Hourglass

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

August 11th, 2015 by Karen 35 Comments

1. Lime-flavored ANYTHING

Forget about lemons. Limes are where it’s at, man.

So sour… So good! I was into key lime pie a few weeks ago (haha, I know, I shift gears often), but now I’m all about lime candies and — OOH! — limeade!

It’s like lemonade but made with limes (obvs). There’s a place in town called Rustic Bakery that makes a GREAT limeade that’s nice and tart with a good bite to it, and sometimes I’ll get one there with lunch.

In fact, I’m drinking one right now. 🙂

Well…I was drinking one, but I just finished it! *slurp*

2. Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger Pop

Current favorite blush right hurr. This pop is a real gem. It’s a $22 peachy brown nude in Clinique’s permanent line, and it buffs out beautifully on cheeks.

Lasts all day, too.

I guess I forgot about it for a while, but I recently re-discovered it while “shopping” in a drawer.

3. Hourglass Femme Rouge Lipstick in Vintage

Another beauty I hadn’t worn in a hot minute, but I’m making up for that now!

Doesn’t this pinkish brown have kind of a ’90s vibe to it? (I wore it in yesterday’s winged liner tutorial). I love how this neutral/nude works with darker skin tones, especially (if you’re a lighter lass, check out Hourglass Grace).
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Hourglass Cosmetics Summer 2015: Introducing the New Ambient Lighting Bronzers and a Full-Sized Incandescent Electra Ambient Blush

April 14th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

The Hourglass Summer 2015 Collection, available now at Hourglass counters and online

Fellow Hourglass fanatic and probable feline porcelain figurine lover, go grab your biggest, fluffiest, pouffiest (wait — I don’t think that’s even a word) powder brush, and hurry back.

You’re going to need that brush when you work with these new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers.

YAAAAAAS GIRL! 🙂 Hourglass totally went there. First, they gave us the glorious Ambient Lighting Powders, then the awesome Ambient Blushes, and now these! — the new Ambient Lighting Bronzers (available in two shades, $50 each).

hourglass cosmetics summer 2015 — From the left: the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers in Luminous Bronze Light and Radiant Bronze Light, and Incandescent Electra Blush

Both bronzers, as well as a new full-sized version of Ambient Lighting Blush in Incandescent Electra (Remember Electra from the the Ambient Blush palette? I’m a fan.), are new for summer 2015. They’re also being added to the permanent line (available now at Hourglass counters and online).

Notice how the bronzer pans are comprised of two shades, one lighter than the other? Those lighter areas are veins of Radiant Light and Luminous Light Ambient Lighting Powder running through the Bronzer.

Hourglass recommends the Luminous Bronze Light one for fair-skinned/lighter lovelies, and Radiant Bronze Light for medium/deeper-toned divas.

Now, the darker areas within each of the pans is the actual bronzer. Hourgless figured out a way to combine warm, golden orange bronzers with cooler, ashier-toned taupes.

Interestingly, though, the warm orangey bronzer is what shows up in swatches, and also when I apply these on my face, which I do with a big fluffy powder blush, which creates that whole sun-kissed, golden bronzed effect I like.

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10 Things I Love About Hourglass Cosmetics

January 21st, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

Lips by Hourglass Velvet Creme Lipstick in Fever ($30)…

It’s like when I come across something special in a store, like that Peter Som cat dress from Anthropologie, and it feels like the world will crash around me if it doesn’t get in my closet. For me, that’s Hourglass makeup.

Yes, they’re expensive — pretty much the same prices as Chanel and Dior — but there’s something about Hourglass. The simplicity. They don’t have 30 different browns or 20 different red lipsticks, but I’m still always able to find exactly what I’m in the mood to wear. When you wear it, you feel super cool, and your makeup looks good.

I love their textures and the way they elevate basic colors like gold and peach and make them seem so much more elegant and refined, but still accessible at the same time. Sometimes, their new launches are so exciting that they break the Internet (almost).

A lot of the products in my “everyday basics” makeup bag are Hourglass, and here are 10 of the ones I reach for the most…

1. Velvet Creme Lipstick in Fever

Otherwise known as “the lipstick that generates 20 emails to my inbox whenever I wear it on the blog,” and the emails usually say the same thing: “What is that color, BECAUSE I HAVE TO HAVE IT NOW!”

The emails are also often tinged with quiet desperation. Once someone even offered to trade their child’s pony for a tube!

Super creamy, vibrant fuchsia Fever has looked gorgeous on every person I’ve ever seen wear it.

Hourglass Fever Swatch — I’ve got the Fever!!!

2. The Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette blushes from the left: Luminous Flush, Incandescent Electra and Mood Exposure — Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

These are the blushes I reach for when I know I don’t have enough time to really get ready in the morning. They’re like a combination natural-looking blush and subtle highlighter in one.

I’m actually wearing Incandescent Electra, the middle shade, right now because I barely had 60 seconds before I had to leave the house for a dentist’s appointment this afternoon.

Oh, and random info, but today I found out at the dentist that I have thick enamel.

Yeah, apparently it’s something I should be proud of. 🙂

3. Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat

Hourglass Diffused Heat Ambient Lighting Blush — Diffused Heat

So pretty… A coral with a subtle golden sheen, Diffused Heat is one of my summertime go-to blush shades. If you have warm skin or a bit of a tan, it looks gorgeous paired with coral lipstick or gloss.

4. Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Muse

Speaking of coral glosses, have you seen Hourglass Extreme High Shine Lipgloss in Muse!? L-to-the-O-to-the-V-to-the-E.

It’s super moisturizing, shiny and comfy like a Cremesheen Glass. I wear this one year round.

5. Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light

Hourglass Radiant Light Ambient Powde — Golden beige Radiant Light ($45)

This golden beige is another one of my errrday faves. I use it as a highlighter a lot when I’m out cruising the town/about to lay a smack down. Yes, you can call me MC K-Dawg.

Despite the delicate, nuanced shimmer and light color, I can still see it, ya know? Otherwise why bother? I want to see that ish, at least a little!

For pics, it may be a tad too subtle for some gals/guys, especially those who like their highlights bold and brash, but if you like a subtle highlight, GO THERE.
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Make Army Green Your New Neutral: A Fresh Way to Wear Olive and Neutral Eyeshadows Starring the Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

January 12th, 2015 by Karen 59 Comments

Wearing the new Hourglass Modernist Eye Shadow Palettes in Color Field and Obscura on my lids, $58 each

Ten-hut! Members of the neutral eyeshadow makeup army, fall in, and salute the newest member of our ranks. Her codename: army green.

Also known as olive, who, I know, you may have seen around base last summer, but she’s also trained as a fully functional neutral, like agents beige, taupe and tan.

Let’s be real. Woman cannot live on brown shadow alone. At some point, even our favorite neutrals, as classic and timeless as they are, need refreshing, and the brass feels that army green eyeshadow is the new way to go.

My favorite army green finishes are satins and shimmers, but I think some of the mattes are beautiful too. But then, some of them (the mattes) also tend to fall a little flat, or end up being difficult to blend. I’m a mattes girl through and through, but gimme a satin or shimmery army green any day of the week.

The trick is finding the right finish for you. In my case, I like shimmers that don’t showcase my fine lines, and I don’t want a formula that’s going to give me any grief (also known as patchiness and fallout), because oy! — I already get enough of that from mah cat.

(Incidentally, he’s been so naughty lately! At night he scratches the stairs, noisily fiddles with cabinets and knocks things off shelves onto the floor.)

The army greens in the new $58 Hourglass Modernest Eyeshadow Palette in Color Field are so my jam.

The new Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette in Color Field ($58)

One of seven new Hourglass powder eyeshadow quints coming this spring, Color Field has two army greens you need to get on yo’ lids LIKE RIGHT NOW.

The lighter one has golden pearl, and the darker one is richer and filled with flecks of micro golden glitter. Both are so completely forgiving on my lids that they make me feel like 29-year-old Karen, the wee lass she was… 🙂

Color Field also contains a matte beige (which is kind of like a powder eyeshadow version of MAC Painterly Paint Pot), a neutral shimmery gold, and a neutral mid-toned tan.

Last weekend Color Field and I had a blast. Picture a draped dress that effortlessly flows in all the right places, and these shadows are like that.

