Makeup

The New bareMinerals Remix Collection and Buxom Divine Goddess Luminizer: Club Kids, We’re Pressing Fast-Forward to Summer

December 22nd, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

Heck, YES! I’d love to go clubbing with you. Are you serious?? Because I’m totally down. We could even wear the new club-themed bareMinerals Remix collection.

But wait — I can only go if we leave the house by 9 and get home by 11:30, midnight at the latest, because that’s when my pumpkin turns back into a carriage.

I love to dance, but I do not need to be shaking my 30-something-year-old groove thing past midnight. Seriously, I don’t.

On second thought, we should leave the club by 11, because I want to be in bed, under the covers, with my mouthguard on (dude, I totally grind my teeth; it sucks!) by midnight.

LOL! Don’t laugh. 🙂 Last time I checked, there wasn’t a rule that says we can’t go out early and come home by midnight. It’s like clubbing 2.0, the remix. You get all the fun of clubbing while being fully functional the next day. Win, win!

Okay, now that we’re done making fun of my tired @ss, let’s get to the good stuff, the new bareMinerals spring Remix collection, which arrives next month (in the middle of winter).

bareminerals the wild thing — Ready Eyeshadow 4.0 in The Wild Thing

bareminerals the next big thing — Ready Eyeshadow 4.0 in The Next Big Thing ($30)

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Who Wants to Get Pretty Naughty at Work? I Do, With the New Estee Lauder Pretty Naughty Pure Color Five Color EyeShadow Palette

December 20th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

Before I dive into V.I.M.R.I. (Very Important Makeup-Related Information) — aka why you should make room in your work purse for the new $48 EstÃ©e Lauder Pure Five Color EyeShadow Palette in Pretty Naughty — first, a question.

Do you ever mess around with song lyrics to make weird cover songs about your pet?

Anyone? Bueller?

El Hub and I have been doing it lately with the words to Bell Biv DeVoe’s Poison…

One of us will start by singing, “Tabs drivin’ me out of my mind, that’s why it’s hard for me to find…” and then the other person jumps in, “Can’t get Tabs out of my head. Miss Tabs, kiss Tabs, love Tabs (wrong move you’re dead). My cat is poison… POISON!!”

I know. Waaaaay too cat obsessed. 🙂

So let’s talk palettes instead! You might be thinking, “Heck, no. I don’t do pastels,” but hear me out.

I’m not always into pastels, either. Sometimes I think they’re just too light and chalky for my tan skin, but the smooth pastels in the Pretty Naughty palette are surprisingly intense, and they should show up well on light and dark skin tones.

Sweet.

This limited edition quint comes with three pastel shades (a matte sky blue, a shimmery soft pink and a shimmery violet) and two neutrals (a shimmery taupe and a glittery charcoal), and if you’re looking for, like, a palette you can wear to work, but you also want to have a little fun with color — not necessarily a hot pants/disco glitter/rhinestones on a Wednesday morning kind of fun, but more like a long Friday lunch break to look at shoes we can’t afford at Neimans — Pretty Naughty is the palette you’ll want in your makeup bag this spring.

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Tease Me, Please Me: The New $40 Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease, From the Pretty Naughty Collection for Spring 2013

December 19th, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

EstÃ©e Lauder's $40 Pure Color Illuminating Powder GelÃ©e Blush in Tease — Wearing Estee Lauder’s Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease ($40) from the new Pretty Naughty spring 2013 collection

Stress-free shimmer. That’s what I think of Estee Lauder’s $40 Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease (and why I’ve been loving it to pieces).

EstÃ©e Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder GelÃ©e Blush in Tease — A closeup of the pan

There are so many stressful things about our world right now, like practically every story on the nightly news, or that commercial for that new MTV show starring Snookie and J.Woww, but at least when it comes to makeup, that thing many of us turn to for fun and escape, there are still things as simple and beautiful as a great blush.

Every day we’re forced to make big, difficult decisions. At least blush doesn’t have to be one of them.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease, part of the new nine-piece Pretty Naughty collection, arrives with the rest of the release next month. In the collection, pastels feature prominently, but EL gave them a tough girl, street-chic vibe.

Picture the coolest city girl you know dressed in black from head to toe, plucked from her usual stomping grounds and plopped smack dab in the middle of the pastoral English countryside.

Basically, that’s this collection.

