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

Frederic Malle Geranium Pour Monsieur Is for Ladies and Gentlemen

July 14th, 2009 by Karen 13 Comments

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Is it just me, or is it really hard to concentrate when the sun’s beaming outside? I couldn’t sit still today and wasn’t getting anywhere with my freelancing, so I hopped across the bridge to San Francisco under the guise of conducting “beauty research.” 🙂

I’ve been on a fragrance kick lately and was itching to find some new scents to break out of the fruity floral rut I tend to get stuck in.

As luck would have it, I found a scent unlike any I’d ever laid my nose on before.

Where? — At the Frederic Malle fragrance counter in Barney’s, San Francisco.

A full-bodied fragrance experience

Early last year I had my first run in with the Frederic Malle line. I was on vacation in Las Vegas and stopped by the Barney’s store.

Frederic Malle fragrance counters aren’t like the perfume counters I’m used to in department stores. They have walk-in scent chambers and climate-controlled refrigerators (similar to ones used to store bottles of wine). Very fancy. The instant you arrive, you know you’re in for something different.

New Frederic Malle summer scent

I was sniffing around for something unusual, and that’s what I found in Geranium Pour Monsieur ($135-200), Frederic Malle’s newest fragrance (released in June).

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It’s a men’s fragrance, but I think women might be able to pull it off, too, because of its soft floral quality, something most spicy/sporty men’s colognes lack.

Dude perfumes aren’t my thang, but I like Geranium, even though it’s nothing like the super-femme fragrances I’m usually drawn to.
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Chanel Venice Collection Eye Gloss Turns Up the Intensity

July 14th, 2009 by Karen 51 Comments

chanel venice collection fall 2009 eye gloss

The Chanel Venice collection for fall 2009 keeps dishing out surprises.

First, the two summery Glossimers threw me for a loop, and now it’s the Eye Gloss ($65).

My first impression? Wearability — in that I wasn’t sure how wearable this quad would be, but after some quality playtime with it yesterday, I’ve made up my mind. The colors make fantastic eyeshadow bases, but they do come with a few serious caveats.

Varying pigmentation

Chanel packed the Eye Gloss quad with four creamy shadows in shades of shimmery gold, beige, burgundy and black. Both the beige and gold shades apply with a medium pigmentation, while the burgundy and black shades apply with rich, deep color.

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Eye Gloss in beige

Texture and finish

The tester I’d first touched at a counter the other day must have been sitting out for a while. At that time I’d thought the colors felt thin and dry to the touch. Not so, though, because the shadows in the quad I purchased feel thick and moist, kinda like a lip gloss.

The moistness allows for a lot of movement on my skin, and unlike MAC Paint Pots or Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows, which start off creamy but dry within a few minutes, the Eye Gloss shades remain wet much longer on the skin, and that allows for a lot of time to blend, layer and manipulate the gloss around my lids. Nice.
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MINX Nail Coverings: High Fashion for Nails

July 14th, 2009 by Karen 28 Comments

Today Johnie of The Beauty Junkie blog talks about a fun way to let your fingers do the talking.

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Have you heard of MINX nail coverings yet? I ask because they’ve taken the beauty world by storm.

I caught my first glimpse of MINX nails about 10 months ago in one of the many beauty magazines that gets delivered monthly to my mailbox (always such a good mail day when one of those arrives!). Rhianna was sporting them in silver chrome, and I was like, “WHERE do I get some of those?” Her nails looked amazing and done to perfection.

Back then MINX were brand spankin’ new, and nobody had heard of them before, including the people at most salons.

Since then things have changed.

Now, they regularly appear in magazines, being worn by more and more celebrities. Beyonce is a huge fan and gets caught wearing MINX a lot, and the product’s getting more press all the time.

My first MINX manicure

Salons all across America are getting into the trend, and I was finally able to get my first MINX manicure about a week ago.

I don’t live in a big city like Atlanta, New York City or anyplace like that, yet there are already two salons in my area offering MINX. If I can get my hands on them where I live — rather, get them on my hands — you probably can too.

