Makeup

Get Your Bronze on, Faux Reals! The Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Faux & Foxy Kit

March 11th, 2011 by Karen 21 Comments

bareminerals faux & foxy

Unclear: It’s unclear whether I’m more emotionally invested in Jersey Shore than any somewhat normal, sane person should be. When Vinny got his spray tan in last night’s episode I felt betrayed; the GTL gods had finally succeeded in luring a once semi-decent young man to the Dark Side.

Clear: It’s clear that one needn’t resort to Jersey Shore-caliber extremes to get a gorgeous glow. Just reach for the Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Faux & Foxy Kit ($34) instead.

The small three-piece release just launched for spring with everything it takes to fake the appearance of a sunless tan, and it even protects against the real sun with added SPF 15.

I’m still new to the Bare Escentuals makeup line, and I was hoping for a great experience with this kit. It comes with…

Faux Tan SPF 15 — This loose powder bronzer is a warm orangey brown matte with a hint of shimmer. It’s dark (even for my tanned skin), and I suggest using a light touch when it’s applied. I think it does look warm when worn and gives skin a pretty bronzy look I like.

The packaging is quite interesting as well. Instead of a traditional sifter, the pan comes in jar that has something like a trap door in it. When the lid is closed, a piece of metal attached to it presses down into the trap door. When you open lid again, the piece of metal releases from the door along with a set amount of powder. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before… Kinda cool.
100% Natural SPF 15 Lipgloss in French Toast — A shimmery peachy bronze gloss with a brush applicator. It feels thick and sticky, and reminds me of MAC Lipglass. I love the rich pigment and long three-hour wear time, but I’m not crazy about the plastic-y flavor and scent.
Buff & Go Brush — This medium-size travel kabuki brush has soft bristles and a dense, compact brush head. I like it for contouring the curve below the apples of my cheeks. 🙂

bareminerals faux & foxy
[Continue reading…]

Finding Mr. Bright Is Easy with Benefit’s New Kit

March 11th, 2011 by Karen 41 Comments

benefit finding mr bright

It took me 26 years and many, many bad dates to find my Mr. Right (what up, El Hub?!), but Finding Mr. Bright shouldn’t take anywhere near that long.

Believe it or not, it’s actually easy — even easier than scarfing down a red velvet cupcake. Just roll on up to your nearby Benefit counter, and you should find him there.

Finding Mr. Bright ($36) is Benefit’s new kid on the block, and he proves, with his snazzy neon pink and orange packaging, that real men like him aren’t afraid to wear pink.

benefit finding mr bright

And homeboy’s got a lot more going on than outer good looks. The kit contains four travel-size products to add color and shimmer to cheeks, eyes, face and lips.

Erase Paste in No. 2 Medium brightens your under-eye area while it covers dark circles.
Girl Meets Pearl, a pearly golden pink liquid primer, gives a subtle sheen to the skin; I like layering it beneath my foundation or tinted moisturizer.
Posie Tint, a liquid blush, doubles as a lip tint, dressing up cheeks and lips with a sweet, baby pink.
High Beam gives a light pink shimmer to the skin, and you can also mix it with your favorite moisturizer to give a subtle glow to shoulders and legs.

benefit finding mr bright

benefit finding mr bright
[Continue reading…]

NYX HD Studio Photogenic Grinding Blush Makes Me Want to Twist and Shout

March 10th, 2011 by Karen 40 Comments

NYX HD Studio Photogenic Grinding Blush in English Rose

Ah, to be a bored teen without wheels in the Easy Bay suburbs circa 1992 again… When you live in a town where the most exciting thing to do is get an ice cream cone at Thrifty’s, you figure out ways to amuse yourself.

On Friday nights my friends and I loved to watch The Grind on MTV. Remember that dance show? We’d crank up the volume and electric slide around the living room as the show’s host, Eric Nies, who was almost always shirtless for some reason, introduced the hits.

It wasn’t the most exciting way to start the weekend, but it was either that or ice cream at Thrifty’s…

We sure could have used something like these new NYX HD Studio Photogenic Grinding Blushes ($16.50 each; available in eight shades) back then. Dang if these things wouldn’t have kept us busy.

New for spring, they have a cheese grater-like contraption similar to the one Smashbox uses with their Halo powders. By turning the rim of the jar, the grater shaves off a small amount of blush into the pan.

NYX sangria in madrid
Sangria in Madrid
[Continue reading…]

Smashbox Softbox Collection for Summer 2011: Diffuse Me, Please

March 10th, 2011 by Karen 47 Comments

smashbox softbox ambient

Heads up, fellow Smashbox fans! The line’s just made their new Softbox Collection for Summer 2011 available online, and from the look of things, it’s right up my alley (and maybe yours).

