Drugstore Beauty Finds

Does $20 L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1 Give $54 Urban Decay Naked a Run for Its Money?

May 22nd, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

loreal la palette nude 1 — Wearing L’Oréal’s $20 La Palette Nude 1

Knowing that L’Oréal owns Urban Decay, I wondered just how closely L’Oréal’s much less expensive $19.99 10-pan La Palette Nude 1 palette of neutral powder shadows would imitate its $54 Naked superstar cousin. Would La Palette’s three mattes be as easy to blend as UD Naked’s matte shadows, and what about pigment, shimmer and fallout? How would they compare? And what would I miss with only 10, instead of 12 shades?

I decided to find out.

The $19.99 L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1 vs. the $54 Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette

Briefly, what’s the idea behind L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1?
Well, it’s basically the Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette with 10 neutral powder shadows instead of 12. Seven of them are shimmers — a warm beige, a peach, gold, bronze, chocolate brown, silvery taupe and a cool-toned white — and three are matte browns — a medium taupe-brown, medium tan brown and a dark neutral brown. La Palette Nude 1 is one of two eyeshadow palettes that were added to the L’Oréal permanent line this spring, and it comes with a dual-ended brush with a sponge-tip applicator on one end and a small flat eyeshadow brush on the other. There are also four simple how-to tutorials for four different eye looks on the bottom/back. It’s available now online and at drugstores and Ulta.

What makes it interesting?
First, for me, the price. It’s $34 less than Urban Decay Naked.

The 10 shadows work out to $2 each, versus Naked with its 12 shadows, which work out to $4.50 each. So it’s less than half the price.

Yes, I can see your big saucer eyes from across the keyboard, ’cause that’s tempting stuff. 🙂 Seriously, I’m the last person in the world who needs another neutral palette of brown and beige shades, but when I saw La Palette Nude 1 at Ulta last week, I had to go there. I couldn’t stop myself.

What is this compulsion I have to try all of the brown eyeshadows…? It must come from the same place that makes me want all of teh kittehs. The struggle is real, my friend.

So, is La Palette Nude 1 as good as Urban Decay Naked?
In some ways, yes, I think it is. Like Naked, it has a good variety of matte transition shades (which are also highly pigmented! *thumbs up*), and a perfect balance between warm and cool color-temp shades.

The shadows also feel silky and soft like Urban Decay’s, which I guess isn’t a big surprise, considering that L’Oréal owns Urban Decay. Maybe there’s some crossover between the formulas, or maybe not and it just worked out that way. La Palette’s shadows also last seven to eight hours for me.

But there a couple of ways in which I think UD Naked trumps L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1…

Nude 1’s mattes, while fabulously pigmented, take longer to blend.
This first time I wore the Nude 1 palette, I used my trusty NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I layered the shadows on top of it, and I felt like I had to work pretty hard to buff out the edges and transition shades into each other. The overall look turned out a little choppy. Then I tried the mattes on top of a creamier base (MAC’s Paint Pot in Soft Ochre), which I hoped would give the shadows a more slippery surface. It seemed to help a bit, but things were still a tad choppy. It required more passes with my fluffy blending brush to get my gradients worked out than I could count, so if you’re going to invest in this palette and plan to give these mattes a daily workout, I highly recommend also having a cream shadow on hand to use as a base, along with a healthy dose of patience.

Nude 1’s shimmers aren’t all that shiny.
Compared to the shimmery shadows in UD Naked, Nude 1’s pearlescent shadows don’t shimmer as brightly, so I get more of a soft shine than a mirror. The shimmer also doesn’t seem anywhere near as pigmented or refined. In fact, I feel like it looks pretty chunky on my lids. It reminds me of the shimmers in the Maybelline Blushed Nudes palette.

I don’t know if it’s something that companies do on purpose to cater to the drugstore makeup crowd, or if it’s just a consequence of a lower price, but it is still possible to reach the point where Nude 1’s shimmery eyeshadows shine bright like diamonds. You may just have to wet your brush first and do a lot of layering.

It’ll take some effort, not gonna lie.
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New From FLOWER Beauty: Lip Radiance High Shine Lip Lacquer Extremes, That’s So Kohl! Kohl Eyeliners and D.B. Daily Brightening Undereye Cover Cremes

April 21st, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

flower beauty spring 2015 — Look! Something’s blooming at FLOWER Beauty

I’m in the mood for a walk. Care to come with?

Ooh! I’ll take you to a beautiful garden… Have you heard of FLOWER Beauty? Don’t worry — you won’t need your allergy meds. The flowers there are actually some of the new products in Drew Barrymore’s affordable makeup line available exclusively at Walmart.

Now, before I go off on a Drew fangirl moment (I LOVE her)…

FLOWER Lip Radiance High Shine Lip Lacquer Extreme ($7.98 each)

These full-coverage, unflavored, unscented Lip Lacquers start out creamy and opaque but fade while you’re wearing them to a soft semi-matte stain. I can definitely feel them on my lips — the formula has the heft of a MAC Lipglass without the stickiness. They’re also paraben-, phthalate- and sulfate-free.

