Product Reviews

How Well Will the New Maybelline Fit Me Blushes Fit You?

February 2nd, 2011 by Karen 48 Comments

Maybelline Fit Me Blush in Medium Nude on cheeks

Things that can be hard to find: four-leaf clovers, true love, Bigfoot and blushes that deliver a natural cheek flush. This spring Maybelline intends to make one of them easier to find with Fit Me, their new line of blushes, foundations, concealers, powders and bronzers designed to simplify the process of finding your perfect shade.

What is the Fit Me process?

It doesn’t sound too revolutionary to me, but the idea is that they organize the products from light to dark in the display. Each row represents one shade intensity, with the lightest shades on top (row 100) and the darkest shades on the bottom (row 300). Each row will have the full range of foundation, powder, concealer, blush and bronzer for each shade intensity.

To further streamline the process, the product names are short and sweet. For the blushes, for instance, instead of cutesy monikers, Maybelline went with simple, straight forward names like “Light Pink” and “Medium Mauve.”

This afternoon, I took a quick look at four of the 12 blushes ($5 each; available in 12 shades) in Deep Rose (a matte reddish rose), Medium Nude (a shimmery pink), Deep Nude (a light matte peachy pink) and Light Pink (a medium matte peachy pink).

maybelline fit me blush
First row: Deep Nude and Light Nude; second row: Medium Mauve and Medium Coral; third row: Deep Coral and Deep Rose

maybelline fit me blush
First row: Medium Nude and Light Rose; second row: Light Pink and Light Mauve; third row: Medium Pink and Deep Mauve

Maybelline Fit Me Blush Review
Fit Me Blushes clockwise from the dark pink pan on the lower left: Deep Rose, Medium Nude, Light Pink and Deep Nude
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A New Look at NARS Spring 2011 with Tzigane, Hollywoodland, Bateau Ivre and Nouveau Monde

January 31st, 2011 by Karen 56 Comments

nars spring 2011

When the NARS spring 2011 makeup collection sprung earlier this month, it didn’t strike with the force of a thousand Easter bunnies. In other words, it didn’t knock me off my feet.

I liked the repromoted Angelika and Super Orgasm Lip Glosses but felt the Soft Touch Pencil in Celebrate, the Lip Gloss in Nana and the Pure Matte Lipstick in MadÃ¨re were just okay. Seriously, what’s a 35-year-old suburban gal gonna do with a neon green eyeshadow (Celebrate) that lasts all of 5 minutes on her skin?

And then came today.

I tried four more goodies from the collection this afternoon — the Lipstick in Tzigane, Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Hollywoodland, Eyeshadow Duo in Bateau Ivre and Eyeshadow Duo in Nouveau Monde — and now NARS is singing my tune.

THESE are the kinds of products I was hoping to find in this collection; until today, I just didn’t know they were here.

They must have been hiding like Easter eggs. 🙂

The look features fresh, exciting eyes with a touch of fun color, and a lovely lipstick I could easily wear to work (or a brunch date!). It’s modern, yet wearable makeup with a springy edge, and I can totally see myself cruising the neighborhood with it on as I walk my plus-sized tabby down the street.

nars spring 2011
Clockwise from the lower left: Eyeshadow Duo in Nouveau Monde, Lipstick in Tzigane, Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Hollywoodland and Eyeshadow Duo in Bateau Ivre
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Josie Maran Dips Into the Argan Oil for Spring’s Matchmaker Serum Foundation and Illuminizer

January 28th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

Josie Maran Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation on my face, Argan Illuminizer on my cheeks, beneath my eyes and on the brow bone

Model/makeup maestro Josie Maran likes argan oil almost as much as Tabs likes gravy, and she’s launching a new foundation and illuminator made with the stuff this spring.

Argan oil, of course (not gravy). 🙂

Sheer, lightweight Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation ($42) adjusts to the wearer’s skin tone, beginning white, but changing color as it’s worked into the skin, while shimmery liquid Argan Illuminizer ($28) is designed to give skin a bronzy glow.

Both products will arrive in stores next month (but the foundation’s already available online at sephora.com) and contain Josie’s signature ingredient. Some refer to argan oil as something of a miracle ingredient — a skin-soothing, complexion-clearing, fine-line-erasing, skin-tone-improving, elasticity-restoring, inflammation-reducing miracle ingredient — and if it were any more amazing, it would probably rescue stray kittens on the side. 🙂

I’ve used a few of Josie’s other argan products but never detected a dramatic difference in my skin. That said, I do still like a lot about her line, like how she handles color, the textures she uses and, of course, that her products are eco and pet friendly (Tabs approved).

I dug around for clinical studies to support the use of argan oil and its effects on skin, but I didn’t turn anything up (other than this study on its consumption and heart disease).

Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation, $42 for a 1-oz. bottle

Available in two shades, Light/Medium and Medium/Dark, this foundation’s supposed to correct fine lines and wrinkles, and cover other imperfections on the skin, while evening out skin tone.

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One Thing Is Clear: The Smashbox Limitless Long Wear Lip Glosses In Bloom

January 28th, 2011 by Karen 20 Comments

Can I just vent about my bangs for a moment? Because today they interfered with Smashbox’s spring In Bloom Limitless Long Wear Lip Glosses, and that’s just wrong.

Observe the redonkulous headband in the picture above, which I’ve resorted to wearing on account of my unruly bangs. Ever since I got them trimmed last week, they’ve been extremely uncooperative, jutting out at weird angles and generally behaving badly. The headband keeps them under wraps, but it also kinda steals this sheer gloss’s thunder.

