Makeup

Current Foundation Love: Diorskin Nude Air Serum Foundation [VIDEO]

March 27th, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

Gurl, I can’t even… This foundation!? It is SO good that I haven’t even touched my previous holy grail, Laura Mercier Flawless Fluide in Chai, in weeks.

And before finding this, I was all about that Chai. I’m talking months of Karen + Chai. We were inseparable.

Aww! Now I’m actually starting to feel a little bad about it. Poor Chai, all neglected and lonely, abandoned like an old toy. 🙁

LOL! But I do kind of feel like we’ve broken up, and that I should do the things that broken up couples do, like go to over to Chai’s house to get my CDs, clothes and pizza pie pans.

We’re just on a break though. I still ❤ Chai.

Anywho…

Dior. Foundation. Amazing-ness. I go into it more in this video, but here are the main points: finish, formula and pores. Nude Air has a velvety finish and medium coverage, but you can build it up to just shy of full. It’s not a flat matte, and I’m loving that about it, because these days my primary objective is obtaining natural-looking, radiant skin.

Available in eight shades (I wear the one called Honey Beige)

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This MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot Really Is a Genuine Treasure: MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Genuine Treasure From the MAC Philip Treacy Collection

March 27th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

mac genuine treasure — Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Genuine Treasure from the new MAC Philip Treacy collection on my lids

Like Vanessa Williams in 1991, I saved the best for last. 🙂 This Paint Pot really is a genuine MAC Philip Treacy treasure.

Like, if you were chasing a rainbow astride a teal pegasus pony with a rainbow mane high up in the pretty blue sky surrounded by pink clouds, at the end of the rainbow, you’d find Genuine Treasure…instead of a black cauldron filled with gold, although that would also be extremely convenient and nice.

Really, though, this Paint Pot is more like a glitter top coat, and I call it that because pigment-wise, it’s actually pretty sheer.

I built it up in the swatch below so you could get a better feel for the color, but when you apply it to skin, what you get is mostly glitter.

You can wear it on top of other eye products, or wear it on bare lids, which is what I did last Sunday (because who doesn’t like to wear a little glitter on a Sunday sometimes?). I applied it on my bare lids, added a couple coats of mascara, and then went furniture shopping and beignet eating. It was fun.

Genuine Treasure is handy if you need/want to get party ready, and you don’t have a ton of time between work and the shindig.

As a Paint Pot, which are among the longest-wearing things in the MAC eye makeup stable, it has a cream formula. You just twist off the little top and apply with either an eyeshadow brush or fingers (for this one, I recommend fingers).

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I Flip My Hair for MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Brassy, One of 16 Fluidlines in the MAC Is Beauty Collection

March 25th, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

MAC Brassy Fluidline — Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Brassy from the new MAC Is Beauty collection on my upper lash lines

No, I have not taken up the science of metallurgy, nor have I purchased mining rights along a river someplace. This post is not about mining, blacksmithing, alchemy, mineral rights, or trumpets or trombones or other instruments in the brass section (go French horn!).

I believe this MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline is called “Brassy” because of the new MAC Is Beauty collection to which it belongs, which has references to beauty salons and, you know, “getting your hair did,” and low-lights, and that kind of thing. I’m assuming that “Brassy” is in reference to what can happen sometimes to your hair.

Mind you, I’m not totally sure about that, but I’m making an educated guess. I think the name has to do with brassy-colored hair, which I’m guilty of having when I don’t go in to get my highlights touched up often enough. My hair turns brassy.

When I tried to explain this phenomenon to El Hub, he looked thoroughly confused, like I was saying that my hair turned bright gold.

“Brassy’s a thing, babe!” I had to tell him. “Girls will know what it is.” 🙂

Brassy, a metallic golden bronze, is one of 16 Pro Longwear Fluidline gel liners in the new MAC Is Beauty collection, and I can’t recall ever seeing it before.

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MAC Amplified Lipstick in Make Me Gorgeous Channels Potent Flamingo Power

March 25th, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

ALL FLAMINGOS, EVERYTHING!!

Not completely randomly, that’s how I feel about MAC Make Me Gorgeous Lipstick.

I will always and forever be, first and foremost, a crazy cat lady, but, I don’t know…I’ve been kinda feelin’ the flamingos lately.

I mean, they have those gorgeous pink and coral feathers, and that graceful swooping ‘S’ shape of their necks, and that pose where they stand on one leg for hours and hours.

Seriously, how do they even do that??

They also love the water, which I can totally identify with because I’m a true-blue water baby.

Do you think I might be a combo crazy cat/flamingo lady?

I wonder…

MAC’s intense coral-pink Amplified Lipstick in Make Me Gorgeous is my lipstick spirit animal, and if I were invited to migrate with a flock of flamingos while wearing this lipstick, I’d probably fit right in.

I’m so glad MAC decided to release the color in their Amplified formula! I think the Amplifieds are among the best of the best products available at MAC. If you want a bright, bold lipstick that applies smoothly and lasts all day long without drying out your lips, the Amplified formula is the way to go, and I think Make Me Gorgeous would belong in the Amplified Hall of Fame (if there were one) alongside Impassioned, Vegas Volt and Girl About Town. It’s just as creamy, smooth, punchy and vibrant.

