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

Feed Your Fuzzy Li’l Caterpillars! Try an Ombre Brow Right Now for Natural, Lush-Looking Brows

April 17th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Ombre Brows! — Ombre brows, babe. They’ll change yo’ life!

I feel like I’m always having change-your-life eyebrow episodes (eyebrow epiphanies, if you will).

Buuuuuut any time someone who’s known you for years — in my case, like-minded beauty lovers like my friend Alis, who cuts my hair, and Kim here on the blog (haaaay, Kim!) — and they notice something different about your look, it says something.

The very first thing Alis said to me when I saw her last week was, “Did you do something different to your brows?”

Why, yes, I have. 🙂

I’ve been doing more of an ombre brow lately, and I have to say, it’s been kind of — YES! Life changing.

Soft and subtle, yet bold at the same time, ombre brows are perfect for spring and summer because they can look really full and lush but not overdone.

The ombre effect comes from using two different brow colors, one lighter than the other. I learned about the technique from MAC Senior Artist Victor Cembellin at the MAC Pro Store a couple months back, and I use the same approach he showed me, with a slight brush modification.

For the inner part of my brows (the side closer to my nose, as opposed to the outer part toward the ear), I apply the lighter color, in this case MAC Cork, a neutral matte brown, with a MAC 214 Short Shader Brush (Victor likes to use a pencil brush for this instead), filling from the far inside end of the brow to just about the peak of the arch.

Next, I fill in my arch and outer tail area of the brow using a dark brown eyeshadow, in this case MAC Brun, and the MAC 266, an angled eyeshadow brush.

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I Ate This, and It Was Damn Good

April 16th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

That’s the butternut squash soup with fried sage and walnut oil on the left and the 1808 Chopped Salad (with satsuma oranges, asher blue cheese, watercress, toasted almonds, cranberries and eucalyptus honey vinaigrette, OM NOM NOM!) on the right.

This was from the 1808 Grill at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville the other day.

Yep, little bit yummier than the egg salad sandwich with baked Cheetos à la mode I had today…

I added arctic char for protein to the salad, but you can also get it with chicken or flat iron steak.

Kinda craving.

30 Days of NARS: Belize Lip Gloss, Day 7

April 16th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

NARS Belize Lip Swatch — A big kiss from Belize…

Meet Belize, another member of the NARS secret shimmer society.

(Hi, Belize!)

Like Angelika Lip Gloss, it looks like a glitter-fest in the tube, but when you actually get it on your lips, the shimmer’s very subtle.

Belize ($26), a pinkish mauve with flecks o’ gold, is one of 30 glosses in the newly relaunched NARS Lip Gloss line available now.

The 30 Days of NARS series features a different NARS Lip Gloss every day

The New Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks Are Making Hearts Melt Under Oodles of Bold, Opaque Color

April 16th, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

Too Faced Melted Violet — Wearing the new $21 Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick in Melted Violet by Too Faced Cosmetics

NOVATO — “They’re kind of like purse parties,” said Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog, “but without the purses, obviously, and with much, much more cheese.”

The beauty blogger and self-proclaimed pioneer of the melted party movement hosted one of them recently — so-called “melted parties,” where women (and some men) get together to celebrate “things that make you melt.”

“It’s the latest party crazy sweeping the nation.” said Karen. “A fun festival of figurative flambé!”

At Karen’s last melted party, guests nibbled on tuna melts and fondue (both cheese and chocolate varieties, she was quick to add), then played with blue-eyed kittens and chubby-pawed puppies while watching The Notebook.

All things that make you melt.

The new $21 Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks by Too Faced Cosmetics

The melted theme often extends to the dress code, as well, as Karen frequently encourages melted party guests to arrive wearing makeup like the new $21 Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks by Too Faced Cosmetics.

Too Faced Melted Swatches from the left: Melted Coral, Melted Fuchsia, Melted Nude, Melted Peony, Melted Violet and Melted Ruby — Swatches from the left of Melted Coral, Melted Fuchsia, Melted Nude, Melted Peony, Melted Violet and Melted Ruby

“These opaque liquid lipsticks,” said Karen, “which are new to the Too Faced line, have set the melted party movement on fuego! I like ’em for many reasons — first among them being the pigments. They’re intense! They literally lavish lips in smooth, saturated color, so they look great in selfies. On top of that, they last 4-5 hours, so you can raise the roof without having to stop for touchups.”

According to Karen, the slanted tip applicators make them easy to apply. “Even the brighter and more intense colors like Melted Fuchsia, Melted Violet and Melted Coral are a snap to use. I can even skip a lip liner.”

Too Faced Melted Fuschia — Melted Fuschia

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Pardon My French, but Holy Wow! Is That the $49 Too Faced Pardon My French Set?

April 16th, 2014 by Karen 37 Comments

Alright, then I will attempt to say it in French. “Ladurée, macarons, Gerard Depardieux…”

S’il vous plait, mademoiselle! Please pardon my French. I know that it isn’t very good, but that’s what you get for not paying attention in high school French class. And it’s even worse than usual when I’m sleep deprived.

Over the past few days, I’ve averaged about three hours of sleep per night, but ya know, that’s the price one pays for excitement, and it’s been an exciting few days.

