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Eyes

Pencil in Time With Dolce & Gabbana’s Graphite Intense Khol Eye Crayon

May 15th, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Dolce & Gabbana Graphite Swatch
The new Dolce & Gabbana Graphite Intense Khol Eye Crayon, $30

“A storm’s brewin’…”

I always wanted to say that. 🙂 Storms are brewing within Dolce & Gabbana’s new $30 Graphite pencil — a rain cloud of a blackened gray liner for lash and water lines, and my new gunmetal gray liner love.

Dolce & Gabbana Graphite

There’s something almost meteorological about this deep, dark gunmetal… Micro flecks of shimmer dance along its surface like little lightning sparks.

It’s quite the Gothic scene, too, like a sweet lace dress with black leather cuffs and spikes — the perfect marriage of delicate and dangerous. Classic with an edge. Kittens with claws.

Dolce & Gabbana Graphite
Graphite on my water lines

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There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Dolce & Gabbana, Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews

9 Things a Fashion-Forward, Makeup-Loving and Somewhat Judgemental Feline Is Thinking When You Wear the New MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencils

May 14th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencil
Loving the four fabulous new Powerchrome Eye Pencils ($21 each) from the Temperature Rising collection

9 Things a Fashion-Forward, Makeup-Loving and Somewhat Judgemental Feline Is Thinking When You Wear the New MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencils

  1. Will you PLEASE stop gushing about how these creamy, flexible shadow pencils don’t need a primer, and start gushing about how awesome I am instead??
  2. Are you getting so lazy that you don’t even bother to use eye brushes anymore? I mean, I totally appreciate that you’re doing quick eye looks with these (frees up your time to do more of my bidding), but I really hope that this rampant laziness of yours doesn’t spill over into your pet assisting duties.
  3. Maybe you should take those fingers you’ve been using for blending and utilize them to scratch behind my ears a little more…
  4. I see that your lids are looking shimmery and sparkly. Kudos for that, but it’s distracting people who would otherwise be admiring my shiny coat.
  5. Okay, okay, so I don’t totally hate your makeup. That shimmery brown and black smokey eye you’re wearing does look moderately fierce… Nowhere near as fierce as my naturally smokey eyes, of course, but fierce nevertheless.
  6. It only took you five minutes to do that eye look. That’s fast, but NOT FAST ENOUGH! Now go to the kitchen immediately and fix me some gravy.
  7. I give you permission to wear these gold, copper, charcoal and bronzed brown pencils all summer long…since all of them go well with my fur.
  8. Good thing these pencils stand up to warm weather and perspiration, because when we’re on my private South Pacific island, I’ll need you to look good at all times, in the event that the paparazzi find us.
  9. Ugh! Yes, you may take your vacation in June, pending completion of the necessary paperwork, obviously. And just so you know, even though it’s a terrible inconvenience on my part, I’m still happy to help you with your travel makeup list. In fact, I suggest starting now by packing the MAC Powerchromes. You’re welcome. 🙂

MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencils
From the left: Copper Strip, Life’s Luxury, Polished Jet and Rich Glance

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There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Smog

May 13th, 2013 by Karen 39 Comments

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Smog
Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Smog, $19

Sometime in the not-so-distant future…

“Remember smog?”

“Smog! Of course I remember smog. It was one of my favorite things about the early twenty-first century.”

“Mine too!”

Years from now as you and I share a cheesecake in the middle of the night at our Miami home with the other Golden Girls — dibs on being the Sophia of the group! She’s short, cranky and carries her purse around everywhere, so I feel like I’d be a good fit — we’ll look back on this time as the era of Smog.

No, not the kind that hovers over the San Fernando Valley… I’m referring to Urban Decay’s $19 shimmery masterpiece of golden khaki bronze, the 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Smog.

“Gosh, we wore it with everything!” we’ll say. “We didn’t even touch black liners there for a while.”

It looked so good with summery golds, khakis, bronzes and browns. Even corals, purples and teals.

