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Product Reviews

Milk Makeup Lip Color Loves the Lived-In Look

June 21st, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

milk makeup gnarly lip color
Feeling Gnarly, dude, ’cause I’m wearing Milk Makeup Lip Color in Gnarly ($22, one of 10 shades)

Special shout-out to MBB reader Tatiana for reminding me in the comments yesterday that sometimes all you need is mascara, a bright lipstick and a smile.

So right, Tatiana. 🙂

Bright lips are a good idea any time of year, but I think they’re a great idea in summer, especially if you’re into the makeup minimalist thing. You can throw on a bold, bright lip and skip the extra steps, because the lips can carry the whole look and make anything else you happen to include — mascara, brows, BB cream, highlighter, what have you — gravy.

milk makeup lip color swatches
From the top: C.R.E.A.M, Name Drop, Freshhh and Gnarly

These long-wearing matte Milk Makeup Lip Colors (I know I’ve been on the Milk Makeup train lately, but I hope you can bear with me. I love ’em!) are all in the permanent line and $22 each. And they totally work for this type of look because, dude…they’re intense! I can picture someone on the Milk Product Development Team saying, “Man, let’s load these up with as much pigment as humanly possible. I don’t want to layer!”

And that’s just what they did. One layer is all ya need.

I’ve tried four of them — hot pink Freshhh, orange-red Name Drop, fuchsia Gnarly and peachy nude C.R.E.A.M. The unscented, unflavored formula lasts about four hours, depending on what you’re doing with your lips (like whether you’re eating, drinking, smooching or just chillin’).

The matte lipstick category is SO crowded right now, but these look instantly “worn in,” and I think it makes them stand out. They almost look like matte stains, and it’s super cool and kind of unusual for a lipstick.

milk makeup cream lip color
C.R.E.A.M.

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There are 11 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Lips, Makeup, Milk Makeup, Product Reviews

Try Diorshow Pump’n’Volume Mascara for Lifted, Ladylike Lashes

June 21st, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

diorshow pump n volume brush
Don’t poke your eye out, Karen

I mean…is this new Dior Diorshow Pump’N’Volume Mascara gimmicky?

Yeah, a little.

The tube is soft and squishy, like a really good pair of flip-flops! There’s an indentation toward the bottom of the tube to place your thumb and forefinger into. Then you give it a good squeeze.

BAM! — the brush loads with MOAR MASCARA for MOAR VOLUME.

I try not to squeeze too hard, though, because when I do, the brush gets overloaded and I apply way too much (and end up with smudgy mascara a few hours later).

My point here is to say that a little bit of this $29.50 mascara goes a long way. Resist the temptation to use that T-rex claw and go ham on that a$$!

I like the brush a lot. It has stubby, pointy nubs similar to those on the brush that comes with Chanel Le Volume de Chanel.

diorshow pump n volume tube
Squeeeeeeze it

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There are 6 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Dior, Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews

The 3 Best Makeup Setting Sprays to Stop Your Face From Melting Off in the Heat

June 21st, 2017 by Karen 27 Comments

best setting sprays
The best setting sprays for hella hot weather!

It’s hot today in the North Bay (or, as we say in the Bay Area, it’s “HELLA hot here right now”). It’s a heat wave.

Weirdly, it’s been way hotter here in Novato than it was in Hawaii last week.

Super hot and super sweaty. Currently, my house is like an armpit, so baby and I are going to escape to air-conditioned pastures in a bit, but before we go, let’s talk makeup setting sprays…

When it’s hot like this, they’re a must for me, and here are a few I love.

1. Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix O2 ($30)

The best all-rounder. You can probably guess that this one’s my fave because — look, there’s only a teeny bit left in the bottle! 🙂 It doesn’t matter what type of finish I’m wearing (matte, dewy, glittery, shimmery, whatever!), it holds on to everything and keeps it in place.

I can sweat like crazy — even rub at my eyes or touch my face — and it keeps whatever I’m wearing from melting off or disappearing.

make up for ever mist fix
Note to self: restock this soon,
as in almost immediately

Also, I think Mist & Fix is the best spray for applying shimmer eyeshadows, glitter shadows and/or loose pigments with a wet brush because it’s almost like a lightweight liquid glue. It doesn’t leave your lids or your face feeling tacky or anything like that, and yet somehow binds those shimmery or glittery particles to the skin.

