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New Urban Decay Nail Colors in Blackheart and Zodiac, and the New Naked 24/7 Glide-On Double-Ended Eye Pencils

November 18th, 2013 by Karen 18 Comments

So, what goes well with Naked? I mean…other than fun?

How about two new never-before-seen Nail Colors from Urban Decay?

New Nail Colors (SRP $15 each)

BLACKHEART — smoky greige with red and multicolored shimmer
ZODIAC — smoky green with gold, green and blue 3-D micro-glitter

UD says both of these new shades are going to be extremely limited edition. I’m just sayin’…

Inspired by the Naked3 shade of the same name, smoky greige (yes, greige) Blackheart is loaded with red and multicolored shimmer, while smoky green Zodiac, which UD calls the “sultry little lovechild” of Moondust Eyeshadow, is infused with gold, green and blue 3-D micro-glitter.

What do ya think? Do they make you want to throw off your clothes and run around naked? Or, stay fully clothed and go get Naked? Or none of the above?

Urban Decay Blackheart Nail Color — Blackheart Nail Color ($15)

Urban Decay Blackheart Nail Color and Zodiac Nail Color — Blackheart (left) and Zodiac (right)

Urban Decay Blackheart Nail Color Swatch — Two coats of Blackheart

Urban Decay Zodiac Nail Color Swatch — Two coats of Zodiac

And that’s not all. Naked3 also gets some new pencils….

The four Naked 24/7 Glide-On Double-Ended Eye Pencils (SRP $16 each)

ZERO + WHISKEY — zealous black cream + rich brown matte (coordinates with Naked)
PERVERSION + PISTOL — blackest-black matte + light gray-brown shimmer (coordinates with Naked2)
BLACKHEART + DARKSIDE — smoky black matte with rosy red micro-glitter + purple-taupe satin (coordinates with Naked3)
CRAVE + VENUS — deepest, darkest brown-black matte + soft, off-white shimmer (coordinates with Naked Basics)

Each one comes with two liner shades inspired by one of the Naked palettes. Three of the eight shades in the lineup are UD bestsellers, but the other five are completely new.

“When we first introduced our original Naked palette, we created a Double-Ended Eye Pencil to go with it. Eventually, we loaded the palette with a brush instead, but people BEGGED us to sell the pencil on its own. It’s been so popular that we’re launching that original duo (Zero/Whiskey) as a regular part of our line AND adding three new color combos — one for each of our other Naked palettes.”

— Urban Decay

The new Naked 24/7 Glide-On Double-Ended Eye Pencils and Nail Colors are coming soon to Sephora, ULTA and select Macy’s stores, and online to sephora.com, ulta.com, macys.com, beauty.com and urbandecay.com.

Urban Decay Naked-24/7 Glide-On Double Ended Eye Pencils — The new Naked-24/7 Glide-On Double Ended Eye Pencils ($16 each)

Urban Decay Naked-24/7 Glide-On Double Ended Eye Pencils Swatches from the left: Darkside, Blackheart, Perversion and Pistol — Swatches from the left: Darkside, Blackheart, Perversion and Pistol

Urban Decay Naked-24/7 Glide-On Double Ended Eye Pencils Swatches from the left: Venus, Crave, Zero and Whiskey — Swatches from the left: Venus, Crave, Zero and Whiskey

Things Are Coming Up Rose Gold: Urban Decay Three-Peats With the 12 All-New Neutrals in the Naked3 Palette

November 18th, 2013 by Karen 57 Comments

Wearing the new $54 Urban Decay Naked3 palette on my eyes

And then there were three…

Thrice as naked.

More naked than you’ve ever been before! (Well…)

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! No, not really. But it is the third coming of Urban Decay’s famous Naked palette, appropriately named Naked3 ($54).

First impressions: WOW! I have been literally champing at the bit to see this palette in person, and so far I have not been disappointed by it.

The 12 all-new neutrals, all of which have rose tones, come in UD’s typically soft, easy-to-blend formula (and matte, pearl and glimmering metallic finishes). Sure, that means there’s some fallout, but on the flip-side, the shadows are ridiculously easy to blend, and if you do your eyes first, clean up, and continue with your face makeup, it’s all good.

I think the colors are definitely different enough from the shades in the O.G. Naked palettes (one and two) to make this one worth considering.