“Dang,” we’ll say, “that was one flexible liquid liner…”

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Smog

You’ll roll your eyes as I retell the story (FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME) of how I was wearing waterproof Smog along my lash lines when I bumped into Ryan Gosling that time in Hawaii.

It was early in the morning just after dawn, hardly anyone else in the water, and I was sitting back on my surfboard waiting for the next wave. Smog’s shimmery, shiny finish caught the sunlight, which caught Ryan’s eye and prompted him to paddle over and say, “Hey girl.”

“We surfed, laughed and shared a shave ice that day,” I’ll say, “and Smog lasted from 10-12 hours.”

At some point you’ll remind me of my penchant for telling tall tales, and I’ll tap my plate with my fork, contemplating another slice of cheesecake. 🙂

What else can I say about Smog, babe? I just love it.

It’s waterproof and long-lasting enough to spend the day surfing and complements just about every eye color I’ve ever seen.

I love the way its golden khaki bronze color works with the kinds of colors I like to wear in summer.

Urban Decay Smog Swatch

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There are 39 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, Unsung Heroes, Urban Decay

Grab the Keys to the Bentley and Your Tube of Tom Ford Beauty Lip Lacquer in Pink Lust

May 8th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

Tom Ford Pink Lust Beauty Lip Lacquer
Tom Ford Pink Lust Beauty Lip Lacquer, $30

Who might like Tom Ford Beauty’s Lip Lacquer in Pink Lust? Hmm…

  • Someone willing to drop the scrilla on three pairs of Choos, and would do it without batting an eye.
  • Someone who drives the Bentley to Rite Aid to get a Mother’s Day Card because the chauffeur has the day off.
  • Someone with an in-house beauty team at her beck and call (NOTE: Mariah Carey has one, which does not surprise me, and it furthers my theory that MiMi is a kooky, yet misunderstood, genius).

Tom Ford Beauty Lip Lacquer in Pink Lust

In other words, unless your upper makeup spending limit hits three or four digits on the reg, most guys/gals will probably find Tom’s $30 pearly pink gloss, as gorgeous as I think it is (especially with a tan), really, really expensive for what you get.

Why?

Because it’s $30 (!), pretty sheer and only lasts about 30 minutes. Tops.

Tom Ford Beauty Lip Lacquer in Pink Lust

Like a MAC Cremesheen Glass’s ritzy cousin, it has a similarly thin, smoove formula and texture, similar vanilla flavor and scent and a super shiny finish.

Tom Ford Pink Lust Beauty Lip Lacquer Swatch
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There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews, Tom Ford Beauty

3 Reasons I Fell in Love With Tom Ford Beauty Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes

May 7th, 2013 by Karen 27 Comments

Tom Ford Beauty Pink Haze
I’m in a Pink Haze…wearing Tom Ford Beauty Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes, $40

I’ve got it bad for rose gold! — and Tom Ford Beauty’s $40 Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes is fanning the flames of my desire…

Tom Ford Pink Haze

How much do I love thee, oh peachy pink prince of a cream eye shadow with golden pearl?

Let me count the ways…

1. You’re flawless

Like Escapade, your limited edition Cream Color comrade in Tom Ford’s summer 2013 collection, lightweight Pink Haze glides along skin like an ice cube across glass, and the mousse formula lasts longer than a Duracell (easily all day) — no patchiness, creases or fading, even when worn without primer.

2. So flexible

Oh, the many ways to wear it… When I want that ’57 Chevy chrome-like shine but don’t want my makeup looking caked on or heavy, I’ll just layer Pink Haze. But if instead I crave a softer look, I’ll buff and buff until I’m left with a peachy pink golden sheen. And then there’s its power to work as a base for powder eye shadows, where it also excels, especially when it comes to peaches, purples, pinks, bronze and gold.

