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

Illamasqua to Launch in 27 U.S. Sephora Stores September 2009

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illamasqua-us-launch

Upstart British makeup brand Illamasqua will soon be crossing the pond.

I spoke with a contact at Illamasqua this morning and confirmed that in addition to the upcoming July 30th launch of their first counter at the new Sephora flagship store at 5 Times Square in New York, the line will also be available at 27 Sephora stores across the United States starting September 2009.

Rollout to be completed by Christmas 2009

The brand plans to launch at a select number of stores starting on September 15th, with plans to fully rollout counters to all 27 by Christmas.

Locations will include Sephora stores in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami, Seattle, Boston and San Francisco (Powell Street, WOOT!). I’m currently working on finding a full list of the stores and will update this post once I’ve tracked it down.

Select, best-selling items

Illamasqua plans to sell a limited range of 200 of their best-selling items. Included will be their entire range of nail varnishes, as well as select items for eyes, lips, cheeks, face and body. Prices will range from $18-30.

Online availability

If you don’t live near a Sephora — don’t fret. The brand will also soon be available at Sephora online. I’m still confirming the date of online availability but will let you know as soon as I know more.

Can I just say, YAY? What great news to wake up to on a Thursday morning!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How Do You Choose Complementary Eyeshadow Colors?

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how-do-you-choose-eyeshadow-colors

Think back to when you first started wearing eyeshadow. I don’t know about you, but I remember being *hella* confused. I’d approach makeup counters totally overwhelmed, never knowing which colors to wear or which colors to pair.

Janice, a newbie to the eyeshadow world, is looking for beginner eyeshadow color pairing tips.

I love make up, but I have NO IDEA how to apply it… especially shadows!

How do you choose colors that compliment each other? Like the shadows that don’t come packaged together, can you look at them and see which ones will work together? Is there a rule of thumb?

I usually buy whatever the salesladies tell me goes together, but I’d like to do it on my own.

Janice

Hi Janice,

Some makeup books will tell you to follow steadfast color rules, but honestly, I think those rules were meant to be broken. I wear what moves me, and that’s what I hope you’ll do, too. 🙂

There are some considerations that may help when you’re looking for colors to pair together, like how cool or warm colors may work with your skin tone, different textures (like matte versus shimmer) and how products differ in how much pigmentation they pack.

Boiling it down to a few basics, here are some tips to help get you on your way:

1. A good place to start is to pair a neutral, like a shimmery beige, with a single pop of color. Benefit Bikini Line (a shimmery beige), MAC Ricepaper (a shimmery peachy beige) and MAC Shroom (a shimmery beige) are ones I like to use together. Try using them with a blue, green, gold, purple, pink, black, gray or any other color that moves you. Experimentation is key.

2. Afraid of brights? Consider building your look around versatile browns. When I started wearing eyeshadow, I only felt comfortable in neutrals. I found a few great browns and then built up my collection from there (check out this video for a few brown eyeshadow suggestions). If you’re color shy, try pairing browns with beige, gold, bronze, peach or taupe shadows. Any of these shades will be easy to blend and are very beginner friendly. A few to look into: Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow in Dandy Brandy (a shimmery bronzy brown), MAC Arena (a shimmery peach), MAC Woodwinked (a shimmery gold), MAC Amber Lights (a shimmery peachy brown) and MAC Satin Taupe (a shimmery taupe).

3. If you’re ready for more complicated color pairings, look at some pictures of flowers, or go for a walk outside. Once, a cream-colored white rose bush inspired me to do a beige, gold, dark green and chocolate brown eye. Another time I took a cue from a bird of paradise flower and tried an orange, purple and green eye with a hint of yellow. Mother Nature is a fantastic painter and a great source of inspiration for me.

Gals, think back to your early days with makeup. How’d you choose colors to pair together, and how do you do it now?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I almost forgot! Take a look at Adobe Kuler. It’s a site literally bursting with color palette suggestions. Photographers and graphic designers use it for color inspiration. Great site!

Bloggerati Spotlight

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The Beauty Bloggerati

Is it Thursday already?

How’s it going, girls? Do anything fun last night? After dance class I watched some slightly more proficient (LOL! — slightly) dancers do their thang on So You Think You Can Dance. Did you watch? I think Ade and Melissa have the best chemistry together, but Jeanine might be my favorite dancer overall.

I’d cheer that we’re almost to Friday… but at the rate time’s passing, it’ll be Christmas soon!

Have a great morning.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I saw on Pursebuzz this morning a report that UK newcomer Illamasqua will soon be carried at Sephora stores in the US! Details are still sparse, but that’s good news if you’re a fan of the line. 🙂

Comment to Win Tarte’s Purse Your Lips Lipgloss Clutch

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The giveaway is now closed, everyone, and I’m contacting the winner by email. Good luck!

tarte-purse-your-lips-giveaway

Ladies, I *loves* me some sassy purses. Oh, yeah, I’m a fiend for clutches, handbags and totes. Designer or budget — I don’t care. All that matters is “Are they cute?”

Sadly, makeup is often a casualty of my accessories addiction… Sometimes I’ll forget to remove something when I change purses and will find random tubes of lip gloss in bags I haven’t worn in months.

The other day I found a long lost tube of Chanel Glossimer in Myriade (awesome!) sitting at the bottom of a yellow canvas bag.

Poor thing… She’d been missing since March, but finding her was quite a thrill, like finding random money inside a jacket pocket.

Speaking of thrills, wouldn’t it be awesome if every purse carried hidden lip gloss treasures?

The folks at Tarte are trying to make that dream a reality with their Purse Your Lips Lipgloss Clutch.

I’m thinking it’s time for a giveaway… 🙂

The prize

tarte-purse-your-lips-giveaway-2

One lucky lady will win, giving the nine lip glosses and their accompanying gold and purple handbag a good home (a $40 value).

  1. a shimmery nude
  2. a shimmery peachy nude
  3. a shimmery golden plum
  4. a shimmery brown
  5. a shimmery deep mauve
  6. a shimmery deep cranberry
  7. a shimmery crimson
  8. a shimmery sheer pink
  9. a shimmery bubblegum pink

The glosses contain five active “superfruits” (goji, acai, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate) that Tarte claims deliver refining, anti-aging and skin-restorative benefits with each application.

For more on Tarte, check out these past posts…

How to enter…

Entering is easier than falling in love with a Kate Spade purse. All you have to do is leave a comment describing your favorite bag. 🙂

Mine’s a toss-up between this Kate Spade Classic Noel Henry Purse and my black nylon messenger bag from Old Navy.

I love the Kate bag because it’s bigger than it looks and fits all of my crap (plus it goes with everything), but I always come back to the Old Navy. It’s black nylon and practically indestructible.

Both bags hold special places in my accessories-lurvin’ heart…

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59PM PST Thursday night.

Good luck! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is now closed, everyone, and I’m contacting the winner by email. Good luck!

Chanel Venice Collection Fall 2009: Gray Days Ahead

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chanel venice collection fall 2009 makeup

Yo, all you hotties who love gray eyeshadows, you’re in luck! Start rolling your pennies, ’cause gray is turning out to be *the* color for eyes this fall.

Last week Dior busted out a gray shadow bonanza with their Jazz Club Collection, and now Chanel’s following suit with their own gray gala, the Venice Collection.

Gray anatomy

Not all grays were created equally, and instead of Dior Jazz Club’s slate grays, Chanel’s Venice focuses on grays infused with deep shades of green.

The grays are joined by a mix of products for eyes, lips, cheeks and nails in shades of peach, pink, gold, white and reddish-plum.

Some of the things that caught my eye…

  • Eye Gloss Luminous Cream Quadra Eye Shadow: These four shimmery cream shadows feel thin and dry to the touch, applying with intense color and shine. I think they’ll create interesting effects when paired with powder shadows.
  • Glossimers in Arlequin and Courtisane: Arlequin (a shimmery, lemony gold) and Courtisane (a shimmery coral pink) could easily pass for spring or summer shades. Don’t both colors seem girly and fun? 🙂
  • Poudre Douce Soft Pressed Powder in Peche Caresse: Okay, this powder totally fooled me. The texture feels uber-creamy to the touch, so I assumed it was a cream product, but alas, I was wrong, but it’s probably one of the most finely milled powders I’ve ever encountered.
  • Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Murano: I was hoping the Murano eyeshadow quad from the collection would look like a more intense version of Chanel’s Garden Party quad from 2007, but no soup for me! Instead of rich mints and forest greens, the Murano shades apply as cool grays with hints of greenish-blue.

Products

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews murano
Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Murano, $56

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews eye gloss
Eye Gloss Luminous Cream Quadra Eye Shadow, $65

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews acqua alta
Irreellee Duo in Acqua Alta, $40

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews fresque
Joues Contrate Powder Blush in Fresque, $42

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews peche caresse
Poudre Douce Soft Pressed Powder in Peche Caresse, $50

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews tweed sienna
Les Tissages De Chanel Blush Duo Tweed Effect in Tweed Sienna, $45

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews arlequin courtisane
Glossimers in Arelquin, Courtisane, $27 each

chanel venice collection fall 2009 swatches reviews clandestine 73 comedia 74 amusing 75 rouge allure lipsticks
From left to right: Rouge Allure Luminous Sating Lip Colour in Clandestine (73), Comedia (74) and Amusing (75), $30 each
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Dior Jazz Club Creme De Gloss Lip Glosses: Hello, Nude Lips

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The two Creme de Gloss lip glosses ($26) in Dior’s new Jazz Club collection are melting my heart.

With their high shine, rich color and non-sticky texture, I guess it was inevitable, le sigh…

dior jazz club swatches sweet praline 431

Both Sweet Praline (431; I believe it’s a brand new shade) and Fig Nectar (641; also part of Dior’s permanent collection) are nudes and should go well with dark smokey eyes this fall.

dior jazz club collection fall 2009 creme de gloss sweet praline 431 rose nectar 641
Creme de Gloss in Sweet Praline (431) and Fig Nectar (641), $26 each

I think the two colors look almost like twins in their tubes, but they come into their own once they’re worn on the lips.

Sweet Praline, the warmer of the two sisters, applies as a light peachy pink with silver micro-glitter, and I’m glad she doesn’t look milky on my lips like a lot of other nude glosses are wont to do. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Fig Nectar applies as a cool, shimmery mauve with tiny flecks of silver glitter. There’s a touch of purplish-blue in this shade, and I’m guessing cool-toned hotties could wear it well. I can see it teamed up with eyeshadows in gray, berry or black. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

dior jazz club collection fall 2009 creme de gloss sweet praline 431 rose nectar 641 2

Too bad the Creme de Glosses cost an arm and a leg, but their rich color, smooth texture (non-sticky) and blinding shine saves them from the scrap heap.

A girl can never have too many nude lip gloss options. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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