I’m back at home in Novato now, recovering from my trip to Nashville, which leads me, in an obviously contrived segue, to something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for a while — the new Pardon My French set by Too Faced Cosmetics ($49). 🙂

Available now at Sephora stores and sephora.com, this limited edition cutie-pie comes with five pieces, but it’s more like 13 (because one of them’s a palette). There’s an eyeshadow palette with nine powder eyeshadows, a tiny eye primer, a full-sized eyeliner, one mini mascara and a makeup bag.

The $49 Too Faced Pardon My French summer set comes with…

One tiny 0.11-oz tube of Shadow Insurance
The Bonjour Summer Eye Palette with nine shadows in Plumeria (a vivid pink), Cocoa Beach (a plummy brown sugar), Firefly (a copper), Chocolate Sun (a shimmery rich brown), Mermaid (a muted teal), Toasted Coconut (a matte caramel), Seashell (a shimmery dusty rose), Sand Dollar (a peachy shimmer) and Sunbeam (a pale golden shimmer)
A mini 0.25-oz tube of Lash Injection Extreme Volume Mascara
A full-sized 0.04-oz Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black
One awfully cute makeup bag

If you just experienced a moment of déjà vu, it may have been caused by the Bonjour Summer Eye Palette. If the shades look familiar to you, that’s because it’s essentially last year’s Summer Eyes Palette in different packaging, with the addition of a couple new shades.

This one trades last year’s shimmery, peachy golden Peach Fuzz and satiny Coral Crush for matte beige Sand Dollar and shimmery copper Firefly, which don’t constitute a dramatic change in the overall color vibe, but it’s enough to tell the difference.

I think the addition of Sand Dollar and Firefly warm the palette overall, and the addition of Sand Dollar, a matte beige, is just downright practical.

You know the old saying (that I just made up): a girl can always use another matte beige as an all-over lid color. They ain’t flashy, but they’re soooo useful.

As for Firefly, the shimmery copper, you know, I can’t really say I’m crazy about it, to be honest. I wanted to love it because I’m kind of going through a shimmery copper phase, but I find its glitter gritty, and I notice quite a bit of fallout.

So, yeah. Not my fave.

If you picked up last year’s Summer Eyes palette, unless you’re a die-hard Too Faced hoarder, you may not need this one.

That said, if you’re new to the brand or just new to eyeshadow palettes in general, I think this would be a good place to start. It has a little color and some killer neutral shades.

Too Faced Pardon My French Swatches from the left: Seashell, Plumeria and Cocoa Beach — Swatches from the left: Seashell, Plumeria and Cocoa Beach

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Show the Camera Who’s Boss With This Quick Red Carpet Tip From Neutrogena Celebrity Makeup Artist Amy Oresman

April 16th, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

Red carpet beauty lesson — Ready for the red carpet!

Here’s a really great photo trick straight from the red carpet (well, sort of, by way of my hotel room and iPhone) and Neutrogena celebrity makeup artist Amy Oresman.

Amy works with a lot of celebs on their red carpet looks, so she knows a ton about posing for pics.

All you do is this: right before someone snaps your picture, you tilt your head at an angle from the camera — you don’t want to be looking at the camera straight on. Then, you roll your shoulders forward, tilt your neck forward, and tilt your chin down, and what this does is sort of elongate your neck and create more angles in your face, which for some reason just looks better in pics.

Hmm… It takes some practice to do it quickly without feeling goofy, LOL! But I think I can see a difference in the before and after pics.

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They Say the Neon Lights Are Bright On…

April 15th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Downtown Nashville, TN, Broadway Street in the Rain

…Broadway! (on Broadway!)

It rained last night in Nashville, and it was quite a beautiful sight.

Here are just a few quick snapshots I took from the back of a cab. These are of downtown Nashville’s famous Broadway Street, which is lined with lots of restaurants and entertainment.

I’m back in the Bay again now, and no rain here at all. Air travel is so weird, isn’t it? One minute you’re in the rain, and the next you’re not.

Someday I hope to make it back to Nashville for a longer visit, ideally on a sunny day when I have more time to explore. From the short time I was there, it seemed like a very cool town.

I overheard a couple of people call it “Nash Vegas,” and it does kind of have that feel. I would’ve walked around downtown more, despite the rain, if I’d had a little more time and, um, didn’t have to worry about my blowout… But I’d just gotten my hair done earlier in the day by Neutrogena celebrity hair stylist Sam Leonardi (who is a very charming man, BTW), and I was not about to leave its fate to the rain, LOL!

Priorities, ya know? 🙂

30 Days of NARS: Angelika Lip Gloss, Day 6

April 15th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Sheer, cool-toned pink Angelika Lip Gloss is one of the 23 shades NARS carried over from their previous Lip Gloss line into the brand new formulation arriving on counters this week.

I wore the previous version from time to time and always liked the color, but it was never a staple of mine. Maybe if I hadn’t been so obsessed with Sweet Revenge (which is even better now in the new non-plasticky smelling formulation), I would have worn it more.

A little on the cooler side, it’s a perfectly acceptable pink, but not altogether unique.

Pretty, though… You can’t really go wrong with a basic sheer pink.

It kind of look like it would be glittery based on the tube, but it’s less so on the lips. Just a tad, but it’s not a super glitter-fest.

Angelika ($26) and its 29 siblings in the newly reformulated NARS Lip Gloss line are available now at NARS Boutiques and narscosmetics.com, and coming to NARS counters and Sephora stores May 1.