Photographers use softboxes and specialized bulb umbrellas to diffuse bright light sources and eliminate harsh shadows, making the light that falls on their model appear softer and more natural.

It’s the same premise Smashbox applied to the products in their Softbox Studio collection. The three makeup sets for eyes, lips and cheeks mimic the qualities of natural light and embody the idea of effortless beauty.

smashbox softbox

Speaking as a practical person, I love these shades because I know I’ll be able to wear them. 🙂 Expect to see lots of neutral browns, beiges, pinks and taupes — colors equipped to take you straight from the office to dinner and drinks.
[Continue reading…]

Estee Lauder Says DayWear Does It All, Yet This Moisturizing Sheer Tint with SPF 15 Comes in Just a Single Shade

March 10th, 2011 by Karen 32 Comments

Estee Lauder DayWear Sheer Tint Release

Okay, here’s a product name I may not be able to remember: Estee Lauder DayWear Sheer Tint Release Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Moisturizer.

Wow, 12 words? It could be a sentence if we squeezed in a verb.

Let’s try it!

Estee Lauder Likes DayWear Sheer Tint Release Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Moisturizer…

Tada! 🙂 Let’s call it DayWear for short.

DayWear is a product I’d like to remember, because I think it has a few good things to offer fans of the barely-there makeup look. In a nutshell (I’ve always loved that phrase; I picture things in little nutshells), it’s a lightweight, super sheer tinted moisturizer that comes in just a single shade, and it’s designed to work on most skin tones, giving them a healthy, even-toned glow.

The product goes on as a grayish beige, but it slowly darkens as I massage it into my skin, which is kinda cool. The shade I end up with appears to be a pretty good match for my tan, and I like that its quiet, glowy finish doesn’t look flat or severe.

Estee Lauder DayWear Sheer Tint Release
For scale…

Estee Lauder DayWear Sheer Tint Release

“The all-day Super Anti-Oxidant Complex is so powerful,” Estee Lauder says about their proprietary blend, “no anti-oxidant we’ve researched comes close.” It’s a mix of compounds like Vitamins C and E, Eukarion (a synthetic anti-oxidant) and EGT (Ergothioneine, an amino acid with anti-oxidant properties).

Both of the active ingredients in the product, which is rated SPF 15, are sunscreens, octisalate (a UVB sunscreen) and avobenzone (a UVA sunscreen), so the general idea appears to be that it’s a tinted moisturizer that prevents sun damage.
[Continue reading…]

The Givenchy Le Prisme Eye Quad in Candide Garden: Thanksgiving in March

March 9th, 2011 by Karen 34 Comments

Givenchy Candide Garden Le Prisme Quad

Today an eye quad made me nervous. And hungry. For turkey?

The Givenchy Le Prisme Eye Quad in Candide Garden($56), the lone quad in the new Givenchy Naivement Couture Collection for Spring/Summer, made me a little nervous because of how sheer the colors looked swatched on the back of my hand. I tried not to write too much into it before getting them on my lids, but before I could talk myself down, a word popped into my head that worried me even more: Thanksgiving! That’s what the orange, yellow and brown shades reminded me of, and I contemplated putting the quad down right there…

Don’t get me wrong — I love the holiday. In fact I’ve always been a fan. I’m down with the colors of the harvest and falling leaves and those cute cartoon turkeys, too, but was I ready to wear those shades on my lids? In March?

Apparently, I was. 🙂 And I’m so glad. This wee little quad with its four powder shadows is actually pretty darn good (if not great, except for the price).

Yes, it takes three or four layers for the colors to really come into their own, but once I got them on my eyes, the shimmery brown, orange, gold and matte peach shades didn’t make me feel like Thanksgiving at all. I was too taken with them to think of turkey anymore.

I was surprised that despite my applying multiple layers, the shadows didn’t exhibit fallout beneath my eyes, and they also blended like a dream along the way (I used my MAC 217).

In these pics I’m wearing the darker orange shade on my outer lids, the gold on my inner lids, the peach along my brow bone and the brown shade along my lash and waterlines. All told, the eye portion of the look only took about 10-15 minutes to do.

Givenchy Naivement Couture Prisme Eyes in Candide Garden

Givenchy Naivement Couture Le Prisme Eyes in Candide Garden
[Continue reading…]

I’m Looking Forward to Lazy Halcyon Days with Becca This Spring: The Becca Halcyon Days Collection

March 9th, 2011 by Karen 43 Comments

becca halcyon days collection spring 2011 beauty shot

Ever since Sephora stopped carrying Becca, the line’s been harder to find than Kevin Federline (remember when homeboy was all over the place?!).

Wait — did I just use the words “Kevin Federline” and “Becca” in the same sentence? Wow. That’s gotta be a first. The line has absolutely nothing in common with K-Fed. It brings to mind fresh, easy makeup looks, luxurious textures and classy packaging. And that’s not classy with a “K.” 🙂

Today when I saw these promotional pictures for Halcyon Days, Becca’s new 10-piece collection for spring, my innards actually quivered! My love for warm, summery corals, pinks and bronzes runs deep, and I’ve been hoarding colors like these for years. The release, with products for eyes, cheeks, face, lips and nails, launches this spring at Henri Bendel stores and select beauty boutiques (prices range from $25-60 each).

Isn’t the name, Halcyon, an interesting word? Apparently, it’s Greek for the kingfisher bird, but I don’t think the bird, with its blue plumage, inspired the collection. The word also means idyllically calm and peaceful — fitting words to describe the colors in Halcyon Days.

Looking at these pics and the promo shot up top, it looks like the kind of wearable, easy makeup I might wear to a mellow brunch with the girls or a lazy weekend picnic in the park.

Becca Halcyon Days Collection for Spring 2011

Beach Tint in Guava ($25) — This new entry in Becca’s line of multi-purpose, water-resistant cream stains for lips and cheeks is described as a fresh coral pink with a delicious guava scent.
Mineral Bronzer/Illuminator in Serrana ($25) — An illuminating powder duo designed to give a warm shimmer to the skin.
Mineral Powder Blushes in Flower Child and Halycon ($32 each) — Infused with fine particles of micro-shimmer, these two powder blushes give cheeks a subtle glow. Pinkish orange Flower Child has golden highlights, and Halcyon is a just a pretty coral.
Automatic Eye Pencils in Goa and Majorca ($23 each) — The way Becca describes Goa, the first of these two new pencil liners, makes my tummy rumble. It’s a bronzy chocolate, and Majorca is an intense black. Both are supposed to be highly pigmented, long-wearing and waterproof. They also come with a built-in sharpener and a sponge tip for smudging.
Nail Colours in Tangerine Dream, Dancing Barefoot and Summerdaze ($15 each) — Coral’s the name of the game with Tangerine Dream (a bright coral), Dancing Barefoot (an apricot) and Summerdaze (a pinkish coral). I can’t wait to give these a try. They’re supposed to be intensely pigmented and have a quick-drying formula and a super glossy finish. All good things. Oh, and they’re formaldehyde, toluene camphor and di butyl phthalate-free (say that five times fast, LOL!).
Halcyon Days Palette ($65) — An exclusive to the Henri Bendel Fifth Avenue store in New York City. The luxury retailer just started carrying the line (which will soon be available at all Henri Bendel locations in the U.S.), and to celebrate, Becca created this five pan palette of lip and eye products.

With it, you get three powder shadows in light, medium and dark golden brown tones, a bright orangey red lip/cheek cream and one lipgloss for good luck. If you feel you need it now and don’t want to wait another minute (well, four days), Bendel takes credit card purchases over the phone. They’ll ship to any U.S. address for $12 (takes between five to seven business days), and will ship internationally as well, although, as you might expect, those shipping costs are higher. If you’re interested, the number to call is (212) 904-7959. Ask for Rusty (’cause Rusty rocks!).

If you can wait a few more days, the palette will also be available online beginning March 14 at henribendel.com.

[Continue reading…]

Benefit Introduces 3 New Hello Flawless Powder Shades

March 8th, 2011 by Karen 29 Comments

Benefit Hello Flawless

Thanks to Benefit, flawless skin is about to get easier for gorgeous gals with medium and dark skin tones. The line is expanding the shade range of their Hello Flawless SPF 15 Powders ($34 each; arriving on counters this May) with the addition of three new colors.

If the line is new to you, these pressed powders are designed to be layered. What I Crave (a toasted beige for medium skin tones), I’m Haute For Sure (an amber for dark skin tones) and Too Fierce to Beg (a nutmeg, also for dark skin tones) are perfect for everything from light veils of color dusted on with a brush, to heavier applications pressed on with a sponge (like, to disguise imperfections and blotchiness — hey, we’ve all been there). And they make it easy to get as much, or as little, coverage as you need.

Benefit Hello Flawless three new shades
New Hello Flawless shades from the left: Amber, Nutmeg and Toasted Beige

Benefit Hello Flawless swatches
Swatches from left: Amber, Toasted Beige and Nutmeg
[Continue reading…]