Many of the shades have a purplish taupe tint to them, at least on my skin, which I like. I think they’ll go well with purple smokey eyes and other purple looks. I have a strong suspicion they’ll also complement bronze and gold shadows nicely.

For the most part, I think these are neutral enough to work well on cool and warm skin tones, but if you’re on the far warm end of that spectrum, you may want to work in your own mattes for transition colors, because some of these shades, like Nooner and Limit — those might be a tad too cool-toned.

I’m really jazzed about the colors on the far right, the darker colors. Those are gonna be a blast to play with in smokey eyes.

Of course, I still love black, brown and purple smokey looks, but I really like the idea of becoming a part-time rose gold smokey eye aficionado.

Urban Decay Naked3 swatches from the left: Strange, Dust, Burnout and Limit — Swatches from the left: Strange, Dust, Burnout and Limit

Urban Decay Naked3 swatches from the left: Buzz, Trick, Nooner and Liar — Swatches from the left: Buzz, Trick, Nooner and Liar

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A Quick Look at the New Urban Decay Naked3 Palette: A Makeup Menage a Trois

November 18th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Girrrrrrl, there’s so much nudity up in here right now, we must be breaking some decency laws.

Here’s a quick look at the new Urban Decay Naked3 palette to whet your salacious appetite. Please note the “Do not disturb” sign on the door, as I am current indisposed, otherwise known as getting better acquainted with the new palette. 🙂

Looks, swatches and impressions coming up soon…

“We’ve spent a LOT of time getting Naked the past few years. We’ve done bronzy and taupey neutrals, but we realized there was a whole spectrum of gorgeous, flushed pinks we hadn’t explored yet. Rose- based hues look great on every skin tone. With 12 new shades, it’s hard to choose favorites, but we predict that Buzz (the pinkest of all the shades) will be a fan favorite. We’re also partial to Nooner (a stunning pinky-brown matte) and Dust (a pale metallic pink shimmer with amazing iridescent glitter), which can be worn on the lids or used as a highlighter. And for an edgy, smoky liner, there’s the aptly named Blackheart — a super dimensional black matte flecked with red glitter.”

— Urban Decay

Naked3 contains

STRANGE — pale neutral pink matte-satin
DUST — pale metallic pink shimmer with iridescent micro-glitter
BURNOUT — light pinky-peach satin
LIMIT — light dusty rose matte
BUZZ — metallic rose shimmer with silver micro-glitter
TRICK — light metallic pinky-copper shimmer with tonal micro-sparkle
NOONER — medium pinky-brown matte
LIAR — medium metallic mauve shimmer
FACTORY — pinky-brown satin
MUGSHOT — metallic taupe shimmer with slight pink shift
DARKSIDE — deep taupe-mauve satin
BLACKHEART — smoky black matte with rosy red micro-sparkle

Naked3 also includes a new double-ended Good karma shadow and Blending Brush and an Eyeshadow Primer Potion sampler with resealable samples of all four formulas (original, Sin, Eden and new anti-aging). According to UD, each sample holds about a week’s worth of primer.

Naked3 (SRP $52) will be available later this month from Sephora, ULTA and select Macy’s stores. Or, online at sephora.com, ulta.com, macys.com, beauty.com and urbandecay.com. If you’d like to sign up to find out the exact date, you can do so here.

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 298

November 18th, 2013 by Karen 33 Comments

The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll for November 18, 2013

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

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

What’s one thing you’re trying to do less often?
Worry about things I can’t control — because I’m a natural worrywart, but it seems to be getting worse as I get older.

Need to just let things go, ya know?
What’s one thing you’re trying to do more often?
Take more risks in my writing and my life.

I mean, try more things that have the potential to be very cool, even if there’s also a chance they could end up being a disaster.

How often do you clean your house?
Ugh, not as often as I’d like/should. I’d always been a pretty regular weekly cleaner, but now it’s maybe one or two days a month because I’m usually so tired on the weekends.

Working on it though!

What’s one of strangest compliments you’ve ever received?
“I thought you’d be taller.”

Um, thanks?! I actually get this a lot on account of my big personality. 🙂

But seriously, I think it’s because I don’t stand next to anything for scale in my pictures. It’s hard to tell just how vertically challenged I really am (I’m only 5’1″)!

Fruit or vegetables?
I’m gonna have to go with fruit on this one. I mean, sure, I eat both, but if I had to pick just one — fruit or vegetables — I’d go with the fruit, because could you imagine bringing a squash to the beach?

