Archives for November 2011

NARS Unsung Heroes: Luster Blush

November 22nd, 2011 by Karen 24 Comments

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Say the uber-pigmented NARS Lovejoy Blush seems a little too dark and intense for you, but you still want the same two-in-one blush/bronzer effect. Never fear, Luster Blush ($27) is here!

Like Lovejoy, Luster adds color, shimmer and warmth in a single swipe, and the way that it lights up cheeks makes it a good companion for a fading summer tan.

It’s one of those shades that I overlooked for years based on the way it looks in the pan — kinda ordinary and nondescript — but I’m glad I finally gave it a swipe and a chance. When I did, I fell instantly in love.

A sheer golden apricot with fine golden shimmer, it’s sheerer than both Lovejoy and Orgasm, and I think that makes it even easier to blend and apply.

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NARS blush swatches for comparison from the left: Luster, Lovejoy and Orgasm
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The Wacoal 854191 Strapless Push-Up Bra: The Best Damn Strapless Bra I’ve Ever Worn

November 22nd, 2011 by Karen 63 Comments

What do you get when you combine the words “phenomenal” and “strapless bra” in the same sentence? Well, besides a good laugh? Because that was always the case until I found the subject of this afternoon’s post.

I don’t know how you feel about ’em, but strapless bras for me have always been exercises in misery. Oh, the many times I’ve ducked into bathrooms to hoist up a strapless bra that has somehow worked its way around my belly button…

But lo, magic exists! Just when I began to believe I’d never find a good strapless bra, like it would forever be my personal chupacabra, I discovered the Wacoal 854191 Strapless Push-Up Bra, also known as “the most phenomenal strapless bra I’ve ever worn.”

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Phyto 7 Daily Hydrating Botanical Cream Brought My Brittle Hair Back from the Brink

November 22nd, 2011 by Karen 13 Comments

One day, while I was cruising the wares at a Pure Beauty store, I happened upon a sales associate with the longest, shiniest, healthiest looking hair I’d seen in years.

It, and the fact that it belonged to a dude, left me speechless for an unusually long pause…

When my brain rebooted, I asked the boy how he got such a fly mane, and he pointed me to the Phyto 7.

Phyto 7 Daily Hydrating Botanical Cream ($26) contains a blend of seven plant extracts — calendula, sage, burdock, willow, soybean, rosemary and althea — pit together for their hydrating and replenishing properties. By maintaining optimum moisture levels, it’s supposed to make hair look smoother, softer and shinier from the very first application.

When I started using this lightweight leave-in conditioner, Google was still in beta. It was more than a decade ago, and I was looking for something to revitalize and repair my dry, brittle hair, which had taken a lot of abuse from heat styling. This was back when I was using a blow dryer every other day to straighten my naturally wavy hair, and it had left me with about a million split ends.

I started applying it to my hair after shampooing and conditioning, and I think it brought my mop back from the brink.

Today I thought, any product worth coming back to again and again over a 10-year period is well worth a special shout-out, and so here it is. 🙂

Directions for use

After shampooing, apply to towel-dried or dry hair.

Place a pea-sized amount of cream into your hand, and apply all over the hair, paying special attention to the ends.

Massage in until fully absorbed, and then style hair as usual.

NOTE: Do not rinse

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MAC Black Knight Lipstick Is Staging a Comeback One Day Only, Exclusively Online November 25

November 22nd, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

MACaholics, just a quick heads up. If you missed Black Knight Lipstick from 2009’s Style Black collection, this Friday, November 25 (aka Black Friday for shoppers here in the US), MAC’s bringing the s*xy back for one day only on maccosmetics.com.

Creamy, dramatic Black Knight (here’s a swatch) probably isn’t something I’d wear to pick up gravy for Tabs at Petco, but ya know…I might reach for it when I’m feeling particularly sassy. It’s got an edge and a style to it that’s sure to stand out in a crowd.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. One more thing: the new Gareth Pugh for MAC collection is available now online. Happy shopping!

NARS Noms: Night Clubbing Eyeshadow

November 22nd, 2011 by Karen 5 Comments

I want to be all up in the club wearing NARS Night Clubbing Eyeshadow ($23).

Boots and Leaves, Vol. 2

November 21st, 2011 by Karen 2 Comments

Taken in front of my garage.

Have You Red Anything About the Five Pigmented Lipsticks in the New Dolce & Gabbana Ruby Collection? Would You Like To?

November 21st, 2011 by Karen 48 Comments

Wearing Dolce & Gabbana Ruby Collection Classic Cream Lipstick in Ruby

Rodeos everywhere are banning the new Dolce & Gabbana Ruby collection because its five Classic Cream Lipsticks have all the bulls seeing red! 🙂

No two ways about it — these festive and flirty lippies are for ladies who like red, and they’re jam packed with so much rich red pigment that they’re driving up the price of stop signs nationwide!

LOL! Okay, I’ll stop with the jokes. But seriously, these are really red.

They’re $37 each, which is $7 more than usual for one of Dolce & Gabbana’s Classic Creams; the markup pays for their dazzling limited edition Ruby attire.

With these, Dolce & Gabbana essentially created a nuanced wardrobe of red for a five-day week. The first time I swatched them on the back of my hand, I thought they looked too similar, but I could see their differences more clearly once I got them on my lips.

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Swatches from the left: Classic Cream Lipsticks in Ruby, Ultra, Scarlett, Iconic and Devil

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Lipstick in Scarlett
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Oh, It’s Cool — I’m Referring to the New Dolce & Gabbana Femme Fatale Eyeshadow, Of Course

November 21st, 2011 by Karen 11 Comments

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Sound the alarm and man the battlements, fellow Dolce die-hards, because it looks like someone raided the treasure room!

But wait — from the look of things, they didn’t escape with much. In fact, they appear to have left us something instead, the new quad in the Dolce & Gabbana Ruby holiday collection, an apparent tribute to those of us with a thing for cool-toned taupes and browns.

Like other precious stones, this gem commands a high price, in this case $75, but within its limited edition ruby packaging reside four easy-to-blend powders almost incapable of fallout. The matte grayish brown, shimmery violet taupe, sheer matte black and shimmery white are capable of looking elegantly dressed down one minute, like in the neutral look I’m wearing here, and more exhilarating and dramatic the next, by using the black shade to “smoke it out.”

I feel like the Ruby collection really revolves around the five red lipsticks in the release, which I think are served well by the accompanying blush in Peach and this quad. And the quad doesn’t bestow so much color to the eyes that they end up overwhelming the rest of the look.

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