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

A Friday Face of the Day With the New NARS Matte Multiples

February 21st, 2014 by Karen 28 Comments

Wearing the new NARS Laos and Cappadoce Matte Multiples on my cheeks — Those are the new NARS Laos and Cappadoce Matte Multiples on my cheeks.

I took a couple of the new NARS Matte Multiples out for a spin today. 🙂

I wanted to see if they’d work on top of NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation, and they did! They buffed and blended easily, and now it’s just a question of seeing how well they wear over the next few hours…

Cappadoce, the golden bronze, I’m wearing as a bronzer, and I’m wearing Laos, the rosy coral, as a blush.

Um…yes, I am wearing warm coppery bronze colors on my eyes, again, this time via Tom Ford’s eye quad in Cognac Sable. Apparently, I’m going through a phase, LOL!

Tom Ford Cognac Sable Quad — Tom Ford Cognac Sable on my lids, MAC Superslick Liquid Liner in Definitely Feline on my upper lash lines and MAC Costa Riche on my water lines

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These 88 Singles Are Ready To Mingle: The NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadows Line

February 21st, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

She’s single and ready to mingle!

No, I am not referring to my personal mantra circa 2001. 🙂 I’m referring to NYX’s new monumental permanent line of Hot Singles Eye Shadows powder shadow singles.

Monumental as in 88 shades — wow! — and the pots are only $4.50 each.

Whether you’re looking for shimmers, mattes, brights or neutrals, there’s a very, very good chance you’ll find something interesting nestled among the seven dozen shades.

These hot singles are also highly pigmented, something I did not expect the first time I swatched them on my arm. The eight shades I’ve tried didn’t exactly “arm swatch” well.

Arm swatch… There I go inventing verbs.

In fact, they appeared downright patchy and sheer, and I had to build them up with 2-3 layers to reach the level of intensity in the pictures here.

Ah, but introduce them to an eye brush, and the story changes. When I use a flat eyeshadow brush and pat them on my lids, they’re surprisingly pigmented.

I should point out that some of the lighter beige and white mattes do appear slightly chalky on my skin, but for $4.50 each, I can deal.

Of the eight I’ve tried, shimmery golden pink Sex Kitten and matte beige Vixen are probably my definitely my faves. Lovely basics, the both of them.

Shimmery purple Maneater is right up there, too. Patted on the lids with black or plum liner on the lash and/or water lines, it’s mesmerizing. I can’t wait to see it on someone with green or hazel eyes (I love it on my eyes, which are brown).

Thanks to NYX, makeup lovers like us have 88 new reasons to visit the drugstore (they’re also available at Ulta and online at nyxcosmetics.com).

NYX Hot Singles Swatches from the left: Pink Lady, Lolita, Asphyxiation and Whipped Cream — Swatches from the left: Pink Lady, Lolita, Asphyxiation and Whipped Cream

NYX Hot Singles Swatches from the left: Vixen, STFU, Maneater and Sex Kitten — Swatches from the left: Vixen, STFU, Maneater and Sex Kitten

NARS Matte Multiple Collection Pics and Swatches

February 21st, 2014 by Karen 26 Comments

Prior to swatching the new NARS Matte Multiple collection this morning, this was my idea of a dream-come-true with multiples… 🙂

SUPER STOKED about this new line of matte cream blushes and bronzers! I’ll be putting them through their paces today and this weekend. For now, though, please partake of these pics and swatches.

All seven shades are available now at narscosmetics.com and coming to NARS counters next month.

NARS Matte Multiple Collection Swatches from the left: Anguilla, Exumas, Siam and Laos

NARS Matte Multiple Collection Swatches from the left: Cappadoce, Altai and Vientiane

Is the New Clarins Opalescence Face & Blush Powder Out of This World?

February 21st, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

Took me a while to say goodbye to this gorgeous design. I didn’t want to mess up the pretty pan.

Is it just me (probably), but doesn’t it look a little astronomical/sci-fi?

Whoa! Did you see that? I thought I saw a satellite fly by… 🙂

I actually don’t think it’s supposed to be interstellar. I think Clarins was going for graphic design.

I like it — the contrasting lines and circles. Very artsy-fartsy, isn’t it?

Clarins Opalescence Face & Blush Powder — Face & Blush Powder is one of 14 products in the new Clarins Opalescence Spring 2014 collection

I must say…kudos to Clarins for being so consistent with their limited edition blushes. I can pretty much always count on them to 1) never leave me looking like a deranged clown, 2) smell great (this one smells like jasmine) and 3) be really easy to use.

Opalescence Face & Blush Powder ($40) is no exception.

Technically, it’s designed to be used as an all-over face powder, a contour powder and a blush. Just dust the matte pinkish beige on your shiny spots, sculpt your cheekbones with the matte tan, and add a little color to the apples of your cheeks with the matte coral. (The shimmery gold, by the way, is an overspray and disappears after the first few swipes.)

Clarins Opalescence Face & Blush Powder Swatch — All three of Opalescence’s shades blended together

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Planting the Seeds of Makeup Inspiration

February 20th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

Why, yes! I am that lady who kneels down on the sidewalk at the mall and takes a billion pictures of floral arrangements and planters. 🙂

But, I assure you, there is a method to my madness.

I get some great makeup color combo ideas from the flowers in those planters.

Seriously! Like this one here that I saw at the mall this week…

Look at that purple, green, pink, yellow and brown. Wouldn’t that combination make a great makeup look?

