Product Reviews

The Clarins Spring 2012 Prodige Lip Glosses in Candy and Blackberry Smell So Good That I Can Hardly Bear It

January 20th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

Wearing Clarins Prodige Lip Gloss in Blackberry

Yum, Clarins! Whose idea was it to make these new Prodige Lip Glosses in Blackberry and Candy taste and smell like red gummi bears.

Genius! He/she is a total prodigy, haha!

Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂

And the colors? So pigmented, and yet I still like the way they pair with the soft, springy blues in the Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Blue Sky and the sheer Instant Light Blush in Coral Tonic.

Who’d a thunk it?

Wearing Clarins Prodige Lip Gloss in Candy

clarins colour breeze spring 2012 (5)
From the left: Gloss Prodige in Blackberry and Candy ($20 each), Instant Light Blush in Coral Tonic ($28)
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Give Your Brows a Light Lift With New Benefit High Brow Glow

January 19th, 2012 by Karen 58 Comments

Windows work both ways, and when you’re singing Careless Whisper in your car at the top of your lungs, PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU!

I don’t know what it is about that cheesy song, but I’m physically incapable of sitting still when I hear it. It’s like some kind of druidic Wham spell that makes every cell in my body emote, especially when I’m driving and George really gets going.

“Tonight the music seems so loud. I wish that we could lose this crowd. Maybe…it’s better this way; we hurt each other with the things we wanted to say. We could’ve been so good together; we could’ve danced this dance forever, but nowwwwww I’ve blown that chance awaaaaay… PLEASE STAY!”

Long story short, I was on my way to Trader Joe’s this afternoon and waiting at a stoplight when Careless Whisper started playing on KOIT (Light Rock, Less Talk). So I was getting into it and started doing this American Idol face/Mariah Carey thing with my hands when I saw the guy in the car next to me hella cracking up.

Almost the same thing happened a couple weeks ago at home with the neighbor, so I appear to have this recurring issue with windows…

I don’t know if the laughing dude noticed how fierce and exceptionally lifted my brows looked today on account of how hard he was laughing, but if he did, new Benefit High Brow Glow ($20) gets all the credit.

This little tiger lives to accent arches, and if it’s giving you dÃ©jÃ vu, you’re probably recalling Benefit’s O.G. pale matte pink High Brow Pencil. When drawn and blended beneath the apex in the arch of your brow, it creates the illusion of a higher arch. I’ve been using it for years, but I’ve never been able to pull it off in spring and summer because it tends to look ashy on me once I have a tan.
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The Clarins Colour Breeze Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Blue Sky and Conversations with My Cat

January 19th, 2012 by Karen 57 Comments

The Clarins Colour Breeze Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Blue Sky

Conversations with my cat, January 19, 2012

Tabs: It’s cold and yucky outside today, Mom.

Karen: I know, Tabby.

Tabs: I miss the sunshine.

Karen: Me too, lovebug.

Tabs: When it’s warm again, will we go outside?

Karen: Of course. We’ll put your leash on and walk down the hill and explore. Maybe we’ll even see turkeys.

Tabs: Those birds are big, but I could take â€˜em.

Karen: You sure could. It’s one of the pros of being a big-boned boy.

Tabs: Will we ever see blue sky again?

Karen: I know it feels like we won’t right now, but be patient. It’s like this every year. It gets cold and gray for a little bit, but then the sun comes back again.

Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we take out the new Clarins eyeshadow quad from the spring 2012 collection? It’s called Colour Breeze Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Blue Sky ($40), and the colors look exactly like the sky on a sunny day.

clarins colour breeze spring 2012 (2)

Tabs: Okay. Maybe I can sit on your desk and look outside for a bit while you do your makeup?
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Next Stop: The Chanel Knightsbridge Collection’s Pink, Coral and Fuchsia Lippies in Chelsea, Kensington and Hyde Park

January 18th, 2012 by Karen 37 Comments

Pink, coral and Chanel. Three little words that when spoken together trigger my drool resthponthe.

Oh! — there I go. Got a little drool on my chin. 🙂

The lovely lippies in the new five-piece Chanel Knightsbridge Collection, an online-only exclusive, are enough to make this grown woman quiver in her tweed jacket and pearls. Oh, and pip-pip, cheerio! The gossamer Glossimer and three saturated Rouge Allure Lipsticks in pink, coral and fuchsia are named after some of London’s most iconic neighborhoods.

