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

10 Reasons to Love Tom Ford Beauty

February 6th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

Tom Ford Spring 2015, available now online and at Tom Ford counters

1. The limited edition collections…

Whenever one of Tom’s limited edition color collections drops, I’m reminded of my recurring need for a dedicated makeup fainting couch (Note to self: invent that).

Like this morning, when I laid eyes on the new spring 2015 collection in all its purple, teal and blue glory.

The duos, the nail polishes and that cray-cray mascara? BANANAS.

2. Eye Defining Pen in Deeper

It’s $55, and yes, that’s crazy expensive, but Tom’s Eye Defining Pen in Deeper is also outrageously good.

When that mysterious billionaire benefactor I’ve been waiting for since my freshman year eventually knocks on my door and says, “Karen! Let me fund your beauty-loving lifestyle!” I’m going to stockpile hundreds of these pens and keep them in a special climate-controlled underground makeup lair.

3. The Brow Sculptor

My much-loved, well-worn Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso

It’s so good I want to cry. 🙁 I have literally — LITERALLY — worn several of these down to the nub.

4. Nail Lacquer in African Violet

Tom Ford African Violet Nail Lacquer — Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in African Violet ($32)

African Violet is THE purple polish I wear whenever I need to bring my A game. It’s like my comic book super serum, and it looks magnificent on toes (especially when they’re submerged in a five-star resort’s swimming pool).

5. Cognac Sable Eye Quad

Otherwise known as “Warm Coppery Bronze Shangri-la…”

I love this pic of Sable because it was taken when my quad was fresh and new, le sigh…

Now it looks busted, like a much-loved teddy bear. 🙂

Whenever my neurons aren’t firing well and I can’t string two sentences together, I pull out Cognac Sable.
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A Rocking Red Carpet Makeup Tutorial

February 6th, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

Quick question for you: would Nick Jonas count as a rockin’ red carpet date?

I was totally feeling his song Jealous last night. It sounds like old-school Babyface, doesn’t it? Love it.

The funny thing is that El Hub actually knew the song when it started playing. He was all, “Oh, that’s that Jealous song. I’ve heard it on the radio.”

LOL! This coming from a 40-something-year-old dude who reads sci-fi blogs and watches YouTube videos about carpentry. Seriously, what rock have I been hiding under that I missed that song? I am usually the last person to get to the party/figure things out, but dang! — go on with your bad self, Nick Jonas!

Anywho, what we’ve got here are two fun, un-intimidating pops of color — a smokey purple lower lash line and a hot pink lip (this is a video tutorial of the look I did earlier this week).

As always, thank you for watching. See you on the red carpet! 🙂

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The $46 Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette: For Cheeks So Sharp They Could Slice Pizza

February 5th, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

Because, clearly, the most logical thing to do when you’re fighting a cold is to flick out your eyeliner and contour your cheeks.

Clearly. 🙂

Sniffle-upagus says what now?!

Sorry, I think the cold meds are getting to me… I feel cuckoo for cocoa puffs right now, but at least my cheekbones could slice pizza, thanks to the Kat V D Shade + Light Contour Palette.

Admittedly, I didn’t think I was going to like this palette because of that font on the cover…and yes, that did sound crazier than I thought it would.

I’m not a fan of that lower case “h.”

But regarding the palette, first, I should say that I’m not really big on mega-contouring, and that’s mostly because of the amount of blending. It usually takes a lot of it, and blending seems to be one of those things with very little room for error. When I half-@ss it, I end up looking like I drew all over my face with a Magic Marker.

Not cute.

I’d say that most of the time I’m a “light dusting of golden bronzer” girl, but this palette could change that.

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette Swatches

I expected Kat Von D’s Shade + Light Contour Palette ($46) to be difficult to use, and I thought I’d need a few tries. But it only took one.

The fluffy, soft powders turned out to be easy to blend. My forearms did NOT get a workout, which in this case was good. 🙂

Note the range of marvelous matte (YES!) colors, including lighter mattes that you can use as highlighting powders (a pinkish nude, a yellowy beige and a soft peach) and three darker mattes good for contouring (a cool-toned taupe, a soft neutral brown and a cool-toned grayish brown).

The matte shades can be used to quickly shape shadows and curves into the skin, and because they aren’t excessively cool (color temp-wise), they don’t appear ashy on my warm-toned skin (and they’re very pore-forgiving).
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What Are Some Things That Make You Feel Better When You Have a Cold?

February 5th, 2015 by Karen 40 Comments

Tabby snuggles, hot tea with lemon and honey, Chinese food (specifically honey walnut shrimp), being babied, heavy-duty face cream (for the skin around my nose, which invariably becomes dry and sore from all the sniffling and blowing) and Lifetime movies (like William & Kate on Netflix, which I felt a little better after watching), baggy sweatpants, because seriously, who wants to wear form-fitting clothing with a runny nose?

Oh, and warm socks… I like to put Vicks VapoRub on the soles of my feet and then pull on a pair of warm socks.