I’m totally in love with these… They’re pigmented, smooth, super comfy and bright, and still very natural-looking. I can’t believe they’re drugstore and less than $10 each (just $7.98)!

Available in five shades — Pink About Me, Give Peach a Chance, Cherry-O!, Autumn Rose and Classic Nude.

FLOWER D.B. Daily Brightening Undereye Cover Creme ($8.98 each)

flower daily brightening undereye — FLOWER D.B. Daily Brightening Undereye Cover Creme in DB3 and DB4, $8.98 each

I had high hopes for this rollerball-like concealer contraption. You’re supposed to roll it on your under-eye circles, where it leaves behind an illuminating full-coverage concealer that you then pat with fingers or a brush.

It sounded like fun!

And it is. I like the rollerball part of the equation… It feels great on my skin, but the concealer doesn’t wow me. It’s close to full coverage, but not quite there, and the formula’s a little on the dry side, so it settles into my fine lines.

I also can’t seem to find a good shade for me. I’ve tried two of the darker ones, and neither is anywhere near dark enough for my NC 42 skin.

Available in four shades — DB1, DB2, DB3 and DB4.
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This Will Sink In: Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Sheer Hydration Lotion

March 19th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Lotion Sheer Hydration — The new Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Sheer Hydration Lotion, $6.99 for an 18-oz. bottle

Ooh, gurl, YES! Oatmeal. And not just the kind you eat in the morning or in those Flourless Thumbprint Breakfast Cookies, which I’m totally craving right now.

Yes, Aveeno is known for their oatmeal-based lotions, and this is the latest one in their line.

The whole gist of it is this: absorption. It’s supposed to absorb within seconds and leave a powdery feeling behind.

Um…the whole “absorbs in seconds thing,” I think, is a bit of a stretch, but for me — and maybe this is just because I’m all about the lotion, and I’m not shy with it; I’m like, “put it on me!” — it takes a few minutes.

Still, that’s much better than usual for a lotion. Most of the time when I put on lotion or oil after I shower, it’ll take a good 10 minutes for it to completely sink into my skin.

I like this stuff. It’s also fragrance-free, so it doesn’t mix with any perfumes you might be wearing, and it’s pretty hydrating. Great for normal, non-alligator skin. When I use it, my skin doesn’t feel tight.

It’s also a sweet deal. $6.99 for a huge 18-ounce bottle is quite a bargain.

PRICE: $6.99 for an 18-oz. bottle
AVAILABILITY: Available now at drugstores, Walgreens, Walmart, Target and online at target.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

New $6.50 NYX High Definition Blush: On Days When My Face Is on the Oily End of the Sebaceous Spectrum, This Powder Blush Is a Dream

March 17th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Wearing the new $6.50 NYX High Definition Blush in Baby Doll (and that’s NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Funnel Delight on mah lips)

The Curse of the Black Pearl is a freakin’ cakewalk compared to The Curse of Combination Skin (which I have). I mean, it’s not like I’m dealing with undead skeleton pirates or anything, but hella moody skin that alternates between bone dry and Oil Slick City comes with its own set of problems, man.

May I present to the court Exhibit A: the new $6.50 NYX High Definition Blushes.

On days when my face is on the oily end of the sebaceous spectrum, this powder blush is SUCH a dream (they’re just $6.50 each). When I wear it, my cheeks look like I just found out that I won the lottery, and subsequently told my curmudgeonly feline boss to suck it — all that naturally glowing lit-from-within jazz that comes with telling someone off or doing a vigorous wop to Push It or, I dunno, making out with your knee (Ha! That’s how I used to practice kissing…).

And then there’s the soft, smooth powders, which feel like fairy dust and blend like powdered sugar; the cray-cray amount of pigment; and the 8-hour wear time — hot dayum! — which all add up to placing these on the cusp of legendary drugstore makeup status.

NYX High Definition Blush in Coraline — High Definition Blush in Coraline

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Can I Just Say Again How Much I Like These NYX Intense Butter Glosses? [VIDEO]

March 16th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

Right now, the only thing I want on my lips more than these new NYX Intense Butter Glosses ($6 each) is actual whole cream butter.

Mmm, butter…

These are hands-down my favorite drugstore glosses of the moment. They’re a great deal for $6.

Just a quick Monday video. As always, thank you for watching.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

New From NYX, and It’s Intense! New $6 Intense Butter Gloss

March 13th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Wearing NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Funnel Delight ($6, one of 12 shades)

Yesterday I wore one of NYX’s new $6 Intense Butter Glosses while eating a piece of intensely buttered brown bread at The Cheesecake Factory.

(You know their brown bread, right? Man, I LOVE that stuff.)

I usually go easy on the butter because, you know, I figure I’ll just have to run it off eventually, but they brought out two hot loaves, and I thought, “Gee…I’m eating intensely buttered bread while wearing Intense Butter Gloss.”

So I ate a lot. 🙂

Color me weird, but things like that bring me great joy. It’s all about the little things, you know? You gotta get your kicks where you can.

