Face

Have You Tried the Tricky Grinder? Gotta Get Loose With Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blush In Bloom

September 9th, 2014 by Karen 6 Comments

Wearing Smashbox's Halo Long Wear Blush in In Bloom ($24) on my cheeks — Wearing Smashbox’s Halo Long Wear Blush in In Bloom ($24) on my cheeks

TRICKY GRINDER IN THE HOUSE, Y’ALL!

TRICKY GRINDER — in the mix!

I know, “tricky grinder” sounds like a DJ name, right? Like some guy spinning at da club on a Tuesday night. Normally, you wouldn’t go because it’s a school night, but sometimes you just gotta dance.

Dun-cha-dun-cha-dun-cha-dun-cha!

Sorry to burst your house music bubble, but today’s “tricky grinder” is not in reference to spinning the phat jamz.

It’s the contraption that is both a blessing — and a curse — of these $24 Halo Long Wear Blushes by Smashbox.

Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blush in In Bloom — Matte warm pink In Bloom, one of the six Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blushes

Come on, baby, let’s do the twist

You might remember seeing these Halo Longwear Blushes before. They first bounced on the scene in 2013. I took a look at them then but didn’t give them a good try until this week. Now they’re available in six shades for $24 each.

The one I’m wearing in the picture at the top is one of them, In Bloom, a natural-looking matte warm pink.

Solid blushes that come in a jar with an attached cheese grater-like thingamabobber, they let you easily control how much loose powder you use. Just twist the inner ring like a pepper grinder to shave some of the solid blush into the pan.

Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blush in In Bloom closeup — A closeup of the grinding contraption…

Big surprise! I get a weird kick out of this. When I use the twisty top, I feel like I’m earning my blush, like I’m a pioneer on the plains, planting, growing and gathering fresh non-GMO vegetables in my garden and sh*t. But with makeup.

Why loose blush?

I’m usually not a big fan of loose powder blushes because they can be super messy, and I’m super clumsy, but I love the way they look. I know it sounds like a bunch o’ hooey, but I’ve been taking makeup pictures of myself pretty much daily for eight years, and I see a distinct difference between the way that loose and solid powder blushes appear on my skin. Loose powders just seem to have that certain something, that je ne sais quoi, that solid powder blushes generally lack.

Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blush In Bloom, one of the six available shades, looks amazeballs on skin, both in pics and real life. I like this particular matte pink because it’s forgiving (doesn’t emphasize pores) and fantastic for pics. Wear it, and your cheeks will be the envy of all the baby cherubs, son. On top of that, its 14-hour wear time kicks so much @ss. I’m talking solid color from start to finish, with minimal fading.

A couple of Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blushes with a MAC Lipglass for sale — A couple of the six available Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blushes next to a MAC Lipglass for scale…

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Rated X-cellent, the Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duo in Softcore Is Making Sculpted Dreams Come True

September 1st, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Tom Ford Softcore Contouring Cheek Color Duo — Wearing the new Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duo in Softcore ($77) on my cheeks

My kneecaps liquified into jiggly piles of pudding when I swatched the deep red terracotta shade from Tom Ford’s new Contouring Cheek Color Duo in Softcore ($77) and found out that — aaah! — it has a matte finish.

Matte.

Finish.

YES!

It’s what I was hoping for from Stroked, the other Cheek Duo Tom Ford released for fall, but didn’t get.

Now, Softcore isn’t your run-of-the-mill, standard issue contouring palette. You’ll find no flat browns or grayed-out taupes here.

Instead, it has a dark terracotta red (to sculpt out the hollows just below the apples of your cheeks) and a lighter shimmery, peachy pink (to reflect light off the high points of your upper cheekbones). Very retro ’80s fab, and if you’ve ever wanted to look like you just stepped out of a Jody Watley video circa 1984 — I totally have, not gonna lie! — then this duo could make your sculpted cheek dreams come true.

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Sculpting Cheekbones, One Stroke at a Time: Tom Ford’s New Contouring Cheek Color Duo in Stroked

August 29th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Tom Ford Stroked Contouring Cheek Color Duo — Wearing Tom Ford’s new Contouring Cheek Color Duo in Stroked ($77) on my cheeks while throwing my best “penetrating gaze…”

As someone who pays both monthly and annual dues to The Society of Chubby Cherub Cheeks, I always get a little hot and bothered when I bump into makeup designed to chisel cheeks, like Tom Ford’s two Contouring Cheek Color Duos ($77 each, eek!), which come complete with naughty names.