2. Urban Decay Chill ($31)

The best for dewy skin looks, and you know I’m all about that dewy skin. 🙂 I think Chill is the best spray for that type of look.

It’s weird, but there’s a very fine line between dewy skin and skin that looks oily, right? A little shine is good — great, even! — but too much shine starts to look greasy. Chill walks that line without crossing it, and it feels fab, too. There’s a slight cooling sensation, so when you spray it on a hot day, ah… It’s so refreshing.

urban decay chill
Just Chill, babe

Did I mention that it creates the finest mist ever? The droplets are finer than those of the other the sprays I use, and it’s a wide mist. A single spritz covers a lot of area.

3. Shiseido Ibuki Quick Fix Mist ($25)

The best for keeping shine in check. I use this spray when I do matte looks or when my combo skin is oilier than usual. It has what Shiseido calls an “Anti-Shine Complex” to keep greasy spots in check, and dang if doesn’t werk! When I use this, I feel like my skin looks like it did in the ’90s (from what I remember, haha) — uber-matte, with no shine whatsoever.

shiseido ibuki
T-rex claw in full effect, yo!

The mist kinda bugs me, though… Sometimes big droplets hit my face in random spots, but other than that, it’s good stuff.

Stay cool in the heat, babe!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 27 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, Make Up For Ever, Makeup, Product Reviews, Shiseido, Urban Decay

Take Me With You, Milk Makeup Blush Oil!

June 8th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

milk makeup blush oil
Milk Makeup Blush Oils in Crave (left) and Flush (right), $26 each

Travel makeup bag, meet the Milk Makeup Blush Oils, otherwise known as “convenience in tube.”

These are so cool! They have the same click-pen packaging as Milk’s Sunshine Tint. There’s a clicker on one side and a roller ball on the other, and inside is a liquid blush oil that looks pigmented in the swatches below (I went a little cray-cray drawing the rose designs, whoopsies), but once it’s blended in, it looks effortless and natural.

milk makeup blush oil flush crave
Swatches of Flush (top) and Crave (bottom)

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There are 4 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, Makeup, Milk Makeup, Product Reviews

Brand Spotlight: Ouai Haircare

June 8th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

ouair haircare 1
I’m saying YES to Ouai Haircare

For the longest time, I had no idea how to pronounce the name of this brand: Ouai Haircare. I was saying, “Oh-ey,” like the Netflix sci-fi
show, The O/A. LOL! The proper pronunciation is “whey,” like the protein powder, and it’s a casual way to say “Yes” in French.

Ouai is a pretty new American line that was started in 2016 by celebrity hair stylist Jen Atkin. She’s worked on Gwen Stefani, Jessica Alba and many other locks of the A-listers. The products are cruelty-free and paraben-free, and they range from $24-32, so they’re in the Bumble and Bumble/R+Co/IGK price range. You can find the brand’s shampoos, conditioners, hair supplements and styling products (and a couple of body products thrown in for fun) at Sephora.

There are about 30-something products, give or take, so it’s a pretty streamlined brand. Jen’s aim was to make products that make it seem like you spent two hours styling your hair, when in reality you spent 15 minutes. And girl, when you’re chasing down a rambunctious toddler who is currently into everything, you don’t EVEN KNOW how much that speaks to my soul!

ouai rose hair body oil
From the left: Ouai Repair Conditioner ($28), Rose Hair & Body Oil ($32) and Finishing Creme ($24)

The line isn’t just about getting sh*t done in minimal time. The tubes and bottles also look lovely perched on a bathroom shelf (you know me and those sans serif fonts, man!), and everything — seriously, every product — smells like perfume from a hard-to-find fragrance boutique in Paris. Like, sometimes I spray the Dry Shampoo, which smells like violets, roses, musk and lemons, into my roots as an improv perfume. All of the products look and smell expensive and indulgent, but they’re also price-wise accessible.

ouai
Wash and wear waves!

