Product Reviews

Burt’s Bees $6 Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream Makes Nails Cuter and Cuticles Better

December 11th, 2010 by Karen 22 Comments

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Oh, Burt, baby, where’ve you been all my life? Your $6 Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream ($6) has been like manna from heaven to the shredded carrots I call cuticles. The rich, all-natural nail treatment smoothes the dry, cracked crevices around my nails while strengthening the nails themselves with sweet almond oil, vitamin E and cocoa butter. It keeps cuticles moisturized for hours, and the light lemony scent smells downright delicious.

The thick wax-like consistency takes longer to massage in than my trusty Sephora Cuticle Pen, but because of it the product also feels more substantial on my tips, which I like. I use it off and on throughout the day, but my favorite time to use it is right before bed, on both my fingernails and toenails (so it can work its magic overnight).

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream box
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Chanel Rouge Allure Goes Extrait de Gloss

December 10th, 2010 by Karen 39 Comments

Chanel Insolence Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss Swatch on Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog
Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Insolence

Form doesn’t exactly follow function in the Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss line. Half the time I can’t tell the colors apart by looking at the tubes. But I really don’t care, because even the tubes look great. 🙂

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss Review

Coco (or rather Karl) did sneak in a practical touch (the least they could do for $32 a pop). The paddle-like applicator, which Chanel refers to as flocked, takes precision to the next level. I feel like it provides more control than good ol’ doe-foot applicators.

Launched last fall, the relatively new line of glosses comes in nine shiny shades that, according to the Chanel makeup artist I spoke with, are replacing the Aqualumieres [INSERT SINGLE TEAR ROLLING DOWN CHEEK], which are being — you might want to sit down for this — phased out.

I’ll probably lose sleep over losing the Aqualumieres, especially Candy Glow, but these new kids have game, including a four-hour wear time, and a thick, non-sticky texture (unscented and unflavored). I’ll always love the Aqualumiers, but I think they’re thinner, sheerer, slicker, and don’t last quite as long as these.
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Bask in the Glow of the Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints

December 10th, 2010 by Karen 34 Comments

urban decay afterglow glide on cheek tint on karen of makeup and beauty blog
Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint in Quickie on cheeks and Crush on lips

Urban Decay thinks they found a way to package post-workout cheeks, so now we can get that lit-from-within glow without having to step foot on a treadmill (YEA!).

There is, of course, another, more enjoyable way to get the same effect, but James Franco isn’t returning my calls.

That second way to glow is probably what Urban Decay was thinking when they gave the seven new Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints ($24) their sassy names. And to help you and your partner cover all your bases, they even work on lips.

Fans of coral and peach blushes might like reddish Bang, and/or Indecent, an apricot with golden pearl. Pink ladies should check out hot pink Crush, bubblegum pink Quickie (my fave!), and golden pink Score. And berry lovin’ babes might want to get Greedy (a blackberry) with Fetish, a shimmery mauve.

These have a thin texture and literally melt into my skin. It makes blending a snap, and that makes them great for tight schedules. I’ve just been using clean fingers to lightly dab them onto the plumpest part of my cheeks, aka the apples.

After that, I use the remaining product on my fingers along my cheekbones, fading up and out. At this point, I will reach for a brush, a clean powder brush, and run it over my cheeks to blend everything together, and finish with a few taps on my kisser.

Center: Crush. Clockwise from pink shade lower left: Score, Greedy, Quickie, Indecent, Bang and Fetish
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Is Kerastase Elixir the Ultime Hair Styling Jewel?

December 10th, 2010 by Karen 15 Comments

Is your hair budget burning a hole in your pocket? New $50 Kerastase Elixir Ultime hair oil will douse that fire fast. My stylist used some on my freshly cut and colored ‘do this week. It’s a fragrant (perfect for the season, like warm vanilla, amber and cloves) multi-purpose blend of oils including argan, camelia and linseed, among others, and the stylists here say it’s the talk of the town.

They’ve been using it on their clients in a variety of ways — as a pre-shampoo treatment for dry and coarse hair, as a prep before blow drying to defrizz and add shine, as a styling serum to smooth out flyaways and dry ends, and some of them have also been using it before color treatments, where they say it helps dyes apply more evenly to every strand.

After my trim and color, the stylist squeezed a few pumps into her hands and worked them through my hair from roots to ends before blow drying. When all was said and done, I felt like a hair model! My familiar mop was transformed into a luxuriously soft and shiny coat.

NOTE: It does contain silicones in case you’re averse to them

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What’s Different About the New Benefit Full-Finish Lipsticks?

December 9th, 2010 by Karen 55 Comments

benefit wanna full finish lipstick on karen of makeup and beauty blog
Wearing Benefit Full-Finish Lipstick in Wanna

Benefit’s boxed blushes aren’t the only girls getting new outfits for spring. In January the company’s Full-Finish Lipsticks ($18 each) are also getting gussied up, with thicker bullets and shorter tubes.

