Karen

The New $125 Laura Mercier Colour Wardrobe Dual Decker Colour Palette for Eyes & Cheeks Is Filled With Flattery for Warm and Cool Skin Tones

November 13th, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Laura Mercier Colour Wardrobe Dual Decker Colour for Eyes & Cheeks — Wearing Laura Mercier’s new $125 (!) limited edition holiday palette, the Colour Wardrobe Dual Decker Colour for Eyes & Cheeks

Since a picture’s worth a thousand words, here’s how I feel about Laura Mercier’s new Colour Wardrobe Dual Decker Colour for Eyes & Cheeks…

The thing is, it’s $125.

Uh… Yeah. Ouch.

And it’s not like there aren’t any other holiday sets out there now that cost a lot less. There are, but if you want something comprehensive for your eyes and cheeks that you could use every single day, don’t overlook this two-tiered kit outright, despite its price.

It’s brimming with rich purples and chocolaty browns, and sprinkled with pink, taupe and navy. Plus, the included travel brushes are actually worth keeping! They’re surprisingly soft. I almost always ditch the brushes that come with holiday kits because they’re usually scratchy and…just not up to par, but I think the eye brushes that come with this apply and blend just as well as Laura’s full-sized brushes.

WOOT! Bomb-@ss brushes to go with some bomb-@ss makeup. Who’d a thunk it?

Starting with the eye colors in the first tier…it’s African Violet, huzzah!

LOL! OK, you’re probably about as sick of seeing African Violet as I am (I swear, it must be in half of Laura’s kits). I love ya, L-Boogie, but please, can we take a break from African Violet already? At least for a few months? 🙂

Aside from that little quibble, I think the eyeshadows are tops. Every one has the brand’s signature smooth, easy-to-blend formula, where you literally swipe your blending brush once or twice, and the colors melt together. As with Laura’s Artist’s Palette, I actually have to resist the urge to over-blend these.

And I barely notice any fallout at all — a smidgen, but it’s not enough to annoy me.

[Continue reading…]

Are There Any Products You Wish You Could Find Dupes for But So Far Haven’t Been Able To Find?

November 13th, 2013 by Karen 59 Comments

I love Becca Cabrera — That’s Becca Cabrera along my lower lash lines… LOVE IT!

Just one (that I can think of right now) — Becca’s Cabrera Liner.

MAN! It was a limited edition dual-tipped liner from 2012’s Balearic Love collection. It has a gorgeous dark chocolate bronzy violet on one end and a warm reddish bronzy brown on the other. I’ve looked and looked and just haven’t been able to find anything quite like it.

PLEASE, if you know of a dupe for it, I beg you, let me know.

I have three backups (yes, I like it that much) — well, four if you count the one lurking somewhere lost in my hella messy office — but the day I finish that last one will be a dark day filled with many glittery tears…

I’ve tried to concoct something similar mixing different liners and have gotten pretty close, but it would be so much easier to just find a dupe (or encourage Becca to rerelease it, hint-hint).

If you happen to know of a dupe for Cabrera or anything else mentioned in the comments, chime in. Help a fellow huntress out. 🙂

How about you? Are there any products you wish beyond reason you could find dupes for but haven’t been able to yet? You never know. Perhaps a dupe exists…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day.

Jane Cosmetics Bronzers and Cheek Colors

November 12th, 2013 by Karen 15 Comments

I love the rosy patterns on these powders by Jane Cosmetics.

Don’t they look like little works of art?

I haven’t been testing them long, but I can already tell that I love the way the powders feel.

Ooh, and the peach blush and bronzer have lots of potential…

They’re all available now at Ulta, drugstores and online.

Jane Bronzing Powder in Give, $12 (one of four shades) — $12 Bronzing Powder in Give (one of four shades)

Jane Multi-Colored Correcting Powder — $12 Multi-Colored Correcting Powder

Jane Peach Bouquet Multi-Colored Cheek Powder — $12 Multi-Colored Cheek Powder in Peach Bouquet (one of three shades)

Jane Cosmetics Swatches — From the left: Multi-Colored Bronzing Powder, Multi-Colored Cheek Powder in Peach Bouquet, Multi-Colored Correcting Powder and Bronzing Powder in Give

Today in the News, Jouer Has Discovered the Perfect Red Lip!

November 12th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Jouer Grace Lipstick, a creamy coral red that flatters warm-toned blondes and brunettes — Wearing Lipstick in Grace ($22) on my lips from the new Perfect Red Collection by Jouer

Loading ...

If you answered “F. All of the above,” DING-DING-DING-DING-DING! — you are correct. 🙂 There is such a thing as a perfect red lip.

Just ask Jouer.

Jouer Perfect Red Collection 2013 — The Perfect Red collection includes two Lip Glosses ($20 each) and five Lipsticks ($22 each)

Of course, said perfect red lips aren’t necessarily easy to find (it took me years!), but indie brand Jouer thinks they have some good leads, and they’ve put them in their new Perfect Red Collection.

I really like Jouer… They’re a small-ish brand out of SoCal, and I’ve been following them for a few years. If you like Kate Spade’s vibe — chic, sweet, feminine and fun, but not overtly frilly or afraid to wear color — I think you’ll like ’em, too.

Jouer Perfect Red Collection lipsticks from the left: Ava, Grace, Lana, Simone and Sophia — Lipsticks from the left: Ava, Grace, Lana, Simone and Sophia

Perfect Red’s premise is that you’ll be able to find your perfect red amongst the five lipsticks and two glosses in the collection. There are reds for cool skin tones, warm skin tones and a neutral shade that should suit most everyone. If you like pounds of pigment, go for one of the lipsticks, but if you like sheer shades on your lips, grab a gloss. Jouer even created a convenient flowchart to help you decide.

Jouer Perfect Red Collection Lip Glosses in Monaco (left) and Riviera (right) — Monaco (left) and Riviera (right)

I have warm coloring, but I’ve tried all seven of these shades, and I have to say, I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of any of them. Yeah, the guidelines help, but I think the seven pieces are flexible and flattering enough to work with most skin tones.

Here are some general guidelines (but definitely not strict rules).

For warm skin tones…

Jouer Sophia Lipstick, a creamy rose red that flatters warm-toned brunettes — Sophia Lipstick, a creamy rose red that flatters warm-toned brunettes

Jouer Monaco Lip Gloss, a sheer coral red that flatters warm skin tone — Monaco Lip Gloss, a sheer coral red for warm skin tones

For cool skin tones…

Jouer Lana Lipstick, a creamy berry red that flatters cool-toned blondes — Lana Lipstick, a creamy berry red for cool-toned blondes

[Continue reading…]

Such a Good Boy

November 12th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

For a Fussy-Free Date Night Look, Try the New $30 Bobbi Brown Date Night Lip & Eye Palette

November 12th, 2013 by Karen 11 Comments

Maybe I’ve passed the point of no makeup return, but when I think of date night, my first thoughts are usually something like, “Oooh, let’s pop two different colors in the crease,” or “I wanna layer these three liners for a smokey cat eye gradient, yeah!”

Then again, I do have a tendency to over-complicate things (says the woman who just mixed three different concealers to customize a color for her cheeks).

Bobbi Brown’s new $30 Date Night Lip & Eye Palette tries to keep things easy and streamlined, and even though I don’t usually equate paring down my makeup with date nights, I appreciate its simplicity, because sometimes those holiday palettes with, like, 25 different eyeshadows and 10 different lipsticks are just straight-up overwhelming.

Sometimes it’s easier to make a decision when you limit your options, ya know? And I think that’s one of this palette’s strengths. It comes with just enough to put together a pretty date night look, and you can always incorporate other products if you feel like it.

[Continue reading…]

Subscribe to Makeup and Beauty Blog, and Watch Me Chase the Sun

November 12th, 2013 by Karen 5 Comments

What’s for lunch, babe? I’m starved! Can I interest you in some veggie potstickers from Trader Joe’s…? They’re nutritious and delicious (well, I don’t know about that first part), and they’re my new blog workout snack/easy lunch.

Easy is important because I’m always chasing the sun through the windows to take the best, brightest pics I can with as much natural light as possible. This time of year that means being done with all of my beauty pics by no later than 4:30 p.m.

Most afternoons I blaze through my lunch, which very often constitutes the aforementioned potstickers or other snackage from Trader Joe’s, to catch the afternoon sun and take as many blog pics as I can before it sets.

I’m like a charging rhino every afternoon! — dragging tripods, heavy cameras and giant light boxes up and down the stairs while awkwardly holding huge disc-shaped reflectors just out of the shot, and then *click* pose for the picture.

Then it’s back upstairs to download the pics from my camera card to the computer, upload them to the blog, captioning the pics (“Here I’m wearing…” and “Swatches from the left…”), writing the product review and voila! Instant blog post.

I hope you enjoy the finished product. If you do, please subscribe. And if you’re already a subscriber, thank you very much. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. In addition to hanging out here on the blog, I’m also active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+.

I’m Scent-Sing Something Fabulous From the Napoleon Perdis Merci Lip Gloss Collection

November 12th, 2013 by Karen 7 Comments

It took me a while to place it, but I think I figured out what the fragrant glosses in the new $39 Napoleon Perdis Merci Lip Gloss Collection remind me of, and when it hit me, I was like YES! Thank goodness for my basset hound-like sense of smell.

I may not be able see worth a damned (my eyesight’s crap, man), but at least I can pinpoint exactly what stuff smells like, which I’m sure will NOT come in handy when Z-Day goes down, but whatevs… At least it’s useful for figuring out fragrances, and these smell (and taste) exactly like fresh lychee, I kid you not.

I think the only reason I could place the scent is because I had them (lychee) last summer on Kauai. I bought a small bag at a farmers’ market to snack on at the beach.

There’s just something so…glorious about letting your muffin top hang out and eating fresh lychees at the beach. It’s right up there with the best of life’s most underrated pleasures.

But enough about fruit. I should probably get to the glosses… 🙂

These could almost pass for dupes of MAC Cremesheen Glasses, and that’s probably why I’ve been crushing on ’em.