Product Reviews

Take Me With You, Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint SPF 30!

June 5th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

milk makeup sunshine skin tint in honey flat lay — You’re coming on vacay with me, Milk Makeup!

How cool would it be if when you went to Sephora to check out Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint, they handed you a milkshake just for showing up?

I would find that HIGHLY motivating, LOL! As if I need extra motivation to check out makeup…

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about this trip I took once. I brought a tube of tinted moisturizer with me, but it exploded all over everything in my bag because the top came loose.

That probably wouldn’t have happened with Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint.

It has a pen clicker at the bottom. When you click it, the foundation comes up through the tube and out the roller ball applicator on the other end.

You use the roller ball to spread the tint all over your face, then blend it in with your fingers.

It’s fun AND cool. Plus, it’s very unlikely to leak foundation all over your stuff.

Milk Makeup is an American cruelty-free brand that’s been on the makeup scene about a year or two. As far as I know, their products don’t contain any actual milk, though. Unless you count coconut milk. The “milk” in the name refers to the fancy Milk photo studios, which they’re affiliated with.

milk makeup sunshine skin tint in honey medium tan — Wearing Honey and Medium Tan mixed together

[Continue reading…]

Take Me With You, Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Color!

June 2nd, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

nudestix magnetic eye color — A few of my favorite Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Colors ($24 each and available in 10 shades)

When I take a trip somewhere, I NEED to bring along my makeup brushes. That’s one of my non-negotiables. I literally never leave home without them — literally…unless I forget them at home. 🙂 Which has happened.

It was a few summers ago… El Hub and I drove up to visit family in Redding, which is a couple hundred miles north up near the Oregon border.

As luck would have it, I completely spaced out and forgot to bring my brushes (!), so the first thing we did when we got there was go on an emergency brush run.

Never mind using a restroom or saying hi to relatives after four long hours on the road. All I could think was, “Take me to the mall! Stat!”

If I’d had one or two of these Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Colors with me, I probably would have freaked out less. They’re long-lasting $24 cream shadow pencils. They come in 10 neutral shades, and you don’t need to use blending brushes with them (although you can if you want).

If you hit the road a lot or frequently find yourself doing your makeup in the back of a cab or in the ladies’ room before work, I’ve got one word for you: Nudestix. All of their makeup comes in either stick or pencil form, and you can blend them with a finger (or a brush), so they’re completely not fussy. They also have a wide selection of colors for different skin tones, too, and everything is cruelty-free.

nudestix magnetic eye color terra putty — I’m wearing Putty on my lids and under my brow bone, Terra and Fig in my crease, and Army on my lash lines. On my cheeks, that’s the Nudestix Nudies in Bare Back and Naughty N’ Spice, and that’s Kosas Electra Lipstick on my lips.

These set in about three or four minutes, which gives me enough time to blend out the edges. I don’t ever feel rushed. Most of the time, after drawing a few strokes on my lids (I don’t have to use much because they’re packed with pigment), I buff out the edges with a finger (or a MAC 217 if one’s handy).

Speaking of MAC now, a few of the Magnetic Matte shades could pass for near-dupes of some of my favorite MAC matte shadows, like Putty, which looks a little like matte beige Brule, and warm brown Terra, which reminds me of MAC Soft Brown. Oh, and warm brown Fig kindasorta looks like MAC Swiss Chocolate.

nudestix magnetic eye color swatches — From the top: Nudestix Putty, Terra, Fig and Army

[Continue reading…]

Drugstore Needs and Nopes, Vol. 3

June 2nd, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

1. Yes To Liquid Hand Soap ($3.99 each)

I’m the weirdo who washes her hands about, oh, let’s see… 20 times a day? I’m so not kidding, either. And I’m REALLY picky about my hand soaps, but I thoroughly plan to love the dickens out of this bottle of Yes to Liquid Hand Soap because it doesn’t dry out my skin, even when I wash my hands hella times.

Also, the Marula Oil Mango var-eh-TAY smells like marvelous mangoes, but here’s the thing: it doesn’t smell fake, which is important if you wash your hands as much as I do, because, as you know, it’s nice to have a yummy fragrance waft up into yo’ nose.

