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

MAC The Matte Lip Collection: A Quick Reminder…

May 27th, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

mac matte royal lipstick — MAC Matte Lipstick in Matte Royal ($16)

Heads up, buttercup. If you’ve been counting down the weeks/days/seconds until the MAC The Matte Lip collection drops, the wait is almost over.

Some of the shades in the release are re-promotes from the permanent line, but most of them are brand-spankin’ new.

And they’ll be available bright and early starting tomorrow on the MAC website (and then a little later at MAC stores and counters June 11). Whoop-whoop!

More details, swatches and pictures here, but here’s the quick and dirty…

22 shades, most of them new (but a few are current permanent collection re-promotes)
Some of them have MAC’s Matte formula, and others have MAC’s Retro Matte formula
All of the shades are being added to the MAC permanent line, so none of that limited edition funny business…
They’re all $16 each
Available on the MAC website starting May 28, 2015 and at MAC stores and counters June 11

The colors I’m wearing here are some of the brighter — I guess you could call ’em “edgier shades” (and by edgier, I mean that the first thing El Hub said when he saw me wearing the dark blue in the top pic was, “Your lipstick looks scary…”), but there are also a lot of wearable colors coming, like Whirl, Men Love Mystery and Runway Hit (which you can see in the top picture in this post).

mac pink pigeon — MAC Matte Lipstick in Pink Pigeon ($16)

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Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Scrub Hits the Gentle Exfoliating Spot

May 27th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Alligator legs — I will not have them!

Allow me to regale you of a tale of woe surrounding one Novato woman and her dry skin…

But before we start, I feel like I should warn you. The full tale is much longer than a tabby’s, and we could be here until the freaks come out at night.

(The freaks come out at night…)

So, in the interest of expeditiousness, in the Cliff’s Notes version, I have epically dry skin.

How dry and epic?

Like Star Wars trilogy epic, especially on my lids, but using hella moisturizing body scrubs like Soap & Glory Flake Away ($15) helps keep my reptilian tendencies under wraps.

This gentle body scrub polishes and buffs away my flaky-flakes with peach seed powder, sea salt and sugar, while simultaneously moisturizing with shea butter and sweet almond oil.

It smells great! — like Soap & Glory’s The Righteous Butter body butter (incidentally, the scent also reminds me of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and the old-school discontinued Dior Miss Cherie).

As for its exfoliating powers, I’d call them moderate. It’s not as scrubby as a scrub with bigger granules (like Fresh Sugar Body Scrub), but it totally hits the spot when I’m in the mood for something gentle. I use it in the shower, and after I step out, my legs feel noticeably smoother and softer.

The big 10.1-oz. Flake Away jar is $15 now at Soap & Glory counters, and also online exclusively at skinstore.com, beauty.com and drugstore.com.

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The Impeccably Dressed and Long-Lasting Sisley-Paris Phyto-Eye Twist Waterproof Cream Eyeshadows

May 27th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

Aside from their very fashionable zebra stripes, many brands make shadow sticks that look like these Sisley-Paris Phyto-Eye Twist Waterproof Cream Eyeshadows, but I don’t recall one being dressed as well or one costing as much (they’re $50!).

Dat black and white zebra print, tho.

Sometimes I feel like putting an animal print on something is a gimmicky (albeit usually effective) way to make it seem better…

Sisley-Paris, a high-end skin care and makeup brand, promotes their use of plant-based ingredients (full list of ingredients down below, but note — not all of them look natural), and if the thought of spending $50 for a waterproof creamy eyeshadow stick seems crazier than Ryan Gosling showing up at your front door astride a unicorn while carrying a bouquet of peonies and a homemade Key lime pie, they hope that their ingredients are one reason it’s not.

Despite their extravagant price, I do think that these are gorgeous on the skin, and they’re pigmented, smooth and dramatic with a capital “D.”

Here are two of the eight available shades. The others are 1 Topaz, 3 Khaki, 4 Steel, 6 Marine, 7 Havana and 8 Black Diamond.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Costa Riche Eye Kohl

May 27th, 2015 by Karen 28 Comments

mac costa riche — Wearing $16 MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl on my lower lash lines

I’ll be paying a visit to the MAC Pro Store this week as part of a super-secret spy girl mission tomorrow (stay tuned!), which means that poor El Hub will be left to play outside on his phone while I clear out the store’s inventory of MAC Costa Riche.

How many times have I talked about this Eye Kohl…? Five? Six? Two dozen?

It is well past time for me to give it the Unsung Heroes treatment. 🙂

A warm golden brown Eye Kohl in the MAC permanent line, Costa Riche has been my brown eyeliner bae since late 2013.

Seeing as how I fall in love with new products every other week (sorry, it’s true), you might think that my obsession with it would have waned, but nooo. I still reach for Costa Riche at least three or four times a week because 1) it goes well with so many different eyeshadows, and 2) it feels good on my lash and water lines (when my eyes are irritated and/or watering due to allergies or something else, Costa Riche is one of the few things I can still wear that won’t make things worse).

And it does so much for different eye colors. Brown eyes look more chocolatey, and blue, green, hazel and gray eyes rock it, too. I think it brings out more beauty in all of them and makes your natural eye color stand out.

I’ve never met a person who hates how they look in Costa Riche. It’s the people’s liner!
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Unsung Makeup Heroes: BECCA Damselfly Mineral Blush

May 26th, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

becca damselfly blush — Wearing BECCA Mineral Blush in Damselfly ($32)

2011.

Ah, my Halcyon Days…

No, really. Those were my Halcyon days. That’s when I started wearing BECCA Mineral Blush in Damselfly ($32), with the BECCA Halcyon Days Collection.

And I still get the same thrill from it whenever I see it on my cheeks, which is really something else when you think about it. I mean, if after four years, you’re still excited by a shimmery golden coral powder blush — one among countless other shimmery golden coral blushes on the market — you know it has to be a gem.

Damselfly’s lovely luminous finish still looks natural, and it takes it from casual Facebook friend to “in a relationship” status. Before the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes, there was Damselfly, and its appearance was a straight-up revelation.

Its understated sheen makes cheeks glow without glistening, and it’s unmistakeable in pics and in person. I don’t know how Damselfly does what it does, but it usually steals the show whenever I wear it. Even in posts about — oh, I dunno — bright coral glosses or matte reds or out-of-this world nude lipsticks (all of which look amazing with Damselfly, by the way), I get different versions of the same question: “What are you wearing on your cheeks?”

It’s BECCA Damselfly, my friend. BECCA Damselfly. 🙂
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MAC Men Love Mystery Matte Lipstick: Men May Love Mystery, But This Woman Loves Violet

May 26th, 2015 by Karen 39 Comments

Here’s my mysterious look!

I tried to look mysterious for this picture because I was wearing the new $16 MAC Matte Lipstick in Men Love Mystery, and I was shooting for sultry and elusive…but these are what I got instead.

Haha! I have no idea what’s going on in this picture…

I think I may have been halfway through a “Haaay” move when the camera shutter button clicked.

Yeah… Hard to tell now. 🙂

Men Love Mystery is one of the 22 matte MAC Lipsticks in the new The Matte Lip collection, which is en route for the permanent line and coming to the MAC website May 28, and then to MAC counters and stores a little later on June 11. They’re all $16 each.

This color though! It has shown me the way… Now I have come to realize that I’m all about violet matte lips.

I’ve worn similar colors before that were creamy or glossy but never a matte quite like this. I think that the finish, because it’s matte, sort of tones down the natural brightness and intensity that this violet would otherwise have, to make the whole effect more serious and, dare I say it, mysterious…

Of course I love the color because it’s ah-maze-ballz. And I also love almost everything about the formula — how smoothly it applies, the classic MAC vanilla flavor and scent, and the six-hour wear time (when I apply, then blot, then apply again, although it’s pigmented enough to get away with a single layer if you don’t mind sacrificing some wear time) — but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, or at least a stuck CD, the MAC Matte Lipstick formula is fairly drying. Maybe I notice it more because of my lips, which are naturally dry, but it still might be something to keep in mind if you’re thinking about this color or one of MAC’s other mattes.

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Zoya Nana Nail Lacquer, a Refreshingly Creamy Bright Pink

May 25th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

zoya nana — Zoya Nail Lacquer in Nana ($9)

My stylish nana, whom I call my lola, which is Tagalog for “grandmother,” would probably love this lacquer, because she’s all about the reds and pinks.

It’s new $9 Zoya Nail Lacquer in Nana, and it’s part of the new Zoya Island Fun & Paradise Sun Summer 2015 Collection available now online and wherever Zoya is sold.

Doesn’t it look refreshing?

Yes, I’m referring to both the smoothie and the lacquer.

And speaking of smoothies, I’m still all about ’em, especially for breakfast, and here’s my current favorite at the moment. It’s the Pink Power Smoothie (here’s the recipe).

I keep trying to get myself to slow my roll and drink them less often, because I don’t want to burn myself out on the power of the pink smoothie, but I cannot. I’m wickedly addicted.

Same goes for Zoya Nana. I’ve already worn Nana twice this month, which is like a world record for me, LOL! I suffer from a severe case of New Nail Polish Compulsive Disorder (NNPCD).

Nana is smooth, non-streaky and highly pigmented, so I can get away with one coat if I’m in a rush.
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Dressing Up Denim With the Dynamic Duo of a Jacket and a Pair of Printed Shoes

May 25th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

I recently had a fashion revelation, and by recently I mean a few days ago. If you throw on a cute jacket and a pair of shoes with a snazzy print, you can pretty much turn any standard-issue outfit into something pretty darned cute.

I’m not sure why this trick works, or what the fashion-based scientific logic is, but it does. Something about the different shapes, lines, textures and patterns on what would otherwise be a ho-hum canvas…

Take this white tank and skinnies…

Super casual on their own, yes? But instead of wearing them with “the usual,” also known as my favorite black Zella hoodie and a pair of flip-flops (seriously, most of the time I’m tempted to dress like I’m going skateboarding by the beach), I put on this casual beige and gray zip-up jacket with these cute cat-print Vans.

The addition of the jacket and printed shoes slightly dresses up the outfit but doesn’t make it look overly dressy. Perfect to go to a baseball/basketball game, a picnic or a barbecue.

You might remember these shoes… I got them last year when Vans did their ASPCA collaboration. You’d think that a pair of shoes covered with cats would only interest a minority of crazy cat ladies, but I get a surprisingly high number of compliments on these shoes, and not only in pet stores, LOL!

I think in the case of these particular shoes, the cat print works with so many different outfits because of the preponderance of neutral-colored kitties. The gray, beige, tan and black go with almost everything in my closet.

See how the gray and beige in the shoes matches with the beige and gray in the jacket?

Ooh, matchy-matchy…but not ridiculously so.

The jacket, by the way, is from LOFT (big surprise), and it’s very soft and cozy. Feels almost like high-end sweatshirt material. I’ve wanted to upgrade my casual outerwear situation, and this achieves that nicely. It goes with jeans and tees, casual dresses, shorts, rompers…and you can even wear it with workout clothes, too. It’s very flexible!

And it’s on sale online right now for 60% off with the promo code FLASH, if you’re interested.

Here’s another example of the same jeans and tank, but this time with an oversized alligator green jacket with big pockets, and a pair of leopard-print flats.

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