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
Pink, brown and violet, oh my! Meet the Clarins Neo Pastels Eye Colour & Liner Palette ($40), from the new Clarins Neo Pastels Collection for spring 2011.
What say you?
Is your skin slicker than a used car salesman? Do your pores ooze oil all day and night? If you suffer from oily skin, you’re not the only one. I did for years (and still do at times).
Rule No. 1: Don’t despair. There’s hope. 🙂
“Hi, Karen. You’ve said before that you have oily skin, as do I, so I was wondering what you do (what products you use/have used) to combat it?
I have literally tried EVERYTHING, but my skin is still an oil slick!
HELP!”
— Ashley
Hi Ashley,
I feel your pain! I was constantly struggling with oily skin throughout my 20s. I know it’s all natural, but I’m still a little grossed out by it, that greasy feeling and the relentless shine. I remember back in college when I’d fall asleep in my books. I’d wake up, peel my face away and see oily patches on the page. Awesome!
Now that I’m in my 30s, my skin’s a combination of oily and dry. Some spots are dry, but others are oily, like my forehead and cheeks. I use (and love) several products to keep the oil slicks at bay.
This citrus-scented cleanser for normal-to-oily skin removes everything — oil, makeup, dirt, you name it. Yet it doesn’t feel harsh or leave my skin feeling tight or dry, thanks to botanicals like aloe vera, rosemary and spearmint. I loved it so much that I stockpile it when it’s sale. Plus, it’s only five bucks and carried in most drugstores.
Okay, it’s totally expensive, but DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew is both oil- and fragrance-free, feels light as air, sinks into my skin quickly and packs just enough moisture for my skin. Even oily skin likes moisture, and a good moisturizer slows the evaporation of water from the skin (see: Moisturizer For Oily Skin). It also never, ever gives me breakouts.
When I was in college I went through an awful bout of acne, and a dermatologist recommended Olay Facial Lotion Oil Free. I used it for years and still love it to this day. It feels light on my skin, can be worn beneath makeup and, like DDF Ultra-Light, doesn’t give me breakouts. I don’t use it anymore because I don’t think it’s moisturizing enough for my dry parts.
If MAC ever discontinued this oil-absorbing pressed powder I’d cry a thousand tears. It comes in five shades (Light, Medium, Medium Dark, Deep and Deep Dark) and works overtime to absorb oil, reduce shine and set makeup. 
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Say bonjour to Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour in Soft Peach ($28), one of six new powder blushes in the new Clarins Neo Pastels Collection for spring 2011.
Cute, right?
Yesterday, my journey along the new Laura Mercier Silk Road led me to four items from the collection — the Eye and Cheek Palette, the Kohl Eye Pencil in Stormy Gray, the Lip Plumper in Ruby Glaze and the Stickgloss in Pink Jewel — and it was quite a trip, let me tell ya.
All four of them are JUST. SO. GOOD! As I was applying the new products yesterday I kept shouting, “Oh, my gawd!” I’m pretty sure I sounded either like I was 1) seeing a double rainbow or 2) having a bonafied makeup-gasm.
The Laura Mercier Silk Road Collection
For her latest collection, foundation phenom Laura Mercier went WAY back — almost 3,000 years back — to the ancient Han Dynasty and the trade routes ancient merchants from China, India, Tibet, Persia and the Mediterranean used to sell their silk, satin, perfumes, spices, medicines and jewels.
Available now on Laura Mercier counters and online, the 13-piece Silk Road collection was inspired by the precious gemstones and raw silks that moved along those ancient routes.
Laura Mercier Silk Road products clockwise from the palette: Eye and Cheek Palette, Stickgloss in Pink Jewel, Lip Plumper in Ruby Glaze and the Eye Kohl in Stormy Grey
Do if you feel up to traveling the Silk Road again with me (don’t worry, I remember the way). 🙂
…is the frickin’ bomb, especially the eyeshadows. I’m very picky about palettes with purples on account of how many times I’ve been traumatized by them. It seems like many of the purples that make their way into palettes suffer from some terrible affliction, either too much contrast, fallout or something else, and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve ended up looking like a cross between Elvira and Barney.
