Makeup

Foiled, Again! The Bare Minerals High Shine Eyecolors

May 6th, 2011 by Karen 27 Comments

Holy wow! These Bare Minerals High Shine Eyecolors have so much reflective shine that you could probably use them to flash Morse code messages to a comrade across town.

-.– — ..- / .- .-. . / -… . .- ..- – .. ..-. ..- .-..

Not even newly minted coins can outshine the shimmery, foiled effect they create on lids, and passersby couldn’t miss them if they tried.

And that’s not all. The six rich, pigmented colors are tough, too, lasting all day long with barely a crease.

I’m not enamored with the packaging, but on that front at least Bare Minerals tried something different. The product comes in a tube that makes it look kinda like a lipgloss, but in place of a doe-foot applicator, it has an eyeshadow sponge. Before using it to apply, the company recommends swiping the sponge against the rim of the tube to remove any excess product, and then lightly guiding the sponge across the eyelid.

From left to right: Meteorite, Flash, Gold Metal and Vapor

“Free of preservatives and chemical irritants, the velvety-smooth, long-wearing formula glides on effortlessly for an extra creamy, opaque finish full of glistening, foiled effects.”

–bareMinerals.com

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A Stila Stunning in Sayulita Palette Hump Day Face of the Day

May 4th, 2011 by Karen 80 Comments

Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂 I felt like wearing my green dress today, so I thought I’d incorporate some green in my eye look, too. A color called Palm Tree from Stila’s new Stunning in Sayulita Palette provided the green.

The $14 palette (BARGAIN ALERT!) comes with four powder shadows, a powder blush and a bronzing powder, which, hello, is so light that it probably performs better as a highlighter on my tan skin.

For this look, I followed the little tutorial that comes with the palette (I appreciate when companies include these things; they’re cheap to make and great for ideas and inspiration) and then wrapped it up with Bobbi Brown’s High Shimmer Lip Glosses in Bellini on my lips.

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Hold That Curl (Temporarily, at Least)! New Stila Forever Your Curl Mascara

May 3rd, 2011 by Karen 12 Comments

“Hey, baby! You’ve got to remember (got to remember)… I’m forever your curl!” It sounds like someone over at Stila HQ rocked out to this song back in the day because the name of their new lash lengthening and curling mascara is practically a titular dupe.

Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul, 1988

I LOVED that song. Nevermind Paula’s sometimes questionable singing in it or how the song sounded auto-tuned (I don’t know if it was). Gotta give the gal credit for turning lemons into lemonade.

I remember a trip back in eighth grade with my friend to Great America, one of the Six Flags amusement parks, and they had this thing that was kinda like a karaoke booth, where you could sing along to a song that they’d turn into a taped recording for you. My friend and I sang Forever Your Girl. And it was awful. It was absolutely terrible.

Thankfully, I have no idea where that tape is now. 🙂 If I did, I’d probably be tempted to share it on the blog (NOOOOO!).

New for summer, Forever Your Curl joins the Stila permanent line, and I wanted to meet her mostly because of a claim Stila makes. They say it curls lashes immediately AND over time.

“Forever Your Curl Mascara contains an encapsulated raw ingredient that enhances lash-curl memory and a proprietary styling resin that dries down and holds the curl of the lashes. A film forming polymer also wraps lashes and lengthens without fibers. Plus, a patent-pending brush coats and extends each lash, from base to tip, dramatically lengthening and curling…”

–StilaCosmetics.com

Interesting concept, right? Since my lashes are naturally so dang straight that I sometimes think they have anti-curling powers, I couldn’t wait to give it a try.

But after wearing it daily for one full week, all I can say is…

Eh.

For regular, temporary lash curling, yep, I think it delivers, but it seems no more potent than that. It’s just a straight-up curling and lengthening mascara, as far as I can tell, fine for cute doe-eyed looks.

And that would have been good enough if it wasn’t for the claim: that it also curls “over time.” I suppose I haven’t used it long enough to realize long-term benefits yet (I’m impatient), but still. My lashes look just as straight as they did before.

Even as a regular mascara, it has its flaws. The brush tends to deposit more product than it should (even when I dilute/attempt to remove the visible excess), and I see smudges along my lower lash line after just a few hours.

Before

After two coats
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The New Bobbi Brown Summer 2011 Almost Bare Collection Should Look Great with a Tan

May 2nd, 2011 by Karen 42 Comments

Bobbi B. is back with a new makeup collection for summer, and judging by the look of things, she’s been chillin’ at la playa.

The new Bobbi Brown Almost Bare Collection, available now in stores and online, looks just like a day at the beach. As she so often does, Bobbi kept things simple and clean, incorporating two dark matte bronzers, three glittery glosses and a repromoted scent (from where the collection gets its name). I think the products seem more Mexican Riviera than Jersey Shore, but the two bronzers, which are both quite dark, will probably thrill Snooks all the way from the top of her pouf down to her Uggs.

“From bronzers to the light shimmery glosses, The Almost Bare Collection creates the gorgeous sun kissed look you get after a day at the beach, one of my favorite sources of inspiration.

— Bobbi Brown

High Shimmer Lip Glosses, $22 each

From left to right: Bellini, Citrus and Pink Tulle

Am I the only gal who gets grumpy about tiny 0.14-oz. tubes of $20+ gloss? I bet I’m not. By comparison to 0.17-oz. MAC Lipglasses, these new 0.24-oz. limited edition High Shimmer Lip Glosses are practically huge! And they come with a doe-foot applicator, too.

Despite the glitter they contain (there’s a lot, but it’s not party glitter), they don’t feel gritty. They also don’t feel sticky, either, which surprised me considering how thick they are. The sheer-to-medium pigmentation makes them easy to apply. As for taste and scent, let me put it this way: Violet Beauregarde would probably approve. 🙂 Both faintly remind me of spearmint gum.

