Face

Unsung Heroes: BECCA Papaya Beach Tint

February 20th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Just added to my list of “Things I’d Like to Do Someday”: eat a papaya (one of my favorite fruits) at the beach (one of my favorite places).

I got the idea from BECCA’s $25 Beach Tint in Papaya, which of course I’ll be wearing when I eat said papaya at said beach. 🙂

This water-resistant lip and cheek tint is one of the newer batch of Beach Tints launched last fall. Described as a “hot red” by BECCA, I call it a “hot reddish, orangey/coral.” With bad-@ss pigment. Can’t forget that.

I’ve been loving it lately, and not just because of the pigment. It’s also a cinch to apply on cheeks and lips, and all it takes are fingers.

With spring approaching, I’ve been crushing harder than usual on corals in general, and I think Papaya worn as a blush on cheeks pairs purrfectly with bold coral lip colors like Tom Ford’s True Coral and Hourglass Muse.

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The Aerin Beauty A Garden at Dusk Face Palette: Sunset in a Garden of Gorgeous, Subtle Colors

February 20th, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

Botany enthusiasts/luxury makeup lovers who like late afternoon gardening and subtle colors will love Aerin Beauty’s new A Garden at Dusk Face Palette.

Um…yeah, that’s a very targeted market. 🙂

The second of two $70 limited edition eye and cheek palettes in Aerin Beauty’s spring line (A Garden in Bloom is the first) shares many traits in common with its equally expensive sibling, like pretty packaging; subtle, cool-toned, sheer shades; and easy-to-blend powders.

Aerin Beauty A Garden at Dusk Palette Swatches — Blush on the far left, eye shadow on the right

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Unzipped, Aerin Beauty’s A Garden in Bloom Face Palette Calls to Upscale Makeup Lovers Longing for Watercolor Washes on Eyes and Cheeks

February 19th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

Wearing the new Aerin Beauty A Garden in Bloom Face Palette ($70) on my eyes and cheeks

I think there’s something very cool, very “power to the people!” about products able to work well for a wide range of beauty lovers — different skin types and tones, young people and older folks — especially when those products aren’t too expensive.

At the same time, I also like products designed with a very specific girl (or guy) in mind, like Aerin Beauty’s new $70 A Garden in Bloom Palette, which focuses like a laser on beauty lovers with some extra spending money.

There’s a good chance A Garden in Bloom girl already carries a Chanel bag, and all of the sales associates at Neimans and Saks know her by her first name. One of her inspirations? Audrey Hepburn, and the classic eye look she wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. 🙂

She likes a very specific makeup look, too, with her eyes and cheeks defined by light washes of color, and only rarely ventures into bolder, brighter territory. Luckily, this limited edition spring palette, with its three cool-toned, moderately pigmented powder eye shadows — a pinkish beige with a satin finish, a matte taupe and a purplish gray — and matte rosy pink powder blush, offers exactly that.

Aerin Beauty A Garden in Bloom photos pictures packaging — The cloth-covered, zippered packaging looks pretty to me, but it sure isn’t easy to keep clean…

Aerin Beauty A Garden in Bloom Face Palette swatches — Blush on the far left; eyeshadows on the right

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A Desert Rose Is Blooming on Bare Cheeks This Spring: Palladio Herbal Mosaic Powder in Desert Rose

February 18th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Palladio Desert Rose Herbal Mosaic Powder Pictures, Swatches, Review — Wearing Palladio’s $8 Herbal Mosaic Powder in Desert Rose on my cheeks; available now online and at Ulta and Sally Beauty Supply stores

Imagine strolling into a Santa Fe art gallery one sunny afternoon and finding a makeup mosaic for $8.

Yup, Palladio’s Herbal Mosaic Powder in Desert Rose is a little like that.

The pan has a mosaic pattern with five complementing powders you can wear individually, or swirled together, as a bronzer, blush, eyeshadow or highlighter.

Since the individual strips of color aren’t all that wide (the entire pan fits in my palm), I usually mix all of the shades together, and apply them to my cheeks with a fluffy blush brush.

On my NC 42 skin, a single layer delivers a rosy, peachy flush with golden pearl. Pretty! — especially for weekends or for casual makeup looks… Which reminds me, worn as a blush on bare skin or atop tinted moisturizer, I think Desert Rose looks a heck of a lot more expensive than $8. Shoot, it looks downright high end.

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These Super-Sized Pinkish Purple Pearls Sparkle With Silver Shimmer: Guerlain MÃ©tÃ©orites Perles du Paradis Illuminating Sparkling Powder

February 11th, 2013 by Karen 28 Comments

Guerlian MÃ©tÃ©orites Perles du Paradis — Wearing Guerlian’s MÃ©tÃ©orites Perles du Paradis ($70) all over my face

I like big cats and I cannot lie (those other brothers can’t deny)…

I also like huge hoop earrings, XXL scoops of ice cream (really, if you’re gonna indulge, might as well go all out) and the super-sized shimmery pearls in Guerlain’s $70 spring highlighter, MÃ©tÃ©orites Perles du Paradis.

