Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
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It’s all about the cats and makeup (the C&M).
Tabs actually wanted to tackle the pics for this afternoon’s post, and who am I to argue with Tabs? He’s a world-renowned plus-size kitty supermodel, actor and entrepreneur, and I’m just a makeup-obsessed girl with a cat…
…and strong cat lady tendencies.
And a deep abiding love for beauty bargains and cat eyes, like the kind you can do with the new $3 NYC New York Color Metallic Eyeliners in Leopard Print and Serpentine Purple.
I think I’ve finally found THE gloss to wear on the off chance that I decide to make the jump from curmudgeonly pet assistant to sultry siren: Tom Ford’s new Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Naivete ($45).
I’ve been deeply committed to dependable my-lips-but-better glosses like MAC Ample Pink, Big Baby and Fulfilled for the past few months because, like flats with low heels, they may not be flashy, but they get the job done.
Tom, however, has me seriously rethinking that. Like a master chef, he seasoned this shiny, striking plum perfectly with a sprinkle of golden glitter and heaping spoonfuls of pigment.
POW!
I’m seduced… Naivete makes me want to play the role of tantalizing temptress. On my pout, it looks almost like patent leather, and when I see it, I want to purr (I can’t, but I want to).
Your favorite bakery. A bell dangling over the door jingles as you enter into a world of candy sprinkles and fresh baked bread. Like a character in a cartoon, your eyes practically double in size when they see the row upon row of full-size and miniature cupcakes, all of them decorated and carefully arranged, behind a glass display case.
An unintelligible noise escapes your lips as you drift into a trance. Nnngggh… Driven by the sights and smells around you, you lumber up to the counter, dragging your feet along the polished tile floor. You order a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and gobble the whole thing down, right then and there, before the salesperson can even hand you your change (um, yes, I have done this before).
“Oh,” she says, a little embarrassed for you.
Tom Ford Beauty’s new Lip Color in Aphrodisiac ($48) is kinda like the makeup equivalent of that.
There’s something about this intense fuchsia, with its creamy texture and satiny finish, that makes me think of an all-you-can-eat cupcake buffet, where I get to devour dozens of rich, indulgent cupcakes without upsetting my muffin top. 🙂
Vivid fuchsia lippies like this one always light my fire because they make bright, polished looks so incredibly easy. A little liner, some mascara, a bright blush (Tom Ford’s Narcissist, perhaps?) and one layer of lipstick, and I’m ready for almost —
HOLY MOTHER OF TABS! $48?! Are you kidding me?!
Yes, ma’am, in this case, that ease of use also costs an arm and a leg (seriously, Tom, have you ever heard of a sale?).
To its credit, though, Aphrodisiac does seem pretty special for a fuchsia lip product; it’s probably one of the smoothest, most pigmented lippies I’ve ever worn.
Somehow, even when my lips are dry, gnarly and totally ewww, Aphrodisiac still manages to look and feel smooth…
Smooth like Jeremy Renner pouring you a glass of red wine after a candlelit dinner at home and firing up his Jodeci mid-’90s slow jams playlist.
(Gurl, you know that would be pretty damn smooth.)
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It was like one of those dreams where you’re falling, falling, and you just keep falling forever, and at one point you stop screaming and ask yourself, “Huh… Haven’t I been falling for a while?”
That’s kinda like how I felt today playing with Tom Ford Beauty’s new Eye Color Quad in Emerald Lust ($75).
Girl, can I just say that Tom and I had a really good time? 🙂
Who says teal eyeshadows should be reserved for special occasions? I think not! How about a special occasion like this: Tuesday. There’s your special occasion, LOL! Tuesday makes teal totally legit.
Now, before we proceed, a little backstory first…
When the Tom Ford Beauty line launched last fall, it had all the makings of a top-tier, high-end makeup brand (read: hella expensive premium products and luxurious packaging), and since then, it has exceeded my expectations. If ya lust after luxury lines, there’s some bonafide treasures here.
Do you recall the look we took a couple weeks ago at the new fall collection? Here’s a reminder: it was intense! Tom turned up the volume on everything this time around, with eye, lip and cheek colors so strong they could be called Herculean.
The entire collection is a color lover’s dream come true, and if said color lover happens to 
bold teal, fuchsia and plum, it’s like a great dream times 12 (starring shirtless Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds and Jeremy Renner).
Now where were we…? Oh, yeah: lust! Emerald Lust, with its shimmery teal, blue, green and gold.
Glitter, pigment and shine? With this quad, Tom didn’t hold anything back. You can forget about blending into the background when you’re wearing this on your lids; there are no shy violets here.
As for the quad’s other bonafides, I have absolutely no issues with fallout, and I also find that blending these shadows is a breeze…
What are you, Tom Ford?! Some kind of makeup psychic? Because how else could you have known that I’ve been desperately seeking an ’80s-style blush to wear with my power blazer (the one with the big shoulder pads) and slouchy leg warmers?
Your new Cheek Color in Narcissist ($55) is a veritable spectacle of intense fuchsia! — and it’s the first product from your new fall collection that I can honestly call a full-blown obsession.
And frankly, I’m surprised I like it as much as I do.
Why? Because it doesn’t exactly scream “natural-looking cheeks,” and if I accidentally apply too much, well, have you ever heard of Baby Jane?
If I’m careful, though, and get the application just right — that is, if I sweep my fan brush across the pan just once, and then dilute the color by swiping it across a paper towel before lightly dusting the brush on my cheeks — I love it. I get bright, radiant cheeks that last and last and last.
It reminds me of the way I looked a few years ago at the precise moment when I finished a half marathon…except without all of the perspiration and wicked chafing. There was a faint sheen all over my face, and my cheeks were flushed and bright.
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True, I could give myself a manicure the old-fashioned way, brushing on a base coat, carefully coating each nail with two (or sometimes three) layers of polish and finishing with a clear top coat to seal the deal, all the while hoping that a stray strand of tabby fur doesn’t fall on my handiwork before it dries, but these are modern times.
The future is now! — and in it, I’m wearing nail polish stickers. 🙂
Yup, that’s right. Nail polish stickers, like these Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. Each $9 (or thereabouts) kit comes with 16 pre-printed strips in various sizes, a cuticle stick and a miniature nail file/buffer — all the fixin’s for a futuristic, laquer-less manicure.
Talk about handy (haha! — sorry, bad pun), and lately, they’ve been saving my butt.
Before my quick trip down to Southern California last week, I had every intention of painting my nails, but time got away from me, and I had to head to the airport with bare claws.
But I couldn’t bear the thought of interviewing Too Faced Cosmetics Co-Founder and Creative Director Jerrod Blandino with naked nails, so at the last second, right before darting out the door, I dropped a set of Sally’s dark red and black snakeskin nail polish strips (codename: Venom Vixen) into my overnight bag.
It’s one of four snakeskin-inspired sets for fall. There’s also a tan and brown one called Queen Cobra, a black and gray one called Snake Charmer and a green and black one called Hiss-Terical (I love those names!).
I had some time to spare before my flight and still really, really wanted to paint my nails, but I wasn’t about to attempt that at the airport. I did, however, think I might be able to apply Sally’s nail polish strips.
And I did! Standing at the sink in the ladies’ room! 🙂
At one point, a woman using the sink next to me asked, “What are those? They look pretty cool.”
“They’re nail stickers,” I answered. “You stick ’em on bare nails, and then press them down, and file or just tear off the edge.”
They’re basically like nail polishes in sticker form, and when you’re ready to remove them, you can use regular old nail polish remover.
They took about 10 minutes to apply under less-than-ideal circumstances. Not bad. And the best part? — not having to wait for them to dry.
Over the holidays this year, love, and your favorite Benefit Eau de Toilettes, will be in the air.
Each of the four tiny 0.34-ounce bottles in the new $36 Benefit Crescent Row fragrance set is small enough to bring in a carry-on bag on your next flight (TSA rules limit liquids to 3.4 ounces or less).
Choose from Laugh With Me Lee Lee (a woody floral), My Place or Yours Gina (a woody oriental), Ring My Bella (a fruity floral) and See & Be Seen Sasha (a captivating floral).
I like my cats big and my perfumes tiny, so every year when Benefit rolls out their little fragrance kits I get really excited! — and then I pop open one of their caps…
I’ve stumbled on to what may be the only holiday palette this year (or ever?) that’s secretly a sci-fi nerd’s dream come true — the new Too Faced Color Confections kit ($29), a montage of warm and cool eye, cheek and lip makeup packaged in a girly pink case that opens up to reveal what kindasorta looks like a smiling robot.
The powder eyeshadows are its eyes, the three lip colors are its nose, and the two bronzers and blushes are like its teeth… Beep boop beep! 🙂
Not to worry, though. This limited edition Ulta exclusive won’t leave you looking like a robot. I feel like these matte and shimmer finishes give my mug a lot of texture and life.
