Product Reviews

MAC Future Forward: Justine Skye Iridescent Powder and Dua Lipa Cremesheen Glass

April 11th, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

mac future forward packaging — MAC Future Forward collection (two of the three pieces)

In the future!

In the future, I predict that MAC will release a different new musically charged piece of makeup every month, starting this month, and they will do it for the next two months after.

Um…I’m not really going out on a limb there, because, uh, yeah. MAC Future Forward. It’s their latest musical collaboration, and it encompasses three LE items (yeah, it’s a small one), a different one of which which will be released in each of the next three months. Each one is a collaboration with a different singer. There’s one for Justine Sky, one for Dua Lipa and one for Lee Hi, and this was the perfect excuse for me to add some new songs to my running playlist, which has been in dire need of new tunes for months.

I mean, I love you, Lisa Lisa, but you can only listen to Head to Toe so many times before it starts driving you nuts.

“U Don’t Know,” Justine Skye

“Be the One,” Dua Lipa

“Breathe,” Lee Hi

American R&B singer Justine Skye did a pastel purple with pink pearl Iridescent Face Powder ($27, coming April 13th to select MAC locations and online Justine Sky Iridescent Powder[/caption]

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The MAC Min Liu Collection Is Pretty in Pink and Red

April 10th, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

mac min liu for mac collection — Pieces from the new Min Liu for MAC collection (six of 10)

Happy Valentine’s Day! ?

Um…yes, I do realize that it’s April, LOL! 🙂 But look at all the pink and red in this collection. It totes reminds me of Valentine’s Day.

It’s the new limited edition MAC Min Liu for MAC collection, and it’s a collab with fashion designer Min Liu, the gal behind Ms MIN.

I looked through the line’s Spring/Summer 2017 look book this morning, and this outfit with the white pants spoke to me…

I know that the pants are long for fashion’s sake, but seriously, this is me every. Single. Time I put on a pair of pants at a store. #shortpeopleproblems

The collection contains 10 pieces, and most of them are new. The only re-promote I see is Blacktrack Fluidline.

There are two $20 lipsticks, two $18 Lipglasses, a $29.50 Eye Shadow X 2 Duo, a $40 Pearlmatte Face Powder, a $26 Cream Colour Base, a $35 Makeup Bag and a $52.50 Brush Bag with three short-handled brushes.

The launch arrives April 20th online and in stores (available through June 1st).

Trendy tassels

First things I noticed were these trendy tassels! They remind me of earrings. I thought they might get in the way of applying the lip products (no likey fringe in my gloss, please), but they don’t, yay!

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Behold! Introducing a New Collection of MAC Extra Dimension Blushes and Skinfinishes (Highlighters)

April 7th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

mac extra dimension collection — From the new MAC Extra Dimension collection — the MAC Extra Dimension Blushes (nine of 11, $28 each) and Extra Dimension Skinfinishes (three of three, $33 each), available now in the permanent line

Picture it: another dimension beyond ? our own, where brownie calories don’t count.

Actually brownie, ice cream, cake, doughnut and pie calories… And doughnuts.

Did I mention the doughnuts?

Also, the cats there clean up their own litter boxes.

Yeah, it’s amaze-balls. 🙂

But, sadly, this is not that dimension… In this dimension, brownie calories do count (boo!); however, for what it’s worth, there is an Extra Dimension of new blushes and highlighters open right now at MAC (yay!).

mac extra dimension blush into the pink sweets for my sweet — The new MAC Extra Dimension Blushes in Into the Pink (top) and Sweets for my Sweet (bottom)

mac extra dimension blush rosy cheeks husehd tone — The New MAC Extra Dimension Blushes in Rosy Cheeks (top) and Hushed Tone (bottom)

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NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection for Summer 2017: Swatches and First Impressions

April 4th, 2017 by Karen 27 Comments

nars charlotte gainsbourg summer 2017 — The NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection for Summer 2017, coming to NARS counters April 15th

Oh, my gosh!!! I’ve been painstakingly growing out my bangs for the last… How long’s it been? A month and a half? But now I’m this close to throwing in the proverbial hair towel and chopping them off because of Charlotte Gainsbourg.

