Archives for January 2013

Benefit’s Fakeup Crease-Control Hydrating Concealer Disguises Dark Circles, Doesn’t Leave a Trace

January 25th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

Benefit Fakeup Hydrating Crease-Control Concealer 1 — The new Benefit Fakeup Crease-Control Hydrating Concealer ($24), coming this March

The first time I twisted Benefit’s new Fakeup Crease-Control Hydrating Concealer, I came this close to swiping the stick across my lips.

But can you blame me? Doesn’t it look an awful lot like one of those hybrid lipstick/glosses we’ve seen stalking makeup counters over the past couple years?

Benefit Fakeup Hydrating Crease-Control Concealer — From the left: Light, Medium and Dark

The Fakeups, which arrive this March, borrow that same lycanthropic idea by combining two different things. Twist up the tube to reveal a stick with a creamy concealer center surrounded by a solid moisturizer containing vitamin E and apple extract.

For a brighter under-eye area, less visible dark circles and a lightweight look, just swipe under your eyes, and blend with a finger. The hydrating formula (decently moisturizing, but I wouldn’t give up eye cream for it) steers clear of my fine lines, too, and I swear it looks like real skin.

Benefit likes to streamline their products, many times releasing things in one or two shades. Sometimes, I think it really works. Keep things simple, right? Like with their famous Benetint Lip and Cheek Stain.

But for certain products, like concealers, a very limited color selection can be a turnoff, particularly for people with extremely light or dark skin.

Guess what…? Fakeup only comes in three shades (Light, Medium and Dark).

Benefit Fakeup Hydrating Crease Control Concealer swatches — From the left: Light, Medium and Dark

Benefit Fakeup Hydrating Crease-Control Concealer closed — Travel-ready stick packaging

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Fear Frosty Finishes but Still Love a Little Shimmer? Try MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Veronica’s Blush

January 25th, 2013 by Karen 7 Comments

MAC Veronica's Blush Pearlmatte Face Powder — Wearing the new $29 MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Veronica’s Blush from the Archie’s Girls collection on my upper cheekbones

Compared to the limelight-loving purples, blues, reds and fuchsia fighting for the spotlight on Veronica’s stage in the MAC Archie’s Girls collection, Veronica’s Pearlmatte Powder Blush seems perfectly content to stay backstage.

I think it’s one of the more Betty-like products in V’s basket of bold brights, seemingly subtle, like a brush from a kitten’s whiskers on your cheek, but look closely, because there’s more to see…

Its soft pink shimmer — not quite a full-on frost — definitely reflects more light than Betty’s Pearlmatte Powder in Flatter Me.

While peachy coral Flatter Me’s soft shine conveys a certain sweet innocence, Veronica’s Blush is stealing kisses behind the bleachers, perspiration tickling her brow, blood rushing to her cheeks as she locks lips with her best friend’s boyfriend (ruh-roh!).

MAC Prom Princess Powder Blush and Veronica's Blush Pearlmatte Face Powder — Prom Princess Powder Blush on the left and Veronica’s Blush Pearlmatte Face Powder on the right

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The Fabulously Flexible MAC Flatter Me Pearlmatte Face Powder Lures Ladies Who Love Coral

January 25th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

MAC Flatter Me Pearlmatte Face Powder Review — Wearing MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder ($29), from the new Archie’s Girls collection, all over my face

Oh, MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me…the things I’d for love. I’d wear your letterman jacket in 90-degree weather, even though it’s three sizes too big for me. I’d write you love letters, old-school style, and slip ’em in your locker. I’d let you win at Scrabble (most of the time) and always give you the last slice of pizza.

Why?

Because I you, MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me, and the pretty hearts in your pan, which elicit responses from me normally reserved for kitten videos (“Awwww!”).

A highlighter from the new MAC Archie’s Girls collection, Flatter Me combines a pan of peachy golden Shell Pearl Beauty Powder (which you might remember from the Liberty of London collection) with hearts of golden coral Foolish Me blush.

MAC Flatter Me Pearlmatte Face Powder — Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me ($29), a golden peachy base (Beauty Powder in Shell Pearl) with coral hearts (Powder Blush in Foolish Me)

It imparts the warm, butterscotch glow of a late summer sunset…even in the middle of winter.

With Flatter Me, I get the sense that MAC sought to lure back the ladies who fell in love with Shell Pearl Beauty Powder from the Liberty of London collection.

I was one of those ladies, and to this day! — Shell Pearl is one of my all-time favorite MAC products (here’s an old video where I talk about it; check out how dark my hair was back then!).

