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NARS

5 Magnificent Magenta Lipsticks That’ll Make You Yearn for Fall

August 24th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

5 marvelous magenta lipsticks

Maybe it’s all this talk about El Niño, or maybe it’s just my burning desire to bust out the scarves, and boots, but I’m ready to say “peace out!” to bright, summery pinks and “ciao” to corals for the season. Yup, I’m starting to enter fall mode.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been reaching for darker nail polishes (I’ve got Essie’s In the Lobby on my paws today!) and transitioning to deeper lip shades, but I’m not quite ready yet for full-on fall lip colors like dark browns, wines and purples. After all, it’s still only August. 🙂

But I have been into what I like to call my summer-to-fall transition shade, the always lovely magenta.

MAGENTA! I love wearing colors in the magenta family around this time of year because they seem just as comfortable with scarves and boots as they are with daisy dukes and flip-flops.

So here are five of my current magenta lipstick faves that have been in heavy rotation lately…

1. NARS Audacious Lipstick in Janet ($32)

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Janet
NARS Janet
Wearing NARS Janet
Wearing NARS Janet

2. Tom Ford Lip Color in Violet Fatale ($52)

tom ford beauty violet fatale
Tom Ford Beauty Violet Fatale
tom ford beauty violet fatale swatch
Tom Ford Beauty Violet Fatale

3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Venom ($22)

Urban Decay Venom Revolution Lipstick 2
Urban Decay Venom

Urban Decay Venom Swatch 2
Venom

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There are 34 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Bobbi Brown, Dolce & Gabbana, Lips, Makeup, NARS, Tom Ford Beauty, Urban Decay

Easy Winged Eyeliner for Beginners

August 10th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

how to winged eyeliner

OK, straight up, by “easy winged eyeliner,” I mean easy in reference to being able to successfully draw the shape and angle you want, and not easy in terms of being able to do the whole thing in 30 seconds (it will probably take longer than that). This method here involves four steps, but they really are easy, and at the end of them you’ll have perfectly placed wings.

Now, we all know someone who can perfectly apply winged eyeliner in a single glorious swoop, but I’m totally not that girl. To get my winged liner the way I like it, I have to apply it in layers and steps.

It’s all about the layers. 😉

If you’ve ever struggled to draw your wings just right, or if you can only do it with an obscene amount of Herculean effort and concentration, this method of layering will help you place your lines and wings exactly where you want ’em. Pretty soon you’ll have winged liner like a BOSS!

What you’ll need…

  • A black pencil eyeliner
  • An angled eyeshadow brush
  • A black powder eyeshadow
  • A gel or liquid eyeliner
  • Q-tips

1. Line your upper lash line (you can also do your water line, but it’s optional)

easy how to winged eyeliner beginners

I tightlined my eyes first, because I always tightline, but it’s completely optional. What we’re gonna do now is line our upper lash line, so grab a black pencil eyeliner with a sharp tip (or sharpen a dull one), and line the upper lash line on one of your eyes with it. The sharp tip just makes it easier to be precise than a dull or blunt tip does.

Try to keep your line as thin and as close to your lash line as possible. Don’t worry at this stage if your line isn’t as thick and voluminous as you’d like, or if the edge is a little wonky or jagged, because we’ll rectify that sitch in a second. Repeat on your other eye.

easy how to winged eyeliner beginners

2. Smooth the edge of the line and start building the shape of your wing

easy how to winged eyeliner beginners

To smooth the edge of the line and start building the shape of your wing, take a clean angled eyeshadow brush, and run it gently along the edge of the line you drew in step one (note: I do each step on each eye along the way to keep them symmetrical). Start at the inner corner and move out. When you get to the outer corner, drag the brush out a bit to create a faint outline of a wing using the remaining product on your brush.

To get both eyes symmetrical, it helps me to look straight into a mirror with both eyes open while I’m working.

If you find that your wings aren’t even, don’t panic! Use a Q-tip to tweak and adjust them.

easy-cat-eye-pictureAs for the angle of your wings, it’s up to you, but I think it helps to visualize an invisible line that extends up and out from the outer corner of your lower lash line. Just follow the angle of your lower lash line up and out.

Totally optional and up to your own personal preference, though. I usually like to flatten my wings out a bit (so not as steep), because it appears to elongate the eye, and I like that effect. Play around a bit until you find an angle that works for you.

3. Thicken the line and wing

easy how to winged eyeliner beginners
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There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To

NARS Shows a Softer Side With the New NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

nars 413 blkr blush duo
The new $42 NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo, coming August 1, 2015

Whenever I think of New York, I think of that majestic, awe-inspiring Manhattan skyline, busy sidewalks, edgy street fashion and a go-go-GO hustle and bustle (among other things), but every city also has a softer side, and that’s the side I see when I see the latest addition to the NARS 413 BLKR fam, the new 413 BLKR Blush Duo ($42).

nars 413 blkr blush duo
NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo ($42)
nars 413 blkr blush duo
NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo ($42)

nars 413 blkr blush duo
NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo ($42)

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There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

The Blame It On NARS Cheek Palette: I Daydreamed About Blush (and a Lot of Other Things Today), and I Blame It on NARS

July 21st, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

nars blame it on nars cheek palette

It was one of those days, ya know? Where you just stare out the window dumbfounded, like, everything was just sort of confusing me…

Ha! I’m serious, though. I felt like things weren’t quite computing correctly, if you know what I mean.

Oh, well… At least today I could conveniently Blame It On NARS (hello, easy transitions!). 🙂

Introducing the new $59 NARS Blame It On NARS Cheek Palette, one of this summer’s three limited edition gift sets from NARS (the others are the Ultimate NARS and True NARS lip sets).

nars blame it on nars cheek palette
The NARS Blame It On NARS Cheek Palette ($59)

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There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, Makeup, NARS, Palettes, Product Reviews

The “Ultimate NARS” Lip Pencil Set Shifts Lips Into Neutral

July 21st, 2015 by Karen 10 Comments

nars ultimate nars
The $49 “Ultimate NARS” lip pencil set

Yo, whose hoopty is this? Yes, the red ’95 Civic in the driveway. Will somebody please get this thing out of neutral and drive us to the Nordstrom NARS counter so we can play with the new “Ultimate NARS” lip pencil set ($49)?

Wait — what? What do you mean there’s nobody here who can drive a stick? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? NOT ONE PERSON HERE CAN DRIVE A STICK!?

OK…well, I can’t drive one either. 🙂 So I guess we’ll all just have to sit here and admire it on the interwebz.

nars ultimate nars

nars ultimate nars
From the left: Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Sex Machine, Satin Lip Pencil in Biscayne Park and Satin Lip Pencil in Stourhead

LOL! You don’t actually have to know how to shift a hoopty out of neutral to roll with the three full-size pencils in the Ultimate NARS lip pencil set, but a healthy appreciation for neutral lips colors would probably help. This trio of pale, pink lip pencils is all about ze neutrals.
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There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Kits and Sets, Lips, Makeup, NARS

Peek-a-Boo! I See Yu Wearing the New NARS True NARS Lip Pencil Set This Summer

July 20th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

nars true nars
Wearing the NARS True NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Yu

Oh, Yu!

Yu! You know I’ve got nothing but mad love for Yu. I’m so happy to see Yu again! 🙂

Yaaaas, queen, Yu is one of my favorite NARS Satin Lip Pencils of all freakin’ time, and it just so happens to be one of the three full-size pencils in the new $49 NARS True NARS summer gift set.

nars-true-nars-2

This year there are three limited edition NARS summer gift sets — two lip sets and one blush palette — and True NARS is the boldest of the two summer lip sets.

nars-true-nars-1

Do you feel like the world is a kinder, gentler place when you’re wearing bronzer? Or is the pursuit of toasty, tanned skin one of your ongoing life goals? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then True NARS is the lip set for you, because its vivid pink Satin Lip Pencil in Yu, vivid watermelon Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg and matte berry red Velvet Matte Li pencil in Provocative Red were picked and put together for the way they pop when worn with bronzed skin. Wear any of them separately like I’m doing in the swatches here, or combine them to create your own custom splash of spectacular sorry-not-sorry color.

nars true nars
From the left: Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Provocative Red, Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg and Satin Lip Pencil in Yu

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There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Kits and Sets, Lips, Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

With New NARS Audacious Mascara, What’s the Hook?

July 15th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

nars audacious mascara
NARS Audacious Mascara ($26)

Raise yo’ paws to the heavens/roof! — NARS has a new mascara, which is quite a rare occurrence in NARS Land. It’s new NARS Audacious Mascara in Black Moon ($26), and it has an outrageous hook.

Actually, hooks.

No, really, it literally has hooks. See the bristles on the red brush? Those are little hooks…

BANANAS, right? I know! The hooks are supposed to catch lashes to better lengthen, lift, thicken and separate them, and I think it actually works.

I see satiny black lashes with nice length at the tips, and it pulls the lashes upward to keep a good curl. You can also add another layer as the day wears on, because everyone knows that nothing beats the 3 p.m. work blahs like an extra layer of mascara. 🙂

No, seriously, this mascara layers really well. No clumps, bumps or flakes. Just loads of seamless length, separation, lift and volume. It goes from cube mascara to club mascara like *that* (snaps fingers).

nars audacious mascara
NARS Audacious Mascara ($26) and the new NARS Kohliner in Minorque ($25)

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There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

The NARS Matte/Shimmer Palette for Fall 2015: A Quick Follow-Up

July 8th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

nars matte shimmer palette
Wearing the new NARS Matte/Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette ($65)

In today’s episode of The Annals of Awkward Phrasing…

Karen meets Kim at the diner after closing to discuss makeup and teh kittehs. “If you had a fluffy kitten for every time I wished for an eyeshadow palette that included a few mattes,” Karen exclaims, “you’d have enough cats to qualify as a full-blown CCL!”

LOL! Yes, I have no idea what I’m talking about… 🙂

The mattes were/are the main reason I got so stoked about the new $65 NARS Matte/Shimmer Palette. Four of its eight powder shadows are mattes, and the other four are shimmers.

nars narsissist matte shimmer eyeshadow palette
NARS Matte/Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette

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There are 13 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

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