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Makeup

Glittery, Peachy and Prepared to Go the Distance, MAC’s Paint Pot in Vintage Selection Is a Top Pick for Dinners and Dates

February 8th, 2013 by Karen 10 Comments

MAC Vintage Selection Pro Longwear Paint Pot
Wearing MAC’s Vintage Selection ($18.50), one of eight new Pro Longwear Paint Pots available now at MAC counters, stores and maccosmetics.com

Last night I met a friend of mine, Joanie, for dinner in the city (Delarosa restaurant). She’s also a makeup nerd makeup enthusiast, so I wanted to go buck wild with a coral and green eye look using the new Guerlain Coup de Foudre palette and some false lashes, because I knew she’d “get it,” if you know what I mean (LOL, do you ever do that with your makeup buds!?), but per usual, time got away from me, and I ended up having to bolt out of the house at the last minute with what I was already wearing — a simple eye look with liner, mascara and MAC’s shimmery, silvery peach Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Vintage Selection ($18.50).

Wouldn’t ya know it? Even in the dim lighting of the restaurant, halfway through a convo about red smokey eyes, Joanie asked me about the glitter glittering on me.

“Ooh, girl,” I replied between bites of polenta smothered in gooey cheese and tomato sauce. “That’s MAC’s new Vintage Selection Pro Longwear Paint Pot! Lemme tell ya about it…”

It’s a cream eye shadow, comes in a pot, and it’s one of those Jekyll and Hyde shades that looks deceptively mellow when you open it, but get it on your lids, and it’s, “Wow! Sparkly glitter-o-rama!”

My favorite thing about it? — other than the shimmery specks and how well it layers? With or without a primer, it lasts on my lids for hours! I can put it on at 10 in the morning, and it’s still going strong, with no fading and only the faintest creasing, at 8 o’clock at night.

MAC Vintage Selection Pro Longwear Paint Pot Small
Vintage Selection ($18.50)

MAC Vintage Selection Pro Longwear Paint Pot Swatch
A frosty peach with tiny pieces of silver glitter

MAC Vintage Selection Pro Longwear Paint Pot
MAC Vintage Selection on my lids

[Continue reading…]

There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews

Milani Spiked the Punch Bowl With Pigment! Introducing New Milani Color Statement Lipsticks

February 8th, 2013 by Karen 37 Comments

Milani Rose Amour Color Statement Lipstick
Here I’m wearing the new $5.49 Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Rose Amour, one of 30 new shades available now at drugstores and online at milani.com

I can hardly believe that Milani’s new line of lightweight, creamy, pigmented Color Statement Lipsticks clock in at a cool $5.49 per tube. If you dressed these up a little, maybe gave ’em a packaging makeover, no joke — they could probably pass for Tom Ford lippies!

Oh, but we might want to do something about that fruit punch fragrance… Wow! Talk about strong.

If fruity fragrances in your lip products aren’t a big issue for you, climb in, because these are like the Lamborghinis of drugstore lipsticks.

Here’s a quick peek at the pink and coral shades from the line…

Milani Color Statement Lipstick Pinks & Corals
From the left: Pink Frost, Fruit Punch, Flamingo Pose, Rose Hip, Hot Pink Rage, Flirty Fuchsia and Rose Amour

Milan Color Statement Lipsticks Pinks Corals Swatches
From the left: Pink Frost, Fruit Punch, Flamingo Pose, Rose Hip, Hot Pink Rage, Flirty Fuchsia and Rose Amour

Milani Fruit Punch Color Statement Lipstick
Fruit Punch

[Continue reading…]

There are 37 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Drugstore Beauty Finds, Lips, Makeup, Milani

Bronzed Babes Who Love Bold, Brash Blushes, Illamasqua’s Beg and Bronzerella Powder Blusher Duo Demands Your Attention

February 7th, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Illamasqua Beg Bronzerella Blusher Duo
Wearing the new Illamasqua Beg & Bronzerella Blusher Duo ($41), one of two new Blusher Duos released with the Imperfection spring 2013 collection

If acid-washed jeans can make a comeback (seriously?!), then it’s just a matter of time before bold, stripy ’80s-style blushes enjoy a renaissance.

And I can’t wait. 🙂

Oh, the number of falling stars my 8-year-old heart wished upon for cheeks like Joan Cusack’s in Working Girl…

Visions of those fabulously chiseled ’80s cheeks danced in my head when I opened Illamasqua’s new powerfully pigmented Powder Blusher Duo in Beg & Bronzerella today. “Ooh, yeah!” I thought, when I swatched matte dusty rose Beg and shimmery copper Bronzerella on the back of my hand. “I’m gonna Joan Cusack the CRAP outta these, woop-woop!”

But old habits die hard. After I swept stripes below my natural cheekbones using Beg and Illamasqua’s new $40 Blush Up Brush (review coming soon!), the urge to blend kicked in, and I ended up with my regular look — diffused blush on the apples of my cheeks — which I still like, but I couldn’t help feeling like I let Joan Cusack down…

Oh, well. I guess I just wasn’t ready for that jelly today.

Whether you like the look of strong, contoured cheeks or prefer softer, more natural looks, the new blushes in this duo are flexible enough to handle either extreme. Rich and indulgent like fine chocolate, these potent powder blushes are also as smooth as a tabby’s tum, and a little goes a long way.

Illamasqua Beg Bronzerella Blusher Duo Product Shot
Beg on the left and Bronzerella on the right

Illamasqua Beg Bronzerella Blusher Duo Swatches
One swipe! — that’s Beg on the left and Bronzerella on the right

[Continue reading…]

There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, Illamasqua, Makeup, Product Reviews

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector Satisfies Caramel Cravings While Making Pouts Appear Plump

February 7th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Candy Shimmer
Wearing the new $22 Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Candy Shimmer, one of three new spring 2013 shades coming March to Clarins counters and clarinsusa.com

These are those kinds of lip glosses that a friend or your mom gushes over (“OMIGOSH, SO GREAT!), hands you a tube, and at first you think, “Hmm, if you say so,” before plopping it in your purse where you promptly forget about it for a day or two.

Only then, you give it a try, and find yourself reaching into your purse for it over and over again. Next thing you know, you’re addicted! — to the colors, and the gooey caramel flavor and scent, and the soft, smooth, non-sticky texture.

The next day you’re at the Clarins counter, making friends with a complete stranger, nodding emphatically, and trying to convince her that she needs all three of the new spring shades in her life. ASAP! 🙂

Pink Petal Shimmer, rosy pink Candy Shimmer and rosy brown Rosewood Shimmer are straight up swipe-and-go sheer purse glosses that have just been leveled up. They shine like pretty baubles, quench my dry lips like glossy Gatorade and just feel so soft and comfy that I could wear them nonstop (I would have to reapply every two hours or so, but such is life).

These three new shades join three existing colors in the permanent collection (Rose Shimmer, Apricot Shimmer and Nude Shimmer) at Clarins counters next month.

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Petal Shimmer, Candy Shimmer and Rosewood Shimmer
From the left: Petal Shimmer, Candy Shimmer and Rosewood Shimmer

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Petal Shimmer, Candy Shimmer and Rosewood Shimmer
Swatches from the left: Petal Shimmer, Candy Shimmer and Rosewood Shimmer

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Petal Shimmer
Petal Shimmer

[Continue reading…]

There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Clarins, Lips, Makeup, Product Reviews

Shoot, Illamasqua’s Bright, Intensely Green Lipgloss Grows on You

February 6th, 2013 by Karen 55 Comments

Illamasqua Shoot Lipgloss
Wearing Illamasqua Shoot Intense Lipgloss ($22) on my lips from the new Imperfection spring 2013 collection, available now at Illamasqua counters and illamasqua.com

I really couldn’t say if Illamsaqua’s new Intense Lipgloss in Shoot will find its way into the purses of pouty-lipped cougars stalking Thursday happy hours, or whether it’ll take the makeup world by storm! — like NARS Orgasm blush did, but I will say that based on my time with this pureed pea green gloss, it’s actually, well, pretty darned wearable!

All things considered…

Perhaps it’s due to the way this leafy green shade, with its waxy shine, contrasts against the skin?

Or maybe it’s because I feel like a kid again when I wear it, like I’m sitting on the lawn at recess with my friends, watching our tiny fingers thread through blades of grass as we look for ladybugs, four-leaf clovers and Smurfs.