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There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hair, Ouai Haircare, Product Reviews

The Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette, 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils and Vice Lipsticks: Burn, Baby, Burn!

June 7th, 2017 by Karen 31 Comments

urban decay naked heat heat k
I’m feeling the heat! That’s the new Urban Decay Naked Heat palette on my eyes, the UD Alkaline 24/7 Glide-On Pencil on my lash lines, and UD Vice Lipstick in Heat.

I don’t know if there’s an official term to describe the fear of Bunsen burners…like “Bunsenburn-a-phobia,” but if there isn’t one, there totally should be, because whenever I was in the lab back in college and had to stand near a Bunsen burner, I’d always quiver a little…and not in a cute booty shaking way.

OPEN FLAMES —–> SO SCARY!

You’ll be happy to know that there are no intense open flames in/around the new Urban Decay Naked Heat collection. *Whew!*

urban decay naked heat open
Sooo many mattes, YES!

The new $54 Urban Decay Naked Heat palette arrives June 12th, but that’s only for UD Beauty Junkies, members of UD’s online rewards program (which you can sign up to join here). Beauty Junkie members will get exclusive early access to an extremely limited supply of Naked Heat palettes that day. For everyone else, Naked Heat lights up later this month, and it’ll continue to smolder in perpetuity, though, as it and the two eye pencils launching with it are being added to the permanent line.

There are also three lipsticks in the collection, but those are limited edition.

urban decay naked heat swatches final
From the top, the Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette, the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils and the Vice Lipsticks

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There are 31 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Lips, Makeup, Product Reviews, Urban Decay

Take Me With You, Maybelline City Mini Palettes!

June 7th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

maybelline city mini palette
The travel-friendly Maybelline City Mini Palettes, $9.99 each

I think I may have discovered a potentially life-changing beauty packing hack this morning.

And here it is: instead of bringing the biggest makeup bag I own (which is what I usually do, BIG surprise!), I’ll bring a small one and only allow myself whatever will fit into it on the trip.

:O

Yes, I know this is Captain Obvious, but hear me out.

maybelline city min palette open
Six of seven Maybelline City Mini Palettes

Clearly, someone out there has figured this out before, but it never occurred to me. Seriously, OMG! SHRINK THE BAG, KAREN!

maybelline graffiti pop
Graffiti Pop in the palm of my hand

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There are 8 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Drugstore Beauty Finds, Eyes, Makeup, Maybelline, Product Reviews Keywords: take me with you

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Explorer

June 6th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

hourglass explorer girl lip stylo
Praise be to coral lipstick! Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Explorer is errrrrrthang

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

You know when you’re standing in the middle of Sephora, carrying as much as you can possibly carry in your paws, but you see one more coral lipstick that makes your eyes light up, and you think, “Oh, boy, I dunno… I’ve already got too much. Do I really need another coral lipstick??”

GIRL. The answer is yes. The answer is always yes. 🙂

I keep finding myself reaching for Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Explorer on my lady dates lately. It’s a soft pinkish coral. It’s not a super bright orange-y coral, so it doesn’t go into costume/vintage territory…which can be a totally kick-@ss look, for sure, but I have to be in the mood for it.

I think it’s an awesome everyday neutral.

The Girl Lip Stylos are $32 each, so they’re definitely on the expensive side, but if you have dry lips (which I do!), or, if you can’t stand it when your lipstick breaks up or gets patchy or latches on to your flakes, or if you just like easy-to-apply, low-maintenance lipsticks that you can throw on anywhere, even while you’re crossing Market Street in SF, which I totally did last weekend, they’re beyond great!

Creamy and oh, so hydrating, they feel fantastic on my lips (they’re unflavored and unscented, by the way), and they last about three hours.

Oh, and get this: even though I’ve owned Explorer for months and have worn it dozens of times, the pencil tip hasn’t flattened. It’s still pointy! I don’t know what kind of makeup voodoo is at work, but whatever Hourglass did, something is keeping the tip pointy.

hourglass girl lip stylo
Hourglass Girl Lip Stylos from the top: Believer, Creator, Explorer, Seeker and Peacemaker

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There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hourglass, Lips, Makeup, Product Reviews, Unsung Heroes

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