Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

I Spy a Vampy Lipstick That’s Easy to Apply! The New Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in L’Impatiente

September 26th, 2012 by Karen 22 Comments

chanel l'impatiente rouge allure velvet — Wearing the new Chanel L’Impatiente Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick

Every super spy gal needs a secret weapon. Sydney Bristow’s (loved me some Alias!) were arguably her crazy-@ss wigs — perfect for fooling bad guys into thinking she was someone other than the lethal agent she was.

But say Sydney had a thing for Chanel lipsticks. If she had, she would’ve fallen hard for Rouge Allure Velvet in L’Impatiente ($32.50), the sole lippie from the Eclats du Soir de Chanel makeup collection for holiday 2012. A deep reddish black with a matte finish, it’s drizzled with a semblance of shine.

A twist of the tube reveals a dark wine bullet the color of a rich cabernet sauvignon. Before I tried it on, I expected L’Impatiente to be a tough cookie, both in terms of getting it to look good on my lips, and in the sense that I wanted to wear it with black leather pants, studded bracelets and spikes.

Before it ever touched my lips, I made a mental note to look for my lip brush. I also sought out a matching lip liner and dusted off my pair of black platforms with chains (my “tough girl” shoes).

And then, when I applied my first layer, TWIST!

chanel l'impatiente rouge allure — Rouge Allure in L’Impatiente

chanel holiday 2012 eclats du soir de chanel swatches — Swatches from the left: Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Star Dust, Illusion D’Ombre Lonog Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Apparence, Rouge Allure Velvet in L’Impatiente and Glossimer in Mystery

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Benefit Holiday 2012

September 26th, 2012 by Karen 4 Comments

A taste of what’s coming for the holidays from Benefit. 🙂 More info, pics and swatches in two swipes of Dancing Queen gloss.

Giving Cheeks a Constellation Prize: Chanel Joues Contrastes Powder Blush in Star Dust

September 26th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

chanel start dust joues contraste blush review — Wearing the new Chanel Joeues Contraste Powder Blush in Star Dust on my cheeks

Can we all agree that stars are awesome? — how they twinkle, sparkle and glimmer like glitter in the sky, inspiring poems, songs and sonnets as they hold back the darkness for zillions of years, billions upon billions of them light years away, and every one a giant, sometimes larger than our sun.

Chanel’s new soft pink Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Star Dust ($43) is a little like that… I mean, it has the twinkling part down.

The one and only blush in the new Eclats du Soir de Chanel collection for holiday 2012, Star Dust’s microscopic flecks of multicolored gold, pink, purple and green glitter glimmer on cheeks (more so in person than in pics) like diamonds in the sky.

But Star Dust isn’t any old sparkly blush. It has just enough glitter and pigment to catch the light without going astronomical. Now, I wouldn’t wear it to a disco diva dance-off, because I don’t think it’s glittery enough for that (GURL, you don’t want to battle me when I’m doing the hustle!), but that’s fine by me. Most of the time when I’m out on the dance floor with Tabs and his entourage, I try not to take the spotlight away from you-know-who. 🙂

chanel star dust blush — Joues Contraste in Star Dust ($43)

chanel start dust joues contraste blush — Closeup of Star Dust on my cheeks

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I Want to Go To There

September 26th, 2012 by Karen 17 Comments

Tom Ford Beauty Eye Color Quad in Emerald Lust

Brownie points if you get the reference in the title!

The beauty pictured above is Tom Ford’s Eye Color Quad in Emerald Lust ($75; available now at neimanmarcus.com).

I want to dive right into those colors, especially the pan in the upper right.

‘Tis the Season for Sweet Treats at Too Faced! The New Too Faced Holiday Collection for 2012

September 25th, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

They say that history repeats itself, and if that proves correct, then my sweet tooth and I will devour every last treat in the new Too Faced Holiday 2012 collection!

Un-luckily for my muffin top (she says “HAAAY!” by the way), these indulgences are calorie free.

The five-piece limited edition collection of value sets and palettes is all sugar and spice and everything nice! Hand me some of those bonbons, love, because we’ll need simple carbs to power through these pics and swatches of four of the five pieces.

The Love Sweet Love set

This seven-piece set includes…

A Book of Love Palette with six powder eyeshadows, two powder blushes and two lip glosses
A full-size tube of Lashgasm Mascara
A sample size of Shadow Insurance
A sample size of Perfect Eyes Eye Liner in Perfect Black
A half-ounce tube of Primed & Poreless Face Primer
A multipurpose face brush
A gold embroidered makeup bag

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How Wearable Is New Chanel Glossimer in Mystery? There’s Only One Way to Find Out

September 25th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

chanel mystery glossimer — Chanel Glossimer in Mystery

Life is a mystery, and no matter what we learn about the world around us, it seems as if every answer leads to more questions.