Illamasqua Shoot Lipgloss Product Shot
Yup, it’s a gloss

Hmm…

Let’s face it, this color’s a little cray. Even El Hub, who’s infamous for never noticing these things (it took the man a week once to realize that I’d dyed my hair pink), blurted, “You’ve got Hulk lips,” when I came walking down the stairs.

Illamasqua Shoot Lipgloss

If you like to scoot under the radar, you might want to wear something else…but if you like to push the boundaries between beauty and botany and/or work in an environment where bright green glosses are the norm, why not? 🙂

Illamasqua Shoot Lipgloss Swatch
Sealed with a green kiss!

[Continue reading…]

There are 55 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Illamasqua, Lips, Makeup, Product Reviews

Unlike Most Reptiles, MAC Year of the Snake Collection Shell Pearl Beauty Powder Absolutely Does Not Bite

February 6th, 2013 by Karen 30 Comments

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder from the Year of the Snake Collection
The MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder ($24), a pale peach with golden pearl from the new from the Year of the Snake Collection available exclusively online at maccosmetics.com

With this collection, I keep wanting to type, “MAC Snakes on a Plane!”

In this highly anticipated sequel to the 2006 smash hit, Snakes on a Plane, Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as hot-tempered FBI agent Neville Flynn! — only this time, the reptiles he’s facing at 30,000 feet are more pigmented than poisonous.

That’s just such a catchy name, isn’t it? Snakes on a Plane. And I never even saw the movie.

I’ll tell you what, though — I sure would love to take the new Shell Pearl Beauty Powder on a trip…

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder Year of the Snake Swatch
From the left, Shell Pearl Beauty Powder swatches on my NC42 skin: Year of the Snake, Archie’s Girls and Liberty of London

[Continue reading…]

There are 30 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, MAC Makeup, Makeup

Big Snakes on a Blog! Or, the New MAC Year of the Snake Large Eye Shadows in Once Upon a Time, Altered State, Carbon and Aztec Brick

February 5th, 2013 by Karen 52 Comments

MAC Year of the Snake Large Eyeshadows in Altered State and Carbon
Here I’m wearing the new $21 MAC Year of the Snake collection Large Eye Shadows (available now exclusively online) in Altered State on my lids and in my creases, and Carbon in the outer corners and along my lower lash lines

Here’s to hoping that these four new Large Eye Shadows from MAC are the closest I ever come to having snakes on top of my eyes!

Not that I have anything against snakes (of the reptilian variety). My aversion to slithering creatures doesn’t extend to snakes. It’s more of an anti-worm policy (they’re so slimy and squiggly, YUCK!). I’m definitely not anti-snake.

I actually think they’re pretty cool and inspiring, really. All sleek, graceful and frightening at the same time, kind of like Grace Jones in Conan The Destroyer.

And speaking of Conan, these snake-patterned 0.10-ounce pans are also pretty huge (twice the size of MAC’s regular 0.05-ounce pans).

MAC Once Upon a Time Large Eye Shadow from the Year of the Snake Collection
Once Upon a Time, a metallic vanilla with a veluxe pearl finish

MAC Aztec Brick Large Eye Shadow
Aztec Brick, a frosted copper with a veluxe pearl finish

MAC Carbon Large Eye Shadow
Carbon, an intense black with a matte finish

[Continue reading…]

There are 52 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews

Too Faced Added a Bushel of Berries — Yes, for Spring — to Their Moisturizing La Creme Lipstick Line

February 5th, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

Too Faced Loganberry Swatch
Here I’m wearing the new Too Faced $21 La Creme Lipstick in berry pink Loganberry, one of four new berry shades available now at Too Faced counters and online at toofaced.com

Berries in the springtime? Absolutely! Why not? 🙂

Too Faced just added four new shades to their deliciously creamy and potently pigmented La Creme Lipstick line, and if you love berry shades, your makeup bag runneth over with good luck.

Too Faced Bumbleberry, Loganberry, So Berry Sexy and Teddy Berry La Creme Shades for Spring 2013
From the left: Bumbleberry, Loganberry, So Berry Sexy and Teddy Berry

Too Faced La Creme Spring 2013 Bumbleberry, Loganberry, So Berry Sexy and Teddy Berry Swatches
Swatches from the left on my NC42 skin: Bumbleberry, Loganberry, So Berry Sexy and Teddy Berry

[Continue reading…]

There are 22 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Lips, Makeup, Product Reviews, Too Faced

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