Product Reviews

Rouge Bunny Rouge Fire Drops Loose Glitter Pigment in Caress of Mink Is a Shimmery, Streamlined Bunny

March 28th, 2012 by Karen 31 Comments

rouge bunny rouge caress of mink

If there was an award for “Most Likely to Spill a Loose Eyeshadow All Over the Freaking Place,” I’d be a frontrunner to win it, for sure.

How many spills are we talking about here? According to my eighth-grade self, “2many2say4u.” LOL!

Oh, my poor counters, carpet and cat…

I don’t even get too worked up about it anymore. At one point I guess I just decided to embrace it as my destiny and accept the inevitability of making a mess whenever loose pigments or glitters are involved. Whenever it happens, I just chalk it up as inevitable, shrug my shoulders and say, “Oops. Oh, well.”

But that was until I met Caress of Mink, a Rouge Bunny Rouge Fire Drops Loose Glitter Pigment ($38).

One of seven shades, this shimmery loose taupe comes in a long, streamlined tube with a wand and a pointy sponge applicator tip. First time I saw it, the tip reminded me of applicators I’d seen before, and I remembered making a mess with those…

Luckily, beyond its similar appearance, I think this one performs much better than those.

But I don’t really know why. It must have something to do with the pigments, which seem a little stickier to me than most, so they adhere to my lids without any fallout, and exhibit very little fading throughout the day.

As for the wand itself? The thing just feels good in my hands.

rouge bunny rouge caress of mink tube

rouge bunny rouge caress of mink wand
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Dirty Makeup Brushes Are Bristling Over Sonia Kashuk’s Brush & Sponge Cleanser

March 27th, 2012 by Karen 22 Comments

sonia kashuk brush sponge cleanser

Another Target run, another spur-of-the moment beauty purchase from Sonia Kashuk. Allegedly, I swung by the store for detergent (I’m a Gain girl. How about you?). It’s not my fault I always end up in the beauty section.

Heck, though, since I was already there, I figured I’d look for a full-size bottle of Sonia’s Making Waves Nail Colour, and bring one or two or five home, LOL!

(Remember it, the bright sea green, from her new A Powerful Punch Set? Yep, I like it that much.)

But while I was searching for it, something else got my attention: this bottle of Sonia’s Brush & Sponge Cleanser ($7). It was hidden behind some makeup bags, as if someone had squirreled it away back there for safekeeping (I’m totally guilty of doing this many times).

Now, I’m still happily engaged to Burt’s Bees Mango & Orange Energizing Body Bar as my de facto brush cleanser, but I’m also curious like a cat.

A single word in the directions on the back of the bottle sealed the deal for me.

To use the cleanser, you’re supposed to wet your brushes or sponges by spraying them with some of the product, which you then work into a lather (weird!). Then, rinse until the water runs clean.

Most of the liquid brush cleansers I’ve used before, like the one from MAC, don’t usually work up a lather, which makes this one kind of unusual.

Color me intrigued…

sonia kashuk brush sponge cleanser
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Some Bunny Loves Rouge Bunny Rouge Long-Lasting Matte Eyeshadow in Sweet Dust Seriema

March 26th, 2012 by Karen 29 Comments

rouge bunny rouge sweet dust seriema

Dear Easter Bunny,

Please disregard my previous Easter basket request for Cadbury Mini Eggs, Marshallow Peeps, Jordan Almonds, Sour Patch Kids and Mini Snickers. Instead, I’d like to revise my previous note to only request a Rouge Bunny Rouge Long-lasting Matte Eye Shadow ($35 each).

Yup, you read that correctly. No candy whatsoever. Just eyeshadow.

I realize that this unorthodox request breaks our 36-year sugar-fueled tradition — and you know how much I love Easter candy, yummo! — but my muffin top has threatened to advance its plans to expand if I don’t lay off the sweets. To that end, the Rouge Bunny Rouge Eye Shadows are just so wonderful and calorie-free.

I wore Sweet Dust Seriema, a cool-toned mauve taupe, pretty much all weekend long. It’s one of six shades in the line, and my goodness! — smoother and softer than the downy feathers of a newborn chick.

After running five miles yesterday (on my muffin top’s advice) and cleaning up, I applied a few layers of this semi-opaque shadow on my lids for a sophisticated, classic red carpet look with a smidgen of sultry.

Or at least that’s the way I like to think it looks. 🙂

And the best part? It was so darn simple — one color, one brush, no fallout, BAM! I just concentrated the color along my lash lines and faded it toward the brow bone.

rouge bunny rouge sweet dust seriema
Long-lasting Matt Eye Shadow in Sweet Dust Seriema; one of six shades, $35 each

rouge bunny rouge sweet dust seriema
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These LancÃ´me Liner Design Long Wear Calligraphy Eyeliners and I Just Don’t Gel

March 23rd, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

lancome liner design

Dude! The Hunger Games movie was so good! I’d read in a few reviews that the critics thought it dragged in parts, but I didn’t feel that way at all. My eyes were glued the entire time. I thought it moved at a quick clip from start to finish, and with a few exceptions, stays true to the spirit of the books.

I do think director Gary Ross had to sacrifice some character development to move the story along, so I think it helps in this case to have read the first book beforehand, or at least it might make it more enjoyable to have some of that back story going in.

Oh! And Lenny Kravitz rocked Cinna’s gold eyeliner out! Believe you me, I had my torch and pitchfork with me, and I was ready to use ’em if that detail had been cut.

My own golden eyeliner held up like a champ, yay! I was afraid I’d lose it there for a second when I got teary-eyed in the scene with Rue, but lo, it even lasted through that. 🙂

Totally different than what I experienced with LancÃ´me’s new liners earlier this week…

lancome liner design

I think it was Tuesday; I remember because I’d woken up early that morning feeling emotional and moody.

