Product Reviews

Two Toasty Twins From the Guerlain Summer 2017 Collection

May 23rd, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

guerlain sun tonic brunettes and orange peps — Wearing Guerlain Terracotta Sun Tonic Bronzing Powder ($53) on my cheeks and Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lipstick in Orange Peps on my lips ($37), both of them limited edition from the summer 2017 collection.

I know it doesn’t officially turn summer until next month, but even unofficially, it doesn’t seem like summer until I get a Guerlain bronzer up in the mix.

There are so many good bronzers out there, but when I think of flawless, natural-looking, old-school, tried-and-true classic summer bronzing, Guerlain is the godmother of them all.

Oh! — speaking of good bronzers, though, the new bronzers from Hourglass are so dang beautiful, as are BECCA’s, and Marc Jacobs did one recently that’s perfection on light skin.

guerlain sun tonic brunettes — Guerlain Terracotta Sun Tonic Bronzing Powder

Every year Guerlain releases limited edition versions of their powder bronzers, and every year I await them with bated breath. This week I tried one from their new summer 2017 collection called Sun Tonic Brunettes.

Ah… Excuse me while I smoosh my nose into the pan. I’m getting a whiff of it right meow, and it smells SO good.

Guerlain usually gives their bronzers a tiare flower scent, but this one smells a little different. I still get strong tiare flower notes, but there’s also some jasmine up in there. I love it.

guerlain sun tonic brunettes and orange peps swatches — Swatches of Guerlain Sun Tonic Brunettes and Orange Peps

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Sephora Adventures: Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo, Drunk Elephant Tinted Umbra Tinte Daily Defense, and Pinrose Perfumes

May 23rd, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

sephora adventures with connor — Practicing her #RBF

I swear, my last trip to Sephora was Connor’s idea. If she looks a little crabby in this picture, it’s because she’s practicing her #RBF (resting baby face).

I went to grab a couple things I’ve been wanting to try from my lust list, and speaking of that, that list has been exercising my wallet in ways I did not anticipate, LOL!

First, there’s this clarifying Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo.

I had a a lot of product buildup in my hair after using a Klorane shampoo and mask, and Sunday Shampoo, which I used on Saturday (such a rebel!), got my hair feeling normal again. Buuuuuut, I still think I’m going to return it, because I read on the Sephora website (and don’t ask my why this didn’t sink in beforehand) that it isn’t recommended for color-treated hair, which I have.

Oh, well… It was fun while it lasted.

I do like the idea using a clarifying shampoo every so often to remove buildup from dry shampoo and other hair products, so I’m thinking about exchanging it for a shampoo by Briogio, a natural hair care line at Sephora, called Be Gentle, Be Kind Green Tea Clarifying Shampoo. It’s $24, so about the same price as the Bumble shampoo, which is $25, but it’s supposed to safe for color-treated hair.

I hope it smells good. 🙂

Also, while I was there, I picked up a tube of new Drunk Elephant Umbra Tinte Physical Daily Defense Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 30 ($36) with 20% zinc oxide.

Zinc oxide usually leaves a white cast on darker skin, but this one doesn’t! It’s really neat. I thought it would be too deep or peachy for me, but it isn’t. I can’t see it at all, which is great, and there’s no white cast! I used it on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and my skin really likes it so far. It has a light mousse-y texture, so it absorbs quickly, and I don’t have to sit there working it in for days and days. Plus, it isn’t sticky, so it doesn’t leave my neck feeling gross, and it layers under foundation well.

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Lips and Lashes, and Two New Things From MAC Coming in June

May 22nd, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

mac lee hi lipstick — Wearing the new MAC Lee Hi Lipstick, MAC Bold & Bad Lash Mascara, and not much else

It was a hot one here in Novato today!

I mean, it wasn’t triple-digit hot, but it was hot and sticky enough, and there was some perspiration involved, to make me want to wear “minimal” (airquotes) makeup and put the focus on a couple new things from MAC.

One of them was a red lipstick from the Future Forward collection, and the other was a new MAC mascara called Bold & Bad Lash.

Isn’t this a pretty red? It’s matte deep garnet Lee Hi, and it’s from the MAC Future Forward collection. It’s a $17 LE online exclusive, and you can only find it on the MAC website starting June 29th.

Future Forward is that MAC collab with three up-and-coming singers. It started in April, and they release a new product every month. April’s was a purple face powder by Justine Skye, May’s is a sparkly Cremesheen by Dua Lipa (that one’s coming out this week, actually), and lovely matte red Lee Hi is a collab with K-pop star Lee Hi.

“Breathe,” by Lee Hi

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Brand Spotlight: Stellar – A New Makeup Line for the Ladies in the Middle

May 19th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

stellar makeup 1 — Stellar: A new makeup line for the ladies in the middle

When it comes to foundations colors for medium skin tones, Stellar is a star. ⭐⭐⭐

Have you heard about this line? It’s kind of earth shattering if you’re in, like, the mid-range for foundation and are always and forever mixing two colors (hello, welcome to my life). I got really excited when it launched at Sephora not long ago because they have 22 — TWENTY TWO! — shades of their foundation just for the girls in the middle. They’re like the Baskin-Robbins ? of undertones. There’s peach, dark peach, yellow, butterscotch, caramel undertones… They’ve got all the flavors!

A “Stellar” (haha) new Canadian makeup line for the gals in the middle

Everything in the line is vegan, cruelty free and fragrance free. The founder, Monika Deol, is a famous news anchor, television show host and former music veejay in Canada.

She’s also Indian and, being an on-air personality, she spends a lot of time getting her makeup done for work. She noticed that makeup artists were always mixing different products to get her exact foundation and concealer shades. After talking to her friends and family, she found out that they were all doing the same thing — cocktail-ing different face products to custom blend shades for their skin tone.

Hey, I’m one of those girls, too! I’m always mixing two colors because it’s rare for me to find a foundation that GETS MY UNDERTONES, man.

Monika’s line is for ladies like me (and you, if you’re in the same boat) — the gals smack dab in the center of the shade range with undertones that aren’t always represented in the makeup world.

I’ve tried a few things from the line, like the foundation, of course, a concealer, one of the blushes and a few of the lipsticks. I haven’t seen their loose powder or mascara in person yet, but I want to.

Stellar Limitless Foundation ($38)

I couldn’t wait to paint my face with Limitless Foundation. It’s a liquid foundation in a plastic bottle with a pump, and for some reason — I dunno why — the colors look lighter in the bottles than they do in real life, so avoid eyeballing the bottle as your guideline for what would work for your skin.

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The New BECCA Sunlit Bronzers: Are they powders? Are they creams?

May 19th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

Basically, BECCA’s been winning at life lately. I like everything they’d done lately, especially their complexion products over the past couple of months — the Chrissy Teigen Palette, the Sunchaser Palette and now the new $38 Sunlit Bronzers.

They’ve totally set the bar higher for glamorous yet natural-looking face makeup.

Yeah, not that I need another bronzer in my life, but these Sunlit Bronzers freakin’ slay. They’re available now online at Sephora, the BECCA website, and they recently showed up at Sephora stores, too.

There are five shades, and all of them, except for Maui Nights, the bronzer for deep skin tones, have neutral golden undertones, rather than warm orange or rosy gold undertones (Maui Nights is more reddish), and I think that’s the main reason why they look so much like a real tan.

Bali Sands — Inspired by warm, glistening Balinese beaches (ah…), this subtle golden beige/bronze will give all-over warmth to fair skin tones.
Capri Coast — This warm golden brown achieves perfect sun-kissed radiance on light and medium skin tones.
Bronzed Bondi — This medium amber for medium skin tones will make you look like you just spent a dreamy day at the beach.
Ipanema Sun — This medium auburn brown is inspired by the sun-drenched shores of Ipanema and gives medium and darker skin tones a healthy, golden glow.
Maui Nights — Perfect for deep skin tones, this ultra-rich, sienna-kissed bronze evokes the rich, warm glow of mesmerizing Maui.
— beccacosmetics.com (paraphrased)

When you roll up to the display (ideally without a basket, girl!!!), take a finger and glide it across the pan so you can feel and experience the magic in person.

Are they powders?? Are they creams?? Technically, these are powder bronzers, but they feel almost wet, right? That’s the special sauce with BECCA powders and these bronzers. They’re crazy creamy.

becca sunlit bronzer swatch — Swatches from the top: Bali Ssands, Capri Coast, Bronzed Bondi, Ipanema Sun and Maui Nights

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Brand Spotlight: IGK

May 18th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

Getting to know the IGK hair care line

Girl, there’s this IGK display at the Sephora by my house that I’ve walked past…I don’t know how many times, and I swear to gawd, up until about a month ago, I thought it was a display for R+Co!

Doesn’t the packaging look similar?

R+Co High Dive

IGK has cute packaging, yeah?

Still, I should probably, like, get my eyes checked soon. Maybe I should break down and get Lasik already.

