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

Comment to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

February 28th, 2015 by Karen 450 Comments

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, VICKIE!!!), but check back next Saturday for another Sephora giveaway.

Win a $50 Sephora e-card from Makeup and Beauty Blog

Bonjour! It’s caturday! And don’t you wish there were such a thing as tiny baby kittens that fluttered on gossamer fairy wings? 🙂

If you’ve stopped by before, have a cup of tea, and welcome back! You know the drill. It’s the Saturday giveaway, so we’ve got all that good stuff going on, but can we talk for a moment first about the phenomenon that is SoulCycle?

I’ve never been myself, but I’ve heard from friends in New York and friends here that once you do it, you totally get into it. Honestly, I hope not…because the classes are kind of expensive. I mean $30 for one spin class? I can put on my tennis shoes and run and up and down the street for free.

Buuut they have an introductory $20 promo price, so I’m going today for the first time with my friend Mary, and we’re going to the 60-minute class, so hopefully I get my money’s worth. I just pray to the makeup gods that my butt will not be numb by the end of it.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you in the giveaway.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter by leaving a comment below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- Best store to get free samples from?
- Who makes the best veggie burger?
- If you’re a natural brunette, have you ever gone blonde? Or the other way around if you’re a natural blonde?
- My Little Pony, or Care Bears?
- What are your five personal must-have hair products and/or tools?
- What’s your favorite kind of eyeliner (kohl pencil, gel pencil, brush-tip liquid liner, felt-tip pen, gel pot or shadow liner)?
One entry per person.
You must use a valid email address to win.
The giveaway ends on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Few Thoughts on Tabs the Micromanager

February 27th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

YO. I literally cannot escape my manager. He’s on my @ss 24/7, watching me, looking over my shoulder, micromanaging every. Single. Thing.

Even when he’s allegedly “taking a break,” he keeps one eye open, so he can monitor my activities.

It’s a Devil Wears Prada situation to the Nth degree. MY BOSS IS A BEAST!

‘Cause One Can Never Wear Enough Neutrals: A Face of the Day With the Nude Dude Volume 2 Eye Palette By theBalm

February 27th, 2015 by Karen 38 Comments

I feel like every girl (and every boy who loves makeup; yes, I know you’re out there, and I love you!!!) has a default makeup look they turn to whenever they need to feel just straight-up pretty…and that’s definitely what I needed this morning because I woke up tired today, dude!

For real, I got like two seconds of sleep last night. The wind was crazy loud and howled all night long (“Awooooo!”), which fired up Tabs, who consequently spent the entire evening running circuits around the bedroom, knocking stuff off the dressers, climbing all over my boobs and generally doing naughty tabby things.

That darned cat! If he wasn’t so adorably squishy, I’d be raging mad at him right now. 🙂

Needless to say, I needed a pick-me-up this morning, so I figured, heck, why not do something makeup-wise that I really like to wear, so I ended up doing my favorite look to wear in the whole wide world — brown smokey eyes, pink cheeks, pink lips.

Yep, mah standby. 🙂

Key products worn in this look, including thebalm Nude Dude Volume 2 — Key products I’m wearing in this look

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Possibly Inspired by Cherub Cheeks: Guerlain Baby Glow Light-Revealing Sheer Foundation

February 27th, 2015 by Karen 30 Comments

The new Guerlain Baby Glow Light-Revealing Sheer Foundation

Guerlain Baby Glow, Guerlain Baby Glow, Guerlain Baby Glow… Now try to say that three times really fast without thinking of tiny glow-in-the-dark infants.

It’s almost impossible, isn’t it?? THOSE DAMNED GLOWING BABIES.

I’ve always wanted to look like an incandescent infant.

OK, not really. 🙂 But I like the idea behind Baby Glow. It’s a sheer foundation that’s supposed to make you look less stressed and flat-out exhausted by appearing to plump your skin (only aesthetically; it doesn’t actually plump it) and make it look more luminous.

The new product line recently launched with the spring collection in just three shades ($54 each) — 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore.

Guerlain Baby Glow Swatches from the left: 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore — Swatches from the left: 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore

I’m closest to 04 Dore, the deepest shade (incidentally, I’m an NC42 in MAC-speak), a medium-toned peachy golden tan, although I think it’s still a tad too light for me to wear on its own, so I warm it up with some bronzer or mix it with a darker foundation.

Before applying Guerlain Baby Glow in 04 Dore

And after! I’m wearing Guerlain Baby Glow in 04 Dore all by itself

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Turn Up Your Temperature With the 11-Piece Bobbi Brown Hot Collection

February 26th, 2015 by Karen 46 Comments

Bobbi’s new collection is hot! Hot in name, because it’s called the “Hot Collection,” and hot in person.

I mean really, when I opened that eyeshadow palette and saw that hot pink bezel bumping up against those gorgeous nudes (um, why did that sound so naughty?), I was like, “smokin’!” Throw in a few high-voltage lip colors (BAM!) and some chic cheek palettes (POW!), and I start getting hot like that time I thought I accidentally locked myself alone in the sauna at a spa and started to panic.

“Sszzzt!” Or is it “zzhht”?

Why is it so hard to make a sizzling sound in print?

I don’t know…but I do know that if we rolled up to a Bobbi Brown counter and saw these beauties posting up on a display, I’d lick my finger, point at the collection and make that “sszzzt!” sizzling sound like a skillet with hot fajitas. Then I’d say something cheese-ball like “Muy caliente, mami!” in the worst Spanish accent ever (“Accent could use some improvement” is what my Español teacher usually wrote in the notes after oral exams).

So, the collection comes out next month, which still qualifies it for official spring collection status, but I’m getting summer vibes. The hot pink packaging for the nude eyeshadow palette and the bold orange, berry and pink lips seem beachside chic to me, which kinda makes sense since it’s a collaboration with model Kate Upon and was inspired by her Florida hometown.

If you like lined nude eyes, bright lips and softly defined cheeks, that’s what the 11-piece Hot Collection’s all about.

Kate and Bobbi dreamed up the effortless summery pieces to help women (and men!) strut more confidently. Shoulders back, head up, smile on, WERK!

Now, for the Hot Nudes Eye Palette…seriously, if every makeup company could just pop their nude shadows into hot pink palettes for the rest of my life, I would be totally OK with that.

Bobbi Brown Hot Nudes Eye Palette — The Hot Nudes Eye Palette

This all-purpose eye palette does anything and everything — smokey, subtle, sultry, you name it. It features four re-promoted shades from the permanent line (Eye Shadow in Ivory, Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow in Smoke, Eye Sparkle Eye Shadow in Cement and Metallic Eye Shadow in Nude Glow), as well as four new colors (Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow in Peach Sugar, Eye Shadow in Petal, Metallic Eye Shadow in Bronzed Beige and Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow in Blackest Brown), and all eight of them wearable.

Bobbi Brown Hot Nudes Eye Palette Swatches — The Hot Nudes Eye Palette

If you’ve been following Bobbi for a while, you may be experiencing déjà vu, but what I like about this particular palette is how the mid-toned shades are close to each other on the color spectrum (not too contrasty), which makes blending them about 1,000 times easier.

I keep grabbing this palette for everyday looks, especially with black winged liner, because 1) I don’t have to think too hard (always a plus) and 2) because there are quite a few different finishes represented, including glitter, shimmer, metallic and matte.

By the way, there’s also a re-promoted black liquid liner in the collection called Ink Liner in Blackest Black ($28).

Bobbi Brown Art Sticks from the left: Hot Pink, Hot Berry and Hot Orange — The Art Sticks from the left in Hot Pink, Hot Berry and Hot Orange

As for the lips…THE LIPS! Agh! I don’t even know where to start.

OK, you know what they say — when in doubt, go with hot pink, and for me, I’m all about the Art Stick in Hot Pink ($26).

I wore it the other day, and two (yup, two) makeup artists that I ran into said (in so many words), “Homegirl, I need to know what’s on your lips!”

It’s not just about the amount of pigment, either, or the vibrant hot pink color. It’s something else… The finish. It’s matte, but not a flat matte. All of the Art Sticks have that finish.

Oh, did a mention that the Art Sticks are huge? Because they are. Good thing each one comes with a pencil sharpener that fits.

They’re also pretty darned moisturizing as far as matte lipsticks go, and they last five to six hours on my lips.

