Eyes

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Nude, a Drugstore Beauty Baller

May 27th, 2013 by Karen 21 Comments

Drugstore baller!

For a minute there I thought I saw Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in 005 Nude walk by wearing a bunch of gold chains and carrying a pimp cup…

Because it’s that good.

Creamy like polenta, hella pigmented and softer than the center of a hot grilled cheese sammich…

Mmm… Cheesy.

Yes, if you can’t tell, I’m currently hungry.

It’s a rock star pencil liner! — and its favorite venues are lash and water lines. This neutral, matte peachy beige never skips or pulls at my skin, and it sticks around a good, long while once applied.

It’s in my regular rotation of products. I wear it a lot to highlight my brows, right up under the arches, where it gives ’em a little lift.

I really like the way the color works with my NC42 skin because it’s not too overloaded with pink pigment, so it doesn’t contrast with my natural skin tone too much.
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Crank Up Colors Along Your Lash Lines With This Easy Eye Makeup Trick

May 24th, 2013 by Karen 7 Comments

How to get super bright lash lines — Super bright lash lines are just a swipe away

Something about a super bright swoosh of color along my lower lash lines just says “summer” to me.

Have you ever lined your lower (or upper, for that matter) lash lines with a bright eyeliner or shadow and have it not turn out as bright or eye-catching as you expected it to be?

Um…me too.

One trick I use to wind up the wattage along my lash lines is to line them with a creamy white eye shadow stick first.

It intensifies colors and brings out more of the brightness of whatever you layer on top, making greens look greener, blues look bluer and teals…well, more teal. And it does the same thing for other colors.

Rimmel’s Whitness White Scandal Eyes Eyeshadow Stick kicks arse with this trick, and it costs less than $5! It’s so pigmented that it’s almost opaque, and once it sets, it’s not going anywhere (has a waterproof and smudge-proof formula).

Plus, it doesn’t tug at my skin. It glides… (And have I mentioned that it’s less than $5?) 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Is the Summery Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette Flexible Enough for Fickle Feline Enthusiasts/Makeup Lovers?

May 22nd, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

I’m equal parts enthralled and dismayed that there’s a TV show called America’s Worst Tattoos.

My mind wanders when it’s on…drifting like an asteroid in the Kuiper belt, but then I start to feel guilty for watching it, because I know that I should probably be doing something productive instead, maybe reading something more substantial, like The Grapes of Wrath or For Whom the Bell Tolls or Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret.

But I have learned one or two things from the show, like that there is A LOT of tattoo regret out there, and that because of my fickle nature, I should restrict myself to tattoos of the temporary Cracker Jack variety.

I’m way, waaaaaay too fickle for permanent ink.

Even if I went with something safe, like a picture of Tabs, how would I decide which one?? A single pic of Tabs to stare at for all eternity? But…he has so many good looks.

T-Money insists on being hand fed at snack time

As an example of my fickleness, I can’t decide whether I prefer the powder eye shadows in the new Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette more when they’re applied wet or when they’re applied dry.

I like both ways for different reasons.

Flexible like WHOA!

Smashbox designed this palette of 10 warm and neutral summer shades to be worn wet or dry. A big WHOOP-WHOOP for that, right?

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The LORAC Mint Edition Palette Plays It Cool

May 21st, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

Not that I need another clutch…but if someone were to build one based on LORAC’s Mint Edition Eye/Cheek Palette, I would not be averse to the idea.

I’m just sayin’.

How cute is this!?

With the silver and black accents?

I used to rock a pair of mint green Bongo Jeans in the exact same color about a zillion years back (it had zippers and bows around the ankles), and now I suddenly have the urge to put my hair up in a side ponytail with a scrunchie and peg my pants…

Mint — it’s EVERYWHERE!

What year is this again? Did we just go back in time?

Wait — I don’t think so, but LORAC looks like they did for the retro design. This eye, cheek and lip set launched earlier this spring, but it looks like it could have been released a few decades before that.

Regardless of the palette’s release date, mint is having a moment — I’m seeing it on purses, shoes, nails, makeup — and Mint Edition is riding the wave…

A complete look

LORAC included all of the basics for a minty fresh look in this $42 set (a $160 value) — eight eye shadows (four mattes and four shimmers), a powder highlighter, a powder blush and a full-sized liquid lipstick.

LORAC Mint Edition Palette Swatches — Liquid Lipstick in Retro

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GLO Get Me a Doctor! The New $20 LORAC GLOgetter Eyeshadow Palette Is Giving Me a LORAC Attack This Summer

May 20th, 2013 by Karen 30 Comments

The LORAC GLOgetter Palette — Wearing the $20 LORAC GLOgetter Palette on my eyes

With its classic summer colors, LORAC’s GLOgetter eye shadow palette was probably meant for fun-filled beach boardwalks, fair food and cruising down the coast with the windows rolled down…but I feel like a beauty bandit when I think of the price — only $20! — like I should be wearing black from head to toe and a mask like a cat burglar.

