Palettes

Stay (Rose) Golden, BECCA: The New BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette

May 16th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

becca chrissy teigen closeup — The new BECCA Chrissy Teigen X Glow Face Palette ($46)

So, remember when rose gold hit the scene this last time, and everybody went crazy for it? When was that…? 2014? 2015? I keep thinking that one day it’s going to fall out of fashion, but it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, am I right? Like, the new BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette ($46) is ROSE. GOLD. EVERYTHING. And I’m lovin’ it.

Isn’t it pretty??

This face palette… It caused quite a stir when it launched a couple weeks ago. I had a friend text me, and she was like, “Should I get it? SHOULD I GET IT?” and I was like, “I dunno! You should get it if you want to,” and she texted back, “Well, OK, I guess I’ll hold off on it…” Then she wrote back 30 minutes later and said, “I bought it!”

I totally get why it would ignite a frenzy. I mean, even the outside packaging is beyond beautiful. It’s got pinkish peach marbling and the BECCA X Chrissy logo.

But when you open it, it gets even better.

becca chrissy teigen — Wearing the palette on my lids and cheeks

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The NARS Unfiltered I and Unfiltered II Cheek Palettes

December 1st, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

Surprise! No Orgasm.

[awkward pause]

Um…why is it that everything I say lately sounds unintentionally dirty? I don’t know. 🙂

These two new NARS Unfiltered Cheek Palettes are coming soon to the Sephora website on December 6th and then to narscosmetics.com and Sephora stores on December 15th, and they. Are. Gorgeous!

nars unfiltered i unfiltered ii — The NARS Unfiltered I Cheek Palette on the left and the Unfiltered II Cheek Palette on the right ($59 each)

Each one has five new limited edition blush colors and one repromote.

That bright red, though!!? You might recognize it. That’s Exhibit A in the Unfiltered I palette, and the other repromote is Hot Sand in Unfiltered II.

I’m so impressed with these palettes! The blushes are NARS soft, NARS smooth and NARS pigmented. This right here, girlfriend? This is the brand at its best.

And, yeah, no Orgasm.

Unfiltered I (new LE shades marked with an *)

*WATCH ME: Opalescent gold (sheen)
*ME FIRST: Apricot (sheen)
*TAKEOVER: Copper rose (sheen)
*OUT THERE: Deep russet (matte)
*CHIC: Rich raspberry (matte)
EXHIBIT A: Red (matte)

Unfiltered II

*CONQUEST: Pastel peach (matte)
*UNDEFEATED: Pale pink (shimmer)
*POWER PLAY: Vivid pink (matte)
HOT SAND: Peach champagne (sheen)
*FAME: Pink amber (sheen)
*CANDID: Mauve raspberry (shimmer)

nars unfiltered i closeup — Closeup of NARS Unfiltered I, starting with the top row from the left: Watch Me, Me First, Takeover; bottom row: Out There, Chic, Exhibit A

nars unfiltered ii closeup — Closeup of NARS Unfiltered II, starting with the top row from the left: Conquest, Undefeated, Power Play; bottom row: Hot Sand, Fame, Candid

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Laura Mercier Double Impact Eye Colour Collection | Cool Gray Smoky Eyes and Smoky Pants!

October 28th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

laura mercier double impact eye colour collection swatches — Smoky eyes and smoky pants!

Who wouldn’t want to wear eye makeup that matches their smoky pants??

The first thing I saw when I opened this $58 Laura Mercier Double Impact Eye Colour Collection palette was that bottom row of cool-toned greys. Some of ’em looked a little blue, and I thought, “These totally look like the crazy pants my mom got me from Costco.”

Girl, these pants are everywhere! I am not kidding. Shortly after my mom got them for me, El Hub and I were driving through China Town in the city, and I saw this cute older Chinese lady walking through the crowd with a big bag of vegetables. “Look!” I said to El Hub. “She’s wearing my smoky pants!”

And then last month at our hotel in Tahoe while we were waiting in the lobby to check in, I saw a lady walking away from me with her roller bag and her cute little butt clad in these smoky pants.

I whispered, “She’s wearing my smoky pants…”

They’re freaking everywhere.

They’re grey with a sort of a blue tinge, but I don’t know. I can’t always tell with my eyes. Note to self: Make an appointment with the optometrist.

So I think I see a little blue in the pants, and I was hoping that the bottom row of colors in this palette would have a bluish tint, too, because I love bluish greys.

But when I got the shadows on my lids, they looked straight-up cool-toned grey, which is also fine…’cause I also love cool-toned greys, especially in smoky looks.

So…I think I might be spoiled for life by the super pigmented Victoria Beckham X Estée Lauder palette because a layer or two with it and I’m done, but these shadows are sheerer than that.

I have to pat some on, buff it out, then pat some more, then buff that out, then pat even more, and then buff that out again.

I admit that I’m out of practice with slightly complicated, moderately intense looks, but it still seem like I’m piling a lot of this makeup on. Just an FYI.

And the fallout is fairly intense. I had a lot under my eyes when I did this look, especially when I used that dark navy blue shade. If you do your eyes first, then clean up, you’ll be fine.

Laura Mercier Double Impact Eye Colour Collection
$58, limited edition from the holiday 2016 collection, available now
12 shades

“The mirrored palette features 9 matte and 3 sateen-shimmer eye shadow shades in a range from light to dark. The versatile palette can take eyes from neutral day to sultry night. Universally flattering, light reflecting sateen-shimmer shades add dimension and enhance brightness. A value of $96.”

— lauramercier.com

Shades:

9 Matte (1g / 0.03 oz each) — Dune, Wind, Earth, Bone, Love Potion, Venemous, Poison, Hypnotic, Voodoo

True Matte shades (Classic Matte) that are best applied with Eye Colour Brush: Dune, Wind, Earth, Bone

NEW Sateen Matte shades (Matte with hidden pearl) that are best applied with Eye Colour Brush: Love Potion, Venomous, Poison, Hypnotic,Voodoo

1 Crushed Pearl (all pearl, creamy to the touch that is best applied with both fingers and Eye Colour Brush) (1g / 0.03 oz): Spirit

2 Discrete Pearl (refined shimmer, creamy to the touch that is best applied with both fingers and Eye Colour Brush) (0.8g / 0.028 oz each): Rock (to use for boost of smoke), Dust (to blend finishing lines or highlight)

ADDITIONAL MAKEUP WORN IN THIS LOOK
CHEEKS: Cheeks MAC Studio Quicktriks Stick in Ginger Spiked/Counterpoint ($32)

LIPS: theBalm Pickup Liners in Acute One ($17.50), MAC Big Baby Plushglass ($21), Victoria Beckham X Estee Lauder Moroccan Heat Lip Gloss ($36)

FACE: Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick in Beige ($46), MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden ($33)

The Laura Mecier Double Impact Colour Collection Palette packaging — Inside the palette

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The Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette | Color Blocked Rainbow Eyes

October 27th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

I’m staring out a window right now, a.k.a. writing, and it’s really dark outside! It’s the late afternoon, it’s cloudy, and it looks like it’s gonna rain. I don’t see any rainbows…yet.

I’m thinking that when I go out to go run some errands, I should probably wear layers, because when you live in California, that’s what you do. You wear layers. You kind of expect it. But with some things, like Urban Decay eyeshadows, I don’t expect to have to wear layers. Their shadows are usually super pigmented. Yeah, there’s a lot of fallout, too, and I expect that. But I also expect potent pigments and a formula that’s easy to blend.

That’s why I like them, and that’s also why I didn’t expect to have to do a lot of layering with the new $55 Urban Decay Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette.

Alas, that was not the case.

I ended up doing lots of layers with this color blocked rainbow eye look — many more than I expected to. Sometimes it took me four or five layers to get really punchy color. With the bright orange spotlight on that one lid, I even ended up having to wet my brush to intensify it.

I got the idea for this look from the bejeweled, sparkly UD logo on the front of the palette, with the colors moving into each other like a gradient. I thought, “Oh, that’s some neat color blocking. Why don’t I try that on my eyes?”

