Archives for 2013

Gorgeous Cosmetics Liquid Lips Lip Lacquer in Hush Speaks Volumes About Pretty Pink Gloss

March 20th, 2013 by Karen 10 Comments

Gorgeous Cosmetics Liquid Lips Hush — Hush!

I realize that this is supposed to be a post about something else, but thank goodness for MAC Lipglasses.

They’ve been keeping me company for so many years, and through so many memories…

When I think about all the horrible first dates MAC Spite and I sat through with people we met on Craigslist (this was in the late ’90s before the words, “Craigslist” and “Killer,” appeared in the title of a Lifetime TV movie), I can’t even begin to roll my eyes far back enough in my head.

And it wasn’t just MAC Spite. There was also Nymphette (which helped me move into my first real “grownup” apartment), Lychee Luxe (accompanied me to Europe in 2005) and EvRev (which showed me around Toronto in 2011), among others.

The MAC Lipglasses and I roll deep.

Which is why you have to promise not to tell them I’ve been testing Hush, one of the Liquid Lips Lip Lacquers from Gorgeous Cosmetics.

It would just hurt them too much to hear that I’ve strayed.

In my defense, they look, feel and last almost exactly like a Lipglass. Same shiny finish, sticky texture and fantastic wear time (they’ll manage half a day between meals).

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Blasting Counters With Brightness This April: The New Guerlain Le Vernis Maxi Shine Nail Polishes

March 20th, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

Guerlain Le Vernis La Lacque Couleur Maxi Shine — Guerlain’s new Le Vernis Nail Lacquers ($23 each), for when you get over your matte nail polish phase

Maybe it’s the glittering wet rooftops I’ve been gazing at from my office window today, or the dream I had last night (Surfing at daybreak in Waikiki. Between sets I’d plunge my hands into the water and check out how shiny my nails were, haha! I’m a nerd.), or perhaps I’m just tired of the whole matte polish trend.

Lately, all I’ve wanted to wear on my tips and toes are super shiny finishes. Shiny, like Kate Spade spring patent-leather shoes gleaming on a pristine shelf, or shirtless Ryan Gosling’s oiled torso and glistening white teeth.

I want a maraschino cherry-like shine so blasted bright that passersby whisper, “Did you see her nails? Is she wearing three layers of Seche Vite? Who has the time?”

“NO MORE MATTE NAILS!” I yell to the universe, arms wide and head tilted back. “I want shine like I’ve never seen before!”

Of course, I suppose I could patiently wait for a shiny top coat to dry, but my schedule’s pretty packed. I have to budget time for episodes of that dumb-@ss celebrity diving show (Splash) and the slow-slow-quick-quick-slow-ing on Dancing With the Stars. (Who knew Lisa Vanderpump could werk like that?)

No, I’d rather have the polish do all the work — have it harness the high-voltage brightness of the sun — and I’d also like it to dry quickly.

Blasting counters with brightness this April

Ideally, I’d like something like the 10 new $23 Guerlain Le Vernis nail polishes coming to Guerlain counters (and the permanent line) at select Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores next month.

Part of the Gloss d’Enfer Maxi Shine collection

The polishes are part of Guerlain’s Gloss d’Enfer Maxi Shine collection, a family of 20 glosses and 10 polishes with a wet-look finish inspired by classic ’60 pink-up girls.

Mirror-like shine

The biggest draw for me? The glistening finish, which still looks wet after it dries, gleams so brightly that I could probably wave my hands and flag down a plane (I kid you not).

Quick drying

Guerlain doesn’t market these as quick-dry polishes, but they probably could if they wanted to. Each of the shades I’ve tried dries within 10 minutes (two coats).

Granted, that’s not 30-40 seconds, but still. Not bad. Next time I have a nail polish emergency (you know what I’m talking about), I just might grab one of these.

Guerlain Le Vernis La Lacque Couleur Maxi Shine 165 — Guerlain Le Vernis in 165 (two coats)

Guerlain Le Vernis La Lacque Couleur Maxi Shine 143 — Guerlain Le Vernis in 143 (two coats)

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What Are Your Nail No-Nos?

March 20th, 2013 by Karen 34 Comments

what-nail-no — Things that make you go hmm…

Most of my nail no-nos pertain to my toes.

I have freakishly long toes — like “E.T. phone home!” long — so I don’t get too crazy with nail art or french manicures on my feet.

Much more than plain polish, and my toes begin to look like alien fingers/toes…

For the same reason, I don’t grow out my toenails. Open-toed shoes with my long digits, with even longer toenails hanging over the tips of my toes?

No, no thank you. Not a good look for moi.

The moment I start to feel my toenails nudging up against the inside of my running shoes, I immediately stop whatever I’m doing AND CUT THEM.

I don’t really have many nail no-nos for my fingers, which are also freakishly long (came in handy when I played piano), other than keeping my nails short. My fingernails are like the Wild West of Lacquer Land, although I don’t do a lot of nail art, but that’s mostly because of my schedule and Tabs (he keeps me on a pretty short leash).

There was an incident in college where a friend of mine accidentally scratched her cornea with one of her acrylic talons (yikes!). Ever since then, I’ve been afraid of long nails. The longest I’ll wear mine now is just a fraction of an inch beyond my fingertips. Longer than that, and my typing (and iPhone) error rate skyrockets, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

To Cheer You Up

March 20th, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

Cherry blossoms!

Current Craving from the Cheesecake Factory

March 20th, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

I could eat a whole bucket of their Skinnylicious Crab Bites, om nom nom!

