Product Reviews

I Thought I’d Be Hungrier for Bite Beauty Lip Rouge Multitasking Lip Color and Blush

March 17th, 2011 by Karen 44 Comments

Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine

Oh, hell naw! Remember how excited I was to try the new $22 Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine? Check it. THIS (up top) is what happened the very first time I opened the compact.

What a way to make a gal grumpy, right? I suppose one could even say it “bites.” Sure, the compact could have been damaged in shipping; it may not have had anything at all to do with Bite Beauty’s quality control, but I’ve received many other orders from Sephora, and this kind of thing’s never happened before…

Nevertheless, we persevere! I’m not going to let a possible shipping accident stand in the way of getting Lip Rouge on my lips and cheeks.

Looking at their name, you may be wondering if vampires made the new Bite Beauty line. Nope. The 50 pieces in the line, which recently went on sale at Sephora, get their name from the edible ingredients they contain — ingredients like resveratrol, a potent antioxidant.

I’d hoped that matte peach Nectarine, one of six creamy Lip Rouge shades in the line, would have a thin texture like the Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints (LOVE!) previously released for spring, but it’s surprisingly thick, almost like a matte lipstick.

Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine box

Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine side
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I’m Getting a Charge Out of Dior Electric Tropics Nude Healthy Glow Powder in Sunset

March 16th, 2011 by Karen 58 Comments

dior electric tropics

Hey, cutie. Remember the Dior Electric Tropics collection you and I drooled over last week? Today I spent some time getting to know one of the limited edition Nude Healthy Glow Powders, Sunset #002 ($46), and now we’re officially attached.

Sunset’s a warm orangey brown with coral accents (like a blush version of MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow), and I swear it’s just as gorgeous in person as it is in the promo pics. Here I’m wearing it on my cheeks as a blush, but I also tried (and liked) it as a bronzer and an all-over face powder.

dior nude glow sunset with brush

dior nude glow sunset open

dior nude glow sunset pan
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Raye Wedge Sandals by Coconuts: These Coconuts Are High in Fun

March 16th, 2011 by Karen 32 Comments

So I realize that I don’t review shoes often, but the more I wear these Coconuts sandals, the more obligated I feel to share their awesomeness with womankind. 🙂

These Coconuts Raye Wedge Sandals usually go for $65 a pair, but I stumbled upon them at Marshalls for $30. They come in three colors — Metal (multicolored gold, silver and bronze), Pink (multicolored pink, orange, purple, blue and green) and Black (multicolored black, pewter and gold; the ones I got). I usually wear shoes in a 7, but the closest size I found was an 8. Luckily, these run kinda small. They’re still a touch big, but not annoyingly so, and they’re surprisingly comfortable for high heels. As a matter of fact, I barely had to break them in.

Exactly how high are they? Well, they’re 3 and a 1/2 inches beneath a platform of about an inch. Gurl, my vertically challenged self feels SUPER tall with ’em on!

It hasn’t stopped raining here for days, so I haven’t wanted to wear them out yet, but I have been wearing them around the house. You know, for fun. They’re quite stable and easy to walk in, despite the height, and the soft straps don’t dig into my skin.

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Aren’t the New Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Lipstick Compacts Serie-ously Cute?

March 15th, 2011 by Karen 70 Comments

Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Jewel Lipstick Compact

Right now it’s raining like the powers that be left the shower on upstairs, but I’m not letting the wet weather get me down. Assisting me today in my pursuit of perkiness are this hot pink ribbon…

tabs wearing a pink ribbon

…and Tabs, who sent me the following text from his iPhone.

Woman, I’m in the mood for something bright. Tie this thing around my neck before I swipe your ankles.

Love ya,
Tabs

P.S. Real cats wear pink.

I usually just roll my eyes and click DELETE when he sends me crazy texts like this one…from upstairs, but I derive great joy from seeing him bop around the house in bright colors, so I was happy to oblige.

Doesn’t the ribbon go well with these bright new Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Jewel Lipstick Compacts ($46 each)? They’re part of a new four-piece limited edition lipstick line released for spring.

Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Jewel Lipstick Compact
Rouge Sensuel on the top and Fuchsia Delice on the bottom

Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire packaging

What do ya think of the black lacquer compact? Pretty sleek, right? Each one holds one tube. Guerlain did that special for this release.
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I Feel Like I’m Repeating Myself Because I Keep Saying Yes to Carrots Pampering Conditioner

March 15th, 2011 by Karen 51 Comments

Yes To Carrots Pampering Conditioner

If you’re ever looking for cheap entertainment on a Friday night, Target is THE PLACE to go. I’m only half kidding, too. I stopped by last Friday around 9:30ish to satisfy a craving for Power C Vitamin Water, and the store was hoppin’!

