Lips

You Look a Little Green, and That’s Good! LancÃ´me Color Fever Gloss in Green Petal

February 18th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

lancome green petal (2)

Green lipgloss? Sure, why not?

Part of me wishes that the new limited edition LancÃ´me Color Fever Gloss in Green Petal ($26) was, well, even greener than it is, but more on that in a few.

One of three Color Fever Glosses in LancÃ´me’s Roseraie des Delices collection for spring 2012, this sheer, sparkly gloss surprised me. Before I tried it on, I thought, “Really, it’s green. How wearable can it be?”

Quite wearable, it turns out.

Thick, but non-sticky, with a light lavender flavor and scent that I like, it glides across my lips, where it lasts about 90 minutes.

lancome green petal (3)

lancome green petal (1)
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These MAC Kissable Lipcolours Are Like Glosses With Superpowers

February 18th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

Wearing MAC Kissable Lipcolour in So Vain on my lips

OOH! I think I found my new/latest favorite (I use that word a lot, don’t I?) lip products to layer beneath the MAC Tendertones — the new Kissable Lipcolours ($19 each) from the Shop MAC collection.

If you remember the Kissable Lipcolours from last year’s Peacocky collection, they’re lightweight, pigmented glosses, kinda like MAC Cremesheen Glasses with super powers.

For me, because I have pretty pigmented lips, these Lipcolours are like motivational speakers for the super sheer MAC Tendertones, helping them reach their full potential. Starting with one of the Lipcolours, and then layering a Tendertone on top, gives the later more dimension and really keeps things interesting.

Not only do I like how well the Lipcolours layer, I think they also look lovely on their own, and since they pack plenty of pigment, I barely have to use any at all for excellent coverage. Just a little on my bottom lip, and then I smack both lips together to distribute the color.

The five new shades recently released with the Shop MAC collection feel just as hydrating, lightweight and non-sticky on my lips as their predecessors do, and all of them also have MAC’s trademark light vanilla flavor and scent.

I’ve been wearing Woo Me (a pinkish nude), So Vain (a coral) and Flaunting It (a grayish mauve) lately and get about two hours of wear time with each.

Kissable Lipcolours from the top to bottom: So Vain, Woo Me and Flaunting It, $19 each

Kissable Lipcolours from bottom to top: Flaunting It, So Vain and Woo Me

Woo Me
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MAC Cooked Up Something Special for These Four Tendertone Lip Balms

February 16th, 2012 by Karen 36 Comments

MAC hot n saucy
Wearing MAC Tendertone Lip Balm in Hot ‘N’ Saucy

Life is filled with difficult decisions, like trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up, or choosing between the hella cute but crazy uncomfortable shoes and the not-so-cute ones you can actually walk in…

Thankfully, some decisions are easy, like, if you’re wondering whether you should add a MAC Tendertone Lip Balm in your life, the short answer is “yes!” 🙂

Like makeup angels, these moisturizing lip balms float in and out of MAC’s limited edition lines every once in a while, bringing with them the benefits of SPF 12, and whenever they do, MAC mavens eagerly snatch them up.

This time, with the Cook MAC collection, there are four Tendertones on the menu — Tread Gently (a soft lime green with yellow pearl), Purring (a sheer tangerine with pearl), Hush Hush (a sheer gold golden pearl) and Hot â€˜n’ Saucy (a soft cherry red) — and each costs $15.

At the time of this writing, they’re shown as “sold out” on MAC’s website, but I do see three of the four shades online at nordstrom.com. They should also be available at local MAC stores and counters.

Now, my love affair with these lip balms runs deep. All the way back to a tropical paradise in 2007…

I was on a trip to Hawaii visiting family and brought a bunch of different lip balms with me, but the only one I wore the entire time was a mid-tone pink Tendertone named Take a Hint.

The new colors in Cook MAC represent everything I love about this line of moisturizing lip conditioners. They’re non-sticky, heroically hydrating and carry a faint strawberry flavor and fragrance I like (for the record, both fade fairly fast). The addition of SPF 12 is another nice touch.

And since they aren’t incredibly pigmented, I can apply them without needing the help of a mirror.

Tendertone Lip Balms clockwise from the orange shade on the left: Purring, Hot ‘n’ Saucy, Hush, Hush and Tread Gently, $15 each

Tendertones swatches from the left: Tread Gently, Purring, Hot ‘n’ Saucy and Hush Hush

MAC purring
Purring
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Is It a Gloss or a Stain? Actually, It’s Both! The New Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres Glossy Stains

February 15th, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

Wearing Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain in Fuchsia Dore as a gloss

Not that I really needed to fall for another $32 lip product, but I guess I wasn’t completely averse to the idea. 🙂

Even though my tongue twists saying their lengthy name, my lips love Yves Saint Laurent’s new Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres Glossy Stains, and my grubby little paws want every single color.

Available in 20 profoundly pigmented shades, many of them exclusive to Sephora, these lycanthropic lippies start as intensely bright, pigmented glosses that transform into long-wearing lip stains as they fade.

You know I lurves me some flexible products, and these, like my favorite pair of ~~Pajama Jeans~~ J Brand skinny jeans, totally fit the bill. They’re easy to dress up or down. One layer lends lips a natural, softly radiant stain; two turns up the color and the glaze for lips that look glossy and bold.

Either way, one layer or two, doesn’t require using much of the product, which makes the $32 price tag a little easier to bear.

And the texture sure doesn’t hurt. Lightweight, non-sticky and not at all drying, the Rouge Pur Coutures are like a perfect pair of jeans (eminently comfortable).

Oh, but that’s not my favorite thing about these gems from YSL. I really love the way they fade throughout the day. I can only describe it as elegant, and not at all like other long-wearing lip products that start to look a little janky (i.e. thick and separated) after a few hours of wear.

These last between 6-8 hours on me, and I like the way they look the entire time. Both as a brighter gloss, and then as a stain as they fade, they manage to steer clear of lip lines and flakes.

I’ve been wearing Fuchsia Dore, Orange De Chine and Pourpre Preview for the past few days, and I’m smitten with all three shades.

Yves Saint Laurent ROUGE PUR COUTURE Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain (8)
From the left: Fuchsia Dore, Orange De Chine and Pourpre Preview

Yves Saint Laurent ROUGE PUR COUTURE Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain (6)
Swatches from the top to bottom: Orange De Chine, Pourpre Preview and Fuchsia Dore
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My Dry Lips Love Moisture Rich L’Oreal Colour Riche Balm SPF 15

February 13th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

Sheer lippies are sure having a moment right now, aren’t they? Drugstores have been downright brimming with ’em lately. Especially moisturizing ones like the Maybelline Baby Lips and Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters. I must spot a new sheer lipstick, gloss or balm at the drugstore every time I visit.

L’Oreal is even getting in on the game with a new line of unflavored, unscented, super sheer hydrating balms with SPF.

Available in eight non-sticky, barely there colors for $7.99 each, the new Colour Riche Balms deliver luminous lips with a tinge of tint and SPF 15.

And they are loaded with moisture. I mean gallons of it! According to L’Oreal, they’re supposed to keep lips quenched for a full eight hours.

Now, I don’t know about eight hours…but after switching back and forth between Caring Coral and Pink Satin both days last weekend, my lips feel great. They haven’t been this smooth and soft since the beginning of winter.

The Colour Riche Balms remind me of the Revlon Lip Butters, which I think pack a little more pigment, but I prefer the texture of these. They seem — I don’t know — more elegant? And slightly slicker and smoother, almost like Dior’s $28 Addict Lipsticks.

Caring Coral on the left and Pink Satin on the right
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The MAC Vera Collection Plushglasses Are Making Me Smile

February 12th, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

Wearing MAC Plushglass in Pretty Plush on my lips

I’m alive…ALIVE!!

