Product Reviews

I’m Tripping Over the $10 Stila Road to Radiance Palette

July 12th, 2010 by Karen 44 Comments

Stila Road to Radiance Across the USA

Now HERE’s a makeup trend I can totally get behind: $10 department store makeup palettes!

Who knew that when Urban Decay launched their $14 Face Case earlier this year it would be the first salvo fired in a budget beauty battle for eyes, lips and cheeks?

Um, can I just say that as far as makeup trends are concerned…budget-friendly travel palettes are like a billion times cooler than vibrating mascara wands? They make my inner bargainista want to raise the roof (1998-style)!

The limited edition Stila Road to Radiance Across the USA palette is the first of five new limited edition $10 Stila travel palettes visiting over the coming months, each one inspired by the fashion, people and colors of different Stila girls around the world (the company plans to release one more of them every month through November).

Road to Radiance (that’s her above) comes with four smallish cool-toned powder shadows and a neutral pink cream product for cheeks and lips. Bought separately, the full-size versions of these same products would normally cost $65, which makes the $10 price tag look even better.

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NARS Fall 2010: A Playful Mix of Texture and Pigment

July 8th, 2010 by Karen 40 Comments

nars fall 2010 swatches review photos daphne

True story: I was so starstruck when I briefly met Francois Nars last year that I lost all control of my vocal cords. With my head tilted ever so slightly and my eyes locked on his, I asked, “Did you ever know that you’re my hero?”

Yup, I’d quoted Wind Beneath My Wings… If there was anaward for World’s Biggest Dork, someone should’ve handed it to me right then and there!

I appreciate that Francois Nars didn’t bust out laughing at me that day, but I admire him for something else — how he handles his seasonal color collections.

As cheesy at it sounds, I think his color stories are metaphors for how I want to live my life. He’s always dancing to the beat of his own drum and clearly having a blast while doing it.

For his fall 2010 collection, he added a smattering of kooky colors to a base of everyday wearable shades. I’ve been playing with six items from the nine-piece collection, which debuts online on ~~August 5 before arriving in stores this September~~ July 15 and in stores this August, methinks Francois was feeling experimental.
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Just How Glittery Is the Urban Decay Vegan Palette?

July 7th, 2010 by Karen 64 Comments

urban decay vegan palette review swatches

Ladies, I have an awful case of kitten fever (now with makeup complications).

Because I want a second cat — err, I mean, “Tabs needs a coworker” — I’ve been surfing rescue kitty websites and bookmarking prospective kitty candidates, but whenever I run one of them by El Hub, he replies with grumble, grumble, grumble, “just feeding the CCL fire.”

And that’s not all: Tabs hasn’t been very supportive of the idea either. When I showed him the last batch of kitty resumes, he shot me a dirty look! 🙁

Whatev… The boys don’t have final say in the matter. I do.

Come hell or high water, a kitten like the one on the new Urban Decay Vegan Palette ($34) will find its way into my arms.

urban decay vegan palette review swatches

She’s adorable, right?

UD decorated the box with sweet animal illustrations and filled it with six shimmery shades of brown, green, blue and gray eyeshadow.

The shadows happen to be Urban Decay’s bestselling “vegan” shades — colors made without any animal byproducts (two paws up from Tabs!).

They also threw in a travel-size 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Zero (a matte black) and a tiny bottle of shimmery champagne Sin Primer Potion.
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It’s Official: I’m Getting Naked with Urban Decay This Fall

July 7th, 2010 by Karen 121 Comments

urban decay naked palette swatches photos pictures

As an international kitteh model, Tabs the feline form.

After years spent striking fierce poses as a top talent in the fashion and beauty industries, he’s comfortable in his own fur, but sometimes when a shoot calls for him to pose in the buff, he has to pause…

urban decay naked palette review swatches

He often wonders about the ethical implications. For instance, is it a Sin to want to get Naked in public?

Not according to Urban Decay! 🙂

If you like neutral makeup and palettes, you might want to Hustle on down to Sephora this September when the new Naked Palette ($44) disrobes on shelves.

urban decay naked palette review swatches

Don’t be surprised to find yourself overwhelmed by a euphoric Smog the first time you peep this palette of 12 powder shadows.

The smooth champagne, brown, bronze, gold and charcoal shades (in a variety of finishes!) might leave you feeling Toasted (like the time you drank that Sidecar on an empty stomach, oy!).
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Does a New Formula Show These MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow Trios How To Groove?

July 6th, 2010 by Karen 39 Comments

mac in the groove mineralize eyeshadow review swatches photos

Sometime today, between shaving my toe hairs and vacuuming the stairs (Tabs is shedding like cray cray!), I had an affair…

It started innocently enough with a crush (as they often do). I’d played with three of the nine new MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow Trios ($19.50 each) from the upcoming In The Groove collection. One thing led to another, yadda yadda yadda and BAM! — I couldn’t stop myself.

We’re supposed to meet again this Thursday when the collection arrives on counters.

Shh! Don’t tell El Hub. 🙂

If you’ve ever tried any of the older MAC Mineralize Eye Shadows, these are different. MAC reformulated them, and while I still love the old school formula, this new one takes the cake. MAC stepped up their game, creating a product that’s basically everything I ever wanted in a powder shadow. Silky soft, they apply like butter on toast, depositing ample color and blending like a dream. Shoot, the colors almost blend themselves! — and so far today they’ve lasted from my first cup of Irish breakfast tea all the way through dinner.

If you had fallout trubs with the older Mineralize Eye Shadows ending up on your cheeks or beneath your eyes (sometimes I did too), I think these adhere WAY better to skin.

mac in the groove mineralize eyeshadow review swatches photos
In The Groove
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MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Ups the Ante (AND the Price)

July 6th, 2010 by Karen 21 Comments

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

Edward or Jacob? Eric or Bill? Nutella or — NO! Forget it. There are some choices I’m simply not prepared to make. 🙂

At least now when it comes to mascara, fickle girls like me don’t have to wrestle with difficult choices. We can have our cake AND eat it too, thanks to MAC Haute & Naughty Lash ($18; available in a single shade, Haute & Naughty Black).

The disco turtleneck on the tube (see the pic below) is what MAC calls their “two-in-one dual wiper system,” and it’s one of the keys to Haute & Naughty’s success.

Unscrewing the wand from the glittery purple end loads the brush with product — LOTS of product — enough for dramatic lash volume from root to tip with just one coat.

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

But even if you’re more interested in lash length and separation than lash volume, you’re still in luck!

See, this thing’s a little like a Transformer… By disconnecting the wand from the hot pink extension end, the brush loads with less product, resulting in slightly thinner, yet better defined lashes.

Neat, huh?

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review
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Light Your Way with MAC By Candlelight Mineralize Skinfinish

July 6th, 2010 by Karen 34 Comments

mac by candlelight review

If there’s a cure for my addiction to MAC Mineralize Skinfinish powders, I don’t want it! Whenever MAC releases these limited edition shimmery powders for face and cheeks (so fab for highlighting!), I always fall for at least one of the new pans. 🙂

My latest MSF obsession? By Candlelight, from the upcoming MAC In The Groove collection (arrives Thursday, July 8).

It may not look like much in the pan (just another blah brown, right?), but don’t be fooled. Introduce it to cheeks, and By Candlelight comes to life!

One of four limited edition Mineralize Skinfinishes released with In The Groove ($28 each), this shimmery cheek and face powder adds a gentle flush of rosy pink and warm golden glow — fresh, breezy and casual.

On laid-back, minimal makeup days of the kind I’d like to have quite often this summer :), where I limit my looks to tinted moisturizer, concealer, mascara, brow powder and lip balm, By Candlelight works wonders, and those are the times I like to use it as a shimmery blush.

The look is relaxed, yet still kinda sexy, like familiar jeans, or that old grey tank that fits you *just* right.
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Josie Maran Blush in Fever Is Making My Temperature Rise

July 2nd, 2010 by Karen 22 Comments

Josie Marah Fever Blush Swatches Reviews Photos

“Doctor, you have to help me! I think I’m seeing things.”

“Oh?”

“Yah, I just saw a woman who looked feverish! — but I mean that in the best possible way.”

You see, there’s a fever going around (no, not Justin Bieber), but this fever’s more of a blessing than a curse. It most certainly IS contagious, however, and it’s spreading fast.

Fever ($20), one of three new blushes from eco-friendly Josie Maran, launched exclusively at Sephora earlier this summer as part of a completely new line of blushes designed to lend a light flush to cheeks.

Blossom (a soft peach), Fever (a rosy beige) and Passion (a fresh pink) each contain Moroccan Argan oil, an oil rich in vitamin E, and JM claims that wearing them improves a variety of skin trubs, including dryness and hyper pigmentation.

Conveniently, I have both of those trubs, LOL!
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