Makeup

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Empreinte: A Magical Medley of Pinkish Beige

May 10th, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Empreinte

Many run-of-the-mill pinkish beige lipsticks appear to loathe my lips. They feel heavy, look thick, apply unevenly in patches, and leave my pucker looking creepy and very, very unnatural (concealer lips, ugh!).

For the record, Chanel’s pinkish beige Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Empreinte is not one of those lipsticks.

Instead, it’s one of those rare, magical pieces of makeup made from kitten kisses and fairy dust.

Okay, not really. The truth is, winged drag-queen fairy godmothers wearing Jimmy Choos and bedecked in dazzling sequined tutus made each one by hand, pouring the magic formula into each sleek Chanel tube. 🙂

chanel en vogue
Chanel Rouge Coco Shines in En Vogue (left) and Empreinte (right)

This limited edition $32.50 lip Lothario also has a dainty rose garden flavor and scent and tiny flecks of golden glitter that sparkle from time to time in the light. It glides effortlessly across my lips like a Pegasus soaring silently above the clouds.

It’s so slick and moisturizing that I was able to apply it without taking my eyes off of my iPhone while playing Bejeweled 2 this afternoon.

Chanel Empreinte swatch

So what if it bails after two fish tacos? At least it sticks around for the horchata. We can’t all be annoyingly perfect, like that bubbly varsity cheerleader who sat right behind you in honors chem with her perfect hair and straight A’s…

No, I’m not bitter.
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This Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Steals the Show When Moisturizing Lipsticks and Shine Are En Vogue

May 10th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

chanel en vogue

Some products are fun to talk about, in part because of their names, like this new Rouge Coco Shine from Chanel. It’s sooo En Vogue. No I mean, that’s what it’s called. En Vogue. 🙂

It’s one of two new limited edition $32.50 Rouge Coco Shines released with the Summertime de Chanel collection, available now on Chanel counters and chanel.com.

chanel en vogue
Chanel Rouge Coco Shines in En Vogue (left) and Empreinte

Before my lips got En Vogue (okay, sorry — no more puns), just based on how it looked in the tube, I expected a brighter, warmer orange, but it applies more like a neutral pinkish coral.

I like it! And I also like the matte stain this lightweight, slick lippie leaves on my lips after it wears away (like the Laura Mercier Gel Lip Colours), which en Vogue’s case (was that a pun?) takes about three hours.

Well, the wear time varies… I get about three casual hours with it, or two if I’m just sipping coffee or tea. It usually won’t, however, make it through a meal.

Moisture and shine are two of the Rouge Coco Shine line’s shining achievements. All of the lipsticks I’ve tried from the line feel great, thanks to a hydrating formula (it has a light rose flavor and scent) that doesn’t dry out my lips.

chanel en vogue swatch
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The Chanel Ombres Contrastes Duo in Sable-Emouvant: A Duo That Moonlights as a Quad

May 9th, 2012 by Karen 69 Comments

running thin
colloquial
1 My patience for eyeshadow looks involving more than two steps.

Okay, so maybe Chanel’s limited edition $42 Ombres Contrastes Duo in Sable-Emouvant from the new Summertime de Chanel collection doesn’t beam with the boundless possibilities of, say, a mega makeup palette packed with 99 shadows in every color of the rainbow.

And maybe it’s not interested in dazzling stargazers with sparkly disco glitter or lighting up lids with summertime teals, greens or golds — heck, it doesn’t even have any extra accoutrements, like a small tube of primer or a tutorial booklet.

But all that aside, it’s still one hell of a great date.

If it asked you to the movies, it would suggest Casablanca over No Strings Attached and Fandango the tickets ahead of time so you could both skip the line. Then, it would get you a big bag of popcorn while you freshened up (no butter, please), and snag perfect seats smack dab in the middle of the theater. No muss, no fuss.

With Sable-Emouvant, Chanel created a duo so elegant and effortless that I instantly forgave the brand for not releasing a summer quad in the collection as soon as I slipped it on my lids.

Just like the Ombres Contrastes Duos first launched in 2010, Sable-Emouvant blends with the grace of a swan. One minute, one brush, and I’m done.

And without a trace of fallout. None.

Despite only containing two shadows, the duo has as much flexibility as a good quad (perhaps more).

The lighter shade looks like a pearly golden peachy beige on my NC42 skin, and it reminds me of a creamier, soft-focus MAC Arena.

The darker shade, a purplish brown sheen, has blackened undertones when applied dry (amazing for smokey eye looks!), but it transforms into a pearly bronzed purplish brown with reddish tones when applied with a wet brush.

