Product Reviews

Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter: Same Butter, Better Price

May 20th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

You’re doin’ it right, Soap & Glory!

In an era when so many beauty brands are charging more for less product, Soap & Glory bucked the trend by actually reducing a price.

Yup, that’s right! They’re making it more affordable to get your body butter on.

They used to charge $22 for a 10.1-oz. tub of The Righteous Butter body moisturizing lotion, their epically hydrating heavy-hitter, but now it’s $15! — and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I discovered this stuff last Christmas and literally used my tub all the way down to the last drop.

No, for real. I was in my bathroom one day, just out of the shower and naked as the day I was born, and I ran my fingers around the inside of the tub to get every last drop. This stuff is the real deal if you have alligator skin like moi. It’s super moisturizing and doesn’t leave an annoying residue behind.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who loves this fluffy body butter either. According to Soap & Glory, a tub of The Righteous Butter is sold every 20 seconds worldwide.

That’s a lotta buttah, baby! (4,320 per day)

It contains glycerin, cocoa and shea butters, and cocoanut oil (fancy talk for “coconut”) to lock in moisture, and it smells divine. It’s like a lotion-y version of my favorite Chanel Coco Mademoiselle fragrance, although I’ve heard through the grapevine (also known as the comments here on MBB, LOL!) that it also smells like the discontinued old-school Dior Miss Cherie.

And now it’s $15! I mean, seriously, who does that?? I can’t even remember the last time a beauty brand made one of their top products this much more affordable. Hats off to you, Soap & Glory. I’m your new #1 fan. 🙂

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Dior Diorskin Nude Tan Tie Dye Edition Blush Harmony in 002 Coral Sunset Will Help Cheeks and Sunsets Make Beautiful Music Together

May 20th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Do you need to fall in love with a $57 blush?

If you’re like me, probably not. But just in case you do, and you’re looking for a new blush with which to have a summer love affair, Dior 002 Coral Sunset is a heartbreaker. It’s all that and a bag of Trader Joe’s Cheddar Puffs.

What is Dior Diorskin Nude Tan Tie Dye Edition Blush Harmony in 002 Coral Sunset?

Like an actual tropical sunset, Coral Sunset has multiple shades. It’s a warm powder blush with four different colors in the same pan (orange, coral, rose and golden beige) that are designed to be mixed together and applied to cheeks. It’s one of two limited edition $57 Tie Dye Edition Blush Harmonies released with the Dior Tie Dye Summer 2015 Collection and comes with a blush pouch and a kabuki brush for application.

It adds a natural-looking orangey coral warmth to cheeks and skin, and the finish is key to the “natural-looking” part. It looks shimmery in the pan, but on the skin reads more like a matte-on-the-verge-of-a-sheen. If you look closely, though, you can see tiny flecks of glitter…but they’re small. No need to worry about any glitter bomb situations.

How do you use it?

Just take the kabuki brush that comes with the blush, swirl it in the pan, and then tap off the excess. Apply what remains to the apples of your cheeks.

There you go. 🙂

You can also lightly dust on parts of the face where the sun naturally falls for added warmth, like across the forehead and down the nose.

You don’t have to use the included kabuki brush, of course, and I think this one works pretty well, but I prefer to use a fluffy wide blush brush instead. Because this blush is quite pigmented, I find that it’s easier to blend and feather out the edges with a wider, fluffy face brush.

Is it worth the price?

So…this is crazy expensive for a blush. It’s $57! But if you can get over that hump (and it’s a BIG hump), you’ll find that it’s an absolutely beautiful blush.

It’s so pigmented that I only have to use one layer, and that single layer lasts six or seven hours between touchups. I’m betting that a pan of this could possibly last years, even with daily use, because you hardly have to use.

I also really love how it rests on the skin. It’s very finely milled, so the grains of powder don’t attract attention, and the application is perfection. A quick sweep of my wide blush brush, a bit of blending action at the edges, and I’m properly blushed in less than a minute, literally.

In trying to think of comparable high-end blushes, the closest I can come up with is Chanel Malice. The two aren’t identical, as Dior’s has more of a rosy tone, which I think makes it every-so-slightly more flattering on bronzed skin with reddish undertones because the rose shades play off the red tones that typically come with a tan. I also think that the addition of that warm rosy shade is why this blush is something other than your standard issue coral.

Yes, it’s cray expensive, but it’s absolutely on point. Recommended for gals/guys who live for high-end makeup and want a warm-toned blush that goes great with a tan. Also recommended for mature skin.
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With The Blushed Nudes Palette by Maybelline, Imitation Naked 3 Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

May 18th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

maybelline blushed nudes — Maybelline’s $10 The Blushed Nudes Palette

On the drive to the NKOTB/TLC/Nelly concert in San Jose last week, my friend and fellow makeup lover Marisol asked if I would mind us making a pit stop at a Walmart down there to see if they had Maybelline’s new $10 The Blushed Nudes Palette.

She said that she’d looked all over for it up in the North Bay where we live to no avail, and that the closest place she could track it down was the Walmart right next to the concert venue.

