Archives for 2013

I’ve Seen the Western Light, and ‘Tis Glorious! The New Chanel Western Light Le Vernis Nail Colour From the Hong Kong Collection

February 22nd, 2013 by Karen 15 Comments

Chanel Western Light Le Vernis Nail Colour Picture Swatch — Wearing two coats of the new Chanel Western Light Le Vernis Nail Colour ($30), one of two limited edition shades from the new Hong Kong collection, available now at select Chanel boutiques and chanel.com

Go on. Do it. Dooooo it!

Stop trying to resist. Let the feeling wash over you like melted butter on French toast.

(Dang, how can I still be hungry…? I had a huge lunch!)

I’m talking about that craving you get when you fall in love with a new Chanel nail polish, and suddenly the thought of dropping $30 on a single bottle makes perfect sense.

I had it when Jade came out, and Vendetta, and Riva, and now I’m feeling it again with Western Light from the Hong Kong collection (joined by Eastern Light).

But it didn’t start out that way. My first thought when I saw Western Light from a few feet away was, “Pretty, but what’s the big whoop? It looks like a standard issue dark purple cream.”

Two coats later I was hooting and whistling at my hands like some kind of lip-licking, lecherous nail polish pervert, LOL!

You know how some nail polishes are masters of disguise? One minute they look one color, and the next they look another?

Well, Western Light does that. From some angles, it’s a blackened eggplant; from others, a dark roast coffee, hold the cream and sugar.

I like… 🙂

And it loves the open plains… Or rather, it loves spending time outside where it can get some sun. In direct sunlight, it looks much more complex. Reddish pearl micro-shimmer bursts through!

Chanel Western Light Le Vernis Nail Colour Picture Swatch 3 — What’s that? Secret shimmer, BAM!

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Panama Is Hella Cool! The New Dior Diorshow Mono Wet & Dry Backstage Eyesahdow in Panama

February 22nd, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Dior Panama Diorshow Mono 1 — The Dior Panama Diorshow Mono, one of eight $29 shades available now on Dior counters and online

It’s like, BB creams are the new Naked palettes, and Naked palettes were the new vibrating mascaras, and vibrating mascaras were the new flashlight LED lip glosses/mascaras (remember those?!).

I feel like I can’t whip my hair around without my ponytail striking another new makeup/beauty must-have product.

But there are those things that withstand the test of time, ya know, like black liners, red lipsticks and brown eye shadows, to name a few.

And speaking of brown shadows, here’s one that may be worthy of your affections, especially if you like a little with your shadow.

It’s Dior’s cool, new $29 Diorshow Mono in Panama (haha, I almost typed “Panem,” Hunger Games moment!). 🙂

No, really, it’s cool, color temperature-wise. A satiny brown with microscopic flecks of secret shimmer that glimmer in direct sunlight, it’s also cool in that when you apply it and buff for a bit, the blackened base shows through.

I like the way it looks on its own. Great for chocolaty daytime smokey eyes, but add a soft pink, ladylike lipstick and blush, and it turns into pure perfection!

Dior Panama Diorshow Mono Picture — The Diorshow Monos are designed to be applied dry or with a wet brush for extra drama

Dior Diorshow Panama Swatch — Panama applied dry on the left and wet on the right (see how much more it shimmers when applied wet?)

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Chanel’s Mouche de BeautÃ© Illuminating Powder

February 22nd, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Chanel Mouche de BeautÃ© Illuminating Powder Picture big

Chanel’s Mouche de BeautÃ© Illuminating Powder($80), a shimmery golden pink highlighting powder from the Collection Maquillage CroisiÃ¨re de Chanel. Available now at chanel.com.

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Muse Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick

February 21st, 2013 by Karen 38 Comments

Wearing Hourglass Muse Opaque Liquid Lipstick ($28) on my lips

Ever dig into your makeup bag and rediscover something you absolutely love but kindasorta just forgot about for a month or two or 12?