Flatter Me’s cute coral hearts give the combined color a slightly pinkish tone, so it’s not a dead-on dupe for Shell Pearl anymore (think sisters, versus twins). But unless you have preternatural, superhuman cat eyes, chances are that even if you’re the most devoted MAC aficionado this side of the Rockies, you won’t be able to see the difference from an arm’s length away.

I love it.

I love it so much that if I were to get a text from Ryan Gosling right at this very moment — “HEY K. YOU, ME, SOUTH OF FRANCE THIS WEEKEND? YES, NO?” — I’d bring along Flatter Me, on account of the soft, satiny, candlelit glow it gives my skin and its pore- and fine line-diffusing powers. Like the Fountain of Youth in a pan.

And like that slightly annoying girl in yoga class who effortlessly slides from pose to pose like human origami (have I ever mentioned that I suck at yoga?), Flatter Me is oh-so flexible. I can wear it as a highlighter, an eyeshadow or even mixed with foundation or tinted moisturizer.

MAC Cream Soda Powder Blush and Flatter Me Pearlmatte Face Powder Swatches — Cream Soda Powder Blush on the left and Flatter Me Pearlmatte Face Powder on the right

Sometimes I’ll even buff it all over my face like the Bobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powders from the new Sparkle & Glow collection, which I thought at first would be “too much,” but if I buff it lightly with a powder brush, I swear I see a 27-year-old Karen looking back at me in the mirror.

MAC Flatter Me Pearlmatte Face Powder packaging — Pearlmatte Face Powder ($29)

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Lancome’s Reds Blush in Love

January 25th, 2013 by Karen 9 Comments

Lancome’s Blush in Love in Reds ($49), one of two blushes from the In Love spring 2013 collection available now at Lancome counters and lancome.com.

What say you?

Big Ol’ Necklaces: What’s Your Take?

January 25th, 2013 by Karen 36 Comments

anthropologie-necklace — Stoneslab Bib Necklace ($48) from Anthropologie

Went to Anthropologie a few days ago and tried on a few big necklaces for fun. 🙂

I like bold jewelry, but I think both these pieces might be a little *too* big for me.

What’s your take on oversized necklaces like these? Are they a do or a don’t in your book?

anthropologie-necklace-k-2 — Wearing the Sparkled Agate Collar ($48)

The New MAC Spoiled Rich Eye Shadow X4 Palette Emboldens Your Inner Veronica

January 24th, 2013 by Karen 21 Comments

Would I recommend the new MAC Eye Shadow X4 palette in Spoiled Rich, also known as “the Veronica palette,” to my mom, my friend Jen, or any of the other women in my life who only casually dabble in cosmetics (as opposed to following it fanatically)? Probably not. That’s what the Betty palette is for.

With its non-stop party purples, charcoal black and navy blue, Spoiled Rich, one of two palettes in MAC’s new Archie’s Girls collection, has it in for long-time, deeply entrenched members of the MAC cult.

Put another way, if you can work out a dark charcoal gray and purple eye using a handheld mirror and a pair of children’s toy paintbrushes while hanging upside-down, chances are, this is the palette for you. If you feel like the world is your runway, and you want the audience focused on your lids, chances are, this is the palette for you.

Seriously, these are the kinds of colors you wear when you’re comfortable blending the sh*t out of your eye makeup.

Ron Ron Run and Gravel Eye Shadows

Girls/guys who can describe the differences between the 217, 224 and 239 off the top of their head may adore the two colors on the right — navy blue Ron Ron Run and charcoal Gravel. Both require barely a butterfly kiss from a brush head for maximum pigment, and blend like buttercream frosting.

Not only that — they last on my lids all day long with minimal fallout.

MAC Eye Shadow X4 in Spoiled Rich Swatches in Pink-Up Purple, Spoiled Rich, Ron Ron Run and Gravel — Eye Shadow X4 in Spoiled Rich ($44): Pink-Up Purple, Spoiled Rich, Ron Ron Run and Gravel

Pin-Up Purple Eye Shadow

As for the purples on the left, I happen to dig the lighter one, Pin-Up Purple, even though it might disappoint MAC divas who demand vibrant, punchy purples. It reminds me of the violet I see when I watch the sunrise through my office window, and when I wear it as a wash on my lids, BAM! — I look a lot less tired than I feel. 🙂

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The New MAC Caramel Sundae Eye Shadow X4 Palette Satisfies Sweet Teeth and Appetites for Interesting Neutral Palettes

January 24th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

MAC Eye Shadow X4 Palette in Caramel Sundae Review — Wearing the new MAC Archie’s Girls Eye Shadow X4 Palette in Caramel Sundae ($44)

Like a life raft to rescue us from the ocean of apartment wall beige eyeshadows and school uniform browns that have flooded makeup counters and store shelves since urban Decay released the Naked palette, the new MAC Archie’s Girls Eye Shadow X4 Palette in Caramel Sundae, or what I like to call, “The Betty Palette,” reminds me of bounding through a beauty department and noticing the looks the makeup artists are wearing, how they emphasize some features while toning down others (like chromatic cherry lips paired with a wash of cocoa powder brown on the lids).