NYX Intense Butter Glosses from the left: Apple Crisp, Tres Leches and Funnel Delight — Three of the 12 new NYX Intense Butter Glosses ($6 each) from the left: Apple Crisp, Tres Leches and Funnel Delight

Anywho, these really do feel like butter on my lips — like I spread a thick, creamy layer of fresh churned butter (made by happy cows, of course) on my kisser.

I keep thinking that I’m going to have to do some cardio if I keep wearing them, badum tish!

They’re a brand new line, and NYX rolled out 12 intensely pigmented shades for spring.

So far I’ve tried three of the shades — a red called Apple Crisp, a hot pink called Funnel Delight and a nude called Tres Leches — and I think the red one and the hot pink are hella impressive. Vivid (so intense that your natural lip color will be buried under an avalanche of pigment), opaque, full-coverage, and they apply smoothly, too.

But for me, the nude was the real test, because I have naturally pigmented lips, and a lot of the time I have to jump through hoops to get nude shades to show up, but not this time. No concealer on my lips, no lip liner beforehand — nothing. Just my lips and the gloss. That’s it.

NYX Intense Butter Gloss Swatches from the left: Funnel Delight, Tres Leches and Apple Crisp — Swatches from the left of Funnel Delight, Tres Leches and Apple Crisp

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3 Chic New Reasons to Bring Your Cheeks to Physicians Formula This Spring

February 20th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

1. Physicians Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Bronzer ($14.95)

Physicians Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Blush — $14.95 Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Bronzer, new for spring

Ooh! Fancy pan and fancy bronzer formula. The latter contains argan oil, and it’s supposed to brighten, smooth and tone.

That’s great and all, but they had me at the color. It’s a medium warm brown with a golden sheen, almost like someone down there are at Physicians Formula HQ poured liquid sunshine on the pan.

If you notice any big flecks of gold glitter the first few times you swirl your brush in it, not to worry. The design on the top is an overspray.

Just to note, this one has a strong white floral scent. Luckily, I like it.

For a natural-looking golden glow, I like to dust this just below my cheekbones using a big fluffy brush, and sometimes I also use it as a transition color in my crease.

2. Physicians Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Argan Oil Blush ($12.95)

Confession: every single time I open this blush I give it a sniff because, my goodness! — it smells delish. Like wild jasmine on a warm summer night…or wild jasmine on a freezing winter night, but the first one sounds better. 🙂

Like the design on the pan of the new bronzer up above, the pattern on this pan is also an overspray (so you might see some big-honkin’ chunks of gold glitter the first few times you use it).

When the overspray’s gone, what’s left is a neutral, mid-toned pink with light reflecting particles. This one creates a lovely youthful glow, and it gets extra credit because it seems to go with everything I wear on my cheeks or lips. This blush easily holds its own with the department store big boys.

I’ve started blending it on the apples of my cheeks after applying the Argan Bronzer. I love that combo so much that I wish the two of them came together in a duo!
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A Rocking Red Carpet Makeup Look – Plus a CoverGirl & Ulta Giveaway

February 3rd, 2015 by Karen 270 Comments

You know what they say: “Always be prepared…”

…to walk a red carpet with rock stars. 🙂

Because seriously, you never know.

In the event you find yourself alongside ~~the left shark~~ Katy P. as her plus one at a fancy awards show, you need a makeup look with an edge, maybe like this sassy red carpet rock-inspired eye with smoked-out purple liner and cool-toned lids.

Here’s a step-by-step in pics (YouTube tutorial coming later this week, and there’s also a giveaway at the bottom of this post). First, I prepped my skin with some products from Olay, then followed that up with lip colors and eye products from Covergirl (all available now at Ulta)

By the way, Ulta shoppers, from now through February 14, 2015, buy any Covergirl product, and get an extra Covergirl product for 50% off! (BOGO 50% off)

A quick step-by-step red carpet rock-inspired makeup look with pops of pink and purple

First, gotta prep! I started by washing my face with Olay Regenerist Regenerating Cream Cleanser before moisturizing with Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream and Olay Regenerist Intense Repair Treatment.

Olay Regenerist Regenerating Cream Cleanser

Olay Regenerist Intense Repair Treatment

Next, I evened out my skin tone and texture by applying primer, foundation and concealer, then filled in my brows with Covergirl Bombshell Powder Brow Liner in Dark Brown.

Covergirl Bombshell Powder Brow Liner in Dark Brown

Then I dove into the Covergirl Eye Shadow Quad in Notice Me Nudes, applying the colors on my lids. — Then, I applied the Covergirl Eye Shadow Quad in Notice Me Nudes.

UPDATE: Come say hi this Thursday night, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. EST on Twitter, and we’ll talk about red carpet looks, among other things…very likely cats (use hashtag #ULTAglam). I hope to see you there!

Covergirl Eye Shadow Quad in Notice Me Nudes

To give my eyes more depth and drama, I lined my water and lash lines with a black eyeliner and smudged out my upper lash lines with the darkest shade from Stunning Smokeys, another Covergirl Eye Shadow Quad.

Covergirl Eye Shadow Quad in Stunning Smokeys

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