I can’t believe this 10-pan limited edition palette is only $20 at Ulta. At that price, it’s almost like stealing!

These easy-to-blend powder shadows are consumate summer colors — the kind that look great with a tan — and when I wear them with primer, they last from 8-10 hours on my dry lids before I notice much creasing. No fallout, either.

I bet you could totally BeyoncÃ© it out with these and bang out some intense looks with loads of blending and layering, but I really like GLOgetter for simple looks with one or two shades.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Bobbi Brown Peach Corrector

May 20th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

I’ve been having one of those Mondays where everything’s been going…great!

Don’t you just love those?

They’re few and far between, let me tell ya, but I’ll take it. Some Mondays I don’t feel ready for the weekend to end or for the workweek to start, but I’ve been in in a pretty good groove so far today.

I don’t know, maybe it’s the heat… It’s almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit in Novato right now!

Seriously, I think it’s making me loopy because I’m smiling from ear to ear… 🙂

I was watching a mama bird feed one of her little ones in the oak tree by my window this morning as I applied under-eye concealer and randomly started singing, “The hills are aliiiiive, with the sound of musiiiiiic!”

The concealer was Bobbi Brown’s bad@ss Peach Corrector. My dark under-eye situation has been triple-rainbow intense lately. I’m officially in my (gulp) late thirties now, and the purplish, bluish dark circles under my eyes have become something of a mainstay of my looks, haha.

Shoot, last night I even got 10 hours of sleep — 10 GLORIOUS HOURS! — and I still woke up with dark circles.

Thank goodness for Bobbi’s $23 miracle working Peach Corrector…

A creamy, opaque color-correcting concealer designed to be layered beneath your go-to under-eye concealer, it’s great if you get those real deal, Uncle Fester-caliber dark circles like moi. I use Peach, one of 16 shades in the line.

SHAZAM! It’s like waving a magic wand over my face. When I add it to my mix, I think I definitely look refreshed and considerably less tired, and that whole under-eye sitch looks brighter.

Most of the time I just wear it on its own with powder dusted on top (versus underneath another concealer), and it neutralizes the purple action. Heck, when I use it I think I even look a little younger (says the girl turning 38 in a few weeks, le sigh!).

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Because One Is the Loneliest Number, the LORAC Ready, Set, Splash Waterproof Eyeliner Set Comes With Four

May 17th, 2013 by Karen 8 Comments

To El Hub when he insists that there’s an upper limit on the number of liners I could possibly need on a trip, I say, “Pish-tosh!”

“We’re only gonna be two days!” he says. “Why would you need 10 liners?”

My response: to pack 20 eyeliners! And then to painstakingly describe every single one in great detail, and how my happiness — no, my very survival! — depends on having all of them with me. 🙂

Hey, you just never know when you’ll get the urge to do a two-color double-winged flick? YOU NEVER KNOW!

This is why I find LORAC’s new $28 Ready, Set, Splash kit appealing…

That, and the quick-drying, waterproof formula.

The set’s four twist-up pencils come in colors that work well with most of my favorite summer eye looks.

Ultra Black, Navy, Charcoal and Jade will take you from poolside to dinner party in the blink of a cat eye, and when I want a smudgy vibe, I can just flip one over, and use the sponge tip on the back side.

LORAC Ready Set Splash swatches — From the left: Ultra Black, Charcoal, Jade and Navy

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The New Dolce & Gabbana Smoky Smooth Eye Colour Quad Puts My Inner Corvette in Neutral and Drives Me Wild

May 15th, 2013 by Karen 32 Comments

I love the new neutral Dolce & Gabbana Smoky Smooth Eye Colour Quad ($59) like…like Mariah loves wind machines. Like Iron Man loves tinkering. Like Portlandia loves bird motifs (“Put a bird on it!”). Like Ben Affleck loves beards. Like drag queens love contouring…

For me, good neutral quads are like tropical vacations. They just make everything better. 🙂

When I’m stumped for what to wear with crazy colors like that hot pink glitter over there (ooh!) or that matte red blush over there (ah!), I’ll go with one, two — or when I’m feeling more adventurous — three or four neutrals on my eyes.

Why?

Because they go with everything!

But…

…not all neutral quads get it right.

Sometimes, there are problems with the powders, and the shadows end up on my cheeks. Other times, they’re way too pigmented, or not pigmented enough, or they pull a David Copperfield and disappear right before my eyes, or they’re just annoyingly chalky.

But the matte black, pearly neutral gold, shimmery chocolate brown and shimmery golden beige in Dolce & Gabbana’s Smoky Quad do WERK!

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