Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Drugstore Beauty Finds

$9 L’oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Lip Conditioner Simply Works

by 35 Comments

For New Year’s I resolved to get back into shape, so yesterday I headed to the gym at the booty crack of dawn.

I figured a workout sesh would help me accomplish two valuable things: 1) I could burn off the obscene amount of mint chocolate chip ice cream I ate the night before, and 2) I could road test L’oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Lip Conditioner ($9).

L’oreal claims that Gentle Lip Conditioner is “96% of natural origin.” Like you, I’m not entirely sure what that’s supposed to mean (what’s the remaining 4%?), but the product does contain sweet almond oil and vitamin E, and I do know what both of those are, LOL!

It comes in 10 sheer (read: subtle) shades, taste- and fragrance-free, each designed to soften and moisturize lips. I tried Sheer Peach, a nearly transparent, shimmery peach.

I was running late for spinning class, so I slathered on Sheer Peach while going from my car to the gym in the parking lot.

Right away the texture reminded me of Philosophy Kiss Me Lip Balm. It’s a little thinner than MAC lipglass and non-sticky, as well.

At the gym I huffed, puffed and sweated like Whitney Houston circa the Bobby Brown years, and I could feel Gentle Lip Conditioner workin’ its magic on my lips the entire time.

I can usually tell the good from the bad lip conditioners by how my lips feel a few hours after putting one on. In Bare Naturale’s case, my lips felt great — soft and flake-free.

L’oreal Bare Naturale Gentle Lip Conditioner

Price: $9
Use: To soften and moisturize dry, flaky lips (gym approved!)
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

I’m keeping a tube in my gym bag, fo’ sho!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy: A Smokey Plum Face of the Day

by 35 Comments

Yesterday I did a look with smokey plum eyes, rose cheeks and dark lips using a few products from the Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy line.

Carmindy, makeup artist and author of Get Positively Beautiful: The Ultimate Guide to Looking and Feeling Gorgeous, helped develop the line for drugstores nationwide.

With natural-looking eye, lip and cheek products to subtly enhance your favorite features, you won’t find anything too blinged out or find any high fashion crazy colors here.

So far, I really like what I’ve seen, particularly the eye and lip products.

The Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy (say that five times fast!) makeup products used in this look include…

(Note: I couldn’t decide which lip shade to wear with the eyes, so I tried the look with three different lipsticks, LOL).

Smokey Plum Eyes

I start by priming my lids to prevent creasing and to help the eye makeup last longer, dotting and blending Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Wheat with a finger.

Time to add some shadow!

I apply the lid color (shimmery plum) from The Amethyst Eye Palette onto my lids and crease with a MAC 252 Large Shader Brush, and then use the same brush to sweep the highlight color (shimmery light pink) underneath my eyebrow.

For a smokey effect, I use a Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Crease Brush to apply the contour color (shimmery dark purple) to the crease and the outer v.

To finish, I grab a MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush and sweep it gently along the edges of the colors to remove any harsh lines.

To better define the eyes I line both the upper and lower lash lines with Always Perfect Liquid Eye Liner in Pure Plum using the brush applicator that comes with the product.
[Continue reading…]

New Drugstore Island Girl Line Feels Fun and Looks Bright

by 40 Comments

There’s a chain of drugstores out here called ABC Stores, and you’ll find one on almost every corner in Honolulu. They outnumber the Starbucks, and that’s no joke!

Like most drugstores, they carry lots of miscellaneous knickknack-ery (aka stuff you’d end up giving to your coworkers), but they’re upgrading their image when it comes to beauty. Now, they carry products I’d actually want to keep for myself.

The Island Girl line of beauty products, exclusive to ABC Stores, ranges from cuticle oils to nail polishes and eyeshadows. Prices are generally low, like around $2.50-$10 per set, and since some of the palettes and polish sets include multiple shades, the price often breaks down to less than a dollar per color.

The new line should be available for purchase on the ABCStores.com website soon.


[Continue reading…]

Comodynes Oats Makeup Remover Facial Cleanser Wipes: Simply Clean

by 12 Comments

I was cruising a Bed, Bath & Beyond a few weeks ago, looking for couch covers, when I spotted their ginormous, new beauty section. The company has been rolling them out in their larger stores nationwide.

Anywho, that’s when I spotted Comodynes Oats Makeup Remover Facial Cleanser Wipes ($6). I can’t resist makeup wipes, so I picked them up but hadn’t gotten around to using them until this week.

Takes It Off; Takes It *ALL* Off

I opened the pack after Jen’s wedding last Saturday, and wouldn’t you know it? — these things rock. A single wipe was all it took to remove my full-coverage foundation, long-wearing MAC Fluidline Gel Liner AND several layers of heavy duty Chanel Exceptionnel thickening mascara. Not bad.

The wipes feel soft against my skin, kinda like the stretchy fabric of L’Oreal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes. In fact, they’re so soft and moisturizing that they didn’t irritate sensitive areas like the skin around my waterline (they’re even alcohol-free).

Comodynes Oats Makeup Remover Facial Cleanser Wipes

Price: $6 (20 big wipes per pack)
Use: A superb makeup removing moist towelette; even removes long-wear and waterproof eye makeup with ease.
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

No Sticky Film, Yay!

And, unlike L’Oreal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes, Comodynes wipes don’t leave a sticky film. I’ve gotten used to following up makeup wipes with water and a facial cleanser like Chanel Precision Cleansing Milk, but since these leave almost no detectable residue (just the faintest moisturizing coating and light rose scent), I could use them sans cleanser in a pinch.

Get More

At 8-by-8 inches, Comodynes wipes are huge! I’m going to cut some of them in half and stuff ’em back in the package (a plastic pouch that seals with a sticker). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Simple Sensitive Skin Specialists Cleansing Facial Wipes Review

by 31 Comments

Dang, remember when seeing Boots at Target felt exotic? It seems more skin care and beauty brands from the UK are landing on US shores, yah? Case in point — Simple Sensitive Skin Specialists Cleansing Facial Wipes ($6 for 25 wipes), a UK cult beauty fave now available at Duane Reade drugstores.

I can see why Brits love this product. It’s oil- and alcohol-free and doesn’t contain any perfumes or dyes. The package is convenient, and the sticker closure stays firmly shut after opening (huge plus!).

I like that these wipes lift away foundation, powder, lipstick and most eye makeup without leaving a sticky film on my skin. However, the package says the wipes also lift waterproof mascara, but when I used the wipes to remove Shu Uemura Precise Volume Waterproof from my lashes, they left behind plenty of product. I also tried removing Chanel Exceptionnel, a non-waterproof mascara, and the results were the same. In both cases I ended up using Lancome Bi-Facil to finish the job.

One more thing — the wipes also felt scratchy and weren’t as soft as L’Oreal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes when I rubbed them against delicate areas like my lash line.
[Continue reading…]

JK Jemma Kidd Fashion Palette: Imagine Effortless Smokey Eyes and Nude Lips

by 31 Comments

Hustle that booty down to Tar-ghay, girlfriend, and pick yourself up a JK Jemma Kidd Fashion Palette ($36) ASAP!


A face of the day with the JK Jemma Kidd Fashion Palette

Fashion Palette appears low-key in the box, I know. But trust me, if you like effortless makeup that looks elegant and doesn’t require too much fuss, then you’ll love this palette.

The palette comes with five essential products to create a classic smokey eye and nude lip look: two large pans of eyeshadow, a mini-kohl liner and two medium-sized pans of nude lip glosses.