It includes products for eyes, lips, cheeks (Tease, what we’re looking at now, is the only cheek product) and a BEYOND gorgeous nail polish (review coming soon!).

estee lauder pretty naughty imagery — Pretty Naughty…

Tease, a semi-sheer, opalescent blush/highlighter/contour color shifts from a subtle rose to a pinkish peach, depending on the light.

Really pretty!

And I think it gives my cheeks a healthy, natural-looking glow that still has a cool girl kick to it.

With one layer, you get a soft wash of color (I like!), but you can also build it up for something brighter, KAPOW!

But before that, give this a try: run your finger across the pan…

Now that’s soft, right?

The formula — something Estee Lauder has been using for the past few seasons — combines some of the best things about gels, liquids and powders. They say that unlike conventional powders, something about it allows the pigments and shimmer pearl to float on top of the skin, creating a soft, subtle shimmer with a reflective finish.

“Subtle shimmer” — two words that make my 30-something-year-old ears perk up. 😀

When you’re a woman of a certain age (*cough* 37), shimmer products can be a little tougher to wear (well, at least for me sometimes) because the reflective particles can highlight pores and wrinkles.

Not Tease though. It has this beautiful, subtle glow that doesn’t highlight all of the other stuff going on around it…which I really, really appreciate.

You can apply it with a blush brush, but I’ve actually been liking the sponge applicator it comes with. I press a little on the apples of my cheeks, and blend out the edges with my fingers.

That’s it. And it lasts all day long.

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We’ll Always Have Paris: The Sparkling LancÃ´me Petit Tresor Holiday Collection

December 18th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

lancome moonlight rose closeup — LancÃ´me Blush Highlighter in Moonlight Rose ($42) from the Petit Tresor Holiday 2013 collection

It’s December 18, barely a week before Christmas, and I have so much holiday shopping left to do that all I can do at this point is succumb to procrastination’s warm, snuggly embrace — to wrap myself up in it like a living, breathing procrastination burrito (with extra guac on the side, haha!).

I’m behind. Way behind. Which, of course, means that the only logical thing left to do now is watch Casablanca for the umpteenth time and put on a few pieces from the LancÃ´me Holiday Petit Tresor collection. 🙂

The 19-piece Parisian-inspired collection’s gold, taupe, bronze and garnet makeup and nail polishes glided onto cosmetics counters and lancome-usa.com last month.

I don’t know where you are with your holiday shopping (I sincerely hope you’re further along than I am), but what do you say we do a little more procrastinating this afternoon, and check out a few pieces from the collection?

The Color Design 5-Pan Palette in Sapphire Fling ($49)

lancome sapphire fling — Color Design 5-Pan Palette in Sapphire Fling ($49)

I like the way this five-pan palette of taupe, gray, peach, blue and black powder eye products (four eyeshadows and one liner) sparkles on my lids.

One of three quints in the collection, Sapphire Fling is “my rockstar quint,” because the products take on that lived-in, distressed look as the day goes on (like they’ve been out partying on Hollywood Boulevard all night long).

I like it — the whole rocker chic vibe — but if you’re averse to any creasing or fading, you’ll probably want to carry it with you for touchups throughout the day.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

The Blush Highlighter in Moonlight Rose ($42)

lancome moonlight rose — Blush Highlighter in Moonlight Rose ($42)

A shimmery, yet subtle, peachy pink blush and highlighter in a gorgeous pan with rose detailing. This long-wearing cheek product lasts a good 12-14 hours on me and lovingly steers clear of my pores.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A- ($42 seems like a lot)
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Unsung Heroes: BECCA Eye Tint in Gilt

December 14th, 2012 by Karen 6 Comments

becca gilt eye tint — BECCA’s $24 Eye Tint in Gilt

Not “guilt,” like in how Tabs should feel after he exercises his claws on the cushions of my favorite chair, but “gilt,” as in BECCA’s $24 Eye Tint in Gilt, which gets extra Unsung Hero holiday party brownie points today for the tiny pieces of golden glitter swimming in its shimmery bronze base, and for its fabulously long-wearing, water-resistant cream eyeshadow formula.