I call those my “orange alert” days, and I tend to reach for waterproof makeup at those times, especially when the tricks I usually use to soothe my inner savage beast don’t work.

So, I was getting ready in front of my bathroom mirror and thought I’d give a couple of LancÃ´me’s Liner Design Long Wear Calligraphy Gel Liners a try.

lancome liner design swatches
Swatches of Indigo Darling (left) and Violet Stylista (right)
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Springing Up on Dolce & Gabbana Counters Now: The Sheer and Pretty Bouquet Collection Lipglosses

March 22nd, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

dolce gabbana raspberry
Wearing Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet Collection Lipgloss in Raspberry on my lips

I have a confession to make… I had a blast wearing that crazy blue lipstick around the house yesterday, but I didn’t have the guts to wear it out in public.

I know! Me — the gal who’s always bugging you to try new colors and break out of your comfort zone. Well, I tried to take my own advice, but I only made it as far as the garage.

Yep, there I was, sitting in the car with the engine warming up, and me in my blue lips, when I succumbed to the urge to check myself in the rear-view mirror.

“Holy crap, Karen!” I said to my cerulean self. “You look bat sh*t cray.”

It was bad enough that the errand I intended to run already involved me having to do something of potential embarrassment in rush-hour traffic (stay tuned for tonight’s post!), but the blue lips just took it to a whole new level.

I mean, I’m all for trying new things when it comes to makeup — why not, right? It washes off — but sometimes the desire to feel pretty trumps my cosmetics curiosity.

Good thing I always keep makeup wipes in the car (you never know when you’ll get the urge to swatch).

After I wiped my blue lips clean, I went rutting around in my purse for something else to wear, and the new Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet Lipglosses were the first things to catch my eye.

I’ve been wearing these sheer, softly shiny glosses ($29 each) a lot lately to balance out looks with bold/smokey eyes.

dolce gabbana bouquet collection lipgloss
Lipglosses from the top to bottom: Acqua (repromote), Raspberry (new), Innocence (repromote), Shimmer (repromote) and Pink Diamond (repromote), $29 each

dolce gabbana bouquet collection swatches
Swatches from the left: Innocence, Raspberry, Shimmer, Pink Diamond and Acqua

dolce gabbana pink diamond
Pink Diamond
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The Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet Collection Nail Lacquers Sure Look Pretty in Pastel

March 22nd, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet Collection

There’s something very soothing about these six new Dolce & Gabbana Nail Lacquers from the limited edition Bouquet Collection, isn’t there? How they look all pastel and springy, like a row of Jordan Almonds, Easter eggs or frosted mini-cupcakes…

Yum.

I’m wearing three coats in the swatches below (because they looked a little streaky after two).

dolce gabbana rose petal
Rose Petal

dolce gabbana lemon
Lemon

dolce gabbana mint
Mint
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Mellow Out With Aveda Stress-Fix

March 21st, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

Aveda Stress-Fix

I spend a large portion of my days trying to relieve stress…

No, seriously. A lot of people don’t understand the high stakes nature of pet assisting for a world-renowned international kitty supermodel. Most days, I’m chained to my desk for 12-14 hours.

No, really. I’m chained to my desk. I have to ask permission to use the restroom, and when I go, Tabs follows me in (cats are such pervs!).

So, yeah. Girlfriend is stressed out…

I know it’s not healthy, but I’ve been trying to turn things around lately. I exercise now about an hour a day (those endorphins really help) and try to make it to yoga in the evenings when I can.

But is it enough? I really don’t know. Just the other day, I was plucking my eyebrows and found another white hair, and I keep finding new ones on my head, and in places where they never used to show up.

I can’t say I’m surprised, as a lot of people in my family started going gray at a young age, but I can’t help but wonder if in my case the long hours have had anything to do with it…

I know, I know. Hard work is a part of life, but so is the need to relax.

Cue yet another excuse to work a new beauty angle into my life (the sign of a true addict)! 🙂

The hunt is on for new stress-relieving products, and this week I’m taking a look at three new ones from Aveda’s Stress-Fix line.

Their new Soaking Salts ($40), Body Lotion ($28) and Concentrate ($22; it’s in a cute rollerball!) just launched at Aveda stores and salons, and they’re scented with lavender and sage, which Aveda says are clinically proven to help relieve feelings of stress.

aveda stress fix

aveda stress fix
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Urban Decay’s New and Improved Big Fatty Mascara

March 20th, 2012 by Karen 37 Comments

urban decay big fatty mascara

Contrary to the rumors circulating in the kitty modeling world, the new Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara ($20) was NOT named after Tabs. 🙂

Although I can see why some would believe that to be true…

“I’m too husky for this box.”

If the Big Fatty Mascara name rings a bell, you’ve probably seen it before. It’s been a part of the Urban Decay line for years (in the psychedelic red and yellow tube). UD just revamped it and gave it a new outfit.

BFM promises a bit of everything — volume, length, definition, curl hold and jet-black color in a lightweight formula.

Urban Decay also traded the original Big Fatty’s over-sized Diorshow-esque bristle brush for a minimalist approach. The sleek new brush head is designed to fan out lashes.

urban decay big fatty mascara brush

And those little nubs really get in there! When I used this today, my fringe looked s u p e r s t r e t c h e d out.

By the way, if you love the original Big Fatty, you still have time to stockpile. It’s still available on urbandecay.com.

I never gave the original Big Fatty a try, but I like what I’ve seen from this new version so far, especially the thickness I get from it at the base of my lashes.

urban decay big fatty mascara before and after
Before (top pic) and after two coats of Big Fatty Mascara (bottom pic)
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