I think that’s the idea behind MAC’s new $44 Caramel Sundae, the counterpoint to Veronica’s Spoiled Rich palette, from the new Archie’s Girls collection (coming Jan. 30 to cyberspace, and to stores and counters Feb. 7).

MAC Archie's Girls Eye Shadow X4 — Eye Shadow X4 ($44)

While the purples in Veronica’s palette powerfully take the stage! — strutting into the room with stilettos clacking, Betty’s Caramel Sundae glides…her Chuck Taylors padding softly on the hardwood floor.

You might even overlook her at first, until you realize, smiling and laughing, that she weaved your favorite quotes from Step Brothers into a conversation about Shake Weights.

Wait — what?

My point is this: Betty’s Caramel Sundae channels sweetness and light, and that warmth you feel in your heart on your very best days.

MAC Caramel Sundae Eye Shadow X4 — Eye Shadow X4 in Caramel Sundae ($44); eyeshadows from the left: Cheryl Chic (a light coral pink), Dreammaker (a pale, frosty yellow), Caramel Sundae (a mid-toned, warm tan) and Showstopper (a dark, cool-toned brown matte)

MAC Caramel Sundae Eye Shadow X4 Swatches — Caramel Sundae Eye Shadow X4 in Cheryl Chic, Dreammaker, Caramel Sundae and Showstopper

MAC Archie's Girls Caramel Sundae Palette review — Not sure what’s going on here, but this pic cracks me up…

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Look for 12 New Longwear Powder Shadows to Spring Up on Benefit Counters This March

January 24th, 2013 by Karen 21 Comments

The New Benefit Longwear Powder Shadows, $19 each

Stricken with a bout of beauty-fueled insomnia last night, I lay awake in bed reading what Susan Miller had to say about my near future.

As a side, Astrologyzone is my frickin’ jam! Swear to gawd, Susan’s forecasts are freaky accurate. I don’t hold ’em as gospel, but if she were to tell me, “Karen, don’t cut your hair this month or buy any new electronics. It’s the planets, Karen… They aren’t looking good,” I’d be all, “Affirmative!”

So, the horoscope. Susan suggested that the end of this month would be a great time for me to take a big trip.

Cool! Except that it’s already the twenty-fourth, and I still don’t have tickets…

Oh, well. I guess there’s still time for Jeremy Renner’s people to call and invite me on a last-minute cross-country road trip. Seriously, guys, I can be ready in a flash. I even know which eyeshadows I’d bring with me — Benefit’s new Longwear Powder Shadows — which I could test on the trip. 🙂

The Benefit babes are re-launching their color line this spring, which means new packaging, new colors and, in some cases, new formulations.

Benefit Milk It Longwear Powder Shadow — Milk It, a pearly white

Benefit Call My Bluff Longwear Powder Shadow — Call My Bluff, a pale shell

The Longwears will replace Benefit’s Velvet Eyeshadows — the square eyeshadows with the white tops and the birdie design.

With the new Longwears, Benefit is maintaining the same quantity of product per pan (0.11ounces), while raising the prices from $18 to $19 each.

The new line features 12 shades, and it doesn’t look like any of the previous colors were invited to attend… Some of the new shades bear resemblances to their older brethren, like the new It’s Complicated, which looks to me a little like Nice Melons, and Kiss Me I’m Tipsy, which reminds me of Dandy Brandy.

And there are other colors here that seem to resemble the Velvets, although they don’t appear to be exact matches, as far as I can tell.

They come in three finishes — matte, satin and sheen — with a majority of them being neutrals, with a sprinkling of pink, blue and purple for spice.

Benefit Pinky Swear Longwear Powder Shadow — Pinky Swear, a soft matte pink

For the record, the Longwears feel just as soft as the Velvet eyeshadows do to me, and when I place a finger in one of the pans and swirl it around, the finger picks up a lot of product. The formula feels comfortably creamy for a powder eyeshadow, perhaps due to the microscopic powder grains, which seem more finely milled than before.

Benefit Its Complicated Longwear Powder Shadow — It’s Complicated, a golden peach

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