Seriously, I don’t know why I keep trying, because every single time I try to make a kissy face in a photo, I feel like I look completely ridiculous.
How do girls do it?!
How do they take those kissy face pictures and look cute? It’s one of life’s mysteries I’ll never understand…
But I keep trying, like I am here with my latest crush from Benefit, Ready, Set, Brow! ($24)
It’s a freaking awesome clear brow gel, and I never thought I’d be raving again about a brow gel other than Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel, which had been my absolutely loyal ride-or-die for a while (I can’t even tell you how many tubes I’ve gone through), so much so that I always stocked up whenever Sephora had a VIB sale, but I don’t know if that’s going to be happening anymore with Ready, Set, Brow! in my life.
Basically, it’s really, really good, maybe even be better than Anastasia’s Clear Brow Gel.
Now, you might be thinking, “Karen, it’s a clear brow gel. How mind-blowing can it be?”
Well, pretty mind-blowing!
You know that look of brushed-up brows that’s really popular right now? I can never get that exact look with Anastasia’s Clear Brow Gel. Even though it seems like it has good hold and usually keeps my brows in place, I don’t think it’s strong enough to hold my brow hairs in place when I want them to go places they don’t naturally want to go.
Maybe my brow hairs are just too unruly… I don’t know.
But I can never quite get that Cara Delevigne pushed-up brow look with Anastasia’s Clear Brow Gel, but with Benefit’s bad boy, I totally can.
The brush has teeny, tiny teeth, which are great at grabbing and maniuplating the hairs, so I can really get in there and push them around (Anastasia’s, by comparison, has a brush that looks like a regular old mascara brush).
Plus, the gel itself has extra super duper strong hold and dries stiffer than Anastasia’s. I could probably jump out of an airplane or stand in front of a Beyoncé fan with this stuff in my brows and they wouldn’t move.
Ready, Set, Brow! comes out in a few days on June 24. Look for it when it does because it’s a winner.
Oh, and that glittery action in that picture on my lids? That’s Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy. The Moondusts are part of Urban Decay’s permanent line, and they’re astronomically sparkly.
Right before I took these pics, I was wearing a really basic 15-minute neutral look, and you know how it is — you’re puttering around, but then you get the urge to do something jazzy with what you’re wearing, so I took Space Cowboy, which is basically like a pressed golden peachy beige glitter in a pan, and picked up some of it by swirling a finger in the pan. Then I pressed it on my lids.
Et voilà! Sparkle for days.
If using your fingers freaks you out, you could also load up a flat eyeshadow brush and spray it with something like Make Up For Ever Mist and Fix before applying it to your lids.
I mean, you could also spray the brush first, then dip it into the pan (which is what a lot of peeps do), but when I do that, it changes the texture of the eyeshadow when it dries.
Just a quick tip there! 🙂
Speaking of the Moondusts…I am so looking forward to a new Urban Decay palette coming out this fall. It’s going to have a whole bunch of Moondust eyeshadows in it — all new shades — in the same palette! Should be fun.
So what are you up to this weekend? Today is an errands day for me. Gotta tidy up the house, get groceries, life stuff like that…
I like to do those things on Saturdays so I can unwind on Sunday. How about you? Do you prefer to get your errands done or Saturday or Sunday?
Before I head out, here are some beauty stories that caught my eye this week. I thought you might also like these…
- Revlon is buying Elizabeth Arden!
- Hair care line Oribe — PRICEY hair care line Oribe (let me clarify that) — is expanding. They’re moving into makeup, nails, body care, tools and accessories, and if the new products are anywhere near as good as their amazing hair care products, I bet they’re going to be great.
- Ever wonder how long hair became “a thing” for women? This interesting short piece talks about the history of long hair.
- Apparently, there are nail polishes inspired by Gilmore Girls, and I need to get them in my life ASAP.
- Kindasorta beauty related: this squid has glowing eyeshadow. And it acts like an invisibility cloak!
Lastly, vlogger Simply Nailogical paints her paws with over 100 coats of polish in one sitting in this video. It’s hilarious! My favorite parts are when her cat shows up for cameos.
OK, my love, enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and have a wonderful weekend! Talk to you soon.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
You make a fabulous kissy face! Also, thanks for the tip. And OMG, a polish mountain — hilarious.
Aww, thanks Chris. Happy Caturday!
That “polish mountain”… ewww! How did she even remove that??
