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Is It a Gloss or a Stain? Actually, It’s Both! The New Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres Glossy Stains

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Yves Saint Laurent ROUGE PUR COUTURE Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain (7)
Wearing Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain in Fuchsia Dore as a gloss

Not that I really needed to fall for another $32 lip product, but I guess I wasn’t completely averse to the idea. 🙂

Even though my tongue twists saying their lengthy name, my lips love Yves Saint Laurent’s new Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres Glossy Stains, and my grubby little paws want every single color.

Available in 20 profoundly pigmented shades, many of them exclusive to Sephora, these lycanthropic lippies start as intensely bright, pigmented glosses that transform into long-wearing lip stains as they fade.

You know I lurves me some flexible products, and these, like my favorite pair of Pajama Jeans J Brand skinny jeans, totally fit the bill. They’re easy to dress up or down. One layer lends lips a natural, softly radiant stain; two turns up the color and the glaze for lips that look glossy and bold.

Either way, one layer or two, doesn’t require using much of the product, which makes the $32 price tag a little easier to bear.

And the texture sure doesn’t hurt. Lightweight, non-sticky and not at all drying, the Rouge Pur Coutures are like a perfect pair of jeans (eminently comfortable).

Oh, but that’s not my favorite thing about these gems from YSL. I really love the way they fade throughout the day. I can only describe it as elegant, and not at all like other long-wearing lip products that start to look a little janky (i.e. thick and separated) after a few hours of wear.

These last between 6-8 hours on me, and I like the way they look the entire time. Both as a brighter gloss, and then as a stain as they fade, they manage to steer clear of lip lines and flakes.

I’ve been wearing Fuchsia Dore, Orange De Chine and Pourpre Preview for the past few days, and I’m smitten with all three shades.

Yves Saint Laurent ROUGE PUR COUTURE Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain (8)
From the left: Fuchsia Dore, Orange De Chine and Pourpre Preview

Yves Saint Laurent ROUGE PUR COUTURE Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain (6)
Swatches from the top to bottom: Orange De Chine, Pourpre Preview and Fuchsia Dore
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There’s a Shimmery Bed of Roses Beneath the Gobs of Glitter That Greet Lancôme La Roseraie Illuminating Smooth Powder

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Lancome La Roseraie

“Look at you! Rockin’ the glitter.”

Ever notice how some makeup looks are reliable conversation starters? — like neon nails, bright red lips and almost anything with glitter. They’re almost guaranteed to get people chatting, no matter where you are.

I came across one the other day when I took Lancôme’s La Rosaire Illuminating Smooth Powder ($42) out for a spin.

El Hub was the first to notice when he kissed me bye before leaving for work. “Is that glitter on your cheeks?” he asked.

“Why, yes,” I replied, impressed and surprised. “It is. And now you have some on your shirt.” 🙂

Then, during a mid-morning Starbucks break, my favorite barista handed me a soy chai tea latte and said, “Ooh! You’re so sparkly today.”

I think Tabs even noticed because he shot me a look that said, “Disco tonight? We must be hitting the club after dinner because you’re workin’ that glitter.”

If there’s one thing the glitter in this limited edition face and cheek powder isn’t, it’s subtle.

At least initially.

La Rosaire (“Bed of Roses”) is one of 11 pieces in Lancôme’s Roseraie des Delices Spring 2012 collection for eyes, cheeks and lips. The collection features two eye palettes, two eyeliners, a face/cheek powder, three lipsticks and three lip glosses.

The light peachy pink star burst design behind the rose on the pan contains an overspray of concentrated conversation-starting glitter. Once you work through the overspray, the glitter subsides, revealing a sheer peachy pink powder with what I feel is a very pretty sheen.

The rose design decorating the lower half of the pan also has an overspray, this one a cool-toned rosy pink with a sheen; beneath it resides a slightly warmer peachy pink with a subtle shine.

lancome la roseraie (3)


Swatches of the overspray on the left; swatches of the powders beneath the overspray on the right
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Adele: Her Best Hair?

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Adele: Her Best Hair?

