Product Reviews

Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick: Urban Decay Goes Back to the Beauty Future!

July 2nd, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

urban decay matte lipstick — The Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipsticks

“Ladies and gentlemen of the graduating class of 1993!

[APPLAUSE]

Wear lipstick!

[LOUDER APPLAUSE]

Specifically, matte lipstick!!

[INTENSE APPLAUSE]

Because if there’s one piece of unsolicited makeup advice I can give to you on this, the beginning of your bold beauty journey into adulthood, it is to wear matte lipstick. Often. Starting right now. Because then, not only will you be partaking of what was one of the hottest fashion trends of the ’90s, but you’ll also be embracing its triumphant return as a trend again now and in the future!

[LONG APPLAUSE]

My second piece of advice for you is this: put down the damn tweezers, because unlike matte lipstick, those full, bushy brows of yours will not return if you whittle them all the way down into pencil thin lines.”

— Anonymous graduation speech

Yes, kids, matte lipsticks, like The New Kids on the Block, are staging a comeback! They’ve returned from the ’90s glam graveyard, and they’ve brought with them some of the era’s most iconic dark brown and taupe shades, like 1993, one of Urban Decay’s upcoming new $22 Matte Revolution Lipsticks.

urban decay matte lipstick 1993 — Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick in 1993 (the year I graduated!)

Dude!! That’s when I graduated from high school. Back then, when I wasn’t wearing my band uniform (BAND GEEK 4 LIFE), you probably would have found me in a plaid shirt, jeans (or Z. Cavarrici pants), a thick black headband, hoop earrings and really, REALLY dark brown matte lipstick. 🙂

urban decay 1993 — Wearing Urban Decay Matte Revolution Lipstick in 1993 and daydreaming about high school…

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BECCA Champagne Pop Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed: My Pores Would Like to Make a Toast to This Highlighter

July 1st, 2015 by Karen 49 Comments

One of my life goals is to someday open a bottle of champagne with a longsword or saber (honestly, I would not be surprised to be the only one of us here with that goal).

Another one of my life goals is to someday achieve perfectly dewy skin.

I never expected these two life goals to collide…

Well, technically they don’t, because there weren’t any medieval weapons involved in the crafting of this post, but metaphorically they do, because just like a freshly opened bottle o’ bubbly, BECCA Champagne Pop, the brand’s latest limited edition Shimmering Skin Perfector, will make your cheekbones POP and your skin glow. 🙂

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Champagne Pop ($38) — A woefully sad, crushed pan of BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Champagne Pop ($38, and I’ll explain the story behind the broken pan in a minute)

I made this face the first time I swept BECCA Champagne Pop on my cheeks.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: NARS Yu Satin Lip Pencil

July 1st, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

Hey, Yu!

Yeah, Yu, homie. Right there. No, not that dude behind you… I’m talking to Yu.

I have to tell you something and it’s…well, important? And awkward. But you see, this — you and I? Well, basically, I’m absolutely, positively madly in love with Yu.

YES, YU! I’m ride-or-die for life!

OK, enough of that, LOL! Let’s talk about Yu… 🙂

Yu. Oh, NARS Yu. It’s another one of my perennial summertime NARS Satin Lip Pencil jams. A bright hot pink lipstick with a satin finish, I love it for many of the same reasons I also love NARS Lodhi — the smooth, creamy formula, opaque coverage and 4-5 hour wear time. It’s another example of perfection in a pencil.

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Benefit They’re Real Push-Up Liner and They’re Real Mascara, Now Available in More Shades

June 30th, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

benefit theyre real push up liner k1 — Wearing the new Benefit They’re Real Push-Up Liners in Beyond Purple, Beyond Blue and Beyond Green on my upper lash line, and two coats of They’re Real Mascara in Beyond Blue on my lashes

Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Please tell me that I’m not hallucinating and that these colorful new gel liners and mascaras by Benefit are not mere makeup figments of my imagination.

Are they fake…? Did I dream up this whole blue/green/purple situation? Please pinch me because I need to know if They’re Real.

OUCH!

OK…you did not have to pinch me that hard. 🙂

Benefit has some new liners and mascaras, and they aren’t figments of my imagination or yours, nor are you currently floating on pink cotton candy clouds.

