Lips

I’m Sanguine About Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick and Nail Color in Gash

March 31st, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

urban decay gash — Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick and Nail Color in Gash ($22 and $15 respectively, both available now online)

Please try not to stare at my T. rex claws…but of course now that I’ve brought them up, you’re going to be staring. 🙂

“RrrrAAAaarr!” T. rex!

I’m holding a purse here because I’ve discovered — well, actually, I’ve know this for a long time — that it’s very hard to take pictures of your hands near your face, because when you have your hands near your face, it makes your hands look huge. Or, conversely, your face looks really small.

I thought I’d be all crafty and clever by holding this purse here to showcase new Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick ($22) and Nail Color in Gash ($15).

Is it working? I don’t know…

Probably not. My hands still look pretty big.

These two products — you may recognize the Revolution Lipstick. It’s a re-launch. The nail polish, however, is new. They’re both available now online.

That’s an interesting name isn’t it? Gash? I don’t want to be too morbid, but let’s just say — I don’t know — we were surfing one day and charging the waves really hard (yeah, those 3-foot waves) when we accidentally crashed into each other on our surfboards and cut our shins.

Not terribly, though. Just a few scratches. Not a lot of blood, because if there were a lot of blood, I’d probably pass out.

The color does kind of remind me of what’s pumping through our veins, though, and I have to say, it’s a pretty accurate representation. I know this because I broke a glass once when I was 19, and it cut my hand…

This was shortly before I told my parents that I didn’t want to go to medical school. I remember standing there in the kitchen holding the glass, and feeling kind of feint watching the blood drip down my hand, and thinking, “It’s probably not a good idea to go to medical school…”

And it happened really slowly, like, “I t ‘ s p r o b a b l y n o t a g o o d i d e a t o g o t o m e d i c a l s c h o o l . . .”

The blood was the exact same color.

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MAC Amplified Lipstick in Make Me Gorgeous Channels Potent Flamingo Power

March 25th, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

ALL FLAMINGOS, EVERYTHING!!

Not completely randomly, that’s how I feel about MAC Make Me Gorgeous Lipstick.

I will always and forever be, first and foremost, a crazy cat lady, but, I don’t know…I’ve been kinda feelin’ the flamingos lately.

I mean, they have those gorgeous pink and coral feathers, and that graceful swooping ‘S’ shape of their necks, and that pose where they stand on one leg for hours and hours.

Seriously, how do they even do that??

They also love the water, which I can totally identify with because I’m a true-blue water baby.

Do you think I might be a combo crazy cat/flamingo lady?

I wonder…

MAC’s intense coral-pink Amplified Lipstick in Make Me Gorgeous is my lipstick spirit animal, and if I were invited to migrate with a flock of flamingos while wearing this lipstick, I’d probably fit right in.

I’m so glad MAC decided to release the color in their Amplified formula! I think the Amplifieds are among the best of the best products available at MAC. If you want a bright, bold lipstick that applies smoothly and lasts all day long without drying out your lips, the Amplified formula is the way to go, and I think Make Me Gorgeous would belong in the Amplified Hall of Fame (if there were one) alongside Impassioned, Vegas Volt and Girl About Town. It’s just as creamy, smooth, punchy and vibrant.

Of course Make Me Gorgeous has MAC’s signature vanilla flavor and scent, which I quite like. I think it’s just subtle enough.
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New Revlon Ultra HD™ Lipstick and Ultra HD™ Lip Lacquer, Available at CVS/Pharmacy Meow

March 19th, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

As a participant in this program with Revlon and CVS/pharmacy, I’ve received product samples and/or compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m sitting here with my lips in high definition! — just for you. 🙂

So…what does HD even mean anyway?

Maybe it refers to back in the day (seven years ago), when HD filming took off on TV, and everybody was like, “Oh! Let’s do makeup for HD,” which was completely different than regular makeup (but really, a lot of it was marketing).

Hey, whatever. I’m a sucker for it.

In Revlon’s new Ultra HD™ Lipstick and Ultra HD™ Lip Lacquer lines ($9.99 each and available now in a wide range at CVS/pharmacy stores), the HD is more or less code for “Gel Technology,” which is what they say these have. Basically, you’ve got a gel base, rather than a wax, and it’s designed to deliver purer pigments that are truer to what you see in the tube. They also feel softer and bouncier on the lips.

I really get the sense that both of these are hugging my lips, and when I say “hugging,” I don’t mean like a bear hug, or one of those “Hey, girl!” hugs with the two hands, where you pat somebody’s back. I mean, like a good hug, where you feel the product caress your lips and hold them tightly.

It’s kind of a pervy hug…like if someone comes up to you and hugs you a little too tightly, and you’re like, “Oh!”

But it’s not that gross! It’s actually very nice.

Wear time depends on whether we’re talking about the lipsticks or the lacquers, with the lacquers lasting 3-4 hours, and the lipsticks lasting about half as long.

With the lipsticks — they’re super smooth, and you get a lot of color from a single swipe. I think they’re closer to really intensely pigmented lip balms than straight-up lipsticks, and even the brighter colors still have some sheerness to them.

Revlon Ultra HD Lipsticks — Six of 20 available Revlon Ultra HD™ Lipsticks

Revlon Ultra HD™ Lipstick
$9.99, available now at CVS/pharmacy in 20 shades

Smooth, lightweight, non-sticky formula, brief 2-hour wear time, and a caramel and raspberry flavor and scent (officially, it’s whipped vanilla and cream mango?). Medium coverage. And they’re all named after flowers. 🙂

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Azalea — Revlon Ultra HD™ Lipstick in Azalea

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Sweet Pea — Revlon Ultra HD™ Lipstick in Sweet Pea

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Rose — Revlon Ultra HD™ Lipstick in Rose

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Hibiscus — Revlon Ultra HD™ Lipstick in Hibiscus

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Can I Just Say Again How Much I Like These NYX Intense Butter Glosses? [VIDEO]

March 16th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

Right now, the only thing I want on my lips more than these new NYX Intense Butter Glosses ($6 each) is actual whole cream butter.

Mmm, butter…

These are hands-down my favorite drugstore glosses of the moment. They’re a great deal for $6.

Just a quick Monday video. As always, thank you for watching.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

New From NYX, and It’s Intense! New $6 Intense Butter Gloss

March 13th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Wearing NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Funnel Delight ($6, one of 12 shades)

Yesterday I wore one of NYX’s new $6 Intense Butter Glosses while eating a piece of intensely buttered brown bread at The Cheesecake Factory.

(You know their brown bread, right? Man, I LOVE that stuff.)

I usually go easy on the butter because, you know, I figure I’ll just have to run it off eventually, but they brought out two hot loaves, and I thought, “Gee…I’m eating intensely buttered bread while wearing Intense Butter Gloss.”

So I ate a lot. 🙂

Color me weird, but things like that bring me great joy. It’s all about the little things, you know? You gotta get your kicks where you can.

NYX Intense Butter Glosses from the left: Apple Crisp, Tres Leches and Funnel Delight — Three of the 12 new NYX Intense Butter Glosses ($6 each) from the left: Apple Crisp, Tres Leches and Funnel Delight

Anywho, these really do feel like butter on my lips — like I spread a thick, creamy layer of fresh churned butter (made by happy cows, of course) on my kisser.

I keep thinking that I’m going to have to do some cardio if I keep wearing them, badum tish!

They’re a brand new line, and NYX rolled out 12 intensely pigmented shades for spring.

So far I’ve tried three of the shades — a red called Apple Crisp, a hot pink called Funnel Delight and a nude called Tres Leches — and I think the red one and the hot pink are hella impressive. Vivid (so intense that your natural lip color will be buried under an avalanche of pigment), opaque, full-coverage, and they apply smoothly, too.

But for me, the nude was the real test, because I have naturally pigmented lips, and a lot of the time I have to jump through hoops to get nude shades to show up, but not this time. No concealer on my lips, no lip liner beforehand — nothing. Just my lips and the gloss. That’s it.

