Product Reviews

Milani’s New Spring 2012 Runway Eyes Eyeshadows for Spring 2012 Have Something Big in Common With Tabs

March 5th, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

I like my kitty supermodels chunky…

E! True Hollywood Story: Tabs the Cat, from Stray to Supermodel

…and my eyeshadows smooove, like Ryan Gosling. 🙂

Last weekend I gave Milani’s three new spring 2012 Runway Eyes eyeshadows a try, but instead of marveling at their sparkly abundance and bodacious $6.99 price tag, I kept getting distracted by something in the mirror…

Chunks, and not the kind I like.

When I apply these dry, I can see the grains chillin’ on top of my eyelids. No, they aren’t the smoothest shadows at the rodeo, if you catch my drift.

Applied wet, using a brush moistened with MAC Fix+, seems to smooth out the texture. It also intensifies the shimmery colors of these shadows, in particular Golden Touch (the golden beige) and Peaches & Cream (the silvery peach), but I still see stray grains on my lids that I feel the urge to buff.

Golden khaki Antigua, on the other hand, gets closer to great. I think it looks and feels smoother than the other two shades, and at least for me, with its hint of gray, has the most star power among these three.

From the left, Antigua, Golden Touch and Peaches & Cream applied dry (the three shades on the left) and wet (the three shades on the right)
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Out on a Wedge With the Comfy Unisa Kami Shoe

March 5th, 2012 by Karen 19 Comments

unisa kami wedge review (1)

So, I made a shoe pact with myself a few weeks ago in which I pledged, from now on, to only bring home new shoes that I can actually walk in.

A novel concept, I know. 🙂

I probably should have done it sooner, too, because I can barely walk in half the shoes I own.

But it’s not my fault (well, I mean it is). It’s the high heels! They’re the worst offenders. It’s too bad they’re such tasty eye candy…

The very uncomfortable Seychelles Squeak Sandal

So this pact of mine, I started doubting my commitment to it the other day at DSW, surrounded by aisle after aisle of sky-high heels. Then, the $49.95 Unisa Kami Wedge walked into my life.

I’d been on the hunt for a stylish, comfy pair of nude wedges to wear with jeans and spring dresses, and had visited a bunch of different stores and poked around online, but nothing really struck my fancy until I spotted these wedges.

unisa kami wedge review (2)

I don’t know much about Unisa beyond the fact that they’ve been around for a while. The Kami, which is fashioned with faux leather straps and has a synthetic sole, comes in tan, white, black, dark brown and a neutral reptilian print.

As soon as I slipped on a tan pair and took a few steps around the store, I knew they were comfortable and a good height for me. The cork wedge measures about 3 inches tall, but because of the Â½-inch platform, the heel feels more like a 2, or a 2Â½.

I love how stable I feel in these shoes, like there’s no chance I’m going to topple over, and I think it’s mostly because of the wedge, which is thicker than most of the other wedges I’ve worn.

The vintage-looking t-strap helps. It secures my heel better than slip-ons do, so that’s another nice plus.
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Light Shimmies on Lips Wearing EstÃ¨e Lauder Pure Color Gloss in Shimmering Mirage

March 3rd, 2012 by Karen 4 Comments

estee lauder shimmering mirage

EstÃ¨e Lauder’s Pure Color Gloss in Shimmering Mirage ($22.50) might not be the flashiest piece in the new Bronze Goddes Capri collection for summer (have ya seen the Bronze Sands palette yet?), but I still think this lemony golden beige, with its bodacious silver shimmer, deserves a serious shout-out.

I’m a sucker for shining nude lips like these, especially on weekends (when my laziness kicks into overdrive). This limited edition shade actually reminds me of a slightly cooler version of my current go-to nude lip gloss, Burberry Nude Gold, except with a side of silver glitter.

I think it’s a great gloss for lazy day makeup looks. I’ll just fill in my brows, pat a little concealer under my eyes, curl my lashes, sweep some blush on my cheeks and top things off with Shimmering Mirage.

estee lauder bronze goddess capri shimmering mirage gloss eye duo in white sands molten lava
Pure Color Gloss in Shimmering Mirage (top) and Pure Color Intense Kajal Eye Crayon Duo in White Sands/Molten Lava (bottom)

estee lauder bronze goddess capri swatches
From the left: Pure Color Illuminating Powder GelÃ©e in Shimmering Sands, Pure Color Intense Kajal Eye Crayon Duo in White Sands/Molten Lava and Pure Color Gloss in Shimmering Mirage
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Boing! Benefit Adds Three New Shades to the Boi-ing Concealer Line

March 3rd, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

Benefit boi-ing

Boing!