Laura handled these violet, pink, taupe and lavender shades well. Each of them is distinct enough to stand on its own yet related enough to work in looks using multiple shadows from the palette.
Blending like a teenage dream, they go together without leaving any harsh lines behind, and I had absolutely no issues with fallout — not even from the glitter in Regal Violet or Golden Sands.
Oh, and those blushes? Dreamy. Persian Rose contains a little more pigment and shimmer than I thought it did last week. It’s not quite the NARS Orgasm dupe I figured it would be. I think it’s darker, more intense and more golden than Orgasm is but still very pretty. Lighter skinned ladies might want to apply it with a fan brush for a natural-looking flush.
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If NYX had their druthers, we’d all be shimmering like angelic fiends right about now. Their budget conscious 10-Color Palette in Haute Model ($11), one of four new palettes in the extensive 10-Color Palette line, houses a bevy of bestselling NYX shadows in dark green, blue, purple, gray and bronze, as well as two lighter pops of pink and teal.
The lighter shades seemed out of place to me at first, but I wouldn’t turn them away. Now I like the nice contrast they provide.
The shadows in this bargain beauty have a bold, hi-shine finish that demands attention, and every one, with the exception of the pink in the top row, apply with NYX’s signature buttery texture (the pink doesn’t feel as finely milled as the others to me).
Swatches of the top row on NC35 skin (with a flash)
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The only real 3D thing I’ve ever watched was Captain EO, and I really liked it when I was 8. 🙂
The word “gimmicky” springs to mind when I look at LORAC’s new Multidimensional Beauty Collection.
It’s a spring release, but the gobs of glitter, shimmer and dark hues remind me more of fall and winter than spring. Products in the eight-piece release for the eyes, lips and face come in a variety of finishes, including shimmers, mattes and glitters, and some of them (like the shimmers and glitters) seem to fool around with light (hence the 3D).
Today I took five of them out for a spin.
Like sugar free YSL Faux Cils. I like how it thickens at the base, but I’d love a little better curl hold.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
I had high hopes for this sheer multipurpose liquid and its golden glitter. Designed to be applied on top of eyeshadow (that’s how I tried it), worn alone or dabbed atop areas of the face for extra shimmer, it suffers from MAD fallout. And the packaging could stand being revamped. The base of the bottle is so narrow that it tips over easily. I knocked it over by accident, and the liquid gushed out! There went half the bottle before my very first use…
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: C+
Matte brown Chocolate and matte reddish purple Eggplant glide along lash and waterlines like prima ballerinas. I just wish LORAC had made the pencils thinner (or maybe harder) because the tips are easy to break.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
How cute is this packaging (I want the same print on a pair of shoes!)? Some of these six shimmery powder eyeshadows could be smoother (the peachy gold on the upper left feels very grainy), but I think LORAC did a pretty good job with the duochromes. The green in the upper right of the first row flashes from red to brown at certain angles, and the aforementioned peachy gold flashes to/from pink, which is rather cool.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
Clockwise from the tube of mascara on the left: Multiplex 3D Lashes, Multiplex 3D Eye Shadow Palette, 3D Liquid Lustre Shimmering Top Coat, 3-in-1 Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in Eggplant and 3-in-1 Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in Chocolate
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Laura Mercier Stickgloss in Pink Jewel, $20, from the new Silk Road Collection for spring 2011.
For full details, swatches and a review of the collection, check out If You Need Me, I’ll Be on the Laura Mercier Silk Road: The Silk Road Collection for Spring 2011.
Laura Mercier Stormy Grey Kohl Eye Pencil, $19, from the new Silk Road Collection.
For full details, swatches and a review of the collection, check out If You Need Me, I’ll Be on the Laura Mercier Silk Road: The Silk Road Collection for Spring 2011.