Don’t ask me why. I don’t know. I just like it.

Other stuff that helps: Cold-EEZE, Emergen-C, Throat Coat tea, Ricola cough drops and an almost scaldingly hot shower before bed.

What are some things that make you feel better when you have a cold?

Your friendly neighborhood, still sniffling beauty addict,

Karen

90 Seconds With the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Eye Palette

February 4th, 2015 by Karen 10 Comments

Hello from Sniffles McGoo! *sniffle*

I can’t even recognize my voice right now. (In real life. Not in this video, because I recorded it a couple days ago, pre-cold.) I sound like a cartoon character.

This is just a quick look at the palette I used for my blueberry truffle look the other day, the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Eye Palette.

It’s a good one for warm neutral looks, and of course I love the pop of blue in the center.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

5 Inspiring Makeup Artists to Follow on Instagram

February 4th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Sir John, @sjblife

Oh, ya know, just another day at the office doing Beyonce’s makeup… YEAH. Bey pops up on Sir John’s (that’s his real name) Instagram feed all the time, like it ain’t no thing, as do models Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls (that contour tho!!) and Chrissy Teigen.

Kate Lee, @kateleemakeup

First of all, homegirl posts cat lady-approved quotes like “Happy is the home with at least one cat” (from an Italian proverb) and “The smallest feline is a masterpiece” (by Leonardo da Vinci).

So true. 🙂

Second, her red carpet looks, like the ones she does for Chanel on Keira Knightly, are to die for. Elegant, and never overdone.

She also just seems like she’d be fun to hang out with (see: this post and this).

Victor Cembellin, @victorcembellin

I have mad love for Victor! He’s a senior MAC makeup artist for North America and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I’m regularly floored by his makeup looks, like when this pic popped up on my feed? HIGHLIGHTS LIKE WHOA!

His Instagram is a mix of behind-the-scenes updates, beautiful makeup (of course) and travel, all seasoned with silliness and fun.
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These Lovely Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Pencils Appear To Be Afraid of Water…Lines

February 4th, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

Estee Lauder Stay-in-Place Double Wear Eye Pencils from the left: 08 Electric Cobalt, 01 Onyx, 02 Coffee, 13 Gold and 08 Pearl

With this little gang of new liners from Estée Lauder, my water lines are like, “Hey, ma! Stick around a while. Please…?”

Yup, lash lines get all the lovin’ around Estée Lauder’s Stay-in-Place Double Wear Eye Pencils, and the two are practically joined at the hip.

These pencils last a good seven or eight hours on my lash lines (!), which is cool and all…but what’s up with the lack of water line love?

It makes me a sad panda. 🙁 Because sometimes homegirl doesn’t want to have to grab another liner just to handle her water line sitch. Some days that’s just too much, and I can’t. I just can’t.

These are definitely giving me an Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On vibe, which is kind of odd, I know, considering how Estée Lauder and Urban Decay are about a billion miles apart in terms of makeup style, but still.

Both feel silky, slick and scoot along my skin, which I love. Getting these on my lids is no problem at all — there’s no tugging! — but EL’s pencils do take a few minutes longer to dry down, which means more time to play and smudge with the rubber/smudging thingamabob on the end of the pencils.

In K-Dawg terminology, this is good. 🙂

Their only major drawback (at least for me) is their poor performance on my water lines. Not only do they refuse to stick around, but when I do use them there, my eyes freak out.

Just a little. And this dry winter weather we’re having probably doesn’t help (interestingly, though, my eyes have been able to tolerate the old-school MAC Eye Kohls just fine).

If you only intend to use these Estée Lauder Stay-in-Place Double Wear Eye Pencils on your lash lines, you should be good. They’re available now in 16 shades for $23 each at Estée Lauder counters and online.

Wearing Estee Lauder Stay-in-Place Double Wear Eye Pencil in 01 Onyx on my upper lash lines and water lines — Wearing Estée Lauder Stay-in-Place Double Wear Eye Pencil in 01 Onyx on my upper lash lines and water lines

P.S. Happy hump day, my friend. I’ve still got that cold, but I’m doing my best to keep chugging along. Tabs has actually been quite helpful (surprisingly). He makes me Throat Coat tea with extra honey and lemon. 🙂

Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Glow Winter Collection Recap and Moon 69 Shine Lipstick in Action

February 3rd, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

Tonight on The Rhinovirus Chronicles, Karen has been wearing the same pair of pajamas since yesterday, and she smells like Vicks VapoRub…

But that’s neither here nor there right now. Right now we’re talking Dolce & Gabbana, specifically the new Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Glow winter collection. Here’s a quick video recap to go along with the bloggy review. (I recorded this a couple days ago… You do not want to see what I really look like right now.)

Lots of cool tones and gray here. In fact, I’m wearing that weird gray lipstick (Moon 69) in the video.

Now all I need is a matching suit of chain mail…

Achoo!

Your sniffly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen