, but earlier today? — MAN! I was grumpy, grumpy, grumpy.

grumpy tabs in the closet
Grumpy with a side of grumps!

I dunno… I’m just really stressing over what to do with the rest of my life. After five years as the executive assistant to an international plus-size kitty supermodel, I’m starting to wonder, “Where is this job taking me?”

Stir in my natural tendency to worry, add a dash of insomnia, and you’ve got yourself a woman on the brink of FREAKING OUT!

But then I took a few deep breaths, talked to El Hub on the phone, pet Tabs, checked the blog, read through some comments, and slowly calmed down enough to hop on the treadmill.

Running usually takes the edge off…

So here I am, fresh out of the shower and eating a bowl of cherries. And kinda smelling like a bowl of cherries, too, courtesy of Floral Cherrynova.

gud body wash
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