Softcore (the darker option) and Stroked (the lighter one) each come with two shades — a darker contouring powder and a lighter powder for highlighting.

I’m currently pretty stoked about Stroked…

I didn’t expect the darker contouring shade (in Stroked) to look so flat and matte, but when I opened the compact for the first time, I saw a warm peachy reddish shade.

Cool! It looked like a straight-up matte, so I was like, “Haaaay, gurl!” (because I really like matte contouring products). 🙂

But then, as I buffed and worked it into my skin, I started to see light reflecting particles of reddish pink pearl.

Hmm…

That’s when the mixed feelings started.

On the one hand, I love the rich peachy reddish color and how well it deepens that area just beneath the apples of my cheeks in such a radical retro ’80s way, but I can’t help thinking that a flat matte would’ve been a tad more effective.

To quote the text I just got from my XXL pores, “A matte finish would’ve been bomb!” And it may also have been more forgiving than the pearl, which tends to amplify any dips and depressions on my skin (although not dramatically).

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Benefit Majorette Booster Blush Puts Pep on Your Cheeks and in Your Step

August 25th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Two, four, six, eight, what do we appreciate!?

Easy blush! Easy blush! Yaaaaay, Benefit! [INSERT HIGH KICKS HERE]

OK…I was never a cheerleader (more of a band geek), but I’m cheering for Benefit’s new Majorette Booster Blush. It’s fun and easy to use, has a cream-to-powder formula, feels super silky, and the packaging is shaped like a cute little drum.

The silky formula almost feels kind of slippery on my fingertips, and it’s easy to zhuzh out the edges when I pat it on bare cheeks or on top of foundation, which I appreciate when I’m movin’ and shakin’.

I like that it doesn’t settle into my pores and that it lasts 5-6 hours on my combo oily/dry skin before I feel like I need a touchup.

Oh, and it does have a faint fragrance.

Really faint, though. I have to get my nose up in the pan to detect it, but I think it smells like peach gummy candies.

Yes, boom. Those are awesome. 🙂

The look is matte and natural, which should be a great option for gals and guys heading back to the classroom.

Which reminds me, I wish I’d had a better appreciation for minimal makeup when I was in my tweens, teens and early 20s. When you’re that age, it’s easy to get away with very little makeup (that flush of youth and all). This is a great blush to accentuate a youthful glow without going full-on makeup crazy.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

August 19th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

By no means is Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder sexy or exciting.

It’s a loose face powder with a single talent, but it’s a talent I quite appreciate.

It sets under-eye concealer — and it’s not flashy, but it does its job well. If dark under-eye circles are a bane of your existence, as they are mine, Secret Brightening Powder is freaking fantastic.

I’m serious! — it belongs on the periodic table of elements. That’s how special I think it is. The light-as-air setting powder has white pigments in it that create a subtle brightening effect and help to cancel out dark shadows.

I’ve been using this stuff with concealer on my dark circles off and on for years, and it never looks caked-on or riddled with creases. It keeps my concealer from scooting around and also increases wear time. Perfect for when you’re hardly getting any sleep, and/or you’ve been recently bitten by a zombie, and you’re this close to turning.

Because, clearly…when one is losing their last vestiges of humanity, dark under-eye circles are still a concern. #priorities 🙂

Anywho! I’ve had this one jar for, like, seven years. Yeah…it lasts a long time. It only takes a tiny amount to set your concealer.

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

To apply, I load a small amount (you don’t want to apply too much; otherwise, it looks obvious) on a fluffy eyeshadow brush like the MAC 217, and layer that directly on top of my under-eye concealer using a patting motion, rather than a swiping motion.

(You don’t want to swipe, lest you can accidentally swipe away your concealer and end up looking MORE tired. No me gusta.)

Once applied, Secret Brightening locks down your concealer, where it should behave for the rest of the day.

It comes in two shades, too. The first, #1, is for fair and medium skin tones, while #2 is for medium, tan and darker skin tones. A 0.14-ounce jar will set you back $24, and you can find it now at Laura Mercier counters and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer

August 19th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anna — Wearing theBalm’s Cindy-Lou Manizer on my upper cheekbones

Quick! Grab my hand! Guuuuurl, we’re making a prison break. I’m busting you out of this shimmer-free solitary confinement, Shawshank-style, with theBalm’s Cindy-Lou Manizer ($24).