Benefit is ~~phasing out all but one of the existing shades~~ (UPDATE: I just received info from Benefit saying that they will not be phasing out all the existing shades of Full-Finish. Instead, they’ll be adding these 12 new shades to the current line. Some of the colors in the current line will remain and be repackaged into the new tubes. I’ll update you once I get word of which shades will be staying and which ones will be going.) Fame Game (from the It Girl Collection, Fall 2009), and introducing 11 new ones. But all 12 of them have the exact same moisturizing, creamy formula Full-Finish fans like us know and love.

The (NEW) Benefit Full-Finish Lipsticks…

Pillow Talk: a hot pink

Wanna: a raspberry

Espionage: a black cherry

Pinking of You: a pop of pink

Rumor: a rose quartz

Slow Zone: a tropical coral

Shy: a ballet slipper

Saucy: a sparkling tangerine

Fame Game: a dusty rose

I Tink I Love You: a bronze rose

Mod Squad: a shelly pink

Oh Currant: a berry wine

Don’t tell El Hub, but tonight I made out with Wanna, Shy, Espionage, Slow Zone, Pinking of You and Fame Game.

Benefit full finish lipstick review swatches photos spring 2011 closeup
Benefit Full-Finish Lipsticks from the left front: Slow Zone and Wanna; Back: Espionage, Pinking of You and Shy
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I Flipped My Lid Over the New Benefit Bella Bamba Face Powder

December 9th, 2010 by Karen 101 Comments

benefit bella bamba review swatches photos

Bus riding babes and y’all on-the-go lovelies, feast your eyes on this: the new Benefit Bella Bamba Face Powder ($28) promises to change the face of quick touchups this spring.

You know how Benefit’s boxed blushes have that unattached lid (see: Sugarbomb and Coralista)? Well, as much as I love the colors, I’m always afraid they’ll open in my bag. Once, while I was applying blush on the train to work, one of the lids got away from me and shot straight up in the air, OOPS! Luckily it landed in a cute boy’s lap, but I digress…

benefit bella bamba review swatches photos

Bella Bamba comes with new improved flip-top cap that uses a magnet to stay shut. And that’s not all. It even has a mirror inside, so you can stare at your sassy self while you’re sweeping on this shimmery golden pink.

Benefit’s old-school lids are going, going gone. They’re phasing them out, so the seven other shades in the Face Powder line will also be wearing the new flip-top packaging soon.

Benefit calls Bella Bamba a 3D, multi-dimensional pink face powder (what is this, Tron? LOL!), and it’s designed to brighten, sculpt and define.

I don’t know much about 3D, but I do like using this as a blush. 🙂
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The Chanel Collection Essentielle De Chanel Paris-L.A. Palette Goes Great Without a Tan

December 9th, 2010 by Karen 20 Comments

Chanel Collection Essentielle De Chanel Paris-LA Palette top

Before my hair appointment yesterday (I’ll post pics soon. 🙂 But here’s a hint: Vanessa Hudgens!), I swung by the Chanel counter to check out the Chanel Collection Essentielle De Chanel Paris-L.A. Palette ($85) in person.

I saw it the other day on The Non-Blonde and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

With the limited edition holiday palette for eyes, cheeks and lips, Chanel says they were shooting for something hip like LA yet elegant like Paris. It comes with two lip glosses, one a shimmery plum and the other a shimmery reddish plum; one shimmery plum lipstick; three powder eyeshadows in matte beige, matte taupe and matte plum; a shimmery, peachy pink cream blush with a hint of gold; and two creamy yellow-based concealers. That’s nine bits ‘o Chanel for $85…which is just about as close to a fire sale on Chanel as we’re ever likely to see.
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The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil 15-Year Anniversary Set Is So Awesome It Should Come with a Warning

December 8th, 2010 by Karen 40 Comments

urban decay 24 glide on eye pencils 15 year anniversary set review swatches photos
The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils (counterclockwise from the brown one in the upper left):Bourbon, Midnight Cowboy, Baked, Stash, Mildew, Perversion, Electric, Binge, Ransom, Asphyxia, Rockstar, Zero, Uzi, Stray Dog and Corrupt

Girl, Urban Decay knows how to throw a party. They do it by releasing great stuff! Great stuff like the 15-Year Anniversary 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set ($92; 15 pigmented pencils; 15 heart palpitations, oy vey!).

Many makeup mavens consider these pigmented, long-wearing eyeliners, which also happen to be smoother than silk, some of the best and brightest in the biz, and seeing so many of them together in the same place is enough to drive me to drink…bourbon (my favorite one). 🙂

urban decay spring 2011 24/7 glide on eye pencil set 15 year anniversary collection

With the set, a limited edition release for spring, you get nine classic 24/7 colors in Baked, Binge, Bourbon, Electric, Mildew, Ransom, Rockstar, Stash and Zero, and six brand new shades — Asphyxia, Corrupt, Midnight Cow, Perversion, Stray Dog and Uzi. Purchased individually, the whole kit ‘n kaboodle would set you back a painful $255 (they’re regularly $17 apiece), but here they work out to just $6 each.

Urban Decay 15-Year Anniversary 24 7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set review swatches photos
Swatches from left: Stray Dog, Corrupt, Bourbon, Midnight Cowboy and Baked…
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