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Palettes

The Tarte Off the Cuff Holiday Blush and Bronzer Palette Prompts Impromptu Compliments Like, “What Are You Wearing on Your Cheeks?”

October 14th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

Tarte Off the Cuff
The new Tarte Off the Cuff holiday blush and bronzer palette. I’m wearing the bronzer (in the palette, it’s on the far left) and the nude peach blush (the middle shade) on my cheeks, and that’s the bracelet it comes with accessorizing my wrist.

Three reasons to freak out when you open the Tarte new $42 Off the Cuff holiday blush and bronzer palette for the first time…

Tarte Off the Cuff
Off the Cuff!

1) The bracelet totally looks like something by Kate Spade.

Tarte Off the Cuff Packaging
That cuff there in the middle detaches so you can wear it as a bracelet.

NOTE: The included cuff isn’t one of those cheesy throwaway pieces that come with some holiday sets. It’s actually really cute and looks kind of expensive.

Love it!

2) The blushes are off the hook.

Honestly, YES! I’ve been waiting for what feels like eons for Tarte to release a blush palette like this because the only thing more fabulous than a single pan of Amazonian Clay Blush is a palette filled with five of them.

Well…technically, four blushes and a bronzer.

Tarte Off the Cuff
Game, set, match

When the Amazonian Clay Blushes came out a couple years ago, they set my blush world on fye-yah .

There have been times when I’ve applied them before the crack of dawn, and through some probably ancient, long-lost magic they look just as natural (not at all like they’re just sitting on top of the skin) and fresh 14 hours later, with nary a hint of fading and zero patchiness whatsoever.

Tarte Off the Cuff
In my paw for scale… How cute is that bracelet?

I’m still not entirely sold on the whole Amazonian clay angle — like whether it’s actually responsible for how how well I think these blushes perform — but I have to say, the pieces in this kit are spot-on fantastic.

Who knows? Maybe it is the clay… It’s supposed to give your skin exactly what it needs, when it needs it, adjusting to your needs at any given moment, be it extra moisture on your dry patches or oil absorption on your shiny spots, and it seems to do just that.

Tarte Off the-Cuff Swatches
Swatches on my NC42 forearm…

With the palette, you get a bright matte rose blush, a shimmery plum, a matte nude melon and a matte bright pink. The bronzer, the shade on the far right, is a medium golden brown.

All of them, the blushes and bronzer, should go well with most any eye look. Plus, they’re easy to blend and smooth like John Legend.

3) The whole kit and caboodle’s a pretty fantastic deal.

A full-sized 0.2-ounce Amazonian Clay Blush regularly goes for $26, so five of them would set you back $130.

With this kit, though, you get five 0.15-ounce pans — so, yeah, a little smaller than normal — for what works out to $8.40 each.

That’s a lot of choices and variety for $42.

Tarte Off the Cuff Blush
That’s the bronzer, and the bright pink blush (second from the right in the palette) on my cheeks

Tarte Off the Cuff
The bronzer, and the bright rosy pink blush on the far left

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There are 26 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Palettes, Product Reviews, Tarte

The New Too Faced Jingle All the Way Pop-Out Makeup Palette Leaves a Makeup Message After the Beep

October 11th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

Too Faced Jingle All the Way
Tabs and “his” new Too Faced Jingle All the Way Pop-Out Makeup Palette and iPhone 5 Case ($25)

To all the beleaguered pet assistants and/or ladies (and dudes) living under the tyrannical paw of their feline overlords…please do not expect to actually keep the cute iPhone case that comes with the Too Faced Jingle All the Way Pop-Out Makeup Palette ($25).

Because once your cat captor sees the adorable pink and gold design, basically, you’re toast. He or she will claim it as their own quicker than you can say, “Siri, what time does Petco close tonight??”

Ha! I made myself laugh… 🙂

This gift set is all kinds of cute! The iPhone case (iPhone 5 only) is a neat twist, but yeah, there’s also a makeup palette (which cleverly pops out).

Talk about perfect stocking stuffers.

