Unsung Heroes

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Femme Rouge Lipstick in Vintage

August 28th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Ironically, my favorite lipstick (this week) is a modern twist on a traditional idea. It’s called Vintage, and I think of it as a modern twist on a traditional nude lipstick for fall.

I’m kind of loving that idea, the idea of lips that are slightly richer, and maybe a few shades darker, than your natural lip color.

Tom Ford’s fabulous new rich, rosy brown Lip Color in Negligee has some of that same vibe.

The whole idea is just so different from what I picture in my head when I think “nude lips,” which over the past few years have meant a lot of light peach, pink and beige.

Barbie lips, so to speak.

I was digging around in my lipstick collection last weekend for something modern and nude when I re-discovered this old friend’s charms — Vintage ($30), a shade in the Hourglass Femme Rouge lipstick line, and one of my unsung makeup heroes.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

August 19th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

By no means is Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder sexy or exciting.

It’s a loose face powder with a single talent, but it’s a talent I quite appreciate.

It sets under-eye concealer — and it’s not flashy, but it does its job well. If dark under-eye circles are a bane of your existence, as they are mine, Secret Brightening Powder is freaking fantastic.

I’m serious! — it belongs on the periodic table of elements. That’s how special I think it is. The light-as-air setting powder has white pigments in it that create a subtle brightening effect and help to cancel out dark shadows.

I’ve been using this stuff with concealer on my dark circles off and on for years, and it never looks caked-on or riddled with creases. It keeps my concealer from scooting around and also increases wear time. Perfect for when you’re hardly getting any sleep, and/or you’ve been recently bitten by a zombie, and you’re this close to turning.

Because, clearly…when one is losing their last vestiges of humanity, dark under-eye circles are still a concern. #priorities 🙂

Anywho! I’ve had this one jar for, like, seven years. Yeah…it lasts a long time. It only takes a tiny amount to set your concealer.

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

To apply, I load a small amount (you don’t want to apply too much; otherwise, it looks obvious) on a fluffy eyeshadow brush like the MAC 217, and layer that directly on top of my under-eye concealer using a patting motion, rather than a swiping motion.

(You don’t want to swipe, lest you can accidentally swipe away your concealer and end up looking MORE tired. No me gusta.)

Once applied, Secret Brightening locks down your concealer, where it should behave for the rest of the day.

It comes in two shades, too. The first, #1, is for fair and medium skin tones, while #2 is for medium, tan and darker skin tones. A 0.14-ounce jar will set you back $24, and you can find it now at Laura Mercier counters and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer

August 19th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anna — Wearing theBalm’s Cindy-Lou Manizer on my upper cheekbones

Quick! Grab my hand! Guuuuurl, we’re making a prison break. I’m busting you out of this shimmer-free solitary confinement, Shawshank-style, with theBalm’s Cindy-Lou Manizer ($24).

Super shiny highlights without the drama of a finicky frost

theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer — It’s theBalm…

With peachy pink Cindy-Lou, theBalm got it totally right. You can wear this powder as a highlighter, an eyeshadow or a blush. The fabulous finish is unconditionally Unsung Heroes worthy.

The otherworldly opalescent sheen lifts dull skin, making your mug look fresh, bright and alive. The effect is like a Broadway spotlight manned by the best lighting guy in the biz — dramatic, but still soft and flattering, and without the harshness of a high-shine frost.

A little goes a loooong way…

It’s important to use just a smidgen, though. A little definitely goes a long way with this.

I like to load a skinny tapered eyeshadow brush like the MAC 224 by running it lightly across the pan. Then I’ll gently buff that on my upper cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose and on my Cupid’s bow, where it lasts from 8-9 hours (without touchups) on my combination dry/oily skin.

I’ve been wearing it a ton lately for “KA-POW!” highlights on my upper cheekbones, and the best thing about it? — it doesn’t settle into my fine lines or embiggen my pores.

