Makeup

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer

February 17th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

Hydration? Concealer? Hi, my name is Karen, and I immediately want to try anything and everything that moisturizes and hides my dark circles.

It’s my lot in life, and perhaps the sole reason why I was put on this earth — to try every under-eye concealer ever made by man and woman kind.

So…I wanted to love new Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer from Neutrogena because I’m all about their Hydro Boost Tint (seriously, it’s one of the best drugstore face products I’ve ever tried), but eh — it’s not my fave.

Like the foundation, it contains moisturizing hyaluronic acid, along with a special moisturizing core in the center of the tube.

neutrogena hydro boost hydrating concealer before and after — With concealer on the left, and wearing the shade Medium 40 on the right

I’ve used it a couple times so far… Yes, it feels and looks lightweight, so it’s not going to hang out in your fine lines or look caked-on and obvious (yay!), but the thing is…it doesn’t really cover very much. It’s SO sheer.

neutrogena hydro boost hydrating concealer swatches — Swatches from the top in Fair 10, Light 20, Light/Medium 30, Medium 40 and Deep 50

I just like my under-eye concealers to be more opaque. When I put a good amount under my eyes, my inner voice says, “MOAAAARR.” It also straight-up disappears as the day wears on.

At least it isn’t too expensive. It’s only $12.99. If you’re curious (it’s good if you think you can get away with sheer coverage), there are five shades in the line, and they’re available at drugstore and online now.

Shoes for the Coywolf

I have to buy the Coywolf some shoes…

She’s almost a year old, and every single pair of shoes I’ve put on her, she pulls off. She sits there and takes them off. Socks too.

But now that she’s walking, I wanna take her outside more to explore with me, so I gotta get her some shoes…

She does have one pair of kitty moccasins that she got as a gift for Christmas, and she kindasorta can’t take those off, but she’s almost outgrown them.

I was looking at the Carter’s website and saw these cute little kitty shoes…

Yay! They’re 50% off today!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint Is a Lovely, Lightweight Medium-Coverage Tinted Moisturizer

February 17th, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

Is new Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint as fun as…sliding down the Summit Plummet at Disney’s Blizzard Beach or hiking to Wailua Falls on Kauai and frolicking in the secluded pool?

Hmm…maybe! It’s fun if your idea of fun is having your foundation look completely natural.

If I saw a friend, and he/she was wearing this foundation, I don’t know if I’d be able to tell. I’d just admire how even-toned and dewy his/her skin looked. Then I’d ask their secret!

neutrogena hydro boost hydrating tint doe foot — That’s a BIG doe foot

Ultra smooth…

Hydro Boost is an oil-free tint/foundation with hydrating hyaluronic acid to plump skin for up to 24 hours, but ya know…the texture is the real special sauce. It’s fluffy, mousse-like and incredibly easy to blend. When I use the over-sized doe-foot applicator to dot it on my face, then blend it in with my fingers, it glides and creates a thin, even layer, which is then undetectable, even on my cray-cray dry skin.

neutrogena hydro boost hydrating tint swatches 1 — Swatches of the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tints from the top in Classic Ivory 10, Natural Ivory 20, Buff 30, Nude 40 and Soft Beige 50

neutrogena hydro boost hydrating tint swatches — More swatches from the top in Natural Beige 60, Honey 85, Caramel 105, Cocoa 115 and Chestnut 135

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Benefit GALifornia Blush Will Put You in a Sunny State of Mind

February 16th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

Benefit GALifornia blush ($29), coming April 2017

Shout-out to my fellow Californians!

You know, it’s weird. I always see California portrayed in movies and videos like it’s a perpetually sunny place with palm trees and beaches and everyone’s got a tan and walks around all the time in a bikini top and sunglasses like it’s Bay Watch.

For the record, it’s not always like that. Right now, golden rays of sunshine are not falling upon my cheeks, skin and hair. I’m actually looking out my window, and it’s gloomy, overcast and cold. But haaay! — that’s alright, because when I wear Benefit’s new GALifornia blush, I feel like I’m in the fantasy California. ??⛱️

It’s nuanced

GALifornia, a new $29 boxed Benefit blush coming this April, is a wonderfully warm golden pink, and when I opened the 0.17-oz. pan for the first time and saw the sunny design, which is, sadly, an overspray, I thought of a bronzer from Guerlain a few years back that had a similar design.

GALifornia is gloriously nuanced in a way I don’t expect to see from Benefit. It reminds me of something from Guerlain or Hourglass.

benefit galifornia swatch — Swatch of Benefit GALifornia Blush

Different for Benefit

It’s infused with subtle golden pearl particles that so much more subdued than the shimmer in Coralista, Sugarbomb and Bella Bamba, all of which I like, but over the past few years, I haven’t been wearing them as much as I used to. My skin’s changed, and my pores are a little bigger than they were in my 30s.