Sometimes, like when you’re Adele Laurie Adkins of Tottenham, North London, 19 plus 21 equals eight.

Eight — for the number of Grammy awards the 23-year-old contralto has already won. Two for her debut album, 19, named for her age at the time she started recording it, and six more for her second album, 21.

Born May 5, 1988, Adele has been on fire this winter, despite stormy weather late last year. A scary vocal cord hemorrhage that led to surgery forced her to take more than three months off to recover, but her performance during the Grammy Awards last weekend showed the world that she and her soulful, world-weary yet life-affirming voice are back.

Just two weeks ago, her single, Set Fire to the Rain (one of my favorite running songs!), became the third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 from her album, 21, making her the first artist in history to have an album hold the number one spot on the Billboard 200 concurrently with three separate singles at number one.

It’s amazing to me that someone so young can sing country-flavored music and bluesy tunes with so much soul. Even more amazing when you consider that she didn’t grow up listening to country music at all.

She was introduced to contemporary Nashville music in 2008 by her bus driver while on tour in the South. “It was really exciting for me because I never grew up around [that music],” she says.

Adele counts artists from many genres, including country, among her musical influences, also citing the Spice Girls, Pink, Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child and Mary J. Blige.

About a live performance by Pink at Brixton Academy some years back, Adele says it was one of the most defining moments in her life. “It was the Missundaztood record,” she says, “so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live […] I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible.”

I’m really looking forward to her next album. 24, perhaps? 🙂

Which of Adele's hairstyles do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Paul & Joe Waterproof Gel Eye Liner: Water Doesn’t Bother This Kitty Cat

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paul & joe waterproof gel eye liner

NOTE TO SELF: Next time Tabs insists on going for an impromptu walk in the rain (believe it or not, this has actually happened), grab Paul & Joe’s Waterproof Gel Eye Liner in Black ($25), because once this quick-drying matte black gel sets on my lash lines, it won’t even flinch in a downpour.

Part of the new eight-piece limited edition Kitten Collection, Gel Eye Liner feels thick, dense and kind of reminds me of a drier, grayer version of MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack.

I don’t think it clings to water lines anywhere near as well, but on rainy, rushed days when all I want are quick cat eyes, Gel Eye Liner delivers. It dries in just about a minute, and after that, I get a good 12 hours out of it without any smudging or fading.

For more on the Paul & Joe Kitten Collection, check out…

The liner also comes with a flat, tapered retractable brush that performs surprisingly well and draws thick and thin lines with ease. Using it to apply Gel Eye Liner creates lines that look a little bit blurred at the edges, for an effect that’s more soft than precise.

If you’re looking for lines with a crisper edge, you might want to apply this with something like the Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush instead.

paul & joe kitten collection waterproof gel eye liner black cat cool
Waterproof Gel Eye Liner in Black (sometimes called Black Cat Cool)

paul & joe kitten collection waterproof gel eye liner black cat cool
Waterproof Gel Eye Liner in Black (sometimes called Black Cat Cool)
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14 Pink Lips for Valentine’s Day: Which Is Your Favorite One?

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Pink lips get a lot of love from me 365 days a year, but on Valentine’s Day I usually pay them extra attention.

And that’s because I usually spend more time than I’d care to admit trying to figure out which particular pink to wear out to dinner with El Hub.

What do you think? Which of the following 14 pink lipsticks, balms and glosses do you like best? These are some of the shades that frequently catch my eye.

Yes, I busted a Tabs this morning and tried on every single one…

There’s a pretty wide range represented here, from splurge-worthy brands like Chanel and YSL, to budget-friendlier brands like Soap & Glory and L’Oreal.

Oh, and if your favorite pink lip isn’t listed here, let me know what it is in the comments. Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂


Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture in Fuchsia Dore, $32


Soap and Glory A Great Kisser in Chocolate Cherry, about $8


MAC Kissable Lipcolour in Woo Me, $18


MAC Lipsticks from the left in Quick Sizzle, Innocence Beware and Naughty Saute, $14.50 each
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