Teams up well with matte foundation

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat

August 7th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

I can’t believe it’s already August… Can you? No! I refuse to accept it. I’m in a state of denial.

I’m not even going to entertain the possibility that summer could end until at least October.

Or late November.

I want to go straight from summer to Halloween, back to summer, and then wake up on Thanksgiving night, LOL! 🙂

Oh, well. Sooner or later, probably when it starts cooling off, I’m going to have to accept the inevitable…and somewhere along the way, I’m sure I’ll feel a hankering for rich, red fall lips.

To help me through this difficult time and ease the transition, I’ll turn to Hourglass Ambient Blush in Diffused Heat ($35).

Hourglass Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush closeup — A closeup of Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush

Talk about your beautiful blushes, babe. It’s one of my favorites to wear with warm-toned and/or vintage pin-up red lipsticks like MAC Lady Danger.

I dunno… There’s something about the way this blush works with warmer yellow-based reds (and corals).

Me likey.

Hourglass Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush — Diffused Heat

Orangey poppy mixes with warm pale gold in the marbled pattern, and blended together on cheeks, they look natural (see: no crazy clowns).

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

When I apply one layer, it looks like RyGos just chased me around my condo (because, obviously, he takes time out of his busy schedule to play hide and seek with me).

Noticeable, but not hella distracting, which is great when you don’t want your cheeks competing with your lips when you wear a bold red.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Malice

July 3rd, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why this blush is called Malice because it doesn’t have a malicious bone in its sweet, blushy body. There’s nothing malicious, cagey or wicked about it at all…unless you count how wicked cute you look with yo’ fresh cheeks when you wear it.

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Malice, $45

Peachy pink Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Malice ($45) has been not-so-maliciously sweetening my makeup bag for about two weeks, and in that time I’ve literally not wanted to wear anything else. I think it just might be the most flattering blush in Chanel’s entire permanent line, and it’s all about versatility.

Vehemently versatile

Malice is like NARS Orgasm…only not. Like, if glittery golden NARS Orgasm was a wild child sent to finishing school for a year, she’d come back wearing pearls instead of a leather jacket and be calling herself Malice.

Malice and Orgasm have a similar peachy pink vibe, but Malice’s shimmer, which is more like a barely-there, soft-focus sheen, is much less outrageous and flamboyant.

And it’s that finish that makes Malice one of the greats for me.

I thought it was a matte the first time I swatched it, but then I saw the light reflecting on my skin, almost like the dreamy haze of candlelight, and I realized its greatness.

Effortless and flattering, it just always seems to look natural and good — never like clown cheeks — whether I wear it sheer, or layered to increase its intensity.

It should really sing on a wide range skin tones, and because its sheen is so forgiving (unlike many glittery and/or shiny blushes), that includes the skin of more mature makeup lovers.

On top of everything, it’s just as easy to dress up as it is to dress down. I wore it to run some errands yesterday with the LORAC Pro Palette 2…

OK, I went to Anthropologie to look around, LOL! (Not my fault. There was a sale!)

So anyway, I wore it to run “errands,” also known as “go to the mall.”

Anthropologie white and yellow striped top — Um…does this top make me look crazy?

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Unsung Hair Heroes: $6 Tresemme Fresh Start Renewing Dry Shampoo

June 18th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

Second-day hair don’t care!

Err…make that third-day hair don’t care.

OK, fourth-day hair. 🙂

Yes, fourth-day hair. Last week I ran three days in a row without washing my hair (no judgment) and, dude! — by the last day my roots were janky to the Nth degree.

I was only able to tolerate myself thanks to Tresemme’s new Fresh Start Renewing Dry Shampoo. I was actually kind of shocked by how well it worked.

Now I’m thinking I might’ve even been able to make it to five-day hair…

Maybe.

Since I got my hair chopped a couple weeks ago, I’ve actually had to — gasp! — style it in the mornings (because I can’t just put it up in a ponytail anymore and forget about it), so to save a little time between shampoos, I’ve been spraying Fresh Start on my roots after my morning shower.

It contains oil-absorbing mineral clay and sucks up sweat and funk like a root-sucking hair vacuum!

After using it, my scalp definitely feels less greasy, but doesn’t feel thick or packed with powder, which happens sometimes when I use other dry shampoos. My roots actually feel less dirrrrty when I use this stuff — not as clean as real shampoo, obvs, but all things considered, it’s pretty great for two- or three-day hair.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Brun Eye Shadow

June 4th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

INSIDE VOICE: Dude. You should do an Unsung Heroes post for MAC Brun Eye Shadow ($15).

OUTSIDE VOICE: Eh, I dunno. I love it and all, but it’s a dark blackish brown shadow. I mean, that’s not very exciting, ya know?

INSIDE VOICE: True dat. It’s no Club or Impassioned, but I think it’s still worth a shout-out, right? You wear it practically every day.

Plus, remember that trip when you forgot it at home?

OUTSIDE VOICE: Oh, boy.

INSIDE VOICE: You freaked-the-eff out! You had to track down the nearest MAC counter on your iPhone, and then had El Hub drive you there before you would agree to do anything else. That’s dedication, dude.

OUTSIDE VOICE: El Hub was so grumpy! He was like, “Are you kidding me right now!? Come on! We’re on vacation!”

Bless that man. He puts up with a lot of crazy sh*t. 🙂

OK, I guess you do have a point. Brun’s a great brow filler for brunettes. It’s warm-toned, not too reddish, and I’ve always liked that despite it being so dark, it doesn’t look harsh on my skin, and it’s interesting, too, how the satin finish looks almost matte.

INSIDE VOICE: I’ve seen you use it for other things — not just for filling in your brows.

OUTSIDE VOICE: True, true. I also wear it a lot with slightly defined neutral eyes, where I’ll pat a little MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot all over my lids, buff some MAC Mylar on top of that with a 224, then sweep a little Cork or Soft Brown in the crease.

For a little depth, I’ll take Brun, apply it in the outer corner or the outer crease, and do a quickie winged liner. I tell you, that’s the best classic neutral eye combo right there, I swear. It’s so easy! I can do it half asleep, LOL!

Wearing MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot, Mylar Eye Shadow, Cork Eye Shadow and Brun Eye Shadow on my lids, and Maybelline Blackest Black Lasting Drama Eyestudio on my upper lash lines

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Trish McEvoy Line Refiner

May 29th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

I bought Trish McEvoy’s Line Refiner a couple years ago after a makeup artist at a Trish McEvoy counter used it under my eyes. I wore it for about a month and a half, then stuck it in a drawer and promptly forgot about it.

I know that doesn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement, but I’m not finished with the story yet! Please bear with me. 🙂

Fast forward two years and a handful of months to me cleaning out a set of drawers in my office. Lo and behold, what pops up? — this tube, like a forgotten piece of buried treasure.

I still remembered how to use it from my lesson with the makeup artist. After applying your under-eye concealer, gently tap a minuscule amount of Line Refiner directly on top, concentrating on the areas with fine lines.

Later that day after cleaning my office, I applied it on top of the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer I usually wear to disguise my dark circles, and when I looked in the mirror — AAAAAAAH! (That was supposed to be the sound of a chorus of angels singing in perfect harmony in the background.) — OMG, THIS STUFF IS SO FRICKIN’ BOSS!

Kind of like a colorless lotion that temporarily softens the look of fine lines, it works under or over foundation or concealer, wherever you want to mellow out any fine lines on your face.

I mean, it’s no face lift in a bottle or anything, and it won’t turn back time 25 years, but if you do have any fine lines around your eyes or mouth, I think you’ll see a noticeable difference. I definitely do, both in pics and in person.

I’ve been using it now to set my under-eye concealer for the past three months, and I absolutely see a difference, especially in pics…where I can zoom in on the 20-megapixel originals. My under-eye area doesn’t look as textured as it did when I was just setting my concealer with powder.

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