Face

Lightweight, Sheer MAC Prep + Prime Beauty Balm SPF 35 Now Available in Nine Gotta Wear Shades

September 2nd, 2013 by Karen 10 Comments

How was your weekend, babe? Mine was…educational.

It featured many fascinating factoids and interesting moments (not really), like last night I re-learned a lesson I’ve learned many times before — that it is not a good idea to watch horror/thriller/alien abduction movies immediately before going to bed.

And then on Saturday, I learned that Sam Edelman makes some killer comfy flats (I brought home a pair from the Nordstrom shoe sale).

Makeup-wise, I had a huge “Eureka!” moment while wearing MAC’s Prep + Prime BB Beauty Balm SPF 35 ($30, available in a range of shades), MAC’s BB cream from their permanent line.

I wore it both days over the weekend, along with a couple of lippies from the new MAC Retro Mattes collection, and discovered that it looks super cool with matte lips.

MAC Prep + Prime Beauty Balm SPF 35 Ingredients — Long list of ingredients…

Like opposites, they attract. On the one hand, you’ve got the slightly dewy, sheer luminosity of the BB Beauty Balm. On the other, the opaque, flat matte finish of a Retro Matte (or any matte lipstick, really). Put them together and BAM! — a really lovely contrast between uber-casual skin and formal matte lips.

MAC Prep + Prime Beauty Balm SPF 35 swatches from the left: Medium, Medium Plus, Medium Dark, Dark, Dark Plus and Dark Deep — MAC Prep + Prime Beauty Balm SPF 35 swatches from the left in Medium, Medium Plus, Medium Dark, Dark, Dark Plus and Dark Deep

I love experimenting with different finishes and levels of coverage, and pairings like this one are for me like wearing a motorcycle jacket with a sequined cocktail dress — unexpectedly great, unusual and a lil’ bit quirky.

Of course, you could use any BB cream, sheer foundation or tinted moisturizer for something like this, but MAC’s Prep + Prime BB Beauty Balm is a good candidate.

[Continue reading…]

The Fabulously Disco Divalicious MAC Antonio Lopez Collection’s Eye and Face Palettes Will Draw You In

August 27th, 2013 by Karen 42 Comments

MAC Antonio Lopez: 6 Eyes/Bronze and Face/Coral — Wearing the new MAC Antonio Lopez 6 Eyes palette in Teal on my eyes and Face palette in Coral on my cheeks

I am a girl. I am a girl with dreams.

Makeup dreams.

BIG, BOLD makeup dreams. Dreams of getting all dolled up exactly like the gal on this new MAC Antonio Lopez 6 Eyes palette, and then going to Petco to buy kitty litter.

SO FABULOUSLY DISCO DIVALICIOUS.

Let’s see… I think I have a blue scarf around here somewhere, and some black earrings, and I’m thinking I could probably imitate the hair. Maybe.

Oh, but that crazy-@ss earring?! I’ll definitely have to improv that, since something tells me I probably wouldn’t be able to find it (easily) at Claire’s.

The makeup, though, I’ve got that covered, boo-boo, thanks to the MAC Antonio Lopez collection’s mix of eye, lip and cheek palettes.

The MAC Antonio Lopez collection

The new collection struts into North American MAC stores, onto counters and online September 12, and arrives at international locales the same month (international babes, you might want to swing by your local counter to ask your fave MAC artist for a firm date).

Soooo…who IS this dude?

Fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez — From left: Eija Vehka Aho, Juan Ramos, Jacques de Bascher, Karl Lagerfeld and Antonio Lopez. Photo credit: The estate of Antonio Lopez & Juan Ramos, via Rizzoli, nytimes.com

First thing I thought when I saw these palettes was, “Oh, hell yes!” The second thing was, “Who is Antonio Lopez?”

Antonio Lopez (February 11, 1943 — March 17, 1987) was a world-renowned fashion illustrator who’s work appeared in many top-tier glossies like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle, as well as the style pages of papers like The New York Times. In addition to his artwork, he’s known for discovering many famous models, too, including Grace Jones and Jerry Hall.

The new MAC Antonio Lopez collection features some of his drawings, with each of the palettes decorated with one of his muses (MAC calls the ladies “Antonio’s Girls”).

An afternoon with Antonio

This afternoon I told Tabs that I could only work a half day because I had a prior engagement with three eyeshadow palettes and the two face palettes. He grumbled and bit my nose. 🙂

Then, I crossed my fingers, did a disco dance (the Hustle, IF you must know), and hoped to find just as much beauty inside these palettes as out.

MAC Antonio Lopez: 6 Eyes Palettes in Bronze, Violet and Teal ($43.50 each US and $52 CDN)

The MAC Antonio Lopez 6 Eyes Palettes clockwise from the left: Violet, Teal and Bronze — The 6 Eyes Palettes clockwise from the left: Violet, Teal and Bronze

What did I find?

Well, the one eye palette I felt kind of “eh” about at first, Teal, turned out to be much more interesting than I thought.

MAC Antonio Lopez 6 Eyes/Teal Palette — 6 Eyes/Teal Palette

The first time I saw its colors, they didn’t quite make sense to me, but after I started buffing and blending, the mix of bright blue and green played well with the smokier olive, black, gray and light violet shades.

Now if I could only get rid of the fallout… Thank goodness, there’s only a little. If I were forced, cruelly, to choose just one of these three eye palettes to get down with, I’d choose Teal quicker than you could say “boogie-oogie-oogie.”
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-

As for fallout issues with the other two eye palettes, Violet and Bronze, nope. None.

MAC Antonio Lopez 6 Eyes/Bronze Palette — 6 Eyes/Violet Palette

Violet’s pink and purple give it a foxy ’80s vibe, and I think that bottom row of gray, silver and black should satisfy my lust for smokey eyes (kind of reminds me of Prism by Hourglass). The cream shade in the upper right-hand corner, though? Not that inspiring, but I appreciate the contrast.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

[Continue reading…]

Why Stop and Smell the Roses When the New Clarins Graphic Expression Face & Blush Powder Palette Smells This Divine?

August 26th, 2013 by Karen 41 Comments

A texture finer than cake flour and a fresh, unforced healthy glow? Lovely traits to have in/get from a powder blush, but I crave more from my pans (says the girl whose husband routinely catches her in the bathroom cooing at a Chanel Joues Constraste blush).

Ya know, like a nice scent. 🙂

Known for their Laissez-faire approach to cheek color, Clarins has kindly obliged.

Their brand new $35 Graphic Expression Face & Blush Powder Palette smells ah-may-zing! Evocative of something from a more expensive line like Chanel. When I open the pan and take a whiff, it’s as if a bouquet of freesias appears on my desk beside a tin of violet hard candies as I’m hugged by someone who loves me — all in one sniff!

But the scent isn’t the only reason I heart this multi-colored palette of matte peach, rose and tan. Whether worn separately or mixed together, the shades look like they were made for fall smokey eyes and/or bold lips.

Clarins Graphic Expression Face & Blush Powder Swatch — Two layers of Graphic Expression

[Continue reading…]

Like the Universe, Benefit’s Box O’ Powder Line Is Expanding…With Rosy Gold Rockateur Powder Blush

August 23rd, 2013 by Karen 18 Comments

Soft rocking with rose gold Benefit Rockateur ($28) on my cheeks

With Rockateur, Benefit’s Box O’ Powder line is expanding! (like my husky tabby’s waistline/kitty empire) — while simultaneously shrinking over time…

Stardate: 2008. Bene-babes were bringing home their Boxes O’ Powder, like the lovely Coralista, for $28 each, but they were getting 0.42 ounces of product.

Fast forward five years to today…

We’re all driving hover cars, our greatest scientists are cats, and most of the brand’s powders still cost $28! — except that now they contain just 0.28 ounces of product (with the exception of Thrrrob, which still comes with the same 0.42 ounces for some reason).

Benefit Rockateur Pan Closeup — A closeup of the Rockateur pan… The rosy golden shimmer at the edges is an overspray.

Stranger still, the new Rockateur is even smaller, containing just 0.17 ounces of powder.

Hmm…

Could this mean that all of Benefit’s Boxes O’ Powder will shrink over time without a drop in price? I don’t know (but I hope not).

Thankfully, Rockateur’s small stature doesn’t take anything away from the blush itself, a lovely neutral rosy gold with shimmer. More of a light peachy coral pink on my tan skin, it should look even brighter and more intense on lighter and medium skin tones.

It reminds me a lot of Benefit Sugarbomb, but with less coral and much more pink. I’m wearing two layers to really convey the color in these pics, but one layer works just fine for heading out and lasts through an eight-hour day.

Benefit Rockateur Box — The front o’ the box…

Benefit Rockateur Ingredients — Ingredients

[Continue reading…]

Why Maybelline’s $4.99 Fit Me Blush in Light Rose Will Have You Blushing

August 22nd, 2013 by Karen 5 Comments

Maybelline's Fit Me Blush in Light Rose — For gals who love the look of barely-there blush, there’s Maybelline’s Fit Me Blush in Light Rose ($4.99)

3 things I brought home with me from Kauai…

Angry red mosquito bites. OMG! SO ITCHY! The skeeters came out in force whenever the trade winds subsided.
A tan, despite regularly slathering myself with SPF 55.
A pair of skinny jeans that had previously fit me better before the trip… 🙂

Yeah, I may have gone a little overboard with the french fries. And the shave ice. And the ice cream. And the —

Whatev! I was on vacation.

