Product Reviews

Cargo Tahiti Palette May Cause Springtime Blues (and Greens)

March 29th, 2009 by Karen 28 Comments

cargo tahiti palette

It’s hella cherry blossom central out here, ladies! I’m talking about the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park. El Hub and I spent a couple hours there yesterday. I really needed a little time to relax, so we walked around the gardens, took a billion pictures of blooming cherry blossoms and shared a pot of Jasmine tea. If you’re ever in the area and looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, you could do a lot worse.

japanese-tea-garden-bridge

Mother Nature was all up in the house! The garden was bursting with pink, magenta, yellow, green and blue. With spring colors on my mind, I dove straight for the Cargo Tahiti Palette ($28) as soon as I got home.

The palette comes with four shimmery shades of royal blue, yellowish green, emerald green and jade. The mere sight of it teleports me back to the tea gardens.

cargo tahiti palette
Swatches with flash
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Clinique Turnaround Body Cream: Turn Around Dry Skin

March 26th, 2009 by Karen 30 Comments

clinique turnaround body cream

When I slather on Clinique’s new Turnaround Body Cream ($28), I feel compelled to belt out Bonnie Tyler’s power ballad, Total Eclipse of the Heart.

“Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit lonely
And you’re never coming round
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit tired
Of listening to the sound of my tears.”

bonnie-tyler

If you were born after 1986, you might be more familiar with Nicki French’s cheesier and less powerful version of the tune.

Either way, stop playing like you don’t know the lyrics because I know you do!

In addition to bringing about weird singing urges, Turnaround Body Cream also hydrates crazy good.

It’s part of a crop of new exfoliating face and body treatments Clinique released earlier this year. Clinique says the cream does double duty, eliminating dryness and reviving dull-looking skin with ingredients like time-released salicylic acid and shea butter.
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Sweaty Girls Can Benefit from Bad Gal Waterproof Liner

March 24th, 2009 by Karen 36 Comments

benefit cosmetics bad gal waterproof liner

You know how dance studios usually have huge mirrors on the walls, right? Well, sometimes I hate that.

Last night I went to dance class for the first time in two weeks because I haven’t been feeling very skinny in my skinny jeans. I’m on a renewed mission to get my fitness on, but it was mortifying to watch. Note to self: the six step? That sh*t is hard!

benefit cosmetics bad gal waterproof liner

Then again, watching stuff jigging from all angles really motivates one to lay off the brownies.

At least the mirrors come in handy when I want to check my makeup. As I was gasping for air between counts, I kept noticing the waterproof Benefit Bad Gal liner ($20) I was wearing.

New to the Benefit family, Bad Gal Waterproof Liner’s a smokey black pencil that comes with a sponge tip for smudging.

benefit cosmetics bad gal waterproof

In the past, I had trubs getting Waterproof’s famous predecessor, Bad Gal Eye Pencil, to stay put. I used it a few times and got it all over the place, but its heir works way better.
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Stila Lash Visor Waterproof Mascara Stands Up to Stair Steppers and Sweat

March 20th, 2009 by Karen 14 Comments

stila lash visor waterproof mascara review

We finally made it to Friday, homies! Here’s a big pat on the back to all us for making it through the week: *pat, pat*

Got any plans for the weekend? I slacked BIG TIME on my cardio all week long, so I might go for a run on Sunday or brave a killer gym sesh with my favorite friend/enemy/calorie blaster, the Mighty Stair Stepper Machine.

I was sweatin’ like Keith at the gym last night, duking it out with the stair stepper while I simultaneously…

tried unsuccessfully to NOT fall off at least once;
marveled at the 16-year-old on the stepper next to me who had like six phones with him and was text messaging on all of them the entire time (WTF!? I can barely fast forward to the next song on my iPod without risking my life); and
test drove Stila’s Lash Visor Waterproof Mascara, aka waterproof mascara hawtness!

Stila’s Lash Visor Waterproof Mascara comes with the Foxy Barbie Loves Stila beauty can, but it’s also available separately for $12.50.

I think it kicks my former favorite waterproof mascara, Shu Uemura Precise Volume Waterproof, in the boo-tay.

stila lash visor waterproof mascara review
One coat of Lash Visor, KAPOW!
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10 Spring Makeup Tips and Trends

March 20th, 2009 by Karen 6 Comments

Spring tulips

Well, it’s official. Spring has sprung! 🙂

It’s the start of a new season, ladies, so what does that mean for my makeup?

LOL, not a lot! I have to confess: I don’t adhere to guidelines for seasonal colors and trends. Sometimes I’ll wear a heavy foundation, dark shadow and murky lip color in the middle of spring or summer. It just depends on how I feel.

But that’s not to say I don’t take seasonal makeup guidelines under advisement. It all just adds to the fun!