Plus, it’s a rainbow eyeshadow palette. I mean, come on. My first inclination was to use a shimmery olive and put some browns in the crease, but that would have been a missed opportunity, right? I had to taste the rainbow.

Urban Decay Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette
$55, limited edition and available now
21 shades (18 new shades, three exclusives from past palettes)
Includes a dual-ended eyeshadow brush
It’s a followup to 2015’s Urban Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette.

“We organized the shadows by color family, creating a rainbow of ombré trios: pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, purples, and even a wildcard row that goes from white to black. The end result? A palette that not only looks stunning, but also delivers tons of options. Create dimensional ombré looks by working within the color-coordinated trios or experiment with multiple shade groups at once. With 18 NEW shades, three exclusives from past palettes, and a wide range of finishes, you’ll never run out of options.”

— urbandecay.com

Shades:

Alchemy (deep fuchsia satin)
Gossip (bright metallic pink w/subtle floating pearl)
Paranoia (soft metallic blue-pink)
Warning (deep metallic copper)
Seize (bright metallic coral w/subtle floating pearl)
Jones (metallic orange w/subtle floating pearl)
Midnight Blaze (black matte w/yellow-gold pearl)
Calavera (bright yellow matte w/subtle floating pearl)
Goldmine (metallic yellow-gold)
Hundred (deep metallic forest green)
Hatter (vibrant green w/tonal micro-sparkle)
Mean (bright metallic lime green)
Minx (deep navy matte w/floating tonal pearl)
Blindsided (bright teal blue matte w/floating pearl)
Metamorphosis (vibrant periwinkle blue w/micro-sparkle)
Delirious (deep plum matte w/subtle floating pearl)
Sketch (metallic medium purple)
Faded (lavender w/gold shimmer)
Platonic (black matte w/iridescent glitter)
Iced (oyster silver w/shimmer)
Bump (white matte)

Fill Weight: 21 x 1.2 g POIDS NET/NET WT. 21 x 0.04 oz

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MAC Nutcracker Sweet Holiday 2016 Gift Sets: The Cool Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9

October 17th, 2016 by Karen 18 Comments

mac-nutcracker-sweet-cool-eye-compact-k-final — I’m wearing Performance Art, Marzipan, Quite Spoiled, Absurdly Pretty, Sugar Plum and Nutcracker from the MAC Nutcracker Sweet Holiday 2016 collection Cool Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9 ($39.50)

In the closet in my office there’s a homage to hoarders/makeup storage area with a bunch of acrylic drawers stacked one on top of the other, inside of which I keep my very favorite workhorse products that I truly love.

Most of the items I review, I give away to friends or family or the women’s shelter, but I put the stuff that I want to keep for myself into those drawers.

One of them is dedicated to MAC Eye Shadow palettes, and whenever I’m in a hurry and just want to throw some makeup on without really having to think about it, that’s my go-to drawer. I know that I can pull anything out of it and basically be OK.

I’m going to put the MAC Cool Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9 palette in there. 🙂

But I’m not going to stick it in there because it’s the most mind-blowing palette. I’m going to stick it in there mostly because of shock value!

I’m kind of shocked that I like it as much as I do, because I rarely love the MAC holiday eyeshadow palettes, to be honest. I don’t think most of them are as good as the singles in MAC’s permanent line.

But this one is.

I really don’t want to say, “I was surprised that I like this,” but I was really surprised that I like this! It’s actually very good, and I keep trying to find ways to talk myself out of liking it, because I’m just so used to not liking the holiday palettes. The more I use this one, though, the more I like it.

M∙A∙C Nutcracker Sweet
Available online October 20, 2016
Available in stores on October 27, 2016 through December 8, 2016
#MACNutcrackerSweet

OK…now let me back up a little. This is one of three X 9 palettes in the MAC Nutcracker Sweet holiday collection. We looked at the Smoky one the other day, and I’ll have a review of the Warm one coming soon, but I think this one is my favorite of the group.

I don’t recognize any of the colors, either. I went to the MAC website and typed in their names, and none of them came up, which is cool because MAC’s Eye Shadow palettes are usually heavy with re-promotes.

