Archives for 2013

Four Mallards Walk Into a Bar… Wait, I Mean, Behold the MAC Bare My Soul Eye Shadow X 4 Quad!

May 1st, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Because I generally try to avoid bubbling vats brimming with bacteria, I’m not the type to spend my summer nights hot tubbing (unless it’s with RyGos or J-Ren). But if I were, my dream scene would look something like this:

So totally feeling this makeup!

I was so excited about the MAC Temperature Rising collection’s highlighted skin, metallic, glossy lips and strong focus on smoldering eyes that toe a slightly menacing line between seductive and spooky that I tried to paint a picture of it over the phone to my mom (who never wants to talk about makeup), and the best I could come up with was, “The girl in the promo pic looks like Nelly Furtado sitting in a hot tub at night under a heat lamp wearing Mrs. Roper’s jewelry. Oh, and she’s sandwiched between two dudes from Magic Mike.”

With three neutral powder eye shadows and a single smokey green pan, Bare My Soul ($44) must be a hit among cool, stylish mallards… It has a brown, a taupe, a gold and a coppery green.

Quack! See, Mallard duck colors. The slightly shiny finish even says, “I’m a mallard duck, yo.”

What do hot mallards have to do with MAC Temperature Rising, the release to which Bare My Soul belongs?

Absolutely nothing, far as I can tell. 🙂 Well, the mallard part doesn’t, but the colors sure seem conducive to summery smokey eyes with copper, gold, bronze and brown.

I’ll use the taupe and gold for dusting all over my lids (and/or highlighting) and the chocolatey bronze and coppery green for deepening and smoking out my look.

MAC Bare My Soul swatches from the left: Romantico (a light taupe bronze with a Veluxe Pearl finish), Bare My Soul (a frosted gold with a Lustre finish), Friendly (a deep bronzy chocolate with a Veluxe Pearl finish) and When in Rio (a deep green with a copper pearl and a Frost finish) — Swatches from the left: Romantico (a light taupe bronze with a Veluxe Pearl finish), Bare My Soul (a frosted gold with a Lustre finish), Friendly (a deep bronzy chocolate with a Veluxe Pearl finish) and When in Rio (a deep green with a copper pearl and a Frost finish)

The coppery green, also known as When in Rio — jinx! You owe me a Coke if you thought, “That’s a Club dupe.” It reminds me a lot of MAC Club on my NC 42 skin, except a little more brown and less red.

I swear these powders feel softer than the powders in the past few limited edition quads, but I’m not totally sure why… Sure do like it though.

PRICE: $44
AVAILABILITY: Coming May 16 to maccosmetics.com and May 23 to MAC counters and stores
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

When Was the Last Time You Got a Makeover?

May 1st, 2013 by Karen 30 Comments

Smile! Just a quick shot of the MAC Temperature Rising makeup I’m wearing today

When was the last time you got a makeover?

I’ve had three since February. The first was at Sephora for Valentine’s Day, and the second for a Bobbi Brown Master Class at Saks. Both were lots of fun, and I learned so much and left feeling happy.

My most recent makeover was about two weeks ago at a Nordstrom Pretty Party.

The gal who did my makeup was sweet, but I wasn’t crazy about the finished look. I think we just had vastly different styles.

The foundation was a few shades too light and a little too beige (so my skin looked gray), and then it was set all over with an iridescent sparkly powder (hello, pores). She also skipped filling in my brows and applying under-eye concealer, two things I always do before leaving the house, even if I’m just going out in the front to get the mail.

On the bright side, it was a learning experience. Next time I go in for a makeover, I plan to bring extra cleansing wipes and a bag of emergency makeup just in case it doesn’t turn out quite the way I hope it does.

When was the last time you got a makeover? Did you like it? How did it turn out?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

WARNING: You May Literally Want to Live In These Zella Live-In Capris

May 1st, 2013 by Karen 48 Comments

Shorts and I, ugh. We have a complex relationship.

I like breathable, cooling clothes when I’m slogging through my daily miles, but shorts usually ride up in weird ways, or they’re so short that my booty hangs out; hence, my warm-weather preference for capri-length workout pants.

Zella’s $44 Live-In Capris are so comfy that I do, in fact, want to live in them. 🙂

And if I never, ever had to look responsible, I probably would (they’re the Pajama Jeans of my workout world). You’d need the Jaws of Life to peel them off of me.

I got my first pair about a year ago and promptly picked up two more.

The deets from Nordstrom’s site…

These lean capri leggings, ideal for working out or wearing out, are cut from a stretchy moisture-wicking knit and sewn with flatlock seaming for a comfortable, chafe-free fit
17″ inseam; 10″ front rise; 13″ back rise (size Medium)
Hidden waistband pocket stashes cash or a key
Reflective trim enhances visibility in low light
Zeltek Ultimate Stretch offers four-way stretch with compression, wicks moisture, and it’s brushed on one side, smooth on the other
Intended for gym, yoga, running
Polyester/spandex; machine wash

You know how some workout pants will stretch out and lose elasticity after a few wears, and then when you’re jogging/downward dogging/eating Cheetos on the couch/whatever, you have to stop every few feet to hike them up because they’ve lost their shape and keep scooting down your bum?

Yeah, these don’t do that.

I’ve had mine for more than a year, wash and tumble dry them on low all the time, and they’ve held up nicely. The elastic’s just as springy and snug as ever (so there’s no chance of accidental butt crack flashing).

Oh, and the fabric is thick enough to leave some things to imagination (read: conceal whatever you’ve got going on under your pants).

You’d think that all workout pants would take this into consideration, but they don’t. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve gone to a yoga class and wanted to tell the gal swan diving into a forward fold in front of me to put a sweatshirt around her bum because EVERYTHING IS ON DISPLAY.
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MAC’s Masat Al Lail: Eye Shadow X 4

May 1st, 2013 by Karen 6 Comments

MAC’s Masat Al Lail: Eye Shadow X 4 ($40), with Carbon, Rondelle, Waft and Gentle Fume. From the new Art of the Eye collection.

Feeling a little de ja vu? You might remember this quad from 2007’s Smoke Signals.

Bobbi Brown’s Nude Beach Sheer Color Cheek Tint

May 1st, 2013 by Karen 5 Comments

Bobbi Brown Nude Beach Sheer Color Cheek Tint

Bobbi Brown’s limited edition Nude Beach Sheer Color Cheek Tint, $26. Available now at Bobbi Brown counters and online.

Saluting Summer With Six Splashy New Stick Shimmer Shadows: The Refreshingly Cool Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows

April 30th, 2013 by Karen 44 Comments

The six new $34 limited edition Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows in Moon River, Cool Gold, Pink Lagoon, Jade Shore, Blue Bay and Black Stream

When an effortless, ethereal cream shadow collided with a twist-up stick to form Chanel’s first Stylo Eyeshadow, I wager it was like when Karl Lagerfeld met Choupette the cat — a match made in crazy cat lady (and dude!) heaven.

Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows from the left: Moon River, Pink Lagoon, Jade Shore, Blue Bay, Black Stream, Cool Gold — From the left: Moon River, Pink Lagoon, Jade Shore, Blue Bay, Black Stream, Cool Gold

Then, when some intrepid soul at Chanel added shimmer and glitter, it was like waltzing into the ritziest, fanciest Petco ever and finding an entire aisle dedicated to diamond-encrusted cat collars.

In other words, pretty freakin’ neat.

Add to that a bad-@ss cooling effect, and things get even better — like a battalion of drag queens with purple feather boas parachuting down into that same Petco carrying bedazzled cans of Gravy Lovers Fancy Feast while Haddaway’s What Is Love (Baby Don’t Hurt Me) blares over the store’s speakers.

Like I said — pretty freakin’ neat!

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The Four Glittery New MAC Temperature Rising Lipglasses Turn Up the Heat on Summer Eye Looks

April 30th, 2013 by Karen 28 Comments

MAC Soft Serenade Lipglass — Soft Serenade Lipglass

“It was a steamy night — hot like Manila in July — and I was feeling naughty.”

That could either be the beginning of a bad piece of pulp fiction or a commercial for MAC’s new 28-piece summer collection, Temperature Rising. Either way, it sounds hot, right?

MAC Temperature Rising Lipglasses from the left: Liquid Passion, Soft Serenade, Underdressed and Rhythm — From the left: Liquid Passion, Soft Serenade, Underdressed and Rhythm

If last year’s dimpled, cheerful Hey Sailor was a celebration of pin-up girl fun in the sun, this year’s Temperature Rising is like meeting a boy at a dubstep club and dancing your @ss off past curfew.

Steamy neutrals, feverish flecks of gold and copper and sizzling taupe, peach, magenta and charcoal set this new 28-piece collection ablaze.

It’s hot stuff! — and I want to watch it burn all day and night…

Stay hydrated, because the four Lipglasses ($16.50 each) in this launch can cause overheating, especially if you like wearing neutral lips with bold summer eyes.

Together, creamy nude Liquid Passion (like a peachier version of Spite); pearly, neutral pink Soft Serenade; pearly, plummy bronze Underdressed and pearly magenta-violet Rhythm complete an entire wardrobe of neutral summer lips, covering you for everything from bronze smokey eyes to eye looks with shimmery blues and greens.

MAC Temperature Rising Lipglass Swatches from the left: Liquid Passion, Soft Serenade, Underdressed and Rhythm — Swatches from the left: Liquid Passion, Soft Serenade, Underdressed and Rhythm

MAC Liquid Passion Lipglass — Liquid Passion Lipglass

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For Zesty Lashes, Try Chanel Zest Inimitable Mascara, Which Just Might Be the Weirdest Mascara I Never Thought I’d Like

April 30th, 2013 by Karen 47 Comments

Oh, Chanel Zest Inimitable Mascara, you fabulous, adorable weirdo… Why on earth would anyone want to wear yellowish orange mascara, I mean, unless they had a coffee date with a handsome actor/spaceship captain at a comic book convention?

It’s just so…strange, and not at all what I imagine emerging from the sacred, hallowed halls of La Maison de Chanel, where I picture everyone wearing tweed jacket uniforms and strands of pearls, and stilettos click and clack down dystopian halls.

And yet here it is — Zest.

Waterproof, and designed for volume, length, curl and lash separation, Zest only looks like a blinking yellow streetlight. It’s actually one of four kooky, colorful limited edition Inimitable mascaras in the new L’Ã‰tÃ© Papillon de Chanel summer collection on counters now.

I look at Zest and think that someone in Chanel’s eye makeup department went bat sh*t cray! — but in the best possible way. Like, Karl locked up all the creatives in a room with some hella good vino and The Hunger Games looping on a big screen TV and wouldn’t let them out until they came up with something totally weird, crazy and cool that still captured the Chanel vibe.

Chanel Summer 2013 — A Capitol-approved makeup look

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