These are very, very real, and they’re available on counters and online right now.

benefit theyre real — From the left: Benefit They’re Real Mascaras in Beyond Blue and Beyond Brown; They’re Real Push-Up Liners in Beyond Brown, Beyond Purple, Beyond Green and Beyond Blue

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5 Things You Should Know About the Too Faced Love Palette

June 30th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

5 Things You Should Know About the Too Faced Love Palette

Inspired by the lost art of love letter writing, the Too Faced Love Palette just might inspire you to write a long overdue love letter (of sorts) to yourself…

Dear Karen,

GURL. Just a gentle reminder to please stop and smell the roses sometimes, because like you, they’re wonderful.

You always try so hard at everything, and I love that about you, but I wish you would make more time for yourself (and for us, mi amor). I don’t know about you, but when we’re together hanging out, I feel EFFING FABULOUS! Like when we go to the mall or get our hair did at the salon, we always have so much fun! We should really just face it already — we’re made for each other.

I can’t deny that sometimes I get a little jealous of…you know who, but I can’t help it. He’s a larger-than-life feline philanthropist, famous kitty supermodel and incredibly talented, and I’m just a simple blogger.

But he can’t love you like I do.

I’ll always be here for you, my darling. Please never forget how wonderful you are.

Love always,

Karen
There are hearts in the middle of each pan! — which may or may not make you crave Valentine’s Day candy hearts, and if they do, you may find yourself Googling “buy Valentines candy hearts online June.”
When you’re in the mood to watch TV while you play with makeup (am I the only person who does this?), the Love Palette and a Lifetime movie make a great pair. I recommend the “woman in peril” genre so that you may periodically take breaks from blending to yell things like, “Molly…YOU IN DANGER, GIRL!” at the TV whenever the protagonist does a totally dumb thing, like descending a flight of steep stairs into a pitch black basement without so much as a fork with which to defend herself. I mean, REALLY?
When you’re wearing the Love Palette on your lids and your true love calls (and you know that he’s your true love because he just drove your cat to the vet!) to say that they will be returning home shortly because the cat just projectile pooped all over your beloved’s shirt, pants and car (more on this in a minute…), your eyes will look lovely while your heart swells with concern.
And after you finish doing your makeup with the Love Palette, you remember how much you love wearing smokey eyes. Then, even though it hits 93 degrees outside, you say to yourself, “Eff it. I’m in the mood to go smokey today, and I refuse to deny the urge. Who cares if we’re in the middle of a summer heat wave?”

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Klorane Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk For Brown to Dark Hair Will Raise the Root, Y’all!

June 25th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

klorane dry shampoo oat milk — Holding my new favorite hair thingamabobber, Klorane Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk For Brown to Dark Hair (I may or may not be on third-day hair right now)

Because you and I can comfortably go into TMI territory, I’m guessing/hoping that you won’t be grossed out when I say that I get a weird thrill from seeing how long I can go without washing my hair.

I find it fascinating and kind of disgusting at the same time.

I think the longest I’ve ever gone is five days… Or maybe it was six? I had a killer blowout (’twas glorious! — like in a shampoo commercial), and I hated to see it go…

Obvs, I need a lot of help when I do this, since a woman trying to get by on minimal hair washing cannot do it on unicorn kisses and tabby whiskers alone, and when I say “a lot of help,” I mean copious amounts of dry shampoo, which lately has been Klorane Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk for Brown to Dark Hair ($19.50), a tinted aerosol dry shampoo with softening (ooh!) and smoothing (ah!) oat milk and a paraben- and colorant-free formula. It’s designed for all hair types.
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My Lips Are Smitten With New Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer

June 24th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

If the Marc Jacobs Beauty Hi-Shine Enamored Lip Lacquers were a dude, I wouldn’t say that I’m “ready to put a ring on it,” because we’ve only been together about a week, but I would say that I am enamored enough with them to make out on the doorstep — with tongue action.

I might even let them grab a boob or a butt cheek, as long as the neighbors don’t see. 🙂

In other words, this new line of lip glosses is pretty charming. It’s…

Shiny
Comfortable
Non-sticky
Minty
Moisturizing
And all-around fab!

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Latest Loves: Body Oils by Fresh, NARS and Ren

June 23rd, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

For reasons that elude me (I think it has something to do with the heater in the house), when summer arrives, my scaly alligator-like arms and legs become slightly less…alligator-like. My skin isn’t quite as dry, so I’ve swapped out the heavy-duty body creams I used in winter for lighter, but still moisturizing, body oils. They keep my skin satiated and, more importantly (haha), when I wear dresses, the oils give my arms and legs a snazzy sheen.

I keep a small arsenal of oils on my bathroom shelf and alternate among them depending on my mood. I also think they look pretty cool in mah bathroom. 🙂

Here are three of them I’ve been loving lately…
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