Face

A Tan-Talizingly Talented Triple Threat, theBalm’s Shimmery Betty-Lou Manizer Has the Golden Touch

March 13th, 2013 by Karen 8 Comments

theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer — In this pic I’m wearing the Betty-Lou Manizer from theBalm ($24), available now at Sephora and online

Any time a product saves me room in my makeup bag (for more products), I applaud that product (“Good job, product! Three cheers!”).

I mean, who wouldn’t want more room for spare lip glosses and cat treats? 🙂

Not only does theBalm’s shimmery, warm golden brown Betty-Lou Manizer have a great name, it’s also supposed to do three space-saving jobs, working as a contouring bronzer, an all-over setting powder and an eye shadow.

This afternoon I put Betty-Lou to the test, starting by patting it on my lids and sweeping it into my creases.

LOVE!

Imagine a MAC Soft Brown loaded with golden frost. I feel like the deep orangey brown color and intensely shiny golden shimmer deepen my eyes. I can see myself wearing this as a layering shade with greens and blues, and also using it in the crease for smokey eyes.

After introducing it to my lids, I tried Betty-Lou as a shimmery all-over powder, lightly dusting it on my forehead, cheeks and chin, where it bestowed a warm golden glow.

Next came time to contour…

theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer open — theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer

theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer swatch — Swatch ya doin’?

theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer packaging — theBalm Betty-Lou Manizer box packaging

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Yearning for a Retro Look in a Rush? The Tremendously Tinted EstÃ©e Lauder Mad Men Collection See Thru Blush in Light Show Sweeps Cheeks with One-Coat Color

March 11th, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

Estee Lauder Mad Men Collection See Thru Blush in Light Show — That’s the new EstÃ©e Lauder Mad Men Collection See Thru Blush in Light Show ($50) on my cheeks, one of three pieces in the Mad Men Collection, available now at counters and online

One look at the words, “See Thru,” on the box, and I assumed I’d need a heavy hand and lots o’layering to get the new budget-breaking $50 EstÃ©e Lauder Mad Men Collection See Thru Blush in Light Show to show up on my NC42 skin, but like Don Draper, this blush is full of surprises.

And it’s just in time! — along with the other two pieces in the limited edition Mad Men Collection — for the show’s sixth season, which premiers on AMC April 7.

Hmm… Do you recall last year’s two-piece Mad Men Collection? I wonder if these releases will be an annual thing like Bronze Goddess. If so, that has to please the partners at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce… 🙂

This year/season, EstÃ©e Lauder summoned a late ’60s makeup look with a pigmented, pink powder blush with laid-back shimmer that lays down loads of color with a single swipe.

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Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder Is Helping Faces Be Light Hearted

March 8th, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

Like ~~lightning~~ lighting in a bottle.

Sunsets inspire the new highlighting powder from Too Faced, the $32 Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder.

To both set your makeup and give a golden pink/late afternoon glow to your skin, just swirl your brush in the jar of multicolored powder hearts, and apply all over your face.

GURL, you don’t have to tell me about the power of lighting. When I think of how many times my friend Jen and I went clubbing and ended up talking to a dude who looked like a Baldwin in the dim club lighting, but then when the lights came up, we were like, “WHOA?!”

It’s that kind of shared trauma that bonds girlfriends for life. 🙂

Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder 2 — Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder

Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder 3 — Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder

Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder 4 — Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder

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Bronzed, Poreless and Poised for Sun-Kissed Skin: The New Too Faced Bronzed & Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer

March 8th, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

I wouldn’t exactly say it erases pores, or gives me supernaturally smooth skin, but the new $30 Bronzed & Poreless Pore Perfecting Powder from Too Faced does seem to smooth things out.

Where my pores are usually like, “OH, HAI! WE’RE KAREN’S PORES!” wearing Bronzed & Poreless Pore Perfecting Powder’s super soft, fine grains, my pores are definitely softer spoken, like “Oh, hello. Don’t mind me. I’m just one of Karen’s pores.” 🙂

Bronzed & Poreless, one of two powders in the new Hello Sunshine summer collection, is the more matte and orange of the two. The other one, Endless Summer 16-Hour Long-Wear Bronzer, showcases more gold.

If you’re looking for warmth above all else and/or have light or medium skin tone, I’d probably go with Bronzed & Poreless instead of Endless Summer, as Bronzed & Poreless sits on the lighter end of the bronzing spectrum.

Too Faced Bronzed Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer 17 — Too Faced Bronzed & Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer

Too Faced Bronzed Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer 17a — Too Faced Bronzed & Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer

Too Faced Bronzed Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer 18 — Too Faced Bronzed & Poreless Pore Perfecting Bronzer

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A Bright, Glowing Face of the Day With the New Too Faced Summer Eyes Summer Sexy Shadow Collection

March 7th, 2013 by Karen 35 Comments

Too Faced Summer Eyes Summer Sexy Shadow Collection 1 — Too Faced Summer Eyes Summer Sexy Shadow Collection

Dear Insomnia,

I think we need a break… Our relationship isn’t working. I’m just not that into you.

