Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Take a bow, Dior, because that performance was right en pointe!
“Bow,” as in Dior’s new Cherie Bow collection, and “en pointe” as in Rose Ballerine #724, the second of two new $61 5-Coueleurs Eyeshadow quints in the release (the other is Rose Charmeuse #854).
Eyes take center stage with the quint’s shimmery pink, peach, beige and taupe shades, which brighten my lids without putting my fine lines under a spotlight.
The three new lightweight, creamy Dior Addict Lipsticks in the Cherie Bow collection ought to be gift wrapped.
Oh, wait! — they are. In a manner of speaking. Dior wrapped these pretty pink and coral spring lippies in a finish so fetching that it shines bright like a diamond. (Gah! I’ve got that Rihanna song stuck in my head!)
Light pink Candide, pinkish coral Charmante and rosy pink Espiegle are also addictive, as the Dior Addict name implies. If lips could dream, mine would fantasize about this marvelously moisturizing formula and slick, smooth texture.
Whenever I wear these, I walk around rubbing my lips together, mrmm, mrrmm, mrrmm…
[Continue reading…]
Along with raising me to respect big hair and instilling in me an appreciation for nonsensical song lyrics (“The reflex is a lonely child just waiting by the park…”), the ’80s also taught me about a certain something awesome called houndstooth.
Every girl I knew had something in a houndstooth pattern. I had a jacket I’d wear whenever I wanted to be “taken seriously,” like at piano recitals, haha!
Tabs would love a jacket like that…
The first words out of my mouth when I opened the new Diorblush in Pink Happiness ($42) were “CLASS OF ’89!!”
(I was referring to middle school.)
The houndstooth pattern stamped on this powder blush duo will help it stand out when it flits on Dior counters with the rest of the Cherie Dior Bow collection this spring.
I received a few requests to see a tutorial after a look last week with pink cheeks and bronze, gold and purple eyes, so here it is!
I keep this one in my back pocket for date nights and parties because it’s a little bit dressy, but not full-on formal. Could be a nice look to wear to a work holiday party.
Last week I used a couple of limited edition products from BECCA that are out of circulation now (the Halcyon Days Palette and Cabrera Liner Duo), so this time around, to make things a little easier to duplicate, I replaced those pieces with similar colors from MAC’s permanent line (the other BECCA products here are still available).
[Continue reading…]
The Christmas lights are blinking, the neighborhood cats are slinking, and the Dark Choclate Stars are twinkling in their dish. The decorations have been hung by the makeup counter with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
And he will…but he has to stop by the Petco first to pose for pics with a long line of eager pets and their parents (more on that in a minute).
It’s that time of year! — although you’d never know it by looking at BECCA. The beachy Australian makeup brand always seems to have one foot in the sand.
Designed for normal, combination and oily skin types, BECCA’s new Radiant Skin Satin Finish Foundation ($42 and available in 18 shades) showcases the brand’s trademark endless summer vibe with an almost weightless formula and a dressed-down eggshell finish that practically tiptoes on the skin.
With coverage about halfway between a tinted moisturizer and a full-coverage foundation, it’s made for guys and gals who like flexibility. Going to the beach (maybe you live in the Southern Hemisphere)? Wear it sheer by rubbing in a few dots. Or for heavier coverage, work in a pea-sized dollop all over your face, and then pat and blend a little extra wherever you need it.
[Continue reading…]
Oh, hello there, lips. What’s that you say? You’re tired of the same-o, same-o fruit punch/vanilla/brown sugar lipgloss flavors and cloying fruit scents?
Lucky for you, BECCA’s outrageously hydrating $24 Ultimate Colour Glosses are here to shake things up in a nutty, new delicious way.
One word: Nutella.
First, I should note that I’m currently ravenous, and my tummy’s rumbling like crazy. I don’t think there’s an official Nutella collaboration involved here, but I swear, my nose and tastebuds detect something very hazel-nutty when I wear these…
But like the memory of a dream early in the morning, it quickly fades, until it’s gone within a minute.
Depending on which side of the Nutella-covered fence you’re on, you may or may not think these are great.
Personally, I would have liked to see the flavor and scent last longer, but then again, I used to keep a spoon and a jar of Nutella in my purse for “emergencies.”
These shiny, non-sticky glosses are also pigmented, and they come in 10 shades, from soft nudes like Fallen Angel, to deep, juicy hues like Berry Twist, so there’s something here to satisfy almost every pout.
BECCA even added vitamin E and emollients to the formula (but left out the parabens) to lavish lips with moisture and shine…
[Continue reading…]
Dear Universe,
If you could help me find that iTunes gift card I got for my birthday last June, that would be great, because I have this sudden, uncontrollable urge to don a black leotard and dance like a maniac, a maniac on the floor.
Why this sudden urge to dance like I’ve never danced before? I dunno (Flashdance). I have no idea (I watched Flashdance for the first time last night).
Life is a mystery, but I do know this: when I’m pointing and twirling in my leg warmers and the sweat’s streaming down my face, the makeup on my cheeks and lips will tough it out just fine.
You see, I’ve been wearing BECCA’s new hot pink Beach Tint in Lychee ($25) during our monsoon-like weather this week (over it!), and basically, it’s the ish.
I just shake the tube, and dot and blend a minuscule amount of this multitasking water-resistant cream on my lips and the apples of my cheeks with a finger. The resulting matte pink flush looks natural, but resists water unnaturally well, even when the rain is coming down sideways.
Special offer from BECCA: This Monday, December 10, BECCA’s offering “Unconditional Complimentary Shipping” on their US website. Free standard shipping on every order, any size, at beccacosmetics.com for one day only. No promo code required. Offer expires on Monday at 11:59 p.m. PST.
If you’re a complete blush klutz, creamy Lychee will make you look like an expert. My skin just laps it up (works on both bare skin and atop foundation), and it’s a cinch to buff out any edges.
I’m amazed by how evenly it applies.
[Continue reading…]
It happens to every black cat liner lover eventually…
The rut. You fall into one. One day, there you are, just going about your business and finishing up those TPS reports at your desk, when you peer into your makeup bag and ask yourself, “Hmm…what liner should I wear?”
And then you snap. “Oh, yeah. Black Liner! Again! For like the umpteenth time in a row!”
I’m definitely guilty of falling into that rut. On the one hand, “Cat eyes are classic and never go out of style!” But on the other, sometimes you just gotta paint yourself out of that corner, which is where these new metallic Dolce & Gabbana’s Glam Liners ($34 each) come in.
Like makeup made for angels, these long-lasting liquid liners shimmer and shine. Glittery gunmetal gray Baroque Silver, glittery burnished copper Baroque Bronze and gilded gold Baroque (not shown here) burst on the scene with the new Animalier holiday collection, bound and determined to break up the beautiful monotony of black liner.
And, hello, lazy brigade! — they couldn’t be a whole lot easier to use. Dolce & Gabbana included a soft, skinny brush with just enough give to it to give me (and hopefully you) lots of control over your line weights.
They also developed a quick-drying liquid formula that doesn’t creep…into fine lines.
The result? How ’bout crisp, sharp edges like a samurai’s katana — and perfect cat eye flicks requiring next to no effort.
Oh, and then there’s the tiny flecks of multicolored glitter, which I find pretty hard to resist… 🙂
[Continue reading…]