They’re still kind of expensive, but I can’t wait to wear these to the beach! MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

Bronzing Powders, $33 each

Rich Cocoa (left) and Deep Chocolate (right)

I’ve always loved how Bobbi caters to a wide range of skin tones (remember how hard it was to get good colors for brown girls back in the ’80s and ’90s?). This release comes with two limited edition Bronzing Powders perfect for darker-skinned damsels. The Deep Chocolate and Rich Cocoa Bronzing Powders contain a blend of red and brown tones, which Bobbi says mimic and complement real tans.

I like the colors and how smooth they feel, but I wish they shimmered, as mattes tend to take me longer to blend. I’m more of swipe-and-go girl when it comes to bronzers, but if you’re willing to spend the time, I can see liking these a lot. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

Swatches from the left: Rich Cocoa, Deep Chocolate, Bellini, Pink Tulle and Citrus

Rich Cocoa on face and Citrus on lips
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This Diamond Is a Girl’s Best Friend: Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in Diamond Black

May 2nd, 2011 by Karen 61 Comments

make up for ever aqua liner top

Freakin’ epic! I can’t remember ever getting this fired up about a black eyeliner before (maybe MAC Feline? — aka one of the most purrrfect black pencils evah), because, c’mon, it’s black eyeliner. Are they useful? Absolutely, but sometimes it’s hard to get stoked about a staple when there are so many fun, distracting colors around.

That is, unless that staple is Make Up For Ever’s new Aqua Liner in Diamond Multicolor Black ($23). When it reached out and grabbed my attention, it almost knocked me down! If you’re able to try just one thing from this new line of waterproof liquid eyeliners, please make it Multicolor Black. No kidding — this shade is the bidness in a glittery jet black.

So what are the Aqua Liners? They’re a new range recently added to the Make Up For Ever permanent line. Available in a mix of bright and neutral shades in matte, iridescent and diamond finishes, they’re a lot like the other pigmented, long-wearing, quick-drying waterproof liners that’ve been popping up over the past year. Like the MAC Superslick Liners and Stila Sparkle Waterproof Eyeliners, they sport long, skinny applicators with pointy tips, and they last a really long time, withstanding sweat, running water and occasional (hella weird) eyelid kisses from husky tabby cats (SIDE NOTE: Yes, it feels strange to have your eyelids licked by a cat).

make up for ever aqua liner ps

MUFE’s Aqua Liners have a shorter, stiffer tip applicator (very precise) than those other liners and a formula that’s less determined to settle into my fine lines.
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Look Stunning in Sayulita (or Any Town) This Summer with the $14 Stila Stunning in Sayulita Palette

April 29th, 2011 by Karen 19 Comments

Stila Stunning in Sayulita

H-O-triple-T-HOTTT!!! with three exclamation marks at the end. That’s how hot it was in Sayulita, Mexico (outside Puerto Vallarta), the one time I was there about 10 years ago. It was August, well over 100 degrees, and it had one of those beaches straight out of a Corona commercial.

Wish we were here!

Not gonna lie: I’ve been lusting after Stila’s limited edition Stunning in Sayulita Palette ($14) mostly because of the water. It was a clear teal blue with flecks of what looked like golden glitter in it, and I remember sitting on my surfboard, looking down and watching the glitter just swirl around my ankles and feet. It was beautiful. Almost surreal.

That’s me in the middle clinging to my board for dear life

Beach dog, woof!

The colors in the palette, which comes with two powder blushes (a cheek color and a bronzing powder) and four powder eyeshadows, should play up tan skin nicely. The shadows include a peach, brown, taupe, rose and green. Considering the theme and the cutie pie surfer girl cover art, I was also kinda expecting to find at least one shimmery gold or teal, but alas, nada.

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Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner Is a Surfer’s Delight

April 29th, 2011 by Karen 22 Comments

I love surfing and like to think of myself as a water baby…but I’ve never actually done anything really cool on a surfboard. I’ve never ridden a tube or hanged (hung?) ten, and terms like “double overhead” (a wave twice as tall as the surfer riding it) fill me with far more fear than excitement.

For me, a good surf day involves simply standing up on my board (sometimes in the water) and, if I’m lucky, not colliding with anything or falling too ungracefully into the waves.

Great surf days include all of the aforementioned aspects of good surf days but happen only when I’m able to paddle out without getting my hair wet. As you can probably imagine, those days are few and far between.

I used to surf up here in the Bay Area, but not anymore (never got used to the cold). Now I wait for trips to warmer waters, like the one I hope to take this summer. This time, thanks to Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner ($22 each; available in eight colors), when I fall off my board, all arms, ankles and elbows, at least my eye makeup will look cute. 🙂

With eight bright, shimmery colors, the new line of waterproof, long-wearing liquid liners is just in time for surf days and lounging by the pool.
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Totally Taupe-ular! Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Rose Platine

April 28th, 2011 by Karen 28 Comments

Chanel’s new limited edition Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Rose Platine ($29) has a nice surprise to go along with its ultra smudge-proof formula (once it’s on my lash line, it stays on like Donkey Kong!).

The lone liner in the new Chanel Les Fleurs D’Ete Summer Collection might not look like much in its twist-up pencil packaging, but along my lash line it flashes from a shimmery silver to a peachy taupe when the light hits it right. I don’t think I have anything close to this peachy taupe in my stash o’ liners; it’s really unique.

I don’t think it feels as smooth as anUrban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil does, but after a quick burst of heat from my T3 dryer, the softened tip glides on without tugging. A few swipes along my lash lines — it takes about three to get a solid line — and I swear my eyes look brighter and more awake.

It comes with a secret sharpener!

Swatches with a flash
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