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

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 396

May 1st, 2016 by Karen 10 Comments

My dearest fans and felines,

They say April showers bring May flowers, and ain’t that the truth. I’ve been enjoying the blooms in my neighborhood, along with the tall grasses and the leaves on the trees.

I hope that you were able to spend some time outside this weekend. I spent a good amount of time enjoying the great outdoors, trying to perfect my kitty skulking abilities; however, due to my assistant’s allergies and her constant sneezing, I haven’t been able to sneak up on anything.

It’s so hard to find good help these days.

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Laura Geller The Truffles Collection: Now THAT’S a Sweet Gift

April 30th, 2016 by Jessica Revitte 14 Comments

Chocolate.

Just let that word sink in for a minute… Meditate on it. Close your eyes, and think of every scent and thought and feeling you get when you open a big box of chocolates.

Laura Geller The Truffles Collection — Clockwise from the top: The Laura Geller “The Truffles Collection” palettes in Chocolate Plum Cordial, Chocolate Toffee, Chocolate Pistachio and Chocolate Truffle

That’s the feeling Laura Geller wants chocolate-loving makeup aficionados to feel when they feast their eyes on the generously sized “The Truffles Collection,” currently available for $45 (a $168 value!). You could treat Mom to a chocolate shadow extravaganza for Mother’s Day (It’s Sunday May 8th, ladies and gentlemen. Do not forget your mama!), or snag this delicious box of coco-inspired baked shadows for yourself.

Laura Gellar The Truffles Collection — Laura Gellar, The Truffles Collection

The Truffles Collection comes with four separate palettes, each based around a different coco treat, and all are packaged in a big box that opens much like a classic box of chocolates. The individual palettes are housed in colorful metallic cardboard that matches the “flavor” therein.

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The Best in Beauty From the Boot, Vol. 8: PUPA Milano

April 29th, 2016 by Carolina Braina 22 Comments

PUPA I'M Lipstick 405 Electric Fuchsia PUPA Vamp! Mascara — Wearing PUPA I’M Lipstick in 405 Electric Fuchsia on my lips, and PUPA Vamp! Mascara on my lashes

Hi everyone, I’m back with a new installment of the one where I show you my favorite makeup brands from this boot-shaped country of mine, AKA Italy. I have to admit that I’m really enjoying playing the Virgil to your Dante while we travel through the Italian beauty heaven! 😉

Today we’re talking about PUPA Milano, a mid-range brand that can be found in lots of beauty and department stores across Italy.

One of my earliest memories about PUPA is this makeup set that one Christmas, many moons ago, made me a very happy middle school girl. The Milan-based cosmetic company used to be very famous for that type of sets. Well, it actually might still be, but I’m too old to know! #soontobe30 ?

These days, it’s their more ordinary creations, like the ones I’m showing you today, that make me one very happy girl!

PUPA I’M Lipsticks in 301 Poppy & 405 Electric Fuchsia

Pupa Milano I'M Lipstick 301 Poppy Swatch — PUPA I’M Lipstick in 301 Poppy

Pupa Milano I'M Lipstick 405 Electric Fuchsia Swatch — PUPA I’M Lipstick in 405 Electric Fuchsia

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My Friday FOTD With the NARS Under Cover Summer 2016 Collection

April 29th, 2016 by Adia Goss 33 Comments

I think everything from the NARS Summer 2016 Under Cover Collection — from the Lip Covers to the Dual-Intensity Blushes and the Dual-Intensity Eyeshadows — is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I love how cohesive the overall collection is and how they included shades for neutral looks and bold looks, too. The makeup look I was wearing in my review of the eyeshadows was something closer to my normal neutral makeup looks, so I thought I’d try a bolder look outside my comfort zone today.

This look was actually really easy, but I think it definitely makes a statement.

First I dampened my brush before applying Deep End all over my lids to intensify the color, and I also used a damp brush to apply Deep End all along my lower lash line. Then, to blend this out, I used a fluffy crease brush to lightly dust Tan Lines into my crease. If I’d wanted to do a smokey look, I could have applied this damp as well, but I just wanted to blend out Deep End, so I applied it dry.

For my blush, I used the right side of the Liberation Dual-Intensity Blush, a really pretty terra-cotta shade. It’s a great everyday blush for me, and I love how there’s a slight sheen it.

I didn’t use any highlighter (which is sooo rare for me because I LOVE, LOVE highlighter), but I still had a soft glow from the blush. I was super impressed that this didn’t look flat on me at all.

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A Closer Look at the MAC Chris Chang of Poesia Lipsticks: The Blue and Yellow Can Be Wearable??

April 29th, 2016 by Jen Clark 21 Comments

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Cloud Gait — MAC Cloud Gait Lipstick from the MAC x Chris Chang collection

My favorite part of the MAC Chris Chang collection has to be the lipsticks…or maybe the eyeshadows… Wait, but I love the Cream Colour Bases too! But for now, let’s just talk about the lipsticks. Every color is unique and different in some way and, in typical MAC style, the formulas are spot on.

