Product Reviews

THE VERDICT! Here’s What My Dark Circles Look Like After Using the Nuvesse Tired Eyes, Puffiness & Dark Circles 1-Month Regimen Kit #sponsored

January 26th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

nuvesse k fourth mask — I’m finished testing the 1-month Nuvesse Tired Eyes, Puffiness & Dark Circles Regimen Kit, and here are my results!

As a participant in the Nuvesse Tired Eyes, Puffiness & Dark Circles One-Month Regimen Kit Test, I received product samples and compensation for my time and effort. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are always my own. nuvesse.com #sponsored

You know what?

I look like a whole new girl! 🙂

OK, well, maybe not completely new…but my biggest hope from the get-go in testing the 30 Day Tired Eyes, Puffiness & Dark Circles Regimen Kit by Nuvesse ($95) was that my dark circles would improve, and I’d be able to wear less makeup in that area. And with less makeup, my under-eye area would look more natural and less cake-y.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve boarded the train to Cake-ville with concealer many times over the past few years, and I just don’t want to do that anymore, since it makes me look older than my 41 years.

Nuvesse Tired Eyes, Puffiness & Dark Circles Regimen Kit — The $95 one-month regimen kit comes with four weekly masks and a twice-daily serum roller.

What is Nuvesse?

“Nuvesse Skin Therapies, Inc. was founded in 2004 and developed a propriety wound-healing technology, HealSmart Personalized Woundcare System (HealSmart™). The company realized that the application of its newest active delivery technology, Cellulation™ Technology, to skin care had the potential to yield superior benefits and reach and launched its first skin therapy portfolio of products in mid-2014 into the aesthetic medical channel. After further refinement the company just launched its new consumer brand, Nuvesse.”

— Nuvesse

Results & Conclusion: Definitely Better!

After using all four mask sets and the serum roller religiously for 30 days, I’m happy to say that my dark circles look much less intense than they did when I started.

nuvesse before first mask — The before shot! This was the situation before I started the regimen.

Nuvesse Tired Eyes, Puffiness and Dark Circles Regimen Kit — Before starting the regimen on the left, and after 30 days on the right

They aren’t as intensely purple as they used to be, and they look overall lighter. They also don’t, um…spread out as far as they used to, so I don’t have as much area to cover.

I’ve pretty much quit using color corrector on the daily. Now I just use a little concealer in the inner corners of my under-eye area and a bit of setting powder. Just the tiniest bit! And that’s it.

What I don’t know yet is how long the changes I’ve seen will last after I haven’t used the masks or the serum roller for a while.

Of course, ya know, it would’ve been wonderful if my dark circles had completely disappeared back to when I was 21 years old and didn’t have to bother with them, but let’s be real. That was probably never going to happen, but it makes me wonder if things would keep improving if I kept using the regimen. If I’m already seeing a difference after the first month, it seems like it’s possible.

Video Review

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5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately: Pai-Shau Hair Products, Grandpa Sweaters, Premier Protein, Tom Ford Spring 2017 and the Hourglass Girl Lip Stylos

January 25th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

tom ford spring 2017 visual — The Tom Ford Spring 2017 visual is BANANAS!

1. This pic for Tom Ford’s Spring 2017 campaign

This promo picture for the Tom Ford Spring 2017 collection (which is up on the website for pre-orders now), gah! This is everything! I mean, I don’t even know where to start. The glossy lids, the lashes, the brows, the subtle ombre lip — there is so much fabulousness wrapped up in this picture. I almost can’t take it!

2. Pai-Shau Shampoos and Conditioners

So, this line flew under my radar for a while. It was started in 2015 by the guy who founded Moroccan Oil, and their hook is tea. The products are on the pricey side, but I kinda like ’em. I’ve been using the Hydrating Ritual Replenishing Hair Cleanser ($26), Replenishing Cream Conditioner ($28) and Supreme Revitalizing Mask ($43) for the past three months, and my hair’s been looking pretty darned fly, if I do say so myself.

My favorite thing about them is how moisturizing they are! My hair tends toward dry because I color it and heat style, but this line doesn’t weigh me down. My hair stays bouncy and doesn’t feel heavy and coated with products.

These also don’t strip my color, and my ends have been looking healthier than they’ve looked in a really long time (no split ends).

pai-shau — I use the Pai-Shau Hydrating Ritual Replenishing Hair Cleanser ($26), Replenishing Cream Conditioner ($28) and Supreme Revitalizing Mask ($43)

Oh, and the fragrance reminds me of something you’d find over at Oribe. LOVE. They could probably pass for a subtle hair perfume. Ah… It’s like tea and white flowers.

3. Real pictures!

Do you ever get on picture kicks where you’re getting tons of them made? I love my iPhone, but nothing beats a picture you can actually hold in your hand or stick in a photo album.

I just realized… I’ve taken at least one picture every day (usually a picture of Tabs or makeup or food) for the past 10 years.

That’s a whole decade!

But everything I do is digital, so I don’t have a lot of actual printed photographs lying around — something tangible that you can hold in your hand.

Anyway, I had a bunch of pics of Connor and Tabs printed at Costco over the holidays, and so now I’m hooked on that again. I made a bunch to send with cards, for frames and for the fridge.

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The MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics Collection: Diane Kendal Spring/Summer 2017

January 25th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

MAC Diane Kendal — Wearing shades from the MAC Creme Shadow X 6 in Glamorize Me palette, MAC Studio Conceal & Correct X 6: Cover Me, MAC Studio Quiktrick Stick/Diane Kendal in Radiance/Shadow and MAC Causal Colour Lip & Cheek Colour X 6: Enhance Me from the new MAC Make Up Art Cosmetics/Diane Kendal collection

I wonder if Diane Kendal’s extensive backstage makeup experience influenced her part of the new MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics collection, because backstage is HECTIC. It’s crazy, and they always seem to be running behind… So who knows? Maybe she wanted a collection of quick creams to get her models ready and onto the runway.

Well…at least, creams are quick in my experience. They’re faster to work with than powders. You can just dab them on, and use your fingers to blend them out. Even when I was doing this makeup, it went relatively quickly compared to doing an eye look with three or four different powders. I just used the creams from Kendal’s MAC Creme Shadow X 6 in Glamorize Me palette ($40), and it was so much faster to work with and blend than having to sit there and blend a whole bunch of powders.

Diane Kendal is one of three makeup artists MAC tapped to do sub-collections for the 50-piece MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics collection, which is available now. (The other two are James Kaliardos and Kabuki.) She’s a bad-@ss British makeup artist based out of New York, and before going to work for MAC, she helped develop products for Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein Cosmetics. She’s been working in the biz since the ’80s. In this post we’ll be looking at Diane’s part in the story, and I’ve worked with eight of her 11 pieces in the launch.

There are A LOT of creams in this launch, which I find…I dunno. As I get older, I just like creams more. They’re easy to blend and don’t look as heavy and obvious and makeup-y as powders do. I’m into ’em. 🙂

Diane Kendal doing her thang

MAC Creme Shadow X 6 in Glamorize Me ($40)

mac glamorize me — MAC Creme Shadow X 6 in Glamorize Me, $40

So blendable! The $40 Glamorize Me Creme Shadow palette is my favorite thing in Diane’s launch. The glossy finish makes me swoon, but these shadows do scoot around quite a bit on my skin after a few hours… Be prepared because they’ll probably want to settle into the crease.

Causal Colour Lip & Cheek Colour X 6: Enhance Me ($40)

mac enhance me — MAC Causal Colour Lip & Cheek Colour X 6: Enhance Me, $40

The satiny finish looks incredibly natural, and the creams are easy to blend on my cheeks AND my lips. They have pretty good wear time, too. I’m getting about five hours on my cheeks as a blush and about three hours on my lips. This is my second favorite thing in Diane’s part of the collection.

mac enhance me 2 — MAC Causal Colour Lip & Cheek Colour X 6: Enhance Me, $40

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New Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick (Part 2): The Pink and Brown Shades

January 21st, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

urban decay vice liquid lipstick swatches — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks (the pink and brown shades) from the top: Brat, Naked, Rapture, Backtalk, Trivial, 1993, Amulet, Disturbed, Blackmail, Conspiracy and Studded

ME: Hey, there’s a shade in this line of liquid lipsticks I’m reviewing called “Brat.”

EL HUB: Did they name it after you?

