Product Reviews

MAC Hey, Sailor! What’s That on Your Nails?

May 26th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

mac hey sailor nail lacquer

Hey, Sailor! What’s that you’re wearing on your nails?

Oh, the two new nail lacquers from MAC’s Hey, Sailor! collection? Ya don’t say… Well, in that case, drop anchor for a spell, and tell me what you can about these nautical treats.

Hmm… They’re expensive, you say? Wow, $17? That does sound like a lot, even if the packaging is cute and limited edition.

But what about the individual shades? What do you think? Are they worth it?

TOUCH OF RED

I only need one or two coats of this bright, creamy yellowish red for full-coverage color, and it dries in a decent amount of time. Say 30 minutes.

I dig how well it matches the red lip products also released with this collection, but I feel like I’ve seen similar colors for much less…
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

MAC touch of red
Touch of Red
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Milani Crystal Gloss for Lips Might Be Making MAC Jealous

May 26th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

milani crystal gloss for lips 1
Milani Crystal Gloss in Cotton Candy on lips

At a quick glance, I might assume that this brownish pink gloss with golden pearl, creamy brownish plum and soft, shimmery neutral pink were all members of the MAC gloss family, but the $4.99 price tag is all Milani.

Yup, the Milani Crystal Glosses have a rep for being drugstore MAC gloss dupes, and I can definitely see the similarities in the three new shades Milani recently released for summer.

Take Milani’s shimmery pinkish brown Fascination. Now, is it just me, or does Fascination look like a shy, sheerer, less golden version of MAC Viva Glam V Lipglass?

And then there’s shimmery pink Cotton Candy, which reminds me of a bookish tween version of MAC’s Creamsheen in Right Image.

And if MAC Spite wasn’t so intense, I’d call it Precious, as in Milani’s Precious.

milani crystal gloss for lips in fascination, precious and cotton candy
Crystal Gloss for Lips in Fascination, Precious and Cotton Candy, $5.45 each (three new shades available at select CVS/Pharmacy stores)

milani crystal gloss and glitzy glamour gloss swatches
Glitzy Glamour Gloss in High Status and Show Stopper; Crystal Gloss in Fascination, Precious and Cotton Candy

milani crystal gloss for lips 2
Precious
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Milani Introduces Two New Glitzy Glamour Glosses, Fresh From the Watermelon Patch

May 25th, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

milani show stopper
Wearing Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss in Show Stopper on my lips

A gloss with a creamy consistency and a formula that feels as light as a feather? — where?

Right here? You’re saying both of the two new additions to the Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss line have both, and they only cost $7 apiece?

Tell. Me. More. 🙂

Between both of these shades — High Stats (a shimmery warm pink a la MAC Nymphette) and Show Stopper (a bright rosy pink) — and my MAC Cremesheen Glasses, I may never have to pick cat fur out of my gloss ever again (#catladyproblems).

Glitzy Glamour feels almost like a liquid lipstick! So smooth and buttery…

Applying a single silky coat with the included doe-foot applicator is almost as satisfying as a Snickers bar (or kissing Tabs’ tum).

If you can, though, sniff it first, because the sticky sweet scent is the subject of intense debate (like the eternal question — vampires vs. werewolves?). Folks seem to either love it or hate it.

My basset hound-like sense of smell detects some unusual scents behind an iron curtain of watermelon hard candy, like heart-shaped diaries, Justin Bieber’s hair clippings and sparkly purple gel ink pens.

Yeah…not my favorite.

Thankfully, for sensitive sniffers, the formidable fragrance and faux watermelon flavor fade after about 10 minutes.

milani glitzy glamour gloss
High Stats on my lips

milani glitzy glamour gloss in high status and show stopper
Glitzy Glamour Gloss in High Stats (left) and Show Stopper (right), $7.49 each (both new shades; available at select CVS/Pharmacy stores
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Plush Pigments for Peanuts! The New Milani Powder Eyeshadows

May 25th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

milani powder eyeshadow

I’m all for a bargain, but the budget versions of some things can be all sorts of wrong, like “discount laser eye surgery” and “bargain basement tattoos.”

Not good.

My favorite deals are on products I lust after and love, like Kate Spade bags, those $20 passes for 20 classes at the yoga studio down the street, and 2-for-1 specials on Tuttimelon fro-yo.

And now, thanks to Milani’s long-lasting and intensely pigmented new Powder Shadows, I can add a new line of drugstore eyeshadows to the list.

milani powder eyeshadows 1 Powder Eyeshadows, $5.99 each

milani powder eyeshadows 2
More Powder Eyeshadows

With these new Powder Shadows, Milani combined two of my favorite-est things — punchy pigments and killer wear time (8-10 hours for me) — and they managed to do it for less than the price of a soy chai latte.

Not bad.

Available in 12 shades and a mix of shimmery and matte finishes (I think the mattes steal the show), the line even features a few possible MAC dupes, like Pitch Black, which kinda resembles MAC Print to me, and French Vanilla, which reminds me of Brule.

