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

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

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Stick ‘Em Up! Crazylibellule and the Poppies Solid Perfumes

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crazylibellule and the poppies review

Happy Saturday, gals. How’s it going? What do ya think of these solid perfume sticks by Crazylibellule and the Poppies ($18)?

I should have stuck my hand or something in the picture to give them some perspective, but they kinda look like chubby little lipstick tubes. 🙂

Diverse fragrances

Developed by Sephora co-founder Isabelle Masson-Mandonnaud, each of the 29 unusual fragrances contains a mix of notes like dark chocolate, Tiare flower and ginger. Because they’re generally light, like eau de toilettes, they’re designed to work alone or layered with each other (or other scents).

I’ve tried four of them — Chere Louise, Jeanne Voyage, Josephine Jonquille and 26 Juin Ile d’Yeu — and love ’em all!

Fragrance profiles…

  • Chere Louise: rose, pepper seed, iris, hyacinth, storax (a plant used for making incense), patchouli, guaiacum wood (a tropical shrub)
  • Jeanne Voyage: Silician bergamot, amberwood, Spanish mandarin, heliotrope, violet leaves, rose sap, musk, nutmeg, iris
  • Josephine Jonquille: Tiare flowers, patchouli, black chocolate, jasmine, lemon, ginger, cardamon (an herb from the ginger family)
  • 26 Juin Ile d’Yeu: orange, vanilla, jasmine, plum, black pepper, lily of the valley, peach, musk, wood, rose orange blossom, cardamom, orange

Light and subtle

These are the kinds of perfumes that work great when I just want a lil’ something-something, like for those times when El Hub leans in to snuggle.

crazylibellule and the poppies review 1

The tube makes them kinda fun to apply. I’ve been swiping the sticks (which deposit a thin, slightly waxy film) on my wrists, neck and between “the girls,” taking a minute afterward to thoroughly massage the film into my skin.

The scents seem to last about half the day, but the sticks travel well and they’re a blast to apply. So far I’ve spotted them online at Sephora, Beauty Habit and Crazylibellule.com (LOVE the music that plays on the site), but I haven’t seen them in any stores yet. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Friday night alien antics, etc.

district9_2
District 9 took a lot out of me last night…
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Saturday Surfing

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Tabs is Saturday Surfing

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics Collection Pictures, Swatches and MORE First Impressions

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mac make up art cosmetics swatches

Dagnabbit! I was supposed to start my laundry and go running this afternoon, but has any of that happened yet? No, of course not. My internal MAC Monster demanded I feed her swatches and pictures instead.

And who could blame her? — four stinky loads of laundry versus MAC’s upcoming Make-Up Art Cosmetics collection?

Well, you know how that went. 🙂

Within the humungo collection (34 pieces in all) are three different sets, each one with products designed by a different contemporary artist (painter Richard Phillips, illustrator Maira Kalman and photographer Marilyn Minter).

The artists of the MAC Make-up Art Cosmetics collection

Today I took a look at nine of the items, a few from each of the three sets.

Product shots

mac make up art cosmetics reviews eye shadow x 4 quad in notoriety
Eye Shadow X 4 Quad in Notoriety ($36)

mac make up art cosmetics reviews eye shadow crest the wave
Eye Shadow in Crest the Wave ($14.50)

mac make up art cosmetics reviews pigment push the edge glitter gold
From left to right: Pigment in Push the Edge, Glitter in Gold ($19.50 each)

mac make up art cosmetics technakohl full of fuchsia obviously orange
Technakohl Liner from top to bottom: Obviously Orange, Full of Fuchsia ($14.50 each)

mac make up art cosmetics reviews personal taste on display
Lipglass from top to bottom: Personal Paste, On Display ($14 each)

mac make up art cosmetics reviews hold the pose
Lipstick in Hold the Pose, $14

Swatches

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Eye Shadow X 4 Quad in Notoriety from left to right: Skintone 1, Rich & Earthy, Skintone 3, Notoriety

mac make up art cosmetics swatches brights
From left to right: Technakohl Liner in Obviously Orange, Technakohl Liner in Full of Fuchsia, Eye Shadow in Crest the Wave

mac make up art cosmetics swatches pigments
From left to right: Pigment in Push the Edge, Glitter in Gold

mac make up art cosmetics swatches lip
From left to right: Lipglass in Personal Taste, Lipglass in On Display, Lipstick in Hold the Pose

mac makeup art cosmetics swatches on display
Lipglass in On Display
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Say Aloe to Vaseline Aloe Fresh Gel

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vaseline aloe fresh gel review

“Child,” Mom would always tell me, “put some lotion on those ashy legs!”

“No,” I’d calmly reply. “I hate lotion. It burns.”

Of course, Mom was right, and by the time I’d hit my late teens I was applying lotion like it was a job, religiously, with all the seriousness it deserved.

Unfortunately, I’ve gotten kinda lax about body lotion lately. Busy days have left me with barely enough energy to shower, much less full-body moisturize.