I’ve been looking at pictures of her and listening to her music all day long because, hello — gotta set the mood for the new NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection, and this woman works some fierce bangs action. Charlotte, girl, you’re giving me so much hair inspo right meow. 🙂

And makeup inspiration, too! Charlotte’s new collab with NARS is kind of incredible. It completely contravenes the whole more-is-more thing happening in makeup, like an anti-Instagram/heavy contouring/blinding highlight kryptonite, with sheer coverage, sheer skin, sheer cheeks, sheer lips and barely-there color on the eyes.

It’s fresh, easy, approachable, and very evocative of Charlotte’s makeup style (and mine right now).

In most of the pictures I’ve seen of her, Charlotte’s skin looks real! She’s wearing very minimal coverage (most of the time, it doesn’t look like she’s wearing any foundation or concealer at all, but I think she probably is), maybe with a pink or dark lip, barely-there color on her cheeks, and lashes and liner. Or she’ll do a subtle smoky eye with neutral lips, which seems like a very French aesthetic to me.

Charlotte is half French, half English and the daughter of two famous people, English singer Jane Birkin and French actor/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, and she’s starred in more than three dozen movies, many of them in the UK and France. Her experience with movie and stage makeup inspired this launch.

The collection encompasses 18 LE pieces and arrives on April 15th with lots of exciting new formulas, including things we’ve never seen from NARS before, like the Hydrating Glow Tints, Lip Tints and Velvet Duo Eyeshadows.

There are also three new shades of the Multiple Tints (which are still relatively new) and the snazzy Au Poil Brush Roll, which is — wait for it — $175 (!).

SAY WHAT?! Yeah.

nars charlotte gainsbourg collection swatches 2 — Swatches from the top: Multiple Tints in Alice, Jo and Jeanette; Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in London Clinic and Blindfold; Lip Tints in Double Decker, Ephelide and Promise

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Paint Chips, Vol. 1: Smith & Cult Exit the Void

April 4th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

smith cult exit the void day 1 — Smith & Cult Exit the Void: Day 1

How long will it last? THAT’S the question. Let’s find out! 🙂 Paint Chips is a series where I paint my paws with two coats of polish, a base coast and a top coat, and see how long it lasts.

Even if you aren’t a hardcore makeup collector — even if you’re just a part-time product enthusiast — you probably remember at least one product that turned a casual interest into a full-blown brand obsession. For me, one such product was Smith & Cult Exit the Void.

I’d worn a couple of shades from Smith & Cult before, but oh, my goodness… When I discovered this creamy periwinkle blue (came out with their spring 2017 collection), it took my eyeballs by surprise!

It looks like a perfect spring sky — that dreamy, rich blue that rocks your world after so many months of dreary, wintry gray. It brings a smile to my face whenever I see it on my nails. 🙂

What makes me REALLY happy, though, is how pigmented it is (one coat is like three coats of any other brand) and how freaking long it lasts.

And dude, I beat the crap out of my nails. I’m serious, these poor hands. I put them through a lot. Lots of typing, baby handling, kitty handling, chores, and even some weightlifting and burpies (which are the devil’s work). My nail polish, to paraphrase Rihanna, needs to work, work, work, work, work, work.

Exit the Void, when I wore it with a Sally Hansen Green Tea + Bamboo base coat and OPI Top Coat (they’re my current faves), looked perfect for five days. Then, about halfway through the fifth day, the first chips started to appear.

But that’s great for me! I left it on to see how long it could go before it passed the absolute point of no return.

smith cult exit the void day 5a — Smith & Cult Exit the Void after five days

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Front Row Fabulous With the Giorgio Armani Front Row Collection

April 3rd, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

If I someone told me that I was going to sit in the front row at Paris Fashion Week for the Chanel show, my first reaction would be, are you for real!? I would LOVE that, but then…what would I wear? A designer closet, I do not have, and I don’t know if I could get away with high-waisted black Zellas.

Hmm…

The Giorgio Armani Front Row Collection: A new launch of LE lipsticks and gloss-like liquid lipsticks

These are nudes with ‘tude. There are six nude lipsticks ($38 each), six nude lip glosses/liquid lipsticks ($37 each) and a long-wearing nude liquid lipstick ($38) in the release, but before you grab a cup of Sleepytime Tea and peel off your pants (a.k.a. your trousers, for those of us from the UK) to take a nap, these are not snooze-worthy nudes. This is an Armani-style magnum opus of nude with pink, coral and beige works of art.

