lorac

For Christmas last year my little brother got our mom a Snuggie (“as seen on TV!”).

What’s a Snuggie? Well, if you’ve seen the late-night commercials, it’s the world famous blanket with sleeves (kinda looks like a reverse wizard’s cape), and my mum thinks it’s cooler than a young Paul McCartney in butt-hugger pants.

I talked a lot of crap about ’em until the day I tried one on…

DANG, they’re unbelievably comfortable and soft.

Which reminds me of another “so soft!” moment I’ve had recently, this one with LORAC’s Private Affair Palette ($38).

It had been a while since I’d used one of the company’s powder shadows (not the baked ones) from their regular line, and Private Affair’s six shades refreshed my memory. There’s one thing I think LORAC’s always done well, and that’s make smooth eyeshadows.

I mean, if these were any smoother, I’d heat ’em in the microwave and pour ’em on pancakes.

Mmm… pancakes. 🙂

Unfortunately, they’re also a little fragile. The other day I accidentally pushed a brush head too hard into the gray pan and took a big chunk out of it (oops!); they’re THAT soft (and consequently easy to blend).

Joining the six shimmery pigmented shadows in plum, beige, pink, bronze, gray, and blackish plum, Private Affair also comes with a tiny tube of Behind the Scenes Eye Primer and a dual-tipped brush tucked in a drawer, secret squirrel-style.

NOTE: The brush that comes with Private Affair is identical to the one that comes with LORAC’s Close Up Eye Tutorial Kit, and, um, remember how that one broke? I saved myself the time and heartache and ditched this one immediately.

Private Affair’s shadows lean toward the cool end of the color spectrum, and several have reddish purple undertones, which I tend to have trouble wearing (they can make me look like I’ve been crying). I think if you have a cooler skin tone than I do, you might like these a lot.

TIP: How do you tell if you’re cool toned or warm? It’s based on the undertone of your skin. If the veins on the underside of your arm appear bluish, you’re cool toned (and probably wear pink-based foundation); if they appear greenish, you’re warm (and probably wear yellow-based foundation).
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If happy hours, ramen noodles, party crashing, mac and cheese, Taco Bell bean burritos and Totino’s frozen pizzas are fixtures of your college life (like they were mine!), take a little look at LORAC. Their $36 Close Up Real Life to Red Carpet Eye Tutorial Kit has “I’m a [hawt] broke college student” written all over it.

I’ll never forget the first time I went to buy books in college… YIKES! I guess I didn’t get the memo about every thick, hella boring science textbook costing an arm and a leg, and maybe it was out of a desire to prevent that same kind of eye-bulging sticker shock that LORAC came up with the idea.

The kit makes it easy to go from lunch in the campus cafeteria to a look ready for dinner and a movie. For $36 you get four full-size LORAC all-star products — a primer, a mascara, an eyeshadow trio and a liner — along with a small dual-tipped eye brush and a tutorial booklet with step-by-step directions for three different looks. Bought separately, the liner, primer and shadow trio by themselves (not including any of the other cool stuff) would cost almost twice as much as the entire kit.
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Because cat eyes aren’t just for kittehs

In the 15-year battle of Karen versus liquid eyeliner, I’ve never been able to prevail.

This fall victory is finally mine, *mwwwahahahaaa*!

Gone are the days of uneven, messy, Shakes the Clown lines, and I owe it all to the bad-assness that is Lorac’s Front of the Line Pro ($22).

Drawing crisp, dark, dramatic lines is easy-peasy with this liquid pen liner.

The genius lies in Lorac’s firm felt tip pen. It glides smoothly against skin, depositing sharp lines with precision — fantastic for cat eyeliner looks.

And the staying power? To die for. Front of the Line Pro lingers on lids longer than the Birthday Sex techno remix (aka the longest song EVER).

Just for fun the other day I swatched some on my hand, and it stayed for two days through multiple hand washings *and* a shower.

Watch out, Tabs!

Front of the Line Pro is the real deal, homies. If you love the cat eye look but haven’t been able to perfect it, you might want to give it a whirl. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Howzit?

Chicas, I feel like this morning’s brow incident shot me into a weird alternate universe, but I think I’m finally falling back down to earth. How have things been for you on this otherwise lovely Tuesday? Any epiphanies or Elvis sightings to report? 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen