Makeup

MAC Dives Into the Deepest Blue With New Pro Longwear Fluidline in Siahi From the MAC Is Beauty Collection

March 19th, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

Siahi…

It’s like diving into the deepest, bluest, most secluded stretch of ocean in the world. So of course I would like it, right? 🙂

Even though I don’t dive.

I totally don’t dive! I’m claustrophobic, but I do love the ocean, and I do love this color.

Siahi…

You might remember it from back in the day because it’s a re-promote. It also appeared in the Mickey Contractor collection a few years ago, and I loved it then, as I love it now.

It looks like a National Geographic photo of a secret ocean… You know when you see those pictures of untouched places that man hasn’t come along yet to pervert? That’s Siahi. It’s a deep, complex, intense teal ocean blue, and what makes it special isn’t just the richness of the color, but the finish as well. It’s ever-so-slightly metallic.

Other products I’m wearing in this look…

MAC Eye Shadow in Bouffant
MAC Eye Shadow in Soft Brown (permanent)
MAC Eye Shadow in Saddle (permanent)
MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Lowlights
MAC False Lashes mascara (permanent)
MAC Beauty Powder in Alpha Girl
MAC Beauty Powder in Pearl Blossom
MAC Lipstick in Make Me Gorgeous

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New $6.50 NYX High Definition Blush: On Days When My Face Is on the Oily End of the Sebaceous Spectrum, This Powder Blush Is a Dream

March 17th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Wearing the new $6.50 NYX High Definition Blush in Baby Doll (and that’s NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Funnel Delight on mah lips)

The Curse of the Black Pearl is a freakin’ cakewalk compared to The Curse of Combination Skin (which I have). I mean, it’s not like I’m dealing with undead skeleton pirates or anything, but hella moody skin that alternates between bone dry and Oil Slick City comes with its own set of problems, man.

May I present to the court Exhibit A: the new $6.50 NYX High Definition Blushes.

On days when my face is on the oily end of the sebaceous spectrum, this powder blush is SUCH a dream (they’re just $6.50 each). When I wear it, my cheeks look like I just found out that I won the lottery, and subsequently told my curmudgeonly feline boss to suck it — all that naturally glowing lit-from-within jazz that comes with telling someone off or doing a vigorous wop to Push It or, I dunno, making out with your knee (Ha! That’s how I used to practice kissing…).

And then there’s the soft, smooth powders, which feel like fairy dust and blend like powdered sugar; the cray-cray amount of pigment; and the 8-hour wear time — hot dayum! — which all add up to placing these on the cusp of legendary drugstore makeup status.

NYX High Definition Blush in Coraline — High Definition Blush in Coraline

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The Little Black Book of Bronzers Bronzer Collection by Too Faced Cosmetics: If You Like Bronzer, This Book Has All the Right Contacts

March 16th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

The last time Too Faced released a Little Black Book of Bronzers, it was HUGE!

No, literally, it was huge… The palette (or, as Too Faced refers to it, the “bronzing wardrobe”) held eight full-size Too Faced Bronzers, which was very cool if you were/are into the whole “bigger is better” aesthetic, and also very cool if you ever dreamed of owning a palette so gigantic that it could cover half of your body.

This time around, the sequel to The Little Black Book of Bronzers is sleek.

Ish. Sleek-ish.

It’s basically the same idea, except that the pans are smaller this time (0.08 ounces each, instead of 0.28), and the price is too ($49 vs. $139)

So, while you may lose the ability to use it as an improv table for TV dinners or breakfast in bed, and it no longer functions as an umbrella with which to shield yourself from the sun while lounging on the beach with Zac Efron…it’s a lot easier to tote around.

Plus, you know what they say: “Good things come in small packages.” If the original was an oversized coffee table book, this one is the paperback.

Too Faced also tweaked the lineup a little, swapping Bronzed and Poreless for Dark Chocolate Soleil, their newest shade.

Other than that, there’s a good variety of shimmery finishes and mattes, and none of them are excessively warm or orange.

The Little Black Book of Bronzers Bronzer Collection with a full-size Too Faced Bronzer pan for scale — With a full-size Too Faced Bronzer pan for scale…

With eight bronzers, there’s one to go with every mood, outfit and moment in yo’ life. Like, have you ever wondered what bronzer to wear to go to your ex’s house to pick up those Biggie CDs that homeboy never had the decency to return?

Well, how about deep shimmery bronzed Beach Bunny? — because you’d want to recreate a glow that says, “Hey, fool. Ever since we broke up, I spend every Sunday by the pool at the Four Seasons with my new billionaire boyfriend.”

Ya know, that kind of thing. 🙂

The Little Black Book of Bronzers Bronzer Collection with an iPhone 6 plus for scale — With an iPhone 6 Plus for scale…

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New From NYX, and It’s Intense! New $6 Intense Butter Gloss

March 13th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Wearing NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Funnel Delight ($6, one of 12 shades)

Yesterday I wore one of NYX’s new $6 Intense Butter Glosses while eating a piece of intensely buttered brown bread at The Cheesecake Factory.

(You know their brown bread, right? Man, I LOVE that stuff.)

I usually go easy on the butter because, you know, I figure I’ll just have to run it off eventually, but they brought out two hot loaves, and I thought, “Gee…I’m eating intensely buttered bread while wearing Intense Butter Gloss.”

So I ate a lot. 🙂

Color me weird, but things like that bring me great joy. It’s all about the little things, you know? You gotta get your kicks where you can.

NYX Intense Butter Glosses from the left: Apple Crisp, Tres Leches and Funnel Delight — Three of the 12 new NYX Intense Butter Glosses ($6 each) from the left: Apple Crisp, Tres Leches and Funnel Delight

Anywho, these really do feel like butter on my lips — like I spread a thick, creamy layer of fresh churned butter (made by happy cows, of course) on my kisser.

I keep thinking that I’m going to have to do some cardio if I keep wearing them, badum tish!

They’re a brand new line, and NYX rolled out 12 intensely pigmented shades for spring.

So far I’ve tried three of the shades — a red called Apple Crisp, a hot pink called Funnel Delight and a nude called Tres Leches — and I think the red one and the hot pink are hella impressive. Vivid (so intense that your natural lip color will be buried under an avalanche of pigment), opaque, full-coverage, and they apply smoothly, too.

But for me, the nude was the real test, because I have naturally pigmented lips, and a lot of the time I have to jump through hoops to get nude shades to show up, but not this time. No concealer on my lips, no lip liner beforehand — nothing. Just my lips and the gloss. That’s it.

NYX Intense Butter Gloss Swatches from the left: Funnel Delight, Tres Leches and Apple Crisp — Swatches from the left of Funnel Delight, Tres Leches and Apple Crisp

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Another Look at the Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes Collection

March 12th, 2015 by Karen 8 Comments

I call upon thee, Zeus and Hera, to worship at the altar of the Bronze Goddesses! Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes collection is coming, and here’s another look at a few of the pieces, this time in 3d, and video.

OK, no 3d. Just video. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What’s Your Current Face Makeup Routine? (Here’s Mine)

March 12th, 2015 by Karen 40 Comments

MAC Julia Petit Lipstick in Boca — Wearing my current face makeup routine…

Do you have 2 hours?

No! Just kidding. It doesn’t take me 2 hours, but it is a process. I mean, one thing I’ve learned along the way is that you can’t just slap a sh*t-ton of product on your face and expect it to look “natural.”

There’s definitely an art to getting the skin to look smooth and not so fussy, and I’m always tweaking my steps and products, but here are the broad strokes for my current routine…

For me, the first part has to be primer. I’m a big believer in primer. Bobbi Brown’s Extra Illuminating Moisture Balm and Smashbox Photo Finish Oil Free Foundation Primer Pore Minimizing — those are the two I’ve been keeping in my bag and using daily.