Pearl could probably pass for Ricepaper, and Caramel Brown resembles a slightly nuttier version of Woodwinked.

And two of the brightest shades in the group, Shocking Pink and Olympian Blue, could have come out of Dolce & Gabbana based on how silky smoove they feel.

milani powder eyeshadow swatches 1
Powder Eyeshadow swatches from the left: White Lie, Pitch Black, Shocking Pink, Brown Stone, French Vanilla and Tickled Pink

For a quick hit of color, I like to pat a peck of Shocking Pink and Olympian Blue along my lash lines with a small, flat eyeshadow brush (love the MAC 239), but if bold eyes are more your thing (go on with your bad self, girl!), you could sweep either color into the crease, and blend, blend, blend.

If you decide to bring these home, you might want to pick up some extra makeup wipes. With these I do notice some fallout, particularly from the shimmers.
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MAC Extended Play Lash Mascara Is Something a Southern Belle Might Buy

May 25th, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

MAC Extended Play Lash

In this week’s episode of The Mascara Chronicles: Go Drag or Go Home, blogger Karen takes a break from her seemingly never-ending quest for big, bold lashes so bad@ss that even RuPaul would pause mid-snap.

This week’s lower key lash look guest stars the new MAC Extended Play Lash Mascara ($15, available in one color called Endless Black), who some (really, just me) are calling “the next Blanche Devereaux.”

Like Blanche, the man- and lash-hungry coquette who batted wispy, come-hither lashes at suitors while seductively sipping sweet tea through a straw on the veranda, Extended Play has fun with lashes without going all the way (at least with lashes).

Simply coat lashes with one or two layers using the slim, sleek brush. Then, sit back and admire. 🙂

It makes my lashes look glossy black, dramatically longer and a bit thicker — not drag queen-caliber thick, but thick enough to notice a difference.

MAC Extended Play Lash

MAC extended play lash
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Dueling Naked Strangers, Exposed! The Illamasqua Naked Strangers Collection Is Thunderdome Approved

May 24th, 2012 by Karen 40 Comments

illamasqua naked strangers collection

Preparing for the Thunderdome is a pain in the @ss.

There, I said it.

So many things to consider! First, there’s the whole post-apocalyptic desert thing, with the lack of potable water and modern dentistry, and the roving mutant gangs. Then, as if the mutants weren’t bad enough, I spend half my time collecting enough pig poop to fuel my ride!

Ridiculous…

Oh, and on top of everything else, I have to stay fit and makeup ready at all times, because I never know when I’m going to be called up to fight in the Thunderdome.

Seriously, who wants to go toe-to-toe with a giant mutant wearing black studded-leather chaps without at least looking the part?

Right?

Needless to say, I’m pretty stoked about the new seven-piece Illamasqua Naked Strangers collection for cheeks, lips and nails…

Illamasqua Naked Strangers Collection

The futuristic warrior princess modeling makeup for the Naked Strangers campaign looks all kinds of fierce! — like she’d be all, “Thunderdome? Sure, sign me up.” Her makeup mixes nude, pink, gold and beige shades for cheeks, lips and nails with a pair of seriously smoldering smokey eyes.

Illamasqua Naked Strangers Collection

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this whole Thunderdome thing…and I’ve mapped out a plan that utilizes tactics that usually worked for the girls who got into fights back in middle school.

Remove any dangling jewelry, like hoop earrings and necklaces, to maximize combat efficiency
Grease up with Vaseline, so that my opponent’s claws can’t get any purchase on my arms/cheeks
Trash talk, trash talk, trash talk
Apply Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Intimacy (a nude pinkish brown) and Cream Blusher in Zygomatic (also a nude pinkish brown) from the Naked Strangers collection before, during and after the fight

Generally, one never wants to look too overdone for a Thunderdome duel (it’s just not professional), and both of these two neutrals should be perfect for that.

illamasqua zygomatic intimacy
Sheer Lipgloss in Intimacy and Cream Blusher in Zygomatic

Cream Blusher in Zygomatic

See those dots of gold on the top? Purely for decoration. I dug into the pan to see if there were more pieces hiding beneath the surface, and as far as I could tell, there weren’t.

As much I like seeing them on the blusher itself, I ended up flicking them off… I just couldn’t get used to seeing myself with one random piece of gold on my left cheek.

I really like this pinkish brown because, unlike death matches, it’s pleasantly easy. The slick, thin texture melts into my skin, lasts between 6-7 hours, and I think it looks natural on both a bare face or atop foundation.

The finish also has a hint of shine to it that gives it some extra dimension, which I
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Sheer Lipgloss in Intimacy

Tame by Illamasqua standards (remember Human Fundamentalism’s teal and purple lips?), this sheer pinkish brown gloss, which has a sprinkling of shimmer and comes with a brush applicator, has everyday color written all over it.

Thick and sticky, the consistency reminds me a lot of MAC Lipglasses; I clock the wear time at between 4-5 hours.

I’m not crazy about the fruit punch flavor and scent…but both are faint and fade within about a minute. They definitely don’t ruin the color for me, and I fully expect to finish this tube.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

illamasqua zygomatic
Cream Blusher in Zygomatic
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Still Sailing! More MAC Hey, Sailor! Lipglasses: Blessedly Rich and Cut Loose

May 23rd, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

MAC blessedly rich
MAC Hey, Sailor! Lipglass in Blessedly Rich

Man, if I were Blessedly Rich, I’d Cut Loose, yo! Fo’ reals! I would go buck wild. 🙂

LOL! Here’s a look at the last two Lipglasses from the MAC Hey, Sailor! collection, in case you were curious about the two we didn’t talk about with Ryan Gosling last week.

Like their three seafaring siblings, these are also $15.50 each.

mac blessedly rich cut loose

Blessedly Rich

Question: What happens when you hit the lottery or start a social networking site in your dorm room at Harvard?
Answer: You become Blessedly Rich.

Every once in a while this shimmery pinkish coral flashes gold, cha-ching! Such a pretty shade (and no lip liner required!), but I wish it was a tad brighter…

Pigmented enough to wear on its own, Blessedly Rich also plays well with others (both neutrals and brights, like Hey, Sailor’s blues and greens)
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Cut Loose

I’m sure there’s some lucky lad or lass out there who can rock this white gold with pearl on its own, but that someone is not me.

By itself, Cut Loose isn’t the easiest Lipglass to wear. A tad too much, and it appears milky and uneven, emphasizing my lip creases and lines (bluh!).

It’s better applied in small doses, methinks, like to highlight your pout with a dab in the center of your lower lip, which is something I’ve been doing with many of the lip color from the Hey, Sailor! collection — even the bright oranges and reds.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

Cut Loose on the left and Blessedly Rich on the right
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The MAC Hey, Sailor! Pro Longwear Lip Pencils: Set Sail to the Land of Long-Lasting Color

May 23rd, 2012 by Karen 17 Comments

mac shore leave
Wearing MAC Hey, Sailor! Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Shore Leave with Lipglass in Evolution Revolution

When the long-lasting MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencils came out last fall, I was floored. Seriously. Blown clear out of my socks! Unconscious! Zonked out on the floor! That’s how good I thought they were.

I even started having relationship problems…which is to say that I’d had a number of long-standing relationships with several MAC lip pencils at the time, but when the Pro Longwears appeared, I starting comparing all of them to the Longwears and clamoring for MAC to “hurry up and convert Subculture and [INSERT YOUR FAVORITE MAC LIP PENCILS HERE] to the Pro Longwear Lip Pencil formulation already!”

I’m still committed to my dependable MAC Lip Pencil colors (shoot, Spice, Chestnut and I have been together longer than I’ve known El Hub!), but the Pro Longwears? — just as fab. Give one of them a try before your next secret smooch-fest with that cutie who works in IT (shh, your secret is safe with me). I tell ya — it will not budge! Or dry out your lips, for that matter.

mac hey sailor pro longwear lip pencils
The MAC Hey, Sailor! Pro Longwear Lip Pencils from the left: Throw Me a Line, Shore Leave and Saunter

I love the Longwear Lip Pencils to pieces, so when MAC included three shades in the new Hey, Sailor! collection, I thought, “Ahoy, matey!” Sign me up.

Shore Leave

Of these three, hands down, coral Shore Leave excites me the most. I think it’s just so…uncharacteristically electric for a coral pencil shade and brighter than they usually are (think South Beach in the summertime — all flowing caftans, bronzed bods, Ray Bans and wet, slicked-back hair).

The color borrows a page from to MAC Costa Chic but cranks up the brightness and changes the finish from a frost to a cream.

I love wearing it with coral glosses (like two of my faves, Evolution Revolution Lipglass and Confetti Plushglass).
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Throw Me a Line

If the MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Kiss Me Quick is already a staple color in your makeup bag, you might be wondering, “Do I really need Throw Me a Line?”

Well, that depends. How committed are you to your reds, and do you notice even the slightest differences between shades? Throw Me a Line seems warmer, brighter and a little more orange to me than Kiss Me Quick.

If you’re not the type to fuss over fine differences or just want to keep your collection compact and streamlined, Kiss Me Quick should do you just fine.

But wait — before you decide, picture Kiss Me Quick with Hey, Sailor! Send Me Sailing Lipglass and/or Red Racer Lipstick.

Might help you decide. 🙂
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Saunter

Truth be told, the third shade here, pale nude beige Saunter, scares me silly. Before I tried it on, I thought I might be able to pull it off, thinking it would look a lot like In Sync Lip Pencil (which I LOVE!), but it might be just a touch too light for me and my NC42 skin.

Pale princesses who like the way they look in warm, pale beige shades should have better luck (oh! — try a layer beneath Orange Tempera, by the way).
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

mac hey sailor swatches pro longwear lip pencil
Swatches from the left: Throw Me a Line, Kiss Me Quick, Shore Leave, Costa Chic, Saunter, In Synch