Makeup

April Showers Bring Make Up For Ever Flowers Like the New Uplight Face Luminizer and Aqua Liners: Coming Soon

March 16th, 2011 by Karen 64 Comments

make up for ever up light

Beauty confession: I haven’t been drinking enough water this week. I usually try to drink at least 64 oz. a day because — well, you know why. It’s good for your health, and I also think my skin looks plumper, with fewer dry patches, when I’m drinking enough.

The problem is that I’ve been extra lazy lately, and even the effort it takes to raise the bottle to my lips has been more effort than I can spare. Lame, I know.

I hope these two new product lines from Make Up For Ever encourage me to get my H2O on again and WAKE ME UP like a splash of cold water in the face. Both of them have something to do with agua.

Uplight Face Luminizer Gels ($29 each)

The new Uplight Face Luminizers are lightweight gel highlighters that contain more than 70% water. Available now at sephora.com (although they won’t arrive on shelves until April), they’re oil-free, and Make Up For Ever says the high water content enables them to melt right into the skin.

They’re supposed to be multi-talented (like Broadway stars). Apply them alone to highlight specific areas, like your eyelids, lips and cheeks, or mix them with foundation or cream blush to make your full face glow. MUFE says they even work on collar bones, yo.

make up for ever uplift cool shades

Among the colors, there are three different finishes — Dewy, Pearly and Sparkling. The Dewy and Pearly ones contain MUFE’s Star Powder for a bold, iridescent effect; the ones in Sparkling contain MUFE Diamond Powder for softer shimmer.

make up for ever uplift warm shades

Since my skin naturally looks duller than it did way back in the day, light-reflecting products have become staples in my daily routine. That means I hope these work. 🙂

Right now I’ve got my heart set on #12 Dewy Golden Warm, which looks to me like a warm version of MAC Strobe? Could it be? WANT!
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Aren’t the New Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Lipstick Compacts Serie-ously Cute?

March 15th, 2011 by Karen 70 Comments

Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Jewel Lipstick Compact

Right now it’s raining like the powers that be left the shower on upstairs, but I’m not letting the wet weather get me down. Assisting me today in my pursuit of perkiness are this hot pink ribbon…

tabs wearing a pink ribbon

…and Tabs, who sent me the following text from his iPhone.

Woman, I’m in the mood for something bright. Tie this thing around my neck before I swipe your ankles.

Love ya,
Tabs

P.S. Real cats wear pink.

I usually just roll my eyes and click DELETE when he sends me crazy texts like this one…from upstairs, but I derive great joy from seeing him bop around the house in bright colors, so I was happy to oblige.

Doesn’t the ribbon go well with these bright new Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Jewel Lipstick Compacts ($46 each)? They’re part of a new four-piece limited edition lipstick line released for spring.

Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire Jewel Lipstick Compact
Rouge Sensuel on the top and Fuchsia Delice on the bottom

Rouge G de Guerlain Serie Noire packaging

What do ya think of the black lacquer compact? Pretty sleek, right? Each one holds one tube. Guerlain did that special for this release.
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Resveratrol, and Not Vampires, Puts the Bite in Bite Beauty Lip Products

March 15th, 2011 by Karen 38 Comments

bite beauty

OMG, where’s the UPS dude?! I keep running to the front door to check for a Sephora package I ordered last week, and then, seeing it isn’t there, stomping grumpily all the way back to my desk.

Gah! The package I’m waiting for contains goodies from a line of natural lip products called Bite Beauty, and I’ve been eager to sink my teeth into them…

Ha! Sorry, you know I can’t resist a bad pun.

When the 50-piece lip line’s lipsticks, liners, glosses, pencils and lip treatments materialized on Sephora’s website earlier this month, I incorrectly assumed that vampire politics played a role (Bite Beauty?), but that was just my inner Twilighter/True Blood-er jumping to supernatural conclusions.

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With Josie Maran Argan Blend Concealer, Two Shades Are Better Than One

March 14th, 2011 by Karen 80 Comments

Sometimes I feel like I deserve to win the gold medal…for dark circles. The little purple half moons beneath my eyes are like the Michael Phelps-es of the dark circle world. They’re overachievers. I’m serious. They’re very good at what they do.

MAC Pro Longwear can’t defeat them outright, but it has slowed them down. It’s been my jam for the past few months, but I’ve been wanting to find a cruelty-free option, which is why I was hoping the new Josie Maran Argan Blend Concealer ($28) would rock my world.

This creamy new concealer comes in three colors — light, medium and dark. I have the medium one, which goes by the name Suede. It’s a pretty good fit for my tan skin (I’m an NC35 in MAC foundation).

The compact actually comes with two products — a salmon shade and a darker yellow-based beige. I’ve been applying a layer of the salmon shade first, which acts like a color corrector, canceling out most of the purple in my circles (like a color corrector), and then add the yellow-based concealer on top.

Both of them are easy to apply and blend, stay put all day long, and thankfully manage to steer clear of my fine lines.

Josie Maran Argan Blend Concealer

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Eye Love You Too, Josie Maran: The Josie Maran Eye Love You Too Eyeshadow Palette in Action

March 14th, 2011 by Karen 46 Comments

josie maran eye love you too palette

When I looked out my window this morning, I saw a hopeful reminder that spring is right around the corner. The oak trees outside, which had been nothing but scrawny twigs and branches for months, have sprouted new leaves!