  • Shimmery beige eyeshadow
  • Shimmery cool dark brown eyeshadow with bronze pearl (amazing!)
  • Black pencil eyeliner with silver glitter
  • Creamy pink lipgloss
  • Shimmery beige lipgloss

[Continue reading…]

Rimmel Gentle Eye Make Up Remover

by 24 Comments

Being called cheap and easy are compliments if you’re a bottle of Rimmel Gentle Eye Make Up Remover, $7. It removes all of my eye makeup quicker than you can say “fierce,” and it does it without stinging my pocketbook or my sensitive peepers.

Removes Makeup Without Leaving an Oily Residue

It proved its star budget beauty status last night when I got home from that bridal shower. It was late, and I was completely exhausted. All I wanted to do was crash in bed.

I was tempted to go to sleep without removing my makeup, but I mustered up the energy to give Gentle Eye Make Up Remover a try. I soaked a cotton ball in the unscented, oil-free solution. A few quick swipes later, and my eye makeup was gone. As tired as I was, I figured what the hey and tried it on the rest of my face and lips. It worked just as well there, too, removing everything. It doesn’t even have to be rinsed off with water. My skin felt clean and refreshed, with barely any effort at all. There I’d gone making such a huge deal about having to remove my makeup, grumbling to myself when all I’d wanted to do was crash, but the whole process took less than two minutes.

Removes Waterproof Makeup Too

I did have to bust into the cotton balls a second time to remove my waterproof mascara. Gentle Eye Make Up Remover didn’t struggle a bit with the waterproof liner I was wearing, but it did have some trubs with the waterproof mascara. It may not be as effective on waterproof mascara as oil-based removers like Lancome’s Bi-Facil (but it works well enough in a pinch).

Product: Rimmel Gentle Eye Make Up Remover

Price: $7
Use: An inexpensive no-rinse eye makeup remover
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Bridal Shower Hijinks

The bridal shower was a lot of fun. The closest I came to winning a game was 3rd place out of 30 in the “Make a Bridal Gown Out of Toilet Paper” game. Eat your heart out, Vera Wang.

I swear to gawd nothing pervy happened in this picture; it was one of the other games!

Even though the shower was billed as a tea party, there was more than enough fried food to go around. No karaoke, though.

After the shower I paid my parents a visit, and Shauna the dog greeted me with one of her trademark tummy flashes.

I hung out with my folks for a few hours and saw from the full bottles of products in the bathroom that my mom hadn’t used any of the stuff I gave her at the start of the summer.

Maybe she wasn’t using the products I’d gotten because she’d found something she liked even more…

I like the prancing horses on the back of the bottle! And it’s multi-tasking… It works on both your mane AND your tail, LOLOL!

How was your day today? I didn’t do anything, really, just chilled at home.

Hope you had a great Sunday! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. From the lovely ladies of the Splendicity network comes last week’s best in beauty, fashion and shopping blogging.
[Continue reading…]

Hairy Beast Be Gone! Neutrogena Rainbath Shower and Shave Body Wash

by 10 Comments

I was cruising around my ‘hood the other day when I saw the above poster in front of a salon. It conveys how I’ve felt practically *every day* since puberty. Seriously, where does all the hair come from??? It’s like I’m a Play-Doh Mop Top Hair shop.

The only good thing about being a hairy beast is that it always gives me a valid excuse to try new hair removal accoutrements.

One such miracle of hair removal is Neutrogena Rainbath Shower & Shave ($7.50) body wash. It’s a combination body wash and shave liquid with aloe vera to soften and moisturize skin.

I’m in love with the fragrance. The bottle claims it’s “marine scented,” but I think it smells like towels, fresh from the dryer, mixed with lemons and a dash of soap — refreshing and clean, and it totally wakes me up when I use it in the morning.

As a shave gel it works great. It’s not as thick or rich as gels like Gillette Satin Care Alluring Avocado; consequently, it doesn’t clog my beloved Venus Embrace razor, and with it I get really close shaves.

No nicks, razor burn or bumps, either, after I’m done hacking off my fur — nothing but smooth, soft skin that feels moisturized and smells fresh.
[Continue reading…]

Copyright © 2025 Makeup and Beauty Blog. Get in touch.