After primer I go in with some combination of lightweight medium to full-coverage foundations, which I mix because it’s difficult for me to find one color that matches my skin. Plus, you know, your skin is always changing (Bobbi Brown’s videos emphasize this). I may have gotten a little more sun yesterday, so I might have less noticeable yellow tones in my skin today and more pink or red. Or maybe I didn’t get enough sleep last night (happens often), so I look super tired.

Lately I’ve been mixing two or more (usually two) of these three together: NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation, L’Oreal True Match Lumi, or the new Diorskin Nude Air Serum SPF 20.

MAC Bao Bao Wan Lipstick in Forbidden Sunrise — Another look with a similar foundation/concealer routine

And I don’t go heavy with this combo. I use as little foundation as I can — just the faintest amount — because it’s the next step that really helps get that more “flawless” look, or as close to it as I ever get. I take a small amount of that same foundation mix and add a full-coverage concealer, which I then use on my cheeks, around my mouth and around my nose.

Under-eye circles are a totally different story, though, and I’ll get to that in a minute.

I set the foundation combo with a powder, and one I’ve been loving lately is MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. But I don’t just slap it on there willy-nilly. I take time to blend and buff it in so it doesn’t look like it’s sitting on top.

And that’s basically it for foundation.

I handle my under-eye situation separately, and I know it sounds involved, but I try to use as little of each product as possible to keep the area from looking cakey.

This time again, I start with a primer, and I’ve been using one called Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer.

It’s bomb!
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The Bronze Age Returns! Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes

March 11th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess 2015 — Wearing makeup from the latest in a long line of annual Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess collections

If I had to be a goddess, I would not say no to being a goddess of bronze, but what I’d really want to be is a goddess of cats.

No, scratch that. I’d be the goddess of plus-size tabby cats with low-hanging bellies, because it’s all about being specific.

Yes, I have no idea what I’m talking about. 🙂

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette — That’s the Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette on my eyes and cheeks, the All Over Illuminator on my upper cheekbones, and Pure Color Gloss Pen Nude Coral on my lips

Every year around this time, like clockwork, Estée Lauder reveals a new Bronze Goddess-themed collection, and this year it’s Shimmering Nudes.

The collection’s face and eye palette, stick highlighter and gloss, all of which will be available this April with the rest of the 14-piece collection at Estée Lauder counters and online, are telling me that 1) summer is right around the corner, and 2) I should probably book a vacation to someplace warm soon.

Is it just me, or does the Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette ($55) radiate a MAC vibe?

Its eyeshadows could totally pass for Ricepaper, Amber Lights and Bronze, and even though I’ve seen the colors before, I still like this formula and the way they’re executed here.

The powders meld seamlessly into each other on my lids, and blending them is like three snaps in a Z formation. In other words, “haaay!” So good.

I actually did my foundation and concealer before this makeup look, and I didn’t have to do any additional cleanup under my eyes afterwords. No problems at all with fallout.

And I like the bronzer, too. It has a strong undercurrent of red that mimics a legit tan. There’s also golden flecks of glitter in it, which makes me think that this bronzer might even work better as an all-over warming product than one to contour (I prefer to use ashy cool-toned mattes to really carve out those cheekbones).

Interestingly, the face and eye palette is a Sephora exclusive, which is kind of cool and weird, and by that I mean this: have you actually seen Estée Lauder at your local Sephora store? Because mine doesn’t carry the line, and I don’t know if this is a one-shot deal or the start of a long-term trend. I really hope it’s the latter.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess All Over Illuminator — Bronze Goddess All Over Illuminator, $30

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A Quick Look at the New Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Enigma [VIDEO]

March 11th, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

Ah, eyeshadow primer…

If you have trubs getting your shadows to stay where they belong, the answer might be an Enigma, as in Urban Decay’s new limited edition Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Enigma ($20).

Today I’m wearing this creamy cool matte for the very first time.

WARNING: lots of bare-faced action and crazy-pants hair ahead!

As always, thank you for watching. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen