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

The Christopher Kane for NARS Collection Travels to the Outer Limits of Glitter

April 1st, 2015 by Karen 38 Comments

nars summer 2015 christopher kane collection review — NARS Summer 2015 — NEONEUTRAL — The Christopher Kane for NARS Collection

Like Saturn’s rings and the Kuiper Belt, the Christopher Kane for NARS Summer 2015 Collection has layers upon layers…

First, there’s Scottish fashion wunderkind Christopher Kane himself, the 32-year-old force behind this cosmic cosmetics collaboration with NARS.

Second, THE NAMES. I think homeboy might like some sci-fi (me too!), because the 10-piece release has product names like Outer Limits, Starscape and Parallel Universe. The NEONEUTRAL theme combines the countervailing concepts of vibrant, electric neon and neutral nudes, so it’s almost like eating a multilayered cake in a single bite (yes, my tummy is currently rumbling).

The NARS Summer 2015 Christopher Kane for NARS Collection
Available starting April 15, 2015 at NARS boutiques and narscosmetics.com, and May 1, 2015 at department stores, specialty stores and Sephora.

Coupled with the cool black and hot pink limited edition packaging, there’s a lot going on. The collection includes pieces for eyes, lips and cheeks — two Eyeshadows (one a Duo and the other a Single), two powder Blushes, two Multiples and four Lip Glosses.

Let’s paint our faces, shall we? 🙂 Starting with the eyes…

The Christopher Kane for NARS Summer 2015 Collection: Eyes

Sparkling from a galaxy far, far away, these Eyeshadows bring the glittery noise. Glitter is definitely up in this mix.

In these pics, I’m wearing both of the Parallel Universe Duo Eyeshadows as liners, and the Outer Limits Single Eyeshadow on my lids, and thank goodness I did my eyes first, because there was glitter all over the place. And there’s still glitter all over the place. There’s still glitter in one of my eyebrows, in fact. It’s still there now.

So…fallout is an issue for these eye products, but here’s the thing: the glitter is freaking beautiful.

I don’t think these pictures do it justice. The Single, Outer Limits, is this beautiful multi-tonal rose gold with pink and bronze and orange. Really, really super cool, and I like the Duo, too.

Yes, you probably will have to contend with glittery fallout, but there are some things you can do to minimize the glittery pain.

Here’s also a quick video overview of the collection…

It’s like showing up to play in a basketball game. If you show up in high heels and a miniskirt, you’re not gonna be able to play correctly. Well, here you have to know that you’re going to be dealing with fallout, so use something like a flat eyeshadow brush to press and apply the shadows (wetting the brush head will also help), or your fingers to press and apply, because if you use a fluffy domed brush to swirl, swirl, swirl, the glitter’s just gonna get all over the place.

The Christopher Kane for NARS Summer 2015 Collection: Cheeks

First, the two powder blushes in Starscape and Silent Nude.

OK, Silent Nude? First of all, that name makes me think of weird dirty movies. 🙂

The color is a matte beige, and it doesn’t really show up on my skin. I tried wearing it as a bronzer, and it just… It’s probably better suited to interstellar lasses with lighter skin. I don’t see a lot of orange in it, for what it’s worth.

Starscape Blush, I love, but choose your brushes wisely if you’re going to wear this highly pigmented neon pink; otherwise, you could look like a scary horror movie clown. I used a duo fibre brush loaded with very little product for it — just a nanogram.

The Christopher Kane for NARS Collection: Pics

nars outer limits — NARS Single Eyeshadow in Outer Limits, $25

nars parallel universe — NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Parallel Universe, $35

nars starscape — NARS Blush in Starscape, $30

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A Candy Coral, Flamingo-Fueled Face of the Day With the New Too Faced Sugar Pop Palette

April 1st, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

This look may or may not have been inspired by my new favorite animal, the flamingo.

(It was.)

Yeah, I’ve been on a flamingo kick lately. Dang birds are just so blasted bright and springy.

Speaking of that, my makeup today! I’m wearing a soft coral and warm bronze cut-crease eye look paired with hot pink lips.

Sort of flamingo-esque, don’t you think? Especially with the head tilt? 🙂

Got a lotta Too Faced products up in the mix today…

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Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder Blush in 0401: Meowza to the Max

April 1st, 2015 by Karen 32 Comments

As an official member of the International Consortium of Cat Ladies, I have to say that this cat on Paul & Joe’s new Protecting Pressed Powder Blush in 0401 (coming later this month to Paul & Joe counters and beautyhabit.com) is the most handsome tabby ever known to cat lady kind, and I’ve seen some handsome tabbies in my day.

But the International Cat Lady Consortium has spoken, and it’s unanimous. This cat is the handsomest cat ever. Of all time. 🙂

About the blush now, can we just talk? This blush: amazeballs. It’s a peachy pink powder blush, which, I know, you’re rolling your eyes thinking, “Karen, OMG, b*tch! You’ve worn so many peachy pink powder blushes,” but this one — gurl, this one is a peachy pink powder blush with neutral undertones, and it is so hard to find one with truly neutral undertones.

I don’t care what your skin tone is. You could be the palest princess, you could be the most bronzed bahama babe, you could be a freaking green-@ss alien from Mars, and this blush will look great.

OK, one, it puts the universal in universally flattering, and two, it’s like a magical makeup eraser that removes all of the pores on your cheeks. Once I put this on — and I only need one layer — my cheeks look straight-up like a baby’s butt, and not a dirty-@ss baby’s butt, because that’s not how I roll. This is a clean-@ss, smooth baby butt, like from one of those commercials, and it smells good, too. It smells like Paul & Joe’s standard yummy floral chrysanthemum/jelly beans/all-kinds-of-goodness-in-a-pan scent.

It also lasts a really long time, and I don’t just mean a really long time. I conducted a very scientific test yesterday. I put it on in the morning, worked all day, then ran errands in the afternoon, and when I got home, I took a hardcore nap on the couch, like, so hardcore, dog. So hardcore. Put the blanket on top me and everything.

paul joe powder — Swatch of Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder Blush in 0401

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Is the Too Faced Natural Matte Neutral Eye Shadow Collection/Palette Right for You?

March 31st, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

It’s about sexy time. 😉

Kind of. If you look at the names of the colors in the new Too Faced Natural Matte Neutral Eye Shadow Collection/palette, there are some that I can’t even say without blushing a little, like Sexpresso…?

Oh, my gosh.

Nudie? Risqué? Strapless?

But then they throw in the food-related ones like Honey Butter and Chocolate Cookie. There’s probably some relationship…

No, I’m not even gonna go there.

Recently released for summer 2015, Natural Matte is based on the Natural Eyes palette they released last year, except that that one had shimmers. This time around, I don’t think Too Faced was seeking to revolutionize the world of eye palettes as we know it. I think this was just meant to give Too Faced fans more matte options.

The whole matte palette trend has been big over the past couple years, and there are lots of good ones out there. This one, which comes with nine powder eyeshadows in a mix of cool and warm tones and useful beiges and browns, has a pretty appealing price. It’s $36, which doesn’t make it the most affordable matte palette out there when you consider drugstore, but I think you get a lot.

Compared to the $40 BECCA Ombre Nudes Palette, it comes with almost twice as many shades (nine vs. five).

Both palettes are good in their own way, but I think Natural Matte is better for simple looks involving one or two shadows, like a simple lid color and maybe a liner, or a lid color and something in the outer v.

Here’s also a quick video about the palette…

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I’m Sanguine About Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick and Nail Color in Gash

March 31st, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

urban decay gash — Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick and Nail Color in Gash ($22 and $15 respectively, both available now online)

Please try not to stare at my T. rex claws…but of course now that I’ve brought them up, you’re going to be staring. 🙂

“RrrrAAAaarr!” T. rex!

I’m holding a purse here because I’ve discovered — well, actually, I’ve know this for a long time — that it’s very hard to take pictures of your hands near your face, because when you have your hands near your face, it makes your hands look huge. Or, conversely, your face looks really small.

I thought I’d be all crafty and clever by holding this purse here to showcase new Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick ($22) and Nail Color in Gash ($15).

Is it working? I don’t know…

Probably not. My hands still look pretty big.

These two products — you may recognize the Revolution Lipstick. It’s a re-launch. The nail polish, however, is new. They’re both available now online.

That’s an interesting name isn’t it? Gash? I don’t want to be too morbid, but let’s just say — I don’t know — we were surfing one day and charging the waves really hard (yeah, those 3-foot waves) when we accidentally crashed into each other on our surfboards and cut our shins.

Not terribly, though. Just a few scratches. Not a lot of blood, because if there were a lot of blood, I’d probably pass out.

The color does kind of remind me of what’s pumping through our veins, though, and I have to say, it’s a pretty accurate representation. I know this because I broke a glass once when I was 19, and it cut my hand…

This was shortly before I told my parents that I didn’t want to go to medical school. I remember standing there in the kitchen holding the glass, and feeling kind of feint watching the blood drip down my hand, and thinking, “It’s probably not a good idea to go to medical school…”

And it happened really slowly, like, “I t ‘ s p r o b a b l y n o t a g o o d i d e a t o g o t o m e d i c a l s c h o o l . . .”

The blood was the exact same color.

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What’s New in Makeup Bags? New Spring Makeup Bags From MAC, Paul & Joe and Sonia Kashuk

March 30th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

I’m pretending right now that these new makeup bags by MAC, Paul & Joe and Sonia Kashuk are filled with food, PMS tea and tiny little blue-eyed teacup kittens.

Because I’m hungry, and I don’t want to have to cook.

And I’m PMS-ing.

Yes, I know that’s TMI. But it’s true.

Paul & Joe Cosmetic Pouch IV ($40)

The MAC Mia Moretti bags are actually part of a set. For $46 there are three — one Large, one Medium and one Small.

My favorite is the Paul & Joe bag because, hello! — ponies happily prancing in their special outfits.

When I finally get MY pony (which will be on my farm on The Big Island of Hawaii, where I intend to make handcrafted organic goat cheese), I’m gonna make it a special outfit. 🙂

MAC Mia Moretti Makeup Bags: Set of 3 in Large, Medium and Small ($46)

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Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder Prepares Pet Assistant Cheeks for Busy Schedules

March 30th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

The following guest post was written by Tabs…

You can forget about opening this compact with your paws because, sadly, it is made for human hands only.

Paul & Joe’s new spring 2015 Protecting Pressed Powder is not for powdering tabby noses. It is for human faces, both female and male. (For the record, I’m Team Man Makeup all the way.)

Pressed powders are an essential component of a professional pet assistant’s appearance. This one comes in a beige compact with a sassy tabby on the front smoking a pipe and wearing a jaunty captain’s hat.

Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder

PRICE: $45
AVAILABILITY: Coming in two shades (pale pink 001 and multi-beige 002) this April to Paul & Joe counters and beautyhabit.com.

When you open the compact, there’s a big mirror inside, into which you may stare at yourself if/when your greedy assistant decides to share.

There’s also an embossed — I’m not sure if that’s the right word; I have to look it up in my kitty dictionary — flower design on the pan. I think it’s a chrysanthemum, but I must ask my botanist cat friend about it.

The pressed powder can be worn either on top of bare fur — haha, just kidding — bare skin, or used to set liquid foundations so that they don’t move over the course of a busy assistant’s day.

I’ve observed the product in action on my assistant. When she used it to set her foundation and concealer this morning, she smiled.

Well, before she smiled, she stuck her nose in the pan and said, “Mmm! Smells like flowers, Tabs!”

Honestly, though, I don’t know what she meant by that. Half the time she’s mumbling about lord knows what, and I’ve just learned to tune her out.

Anyway, I do appreciate that her skin looks smoother and less oily than usual. I presume it is due to this powder’s oil-absorbing powers and its ability to blur pores.

Of course, we are cats, and not all of us are carrying American Express Black Cards, so you’re probably wondering if this powder is a good value for the price. It is $45, after all.

Paul & Joe Protecting Pressed Powder: Ingredients and benefits

Crystalline cellulose — Absorbs sebum

Jojoba seed oil — Emollient

Orange flower water — Moisturizer

Rosemary extract — Emollient

Sunflower seed oil — Emollient

White lily extract — Moisturizer, prevents irritation

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