It removes dirt, oils and all manner of baby goo, and it easily rinses off and doesn’t leave behind an annoying residue.

VERDICT: Need!

Yes To Liquid Hand Soap ingredients
Water (Aqua), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Glycerin, Sclerocarya Birrea (Marula) Seed Oil, Mangivera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Sodium Chloride, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Benzoate, Hexyl Cinnamal Linalool

2. E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ($6)

elf illuminating palette — E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ($6)

The four-pan E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette is darned-near perfect for the price. The finely milled powders look really expensive and natural.

The highlighters are on the neutral- and cool-toned sides, which is a cool surprise (haha, bad pun) because of how many highlighter palettes skew warm.

The shimmer in these shades is also low-key — which again makes them seem higher end than they are.

Heck, I’d go so far as to call these drugstore Hourglass Ambient powders.

VERDICT: Need!

E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ingredients
Talc, Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Dimethicone, Silica, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Boron Nitride, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Tocopheryl Acetate (Ve), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742)

[Continue reading…]

Take Me With You, Nudestix Nudies!

June 1st, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

I don’t how this happened, because it feels like I’ve been looking forward to this trip forever, but I’m leaving for Hawaii in less than two weeks! — which means that I probably should start packing RIGHT NOW.

It’s all about portable beauty, and I’m hell-bent on finding multitasking makeup to bring that won’t take up a lot of room, so as to have more room to bring home dashboard hula girls, macadamia nuts and the like.

Let’s make this a series! I’m gonna call it “Take Me With You,” and the first entry is these new Nudestix Nudies. They were recently added to the Nudestix permanent line.

Nudestix is a cruelty-free Canadian brand, and everything in their line comes in a pencil or some kind of stick packaging.

Yes, this makes them great for travel.

The Nudies are multipurpose creams for your cheeks, lids and lips. They’re $30 each and come in five shades. One end has a cream stick, and the other end has a dense, soft brush to apply and blend the product.

I’ve tried two of them — cool pink Bare Back (um…which I’m pretty sure refers to something naughty) and rosy nude Naughty N’ Spice.

nudestix nudies bare back — Bare Back on my cheeks and Naughty N’ Spice on the lower part of the apples of my cheeks. And that’s Kosas Undone Lipstick on my lips.

[Continue reading…]

Classic Summer Colors and Oversized Blush and Bronzer Palettes Make Me Wanna Swing! (Lancôme Summer Swing)

June 1st, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

lancome summer swing k — That’s the Lancôme Patio Mediterraneen Palette, Lancôme Le Metallique Metallic Liquid Eyeshadow in Or Farniente, and the Lancôme Waterproof Eyeliners in Tempo Mediterraneen and Brun Frivole on my eyes. I’m also wearing the Patio Mediterraneen and Patio D’Une Nuit D’Ete palettes on my lids.

Ah, good play on the “s” sound, Lancôme, with your Summer Swing Collection, ’cause this lady loves a little alliteration. 🙂

“Swing,” in this particular case, does not refer to playground equipment. Or swing states. Or swingers (Oh, boy! What would THAT collection be like?!). It’s a reference to swing rhythms, as in music, and the sounds of summer.

Summer Swing is a limited edition release, and it’s already been out a little while. Lancôme Global Makeup Creative Director and All-Around Super Cool Gal (that’s her official title) Lisa Eldridge designed it.

I love me some Lisa.

lancome summer swing open — Feelin’ summery

This one goes the traditional route with classic summer colors like bronze, gold, teal, coral and hot pink — colors that really sing on tans and warm-toned skin.

lancome patio dune nuit dete — That’s a big pan, yo!

[Continue reading…]

Urban Decay’s The Velvetizer Instantly Transforms Base Makeup Finishes Into a Velvety Satin

May 31st, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

urban decay velvetizer — The new Velvetizer from Urban Decay is available now exclusively at Sephora ($34 for a 0.28-oz. jar).

At the risk of totally dating myself, one of the old-school makeup tricks we used back in the day was to dust a little loose powder on my lips after applying lipstick. I’d dust it right on top with a finger (or, if I was feeling extra fancy, a brush!) to transform any lipstick finish into a matte.

It’s a similar idea to how the new Urban Decay The Velvetizer works.