3. Flattery will get you everywhere…

Yes, it lavishes praise, particularly upon tans, or if you wear golds, pinks and corals well.
Tom Ford Pink Haze

Tom Ford Beauty Pink Haze swatches
Unblended on the left and blended on the right


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There are 27 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Beauty’s $40 Escapade Cream Color For Eyes Casts a Radiant, Summery Sunset Glow on Lids

May 7th, 2013 by Karen 31 Comments

Tom Ford Beauty Escapade
The new Tom Ford Beauty Escapade Cream Color for Eyes, $40

Holy crap, Tom Ford! Wherever you’ve been spending your summers, to borrow a line from Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.”

I can see you lounging by an infinity pool in the late afternoon, watching leggy ladies in Burberry bikinis test the water as beams of peachy, pinkish gold glisten on bronzed skin…

You take a sip from your daiquiri (complete with pink umbrella, of course) and make a mental note of every detail, which you promptly add to your summer collection. “Luxe, luminous, sunlit and sensuous,” you muse. “The ladies will love it.”

Tom Ford Beauty summer 2013

High five, Tom! Bulls eye. 🙂

Like two weeks on Kauai spent alternately napping and swimming, the new nine-piece Tom Ford Beauty summer 2013 collection is the stuff of my dreams, and maybe also yours, if you like traditional summer makeup looks.

Picture peach, pink, gold and bronze dancing across your skin; opalescent, soft shimmers; and radiant, dewy finishes that contrast wonderfully with sun-dappled bronzed mattes.

Tom Ford Beauty summer 2013
Hello, lovah!

Good grief! — I just had to fan myself for a second, Blanche Devereaux-style…

The new $40 Tom Ford Beauty Escapade Cream Color for Eyes is expensive, but oh, so flattering. And it isn’t fussy at all. The peachy, pinkish golden tones feel very of-the-moment to me, like rose gold jewelry (which I’m currently obsessed with), but for your face. I think the entire launch is gorgeous, especially on a tan.

Tom Ford Beauty Escapade Cream Color for Eyes
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There are 31 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews, Tom Ford Beauty

Smokey Eyes and a Smokin’ Hot Quad: MAC’s Temperature Rising Eye Shadow X 4 Quad

May 6th, 2013 by Karen 30 Comments

MAC Temperature Rising Eye Shadow X 4
I’m burnin’ up! My temperature’s rising, yo. Must be the $44 MAC Temperature Rising Eye Shadow X 4 quad colors I’m wearing on my eyes…

I cannot not wear smokey eyes in summer.

Wait — what did I just type? Cannot not?

Good grief. I meant to say that I really like wearing smokey eyes in summer (and spring, winter and fall, but I digress).

Even if it’s a billion degrees outside — or if it’s 2 o’clock in the morning and I’m getting ready for a 5 a.m. flight to the Maldives with Ry-Gos (I wish!) — won’t stop me. I will still get my smokey on, believe you me.

Why? Because life’s too short for second guesses when it comes to smokey eyes, even in the summer, and I’m going for it all this year — while still staying seasonally appropriate (you’ll see what I mean in a minute) — with the new $44 Temperature Rising Eye Shadow X 4 quad from MAC.

MAC Temperature Rising Eye Shadow X 4 shadows clockwise from the violet pan in the lower left: Performance Art (a frosted gold mauve with a Veluxe Pearl finish), Temperature Rising (a light warm tanned peach with a Lustre finish), Beauty Marked (a charcoal black with red pearl and a Velvet finish) and Swelter (a mid-tone gray violet with a Frost finish)
Eye Shadows clockwise from the violet pan in the lower left: Performance Art (a frosted gold mauve with a Veluxe Pearl finish), Temperature Rising (a light warm tanned peach with a Lustre finish), Beauty Marked (a charcoal black with red pearl and a Velvet finish) and Swelter (a mid-tone gray violet with a Frost finish)

Smokey eyes play starring roles in the Temperature Rising collection, to which this quad belongs, and this baby’s built for gals/guys who’d wear purple smokey lids to a July 4 picnic without batting an eye. 🙂

It’s a rebel with a cause! — and with its mauve, gray, charcoal and violet shades, appears to stand out among more typical, traditional summertime palettes. Spend some time with it, though, and it’s summery references become more apparent. MAC sneaked hints of frosted gold into mauve Performance Art and the light, tanned peach Temperature Rising.