So many mattes, too! So many of them. MAC holiday eye kits also tend to go all out on shimmer, with maybe a light sprinkling of mattes, but this one has quite a few.

I love using mattes in the crease, on my lower lash line and also as liner. Of course, you can also use shimmers the same way, but I think that if you’re a lady of a certain age, mattes are more forgiving.

The Cool Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9 ($39.50) — Enchanted Beauty (Lustre), Absurdly Pretty (Matte), Raspberry (Matte), Plum Darling (Lustre), Performance Art (Lustre), Nutcracker (Satin), The Wrong Man (Satin), Sugar Plum (Matte), Marzipan (Matte) and Quite Spoiled (Satin).

It’s one of three X 9 palettes in the MAC Nutcracker Sweet holiday collection (the other two are Warm and Smoky).

The set also comes with…

The 214/213 Dual-Ended Brush

mac nutcracker sweet cool eye compact — MAC Nutcracker Sweet Cool Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9

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LORAC Mega Pro Palette 3: An Emoji Review ?

September 28th, 2016 by Karen 25 Comments

lorac-mega pro 3 palette swatches — Wearing the new LORAC Mega Pro 3 Palette on my lids

Who was the genius who decided that this needed to be white?

I mean, I had it open for about two seconds before there was eyeshadow all over the packaging, all over the inside of it, the outside of it, all over me. I don’t even know. It was a mess!

I really like it, though. There are so many colors, and it has this rose gold theme, which feels kinda 2013, but eh — I’ll go with it. I think the best things, by far, are the first two rows. They’re all mattes! (All matte errrthing.) And these mattes are just so freaking juicy, soft and super easy to blend.

This whole grunge thing happening on my lids? (Well, I’m also wearing a couple shimmers. Let me just throw that out there.) I did it in like 10 minutes.

Maybe instead of writing the rest of this review, I’ll just use emojis, since that’s where we’re headed anyway. Why even bother with the English language? Just use emojis. That’s how Connor will probably communicate with me in the future anyway. Might as well get a jump on it. 🙂

Eyeshadow texture: ?
Pigment: ?
Fallout: ?
Shade selection: ?
Blending: ?
Mattes: ?
Shimmers:?
Packaging: ?

PRICE: $59
AVAILABILITY: Limited edition and available now at LORAC counters and Ulta
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I Find Myself Asking the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette in Surreal Light If We’ve Met Before…

September 16th, 2016 by Karen 21 Comments

hourglass surreal light palette — The new $80 Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette in Surreal Light, available now at Sephora

I love a cat with marbled sides.

And I also love marbled packaging.

The new $80 Hourglass Surreal Light Ambient Lighting Palette comes dressed to impress in an elegant marbled compact which, by the way, looks a lot like the kitchen of my dreams in my dream house.

When I finally win the lottery, I’m going to point to a pic of this palette and say, “Please do this for my counters, OKTHANXBAI.”

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Say Cheese! The Pur Love Your Selfie 2 Palette Is Camera Ready

September 12th, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

Aw, man! Why doesn’t the Pur Cosmetics Love Your Selfie 2 Palette come with a selfie stick? — a white one covered in silver glitter to match the packaging? That would be CUTE (if not altogether unnecessary), because if there’s anything I learned from watching all 12,543 cycles of America’s Next Top Model (it was a phase), it’s that when you’re taking a selfie, girl, get that camera up as high as possible, find your light source, and work those angles. #themoreyouknow

pur love your selfie 2 packaging — The $42 Pur Love Your Selfie 2 Palette

And should you need to whip out a quick makeup look, you’ll find almost errrthing you’d need in Pur Love Selfie 2 (which is the chapter 2 of the series of Pur palettes that started with the first Pur Love Your Selfie Palette).

It comes with eight eyeshadows, three face powders (a highlighter, a bronzer and a baking powder to set face makeup), a matte lip pencil, gloss and mascara.

Just add cattitude. 🙂

pur love your selfie 2 eyeshadows — First row of eyeshadows…

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