Product Reviews

YSL Touche Eclat vs. My Dark Circles: Part II

August 3rd, 2010 by Karen 109 Comments

ysl touche eclat review

I’m chalking up my spur-of-the-moment decision to get $40 YSL Touche Eclat to temporary insanity.

I know a lot of women swear by the stuff — a versatile liquid face product (available in four shades) designed to work as a concealer, highlighter, eyeshadow base and even a lip primer — but when I tried it for the first time years ago, I wasn’t wowed.

“I’m older and wiser now,” I thought. “Maybe I should give it another try.”

Like Mulder from the X-Files, I REALLY wanted to believe. The product’s so popular that the company says they sell one every 20 seconds worldwide!

ysl touche eclat review
YSL Touche Elcat in shade 3
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Kickin’ It with Boots Makeup on a Monday Afternoon

August 2nd, 2010 by Karen 47 Comments

They say you learn something new every day (learning is fundamental, yo!). Among my Monday epiphanies…

Butter pecan ice cream eaten straight from the carton dulls the symptoms of monster PMS.
Tabs knows how to smile with his eyes.
Boots killed it with their Botanics Eye Colour Duo in Velvet Pansy ($7) and Lip Glace in Marshmallow ($10).

Before my PMS-fueled junk food fest/impromptu photo session with Tabs earlier today, I tried on both of the aforementioned tidbits from Boots.

One of six Eye Colour duos in the Boots Botanics makeup line, Velvet Pansy’s shimmery purple and pink shades caress my skin with color, but they don’t feel quite as fine as the Boots Stay Perfect Shadow single I recently tried in Khaki. Not a problem, though, as both of the shadows in the duo blend together like they were cut from the same cloth.

Lip Glace in Marshmallow, a sheer and shimmery pink gloss, gets gold stars from me for its thin, non-sticky texture, even though it only lasts about two hours (which isn’t entirely unusual for a thin gloss), but its strong fruit punch flavor and scent might be a turnoff for some.

Boots Botanics Eye Colour Duo in Velvet Pansy

Boots No7 Lip Glace in Marshmallow
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Back to School Beauty: With Tarte Lock & Roll Creaseless Eyeshadow Duos, You’ll Be Ready for That Early Morning Class

August 2nd, 2010 by Karen 45 Comments

Tarte Lock & Roll Review

Most of my college memories have faded into a fuzzy, frosty haze, but the chaotic mornings I spent rushing to get ready before early lectures remain fresh, fresh, fresh!

The drill was always the same: after rolling out of bed, I’d pull my hair into a ponytail, grab a pair of sunglasses, stuff my makeup bag into my backpack (hoping to get ready in the girl’s bathroom before class), and sprint to catch the bus. 🙂

If you foresee a similarly hectic schedule this fall, think about streamlining, and consider adding the Tarte Lock & Roll Creaseless Eyeshadow Duos ($17 each) to your beauty routine.

With a cream shadow base on one end and an eyeshadow rollerball on the other, the nine dual-tipped shimmery shadows work like magic wands in the hurried hands of someone in a rush.

The duos, which have been part of Tarte’s permanent line for a while, make quick work of simple makeup looks because they don’t require a separate brush (the cream shadow ends already have one).
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Eyeko Nail Polishes for Fall 2010: Will Limited Availability of These Saucy Shades Rain on Your Parade?

July 31st, 2010 by Karen 20 Comments

eyeko rain polish eyeko saucy polish swatches review photos

It’s typography time! If you can name the font on this bottle of British brand Eyeko’s new Saucy Polish, not only will you receive mad props from your fellow font nerds, but you’ll also earn an honorary degree from the University of Makeup and Beauty Blog in Font Detect-ology. 😀

New limited edition Saucy Polish (“for naughty nails”) and Rain Polish (“for city nails”) apply with smooth, non-streaky color and reach full opacity in just two coats. Both shades, released for fall, dry to a blinding shine. They’re not the easiest products to get out here on this end of the pond, a major drawback for gals ’round these parts, but prices before shipping start at $5.50 each.