Boing! Boing! Boing!

Benefit Boi-ing concealer, that is. 🙂 B’s bestselling cream concealer is getting three new shades.

A sheer cream concealer designed to disguise under-eye circles and blemishes, Boi-ing has been part of the Benefit line for years. The new shades include a revamped shade No. 03, also known as Deep, and two new darker shades in 04 and 05, bringing the total number of shades to five.

benefit boi-ing (3)
Clockwise from the pan in the lower left: 03, 04 and 05

I’ve actually Boinged before…and when I did, I didn’t feel like any of the colors really suited my NC42 skin. Now, among all of the shades, the new version of 03 seems like the closest color match for me.

benefit boi-ing (4)
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These Shimmering Sands Are More Than a Mirage: Estée Lauder’s Innovative Pure Color Illuminating Powder GelÃ¨e in Shimmering Sands

March 2nd, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

estee lauder shimmering sands

Ever since that time I sent El Hub out to buy toilet paper and he returned with four rolls of crummy one-ply paper that felt like tree bark on my booty, I take care of replenishing the TP around here.

Stay with me. I’m going somewhere with this… 🙂

As I was on my way out the door the other day to pick up some Ultra Soft Charmin (the best!) from Target, I glanced at myself in the hallway mirror and said, “Dang, K-Dawg! You’re wearing hella bronzer, girl!”

I was shimmering, and bronzed, like I’d just gotten back from a week in the South of France.

Merci beaucoup, Estée Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder GelÃ¨e in Shimmering Sands ($42).

estee lauder shimmering sands
Shimmering Sands on my cheeks, across my forehead and along my jaw line

I haven’t always been this inspired by the Estée Lauder brand. Matter of fact, up until a renaissance a few years ago in which I think they started cranking out some really innovative products at a rapid clip, I didn’t often think of EL as a super bold or cutting-edge line.

Recently, releases like the Cyber Eyes Collection, Pure Color Blushes, and now this here Shimmering Sands, have totally changed the way I look at the brand.

Sands is a warm and shimmering peachy golden bronze powder from the new limited edition Bronze Goddess Capri collection, and it’s designed to be worn as a bronzer, a highlighter and/or a blush.

And that’s not all. Texture really sets this multitasking powder apart. Part liquid, powder and gel, it feels lightweight, creamy and smooth on my skin.

Throw in some punchy pigments and an almost mirror-like shine, and Shimmering Sands reminds me of a marriage between a MAC Mineralize Skinfinish, with its metallic finish, and a creamy NARS Multiple. Just really super cool.

estee lauder bronze goddess capri swatches
From the left: Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee in Shimmering Sands, Pure Color Intense Kajal Eye Crayon Duo in White Sands/Molten Lava and Pure Color Gloss in Shimmering Mirage
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Why Wait for Summer? Prepare for Poolside Afternoons Now With Benefit Cabana Glama

March 2nd, 2012 by Karen 19 Comments

benefit cabana glama

Pretty soon it’ll be spring, and then summer soon after. Before you know it, our conversations will turn more to topics like swimming pools, beaches and other things, like how…

…getting ready to chill at the pool with Ryan Gosling can be sooo stressful (or so I’ve heard). 🙂

Do I go the glamazon route, curling my hair into beachy waves and shimmying into a string bikini, a cute coverup and a pair of nude wedges? Or do I go the rough-and-tumble surfer girl route, and scoop my mop into a messy bun, slip on a practical two-piece (the one with the top that looks like an industrial-strength sports bra) and my favorite pair of ratty Reef flip-flops?

It’s a big decision — but until I make it, one thing’s for sure: the new Benefit Cabana Glama ($26) kit will have my back.

benefit cabana glama

This latest kit from the boys and babes at Benefit comes with brightening and bronzing makeup for eyes, lips and cheeks.

If posing on your beach chair beside a fru-fru umbrella drink and a stack of glossy magazines ranks up high on your agenda (I could get into something like that, hello!), do it in style with a sun-kissed glow. Just sweep Cabana Glama’s Hoola Bronzer and Some Kind-A Gorgeous in Medium on your face, followed by one (or two or three) of the kit’s Eyeshadows on your lids.

And when you’re ready to cool off with a quick dip — and maybe do a few underwater handstands or dive from the high board (you so crazy!) — Cabana Glama can also help you keep it simple, by just blending soft pink Posietint on your cheeks and lips.

