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

Giving Thanks for an Epic Summer Glow With the Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Tangier

July 29th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

Dolce Gabbana Tangier Eyeshadow Quad — Wearing the new $60 Dolce & Gabbana’s new Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Tangier and dreaming about corn…

Mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, buttered corn…

CORN! Mmm, corn.

I’m trying to get a grip on myself, but my body is acting of its own accord (*tummy rumbles*). Every time I open the new Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Color Quad in Tangier, I immediately think “Happy Thanksgiving!”

It’s not my fault. It’s the orange, man. Seeing it there next to that brown and gold, and I momentarily forget that it’s not fall. I feel like busting out my boots with the fur (with the fur) and jumping into a pile of autumn leaves.

Funny thing is, it’s not a fall quad. Tangier is one of two limited edition quads in the new Dolce & Gabbana Summer Glow collection, available now at counters and online.

With its rich amber and gold, it’s perfect for sexy screen siren looks, whether now in the summer, or later in the fall.

Sixty bones is a lot for an eyeshadow quad, but at least this one is remarkably easy to use. I’ve been wearing it for the past few days, and I’m surprised. I can’t believe how easy it’s been to incorporate into casual and dressy looks — even that cray-cray matte orange.

For these first pics I tried to think outside the box, so I’m wearing it in the crease with a hazy orange smokey eye.

Only semi-cray. 😉

But I’ve also used the quad in more causal ways. Like, the other day I buffed the light peach, which has just the perfect amount of sheen so it isn’t too shimmery, from my lash line up to my brow bone, blended the matte brown into the crease, and then lightly dusted the shimmery gold in the inner corners, before finishing with a bit of black liner and mascara.

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On the Bathroom Shelf: Body Lotions by Ahava, Antica Farmacista, Tata Harper and Agraria

July 29th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

My friend Cindy is staunchly anti-beauty, and it’s rare when she wants to talk about makeup or beauty products, so this snippet of a thrilling conversation we recently had was a pleasant surprise. 🙂

CINDY: Do you use body lotion every day?

ME: Well, yeah. Don’t you?

CINDY: Uh uh. I don’t need to. I don’t really have dry skin.

ME: Lucky you!

CINDY: Do you have to use it everywhere? Even on your feet?

ME: Oh, yeah. Especially my feet.

CINDY: What happens if you miss a day?

ME: My skin starts to look like crusty parmesan cheese.

Yeah, it’s not a good look, which is why I’m big into body lotions. Here are the ones currently living on my bathroom shelf…

Ahava Mineral Body Lotion Duo ($37.50 for a 17-oz bottle): One for me, one for my mama! And these bottles are huge.

First, Ahava Mineral Body Lotion is hella moisturizing yet doesn’t leave a greasy residue behind. It comes as a two-pack available now exclusively at Nordstrom for $37.50 ($96 value), and the light powdery scent doesn’t overwhelm my perfume.

Antica Farmacista Peonia, Gardenia & Rosa Body Moisturizer ($25 for a 10-oz. bottle): Rose dominates this moisturizer’s memorable scent, and the fragrance lingers all day long and layers well with my rosy perfumes.

The moisturizing formula is a touch greasier than the Ahava lotion I mentioned earlier, but it contains many moisturizing ingredients that sit well with my alligator skin, like aloe vera, sweet almond oil and shea butter, to name a few.

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Peace, Love & Golden Taupe Rouge Bunny Rouge Rain Dove Long-Lasting Eye Shadow

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Oh, Rain Dove, my eyeshadow love, you make my heart flutter.

When I see your golden taupe shimmering in the inner corners of my eyes, my obsession with Rouge Bunny Rouge shadows soars to new heights.

I will sing songs of your light, feathery formula and your subtle flash of rose gold, and how it evokes memories of a fleeting visit from a hummingbird…

Rouge Bunny Rouge When Birds are Singing Long-lasting Eye Shadow in Rain Dove ($25) is nesting now on Rouge Bunny Rouge counters and online. 🙂

Try the $15 NYX La Fleur Lip Gloss Set for Everyday Pinks and Peaches

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Oui, ma cherie, I could spend all day looking at the NYX 5-Piece La Fleur Lip Gloss Set.

These pinks and peaches are the exact same versions of those shades that I always like to have with me in purse. They’re my perfect everyday colors.

This $15 kit is like a slightly understated, more neutral version of NYX’s The Legends Lip Set, and the two kits have a few things in common. The La Fleur lipglosses also have that same Sour Patch candy taste and scent (The sweet part, like how they taste at first. Not the sour part.) that lasts about two hours on me, and they also apply pretty sheer.

Only thing is…I can’t easily tell them apart on my pigmented pout, so I’ll use them more for layering to tone down bright pink, peach and coral lip products than as standalone glosses.

The $15 La Fleur Lip Gloss set is available now online and wherever NYX is sold.

NYX La Fleur Lip Gloss Set (3) — From the left: Cashmere, Fair Lady, Natural Beauty, Tickle Me Pink and Made You Blush

NYX La Fleur Lip Gloss Set (6) — From the left: Cashmere, Fair Lady, Natural Beauty, Tickle Me Pink and Made You Blush

Looking for a Polished Party Quad? Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien Fits the Bill

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 32 Comments

Fact: Chanel’s new Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien ($61) will not be tardy for the party.

