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

Saturday Surfing: July 22nd, 2017

July 22nd, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

I’m single-handedly cleaning out the cat lady mug section at Marshalls! I found another cute one at the cash wrap secretly hidden behind a wall of non-cat-themed mugs. It’s by 10 Strawberry Street and was like 5 bucks! I couldn’t say no… On that note, happy Caturday! ?

Today’s adventure for me is going to involve this pair of sparkly pink roller skates and my driveway… Hopefully I don’t tweet later from the emergency room.

Back in the day, I was pretty good on wheeled shoes, and…UGH! Sorry. Tabs just put his butt up in my grill. I guess that was his way of wishing you a happy Caturday too.

Anyway, I used to spend a lot of time on roller skates and roller blades back in the day. At one point I was so committed to my rollerblading that I kept them in my car, and sometimes, while driving around, if I saw a random spot that looked particularly good for blading I’d pull over and bust them out!

But I haven’t been on a pair in almost 20 years…and I’m simultaneously excited and scared to try these skates on. I’m wondering, “What if I break a leg? Or a hip? Then I wouldn’t be able to carry the baby or the cat up and down the stairs!”

Can you remember the last time you were on skates? I’m hoping you’ll say “five minutes ago” or “yesterday” so I can live vicariously through you. 🙂

In the event that you now feel inspired to dig your skates out of the closet and zip around the block, before you go, here are some beauty stories that piqued my interest this week…

HomeGoods is opening a spin-off chain called HomeSense…because they want to take all my lunch money, obviously.
The new Luminizer X Quad from RMS Beauty looks so dreamy!
I mean…how could you possibly NOT know you had 27 pairs of contact lenses in your eye? I only wear one, and I’m ready to rip it out by the end of the day.
I’ve been on a Pixi kick, and I really want to try their Peel & Polish.
Here’s the story of Myeong Jo Lee, the matriarch of the K-Beauty biz and one of the greatest female entrepreneurs of our time.
New lip products from cruelty-free Pop Beauty!
“I was not a very quiet boy,” says Manolo Blahnik at the beginning of the trailer for Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes For Lizards, a new fashion documentary. “Never was, never will be.”
What’s it like to wear the new Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Gel Touch Foundation?
A look inside the world of Chanel Haute Couture…
Benefit recently repackaged their Boiing Concealers.
I’m making these Watermelon Popsicles this weekend. YUMMY!
Here are the most influential fashion trends, decade by decade. And P.S., the S-Corset from the 1900s looks really, REALLY uncomfortable.
When you name your daughter after one of the greatest science fiction heroines of all time, you take note of lists like 14 Recent Sci-Fi Films That Didn’t Need Big Budgets to Be Amazing.
A San Francisco boutique owner/criminologist runs her own sting operations to catch shoplifters… Say what?!
15 ways to become a better person
Bobbi Brown: “I Don’t Focus, That’s Why I’m Successful.”
I just discovered this poem by Anne Sexton called Courage, and it’s one of my favorite things at the moment because it celebrates little acts of courage in everyday life.

OK, sweetheart. ? Tabs would like me to remind you that if you’re lucky enough to have a cat butt in your face at any time today…cherish it.

At least that’s what I tell myself whenever I’m faced with a certain plus-sized tabby’s rear end.

Have a great day!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

About That Sweatshirt…

July 21st, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

Aloha! This is the Honolua Surf Co. Women’s Piña Colada Fleece in Wine ($44.95), and that’s NARS Powermatte Pigment in Warm Leatherette on my lips, by the way.

I wore this sweatshirt in a NARS review a few weeks back, and ever since that post I’ve been getting so many questions about it! It’s the Piña Colada Fleece by Honolua Surf Co., and it’s $44.95. I picked it up when I was in Hawaii last month, but if you’re not traveling to the islands any time soon, you can also find it online. Honolua is one of my favorite casual clothing lines.

I wear this sweater all the time (well, lately, only when it’s not hotter than a booty crack here in NorCal!) because it’s slouchy but not overly big, so it has a casual look, but it doesn’t seem sloppy. I’m just over five feet tall and 120 lbs, and a size small fits me fine.

