Palettes

Product Spotlight: Pixi Eye Reflection Shadow Palette in Natural Beauty

January 22nd, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

pixi natural beauty palette review 2 — I’m lovin’ this eye palette by Pixi.

I came to realize the Pixi Natural Beauty palette was money — MO-NAAAY (a.k.a. awesome) – at Costco last weekend when I caught a glimpse of my eye makeup in the store’s harsh overhead lighting and was, like, “Dang! Did Sir John just spend two hours on me? Why do my eyes look so good? What sorcery is happening!?”

Here’s why this palette stands out.

It contains a bevy of cool-toned matte browns for carving out deeper-set eyes, smoking out your lids, filling in your brows, or lining your lash lines. For these tasks and more, this flexible neutral got ‘chu, boo-boo.

The secret sauce is the pigment. There’s not a milligram too little or too much. Coupled with the soft, easily scoot-able formula, and blending becomes beyond easy. You can make a lot of mistakes along the way with this one, and you can correct them very quickly because the colors are easy to sheer, so whatever you end up with, your lids look good.

And they look good all day long, too. Yes, the shadows stay put!

The smattering of shiny golds, beiges and bronzes is an added bonus. Press a shade or two on your lids for a quick hit of glitter, or apply with a wet brush along your lash line to open cramped lids.

I love this palette for days when I want something easy, breezy.

If you like to do simple everyday neutral/nude looks, or if you use and love palettes like Tartlette in Bloom or Estée Lauder Defiant Nude, this palette is in the same wheelhouse.

I do have to point out one thing, though. The eyeshadow powder formula tends to kick up a lot of grains, so just be sure to tap off your brush first. It’s not a big deal for me, but if you’re a stickler for that kind of thing, you might want to pass.

You can find it at Target for $24 or online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Quad Crush! 5 Reasons to Commit to Clinique Going Steady

October 14th, 2019 by Karen 10 Comments

clinique going steady quad — This $32 quad from Clinique is very much loved.

Question: do kids still say, “Will you go with me?” when they want to go steady? I’m asking for a very unhip friend (a.k.a. me).

Hmm… Now that I think about it, I also wonder if this still happens in person. Like, are kids texting to ask if someone wants to be their boyfriend or girlfriend now? Technology is crazy, man!

Anyway, I’m crushing on this $32 taupe eyeshadow palette from Clinique, and here are five reasons why you should be, too.

Fine lines say what? The softly shimmering satin finishes stay outta those fine lines.
A quad for all skin tones. Neither too warm nor too cool (Clinique is REALLY good at this; see their Teddy Quad) means that it works with almost all skin tones.
Taupe is dope. If you’re a MAC Satin Taupe die-hard, you’ll love this, because every shade is like a riff on Satin Taupe.
No panda eyes! Fallout is minimal (but still do your base first).
It’s not going anywhere. Going Steady is part of the Clinique permanent collection, so if it does become a staple, there’s no need to worry about it disappearing anytime soon.

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What I Wore this Week: 3 Looks With the Urban Decay Naked Honey Eyeshadow Palette

September 20th, 2019 by Karen 12 Comments

urban decay naked honey swatches — Playtime with this Queen Bee

Herald the trumpets, because I actually wore eyeshadow this week…repeatedly. 😂

I KNOW.

I wore the new Urban Decay Naked Honey Eye Palette a few times and was surprised by the variety of eye looks I was able to do with it. Before I tried to test its limits, I didn’t expect it to be as versatile as it turned out to be because there isn’t a ton of variation among the shades, but you can actually do a lot of different things with it!

Like…

Look 1: “Tropical vibes”

Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked Honey Eyeshadows in Sweet (lightly buffed all over the lid as a base), Hive and Drip (crease), Honey (lash line to crease)

Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Loaded (upper lash and water line), Heartless (inner corner), Ether (lower water line), Psychedelic Sister (lower lash line)

Mascara: It Cosmetics Lash Blow Out

Brows: NARS Brow Perfector in Komo, MAC Brow Set in Clear

Blush: Kosas Papaya 1972 High Intensity, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Give Me Sun

Foundation: MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation Stick (as an all over base), Zoeva Authentic Skin in 200W Genuine (cheeks), Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation (around mouth)

Face Powder: Nada

Lipstick: MAC Love Me Lipstick in Let Them Eat Cake (purple lips); MAC Love Me Lipstick in French Silk (neutral lips)

Look 2: “Crimson and chocolate”

Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked Honey Eyeshadows in Swarm (lightly buffed all over lid as a base), Hive and Drip (crease), Sting (outer crease), HBIC (lash line to crease)

Eyeliner: MAC Teddy

Mascara: Chanel Dimensions de Chanel

Brows: NARS Brow Perfector in Komo, MAC Brow Set in Clear

Blush: MAC Fleur Power Blush buffed out with MAC Sun-Soaked Strip Bronzer

Foundation: MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation Stick (as an all over base), Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation (cheeks and around mouth)

Face Powder: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden

Lipstick: MAC Love Me Lipstick in My Little Secret, MAC Lip Liner in Cherry

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The New Urban Decay Naked Honey Is a Sweet New Golden Eyeshadow Palette

September 6th, 2019 by Karen 23 Comments

urban decay naked honey open — Feelin’ the buzz

Oh, sugary golden brown nectar of the eyeshadow gods… I SEE YOU, URBAN DECAY. The hive’s buzzing 🐝 over Naked Honey, the brand’s newest Naked palette, a festoon of gilded golds, tantalizing tans and burnished bronzes, with none of those challenging-to-wear reds or orange reddish brown eyeshadows from the past few years in sight.

*Breathes sigh of relief*

Finally, a neutral palette that actually looks…kinda neutral. 🤷‍♀️

The $49 powdered shadow palette flies into Sephora stores and arrives online September 13th, and then a little later on September 23rd to ulta.com, macys.com, nordstrom.com and belk.com; and to Ulta, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Belk stores a few days later on September 26th.

Queen bees who crave toasty tones will probably like that it hums with warm shades, and I’m buzzing over all those golden browns!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Props if you can remember when MAC did Naked Honey first. 😉

P.P.S.

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Clinique All About Shadow Quad in Teddy Bear

August 2nd, 2019 by Karen 9 Comments

clinique teddy bear — “Yeah, don’t even TRY to take my palette. I’m warning you!”

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

One of these Teddy Bears is not like the other (and it’s more comfy to hug).

But right now, I’m talking about the makeup one, and it’s a quad of all-matte eyeshadows from Clinique. If I were a betting gal…I’d wager that the Clinique All About Shadow Quad in Teddy Bear is probably better than the other neutral palette in your makeup bag, and it’s the most “neutral” of the neutral palettes I wear. The shadows are neither too warm nor too cool (they’re in the coveted Goldilocks Zone), and there’s very little burnt orange, brick red, gray or pink undertones in sight.

clinique teddy bear swatches — Yup, still an NC42 in MAC

The powder shadows in Teddy Bear are just as soft as the bear at the top of this post, and Clinique stuffed it with all of the basics to contour lids and add depth to eyes, including a matte beige bone, a matte golden brown, a peachy golden tan and a dark chocolate brown. In MAC-speak, I’d call these the matte (so, neither warm nor cool) equivalents of Brule, Soba, Soft Brown and Brown Down.

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