No way. She’ll be right on time.

Chanel Quadra Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien — Tissé Vénitien, from the new Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow Collection

This quad dazzles with shimmering greens — one of which, the metallic light greenish platinum on the left, is the star of the show for me — and a quiet dash of pink.

The greenish platinum sparkles like the desert sky at midnight during a new moon, yet amazingly, it isn’t obnoxious. For a party ready look in mere seconds, I like to use my finger to apply it to the center of my lids.

Tissé Vénitien is one of the new Chanel tweed-inspired quads with the baked formula.

Like the others, it’s supposed to cover all the bases for an eye look from start to finish, but with that, I have to disagree. I feel like you also need at least one matte up in the mix to contour with, and also to contrast with all of the shimmer here; otherwise, it’s sparkle overload.

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Experience Unknown Pleasures (Like Whiter Teeth) When You Wear the New Fall/Winter 2014 Lip Tars From Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 36 Comments

Through some weird illusionary makeup magic/trick of light, blue lip products are supposed to make your teeth look whiter, but I dunno… Do my teeth look whiter in these pics? I’m wearing OCC’s new Lip Tar in Vain.

I seriously cannot tell; all I see are those blue lips.

They’re just so…blue.

OCC explores the boundaries between light and shadow in their fall/winter 2014 Unknown Pleasures collection. Vain is one of the six new $18 Lip Tars in the release.

OCC Unknown Pleasures Collection Lip Tars f rom the left: Covet, Lament, Manhunger, Technopagan, Vain and Pagan — OCC Unknown Pleasures Collection Lip Tars from the left in Covet, Lament, Manhunter, Technopagan, Vain and Pagan

Most of the time when liquid lipsticks dry down, they form an impermeable film on my lips, which is usually long-wearing (yay!), but also very drying (boo!).

Unlike run-of-the-mill liquid lipsticks, which tend to bleed my lips of every milliliter of moisture like Edward Cullen on a bender, the Lip Tars stay wet from start to finish, so they don’t form a drying film.

But the wet texture also leads these to scoot beyond my natural lip line, so it helps to be mindful of rubbing your lips together, especially with the darker shades.

OCC Lip Tar in Lament — Lip Tar in Lament

OCC Lip Tar in Technopagan — Lip Tar in Technopagan

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 331

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 59 Comments

The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll for July 28, 2014 — The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll: July 28, 2014

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past seven years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

What’s one thing about yourself that a lot of people don’t know?
My favorite roller coaster is the Demon at Great America, and whenever we’d go, I’d ride it over and over and over, like, 10 times every trip.

Have you ever been in a commercial, or know someone who’s been in a commercial?
Nope.

Oh, wait! — I change my answer. In elementary school, one of my classmates played a “hip skateboard kid” in a Sony Walkman commercial, I think, and all the kids thought he was so cool because he was on TV.

Do you ever use those roll-on fragrance thing-a-ma-bobbers?
Ya know, I pick one up on occasion from Sephora or Nordstrom because I think they’re really cute and convenient, but I never end up actually using them. They just sit in a drawer all sad and neglected…

I guess I prefer my perfumes in regular ol’ bottles.

And then when I go on trips, I usually bring those little fragrance samples you get for free at a counter, because they’re so tiny and don’t take up much room in my fragrance/lotion/miscellaneous beauty product Ziploc bag.

Great things come from ____.
…getting a good night’s sleep. LOL! Or, alternately, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

Doughnuts or croissants?
I feel that being forced to choose between the two constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

But, if I were literally forced to choose, I’d choose doughnuts.

More variety, ya know? Cake, glazed, jelly, chocolate…

Mmm, doughnuts…

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. What’s one thing about yourself that a lot of people don’t know?
2. Have you ever been in a commercial, or know someone who’s been in a commercial?
3. Do you ever use those roll-on fragrance thing-a-ma-bobbers?
4. Great things come from ____.
5. Doughnuts or croissants?

In productivity news (OK, not really), how do you feel about overthinking things — you know, where you’re thinking about something, like an important date on the calendar, or something you have to do for some reason, and you just keep thinking about it and thinking about it, and because you’re thinking about it so much, nothing ever really gets done?

Yeah, I do that sometimes…

Here’s an interesting article on the subject: How to Stop Overthinking Everything and Find Peace of Mind.

I like the “stop talking about it” idea. I can see that helping because, you know, the power of internal dialogues. Like, when I say that something is a problem for me, and I say it over and over and over, I think it sort of reinforces the problem.

Sometimes, it’s good to just change the convo, you know, even when it’s with yourself.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Have a wonderful week, babe. 🙂 I hope it’s a good one for you.

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 306

July 27th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

This post is sponsored by Purina Pro Plan #proplancatpartner. For information about my posting policy, please see my Disclaimer.

When you hear the words, “international kitty supermodel,” who comes to mind?

Exactly. Tabs.

And for good reason, too. As the face of more than 650 kitty modeling campaigns since the mid 2000s, Tabs has been a dominant force in the kitty modeling business and a role model for millions of ambitious, good-looking cats.

Now, back from graduation with a kitty business degree under his belt, it’s time for his next big endeavor.

Cat Scratch Claw Polish — the largest product rollout of his career. Introducing a new line of feline friendly claw polishes in an assortment of professionally inspired shades.

Enjoy. 🙂

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