Eyes

Three Ways to Brow Wow With the New $34 Benefit Brow Kits in Soft & Natural, Defined & Refined and Bigger & Bolder

September 10th, 2016 by Karen 8 Comments

Good morning, glory! Today we’re talking brows, and I’m wondering…would any plaid skirt-wearing, midriff-bearing ’90s girl worth her salt have bothered with any of the new Benefit Brow Kits back in the day? As a survivor of the decade that gave us the Jeremy Jordan (and, as someone who plucked away her brows into oblivion), I think I can safely say HELL NO.

All matte errrthing? Coo’. Dark brown vampire lips? Feelin’ it. Of all the ’90s makeup trends that have boomeranged back into the public consciousness recently, I’m so happy the ’90s brow has stayed back in ye olde times.

OMG, dude. Or should I should I say ’90s non-brow? — because really, there wasn’t a whole lot of brow to be working with.

Drew Barrymore in the '90s showing how it was done... — Drew Barrymore in the ’90s showing how it was done…

So, yeah, I love big brows and I cannot lie, and it looks like Benefit does too because their new $34 Brow Kits are all about full, lush brows.

Each one comes in versions with light, medium or dark shades and a different mix of full- and travel-sized brow products for specific looks…depending on what you’d like to wear with your Docs, velvet choker and your babydoll floral print dress that day. 🙂

The Soft & Natural Brows kit

First, to add just a little oomph to your natural brows, there’s the Soft & Natural Brows kit.

This one suits my style the most because I like a full brow that doesn’t look overly drawn in.

[Continue reading…]

Urban Decay Liquid Moondust Eyeshadow

September 1st, 2016 by Karen 22 Comments

It occurred to me last night when El Hub and I were driving home from running errands and I was wearing the new Urban Decay Liquid Moondust Eyeshadow in Zap…

I totally should start a support group for makeup lovers who walk around all day long wearing crazy makeup but have husbands/boyfriends/significant others who either don’t notice or, for whatever reason, don’t say a damned thing about it.

Something tells me there are lots of us out there…

When I caught a glimpse of my lids glittering in the car’s side view mirror, I realized that — WHOA! — I was wearing so. Much. Glitter.

I looked like I’d just spent the last 24 hours partying in Las Vegas instead of driving home to Novato from Babies ‘R’ Us. 🙂

And I can’t believe El Hub acted like he didn’t even notice! When I finally asked him about it in the car, he casually said, “Well, I noticed they [my eyes] were sparkly, but I’m so used to it now. I thought it was just normal.”

LOL!

Coming soon in eight glitter-rific $22 shades

If it’s glitter you want, it’s glitter you’ll get with the Urban Decay Liquid Moondust Eyeshadows, coming soon exclusively to Sephora for the holidays.

Zap, the shade I’m wearing below, is a gold with gold sparkle; Magnetic is a purple with iridescent sparkle; Vega is a bright blue with iridescent sparkle; and Zodiac is a smokey black with a bluish green shift and 3-D sparkle.

There’s also a deep coppery iridescent bronze called Spacetime, an iridescent oyster beige called Chem Trail, a peach with pink shift called Recharged and a pinkish red with green 3-D sparkle called Solstice, which, by the way, I have to pronounce “Soul-Steese” ever since I binge-watched Broad City.

[Continue reading…]

The Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Eyeshadow Palette

August 30th, 2016 by Karen 37 Comments

Meanwhile, eight eyeshadows later…

I don’t even know how this happened.

OMG!

I started with two neutral browns from the new $55 Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette, which is a new holiday palette from UD (you can sign up to find out when it’ll be available), but then 45 minutes had gone by and I’d burned through almost the entire greatest hits album from The Cure.

I fell into the Eye Makeup Black Hole, which happens to me periodically…and by “periodically,” I mean all the damned time.

But isn’t that always the way it is with these Urban Decay Naked Palettes? You go in fully intending to do a simple look with just two of the shadows, but lo and behold — POOF! — there went half the day.