People buy some weird sh*t in the middle of the night, LOL! Like Vitamin Waters. I spent more time people watching than actually shopping.

But I did swing by the beauty aisles; I picked up this bottle of Yes To Carrots Pampering Conditioner for Normal to Dry Hair ($8) on a whim.

Like their Yes to Cucumbers Conditioner (SO GOOD!), this one is also free of petroleum products, SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), paraben and silicones. At the same time, it’s cruelty-free and 99.8% natural, made with minerals, the company says, that were collected from the Dead Sea, as well as other cool stuff like carrot seed oil and honey. It’s a very diverse group of mostly natural ingredients.

Yes To Carrots Pampering Conditioner
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With Josie Maran Argan Blend Concealer, Two Shades Are Better Than One

March 14th, 2011 by Karen 80 Comments

Sometimes I feel like I deserve to win the gold medal…for dark circles. The little purple half moons beneath my eyes are like the Michael Phelps-es of the dark circle world. They’re overachievers. I’m serious. They’re very good at what they do.

MAC Pro Longwear can’t defeat them outright, but it has slowed them down. It’s been my jam for the past few months, but I’ve been wanting to find a cruelty-free option, which is why I was hoping the new Josie Maran Argan Blend Concealer ($28) would rock my world.

This creamy new concealer comes in three colors — light, medium and dark. I have the medium one, which goes by the name Suede. It’s a pretty good fit for my tan skin (I’m an NC35 in MAC foundation).

The compact actually comes with two products — a salmon shade and a darker yellow-based beige. I’ve been applying a layer of the salmon shade first, which acts like a color corrector, canceling out most of the purple in my circles (like a color corrector), and then add the yellow-based concealer on top.

Both of them are easy to apply and blend, stay put all day long, and thankfully manage to steer clear of my fine lines.

Josie Maran Argan Blend Concealer

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Eye Love You Too, Josie Maran: The Josie Maran Eye Love You Too Eyeshadow Palette in Action

March 14th, 2011 by Karen 46 Comments

josie maran eye love you too palette

When I looked out my window this morning, I saw a hopeful reminder that spring is right around the corner. The oak trees outside, which had been nothing but scrawny twigs and branches for months, have sprouted new leaves!

It’s nice to know that even though it’s wet and gloomy outside, the trees are still paying attention to the calendar. 🙂

Doesn’t the outside scene above almost look like it could have been painted with the browns and greens in Josie Maran’s new limited edition Eye Love You Too Argan Eyeshadow Palette ($42)? I reviewed it a while back, but I thought you might like to see it in action…

josie maran eye love you too palette
Top row from the left: Campfire, Rejuvenate, Dragonfly and Chirp; Bottom row: Bunny, Cinnamon, Meadow and Branch

josie maran eye love you too palette swatches
Swatches from the left: Campfire, Rejuvenate, Dragonfly and Chirp
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Does the Turbie Twist Super-Absorbent Hair Towel Cut Your Drying Time?

March 13th, 2011 by Karen 35 Comments

As far as life-changing beauty products go, the Aquis hair towel is high on my list. It’s one of my heavyweight holy grail products, like the Shu Uemura Lash Curler, T3 hairdryer and MAC Blot Powder, and it gets its own special place on my shelf (and in my heart).

The thing is like Bounty. It practically guzzles water, absorbing almost every drop of water from wet hair to significantly cut drying time, but I’ve still been trying to track down a cheaper alternative. Sure, $18 might not sound outrageous for something this great, but a cheaper version would mean being able to buy a spare, or two.

Enter the Turbie Twist Super-Absorbent Hair Towel. This lightweight, 100% cotton towel is basically supposed to do what the Aquis does, which is cut way down on your drying time, and it’s supposed to do it for about half the price. Wait — better than half. You get two towels for $10, versus the Aquis at $18 for one.

Being a towel, it’s pretty simple to operate. 🙂 Just place the oval-shaped Turbie Twist on your head, twist the towel with your hair inside, and then loop the towel through the attached elastic band in the back to keep it in place. Team Turbie says it works for both long and short hair (one size fits all).

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