Bobbi Brown Art Stick Swatches in Hot Pink, Hot Berry and Hot Orange — The Art Sticks in Hot Pink, Hot Berry and Hot Orange

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This $21 Sephora Collection MicroSmooth Baked Sculpting Contour Trio Is Sublime

February 26th, 2015 by Karen 10 Comments

Sephora Collection MicroSmooth Baked Sculpting Contour Trio in Sublime

** HIDDEN GEM ALERT **

Sephora’s $21 MicroSmooth Sculpting Contour Trio in Sublime is a genius move if you’ve been lusting after the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders but can’t bear the thought of dropping 45 large on a single pan.

Sublime, one of six $21 Baked Sculpting Contour Trios in the newish Sephora Collection, consists of one pan with three shades — a luminizer for highlighting, a matte-satin bronzer for defining and contouring, and a matte-satin blush for cheek color.

At least, that’s how it’s designed, with those three functions in mind, and I’m sure lighter skinned lasses can probably use it that way, but I think of this trio as primarily a highlighting palette, which is where the Hourglass Ambients come into play.

Two of the three shades in Sublime are nearly identical twins of two amazing Hourglass Ambient shades. Specifically, Sublime’s lightest shade (the one designed for highlighting) is the spitting image of the champagne pearl Ambient Powder in Luminous Light, while Sublime’s darkest shade, the sun-kissed golden beige, could headline a show in Vegas as a Radiant Light impersonator.

And Sublime’s pink middle shade also reminds me of a warmer version of sheer lavender pink Hourglass Ambient Powder in Mood Light.

The special sauce is Sublime’s finish. All three of its powders impart the same soft candlelit glow (more of a soft glow than a frosty shimmer, so it plays well with my pores) that I love the Hourglass Ambients for, and it’s something I haven’t seen at many other brands.

I think this pan is a STEAL at $21, and worthy of jumping in your hot tub time machine and going back to yesterday to get, so that you could already have it on your cheeks right meow. 🙂

If Sublime sounds…sublime, it’s available now at Sephora stores and online.

Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick in Rosy Silk Floats Like a Shimmery Pink and Gold Kiss on the Wind

February 26th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

If I were wearing Guerlain’s KissKiss Lipstick in Rosy Silk ($37) and blew a kiss across a room to a handsome stranger (let’s call him Nick Jonas), that kiss would drift off my lips and float like a shimmery pink and gold apparition.

The featherweight formula is eminently forgettable…in that I forget sometimes when I’m wearing it because it’s so comfortable.

But the color is anything but forgettable. The slightly see-through pink with golden shimmer alights on my skin like sunshine filtering through the petals of a blooming cherry blossom tree, tender and romantic, ah…

I think one layer works best, which I apply directly from the tube, and then pat down with a finger. When I add more layers, they don’t help, and the formula starts to seek out flakes and settle into my lip lines.

Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick in Rosy Silk Swatch — Rosy Silk

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Get All the Gloss Without the Goop With the New Spring Paul & Joe Beauté Eye Gloss “S”

February 25th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

Paul & Joe Eye Gloss S from the left: Secret d'Or (01), Creme Brûlée (04) and Antique Coin (05) — Three of the five new $25 spring Paul & Joe Eye Gloss “S” from the left in Secret d’Or (01), Creme Brûlée (04) and Antique Coin (05)

All the gloss without the goop. Thank you, Paul & Joe, for helping my lids to glisten without the games that often accompany gloss-tacular eyes.

Yeah, man! Eye gloss isn’t just for Victoria’s Secret Angels who stomp-walk down the runway anymore. We, too, can make it an everyday thing, thanks to Paul & Joe’s Eye Glosses (they’re also called the Eye Gloss “S”).

They have an airy, whipped consistency and a non-sticky texture, so they feel like light feather kisses, and because they dry all the way down (unlike the many glossy formulas out there that stay wet), the gloss shouldn’t shift and settle into your fine lines or creases as you go about your day pet assisting (I feel your pain).

All five of the new spring Eye Gloss “S” shades have a dewy finish and a moisturizing formula that contains jojoba seed oil, orange flower water, sodium hyaluronate and white lily extract, and they seem pretty hydrating. There’s silvery golden Secret d’Or (01), pale silvery blue Firmament (02), pearlescent purply pink Angel’s Wings (03), silvery caramel Creme Brulee (04) and silvery orange Antique Coin (05).

Paul & Joe Eye Gloss S in Secret d'Or (01) — Eye Gloss S in Secret d’Or (01)

Paul & Joe Eye Gloss S in Creme Brulee (04) — Eye Gloss S in Creme Brulee (04)

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