Lips

The White Tee Trick (Also Known as Two Pops of Color) Using MAC Giambattista Valli Lipstick in Tats and the Kristin Perry Showered in Neon Necklace

July 8th, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

mac giambattista valli tats k — Two pops o’ color!

One of the quickest, most colorful ways I know to dress up a standard-issue white tee ensemble is by incorporating twin pops o’ color like a bright lip and a colorful necklace.

When the two pops complement each other, like the hot pinks in the new MAC Giambattista Valli Lipstick in Tats and the Kristin Perry Showered in Neon Necklace, this trick is both quick and easy.

But the complementary color thing isn’t an unbreakable rule, or any kind of rule for that matter. The thing is just to have two focal points. As long as you have that down, you should be good.

I call this “The White Tee Trick” because, apparently, everything in my life needs an ONICL (Official Name Involving Capital Letters). 🙂

mac giambattista valli tats — MAC Giambattista Valli Lipstick in Tats

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Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick: Urban Decay Goes Back to the Beauty Future!

July 2nd, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

urban decay matte lipstick — The Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipsticks

“Ladies and gentlemen of the graduating class of 1993!

[APPLAUSE]

Wear lipstick!

[LOUDER APPLAUSE]

Specifically, matte lipstick!!

[INTENSE APPLAUSE]

Because if there’s one piece of unsolicited makeup advice I can give to you on this, the beginning of your bold beauty journey into adulthood, it is to wear matte lipstick. Often. Starting right now. Because then, not only will you be partaking of what was one of the hottest fashion trends of the ’90s, but you’ll also be embracing its triumphant return as a trend again now and in the future!

[LONG APPLAUSE]

My second piece of advice for you is this: put down the damn tweezers, because unlike matte lipstick, those full, bushy brows of yours will not return if you whittle them all the way down into pencil thin lines.”

— Anonymous graduation speech

Yes, kids, matte lipsticks, like The New Kids on the Block, are staging a comeback! They’ve returned from the ’90s glam graveyard, and they’ve brought with them some of the era’s most iconic dark brown and taupe shades, like 1993, one of Urban Decay’s upcoming new $22 Matte Revolution Lipsticks.

urban decay matte lipstick 1993 — Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick in 1993 (the year I graduated!)

Dude!! That’s when I graduated from high school. Back then, when I wasn’t wearing my band uniform (BAND GEEK 4 LIFE), you probably would have found me in a plaid shirt, jeans (or Z. Cavarrici pants), a thick black headband, hoop earrings and really, REALLY dark brown matte lipstick. 🙂

urban decay 1993 — Wearing Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick in 1993 and daydreaming about high school…

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: NARS Yu Satin Lip Pencil

July 1st, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

Hey, Yu!

Yeah, Yu, homie. Right there. No, not that dude behind you… I’m talking to Yu.

I have to tell you something and it’s…well, important? And awkward. But you see, this — you and I? Well, basically, I’m absolutely, positively madly in love with Yu.

YES, YU! I’m ride-or-die for life!

OK, enough of that, LOL! Let’s talk about Yu… 🙂

Yu. Oh, NARS Yu. It’s another one of my perennial summertime NARS Satin Lip Pencil jams. A bright hot pink lipstick with a satin finish, I love it for many of the same reasons I also love NARS Lodhi — the smooth, creamy formula, opaque coverage and 4-5 hour wear time. It’s another example of perfection in a pencil.

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7 Covetable Coral Lipsticks That’ll Make You Go Completely Crazy for Coral

June 29th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

Some people go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. I go crazy for coral…lips, which I will totally wear any time of year, but fiendishly in summer.

This time of year I wear coral lips. A lot. Practically every other day! I mean, coral as a color in summer? That never goes out of style.

And when it comes to coral lips and permanent colors, here are seven of my faves… 🙂

1. MAC Amplified Lipstick in Vegas Volt

Vegas Volt. Something must be powering all those slot machines and lights. Maybe it’s Vegas Volt. It’s the coral I wear when I feel like kicking doors down in my four-inch heels.

Intense, opaque and potent enough to send a lightning bolt of pigment straight to your soul. It’s $16 and available now at MAC counters, stores and online.

2. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Streak

Urban Decay Streak Revolution Lipstick 10 — Urban Decay Streak Revolution Lipstick in Streak

Flamingoes. Creamy coral pink Streak reminds me of flamingoes. 🙂 This fresh, summery coral kicks so much @ss when worn with dewy skin, teal or gold liner, and mountains of mascara. It’s $22 and available now online and at Urban Decay counters, Ulta, Sephora and select Macy’s stores.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: NARS Lodhi Satin Lip Pencil

June 25th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

Dang, it’s hot here today…

Like, fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk hot here today (incidentally, have you ever tried that?).

Or, sweat-until-you-have-a-major-life-revelation hot here today.

Basically, it’s sticky-back-of-the-knees, crook-of-the-elbows, middle-of-the-booty-cheeks hot here today (oh, and my air conditioner isn’t working).

The only things keeping me from melting into a puddle of sweat are 1) the fact that it’s a dry heat (it DOES make a difference), and 2) this tube of NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Lodhi ($26), because it’s cool. 🙂

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My Lips Are Smitten With New Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer

June 24th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

If the Marc Jacobs Beauty Hi-Shine Enamored Lip Lacquers were a dude, I wouldn’t say that I’m “ready to put a ring on it,” because we’ve only been together about a week, but I would say that I am enamored enough with them to make out on the doorstep — with tongue action.

I might even let them grab a boob or a butt cheek, as long as the neighbors don’t see. 🙂

In other words, this new line of lip glosses is pretty charming. It’s…

Shiny
Comfortable
Non-sticky
Minty
Moisturizing
And all-around fab!

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MAC Dazzleglass in Boys Go Crazy From the MAC Le Disko Collection, and a Sticky Situation

June 22nd, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

mac boys go crazy — Wearing MAC Dazzleglass in Boys Go Crazy from the new MAC Le Disko collection ($20)

If getting your hair stuck in your lipgloss ever becomes a thing — and since we live in a world where teenagers dye their hair gray and mascara wands vibrate, I feel like this is a distinct possibility — gimme a tube of MAC Dazzleglass, and I’ll be sooo set.

Seriously, these glosses are mad sticky! — like stickier than a MAC Lipglass even.

I’ve worn Dazzleglasses before, and they always get stuck in my hair, even when I wear my hair up in a pony or braid it.

Shoot, I could shave my head a la Charlize in Mad Max: Fury Road, and I bet that random strands of hair would still find their way to my lips. The stickiness is that serious.

But dat glitter tho!! Here I’m wearing MAC Dazzleglass in Boys Go Crazy ($20) because I wanted to see how the eye look I did earlier with the Dazzleshadows from the new MAC Le Disko collection would look with an intense, sparkly lip.

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The MAC Giambattista Valli Collection: Florals, Femininity and Fabulously Bold Matte Lipstick

June 16th, 2015 by Karen 35 Comments

“Like, totally rad to the max! I want to be a Valli girl!”

I don’t even know where to start with the MAC Giambattista Valli collection.

Gah! Between the practical packaging (the color of each tube reflects the color of its corresponding lipstick, making it easy to find the shade you’re looking for) and the corals, pinks and reds?

YAAAAS! I’m a little beside myself…

Bold lip lovers who live for classic colors (this includes at least one crazy cat lady/lipstick-loving blogger), this six-piece collection is for you.

mac giambattista valli — The MAC Giambattista Valli collection Matte Lipsticks ($17.50 each)

First, who the heck is Giambattista Valli?

I’m glad you asked. 🙂 He’s an Italian fashion designer known for his dramatic dresses, feminine designs and his use of floral embellishments.

Very girly-girl stuff — and I’d wear his clothes in a HEARTBEAT if ever given the chance (assuming I had a reason to wear a full-length, floral-print strapless dress with a thigh-high slit).

The MAC Giambattista Valli collection evokes the designer’s affinity for femininity, florals and color, and each of the six lip products in it are inspired by his dresses.

Five full-coverage Matte Lipsticks ($17.50 each) and one potted lip gloss ($23) comprise the collection, which arrives online and at MAC stores and counters July 9 through August 6.

The MAC Giambattista Valli collection includes…

MAC Matte Lipstick in Bianca B — a pale white pink
MAC Matte Lipstick in Tats — a bright hot pink
MAC Matte Lipstick in Margherita — a yellowish bright peach
MAC Matte Lipstick in Charlotte — a rich yellowish red
MAC Matte Lipstick in Eugenie — a dark cherry with blue undertones
MAC Crystal Glaze Gloss in Lena — a clear gloss with multicolored flecks of pearl

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