Thank goodness for Vaseline Aloe Fresh Moisturizing Daily Body Gel ($6), aka my tired (and dry) booty’s BFF.

I’ve been using this lightweight moisturizer a lot this week, and I’m flat-out obsessed, which is admittedly something that happens to me a lot, ha! 🙂

Not only do I love how well it works, as in how fast it absorbs and all that, but I love the summery aloe Vera scent.

A little goes a long way (something that took me about a day to figure out), and when I was using too much, it was leaving my skin a little sticky.

Vaseline Aloe Fresh Gel is fast AND cheap (but not in a sleazy way), and quite possibly my new summer skin staple. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

District 9

T-minus one hour till the weekend!
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MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics

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MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics fall collection — just a few bits!

Clockwise, from bottom left:

  • Eye Shadow in Crest the Wave, $14.50
  • Technakohl Liner in Full of Fuchsia, $14.50
  • Technakohl Liner in Obviously Orange, $14.50
  • Eye Shadow X 4 Quad in Notoriety, $36
  • Glitter in Gold, $19.50
  • Pigment in Push the Edge, $19.50
  • Lipglass in Personal Taste, $14
  • Lipglass in On Display, $14
  • Lipstick in Hold the Pose, $14

Swatches coming soon …

Which Skin Care Products Go with You When You Travel?

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Travel skincare

We made it to Friday, WOOT!

I wish we could ditch everything and take a trip together. I’ve got an itch for adventure, and I think it has something to do with this note from Lizz:

Hi Karen!

Since I’m going to Vietnam and Cambodia for three weeks, I would like a few tips to keep my skin in perfect shape.

I normally use Clinique’s 3-step action plan along with an eye cream, a moisturizer and night cream, but since we’ll be traveling every day (we’re going on an adventurous tour), I don’t want to take a lot of stuff in my backpack.

Any tips? I do want to take a good cleanser and a moisturizer with me…

Thanks a lot!

Hi Lizz,

How exciting! Have yourself a great trip. I’m totally jealous!

For me, traveling light means paring down my usual skin care routine from six products (cleanser, toner, eye cream, moisturizer, acne treatment and sunscreen) to three.

  1. Cleanser: On trips I like gentle cleansers that can also double as makeup removers, like Philosophy Purity Made Simple ($10 for a 3-oz travel bottle). It removes everything and doesn’t sting my eyes.
  2. Moisturizer: I’ll ditch my eye cream and moisturize both my face and eye area with a basic face moisturizer (right now I like both the $6 Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for Sensitive Skin and $42 Kiehl’s Abyssine Cream+) to conserve space and lighten my load. Side note: I’ve read some beauty experts who recommend *always* using a separate eye cream, but I don’t see a problem with using a regular face moisturizer around the eyes while traveling. I’ve used ’em and have always been fine. I figure it’s only for a few days, right?
  3. Sunscreen: Gotta protect that skin from the sun! Two of my favorite products are Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion 55 ($38) and Clinique Sun SPF 30 Face Cream ($18).

Since you’re a Clinique girl, here’s a cool tip I learned from reader Megan (thanks, girl!). If you have any of those lil’ samples of Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion that they give away in their gift with purchase sets, bring one along on your trip because it doubles as eye makeup remover. Apply a small amount to a Q-Tip or cotton pad, and gently wipe away any eye makeup that didn’t come off with your regular cleanser. 🙂

Have fun and be safe!

Chicas, when you want to pare down and pack light, which skin care products do you bring?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Make Up For Ever Glossy Full Couleur Lip Gloss Plus Your Favorite Pair of Earrings Equals Easy Makeup Tip

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make-up-for-ever-glossy-full-couleur-3-top

My brain was farting up a storm today. It took me forever to figure out what lip gloss I wanted to wear.

It was like rocket science or trying to build a better mousetrap or something. I dunno…

Finally, out of desperation, I reached for a tube that just so happened to match the earrings I had on (!).

Choosing a lip gloss to wearIf you’re ever at a loss for lip gloss and can’t decide on a color to wear, try a shade that matches a pair of colorful earrings.

In my case the color was Make Up For Ever Glossy Full Couleur Gloss in #3, a creamy coral with a ton o’ shine.

make-up-for-ever-glossy-full-couleur-3-swatch

Check out the teeny sample tube (the full-size .33-oz tube costs $19).

Isn’t it cute?

make-up-for-ever-glossy-full-couleur-3-in-hand

make-up-for-ever-glossy-full-couleur-3-k2

Right now Sephora has a set of three Glossy Full Couleur Glosses on sale for $35 (a $57 value) that comes with full-size tubes in #3 (coral), #1 (cherry) and #4 (fuchsia).

I’m not exactly sure why the matching lip gloss/earrings combo trick works, but I’m guessing that the pops of similar color in such close proximity reinforce the presence of the primary shade — HA! Listen to me sounding like I have any idea what I’m talking about. 🙂
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