Product Reviews

How Easy Is It to Change Your Aura with Hourglass?

January 11th, 2011 by Karen 24 Comments

hourglass aura collection

In the Effortless Makeup category, Hourglass’s new Aura collection ranks among one of my favorites for spring.

It’s like the brand has their fingers on the pulse of lazy girls like moi. The Aura Sheer Cheek Stains and Sheer Lip Stains are designed for ease of use. No brushes are required with Aura’s portable, pen-style applicators. Twisting the bottom of each one dispenses product through the sponge tip applicator at the other end, and it makes these sheer, buildable liquid stains practically foolproof to use.

For full details on the Hourglass Aura Collection, peep Can I Read Your Hourglass Aura? The Hourglass Aura Collection for Spring 2011.

The Aura Sheer Cheek Stains ($45) and Aura Sheer Lip Stains ($26) sink quickly into my skin, but there’s still a window of drying time (about a minute or so) in which I’m able to blend out any harsh edges with my fingers if I need to.

Hourglass Aura Sheer Cheek Stain and Sheer Lip Stain in Flush

If the zombies were coming and I had to make for the hills, I’d grab both the Cheek and Lip Stains in Flush, the reddish pink shade I’m wearing here, a few jars of Nutella, a pocket knife, my wedding pictures and Tabs.

Because I’d be able to apply the stains without a mirror (they’re that easy), I’d be able to evade the walking dead without having to sacrifice my look. 🙂

Hourglass Aura Sheer Cheek Stain in Flush, $45

This sheer liquid stain feels a lot like Benefit’s Posietint to me. It’s runny, but still has some weight to it. I’ve worn it on bare skin, atop foundation and even on top of powder, and in every case it stays put, lasting throughout the day. It also layers well, too, so I’m able to crank up the color when I want a bolder cheek. I LOVE the convenience, but dagnabbit that $45 hurts.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A-
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NYC New York Color Extreme Lip Glider Lip Gloss, I Question Your Taste

January 10th, 2011 by Karen 38 Comments

NYC New York Color Extreme Lip Glider Lip Gloss in Plaza Punch

Just another shiny drugstore gloss? Not hardly. These NYC New York Color Extreme Glider Lip Glosses feel way more expensive than they should for $3 each. Smooth, thin and slick on my lips, they could almost pass for melted butter if it wasn’t for one little thing…

Butter tastes good. 🙂

I’ve tried three of the 10 shades, and all of them taste and smell like a strong blend of children’s cough syrup and fruit punch concentrate; luckily, it dissipates after a few minutes of wear.

Coverage varies widely among the colors, with some of them, like Downtown Brown and Metro Mauve, applying so sheer that I can barely see any pigment on my lips, while others, like Plaza Punch, have plenty of pigment to spare.

The three I have contain glitter, which looks kinda chunky in the tube, so I expected them to feel gritty, but they don’t. In fact, they could probably pass for MAC LipgelÃ©es (LOVE) if not for the flavor and scent…

nyc new york color extreme lip glider lip gloss tubes

nyc new york color extreme lip glider lip gloss tubes-back

nyc new york color extreme lip glider lip gloss wands
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NARS Spring 2011: Super Orgasm and Angelika Lip Glosses Usher in the Season Early

January 7th, 2011 by Karen 45 Comments

nars spring 2011 angelika
NARS Angelika Lip Gloss

They say that patience is a virtue…but I don’t have patience for proverbs, LOL! Not when it comes to makeup. When it comes to putting on le war paint, I’m all about instant gratification. 🙂

And today I satisfied the urge to splurge with two glosses from NARS, specifically the collection for spring 2011.

But NARS spring 2011 isn’t out yet, is it? Nope, it’s not (it rolls onto NARS counters soon); lucky for us, two of the upcoming lip glosses are. They’re repromoted colors, and both are available now at Sephora, NARS counters and NARS online.

Have you met Angelika and Super Orgasm ($24 each)?

nars super orgasm angelika
Angelika (left) and Super Orgasm (right)

These girls are the lip gloss versions of two famed NARS blushes, which themselves go by the names Angelika and Super Orgasm.
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EmphasEYES Those Brown Eyes with Tarte Aqua Gel Eyeliner in Shimmering Indigo

January 7th, 2011 by Karen 59 Comments

This may sound a little selfish, but I sure hope Tarte adds their new emphasEYES Aqua Gel Eyeliner in Shimmering Indigo to their permanent line, because I love the way it looks with brown eyes.

The pigmented purplish blue gel liner, a QVC exclusive shade (you get not one, but TWO for $25), comes in a twist-up pencil, making it more convenient than most gel liners.

According to Tarte, half of the product consists of water — with minerals, as well as vitamin E, cucumber and aloe suspended within it — and judging by how creamy and moist the liner feels along my lash line, I believe it.

