Product Reviews

I’m Guilty of Loving Gucci: Gucci Guilty Eau de Toilette

September 17th, 2010 by Karen 18 Comments

gucci guilty review

I admit it. I have a ~~guilty~~ Gucci conscience, and I’ve had it for years.

It all started with Gucci Envy back in 1999. I was a young 20-something lass living it up in San Francisco, you know, working for the weekends, and I wore Envy almost every day until my sketchy kleptomaniac roommate swiped the bottle from my room (I guess it really did cause some envy).

That’s around the time I moved, and when I did, I changed more than apartments and roommates; I also changed fragrances, switching to Gucci Rush.

I remember it well because I rushed (haha!) to Sephora to buy a bottle of it on my lunch break the day it came out.

Fast forward 10 years. I live in the suburbs now, about 30 minutes from San Francisco, and one of my roommates is a cat, but Gucci still occupies my mind (and space on my fragrance shelf).

Lately I’ve been spending time with yet another Gucci scent, the new Gucci Guilty ($75 for a 1.7oz eau de toilette), and I wonder what milestones this one will mark.

Perhaps I’ll be wearing it when I buy that winning lottery ticket or (gulp!) learn I’m gonna be a mom. 🙂 Who knows? For now, I’ll just enjoy it for what it is — a light floral oriental with mandarin orange and pink peppercorn top notes, a lilac and lavender middle and a base of amber and musk.

gucci guilty review
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Who Wouldn’t Want to Hit This Jackpot? The Urban Decay 24/7 Jackpot Kit

September 15th, 2010 by Karen 58 Comments

urban decay 24 7 jackpot swatches review top

NEWPORT BEACH (MBB Newswire) — After a break-in Wednesday at Urban Decay headquarters in Newport Beach, California, unknown individuals made off with a tray of the company’s “special brownies.”

When asked to describe the missing brownies to police, a company spokesperson said they were “uh…chocolate, and stuff.”

——

But seriously (in a matter of speaking), don’t most of UD’s holiday releases include a couple of shout-outs to stoners (ala their Smoke Out Kits)?

Unless I’m overlooking something obvs, Mary Jane’s MIA this time around. Well, there is the kit… 24/7 Jackpot ($39) — heh, I said pot.

Either way, Jackpot brings beautifully rich, blinged-out liners to the holiday makeup table, and if you’re new to Urban Decay, I think you’re in for a treat. 🙂

These 24/7 pencils are some of the best liners around, with awesome, creamy textures, vibrant colors and all-day wear time.

Jet black Zero has been a crowd fave, but shimmery golden brown Bourbon has been my No. 1 crush.

urban decay 24 7 jackpot swatches review photo 2
From left: Gunmetal (the gunmetal gray with silver glitter), Rockstar (the dark eggplant), Binge (the navy blue), Ransom (the bright, iridescent purple), Electric (the bright aquamarine), Mildew (the dark green), Stash (the greenish gold), Whiskey (the dark brown) Eldorado (the gold) and Zero (the inky black)
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Rimmel Volume Flash Max Bold Curves Mascara Is Such a Tease

September 14th, 2010 by Karen 55 Comments

rimmel volume flash max bold curves review

When I heard that Rimmel designed Volume Flash Max Bold Curves mascara ($7) to boost lash volume by 1,400% (OOH!) and lift by 70% (ahh…), it was like teasing a dog with a piece of bacon.

Shauna the Wonderdog!

Released earlier this summer in a single shade called Black, Volume Flash Max Bold Curves sports a fancy-shmancy brush built with something called “Perfect Fit technology.”

LOL! It seems like every week there’s a new phrase being coined. Perfect Fit’s flexible bristles were shaped to fit lashes perfectly and coat them for maximum lift and volume, and the mascara’s formula, enriched with keratin and collagen, strengthens lashes, getting them ready for serious volume-boosting action.

I gave the waterproof version of Max Volume Flash a try last week, and while it didn’t pump up the volume of my lashes as much as I’d hoped it would, I kept my fingers crossed for Bold Curves. “Please,” I prayed to the makeup gods, “deliver me the tranny lashes I desire so very much.”

Come on, what do ya say?

Well, my prayers went partially answered. I mean, I detect a difference in length and thickness as well as above-average lash lift, and the formula does hold up nicely throughout day, resisting smudges and flaking…

rimmel volume flash max bold curves review
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Behold the Benefits of This Magic Ink: Benefit Magic Ink Liquid Liner

September 14th, 2010 by Karen 40 Comments

Just in case you were wondering, the answer is yes, you may replace the words to the Lil’ Kim/50 Cent joint, Magic Stick, with the name of Benefit’s new liquid liner, Magic Ink ($20).

Magic Ink: The Magic Stick Remix

I got the Magic Ink
I know if I can hit once, I can hit twice
I hit the baddest chicks
Shorty don’t believe me, then come with me tonight
And I’ll show you maaagic
(What? What?)
Maaagic
(Uh huh, uh huh)
I got the Magic Ink!

For reasons unknown even to me, I’ve taken to singing this while I line my lids with Benefit’s new jet-black liner, and I’m pretty sure it’s driving my cat cray-cray. 🙂

For the record, it’s kinda hard to apply liquid eyeliner, even a smudge-proof one like this, while singing (try it sometime!), but in this case, I think the applicator has something to do with it.

Magic Ink comes with a thin, flexible brush a lot like the brush that comes with NYX Studio Effect Liquid Liner but less firm.
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Should You Go on the Hunt for Benefit Prrrowl?

September 13th, 2010 by Karen 55 Comments

Benefit Prrrowl ($28) sure is sneaky.

(How sneaky is it?)

It’s SO sneaky that it had me expecting something entirely different before we met.

New for fall, it’s a duo with a peacock blue iridescent mascara on one end and a sheer, shimmery pink gloss with blue glitter on the other. The iridescent blue mascara’s designed to work as a glittery topcoat for regular mascaras (or applied to bare lashes), and the gloss end’s designed to either be layered atop lipsticks or worn alone. The two are an unusual pairing, if nothing else, so I gotta give props to Benefit for originality.

benefit prrrowl review benefit prowl review swatches photos product shot

benefit prrrowl review benefit prowl review swatches photos mascara wand closeup

benefit prrrowl review benefit prowl review swatches photos mascara tube closeup
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I’d Like You To Meet Benefit Girl Meets Pearl

September 13th, 2010 by Karen 66 Comments

I’m going to ask you for a favor, young lady, and I’d like you to just do it for me as a friend. Please? I need you to channel Elmer J. Fudd while you speak the name of Benefit’s new highlighter out loud.

Are you ready? Okay, it’s called Girl Meets Pearl ($30).

Elmer J. for Benefit Girl Meets Pearl

Ha ha! 🙂

Okay, so maybe I’m too easily amused, but at least my skin’s glowing while I laugh maniacally by myself in the corner. Viva la Girl Meets Pearl!
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The $38 Benefit Femme Metale Precious Metals Eye Makeup Kit: An Alchemist’s Delight

September 11th, 2010 by Karen 30 Comments

Before the new limited-edition Benefit Femme Metale Precious Metals Eye Makeup Kit entered my life, the closest I’d come to metallic greatness was the time James Hetfield and I shared a sidewalk.

For $38, you get three full-size Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows and three large sample-size pencil liners in the Sephora exclusive kit — a headbang-worthy bargain (insert sign of the beast [HERE]), considering the Creams usually go for $19 a pop.

Femme Metale’s gilded metallic shades, new but limited edition, give the kit an almost steampunk vibe, and all six colors apply with shimmer to spare.
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I’d Fly Across the Universe for a Lippmann Bad Romance: Lippmann Collection Fall 2010

September 10th, 2010 by Karen 25 Comments

lippmann bad romance swatches review closeup

I’d travel across the universe to have a bad romance with Deborah Lippmann’s two new glitter-ific fall polishes ($18 each).

Fun, flirty, and catching more light than Vampire Edward’s bare chest in broad daylight, Bad Romance (a glittery fuchsia in a black base) and Across the Universe (a glittery blue-green in a navy base) sing siren songs of shimmery seduction LOUDER than the other Lippmann glitters I’ve tried in the past.

They owe their new singing voice to a shinier jelly base, ooh la la!

lippmann across the universe swatches review closeup

Compared to the almost matte-like finishes of Lippmann’s Ruby Red Slippers (2009) and Superstar (2008) glitter polishes, these are practically flood lights!

And I like it. 🙂 What’s glitter, after all, without the shine? It’s like toast without Nutella (or Justin Bieber without the fever).
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