Product Reviews

Mambo Italiano! The Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet Collection Eyeliners

March 20th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

dolce gabbana acqua
Wearing Dolce & Gabbana Eyeliner in Acqua

Happy vernal equinox, fellow weather watcher! It’s official. Spring is in the air. 🙂 Bring on the flowers, the pollen, the unbidden allergies. Zyrtec, my trusty steed, come hither! Winter hath ended, and it’s time to…

…update my makeup and wardrobe for spring. It being that time and all, I’ve been contemplating ways to incorporate different springy themes into the mix, and this outfit in Nordstrom’s February catalog got me thinking about florals:

HEART! The pants, especially. The muted tones say to me, “Yes, Karen, I’m dressing for spring, but I’m also a grownup.” They’re flowery, but not in a bunny rabbits and Cadbury Creme Eggs kind of way, ya know? And I think the denim jacket and white top give the outfit a vintage feel.

I bet it’ll look lovely with makeup from the new Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet collection, which, by the way, makes me feel like this:

Sophia Loren = the hotness!

Have you seen this spring/summer launch yet? It’s still pretty new (just recently arrived at Saks), and has some eyeliners, a quad, some lipglosses and six rainbow polishes.

Since I started playing with it last week, I’ve grown quite attached; it could be one of my favorite Dolce & Gabbana launches to date.

The collection combines floral, Italian and 1950s themes for a retro vibe that’s flirty and fun. The color palette picks from lilacs, roses, some vivid shades of fruit, and the concept of summers in Southern Italy.

Yeah, that’s some pretty great sources of inspiration right there. 🙂

I can really see the different themes play out among the six Eyeliners ($29 each) in the collection as I’ve worn them over the past few days.

Man, talk about soft! When Dolce & Gabanna first launched their liners, the pencils felt stiff to me, but these? — these feel great! I don’t know if they changed the formula, but these sure seem to glide better than the earlier versions.

dolce gabbana bouquet collection eyeliner
Crayon Intense Eyeliners in Shimmer (repromote), Lilac (repromote), Agave (repromote), Lemon (new), Acqua (new) and Mint (new), $29 each
[Continue reading…]

Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss: When Literature and Lipgloss Collide

March 19th, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

Wearing bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Spark Plug

Please note that if The Hunger Games movie ends up being a dud, you will find me holding a pitchfork and torch and leading an angry mob in the movie theater parking lot.

(I just got tickets for Friday’s midnight show!)

I can still remember when the only people talking about this series were 12 years old. Wait — except for me. 🙂 Young adult science fiction with a bad@ss heroine? Totally my thing.

I’ll be rocking the China Glaze Capitol Colours to the show, of course, but I haven’t decided on the rest of my makeup for the night. Maybe just a simple, Cinna-inspired gold liner along my upper lash line (LOVE YOU, CINNA!).

Photo credit: seattlepi.com

For my lips? Hmm… I’d love to make a statement, but for this, the purple pout I wore for the Sex and the City midnight show doesn’t feel quite right.

And I see myself having more in common with the residents of the Seam than the green-skinned, gold-tattooed girls of the Capitol. Purple lips don’t exactly scream “District 12.”

No. I should go bare, or almost bare. Maybe with something sheer and shiny, like one of the 10 new Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipglosses ($18 each).

I like how the colors in this line of lightly mint-flavored and scented long-wearing glosses have such powerful names. They remind me of many of my favorite Hunger Games characters, like Risk Taker (a chocolate shimmer), Trail Blazer (a nude gold) and Maverick (a rosewood shimmer) to describe Katniss. Smooth Talker (a golden pink) — now that could describe Peeta; and Rebel (a pink mauve) — perhaps Gale?

Gotta love any collision of literature and lipgloss, even when they’re (probably) unintentional.

Here’s a closer look at four of the 10 shades, all of which lightly tingle and are supposed to have a subtle plumping effect. Per usual, I don’t really see a difference in the size of my lips with ’em on, but I rarely do with products that allegedly plump.

At least I know these glosses will shine through the movie. I’ve been getting about four hours from them, and they should withstand a big bucket of popcorn (I know this because I wore Spark Plug to see 21 Jump Street last Friday).

From the left: Risk Taker, Party Starter, Spark Plug and Show Off

bareminerals marvelous moxie lipgloss party starter
Risk Taker
[Continue reading…]

Keep an Eye Out for the Too Faced Summer Eye Summertime Sexy Shadow Collection

March 16th, 2012 by Karen 22 Comments

too faced summer eye

Earlier today, as I sat upstairs in my office staring out the window, I realized that I spend a lot of time staring out the window. 🙂

I’m pretty sure the neighbors think it’s creepy… I’ve caught them staring back a few times, but whatev. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, right? Letting my mind wander helps me work stuff out.

I have noticed that I think about different things depending on the weather. When it’s raining and overcast like it’s been this week, I keep getting distracted. Instead of contemplating lip plumpers, verbs and things I can photograph on top of Tabs, I’ve been daydreaming about summer, beaches and hanging out by the pool.

Thank goodness for the new Too Faced Summer Eye Summertime Sexy Shadow Collection ($36), which is really just a palette… It’s part of the new limited edition Too Faced Summer 2012 collection, and it’s been the only thing keeping the weather from getting me down.

The palette contains nine shimmery, summery shadows in beachy bronzes and browns, accented with warm coral, pink and teal (here are the swatches). It also has a few how-to cards that show how to create three different eye looks.

too faced summer eye

too faced summer eye
[Continue reading…]

The China Glaze Prismatic Collection: Your Nails, Now in 3D

March 15th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

China Glaze Prismatic Collection

BAM! A single ray of white light streams through a prism and explodes into a rainbow of colors on your nails.

That’s the idea behind these new Prismatic polishes from China Glaze. The limited edition launch of six eye-catching glittery nail polishes ($8 each) really improved my spirits this afternoon. The gloomy, gray sky looming over the Bay Area felt like a big wet blanket on my mood.

It was bringing me down… But then I started swatching. 🙂

china glaze ray diant
Ray-Diant

Filled with glitter and holographic particles, these glimmering multi-colored metallics almost look like they’re hopping off my nails! — like they’re 3D powered, which is kinda cool.

As usual, China Glaze formulated the entire line, which bursts into professional beauty supply stores and salons in April, without DBP, toluene and formaldehyde.

In all of these swatches, I’m wearing two layers…

china glaze polarized
Polarized
[Continue reading…]

Exuberantly Sunny Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum

March 14th, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

When the new Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum practically knocked the wind out of me with its pink peppercorn, orange blossom absolute and tonka bean charms, I had been on a two-week fragrance bender with happy-go-lucky L’Eau de ChloÃ¨, dousing myself with its light floral fragrance every single day.

Just like that, I went from floating high above the countryside without a care in the world — L’Eau de ChloÃ¨ — to the raw grace of a 450-pound tiger, its striped fur glistening in the sun — Roberto Cavalli.

Equal parts powerful and delicate, ambery floral Cavalli officially sings the following notes…

Official fragrance notes

Top: pink peppercorn

Middle: absolute of orange blossom

Base: tonka bean

I how it conveys femininity in a bad@ss way. Like, if I were strutting down the hallowed halls of Vogue’s corporate headquarters (in stilettos, of course), Cavalli is what I’d want to be armed with. It’s what mama wants to wear when she BRINGS IT! — or, when it’s already been brought-en. 🙂

Note to self: wear this dress with Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum
[Continue reading…]

Intimate or Not, I Have to Share How Much I Like Sunday Riley Blush in Intimate

March 14th, 2012 by Karen 34 Comments

sunday riley intimate blush

I imagine it’s just a phase, like wanting a pony or collecting rainbow Lisa Frank stickers, but this particular phase — my obsession with blushes that perfectly balance pigment and shimmer — has lasted, oh, about 10 years so far. 🙂

In that time this phase has led me down the road to radiant cheeks many times before, a road marked by MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes, NARS Blushes and lively, glowing cheeks.

And now, there’s a new stop on the road (yay!). It’s called Sunday Riley Blush in Intimate, and it’s a find that should be shared.

One of those “Ohmigosh! I think I look 10 years younger!” colors, the $30 blush is one of six new shades sweeping into beauty departments at Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman stores (and also online), alongside the rest of the Sunday Riley makeup collection.

Like Sunday’s Prismasilk Eye Colors, the blushes, which apply with a super smooth, even texture on me, employ silica particles painted in pigment.

Intimate reminds me of a slightly pinker, more neutral version of NARS Orgasm, with a soft, candlelit sheen, as opposed to a high-shine golden shimmer.

I love it, and I have a strong feeling it’ll look lovely on a wide range of skin tones.

With Intimate on my cheeks, I feel like I look refreshed and better rested (and maybe even a little younger…like I’m of an age where I spent my awkward teens years listening to the Spice Girls on CD instead of Debbie Gibson and Tiffany on tape).

sunday riley blush in intimate

sunday riley swatch
Swatch of Sunday Riley Intimate Blush on the left and NARS Orgasm on the right
[Continue reading…]

Will Your Lips Take a Shine to Dior’s Addict Extreme Lipsticks?

March 13th, 2012 by Karen 41 Comments

dior addict extreme incognito
Wearing Dior Addict Extreme in Incognito

Like a pretty beach bikini, Dior’s shiny new $30 Addict Extreme Lipsticks are saucy and bold, but still leave a little something to the imagination. Lightweight and glassy, they provide just enough pigment and coverage to stand out without overpowering the sheer blushes and eyeshadows we’ve been seeing so much this spring.

Available in 17 moderately moisturizing shades, they’re just the kind of lippies I like to wear around this time every year, when I grow a little weary of fall and winter’s heavy mattes and full-coverage products.

Designed to go the distance with a long-wearing formula, they’re also supposed to have a lip-plumping effect, but per usual, my lips must be immune…

dior addict extreme lipsticks
From the left: Incognito, Lucky and Black Tie

dior addict extreme swatches
Swatches from the left: Incognito, Lucky and Black Tie

One thing I do notice about these is how great they feel. I love the texture! They’re so smooth that I almost forgot about the $30 price, and they’re pretty hydrating, too, although I do like to layer a little lip balm underneath.

If I had to compare them to something, maybe the Chanel Rouge Coco Shines, except I think those are a little more moisturizing.

dior addict extreme black tie
Black Tie
[Continue reading…]

I’ll Wear These Sunday Riley Eyeshadows Any Day of the Week: The New Prismasilk Eye Colors From Sunday Riley

March 13th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

sunday riley little black dress
Sunday Riley Eyeshadows in Siberian Sable, French Press and Little Black Dress

I keep meaning to ask you about Sunday Riley! They’re a relatively new beauty brand, pretty high end (prices ranging from $26 for an eyeshadow single to $295 for a skin care serum), and available at Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman stores.

That name is all kinds of awesome, isn’t it? Sunday Riley… Sounds like one of Katniss Everdeen’s friends/adversaries. 🙂

(SIDE NOTE: I’m so excited about that movie! I started re-reading the first book last night.)

sunday riley eyeshadows

There really is a Sunday Riley behind the brand, and she’s from the Lone Star State. Sunday started the line back in 2009 with a handful of anti-aging products containing plant extracts believed by Native Americans to possess medicinal properties.

Being from Texas (her family traces its roots to before it was part of the United States), she spent summers with her grandma learning about some of the most useful plants.

Years later she took that knowledge and created the NV-5 Ageless Complex, a blend of five botanicals that, according to the company, detoxify, heal and recharge the skin. Now, it’s the secret ingredient in her skin care products.

Sunday recently expanded the line to include color cosmetics, and I spent some time with a few of her Prismasilk Eye Color eyeshadows last weekend.

If what they say is true — that variety is the spice of life — these eyeshadows are hot! They’re available in 28 shades spanning matte, satin and iridescent finishes, cost $26 each and can be worn either wet or dry.