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
There’s something very soothing about these six new Dolce & Gabbana Nail Lacquers from the limited edition Bouquet Collection, isn’t there? How they look all pastel and springy, like a row of Jordan Almonds, Easter eggs or frosted mini-cupcakes…
Yum.
I’m wearing three coats in the swatches below (because they looked a little streaky after two).
Rose Petal
Lemon
Mint
[Continue reading…]
Wearing Dolce & Gabbana Eyeliner in Acqua
Happy vernal equinox, fellow weather watcher! It’s official. Spring is in the air. 🙂 Bring on the flowers, the pollen, the unbidden allergies. Zyrtec, my trusty steed, come hither! Winter hath ended, and it’s time to…
…update my makeup and wardrobe for spring. It being that time and all, I’ve been contemplating ways to incorporate different springy themes into the mix, and this outfit in Nordstrom’s February catalog got me thinking about florals:
HEART! The pants, especially. The muted tones say to me, “Yes, Karen, I’m dressing for spring, but I’m also a grownup.” They’re flowery, but not in a bunny rabbits and Cadbury Creme Eggs kind of way, ya know? And I think the denim jacket and white top give the outfit a vintage feel.
I bet it’ll look lovely with makeup from the new Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet collection, which, by the way, makes me feel like this:
Sophia Loren = the hotness!
Have you seen this spring/summer launch yet? It’s still pretty new (just recently arrived at Saks), and has some eyeliners, a quad, some lipglosses and six rainbow polishes.
Since I started playing with it last week, I’ve grown quite attached; it could be one of my favorite Dolce & Gabbana launches to date.
The collection combines floral, Italian and 1950s themes for a retro vibe that’s flirty and fun. The color palette picks from lilacs, roses, some vivid shades of fruit, and the concept of summers in Southern Italy.
Yeah, that’s some pretty great sources of inspiration right there. 🙂
I can really see the different themes play out among the six Eyeliners ($29 each) in the collection as I’ve worn them over the past few days.
Man, talk about soft! When Dolce & Gabanna first launched their liners, the pencils felt stiff to me, but these? — these feel great! I don’t know if they changed the formula, but these sure seem to glide better than the earlier versions.
Crayon Intense Eyeliners in Shimmer (repromote), Lilac (repromote), Agave (repromote), Lemon (new), Acqua (new) and Mint (new), $29 each
[Continue reading…]
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, and that means two things: 1) that today is St. Patrick’s Day Eve, and 2) that I get to be Irish tomorrow, thanks to El Hub and the Irish Proximity Effect. He says that because he’s one quarter Irish, I get to be part Irish by proximity for 24 hours.
And I plan to put that time to good use. 🙂
For some folks, St. Patty’s Day means beer, and lots of it. Me? I use my Irish By Association card as a free pass to eat as much fried food as I can.
Like fish and chips.
Oh, I love fish and chips… The precious little basket they come in, dousing them with vinegar and salt, and that first crunchy bite of melt-in-your-mouth batter and flaky fish…
I’m sorry, where was I?
Oh, yeah! St. Patrick’s Day. Almost as much as the food, I also like to see folks getting green in the spirit of the day (please leave me a link to your look!), and I usually try to add a little something green to my beauty routine. This year, it’s with a multi-colored manicure in different shades of green.
I actually didn’t start out planning to do something with more than one shade, but when I sat down with a few polishes, thinking I’d pick one right then, I couldn’t decide.
So I used all three — Dolce & Gabbana’s Mint ($20), Sonia Kashuk’s Making Waves ($9.99) and China Glaze Ray-Diant ($8).
Someone’s a very sleepy sheepy out here (that would be me)…
I’m actually so beat right now that these pieces from the new Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet collection are barely speeding up my heartbeat at all.
And that’s freaky weird because I’m all over these rainbow shades and the mix of shimmers and creams.
The 18-piece release for spring/summer has some fun, flirty bits for eyes, lips and nails. The theme: 1950s Italian summers.
Okay, I’m down. I like the ’50s, Italy and summers, so it sounds like a win to me. 🙂
What do ya think? And how about those pastel nail lacquers? Even exhausted, I think my heart just skipped a beat.
Smooth Eye Color Quad in Bouquet 152 (new), $59
Crayon Intense Eyeliners in Shimmer (repromote), Lilac (repromote), Agave (repromote), Lemon (new), Acqua (new) and Mint (new), $29 each
Lipglosses from the top to bottom: Acqua (repromote), Raspberry (new), Innocence (repromote), Shimmer (repromote) and Pink Diamond (repromote), $29 each
[Continue reading…]
The sweet pastel colors currently cavorting across makeup counters had better make room. Dolce & Gabbana’s new $29 Intense Khol Eye Crayons recently roared into town, and they are not messing around.
In a season of soft pinks, peaches and greens, these mostly jewel-toned eyeliners, part of Dolce & Gabbana’s new Khol collection, might as well be wearing motorcycle jackets and riding Harleys way too fast, because for spring, that’s how edgy and rebellious they look.
Add one of these rich, intensely pigmented pencils into your spring makeup mix and BAM! — you’re born to be wild. 🙂
All five fierce shades are swimming in pigment — a nice offset for the hefty price — with some of the strongest colors I’ve ever seen from the brand.
And the texture? Oh, the texture… Smoother than a tub of organic cream cheese.
Mmm… bagels and cream cheese.
I’m sorry, where was I? Oh, yeah! — the texture. Absolutely no tugging whatsoever.
Yesterday, I felt like trying something a little different, so I wore all five shades in a single look. I slipped the liners along my lash and water lines in the morning, and 10 hours later, they were still going strong, with nary a smudge and very little fading.
Intense Khol Eye Crayon swatches from the left to the right: Peacock, True Black, True White, Chocolate and Dahlia
[Continue reading…]
Is it just me, or is it getting khol in here? 🙂
Must be the new 11-piece Dolce & Gabbana Khol Collection for eyes and nails, available now at Saks Fifth Avenue stores and saksfifthavenue.com.
Five brand new eyeliners headline the launch. Promising potent pigments and a soft texture, the five $29 Intense Khol Eye Crayons are designed to handle fancier effects like flicks and wings just as well as they tackle clean lines and smudging.
Nail Lacquers from the left: Wild Green, Peacock, Chocolate, Dahlia and True White, $20 each
Khol Pencils in True White, Chocolate, True Black, Peacock and Dahlia, $29 each
Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Femme Fatale, $59
[Continue reading…]
Quick shout-out to my current eyeliner crush (that’s it up there, in all its glittery grayish black glory), Dolce & Gabbana Eyeliner in Stromboli ($30).
We’d actually been acquainted for some time, as the shade has been part of the brand’s permanent collection for a while, but it was only with the recent launch of the Dolce & Gabbana Charm Collection that we got to know each other better.
When I wear Stromboli along my upper lash line (I don’t use it on my water line because of the glitter), its little flecks of golden glitter shimmer in the light.
Fun! 🙂
Dolce & Gabbana Charm Eye Pencils from the left: Stromboli, Coffee, Black and Platinum
[Continue reading…]
One of the reasons why Dolce & Gabbana rules: they dangle tiny charms from their makeup JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN.
Never you mind that the charms enchanting the eight-piece limited edition Charm Pencil collection don’t really serve a purpose beyond looking cute as they swing from their respective lip and eye liners. If we have the right to accessorize, so should our makeup! Viva la cuteness for us all! 🙂
Every time I catch a glimpse of the dainty golden envelopes, high heels, hearts and horns hanging from these pencils, which arrive next month (just in time for Valentine’s Day!), while I attend to my lips or eyes, I’m transported back to the kinder, gentler days of my youth, when a trip to the Hello Kitty store to buy a $4 mechanical pencil with a charm swinging on the end was one of the highlights of my week.
Of course, because these pencils are from Dolce & Gabbana, they cost somewhat more than that — like $29 more, to be exact.
Eye Pencils from the left: Stromboli, Coffee, Black and Platinum
[Continue reading…]