Gorgeous Cosmetics Colour Pro Powder Blush in Peach Glow: Bluffing My Way To Beach Babe Status, One Swipe at a Time

March 19th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Gorgeous Cosmetics Colour Pro Powder Blush Peach Glow — Gorgeous Cosmetics Colour Pro Powder Blush in Peach Glow ($30)

I need a partner in crime…

Let’s blow this gloomy popsicle stand, and fly somewhere tropical for the rest of the week.

What do ya say? Call in sick with me tomorrow? Last-minute tickets to Kauai?

I don’t know what the weather’s like where you are, but it was cloudy and rainy here today. And tomorrow’s supposed to be more of the same.

Ptooey! Here, put this orange hibiscus behind your ear…

There. Now let’s pretend we’re sitting on the beach with iced coffees and watching the waves…

Are you pretending? I hope you’re pretending with me, because if would be weird if I were just doing it alone. 🙂

You know what else is more fun in pairs? Surfing.

I’m no surf pro or anything, unless we’re talking about quickly standing up and falling down, but I have figured out that it helps to watch the water for a few minutes before paddling out. That way you get a feel for the current and where the waves are breaking first.

Hmm… I feel like we need something more to take this whole escape of ours to the next level, maybe something like Colour Pro Blush in Peach Glow from Gorgeous Cosmetics.

The ample Aussie makeup brand recently arrived on US shores at Nordstrom stores and online. Peach Glow is the only product I’ve tried, but it was enough to color me intrigued.

I know, it’s $30. Yuck. And the compact does seem rather small (0.16 ounces), but I swear it’s like a wormhole! Gorgeous Cosmetics defied physics by squeezing a five-day tropical vacation into this one little pan.

The shimmery peach powder glides onto skin like a gentle off-shore breeze… All it takes is a single swipe of my blush brush for color that lasts all day long.

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Dive Into a Double Digit Dose of Moisturizing Minerals With the Plush Pigments in MAC’s New Luxurious, Lightweight Line of Mineralize Rich Lipsticks

March 19th, 2013 by Karen 35 Comments

MAC MIneralize Rich Lipstick in Style Surge — MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Style Surge, one of 12 new $22 shades in a new line of lipsticks available now at MAC counters, in stores and online)

Yup, it’s official. Anything’s possible now.

That’s how I feel today, babe, like the sky’s the limit! In a world with a line of full-coverage lipsticks that feel exactly like lip balms, anything’s possible. Pretty soon fashion-forward cats will start walking on their hind legs, venus fly traps will start crooning, and Keanu Reeves will win an Academy Award.

Um…have you heard about Splash? The new celebrity diving show?

Channing Tatum says what now?

Yes, celebrity diving show. Picture it: Greg Louganis coaching Kendra Wilkinson through her springboard tucks and twists (which reminds me, I dated a diver once for like two seconds; it did not go swimmingly, ba-dum-bum).

sp-ch — Umm… (from *Splash*, via Facebook)

Wait — where was I? Oh, yeah. The lipsticks.

MAC’s new $22 Mineralize Rich Lipsticks dove (haha) into the permanent line earlier this month, and from one dry-lipped girl to another (assuming you have dry lips, of course), one word: revelation.

According to MAC, the 77 minerals they added to the formula make these magnificent moisturizers, which leads me to wonder late at night (right after my 20-pound tabby wakes me up by walking across my left boob), why 77 minerals? Why not 76 or 78?

But I digress…

Ever since I started wearing six of the 12 shades, I haven’t seen a lip flake in sight.

The moisturizing formula takes the cake, but it’s not all these have going for ’em. They’re also comfy like a good pair of yoga pants. They could easily pass for a lightweight balm.

And they’re so easy to apply! — so put down that lip brush and liner. Even with the darker shades, like warm, deep red All Out Gorgeous, I can apply them directly from the oversized bullet (at 0.12 ounces per tube, these are slightly larger than regular 0.10-ounce MAC Lipsticks), and get 2-4 hours of full coverage from a single layer.

MAC Mineralize Rich Lipsticks from the left: All Out Gorgeous, Dreaminess, Elegant Accent, Lady at Play, Posh Tone and Style Surge

MAC MIneralize Rich Lipstick Swatches — MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick Swatches from the left: All Out Gorgeous, Dreaminess, Elegant Accent, Lady at Play, Posh Tone and Style Surge

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Does the Addition of a Primer Help These $8.49 Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows Last Longer on Lids?

March 19th, 2013 by Karen 49 Comments

El Hub and I have been talking about taking a trip somewhere soon. It’s been about a year since the last time we got well out of Dodge, and even though we have no definite plans whatsoever, the very mention of the word, “trip,” is enough to get me thinking about travel makeup.

I’m wondering if these Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows should tag along…

The formula for this new line of six smartly priced $8.49 shimmery cream shadow sticks contains a primer, supposedly reducing/eliminating creasing and fading, while the colors brighten and revive your eyes.

Not a bad idea for the price, right?

Sounds good to me. I like the convenience of stick products like these and love the notion of skipping primer. And then there’s the price, which works out well for travel, seeing as accidents (crushed or missing makeup bags, GASP!) occasionally do happen when I’m out and about.

Five of the six Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows from the left: Perfect Pink, Constant Copper, Stay Golden, Forever Platinum and Stay-Put Plum

Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadow Swatches — Swatches of the Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows from the left: Perfect Pink, Constant Copper, Stay Golden, Forever Platinum and Stay-Put Plum

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