But let’s be real here — you can find these color families for less. That’s true, but Armani’s lipstick, liquid lipstick and lip gloss formulas (these are all unscented and unflavored) are different in the best possible way. While I was swatching these, I kept thinking, “Why aren’t more brands ripping off Armani??”

Lip Maestro (liquid lipstick): Front Row Collection

Lovely Lip Maestro in 514 ($38) is the solitary liquid lipstick in the launch. An opaque neutral pink, it has a half-matte, half-satin finish, which is something you don’t see every day.

giorgio armani lip maestro 514 — Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in 514 ($38)

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The Latest From the Deck of Scarlet Palette Subscription Service: Edition No. 01

March 31st, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

deck of scarlet 01 — There’s something kinda 50 Shades about this, amiright?

I feel like this lady on the Deck of Scarlet No. 01 Edition palette is about to 50 Shades me…like her sole mission in life is to punish you and pleasure you at the same time. *cracks whip* ?

This is the latest palette from upstart beauty brand/makeup palette subscription service Deck of Scarlet. You pay $29.95 ~~per month~~ every other month, and get a different limited edition eye, cheek and lip palette with some pencils on the side, and if the combo for a particular month doesn’t do it for you, you can skip that one without having to pay for it.

The products are cruelty free, made in the USA, and you can only get them online.

The big twist, other than the whole palette subscription angle, is that every new palette is a different collaboration with a different popular vlogger.

This is their third one (ironically called No. 01), and it’s a collab with YouTuber Evon Wahab.

I really don’t know anything about her, but I looked her up on YouTube and saw the front of her channel page, and she’s really pretty.

The palette has three powder eyeshadows, a contouring powder, a highlighting powder, two lipsticks, a lip liner and an eye liner.

Honestly, I’m not into lipsticks that come in palettes, but I like the coral one here, Kiss the Coral. It’s a warm, satiny coral that feels fab.

I do like that the palettes have separate covers to keep the powders from mingling with the lip products, especially considering that the powder products like to scoot around, particularly the eyeshadows. I have to remember to tap off my brush, or I end up with lots of fallout.

The shadows remind me of NYX. They’re soft, pigmented and look intense in swatches, but they sheer out pretty quickly on lids. I think they’re good for blown-out smoky looks because they blend easily, but if I’m working quickly, the colors tend to all blend together. So they’re easy to over-blend.

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MAC Next to Nothing Collection Face Colours, Pressed Powders and Fan Brushes

March 30th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

mac next to nothing foundation — The new MAC Next to Nothing Foundations, coming to MAC counters and online April 6

Next to nothing sounds like my approach to cat naps.

Hey, man! When I want to take a nap, it’s pants off, window cracked open, and then I peace out! Like, instantly.

Connor Claire does it too. She’ll pull off her pants in her pack ‘n’ play, and bam! — she’s asleep in 5 seconds.

Seriously, try it sometime. De-pants, then nap. It’s totally a thing. 🙂

A new sheer foundation from MAC

Next to Nothing is also the name of MAC’s new sheer liquid foundation, which really does feel like you’re wearing next to nothing. It’s a barely-there whisper of opalescence in a 1.2-oz. glass bottle with a pump, and it’s $31. Nine shades are coming to the permanent line, along with a line of Next to Nothing Pressed Powders and two synthetic fan brushes, starting April 6th.

mac to nothing swatches light final — From the top: Light and Light Plus

I think of Next to Nothing as almost like a liquid CC or a BB cream. It blurs my pores and covers juuust enough of my freckles to have a place in my arsenal.

Along the MAC family spectrum of sheer foundations, it sits about halfway between Face and Body (which is sheerer and doesn’t blur my pores as well) and MAC Studio Waterweight (which has fuller coverage and a matte-er (more matte?) finish.

If you like Face and Body but wish it was better at blurring pores, you should totes give Next to Nothing a try.

mac next to nothing swatches medium final — Medium, Medium Plus, Medium Dark and Medium Deep

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