Makeup

This Peachy Cream Eyeshadow Creates Real Beauty From Something Abstract: Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Eyeshadow in Abstraction

November 12th, 2012 by Karen 47 Comments

chanel abstraction — Wearing the new Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Abstraction on my eyes

Yesterday I did an epically fast eye makeup look with the new Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Longwear Eyeshadow in Abstraction ($36) because I needed to rush outta the house for this:

These are fancy-schmancy, kinda hipster versions of char siu bao from a food truck called Chairman Bao at Off the Grid in Larkspur yesterday.

Bao, also known as manapua in Hawaiian pidgin English, are soft, hella good steamed dough buns (or sometimes wraps) filled with pork, beef, tofu and/or veggies.

They’re among the most delicious foods known to humankind…

Almost as delicious as Chanel’s Abstraction, the cream eyeshadow I wore all weekend long. 🙂 Mmm… Chanel. Delicious and, unlike bao, fat free.

Part of the new Les Expressions de Chanel collection, Abstraction is a peachy coral cream eyeshadow with purple flair and flecks of golden glitter. It’s very unique, and unlike anything else in my cream shadow stash.

I think it’s fab for soft washes of color and/or a sheer, shimmery glow. If you like wearing eyeshadow but prefer quiet, laid back looks, or if you have mature skin (because Abstraction kindly steers clear of my fine lines), Abstraction’s worthy of OM-NOM-NOM!

Oh, but no matter how loudly your hubby grumbles about how hungry he is, and how you’re gonna miss the food trucks if you don’t hurry up and get ready…don’t skip the primer with this bad boy.

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Girl Meets Curl: The New Chanel Le Volume De Chanel Mascara Incites Eyelash Excitement in This Mascara Enthusiast

November 12th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

chanel le volume de chanel mascara noir — The new Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in Noir

Who says makeup can’t influence the weather?

Chanel’s latest mascara does exactly that. When I wave it over my head outdoors, the clouds part, beams of sunlight rain down, and distant trumpets start playing.

LOL! Seriously, I’m not kidding. 🙂

To put it another way, I’m in the process of stuffing that new Sterilite 4-Drawer tote I told you about. I’m filling it with makeup and beauty products I intend to use often — my standbys — so that I have a nice, organized set of essentials in one place.

Well, I just replaced six other tubes of mascara in the tote with this new one from Chanel.

Now that’s love.

It’s the new $30 Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara, and it’s available in a single shade called Noir.

Next time I have to get up and get out the door before dawn to catch an early flight, this will be in my makeup bag. No doubt about it.

Jet black and built for bold, yet elegant, lash looks from a single coat, Le Volume de Chanel thickens, lengthens and separates.

So it’s one of those makeup triple threats…

Carbon black pigments hug lashes in black cat color, while the formula, rich in camelia oil, nourishes and moisturizes those little lash hairs.

The buxom brush bristles with short, nubby stubs. It’s a new design for Chanel, one they call their “snowflake wand,” and it’s supposed to build bigger lashes by thoroughly, quickly coating each lash from root to tip.

I wore the dickens out of it last weekend, and in a word, “BAM!” One layer delivers the lush lashes I love, without clumping, smudging or flaking, and the formula holds a curl sky high all day long.

It reminds me of YSL Faux Cils, except with a little better length. And where Faux Cils tends to concentrate more volume at the roots, Le Volume distributes it more evenly along the lash.

Chanel Le Volume de Chanel mascara in Noir — Those are my bare lashes in the top pic, and that’s me wearing one coat of Chanel Le Volume in the bottom

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Today I’m Grateful for Friday, Migraine Relief and Les Expressions de Chanel (Among Other Things)

November 9th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

Because it never hurts to ask the question, “What am I grateful for?” even if the first things that come to mind are simple or silly, today I thought I’d share with you my Friday gratitude list.

First up…

1. Chanel

Always Chanel. 🙂 Everything seems a little better when I see those interlocking C’s. Colors appear brighter, the air seems cleaner, and Tabs even seems better behaved!