IGK is a pretty new brand. I think they showed up in 2016, so they’re still the new kids on the hair block.

The name “IGK” is an acronym based on the names of the founders — two brothers and two of their friends — Frank Izquierdo, Leo Izquierdo, Aaron Grenia and Chase Kusero.

There’s a reference to “X-Men.” Wait for it.

They’re all US hairstylists who work in different cities, and if you look closely at the labels, they have a code at the top — MIA, NYC and LA — which is a shout-out to their respective city and the name of the scent, of which there are three in the line.

MIA, or the Miami scent, has guava, coconut water, pink lotus, violet and vanilla notes.
LA, the Los Angeles scent, has notes of bergamot, lemon zest, mimosa, heliotrope and black amber.
NYC, the New York City scent, has of black pepper, blackberry, violet, geranium and leather notes.

They’ve got everything you need to take care of hair — shampoos, conditioners and hair styling products. All of the products are cruelty free, offer UV and heat protection protection, and are made without mineral oils or petroleum.

Smoke & Mirrors Conditioning Cleansing Oil ($29)

I’ve tried a handful of things, and the product I’m totally and completely in love with is Smoke & Mirrors Conditioning Cleansing Oil.

Smoke & Mirrors Conditioning Cleansing Oil

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Marc Jacobs Is Going Nuts for Coconuts

May 17th, 2017 by Karen 26 Comments

marc jacobs coconut products — Crazy for coconuts!

I wonder if Marc Jacobs has ever opened a coconut… He likes coconuts, obviously, because there’s a bunch of new products in his makeup line that are coconut inspired and have coconut water in them, but has homeboy actually ever opened a coconut? I hope he has! And I hope you have at least once, because it’s weirdly empowering. Girl, we’ll get to Marc’s new coconut bronzer and highlighter in a second, but let me just tell you that I opened a coconut this morning for the very first time — used a hammer to lay the beat down on that husk! — and when that bad boy finally cracked open, I was like, “YES! I opened a coconut, motherf*ckers! I CAN DO ANYTHING.”

It felt really good. LOL! Anyway, just your daily fruit diversion. 🙂

Marc’s got some new coco-nutty products, and they’re all about tans, glowing and summer skin.

O!Mega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan

The new bronzer is kind of ridic because of the price — $49!! I know. Think of it this way, though: at least it’s cheaper than Tom Ford’s.

It’s called the O!Mega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan because it smells like coconuts (it’s not overwhelming or faux-sweet), but looking at the ingredient list, it doesn’t appear to have coconut in it.

Hmm…

I’ve never tried the original O!MegaBronzer in Marc’s permanent line, but I’ve read that this new one is supposed to have the same formula. It’s LE and has different packaging (crisp summer white!). It also has a different undertone, which is less warm and more neutral than the bronzer in Marc’s permanent collection.

marc jacobs coconut bronzer brush — O!Mega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan

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The Surratt Beauty Relevée Lash Curler or the Shiseido Eyelash Curler?

May 17th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

I got these two curlers during the Sephora VIB sale last month because I needed to replace my ancient, much-loved Shu Uemura curler.

Yup, my little trooper finally broke (RIP). 🙁

I’d heard that they’re similar to Shu’s curler and read some rave reviews, and so, in typical Karen fashion, since I couldn’t decide between them…I grabbed both.

They’re similarly shaped and flatter than many lash curlers (like the ones by Tarte, Urban Decay and MAC), and I like this shape a lot because it fits my eyes better than most.

The Troy Surratt Relevée Lash Curler (which is $30) is just a teensy bit wider than the Shiseido one (which is $20), and when I place my lashes into it (the Surratt one) and press down, there’s no pinching at all, whereas I feel a little bit of pinching on my outer lashes with the Shiseido curler if I hit them at certain angles or get too close to the lash base.

With the Troy Surratt curler, I can really get up in there.

I also like the lash look I get with the Surratt curler a bit more. The curl is more pronounced, and I just think it looks more natural and better.

The Shiseido one definitely has its advantages, though. It costs $10 less and comes with an extra silicone pad. I mean, I like the curl (although it’s more of a crimp) I get when I use it, and I think it’s pretty.

Oh! — also, because the Surratt is wider, I can easily fit false lashes into it (on those rare occasions when I wear falsies and want them to curl with my natural lashes).

Honestly, though, I don’t think you’d go really wrong with either one. Both are solid choices. It mostly depends on whether you want the extra width.

In order, I like the…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen