Makeup & Beauty Blog

I rolled up to Sephora about a month ago and asked one of the sales associates if she could help me find the best dang under-eye concealer in the universe.

(That’s how I put it too. “…best dang under-eye concealer in the universe.”)

Then I regaled her with my recent woes related to my under-eye area (you know about all this), and she directed me to a few things I’d unfortunately tried before, like Bobbi Brown’s Peach Corrector, which I’ve liked, but they just haven’t been working well for me lately, on account of the whole dry skin situation.

Then she suggested Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Concealer ($29).

It’s kind of neat. She said it was full coverage, and it has a silicone tip applicator I’ve never seen on a concealer before, so I brought it home and gave it a try.

Well, I like that it’s easy to blend, but I’m not so sure about the full coverage part, because I think I still look very tired.

I dunno… It might be the color I picked, 345 Dark Beige, which has a lot of yellow. I usually wear peachier toned concealers because they cancel out more of the darkness in the inner corners of my eyes, but I wanted to try something new.

Unfortunately, this one doesn’t really seem to be doing a lot for me.

The quest continues, le sigh…

How about you? What’s something you recently asked a makeup artist or sales associate about?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad in 211. SO PRETTY!

Don’t mind me. I’ll just be in the corner over there rocking back and forth slowly.

See, I need time to deal with the inevitable heartbreak that will strike when I disrupt the gorgeous pattern on these Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quads.

The quads themselves are refill pans that don’t come with a case, and they’re a staggering $55 each. On top of that, the case, which is sold separately, is another $25.

Wow.

The brand is pretty new to me (it’s Japanese, not French, BTW… Who knew?), and I’m looking forward to testing their eyeshadows. Here’s to hoping they lead to luxury makeup nirvana.

For that price…they better.

Eye Color Quads in 208 (left) and 211 (right)

Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad in 208

Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad in 211

The new $21 Tarte Colored Clay CC Eye Primer Stick

For lids so smooth that people might think you sold your soul AND your cat to a sketchy character in a shady back-alley deal, there’s Tarte’s new cruelty-free Colored Clay CC Eye Primer Stick ($21).

I swear, this primer makes my lids, which are usually a hotbed of fine line action, look 10 years younger.

As it is in several of Tarte’s new fall products, Colored Clay is the star ingredient. It’s supposed to color correct itself on the skin, absorb oil, smooth the skin and, over time, reduce redness.

When I apply eyeshadows on top of it, I get about 8-10 hours of wear with very little creasing, and whatever I layer on top looks great — smooth, elegant, refined, and not heavy at all.

I just draw a bit of the creamy pinkish beige on my lids (twist up the pencil, and swipe directly on your skin), blend it out with a finger from lash line to brow bone, and that’s it. Products layered on top look exceptionally smooth, and I really do think my lids look younger.

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The new $20 Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencils in Cult, Lure, Lush, Minx and Plushie

Your kitty nephew is shedding like crazy!

Who, me?

This happens every summer. The hair — it’s everywhere! I can’t escape it. It’s on my clothes, on my face, in my nostrils, on my lips, and it may or may not be in my belly button.

The pencils have a shade-matched barrel and matte gunmetal accents on the cap and base.

Speaking of shedding…these new $20 Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencils shed a lot, too.

From the left: Cult, Lure, Lush, Minx and Plushie

Within minutes of applying any of these five (there’s also a black shade, Black Velvet, previously released and not shown here) intensely pigmented liners on my lash and/or water lines, once they’ve dried down, little flecks and specks appear under my eyes, on my nose, on my cheeks, chin and upper lip.

That ish is all up in my grill!

From the left: Cult, Lure, Lush, Minx and Plushie

New additions to UD’s famous 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil family, these Velvet cousins, which are waterproof and paraben-free, have a soft, powdery texture and a matte finish designed to create smokey, smudged out, super blended eye looks sans drama. #smokeyeyetillidie

You might recall the original smokey 24/7 Velvet shade, Black Velvet, which came out a while back. The five new shades here — Cult (a forest green), Lure (a gunmetal gray), Lush (a coffee brown), Minx (a sapphire blue) and Plushie (a deep eggplant) — are like her sassy sisters. They’re $20 each and new members of the permanent line.

Swatches clockwise from the purple shade in the lower left: Plushie, Cult, Lure, Lush and Minx

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Some legends are sweet, like these bright candy-colored glosses in The Legends Lip Gloss Set ($15) by NYX.

Not only do they look like candy, but they taste like it, too (like the sugary outer layer on Sour Patch kids, yum!).

The kit comes with five lipglosses in Classic Pink, Classic Coral, Classic Red, Classic Fuchsia and Classic Violet, all of which start bright when you apply them but sheer down to about 50% intensity over the first 10 minutes or so.

The moderately thick, semi-sticky formula lasts about two hours for me.

I’m kinda bummed they aren’t as bright and I wanted them to be…but I still think they’ll be fun layering glosses, especially with bright lipsticks.

PRICE: $15 for a set of five glosses
AVAILABILITY: Available now at NYX counters and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

From the left: Classic Pink, Classic Coral, Classic Red, Classic Fuchsia and Classic Violet