Archives for May 2008

Lip Look: Avon Glazewear in Juicy Apricot, On Sale Now

May 6th, 2008 by Karen 30 Comments

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When did Avon get cool, ya’ll? Did it happen while I was in the potty? As far back as I can remember, Avon was something that “mature” women wore (aka my grandma), but lately I’ve come across a number of Avon products that are well, kinda awesome. Take the Glazewear lipstick pictured above. Pretty, yah? That’s Juicy Apricot.

Not quite a lipstick, not quite a gloss, this shimmery peachy-coral shade delivers shiny, sheer color that feels light on my lips. Avon calls it feather-light and says the non-sticky texture has to do with their Color-gel formula.

The formula stays put for about 3-4 hours and comes in a sleek, slim black tube. Lately, I’ve used Glazewear as an alternative to traditional, thick, goopy lipglosses. They pack plenty ‘o shine without the thick gloss look.
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Stila Strikes Again with Stila Silk Shimmer Gloss in Kitten, Silk Eye Shadow Wash

May 5th, 2008 by Karen 27 Comments

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Fellow Stila fans, I just let out a big ol’ MEOW! Guess what? The company has just introduced two new products in Kitten, their cult classic shimmery shade of pink.

Silk Shimmer Gloss ($22)
Silk Eye Shadow Wash ($22)

Kitten is one of those pinks that looks good on a range of skin tones. Kitten’s flexibility helped make Stila’s original Kitten eyeshadow the company’s best selling product.

Both of these new Kitten products appear light on my skin, delivering just a hint of color. On lighter skin, they’ll look a little more pigmented than this.

While I adore both the shimmer gloss and the eyeshadow wash, I fell hardest for Kitten Silk Shimmer Gloss.

A light makeup look with Stila’s new Kitten lip and eye products…

Stila Silk Shimmer Gloss in Kitten

Subtle color and smells yummy!

I’m a little touchy about scented and flavored glosses, but Stila got the fragrance perfect with Kitten Silk Shimmer’s really sophisticated, non-cloying vanilla scent. It’s rich and smells almost good enough to eat.

And because it smells flat-out delicious, I thought it might taste pretty good, too.

It doesn’t. Matter of fact, it doesn’t taste like anything at all, and now that I think about it, that’s a good thing.

As for the packaging, Stila deserves props for including a handy brush applicator with the wand. They also did a great job with the texture, as it doesn’t feel sticky at all on my lips.

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How do you feel about the tiny multi-colored flecks of glitter? I think they give my lips a subtle, natural-looking sparkle. In these pics I’m wearing the gloss without liner or lipstick, and it feels like that was just enough to show a little color without trying too hard.

Silk Eye Shadow Wash

A lil’ challenging to work with, but makes a great cheek highlighter

Like the gloss does for lips, the Silk Eye Shadow Wash delivers a subtle, there-but-not there shimmer on the eyes. Not long ago I tried and fell in love with Clinique’s Quick Eyes Cream Shadow. I praised Clinique for including a doe-foot brush applicator. Maybe Stila heard my cheers because they included a doe-foot brush with Silk Eye Shadow Wash, yes!

But the doe-foot applicator is where any comparison to Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow ends. Being water-based, Silk Eye Shadow is thinner than Clinique Quick Eyes, making it a bit more difficult to apply.
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I layered it directly onto my lids with the doe-foot applicator, and then used a finger to smooth it around. Unfortunately, it ran all over my eyelid and resulted in uneven, splotchy color. Eventually, though, after trying several different eye brushes, I worked it out.

How to Apply Stila Kitten Silk Eye Shadow
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Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief: This Great Moisturizer Doubles as a Mask

May 5th, 2008 by Karen 18 Comments

As summer approaches and we leave winter far behind, my skin feels progressively better every day. I find I’m able to replace the thick, heavy-duty creams I rely on in the cold winter months with lighter moisturizers like Clinique’s new Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief, a fantastic face moisturizer half way between a gel and a cream. I can already tell it’s going to be a star in my summertime skin care routine.