Velvetizer is a loose, translucent powder ($34 for a good-sized 0.28-oz. jar, a Sephora-only product). You mix a little with your favorite tinted moisturizer or foundation, and it instantly transforms the finish into a velvety satin without futzing with the color.

The trick is getting the ratio right of powder to liquid, and it can take some practice. I’ve found that if I add too much powder, the mixture will pill up, almost like it’s peeling.

This isn’t a big surprise, considering the fact that the second ingredient is dimethicone, and products with a lot of dimethicone in them do tend to pill up when I use too much on my skin.

It’s not a perfect science. I just kinda eyeball it, but Urban Decay suggests using a dime-sized amount per full pump of foundation or tinted moisturizer, but I rarely use a full pump of my base makeup anymore. So I use more like a half a dime-sized amount.

I shake it into my palm, add a bit of Naked Skin One and Done, mix them together with a finger, then apply that with a Real Techniques Buffing Brush.

urban decay velvetizer ingredients — Ingredients

[Continue reading…]

R+Co Trophy Shine + Texture Spray Takes First Place

May 31st, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

r+co trophy k — Shiny, textured hair by a genius new hair styling product, R+Co Trophy

I’ve been loving a little texture lately.

“A little texture,” she says, as her hair expands into the firmament, LOL!

No, seriously! I’ve been into spraying a texturizing spray on my hair lately (mid-shaft) to kind of rough it up and make it look more voluminous (hopefully) and windswept, in that just-stepped-off the runway way.

But the thing about texture sprays is that most of them don’t do squat for shine. Most are matte, so if you want shiny AND tousled hair, you have to add a separate shiny product (usually an oil), but that can then weigh down your hair, thereby defeating the whole purpose of using a texturizing/volumizing spray in the first place.

OH, THE HORROR!

R+Co (pronounced “R and Co”) is a hair care line I’m totally obsessed with at the moment (I blame my hairstylist friend Alis, who lives, breathes and sleeps hair, for telling me that “This line is amazing, and their products will change your life.”), and they figured out a way to add good texture and shine in the same product with their new R+Co Trophy Shine + Texture Spray.

You get lovely, tousled, windswept action, along with a healthy dose of shine (that doesn’t look greasy). The product has clay in it for texture, and sweet almond oil for shine, and it’s $29 for a bottle…which hurts so good, but like all of the R+Co products I’ve tried, it’s amazeballs.

r+co trophy — You could say that I’m a little enthusiastic about this spray (just a little)…

Use it on freshly washed hair (slightly damp) before air or heat drying, or apply it on dry hair before or after styling. I usually do a few sprays on my hair when it’s dry after curling with an iron. Then I spray a little on the mid-shaft section and go layer by layer. Then I rough up the waves by scrunching them with my fingers.

Here’s a helpful how-to video

[Continue reading…]

More MAC Metallic Lips Coming June 22nd

May 30th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

mac metallic lipstick summer 2017 — The MAC Metallic Lipsticks are back in another LE release coming June 22nd for $17 each.

Dry lips, be gone! I will not have ye! — ’cause, honestly, I don’t want any flakes up in my mix when I’m wearing these new MAC Metallic Lipsticks, because flakes + metallic finishes equal nooo!

Metallic lips are back. In the event that you’ve been taking the longest cat nap ever (in which case, I’m so jelly because: naps!), they’re back in style and 100% Rosie-the-Robot chic.

If these are tickling your memory chips, you might be recalling the Metallic Lipstick launch from earlier this spring (remember the cray-cray green?). That was an LE collection, and so is this one, which will be available at all MAC locations and online from June 22nd to August 3rd.

mac forbidden romance lipstick — Forbidden Romance…

Of the 17 shades, 10 are re-promotes from that earlier launch — deep royal purple Royal Hour, bright bluish pink Foiled Rose, cool reddish burgundy Hades Fire, cool neutral pink Pale Rose, silvery Silver Spoon, warm neutral In Lust, bronzy Jupiter, white frosty Pearly One, deep burgundy red wine Disobedient and blackened blue Anything Once. For swatches of those cuties, click here.

mac ionized iris lipstick — Ionized Iris

[Continue reading…]