Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
I had a great time at the Rite Aid in Corte Madera a couple weeks ago. I left with my little basket filled with things I wanted to try, like this Revlon PhotoReady Primer + Shadow palette in Bohemian (about $7.50).
I still haven’t worn it yet, but I love the colors, especially that light blue…
It’s available now online and at CVS, Rite Aid and Target stores (and probably most other drugstores, too).
Come one, come all! Wraiths, vamps, ghouls and guys — everyone’s invited to the China Glaze Monster’s Ball.
Contrary to popular belief, the road to a rollickin’ Halloween isn’t paved with candy corn and Mini Snickers (although that would be hella awesome). It’s paved with glitter — and lots of it! — because the contractor was China Glaze. 🙂
Monster’s Ball, the brand’s new limited edition Halloween collection, is a monster mash of glitter. Of the six new shades ($7.50 each), four of them sport sparkle in spades.
And that’s not all, ghouls and guys. There’s also a midnight-black textured polish and, for those who aren’t afraid of things that go bump in the night, a shade that glows in the dark.
In each of the swatches below, I’m wearing two terrifying coats…
Quick, don’t over-think it! List three things you absolutely, positively love about makeup.
Here’s mine…
What about you? What do you absolutely, positively love about makeup?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
WARNING: Catching glimpses of the pretty, pretty colors in the NARS Guy Bourdin Holiday Color Collection has been known to make knees buckle.
It’s gotta be the bold brights… They get me every single time.
I’m getting a decidedly MAC-esque vibe from this new 17-piece limited edition release, AND I LIKE IT! If there ever was a collection capable of converting the most die-hard MAC mavens to hard-core NARS nerds, this would be the one.
With saturated, high-intensity lipsticks, blushes, eyeshadows and nail polishes, it holds nothing back.
Rather than releasing just enough products to complete one look — like a blush, a gloss, one lipstick and a few eye pieces — which is what NARS usually does with their collections, they expanded their horizons this time around, offering multiple options — three blushes, four nail polishes, five eyeshadow singles (in the new Cinematic formulation) and five lipsticks (also in Cinematic).
Very MAC-like, I must say.
But this collection is more than bold brights. It’s also, in a way, an ode to one of François Nars’ childhood heroes, french photographer Guy Bourdin, who François credits for inspiring him to become a makeup artist.
Bourdin’s work graced the pages of top fashion magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar during the later half of the 20th century. He was one of the first to create complex narratives through his fashion photography. He often staged his shots in strange and mysterious ways to tell stories through imagery, sometimes with violent, surreal themes or sexuality.
I gotta say, I really like it when collections have provocative, interesting stories behind them, and I think it’s cool that Nars gives props to a fellow artist who meant so much to him.
My makeup spider sense is tingling about this collection. I can see it being one of those launches that people talk about with a twinkle in their eye, like five or six years down the road over coffee one day. “Gah! Remember NARS Guy Bourdin? I still dream about those lipsticks…”
Hark! The herald beauty angels sing…
Joy to the girls, it’s time to play!
Let eyes receive shadow! 🙂
I do believe that Too Faced Cosmetics is on to something with the name of their new holiday palette, Joy to the Girls.
Makeup-themed Christmas carols.
BOOM!
Picture it — you, Tabs and I standing on the neighbor’s doorstep in matching chunky knit sweaters with matching caps (because Team Tabs is all about accessories), while we sing about our love of cat eyeliner and blending brushes.
(I’m an alto, BTW, so you and Tabs will have to cover the high parts.)
On our eyes, Joy to the Girls.
Recently released for the holidays, it comes equipped for yuletide fun with 15 pans of powder eyeshadow in matte, shimmer and glitter finishes. There’s also a full-sized LashGASM Mascara, and three sets of step-by-step instructions for different looks.
DJ Tabs on the ones and twos!
My new favorite piece of clothing is this tabby cat DJ tee. I got it last week at Target for $12.99. 😀
I spotted this crazy lipstick at the drugstore a couple weeks ago and could not resist.
It’s NYC New York Color Ultra Last Lipwear in Black Knight, and get this: it’s only $1.99!
$1.99 what-what!?
It’s hella creamy, and one of those shades that takes a lot of work, because it also tends to be a bit patchy.
If you don’t mind taking your time and doing some layering with lip liner, though, you can make it work.
Why, yes, there is a method to my madness. 🙂
Justina, this one’s for you! I wanted to answer your question in the comments about that look I did using Maybelline’s Eye Studio palette in Desert Fantasy.
You asked…
I couldn’t place what I loved so much about your eye shadow, but I think it’s the precise outer edge. Can you explain to me how you got it to look that way? I love it!
–Justina
The secret to that crisp, sharp cat eye edge?
One word: tape.
Yup, tape. Regular ol’ Scotch Tape works (I’ve done it before), but here I’m using Nexcare Gentle Paper Tape, because I think it’s a little more gentle.
You should be able to find it near the pharmacy at your local drugstore, usually beside the bandages. I picked up this roll up at Target for $3, but many regular drugstores carry it, too (and most online).
First, I pulled a 1-2 inch strip of tape from the roll and stuck it on and off my hand a few times to weaken the adhesive. That way, it wouldn’t tug at the sensitive skin around my eyes too much when I removed it.