But now that I’m back, I want to get fit, like this blush by Maybelline.

It’s called Fit Me Blush in Light Rose… Get it? Fit Me? Fit?

Sorry! Weak pun. I’m still a little jet-lagged.

Maybelline Fit Me Blush Light Rose — Maybelline’s Fit Me Blush in Light Rose ($4.99)

Every time I see the word “Fit” on this sheer matte neutral pink blush’s cover it reminds me that I should probably go for a run to start working off all of those bowls of saimin I had (it’s a noodle soup like ramen, only taken to the next level with lots of delicious toppings).

Along with acting as a gentle reminder to get my butt moving, the blush also leaves my cheeks with the same soft pink post-workout flush I get after sprinting through the finish of a 30-minute treadmill sesh…except without the heavy breathing and perspiration.

By comparison, it’s effortless.

When all I want is a basic pink flush — something that won’t compete with my eye or lip makeup — Light Rose hits the spot.

Like Maybellinne’s other Fit Me Blushes, it’s very sheer, so if you grab it expecting NARS-caliber color, you might be disappointed. I really have to build it up in layers to see the color clearly on my skin.

Maybelline Fit Me Blush Light Rose Swatch — Three layers of Light Rose

[Continue reading…]

August 21st, 2013 by Karen 6 Comments

Le MÃ©tier de BeautÃ© Peau Vierge Correcteur

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Xiao Lim of MessyWands.com. You can also find Xiao on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram.

Just to prove the HG-ness (Holy Grail-ness) of this concealer, in the picture above the tube is completely extended. I am almost at the stage where I have to dig the stuff out with a brush, and I’m close to tears. After all, at $95 these things cost an arm and a leg to replace.

Said concealer, Le MÃ©tier de BeautÃ© Peau Vierge Correcteur in Light/Medium, is the first concealer I would ever use up. Prior to this, my favorite concealer was by Cle de Peau, and though that concealed discolorations and under-eye circles very well, it felt a little dry, and the blending wasn’t as seamless as I hoped it would be.

LMdB Peau Vierge Correcteur is creamy, but not heavy, and from the get-go it merged with my skin as if it were a part of it. I may never know whether it’s my eye cream or the Peau Vierge treatment in the concealer that keeps (most) of my dark circles away, but you won’t see me chancing it by changing my routine.

Without any makeup (except drawn-in eyebrows!)

(It’s just my luck that when I had to take an important picture, a giant pimple popped up.)

[Continue reading…]

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Rose Initiale Joues Contraste Powder Blush

August 20th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Chanel Rose Initiale Joues Contraste Powder Blush ($43)

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Sunny Hu of mostlysunnyblog.com. You can also find Sunny on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Have you ever gone from feeling lukewarm about something to realizing that life without it would be pretty tough? Well, that’s my story with Chanel Rose Initiale Joues Contraste Powder Blush ($43). I’d read that it ticked all of the boxes for a good blush when I first got it, but I wasn’t in love. It just seemed so…ordinary.

It turns out, that’s the secret to its versatility!

The long-running Makeup and Beauty Blog Unsung Heroes series features much-loved permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

Neutral Pink Chanel Rose Initiale is just pigmented enough to show up easily, and the blendability makes sure you never have to fear going too far with it! The tiny shimmer in there looks like a satiny sheen on the cheeks, which gives it a natural finish and keeps it from looking dull.

On the left: Chanel Rose Initiale swatched heavily; on the right: blended out

While Rose Initiale might look like any other pink, it works with absolutely everything! It’s magical! When I can’t decide which blush to wear, I go for Rose Initiale. When I want to take face shots for five different lipsticks in one go, I reach for Rose Initiale. From berry to wine, from nude to red, I have yet to find one single lipstick Rose Initiale doesn’t work well with.

[Continue reading…]

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Physicians Formula Powder Palette in Blushing Berry

August 16th, 2013 by Karen 5 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Jenn Coyle of hellobrio.com. You can also find Jenn on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, Etsy and Society6.

This is a story about love…

It begins with a young girl who learned early on that blush was a staple in her regime; a driving force in her life. She started off slowly, using whatever her mom helped her choose.

One day, she graduated from Cover Girl Cheekers to Physicians Formula blushes. That big step marked the beginning of her blush addiction — choosing to spend upwards of $10 on a blush when there were perfectly good blushes for $3 or $4. At that point, there was no going back. This girl was hopelessly in love with loving blushes.

Years later, said girl had been ’round the proverbial blush block. Now a connoisseur, purchasing in ranges from cheap-cheap to drugstore to high-end, she had a sizable number of blush compacts in her collection.

I apologize for getting philosophical with you, but here goes: they say once a person has too many options, the person can begin to feel paralyzed when forced to make a decision.

[Continue reading…]