Product Reviews

Physicans Formula Healthy Wear Bronzer: A Trifecta of Skin Lurving Benefits?

April 13th, 2010 by Karen 62 Comments

Well bake me biscuits, and cover me in gravy!

[Sorry, I’ve been re-watching True Blood: Season 1]

Now here I go being all wrong about bronzers… I always thought they were for adding a warm, almost-tanned look to skin. Not true, says Physicians Formula, or rather, that’s not all they can do.

New Healthy Wear Bronzer gives a sun-kissed glow but couples it with healthful skin benefits.

The new line of powdered bronzers includes four $15 shades — pricey for drugstore makeup — but PF claims that’s because you get a bunch of bells and whistles with ’em too:

SPF 50: As in non-greasy, mineral-based (titanium dioxide, zinc oxide) SPF 50 sunscreen to keep you aging gracefully
Antioxidants: To help repair UV damage
Skin brighteners: Namely licorice extract and tomato derivatives, to brighten skin and diminish the appearance of sun/age spots

So, how do they do ya?
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CORRECTION: You CAN Touch Chanel Noir Et Or

April 13th, 2010 by Karen 43 Comments

Okay, so I *totally* get the glam 1930’s/’40s Shanghai thing Chanel says they were going for with the new Noir et Or (“Black and Gold”) collection, but oooh, gurrl, I’m getting some strong MC Hammer vibes too!

If Hammer had seen this collection way back when he was scooting across stages, he might have asked, “Can I touch this?”

Why? Because it’s so hot, and so timeless.

Was the Chanel crew intentionally referencing questionable late ’80s hip-hop fashion and style when they thought up the four-piece collection for eyes and nails? Probably not … but wouldn’t it have been awesome if they had? 🙂

Inspiration for the collection

Chanel Global Creative Director Peter Philips brought Noir et Or into being for the Chanel Metier D’Art fashion show in Shanghai, drawing upon the spirit of Ms. Coco herself (as he often does)!

Where can I find it?

That’s a good question. Get ready for a beauty hunt of sorts, Chanelophiles, because it might take some effort to track down. The three polishes and eye duo are available now, but they aren’t being carried at regular Chanel counters (huh?).

You can, however, find them at Chanel boutiques, Makeup Studios and online at chanel.com.

I guess Chanel was aiming to create an extra sense of exclusivity this time around.

A closer look…

Of the four pieces in the collection, I’m digging the polishes the most ($25 each). Black Velvet, Gold Lame and Illusion d’or all have that classic Chanel polish texture you know and love — thick (but not too thick) and smooth, with a gorgeous, glossy finish that just says, “Chanel.”

Le Vernis Nail Colour in Illusion d’or

The gold and purple shimmer bits swimming gleefully through this clear polish are just as beautiful on nails as they are in the bottle, yet despite the bits, the polish dries to a smooth finish. Yup, ain’t no grit in this game.
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Rimmel Glam Eyes Lash Flirt Mascara, A Haiku Review

April 12th, 2010 by Karen 52 Comments

Oh, Glam Eyes Lash Flirt
(A mascara by Rimmel)
Cheap … but not sleazy.

Just seven dollars!
In two shades: Black and Kohl Black
On sale at drugstores.

Lashes like magic
Sprinkled in Miracle Grow
EFFING CRAZY LONG!

For mad length and lift
Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara
Lasts from dusk till dawn

Nekkid lashes

What’s Rimmel’s secret?
The air-whipped formula and
Carbon black pigment.

Is it perfect? No.
The brush is hard to use and
It can make a mess.
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MAC Unsung Heroes: Lychee Luxe Lipglass

April 12th, 2010 by Karen 64 Comments

Question for my coral lovin’ babes: Do you have a favorite coral lipgloss? Hands down, mine’s got to be MAC Lipglass in Lychee Luxe ($14). It’s a shimmery coral from MAC’s permanent line, and if I had to guess I’d bet I’ve gone through a double-digit number of tubes, yikes!

Wish I could say I stumbled upon Lychee Luxe on my own, but I actually heard about it from my mom. She gave me the heads-up about 10 years ago, which is funny to me because she’s never really been into makeup.

Proof positive that Lychee Luxe holds *great* magical powers. 🙂

One day she swung by a MAC counter looking for a gloss with just the right amount of color for her fabulous 50-ish self. She left with her first tube of Lychee Luxe, and a familial makeup obsession was born.

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Thanks to Marc Jacobs, Spring Smells Fresh As a Daisy in the Air

April 10th, 2010 by Karen 9 Comments

Oh, Marc, you tricky boy! The blue daisies perched atop each bottle of Daisy in the Air ($57 for 1.7 fl oz) led me to believe that a new version of your Daisy fragrance had arrived, but, alas, it’s the same delicate scent, only dressed in new limited edition attire (with matching blue paper garland!).

A floral eau de toilette, Daisy the fragrance smells more like a violet to me, and she’s been gracing our airwaves for years. Her free spirit takes me back to fun spring breaks and summer vacations, to days way before there were so many things to do or places to be…

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NARS Cactus Flower: A Bloomingly Blendable Blush

April 9th, 2010 by Karen 26 Comments

Confession time: part of the reason why NARS Cactus Flower Cream Blush ($26) drew me in was because it looked so freakin’ scary in the pan, LOL! I’ve had serious love affairs with brighter-than-bright NARS cheek colors before (Mounia, anyone?), so I hoped from my fingers to my toes that scary blush lightning would strike twice with this shimmery reddish coral.

Cactus Flower’s one of eight cream blushes in the NARS permanent makeup line. The texture feels slightly thinner than MAC and Illamasqua cream blushes to me (almost like a gel blush), and I think that’s part of the reason why it’s so smooth and easy to blend.

It makes the lazy beast in me dance jigs whenever I put it on because of how little work it takes to use — just a few swipes with my fingers, and less then a minute later I’m out the door.

Wearing Cactus Flower at the start of the day. NOTE: I am NOT nekkid in this pic. 🙂 I’m actually wearing a tube top, ha ha!
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Should You Be Sweet on Rimmel’s Royal Gloss?

April 9th, 2010 by Karen 17 Comments

This one’s for my fellow typography hounds. I had my latest You know you’re a font nerd… moment the other day when I laid eyes on the scripty font on these here tubes of Rimmel Royal Gloss ($7 each).

Isn’t it cute? I’ve been trying to track it down, but no luck yet.

I have two of the 10 new shades, Sweet Lust (the shimmery pink) and Candy Rush (the shimmery coral), and I think both of them are aptly named because, daaaang, they’re sweet! They take the phrase, “Give mama some sugar,” to a whole new level.
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Next Stop: Essie Resort 2010 and Nail Polish Paradise

April 8th, 2010 by Karen 62 Comments

Wowee, wow, WOW! Not only did Essie’s new Resort 2010 collection knock my socks off, but then it picked them up and ran away. 🙂 I mean, I usually like the things Essie comes out with, but I haven’t been this stoked about one of their releases since Neon 2008 (I still le sigh when I see Bermuda Shorts).

Splash of Grenadine

OOH! The four-piece Resort collection takes me and my nails down to the spa with colors that remind me of tropical vacations, but not in the way that tropical-themed nail polish collections usually do. These shades aren’t your average beachy corals and hot pinks. Essie Founder and President Essie Weingarten went with these creamy bad boys, drawing inspiration from the chic vacationers who stay at Ritz Carltons and tan on private beaches in luxe island style.

Turquoise & Caicos

Not only did Essie hit the right color notes, but she rocked a flawless formula, too. I think all four of these shades are super easy to use.
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