The shimmer that Benefit usually sprinkles on their blush highlighters is…maybe a bit more sparkly than I’d like. I’d say that GALifornia’s fine pearl is closest to the pearl in Sugarbomb, but warmer and finer.

GALifornia’s pearl is more my speed now. At first, you may not even think there’s any there, but it is. And I love it!

benefit galifornia — Wearing two layers of GALifornia on my cheeks

I don’t usually send my girlfriends who are 30 and up to Benefit for blush, but I can happily recommend GALifornia if you’re…let’s just say, not 18 anymore. LOL!

It’s like the Energizer bunny (keeps going, and going, and going, and going…)

The wear time is great too. I popped it on my cheeks at the crack of dawn today, and eight hours later it still looks fresh and beautiful.

I did two layers using a regular old blush brush, so you don’t need any finagling or special tools. The blush does come with one of those silly square shaped brushes that Benefit always includes with their boxed blushes, but I’d probably only use it in a dire blush emergency, LOL!

benefit galifornia box — GALifornia girl!

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Cork Eye Shadow

February 16th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

Whenever I take MAC Cork out for a spin, I hear champagne bottles popping. “POP!”

If it were possible to place 1,000 butterfly kisses on a pan of brown eyeshadow, I totally would.

Wait — that actually is possible. Never mind! 🙂

It’s a medium neutral golden brown with MAC’s Satin finish, and it’s part of the permanent line.

It’s also not the only Cork at MAC. There’s Cork Brow Sculpt Pencil and a Cork Lip Pencil, too.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Cork isn’t flashy, but it’s a damned good workhorse shade. It’s one of those shadows that’s easy to miss when you’re perusing those tiered MAC shadow displays.

The Satin finish is totally key. It makes Cork a great transition shade. It can double as a matte eyeshadow and deepen the crease, and because it has a hint of shimmer, it has a little more character than a basic matte. And it’s much easier to blend.

mac cork in crease — Cork in my crease and along my lower lash line (my lid shade is MAC Club)

Cork may fool you at first because it can really look like a straight up matte, but if look closely, you’ll see the tiniest twinkle (it’s barely there!).

I like using Cork in my crease when my lid color is a cool or neutral shade, and I think it’s GORGEOUS with blues, greens, purples and grays.

Oh, my gosh! Try it with MAC Club on your lids one of these days. That’s what I’m wearing in these pics. The two are like Shakespearean sonnets together. MAC Greensmoke too.

Cork is also my secret weapon when I look in the mirror in the morning, and my lids look more hooded than usual. The neutral-ness (?) of the brown sculpts a deeper shadow in my crease than warmer shades like MAC Soft Brown or Saddle.

By the way, it’s also darker than MAC Soba, which is another neutral brown MAC Satin eyeshadow I use a lot as a crease color. I’ll alternate between the two, but I choose Cork more often when I’m wearing a super saturated lid color because it’s easier for me to transition a bold lid shade to a more medium-toned brown like Cork (the gradient isn’t as dramatic as going to something lighter).

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Introducing 10 New Shades of NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

February 15th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

nars dirty mind — The $27 NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils. This one’s “Dirty Mind…” LOL!

Prince night at karaoke.

Think about it. All of the only songs are Prince songs. I would totally go! It would be awesome! Let’s find someplace that does it.

I think it would be even more awesome, though, if we went wearing these new $27 NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil shades, because of the 10 of them, half are shouts-outs to Prince songs, including Let’s Go Crazy (one of my favorite Prince songs).

(Side note: if you can spot all the ones that are Prince songs, PROPS.)

nars velvet matte lip swatches — Swatches of the new NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils from the top in Get Off, Intriguing, Do Me Baby, Famous Red, Let’s Go Crazy, Pussy Control, Dirty Mind, Endangered Red, Unspoken and Lonely Heart

nars lets go crazy — NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Let’s Go Crazy

These are the 10 new shades joining the permanent line, aaaaaand one of them is kinda funky, although it’s a color that’s very trendy right now. It’s a dark bluish black, and I can’t remember seeing anything like it at NARS before.

It’s one of the ones that doesn’t have a Price name, but when you say it out loud, you do have to whisper…because it’s called “Unspoken.” Shh…

nars unspoken — NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Unspoken…

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What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 3: The New Covergirl TruNaked Jewels Palette and the Absolute Best Tinted Moisturizer

February 15th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

covergirl truenaked jewels — Wearing the khaki-ish green from the Covergirl TruNaked Jewels palette on my lids and MAC Cork in my crease

I started this look intending for it to be springy, but now that I look and really think about it…with the blues and greens on my eyes and the warm cheeks…it’s probably more summer than spring. But hey, that’s OK! I’m totally down with a summery vibe right now.

I wanted to wear greens because of the new $12.99 Covergirl TruNaked Jewels Eyeshadow Palette.

That khaki green? I couldn’t get it on my lids fast enough.

covergirl trunaked jewels what i wore wednesday — Clockwise from the upper left: 1) MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Petrol Blue, 2) MAC Technakohl Liner in Take The Plunge, 3) MAC Eye Kohl in Minted, 4) MAC Matte Blush in Coppertone, 5) Benefit Hoola Bronzer, 6) Covergirl TruNaked Jewels, 7) MAC Satin Eye Shadow in Cork, 8) Urban Decay Naked Skin One & Done in Medium Dark, 9) Covergirl So Lashy Blast Pro Mascara, 10) Covergirl Outlast All-Day Intense in 160 Profound Peach, 11) Benefit High Brow Glow

MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Petrol Blue

MAC Technakohl Liner in Take The Plunge

MAC Eye Kohl in Minted

MAC Matte Blush in Coppertone

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Covergirl TruNaked Jewels

MAC Satin Eye Shadow in Cork

Urban Decay Naked Skin One & Done in Medium Dark

Covergirl So Lashy Blast Pro Mascara

Covergirl Outlast All-Day Intense in 160 Profound Peach

Benefit High Brow Glow

I did this technique where I layered different tones to make my own custom eye color, and I started by taking a bright shimmery emerald green liner (MAC Minted) and using it as an eyeshadow base by blending it on my lids and just barely into my crease. And I also lined my upper lash line and water lines with it.

covergirl truenaked jewels closeup — Lots o’ liner! I’m wearing Minted on my upper lash and water lines, and also as a base for the khaki green eyeshadow. And I’m wearing Take the Plunge on my lower water line and Petrol Blue on my lower lash line.

Next, I blended the khaki green from Covergirl TruNaked Jewels directly on top of Minted for a bright khaki with a hint of emerald green peeking through. Then I swept satiny brown MAC Cork into my crease.

Covergril TruNaked Jewels, by the way…it’s a’ight. If you’re thinking about getting a new drugstore palette, I’d probably go with Maybelline 24K instead. TruNaked Jewels is more sparkly and sheerer than I thought it would be, but you can bump up the pigment by wetting your brush first with something like MAC Fix+ or Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix (which is what I used before I patted it on top of the emerald green liner).

Also, the flecks of glitter in TruNaked Jewels are pretty big. They’re also nomadic, meaning that they like to go all over the place, so if you plan to use this palette, do your eyes first.

Even though I did for this look, I STILL ended up having to do a significant amount of cleanup under my eyes and on my cheeks.

Cheeks are MAC Coppertone Blush, and lips are Covergirl Profound Peach

I’ve really been into blue lower lash lines lately. Like, I did it last Wednesday, and I was in the mood to do it again today with a gradient of blue liners.

I applied a few layers of bright teal blue MAC Take the Plunge on my water line, then sketched a messy line with MAC Petrol Blue Pearlglide on my lower lash line before immediately smudging it out.

Petrol Blue is a sparkly dark navy blue glitter liner, and the more you blend it out, the more glittery (glitterier?) it gets. Also, it sets quickly, so keep your blending brush on standby if you plan to blend it out.

Because my eyes were so sparkly, I kept my cheeks and lips glitter-free zones. That’s good old MAC Coppertone Blush (a perfect peachy brown blush when you’ve got a tan) and Benefit Hoola Bronzer on my cheeks. Lips are a long-wearing Covergirl Outlast All-Day Intense in Profound Peach.

Oh, my skin? Urban Decay Naked Skin One & Done. I think it’s seriously THE BEST tinted moisturizer out right now. It blurs pores, evens everything out without looking fake or heavy, and you can easily blend it with your fingers. If you haven’t tried it, you must!

Cauliflower crust pizza is a thing

OK, I love cauliflower, but dagnabbit! — it’s all over the place.

So, like, I’m trying to eat fewer carbs, and it’s been so hard… The struggle is real! I’ve been trying different things, like at Trader Joe’s I found this cauliflower rice, which is basically a finely chopped cauliflower that you saute in olive oil or whatever, and it’s supposed to be… Allegedly, it’s a substitute for rice.

GIRL. It is not even close to rice. I would rather eat a thimble filled with real rice than a bucket of cauliflower rice.

