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Makeup

Prescriptives Blue Grotto Kohl Eyeliner: A Smooth, Mediterranean Blue

May 20th, 2008 by Karen 36 Comments

prescriptives-blue-grotto-kohl-eye-liner

Prescriptives chose to call their new limited-edition Kohl Eye Pencil Blue Grotto ($18.50), but I can think of a few other names that would have suited it quite nicely, like Kohl Pencil So Fabulous, Better than Revenge On Your Ex or Beeyotch, Step Away From My Blue Eye Kohl!

If I’d worked with Prescriptives on the product naming committee, I might have just chosen to call it AWESOMENESS because it truly is one of the best liners I’ve used in months.

What sets Blue Grotto apart from most other pencils on the market? One word: smooOOoove. Applying color to delicate parts of the eye, like around the waterline, usually takes me a lot of effort. I end up having to run the pencil back and forth several times to deposit enough color, and then my eyes start watering and everything goes downhill from there. With Blue Grotto, though, there’s no tugging or the feeling of a hard pencil edge against my skin; just a soft, creamy formula that deposits rich color in just a few easy swipes.

And the color! Oh, the color… It reminds me of pictures of the Mediterranean, or a bottle of rich, dark blue ink. It’s a gorgeous blue and unlike any other in my current eye pencil collection.

The other thing I noticed was how it holds. On the waterline, the pencil’s long-wearing, water-resistant formula just lasts and lasts and lasts… The first swatch of the shade I did on the back of my hand was still visible after two days, during which time I showered twice. It finally came off with Lancome Bi-Facil makeup remover, whew!

prescriptives-blue-grotto-eye-kohl-swatch

This past Saturday I wore Blue Grotto on my eyelid (the upper lash line). I drew a line, smudged it a bit with a MAC 219 pencil brush and then braved the heatwave to run some errands. After a full day of running around covered in sweat (it was HOT, yo), the liner still looked just as perfectly smudgy as it did when I left the house (Sidenote: Did you know the average person sweats about four cups of water per day?).
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There are 36 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

10 Beauty Bargains Under $10

May 16th, 2008 by Karen 26 Comments

Victoria’s Secret Beauty is having a downright fantastic clearance sale on several high-end makeup brands, some as much as 75 percent off! My little black heart fluttered when I spotted all the products by Anna Sui.

The sale lasts until items run out of stock; when I checked a minute ago there were still lots of different product colors available.

Exercise your right to haul!

Anna Sui Eye Color, $5.99 (originally $12) – I’ve been a bit more adventurous with my powder eyeshadow colors lately. I might pick up a few bold shades.

anna-sui-eyeshadow-1

Very Sexy Makeup Long-Wear Eye Cream, $5.99 (originally $12) – I like layering cream eyeshadows beneath powder shadows to amplify color and add dimension. The shade I’ve really got my eye on is Stay Up, a turquoise blue.

very-sexy-long-wear-eye-cream

Vincent Longo La Dolce Vita Lash Tips, $5.99 (originally $14) – One of my goals this summer is to get better at applying false lashes. I love that these look glamorous without going over the top.

vincent-longo-la-dolce-vita-lashes-1

The Balm Stainiac, $5.99 (originally $14) – This multitasking, water-based gel doubles as a light cheek and lip stain. Beauty Queen, a bright hot pink, has my name written all over it. 🙂

the-balm-stainiac

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There are 26 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Makeup, News

Victoria’s Secret Beauty Lipglosses: I Heard a Rumor, and Her Name Was Chanel

May 15th, 2008 by Karen 23 Comments

victoria-secret-beauty-lipgloss-rumor

Have we met before, Rumor lipgloss?? I feel like we have — perhaps at a party, or a makeup counter, or a party at a makeup counter?

The words “Very Sexy” appear stamped upon your sleek black cap. They tell me you belong to Victoria’s Secret Beauty’s lipgloss line, but, Rumor, I feel like I know you from someplace else…

Where, Rumor…? Where have I seen you before?

I know!

Chanel Candy Glow, right? You’re her long lost twin!

When I first held both Victoria’s Secret Rumor lipgloss and Chanel’s Candy Glow together in my hand, I thought I was seeing double. From a short distance away, both coral pink shades look almost identical, but up close I can see that Candy Glow has just a bit more gold sparkle than her twin does.

And the similarities don’t stop at the colors. Rumor even feels, tastes and wears liked Candy Glow does on my lips — same shiny finish, same non-gooey feel and same two-hour staying power.

victorias-secret-beauty-lipgloss-rumor

Of course, there is one huge difference between the two: *price*. At $12, Victoria’s Secret Beauty’s lipglosses cost less than half as much as Chanel’s Aqualumiere glosses do ($25)!

If you’ve been lusting after a tube of Aqualumiere but haven’t wanted to throw down those dolla-dolla-bills-ya’ll, then check out Victoria’s Secret Beauty’s Very Sexy lipglosses. They have “great bargain” written all over them.

Very Sexy comes in 20 shades. Look at all the pink!
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There are 23 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

Clarins Wonder Mint Mascara: Rise of the Teal Terror

May 14th, 2008 by Karen 36 Comments


Here’s how you know you have a problem with makeup: when you get home really late, exhausted and ready to pass out, and the first thing you want to do is play with your new teal mascara. Yup, I finally got my multi-colored mitts on a tube of Clarins Wonder Mint Waterproof mascara ($23.50). You remember — I first spotted it at the mall a couple nights ago but came home empty handed because it was out of stock.

As luck would have it, my local Nordstrom DID have it in stock, and I brought it home with me yesterday. As tired as I was after work, blogging, shopping and dinner last night (I got home around midnight), I found the strength to hold that mascara wand steady enough to apply two coats.

That’s when the magic happened.

BAM!
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There are 36 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

Lip Look: Chanel Equinoxe Glossimer Lipgloss

May 13th, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

mac-cosmetics-syrup-chanel-equinoxe
Life is like a tube of lipgloss… You never know what you’re gonna get. Take Chanel’s Equinoxe Glossimer, for example, which looks totally lunch lady scary in the tube, but on my kisser it looks like a completely different product (with a lovely nude, golden pink glow).

Two coats of Equinoxe Glossimer layered on top of MAC’s Syrup lipstick give me what I like to call “fight the power” glow. A product with purple and gold flecks may not sound appropriate for the workplace, but Equinoxe is subtle enough for most office environments.

chanel-equinoxe-swatch

Viva la lipgloss revolution!
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There are 29 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup

Face of the Day: Bold Blue and Teal Eye

May 12th, 2008 by Karen 47 Comments

Hey, girls. It’s Monday and I’m feeling kind of blah, so to improve my outlook on this most dreaded of week days, I tried this really fun blue/teal eye with Sonia Kashuk’s Blue Lagoon Eye Shadow Quad ($9.99).

sonia-kashuk-blue-lagoon-eye-shadow-quad-fotd-3

sonia-kashuk-blue-lagoon-eye-shadow-quad-fotd-4

sonia-kashuk-blue-lagoon-eye-shadow-quad-fotd-7

I used all four colors in the Blue Lagoon Quad, along with MAC Indigo Eye Pencil. Here’s the color map and shade placement I used:
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There are 47 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup

Clarins Wonder Mint Mascara, aka the Teal Terror

May 10th, 2008 by Karen 18 Comments

Hi, homies! I’m at Macy’s right now buying eye makeup remover. I just saw this amazing teal-colored waterproof mascara from Clarins. The shade is Wonder Mint and it’s $23. Sadly, they are out of it right now, so no teal mascara for me! It’s pretty though, yah?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Sorry, but I sent this from my crackberry, hence the Blair Witch picture quality.

There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine Lipstick Swatches and Pics

May 8th, 2008 by Karen 26 Comments

shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-lipsticks-all

Lovely ladies, I’d like to introduce you to my latest lipstick obsession: Shu Uemura’s Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine lipstick!

Falling in love with these $23 lippies was easy. They make my lips shine brighter than a glazed doughnut (mmm… doughnut) yet still feel feather-light on my lips. They pack tons of color, and there are a bunch of shades to choose from — 17 in all!

Here are eight of my favorites…

Beige shades

BG 941S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-bg-941s

BG 916S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-bg-916s

BG 901S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-bg-901s

From left to right: 901S, 941S, 916S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-swatch-bg

Pink shades

PK 357S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-pk-357s

PK 313S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-pk-313s

PK 301S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-pk-301s

From left to right: PK 301S, PK 313S, PK 375S
shu-uemura-rouge-unlimited-crystal-shine-swatch-pk
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There are 26 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup

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