While neither color strikes me as particularly groundbreaking, I like the overall presentation (LOVE the packaging).

eyeko rain polish swatches eyeko saucy polish swatches review photos
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Estee Lauder Blue Dahlia Nail Lacquer: A Midsummer Night’s Blue

July 30th, 2010 by Karen 34 Comments

estee lauder blue dahlia swatches pure color nail lacquer

An inky blackish blue with a whisper of deep purple, Blue Dahlia Pure Color Nail Lacquer ($18) looks like a midnight summer sky on tips and toes. One of two polishes in EL’s fall 2010 collection, (the other’s called Surreal Violet), it makes me long for late-night adventures and broken curfews, and it’s yet another reason I’ve joined the Blue Dahlia bandwagon.

The shine? Otherworldly. If I were a super heroine, I’d deflect laser beams with Blue Dahlia’s luminous shine.

estee lauder blue dahlia swatches pure color nail lacquer
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Insomniacs Should Have a Ball with the Smashbox Masquerade Palette

July 30th, 2010 by Karen 52 Comments

smashbox masquerade eye palette swatches review
Here I’m wearing makeup from the Smashbox Masquerade Collection for fall 2010: The Eye Palette in Masquerade on my eyes, Creamy Cheek Color & Brush in Intrigue on my Cheeks and Masquerade Lip Enhancing Gloss in Reveal on my lips.

Friends, citizens, insomniacs, lend me your eyes; I come to bury complicated eye looks, not to praise them. 🙂 Put down that Sleepytime Tea for a second, Caesar, and take a look at the new Smashbox Masquerade Eye Palette ($35) — enemy of complicated eye looks everywhere!

You don’t have to be an aeronautical engineer to put together fly looks with this palette of nine powder shadows in neutral and jewel-toned shades. In it, Smashbox cleverly placed complementary colors in three horizontal rows, basically taking the guesswork out of color matching. It’s a breakthrough of epic proportions, yo! — particularly for lazy chicks and insomniacs (oh, hai!) like me.

After three consecutive nights of absolutely no sleep, I really, REALLY appreciate how easy it is to get ready with this palette.

Of course, if you’re the kind of girl who gets plenty of sleep and prefers to match her own colors, no problem. I think all nine of these shades work together well, and nothing says we have to use them in any specific order.
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The Estee Lauder Blue Dahlia Collection Makes Me Happy to Sing These Blues

July 29th, 2010 by Karen 73 Comments

estee lauder blue dahlia swatches review photos

Do you ever just stop and stare up at the sky as it changes colors at dusk? As the day slinks away? Doesn’t it look like someone’s cranking up the saturation on everything? Okay, yeah, so it might sound kinda boring, but you gotta do it every so often.

Estee Lauder Creative Makeup Director Tom Pecheux says that’s the kind of light — the colors that emerge at the moment day turns to night — that inspired the company’s new Blue Dahlia collection (have you seen the 1946 movie of the same name?).

The punchy purples, electric blues, pale pinks, elegant taupes and juicy raspberries in the 16-piece limited edition release tell a tale of cool-toned colors for eyes, lips and nails.

Today I explored five of Blue Dahlia’s delights…

Both the Blue Dahlia Five Color Eyeshadow Palette ($42) and Sepia Sand Eyeshadow ($20) to my eye demonstrate how far Estee Lauder’s eyeshadows have come over the last few years, both in terms of color and quality. They strike me with a sharper edge than the EL of days gone by.

Despite how pigmented they are, these soft, smooth powder shadows could almost blend themselves. They’re everything I love most about what Estee Lauder has become — rich, classy and eminently wearable. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A
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I’m Straight Trippin’ over $5 TRESemme Heat Tamer Spray

July 29th, 2010 by Karen 83 Comments

tresemme heat tamer spray review

Seriously, where would we be without our friends to show us the beauty light? I imagine we’d bumble our way through the beauty-sphere, eventually finding the best stuff on our own, but isn’t it nice when a buddy offers a heads up about something truly great (and cheap!)?

To wit: my pal Marisol recently turned me on to TRESemme Heat Tamer Spray ($5), and HELLO! — talk about bomb-@ss drugstore beauty finds.

I’d been seeing it on shelves for months but wasn’t compelled to give it a try until Marisol’s recommendation.

TRESemme designed the spray mist to protect hair from heat damage, to tame frizz and to add shine.
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