I feel ya, dawg. I do it all the time.

This week I made a point of rutting around through my makeup stash to look for buried treasure, and woo-hoo! — I’ve been finding quite a few things, like Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Muse. Or “Musey” as I like to call her. 🙂

A vibrant matte coral red — one of those “stop you in the street” shades like Make Up For Ever’s Rouge Artist Intense Lipstick in 39 — Muse glows brighter than a neon sign.

You might remember its launch last fall as part of the long-wearing Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick line.

With Muse, absolutely, I love the wow factor, but I also like the wear. Seriously, this shade DOES WORK! It decorates my pout for up to 10 hours (!) without weighing down or drying out my lips — traits not easy to find in such a long-wearing lipstick.

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The Chanel Pearl River Ombres MatelassÃ©es Eyeshadow Palette From the Hong Kong Collection: A Pearl River in a Gilded Land of Quilted Pans, Coral Fans and Golden Tans

February 21st, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

Chanel Pearl River Ombres Matelassees Eyeshadow Palette — Wearing the Chanel Ombres MatelassÃ©es Eyeshadow Palette in Pearl River ($80) from the new three-piece Hong Kong collection for eyes and nails, available now online

Chanel and gold eye shadow. Gold eye shadow and Chanel. The two go together like…short-sleeve t-shirts shirts and Jeremy Renner’s arms, high heels and pencil skirts, breakfast and Tiffany’s, perfume and pajamas…

In other words, things that go together well. 🙂

Add a pinch of peach and a drizzling of dark chocolate brown, and you get a veritable dream team palette to accompany those springy coral cheeks and lips you’ve been — okay, I’ve been — obsessed with lately.

There’s no real way to get around the fact that Chanel’s $80 Pearl River Ombres MatelassÃ©es Eyeshadow Palette demands an arm, a leg, a low-hanging tabby tum AND a twitchy tail. Chanel ain’t exactly budget, if you know what I mean.

But oh! — the extras you get, like the quilting on the pans and Chanel’s trademark black velvet storage pouch (it looks like a tiny makeup sleeping bag!). It’s the little touches that make it so easy to stay on Team Chanel.

As for the palette itself? Picture this: five (a shout-out to Mademoiselle’s lucky number, perhaps?) powder eye shadow shades based on the luminous reflection of Hong Kong shimmering in the South China Sea.

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Zoya Neely Nail Polish Makes Me Seafoam

February 21st, 2013 by Karen 42 Comments

First new favorite thing of the day/du jour: French toast 2.0! I made it again, this time actually for breakfast (I’ll explain the 2.0 version in a minute).

Second new favorite thing of the day/du jour: Zoya Neely nail polish, a creamy seafoam green, and the only thing I’ve been wanting to wear on my nails lately.

Every time I glance at my hands when I’m wearing it, I smile. 🙂 It’s just so cheerful.

Two coats provides pretty complete coverage, but I’m wearing three for these pics.

Last time I applied Zeely, I didn’t use a base or top coat, and it lasted three full days before I started seeing tiny chips appear along the edges of my nails, so it seems durable. And it made it five days before the really honkin’ chips appeared.

Next time I’ll wear it with a base coat, at least, because it naturally emphasizes the ridges on my nails, which I actually think looks kind of neat, but a base coat applied before Neely should smooth things out, and improve the wear time.

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NYX’s Caipirinhas on the Beach Love in Rio Eye Shadow Palette

February 21st, 2013 by Karen 15 Comments

NYX Caipirinhas on the Beach Love in Rio Eye Shadow Palette

NYX’s new Caipirinhas on the Beach Love in Rio Eye Shadow Palette, a mix of sky blue, teal and deep blue green eye shadows. It’s available now at drugstores, Ulta and online.

Neighborhood Cats: Charlize Strikes a Pose

February 21st, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

I ran into Charlize, one of the neighborhood cats, the other day. She’s a tiny, stripe-y sweetheart. 🙂