So what the heck are MINX nail coverings?

Literally, they’re adhesive nail stickers available in a wide range of colors and patterns.

You can go with a seasonal look, a plain jane solid or just go crazy with something outrageous; they have it all.

The variety is what makes these the coolest nail art I’ve ever seen, and the selection continues to grow.

I was told by my salon tech that they can now even do custom MINX nail coverings. If, for example, there’s a particular pattern or print you love, you can send a sample to MINX to turn into your very own design. Pretty cool, huh?
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Bloggerati Spotlight

July 13th, 2009 by Karen 8 Comments

Busy moms love easy, manageable hair — A Mom in Red High Heels
Retweet your way to a $200 Orlane Absolute Radiance Lightbox (enter by Friday, Jul 17)! — Beauty Blogging Junkie
The Rachael Ray Show on why women are rejecting traditional beauty experts — Hair Thursday
Stuck in a makeup rut? You need inspiration! — Positively Beautiful
Moms need budget beauty multitasking — Makeover Momma
Short shorts and skirts are everywhere this summer — Beyond Beauty Basics
Did you miss Badgley Mishka Couture? — All About the Pretty

So how was your Monday? What was your favorite part?

My day wasn’t bad, dental visit notwithstanding. Well, even that wasn’t terrible. Like I said, no injections or drills this time, yea!

And the dentist told me I might have a weird tongue. Hmm…

I had fun this afternoon playing with the new Chanel Eye Gloss Quad. I’ll post a full review tomorrow, but what struck me today was how much the colors ramp up the intensity of powder eyeshadows. Way cool.

Have a great night.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I’m drinking red wine and watching True Blood Season 1 on DVD. Good times. 🙂

What’s Your Favorite Hot Weather Hairstyle?

July 13th, 2009 by Karen 41 Comments

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Whew, nelly! It was hotter than an armpit here in NorCal today. 🙂 I wanted to wear my wavy hair down this morning, but it was just too darn hot and sticky to go there. I opted instead for my usual hot weather hairstyle, a low, messy bun at the nape of my neck.

Pigtails, ponytails, French braids, twists — what’s your favorite way to wear your hair when it’s too hot out to function? Do you like it up or leave it down?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Venice Collection Fall 2009: Hot Glossimers

July 13th, 2009 by Karen 39 Comments

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Chanel Glossimer in Courtisane

Coco and company cooked up two seriously *hot* Glossimers for their fall 2009 Venice collection.

Both Courtisane and Arlequin ($27 each) inject a hint of golden warmth to lips, balancing out the cool green and gray shades for eyes.

I love both of these Glossimers because they aren’t your typical fall lip fare.

Unusual for fall

Courtisane’s a hot pink with gold pearl; Arlequin’s a shimmery peachy gold. Makeup lines usually release darker, vampier lip colors in shades of berry, plum and red for fall, so I was pleasantly surprised to see shimmery glosses in golden hues.

And both of these could easily pass for summer colors, too. No reason at all to wait for autumn leaves. 🙂

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Chanel Glossimer in Arelquin

Courtisane is my favorite of the two. She’s richly pigmented — more so than most of the Glossimers I’ve tried — but the color’s not so bright or shimmery that it’s difficult to wear. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Arlequin, a peachy golden pink with bronze glitter, is the warmer of the two shades. She’s sheerer than Courtisane, but her glitter might deliver a nice pop of shimmer when layered atop bronze, peach or brown lipstick.Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews arlequin courtisane

A lil’ something for everyone

Even though Chanel stocked the Venice collection with a *ton* of cool shades, I’m glad they decided to throw in some warmer lip shades, too.

I really like the gold in these, but what do you think?

Dental Dalliances, Part 12

This summer is turning out to be my summer o’ teeth trubs… Yup, I’m heading back to the dentist this afternoon, aka my home away from home. This time I’m assured there there won’t be any injections up in the mix!
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