Very, very clever!

The quad is also smartly flexible. With these shades, it’s easy to dial up or down the smokey effect.

It comes with three medium shades and one dark, which you can combine in a purple smokey look, like I’m wearing here, or you could just as easily go for a mellower daytime eye look by sweeping one of the lighter shades on your lids, and lining your lash lines with the darker color.

MAC Temperature Rising Eye Shadow X 4 swatches from the left: Performance Art, Temperature Rising, Swelter and Beauty Marked
Swatches from the left on NC42 skin: Performance Art, Temperature Rising, Swelter and Beauty Marked

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There are 30 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews

Four Mallards Walk Into a Bar… Wait, I Mean, Behold the MAC Bare My Soul Eye Shadow X 4 Quad!

May 1st, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

MAC Bare My Soul Eye Shadow X 4
MAC Bare My Soul Eye Shadow X 4 ($44)

Because I generally try to avoid bubbling vats brimming with bacteria, I’m not the type to spend my summer nights hot tubbing (unless it’s with RyGos or J-Ren). But if I were, my dream scene would look something like this:

MAC Temperature Rising

So totally feeling this makeup!

I was so excited about the MAC Temperature Rising collection’s highlighted skin, metallic, glossy lips and strong focus on smoldering eyes that toe a slightly menacing line between seductive and spooky that I tried to paint a picture of it over the phone to my mom (who never wants to talk about makeup), and the best I could come up with was, “The girl in the promo pic looks like Nelly Furtado sitting in a hot tub at night under a heat lamp wearing Mrs. Roper’s jewelry. Oh, and she’s sandwiched between two dudes from Magic Mike.”

MAC Bare My Soul Eyeshadow X 4
Eye Shadows, counter clockwise from the green pan: When In Rio (a deep green with a copper pearl and a Frost finish), Friendly (a deep bronzy chocolate with a Veluxe Pearl Finish), Romantico (a light taupe bronze with a Veluxe Pearl finish), and Bare My Soul (a frosted gold with a Lustre finish)

With three neutral powder eye shadows and a single smokey green pan, Bare My Soul ($44) must be a hit among cool, stylish mallards… It has a brown, a taupe, a gold and a coppery green.

Quack! See, Mallard duck colors. The slightly shiny finish even says, “I’m a mallard duck, yo.”

What do hot mallards have to do with MAC Temperature Rising, the release to which Bare My Soul belongs?

Absolutely nothing, far as I can tell. 🙂 Well, the mallard part doesn’t, but the colors sure seem conducive to summery smokey eyes with copper, gold, bronze and brown.

I’ll use the taupe and gold for dusting all over my lids (and/or highlighting) and the chocolatey bronze and coppery green for deepening and smoking out my look.

MAC Bare My Soul swatches from the left: Romantico (a light taupe bronze with a Veluxe Pearl finish), Bare My Soul (a frosted gold with a Lustre finish), Friendly (a deep bronzy chocolate with a Veluxe Pearl finish) and When in Rio (a deep green with a copper pearl and a Frost finish)
Swatches from the left: Romantico (a light taupe bronze with a Veluxe Pearl finish), Bare My Soul (a frosted gold with a Lustre finish), Friendly (a deep bronzy chocolate with a Veluxe Pearl finish) and When in Rio (a deep green with a copper pearl and a Frost finish)

The coppery green, also known as When in Rio — jinx! You owe me a Coke if you thought, “That’s a Club dupe.” It reminds me a lot of MAC Club on my NC 42 skin, except a little more brown and less red.

MAC Bare My Soul Eye Shadow X 4
MAC Bare My Soul Eye Shadow X 4

I swear these powders feel softer than the powders in the past few limited edition quads, but I’m not totally sure why… Sure do like it though.

PRICE: $44
AVAILABILITY: Coming May 16 to maccosmetics.com and May 23 to MAC counters and stores
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Palettes

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