Product Reviews

Light Up Your Eyes and World With Make Up For Ever’s New La BohÃ¨me Eye Shadow Palette

February 6th, 2012 by Karen 37 Comments

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High up on my list of things to do this week: dreaming big dreams — no matter how silly or far-fetched they might seem.

Because you never know. Casting those crazy ideas out into the ether could be the spark that sets in motion a chain of events that leads to one or more of them coming true.

Of course, a few of my big dreams would have to be related to makeup, right? — like traveling around the world while wearing the colors in the new limited edition Make Up For Ever La BohÃ¨me Eye Shadow Palette ($39).

And since we’re talking about BIG dreams, I’d want to wear each of the six baked shadows in this free-spirited palette while exploring a different far-flung corner of the world, and I’d start in Costa Rica with Lagoon Green.

This shimmery teal would be the perfect color to wear out to dinner with my BFF Cindy after a day spent playing in the surf.

From there, we’d zip out across the Pacific to the Garden Isle with mossy Vegetal Green, which I’d love to wear while searching for secret waterfalls on Kauai.

Then, and this one would require passing through quite a few time zones, I’d wear Beige on my lids while hiking the hills around Provence with my favorite wide-angle lens, and silvery violet Parma Purple while El Hub and I ate our way through Rome.

Next, silvery peach Coral and I would tour the Taj Mahal (always wanted to go), and then head back home to hopefully wear shimmery reddish bronze Brown out with you to lunch.

Afterward, maybe we could even do some window shopping, and you could take us to some of your favorite places to play with makeup in your town. 🙂

I know, I know. Such a crazy dream, but even if it never happens, at least I can still mimic the same sparkle in my eyes that I get when I’m traveling, since MUFE added high amounts of pearl to these baked shadows (which have a new formula just added to the line) to give skin a luminous, almost metallic finish.

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The La BohÃ¨me Eye Shadow Palette and Aqua Eyes in Gypsy (also from the La BohÃ¨me collection)
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Spring Has Sprung Like a Lilac Blossom Thanks to Pacifica French Lilac Body Butter

February 4th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

Apparently, my deal with El Hub not to buy any more Pacifica Body Butters until I finish the tubes in the bathroom is officially null and void.

Poor guy actually asked, “Who needs four bottles of body butter?”

Uh, I do.

Of course, it’s not entirely my fault…

Okay, it is, but I’m still blaming French Lilac ($18). 🙂

Even though it’s technically the middle of winter, my heart has moved on to springy scents, and French Lilac’s moisturizing body butter is hitting all the right notes. I fell for the shower gel a while back and like the body butter just as much.

Light and delicate, French Lilac’s official fragrance notes include lilac, magnolia leaves, heliotrope, ylang-ylang, hyacinth and nectarine, but I detect more of the lovely lilac on my skin than anything else.
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Pixi Turned Target Into a Magic Kingdom With the New Disney Pixi PixiGlow Collection

February 3rd, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

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Pixiglow by Pixi Fellow pixies, nixies, fairies and sprites, someone is tinkering with makeup at Target. 🙂

Dreamy drugstore line Pixi collaborated with Tinker Bell over at Disney HQ to create the new PixiGlow six-piece release of makeup for eyes, lips, cheeks, faces and nails.

Exclusive to Target, the limited edition launch doesn’t arrive in stores until next month, but it is available now online.

Unlike many of Disney’s makeup collaborations, the packaging for PixiGlow is fairy-ly subtle, but if you look closely, you’ll notice Ms. Bell protecting each piece and box.

“In collaboration with Disney, we created a unique Tinker Bell collection that captures the fresh-faced, glowing, and timeless beauty of both a Disney icon and the Pixi brand by reinforcing that makeup simply enhances and perfects your natural beauty.”

–Petra Strand, creator of the Pixi makeup line

Even if you prefer more daring Disney packaging, I think there’s some pretty good stuff here to like…

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From the left: Fairy Dust, Magic Tink Tint, Straight On ’til Morning Liner and Catching Shadows Crayon

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Clockwise from the sponge-tip applicator: Fairy Dust, Magic Tink Tint, Straight On ’til Morning Liner and Catching Shadows Crayon
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Oil Doesn’t Stand a Chance Against Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation with SPF 15

February 3rd, 2012 by Karen 30 Comments

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The Amazon is a vast tropical river basin filled with astonishing animals and prehistoric plants. Freaky!

But apparently the clay there only comes in eight different shades… 🙂

Tarte recently released a new foundation to go with their new Maracuja Divine Shine Lip Glosses, Amazonian Clay Blushes, Maracuja Blush & Glows and Bright Side eye brightener, and like some of their other products, it contains Amazonian clay.

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Available now at Sephora stores and sephora.com, new Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage foundation with SPF 15 ($38) comes in a modest eight shades.

The foundation has been one of the things I’ve been really looking forward to trying from Tarte’s spring line, not just because it gets several five-star reviews on the Sephora website, but also because I already heart Tarte’s Smooth Operator Natural Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20 and their Pressed Powder.

Tarte says that adaptability makes Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage special. Designed for all skin types, it’s supposed to hydrate dry patches on the skin while simultaneously absorbing excess shine and oil.

This, I figured, had the makings of a major win!

My main concern? — would I be able to find a matching shade?

Well, not exactly… Tan, the shade that comes closest to my NC 42 skin, isn’t a perfect match. It’s a tad too light and peachy, and consequently looks a little ashy on me, but I still wanted to test the product’s other claims, so I wore it around the house.

Ingredients in Tan: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate Butylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Mica, Dimethicone, Silica, Phenoxyethanol, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Aluminum Hydroxide, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phytantriol, Hexyl Laurate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Sodium Chloride, Hexylene Glycol, Lysine, Tocopherol, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Nylon-12 Fluorescent Brightener 230 Salt, Polyvinylalcohol Crosspolymer, Kaolin, Magnesium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Potassium Sorbate, Iron Oxides.

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Laura Mercier Sheer Lip Colour in Kissed Lips Does for Coral What Punxsutawney Phil Does for Meteorologists (Makes It Springy)

February 2nd, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

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Fear not the coral lipstick, for it knows not what it does. Some of them just don’t know that they can look a little too South Beach senior swingers for their own good, but add a dash of pink, a semi-matte finish and voilÃ ! — the springy and fun Laura Mercier Sheer Lip Colour in Kissed Lips ($22).

Part of spring’s Lingerie collection, Kissed Lips excels at looking natural and fresh, but it’s not the lowest maintenance lippie on the block.

First, my lips need to be smoother than a porcelain doll’s because the texture’s pretty thick. Kissed Lips tends to catch on every flake, so it’s a no-go for me if/when my lips are extra dry.

Complicating matters, the formula seems fairly drying to me, which means having to start with a layer of something moisturizing first, like a really good lip balm.

After applying a balm and letting it settle in, I dab Kissed Lips lightly on my pucker for a light my-lips-but-better stain; for a more concentrated look, I bust out a lip brush, since the color tends to spread unevenly when I apply it directly from the tube.

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She’s a Sweet Peach: Laura Mercier CrÃ¨me Cheek Colour in Innocent Peach

February 1st, 2012 by Karen 55 Comments

I haven’t been on a first date in years, but in the event that time travel becomes a reality and El Hub and I get the chance to have ours all over again, I’m adding Laura Mercier’s CrÃ¨me Cheek Colour in Innocent Peach ($22) to my “Best Blushes to Wear on a First Date” list.

Sweet and Breezy are this blush’s middle names (yep, it has two of them). It’s a creamy peach blush fit for a sunny Saturday afternoon — perfect for coffee and chocolate croissants at the farmers’ market with your crush.

