Archives for 2013

All You Need Is (the Summer of Lip) Love: Coming at You From San Francisco, the New Marvelous Moxie Lipsticks, Lipglosses and Lipliners by bareMinerals

April 18th, 2013 by Karen 54 Comments

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick, Lipgloss and Lipliners — The new bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Never Say Never ($18)

Go ahead, poke fun at me for saying “hella” all you want, babe, but I’ll always, always own that sh*t.

It’s just something I picked up growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I also learned not to wear shorts with a tank top when I visit SF in July (because it can get downright cold!), and I automatically drop my “the’s” when referring to BART trains and MUNI. (SF Lingo 101: we say, “I took BART,” or “I took MUNI,” instead of saying, “I took the BART.”)

Yep, I’m a Bay Area girl through and through. 🙂

We may not host the headquarters of as many makeup lines as Paris and New York, but we’ve got some pretty bangin’ beauty brands reppin’ the Bay, like San Francisco-based bareMinerals.

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipliners, Lipsticks and Lipglosses — Cheeseball!

And just like San Franciscans did back in the day, fans of bareMinerals this year can look forward to another summer of (lip) love, with a massive new launch of Marvelous Moxie Lipsticks, Lipliners and Lipglosses.

Next month, the brand is adding a total of 46 new permanent collection lip products, all priced from $15-18 each.

I KNOW!

Seeing as how I change my lip color, oh, about every five seconds, I’m really excited. 🙂

This afternoon I made out with nine of the new products, and based on that, we have some pretty playful pigments and creamy textures to look forward to, and coverages varying from super saturated to soft and sheer.

Here we go! Bring on the summer of lips…

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipsticks in Light It Up, Never Say Never and Speak Your Mind

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Guerlain’s New Cuivre Casts Metallurgical Magic on Lids: Guerlain Cuivre Ora Loose Powder Eye Shadow

April 18th, 2013 by Karen 44 Comments

How do you feel about shiny baubles? Personally, I’m a fan (especially costume stuff).

Guerlain feels pretty good about ’em, too, and their new coppery Cuivre (which means “copper” in French) Ora Loose Powder Eye Shadow works like a shiny bauble in some visually arresting ways.

Shiny like a copper keepsake — and intense! — it jazzes up whatever else you’ve got going on, in my case, a simple black eye liner, bronzer and a gloss in peachy gold.

Part of the new 10-piece Terra Ora summer makeup collection, Cuivre quivers on counters next month. 🙂

Guerlain’s got serious game when it comes to bronzers and bronzing makeup, so it makes sense that they’d release something like Cuivre.

I really how it looks with a tan and just the overall liquid metal effect. I think it’s also more intense when I press or glide it directly on my lids with the sponge-tip applicator instead of a separate brush.

Blink, and you see a flash of shimmer, which looks super cool, like sunlight on a polished piece of gold, and you don’t need multiple layers, either. Nope, it’s that pigmented and intense.

Guerlain Cuivre Ora Loose Powder Eye Shadow swatch — Guerlain Cuivre Ora Loose Powder Eye Shadow on my NC 42 skin

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Like Birds of a Feather, the Golden Tan Bronzer and Coral Blush in the New Dior Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Coral Glow Look Great Together

April 18th, 2013 by Karen 35 Comments

Mario and Luigi, BeyoncÃ© and Jay-Z, Orgasm and Laguna… I love duos, both in my daily life and my makeup bag.

Take two awesome things and put them together, and sometimes you get awesomeness even greater than the sum of its parts!

My makeup bag is bursting with duos. They’re just so practical and convenient. Does this go with that? Oh, sure it does, because it’s a duo! They make me less likely to go orange alert/shank strangers and give me more time to tackle more important things, like whether to indulge Tabs by playing Ridin’ Dirty again.

Wait for the chirp at the end

When Dior’s $56 Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Coral Glow flitted onto shelves with the summer 2013 Bird of Paradise collection, my heart fluttered.

With a warm, golden tan bronzer on one side and a bright coral blush on the other, it’s got the goods to create sun-kissed skin and radiant cheeks.

And since the bronzer and blush sides are further divided into lighter and darker shades (or “harmonies,” as Dior likes to call ’em), which can be worn separately or mixed together, you can adjust the effect depending on your skin tone or tan.

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Dior Bird of Paradise Collection: Peacock 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow

April 18th, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

Dior’s Blue Lagoon 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow ($60), from the new Bird of Paradise summer collection. Coming soon to Dior counters and online.

Dior Returns to the Blue Lagoon and Finds the Blue Lagoon 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow, Blogger Karen Posts Pictures, Swatches and a Review

April 17th, 2013 by Karen 63 Comments

Dior Blue Lagoon Eyeshadow Palette — Dior’s new Blue Lagoon Eyeshadow Palette #374

Believe it or not, this is a tabby’s happy face…

Dior Blue Lagoon Eyeshadow Palette with Tabs — Happy tabby! No, really.

Tabs was thrilled for a number of reasons today.

First, he got to hear one of his very favorite songs, Chamillionaire’s Ridin’ Dirty, which I pumped on iTunes while doing this blue and green eye look with the new Dior $60 Blue Lagoon 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette.

He always stays in the room for Chamillionaire, unlike Maroon 5, of which he’s not a fan (don’t know why, but he always leaves the room when Adam Levine starts singing). I think he thinks of Ridin’ Dirty as his personal anthem.

Picture it, Tabs strutting his stuff while it plays in the background. 🙂 Totally works, right?

Second, Tabs is a snob, or as he likes to put it, has “a taste for the finer things,” like high end makeup, Dior being one of his favorite brands.

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A Righteous Rhapsody in Blue: Chanel’s New Bleu Le Volume De Chanel Mascara

April 17th, 2013 by Karen 34 Comments

I’ve got the blues… The Chanel Bleu Le Volume De Chanel Mascara blues…

Blue mascaras usually give me the blues…

Buuuuut, not in the good way.

You know how many times I’ve started out marveling at an intense sapphire on a mascara wand only to get it on my lashes and think, “Um…is that it? It’s not even blue. And where’s the length and thickness?”

Now, Chanel’s new Bleu Le Volume De Chanel Mascara is having none of that. This $30 delphinium is blue perfection in tube, and I think it’s a worthy addition to your fashion-forward wardrobe this spring.

Chanel Bleu Le Volume De Chanel Mascara wand — Just look at that magic wand…

It looks lovely standing next to the original Le Volume De Chanel, also known as “The Best Darned High-End Mascara This Side of the Rockies!” Also known as “lash crack!”

A great option for when you feel like mixing things up a little, or just want to wear a conversation starter…like a flashy cocktail ring or that tattoo of “Mrs. Christian Bale” across my left boob.

Ha. Kidding (or was I?).

Like the original Le Volume, Bleu does it all — lengthening, separating, thickening and holding a curl. It even makes it through the entire day without leaving behind a trail of flakes or smudges on my lower lash lines.

But even more important than all that, I can see the blue!

Chanel Bleu Le Volume De Chanel Mascara two coats — Two coats of Chanel Bleu Le Volume De Chanel Mascara

Those crazy cats at Chanel sure know how to do sophisticated blues. They’re always rolling out elegant, colorful blue eye makeup that works.

Sexy alien blue lashes, these are not. If you’re shopping for blue lashes that are visible from five galaxies away, you may have to keep searching…

Chanel Bleu Le Volume De Chanel Mascara before after — Two coats of Bleu on the left, and naked lashes on the right

Say you’re out on a date with your companion about an arm’s length away. They’ll just see quick flashes of blue as you answer, “How was your day?” or, “How did you refrain from shanking your boss?”
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Because Green Nail Polish Makes Everything Better: The New Yves Saint Laurent Vert D’Orient La Laque Couture Nail Lacquer

April 17th, 2013 by Karen 18 Comments

Yves Saint Laurent Vert D'Orient Nail Polish — Yves Saint Laurent Vert D’Orient La Laque Couture Nail Lacquer, $25

I’ve long held that it’s not plate tectonics, electromagnetic fields or the earth’s core that make the world go ’round. It’s green nail polish, and if green polish ever disappeared, the world would simply stop.

Green nail polish is like when Mom makes your favorite dish. It just makes everything better.

While it’s not officially billed as a mood elevator, the new $25 Vert D’Orient La Laque Couture Nail Lacquer works like one for me. The formula must be packed with liquid positivity.

It’s like a leisurely stroll outside on a perfect spring day… Catching a glimpse of this creamy bluish green on my tips or toes makes me grin like Adam Levine when he finds an extra tight-fitting pair of skinny jeans. In other words, a BIG grin. 🙂