Product Reviews

Every makeup junkie has at least a few of ’em — sad, neglected eyeshadows and liners tossed into a miscellaneous junk drawer or lost at the bottom of a long forgotten makeup bag (aww!).

Smashbox must have felt terrible about all of that wasted potential because they designed their latest Smashbox Eye Illusion ($28, available at Sephora stores and Smashbox.com) trio to breathe new life into second string colors. When layered on top of other eyeshadows and liners, its sheer, iridescent blue, pink and gold change the hue of existing products and add a metallic finish.

The Eye Illusion products have been around for years, but this latest version, the first one I’ve tried, comes with three colors instead of what had been the usual four.

Each of its three colors instantly morph eyeshadows and liners into something new, and they aren’t particular about the texture of the products they change, be they powders, creams or liquids.
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I wish I could be a butterfly on the wall at Urban Decay HQ and watch the creative peeps plan the brand’s summer lineup. Do they huddle around a big table smoking blunts and eating brownies, hotboxing in a board room until someone proclaims, “Whoa! Like, Eureka!”

You know what I mean, right? 🙂 And they must know, too. Those cheeky references to herbal refreshment — nope, I’m not talking about Celestial Seasonings — aren’t foolin’ anyone.

Your honor, let the record show that this year’s Summer of Love Shadow Palette ($29) is a little less obvious in its references than last year’s incredible Get Baked (LOVE!) was, but it still has that same vibe.

The palette’s been available online and at Sephora since March, but I only just recently took the time to explore its many charms.

To my surprise, the six-piece set doesn’t give me the munchies, but it does make me crave glittery eye looks and pretty pops of color:
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Cute black shoes, jeans that make my bum look good, pictures of men with rippled abs, and wearable neutral eye palettes — these are some of the things I love.

Cue the band!

The Clarins Instant Sun Light Eye Quartet & Liner Palette ($36) has a lot to offer ladies who love warm, blendable neutrals. With four smooth, pigmented powder shadows and an accompanying cream liner, it’s ready and waiting to help you rock a range of casual to dressy eye looks.

Now available at Clarins counters and online, it’s part of the eight-piece Instant Sun Light summer collection.

First thing I have to say about these shadows is WOW! — they blend exceptionally well (almost blend themselves). If you’ve ever had trubs blending eyeshadows in the past and struggle to avoid those tell-tale lines of demarcation (oh, honey, I’ve been there!), I’m betting this palette helps you step up your game. 🙂
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Okay, so, most of us probably need another eyeshadow palette about as much as RuPaul needs another blonde wig. Perhaps that’s why the marketing mavens at Tokidoki decided to up the ante by adding an alluring treat to each of their three impossibly cute Chromatico Eyeshadow Palettes ($25 each).

Bastardino, Adios and Diamante come with a tiny charm tucked away in the bottom compartment. Aww! They’re like Happy Meals without the calories, but instead of a burger, fries and soda, you get four coordinating shades with vibrant pigmentation. 🙂

Clockwise from lower left: Adios, Bastardino, Diamante

When the Tokidoki makeup line launched in Sephora earlier this year, I went a little crazy and picked up a few things, including the Chromatico palette in Bastardino. I’ve been using some of the other products, but the cute palette remained untouched on my dresser for all this time (I couldn’t bring myself to disrupt the pans!).

Lately, however, Sephora’s been heavily pushing the products online (have you seen the Tokidoki Me portal page?), so I pulled my palette down from its perch to finally give it a try.
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Where do girls who have a hankering for bold, full-coverage glosses go? Well, to Illasmasqua, of course! Their full-coverage Intense Lipglosses dress lips in some of the most opaque, intense colors in the beauty biz.

Last year I fell in love with bright pink Frenzy, but these days I’m all about Move, a creamy purple.

As much as I love pink glosses, there are always those days when I feel like shaking things up, and that’s why I like Move. I think it adds a fresh twist to eye looks featuring blues, purples and grays.

One of nine colors in the Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss line ($19, available at Sephora), Move is thick but not sticky, and it wears for about six hours on me if I’m careful. It can be a little drying, however, so I slather on a rich lip balm before I hit the haaay at night if I’ve worn Move during the day (to counteract the effect).
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