A $10 dupe for Urban Decay Naked 3?

“Do you mind if we swing by?” she asked.

Uh…do I mind stopping by a store with a huge beauty section to look at makeup?

I said I didn’t.

Marisol said that she heard the palette was a $10 drugstore dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.

“Of all the people I know,” she told me, “I thought you would understand.”

I did. 🙂

With a $10 dupe for Naked 3 on the line, shirtless Jordan Knight would just have to wait, LOL!

When we got to the Walmart, we made a beeline for the beauty department, where we found two Blushed Nude palettes in stock. I took it as a sign from the makeup gods that I needed to bring one of them home, and Marisol did too. She snagged the other one.

Forget about buying an overpriced New Kids t-shirt at the concert. This would be my souvenir instead. 🙂

The Blushed Nudes Palette by Maybelline: 12 eyeshadows in rose gold shades

With the rose gold packaging and 12 eyeshadows in rose gold shades, The Blushed Nudes looks a lot like UD’s $54 Naked 3 palette… Right? The resemblance is uncanny! For this one, it’s pretty easy to see where Maybelline got their inspiration.

Eyeshadow Trickery 101

But while very similar, there are some pretty big differences between the two.

Like first, the price. One is $10 and the other is $54.

That’s huge.

Second and third, the levels of pigment and shimmer. The Urban Decay Naked 3 shadows contain much more pigment and pearl. With them I think you definitely get more intense color and shine on your lids, but you can get there with the Maybelline Blushed Nudes eyeshadows. You just need to resort to a little makeup trickery.

Like you could…

Basically, use more. You can build up the Blushed Nudes shadows in layers, but you’re probably looking at using two or three times as many as you’d need with the Naked3s. Maybe five or six total layers with the lighter shades.
Intensify the colors by applying them with a wet brush.
Use your fingers instead of a brush, so you can really apply some pressure directly on your lids.

Of course, none of this is necessary if you actually want a softer, hazier eye look. Most of The Blushed Nudes shades are fairly sheer, so if that’s your agenda, your regular brushes would do you just fine.

Where are my mattes!?

And then there’s the whole matte situation… You get three matte shades — matte beige Strange, light matte pinkish taupe Limit and matte purplish taupe Nooner — in Urban Decay Naked 3, which are very handy as transition shades.

The Maybelline Blushed Nudes palette, on the other hand, has only one matte, a sheer pinkish taupe that looks like UD’s limit (only sheerer). I tried using it as a crease color…but I wasn’t too crazy about it. I had to use hella layers (I’m talking five or six) to have it really register on my medium skin tone, and even then I still couldn’t see it very well.

It may not be an issue for paler princesses, or if mattes just aren’t your thing, but if you’re around my shade (I’m a MAC NC42) or darker, or if you’re just all about that matte crease life, it’s something to consider.

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Tarte The Sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizer: For Contouring You Can’t Miss

May 15th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

tarte sculptor contouring — Two of the three Tarte The Sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizers ($24 each)

This too shall pass…

That’s what I mumble under my breath now whenever I see a new contouring product.

Because there are just so many of them!

It’s not that I’m anti-contouring, though. I’m not. I actually love the look when it’s done well on other people, but there are so many new contouring products coming out, and I don’t really like the look of sharp contouring on me.

That said, if you do, get it, gurl. Express yo’self. Tarte has some creamy new contouring pencils you might find interesting.

Tarte’s The Sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizer is available in three $24 limited edition shades — Park Ave Princess, Park Ave Princess 2 and Park Ave Princess 3 — with each being a different take on a creamy deep brown with a matte finish. They’re made for contouring cheeks, noses, foreheads, and neck and jaw lines, and they were released with the Summer 2015 Poppy Picnic Collection.

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Smashbox L.A. Lights Blendable Lip & Cheek Color in Venice Beach Bronze Borrows a Thing or Two From the NARS Multiples

May 13th, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

Cream products.

Have you ever noticed how popular they get around this time of year? Especially cream highlighters and blushes? The one pictured here is the new $29 Smashbox L.A. Lights Blendable Lip & Cheek Colors in Venice Beach Bronze.

It’s gotta have something to do with summer…because with summer makeup, trends always come and go, but one trend that never completely disappears is the whole minimalist makeup angle. Cream blushes and highlighter sort of evoke that idea of casual, minimal makeup. Just swipe a little on bare skin, or in this case, maybe even on top of tinted moisturizer, and bam! — you’re ready to go hunting for surfer dudes on the boardwalk.

Smashbox L.A. Lights Blendable Lip & Cheek Colors: What are they, exactly?

These $29 cream blushes from Smashbox — technically, they’re combination cheek colors/lip products — are multitaskers in the vein of the NARS Multiples. This one, shimmery bronze Venice Beach Bronze, is one of five, and it’s made to cast a warm sunset-like glow on skin like it’s “The Magic Hour” (the brief windows of time just before sunrise and sunset).

