Product Reviews

I’ve Fallen for the Fergie Fallen Boot

October 6th, 2011 by Karen 48 Comments

fergie fallen boots

Why, cruel world!? Why is it so much easier to gain the weight than it is to lose it?

Last month, as part of my latest quest to get healthier, I resorted to good old-fashioned bribery (whatever works, right?). I told myself that I could get a new pair of boots if I exercised at least 24 days during the month…

And I did it! 🙂

So, last weekend I stopped by the new Novato DSW to select my prize, and I walked away with this snazzy suede olive pair of, quite possibly, the greatest boots I’ve ever owned.

Oh, and here’s the kicker: they’re made by Fergie! — as in Fergilicious, her body stays vicious; she be up in the gym working on her fitness. Yes, THAT Fergie.

fergie fallen boots

Okay, well, something tells me she probably didn’t make them herself, but I bet she had something to do with the design…

It’s actually kind of funny because I walked past these Fallen Wedge boots by Fergie ($139.95) a few times before finally reaching down to pick them up. “Fergie makes shoes?” I wondered. “I dunno if I’m ready for that…” I mean, I love her music and have run many, many miles listening to her songs, but the Fergie-footwear connection seemed like a stretch.

fergie fallen boots
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The Limited Edition L’Oreal Colors Take Flight Collection Has a Rather Charming Cockatoo

October 4th, 2011 by Karen 52 Comments

loreal project runway collection colors take flight charming cockatoos gaze

It’s been a Project Runway kind of day…

No, nothing big like running into Heidi at Sephora or kicking it with Tim Gunn at the DSW (I wish!).

Just a couple of small but cool brushes with my favorite reality TV show. The first one I noticed this morning, when the Tivo, a normally evil form of artificial intelligence hell bent on recording all of the shows I NEVER watch, actually did something useful for a change. It recorded the entire season four of Project Runway, from start to finish, without me having to program it. 🙂

SIDE NOTE: Didn’t you just love Sweetpea? I wish she would have made it to the end just for being hella cool.

And the second one happened this afternoon as I futzed with Charming Cockatoo’s Gaze ($9), one of the four new quads in the L’Oreal Colors Take Flight collection, a collaboration with Project Runway (I know!).

loreal project runway collection colors take flight charming cockatoos gaze

loreal project runway collection colors take flight charming cockatoos gaze
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The Sonia Kashuk Travel Duffel: Roomy Enough for XXL Tabbies

October 3rd, 2011 by Karen 56 Comments

Sonia Kashuk Travel Duffle

Just how roomy is Sonia Kashuk’s new $39.99 limited edition Travel Duffle? Well, it’s big enough to bear the bare necessities for a three-day weekend (or maybe four, with a few packing tips and tricks).

It’s also big enough to comfortably fit one XXL 18-pound tabby.

Ya know…in case you were wondering. 🙂

Sonia Kashuk Travel Duffle

Sonia Kashuk Travel Duffle
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The Essie Cocktail Bling Collection and TV’s Latest Dance Craze

October 3rd, 2011 by Karen 49 Comments

essie cocktail bling swatches

Watching The Jersey Shore is completely exhausting (but yet strangely hard to resist). And with all of the underwear flashing that’s been happening over the past few eps, it’s also been quite gross.

I want to stop, but I almost feel like I’ve already invested so much time in following these goofy characters that I can’t quit now. And, truth be told, I’m also weirdly fascinated by Ronnie’s unique outlook on dance.

He’s not the nicest boy in the world (that’s one way to put it), but I gotta give it up to the guy for taking his club moves so seriously.

Lately he’s been doing this one thing where he puts his hand in front of his face and wiggles it side to side really fast, like “Peek-a-boo!” 🙂

I started trying to work it into my own living room dance moves…but with a makeup and beauty twist. That’s Essie’s Cocktail Bling collection for winter on my nails (available in six shades; $8 each).

essie cocktail bling swatches
Essie Cocktail Bling colors from the left: School of Hard Rocks (creamy grayish green), Brooch the Subject (creamy pinkish beige with a touch of gray), Bangle Jangle (cool, creamy amethyst), Bobbing for Baubles (creamy blackish sapphire), Cocktail Bling (creamy periwinkle gray) and Size Matters (creamy ruby red)

essie cocktail bling swatches
Bobbing for Baubles
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These Little Discs of EOS Evolution of Smooth Everyday Hand Lotion Are a Joy to (Be) Hold

September 30th, 2011 by Karen 20 Comments

EOS Evolution of Smooth Everyday Hand Lotion in Nourish (left) and Refresh (right)

In a short story writing class I took for fun a few years ago the instructor said that inspiration sometimes hides in the unlikeliest of places. Dagnabbit if homegirl wasn’t totally right, because today I found inspiration in two tiny tubes of hand lotion.

These new Evolution of Smooth Everyday Hand Lotions by EOS ($3.99 each and available in two scents, Nourish and Refresh) could very well have the coolest hand lotion packaging I’ve ever squeezed.

I think it’s so cool when people re-imagine something that could have been mundane, like the packaging for a tube of hand lotion, and turn it into an object of beauty. Now THAT’s inspiring. 🙂

These little discs feel oddly soothing in my paws when I hold them, and I keep wanting to sling one across a glassy pond to see if it’ll skip…

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The Pixi Fake Awake Kit: For Lighter Lovelies Who Like Well-Rested Looks

September 30th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

pixi fake awake kit

As a semi-professional power napper able to sleep standing up, I appreciate the idea behind the new Pixi Fake Awake Kit in No. 1 PowerNap ($28), with its products designed to fake a wide awake look “without getting caught.” The cutie-pie kit comes with eight products — two of Pixi’s Correcting Concealers, two Brightening Concealers, one Cheek & Eye Awakening Powder, an Eye Area Setting Powder, one Lip & Cheek Tint and a Lip Gloss — and features lots of pink and peach.

Because sheer pastels are the prevailing pigments here, the overall effect seems better suited to lighter lovelies than darker damsels, but most of the pieces, with the exception of the concealers, which are probably better for pale pretties, should complement skin tones from light to medium.

pixi fake awake kit

pixi fake awake kit box back
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There’s Gloss at the Heart of Every Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick

September 28th, 2011 by Karen 63 Comments

dolce gabbana passion duo intense
That’s mah vampire face!

Dear Diary,

My list of the day? Makeup I’d Wear If I Were a Vampire.

But not just any vampire. Not one of those goody-two-shoes Cullens. I’d be more like Pam from True Blood, and I’d wear dark lipstick, skintight jumpsuits and leather. I’d hang out at all the coolest underground vampire techno clubs, too, because, as you know, vampires must techno.

Yeah, I’ve watched Blade one too many times…

Moody dark burgundy Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick in Intense ($34) would go right up at the top of my list. One of 20 gloss/lipstick hybrids in the recently launched Gloss Fusion Lipstick line, it’s perfect fare for creatures of the night!

But if your heart’s still beating, don’t worry. The line also contains colors that the living should like. I sank my teeth into four of the shades this week — Intense (a dark burgundy), Dazzle (a bronzy gold), Sensation (a shimmery golden pink) and Infatuation (a creamy brick red).

Notice the filling in the center of each bullet? It’s a shiny gloss, surrounded by the creamy lipstick on the outside — a similar idea to the $28 Sensuous Rouge lippies from Estee Lauder.

dolce gabbana passion duo open
From the left: Dazzle, Infatuation, Intense and Sensation
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Star Light, Star Bright, the Belle de Nuit Holiday Collection from Guerlain Gets It Right

September 28th, 2011 by Karen 30 Comments

guerlain belle de nuit holiday 2012

A few weeks ago I walked into an air-conditioned Williams-Sonoma store that had Christmas decorations up and a fancy holiday window display (complete with garland-covered pine tree flocked with fake snow).

In early September.

I’m just sayin’.

Funny thing is, when it comes to fashion and makeup, I actually like super early seasonal releases; they appeal to my inner princess — you know, the one who makes grabby hands at pretty products and says, “Gimme, gimme, gimme!” with big anime eyes. 🙂

One of the earliest holiday collections to stake a claim this fall has been Guerlain’s six-piece Belle de Nuit (beautiful night), with colors inspired by the evening sky. It’s available online now through AHAlife.com, a membership site that showcases a wide range of products from food to fashion and beauty (you have to register for an account to place a purchase), and if you’d rather wait, the collection dances onto counters this November.

From left to right: Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder & Blush ($67), Rouge Automatique Lipstick in Nuit d’Amour ($35) and Les Ombres de Nuit 4-Colour Palette ($59)
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