Product Reviews

The $34 Limited Edition NARS Paramaribo Eyeshadow Duo, and the Time I Was on Jeopardy

January 11th, 2012 by Karen 40 Comments

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Beauty Jeopardy

Karen: “Hmm… Since I’m on a roll, I’ll take Famous Crazy Cat Ladies for a thousand, Alex.”

Alex Trebek: “This pop star, crazy cat lady and ex-wife of Russell Brand has a perfume line with bottles shaped like cats… Karen?”

Karen: “Who is Katy Perry?”

Alex Trebek: “Correct! Well, you certainly know your cat ladies, Karen, and your Madonna lyrics and Ryan Gosling trivia. Two categories left — Projectile Sports, and the NARS Paramaribo Eyeshadow Duo.”

Karen: “I’ll take NARS Paramaribo for $200, Alex.”

Alex Trebek: “Paramaribo is named after the capital city in this tropical South American country… Oh, and there she goes.”

Karen: “What is Suriname, Alex? NARS Paramaribo for $400.”

Alex Trebek: “These five attributes distinguish NARS Paramaribo from your everyday, run-of-the-mill eyeshadow duo… Karen?”

Karen: “What are soft texture, high shine, punchy pigments, booyah blending, and color that resists creasing and fading? Let’s keep going with NARS Paramaribo for $600, Alex.”

Alex Trebek: “This duo from the NARS permanent collection is sometimes mistaken for Paramaribo due to its bronzy tones… Karen, first on the draw.”

Karen: “What is the NARS Star Sailor Duo?”

Alex Trebek: “Correct!”

Karen: “I’ll stick with NARS Paramaribo for $800, Alex…”

NARS Paramaribo on the left and Star Sailor on the right

Swatches of NARS Paramaribo on the left and Star Sailor on the right
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The NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil Diaries (Uncensored)

January 11th, 2012 by Karen 59 Comments

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Excerpted from the diary of a NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil…

Dear Diary,

Didn’t do much yesterday other than radiate awesomeness.

Yeah, that’s right. I make it rain! And if that makes me sound conceited, so be it.

My pink-haired roommate (we totally match!) tells me all the time, “you’re basically the sh*t.” She clearly sees that I’m the chupacabra of perfect pink lips.

Coral Vine, aka Mexican Rose I think she might be my new BFF, which is funny… Girls usually get so jealous of my dense pink pigment, high shine and easy-to-apply pencil tip.

But it’s not my fault that I’m so awesome and unique. I can’t help that I start off all super shiny like a gloss or that I morph into a hot pink lip stain with a subtle sheen.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s so not easy being flawless, and when I finally make my debut beside the rest of the NARS spring 2012 collection on January 13, not only will I have to shoulder the burden of perfection, but popularity, too.

Oh, well… Both of them are crosses I’m willing to bear.

Anywho, the pink-haired girl and I hung out for 12 full hours yesterday. She slipped me on shortly after brunch. Then, I watched her write a bunch of cheesy @ss puns — “Mexican Rose blooms with intense pigment,” “This pink is the hot house flower of NARS spring 2012,” and “Send me a dozen Mexican Roses for Valentine’s Day” — while we shared six cups of tea, a Honeycrisp apple (wow, those are good!) and spent time harassing her rotund tabby cat.

Next thing I knew, night had fallen, and we were off to yoga class (I would’ve preferred a swanky museum opening or a garden party).

I gotta say, I was the hottest pink lip in the room — well, the only pink lip in the room, but details, shmetails.

At one point in the class, between awkward downward dogs, the pink-haired girl checked herself out in the mirror and mouthed, “Holy crap! Mexican Rose is still going strong!”

Back at the house, we watched an episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (is Brandi’s butt for real?!) and had a dinner of slightly burnt broccoli and pasta, with a few kisses from a dude who kindasorta looked like Detective Stabler for dessert.

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Glossy!
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If You Love Ultra Nude Eyes, the Bobbi Brown Ultra Nude Eye Palette Delivers Exactly That

January 11th, 2012 by Karen 35 Comments

Bobbi Brown Ultra Nude Eye Palette

Bobbi Brown Ultra Nude Eye Palette Two words: training wheels.

That’s what comes to mind when I wear the colors in Bobbi Brown’s new Ultra Nude Eye Palette, a $45 limited edition release of neutral eyeshadows from the spring Neons & Nudes collection.

These are shades that I think someone like my friend Jen might really like. She’s deathly afraid of wearing eyeshadow but still very curious nevertheless. This palette’s baby stepping beiges and browns could be a great place for her to start.

Bobbi plucked the six classic, neutral shades that occupy the limited edition packaging (super cute!) from her permanent line, choosing a mix of matte and shimmer finishes.

Like a staple piece in a well-rounded wardrobe, a pair of black heels perhaps, these neutrals are the kinds of colors many gals could wear regularly, either dressed up or down. On my skin, most of them apply moderately opaque, and they seem to walk the line pretty evenly between warm and cool.

A couple of the browns display some gray on my skin, and I often use grayish browns for contouring and creating sculpted looks. Lovelies with lighter hair may also find them handy for filling in blonde or very light brown brows.

Overall, I like the colors Bobbi picked for the palette, but I would have loved to also see a couple of warm orange-based browns…

I’m a total ho for orangey browns. 🙂

You know how much I lurves me some neutrals, but these shades leave me feeling almost naked. I’ll rock a “no makeup” makeup look any day of the week, but wearing these I feel like a cat with a fresh lion cut — exposed to the elements.
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OMG! It’s the FBI, and They’re Working With Urban Decay: The New Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencils Are Just OK With Me

January 10th, 2012 by Karen 19 Comments

This year at Urban Decay HQ, spring is a season of covert concealers and secret government agencies — or so it seems, based on the cool code names given to these new 24/7 Concealer Pencils ($18 each).

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencils CIA, DEA, FBI, NSA, ATF, DOD, KGB and MI6? Those are some heavy hitting acronyms right there.

The first four — CIA, DEA, FBI and NSA — are repromotes of Urban Decay’s existing concealer pencils, with the same formula, but dressed in new packaging, while the other four — ATF, DOD, KGB AND MI6 — are new additions to the line designed for darker damsels/covert spies.

Last weekend I worked with the ATF, DOD and KGB on a very important case involving my dark under-eye circles and skin imperfections on my face. I directed ATF, a mid-toned dark golden beige, to take out my dark circles and dispatched DOD (a warm, dark tan) and KGB (a dark golden caramel) to work on my face.

Was the operation a success? Well, yes and no.

These guys are soft! — and creamy, but I mean that in a good way. 🙂 I like the way they feel and what a cinch they are to apply. The formula sinks right into my skin and doesn’t look like it’s just chilling on top.

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24/7 Concealer Pencils from the left: CIA (a light creamy ivory); DEA (a light peaches and cream); FBI (a light medium beige) and NSA (a medium beige); $18 each
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Charmed, I’m Sure, by the Dolce & Gabbana Charm Pencil Collection

January 9th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

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One of the reasons why Dolce & Gabbana rules: they dangle tiny charms from their makeup JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN.

Never you mind that the charms enchanting the eight-piece limited edition Charm Pencil collection don’t really serve a purpose beyond looking cute as they swing from their respective lip and eye liners. If we have the right to accessorize, so should our makeup! Viva la cuteness for us all! 🙂

Every time I catch a glimpse of the dainty golden envelopes, high heels, hearts and horns hanging from these pencils, which arrive next month (just in time for Valentine’s Day!), while I attend to my lips or eyes, I’m transported back to the kinder, gentler days of my youth, when a trip to the Hello Kitty store to buy a $4 mechanical pencil with a charm swinging on the end was one of the highlights of my week.

Of course, because these pencils are from Dolce & Gabbana, they cost somewhat more than that — like $29 more, to be exact.

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Eye Pencils from the left: Stromboli, Coffee, Black and Platinum
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Bobbi Brown Ink Liner in Really Black Is Really Built to Last

January 9th, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

Bobbi Brown Ink Liner

In the time it takes me to coax thin, smooth lines from Bobbi Brown’s new Ink Liner in Really Black ($24), fashion trends could come and go, and then come back again.

As far as I can tell, ease of use is not this liner’s strongest attribute. Drawing cat eye flicks with its stiff tip are just a tad tougher than training a petulant tabby to speak, and I don’t believe the color quite lives up to its name. I’ve seen darker, glossier liquid liners before, and I’m thinking that a name like “Really Black…But Only After You’ve Applied Three Layers” might have been more apt.

I do gotta give Bobbi big props for one thing, though — Ink Liner in Really Black has the stamina of a thoroughbred.

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Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara Is Just About a Misdemeanor

January 8th, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

You know how I’m always looking for my next hit of lash crack, right? For a lash lengthening, volumizing velociraptor capable of fast-tracking me to drag queen lash nirvana? Well, when I heard tell of a new “illegal” mascara from Maybelline — that’s actually its name, Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Mascara ($8.95) — I desperately wanted to give it a whirl.

It’s new for spring 2012 and just arrived this month in drugstores. It comes in three non-waterproof shades (Blackest Black, Very Black and Brownish Black) and two waterproof ones (Blackest Black and Very Black). All of them utilize some fancy talk Maybelline calls “fiber-extension technology” to promise longer-looking, extended lashes that aren’t supposed to flake.

Maybelline Illegal Lengths Mascara
Before (top) and after two coats of Illegal Length Mascara (bottom)
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The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils in Demolition, Perversion and Woodstock Are Giving an Encore

January 7th, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

Wearing UD’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Woodstock

Pink hair, pink gloss, pink eyeliner… Needless to say, I’m feeling rather pink right now. 🙂 That pink liner, by the way, is Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Woodstock, and it’s one of three new full-size Glide-On Pencils eyeliners just launched for spring 2012.

But this isn’t the first we’ve seen of Woodstock, Demolition (a matte dark brown) and Perversion (a matte black). All three were previously released with Urban Decay gift sets, but they’re back by popular demand, this time available individually.

Demolition and Perversion

I’m thrilled to see Demolition and Perversion giving an encore because both of them apply with dense, saturated color that does not mess around. One layer of either and I’m good all day long, both along my lash and water lines.
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Woodstock

Woodstock, however, is a different story, and one with many layers. Like six! That’s how many layers I have to apply to get the shade to look as pigmented as I like. Don’t get me wrong — I do like the color, but it’s one of those I have to be in the mood to apply. Plus, my skin tone doesn’t always play well with pinks like this, and sometimes they can make me look like I’ve been crying. If that’s not an issue for you, and you don’t mind lots of layering, Woodstock’s an awfully pretty pink on the eyes.
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion

24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Demolition

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24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils from the left: Woodstock (a bright fuchsia pink shimmer with silver micro glitter), Perversion (a matte carbon black) and Demolition (a matte dark brown), $19 each
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