Unsung Heroes

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Black Satin Nail Polish

July 24th, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Kelly Keeton of Vampy Varnish. You can also find Kelly on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+.

Do you own a shade of eyeshadow, lipstick or nail polish that started you down a long and perhaps expensive makeup collecting path? I sure do, and her name is Chanel Black Satin (available now in the Chanel permanent collection).

I’ve been into nail polish for as long as I can remember, but there have been phases where I didn’t really think about it much for months at a time. I was in one of those slumbering “dry spells” when Chanel Black Satin came out.

When I first saw it in fashion magazines, I liked it, but I wasn’t completely smitten . I was, however, very interested in any black nail polish that had fashion editors and people in general going gaga.

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features much-loved permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

Previous to Chanel Black Satin, black nail polishes weren’t really ever seen on anyone other than musicians, artsy types and those into various genres of music, like punk rock, heavy metal and goth. Now, all the sudden it was going mainstream. After seeing it over and over, it started this spark within me that grew and grew, and I knew I HAD TO HAVE IT.

I searched high and low but couldn’t find it anywhere in stores. Finally, I resorted to eBay and spent more on it than I had ever spent on any nail polish before. A whopping $35! At the time, that seemed completely outrageous, but now, after many years of collecting, I can say that it’s not the most I’ve ever spent on a nail polish (yikes!).

Black Satin, as the name implies, has a black base with a silver satiny shimmer running throughout. It has a great smooth and creamy formula, and covers perfectly in two coats.

It might not be the most unique black polish out there anymore, but this beauty definitely started bringing dark nail shades back into the spotlight, and for that, I am grateful!

What item in your makeup collection do you have a great fondness for?

– Kelly

About the Author
This guest post was written by Kelly Keeton of Vampy Varnish. You can also find Kelly on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+.

MAC Unsung Heroes: Era Eye Shadow

July 23rd, 2013 by Karen 23 Comments

It’s always the era of Era around here. Flexible, because it flatters both warm and cool skin tones, MAC Era Eye Shadow is a fantastic workhorse neutral to have in your collection, especially if you love taupe.

Officially, MAC describes it as a soft golden beige, and yeah, I can see that, but on my NC42 skin, I’d characterize it as a golden taupe. Color temperature-wise, it’s like a perfect porridge — just right. Neither too warm, nor too cool.

I don’t know…but there’s just something earthy and natural about it. I see it and picture smooth river rocks baking in the hot desert sun…

And the finish? Satin. One of my favorite finishes from MAC.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Bronze Eye Shadow

July 19th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

So, weird fun fact, but if you look really closely at my dark brown eyes, you’ll see a navy blue ring around the iris, and I think it’s one of the reasons I like MAC Bronze Eye Shadow so much.

A shimmery golden bronze with orange undertones, it’s one of those shadows that really flatters blue eyes (even, if I do say so myself, ones with a subtle blue ring like mine).

Bronze has some great things for it, like MAC’s super soft, pigmented Veluxe Pearl finish, arguably one of the best finishes in the entire line. And it blends easy like Sunday morning, so it’s a cinch to apply. In fact, I’ve done it half awake on Sunday mornings many times, and it usually turns out pretty fly!

It’s just one of those shadows, ya know? You almost can’t go wrong.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Honey Lust Eye Shadow

July 18th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Honey Lust is my glitzy go-to glitter shadow when I want to shimmer like Tinker Bell but don’t want to deal with the drama of a pigment.

A glittery bronzed peach in MAC’s Lustre finish, it’s best described like this: glitter, glitter, glitter. 🙂

It delivers the glittery shimmer fix of a MAC loose Pigment without (necessarily) making a mess.

Now, because Honey Lust isn’t chintzy with the glitter, it does tend to be grittier than many of MAC’s other shadows, so fallout can be an issue, especially if you’re using it with a fluffy brush like the MAC 217. I try to always use it with a brush that has a flat, firm brush head like the MAC 239, with which I can really pack the powder on my lids, and keep it from flying all over the place.

This Honey brings the bling! — and I think it looks particularly fetching on warm skin tones and tans, especially paired with looks featuring summery bronzes, warm browns, golds and teals.

MAC Honey Lust Eye Shadow Swatch — Honey Lust Eye Shadow on my NC42 skin

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Too Faced Sweet Pink Full Bloom Ultra Flush Blush

June 24th, 2013 by Karen 15 Comments

Now that’s a sweet pink! Too Faced Sweet Pink Ultra Flush Powder Blush ($19)

Chances are, you will not want to start a riot or cut a b*tch while wearing Too Faced Sweet Pink Full Bloom Ultra Flush Blush ($19).

You could, however, roll with a motorcycle gang…but only if your Harley and your helmet are completely covered in Hello Kitty stickers. 🙂

Might as well leave your tough girl boots at home tonight because this blush really is sweet.

