Face

When a Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words, or How I Really Feel About Hourglass Incandescent Electra Blush

September 28th, 2016 by Karen 31 Comments

It’s expensive, but it’s so good. Even though Hourglass has really expensive products, especially the blushes, the powder products? — oh, my gosh. Basically, my nightmare scenario with blush is that I go outside and I’m wearing two little circles on my cheeks, but with this blush, that never happens. I can put it on with one foot out the door, and it looks great. You could be falling out of a plane while putting on blush, and you’d land, and your cheeks would look legit.

PRICE: $38
AVAILABILITY: Available now in the Hourglass permanent line
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Well, basically my whole life has been a lie. I found out yesterday that NASA says that the sky has essentially shifted, and so all of the zodiac signs are a little different. Plus, there’s a thirteenth zodiac sign now, and apparently I’m no longer a Gemini, at least according to NASA. I’m a Taurus.

I can’t even deal… I just can’t.

New Favorite Thing in the Whole Wide World: Urban Decay Naked Skin One and Done

September 14th, 2016 by Karen 39 Comments

My girl Jessica raved about Naked Skin One and Done by Urban Decay ($34) back when it came out last spring, and I just needed to say that, yeah, for me too, it really is all that.

I FREAKIN’ LOVE THIS STUFF!

It has the thin texture of a tinted moisturizer but the coverage of a sheer foundation, so if you’re into fast 15-minute looks or face makeup that you can apply from start to finish with your fingers, One and Done gets it done.

urban-decay naked skin one and done before and after — On the left: before Urban Decay One and Done; on the right: after 15-minute makeup and Urban Decay One and Done in Medium Dark

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The Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Trio: A Pyrite Oasis at Twilight

September 2nd, 2016 by Karen 8 Comments

Emerging like a bedazzled butterfly from a mirrored chrysalis, a highlight SO sparkly and SO shiny that it borders on metallic has been one of the hottest makeup trends over the past couple of years. If you’re a fiend for mirror-like shines, you might want to get the new Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Trio on your cheekbones, ASAP.

urban decay naked illuminatied trio closeup — Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Trio

With three new shades of UD’s hella shiny highlighting powder, this limited edition $36 holiday set, coming soon for holiday 2016, is all about the bling.

First, there’s Pyrite, a golden champagne…

Next, Oasis, a cool-toned taupe with silver glitter.

Finally, Twilight, a shimmery, iridescent pink.

All three shades have a HIGHLY reflective finish, and they’re also pretty easy to blend on top of either bare skin or makeup.

urban decay naked illuminatied trio swatches — The Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Trio: swatches

I’ve worn Urban Decay’s Naked Illuminating powders before, and I like how striking they can look, particularly when you’re standing next to a bright light source (like a camera flash), and I can find ways to make them work for me, even with my current big pore situation…but it takes some finagling, and I’m at a point where I don’t really have the patience hop through too many hoops.

How did I get here? Lack of sleep mainly, LOL!

Honestly, at least for now…I want easy highlights, and I want subtle highlights, so please me a pan of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light before you go. 🙂 Thank you!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.

Guerlain Terracotta Pause d’Eté for the Crème de la Crème of Bronzing Bad-@ssery

August 11th, 2016 by Karen 22 Comments

I don’t know which is more breathtaking — the intricate braided design on the Guerlain Terracotta Pause D’Ete Bronzing Powder Duo pan or its breathtaking price.

$86.

I KNOW.

Both are equally able to knock the wind out of you.

When I think of high-end, crème de la crème bronzing bad-@ssery, Guerlain is the first brand that comes to mind (Terracotta Healthy Glow Powder Duo in 03 Naturel Brunettes is always in my makeup bag). Whenever I wear their easy, effortless, beautifully buttery bronzers, I feel like I’ve been kissed by the sun…even when I haven’t spent any time in it.

Unfortunately, they’re also expensive.

This summer their Terracotta Pause d’Eté bronzer pan has three powder parts — a brown powder ring of Guerlain Terracotta shade in 03, and a golden braided overspray (which blends away after a few uses) surrounding a peachy blush center.

Mixing the three together creates a warm peachy brown with a hint of golden pearl that reminds me a little of MAC Gingerly Blush, which is probably why I’m into it. I’ve been into barely-there cheek color lately (it’s a phase), but you can build up the intensity.

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Creamy, Coco-Nutty Full-Coverage Too Faced Born This Way Concealer

August 2nd, 2016 by Karen 17 Comments

Apparently, my mind is in the gutter, because for the longest time I mistakenly thought that this Too Faced concealer was actually named Better Than Sex Concealer, and not Born This Way Concealer, HAHA!

