Happy almost-Friday! 🙂 Thought you might like to take a quick look at the new Sonia Kashuk Lip Quad in Bronzey Corals ($12.99), the second of three new SK lip quads launched for spring (Beautiful Berries is one of the others).
Bronzey Corals
Makeup
I Fell for Sonia Kashuk’s New Makeup Set in the Blink of an Eye
Sometimes it’s fun to go buck wild with an eye look — you know, the kind that take 30 minutes minimum, require six different shadows and five brushes to do. But most of the time when I finish one, I usually end up just sitting on the couch like a bedazzled bump on a log, waiting for my pumpkin to turn into a carriage.
When I don’t have an appetite for multi-step eye looks, I turn my menu of fast makeup treats — treats like Sonia Kashuk’s new Blink of an Eye Set ($12.99).
The newly released three-piece pencil set comes with two chubby Shimmering Creme Shadows in gold and silver and a Metallic Eye Definer (haha! I almost typed “Metallica”) in shimmery bronze.
If you dug the Urban Decay Glide-On Shadow Pencils that came out earlier this spring, you might REALLY like these two Shimmering Creme Shadow sticks, which are kinda like metallic drugstore equivalents.
Apply them to lids or lash lines just like regular shadows, blending out the edges and waiting a minute or so to let them set. And once they’re set, they don’t budge for nothin’! I’ve rubbed at ’em, splashed water on them, licked the swatch on the back of my hand and then scratched at it with my gnarly chipped nail — basically, they don’t move until they’re introduced to a heavy duty makeup remover. I like. 🙂
Shimmering Creme Shadows in Gold (left) and Silver (right)
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You’ll Marble at Milani’s Baked Eyeshadow Collection
Remember when the first baked eyeshadows emerged hot and fresh out the beauty ovens way, way back in 2008? The big department store lines were popping them out faster than you can say, “I’ll take two red velvet cupcakes 
with extra frosting on the side.”
Three years later, the trend lives on! Budget versions of these sturdy baked beauties, which tend to resist water a little better than traditional shadows, have now made their way into drugstore makeup aisles.
And some of them work just as well as their pricier department store cousins. Take Milani’s Marbleized Baked Eyeshadows ($7.49 each), for instance.
Milani Marbleized Baked Eyeshadow in Mix It Up
New for spring, these six pretty pans, which Milani baked on Italian terracotta tiles (fancy!), steal a page out of MAC’s book. Like the more expensive MAC Mineralize Eyeshadows ($19.50 vs. $7.49 for these), they’re infused with multiple powder shades, except that here, in Milani’s Marble line, the colors are stirred together (and not kept apart like in a duo).
They can be applied wet or dry, but in either case, I like to use an eyeshadow brush with a compact head and firm bristles to minimize shadow fallout.
And fallout does seem to be a minor concern with these. When I wear Mix It Up, a silvery black with teal glitter, I detect a light dusting of renegade shadow at the corners of my eyes and beneath my lower lash line, but it’s nothing compared to some baked shadows that leave freight trains of shimmer all over my clothes and cheeks.
I feel like they aren’t the easiest shadows to blend, especially around the edges, but the fact they last all day long without creasing offsets the issue for me.
Even though these cost less than $10 each, Milani wasn’t stingy with the pigment. The Milani Baked Eyeshadows deposit loads of color, probably enough for most hard core makeup enthusiasts, and two layers applied with a MAC 217 produces a sooty smokey look worthy of sky-high sexy heels and a tight black dress.
Swatches of Mix It Up applied dry (left) and wet (right)
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The Sonia Kashuk Beautiful Berries Lip Quad Is a Drugstore Myrrh-acle
G’morning and happy Wednesday, cutie. 🙂 We’re almost over the hump! If you’re in the mood for a mid-week drugstore splurge/reward, what do ya think of Sonia Kashuk’s new Beautiful Berries Lip Quad ($12.99)? It’s one of three in SK’s new spring collection, and it looks like a perfect pick-me-up to me.
The pigmented colors and sleek packaging first caught my eye — so cute, right? — but the interesting ingredients sealed the deal. Sonia added myrrh resin extract to supposedly reduce the signs of aging and the depth of wrinkles, and antioxidant-rich pomegranate fruit sterols to moisturize and protect against environmental damage (the juice has been shown to be good for the heart, so there may actually be some real benefits to its use here).
The Glitter in Make Up For Ever’s New Highlighters Makes Me Want to Stay Uplight
Rarely does my bizarre memory for cheesy pop music lyrics come in as handy as it did today. While marveling at the explosion of pigment and glitter on my cheeks from two of the eight new Make Up For Ever Uplight ($28) highlighters, I sang along to a MUFE version of Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl.
“Uplight girl! She’s been living in her uplight world!”
Okay, so I’m way too easily amused. 🙂 But I do think these multitasking, oil-free illuminators are well worth singing about.
Make Up For Ever Uplight in #12 Dewy Golden Warm (left) and #32 Sparkling Golden Pink (right)
Maybe because they’re mostly water (70%), these gel highlighters feel almost weightless, and it’s like they melt right into my skin (I previously talked about them here).
How do they compare to the NARS Illuminators?