Super shiny highlights without the drama of a finicky frost

theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer — It’s theBalm…

With peachy pink Cindy-Lou, theBalm got it totally right. You can wear this powder as a highlighter, an eyeshadow or a blush. The fabulous finish is unconditionally Unsung Heroes worthy.

The otherworldly opalescent sheen lifts dull skin, making your mug look fresh, bright and alive. The effect is like a Broadway spotlight manned by the best lighting guy in the biz — dramatic, but still soft and flattering, and without the harshness of a high-shine frost.

A little goes a loooong way…

It’s important to use just a smidgen, though. A little definitely goes a long way with this.

I like to load a skinny tapered eyeshadow brush like the MAC 224 by running it lightly across the pan. Then I’ll gently buff that on my upper cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose and on my Cupid’s bow, where it lasts from 8-9 hours (without touchups) on my combination dry/oily skin.

I’ve been wearing it a ton lately for “KA-POW!” highlights on my upper cheekbones, and the best thing about it? — it doesn’t settle into my fine lines or embiggen my pores.

Teams up well with matte foundation

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La Prairie Anti-Aging Hydra Tint Sunscreen SPF 20 Sheer Tinted Moisturizer: I Really Don’t Need To Get Addicted To This But…

August 8th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

To put it in perspective, a bottle of La Prairie Anti-Aging Hydra Tint SPF 20 Sheer Tinted Moisturizer costs about as much as Choupette Lagerfeld spends daily on gravy. A 1.4 fl. oz. bottle costs $100 (OMG!). That is a lot of gravy, yo.

With a price like that, one would expect something phenomenal, right? Nothing short of tinted moisturizing perfection?

La Prairie is a high-end skin care line with prices that hover around mucho and dinero, but by comparison to their $465 Cellular Radiance Emulsion SPF 30 Lotion and $300 Skin Caviar Luxe Souffle Body Cream, Hydra Tint seems almost affordable.

Yeah…not really.

So, you know how I am almost never not looking for foundations and tinted moisturizers that look like real skin yet provide enough coverage to downplay the whole freckle situation and even out my skin tone? Well, this stuff does that.

It’s weird… Before I massage it in (I wear shade 30, which is one of four shades available and the one that most closely matches my skin), it doesn’t look anything close to my skin tone. It actually looks too pinkish red.

But after I work it in and give it a few minutes to settle, almost suddenly, it matches. My skin looks more even-toned and radiant. My pores appear smaller, and everything just looks, I dunno…more J. Lo with a fan and big hair.

This being summer, I have a slight tan and some additional reddish tones in my skin, but in winter, shade 30 might be a little too pinkish red for me. At that point, I may not be able to wear one of the other shades, either, as all of them seem to lean pinkish red.

“Tinted moisturizer with sun protection for a perfect complexion. Anti-Aging Hydra Tint SPF 20 blends mineral-infused color and illuminating pigments for natural-looking color and sheer coverage that disguises imperfections. Protects the skin from UV rays and age spots, and opens moisture pathways in the skin to increase hydration. Dispenses easily from a convenient squeeze bottle, blending seamlessly into your morning routine. Minimal time for exquisite results. Perfection has never been so simple.”

—laprarie.com

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat

August 7th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

I can’t believe it’s already August… Can you? No! I refuse to accept it. I’m in a state of denial.

I’m not even going to entertain the possibility that summer could end until at least October.

Or late November.

I want to go straight from summer to Halloween, back to summer, and then wake up on Thanksgiving night, LOL! 🙂

Oh, well. Sooner or later, probably when it starts cooling off, I’m going to have to accept the inevitable…and somewhere along the way, I’m sure I’ll feel a hankering for rich, red fall lips.

To help me through this difficult time and ease the transition, I’ll turn to Hourglass Ambient Blush in Diffused Heat ($35).

Hourglass Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush closeup — A closeup of Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush

Talk about your beautiful blushes, babe. It’s one of my favorites to wear with warm-toned and/or vintage pin-up red lipsticks like MAC Lady Danger.

I dunno… There’s something about the way this blush works with warmer yellow-based reds (and corals).

Me likey.

Hourglass Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush — Diffused Heat

Orangey poppy mixes with warm pale gold in the marbled pattern, and blended together on cheeks, they look natural (see: no crazy clowns).

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

When I apply one layer, it looks like RyGos just chased me around my condo (because, obviously, he takes time out of his busy schedule to play hide and seek with me).

Noticeable, but not hella distracting, which is great when you don’t want your cheeks competing with your lips when you wear a bold red.

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