Eyes

The MAC A Novel Romance Quad Is Like Many Real Life Relationships, Both Hot and Cold

August 14th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Fabio, dahling, take me now! — to the computer, so that I may satisfy this hunger burning deep within my soul.

Yup, the new MAC A Novel Romance collection launched online today, and it’s huge.

HUGE!

Huge both in terms of the fact that it’s the brand’s big release for fall, and huge just in terms of the number of products, especially the eyeshadows.

Overwhelmed much? I am. If you’re looking for a place to start, steer your lusty makeup-lovin’ loins toward one of my favorite quads in the collection, the aptly named A Novel Romance ($40).

MAC A Novel Romance Quad Swatches — From the left: My Fantasy, Fall in Lust, Dance in the Dark and Rising Passions

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Intensify Your Gaze With New Black Ecstasy Mascara by Giorgio Armani Beauty

August 13th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Giorgio Armani Beauty Black Ecstasy Mascara — New ‘Black Ecstasy’ Mascara by Giorgio Armani in Obsidian Black ($32)

Yup, someone’s been watching re-runs of The Hills lately. 🙂

My Tivo recorded a massive 45-episode marathon last week.

To quote El Hub when he saw them in the menu, “Holy sh*t!”

I wore Giorgio Armani Beauty’s new Black Ecstasy Mascara in Obsidian Black ($32; one of four shades) during an epic 8-hour binge this week.

A recent addition to the brand’s permanent line (available now in three shades exclusively at Nordstrom, but coming to Giorgio Armani Beauty counters and giorgioarmanibeauty.com this September in four shades), ‘Black Ecstasy’ Mascara is designed to create longer, denser, thicker lashes to allow you to deliver intense gazes…

That intensity came in handy while I re-watched season two of The Hills and repeatedly shot disapproving glares at Spencer Pratt.

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Pencil In a Date With the New MAC Fluidline Eye Pencils on Your Lash Lines

August 8th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

Wearing the new MAC Fluidline Eye Pencil in Black Brilliance ($16) on my lash and water lines

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually finished an entire pot of MAC Fluidline. I’ve gotten pretty close several times with Blacktrack, but I usually get distracted by something else (it happens), and then misplace or forget about the particular pot I’m working on, so I open a new one.

This inevitably leads to someone saying, “What sane person needs five half-used pots of gel liner?” when they visit my house and notice the five half-used Blacktrack Fluidlines on the counter, to which I can’t make a smart-a$$ remark because, c’mon, only crazy makeup hoarders keep five pots of half-used Blacktrack.

MAC Fluidline Eye Pencils (left to right) in Atomic Ore, Earth Sign, Deep Blue Sea, Metropolis, Water Willow, Evil Twin and Black Brilliance — Fluidline Eye Pencils (left to right) in Atomic Ore, Earth Sign, Deep Blue Sea, Metropolis, Water Willow, Evil Twin and Black Brilliance

Now, though, I’m betting I’ll actually be able to finish one of the new MAC Fluidline Eye Pencils ($16 each US, $19 CAD), richly pigmented twist-up gel pencils coming soon to MAC counters with the A Novel Romance collection.

I’ve been wearing Black Brilliance, the black shade, a lot lately, and I seem to be going through it quickly. The soft formula glides so smoothly across my lids and lash lines that I sometimes get carried away with it.

There are also many other colors available, like Earth Sign (a deep, shimmery brown, which is a lot like Teddy, but not as reddish bronze) and Water Willow (a deep khaki green), which have also become close, personal faves. I love ’em on lash lines, where they stay put for 12-14 hours.

MAC Fluidline Eye Pencils in Atomic Ore, Earth Sign, Deep Blue, Metropolis, Water Willow, Evil Twin and Black Brilliance — Fluidline Eye Pencils in Atomic Ore, Earth Sign, Deep Blue, Metropolis, Water Willow, Evil Twin and Black Brilliance

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Exercise Your Right To Look Good While Sweating With the Hourglass 1.5MM Mechanical Gel Liner

August 7th, 2014 by Karen 25 Comments

Wearing the new Hourglass 1.5 MM Mechanical Gel Eye Liner in Obsidian ($45)

Hellooooo, freckles and dark circles! The bare-faced/no makeup action in some of the pics below was necessary to demonstrate the waterproof-ness of the new 1.5 MM Mechanical Gel Eye Liner in Obsidian by Hourglass ($45 for a pack of three).

Here’s from last weekend, before and after a 7-mile run. I’m wearing Obsidian on my lash and water lines.

Hourglass 1.5 MM Mechanical Gel Eye Liner before a workout and after — Before and after Hourglass 1.5 MM Mechanical Gel Eye Liner

Please ignore the haphazard lining, LOL! I wasn’t heavily invested in precision, although the skinny 1.5 MM twist-up tip definitely allows for it. I’ve really been loving it for getting between the roots of my lashes and for doing precision work in the inner corners (like in that pic at the top).

7.25 miles — Nike Women’s Half Marathon, Oct. 19…I’m comin’ for ya!

After seven miles, buckets of sweat, and one complete run through MJ’s Xscape album, Obsidian looked great. With the exception of some very minor transferring to my lower lash lines, I didn’t see any movement up into my crease, any creasing or smudging — basically, no malarky.

Then, I jumped into the shower while still wearing the liner and took this pic after.

Hourglass 1.5 MM Mechanical Gel Eye Liner after 7.25 miles and a shower — Hourglass 1.5 MM Mechanical Gel Eye Liner after 7.25 miles *and* a shower

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New MAC Mineralize Multi-Effect Lash Mascara: I Got 99 Problems But Shiny Lashes Aren’t One

August 6th, 2014 by Karen 7 Comments

Glossy like a glazed doughnut.

Mmm…doughnut. 🙂

This stuff will leave your lashes so shiny it’ll look like a stranger walked up and licked them. Shiny like the dew glistening on Ryan Gosling’s biceps when you ask him, “Where’s the gun show?” Shiny like Beyonce and Jay-Z’s massive stash of gold bars, which I’m sure they keep under the bed (next to Beyonce’s diary). Shiny like the glint on my bared fangs when El Hub told me first thing this morning, “We’re out of coffee,” and I was PMS’ing.

Mineralize Multi-Effect Lash in Charged Black, MAC’s latest mascara, and the first one to use their 77-Mineral Complex, is designed to create glossy-like-a-glazed-doughnut lashes that are both soft and flexible.

MAC Mineralize Multi-Effect Lash with a MAC Lipstick for scale — Mineralize Multi-Effect Lash with a MAC Lipstick for scale

The thing I can’t help thinking about it: Why 77 minerals? Why not 76 or 78?

But I digress…

I love how dark and glossy it looks on my lashes. I also like that there’s no flaking or smudging, but it doesn’t hold a curl very well, and it doesn’t add a lot of length (maybe a couple millimeters, like a mouse nibble’s worth).

It adds a tad more volume than my previous number one MAC mascara love, MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash, but I think I’ll stick to Gigablack for now because of the extra length.

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The MAC Electric Cool Eye Shadows Sparkle Like a Tesla Coil

August 5th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Wearing MAC Electric Cool Eye Shadows in Coil, Gilded Thrill and Pure Flash — Wearing the MAC Electric Cool Eye Shadows from the MAC A Novel Romance fall 2014 collection, coming soon

Look ma, no…brushes!

Yes, girl. Put down that 217 and 224 ’cause you’re not going to need ’em with the MAC Electric Cool Eyeshadows ($21 US, $25 CAD).

Aptly named, these cream eyeshadows are, in fact, super cool — in a figurative sense. I don’t detect a cooling sensation on my lids when I wear them, but their marshmallowy formula is easy to apply and blend.

And that’s pretty cool. (*Does lazy girl makeup dance that bares a striking resemblance to the snake.*)

The Electric Cools are kinda like Chanel’s $36 Illusion D’Ombres at a lower price point ($21). Eight limited edition shades are on their way with the MAC A Novel Romance collection.