NARS released a similar product earlier this spring called the Illuminators. While I think both those and these are great, MUFE gave the Uplights a fluffier, airier texture that I find easier to blend. And from the colors I’ve seen so far, the Uplights also appear to pack much more pigment. For a subtle tint, I might opt for a NARS Illuminator, but I’d reach for an Uplight if I wanted bolder colors with intense glitter and shine.
The eight Uplights span a range of warm and cool shades. I tried #12 Dewy Golden Warm (a pearly, warm gold) and #32 Sparkling Golden Pink (a shimmery, peachy pink with golden glitter).
#32 Sparkling Golden Pink
What a fun shade! This bold baddie has HELLA golden glitter. With it on, I feel like 1,000 angels just left sweet, sparkly kisses on my cheeks.
Um, did I mention this has a lot of glitter?? Seriously, it packs enough to build two discos. I love it! — although I’m afraid I might be a little too old experienced 🙂 to wear it during the day. I think I may actually like it more on my lips and lids, but if you’re a little younger than I am or work in a creative environment, I bet you could rock this blush at noon. I have no qualms, however, about wearing it at night, and I’m definitely wearing it the next time I go clubbing or hit the Vegas strip.
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The Smashbox Sultry/Sweet Glambox Takes the Guesswork Out of Looking Good
By the time I finished folding my laundry last weekend, there was a stack of 10 surf tees sitting on the bed. I don’t know when or how it happened, but it’s official — I have the wardrobe of a tween surfer boy.
It’s not that I wouldn’t like to wear other things. I just don’t like to spend the time and energy (read: I’m too lazy) it takes to put together comprehensive, fashion-forward looks. What I need is a wardrobe correction kit, a single set of pieces designed to create comprehensive looks, like a wardrobe version of the Smashbox Sultry/Sweet Glambox ($68).
Here it is next to an iPhone for scale
New for spring, the eight-piece set comes with seven full-size makeup essentials, and one smaller item, in new shades of berry, pink and plum. Put them together for either a Sweet daytime look or a Sultry one for nights. Just add a little elbow grease and your favorite foundation and powder (and maybe also a brow filler if it’s part of your regular routine), and you’re good to go, day or night.
Smashbox equipped the kit with a full-size powder eyeshadow quad in medium pigmentation, a pencil liner, a sheer powder blush, a lengthening mascara, two lip glosses and an under-eye brightener. They also included a generous travel-size tube of their Photo Finish Luminizing Foundation Primer (available in one shade, a golden peachy pink) and a simple step-by-step tutorial sheet which I followed to create the day (Sweet) and night looks (Sultry) here. 🙂
What’s Your 5-Minute Makeup Routine?
Sometimes you barely have enough minutes in the day to Google shirtless pictures of Ben McKenzie let alone put on a full face of makeup. When time’s of the essence, I stick to a bare minimum of basics and products that 1) I can apply fast, and 2) don’t require a lot of blending and precision…
- A brightening moisturizer — First, to brighten my overall appearance and give some extra dimension to my skin, I apply MAC Strobe Cream, an opalescent moisturizer, all over my face.
- Foundation — Next, I reach for Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation, the synthetic fiber Sonia Kashuk Flat Top Brush (or similar skunk brush) lightly moistened with a bit of MAC Fix+, and dab and blend around my nose, chin and cheeks. It may be mad pricey at $54, but matte Lumiere is the most natural-looking everyday wear foundation I’ve found so far, and it doesn’t give me breakouts.
- Concealer — When worn together, Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener and MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, a pearly pink brightening lotion and a full-coverage liquid concealer, disguise even the darkest of my dark circles.
- Powder — I use translucent MAC Blot Powder to set my makeup and increase wear time. It absorbs shiny oil for hours.
- Brows — I started using Benefit Instant Brow a few months ago to quickly fill in my brows, and now it’s a full-blown addiction. It’s an easy-to-blend wax brow pencil with a handy brow comb attached.
- Lashes — The Shu Uemura Lash Curler is the only curler I’ve ever used that refuses to pinch my lashes, and that’s awesome. It creates lovely, natural-looking lash curls, too.
- You’re making me blush! — Creamy Urban Decay After Glow Glide-On Cheek Tints are a snap to apply and blend. I just use my fingers. I end by using these cream blushes to give a little color to both my cheeks and my lips (they double as lipsticks).
A Quick Swatch Break with the Benefit Boxed Face Powders and Blushes
Today after lunch I swung by Sephora to stock up on a few essentials, namely Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation and Benefit Instant Brow (what I’ve been using to fill in my brows), and since I was already there, I figured I’d get some long overdue swatches, too.
Benefit’s boxed blushes ($28 each) come in eight colors. Actually, some are referred to as face powders, and others as blushes. Here are swatches of seven of them (for reference, I’m an NC 35). Thrrob, a flushed light pink, is the one that’s missing. One of the sales associates at Sephora today had said that she thought it was discontinued. Hmm… I’ll check with Benefit and will let you know what I find out.
Benefit Boxed Face Powders and Blushes
From left: Sugarbomb, 10, Hoola and Dallas
Also from the left: Dandelion, Bella Bamba and Coralista
Swatches with the flash
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