Swipe and blend a couple layers on the apples of your cheeks, add your favorite mascara, juicy lipgloss, skinny jeans, a tank top and some Chucks (maybe leaving your hair in a messy bun), and that boy (or girl) won’t stand a chance. 😉

And have I mentioned how easy it is to apply? Shoot, a gal could probably do it hanging upside down from monkey bars…which is basically my nightmare scenario.

SIDE NOTE: Once when I was a kid, I did fall from some monkey bars while I was hanging upside down… Honestly, I can’t really recommend it.

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Wet Your Brushes If You Plan to Get Nude: The $10.95 Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner in Nude

February 1st, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

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Do you remember A Night at the Roxbury with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan? Gawd, that movie, as dumb as it is, still cracks me up.

It occurred to me this morning while I was playing with the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner in Nude ($10.95), a new 9-pan palette from Physicians Formula.

What if Nude was a woman at the Roxbury sandwiched between those two goofballs as they did their rapid-fire dry-hump schtick? I wonder how long it would take before she slapped them both.

Dressed in pinkish beige and black lace, Nude doesn’t just look like a lady. She expects to be treated like one, too.

You can’t just walk up to her and expect her to give up the goods. Not a chance. She’ll respond to a gentleman’s advances, sure, but she has to be approached in a certain way.

One of four new $10.95 palettes in the new Physicians Formula Universal Looks collection (remember Smoky, Fashionista and Casual from earlier this week?), Nude bares all with nine shimmery neutral shadows in shades of beige, brown, taupe and black.

physicians formula nude eyes (7) Applying the shadows with a dry brush lends a softer look, while a wet brush intensifies the pigments, shimmer and overall glam.

Mix and match the shadows to create your own look, or follow the three-step tutorials on the box for natural, playful or dramatic eyes.

First things first, I love Nude’s packaging, colors and price, but after spending some time with the palette, I’m not completely sold…

Maybe it’s a matter of how my skin responds to these pigments, but I feel like I have to do a lot to help them be their best.

It’s not that they exhibit any fallout, because they don’t — like nada, zip, zero. The formula’s kind of amazing in that respect, but after trying a bunch of different brushes and application methods, the two techniques that delivered the best, most consistent results were 1) to apply a single shade on my lids with a wet brush head (basically, not having to blend them), and 2) using them along my lash lines.

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Burberry Body Mist Welcomes Spring Early With Rose Petals, Iris and a Signature of Sandalwood

February 1st, 2012 by Karen 23 Comments

Burberry Body Mist Ah, spring…

It’s getting closer by the minute. Yesterday I noticed a tree on my street, which doesn’t usually bloom until April, already has flowers on its branches, and this morning on the Today Show the hosts were saying that much of the country has been having an unseasonably warm winter.

But it’s not all good. They say it’s confusing some crops and bird migrations.

I think it’s also confusing my sense of smell. This winter, I’ve been reaching for the heavier perfumes I tend to wear this time of year less often than usual, and opting for lighter, fresher fragrances like the new Burberry Body Mist ($50) more often instead.

I almost wore out the original Burberry Body last fall, and I like this new, limited edition spin on the scent just as much.

It seems more dainty and delicate than its sibling, yet still retains the rosy, feminine feel that made the original Burberry Body a hit with me.

Burberry Body Mist

“Dive into a sensation of green freshness with the fruity accents of peach and the sensuality of freesia. This fragrance blooms with light floral notes of rose petals and iris, gently combined with the captivating signature of sandalwood. The cashmeran base blends with soothing vanilla, amber, and musk to reveal the unique character of this seductive woman. A new way to experience Burberry Body, this mist is formulated without alcohol and can be used all over the body and hair.” – Sephora.com

Top notes: fresh green absinthe, peach and freesia

Middle notes: Rose absolute, iris and sandalwood

Base notes: wood cashmere, creamy vanilla, amber and musk

It reminds me of a lighter version of Lancome’s rosy Tresor, but with stronger notes of iris and freesia, and I think it’s just so girly and sweet that it compels me to don a pink dress, pearls and heels.
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