Product Reviews

Product Spotlight: Physicians Formula The Healthy Lip Velvet Liquid Lipstick

May 20th, 2020 by Karen 17 Comments

I’m wearing Physicians Formula The Healthy Lip Liquid Lipstick in Vitamin Beet. Winged Liner tee is from my store, connorclaire.com.

I loved these matte liquid lipsticks by Physicians Formula when they first came out a couple years ago, but I gotta give ’em a quick shout-out again because I wore the magenta shade the other day and dang! — the wear time is INSANE.

physicians formula healthy lip — Bare With Me, Dose of Rose, Berry Health, Mangentle Formula, Tu-lip Treatment, Vitamin Beet

I had Magentle Formula on for six hours, and no joke, it barely budged, and that was after lunch, snacks, multiple cups of caffeinated beverages (EARL GREY IN THE HOUSE, YO), and three big cups of water.

physicians formula magentle before — The shade Magentle Formula, right after I first applied it

physicians formula magentle after — And here it is after six hours and countless snacks and drinks

Right now they’re on sale on the Physicians Formula website for $5.52 (originally $8.49)! A few shades are sold out, but most are still there. [Continue reading…]

Product Spotlight: Laura Mercier Rosegold Caviar Stick Eye Shadow

April 9th, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

laura mercier rose gold swatch — Love this shade! ❤️

Two mind-blowing revelations I’ve had as of late:

1. The Golden Girls theme song is A LEGIT REAL TUNE, and not just a jingle. Wha!? Did you know this?? I feel like my world will never be the same again.

2. Laura Mercier Rosegold Caviar Stick is ah-mah-zing. Even more amazing than Rose from The Golden Girls.

If a doe-eyed inner corner highlight is a non-negotiable item on your must-have makeup list, Rosegold is worthy of your everyday staples bag. It’s refreshingly similar to a true rose gold, so it’s more of a peachy gold with very little pink, and if you melted down a piece of rose gold jewelry, this is the color you’d get. On my NC42 skin, it’s a gleaming, glistening golden peach that’s warm, but not too warm, and when applied to the inner half of my lids it maxes out the doe-eyed effect. I look HELLA awake when I wear it, and that’s a feat because my @ss is tired, LOL!

I usually wear it with a warm brown or bronze cream eyeshadow on the outer half/outer corner, but I think purple, copper, navy and olive eyeshadows look great with it too.

You have a good three or four minutes to blend and smudge before Rosegold sets, so you’ve got some time to play, and — bonus! — you can skip eye primer with it because once it locks down completely once it dries.

“Caviar Stick Eye Shadow from Laura Mercier is a long-wearing versatile eyeshadow stick delivers effortless application with up to 12 hours of high-impact color. Pigment-rich shades – nudes to deeps, shimmer and matte finishes – glide seamlessly onto lids. Creamy formula gives you plenty of time to smudge, blend, line, fill or define, so it’s easy to create any look.

Sets for crease and transfer resistant wear and layers easily over or under other eye shadows (including powder and liquid formulas). Layer Caviar Stick Eye Colour with Caviar Chrome Veil Lightweight Liquid Eye Colour for a high impact foil effect.” –ulta.com

Oh, and if you’ve got hooded lids like moi, load an angled liner brush with Rosegold and wear it as eyeliner on your upper lash line to instantly open up those lids.

Rosegold is $29, and here it is at Ulta.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: Sally Hansen Sheer Color Therapy Nail Polish

March 30th, 2020 by Karen 5 Comments

If you like pastel paws but don’t want to go full-on painted Easter egg, these sheer Sally Hansen polishes hit the spot. They’re from Sally’s moisturizing Color Therapy lacquer line and are $8.99 each.

Fighting crabbiness one stroke at a time! Now, I’m not saying that the Sally Hansen Color Therapy Sheers will solve all your social distancing dilemmas (like, why is it so hard to find baking soda at the store right now?!), but they should help in a couple key areas, like if your nails need serious TLC! The moisturizing argan oil-infused Color Therapy formula helps reduce chipping and splitting.

And, is it just me, or is there something intensely empowering about a set of freshly painted claws? I feel like a tiny @ss kicker when my nails are done and I’m wearing big hoops.

These sheer shades, which are part of a sub-collection of the Sally Hansen Color Therapy nail polish line, are my new faves. There are only a handful of them, including cool-toned lavender Bare Tint, and cool light pink Bare Kiss, which has a hint of greige.

sally hansen bare kiss — Two coats of Bare Kiss, along with the Sally Hansen Color Therapy Nail Corrector Base Coat and High Gloss Top Coat

sally hansen bare kiss 7 days — Bare Kiss after seven days of wear

Like all of the Color Therapy polishes, these have a flat, extra wide brush that fans across your entire nail to completely coat it with paint in one swipe… Not that I’ve got anywhere pressing to go these days, but manis and pedis are much quicker when I use this brush.

Also of note

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TLC for Needy Nails: The Sally Hansen Color Therapy Nail Beautifiers Base and Top Coats, and a BOMB Cuticle Serum

March 24th, 2020 by Karen 21 Comments

Well, hello, nail polish. NICE TO SEE YOU, OLD FRIEND!

Now that I have a little more time to do something other than an occasional speed mani, I’ve been busting out the accouterments from the new Nail Beautifiers collection in the Sally Hansen Color Therapy Line.

Color Therapy is Sally Hansen’s line of moisturizing polishes infused with argan oil, and I started wearing them a lot after “the gel mani incident.” My nails needed some serious TLC, so I babied them for a couple months and only wore bare nails or Color Therapy until my nails recovered back to their former strength.

There are six treatments in the new Nail Beautifier family, including three base coats, two top coats and a Nail Cuticle Serum.

sally hansen give me a tint — I did this mani while I wrote this post! I used the Nail Corrector, followed by two layers of Color Therapy Sheer in Give Me a Tint, and topped it off with the High Gloss Top Coat. When it dried, I massaged the Nail Cuticle Serum around the base of my nails and my fingertips.

If you’re washing your hands 24/7 like I am…

The Nail Cuticle Serum ($8.99) is THE STUFF. You can use it on bare or polished nails — just apply to the cuticles and nail tips and massage until absorbed. It’s a thick serum, and it isn’t oily, so you aren’t left with slippery, greasy fingers afterwards.

I keep it on my desk and apply it whenever I get a chance, and ever since I’ve been doing this, my cuticles (which had been visibly dry and thirsty and came this close to going full-on raggedy) look and feel so much better.

sally hansen nail cuticle serum — So good!

If you happen to see this online or while you’re out, grab it. Your cuticles will send you a secret love letter ❤️🕊️ via carrier pigeon declaring their undying affection for your thoughtfulness.

All about the base

If you have some serious ridges like I did after the disastrous gel mani incident, then the Nail Corrector ($8.99), which smooths out dips and drops on the surface of your nails, is for you. It looks like a peachy cream in the bottle, but it applies as a very sheer, barely-there pink.

Do your nail tips chip and split easily? If so, the Strengthening Base Coat ($8.99), which, like the Nail Corrector, looks tinted in the bottle but goes on clear, would be a good choice. Added bonus: It doubles as a top coat in a pinch.

If you’re lucky enough to have healthy nails, grab the Nail Primer ($8.99). It irons out the nails surface just like the Nail Corrector but isn’t as aggressive with the smoothing.

Top it off

Two new top coats reinforce the strength of your nails and the durability of your mani while locking down your nail color. I’m a fan of the High Gloss Top Coat ($8.99), which has a reflective gleaming, glossy shine (so it looks wet even when it’s dry).

Some of my nails tend to split, so I’ll bust out the Strengthening Top Coat ($8.99) and use it on them for added protection.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. On my #stressbaking to-do list this week: SCONES.

I made some terrible ones over the weekend that were just dry and dense and gross and totally inedible.

My first attempt at scones, and for the record…they were terrible!

Do you have a fool-proof scone recipe or any suggestions? Do tell.

Product Spotlight: Laura Mercier Rosé Cheek Color

March 23rd, 2020 by Karen 11 Comments

laura mercier rose blush swatch — Rosé all day

“No-makeup” makeup people, take note: This warm pink powder blush will release you from your “blahs” while summoning your cheeks back to life.

I barely wore any makeup last weekend (real talk: I’ve been feeling kinda blah), but I *did* manage to put on some mascara, brow gel and Laura Mercier Rosé today, AND THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT!

Rosé is a warm-toned pink matte powder blush, and I didn’t realize just how much I’ve been neglecting my usual beauty routine lately until I looked in the mirror this morning and saw a mustache worthy of a Disney villain on my upper lip.

via GIPHY

A little makeup was definitely in order.

So, yeah, if you want to feel somewhat functional/normal, if only for a moment, wear blush — ideally, one like Rosé, which has that patented “no-makeup makeup®” thing going. It’s colorful without being intense, and matte, and it doesn’t look heavy or harsh.

Are you the type of person who skips foundation? Or do you just wear a touch of tinted moisturizer? If so, this blush is at its best when it’s dusted directly on bare skin or on top of a minimal base.

Hopefully, someday soon we’ll all have places to go with actual real live people in them again, and Laura Mercier Rosé will be ready. It’s available now on the Ulta website for $30.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen