Lips

Next Stop: The Chanel Knightsbridge Collection’s Pink, Coral and Fuchsia Lippies in Chelsea, Kensington and Hyde Park

January 18th, 2012 by Karen 37 Comments

Pink, coral and Chanel. Three little words that when spoken together trigger my drool resthponthe.

Oh! — there I go. Got a little drool on my chin. 🙂

The lovely lippies in the new five-piece Chanel Knightsbridge Collection, an online-only exclusive, are enough to make this grown woman quiver in her tweed jacket and pearls. Oh, and pip-pip, cheerio! The gossamer Glossimer and three saturated Rouge Allure Lipsticks in pink, coral and fuchsia are named after some of London’s most iconic neighborhoods.

Today, I tantalized my senses, trying on two of the lipsticks and the gloss…

Clockwise from the blush: Poudres TissÃ©e Highlighting Powder and Blush in Brompton Road, Rouge Allure in Hyde Park and Rouge Allure in Kensington

The Glossimer in Chelsea

Swatches from the left: Chelsea, Kensington and Hyde Park
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New Year, New You: Jump Start Your Style with These Five Lip Looks

January 17th, 2012 by Karen 58 Comments

This post is part of a series sponsored by Walgreens.

Don’t you just love fresh starts and clean slates? I do! — and that’s what Januarys (and sometimes Februarys) are all about. New year, new excuse/opportunity to try something new, like perhaps pink streaks in your hair. 🙂

But say you’re not quite ready for a full-on commitment to a funky hair color. No problem. You can still freshen up your look, starting with your lips (and you don’t have to spend a small fortune).

Thanks to drugstore beauty aisles and brands like Revlon, Rimmel, Covergirl, Jordana and Maybelline, your new lip look could be less than $10 away.

Here are five affordable lip looks to give you some ideas…

1. A bright reddish pink

Nothing says “new start” like a bright reddish pink, unless you apply Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Strawberry ($7.79) atop Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in 12 ($5.99), in which case it says it in all caps, with an exclamation mark, like this: “NEW START!”

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Strawberry on the left and Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in 12 on the right

2. A shimmery golden pink

How about a tender touch? Something soft and romantic, like a shimmery rosy peach? Here, I mixed both of the colors from Covergirl’s new Blast Flipstick in Snap ($9.79) and topped them with Jordana’s Lip Out Loud Super Shiny Gloss in TTYL ($1.99).

Jordana Lip Out Loud Super Shiny Gloss in TTYL on the top and Covergirl Blast Flipstick in Snap on the bottom

The two colors from the Covergirl Blast Flipstick in Snap (far left and center) and Jordana Lip Out Loud Super Shiny Gloss in TTYL (far right)
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I Feel Anything But Neutral About NARS Bilbao Lipstick

January 13th, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

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From a distance, Bilbao Lipstick might appear like a slow bolero beside ValparaÃso’s quick-tempo salsa, but up close and personal, it’s more like the paso doble or flamenco. In other words, not as tame as it looks.

The third lip product from NARS for spring 2012 (the other two are Mexican Rose and ValparaÃso), rosy brown Bilbao Lipstick has quickly become one of my new favorite neutrals.

With a pinch of plum, a sprinkle of golden shimmer and a dash of silver glitter, it’s anything but typical, and it reminds me of one of my favorite places in the world…

Basque Country!

On a whirlwind trip through Western Europe in 2005, El Hub and I explored along the Northern Spanish coast, and we stopped for a bit in the seaside city of San Sebastian, about 30 kilometers east of the city of Bilbao.

After fueling up on tapas and taking in the sights at the beach, we posted up on a stone wall to watch the sun dip below the horizon…

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Thanks to NARS ValparaÃso Pure Matte Lipstick, Berries Are in Season This Spring

January 12th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

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Today I live in the burbs about 30 miles north of San Francisco, but back when I did live in the city, it was smack dab in the middle of the dot-com boom, and the place was hoppin’.

Rental rates were out of control! Dot-coms were shooting up everywhere you looked, and housing of any kind was hard to come by. I struggled to find a place to live and eventually ended up renting a room in a sketchy house out in SF’s Sunset District, living with a cavalcade of characters, like the DJ/herbal enthusiast (let’s just say she wasn’t growing rosemary, if you know what I mean), and the kleptomaniac.

Honestly, I have no idea what I was thinking when I signed that lease. It wasn’t one of my better life decisions, but the rent was cheap, and I was hell bent on moving out of my parents’ house.

Which brings me to the new NARS ValparaÃso Pure Matte Lipstick for Spring 2012…

Behind the sketchy house was a massive raspberry bush that had completely overtaken the yard, and in the middle of it, the branches parted to form a tunnel.

I never explored the tunnel because I was convinced it was filled with rats, but I always wondered… Where did it lead? Probably just to the back fence, but naturally my overactive imagination entertained the prospect of an entrance to Narnia on the other end.

Regardless, there was definitely something magical about that bush because it produced berries all year round — rich raspberries, like $25 NARS ValparaÃso.

For gals who feel that rich raspberry mattes belong in fall, you know FranÃ§ois. He’s not afraid to break the rules. 🙂

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The NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil Diaries (Uncensored)

January 11th, 2012 by Karen 59 Comments

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Excerpted from the diary of a NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil…

Dear Diary,

Didn’t do much yesterday other than radiate awesomeness.

Yeah, that’s right. I make it rain! And if that makes me sound conceited, so be it.

My pink-haired roommate (we totally match!) tells me all the time, “you’re basically the sh*t.” She clearly sees that I’m the chupacabra of perfect pink lips.