And when both shadows are mixed together, the resulting peachy brownish taupe flashes more purple when the light hits it just right. Super sophisticated, understated, and so totally Chanel.

Chanel Sable-Emouvant swatches from the left: lighter shade, darker shade, darker shade applied wet and both shades mixed together

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Wild Sables Couldn’t Keep Me Away From the Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders in Sable Beige and Sable Rose

May 8th, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders
Wearing Sable Beige on my cheeks and Sable Rose as a contouring bronzer

I’m a card-carrying, unabashed, self-styled Chanel nut.

Even El Hub knows it, and it took him three days to notice that I dyed my hair pink. 🙂

Whenever I see those interlocking double Cs, I’m like a doe in headlights. I freeze in my tracks! Spittle dripping down my chin…

Hey, those beautiful black compacts are more than good looking. They’re also good listeners, and they’re always there for me when I’m feeling needy or craving affection.

Poor El Hub just doesn’t understand… When he came home yesterday, I was giving tiny kisses to the two Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders ($60).

“Um, sweetie?” he asked, uncertainty heavy in his voice. “Are you kissing your Chanel…?”

“Mmm…” I answered, “Yes.”

“That’s so weird.”

“Mwah! They get kisses because they’re good! And I love them!”

“Okay, but what’s really strange,” he replied, “is that this is not the first time this has happened.”

“Wanna hear about these new bronzers? They’re pretty rad.”

“Is this a trick question?”

“Oh, fine. Party pooper. I’d rather talk about it with the gals on the blog anyway.”

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders
Sable Beige (left) and Sable Rose (right)

Chanel designed Sable Beige, a golden bronzed beige with whispers of peach, and Sable Rose, a darker golden pinkish bronze, to impart a subtle warmth to the skin. Both are limited edition and part of the new Summertime de Chanel collection available now on counters and from chanel.com.

chanel sable beige
Sable Beige

See the strips of color up there in the pan? Chanel did something similar last summer with the $50 Soleil Tan de Chanel Moisturizing Bronzing Powder, except that one had four strips of color, and these two have seven.

The strips are pretty narrow, but you can try to apply them separately, or swirl all of the colors together.

That’s what I’ve been doing, swirling and wearing them as both a blush and a bronzer.

chanel sable rose
Sable Rose
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Will 6 Get You 12 With Milani’s $6 Shadow Eyez 12 HR Wear Eyeshadow Pencils?

May 7th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

milani shadow eyez
Green Safari

I dream of a world where every eyeshadow on the market lasts from dawn till dusk! A world where shadow pencils like Milani’s purposefully misspelled Shadow Eyez 12 HR Wear Eyeshadow Pencils last long enough to make it through three cups of ginger tea (two words: tummy troubles) spaced four hours apart, and Aquatic Style, my favorite of the six shades, glows strong through six spontaneous chair dance sessions spread out across the entire day … because there’s nothing quite like seeing that electric teal flashing back at you in the mirror as you rock out to that part at the end of Wanna Be Starting Something. “Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw!”

And most of all, I dream of a world where these $5.99 pigmented pencils last long enough to endure a full 12 hours of being ignored by the huskiest tabby in Novato, who, yes, is back to hating his gravy chef/admin assistant once again.

A full 12 hours? Do dreams really come true?

Like a powerful pegasus sweeping down from my multi-colored makeup dreams, Milani’s Shadow Eyez Pencils deliver saddlebags filled with pigment and shine, and a texture so smooth and soft that it makes baby bunnies envious.

milani shadow eyez 12 hr wear eyeshadow pencils
Shadow Eyez Pencils from the left: Winter White, Brown Deluxe, Champagne Toast, Green Safari, Aquatic Style and Royal Purple

milani green safari
Green Safari

milani aquatic style
Aquatic Style
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Reflections on Life, Lipgloss and the Smashbox Shades of Fame Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss Set

May 7th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

smashbox hibiscus
Smashbox Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss in Hibiscus

Dear Self,

Please keep in mind these notes on lipgloss and life, and hold on to them when you’re feeling sad or yucky.

Remember…

…that you can always change your circumstances. It’s not always as easy as changing your lipgloss, but sometimes it’s the smallest changes that make the biggest impact (see: the Smashbox Shades of Fame Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss Set, $29, which includes five tiny travel-size glosses).

smashbox shades of fame reflection high shine lip gloss set

If you’re lonely, reach out! Put those fingers to work, and email, tweet or text a friend or coworker. Maybe make a lunch date.

When you start feeling like you’re stuck in a rut, shake things up! There are BIG shakes, like planning a trip, so you have something fun to look forward to, and little shakes, like committing to do just one thing differently today, even if it’s just walking down a street in your neighborhood that you’ve never explored before.

Always remember that you’re not alone, even when you feel lonely. The pressure you sometimes feel to be funny, creative and interesting, the doubt, the constant wondering if you’ll be able to think of exciting new ways to call something “neutral” or “nude.”

People understand that you’re only human; no one can be on all the time.

Remember what works for you, and write like a crazy person! Write with reckless abandon. Write as fast as you can! Don’t worry about word counts, deadlines and cutting stuff down, because you can deal with all of that stuff later.

Remember that you have the power to change your point of view. See silver linings, and welcome new challenges with open arms and a positive attitude.

Remember that you can do this. You can write raw, and you can write real.

Remember that everyone sees the same things in different ways. Some might see the five tubes in the Smashbox Shades of Fame Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss Set, and think, “Meh, just another limited edition batch of standard summer glosses…”

They may not get beyond the surface details, like how thick and sticky these feel, how moisturizing they are (very), their light vanilla flavor and scent, sheer-to-medium pigment or their three-hour wear time.

Others might see the same glosses, however, and think, “Wow… Lipgloss is kinda like life.”

smashbox shades of fame reflection high shine lip gloss set

Sometimes, it’s all sparkly and beautiful and everything you ever wanted it to be. Other times, it’s gritty, and not at all what you expected. Sometimes, it disappears too fast, or you get your hair stuck in it, and that really sucks … especially if you’re on a bicycle without brakes (been there, done that).

smashbox papaya
Papaya
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The Summertime de Chanel Glossimers May Be Sheer, But They’re Also Chanel

May 6th, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

chanel calypso glossimer

Sirocco! Calypso! Ah, yes. Gotta love Chanel Glossimers that 1) rhyme and 2) sound like the names of late-’80s pop duos, which reminds me…

…freshman year in high school, I sat next to a girl in algebra class who went to a Milli Vanilli concert one night and then gushed the next day at school about how “They were so amazing live!”

LOL! Live-ish. 🙂

It’s too bad the Glossimers aren’t less expensive. Both of these limited edition shades from the Summertime de Chanel collection are also pretty sheer, and at $29.50 a pop, they aren’t exactly a bargain in terms of pigment per ounce.

Even so, their sheerness is oddly what I like about them.

I can just imagine the summertime adventures I could have with these two. Touring wine country one Sunday with my friends, Jen and Cindy, peachy beige Sirocco on my lips.

The color is a little like MAC C-Thru, only less pigmented and more shimmery. Perfect for an easy nude lip. I’d whip it out for touch-ups between sips of Merlot and the grand revelations that come with being a boozy lightweight/cheap date (“Dude, Madonna’s Bedtime Stories CD was way ahead of its time!”).

Fun facts about “Sirocco”

It’s also a North African wind that blasts across the Mediterranean to Southern Europe

The title of a movie staring Humphrey Bogart

The name of a parrot that once tried to mate with some dude’s hair

The second shade, Calypso, is a reddish coral with golden glitter. More pigmented than Sirocco but less opaque than similar shades like MAC Lychee Luxe, it’s the one I’d wear with friends to Bliss Spa, followed by lunch at the Samovar Tea Lounge (because tea with friends makes everything better).

Sheer and shiny coral lips + spa treatments * tea + good conversation = happiness. Add a bright floral dress, and I’m smiling from ear to ear. 🙂

chanel glossimer sirocco calypso tube
Calypso (bottom) and Sirocco (top)

chanel sirocco calypso swatches
Sirocco (left) and Calpyso (right)
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Smashbox Is Showing Shades of Brilliance (and Much Less Fallout) With the Smashbox Shades of Fame Eye Palette

May 5th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

smashbox shades of fame eye palette

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be famous? Pretty much, I think it would not be fun. Not being able to run to Target in my jammies for bananas and dental floss, or have lunch at a sidewalk cafe without hearing everyone around you whisper, “It’s that actress from that show with that guy,” or accidentally do something really awkward and ridiculous, like falling on your butt in the rain and cursing, “Dammit all to hell!” without it going viral on YouTube later that night.

No thanks.

The closest I want to get to fame is the new Smashbox Shades of Fame Eye Palette ($48). 🙂 I did a couple of looks with it today following the tutorials from the booklet that come with the kit.

smashbox shades of fame eye palette
The Test Shoot look

smashbox shades of fame eye palette 10
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