The wine color is also surprisingly flexible. I wear it all the time with different pairs of jeans and leggings. Highly recommended!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Karen

P.S. TGIF, right!? Are you as happy about that as I am? I am SO looking forward to sleeping in.

#FragranceFriday: Delina, by Parfums de Marly Paris, Otherwise Known as “The Best Kept Secret in the Fragrance World Right Now”

July 21st, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

Observe — a lovely pale pink perfume bottle.

Notice the lack of a label on the front… Can you guess the brand?

I know I couldn’t! It’s Parfums de Marly Paris, and I had no idea the brand even existed until about a month ago.

They’re still on the DL right meow and one of the best kept secrets in the perfume world. This scent is called Delina, and if I were a smarter person, I’d keep it to myself and make it my signature scent. But, ya know, sharing things you love with your friends is the right thing to do. 🙂

Now, let’s get this out of the way first because it’s a BIG thing: this bottle is $290.

Feel free to insert a HOLY SH*T, KAREN right here, because that’s craziness, I know. But if you can rattle off every single Frederic Malle perfume ever made in chronological order — I’m talking to the hardcore scent hounds — this line is for you.

Paying homage to Louis XV

Delina is an eau de parfum, and Paris-based Parfums de Marly is a small luxury niche brand that’s been around since 2009.

They draw their inspiration from the opulence of Louis XV’s court, and his love for perfume and horses (yup, both). If you look closely at the box and the cap, you can see the silhouette of two horses with shampoo commercial-caliber manes.

[Continue reading…]

New Face Products From Too Faced: Hangover 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer & Setting Spray, and Born This Way Ethereal Setting Powder

July 20th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

too faced hangover primer spray born this way powder — Two new Too Faced face products: Hangover 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer & Setting Spray, and Born This Way Ethereal Setting Powder ($32 each and available now)

Why you gotta be so cute, Too Faced? Between the pink ombre action on the Hangover 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer & Setting Spray and the heart sifter in the Born This Way Ethereal Setting Powder, your cuteness level is off the charts.

These two face products are new to the Too Faced fam and available now in the permanent line for $32 each.

Too Faced Hangover 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer & Setting Spray ($32)

Does Hangover ring any bells?

Wait — that didn’t come out right.

I’m referring to the original Too Faced Hangover primer (the one in the tube), which inspired the new multitasking Hangover 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer & Setting Spray. The latter can work as a primer, moisturizing mist and/or setting spray.

It’s packed with beauty buzz-worthy ingredients like hydrating coconut, and probiotic lactobacillus, which, by the way, is pretty darned cutting edge. Probiotics are trendy in skin care right now, with the idea being that “good” bacteria helps to keep skin in balance and regulate skin issues (Too Faced founder Jerrod Blandino loves all things skin care, so this totally makes sense). The spray is also silicone-, alcohol- and oil-free.

[Continue reading…]

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumping Gloss Hurts So Good

July 20th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

Sexy Mother Pucker, shakin’ that @ss! Shakin’ that @ss! Shakin’ that @ss!

Haha! I love that Prince song, and with a name like Sexy Mother Pucker, you know I had to go there.

I. Had. To.

Funny thing is, whenever I hear that song, I always think, “Why are these people yelling at me to shake my butt?” Although, I guess if there were anything to get really fired up about, it would be butt shaking…

WHOA

OK, so normally with plumping glosses, you expect a little, ya know, tingle, or maybe even a slight sting, but OH, MY GAWWWW, I feel like I’m making out with a beehive for the first two minutes after I apply these. Seriously.

Well, almost.

And my lips (especially my bottom lip, for some reason) really does look plump and stung. I mean, it’s not Real Housewives of Orange County lips caliber, but I absolutely see a difference.

soap glory sexy mother pucker k — Smile through the sting! I’m wearing the shade Rose & Shine, by the way.

The Sexy Mother Puckers are $10 each, non-sticky and come in five colors, and the two I tried, Candy Queen and Rose & Shine, are so sheer that they more or less look the same on my lips.

Oh, and they smell and taste strongly of brown sugar…but I don’t really notice it half the time because I’m too busy talking myself through the intense tingle.

As a temporary lip plumper, yeah, THEY WORK, but I’m a wimp, so I’m not sure how often I’ll wear them.

If you’re curious (or, perhaps, a glutton for punishment), you can find the Sexy Mother Puckers with the rest of the Soap & Glory line at drugstores, Target and Ulta.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

COVERGIRL Total Tease Mascara or Carnivorous Subtropical Plant?

July 20th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

covergirl total tease mascara review — Dude, that brush is CRAY-CRAY.

Girl, have you seen this mascara brush?? It is BANANAS.

Bananas. ?

It’s attached to COVERGIRL Total Tease Mascara and, as you can see, there’s a Venus flytrap-looking thing happening on one side of the brush…but the other side looks more traditional.

covergirl total tease mascara teaser-brush — Venus flytrap?

The reason for the Venus flytrap contraption stems (Get it? Plant stem?? Sorry…) from the idea of backcombing, which is when you use a teasing comb to add volume. So, you use the traditional side of the brush to separate and lengthen your lashes from root to tip, then use the little teasing comb in those hard-to-reach areas, like the inner and outer corners (or, in my case, that missing patch of lashes on my right eye), to “tease” those lashes out and make them look longer and separated.

covergirl total tease mascara wand — All about that separation and lift…

[Continue reading…]

Pixi GelTint & SilkGloss: Lovin’ These Lush, Low-Key Lip Combos

July 19th, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

pixi geltint silkgloss swatches — These Pix GelTint & Silkgloss combos are my jam right meow! From the top: BerryTint & Sweet Gloss, PinkTint & PrettyGloss and BeachTint & FreshGloss ($12 each)

I love ya, matte lips. I really do, but, like in most long-term relationships, sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder, so…we gotta take a break. Just for a bit. Because when it’s hella hot out like it’s been here lately, matte lips just don’t seem right. But glosses and lip tints, like the Pixi GelTint & SlickGloss combos ($12 each), which are both, do.

Maybe it’s because hot weather puts me a minimal makeup mood, or maybe it’s because of these natural-looking colors. All I know is that on brows/mascara/gel blush/gloss days, I love these doe-foot duos.

pixi geltint silkgloss — Hello, pretties!

There’s a lightly tinted liquid lip tint on one end and a sheer, non-sticky gloss with a smooth, lightweight formula on the other. You can wear the tint or the gloss by themselves, or you can layer the gloss on top of the tint, which is what I usually do. They smell and taste faintly of yummy mint tea, and all three duos are new to Pixi’s permanent line.

pixi pinktint pretty gloss — PinkTint & PrettyGloss

[Continue reading…]

Models Own Lip Products: Some Quick Thoughts

July 19th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

If I could suggest anything to help you get the most out of your first experience with the Models Own makeup brand, which recently crossed the pond from Britain and is available now at Ulta, it would be to stick to the powder products (like the eyeshadows and highlighters), but to think twice about the creams.

IMO, the cream products — the creamy eye palette, the lipsticks, lip pencil, liquid lipstick and lip sealer — could use a little refinement.

They’re affordable, which is one thing they have going for them. The cream products all range from $6.99 to $8.99 each, which means more money for CATS!!! But for me, the biggest hurdle with some of the lip products has been their flavor and scent. Most of the Models Own lip products I’ve tried have a cloying faux brown sugar/plastic scent that turns my tummy and brings back memories of old-school NYX lippies.

Anyway, I don’t usually get worked up about how products taste and smell, but if something smells like plastic or fake sugar, I just can’t hang (also, the Lip Finale Lip Sealer doesn’t have a flavor or scent, but the liquid lipstick smells like strong peppermint toothpaste to me).

models own jumbo stick matte lipstick titan teaberry — Jumbo Stick Matte Lipstick in Titan Teaberry

Even beyond that, though, all of the cream products I’ve tried have left me wanting more. Like the Jumbo Stick Matte Lipstick in Titan Teaberry ($6.99 and available in five other shades). It’s smooth, pigmented, and I think it’s beautiful in pics, but the formula is SO drying and uncomfortable.

models won lix matte liquid lipstick eucalyptus pink — Lix Matte Liquid Lipstick in Eucalyptus Pink

[Continue reading…]