The two cuties below ($21 for each 0.1-oz tube) are part of the recently released Smashbox In Bloom collection for spring (a limited edition affair), and while the collection’s springy floral theme hasn’t exactly revolutionized my concept of spring makeup, I’ve liked the products I’ve seen so far.

Smashbox In Bloom Limitless Long Wear Lip Gloss in Timeless (on the top) and Endless Kiss (on the bottom)

Shimmery coral Endless Kiss and shimmery pink Timeless come in the same long-wearing Limitless Lip Gloss formula Smashbox launched back in 2009.
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Three Sheers for the $59 Smashbox Style Files: Eyes, Lips and Cheeks!

January 27th, 2011 by Karen 45 Comments

Smashbox Style Files

The three portable palettes in the Smashbox Style Files ($59) are totally easy to crack. What I mean to say is, there’s no 128-bit encryption or complex p@ssW07ds here. Just a batch of beauty bits (in shimmery neutrals to deep jewel tones) for eyes, lips and cheeks.

For my makeup today, I felt like something fun and fresh, but I didn’t want to think too hard.

Enter the Smashbox Style Files, a new limited edition Sephora exclusive set.

The Smashbox Style Files box

Style Files Shadow

Smashbox Style Files eye shadow palette
Style Files Shadow palette

These colors aren’t as pigmented as I’d hoped and suffer from some pretty mean fallout, but I do like how easy they are to blend. In all, you get eight shadows in…

Shadow #1 (warm brown shimmer)
Shadow #2 (matte pinky peach)
Shadow #3 (midnight blue)
Shadow #4 (lilac shimmer)
Shadow #5 (champagne beige shimmer)
Shadow #6 (matte ivory)
Shadow #7 (matte light taupe)
Shadow #8 (pinky pearl shimmer)

Smashbox Style Files eye shadow palette
Style Files Shadow palette

Style Files Eye Liner

Smashbox Style Files eye liner palette
Style Files Eye Liner palette

Each of the cream liners double as bases for the shadows, so that’s pretty cool. And the pencil liners cling to my lash and water lines like true champs. With this set, you get four Cream Liners and two Limitless Eye Liners in…

Cream Liner #1 (golden beige shimmer)
Cream Liner #2 (warm brown)
Cream Liner #3 (gunmetal gray)
Cream Liner #4 (deep purple)
Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx (black)
Limitless Eye Liner in Fig (chocolate brown sheen)

Smashbox Style Files eye liner palette
Style Files Eye Liner palette
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Meet Clinique’s Conservatively Sharp Milly Palette: She’s Pretty in Prints

January 25th, 2011 by Karen 53 Comments

clinique milly pretty in prints palette

Greetings and salutations, mon amie. I wanted to quickly show you the new Clinique Milly Pretty in Prints Palette ($36) in action.

clinique milly pretty in prints palette for spring 2011

What do ya think? I followed the tutorial that comes with the eye and cheek palette this afternoon, and the whole thing took only about 10 minutes to do.

clinique milly pretty in prints fotd tutorial

The palette comes with four shadows and a blush; the shadows contain just the right amount of pigment, and all of them are super easy to blend. Heck, I’d call the palette downright perfect if it wasn’t for the matte brown shade, which left mad fallout on my cheeks when I used it as a liner today (which is what the tutorial suggests).

As for the blush…I love it! It’s like a sheerer, less golden version of NARS Orgasm.

clinique milly pretty in prints palette with bag

clinique milly pretty in prints palette
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The NYX 10 Color Palette in Bohemian Rhapsody Is Fit for a Queen

January 20th, 2011 by Karen 60 Comments

nyx bohemian rhapsody

Any way the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to me…because the NYX 10 Color Palette in Bohemian Rhapsody makes everything better. It comes with 10 of the line’s most wearable neutrals in shades of silver, taupe, brown, beige, gray, peach and black, all for an easily digestible $11 (and they even included a case!).

NYX tends to get a little repetitive with their 10-Color Palettes. I say, NYX tends to get a little repetitive with their 10-Color Palettes, but a variety of matte and shimmery finishes keeps this Bohemian Rhapsody from singing the same song twice.

What’s my favorite way to wear it? I like to add one of the lighter mattes to my brow bone, sweep a slightly darker matte in the crease, pat one of the shimmers on the lid, and then define both my lash and water lines with the matte in black.

Each and every time I open this thing I want to break into song! — like I’m a long lost Von Trapp child (who happens to be brown). 🙂

nyx bohemian rhapsody

nyx bohemian rhapsody swatches with flash
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Just How Smooth Is the New Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Eden?

January 19th, 2011 by Karen 42 Comments

Amid the deluge of gray falling on eye palettes this spring, Dolce & Gabbana stands out. In the pan, their Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Eden ($59) looks like a garden with pretty pastels in mint green and pink.

Dolce & Gabbana usually scores with their quads — hitting them out of the park with rich pigmentation, a buttery, easy-to-blend texture, and shadows that exhibit very little fallout, but I think this new one falls a little short.

As the one and only quad in the new Secret Garden Collection, Eden’s shadows are uncharacteristically uneven when applied.

I wore the colors in the palette today and kinda struggled to blend them together. They weren’t as smooth as I’m used to from the brand and looked patchier then I would’ve liked.

Dolce Gabbana Secret Garden Eden Smooth Eye Colour Quad
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