Product Reviews

Sleigh bells ring, are ya listening? In the lane, snow is glistening…

While the leaves on the trees outside my window haven’t yet changed colors for fall, I’m already excited about the holidays. Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner, and makeup lines have started releasing their limited edition holiday goodies (yay)!

Here’s an early look at one such release by a favorite brand of mine: Benefit Cosmetics.

Available online now and on counters this November, the Peace Love & Glossiness lipgloss set ($26) and the Primpcess eye kits ($34) are sure to warm a crisp fall night.

I love the packaging. It’s not too stuffy or serious, and the purple and gold add a regal feel to the fun designs.

Peace, Love & Glossiness

Does m’lday like to keep her options open? If so, the set provides a lot of options. Two of the six shades in Peace Love & Glossiness are a purple and a gold, and each of the three double ended gloss sticks come with two coordinating glosses, to be worn by themselves or mixed together.

Gloss Stick One
My People, Your People: sheer, shimmery pink
Kiss You: sheer fuschia

Gloss Stick Two
Magic: creamy taupe-plum
Who Does Your Work: creamy wine

Gloss Stick Three
24K: shimmery gold
Talk to My agent: shimmery mauve

Swatches from left to right: My People, Your People; Kiss You; Magic; Who Does Your Work; 24K; Talk to My Agent

The glosses are taste-free, but they do emit a fruit punch scent, which fades after about 5 minutes.

I think the thin, non-sticky texture feels kinda like MAC Lipgelee Lipgass. Not only is it moisturizing, but the sheer color payoff makes them easy to apply.

A good holiday kit or set should be a bargain, right? Well, the full set saves a bundle over the cost to purchase all of these shades separately. Separately, they’d cost about $100. Bought with the set, the cost of each mini-gloss breaks down to $4.30!

The price makes the set a pretty fab way to get several different Benefit shades in one fell swoop!

And because the colors are sheer, easy to apply, and not garish or overly-sexy, I’d feel comfortable giving the kit as a gift to a younger cousin or someone just starting to wear makeup.

My People, Your People

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Target used to be where I’d go for deeply discounted bargains on budget beauty products, kinda like an upscale Wal-Mart, but the company has been on a roll lately when it comes to beauty, expanding the number of premium brand beauty products carried in Target stores.

Yes, girl, the House of Tar-ghay now sells $18 eye shadows.

But in true Target fashion, expect to get a lot of bang for your buck. Target knows you want to save some money, but they also want you to spend some, too. 🙂

Joining recent Target beauty bargains on Sonia Kashuk brushes (holla!) are three new beauty lines — JK Jemma Kidd, Pixi by Petra and NP Set. Each line features items in the $12-$40 range.

I’ve been playing with a few of the eye products and one of the lipsticks from the JK Jemma Kidd line. The entire line includes more than 100 different eye, lip and face products and makeup tools.

With modern colors and provocative packaging, the JK Jemma Kidd line for Target is designed to be stylish enough for the catwalk yet still wearable and affordable enough for the everyday woman.

Jemma Kidd’s name is new to many peeps here in the US, but she’s been a fixture in Europe’s beauty scene for a while. A makeup artist and former model, she opened a popular makeup academy in London back in 2003 and launched her own cosmetics line a few years later.

I don’t expect to be working the catwalk anytime soon, but I can relate to the everyday woman part. 🙂

JK Jemma Kidd Hi-Design Eye Colour in Modernist, JK Jemma Kidd I-Design Eye Colour in Editor ($18 each)

In terms of eye shadow quality, don’t expect Shu Uemura, but I think you can expect products somewhere between MAC and Lancome. There are two shadow lines: Hi-Design (brighter colors) and I-Design (neutral shades).

Modernist (a light, shimmery lavender) and Editor (a cool, shimmery taupe) have finely milled powders, soft to the touch and easy to blend, and both have lots of pigment.

The payoff surprised me. While the colors apply sheer, you can still see that the shades look jam-packed with color. They’re easy to build up and layer for bolder looks.

I love it when products give me options, and these eye shadows do just that, providing plenty of color flexibility. They even last all day long.

Yesterday morning, I applied both colors on top of a layer of Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer. That night, as I was removing my makeup, I noticed that the shadows hadn’t creased or migrated on my lids. They looked just as good as they had hours earlier in the morning.

Sheer Vanity Gloss and Glaze in A La Mode ($18)

Sheer Vanity Glaze and Gloss does lipgloss without the goop! It’s a sheer, glossy lip gloss in lipstick clothing. The texture isn’t sticky, thick or goopy like traditional lip glosses. It will totally come in handy in the fall and winter when the wind whips my hair into my face.

The faint licorice scent fades quickly. I licked my lips to check for a flavor, but it’s taste-free.

One layer of A La Mode’s pastel, shimmery coral-peach gives my lips a pretty, natural color with lots of shine. I dig the hot pink packaging, too. Props for the dainty floral pattern!

And the formula moisturizes like a champ. My lips were dry yesterday morning (I guess I didn’t drink enough water the night before), but Sheer Vanity worked a little like a lip balm, smoothing and softening my pucker throughout the day.

The light, shiny and sheer finish reminds me of Shu Uemura Crystal Shine lipstick and Stila Shine Lip Color, and like those products it needs to be reapplied often (every two hours or so).

Overall, I’m really impressed. As the weather cools, it’ll be nice to have a moisturizing lip gloss that won’t stick to my hair every time the wind blows.

From left to right: Modernist eye shadow, Editor eye shadow, A La Mode lip gloss
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Stila Perfecting Concealer is pretty much the mother truckin’ jam. I’ve been under the weather and not sleeping well, so my dark circles have taken on a scary, Marc Anthony-esque purple hue.

The cold I caught the other day made me want to stay home from the office, tucked under blankets on the couch, but a big project at work meant I had to tough it out, so, what was I going to do about the scary dark purple circles under my eyes?

The answer to my dark circles was Stila’s Perfecting Concealer in Shade F. I’ve been applying it with my Sonia Kashuk Concealer Brush and then smoothing out the edges with a fingertip.

Perfecting Concealer covers up my circles really well — almost too well, in fact. I think my boss started doubting whether or not I was really sick because I looked almost like my normal self.

I love the pigmentation Stila crammed into this stuff. I barely need to use any at all — just two tiny dots per eye (diminishing returns beyond that). At this rate, I figure this one lil’ tube should last a long while.

The formula comes in a bit on the thick side, but it’s still a cinch to apply and blend. As far as longevity, it easily lasts all day long without even beginning to fade.

I love natural looking cosmetics. Being made up without looking made up is always a challenge, but Perfecting Concealer is up to the task. The coverage almost couldn’t be more natural. The product doesn’t settle into my fine lines and doesn’t appear too obvious or like it’s sitting on top of my skin.

Scary circles before Stila Perfecting Concealer — picture taken without the camera flash

After one layer of Stila Perfecting Concealer — also without the flash

Before, with the flash

After, with the flash

Stila Perfecting Concealer

Price: $22
Use: To conceal dark circles and skin discolorations
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

For me, Perfecting Concealer is a hidden gem in the Stila line. I dunno how I’ve made it so long without it! Now, of course, I’m stoked to try the other face products in the line. Stila seems to have a great shade selection. Here’s to good luck finding a matching foundation and powder, too!

Do you have experience with Stila foundations, concealers or powders? How do you feel about the line?

Feeling almost back to normal… 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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Some products are so good in certain ways that their strengths totally outweigh their weaknesses. For me, Diorshow Iconic Mascara ($27) is one of those products.

The newest member of Dior’s lash arsenal doesn’t produce the thickest lashes I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t thicken as well as, say, Chanel Exceptionnel does, but it lengthens, curls and defines lashes so amazingly well that I don’t mind at all.

It’s even easy to apply, never clumping or flaking. Together, its strengths make Iconic one of the overall best mascaras I’ve tried in years.

With its long, skinny teeth, the plastic comb brush morphs my lashes into a natural-looking feathered fringe. The brush grabs even the smallest and stubbiest individual lashes, thoroughly coating and defining each one with mascara. The result is long, dark lashes of equal length.

This is what two coats of Iconic looks like. I think it’s a natural lash look (yet still a little sexy) with added oomph. This stuff is totally like the hot girl-next-door of mascaras.
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