Of course Make Me Gorgeous has MAC’s signature vanilla flavor and scent, which I quite like. I think it’s just subtle enough.
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MAC Philip Treacy Collection First Impressions, Mini Reviews [VIDEO]

March 24th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Hats, baby! Hats, hats, all types of hats.

What’s that fancy word for a maker of hats…? I think it might be milliner? Milner?

I dunno.

London-based Philip Treacy is a big deal maker of hats (he outfitted several people who attended the royal wedding of William and Kate), and the MAC Philip Treacy collection was inspired by three of his coiffure-covering creations.

Ninth grade me would have flipped over this collection. That’s when I was deep in the midst of my hat phase. I wore a hat every day to school for most of that year.
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P.S. I Love You, MAC Casual Colour Cream Blush in P.S. I Like You (From the New MAC Mia Moretti Collection)

March 24th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

The new Casual Colour in PS I Like You from the new MAC Mia Moretti collection — The new MAC Casual Colour cream blush in P.S. I Like You ($21), from the MAC Mia Moretti collection

P.S. I love you…P.S. I Like You.

OK, that wasn’t confusing or anything! 🙂

I keep wanting to call this new Casual Colour cream blush by a different name. Officially, it’s called P.S. I Like You, but, well, I love it.

I really, REALLY love it, and its epic 8-hour wear time is just the icing on the cake/tip of the tabby’s tail/start of the DJ’s set.

So I’m gonna start calling it P.S. I Love You instead.

MAC PS I Like You swatch — A swatch of P.S. I Like You; for reference, I’m an NC42 in MAC.

DJ says what now…?

Yeah, this one is from MAC’s new collaboration with DJ Mia Moretti, who, I just learned (I think I read it in this month’s Glamour…or was it Allure?) was the inspiration for Katy Perry’s song, International Smile (you learn something new every day!).

Anywho, that’s one of my favorite Katy Perry songs.

The epic wear time is just the beginning, too, for this lovely carnation pink blush. It’s also smoother than John Legend’s voice. I don’t notice any problems with patchiness on my cheeks, not even on the dry areas, and it’s very kind to my pores. I barely have to do any blending at all.

And don’t even get me started on the finish.

The finish!

It’s dewy and glossy at the same time (and stays that way all day long), but not to the “point of no return chicken grease” shiny. I feel like it makes my cheeks look glowing and healthy and all that good stuff.

I know that spring has barely sprung, but I’m already thinking about my summer makeup bag (and spending lazy days next to the pool). This will definitely have a place in it.

I like to wear it on bare skin, or layer it on top of a sheer foundation, tinted moisturizer or BB cream.

Because it’s quite pigmented and bright, a tiny dab should do ya.

Wearing PS I Like You on my cheeks and lips — Wearing MAC P.S. I Like You on my cheeks and lips…

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Ulta Haul! Products by Shea Moisture, Rimmel, Maybelline, Covergirl, Anastasia and Hot Tools [VIDEO]

March 23rd, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

GURL, you don’t even know. My usual plan of attack when I go to Ulta (or Sephora, or Target, or CVS, or any other place where I can physically pick up makeup and drop it into a basket or cart) goes like this: if I can’t carry it to the register with my own two hands, it’s not leaving the store with me.

This usually prevents the urge to keep throwing stuff (and by “stuff,” I mean everything and the kitchen sink) into my basket.

Usually.

It didn’t work the last time I went to Ulta.

(Long story…)

Here are the products I picked up and which ones I’m loving (and not loving) from that visit.

Products mentioned…

Shea Moisture Superfruit Complex Hand & Body Scrub, $9.99
Shea moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Bath and Body Massage Oil, $9.99>
Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze, $4.99
Maybelline Brow Drama in Deep Brown, $7.99
Covergirl Natural Lash in Clear, $5.99
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Dark Brown, $21
Hot Tools Black Hair Pins, $3.49

As always, thank you again for watching!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Have you been to Ulta lately? What should I grab on my next trip?

Let This Pearl Blossom on Your Cheeks: MAC Beauty Powder in Pearl Blossom From the MAC Is Beauty Collection

March 20th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Magic in a pan.

And I’m not just saying that because of my strong emotional ties to this Beauty Powder.

Barbie Loves MAC! — also known as “my gateway MAC collection.” I remember that Pearl Blossom was one of the pieces I bought in my little MAC Barbie haul (this was back in 2007), and even though it’s a re-promote in the new MAC Is Beauty collection, I still get fired up about it.

Because it’s just so versatile. There are so many things you can do with MAC’s Beauty Powders (which are basically like the Hourglass Ambient Powders, from before the time there were Hourglass Ambient Powders), especially light pink Pearl Blossom, which also has silvery pearl. You can wear it as a blush, or a highlighter, or if you have lighter, cool-toned skin, lightly dusted all over your face as a brightening powder.

I love Pearl Blossom’s finish because it isn’t overly frosty. I use it mostly as a highlighter, targeting the soft, subtle iridescent sheen on the tops of my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose, in the inner corners of my eyes, and above and just below the arch in my brows.

MAC Pearl Blossom Beauty Powder — MAC Beauty Powder in Pearl Blossom

MAC Pearl Blossom Beauty Powder Swatch — For reference, I’m an NC42 in MAC

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