Product Reviews

The Blame It On NARS Cheek Palette: I Daydreamed About Blush (and a Lot of Other Things Today), and I Blame It on NARS

July 21st, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

It was one of those days, ya know? Where you just stare out the window dumbfounded, like, everything was just sort of confusing me…

Ha! I’m serious, though. I felt like things weren’t quite computing correctly, if you know what I mean.

Oh, well… At least today I could conveniently Blame It On NARS (hello, easy transitions!). 🙂

Introducing the new $59 NARS Blame It On NARS Cheek Palette, one of this summer’s three limited edition gift sets from NARS (the others are the Ultimate NARS and True NARS lip sets).

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Chic Crimson Helps the $40 BECCA Ombre Rouge Eye Palette Contour, Sculpt and Brighten Eyes

July 21st, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

I highly recommend that you roll your R’s when you say the name of BECCA’s new crimson tinged $40 Ombre Rouge eyeshadow palette like so: “Ombre Rrrrrrrrrrouge. Rrrrrrr-ooooo-uge.”

Why?

BECAUSE IT’S FUN. That’s why. That’s the main reason. And, also, because rolling the R makes the palette seem extra rouge-y, and therefore extra fancy.

Yes, this is irrelevant to most important, thought-provoking aspects of real life, but like I said…IT’S FUN, and this is makeup we’re talking about (not rocket science).

Don’t be scurred, intrepid eye palette addict! All of the shades in this five-pan palette of powder eyeshadows may be tinged with red, but they aren’t straight-up reds, so you won’t be left with your brush in the air wondering, “What the heck am I gonna do with these?” They’re still very wearable and useful.

They’re also warmer and richer than the cool browns in BECCA’s Ombre Nudes Palette, and consequently interesting and different.

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I’m Getting a Rush From This Coral Flush: It Cosmetics CC+ Radiance Ombre Blush in Coral Flush

July 20th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Add this blush to your list of “Things of the Utmost Importance That Must Be Attended to ASAP,” because we all know that blush is of the utmost importance…and blushes that refuse to sit on top of your skin lookin’ like a heavy, caked-on mess are of the UTMOST utmost importance.

Yes, that’s a lot of utmosts. 🙂

It Cosmetics CC+ Radiance Ombre Blush in Coral Flush takes that time you blushed when you saw your favorite dude from One Direction smile at you from across the street (yes, let’s assume this happened) and injects the essence of that into a reddish coral pan tinged with pink.

The color can also be described as “I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it!” because it burnishes cheeks without shimmer or sparkle. It’s also an epically natural-looking beginner’s blush and a no-longer-hidden gem.

Swatch out for it next time you pounce upon Ulta with your favorite makeup-enabling friend. (Mine is my buddy Marisol… We go there and egg each other on, and it’s a hot, beautiful mess!).

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Peek-a-Boo! I See Yu Wearing the New NARS True NARS Lip Pencil Set This Summer

July 20th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

Oh, Yu!

Yu! You know I’ve got nothing but mad love for Yu. I’m so happy to see Yu again! 🙂

Yaaaas, queen, Yu is one of my favorite NARS Satin Lip Pencils of all freakin’ time, and it just so happens to be one of the three full-size pencils in the new $49 NARS True NARS summer gift set.

This year there are three limited edition NARS summer gift sets — two lip sets and one blush palette — and True NARS is the boldest of the two summer lip sets.

Do you feel like the world is a kinder, gentler place when you’re wearing bronzer? Or is the pursuit of toasty, tanned skin one of your ongoing life goals? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then True NARS is the lip set for you, because its vivid pink Satin Lip Pencil in Yu, vivid watermelon Satin Lip Pencil in Luxembourg and matte berry red Velvet Matte Li pencil in Provocative Red were picked and put together for the way they pop when worn with bronzed skin. Wear any of them separately like I’m doing in the swatches here, or combine them to create your own custom splash of spectacular sorry-not-sorry color.

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Say “Bye, Felicia!” to Fine Lines, and “Hello, Gorgeous!” to Naturally Pretty Lids With the It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Eyeshadow Trios

July 17th, 2015 by Karen 10 Comments

it cosmetics eyeshadow trio — Three of the six It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Eyeshadow Trios ($24 each)

I like to keep the proverbial door open when it comes to certain aspects of my life — making new friends, learning new things, trying new foods, doing new wackadoo things with makeup, befriending new cats…

But I will happily slam that door shut on the fine lines that keep showing up on my lids. 🙂

I realize that aging is one of those freight trains that can’t really be stopped (or bargained with), so I might as well be cool with it (which I am, mostly). In a way, it’s an opportunity of sorts to track down the best, most forgiving eyeshadows for fine lines, and here’s one possible contender: the $24 Naturally Pretty Eyeshadow Trios by It Cosmetics.

it cosmetics eyeshadow trio 1 — Three of the six It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Eyeshadow Trios ($24 each)

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Dior Diorshow Brow Styler Brush-On Brow Gel Has a Brush for Bushy Brows

July 16th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

dior brow styler gel review — The new Dior Brow Styler Gel in #003 Brown ($29)

Check out the tapered tip at the end of the brush on Dior’s new Diorshow Brow Styler Gel ($29). I’ve never seen a brow gel like this before.

The whole design is very futuristic. It has a click brush applicator, and when you twist the bottom of the pen, the brow gel comes out from the sides. Then you just run the brush through your brows to shape, tame and polish them.

It’s so very Bladerunner! Of course, in the not-too-distant future when we have robots for mundane tasks like filling in our brows, things like this will be rendered irrelevant…so we must get our brow thrills while we can. 🙂

So I was thrilled to try this doohickey on Raul (also known as “the bald spot in my left brow”).

dior brow styler gel — Wearing Dior Brow Styler Gel in #003 Brown

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It Cosmetics CC+ Radiance Ombre Blush in Je Ne Sais Quoi Has That Special Something

July 16th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

Oh! I’ve been meaning to talk to you about It Cosmetics CC+ Radiance Ombre Blush in Je Ne Sais Quoi ($24), but I haven’t been able to put my thoughts into words.

There’s just something…indescribable about it. I wish there was a phrase to describe things like that…

Sorry, I know, that was bad! 🙂 But I couldn’t resist. It’s called Je Ne Sais Quoi, for crying out loud! What did they expect!?

The marvelous mix of ombre neutral pinks in this blush range from light to dark, and they create a lovely glowing sheen on cheeks that me and mah pores like. Je Ne Sais Quoi absolutely lives up to its name.

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With New NARS Audacious Mascara, What’s the Hook?

July 15th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

Raise yo’ paws to the heavens/roof! — NARS has a new mascara, which is quite a rare occurrence in NARS Land. It’s new NARS Audacious Mascara in Black Moon ($26), and it has an outrageous hook.

Actually, hooks.

No, really, it literally has hooks. See the bristles on the red brush? Those are little hooks…

BANANAS, right? I know! The hooks are supposed to catch lashes to better lengthen, lift, thicken and separate them, and I think it actually works.

I see satiny black lashes with nice length at the tips, and it pulls the lashes upward to keep a good curl. You can also add another layer as the day wears on, because everyone knows that nothing beats the 3 p.m. work blahs like an extra layer of mascara. 🙂

No, seriously, this mascara layers really well. No clumps, bumps or flakes. Just loads of seamless length, separation, lift and volume. It goes from cube mascara to club mascara like *that* (snaps fingers).

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