Product Reviews

How Much of a Punch Does the Soap & Glory Kick Into Neutral Palette Pack?

July 17th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

soap glory kick into neutrals packaging — I wanna kick it with these Soap & Glory shadows.

There are nine shimmers and a matte in the $20 Kick into Neutral Eyeshadow Palette by Soap & Glory, of which the “kicks” are closer to light instep taps than drag queen chorus line high kicks.

This palette has plenty of things going for it, including a bevvy of everyday cool tones. In fact, the cool tones are why I wanted to try it.

First, though, before we get to that…Soap & Glory makes makeup now? Who knew??

I think it’s a relatively recent development, but yeah, they moved beyond the realm of body products and now have a pretty extensive makeup line, with lots of lip products (so many lipsticks!), a sprinkling of foundation and face powder, highlighters (of course), blushes and even a couple of eyeshadow palettes. Kick into Neutral is one of them.

soap glory kick into neutral swatches — Swatch it to me!

Most of the shadows in the 10-pan palette lean cool, so if you like your neutrals with a kiss of cool gray or taupe, this could be the palette for you. After busting it out a few times, though, overall…I think this palette might actually be TOO cool-toned for me.

I dunno… I’m not sure how I feel about the cool gray tones. Something about ’em isn’t sitting right with me. Normally, I like the contrast of cool shadows on warm skin, but in this case I feel like it’s a little jarring.

Oh, well. I guess you can’t win ’em all, Karen (although the #makeuphoarder in me really wants to!).

soap glory kick into neutral k — I’m wearing Cuddly Bare in my crease, Pink-a-little on my inner lids, Mice-tro in the outer corer and Spookstar on my lash line.

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The Models Own Barely There Eyeshadow Palette Is a Perfect Way to Dip Your Toe Into the World of Neutral Shadows

July 14th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

This week in the comments on the Monday Poll, we were talking about advice we’d give to makeup newbies, and Kerrie cleverly mentioned a tip about how when you start your makeup journey, it makes a lot of sense to stock your makeup bag with things that aren’t too expensive. That way, you can afford to take the time to figure what kinds of things you like, and what kinds of products work well for you, without spending a ton of money up front.

So smart, right?

Along those lines, I feel like the $17.99 Barely There Eyeshadow Palette by Models Own is a perfect way to dip your toe into the wide, wild world of neutral shadows.

Models Own is a British brand now (as of recently) available at Ulta. They have a bunch of products for eyes, cheeks, lips and faces all in the Sonia Kashuk price range, so they aren’t as inexpensive as Wet ‘N’ Wild or ELF, but they aren’t as pricey as MAC or Estée Lauder either. Barely There is their take on the nude palette craze.

And guess what? It’s pretty darned good for $17.99! It has 10 powder shadows in it — five mattes and five shimmers — and the mattes, in particular, are the special sauces/keys.

Any time I start with an eyeshadow look that I intend to do with a few colors, I like to begin by deepening my crease with a matte golden brown or taupe-brown, because the cooler/neutral tones sort of simulate the effect of shadows being cast on the face, which I think makes your eyes look like they’re set deeper.

Barely There is perfect for that effect because it comes loaded with workhorse golden shades and taupe-browns, which makes it a rarity these days among the sea of nude palettes that skew warm with their orange browns and reddish browns.

models own barely there eyeshadow palette swatches — Gimme all the browns!

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Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Deodorant Is the Beyoncé of Antiperspirants

July 13th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

Is it weird to get excited about deodorant?

Wait — never mind. Ya know what? I don’t even care, because Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Deodorant is the Beyoncé of underarm products. A superstar among all the #basicb*tch options for your ‘pits.

It has notes of jasmine, orchid, lily and sandalwood, and I think it smells amazing. It’s like Donna Karan’s original Cashmere Mist fragrance but richer and deeper, and it can even pass for a unisex scent. I’ve read several great reviews from dudes who also wear it.

Even though it’s definitely a “present” scent, I don’t think it negatively interferes with perfumes when I wear them. Doesn’t seem to matter which fragrance families, either. I think it meshes with fruity florals, white florals, spicy scents, masculine fragrances… It doesn’t get in the way.

Funny thing is, though, as I get sweatier and sweatier… I mean, when I’m doing something active, not in general…

What I’m trying to say is that I think it smells better and better the more I perspire. Several times in HIIT class, people have tapped me on the shoulder after I’ve been sweating for 60 minutes like a mofo to ask, “What is that you’re wearing? You smell so good!” and I’m like, “Guess what, fools! It’s my deodorant, haha!”

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Models Own Sculpt & Glow Can Highlight My Cheekbones Any Time

July 13th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

I wonder what Models Own was aiming for when they designed these Sculpt & Glow Highlighting Powder pans…because sometimes when I look at them I see the cross section of a tree trunk’s rings. Or a bullseye. Or a nipple (says the woman who just KonMari’d her nursing bras to Goodwill!!!).

British makeup brand Models Own is available in the U.S. now at Ulta. They’re kind of a trendy line and have quite a few product types that are popular in makeup land right now, like a neutrals palette, matte liquid lipsticks and, yes, highlighters.

models own golden sand swatches — Take it from the top! That’s Models Own Sculpt & Glow Highlighter Powder in Golden Sand 02, Scultp & Glow Highlighter Powder in Peach Pearl 02, Sculpt & Glow Highlighter Stick in Moonlight 02 and Sculpt & Glow Highlighter Stick in Incandescent 03

The Sculpt & Glow Highlighter Powder (looks like nipples in a pan) is available in two $11.99 shades, and theSculpt & Glow Highlighter Sticks are also available in two shades for $11.99 each.

I can totally get behind the Sculpt & Glow Highlighter Powders, which are like drugstore versions of the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfectors. They’re aren’t exact dupes, though. The Models Own powders aren’t anywhere near as creamy as the BECCA Skin Perfectors. I remember reading somewhere that BECCA’s highlighters contain a lot of water, which is why they’re so soft, buttery (and fragile). The Models Own Sculpt & Glow Highlighter Powders definitely don’t feel as creamy, but they do feel as soft. They also have a similar opalescent finish that you can dial up or down, depending on your mood for pearl. I like them, love the price, and I’m sure they’d be great starter highlighters.

models own sculpt glow highlighter powder golden sand — I’m wearing the powder highlighter in Golden Sand on my cheeks and the cream highlighter in Moonlight down the bridge of my nose and along my brow bones.

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Dear Models Own Colour Chrome Eyeshadow Palette, Where Did Ya Go?

July 12th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

models own colour chrome swatches — The British are coming! That’s Models Own Colour Chrome Eyeshadow Palette ($19.99 and available exclusively at Ulta)

Clearly, “someone,” a.k.a. yours truly :), needs to do some deep breathing in child’s pose, because “someone” spent the last five minutes obsessing over the name of this British makeup brand: Models Own.

Models Own. Hmm…

What does it mean?? What does it stand for?? Do models own the company?? Is it a metaphorical reference to models figuratively owning the runway? Does it mean that you have to be a professional model to rock the brand’s products?? GOOD GRIEF, KAREN, CHILL.

Models Own hails from the UK but recently touched down on U.S. shores. They’re available exclusively at Ulta stores and online, with eye, face and lip products.

They’ve got some eye-catching colorful things, like the Colour Chrome Eyeshadow Palette (which we’ll get to in a sec), and some neutral items, that range from $7.99-$19.99 each, placing them in the higher-end drugstore price echelon, up there with Sonia Kashuk and Pixi.

The Models and I… Well, we’re off to a rocky start.

My makeup-loving heart wanted to adore the $19.99 Colour Chrome Eyeshadow Palette, because the cream shadows — oh, gosh — they feel fabulously dense and creamy like the MAC Paint Pots, which I love, but are thinner, which I normally take as a good thing, because it usually implies easy to blend and layer.

I always want to bring my Paint Pots with me wherever I go, but the clunky glass packaging discourages me. I had visions of gleefully scootin’ around town with this palette of 10 cream shadows and basically ruling the land. Since the creams feel similar to MAC’s, I’d hoped they would dry down completely, also like the Paint Pots, but alas… ‘Twas not meant to be. They don’t dry down at all.

models own colour chrome k1 — It’s OK if your eyes are open…

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These Too Faced Chocolate Brow-nie Cocoa Powder Brow Pencils Smell Just as Good as They Look

July 12th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

too faced chocolate brownie deep brown — YOUR BROWS SMELL LIKE WHAT NOW?!

I hope you’ll be able to forgive Ryan Gosling after he announces in Us Weekly that he’s leaving his baby mama (a.k.a. Eva Mendes) for me, because after he gets a whiff of my eyebrows, he’s going to realize that he can’t live without K-Dawg. 🙂

Yes, girl, my eyebrows smell hella good right now! They smell like brownies fresh out the oven! And how could you not fall in love with someone whose brows smelled like brownies?

The Too Faced Chocolate Brow-nie Brow Pencil has been available for a while, but I’ve just tried it, and I tried it because, well…brownies.

It comes in four cocoa powder-infused shades — Taupe, Auburn, Soft Brown and Deep Brown (I wear Deep Brown) — and why Too Faced decided to go next level and give them a chocolatey brownie scent, I do not know… But it’s certainly a nice touch, since brows are usually the most boring part of makeup for me, and the scent gives them a little more pizzazz.

FYI, the fragrance isn’t overwhelming. It’s not like you’re sitting in a closet alone with 10,000 brownies (although I wouldn’t object to that). It’s very faint, and you can only really smell it when you get the pencil tip all up in your nostrils.

too faced chocolate brownie swatches — From the top: Taupe, Auburn, Soft Brown and Deep Brown

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Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette

July 11th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

You can pretty much get the gist of this Chanel palette’s raison d’être from its name, Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette.

To put it another way, is this the type of glow that refers to the women of GLOW, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling? Meaning, would you see a bunch of lady wrestlers in the ’80s wearing this in the ring for a performance? Nope! Absolutely not. These beige, brown and black shadows create a much more natural look, with a lot less wrestling.

I totally get that this is so not exciting for some makeup lovers, but I love this kind of makeup. And I know I’m not the only one! I went to high tea at the Fairmont in SF last weekend with some girlfriends, and, not just one of them, but two of them pulled me aside separately and said, in so many words, “I need to know what’s on your eyes, and I need for you to teach me how to do that ASAP.”

Les Beiges Healthy Glow is a beautiful palette for natural, elegant makeup that’s “there-but-not-too-there.” For me, it’s the definition of clean beauty, which is a look you see a lot in bridal magazines here in the U.S., where there’s soft definition on the lids and lash lines, and you can tell there’s makeup in the mix, but it still looks natural and not O.T.T. Les Beiges is great for that.

I do have to say, though, that I’m surprised by the amount of fallout I’m seeing with this palette. First time I used it, I was so excited that I forgot to tap off my brush, and I ended up with more shadow than I expected on my cheekbones.

If you’re a Chanel enthusiast (like I am), it’s bearable, as long as you tap off your brush, but the palette is $65… Just something to think about.

Other than the fallout, I think the shadows work great. They mesh and blend together well, and they’re perfect shades for natural looks. They also last all day long for me.

chanel les beiges healthy glow natural eyeshadow palette k2 — Natural glow!

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R+Co Sail Soft Wave Spray Sets a Course for Good Hair Days

July 11th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

Did I wake up with my hair looking like this? HELL NO, GIRL! This is all R+Co’s doing. I’ve been using a styling product in their line called Sail Soft Wave Spray ($29).

It’s the one in the blue bottle with the sailboats on it (kinda looks like a Monet painting).

Basically, it’s beach wave witchery, and I loooove it. It’s a salt spray that encourages a wavy texture, and then locks that wave into place with medium-level hold. It also lifts hair for loads of volume and, here’s the kicker, leaves your strands feeling super soft.

If you know your salt sprays, then you probably also know that in order to get that roughed-up beach waves effect, most salt sprays will leave your hair feeling crunchy (*ahem*, Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray).

Yes, all that wavy texture is awesome, but the trade-off is hair that doesn’t feel great when you run your fingers through it. At least I don’t think so.

That crunchiness is an issue for me. I don’t like it when my hair feels stiff, overworked or lacquered into place. Even when I have styling product in my hair, I still want my mop to look and feel like clean, just-washed, regular ol’ hair, ya know?

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