Love,
MBB

My mom always says to look on the bright side, so looking at things that way, the fact that I couldn’t fall asleep last night was a good thing, because it allowed me to finally watch the new episode of Southland (one of the best shows on TV!!).

While watching it I realized that 1) if I ever meet Ben Mckenzie in real life, there better be a fainting couch nearby because I’d probably swoon, and 2) he’s on twitter, which gives me another place to follow him.

Another silver lining to last night’s insomnia? It gave me extra motivation to do a bright, glowing makeup look today with golds, tans and corals — some of my favorite colors these days. 🙂

Two new products play starring roles in this look — the brown, coral and gold eye shadows from the “Classic” row in the new Summer Eyes Palette from Too Faced and the coral NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Lodhi. And on my cheeks, that’s good ol’ Chanel Frivole.

By the way, if you were thinking that the Summer Eye Palette looked familiar, then good eye! The same palette was released last year but on a very small scale. Too Faced decided to re-release it this year with a new shade (Seashell, instead of last year’s Sugar Sand) to let fans who missed it get their paws on it now.

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Does Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Blush Have the Juice to Seduce?

March 7th, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

Wearing Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Blush in Rose ($11.95), one of two new shades available now at drugstores and online

Being named Sexiest Cat Alive by People magazine, not once, but twice, makes Tabs something of an authority on sexy.

What can you say, really? He’s the Channing Tatum/Bradley Cooper combo of the cat supermodel world.

Lucky… I guess some cats are just born with it, ya know? That certain something. That “it” factor.

Most of us, on the other hand, have to work for it. I’ve always seen myself as more of a girl next door — not a bada-boom bombshell — but I’m hoping Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Blush in Rose can fire up my fabulous side.

The blend of shimmery pink tones gives cheeks a seductive glow, and according to Physicians Formula, Sexy Booster was designed from the bottom up to inspire sexy self-confidence. Everything from the packaging (that shoe!) to the scent (a musky vanilla that’s supposed to make women feel more sensual) to the ingredients, which are supposed to have a pheromone-like effect.

Cocoa extract to enhance feelings of attraction, excitement and euphoria, and horny goat weed, an aphrodisiac said to help you get in the mood to boom-chica-wah-wah! 🙂

I can’t say that I feel particularly mrrrooowww when I wear Sexy Booster, but I do quite like the soft pink color and silvery shine.

I think the grains of powder could stand to be a little smaller, too; they’re pretty obvious until I buff the blush down.

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A 16-Hour Bronzer? What a Tan-talizing Thought! The New Two Faced Cosmetics Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer

March 6th, 2013 by Karen 28 Comments

That’s me wearing the new $30 Too Faced Cosmetics Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer (from the new Hello Sunshine summer 2013 collection) below my cheek bones, in the creases of my eyes and around the edges of my face…

Bronzer fiend says what?

What?

I’m addicted to bronzer. 🙂 Have been for a while, but it’s progressed to the point where I feel naked when I’m not wearing any bronzer at all, like I’m running through the aisles at Trader Joe’s wearing nothing but my skivvies and a pair of flip-flips and trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone while I clutch six bags of coconut chips in my arms.

Awkward…

It’s a problem, but at least it’s easy to fix. I just make a point of carrying from one to three bronzers with me at all times (’cause you never know when the urge for NARS Laguna, MAC Give Me Sun or Benefit Hoola will strike).

Okay, not all times. But most.

Except for lately, because I’ve been in the mood to travel light. I rediscovered this small, striped Kate Spade wristlet that I like, and it’s just too small for three bronzers and the kitchen sink.

I guess the stars were aligning when I met the new $30 Too Faced Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer. A light golden brown with subtle shimmer, it keeps me bronzed from brunch to bed, so I don’t have to bring it with me for touch-ups when I leave the house.

Too Faced says that the formula, which combines film formers and polymers with long-lasting pigments, lasts as long as it does because of its “double bond formula…” And yes, I’m picturing two Daniel Craigs. 🙂

They also claim that it’s out of this world! — as in universally flattering, and I can see that. Mostly. I do think it may go ashy on the deepest skin tones…

Too Faced Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer 12 — Too Faced Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer

Too Faced Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer 13 — Too Faced Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer

Too Faced Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer 14 — Too Faced Endless Summer 16 Hour Long-Wear Bronzer

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Hello, Sunshine! Too Faced Welcomes Bronzers and a Beach Theme in the New Hello Sunshine Collection for Summer 2013

March 1st, 2013 by Karen 37 Comments

Too Faced Hello Sunshine Collection Summer 2013 1 — Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder ($32), one of four pieces from the new Hello Sunshine collection for summer 2013, coming soon to Too Faced counters and online

Pack your swimsuit, friend, because you and I are heading to the beach this summer with Too Faced Cosmetics.

Too Faced Hello Sunshine Collection Summer 2013 — Too Faced Hello Sunshine Collection for Summer 2013

Their four-piece Hello Sunshine collection will be surfing onto counters and our lovely faces soon. Take a peek at these pics and swatches, and let me know what you think.

Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder, $32

Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder 5 — Too Faced Sweetheart Beads Radiant Glow Face Powder

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