A sweet neutral pink with a golden shimmer, to be exact, and it’s that shimmer that makes it a star. The soft glow it imparts, which is much subtler than shiny metallics, is very forgiving of my Lake Superior-sized pores.

It’s a little like layering a matte pink blush on top of a shimmery golden highlighter.

Have you ever tried that? It’s really cool. You can see the shimmer peeking through the blush, and it gives the look more life.

With Sweet Pink, you get the effect with one pan for $19.

It’s perfect for streamlined makeup bags. 🙂

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

Oh, and I love wearing it with matte lipsticks in bright berries, fuchsias and hot pinks. Hells, yeah!

I’m a sucker for looks with subtly shiny cheeks and matte lips. I think it’s very flattering. Give it a try if you have MAC Heaux or Impassioned around. Both look really great with Sweet Pink.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Too Faced Who’s Your Poppy Blush

June 19th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

I’m this close to putting my beloved/beat up pan of NARS Orgasm out to pasture for the summer and replacing it with Too Faced Cosmetics Who’s Your Poppy Full Bloom Ultra Flush Blush ($19).

More than just a’ight, this peachy pink’s a powder blush hidden gem! — and if you haven’t tried it yet, I hope you will, ’cause I believe it’s the bomb.

It’s as if some intrepid makeup lover at Too Faced HQ took a pan of NARS Orgasm, added a little more pink to it and gave it a softer golden shimmer.

BOOM! Take that. Who’s Your Poppy now, blush!? 🙂

Sometimes with NARS Orgasm, I think its pearly golden shimmer takes over my looks. It’s like, dayum, Gina! You got hit by the glitter truck.

Who’s Your Poppy isn’t like that. Instead of kicking down the door with steel-toed boots screaming, “HEY, Y’ALL, LOOK AT MY PORES!” its golden pearl tip-toes through the tulips on ballet slippers. It’s still shimmery…but think brunch shimmer, as opposed to bachelorette party.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Dolce & Gabbana Contrasts Eyeshadow Quad

June 18th, 2013 by Karen 45 Comments

contrast n. |kon-trast|
noun
1 The state of being strikingly different from something else, typically something in juxtaposition or close association : tabs has been unusually nice to me today, in startling contrast to his behavior yesterday.

contrast v. |kon-trast|
verb
2 Differ strikingly : contrast my hair today with my hair of the 1990s, and be like whoa!

Do you ever think about how you got your name, or do you know the actual story?

Dolce & Gabbana’s Contrasts Eyeshadow quad has me thinking about names…

I was named after the actress Karen Black, but my mom almost named me Stephanie, which I can’t even begin to imagine… Not that I don’t like the name. I do. It’s just that when I look in the mirror, I don’t see a Stephanie, Steph or Steffie. Nope. Does not compute.

Funny, though, that last weekend I met a gal at the Bliss Spa who said that she didn’t think I looked like a Karen. She thought maybe a Leah, Leilani or a Lorelei. Something with an L, and I can kinda see that. Definitely more than Stephanie.

Anywho, I think whoever named Dolce & Gabbana’s Constrasts quad knocked it out of the park, since it really is strikingly different from the other everyday quads in my stash of staples.

If I could, I’d give that gal/guy a banana split with extra scoops of ice cream, whipped cream and cherries, because they nailed it!

And then, if he/she wanted, I’d go running with them, so we could burn off the calories and talk more about Constrasts. 🙂

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

This quad is a total workhorse, one I could easily see myself wearing daily, and yet it’s unlike the usual brown/beige/taupe/gray neutral suspects we see a lot.

Starting with the colors, ohmigosh! Inside the golden compact hides four potently pigmented powder shadows that you can easily take from day to night — a golden pinkish peach (a favorite for dusting all over my lids when I’m in a hurry because it brightens everything up), a pinkish beige, a warm purple and a plummy dark chocolate.

Versatile and flattering on many different skin tones, and just hella pretty.

Dolce Gabbana Contrasts Quad Swatches — From the left: shimmery golden pink, shimmery pinkish beige, shimmery plum and shimmery plummy brown (looks like a MAC Teddy in eye shadow form)

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Dolce & Gabbana Peach Blush

June 11th, 2013 by Karen 31 Comments

A couple years ago I wore this blush all the time. Almost daily.

Dolce & Gabbana Peach was my jam!

Actually, now that I think about it, it still is, and if I ever had to commit to just one blush for the rest of my life (the horror!), this could be it.

Boy, that sure would be tough, though… Every day seems to bring a pretty, new pan to discover/devour.

But I’ve always come back to Peach. It just never looks fake or heavy-handed. And it blends easily, looks great layered with bronzer or all by itself alone, and it lasts all day long, too.

Among peach blushes, that’s the total package right there.

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