I can apply a layer on my lids first thing in the morning, spend the day running errands for Santa (Tabs), head back home at night, and hang out by the tree after dinner with Gilt shimmering and shining under the tree’s blinking lights, even when I skip wearing a primer.

becca gilt swatches — Gilt built up on the left and sheered out on the right

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Benefit Got Deep! The New Benefit Stay Don’t Stray Eye Primer in Medium/Deep

December 14th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

benefit don't stray in medium/deep — The new Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Medium/Deep ($26)

“Sit. Stay. Don’t stray!”

Sounds like me trying to get Tabs to sit still for a picture. 🙂 It’s actually the idea behind Benefit’s $26 Stay Don’t Stray, the brand’s creamy eye primer for lids and under-eye areas.

It’s designed to boost the wear time of concealers and eyeshadows. Problem is, it’s only been available in a single shade…until now.

Yup, Benefit got deep! Come spring, a darker shade, Medium/Deep, joins the original, lighter Stay Don’t Stray.

Both shades will also get a new bottle with a doe-foot applicator instead of the old pump.

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Wonder Twin Powers, Activate! Shape of a Dual-Tipped Dior Cherie Bow Twin Set Eyeshadow!

December 13th, 2012 by Karen 11 Comments

dior twin set eyeshadow duo grey sigh ballerina pink 7 — The new Dior Twin Set Eyeshadow Duos in Grey Sigh on the left and Ballerina Pink right ($30 each)

Dahhhhhhhling, be a dear and hand me my pearls and pocketbook, would you? I want to wear my Dior Twinset today, and I absolutely must have the right accessories to go with it.

Silly goose, did you think I was talking about some kind of shell or cardigan from that Mad Men show? Whom do you think I am? A young Peggy Olsen on her first day in the secretarial pool? No, no, no.

These are Twinsets for modern makeup lovers who appreciate convenience. Oh, yes, these shimmery dual-tipped eyeshadow sticks will get your lids ready in a flash. They’ll be dressed to impress in no time.

Dior’s gunmental Grey Sigh and fuchsia Ballerina Pink Twin Sets, both from the new Cherie Bow collection ($30 each), come with a creamy, twist-up stick eyeshadow on one end and a matching foam tip loaded with loose powder eyeshadow on the other.

Dior designed them to complement each other, like a matching sweater set. Start with the creamy stick shadow on your lids as a base, and then for more color, shimmer and depth, pat some of the eyeshadow from the foam tip directly on top.

dior twin set eyeshadow duo ballerina pink grey sigh foam tip 2 — Ballerina Pink on the left and Grey Sigh on the right

dior twin set eyeshadow duo ballerina pink grey sigh stick eyeshadow 3 — Ballerina Pink on the left and Grey Sigh on the right

dior twin set eyeshadow duo grey sigh ballerina pink swatches 4 — Swatches of Grey Sigh on the left and Ballerina Pink on the right

dior twin set eyeshadow duo grey sigh 5 — Wearing Grey Sigh

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Like Diamonds, the New Holiday L’Oreal Infallible Le Gloss 8HR Lipglosses Are a Girl’s Best Friend

December 13th, 2012 by Karen 17 Comments

loreal dazzle me — Wearing L’Oreal Infallible Le Gloss 8HR in Dazzle Me ($9.99) from the new limited edition Diamonds holiday collection

If…

…Jeremy Renner just texted you about your upcoming date: “Can you wear diamonds, baby? I love it when you shine.” Or…

…you feel incomplete unless your makeup bag is bursting with glitter (too much shimmer? NEVER!), or…

…you’re just in the mood to celebrate the season with some affordable bling…

…then you won’t want to miss the shimmery Infallible Le Gloss 8HR lipgloss shades in L’Oreal’s new limited edition Diamond holiday collection ($9.99 each).

The five glittery glosses range from sheer to opaque, so no matter what level of lipgloss coverage I’m craving, I know I can get my fix on here (incidental update: I still haven’t found my perfect holiday sweater, but I’m still looking!).

Silvery white All Iced Out, pinkish violet To Be Treasured and yellow golden Something Shiny sprinkle a soft dusting of sheer, cool-toned color, while opaque fuchsia Dazzle Me and rich red Sparkle Frenzy flash like bright Christmas lights.

loreal diamonds holiday collection Infallible Le Gloss — From the left: All Iced Out, Something Shiny, To Be Treasured, Dazzle Me and Sparkle Frenzy

loreal diamonds collection swatches legloss — From the left: Al Iced Out, Something Shiny, To Be Treasured, Dazzle Me and Sparkle Frenzy

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