The other shades are Hollywood & Highlight (a sheer pinkish pearl), Beverly Hills Blush (a peachy pink with golden shimmer), Silver Lake Sunset (a warm coral) and Malibu Berry (a rich berry).

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A New Shocking Development: Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in Shock Me Pink

May 12th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Because a girl can never have too many hot pink lipsticks!

Well, she probably could, but…naw. I don’t think so. 🙂

This is another one of the new shades recently added to the Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick line. Shock Me Pink is a bright blue-based neon pink with a creamy finish. Like the other Be Legendaries, it’s unflavored, unscented and smooove, with a 4-hour wear time.

I like to wear this one with shiny black liquid liner when I’m feeling feisty and want to stomp-walk into rooms.

It’s available now online and at Smashbox counters, Nordstrom stores and Ulta for $20.

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Tarte Precision Longwear Liner Sits Among the All-Time Greats in the Liquid Liner Pantheon

May 12th, 2015 by Karen 11 Comments

I’m picky when it comes to liquid liners… Pickier than a crabby reality TV show judge on a singing competition!

Seriously, if there’s even just one thing wrong with them — ONE THING! — I’m like Liam Neeson in the Taken movies when he threatens the kidnappers. “I WILL FIND YOU!!”

That said, Tarte’s Precision Longwear Liner ($24) passes the Liam Neeson Test with flying colors.

This dark chocolate neutral matte brown, which looks like a rich blackish brown in pics, is an absolutely legit alternative to errrrday black liquid liners. Great for when you want a cat-flicked liquid liner look with less contrast than black.

The long and firm, but flexible, felt tip draws precise flicks and lines with smooth edges, and you don’t have to freaking arm wrestle the damn thing to use it (it seems that way sometimes with liquid liner, doesn’t it?).

And — HUGE pro — the liner applies smoothly and filled with pigment. None of that uneven patchy nonsense that plagues lesser liquid liners.

It also layers well, doesn’t flake off my skin and lasts about seven hours. As far as where it sits in the liquid liner pantheon of all-time greats, I think it’s easily comparable to LORAC Front of the Line Pro, Rouge Bunny Rouge Nocturnal Ink and Tom Ford’s Eye Defining Pen.

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MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation: The Best Liquid Foundation I’ve Seen From MAC in Years

May 12th, 2015 by Karen 62 Comments

MAC has a new waterproof foundation, and I know that it’s waterproof because I had a meltdown in the middle of Target a couple weeks ago while wearing it, and this stuff did not move.

AT. ALL.

I mean, who hasn’t had a meltdown in the middle of Target at least once (well, other than three-year-old children)?

I’d been waiting in a long checkout line when some busy fancy-pants dude in Spandex bicycle shorts totally cut in front of me.

The fact that he didn’t bother to make eye contact with me or even acknowledge the existence of my cart — which was full of ladies’ accoutrements for a visit from “Aunt Flo,” mind you — sent me into Rage Mode. El Hub saw the look in my eye and knew something big was about to go down, so he did his best to calm/soothe me.

I guess it worked… Instead of doing what I really wanted to do, which was yell obscenities at the rude guy while foaming at the mouth, I just burst into tears, and that’s when the new MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation had its first boss moment.

Instead of being the girl who had the meltdown in the middle of Target, with her makeup streaming down the side of her face onto her pink pineapple sweatshirt, I was just the girl crying her eyes out like the protagonist in a Nicholas Sparks film.

Like, it was the most beautiful public display of sobbing I’ve ever had. The tears poured down my cheeks, but my foundation looked fine, so if you anticipate doing any public crying, seriously, grab yourself a tube of MAC Pro Longwear Nourshing Waterproof, and cry with class.

MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation: Briefly, what is it?

It’s MAC’s latest long-wearing (24 hours, holy crap!) foundation. It’s $32, comes in a 0.84-oz. tube, and has an oil-free liquid formula with medium-to-full coverage and a satin finish.

Oh! — and you can also use it as concealer.

It’s available now in 16 shades — NC15, NC20, NC25, NC30, NC35, NC42 (here’s mine), NC45, NC50, NW15, NW20, NW25, NW30, NW35, NW40, NW45 and NW50 — and designed for all skin types, including oily, dry and combination.

Don’t be discouraged by the smallish size of the tube/bottle. While a bottle of MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation costs the same $32 but nets you 1.3 ounces of product, this gets you a little more than half that much (0.84 ounces) for the same price.

But you only have to use a little. A small pea-sized drop of the shade I use, NC 42, which I blend out with a BeautyBlender, is enough for my entire face. I usually like coverage right on the border between medium and full, and with this, one drop is enough.

Does it work well?

Does Tabs like gravy?

That’s a HUGE yes. 🙂 I think this stuff is brilliant. It’s one of the best liquid foundations I’ve seen from MAC in years. It performs as well as the much more expensive Dior Nudeskin does and does many of the same things — it’s lightweight, blurs pores and evens out my skin without appearing heavy or fake. It also lasts longer when you wear it without powder (Nudeskin needs powder to last me a full day), and I think the satin finish looks a little more natural than Dior’s flat matte.

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