ME: …

urban decay studded — He may or may not have a point…

Ooh, yeah! There’s an Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick shade called Brat. And I might be a brat; therefore, I will wear Brat, and I will be extra bratty, with a side of brat, when I wear it. 🙂

urban decay brat liquid lipstick — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Brat

Round two of the UD Vice Liquid Lipstick swatches (here was round one: the red and orange shades)! These are the pinks, nudes and browns…and some funky brownish taupe business (see: Studded).

Just like the reds and oranges from the other day, these all look amaze-balls in pics. Even the metallics! I was so surprised. I had so much drama with the first metallic I tried from this line, golden orange Flame, which was basically a mess on my lips, but all of the metallics in this second batch are flawless. No vertical lip lines, patchiness, no drama.

I think Amulet looks particularly beautiful. I’m not normally a metallics person, either, but I’m totally into it.

urban decay amulet liquid lipstick — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Amulet

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Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in 931 Noir Pétrole

January 20th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

chanel noir petrole — Yay for Chanel Noir Pétrole Waterproof Eye Liner! I’m also wearing the Chanel Codes Élégants quad on my eyes, Chanel Élégance Powder Blush on my cheeks and Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Peacemaker

Why, though?

WHY? Why are so many of the best things limited edition? It’s lunacy, and it’s REALLY annoying. Chanel Noir Pétrole Eyeliner ($33) deserves a permanent position — like the Codes Subtils quad — because if you have brown eyes (and even if you don’t), it’s magic.

Glossy, smoky perfection

I recognize that it’s OTT to get this excited about eyeliners, seeing as there are so many flashier products out there in Makeupville, but I love a schmexy liner, and this one is schmexy.

The color is a little hard to describe, but I’m gonna try. It’s a super dark, hella pigmented khaki black with an essence of golden shimmer for an otherworldly finish that begs the question, “How in the Milky Way did Chanel squeeze so much complexity into one little stick?” It boggles the mind. This beauty is glossy liner perfection.

Chanel Noir Pétrole — Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in 931 Noir Pétrole, $33

Manna from heaven for brown-eyed babes (and boys!)

Sometimes when I wear this liner, it’ll look brown. Other times, more khaki. Other times still, more of a glossy blackish brown. Then I’ll catch a glance of myself in the mirror and see the shimmery gold winking at me, and I’ll be like totally feelin’ myself, LOL! “Who’s that girl in the mirror? Oh, ME?” 🙂 This liner will have you doing that. It looks amazing on brown eyes.

But it’s not just for brown eyes

I have a strong suspicion that Noir Pétrole will also enchant hazel eyes as well… I wish El Hub would let me play and put it on his lids. I’d ask, but he won’t even let me curl his luscious lashes (rude!).

Anyway, if you have hazel eyes and have a moment with this, you have to let me know.

chanel noir petrole eye closeup — I’m wearing Noir Pétrole on my lash lines and water lines; the eyeshadow is the Chanel Codes Élégants quad

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Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 370 Élégance

January 20th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

chanel elegance blush — That’s Chanel Élégance blush on my cheeks, Chanel Codes Élégants quad and Noir Petrole liner on my lashes, and Hourglass Peacemaker Girl Lip Stylo on my lips

Isn’t it just so typical? Right when you’re ready to drive down to the neighborhood tattoo parlor to get a tattoo of your favorite Chanel blush, because you love it that much (ahem, Malice!), another one comes along and steals your heart away.

Just goes to show ya…getting a tattoo of your true love blush? Not a good idea.

OK, that sounded really dumb, but that’s OK. We’re just gonna roll with it. 🙂

That glimmer, tho!!

For me with Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 370 Élégance, it was love at first brush. The second this peachy golden bronzed brown glimmered on my cheek, I was like, what?! Come here, baby. You and me — we’re gonna ride or die together.

And it wasn’t just because of the color and how it goes with all 20 of the pink and peach lipsticks and glosses that occupy my purse at any given time, or because of the level of pigment (one or two layers and I’m good), how long it lasts, or how easily it blends. It was also the dainty, demure glimmer…

You guys, the glimmer. THE GLIMMER. The glow is a small step up from a satin — similar to the awesomesauce Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes, and you know I’m a fan of those.

Consider this: wonderful wear time

Élégance is available now for $45, which I know… I. Know. But consider this: This blush lasts an incredibly long time. I put it on right after breakfast the other day (Oatmeal with a handful of chocolate chips… OMG, try it sometime! It’s life changing.), and after a full day and dinner, I still saw it on my cheeks. It was at least nine hours later!