The shades fluidly transition into each other with hardly any fallout and last all day long with primer.

I’ve already made room in my Hourglass drawer for more of the seven Modernist palettes, which are available now online for VIB Rouge members, and soon to be available for errryone else.
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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Velvet Creme Lipstick in Fever

November 21st, 2014 by Karen 30 Comments

This is the one Fever that you’d actually be stoked to catch. “But Karen,” I can already hear you saying, “I can’t afford to get sick! Between dating Ryan Gosling (hey, a girl can dream) and pet assisting for five cats, I can’t afford time off!”

Not to worry, friend. 🙂 This isn’t a Fever that’ll leave you in bed, clammy and immobile for 48 hours with sweat between your toes. This is Femme Rouge Lipstick in Fever by Hourglass ($30), a vibrant stop-and-stare fuchsia.

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

I wore this lipstick in my review of the Hourglass Ambient Blush Palette a while back, and ever since then — kid you not — I get at least one email a week from someone asking about it, and the emails usually start with the words, “I HAVE TO HAVE IT,” or something to that effect.

I totally understand, ’cause the first time I wore the lipstick, I caught it (the Fever). My brow broke out in a cool sweat as I swiped the tube across my lips. I think I may have also experienced a temporarily delirium. Either that, or RyGos really was sitting on my living room couch eating a wedge of gouda…

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The New Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette: Chic Cheeks Are Just a Couple Swipes Away

September 19th, 2014 by Karen 36 Comments

Hello, gorgeous. Good afternoon. I don’t want to keep you from the fun I hope you’re having (it is Friday, after all), but do you have time for a 2-minute review? I hope so, because this is one I think you’ll like. 🙂

Are you ready? OK, I’m turning over the hourglass now…

The new Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette: 2-minute review

A limited edition palette containing three Hourglass blushes, two of them re-promotes and one brand new blush shade.
Price: $58 US, $67 CDN
Coming October 2014 to Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Sephora and Space NK stores, as well as online to hourglasscosmetics.com.
The two re-promoted blush shades are Luminous Flush (a champagne rose blush fused with Ambient Powder in Luminous Light) and Mood Exposure (a soft plum blush fused with Ambient Powder in Mood Light).
The single new shade, exclusive to the Ambient Lighting Blush Palette, is called Incandescent Electra, a cool peach blush blended with Ambient Powder in Incandescent Light.
Handle with care! Even the packaging indicates that the palette is fragile, so this beauty may not be fit for whirlwind travel.
Incandescent Electra, the new peach shade, is much more pigmented than I thought it would be at first blush/glance. One layer is enough for a natural-looking flush.
Go really easy on Luminous Flush and Mood Exposure, because you’ll probably only need a bit of either one.
All three of these are, unsurprisingly for Hourglass, a breeze to blend, and the powders don’t appear heavy at all on the skin.
I think they also look great in pics. Skin doesn’t look oily, and pores don’t look extra-large.
Wear time clocks in around 8-9 hours.
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A (an A+ if the packaging felt more fit for travel, but I’m nervous about the blushes breaking!)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette Luminous Flush — Luminous Flush

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette Incandescent Electra — Incandescent Electra

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette Mood Exposure — Mood Exposure

Hourglass Blush Palette Swatches — From the left: Luminous Flush, Incandescent Electra and Mood Exposure

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Femme Rouge Lipstick in Vintage

August 28th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Ironically, my favorite lipstick (this week) is a modern twist on a traditional idea. It’s called Vintage, and I think of it as a modern twist on a traditional nude lipstick for fall.

I’m kind of loving that idea, the idea of lips that are slightly richer, and maybe a few shades darker, than your natural lip color.

Tom Ford’s fabulous new rich, rosy brown Lip Color in Negligee has some of that same vibe.

The whole idea is just so different from what I picture in my head when I think “nude lips,” which over the past few years have meant a lot of light peach, pink and beige.

Barbie lips, so to speak.

I was digging around in my lipstick collection last weekend for something modern and nude when I re-discovered this old friend’s charms — Vintage ($30), a shade in the Hourglass Femme Rouge lipstick line, and one of my unsung makeup heroes.

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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.

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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