And, of course, because of that, I thought, “How can a concealer be better than sex? I don’t even know… Then again, a good concealer can be pretty darned orgasmic…” LOL! Yeah. Dirty birdy.

Born This Way, which came out early this summer, is $28 and available in 10 shades.

Like some other Too Faced products, it contains skin-friendly ingredients, like coconut water (it has a very faint coconut scent too) and hyaluronic acid, which, Too Faced says, makes it more moisturizing and helps promote a smoother, more youthful appearance.

Truth be told…I can never tell for sure if skincare ingredients make much of a difference when they show up in my makeup, but homegirl does need all the help she can get.

Born This Way is a full-coverage concealer and feels like a fluffy mousse. Right off the bat, the consistency, the smoothing formula and the coverage remind me of NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, which was my errrything for many years, and I still love it.

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The Tarte Kiss & Blush Cream Cheek & Lip Palette

July 29th, 2016 by Karen 11 Comments

tarte kiss and blush — The new Tarte Kiss & Blush Cream Cheek & Lip Palette ($42)

Oh, OK… I get it.

I was wondering why Tarte decorated their new Kiss & Blush Cream Cheek & Lip Palette with sand dollars, since I usually associate those with summer and beaches, and the palette is out for fall, but check it: when you open the palette, the six pans are arranged in a star shape, like the shape in the center of a sand dollar.

See it?

Kinda cute, right?

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The Tarte Naughty Nudes Blushes Are Taking Me Back to the ’90s

July 28th, 2016 by Karen 20 Comments

Badly behaved blushes, FTW!

Let’s get into some mischief with the new Fall 2016 Tarte Naughty Nudes blushes, shall we? Because, c’mon, if they’d been named the “Well-Behaved Nudes,” it would have sounded like a snooze-fest. Plus, what’s the point of being nude if you can’t also be naughty, hello?!

I swear on my plaid pleated mini skirt, my favorite flannel, my Timbs *and* my hoop earring with the key dangling from it that these four new fall shades of Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush ($28) are channeling so much ’90s realness!

Throughout much of that decade, I wore matte blushes in similar colors to these subtle shades of peach and pink.

tarte naughty nudes amazonian clay — The $28 Tarte Fall 2016 Naughty Nudes Amazonian Clay Blushes (the four shades on the far left), and a new $28 Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Highlighter (far right)

Nude pink Exposed, golden nude Sensual, rosy nude Seduce and peachy nude Risque remind me of the color of bare lips when they don’t have any product on them…except captured and placed in a pan.

I like wearing them with a sheer tinted moisturizer for a no-makeup makeup look, and my favorite one is Seduce because it matches the color of my bare lips.

For some reason, matching bare lips with a nude blush really seems to work…

Anywho, I like that it’s sheer and takes zero effort to blend. I also like that the Amazonian clay formula hangs in there for about 10 hours on my combo skin.

tarte naughty nude blush swatches — Tarte Naughty Nudes from the left in Seduce, Risque, Sensual and Exposed

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My Favorite Face Products From The Estée Edit for Quick, Cute and Casual Makeup

July 28th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

estee edit flash illuminator — Keeping it casual with The Estée Edit Flash Illuminators ($28)

Five-minute makeup with The Estée Edit? Heck, yeah!

I love a carved out cat eye, and ooh! — sparkles. I also love sparkles, but I don’t feel like wearing them every day.

Some days, like today, barely-there five-minute makeup just hits the spot. It’s barely 9 a.m. here, and it’s already above 80. I’m sitting in front of my Beyoncé fan, and I still feel hot.

When it’s hot like this, I’m not gonna wear a ton of makeup, and I won’t spend a lot of time on it either, but I still want to look like I’m trying, you know what I’m saying?

Easy, fast and casual makeup today with products from The Estee Edit — Quick and casual makeup today with products from The Estée Edit

The still fairly new Estée Edit line (available at Sephora) is a good fit for how I’m currently feeling. It has that unfussy, fresh and youthful “just throw on your favorite white tee, jeans shorts and Chucks” vibe to it.

If Connor were of age and wanted to start wearing makeup like this, I could get behind it. It’s sheer and casual — stuff that you can put on with your fingers and don’t have to fuss much with.

Here are four of my favorite cute and casual products from the The Estée Edit line…

The Estée Edit Rescue Balm for Face and Body ($50)

estee edit rescue balm beam team — The Estée Edit Rescue Balm ($50) and Beam Team ($42)

My dry skin loves The Estée Edit Rescue Balm. It’s a super rich (and, unfortunately, also pricey) moisturizing balm — first and foremost, a moisturizer — and I apply it all over my face to prep the skin before applying the Skin Glowing Balm.

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