Fast acting; not sticky

With the exception of Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, which breaks me out somethin’ fierce, my skin tolerates Clinique moisturizers very well. Knowing the brand, I wasn’t worried at all about potential pimples when I slathered peachy Moisture Surge Extended Relief all over my face before bed a few nights ago.

Right off the bat I noticed it felt a little lighter and more refreshing than my beloved Clinique Moisture On-line, which I used regularly last fall and winter. Moisture Surge absorbs faster than Moisture On-Line does, is nearly as hydrating and doesn’t leave a sticky residue.

After a couple days of use, my skin was clear and blemish-free, and I’ve been slathering it on at least twice per day — in the morning before applying sunscreen and at night before bed.

Blinding you with science…

According to Clinique, Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief is more moisturizing than the previous version. I’d never used the last version of the product, but now I wish I had.

Rapid temperature and humidity swings wreak havoc on skin. When we leave a heated building and head out into the cold, or enter an air conditioned building on a hot day, our skin works to maintain its moisture balance, and while it’s adjusting to environmental swings, skin will delay its own ability to repair.

Clinique claims that Moisture Surge maintains the natural balance of moisture in skin during environmental shifts, thanks to ingredients like sorbitol, trehalose and glycerin that bind extremely well to water. While in a proper state of moisture balance, skin becomes more receptive to beneficial ingredients and also stays in its optimal repair mode all day long.
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Makeup Brushes, Brushes Everywhere!

May 4th, 2008 by Karen 56 Comments

Makeup brushes are like the various stray animals that show up at my door. They arrive looking for shelter, and I can’t resist giving them a new home. 🙂 Above are a few recently adopted brushes from Target’s Sonia Kashuk line, brushes known for delivering a lot of bang for your buck.

From top to bottom:

Brushes are like potato chips; I can never have just one. Today I “researched” (i.e. surfed the internet) highly rated brushes and ended up at Makeup Alley. Here are some of the highest rated brushes I found:

MAC

187 Skunk brush, $42 – For applying foundation, powders or pigments
266 Small angle brush, $19 – For applying eyeshadow or brow powder
217 Blending brush, $22.50 – For blending and application of both cream and powder eye products

Side note: I love MAC brushes!

Bare Escentuals

Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush, $20 – For full coverage application of concealer on detailed areas of face (undereye circles, blemishes)
Heavenly Face Brush, $30 – For light application of face powders

Sonia Kashuk

Blusher Brush, $17.99 – For a contouring and application of blushes and bronzers
Foundation Brush, $14.99 – For a foundation application

Prescriptives

Foundation Brush, $30 – For application and blending of liquid foundation
Face Brush, $28 – For application of powder to face

Bobbi Brown

Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush, $22 – For use with gel eyeliner to create precise eyeliner lines

The Body Shop

Face/Body Brush, $25 – For application of powders, bronzers and blushes

Stila

#5 Eyeshadow Brush, $22 – For eyeshadow application over the entire lid

Sephora

Bronzer Brush, $25 – For application and blending of bronzer to cheeks

Nars

Bronzer Brush, $50 – For application of bronzing powder
Smudge Brush, $24 – To apply eyeshadow to lash line

Even though my brush stash has grown a little out of control, I never regret adding new brushes to it because of how often I use them.

I can’t believe it’s already Sunday night, ya’ll. Drat! It’s back to work for me tomorrow.

This morning I woke up, watched a few episodes of Samatha Brown’s Passport to Europe on the Travel Channel (let’s go to Monaco!), and then went for a run around the neighborhood. I’ve sort of skipped out on my chores today (boo to me, I know), but I needed to just chill out for a spell. Now I may watch a movie on TV.

How was your weekend? What was the most surprising thing that happened to you?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Girlfriend, you know your weekend isn’t over ’til you catch up on your reading! Get ready for the best posts from the ladies of the Beauty Blog Network and Splendicity![Continue reading…]

A Kryolan Makeover, aka Adventures in Theater Makeup

May 3rd, 2008 by Karen 125 Comments

Every girl deserves a makeover from time to time. My last one was ages ago. I’d been itching to try a new look, so yesterday I made the short trip into San Francisco hoping to find inspiration.