Just be careful to hide it from your makeup-loving, fashion-forward pet; otherwise, you’re liable to lose it. Shoot, I had the case on my phone all but two seconds before Tabs claimed it as his own.

The moment I finished replacing his current Kate Spade phone case for this one, I got a text from Tabs that read, “stop pouting, strt swatching 11 shadows, blush, bronzer asap, thx.”

Whatever tabby wants, tabby gets (sigh). Remind me again why I signed up for this gig…

Too Faced Jingle All the Way

Too Faced Jingle All the Way

Too Faced Jingle All the Way

Too Faced Jingle All the Way

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There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Kits and Sets, Makeup, Palettes, Too Faced

The New Joy to the Girls Palette by Too Faced Cosmetics Sings Songs of Girly Glam for the Holidays

October 8th, 2013 by Karen 18 Comments

Too Faced Joy to the Girls
Wearing the Joy to the Girls palette on my eyes, new from Too Faced Cosmetics ($46)

Hark! The herald beauty angels sing…

Joy to the girls, it’s time to play!
Let eyes receive shadow! 🙂

I do believe that Too Faced Cosmetics is on to something with the name of their new holiday palette, Joy to the Girls.

Makeup-themed Christmas carols.

BOOM!

Too Faced Joy to the Girls Box
So cute, right? The packaging was designed by celebrity decorator Mary McDonald.

Picture it — you, Tabs and I standing on the neighbor’s doorstep in matching chunky knit sweaters with matching caps (because Team Tabs is all about accessories), while we sing about our love of cat eyeliner and blending brushes.

(I’m an alto, BTW, so you and Tabs will have to cover the high parts.)

On our eyes, Joy to the Girls.

Too Faced Joy to the Girls
A peek inside the palette…
Too Faced Joy to the Girls
Three step-by-step eye makeup tutorials for weekday, weekend and party looks…

Recently released for the holidays, it comes equipped for yuletide fun with 15 pans of powder eyeshadow in matte, shimmer and glitter finishes. There’s also a full-sized LashGASM Mascara, and three sets of step-by-step instructions for different looks.

Too Faced Joy to the Girls Eyeshadows
A closer look at the eyeshadows…

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There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, Palettes, Product Reviews, Too Faced

A Few of My Favorite Things Sing in This New Holiday Makeup Set From Too Faced Cosmetics

October 7th, 2013 by Karen 31 Comments

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things
Wearing the new A Few of My Favorite Things palette from Too Faced ($56 US and $64 CDN)

You know what would totally take Too Faced Cosmetics’ new A Few of My Favorite Things holiday set to the next level??

If Fraulein Maria, and the whole gang of von Trapp children on bicycles, showed up at my doorstep with play clothes made out of curtains.

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things
All these pretty products come with the set…

If you actually got that reference, then paws up for being a fellow Sound of Music super fan. 😀

Inspired by one of my favorite musicals of all time, the new palette makes me feel like singing A Few of My Favorite Things at the top of my lungs!

But you don’t have to be a Sound of Music nerd to love it. Not at all. If you merely have an appreciation for wearable brights and neutrals for eyes, lips and cheeks, you’ll probably like it, too.

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things: The rundown

  • The set comes with colors hand-picked by Jerrod Blandino, co-founder and creative director of Too Faced Cosmetics.
  • It includes 20 powder eyeshadows
  • 2 powder blushes
  • 2 bronzers
  • A full-sized Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting
  • A deluxe-sized Better Than Sex Mascara
  • A zip-up pink and gold case to use as a purse, or to just store your goodies in (CUTE!)
  • The set arrives soon, exclusively to Sephora stores and sephora.com.
  • It includes a balanced blend of neutral and bright products. I think the blushes, bronzers and mascara are perfect! — but I do wish the glittery and shimmer shadows exhibited less fallout. I also wish the lip color was brighter.

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things eyeshadows
How cute are the names?