Not so much about precision, these shadows live for lived-in, (perhaps even) slightly messy eye looks, and they’re great if you want to create a quick, high-impact eye with a single product.

I think of these eight as two sides of the same family. On one side, there are what I like to call the glitter top coats — champagne Pure Flash, soft rose Love Power, light taupe Superwatt, gold Gilded Thrill, coppery bronze Coil and black Blacklit.

MAC Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Pure Flash — Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Pure Flash

MAC Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Love Power — Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Love Power

MAC Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Superwatt — Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Superwatt

MAC Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Coil — Electric Cool Eye Shadow in Coil

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With the MAC A Passionate Quest Quad, Blue Is the New Purple

August 4th, 2014 by Karen 21 Comments

MAC loves purple quads.

No, not those purple quads. 🙂

I’m referring to purple quads like these…

They’ve been a recurring theme over the years (see: MAC Kelly Osborne Bloody Brilliant Quad, Archie’s Girls Eye Shadow X 4 in Spoiled Rich and the Private Viewing Quad from Make-Up Art Cosmetics, among many others), and with the new MAC A Passionate Quest Quad, their purple passion lives on. I think it’s one of their most interesting purple eyeshadow productions to date.

Those two shadows on the right side of the quad may look like pretty unassuming purples, but they each contain a surprising amount of blue.

Serenade, the lighter shade, is a mid-tone purplish pink with blue duochrome, while Stay Sultry is a dark navy violet.

The blue in both shadows advertises itself more clearly on my skin than it does in swatches, and it’s weird — layered on top of a black base, both shades look almost more like blue eyeshadows than purple.

A breakdown of the eyeshadows in this look: The Wrong Man (a light cool dusty pink) on my brow bones and in the inner corners), Serenade (a mid tone pinkish purple with blue duochrome pearl) on my lids and lower lash lines, Brazenly (a rich eggplant) in the crease and Stay Sultry (a deep violet navy) in the outer corners. Also, on my lash and water lines, I’m wearing MAC Fluidline Eye Pencil in Black Brilliance. Lashes are Ardell 105s.

It’s as if the quad has a split personality. If you were to split it right down the middle, you’d have a blue duo on the right, and a more traditional purplish pink duo on the left.

A Passionate Quest (limited edition) is one of three quads in the MAC A Novel Romance collection, and I’d say it’s probably the most dramatic — and that’s not just because of the blue surprise. MAC really swings for the fences with the darker shades in the bottom half of the palette.

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Can You Do the Splits? With the $24 Sephora Dramatic Performance Longwear Lash Kit, Your False Lashes Can

July 31st, 2014 by Karen 4 Comments

#makeupconfessions. It wasn’t the double-ended glue stick that caught my eye when I stumbled on the $24 Dramatic Performance Longwear Lash Kit at Sephora the other day, although I did think it was interesting and unlike anything I can recall seeing before. (One end has a thin, flexible brush tip for applying the adhesive, and other end has a mascara-like wand. Neat.)

And it wasn’t the false lashes themselves, although I do think they look pretty cool. Rather than a full or partial strip for each eye, they’re split into two halves to give you customized lash look control.

Like, if you want a more natural false lash look (natural false lash look?), apply just the outer portion to each eye. Or, if you want more lash volume around the inner corners of your eyes, go with just the inner ones. Or, if you’re in the mood to turn that ish up, apply all four pieces, two per eye.

Yeah…that’s a lot of work. And it sounds kind of complicated, doesn’t it?

But wait, there’s more.

These lashes are designed to be applied under your natural lashes. Not directly on top.

Yup, under yo’ lashes.

Wha?!

I know, it’s blowing your mind. 🙂

I actually heard about the under-the-lashes false eyelash technique from a makeup artist friend a while back who herself learned it from a seasoned drag queen. I remember at the time I thought, “That’s completely crazy pants. I’m not coordinated enough to do that.”

But with this kit, maybe I am. I think I should give it a try in the name of makeup science.

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