I grew up eating rice every day for the first 18 years of my life, and this cauliflower rice just isn’t doing it for me…

Anyway, I’ve been craving pizza lately, and apparently you can make pizza crust from cauliflower as well.

I’m cautiously intrigued…and also kind of grossed out. I’ll try it, though. Fingers crossed! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Brand Spotlight: Axiology Beauty

February 14th, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

Axiology Beauty Natural Lipsticks in Identity (left) and Devotion (right), $28 each

Avocado, coconut, oranges, grapes… Am I making a delicious smoothie?? Um, I wish, because I’m hongray right now, and, truth be told, my plumbing could do (haha) with a mega dose of fiber (TMI much?).

I’m reading the list of ingredients on a box of Axiology Beauty Lipstick, and it’s making my tummy rumble…

Ingredients
Candelilla Wax, Organic Avocado Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Organic Avocado Butter, Organic Grape Seed Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Elderberry Extract, Sweet Orange Oil, Neem Seed Oil; May Contain: Iron Oxide, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Manganese Violet

Axiology is a cool little company out of Bend, Orgeon, which is a town I visited many moons ago… What’s up, Bend!?

Anywho, they craft luxury organic lipsticks.

Yup, just lipsticks. And everything is vegan, cruelty-free, non-GMO and doesn’t contain any synthetic colors.

The first time I read the ingredient list on the box, my brain was oh-so-happy to avoid the dusty folds where all of my former college chemistry now hides, since I recognized a lot of the ingredients from cooking.

There are lots of edible-sounding things.

Neat boxes…

The ingredient list reads like a smoothie recipe at a posh juice place.

I dunno… I think I’m hungrier than I thought. If we were zombie apocalypsing (not a word) right now, and I desperately needed a boost, I’d grab one of these Axiology Lipsticks, put a little on my lips, then eat the bullet and keep running.

Side note: I totally forgot to watch The Walking Dead last night! What the what!!

Sheer-to-medium coverage

There are 22 shades, and they’re $28 each, which is right in line with Bite, NARS, Laura Mercier and Hourglass.

There are tans, browns, some funkier blues and purples (even a black shade that looks Robert Smith-y!), but you know me. I had to get all up in some nudes first!

Um…that sounded dirtier in print than it did in my mind. Whoops.

I’ve tried Identity, which is a pearly cool pink with a slight hint of lavender, and Devotion, a pearly rose tinged with brown, and if I just apply one layer, they’re a little sheer, so I like to build them up to medium coverage with two or three layers.

They layer well up to three layers. More than that and they start pooling in my vertical lip lines, but if it happens, I just pat them down with a finger.

Axiology Lipstick in Identity

Soft and creamy

The thing I love most about these lipsticks is how they feel! When I rub the bullet across my lips (I’m doing it right now with pink Identity), it feels like this one time I was cooking with coconut oil… You know those big-@ss jars you can get at Trader Joe’s?

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The Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate Lip Duos

February 13th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

tom ford shade illuminate lips — The six new Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Lip Duos, available now, $60 each

Brand new TF cream shadows! 🙂

Just kidding. They aren’t cream shadows…but they look like they are, don’t they?

I can’t be the only person out there who thought that these new Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Lip Duos were actually cream shadows. In fact, I may or may not have tried one of them on my lids (FYI, I don’t recommend doing this, although, off the record, it was kind of fun!).

Are these cream shadows or what??

Tom’s new Shade and Illuminate Lip Duos look like eyeshadow duos, cost about as much as his eye products (they’re $60 each), and they even come with little sponge applicators.

Thing is, they aren’t for ‘ze ? eyes… No, these are for ‘ze ? lips!

Tom ford whipped up a new formula called “powder gelee,” which I think might be fancy talk for a cream-to-powder lip formula, for these swanky six, all of which are new for spring 2017.

Tom Ford’s powder-gelee formula features emollient oils and a blend of polymers that provide rich color release and adherence.

— tomford.com

tom ford impulse — Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Lips in Impulse

These duos go on creamy but dry to a velvety matte finish. I think they look a lot like the Chanel Velvets, but they feel lighter than Chanel’s do to me, which I wouldn’t have guessed possible, because the Chanel Velvets feel sooo barely-there noticeable.

If you don’t like to feel like you’re wearing lipstick when you are, I think you’ll like how these feel.

tom ford nikita — Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Lips in Nikita

Next-level highlighting and contouring

Tom Ford is BIG into contouring, with darker colors to sculpt and create angles, and lighter colors to accentuate and draw the eye to the high points of the face. It’s a structured, architectural makeup aesthetic, and it’s the kind of aesthetic these duos are designed to bring to lips.

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