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

New Paul & Joe Pressed Face Powders and Refillable Cases: The Look of Loose Powder From a Lovely Pressed Pan

July 24th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

paul joe pressed face powder — The new $10 Paul & Joe Face refillable Powder Case (comes with a powder puff inside), and one of the new $33 Powder Refill pans

Cross my heart, criss-cut fries, grab a husky tabby’s thighs!

Wait — isn’t that how that rhyme goes? I can’t remember…

Never mind! 🙂 What I meant to say is that I SWEAR pressed and loose powders look completely different once I get them on my skin. I used to think they look alike, but after taking roughly a gazillion pics of my mug over the past few years, I’m convinced that my pores usually look smaller, and my makeup less obvious, in the pictures where I’m wearing loose powder instead of pressed. The loose powder works like Instagram’s Valencia filter to smooth and mellow everything out.

paul joe pressed face powder case — The Case with Powder Puff ($10)

paul joe pressed face powder open — The Case ($10) with one of six Pressed Powder Refills ($33 each)

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Fri-Yay Makeup Fun: Strobing Made Easy

July 24th, 2015 by Karen 42 Comments

If you’ve been wondering about this whole “strobing” trend and whether it involves pulsating lights and high-octane house music, it doesn’t, so feel free to leave your glow sticks at home. 🙂

But what is does involve is highlighting, and LOTS of it. Basically, it’s good old-fashioned highlighting, only more intense and extreme, and it usually involves layering a number of products to accentuate specific areas and/or one or more of your features.

In strobing the skin looks dewy and glowing, but not in an icky or sweaty way, and the trick is to highlight specific areas while keeping the rest of your skin relatively matte or semi-matte.

Here’s how I like to do it…

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Paul & Joe Perfect Makeup Primer Is Also a Purr-fectly Moisturizing Serum

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

Excuse me, um…why doesn’t this tube have a cat on it?

Dear Friendly Person at Paul & Joe,

A kitty cat somewhere on the packaging of your Perfect Makeup Primer would have turned it into the most Purrrrfect Makeup Primer, in my humble cray-cray cat lady opinion. Please take this under advisement for future product modifications. Thank you. 🙂

Feline wordplay aside, $42 Paul & Joe Perfect Makeup Primer is one of two new makeup primers coming from Paul & Joe this fall, and it does a little bit of everything. It’s a tinted gel makeup primer to prep skin for foundation by filling in pores and fine lines, and it also moisturizes and improves wear time while adding a sheer veil of tinted color.

This is the option you want if you’re seeking heavy-duty spackling.

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NARS Shows a Softer Side With the New NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Whenever I think of New York, I think of that majestic, awe-inspiring Manhattan skyline, busy sidewalks, edgy street fashion and a go-go-GO hustle and bustle (among other things), but every city also has a softer side, and that’s the side I see when I see the latest addition to the NARS 413 BLKR fam, the new 413 BLKR Blush Duo ($42).

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Honey, These Delicious New Paul & Joe Lip Treatment Balms Are Da Bomb!

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

I put one of Paul & Joe’s three new $18 Lip Treatment Balms (which they refer to as “flavors”) on my lips before bed last night, and when Tabs woke me up this morning (and BTW, he’s been biting me lately!), I ended up with cat hair all up in my grill. #catladyproblems

This clear balm is so long-lasting, so thick and so rich that it stays put the ENTIRE evening, all through the night, and lasts so long that you can still feel it on your lips the next morning.

And after plucking all the hair from my lips (why is this tabby so furry?!), my lips looked great and felt fantastically soft, smooth and flake-free.

paul joe lip treatment balm 001 — Paul & Joe Lip Treatment Balm in 001

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Neat and New to Me: MAC Springsheen Sheertone Shimmer Powder Blush

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

mac springsheen blush — MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Springsheen ($22)

Neat and New to Me

Unlike my Unsung Heroes series, which features permanent collection products I’ve known and loved a long time, the Neat and New to Me series showcases permanent collection products that slipped under my radar for a while, but then I discovered them! — and now I think they’re neat and new to me.

I affectionately refer to MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Springsheen as “strobing for lazy people.” (Like me!) 🙂

It’s a beautiful pinkish coral color with golden pearl, and I can’t be the only person who also likes the name. I keep hearing the words “Bruce Springsheen,” and then I picture the little compact with tiny arms and legs playing a guitar…

Anyway! It illuminates the apples of my cheeks with a pretty pinkish coral while the golden pearl in it makes my cheekbones softly glow.

mac springsheen blush swatch — Swatch of MAC Springsheen Blush on my NC42 skin

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I’ll Take a Double Latte With an Extra Shot of Cute! The New Paul & Joe Fall 2015 Eye Color CS Shades Were Inspired by Frothy Coffee Shop Beverages

July 22nd, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

paul joe fall 2015 eye color cs 1 — Two of the new LE Paul & Joe Fall 2015 Eye Color CS shades ($28 each)

Paul & Joe: Hello, miss. Would you like an eyeshadow with your caffè latte?

Me: YES, PLEASE. And can you make that a decaf? (The latte, not the eyeshadow.) OOH! And could you please draw a swirl on top of the foam for me?

Paul & Joe: Sure. 🙂 We got’chu, boo.

These two new $28 Paul & Joe Eye Color CS powder eyeshadow singles are certainly kicking my coffee cravings into high gear (I’ve been trying to stick to decaf for the past few weeks…bluh). Inspired by creamy caffè latte colors and espresso shades, they have a soft sheen and a light, airy texture drool-inducingly like warm and frothy coffee shop beverages.

Mmm, coffee…

Even the packaging looks like a little latte cup. See the mini eyeshadow sponge applicator “spoon”? (AWW!)

paul joe fall 2015 eye color packaging — Two of the three Paul & Joe Fall 2015 Eye Color CS shades (LE shades added to P&J’s existing Eye Color CS line)

paul joe cafe macchiato 097 — Paul & Joe Eye Color CS in Cafe Macchiato 097

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Kitty Kisses From Paul & Joe: The Paul & Joe Fall 2015 Lipstick CS in Cafe Parisien, Coffee Cherry and Cafe Espresso

July 22nd, 2015 by Karen 42 Comments

To say that I’m sweet on these three new limited edition fall lipsticks and refillable lipstick cases from Paul & Joe would be both a grievous understatement of ridiculous proportions, and incredibly apt, because, hello! — TEH KITTEHS.

But also because the lipsticks are magically made/manufactured using an old Japanese candy-making technique called Kintarō-ame, which involves layers of candy (or makeup) rolled together. In this case, the innermost cylinder is shaped like a feline’s face.

Which is wondrous, delightful and incredibly amazing. 🙂

The candy-making process also means that the interior kitty tubes are still visible all the way down to the bottom of the bullets — a fact that greatly pleases my makeup-obsessed, cat-loving heart.

paul joe fall 2015 lipsticks — The three new $20 Paul & Joe Fall 2015 Lipsticks CS from the left in Cafe Parisien 093, Coffee Cherry 094, Cafe Espresso 095; and the $7 Lipstick Cases CS from the left in 030, 020 and 028

Lipstick CS ingredients and benefits

Cocoa Seed Butter — Emollient

Jojoba Seed Oil — Emollient

Lavender Oil — Emollient

Orange Flower Water — Moisturizer

White Lily Extract — Moisturizer and prevents irritation

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