Don’t these look almost good enough to eat? You might want to keep them away from young children and, um, inebriated adults, because not only do they look pretty tasty, they also smell like those yummy rose and violet hard candies they sell at the Asian grocery store, om nom nom…

And I like their name, Perles du Paradis, oui, oui! Pearls of paradise, I think. When I swirl a brush in the jar (I prefer a brush, but the product comes with a pink puff), the pearls tinkle like wind chimes.

I think these pearls look, smell and even sound great, but what, exactly, are they designed to do? Guerlain says the six shimmery skin-toned and pastel pearls that come in the jar brighten dull skin by reflecting light and boosting radiance, and they work with all skin tones.

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The New Illamasqua Blush Up Brush Seeks to Broaden Your Brush Horizons

February 7th, 2013 by Karen 18 Comments

I keep having visions of myself using Illamasqua’s new $41 Blush Up Brush while I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym, I think because Illamasqua refers to the shape oval brush head shape as an “ellipse.”

(I know, I know. I’m easily distracted.)

You might wondering, “Why would anyone apply blush in the middle of their workout?”

Honestly, I don’t know…but I’m someone who applies makeup to run to Petco in the middle of the night, so I don’t rule anything out anymore. 🙂

About the brush, Illamasqua says it opens doors to a bold new world of blush application! The secret: the elliptical shape.

It’s designed to fit snugly beneath your cheekbones. Just gently pull the brush upward along the cheekbones to create a soft gradient of color.

Here’s the recommended step-by-step instructions I’ve been following…

Illamasqua Blush Up Brush Instructions — Looks as easy as 1-2-3

I’m intrigued, but I’m also pretty set it my ways when it comes to blush application. I’ve been doing the bounce and swirl for so long that I could do ’em hanging upside down in a pitch black room.

After trying Illamasqua’s technique and the new brush for a few days, well, I think I’ll eventually get the hang of it, get to where I could create some sharp, defined ’80s-style cheeks, but it’s still a little tricky for me now.

First, the stuff I like about the brush: the soft bristles, and the long handle feels sturdy and comfortable in my paws.

Oh, and the density of brush head? Amazing. It’s so thick! It picks up plenty of powder and deposits it smoothly and evenly on the skin.

Really great for strong, defined blocks of color.

Illamasqua Blush Up Brush in hand for scale — Illamasqua Blush Up Brush in my hand for scale

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Bronzed Babes Who Love Bold, Brash Blushes, Illamasqua’s Beg and Bronzerella Powder Blusher Duo Demands Your Attention

February 7th, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Illamasqua Beg Bronzerella Blusher Duo — Wearing the new Illamasqua Beg & Bronzerella Blusher Duo ($41), one of two new Blusher Duos released with the Imperfection spring 2013 collection

If acid-washed jeans can make a comeback (seriously?!), then it’s just a matter of time before bold, stripy ’80s-style blushes enjoy a renaissance.

And I can’t wait. 🙂

Oh, the number of falling stars my 8-year-old heart wished upon for cheeks like Joan Cusack’s in Working Girl…

Visions of those fabulously chiseled ’80s cheeks danced in my head when I opened Illamasqua’s new powerfully pigmented Powder Blusher Duo in Beg & Bronzerella today. “Ooh, yeah!” I thought, when I swatched matte dusty rose Beg and shimmery copper Bronzerella on the back of my hand. “I’m gonna Joan Cusack the CRAP outta these, woop-woop!”

But old habits die hard. After I swept stripes below my natural cheekbones using Beg and Illamasqua’s new $40 Blush Up Brush (review coming soon!), the urge to blend kicked in, and I ended up with my regular look — diffused blush on the apples of my cheeks — which I still like, but I couldn’t help feeling like I let Joan Cusack down…

Oh, well. I guess I just wasn’t ready for that jelly today.

Whether you like the look of strong, contoured cheeks or prefer softer, more natural looks, the new blushes in this duo are flexible enough to handle either extreme. Rich and indulgent like fine chocolate, these potent powder blushes are also as smooth as a tabby’s tum, and a little goes a long way.

Illamasqua Beg Bronzerella Blusher Duo Product Shot — Beg on the left and Bronzerella on the right

Illamasqua Beg Bronzerella Blusher Duo Swatches — One swipe! — that’s Beg on the left and Bronzerella on the right

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Unlike Most Reptiles, MAC Year of the Snake Collection Shell Pearl Beauty Powder Absolutely Does Not Bite

February 6th, 2013 by Karen 30 Comments

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder from the Year of the Snake Collection — The MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder ($24), a pale peach with golden pearl from the new from the Year of the Snake Collection available exclusively online at maccosmetics.com

With this collection, I keep wanting to type, “MAC Snakes on a Plane!”

In this highly anticipated sequel to the 2006 smash hit, Snakes on a Plane, Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as hot-tempered FBI agent Neville Flynn! — only this time, the reptiles he’s facing at 30,000 feet are more pigmented than poisonous.

That’s just such a catchy name, isn’t it? Snakes on a Plane. And I never even saw the movie.

I’ll tell you what, though — I sure would love to take the new Shell Pearl Beauty Powder on a trip…

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder Year of the Snake Swatch — From the left, Shell Pearl Beauty Powder swatches on my NC42 skin: Year of the Snake, Archie’s Girls and Liberty of London

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