Today, I tantalized my senses, trying on two of the lipsticks and the gloss…

Clockwise from the blush: Poudres TissÃ©e Highlighting Powder and Blush in Brompton Road, Rouge Allure in Hyde Park and Rouge Allure in Kensington

The Glossimer in Chelsea

Swatches from the left: Chelsea, Kensington and Hyde Park
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The Toll to Cross Chanel Brompton Road Is a Whopping $80! — But It’s the Quickest Way to Get to Chanel’s New Highlighting Powder and Blush

January 18th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

chanel brompton road (1)

I dunno, J. Lo. You say that “love don’t cost a thing,” but I’m beginning to suspect otherwise.

Reason No. 1: My cat, who only gives lurvies in exchange for gravy. Unless I make a nightly Friskies deposit, there’ll be no purrs or kitty hugs for me. Slowly but surely, I’ve come to accept my role in this organization as a gravy delivery system for Tabs.

Reason No. 2: The new Chanel Poudres TissÃ©e Highlighting Powder and Blush in Brompton Road. The price of falling in love with this pinky coral blush, one of five pieces in Chanel’s online-exclusive Knightsbridge Collection, is a jaw-dropping 80 bucks!

chanel brompton road (4) Inspired by London’s colorful, regal spirit, the Knightsbridge Collection’s pieces for cheeks and lips started hitting online shopping carts last month. From the release, the Brompton Road powder/blush compact and its totally tweed pattern was the first thing to catch my eye; the second was the $80 price.

Ouch! That’s even high for Chanel.

For that kind of money, a product had better be downright exceptional (like Mat Lumiere Soft Matte Makeup with SPF 15), something so close to perfection that it makes me clutch my pearls and gasp!

Versatility would also be nice — the ability to wear something a number of different ways, sheer to opaque, in a wide variety of looks.

This week, to find out how far $80 takes you when you’re cruising down Brompton Road, my cheeks and I took it for a test drive.

Right off the lot, wouldn’t ya know it, we got off to bumpy start. A silver glitter overspray tops the pattern on the pan, and until I worked my way through it, I was getting very little pigment and mostly large flecks of glitter on my cheeks.

Shoot, I love glitter as much as the next girl, but this was too much glitter for a weekday afternoon, and I ended up buffing most of it off.

After that, things took a turn for the better. The pigment beneath the silver glitter overspray is a super pretty pinky coral with a golden opalescence.

One moderately pigmented layer produces a smooth, natural-looking pink cheek flush that lasts me all day long, and one or two more layers cranks up the brightness and intensity to a much more noticeable level.

I’d probably stick with one layer (paired with a pink and coral lipstick and gloss) for movies, trips to Trader Joe’s and high tea with Ryan Gosling (I wish!) and go with two or three for nights out on the town.

chanel brompton road (2)
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Clarins Coral Tonic Is a Light Pick-Me-Up for Cheeks

January 18th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

If delicate, diaphanous cheeks are on your spring wish list, make a note about the new Clarins Instant Light Blush in Coral Tonic ($28) in the margins before you send your list to the Easter Bunny.

Everything about this shimmery golden coral blush says “sweet.” Picture yourself waiting at the curb for the ice cream truck on a sunny spring day (order me a Drumstick, please!). That flush of color on your cheeks? That’s Coral Tonic. 🙂

One of three limited edition blushes in the new Clarins Spring Collection for 2012, Coral Tonic couldn’t be a whole lot easier or quicker to apply.

Not quite a liquid or a cream, it has the consistency of a sheer, fluffy whipped mousse, and it melts into my skin within seconds of blending. Because Clarins dialed back the pigment, the applicator doesn’t draw any high contrast edges that would take a lot of time to smooth.

For a dainty flush, I brush a quick 1-inch swipe on each cheek with the sponge applicator, blend out the edges with my fingers, and wait a few seconds for it to dry. I’ve been repeating the process a second time, but one layer should suffice if you’re much lighter than I. The color lasts on me between 5-6 hours.

Clarins also snuck in an extra touch, a light freesia scent that lingers on my fingers after application. It’s subtle enough that I don’t smell it on my cheeks while I’m wearing it, but the boys in my life (El Hub and Tabs) should get a nice surprise the next time they come in for a cheek kiss.

I tried Coral Tonic in combination with a bunch of different products (atop bare skin, primer, tinted moisturizer, foundation, powder, etc.), and I think the less it’s worn with, the better it looks.

When I want a fresh, dewy look, I start by applying Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer all over my face. Then, I add a layer of MAC Strobe Cream (also all over my face), and finish with one or two layers of Coral Tonic, just on the apples of my cheeks.

Easy, dressed-down and casual — purrrfect for lounging around the house and, say, watching a Real Housewives marathon, or making a quick run to Trader Joe’s for Mango Bars.

clarins colour breeze spring 2012 (11)
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Benefit’s Featherweight Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation Wows on Several Fronts

January 17th, 2012 by Karen 91 Comments

Bid bon voyage to thick, heavy masks and farewell to suffocating skin. Benefit’s new featherweight oil-free foundation would like to say hi.

Or hello, that is. 🙂

Coming in March to Benefit counters, new Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow ($34), Benefit’s new line of light-to-medium coverage liquid foundation, barely feels like anything at all (cotton candy kisses come to mind).

It’s so lightweight that when I apply it, I can almost feel my pores taking deep yoga breaths in and out, ohm and ahhh…

benefit hello flawless oxygen wow (8)

Of the nine available shades, which isn’t a lot for an entire foundation range, All the Rage Beige comes closest to my skin tone (I’m an NC42 in MAC). Very close, but not perfect, and I find myself yearning for the same shade with a little more yellow. I think it’s only obvious, though, when I really pack it on.

The pump dispenser, on the other hand, is perfect. I’m serious. This thing kicks so much @ss!

I know it sounds silly to obsess over a pump, but a good one like this means wasting a lot less of a $34 product. It offers so much control that I can easily squeeze out half a drop.

benefit hello flawless oxygen wow (2)

The foundation itself feels very thin and watery, and the first time I used it I was sure it wouldn’t provide enough coverage. But it did. I used half a pump and applied that over my entire face with my fingers, and then used a few more drops for some trouble spots on my chin. It’s mid-level coverage, so it’s not fully opaque, but I think it looks very natural, like tinted moisturizer turned up a notch (with the added benefit of SPF 25 PA+++).

Swatches from the left: I’m Pure 4 Sure Ivory, I’m Plush & Precious Petal, Cheers to Me Champagne, and I’m So Money Honey

From the left: I’m All the Rage Beige, Warm Me Up Toasted Beige, and I’m So Glamber Amber
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Benefit Says, “Why Wait for Summer?” Try Sun Beam Liquid Highlighter Instead

January 17th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

Benefit Sun Beam (5)

Just because it’s winter (for most of us) and our calendars are flipped to January doesn’t mean we can’t talk about spring, sunshine and sunbeams — or Sun Beams, if we’re talking highlighters — because when it comes to makeup seasons, cosmetics companies dance to the beat of a different drummer.

Benefit Sun Beam Benefit says their new Sun Beam liquid highlighter ($26) is like sunshine in a bottle, and while I’ve heard that about other products a time or two before, when I wear this warm bronzed gold along my upper cheekbones and beneath my brow bones, I think I do look like I’ve just returned from a tropical vacation.

A great highlighter can do for faces what a great bra can do for an outfit (a lot), so I’m always on the market for great ones. Great, though, is a relative term, and one gal’s great is another gal’s mediocre.

As luck would have it, that’s where Sun Beam stands out. I think its flexibility is what sets it apart. When I want a soft, radiant glow, like that look after a good facial, I’ll dab a couple dots and blend, but I can also add a few extra drops for more dramatic shimmer.

And speaking of shimmer, Sun Beam’s is gold, and so it might be a better fit for gals who like warmer shades and golds. Ladies who love cooler colors, however, might still fall for Sun Beam, but if not, there’s always Benefit’s other highlighters, like High Beam or Watt’s Up.

Benefit Sun Beam (3)

Benefit Sun Beam (1)

Sun Beam unblended
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