I hit my usual haunts — MAC, Dior and Chanel — but I was in the mood for something, well, kinda different, so I kept looking.

I was almost ready to throw in the towel when a sign on a building caught my eye: Kryolan Professional Makeup. Curious as ever and not wanting to head home defeated, I decided to check it out.

Jake, the Kryolan showroom manager, gave me a tour of the place and described their products and services.

The company offers a full line of professional and consumer beauty products but specializes in theater makeup and makeup education. I was immediately drawn to their Aquacolor wet cake makeup — pans of highly pigmented, glycerin-based face and body makeup available in 250 different shades ($6 each).

Once I spotted their beautiful brushes (high quality, and generally more affordable than department store lines), body paints and, um, fake blood, I knew I was in for a different kind of makeover. Sign my booty up!

Dominic, Kryolan’s director of education, got me ready for my makeover, sitting me down beside a counter covered in Aquacolor pans. I told him to go nuts! I didn’t know what to expect, but I got a little suspicious when he glued a prosthetic cat nose to my face.

That’s when it dawned on me: homie was probably not going to do a simple smokey eye.

After all, Kryolan is known for extreme movie and theater makeup. You’ve probably seen their makeup at work in Hollywood films, and their credits include the makeup for The Chronicles of Narnia, Collateral and Pirates of the Caribbean.

With my new prosthetic cat nose in place, Dominic started layering different colors to develop the look. “The painting process is fun,” he said. “This is the most time consuming part of the whole process.”

The entire Karen-into-cat transformation took about 45 minutes, but here’s the condensed version…

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Random Acts of Beauty: Makeup, Brilliant Thoughts and Such

May 2nd, 2008 by Karen 31 Comments

What a busy, makeup-filled day, girls! I had quite the adventure this morning in San Francisco. Oh, it’s a doozy. It all started with an early morning meeting at a cosmetics company in the city. The full story won’t be ready until tomorrow, but for now let’s just say it involves dramatic makeup and TLC.

When I got home from the city this afternoon I was spent and tried to take a cat nap, but my hair was stinky as a result of said adventure in the city, so I decided to take a long shower instead. I reached for my new super shampoo and conditioner combo — Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Lavender Mint Moistruzing Shampoo ($10.95) and Conditioner ($11.95).

I’m a die hard Bumble & Bumble girl, but lately I’ve been trying a few other hair brands on for size. I’m on a lavender kick because I’ve been a little stressed lately, and lavender has helped me to relax. Tea Tree Lavender Mint’s clean, lavender scent doesn’t smell powdery or perfumey at all, which I love, and the combo leaves my hair feeling soft to the touch.

After my shower I took another shot at a cat nap. Within minutes I drifted off to sleep, breathing in Tea Tree Lavender Mint’s soothing scent. I woke up from my nap feeling totally refreshed. Not only does Tea Tree Lavender Mint smell yummy, it moisturizes and makes my hair shiny, too. Loving it!

Tonight, after answering e-mails and running a few errands, I did what I do best: surfing the internets for a new makeup obsession. I’m hunting for the right shade of blue mascara. I searched high and low on Sephora.com today but couldn’t make a decision. I narrowed it down to these five:
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Chanel Aqualumiere Lipgloss: Sheer and Shiny

May 1st, 2008 by Karen 43 Comments

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Chanel’s Aqualumiere Glosses ($25) debut this month, and boy are these bad boys built to shine. All nine of the shades deliver loads of sheer, super shiny color.

They don’t feel sticky at all on my lips. Unlike Chanel Glossimer lipglosses, Aqualumiere Gloss wands are tipped with a brush. I appreciate that. For me the brush makes Aqualumiere easier to apply than other products with doe-foot applicators.

Top row (from left to right)

Bonbon
Vanilla
Freeze
Candy Glow

Bottom row (left to right)

Diamond Rose
Ironic Tonic
Party Red
Glass Quartz
Bubble Plum

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I got these swatches a few hours ago at my local Nordies, and Candy Glow (sheer, peachy pink with tiny golden flecks) came home with me.
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