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

A Coral Lip Combo and Face of the Day With the New MAC A Fantasy of Flowers Mineralize Eye Shadow in Golden Hours

February 7th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

MAC Golden Hours Mineralize Eye Shadow from the A Fantasy of Flowers Collection — MAC Golden Hours Mineralize Eye Shadow from A Fantasy of Flowers…

I was chatting with a buddy this morning about springy lip colors (Hi, Agata! Hey, girl!), and it totally put me in the mood for something juicy and coral.

And since you know I’m all about the lip combos… 🙂 Here’s a cute one from the MAC A Fantasy of Flowers collection I stumbled on completely by accident.

MAC Naked Bud Lipstick and Star Quality Cremesheen Glass — Naked Bud Lipstick and Star Quality Cremesheen Glass

Some quick backstory…

One day earlier this week when my lips were painfully parched, I quite literally grabbed the first two things next to me on my desk and threw them on, and they just happened to be sheer nude Naked Bud Lipstick and Star Quality, a bright orangey coral (thank goodness they were lip products, LOL!).

I layered them, too (with the gloss on top of the lipstick, of course), grabbed a mirror and was like, YES! Star Quality’s somewhat sheer, so when it’s layered on top of Naked Bud, you can still see the nude lipstick peeking through, but at the same time you get the juiciness of the orangey coral.

I liked how it turned out, so I did it again today, and I’m sure I’ll be doing it again. These are definitely going into regular rotation right meow. 🙂

MAC Golden Hours on my lids, Tom Ford Liquid Liner on my upper lash line, MAC Smolder on my water lines and Physicians Formula CC Mascara on my lashes

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How Often Do You Wear Dark Lips?

February 7th, 2014 by Karen 47 Comments

MAC Strong Willed Pro Longwear Eyeliner — Ya know, just going to TJ’s…

Hmm… Not often, now that I think about it. Maybe three or four times a month? As much as I like the look, I wear a nude lip much more often.

I’m actually paranoid about uber-dark lip products wandering outside my natural lip lines because I’m constantly rubbing and smacking my lips together (been trying to break the habit for, oh, years).

Wearing MAC Hautecore Friday Lipstick ($15)

Here’s something I do a lot: I’ll be at the grocery store or someplace equally unspectacular thinking, “Oooh, everyone’s checking out my super cool dark lips,” when in reality they’re probably wondering who the crazy woman with the black lipstick on her chin is and why she’s fondling the grapefruit.”

So let’s talk dark lips, babe. How often do you wear ’em? Are you all about the drama even for everyday looks? Or are they more of a once-in-a-blue-moon thing? Or do you just simply never wear them in general? Inquiring makeup minds want to know…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. It’s business casual Fridays, babe. 🙂 CFO (Chief Feline Officer) Tabs the Cat would like to wish you a productive day.

Tabs in his business casual tie — Takin’ care of business…

He has a busy morning planned. Lots of important corporate matters to attend to, so he went with his favorite tie.

He feels that it conveys a certain gravitas.

As for me, I’m about to jump on the treadmill to get my sweat on because if I don’t do it now, I probably won’t do it at all today. I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way I became a morning exerciser. I’m just usually too tuckered out to exercise in the evenings.

How are things going over there today? Can I give you a random hug?

(pause for big hug…)

Any exciting plans this weekend? Nothing for me, but I am going to the salon tomorrow to get my hair cut and colored. It’s not really exciting, but I’m looking forward to the meow time.

Good Hair Days, and the New Oribe Intense Conditioner for Moisture and Control

February 6th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Oribe Intense Conditioner for Moisture and Control

I’ve kind of thought of myself as a mostly Bumble and Bumble/Kerastase gal for a while, but I don’t know… Maybe that’s about to change, because every single thing I’ve tried from Oribe makes me and my hair very happy together.

The salon where I get my hair cut and colored started carrying Oribe a couple months ago, and ahhhh! — I’m a little obsessed (which, I admit, happens to me all the time).

Everything — even the white floral and citrus scent — is ohmygoshsoooooogood.

This week I started using their new Intense Conditioner for Moisture & Control ($43), and I gotta say, I’ve been having some really good hair days lately. Very shiny, very little frizz. Less chaos, more control.

(Now I just have to find something exactly like that for offices, because my desk is a cray-cray mess!)

The conditioner costs $43 for a 6.8-ounce tube, so it’s by no means drugstore, but I find myself not needing to use very much.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried Oribe before, but I really do like this conditioner. It’s available now at many salons, beauty stores and oribe.com.

MAC’s Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick and Lipglass: A Red Lip Combo That’s Red-y for Anything

February 6th, 2014 by Karen 22 Comments

MAC Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick and Lipglass — Well, hello, red!

Sure, red lips are classic and timeless and they never go out of style. True, true and true. But, oh! — I would have love to have worn MAC Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick ($16) and Lipglass ($15) over the holidays.

Sadly, they hadn’t been around then because they’re newer than that.

As members of the MAC Viva Glam family of gorgeous products, 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of MAC Viva Glam Rihanna Lipsticks and Lipglasses go to support the MAC AIDS Fund, which helps women, children and men living with HIV/AIDS.

As you may expect, Tabs is finicky about the red lipsticks he allows his pet assistants to wear, but he loves this intense blueish red (he also wishes it had been available over the holidays because it matches his red sequined Christmas outfit perfectly…).

The other day, my buddy Marisol asked me if I considered this Lipstick and Lipglass combo “must have,” and ya know, I do. Must. Have. A thousand times over. 🙂

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New From Dolce & Gabbana: Shaping Eyebrow Pencil

February 6th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

In the event that you’ve been brow-zing (sorry, couldn’t resist) for a fancy new brow pencil, here’s a new one from Dolce & Gabbana, and guess what?

Yeah, it’s pretty darned good!

It’s also pretty darned pricey at $45, but coming from Dolce & Gabbana, that’s not a big surprise.

D&G’s new Shaping Eyebrow Pencil is a lot like my latest brow pencil love, Arch by Hourglass. Like Arch, its tip has a triangular shape, so you can draw either thick or thin lines with it (thick lines with one of the edges and thin lines with the nib). It also has a similar natural-looking powder finish.

Where it differs is in terms of texture. Dolce & Gabbana’s is just a smidgen softer than Arch, and I think it’s also a tad easier to blend.

The smudge- and water-resistant formula is supposed to last up to 12 hours, even wet, but I haven’t had an opportunity to really test that out (I’ll see how it responds to a sweaty run on the treadmill tomorrow).

I have worn it sans serious perspiration a couple of times, however, and both times it lasted from dusk till dawn with hardly any fading.

Shaping Brow Pencil comes in Soft Brown, Stromboli, Chestnut and Mocha (the ones shown here are light brown Chestnut and dark brown Stromboli). All four shades are available now exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue stores and online at saksfifthavenue.com.

Gardening With MAC A Fantasy of Flowers: Today I Grew a Look With Pink Lips and Green Eyes

February 6th, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

It’s raining here today, which normally would leave me feeling rather blah (I get the blues when the sun goes away), but today? Not so much.

First, it’s been a dry winter, and we need the rain. Second, the construction guys can’t work when it’s wet…so it’s been gloriously quiet this afternoon. 🙂

All I can hear are raindrops on my window, which is a very soothing sound.

Funny thing is, when it’s sunny outside and the workmen are working (we’re having our siding repaired), I put on my biggest headphones and listen to YouTube videos of ambient rain to drown out the noise, haha! Oh, the irony…

So, because today is kind of cold and gray, I felt like doing something a little springy and colorful. I went with a bright green cat eye with golden coral cheeks and a pink lip using makeup from the new MAC A Fantasy of Flowers collection.

If you ever feel like wearing bright green liner or shadow but aren’t quite sure what to do with it and don’t want anything too over the top, try a green cat eye.

No, seriously. Dude, you can do it!

I like this eye look because there’s a bright pop of color and minimal blending, and sometimes when I’m even lazier than I was today, I’ll skip everything else and just do a single swipe of green on my upper lash lines instead.