Questions like…

Why is it physically impossible to eat just one spoonful of HÃ¤agen-Dazs ice cream?

Is Dillon Panther tailback Tim Riggins really a misunderstood genius?

What is Tabs thinking in his little kitty brain when he rushes into the loo to watch me, um, handle my business (swear to you, I don’t think I’ve had one minute of potty privacy since this cat came into my life)?

tabs-stare — What’s goin’ on over there, woman?

And then there are also makeup mysteries, like the new Chanel Glossimer in — yup, you guessed it! — Mystery ($29.50).

Yes, my fellow Chanel lovers, once again, Coco and Co. are doing nude, glossy lips in their latest limited edition launch, Eclats du Soir de Chanel.

Mystery, a medium pigmented creamy pinkish brown, guest stars as one of three Glossimers in the holiday release, and I can’t deny the chemistry it shares with the smokier, darker eyeshadows in the collection’s Nuit-Claire duo and Harmonie quad.

Nude lips and smokey eyes are like the peanut butter and jelly combo of my makeup world. I’ve been loving them for years because they’re just so blasted wearable (um…the look, not the sandwich), and Mystery has “wearable nude gloss” written all over it.

I guess the $64,000 question comes down to this: is Mystery a must-have?

chanel mystery 357 glossimer — Glossimer in Mystery

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Sneak Peek at Too Faced Holiday 2012

September 25th, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

too faced color confections for holiday 2012

Yeah, boo-boo! I’m taking pics right now. 🙂

Share a Tip Tuesdays: Your Brushes Are Major League Masters of Multitasking

September 25th, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

Brushes are useless…

Oops! I meant “useful.” Brushes are useful. 🙂 And you can use ’em for way more than just the purpose they’re usually marketed for, because who says that a blush brush can only be used to apply blush? Hogwash! A brush is just a tool, right? And like any tool, it can be used for different things.

My tip for today’s installment of Share a Tip Tuesdays: think of your brushes as tools, and look for new and different ways to use them.

When I started really getting into makeup, I also started investing in brushes. I did my research and picked up the best brushes I could afford, only using them according to each brush’s official description. Eyeliner brushes for liner, blending brushes for blending, and so on like that. It never occurred to me to use my brushes for more than their designated tasks…

Until it finally did. Now, I regularly use crease brushes for concealer, concealer brushes for lips, angled brushes for liner, blush brushes for foundation — why not?

Play with your brushes, because you never know when you’ll find one that excels at doing something it wasn’t originally designed to do. 🙂

Welcome to another edition of Share a Tip Tuesdays! Last week we talked liner tips, and you guys/gals left some great ones in the comments…

I use UD Perversion for my water line..is really reeeallly black and stays put without too much of a fuss. I find applying a bit of primer along the lash line (on the skin, not the lashes, of course!) helps avoid raccoon eyes.
— Rads

My fave trick for lining my waterline (and I do so almost everyday) is to use a long wearing gray eyeliner. Things like UD 24Ã—7 in Gunmetal, Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Charcoal or MAC Grey Utility Powerpoint Liner.
Its less harsh and finishes softer, making it more forgiving and easier to correct (use a pointy QTip to correct, its cheap and works wonders).
— Nina

My trick is to use a primer, like UD in Sin or Eden, along the area of the waterline. I have found it really makes a difference and helps my cheaper liners, like Rimmel Exaggerate in Deep Ocean, and my NYX Slide On Glide On liners, really stay put all day.
— Katherine G

I sometimes use a gel liner like MAC Blacktrack. I will also carry a mini Smashbox pencil in my bag for touch ups.
— Chris25

I don’t use liner on my waterliner (my eyes are incredibly sensitive!) but to keep my liner on my top lash line I layer, layer, layer! First, Primer — Usually Too Faced Shadow Insurance) then I set it with Cover FX Setting Powder. Next I apply a long wearing liner — usually gel, then set it with a matching shadow! Poof! All day liner!
— Shaylee

Try Guerlain Kohl powder, it is designed for the waterline. Its a kolh powder, so i will line it on my waterline, blink and reapply.
— Rena

This week, let’s open the floor up to any makeup/beauty topics, and here are a few ideas to get the conversation started: what’s your favorite multitasking makeup brush? Can you recommend a long-lasting beige, nude or white eyeliner with all-day staying power? What are the best eyeliners for gals who wear contacts?
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