Today I’ve been keeping myself busy with a few pieces from the new Les Expressions de Chanel. Among the eight pieces in the release, there’s a dramatic new mascara called Le Volume De Chanel, two new quads, three liquid liners, and a couple of new cream shadow shades.

All are available now on Chanel counters and coming soon to chanel.com.

chanel intuition — Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Intuition, $58

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Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From GoldenEye, Xenia Onatopp

November 8th, 2012 by Karen 32 Comments

bond girl looks xenia onatopp 1 — A Xenia Onatopp Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in GoldenEye

“M, what on earth is this contraption?”

“That, Bond, is a Thighmaster. Google it.”

“My thighs need no mastering, M.”

“Famous last words, Bond. Famous last words.”

. . .

Can I just say how hard it is to find a frickin’ Thighmaster these days? Because really, if you’re gonna dress up as Bond girl Xenia Onatopp, you want your thighs to be like BAM! — straight-up killing machines!!

I’m not kidding either. In 1995’s GoldenEye, Xenia, played by the gorgeous Famke Janssen, is the Bond babe who famously kills by crushing people to death with her thighs (wha?!).

(Keep in mind, this was before MMA was popular, LOL!)

In fact, Xenia almost takes out Pierce Brosnan’s Bond in one of their encounters…

I sure love Xenia’s makeup in the movie. She smolders in a smokey eye and rich red lips while she seduces her prey.

Psycho on the inside, but she keeps it classy on the outside.

Nice. 🙂

This afternoon I thought I’d pattern my makeup after hers — not literally copying it, but I tried to capture the same feel, with the biggest difference being that I used a rich gold eyeshadow to play off the OPI GoldenEye polish on my nails.

opi goldeneye — OPI GoldenEye, from the new Bond-themed Skyfall nail polish collection

bond girl looks xenia onatopp 3 — Wearing three coats of OPI GoldenEye

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Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From Skyfall, Savarine

November 7th, 2012 by Karen 34 Comments

bond girls severine skyfall look — A Savarine Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in Skyfall

“Bond, I’m going to need you to be on your toes for this next assignment. This group is very dangerous.”

“Whatever you say, M.”

“I’m serious, Bond. Cat ladies are the real deal. They’ve been known to actually persuade spies to abandon their missions and join the cat crusade. They will not stop until the world goes full-on feline!”

“So…does that mean I have to keep my paws to myself?”

. . .

Yeah, so if the curmudgeonly cat lady thing doesn’t pan out for me over the next couple of years, I might just become a full-time, self-employed Bond girl. Seriously! I’d have no problem slinking around the house by myself all day long looking all mysterious and sultry like Savarine, the Bond girl from Skyfall, the latest installment in the series.

I’d be totally fine with that.

In the movie, which opens this Friday across North America, Savarine is played by French actress BÃ©rÃ©nice Marlohe. I’ve forbidden myself from reading any spoilers, even though I desperately want to (just two more days!), but movie stills are okay, especially when the makeup, hair and nails are to die for, like they are in these pics of Savarine.

Ooh, I that gray eye look… It’s kinda smokey, and I dig the cat eye shape.

See how the shadow slightly wings out at the ends? I feel like it elongates the eye. Oh, and peep the inner corners, and how her eyeshadow tracks her tear duct, ending in a slightly pointed tip. Makes it look even more feline, meow! 🙂

I was really inspired today by Savarine’s look, so I thought I’d give it a try this afternoon and wear it with OPI’s dark plummy red Skyfall nail polish.

The eyes: step by step

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I See in Liu a Grand Opera of Rich Reds, Golds, Plums and Taupe: The Guerlain Liu Holiday Collection for 2012

November 7th, 2012 by Karen 19 Comments

Guerlain’s new Liu holiday collection causes what I like to call, the “Tiffany Effect.”