10 simple spring makeup tips and trends

Spring makeup means simple and clean with hints of color. Instead of heavier purples and precious metals, reach for more neutral shades.
While purples and plums dominated the winter, have fun with feminine and flirty lilac shadow applied on the lower lid and into the crease.
Try a baby-soft rosy pink cheek blush with a pop of shimmer on top for a healthy, youthful glow.
Make the most of the changing light. Apply a light dusting of a natural brown (instead of an orange) bronzer where the sun hits the face on the cheek bones, the bridge of the nose and on your forehead and chin.
Spring eyes are usually (but not always) light, and we see a lot of lighter, neutral shadows with sparkle like copper, gold or champagne.
Add a touch of extra shine to the inner corners of your eyes with a shimmery white cream or powder to make them POP!
Lip colors either lighten up for daytime in spring, with lots of glossy pink and salmon, or they go bright with berries to balance lighter eyes and cheeks.
Have fun with something bright and warm on your nails like fuchsia, magenta or bubble gum pink!
Brown eyeshadow never goes out of style, but at Fashion Week we also saw it used a lot as a liner for a softer overall look, especially along the lower lash line.
Try a colorful smokey eye using springy blues or greens. Pale-skinned beauties might go sheer, while tanned lovelies can go deeper.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

It’s Kenzo Eau de Fleur de The Tea Time

March 19th, 2009 by Karen 10 Comments

kenzo-eau-de-fleur

Gals, do ya remember Bath & Body Works’ awesomely clean Rainkissed Leaves (about $10) scent from last summer? If you went ga-ga over it like I did, then catch a whiff of Kenzo’s new Eau de Fleur de The Tea ($55).

It’s one of three Kenzo Eau de Fleur fragrances, the other two being Eau de Fleur de Soie Silk and Eau de Fleur de Magnolia. All three are special edition scents and go for $55 each (1.7oz bottles).

Eau de Fleur de The Tea has a crushed-leaves-in-the-rain vibe that reminds me of B&BW’s Rainkissed Leaves but also carries notes of green tea and musk (like the scent of clean skin). It doesn’t smell overwhelmingly like tea (seriously, who wants to walk around smelling like a tea bag?), which has been a beef I’ve had with other green tea scents I’ve tried in the past, but it does smell just enough like green tea to be appealing.

“A white cowbell with a heart of gold. Sheltered under its leaves, the tea flower diffuses a floral concoction with notes of green tea and a hint of musk. Kenzo flower waters are picked from Japanese trees. Each eau de toilette in the collection evokes a delicate trail of tree blossom. Three new fragrances made of natural, clear and streamlined floral notes. Every year, Kenzo will enrich this collection by picking another flower.”
source

All week long I’ve been layering it on top of Rainkissed Leaves Body Wash and Lotion. The two scents complement each other nicely.
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Clean and Clear Soft Scrubs Away Skin Trubs

March 19th, 2009 by Karen 22 Comments

makeup tips how to apply makeup mac cosmetics

Happy Thursday, chicas!

Lately, I’ve been thinking about scrubs.

Could it be the TLC I’ve been bumping 24/7 (“A scrub is a guy that thinks he’s fly and is also known as a bustahhh!”)?

Perhaps last Monday’s episode of The City is still lingering on my mind.

makeup tips how to apply makeup mac cosmetics
Whitney dumps her scrubby boyfriend; the women of the world issue a collective WOOT!

Or maybe it’s my new addiction to Clean & Clear’s Soft Purifying Cleanser Scrub ($7).

A few weeks ago I was getting zilch for sleep and wasn’t drinking enough water, which is usually a recipe for HOT MESS. My forehead broke out, my cheeks felt parched and my skin was looking pretty blotchy.

I picked up a bottle of Clean & Clear Soft Scrub. The product marketing says this oil-free scrub’s combination of gentle exfoliating beads, salicylic acid and white tea anti-oxidants work together to cleanse skin gently without stripping.
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Ladies Love the Purple: Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow in Heather

March 18th, 2009 by Karen 36 Comments

bobbi brown long-wear cream shadow in heather

Ladies, I had a minor incident this morning on the beauty home front.

I was plucking my brows and found my very first white eyebrow hair.

yea… huzzah…

While this stone cold reminder of my trek through my 30s was a bit traumatic, I tried to look on the bright side: at least the hair was dainty and kinda cute. 🙂

If it had been super long and wiry like the hair on a Jack Russel Terrier, I would be singing another tune. That, and I’d have to start getting REALLY creative with all the close-up eye photos on this blog, LOL!

bobbi-brown-heather-eye

Speaking of close-up eye photos, here’s one of my new favorite cream eyeshadow, Bobbi Brown’s Heather ($22). And no, you won’t be able to find that white hair in this pic. It has been vanquished!

bobbi brown long-wear cream shadow in heather swatch

Heather’s a matte mauve confection from Bobbi’s recent Platinum Collection, and to steal a tune from J-Timberlake in those McDonald’s commercials, “Bah-dah-dah-dah-daaah… I’m lovin’ it!”
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