NYX Intense Butter Gloss Swatches from the left: Funnel Delight, Tres Leches and Apple Crisp — Swatches from the left of Funnel Delight, Tres Leches and Apple Crisp

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The Bronze Age Returns! Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes

March 11th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess 2015 — Wearing makeup from the latest in a long line of annual Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess collections

If I had to be a goddess, I would not say no to being a goddess of bronze, but what I’d really want to be is a goddess of cats.

No, scratch that. I’d be the goddess of plus-size tabby cats with low-hanging bellies, because it’s all about being specific.

Yes, I have no idea what I’m talking about. 🙂

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette — That’s the Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette on my eyes and cheeks, the All Over Illuminator on my upper cheekbones, and Pure Color Gloss Pen Nude Coral on my lips

Every year around this time, like clockwork, Estée Lauder reveals a new Bronze Goddess-themed collection, and this year it’s Shimmering Nudes.

The collection’s face and eye palette, stick highlighter and gloss, all of which will be available this April with the rest of the 14-piece collection at Estée Lauder counters and online, are telling me that 1) summer is right around the corner, and 2) I should probably book a vacation to someplace warm soon.

Is it just me, or does the Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette ($55) radiate a MAC vibe?

Its eyeshadows could totally pass for Ricepaper, Amber Lights and Bronze, and even though I’ve seen the colors before, I still like this formula and the way they’re executed here.

The powders meld seamlessly into each other on my lids, and blending them is like three snaps in a Z formation. In other words, “haaay!” So good.

I actually did my foundation and concealer before this makeup look, and I didn’t have to do any additional cleanup under my eyes afterwords. No problems at all with fallout.

And I like the bronzer, too. It has a strong undercurrent of red that mimics a legit tan. There’s also golden flecks of glitter in it, which makes me think that this bronzer might even work better as an all-over warming product than one to contour (I prefer to use ashy cool-toned mattes to really carve out those cheekbones).

Interestingly, the face and eye palette is a Sephora exclusive, which is kind of cool and weird, and by that I mean this: have you actually seen Estée Lauder at your local Sephora store? Because mine doesn’t carry the line, and I don’t know if this is a one-shot deal or the start of a long-term trend. I really hope it’s the latter.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess All Over Illuminator — Bronze Goddess All Over Illuminator, $30

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A Quick Look at the MAC Bao Bao Wan Collection Beauty Powder and Lipsticks [VIDEO]

March 5th, 2015 by Karen 19 Comments

If this Forbidden Sunrise Lipstick were actually forbidden…I’d break that rule. I mean look at it! — bright orange. WOW.

It’s like the color that your tongue turns after you’ve eaten some obnoxiously orange candy, and yes, I like it.

Just a quick look at the new MAC Bao Bao Wan collection Beauty Powder and Lipsticks (available now online and in stores March 5 – April 2, 2015). If you’ve ever wished that you could stand under a deluge of glitter, the Beauty Powder — you wants it.

As always, thank you for watching. I’ll be posting more pics and swatches soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick in Rosy Silk Floats Like a Shimmery Pink and Gold Kiss on the Wind

February 26th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

If I were wearing Guerlain’s KissKiss Lipstick in Rosy Silk ($37) and blew a kiss across a room to a handsome stranger (let’s call him Nick Jonas), that kiss would drift off my lips and float like a shimmery pink and gold apparition.

The featherweight formula is eminently forgettable…in that I forget sometimes when I’m wearing it because it’s so comfortable.

But the color is anything but forgettable. The slightly see-through pink with golden shimmer alights on my skin like sunshine filtering through the petals of a blooming cherry blossom tree, tender and romantic, ah…

I think one layer works best, which I apply directly from the tube, and then pat down with a finger. When I add more layers, they don’t help, and the formula starts to seek out flakes and settle into my lip lines.

Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick in Rosy Silk Swatch — Rosy Silk

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