I’m not a fan of the Moondust palette idea, for me personally it’s too much glitter. I don’t know if I’m getting old or what, but I’m less and less attracted to sparkles these days!
She does it at the end, and it’s strangely satisfying, LOL!
When it dries is Ready, Set, Brow crunchier than the Anastasia? I like the hold of Anastasia brow gel, I just don’t like the crunchy feeling when it dries, so I just use the clear Bobbi Brown brow gel, even though it doesn’t have as much hold.
Love the winged liner you’re sporting in these photos. I still haven’t mastered that so I’ve basically given up on it. So I’m into doing smudgy, slightly smokey liner these days.
I have no words for the polish mountain. Ok, maybe I do. “Why?” Lol.
Hi Tatiana!
It’s definitely crunchier, so you might not like it. It does such a good job of keeping those hairs in place though…
So, winged liner eluded me for the longest time, too, until I figured out a way that’s pretty easy enough for me to handle on most days.
First I tightline my upper lash line with a black pencil liner (Chanel Le Stylo Yeux in 88 Noir Intense), then I run the tip of the liner along the roots of my upper lashes (not necessarily on the skin; I just run the pencil back and forth along the roots).
Then I load a NARS #47 angled brush (the best brush for winged liner, I swear!) with black eyeshadow, usually MAC Carbon, then tap the crap out of it to remove any excess shadow. Plus, since it’s a black shadow, I don’t need much anyway. I look straight into a mirror and run that brush along the outer half of my upper lash line to create a thin line. Then, I take whatever’s leftover on the brush (still looking straight into the mirror) and draw the flick of the wing. I grab a small smudge brush and run that along the top edge of the line to soften it.
If I want to intensify the line, then I dip my #47 brush into a black gel liner and layer it on top of the black eyeshadow. Or, I’ll take a black liquid liner pencil and layer it on top if I want a shiny finish.
At that point, if I need to correct the angle of the wing, I dip another angled brush in some makeup remover, and then run it along the bottom part of the wing.
Hope this makes sense!
Oh oh the brow gel, I use Anastasia too but reluctantly admit it doesn’t have enough hold for me either. My brow hairs are long and very droopy. The tail which I don’t trim especially, they’ll hang way below what I’ve filled in. Awkward! And I love the UD Moondust shadows, I have one in solstice I think? It’s gorgeous. A palette of them would be a lot more economical too! Though I will admit the Colourpop Metallic shadows are my favorite glitter shadows because they don’t fall unless you blend over them.
I’ve got lust for Moondust! I definitely need to score that palette. The shadows do need a sticky base or setting spray, as you said. Beautiful, though!!
We’re cleaning house today. Tomorrow I’m making hubby chicken enchiladas and pineapple upside-down cake for Father’s Day, per his request.
In Germany all shops are closed on Sundays, so I have to run my errands then. No chance doing anything on a Sunday.
And even though I enjoy glitter, these shadows are a little too much for me.
I’m loving the sparkle on you Karen! I could never pull it off, too scared of a glitter face mess!
Oooh, Space Cowboy looks good! Very pretty.
Confession: I’m not a Benefit fan.
That said, Holy Potatoes, Benefit is bringing it with the brows! I got a sample of their new brow pencil from Ulta and loved it. Had the opportunity to pick up their new answer to Dipbrow at Sephora couple of weeks ago at the VIB Rouge event and it’s my new jam. I guess that means I’ll be checking out the brow gel too.
And Space Cowboy looks amazing. You are my glitter inspiration- I never manage to look sassy- I end up with glitter all over the place, like on my ears. Who knows.
I declare. I feel like it’s seven days of Karen. And I LOVE IT!! Now on to actually read the post 🙂
I purchased the Anastasia brow gel because of you. And I agree with you. It has hold but doesn’t allow me to manipulate my brows in the direction I want them to go in. Hadn’t found anything better & I do like it so I’ve repurchased it a lot. But now that Benefit’s come out with a game changer, I’ll be picking up one of their tunes when I get around to it. A palette of moon dust UD shadows sounds like fun! Go Warriors!
Oh my days! Polish-mountain is a bit disturbing!! I’m loving the judicious use of Space Cowboy, however. What a shadow. Oh and that long hair article is fascinating! Mrs. Frampton’s locks are off the chain!
Beekeyper – Latest – Nuxe Rêve de Miel – in a stick!
I’m soooooo excited for this UD eyeshadow palette!!!!