Benefit Cabana Glama Your DesTANation Makeup Kit
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These Bronze Sands Are Limited Edition in Capri: The New Estée Lauder Five Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette in Bronze Sands

March 1st, 2012 by Karen 43 Comments

estee lauder bronze sands (3)

Earlier today on my walk outside with Tabs, I felt a chill in my bones. It was a little breezy and crisp today, but you wouldn’t have known it looking at Tabs. He just slinked along in his built-in fur coat, pulling me behind him on his leash.

When he felt he’d adequately secured the perimeter of the front yard and noticed me shivering, he reluctantly agreed to accompany me back inside the house.

As soon as we shut the door, I made a beeline for my makeup, thinking that a summery, beachy look would warm my cold bones. I grabbed the new Estée Lauder Pure Color Five Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette in Bronze Sands ($45).

estee lauder bronze goddess capri bronze sands

Like a ray of late afternoon sunlight in the sunshine-stocked Bronze Goddess Capri Collection, Bronze Sands shelters five metallic powder eyeshadows in shades of gold, bronze, beige, brown and teal. A few swipes of these soft, smooth powders, which feel almost like a cream to me, and my lids glow with rich, shiny color.

Nice. 🙂

estee lauder bronze sands (1)

Other than a few flecks of teal and brown shadow showing up on my cheeks and beneath my lower lash lines, I don’t notice much fallout from these at all.

estee lauder bronze sands (2)
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I Had a Date Last Saturday With the Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes Collection

March 1st, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

Wearing Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes collection Sparkle Eye Shadow in Sunlight on my eyes, Brightening Finishing Powder on my cheeks and Brightening Lip Gloss in Pink Opal on my lips

Girl meets glitter. Girl wears glitter. Girl leaves a trail of glitter in her wake! — on her husband and her cat — and then slicks a moisturizing lip balm on her lips. 🙂

That’s the Cliff’s Notes version of the Saturday I spent last weekend with the Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes collection, a new nine-piece limited edition release of shimmery makeup for eyes, faces and lips, available now on counters and bobbibrowncosmetics.com.

Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes Collection

With Brightening Nudes, Bobbi wants skin to glow, eyes to sparkle and lips to practically leap from the face, and since the pieces look like the kind of sheer, luminous, lit-from-within makeup I like to wear on weekends, I decided to take it for a spin.

Brightening Lip Gloss
The first thing I did was introduce it to yoga! As I twisted into an awkward triangle pose, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. What a pretty pearly glow, I thought, seeing Brightening Lipgloss in Lilac Pearl.

It momentarily distracted me from the burning in my hamstrings (so not stretchy)…

Lilac Pearl’s sticky, thick formula clung to my lips throughout the 90-minute class and the trip to Trader Joe’s I made afterward, but by then my lips felt so dry and tight that I had to pause to apply a layer of moisturizing gloss in the parking lot before driving home.

NOTE: If you have pigmented lips like I do, Lilac Pearl, Pink Opal and Pink Lilac may look very much alike. To my eye, all three of them could be triplets! — or at least close first cousins. $23 each.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

Sparkle Eye Shadow
Later, after yoga, the grocery store, and then a shower, lunch and laundry at home, I plopped down on the couch next to El Hub and Tabs for a break.

I started re-watching a few episodes of Downton Abbey, and just as O’Brien committed her dastardly deed with the soap, I spied some sparkle on Tabs’ coat and El Hub’s cheek.

What the what!? Oh, yeah… I’d patted Sparkle Eyes Shadow in Mica on my eyes after my shower, and since Bobbi loaded it with glitter, some of the sparkle must have made its way on to the boys.

For what it’s worth, Mica does seem to adhere better to my skin and transfer less product than most of the other glittery eyeshadows I’ve worn.

As with the Brightening Lip Glosses, sheer is the name of this game. All four of these shadow shades (Silver Moon, Mica, Ballet and Sunlight) deposit very little pigment, so brace yourself for sheer. $28 each.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-

By the end of the Downton season finale, my tummy was rumbling for carbs, so El Hub and I hit up a local Italian restaurant for pasta.

Before leaving, I touched up my makeup with a layer of Crystal Glitter Lipgloss on my lips and some Brightening Powder on my cheeks.

Bobbi Brown Brightening Lip Gloss Pink Lilac Pink Opal Lilac Pearl
From the left: Brightening Lip Gloss in Pink Lilac, Pink Opal and Lilac Pearl ($23 each)

Bobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powder
Brightening Finishing Powder ($50)
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