Coral Vine, aka Mexican Rose I think she might be my new BFF, which is funny… Girls usually get so jealous of my dense pink pigment, high shine and easy-to-apply pencil tip.

But it’s not my fault that I’m so awesome and unique. I can’t help that I start off all super shiny like a gloss or that I morph into a hot pink lip stain with a subtle sheen.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s so not easy being flawless, and when I finally make my debut beside the rest of the NARS spring 2012 collection on January 13, not only will I have to shoulder the burden of perfection, but popularity, too.

Oh, well… Both of them are crosses I’m willing to bear.

Anywho, the pink-haired girl and I hung out for 12 full hours yesterday. She slipped me on shortly after brunch. Then, I watched her write a bunch of cheesy @ss puns — “Mexican Rose blooms with intense pigment,” “This pink is the hot house flower of NARS spring 2012,” and “Send me a dozen Mexican Roses for Valentine’s Day” — while we shared six cups of tea, a Honeycrisp apple (wow, those are good!) and spent time harassing her rotund tabby cat.

Next thing I knew, night had fallen, and we were off to yoga class (I would’ve preferred a swanky museum opening or a garden party).

I gotta say, I was the hottest pink lip in the room — well, the only pink lip in the room, but details, shmetails.

At one point in the class, between awkward downward dogs, the pink-haired girl checked herself out in the mirror and mouthed, “Holy crap! Mexican Rose is still going strong!”

Back at the house, we watched an episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (is Brandi’s butt for real?!) and had a dinner of slightly burnt broccoli and pasta, with a few kisses from a dude who kindasorta looked like Detective Stabler for dessert.

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Glossy!
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Charmed, I’m Sure, by the Dolce & Gabbana Charm Pencil Collection

January 9th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

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One of the reasons why Dolce & Gabbana rules: they dangle tiny charms from their makeup JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN.

Never you mind that the charms enchanting the eight-piece limited edition Charm Pencil collection don’t really serve a purpose beyond looking cute as they swing from their respective lip and eye liners. If we have the right to accessorize, so should our makeup! Viva la cuteness for us all! 🙂

Every time I catch a glimpse of the dainty golden envelopes, high heels, hearts and horns hanging from these pencils, which arrive next month (just in time for Valentine’s Day!), while I attend to my lips or eyes, I’m transported back to the kinder, gentler days of my youth, when a trip to the Hello Kitty store to buy a $4 mechanical pencil with a charm swinging on the end was one of the highlights of my week.

Of course, because these pencils are from Dolce & Gabbana, they cost somewhat more than that — like $29 more, to be exact.

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Eye Pencils from the left: Stromboli, Coffee, Black and Platinum
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Lovechild and Apocalypse Walked Into a Bar… No, It’s Not a Joke. They’re Urban Decay’s Newest Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colors

January 6th, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

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Wearing Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Lovechild

I get amped every Friday afternoon because it means we made it to the weekend, and I get both of my boys all to myself for two whole days. Usually breakfast out on Saturday or Sunday morning, a movie or two (or three), maybe dinner, the mall, and of course, staying up late to watch TV.

That right there’d be plenty exciting, but then I also find out that Urban Decay just added two new shades to their fab Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color line?

Now it’s cause for celebration! 🙂

C’mon, chair dance with me! This is excellent news. Think of all the ~~trouble we’ll get into~~ fun we’ll have wearing these new shades.

Lovechild (a pale pink) and Apocalypse (a deep berry) are just as much fun as their older sisters. Shortly after the line of long-wearing pencils drew down on Urban Decay counters last fall, they became staples in my makeup bag. Their bright colors and glossy, moisturizing formula (unscented and unflavored) made them favorites of mine.

Pale pink Lovechild’s the mellower of the two newcomers, and at first swatch, I was afraid it might be too pale and cool-toned for me.

Thankfully, it’s not! The sweet, delicate pink should suit most skin tones, but interestingly, it does seem to fade quicker than the brighter Super-Saturated shades I’ve tried; you might have to reapply after sipping tea and/or eating crumpets.

As for drama lovers, there’s always Apocalypse. Wearing it with my new pink streaks, I feel like a rockstar! — and, oddly, have the urge to don a pair of brass knuckles and break sh*t.

Which might be too much information…

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Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Lovechild on the left (a pale pink) and Apocalypse on the right (a deep berry), $19 each

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Swatches of the three 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils (far left): Demolition, Perversion and Woodstock; Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color (far right): Lovechild and Apocalypse
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The New Smashbox Be Legendary Lipsticks Answer the Question, “What Are Legends Made Of?”

January 2nd, 2012 by Karen 34 Comments

Wearing Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Chai

Ugh. Projectile sports. You know, the ones that involve airborne objects like baseballs? I’m just so bad at them. Whenever I see something flying at me at high speed my first instinct is to run away, but if there were a projectile sport involving lipsticks and perhaps cute uniforms, well, that I might play. 🙂

Especially if the lippies were as pigmented as the new Smashbox Be Legendary Lipsticks ($19 each).

The new line of 20 bold lipsticks in matte and creamy finishes recently launched at Sephora stores, on Smashbox counters and also online, and I’ve been wearing three of the creamy shades for about a week — Chai (a caramel nude), Fig (a red grape) and Vivid Violet (a bold berry).

So far, I am totally impressed; I think they’re great!

How great? — well, how about Oreo cookies dipped in milk? Yeah, that great.

smashbox be legendary lipsticks in fig, chai and vivid violet
From the left: Fig, Chai and Vivid Violet

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Swatches from the left: Chai, Fig and Vivid Violet
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