Or is that just something I do? A lot?

It’s been six years since the original Naked Palette dropped like the bikinis and briefs on a nude beach, and UD is still playing with the brown/beige/taupe theme. This one’s all about those neutral matte powder shadows.

Well…most of them are matte. There is one highlighting shadow that does have some very subtle shimmer (which was a brilliant addition, BTW!).

[Continue reading…]

Layer Glitter on Top of Shiny Liquid Liner for Wicked Wings (And ConnorClaire.com Clue #2)

August 23rd, 2016 by Karen 28 Comments

Winged liner gives me wings! (and there’s another clue in this pic about connorclaire.com…) — Winged liner gives me wings! This is clue #2 for connorclaire.com…

Oh, winged liner… If this had been 1988, I would have put you on the mix tape I made by recording songs off the radio.

I love you. ???

You’re so eternally chic, and you make me feel juuust rock ‘n’ roll enough to hang out with Stephanie Seymour during the height of her Guns N’ Roses phase.

But because womankind cannot subsist on black winged liner alone, sometimes I like to remix that ish by layering a glittery eyeshadow on top of a super shiny liquid liner to reach the next level of winged liner realness.

Truer words were never spoken... — Truer words were never spoken… (source: connorclaire.com)

This time I started by drawing an exaggerated wing with Urban Decay Razor Sharp Liquid Liner in Deep End, a deep, iridescent green chorus of long-haired headbangers belting a power ballad, upon which I layered a mix of two of the Urban Decay Moondust shades from the new Moondust Eyeshadow Palette on top.

First, I dabbed my angled brush into the pan of bright green Lightyear, then took it over to teal green Galaxy. Then I spritzed the loaded brush head with Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray to crank up the glitter EVEN MOAR. Then I just layered that on top of the liner.

After that, I tightlined both my upper and lower water lines with an old-school (and, sadly, limited edition) dark greenish black called Mars, one of UD’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.

On my lips I'm wearing NARS Audacious Lipstick in Stefania and on my cheeks I'm wearing Hourglass Lighting Bronzer in Radiant Bronze Light and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes in Luminous Flush and Incandescent Electra — Wearing NARS Audacious Lipstick in Stefania on my lips, and Hourglass Lighting Bronzer in Radiant Bronze Light and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush and Incandescent Electra on my cheeks

[Continue reading…]

Dior Parisian Sky Eyeshadow Palette #506

August 19th, 2016 by Karen 17 Comments

Hair flips ? and air kisses ??? to reader Tatiana for pointing out to me that the design on the pans in the new Dior Parisian Sky Eyeshadow Palette look like the frame of the Eiffel Tower’s arches.

Seriously, how did I not see that??

Actually, wait — I know how. I’ve had a sh*t ton on my mind lately! And there’s only so much space up there between the makeup and the cats and the crawling, teething baby…

Hoh! But Dior’s attention to detail is a surefire recipe for lusty-lust.

First things first, feel free to call me whatever you want — whether it be “hoarder of all the brown shadows” or “neutrals, sucka!” or “last person on earth who needs another palette of earthy golden browns.” Seriously, call me whatever colorful nicknames you can come up with to describe someone who loves browns because…what can I say? I love browns. 🙂 And this palette doesn’t have just one or two of them. It has three, and they make me wanna do the Snake, and the Robot, and the Running Man. At the same time.

THEY ARE RESPLENDENT!

I mean, who gets emo about browns? THIS CHICK RIGHT HURR.

dior parisian sky swatches — Dior Parisian Sky swatches

Even though I like them both equally, I think I’ll get more use out of this palette than the purple-powered Dior Capital of Light Eyeshadow Palette #806 we looked at a few days ago.

There’s a dark warm reddish brown that looks like an eyeshadow version of MAC Teddy liner; a glossy, medium golden brown similar to a supercharged version of MAC Soba eyeshadow; and a light and juicy peachy gold brown.