It also shimmers on my eyes in a way that makes it look to me like late afternoon light reflecting on the surface of a pond, ah…

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35 Ways to Shine: The New Make Up For Ever Lab Shine Lip Glosses

January 6th, 2011 by Karen 37 Comments

make up for ever lab shine on karen of makeup and beauty blog

Make Up For Ever hopes to woo a lotta lips this spring with their glitzy new line of glosses, but these luminescent lippies might be a little too much like young love (meaning they fade all too soon).

For their shiniest lip gloss yet, Make Up For Ever loaded each tube of Lab Shine with highly reflective pearl pigments. The entire line encompasses three different finishes (Diamond, Star and Metal) spanning a whopping 35 colors.

The Diamond Collection’s 12 shimmery shades are formulated with Make Up For Ever Diamond Powder for transparent, natural looking color and glittery shine.

The Star Collection boasts 14 shades blended with Make Up For Ever Star Powder to give lips glamorous shine with an iridescent mother-of-pearl finish.

The Metal Collection features nine shades made with Make Up For Ever Metal Powder, giving lips an intense mirror-like finish.

My lips love how these glosses feel, smell and taste — or rather how they don’t taste like much at all. I like the faint fragrance, which reminds me of hibiscus.

Smooth and hydrating, containing camelina oil (which is rich in vitamin E) and beeswax, they have a medium-weight texture that’s not sticky, so they scoot onto my lips with ease.

Make Up For Ever Lab Shines from left: S10, S16, S24, S26, D6, D22, M14 and M10
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Seeing the Dior Montaigne Soft Pink Design All-In-One Artistry Palette in Action

January 4th, 2011 by Karen 27 Comments

Dior Montaigne Soft Pink Design on Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog

Today I took the brand spankin’ new Dior Soft Pink Design All-In-One Artistry Palette ($58) from the Dior Montaigne spring 2011 collection out for a spin using the little tutorial that comes with the palette as a guide…

I love it when products come with these things (sending positive reinforcement to all the companies out there) because they make looks as easy as 1-2-3.

Dior Montaigne Soft Pink Design eye step 1 base
Base

Dior Montaigne Soft Pink Design eye step 2 colour
Colour

Dior Montaigne Soft Pink Design eye step 3 shadow
Shadow

Dior Montaigne Soft Pink Design eye step 4 shine
Shine
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Dior Montaigne Spring 2011: You’ll Be a Pearl of a Girl in the City of Lights with the Soft Pink Design Quint

January 3rd, 2011 by Karen 64 Comments

Dior Montaigne Soft Pink Design

Expect a downpour at Dior this spring when the new Montaigne Collection comes to town, but you won’t need your umbrella for this storm. That’s because it’ll be pouring pearls when the 13-piece release for eyes, lips, cheeks and drips on Dior counters, in Dior stores and at Sephora in the next few weeks.

Named after the Paris address where the first Dior boutique opened back in 1946, the palette of pearly grays and baby pinks suggests spring soirees in the City of Lights, and to these soirees you’re wearing pearls. It’s a soft, sophisticated, natural look, and passersby won’t be able to miss your subtly shimmering glow.

To my eye, the Soft Pink Design Quint ($58), one of two for eyes in the release, characterizes the collection’s vibe with its nuanced pinks and grays. It comes with (almost) everything a girl would need to live the eye portion of the look — an eyeshadow base, a liner, two shimmer shadows and one glitter shadow. The only thing missing: mascara.

Below are pics and swatches showing the colors on NC35 and NW20 skin. Take a look, and let me know what ya think. 🙂

Dior Montaigne Spring 2011 soft pink design quad
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Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Eye Base Plays It Cool

January 3rd, 2011 by Karen 46 Comments

To quote (and then paraphrase) the great Sade, “No need to ask, ~~he’s~~ [she’s] a smooth operator.” Except her charms aren’t working on me. 🙁

The new Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Eye Base ($22) may be a touch too light for this brown girl, but lighter lasses, listen up. This pretty pink primer just might shine for you.

The warm yellow undertones in my skin don’t agree with Smooth Operator (it turns gray on me), but that shouldn’t happen if you like the way you look in shades of cool-toned pink.

Released as a QVC (yep, that QVC) exclusive last December, Smooth Operator Eye Base looks to me like a hybrid of two other products, Benefit Eye Bright Pencils and Urban Decay Primer Potion. It combines the light pink color of Eye Bright with UDPP’s fluffy, smooth texture.

Tarte refers to it as a brightening eyeshadow base designed to prevent shadows from smudging and creasing, and increase how long they last on the skin.

As you can from the name, its claim to fame is the Amazonian clay it contains, which Tarte claims has “intuitive” properties. They say it’s able to adjust to the wearer’s skin. If need be, it’ll hydrate dry spots into nonexistence, or absorb oily patches to eliminate shine.

Now that’s some smart clay. 🙂
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