I’m thinking about that lighter purplish pink on the lids, the darker purple in the outer corners, the golden yellow to highlight the inner corners and a deep, dark chocolate brown liner along my lash and water lines.

And maybe also a green along my lower lash line, too. Then a pop of hot pink on my lips…

OK, now I’m itching to give this a try!

Do you ever snap pics of flower planters on your phone when you’re out and about? They’re really great sources of makeup inspiration.

Try This Tip for Bangin’ Brows

February 20th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

“It’s complicated.”

My relationship with my brows. It’s complicated. I’ve been growing them out for what seems like millennia (but has only been about a year).

They’re just so damned moody! Moody little brows.

Weeks will pass without so much as a peep out of them — no dramatic diva outbursts whatsoever. I’ll go about my days filling them in with eyeshadow or a brow pencil and be done in the blink of a fuzzy caterpillar’s eye.

Until…

They turn against me and become totally uncooperative.

It’s weird…and it usually happens overnight, like the follicles all had a meeting while I slept and voted to revolt.

All of a sudden, they all have their own little ideas and refuse to lay down correctly, and I start feeling like I have to use more product than usual to get them to behave. Consequently, I end up unintentionally crossing that invisible line that separates bold brows from Groucho Marx.

Told ya. Complicated.

Seriously, though, if your brows consistently behave, cherish it. You’re lucky.

Mine have been going through one of their spells… The outer tail areas (the sides closer to my ears) have been particularly ill-tempered lately, and I just haven’t been able to get them to look as crisp or defined as I like with my usual slate of products, so I’ve been brainstorming possible solutions.

And I think I found one…

MAC Brun Eye Shadow (left) and Dipdown Fluidline (right)

Instead of filling in each entire brow with a single product, I’ve been using a combination of two — a powder eyeshadow and a matte gel liner.

First, I fill in the inside half of both brows with a dark brown eyeshadow (usually MAC Brun) using an angled brush.

Applying MAC Brun to the inner portion of my brows with an angled brush

Then, I quickly clean my angled brush by wiping it across a paper towel, and use it to fill in the outer half with a matte gel liner. I’ve been using MAC Fluidline in Dipdown for this, a dark brown with a flat matte finish.

Filling the outer tail with MAC Dipdown Fluidline

The result? Brows that start softly defined closer to my nose but get progressively darker and crisper and more defined as they move out toward my ears. Natural, yet bold, and not Groucho Marx, LOL!

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Next Time You’re at the Mall and Need Makeup in a Pinch, There’s the New Forever 21 Premium Cosmetics Line

February 20th, 2014 by Karen 28 Comments

Forever 21 Premium Cosmetics Review — Wearing a few things from the new Forever 21 Premium Cosmetics line

Have you heard the mall word? Forever 21 has a new Premium Cosmetics makeup line, and errr-thing in it is $18 or less.

Packaging for the new Forever 21 Premium Cosmetics line…

Exciting stuff, right? But after trying a few things from the line, I gotta say…I feel the same way about most of these pieces as I do when I see cute clothes in Forever 21 stores. I’m drawn in by the prices and how cute the clothes look from afar, but then I try some things on, and I’m like, “Eh, OK.”

Not to say that I haven’t found some winners in the new line. I have. I mean, if I ever lost my makeup bag on a trip and walked by a Forever 21 store at the mall, I know I’d be able to find something in there to get through the day.

I just don’t know if I’d seek out a Forever 21 store specifically for these new products — at least the few I’ve tried.

Here are some thoughts on five pieces from the line…

Forever 21 Premium Cosmetics Baked Bronzer ($4.80)

Like Goldilocks said when she tried the first bowl of porridge, “this one’s too hot!”

Or something like that. Too shimmery, in this case. I feel like this peachy golden bronze is a little too shimmery to use as a traditional bronzer. For contouring and adding warmth, I think it’s a tad too shiny, at least for me, but as a highlighter on the upper cheekbones, it’s, to quote Tony the Tiger, “Greaaaat!”

A little like a MAC MSF but harder, and not as silky smooth, it has very fine micro-shimmer, and the powder sits nicely on the skin.

Frosted Eye Shadow in Sapphire ($7.80)

This blackened blue shimmery shadow avoids drama. Soft and silky, it easily buffs and blends, and the tiny flecks of glitter make it look muy expensive. I like…

Gel Eyeliner in Black ($8.80)

More like a grayish black than a true midnight, at least on my NC42 skin. I need several layers (from 4-5) to reach full opacity.

That’s kind of a pain…but the liner doesn’t smear or transfer into my crease, which is a plus.

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A Cream Blush Crush in the Making: The New Multi-Blush Cream Blushes by Clarins

February 20th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

If you fiendishly covet the Chanel Le Blush Creme de Chanel cream blushes ($38 each), you just may love these new cream blushes by Clarins ($30 each).

They have a similarly satiny, natural-looking finish, comparably kick-@ss wear time (6-8 hours!), and I think they’re just as easy to apply and blend, whether atop bare skin or foundation.

I’ve been wearing them on top of NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation a lot lately for fresh-faced cheeks. 🙂

To apply them, I’ll use either a skunk brush or fingers, and both work well. But FYI — if you do use a brush, be prepared to bust out your heavy duty brush cleanser later, because these creams really cling to brush fibers.

For cleaning these and other brushes, I like Dr. Bronner’s All-One Magic Soap. It always gets my brushes squeaky clean.

All four of these shades are part of the new Clarins Opalescence spring collection, blooming now on Clarins counters and online for $30 each.