With bright green liner like this, I’ll usually tightline my upper lashes with a black liner or eyeshadow (here I’m using MAC’s Carbon Eye Shadow) to give more depth to my eyes and create the illusion of thicker lashes (since mine are naturally wimpy).

Just adds a little somethin’ somethin’…

The green liner I’m wearing here is MAC’s new Sassy Moss from A Fantasy of Flowers, by the way, and woo-hoo! — do I feel like a sassy-pants when I wear it. 🙂

It’s just so vibrant, and all it takes is a couple layers. Very cool. In a way, it reminds me of one of my old-school favorite MAC Fluidlines, Jadeye, but less teal and more green. Similar pop on the skin.

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You Have to Make an Emergency Beauty Shopping Run at the Drugstore for an Unexpected Overnight Stay. What Do You Pick Up?

February 6th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser, $8.99

Before I get to my list, can I just say that I’ve actually been in this exact situation several times before…

Uh…maybe I should clarify. I don’t make a habit of spending random nights away from home, but sometimes when I drive out to my parents’ house, which is about an hour away, and it gets late, I just stay the night out there and drive back the next morning.

So I’ll be making this Rite-Aid or Walgreens run at some ridiculous hour in the middle of the night/early morning, and when I do, without fail, there will be an odd character there wandering about who will invariably stop to ask me if I happen know whether the store carries birdseed…and Redbull, to which I’ll smile awkwardly and reply, “Wha?”

Anywho, tangent… Now for that emergency list.

Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Hydrating Cleanser — This is a great makeup remover, and it gets my face squeaky clean without stripping every microgram of moisture from my skin or triggering horrible breakouts. I swear, I could go through Breaking Bad-sized industrial chemistry vats of this stuff. I love it that much.
Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for Combination Skin — Because without mega moisturizing from a product I can trust to get the job done, the perpetually problem dry spots on my cheeks and around my nose go cah-ray-zaaaaay the next morning.
A toothbrush, toothpaste and floss — I don’t even like to entertain the concept of going to bed without brushing and flossing my teeth. Dude, even back during the height of my clubbing days when I’d get home at obscene o’clock, I’d always brush and floss before bed, because both of my parents have teeth and gum issues, and it made me extra weird about dental hygiene. I don’t know if that’s TMI…but if it is, my bad!
Gud by Burt’s Bees Red Ruby Groovy Natural Softening Conditioner — This is assuming that my head feels or smells gross. If it does, I like to conditioner wash it with a lightweight, reliable conditioner like this, which always leaves my hair feeling less gross, and smelling like a yummy grapefruit (incidentally, I’m going through a grapefruit phase at the moment).
Gud by Burt’s Bees Red Ruby Groovy Natural Body Lotion — Yup, dry skin issues again. Always… I’m usually more flexible about my soaps and will just use whatever is around, but then after showering I’ll hydrate the heck out of my bod with something like this. I love the smell (again, grapefruit), it absorbs well, and it moisturizes like WHOA!

Your turn, babe. 🙂 The scenario: you have to make an emergency beauty shopping run at the drugstore for an unexpected overnight stay. What do you pick up?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

New From Dolce & Gabbana: Perfection Veil Pressed Powder

February 6th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Dolce & Gabbana Perfection Veil Pressed Powder

One thing I think Dolce & Gabbana does extremely well is pressed powder (have you tried their blush? AH-MAZE-BALLS!), so I’m very excited about introducing my mug to their new face powder.

Perfection Veil Pressed Powder ($60) is all about natural, trasnlucent radiance. It’s supposed to seamlessly blend into the skin and remain there inconspicuously, even after several touchups.

As a woman perpetually on the prowl for face makeup that looks as close to real skin as possible, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. 🙂

The six-piece Perfection Veil Pressed Powder range of permanent products includes translucent rose ivory Nude Ivory 1, translucent pale tan Natural Glow 2, translucent rosy beige Soft Blush, translucent light tan Caramel 4, translucent golden beige Soft Sand 5 and translucent deep tan Biscuit 6.

The ones seducing your eyeballs here now are Nude Ivory 1, Caramel 4 and Biscuit 6.

They’re available now at Dolce & Gabbana counters and online at saksfifthavenue.com.