The tingle from my MAC Plushglass reminds me that I’m alive. 🙂

I’ve always been more of a MAC Lipglass kinda girl, but I have been quite enjoying the Plushglasses from the new MAC Vera collection this week.

Like the Lipglasses, they have MAC’s signature vanilla flavor and scent, but in a thinner, less sticky formula.

They also have a little bite to ’em — a slight bee-sting sensation that’s supposed to plump your pout. Of course, I can’t see a difference in the size of my lips with them on, but when it comes to lip plumping products in general, I almost never can. Gimmick or not, the effect appears to be subtle, though, and the slight sting subsides on me after about 10 minutes.

I was a little busier than usual this week and felt like I was always running behind. But three of the five MAC Vera Plushglasses — Pretty Plush (a soft pink with white pearl), Fashion Fanatic (a creamy pale pink) and Confetti (an orange coral with pearl) — helped me get through it and were never far from my side. At least one of the three was either in my purse or a jacket pocket at all times.

MAC Plushglass in Fashion Fanatic

MAC Plushglass in Confetti

Plushglasses from the left: Confetti, Fashion Fanatic and Pretty Plush
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They Left Their Paw Prints on My Heart, But I’m Still Gonna Knead a Little More From Paul & Joe’s New Lipstick Cs

February 11th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

Wearing Paul & Joe Lipstick C in Meow

For all the grumbling I do about Tabs’ diva behavior, I have to say, he can be quite the charmer. To the best of my knowledge, since I don’t travel with him when he’s away modeling on location, except for the Edward Scissorpaws Incident, for which he’s still on probation, he’s never raised a paw against a human.

Always quick to show love, he’s the mellowest, most affectionate cat I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.

(And he must know we’re talking about him because he just rubbed his chin against my leg, aww!)

I’ve been hoping that Paul & Joe’s lovely new Lipstick Cs (with the kitty paw pattern on the tubes) would evoke that same easy, breezy, cool cat style. The three $20 kitty-themed matte lipsticks were recently released with the limited edition Collection Sparkles launch.

Pinkish beige Sex Kitten, pinkish brown Meow and coral Catwalk look so cute, casual and comfy in their tubes that, I have to admit, I had dangerously high hopes. I expected all three to climb my metaphorical cat tower and make their way into my regular rotation of lipsticks. I mean, what could be breezier than a simple nude lip?

Obviously, the packaging’s off the chain. 🙂 I love the wee paw prints scaling up the length of each bullet and how the graphic designs on the tops and bottoms of the packaging line up perfectly.

paul & joe collection sparkles lipstick c
Lipstick C in Catwalk, Meow and Sex Kitten

Swatches from the left: Sex Kitten, Meow and Catwalk
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Laura Mercier Sheer Lip Colour in Kissed Lips Does for Coral What Punxsutawney Phil Does for Meteorologists (Makes It Springy)

February 2nd, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

Laura Mercier Kissed Lips Sheer Lip Colour (2)

Fear not the coral lipstick, for it knows not what it does. Some of them just don’t know that they can look a little too South Beach senior swingers for their own good, but add a dash of pink, a semi-matte finish and voilÃ ! — the springy and fun Laura Mercier Sheer Lip Colour in Kissed Lips ($22).

Part of spring’s Lingerie collection, Kissed Lips excels at looking natural and fresh, but it’s not the lowest maintenance lippie on the block.

First, my lips need to be smoother than a porcelain doll’s because the texture’s pretty thick. Kissed Lips tends to catch on every flake, so it’s a no-go for me if/when my lips are extra dry.

Complicating matters, the formula seems fairly drying to me, which means having to start with a layer of something moisturizing first, like a really good lip balm.

After applying a balm and letting it settle in, I dab Kissed Lips lightly on my pucker for a light my-lips-but-better stain; for a more concentrated look, I bust out a lip brush, since the color tends to spread unevenly when I apply it directly from the tube.

Laura Mercier Kissed Lips Sheer Lip Colour (3)
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