It’s nice to know that even though it’s wet and gloomy outside, the trees are still paying attention to the calendar. 🙂

Doesn’t the outside scene above almost look like it could have been painted with the browns and greens in Josie Maran’s new limited edition Eye Love You Too Argan Eyeshadow Palette ($42)? I reviewed it a while back, but I thought you might like to see it in action…

josie maran eye love you too palette
Top row from the left: Campfire, Rejuvenate, Dragonfly and Chirp; Bottom row: Bunny, Cinnamon, Meadow and Branch

josie maran eye love you too palette swatches
Swatches from the left: Campfire, Rejuvenate, Dragonfly and Chirp
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These Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil Swatches Remind Me That Winter Won’t Last Forever

March 12th, 2011 by Karen 15 Comments

Yesterday I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Nordstrom beauty department, and the first thing I did was hit up the Estee Lauder counter to swatch the new Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil summer collection. I’d only seen bits and pieces of the release before yesterday and had been itching to see the whole shebang in person.

Estee Lauder has been having fun with this theme for the past few years (here’s a look at what they did for it back in 2008, 2009 and 2010), and after seeing this year’s colors up close and personal, I can say I’m not tired of it yet.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil Collection for Summer 2011: Swatches

For reference, I’m an NC35 in MAC foundations.

estee lauder bronze goddess 2011 swatches
Bronze Goddess Island Oasis EyeShadow Palette ($42); for swatches of the palette on lighter skin, check out Gaia’s post over at The Non-Blonde

estee lauder bronze goddess 2011 swatches
Shadow Stick Duo in Gold Bronze on left and Pink Teal on Right ($20 each)

estee lauder bronze goddess 2011 swatches
From left: Bronze Goddess Soft Duo Bronzer in Amber Bronze Medium ($30), Bronze Goddess Soft Shimmer Bronzer ($30) and Bronze Goddess Sea Star Bronzing Blush ($34)
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Have You Checked Out Origins Before?

March 12th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

Written by Leah

Leah and Maximus dish about one of their favorite beauty brands in today’s guest post.

Maximus is partial to Origins eyeshadow

I’ve been using Origins products for many years, but I actually rarely shop at an Origins store. That’s because their website features free samples, and I often shop using coupon codes to get their DELUXE samples, while taking advantage of the free shipping deal (good on any order).

I think there’s a lot to like about Origins, but if you’re new to their products, here are some things I like about the brand.

Product Container Recycling and Samples

They offer a great product recycling program in their stores. Just bring in an empty container. They’ll recycle it for you, and give you a free sample of your choice in return. It’ll be one of their regular products in a sample jar (similar to Sephora’s little plastic sample jars).

To get even BIGGER samples, place your orders through their website. Some of the samples are amazing! It depends on their promotions and specials, but many are larger than the samples they give in the stores.

Natural Mission

The company’s mission is to “create high-performance natural skincare that is powered by nature and proven by science.” They use potent plants and organic ingredients and animal-friendly practices. All of their products are also formulated without parabens, phthalates, PABA, mineral oil, DEA (diethanolamine, a known carcinogen) and animal ingredients, and thanks to their Plant A Tree campaign, they’ve planted 93,000 trees so far.

Daily Moisturizer

I spend a lot of time outdoors (hiking, snowshoeing, skiing) and also use my sunroof a lot, despite the fact that I’m a New Englander, so a daily moisturizer with at least SPF 15 is a must.

I’m addicted to Have a Nice Day ($37.50 for a 1.7-oz. jar). It smells a little bit citrusy, and I think it’s just incredible. I haven’t been able to find anything similar at the drugstore, and mind you I’ve looked. It’s on the pricey side, but a jar does last me a very long time.
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I’m Electrified by the Dior Electric Tropics Collection and Can’t Wait for Summer

March 11th, 2011 by Karen 27 Comments

Dior Electric Tropics for Summer 2011

Ono! I can practically taste the rainbow shave ice already. Dior’s new Electric Tropics Collection has me thinking about Hawaii, and like the islands themselves, the 13-piece release for eyes, lips, cheeks and nails is a study in contrasts — as in sun-kissed skin behind bright neon nails and lip colors.

Below is the full list of products, but here are a few things currently catching my eye…

Dior Vernis Electric Tropics Nail Duos ($26 each) — To ramp up the shine of these florescent shades, Dior mixed in an ultra-shiny top coat, and it gives nails painted with these polishes a mirror-like effect.
Dior Addict Crystal Glosses ($27 each) — Available in four shades with different finishes and levels of opacity. Dior packed these with something they call a “polymer gel,” which gives them a volumizing, hydrating texture (oddly, they compare it to vinyl).
Diorskin Healthy Glow Powders ($46 each) — Isn’t the woven print on these pans to die for? The shades in each compact are designed to be mixed together and applied to the face (and the cheeks!) for a healthy glow.

Dior Electric Tropics Collection for Summer 2011: Official Promotional Pics

dior electric tropics

dior electric tropics
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