You know when you’re flipping through the pages of a glossy magazine and come to a Tiffany advert, and suddenly the world gets very, very quiet, except for your heart pounding in your chest, and your pupils nearly triple in size? Beads of perspiration may or may not form on your upper lip (totally guilty of this), and you may or may not unconsciously drool or dribble?

If you’ve experienced the Tiffany Effect before, proceed with caution. Similar symptoms have been reported by subjects peeping the pics below… 🙂

Be warned! — the nine limited edition pieces in Guerlain’s new Liu collection are luxurious and addictive, and the recommended treatment is expensive.

FUN FACT: The new Guerlain Liu collection has roots dating back almost 100 years. It was named after a perfume first released in 1929. That perfume, in turn, was named after a character named Liu from an opera first performed in 1926 called Turandot.

The composer was an Italian named Giacomo Puccini… Yes, the same Puccini behind La BohÃ¨me.

Cool, yeah? That was like a fun fact wrapped in a fun fact! Dude, you’re gonna be so ready for Final Jeopardy now.

Liu looks like the stuff of champagne wishes and caviar dreams, and it’s priced like it, too, with pieces ranging from $23 for a bottle of nail polish to $170 for a pressed powder compact. The delicate Perfumed Shimmer Powder bottle (you can use the powder on your face, hair and body) and weighty MÃ©tÃ©orites Wulong compact would look right at home sitting on an empty seat beside you on your private jet, surrounded by matching Louis Vuitton luggage containing several pairs of Jimmy Choos (and a big box of See’s Candies…just because).

Tabs would also be there, of course, draped in diamonds and wearing a tiara.

This is a cat lady makeup fantasy, after all. 🙂

Here’s a closer look at the nine pieces in the collection…

Liu Eye & Lip Calligraphy Palette ($79)

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Power Up With the Four Resplendent Reds From the New Tom Ford Beauty Jasmine Rouge Lip Collection

November 6th, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

tom ford narcotic rouge — Wearing the new Tom Ford Beauty Lipstick in Narcotic Rouge

For real, though? — never underestimate the power of a rich red lipstick and cat eyeliner.

This morning I woke up feeling like I had molasses in my head. Words hard. Bad brain. Thinking difficult.

Not even a pitcher of coffee could have fixed the way I felt. I needed the big guns, so out came MAC Blacktrack and the new Tom Ford Beauty Jasmine Rouge Lip Collection.

Everything started coming into focus as soon as I saw that black gel liner on my eyes and those rollicking red lipsticks on my lips. Shoot, even those funny symbols (letters) and sounds (words) we use to communicate started making sense. 🙂

tom ford holiday 2012 lipsticks — Clockwise from the lower left: Reckless, Diabolique, Narcotic, Slander

tom ford holiday 2012 swatches — Swatches from the left: Reckless, Diabolique, Narcotic, Slander

tom ford slander — Tom Ford Beauty Lipstick in Slander

tom ford diabolique — Tom Ford Beauty Lipstick in Diabolique

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Share a Tip Tuesdays: This Eye Makeup Tip Will Have You Busting Out Those Bright Eyeshadows More Often

November 6th, 2012 by Karen 34 Comments

Among the many eyeshadow palettes making their way into the hearts and homes of lovely ladies and makeup-lurving gents this holiday season, I’m betting there’s bound to be at least one (or two!) bright colors in the mix, and if you’re anything like me, some of those brights can be completely terrifying.

For me, it’s usually the bright pinks…

I have no qualms about wearing bright pink on my lips, but my eyes are a different story. It’s like, bright eyeshadows take a different kind of cajones, and sometimes I just don’t feel cool enough to pull them off.

But I know it’s just a state of mind, and so over the weekend, I busted out some of the bright eyeshadows I hardly ever wear and began to experiment. I was just messing around when I stumbled on something by accident…

Wow! Starting with a black base works wonders for bright eyeshadows!

And pretty much any formula should work, be it paint pot, smudgy liner or a creamy kohl. Just apply on your lids, smudge it out, and pat your bright eyeshadow directly on top. The black base sort of grounds the bright shadow, toning it down.

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