Similar Chanel shades?

For the gals who’ve been hoarding/collecting Joues Contraste blushes for years, Élégance is like 58 Fresque’s and 84 Accent’s sister shade. It’s darker than Fresque and more shimmery and peachier than Accent, but they’re all in the same fam and look related.

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Chanel Les Ombres Multi-Effect Eyeshadow Quad in 274 Codes Élégants

January 19th, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

chanel codes elegants — Getting my glow on with the Chanel Les Ombres Multi-Effect Eyeshadow Quad in 274 Codes Élégants ($61, new for spring)

Between the new Chanel Les Ombres Multi-Effect Eyeshadow Quad in 278 Codes Subtils, and this one I’m wearing now, 274 Codes Élégants, both of which are $61 each and new for spring, I’m convinced that Chanel is at the front of the pack when it comes to shimmery shades for ladies 30 and up.

Codes Élégants, like Codes Subtils, is $61, but unlike Codes Subtils, Élégants is permanent. And I kinda wish it was the other way around!

Not that this quad doesn’t have a lot going for it. It does! — like that glow, for one, and a silky, easy-to-blend formula. And the finish on that brown shade? SO GORGEOUS! Can I just get that on its own with the special sauce on the side? Please? The satiny finish shines on the down low. You can barely tell it’s there, but it’s there, and you know I live for that subtle sh*t, LOL! I’m so predictable… Yes, workhorse, everyday satins. I love ’em.

The thing is…the other three shadows in the quad — the two golden shades and the platinum — all look like slightly different versions of the same highlighter on my skin. They look very similar on me, so I don’t think I’ll be able to do as many different looks with this quad as I could with Codes Subtils, which has a more classic combo of one darker shade, two mid-toned shades and a highlighter.

I know that four shadows doesn’t seem like a lot in this world of 12-pan and 24-pan eye palettes, but you can really do a lot with four shadows if they’re the right four shadows, and if two of them are mid-tones. The mid-tones are totally key.

chanel elegants quad swatches — Swatches of Codes Élégants

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New Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick (Part 1): The Red and Orange Shades

January 18th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

urban decay tryst liquid lipstick — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Tryst, $18, and one of 30 Vice Liquid Lipsticks in a completely new line from UD

Apparently, I have been remiss in keeping up with my gossip/pop culture blog reading, because I had no idea what a trap queen was.

Do you? Because when I saw this new Vice Liquid Lipstick from Urban Decay, I was like, “What the hell is a trap queen??” Is she the queen of setting traps? Does she hunt? What’s the deal?

Well, apparently, it’s a song, and it’s about a bad-@ss chick.

So there you go. It’s just a glimpse into my future. I can see it now… Connor Claire will throw out pop culture references, and I won’t get them.

The new Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks

Trap Queen is one of 30 brand new $18 Vice Liquid Lipsticks, a new line coming soon from Urban Decay. (To find out exactly when they arrive, you can sign up on the Urban Decay website, and they’ll let you know.)

urban decay liquid lipstick — 25 of 30 new Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks, $18 each

urban decay trap queen liquid lipstick — Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick in Trap Queen

Most of the 30 shades are mattes, and there are also a few metallics. Not all of the shades will be available everywhere, either. Some of them will only be available on the Urban Decay website and at freestanding UD stores (there’s a list below).

I hope you don’t mind if I break these up into a couple of posts, because Baby Girl is due for lunch (a chicken-apple-sweet potato puree), and she can’t wait for mommy to finish swatching two dozen liquid lipsticks for hours (she’s actually “talking” about it right now, a.k.a. “baby talking really loudly,” and I can’t hear myself think).

The oranges and reds

She did, however, allow me to swatch the reds, and I can already tell this much about this line: they look breathtaking in pics! Like, if I just slept in a chaise lounge all day long while people snapped pictures of me, and I didn’t have to eat or drink or interact with anyone ever, my matte lip game would be SO on point.

Of this first batch here, Flame (has a metallic finish) looks like a hot mess up close, with vertical lip lines galore, but somehow it still looks AMAZING in pics.

urban decay liquid lipstick reds — Six of the seven red shades in the Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick line from the top: Crimson, Trap Queen, 714, Tryst, Tilt and Flame

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