I started out excited by three of the colors and a little perplexed by two. How on earth am I, or anyone really, supposed to wear a sheer blue and a sheer yellow lipstick?? If they were opaque, that would be one thing, but they’re really sheer, which didn’t make sense to me. They just don’t look right on my lips!

MAC Chris Chang Cloud Gait Lipstick — MAC Cloud Gait Lipstick

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Gold XIXI — MAC Gold XIXI Lipstick

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Gold XIXI — MAC Gold XIXI Lipstick

I think I figured it out, though. I remember learning from someone on YouTube that most makeup artists keep a yellow lipstick in their kit, and the reason is because you can layer it on top of other lip colors to create a custom hue! Aha! That’s how you can use it. You can use Gold XIXI to add warmth to another lip color, and Cloud Gait to cool it.

Let me show you what I’m talking about…

Here’s MAC DDDevilish Lipstick from the collection:

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in MAC DDDevilish — MAC DDDevilish Lipstick

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Palm Beach Awaits With the Essie Spring 2016 Collection

April 29th, 2016 by Adia Goss 10 Comments

The Palm Beach-themed nail polishes in the Essie Spring 2016 nail polish collection have all the right moves for a tropical vacation, and I’m loving every shade! When I think of springtime colors, pastel shades come to mind, so I like that there are some super-saturated, unexpected colors in this six-piece release.

High Class Affair, the peachy nude, is my favorite of the collection. I love that it’s neutral but has juuust enough blush to be interesting.

I really think bright pink Lounge Lover would also be beautiful as a blush or a lipstick (Essie, are you listening?).

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I’d Trek Across a Burning Desert for the Chanel Dans La Lumiere De L’Ete Summer 2016 Makeup Collection

April 28th, 2016 by Karen 26 Comments

chanel dans la lumiere de lete k1 — Wearing the new Chanel Dans La Lumiere De L’Ete Summer 2016 collection on my eyes, cheeks and lips

If you were stranded in the desert…

Would you rather have a machete so that you could whack off some cactus to get some water, or would you rather have the Aqua Glosses from the Chanel Summer 2016 collection?

Would you rather experience a mirage of Ryan Gosling slowly walking shirtless toward you across the glittering hot sand, or would you rather experience a mirage of the Empreinte Du Desert eyeshadow quad from the Chanel Summer 2016 collection glittering in front of you with its four shimmery shades?

I think you know what I’d choose. 🙂

Chanel, baby girl. Chanel. ALL. THE. WAY.

chanel summer 2016 — 10 of 17 pieces from the Chanel Dans La Lumiere De L’Ete Summer 2016 makeup collection

By the way, drinking water from a cactus? — not such a good idea. Thank goodness for the internet, because if I’d actually been stranded in the desert, I just may have tried that. I mean, it always worked in my old Saturday morning cartoons…

Oh, well! Knowledge is power, yo.

Anywho, summer. Chanel. 2016. We’ve got 17 pieces (one quad, two cheek duos, two liners, a mascara, six lip glosses and five nail polishes) with lots o’ warm colors — cheerful corals (YUM), awesome oranges, burnished bronzes and browns, gilded golds and tantalizing tans, sprinkled with a handful of lush, lovely greens.

I look forward to Chanel summer all year long and go absolutely goo-goo-ga-ga (to quote my daughter, who is now an expert baby babbler) for it. Thus, I LIVE for these colors.

Gimme warm bronze, tan, gold and green any day of the week, babe. If you have a tan, these shades should look amaze-balls on ya.

But it’s not just their warmth that draws me to the pieces in this collection. The finishes are also totally on point.

I think Chanel is really good at getting all the way up to the edge with certain finishes, and then pulling back just a little.

Does that sound weird?

I think it might…but it’s the best way I can describe their brilliance.

chanel summer 2016 empreinte du desert — Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Empreinte Du Desert

Take the quad, for example. The four shades in it — a bronze, tan, brown and green — all have a good amount of shimmer in them, but Chanel dialed it back just a little so the finish doesn’t go full-on frosty. Even though these are powder eyeshadows, they almost look glossy on the lids.

It’s neat, and kind of a dream come true, now that I think about it! It’s not always easy to wear high-shine shadows like these because they tend to emphasize the fine lines on my lids.

Oh, and side note, the wear time on these shadows is totally boss lady. I can pop them on early in the morning, and they’re good until late at night.

Now, getting back to the interesting finishes…

The two Les Beiges Duos are also beautifully nuanced. They’re not quite matte, not quite satin; they’re somewhere in between. I only need the faintest kitten kiss for lots of rich cheek color.

chanel summer 2016 les beiges duo no 2 — Les Beiges Duo No. 02

I wear the two duos a little differently. When I want warm peachy bronze cheeks (which go well with bronzy gold eyes like I’m wearing in these pics), I mix the two shades in Les Beiges Duo No. 02 together to wear as a blush, but you can also wear the two shades separately, and use one as a blush and one as a bronzer.

chanel summer 2016 les beiges duo no 1 — Les Beiges Duo No. 01

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