All three glow with Dior’s signature finish that goes easy on the fine lines, and they feel smoother than the sound of LL Cool J whispering “I need love” in yo’ ear…

I mixed all three of them on my lids for a smoky brown eye fest today.

Oh, and FYI, that darkest brown shade? It’s SO not playin’.

[Continue reading…]

Dior Capital of Light Eyeshadow Palette #806

August 16th, 2016 by Karen 43 Comments

You can tell that your to-do list has exploded when you LOVE wearing smokey eyes — and it’s a love so massive that it makes stars collapse on themselves — but you can’t remember the last time you actually wore them.

Was it June? Wait, no — July?

I honestly can’t remember.

But I had to go there today when I opened the Dior Capital of Light Eyeshadow Palette #806.

THAT KHAKI THOUGH!

It’s from the new Dior Fall 2016 Skyline collection.

But before I get to that…how’s it going? I miss you. 🙁 What’s new in your neck of the woods?

I’ve still had my face buried in that secret project I mentioned last week (was it last week?), and it’s been taking up most of my non-Connor Claire time. But now it’s almost, almost done.

Almost.

I’m putting the finishing touches on it, and I’m very excited. I’ve never done anything like it before.

But it has been taking a lot of time, so I haven’t had a lot of time left to experiment with makeup.

Except for this limited edition Dior palette, of course. I found the time for this palette. 🙂

I’m wearing a mix of the khaki shade and the gold shade on my lids with the dark purple on my lash lines as liner. And I also dabbed a tiny touch of the beige in my inner corners.

As for the price, it’s Dior, so brace yourself… It’s $63 (it’s Dior), and if you can stop your hoop earrings from quivering due to the sticker shock right now, take a second to admire the flawless Dior shimmer. I think it’s one of things the brand always does well.

[Continue reading…]

I’m Stuck on the Totally Cute Too Faced Totally Cute Palette

August 4th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

Is this supposed to be for adults, or for children? Or adults who act like children?

I don’t even care because it’s totally cute. The $36 Too Faced Totally Cute Palette is…totally cute.

It comes with two sheets of stickers — not one, but two! — which are adorable to the Nth degree.

too faced totally cute stickers — Sticker time!

The 10-year-old version of Karen (the one who hoarded ALL THE LISA FRANK) only wishes there was also a unicorn.

Oh, wait…

And if you ever get past the stickers, there’s also a palette (haha!) with nine brand new powder eyeshadows shades — three warm matte neutrals (yay!), two shimmery beige highlighting shades and four jewel tones, all of which blend with the preternatural smoothness of a silky unicorn’s mane.

[Continue reading…]

Get Your Glitter on the Go With the MAC Dazzleshadows

August 2nd, 2016 by Karen 11 Comments

mac banging brilliant dazzleshadow — Three of the 10 MAC Dazzleshadows from the Bangin’ Brilliant collection ($18 each)

Oh, glitter… All I wanna do is wear the sparkly stuff! Glitter is like the Disneyland of makeup, but it’s not always a smooth ride.

The MAC Dazzleshadows make it easy to get your glitter fix because they combine good-sized glitter flecks with a pigmented base.

There are 10 new Dazzleshadow shades in the MAC Bangin’ Brilliant collection, all of which are permanent, and here are three of them: Can’t Stop Don’t Stop isa deep plummy purple; Feel the Fever, a deep bluish purple with pink glitter; and Get Physical, which is a purple with light blue glitter.

The Dazzleshadows are more than just sparkly; they don’t just shimmer. They actually have tiny flecks of glitter in a pressed powder formula (here’s another look at them).

Sometimes I like a bad girl smoky eye, and these look amaze layered on top of a black base. Like, sometimes I’ll start with a black kohl liner, a black cream shadow or a black shadow stick from my lash lines to my crease. Then I’ll pat one of the Dazzleshadows on top and add mascara.

Just like that, and without having to contend with a jar of loose glitter, I’m ready to rumble. Just add black leather jacket and motorcycle.

[Continue reading…]