What’s your favorite old-school beauty product?
Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion.

Man, I feel like I’ve been using this since the dawn of time! I use it after washing with my regular facial cleanser to remove any last traces of makeup. It’s non-drying and keeps my breakouts under control, and I love that it’s only $13.

Do you like rainy weather?
Well, I don’t mind it so much in Hawaii, but the cold rain here is total bullsh*t.

When was the last time you spoke in front of an audience?
It was probably a couple years ago on this beauty blogging panel.

What’s one thing you’re grateful for at this very moment?
Coffee.

Are you passionate about anything that other people in your life don’t quite understand?
Yup, beauty blogging. Even though I’ve been doing it for almost seven years, there are still some friends and family members who act surprised every time I answer when they ask, “So what are doing now, Karen?”

It gets a little exhausting explaining it over and over again, and I think if I were saying something like, “Oh, I’m just finishing my residency,” or “I’m up for a promotion at work,” they’d probably remember.

Oh, well! I’m just gonna let it go…

Now it’s 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 you’re trying to do less often?
2. What’s one thing you’re trying to do more often?
3. How often do you clean your house?
4. What’s one of strangest compliments you’ve ever received?
5. Fruit or vegetables?
6. What’s your favorite old-school beauty product?
7. Do you like rainy weather?
8. When was the last time you spoke in front of an audience?
9. What’s one thing you’re grateful for at this very moment?
10. Are you passionate about anything that other people in your life don’t quite understand?

Another Monday, babe

This cloudy, chilly weather makes me want to just hibernate and watch Netflix on the couch, which is pretty much what I did last Saturday afternoon. I re-watched Skyfall, and then a sci-fi movie called The Europa Report that was really good!

I also listened to some new music (well, new to me… Lorde’s entire album, Pure Heroine, and Katy Perry’s Prism) and practiced a few neutral looks with some MAC permanent colors — Texture, Twinks, Vanilla and Sketch.

Back when I really started getting into makeup, I was strictly a MAC girl, and I was all about the permanent colors (has anyone else gone through that phase?), but over the past few years I’ve become more obsessed with the LE collections.

Sometimes, though, it’s just fun to go back to your roots, you know? — so I’ve been rediscovering some of the permanent colors that are just really great shades.

It’s also kind of comforting knowing that they won’t be disappearing any time soon, you know? (Hopefully.)

I hope you had a good weekend, and have a great day today.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 270

November 17th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

Who is Tabs the Cat? About six years ago I befriended a stray, flea-bitten tabby cat with a bad case of worms. I could see he’d fallen on hard times, but his profound knowledge of high fashion and department store cosmetics led me to believe that he was more than meets the eye. We became fast friends, and now he’s actually my boss (and a successful kitty model). 🙂

What the hell?! Whoa, whoa, whoa, woman — what’s with all the yelling? I was just taking a nap. I need my beauty sleep, you know, if I’m going to be up partying all night.

What’s that, you say? You’re trying to keep me awake so I sleep through the night? You know that doesn’t make a lick of sense, right? I do my best kitty modeling work in the middle of the night.

Case in point: my MAC shoot for the new Menagerie Collection. I shot that around 3 a.m. here in the living room.

Of course I did! How do you think it got done? MAC sent a crew over while you were sleeping on the job, and we shot it in a single take.

I don’t make these things up. And how would you know anyway? You’re always sleeping at the most inopportune moments. I swear, it’s like you turn into a pumpkin at midnight. You do know that in the kitty modeling world, everyone who’s anyone works at night?

Anyway, this convo is exhausting. If you need me, I’ll be napping in my office.

What? No, not the closet. My office — the one where you store all of your clothes.

And please don’t forget to post my kitty modeling pictures to my online portfolio today. My fans really look forward to seeing them. 🙂

Peace out,

Tabs

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7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

November 16th, 2013 by Karen 509 Comments

Is it weird to like a makeup brand because of how their stuff smells? If it is, I don’t care, because I love the smell of Guerlain, especially their bronzers. I could sniff Terra Neroli all day long…

In other news, I feel like my faith in humanity has been restored thanks to Batkid and The Make-A-Wish Foundation. 🙂

I love things like this. It’s nice to know that as I get older, and it gets harder to not be cynical, magic (and goodness) is still alive in the world.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, babe (and you, too, dude). I’m not sure what I’m up to yet, but whatever it is, I hope it involves something outside of the house. I feel like I’m turning into a hermit… Granted, a fairly stylish hermit with a fierce smokey eye, but still, LOL!

