Collections

So Long, Dolla-Dolla Bills! The Giorgio Armani Runway Fall/Winter ’16 Limited Edition Collection Is Here

September 7th, 2016 by Karen 20 Comments

I have a theory that we’re going to lose our command of the English language someday because it’ll be completely replaced by the use of emojis, and when that day comes, if I’m still kickin’ and startin’ sh*t and bustin’ moves at the grown folks club, this is how I’d convey this review of the Giorgio Armani Beauty Runway Fall/Winter ’16 Limited Edition Collection:

????????????

Dude, this palette? It’s one hundred and twenty bones.

$120!

No, seriously.

OK, now, I’m down to make it rain sometimes (says the girl who just put the $80 Hourglass Surreal Light palette into her Sephora cart ???), but $120 for a compact with a transparent face powder and three eyeshadows??

That’s like an alternate universe-type price where diamond-studded grills are a valid form of retirement savings.

armani runway fall winter 16 face eye palette 2 — The $120 Armani Runway Fall/Winter ‘16 Limited Edition Face & Eye Palette

armani runway fall winter 16 face eye palette 1 — Armani Runway Fall/Winter ‘16 Limited Edition Face & Eye Palette

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One Word: RED! Chanel Le Rouge Collection No. 1

September 7th, 2016 by Karen 24 Comments

chanel le rouge collection no 1 lipstick swatches — Red, she said! The lipsticks from the fall Chanel Le Rouge Collection No. 1

Erhmahgawd, so much red! I mean…I love wearing red, but I can’t possibly be the only person out there who looked at ALL OF THE RED in Chanel’s fall Le Rouge No. 1 Collection and thought, “There’s absolutely no damned way.”

Red lips? Yeah, I’m totally downtown, Julie Brown, but red lipstick, red blush AND red eyeshadow…? Seems a little out there! At first glance at this collection, I came so close to whipping my ponytail and spinning in the other direction in my high-tops. I didn’t think there was any way this much red could be wearable.

But then I tried it on!

And had a revelation.

Red on the lids? YAAAS, QUEEN. Same goes for red on cheeks. And when you put ’em together with red lips? C’est magnifique!

chanel le rouge collection no 1 — Wearing the quad, blush and cream shadow in Rouge Brule; liner in Agape; and lipstick in Rouge Charnel

My reaction to this release is a far cry from what happened a few years ago when I tried wearing red on my lids and was so traumatized by the incident that I didn’t want to do it ever again. Because man! — that sh*t was baaaaad. 🙂 I looked like a woebegon side character from a Dickens novel where it rains all the time…

Sad panda. 🙁

chanel candeur et experience — Chanel Candeur Et Experience Eyeshadow Quad ($61) and Rouge Profond Blush ($45)

But the collection’s quad, Candeur Et Experience, is a totally different scene. I mean, if these shadows were food, they’d be your cheat day. I’m talkin’ indulgent. They’re incredibly easy to blend — even the red, which hella intimidated me — practically melts into the delicious chocolatey browns.

And those three brown shades? Homie, they’re majorly key, because when you get them them up in the mix, they ground that red so that it doesn’t look as stark and disjointed on the skin. I was so, so TERRIFIED to try this quad, but trust — it all works. The pieces fall into place.

I think that crazy red blush is another standout in the collection. Again, I expected it to be like boarding a train to crazy town, but using it with the lightest touch of a blush brush — like a kitten nose tap — creates a healthy flush.

Of course, the Chanel Joues Contraste blush formula is also just as smooth, easy to blend and outright impeccable as it should be with a satiny red like this one, but I expected it to just be too much red when worn with the quad.

But it wasn’t. I think they look totally right together, like that time I saw Beyonce and Idris Elba in a pic from the Met Ball.

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The MAC Taraji P. Henson Collection

August 27th, 2016 by Karen 38 Comments

Good morning, glory! Happy Caturday. I hope you slept well. 🙂

So, honey. HUH-KNEE. I haven’t watched Empire in ages (I dunno what happened… I think it just got too redonk for me, and I had to peace-the-heck out), but that show will be forever ingrained in my mind as the magical, mystical place where the world discovered the hurricane of fierce that is Taraji P. Henson.

If I could only channel a tenth of Cookie’s sass and attitude into my fingertips, I could rule the world! (Or at least get a handle on my condo.)

I think Taraji’s awesome. Yeah, she’s gorgeous (those cheekbones and lips, WOW), but I also read that she didn’t get her big acting break until later in life. She just kept working and reaching for the stars.

And now she has her own MAC collection.

Yes, someone somewhere is doing the cabbage patch.

Oh, wait — that someone is me, and it’s happening right here in my office chair, RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT!

With six pieces, half of them new and half of them re-promotes from the permanent line, the collection is on the smaller side…

I know, I would’ve preferred a 20-piece Taraji collection with all new things instead, but let’s see what we’ve got…

mac highlight the truth — MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Highlight the Truth ($33)

mac taraji glow — MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Taraji Glow ($33)

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Paul & Joe Makeup Collection “A”

August 24th, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

Believe it or not, I do NOT own a bejeweled pimp cup.

Shocker, I know. 🙂

But if I did, I would raise it high and proudly to Paul & Joe for giving us 20 years of cat lady cosmetics catnip.

That’s 20 years of CCL domination, y’all!

paul joe makeup collection a all — The $100 Paul & Joe Beaute Makeup Collection A

To celebrate this meow-worthy occasion, the purveyors of kitty makeup purr-fection curated the Paul & Joe Beaute Makeup Collection A (a $100 set).

It’s a limited edition box containing their bestselling makeup products…but I’m most excited about the tote it comes with because it FOLDS INTO A CAT HEAD.

I mean, I JUST CAN’T EVEN. WITH THE EARS!?

paul joe makeup collection a cat tote 1 — The kitty tote!?

It’s big, too, and has more than enough room for all kinds of cat lady shinanigans and those tubes of Paul & Joe lipstick with the cat heads that you just can’t bear to use because they’re so darned cute.

paul joe makeup collection a cat tote 2 — The kitty tote, unfolded

Oh, and yeah, there’s also makeup in the collection, like a powder blush (a light coral pink with a silver sheen), a cream lipstick (a creamy, semi-sheer pink) and a pressed powder compact (a light beige powder and a shimmery beige highlighter).

Everything is full size and, because we’re talking about Paul & Joe here, adorable.

Paul & Joe Face Color A in Cheerful Tulip (39) from the new Makeup Collection A — Paul & Joe Face Color A in Cheerful Tulip (39) from the Paul & Joe Makeup Collection A

But are they, ya know, good?

Yes, I think so. Pretty good. Keep in mind, though, that Paul & Joe is geared toward the casual makeup enthusiast — at least that’s always been my perception — so if you’re a stickler for the finer technical aspects of professional makeup performance, then these products might not live up to those expectations.

Take the blush, for instance. I like how sheer and natural it looks on my cheeks, especially in natural light and in pics, but when I wear it and see myself in flourescent lighting, I think my pores look kinda big… Perhaps due to the sheen (it could be a touch finer), but then again, I could also just chill-the-eff out. 🙂 Like, if I didn’t know anything about blush, I’d probably just think it looked pretty and I’d like it.

paul joe makeup collection a bag — The bag…

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The NARS Audacious Collection for Fall 2016, and Apoline, My New Favorite Pink Lip

August 23rd, 2016 by Karen 26 Comments

François, homeboy, I know you’re busy — what with selling your Bora Bora island and working to create the best lipglosses on the planet — so you’ve got, like, NO spare time, but couldn’t you have squeezed in a few minutes to name one of your five new Audacious Lipsticks “Karen”?

I mean, it’s not like I’m asking you to get a prison tattoo of my face on your forearm. ALL I WANT IS A LIPSTICK NAMED KAREN.

Is that too much to ask?

nars audacious collection lipsticks — The five new NARS Audacious Lipsticks from top to bottom in Apoline, Mona, Kate, Stefania and Shirley

I’m not the only Karen, and I suspect that most of us would love to have our name on our very own Audacious Lipstick. I imagine that having one would feel really great, like discovering that you’ve been made an honorary member of Salt ‘n’ Pepa and En Vogue.

This time around, Apoline, Shirley, Stefania, Kate and Mona get the honor, and they’re part of the new NARS Audacious Fall Collection, which launched August 15 at NARS boutiques and the NARS website and arrives September 1 to Sephora.

I’d lipsticks could talk, I’d ask these, “Why are you so creamy and opaque? Why don’t you ever settle into my fine lines? WHY DO I LOVE YOU SO MUCH?”

From this batch, I’m all about Apoline (the pink rose) and Stefania (the deep fuchsia), because they’re pink, and I’m predictable that way, haha.

But I also think that Shirley (the crimson), Kate (the purple orchid) and Mona (the mahogany) are pretty, too.

The NARS Audacious Collection also includes a completely new line of potted brow creams called…the Brow Defining Creams.

Available in four colors, they feel drier than a MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme to me and are slightly less pigmented, but in this case, I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because if I had a dollar for every time I tried a product like these and accidentally “Instagram browed” myself beyond oblivion, I’d have enough money to buy that Bora Bora island from François myself.

I usually steer clear of brow products like these for that reason — because of how intense they usually are — but these are just pigmented enough to fill in the sparse spots without leaving my brows looking heavy or overdone. The results look very natural, which makes me want to kiss François on both cheeks. 🙂

They’re $23 each and available in Sonoran (a blonde), El Djouf (a light brown), Tanami (an auburn) and Danakil (a dark brown).

nars brow defining cream — The NARS Brow Defining Creams from the top to bottom in Sonoran, Tanami, El Djouf and Danakil

There are also two new dark, pigmented Unrestricted Eyeliner Stylo liquid liners. Both are black and $27, but one has a matte finish and the other is satin.

The only thing is, I’m a flexible felt tip gal, and these have a stiff tip, so my lines end up with shaky, mousey, unsure edges, and I prefer my lines to say, “If need be, I will cut a b*tch.”

nars unrestricted eyeliner stylo — NARS Unrestricted Eyeliner Stylo in Matte and Satin

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Too Cool for School Artify Max in Pocket Lip Balm

August 20th, 2016 by Karen 19 Comments

too cool for school artify max in pocket 1 — $12 Too Cool for School Artify Max in Pocket Lip Balms in #1 Kiss Kiss (top) and #2 Pink Pink (bottom)

“Girl, you are lookin’ FLY today in those dope-@ss earrings.”

These are the new $12 Artify Max in Pocket Lip Balms from Too Cool for School. They’re available in three shades, and the one I’m wearing is #2 Pink Pink.

too cool for school artify max in pocket k2 — HAAAAY

I wore these everywhere yesterday, and I got SO MANY compliments on my jewelry…

Haha, totally kidding. 🙂 But far be it from me to deny one’s inner diva urges to over-accessorize. I LIVE to over-accessorize.

Cute in a “DAMN, is that cat rockin’ a monobrow?!” sort of way, the Too Cool for School Artify Max In Pocket Lip Balms are actually lip glosses.

too cool for school artify max in pocket 2 — Too Cool for School Artify Max in Pocket Lip Balms in #1 Kiss Kiss (top) and #2 Pink Pink (bottom)

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MAC It’s a Strike! Collection: Quick Look and Swatches

August 5th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

Grab your favorite balls!

Wait… That sounded weird.

Grab your favorite bowling balls. That’s what I meant. 🙂

Is it bowling balls, or bowling ball? Heck, I don’t know. I’m so not into bowling.

I don’t hang out in bowling circles or bowling alleys, mostly because I was always being dragged to bowling alleys when I was a kid, and I was deathly bored the entire time. But perhaps if they’d had a MAC counter…

At any rate, the 26-piece MAC It’s a Strike collection (available Aug. 18 – Oct. 13) is all about bowling alleys, babe. It’s heavy on lip products, but there’s also a smattering of eyeshadows (mostly mattes), a few liquid liners, a highlighter (which looked very cute before I dropped it…and now it looks like it got run over by a bowling ball), nail polishes, cream blushes and some brushes, too.

mac its a strike lipsticks — The MAC It’s a Strike Lipsticks

mac its a strike cremesheen — MAC It’s a Strike Cremesheen Lipglasses

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NARS, You’re a Peach for Introducing 6 New Shades of Radiant Creamy Concealer

August 3rd, 2016 by Karen 14 Comments

I like eating peaches…and I like wearing peach-toned under-eye concealer.

What does this have to do with NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer?

Well, the whole “eating peaches” bit has absolutely nothing to do with it. I’m just super obsessed with peaches right now, and I got a huge box from Trader Joe’s last week, so I’ve been in peach heaven.

But the thing about peach-toned concealer is marginally related, because NARS just added six new Radiant Creamy Concealer shades to the line, and a couple of them have peachy undertones, woo-hoo!

Back when NARS first released their creamy, full-coverage Radiant Creamy Concealers, it shook up the makeup world. A lot of peeps fell in love (myself included), because of how good they were/are at doing so many things.

And they completely cover everything.

EVERY. FRICKIN’. THING.

Yet somehow still look natural.

nars radiant creamy concealer swatches 1 — From the left, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly, Vanilla, Creme Brulee (NEW) and Canelle (NEW)

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