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things blushes bronzer
Blushes, bronzers and Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things booklet
A few looks to try…

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There are 31 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Face, Palettes, Product Reviews, Too Faced

The New Guerlain Crazy Paris Eye Palette: It’s Easy To Go Cuckoo for Crazy Paris and Its Wearable Pink

October 1st, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Guerlain Crazy Paris Eye Palette
It’s easy to go cuckoo for Crazy Paris — the new Guerlain Crazy Paris Eye Palette ($86)

That pink shadow trying to steal the spotlight in Guerlain’s new Crazy Paris Eye Palette? — yep, I’m a believer. It’s surprisingly wearable.

Guerlain Crazy Paris Eye Palette
The Crazy Paris Eye Palette ($86)

That’s one of the things I think Guerlain does really well — make eye-catching colors wearable. They can take kinda kooky, crazy eye colors and transform them into colors I actually feel comfortable wearing around town.

It’s a rare form of makeup magic.

The re-opening of Guerlain’s flagship boutique at 68 Champs-Élysées in the dazzling City of Lights inspired the $86 Crazy Paris Eye Palette and the rest of the 10-piece Crazy Paris Holiday collection.

Guerlain Crazy Paris Collection
Eight pieces from the 10-piece Crazy Paris Holiday collection

I won’t claim to understand how they do it (because it’s obviously magic), but in the case of the pink shadow here, one of four shimmery shadows in the palette, they dialed down the opacity a bit, leaving just enough pigment to maintain its power, but not so much that it overwhelms.

Guerlain Crazy Paris Eye Palette
OOH! Check out the tiny brush with the pink bristles… SO CUTE!

And then there’s the bodacious, buttery blending. I barely have to flick my wrist, and the pink practically melts into the other eyeshadows — a shimmery copper, shimmery golden beige, and shimmery white gold.

One word: wow.

Be sure to tap off your brush first, though, as I’ve observed some minor fallout (a little annoying, considering the price)…

Guerlain Crazy Paris Eye Palette swatch
Swatches from the left: copper eyeshadow, golden beige eyeshadow, white gold eyeshadow, pink eyeshadow, black powder eyeliner, grayish taupe powder eyeliner

In addition to the shadows, the kit contains two wet/dry powder eyeliners in matte black and matte grayish taupe and, yup, they’re just as buttery.

Guerlain Crazy Paris Eye Palette

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There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Guerlain, Makeup, Palettes, Product Reviews

The New $10 Maybelline Eye Studio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadow Palette in Desert Fantasy: When YSL Makeup Fantasies and Bangin’ Budget Drugstore Palettes Collide

September 30th, 2013 by Karen 18 Comments

Maybelline Eye Studio in Desert Fantasy
It’s not a fantasy all. It’s real — the limited edition $9.99 Maybelline Eye Studio Plush Silk palette in Desert Fantasy…

For a penny less than $10 (and sometimes less than that on sale), these Maybelline Eye Studio Plush Silk palettes are some of the best drugstore palettes around.

I’d been so really impressed by the couple I picked up earlier this year in Sapphire Sire and Give Me Gold (both permanent, so you should still be able to find them in stores) that I recently went back for more.

They’re packed with pigment and therefore easy to build up in layers (read: I don’t have to spend hella time buildnig up the colors), and it only takes a few swipes from my brush to blend the colors together, which makes them great for gradients and looks involving multiple shadows.

Plus, I can totally swoosh these on my lids in the morning, do my cat’s bidding all day long, and know that my eyeshadow will look just as fresh at gravy time 8-10 hours later.

Until today, though, it never occurred to me just how similar these are to YSL’s (much more expensive) eyeshadows. In the case of Desert Fantasy, the tabby tum-like texture, seamless blending and creative combination of colors remind me of something you might find basking on a Yves Saint Laurent counter.

Maybelline Eye Studio in Desert Fantasy
Maybelline Eye Studio Desert Fantasy, one of four limited palettes in the “Fall 2013 on the Runway” collection

If you’ve got YSL dreams on a Pop Tart budget, it’s dream time, babe! Catwalk down to your favorite drugstore, and check out these palettes.

There are a number of potentially winning palettes in the permanent line, but don’t miss the four limited edition “Fall 2013 On the Runway” palettes ($9.99 each).

Ohmigosh! — they’re seriously beautiful.

Maybelline Fall 2013 On the Runway
The entire Maybelline “Fall 2013 On the Runway” collection…

They feature brown, gold, black and khaki neutrals; and dreamy jewel-toned teal, blue and purple. When I bumped into them the other day at Rite Aid (I wanted a Vitamin Water), I was like, “Oooh, this one needs a nice lady to adopt her… And this one. AND MAYBE THAT ONE TOO!” 🙂

Maybelline Eye Studio in Desert Fantasy

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There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Drugstore Beauty Finds, Eyes, Makeup, Maybelline, Palettes, Product Reviews

Tom Ford Shows His Softer Side This Fall With In the Pink, One of Two New Ombre Eye Color Trios

September 24th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Tom Ford In The Pink
Question: What’s the secret to this Ombre Eye Color’s supreme softness? Answer: It must be In the Pink.

In the Pink, a Tom Ford Ombre Eye Color trio ($60), has powder shadows so soft that they make velvet jealous. We’re talking softer than soft — even the glitter, which is weird, because I usually associate glitter with grit.

Running my fingers across these pans is like a fingertip massage… While some eyeshadows scoot along the skin in fits and starts, these skate, and whether I’m patting or swiping them on my lids or along my lash lines, I always come away impressed.

The second of Tom’s two new Ombre Eye trios released for fall (the other being She Wolf), In the Pink is the soft-spoken option. While She Wolf howls at the pale moonlight (AWOOOOO!), In the Pink purrrrs, its dainty paws padding as if on clouds.

Tom Ford In The Pink

Like She Wolf’s shades, these — a matte pale pink, shimmery shell pink and a sheer, silvery pinkish glitter — were designed to be worn together for an ombre effect.

Of course, you could break that rule and wear the colors alone, or create interesting effects by layering the glitter atop or beneath the matte or shimmer.

It would be our little secret. Tom would never know. 🙂

In the Pink lights up my lids without announcing to the world, “She’s wearing eye makeup!” And that’s what I like about it. It’s understated and sophisticated.

Lighter lovelies who don’t mind paying extra for luxury lines, and who like the way they look in neutral and cool-toned shades, might find it particularly appealing. Pair it with cat eye liner and your favorite berry lip, and you’re ready for fall.

Tom Ford In The Pink Swatches
Tabs, and swatches from the left in matte light pink, shimmery seashell pink and the sheer, silvery pinkish glitter…

I like In the Pink well enough but, truth be told, if I were forced to Sophie’s Choice it and had to pick one of Tom’s two trios this fall, I wouldn’t hesitate to join She Wolf’s pack.

Sure, In the Pink is a solid trio of everyday eye makeup, but its colors are more dupe-able — and probably for less than $60. She Wolf, on the other hand, is something that doesn’t come along every day.

Tom Ford In The Pink

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There are 16 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Palettes, Product Reviews, Tom Ford Beauty

RiRi Hearts MAC Fall, and the New Her Cocoa Eye Shadow X 4

September 17th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

Rihanna Hearts MAC: Her Cocoa Eye Shadow X 4
Wearing the new Her Cocoa Eye Shadow X 4 quad from the RiRi Hearts MAC fall collection

Bust out your umbrella-ella-ella, because it’s raining more Rihanna-themed makeup this fall over at MAC.

The songstress and MAC take the stage later this month for an encore to her RiRi Hearts MAC summer collection with the new 20-piece RiRi Hearts MAC fall collection for eyes, cheeks and lips.

The Rihanna Hearts MAC Collection
16 items from the 20-piece Rihanna Hearts MAC Collection

You known I love me my warm neutrals, so of course, the Her Cocoa Eye Shadow X 4 ($44 US, $52.50 CDN) caught my eye first. 😀

Rihanna Hearts MAC: Her Cocoa Eye Shadow X 4
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There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Palettes

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