El Hub and I have been talking about taking a martial arts class together since forever. Maybe this will be the weekend we actually get around to doing it. I hope so.

I think I’d do OK. I used to take dance classes back in the day, not that dancing requires the committing of bodily harm to others, but I can follow directions pretty well. Put your right foot in, take your right foot out, put your right foot…

Wait — that’s the Hokey Pokey. Sorry, never mind!

Let’s just get on with the giveaway, shall we?

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- What was the last movie you saw in a theater?
- Do you prefer crisp or smudgy eye liner?
- Do you ever dress up your pets in outfits?
- When was the last time you went to Vegas?
- Are you a girl about town or a homebody?
- Do you ever leave the house with wet hair in winter?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, November 18, 2013 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Outside Neon, Inside Red: The New $24 Topshop Lipstick and Blush Set in Red

November 15th, 2013 by Karen 9 Comments

In case you ever need to spot your makeup from a mile away…

Yeah…the pouch that comes with Topshop’s $24 Lipstick and Blush Set is bright.

Yellow highlighter bright. Bright like a beacon of makeup hope to guide you through troubled waters…

I want to stamp “FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY” across the front and keep it in my go bag under the bed, along with El Hub’s machete and SAS Survival Handbook.

I’m pretty sure El Hub will say that the makeup is extraneous, but he’ll have to adjust. He doesn’t know it yet, but you better believe we’re making room for blush and lipstick.

The tiny two-piece kit comes with one neutral pink cream blush and an orangey red lipstick. Classic colors that don’t appear to belong in such cray-cray packaging, but whatevs. There’s some good stuff here.

The $24 Topshop Lipstick and Blush Set in Red

There isn’t anything I don’t like about Morning Dew, the cream blush in the kit, and I’m finicky about cream blushes. On bare skin, foundation, layered on top of powder — it handles any face makeup I throw at it, and it always looks smooth, never patchy. It even manages to last all day long, too.

Topshop Lipstick and Blush Set Morning Dew Blush — Morning Dew Blush

Two more thumbs up for Rio Rio, the red lipstick. Smooth and pigmented, it fades slowly over 4-5 hours to a super pretty matte stain.

You may want to pair it with a lipliner, though, to keep it from straying outside of your natural lip line, because it is very creamy. If you can, try the Pro Longwear Lip Pencils by MAC. They’re long-lasting and comfortable, and if you’re looking for a shade rec, I really like Rio Rio with Kiss Me Quick.

Topshop Lipstick and Blush Set: Rio Rio Lipstick — Rio Rio Lipstick

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Triangulating a Little Drugstore Gem Geometry With the New $10 e.l.f. Studio 18-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette

November 15th, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

I’ve been trying to focus on this palette’s awesome $5 price (regularly $10, but it’s on sale now online for $5) and 18 fallout-free, easy-to-blend powder eyeshadows today, but instead I keep thinking of frickin’ cyclohexane…

Can you see it? Those two shapes on both sides of the middle? C6H12.

What do you mean, “That’s so weird, Karen”?

Is it? I don’t know… I guess those chemistry classes scarred my psyche worse than I thought.

Duuuuude, it’s like one those posters that looks like a bunch of random dots, but if you stare at it long enough a picture appears. Everyone and their brother had one of those in their room when I lived in the dorms. It was usually hanging next to a Bob Marley or Pulp Fiction poster…or a print of something by Monet.

I hated those things (the dot posters). No matter how long I stared, I could never see the pictures. My friend would be all, “Do you see it, Karen? It’s the Statue of Liberty,” and I’d say, “Uh…yeah! There it is! I see it now!” When in reality all I saw were the dots. 🙂

The Studio 18-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette is a little like those dot posters because it has some crazy shapes, but it’s way cooler than that. It also has a lot of high quality makeup and a fantastic price. I can wear the rich, pigmented shadows either alone or atop pencils or cream shadows, and with the help of a primer, they last all day long.

I don’t think these swatches truly convey just how bad-@ss these are. I know they look kind of weak, but that’s more the fault of the packaging than the shadows themselves.

Hear me out…

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