Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Okay, so, I think I know why I was tossing and turning in bed last night. Apparently, I saw a movie yesterday that my subconscious wishes I could un-see. Has that ever happened to you? I feel like I could have lived the rest of my life, happy and mentally balanced, having never seen the things I saw in that theater. It’s not that I think Splice is a terrible movie, because I like certain things about it, but some of the scenes are just…wrong on so many levels. If you decide to see it, prepare to lose your innocence forever!

Let me put it this way: the last time I was this disturbed by a movie was Deliverance, and I’m still afraid of the woods.

Back to lighter, less stressful topics like makeup and beauty, ahh… 🙂 Did you learn any new tricks or come across any drugstore gems this week? I’m thinking about swinging by Rite-Aid this afternoon for some post-movie trauma TLC.

If you’re new to the blog, the weekly roundup does two things: 1) it highlights some of my favorite products of the week and 2) lets my imagination run wild with a few minutes of photoshop fun.

Have a good one today, and I’ll catch you in a few. Time to get my second cuppa joe…

BENEFIT THE POREFESSIONAL
OIL-FREE PRIMER

My 30s came with a few cool perks — wisdom, Tabs and El Hub — that have helped offset the drawbacks of getting older, but there’s one area of aging I’m still trying to offset: my pores. Compared to how they looked in my 20s, THEY’RE HUGE! They’re like Olympic swimming pools within which people could host a swim meet, and to some sad degree, it just comes with the territory. Over time, pores enlarge. Accumulated sun damage, other environmental factors and the natural aging process itself all weaken the support structures around them.

But Benefit says there’s hope! The new Benefit The Porefessional ($28, available now at Ulta.com, and Benefit counters and stores beginning next month).

The lightweight, oil-free primer is designed to minimize the appearance of those behemoth pores when it’s either worn as a primer beneath makeup, where it creates a smooth canvas for foundation and powder, and/or applied on top of your face paint throughout the day, where it softens the skin with a matte finish. Read more…

URBAN DECAY
SEPHORA EXCLUSIVE SHADOWS

So I’m kinda lovin’ on Urban Decay’s new eyeshadow colors, but WOW! — they sure are frosty.

Freelove, Woodstock, Psychedelic Sister, Haight, Dashiki and Aquarius launched exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com last month ($17 each), and they have everything UD lovers (like moi) adore about the line — smooth textures, playful pigments and insane color payoff — along with a whole lotta frost.

While I love a good frosty shadow, they aren’t always the easiest products to wear. Go even a tad overboard with them (been there, done that), and they can look heavy on the skin and highlight fine lines and wrinkles. Read more…

CHEAP AND EASY
MAKEUP STORAGE

Back before BIC lighters and matches, primitive men went on quests for fire! And today, not unlike ancient man, I embarked upon my own special quest, but this one was for neatness and better makeup organization.

It took weeks of preparation! — okay, maybe not weeks. The idea stemmed from a comment left by MBB reader Marisa (thanks, girl!) and the eyeliners and cream shadows I dealt with a couple of weeks ago.

Before that, I’d resigned to let my lip products live lives of disarray, tossing them all into a clear plastic box.

But that just wasn’t working. I was stressing out every time I had to pull it out to find something, like yesterday, when I spent an obnoxious amount of time looking for my tube of Lychee Luxe (I knew it was in there!).

There had to be a better way.

This is why I love craft stores: cheap and easy storage solutions. For this project I needed scissors, Scotch tape, one big box and a bunch of smaller empty boxes from lipsticks and gloss. Read more…

T3 TWIRL
CURLING IRON

Big, bouncy curls aren’t Victoria’s Secret anymore. Word got out, and now it’s easy to get runway ready hair at home with the T3 Twirl 1.25-Inch Curling Iron ($119).

Those V.S. chicks get help from a dedicated team of stylists who tease their locks into perfectly tousled submission; the T3 Twirl gets help from its 1.25-inch diameter barrel.

The unit joined T3’s stable of styling tools earlier this year. To improve upon the design of old school curling irons that delivered inconsistent heat, the company implemented some very scientific-sounding technology. Straight up, they make it sound like the Kublai Khan of curling irons! T3’s Single Pass digital heating insures that the iron gets hot f a s t. It also helps it maintain consistent heat through the length of the barrel. Read more…

5 TOP DARK CIRCLE
CONCEALERS

So I’m kinda lovin’ on Urban Decay’s new eyeshadow colors, but WOW! — they sure are frosty.

Freelove, Woodstock, Psychedelic Sister, Haight, Dashiki and Aquarius launched exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com last month ($17 each), and they have everything UD lovers (like moi) adore about the line — smooth textures, playful pigments and insane color payoff — along with a whole lotta frost.

While I love a good frosty shadow, they aren’t always the easiest products to wear. Go even a tad overboard with them (been there, done that), and they can look heavy on the skin and highlight fine lines and wrinkles. Read more…

TOO FACED
LIP INSURANCE

The Problem: Your favorite pigmented lip products disappear faster than Coolio’s rap career (OMG, Gangsta’s Paradise!). Is there anything you can do about it?

Too Faced says sí, se puede! Worn beneath other lip products, their new Lip Insurance lip primer ($19, available at Sephora stores and online) is designed to prevent color fading, bleeding and creasing while simultaneously ramping up the richness of lipsticks and glosses. It’s also jam packed with ceramides and peptides to plump lips and help restore natural collagen.

Too Faced took out all the guesswork from choosing colors, too, because it’s only available in one, which they call Nude. Nude goes on clear with a matte finish and has a light, non-sticky texture that feels smooth like butter. Being a huge fan of Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I couldn’t wait to give Lip Insurance a try. Read more…

ESSIE SUMMER 2010
NAIL POLISHES

Not all summer nail polishes inspire spontaneous boogie down sessions, but the moment I peeped the creamy colors in the Essie Summer 2010 collection, my booty wanted to hit the dance floor!

Essie founder and head honcho (honchette?) Essie Weingarten said she based the six-piece collection — bright with splashes of summery greens, pinks, corals and reds — on the floral prints she’d seen on the runways at New York Fashion Week. If you like what she came up with, you can find the six shades for $48 at beauty stores, salons and also online. I used two coats for these swatches, and every color applied smoothly, with the exception of Miss Matched, which was a tad streaky. All of them exhibit that classic Essie texture (very creamy) and shine. Read more…

MAC DAZZLE LASH
MASCARA

I awoke this morning to a dazzling development! No, not my birthday; I saw that coming from miles/weeks away. This dazzling development was a tube of MAC Dazzle Lash resting on my nightstand. I set it there before bed last night so I’d see it first thing this morning. Why? To remind myself to tell you about it first thing this morning.

MAC Dazzle Lash isn’t new, but I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before. It’s one of the many MAC mascaras in the company’s permanent collection. With a velvety, non-clumping formula that adds subtle thickness and lash length, it’s designed to deliver a seemingly natural lash look with extreme curl hold. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen