Yves Saint Laurent

5 Permanent Line Products I’ve Been Loving Lately From MAC, NARS, YSL and Perricone MD

January 2nd, 2014 by Karen 26 Comments

Hey, gurl! Hey! Let’s talk about beauty…

Hmm… Being a day late and a dollar short to the show, I should probably stop telling people that I’m watching Breaking Bad. I mentioned it to my brother the other day, and the first thing he said was…

**WARNING** **SPOILER ALERT START** **WARNING**

The first thing he said was (STOP HERE IF YOU DON’T WANT ANY SPOILERS!)…

I’m serious! Skip this entire gray box. DON’T READ ANOTHER LINE!

The first thing he said was, “Did you get to the part where Jesse’s girlfriend O.D.s?”

Uh…No, Al. I actually had not gotten to that part. 😕

Then I mentioned it to my mother-in-law, who’s never even seen the show but heard a few things through the grapevine, and she said (MORE SPOILERS!!!), “Isn’t that the show where the guy dies at the end?”

**WARNING** **SPOILER ALERT END** **WARNING**

Yeah… Insert mouth agape [HERE].

I think it’s the universe’s way of telling me that I should stick to talking about other subjects — subjects like makeup, and these five permanent collection products I’ve been loving lately.

1. Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Gloss Stain in 7 Corail Aquatique, $34

Wearing Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Gloss Stain in 7 Corail Aquatique on my lips, MAC Cantaloupe Blush on my cheeks and NARS Galapagos Eyeshadow on my eyes

So, earlier this week I go to Sephora to get a birthday gift for my mom, and wouldn’t ya know it? Two tubes of Corail Aquatique mysteriously find their way into my basket/heart.

One for Mom, one for me. 🙂

My mom is so funny… I know I’m probably going to have to encourage her to wear this light pinkish coral glossy stain, because whenever I get her anything higher end than drugstore, it usually ends up displayed in the bathroom like a fancy trophy.

She never actually wears it, LOL!

The Pur Couture glosses, which apply as a gloss but wear down to a stain, are part of YSL’s permanent line, and I’ve loved them for a while.

I’ve been putting Corail Aquatique through its paces lately.

No — literally, its paces. I wore it on my walk yesterday. I think it’s a really lovely everyday lip color.

2. MAC Powder Blush in Cantaloupe, $17

MAC Cantaloupe Blush — Cantaloupe Blush (MAC Pro)

OOOH, GURL, don’t even get me started on coral Cantaloupe Blush. As Tabs would say, It’s “purr-fection!”

As a MAC Pro product, warm pinkish coral Cantaloupe is available at Pro Stores and online (but not at regular MAC stores and counters).

Officially, it’s billed as having a Satin finish, but I feel like it looks more Matte in pics… Frankly, I don’t care what they call it, because I just call it awesome and forgiving. Really forgiving, especially when you have pores the size o’ Lake Michigan (like me).

If the Magnetic Nude blushes weren’t always distracting me, I’d probably be wearing Cantaloupe 24/7.

LOVE IT!

3. NARS Coconut Grove, $24

OK, so I’ve had rich dark chocolate Coconut Grove forever, but I only recently fell in lust with it. I’ve been going through something of a brown eyeshadow phase (there are just so many great ones out there, and they’re so versatile!), and I guess I re-discovered it.

It might also have something to do with all of the chocolate I’ve been eating lately…

Anywho, Coconut Grove — bangin’ for brown smokey eyes. It has slightest sheen — barely noticeable — but enough to keep things interesting. It also prevents it from looking like a flat brown matte.

Super pretty layered on top of black or dark brown creamy kohl pencils and cream eyeshadow bases.

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Post-Dental Beauty Bribery Featuring Yves Saint Laurent and Bobbi Brown Fall 2013 Swatches

September 25th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

K in the mirror — Who’s that cat lady at the mall?!

Okay, so I know I always hem and haw whenever I have to go to the dentist (I can’t help it. I’m a crybaby.), but I had some seriously traumatic dental experiences as a child.

I’m way better now, though. Now I only slightly freak out before my appointments. 🙂

Today my plan of attack was pretty simple: just don’t cry. So I took a ton of deep breaths, tried not to clench my fists in the chair, said comforting things to myself like, “You’re doing great. Everything’s going to be fine. This isn’t bad at all.” And, of course, I exercised beauty bribery.

I gotta admit, that stuff really works. I told myself that if I didn’t cry at the dentist’s office today, I could pop by the mall on my way home, and wouldn’t ya know it? I didn’t shed a tear, which goes to show ya — that’s the healing power of shopping centers right there.

