Well, I decided to take the Dior Lace Dentelle Palette in Pearl Glow for a little spin tonight.

Without a particular look in mind before starting, I just grabbed the pan of shimmery blue, purple, pink, taupe and silver and let my fingers make up my mind for me.

Dentelle AFTER it’s been swatched

By the time I was finished, I’d used a mix of products from Dior, Urban Decay and MAC, ending up with a soft, sorta watercolor effect with a faint wash of blue and purple on my eyes, a light pinkish brown matte on my cheeks and a creamy pinkish/plum lip.

On my eyes, I used the Dior Dentelle Palette in Pearl Glow, Dior 2-Colour Eyeshadow in Nude Look, Dior Extase Mascara and the Urban Decay 24-7 Glide On Eye Pencils in Zero and Ransom.

To tone down my cheeks (because I didn’t want them to overpower my eyes), I used MAC’s Personal Style, a sheer powder blush from the recent All Ages, All Races, All Sexes collection.

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Wowza! Are you ready for this jelly? And by jelly I’m referring to new beauty releases from Paul and Joe, NARS, Smashbox and more.

Sit back, kick off your shoes (if you’re at the office, maybe sneak it under your desk), and let your mind wander with today’s New in Beauty roundup. Don’t be surprised if you find a little drool on your keyboard when you’re done.

• I’m lurvin’ the packaging for Paul & Joe’s Alice in Wonderland collection (HELLA CUTE!).

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Ladies, can I get a big…
TGIF!
We’re rounding the bend, on the home stretch, with the finish line in sight. Do you think you have enough left in you for a sprint to the end? Come on, girl, you can do it.

Today I feel like starting our adventure with a list of recent and upcoming makeup and beauty bits like…

• Forget a dozen roses… I’d rather have Dolce & Gabbana’s The Roses Lipstick collection of five floral lippies (Scarlett, Shine On, Magnifica, Baby Darling and Fascination; $30 each) instead. Find ‘em at Dolce and Gabbana makeup counters in February, just in time for Valentine’s (hint, hint, El Hub!).
• Speaking of flowers, Essie’s Art of Spring collection reminds me of a fresh bouquet.
• Will MAC Too Fabulous really be TOO fabulous?
• If you happen to spend $150 at Beauty.com, don’t forget your gift with purchase from designer Marchesa, with generous samples from Perricone MD, Origins, Kinerase and Urban Decay.
• BAY AREA BEAUTY READERS: Nordstrom’s hosting Dior events today and tomorrow featuring their new spring collection! RSVP via Facebook, or call (415) 243-8500 x1410.
• Sephora has the new Tarina Tarantino makeup line for preview, WOOT!
• IF you wanna smell like Kim Kardashian (and I’m not saying you do)
• I’ve got stratospherically high hopes for Urban Decay’s Preen Shadow Box, Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden and Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows.
• Beauty 360, CVS’s new beauty shopping destination, has some pretty cool niche and prestige beauty brands.
• Have you haird of Kelly VanGough hair products? The new Wonderlust Hair Color Illuminating Tonic looks neat.
• Because of the packaging, I want to eat DKNY’s Candy Apple parfum sprays…
• TRISH McEVOY ALERT! She has a new Translucent Finishing Powder.
• Estee Lauder’s Perfectionist Targeted Deep Wrinkle Filler is supposed to erase my deepest wrinkles in a flash = OUTTA MY WAY, LADIES!
• Fresh off the branch — Clinique Fresh Picked Eye Shadow.
• Holy WOW! For $195, Amore Pacific Future Response Age Defense Cream sure better work.
• Look at all of the makeup E.L.F. squeezed into their Mini Makeup Collection.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Evening, ladies. How was your Tuesday? Mine wasn’t bad, except that I spent my whole afternoon stuck in the East Bay with car trouble. I’m finally back home now (a little worse for wear).

The post that follows is a reprint of one of my favorites from last year, and with Halloween approaching it seemed particularly apt. Hmm… Is it too early to start brainstorming costumes for this year?

Every girl deserves a makeover from time to time. My last one was ages ago. I’d been itching to try a new look, so yesterday I made the short trip into San Francisco hoping to find inspiration.

I hit my usual haunts — MAC, Dior and Chanel — but I was in the mood for something, well, kinda different, so I kept looking.

I was almost ready to throw in the towel when a sign on a building caught my eye: Kryolan Professional Makeup. Curious as ever and not wanting to head home defeated, I decided to check it out.

Jake, the Kryolan showroom manager, gave me a tour of the place and described their products and services.

The company offers a full line of professional and consumer beauty products but specializes in theater makeup and makeup education. I was immediately drawn to their Aquacolor wet cake makeup — pans of highly pigmented, glycerin-based face and body makeup available in 250 different shades ($6 each).

Once I spotted their beautiful brushes (high quality, and generally more affordable than department store lines), body paints and, um, fake blood, I knew I was in for a different kind of makeover. Sign my booty up!

Dominic, Kryolan’s director of education, got me ready for my makeover, sitting me down beside a counter covered in Aquacolor pans. I told him to go nuts! I didn’t know what to expect, but I got a little suspicious when he glued a prosthetic cat nose to my face.

That’s when it dawned on me: homie was probably not going to do a simple smokey eye.

After all, Kryolan is known for extreme movie and theater makeup. You’ve probably seen their makeup at work in Hollywood films, and their credits include the makeup for The Chronicles of Narnia, Collateral and Pirates of the Caribbean.

With my new prosthetic cat nose in place, Dominic started layering different colors to develop the look. “The painting process is fun,” he said. “This is the most time consuming part of the whole process.”

The entire Karen-into-cat transformation took about 45 minutes, but here’s the condensed version…

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Cupid must moonlight as a cosmetics company exec because Dolce & Gabbana’s upcoming makeup for fall 2009 has his lovely fingerprints all over it.

The Romantic Collection’s pinks, blues and greens defy the typical autumn ensemble of smokey eyes, rich berries and dark lips, and when I saw these promotional pictures for the first time, I totes thought I was looking at a spring release.

The pinks in the 13-piece collection for eyes, lips and cheeks (available this September) range from subdued to bright and share the spotlight with a mix of other bright shades.

Soft and dreamy

In the look, colorful eyes smolder in silver, hot pink, bright blue and lime above lightly flushed cheeks and neutral, delicate lips.

I get a soft, almost ethereal vibe from the release that reminds me of the MAC A Rose Romance collection last spring.

Off to a promising start

As the face of Dolce & Gabbana The Make Up, actress Scarlett Johansson helped the Italian fashion house expand their portfolio into cosmetics earlier this year.

The luxury line for eyes, lips, face and nails carries prices in the Chanel/Dior range, so expect to pay a pretty penny — if you can find it. For now, the line’s only carried at two US Saks Fifth Avenue stores (New York and Beverly Hills) and saksfifthavenue.com.

What would you get?

If you could choose to take home any four of the following fall products and didn’t have to pay a dime, what would you get? Since it’s Friday, let’s virtual haul, LOL!

Are you ready to do some serious Dolce & Gabbana The Make Up damage?

It’s time for another round of WHAT WOULD YOU GET?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Choose any four Dolce & Gabbana The Make Up products from fall 2009, and post your wish list in the comments.

Eyes

Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Dazzling 160, $59 (repromote from earlier this year)

Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Rose 90, $36

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