Of course, the mall doesn’t get all the credit. It also helped that the gal who did my cleaning, Kim, happened to be a beauty junkie and fellow MAC fan (Hey, Kim!), so we had a lot to talk about.

When Kim finished and I left the office with my new toothbrush, some floss, a freshly cleaned night mouth guard (SEXY) and one of those pointy rubber thing-a-ma-bobbers to clean my gums, I made a b-line for Nordstrom’s Yves Saint Laurent and Bobbi Brown counters.

Sigh… I could’ve stayed there all night long, but then I thought, Who would do my tubby tabby’s bidding?

Must hurry up and get swatches.

YSL Fall Look 2013 Swatches

Starting with the four swatches in the top row from the left: the City Drive Classy Palette ($55)
Top row, three swatches on the right: the Top Secrets BB Cream Skintone Perfector in Light, Medium and Dark ($50 each)
Middle row: the City Drive Arty Palette ($55)
Bottom row, the two swatches on the left: Blush Radiance in 09 and 10 ($45 each)
Bottom row, the three swatches on the right: Rouge Pur Couture Lip Color in 1, 51 and 54 ($34 each)

Bobbi Brown Katie Palette, $68 — The Bobbi Brown Katie Palette ($68)

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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. 🙂

Yves Saint Laurent Vert D'Orient Nail Polish swatch — Yves Saint Laurent Vert D’Orient Nail Polish (two layers)

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The Yves Saint Laurent Saharienne Heat Summer 2013 Collection Sounds and Looks Hot

April 10th, 2013 by Karen 34 Comments

YSL Summer 2013 — The new Yves Saint Laurent Saharienne Heat Summer 2013 collection

One glimpse across a crowded Nordstrom store yesterday and it was ON!

That’s all it took to catch me — the new Yves Saint Laurent Saharienne Heat summer 2013 collection.

It flicked a primal switch, and I started run-walking toward the counter (probably making grabby hands in the air).

LOL! Alright, maybe I’m being a little dramatic…

No, the more I think about it, it was exactly like that. 🙂

I was moving so fast toward those purples, greens, corals and bronzes that I almost tripped in my Michael Kors birthday heels…which wouldn’t have been all bad as I would have fallen into the display.

Here are some pics and swatches of the quads and polishes.

YSL Summer 2013 Pure Chromatics Quad No 13 on the left and No 20 on the right, $55 each

YSL Summer 2013 Pure Chromatics Quad No 20 ($55)

Terre Saharienne Mat Bronzers in 10, 20 and 30 ($50 each)

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The YSL Spring 2013 Makeup Collection: Satisfy Lemmings for Light Green Lacquers by Layering Jade Imperial on Your Nails

January 10th, 2013 by Karen 36 Comments

Doop-da-dooo… Just sitting here in my car in the rain, swatching and thinking about the new Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2013 makeup collection.

Yesterday, on the way back home from lunch in the city with my friend Kate, I stopped by the mallÂ for, ya know, “educational purposes.” While there, I fell under a brief trance in front of a YSL display…

GURL, ever since Chanel’s Jade polish rocked my world, I’ve had weak knees for light green nail polishes, like this limited edition one (Jade Imperial) from YSL.

It’s creamy, and just bright enough to steer it safely out of baby poo khaki territory. 🙂

I even love its name: Jade Imperial. I walked out of Nordstrom without it, but then in my car in the parking lot, looking at it on my nail (notice how I said, “nail”? LOL!), I came this close to going back in for it, but it was getting late in the day, and I wanted to beat traffic, so I drove away empty-handed (except for the one nail…).

BAY AREA FUN FACT: here in Marin county where I live, the one main highway is called the 101. It runs north-south from Washington State down to Southern California, about 1,550 miles, along what was once the old trail which linked the Spanish missions, pueblos and presidios along the U.S. West Coast.

Oh, and if you’re on it between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., you’re probably not moving faster than 20 miles per hour.

The kinda bright, pastel-ish quad in the display pic also caught my eye. I tried to track it down, but it wasn’t on display yet for some reason.

Among the things I did spy from the collection while I was there were two $55 quads — Pure Chromatics No. 5 and No. 19. Both reminded me of the Smashbox eye palettes I swatched the other day from the new Love Me collection, because, like those, these were super creamy, soft and shimmery.

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Lids Strike It Rich With Yves Saint Laurent Creme D’Eyeliner in No. 7 Gold Star

November 21st, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

Ever been cruising a beauty department and suddenly start daydreaming about leopard-print carpeting and YSL?

Really?! Me, too! 🙂

It happened the other day while I was playing with the new Yves Saint Laurent Northern Lights holiday collection.

The quads? Mmm-kay. The blushes? I thought they also were pretty cute, but the new $25 Creme D’Eyeliner in No. 07 Gold Star?

Love it!

Note to self: if I ever inherit a mansion from a mysterious billionaire benefactor (BTW, WHERE ARE YOU?!), I’m painting one of the rooms from floor to ceiling in this warm, bronzy gold (and installing leopard-print carpeting and red velvet curtains).

Can you picture Tabs in a room like that wearing his Hugh Hefner robe?

LOL! Here’s my point: this cream liner is opulent and rich.

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Hallelujah! The Weekend’s Hair! And YSL Fall 2012 Swatches

July 13th, 2012 by Karen 51 Comments

How’s it going, friend? I hope you had a nice Friday (never mind the ominous date). Mine turned out pretty well.

Maybe even great. 🙂

I had most of the afternoon off, as Tabs left early to catch a flight to Capri where he’s shooting a kitty modeling spread this weekend for Dolce & Gabbana’s new fragrance, Light Blue for Tom Cats.

(Look for it on counters spring 2013.)

I don’t know… Maybe it was the extra catnip I slipped into his gravy before the limo picked him up (he gets so nervous when he flies), but he was unusually nice to me this morning.

He even called right before takeoff to tell me that I could go to the salon today. His treat!

Meow mrrow, he said. Seriously, those were his exact words.

Not needing to be told twice, I booked a last-minute appointment with my bud Alis over at A-Line Salon.

Alis freshened my roots, trimmed my scraggly ends and lightened a few more sections to crank up the ombre effect I’ve been wearing for a few months.

No pink streaks this time, but I’m still considering these Colorsmash Hair Shadows…

I think I may have also found a new makeup look I’d like to try while flipping through the August issue of Glamour at the salon.

Actress Mila Kunis with a bangin’ cat eye

That liner — perfection!

I’m meeting Jen and Cindy for dinner in the city tomorrow night, and I think I’m gonna give it a try (wish me luck!).
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Tempting Tuesday Cat Treats, and Swatches of Yves Saint Laurent and Laura Mercier Summer 2012

May 22nd, 2012 by Karen 56 Comments

feline greenies

No, I’m not eating cat treats. 🙂 I may be a crazy cat lady, but I’m not quite there yet.

Tabs ran out of his favorite treats last week, Turkey Temptations, so I thought we’d try something new.

He’s very picky when it come to his treats (I’m sure you’re overwhelmed with surprise, haha), but he really likes these Feline Greenies Dental Treats I found at Pet Food Express.

He even follows me around the house when I walk around with the bag…

annies cocoa vanilla

That’s how I am about these Gluten Free Cocoa & Vanilla Bunny Cookies from Annie’s.

When Annie says, “You can’t eat just two!” she is NOT kidding around. They’ve got that addictive crunch, the taste of vanilla and cocoa, and a single serving is just 120 calories, which is about 24 of the tiny cookies.

I don’t really go out of my way to eat gluten free, but the lack of gluten sure isn’t hurting these. YUM!

Tasty or not, however, they can’t satisfy my appetite for makeup…

Neither can the 15-piece YSL Summer 2012 collection, but it’s giving it the old college try!

ysl summer 2012

Now that Majorelle Blue mascara and I are like *this*, I’m tempted to pick up the purple version, Signature Violet.

I swung by the YSL counter over at Nordie’s this afternoon to take a closer look and get some swatches…

yves saint laurent summer 2012 swatches 4
The Terre Saharienne Poudre de Soleil Bronzing Powder SPF 12 in #1 Sun-Kissed Touch and #2 Healthy Glow ($50 each); Golden Gloss in #3 Golden Shell, #4 Golden Pebble, #5 Golden Pearl and #6 Golden Sand ($30 each); Dessin du Regard Waterproof Eye Pencils in #7 Luminescent Gold and #8 Azure Blue ($28 each); Volume Effet Faux Cils Waterproof Mascara in #9 Charcoal Black, #10 Burnt Brown, #11 Signature Violet and #12 Majorelle Blue ($30 each)

yves saint laurent summer 2012 swatches
Pure Chromatics Wet & Dry Eyeshadow Palette in Shell, $52
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