PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Neutral Eye Palettes

Neutral eye shadows have been around for ages. They are the 'vanilla ice cream' of the makeup world - good but sometimes a little boring. But recently this beauty staple has gotten a new lease on life.  This trend started with Urban Decay's launch of the wildly popular "Naked" Palette which lead to an explosion of eye shadow collections in a neutral range of shades.  Here's my top picks of neutral eye shadow palettes that reflect a variety of price points. Happy shopping my lovelies!

 

Bobbie Brown -  "Sand Tortoiseshell" Eye Palette ($60)
The Tortoiseshell eye palette in "Sand" is for lighter skin tones, with light to dark shadows in flattering warm neutrals. This eye shadow collection let's you go from soft to smoky in no time flat. The eight shadows in this palette are designed to be layered - there’s no blending required. Start with the lightest shade, then layer the darker shades until you get the desired intensity.
* This eye palette is also available in "Bronze Tortoiseshell"  for medium to darker skintones.

Urban Decay  - "Naked" Palette  ($48)
Everybody wants to look good NAKED! Far from a group of boring beige shadows, the Naked Palette's long, lean, seductive case is packed with twelve gorgeous neutrals, including five NEW shades. This palette contains a range of textures: everything from glitter to shimmer to matte. Also included in palette is  the Good Karma eye shadow brush and a travel-size eyeshadow Primer Potion.

Stila - "Natural Eye Shadow" Palette ($39)
A beautiful palette consisting of Stila's award-winning Eye Shadows in wearable, neutral shades for every skintone that can be worn wet or dry and a limited-edition Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner. It also contains an eight-page lookbook with detailed how-to tips and tricks.

NYX - "Nude on Nude" Pallete ($25)
This set contains a classic medley of 20 neutral eye shadows and 10 vibrant lip colors that work for every skin tone and every occasion. What more could a girl ask for?

SLEEK Make-UP - "Storm" i-Divine Palette ($10)
The Storm i-Divine palette is comprised of 12 strong and rich shades perfect for accentuating the eyes and creating natural looks.

E.L.F. - "Essential Beauty School" 32-Piece Eyeshadow Palette ($5)
This 32-color Professional Eyeshadow Palette is the all-you-need eyeshadow assortment, perfect for on-the-go beauty! With endless colors & textures to choose from, this professional eyeshadow palette lets you create your own personal look whenever you wish, wherever you are. 



* Note - the first eye shadow palette featured in this article is Kat Von Dee's True Romance eye shadow palette in "Saint". This product is yet to be released on Sephora.com.

PRODUCT REVIEW - M.A.C._ Semi Precious Collection

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"Imagine the impact, gleam and depth of colour as ethically mined minerals from Brazil work their mystique on Mineralize Skinfinish and Mineralize Blush. Limited edition....Get rich while you can!”

So I made a trip last week to the MAC Pro store to re-purchase a Pro product I ran out of. To my surprise it's been over a year since I last purchased anything from M.A.C. and my Pro card was expired. (Booo!)  But the good news is that I got chance to check out the new Semi Precious collection in person. I'm not a huge M.A.C. aficionado but I have to admit, most of the products in this collection are gorgeous!

Since I was already in the store I decided to play and swatch all the products in the collection....be prepared to fall in love. This collection of products launched online and in MAC stores last Wednesday so if you like any of the colors get out your credit card immediately!

Semi Precious Eyes

Mineralize Eye Shadow ($20.00)

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]

"Quartz Fusion" - soft pink, silver and deep pink

"Jade's Fortune" - bright yellow, blue, lime and black

"Faux Gold" - coral, gold, lime and bronze

 

"Clarity" - light pink, off-white, green, gold and black

"Mineral Mode" - white base with copper and grey

"Unsurpassable" - green, teal, purple and copper

"Blue Sheen" - navy, black and peach

"Hint of Sapphire" - pink, violet, teal, copper and blue

"Rare Find" - violet, brown and gold

Missing from Display (SOLD OUT):

"Golden Glaze" - pink and gold

"Dark Indulgence" - forrest green and black

"Smoked Ruby" - burgundy and black'

Semi-Precious Colour

 Lipstick ($20.00)

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]
"Musky Amethyst" - deep plum (Frost)

"One of a Kind" - midtone rosy neutral (Lustre)

"Gem of Roses" - midtone strawberry pink (Lustre) SOLD OUT

"Lush Amber" -light nude beige (Lustre)

Cremesheen Glass  ($18.50)

 

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]
"Richly Revered" - deep plum brown
"Looks Like Sin" -midtone reddish plum
"Geo Pink" - strawberry pink
"Natural Flare" - light caramel nude
"Pure Magnificence" - light grey pink

Mineralize Blush  ($23.50)

 

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]
"Warmth of Coral" - coral and peach
"Pressed Amber" - nude, beige and brown
"Feeling Flush" - pink, deep blue pink, and brown SOLD OUT

Mineralize Skinfinish  ($28.50)

 

[colors from left to right - base, inner circle and mixed with indoor light and natural light]
"Semi Precious Crystal Pink" - Base: pink champagne, Inner Circle: pink, dirty green and bronze
"Semi Precious Pearl" - Base: beige champagne, Inner Circle: white, plum and bronze SOLD OUT
 
"Rose Quartz" - Base: rosy pink, Inner Circle: deep blue pink, and brown SOLD OUT 
"Semi Precious Goldstone" - Base: brown, Inner Circle: rosy pink, white, and gold 

Semi Precious Skin

Mineralized Charged Water ($22.00)
Mineralize SatinFinish spf 15 Foundation ($29.50)
Mineralize Face + Body Lotion ($29.50) SOLD OUT

Also part of the Semi Precious collection were two new brushes: # 179 Angled Split Fibre Buffer Brush ($47.00) and Split Fibre Blush Brush ($32.00)


My top picks from the M.A.C. Semi Precious collection are as follows:
Mineralize Eyeshadows in “Blue Sheen”, “Hint of Sapphire”, "Rare Find" and "Clarity"
Mineralize Skinfinishes in “Semi Precious Pearl” and “Semi Precious Gold Stone”
Semi-Precious Lipstick in “Lush Amber” and "One of a Kind"
Cremesheen Gloss in “Natural Flare” and “Geo Pink”
Mineralize Charged Water and Mineralize Face + Body Lotion
 
The only product I didn't like for myself was the Mineralize Blushes - they looked chalky and ashy on my deep skin tone. Not one of the colors worked which was disappointing. I especially loved the the Mineralize Eye Shadows...I tried to duplicate their color and effect using other mineral products but it just didn't work. Guess I'll have to pay full price for those little gems. I also really liked the Mineralize Skinfinishes as well - I would use them as highlighter or layer over blush though, instead of over my whole face.

So what do you think dear Readers? Are any of you planning to buy products from this MAC Limited Edition collection? I've heard through the social network "grapevine" that this is a much anticipated collection and its going fast so if you like anything, I'd advise buying it ASAP my darlings.  Happy shopping!!!

PRODUCT REVIEW - CLEAN_Cotton T-Shirt

Hello my Lovelies,

I know it's been awhile but I'm back and with a new type of product to review - perfume!!!  Yes, it's my first fragrance review on "Karen's World of Beauty" and I'm very happy to share it with you my dear Readers.  Today I'll be reviewing "Cotton T-Shirt" Eau de Parfum, a new fragrance from CLEAN Perfume.

CLEAN Perfume was launched by Fusion Brands Inc. in April 2003. Founder Randi Shinder wanted a fragrance that was reminiscent of pure soap but unable to find such a fragrance, she developed her own…CLEAN! CLEAN is now a lifestyle brand formulated in small quantities to ensure all ingredients are fresh, pure, and of the highest quality.


As my friends can tell you, I'm the type of woman that loves girly-girl, sweet scents like vanilla or florals. But when I received CLEAN Perfume's new scent "Cotton T-Shirt" I decided to keep an open mind and try something different.  I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Fragrance Notes:
Bergamot, Fresh Laundry Accord, Clean Aldehydes, Dewy Freesia, Cotton Flower, Rosewood, Sheer Amber, Warm Musks, Touch of Vetiver


True to their description, it honestly felt like I was smelling a boyfriend's lingering scent on cotton t-shirt he'd just taken it off. It was comforting and warm yet still fresh and clean.  Every time I caught a whiff of the scent it made me smile and say "mmmmm" (inside my head of course!).  Think I'll have to pay a trip to Sephora soon to try a few of CLEAN's other fragrances...it's time to expand my fragrance wardrobe!


The 2.14 oz Eau de Parfum Spray retails for $69 at Sephora and given its fresh yet warm scent it will be appreciated by both men and women.  So give CLEAN's "Cotton t-shirt" a try...you won't be sorry you put it on. 




* Product sample was provided for review but I am not affiliated with the company, nor was I paid to review any of the product(s) mentioned in this blog post.  See my  "Disclosure Policy" for further details.

THE MAKEUP SHOW NY (2011) - DAY 2

As promised my lovely "Karen's World of Beauty" Reader's, I'm back with coverage of Day 2 of The Makeup Show in New York.  Like last year (and the year before) I stayed up late going through products and writing my blog post so unfortunately I was late for Day 2.  My whole schedule of planned activity got thrown off because I was late and then I got lured in by the vendors so I mostly spend time shopping and talking. So here's how the day went...

First stop was the NARS cosmetic booth to renew my Pro Discount and check out their new collection for Fall 2011...I'm so in love with this new eyeshadow trio:

It was so crazy at the booth that I couldn't swatch colors but I plan on making a trip to their new Soho boutique in NYC.  I'll be doing a review of the product line and their swanky new digs at 413 Bleecker (they even named a Pure Matte lipstick after their address). Stay tuned lovelies!

I was so happy that I made it to the 2nd Floor and checked out the Career and Resource Seminar "Women In the Industry" with several women I greatly admire; (from left to right in pic) Eve Pearl, Danessa Myricks, Eugenia Weston and Sue Devitt.

All the women on the panel were so geniue, informative, helpful, supportive, honest....I could go on and on. It really was refreshing and encouraging to hear their experiences and get their input as women working in the Beauty/Makeup Industry.  I got a chance to take a picture with one of my Makeup Mentors (in my head anyway) Eve Pearl.

When I decided to do makeup professionally, I took my first seminar with Eve Pearl through The Powder Group. That was almost 9 years ago and I still remember the lessons I learned from her...she was so patient and helpful. 

After seeing Eve I decided to head over to her booth to check out any new products.  Her "Salmon" Concealer was a big part of my evolution as Makeup Artist and understanding color theory. Thanks to that miracle product you can color correct the darkest under-eye circles even on the fairest skin. I love it!!! However since I have all the shades of concealer and alot of other products I only purchased her Moisturizing Primer and some mini powder puffs (Eve's only place I know to buy them). I did get the chance to swatch some of her eyeshadows quads...see below:

Velvet (Purples)  Eye Palette

 Sapphire (Blue) Eye Palette

Emerald (Green) Eye Palette

I also did a brief interview with Liz Sorgi of new online makeup resource, MugPaint.com. They will be posting my interview soon but you can check out their site in the meantime.  I will be posting some exclusive content to MugPaint's website from time to time so defintely register as a member.

One of my favorite Makeup Artist friend, Mia Hendrick, hipped me to a new makeup line called Beauty Addicts so I went to check them out.  Here's pictures of their cosmetic display...it's like candy to my inner little girl. Yummy!

 

 

Thanks to the lovely Jenine of Beauty Addicts, I was given the opportunity to test out several of their beauty products so keep an eye out for my video review in the near future Readers!

After that I went by OCC Makeup booth to chat with Creator David Klasfeld to give him my feedback on his new OCC Skin Tints.  They are awesome! I wore combination of OCC Tints in Y5 and R5 for today's makeup look along with "Anime" Lip Tar on my kisser. Everyone was asking me what lip color I was wearing. OCC's website describes color as an "intense, no holds-barred neon pink"...I just call it lovely! LOL. (I'ts hard to see lip color in this crappy BlackBerry phone picture but trust me this color is BOLD!)

I ran into some more Makeup Artist friends as I was making a final loop around the main vending floor. 

Time was running down so I made a few more stops to pick up some items for my professional makeup kit. I must admit though that the majority of my purchases were for moi!

I saw my of my favorite people in the world...Makeup Artist Valerie P. Hernandez from Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics!  She's their lead Makeup Artist and not only is she incredibly talented and informative about YB product's she's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. I love her to death!!!

Of course she talked me into buying (yes, I'm sure you know the answer already) more lipglosses!!! LOL! Here's swatches of some of their lovely mineral Lip Glosses...I swear I love every color they have. (I really do need help for my lip gloss addiction).

 

I also got a newer version of their incredible Hi-Def Hydrating Mineral Perfecting Powder, this one was tinted for warmer skin tones. Words can't convey how wonderful this powder is...its feel like cool silk on your skin and just melts into your face. I'm also a huge fan of their Minerals in the Mist spray. If you buy this spray please don't blame me if you get addicted because it's just lovely. My favorite is "Recharge" which smells like Tangerine and Grapefruit - it instantly perks me up and makes me feel happy.

The security guards were practically throwing us out of Metropolitan Pavillon as the makeup crowd was still lingering...talking and showing off their beauty hauls, etc. I managed to stop someone to take a picture of me in front of The Makeup Show logo wall to end my day at the 2011 edition of The Makeup Show New York. I look forward to The Makeup Show all year long and it goes by in a flash.

Here's pictures of my beauty haul for Day 2...I definitely went over budget but TMS only happens once a year so I guess I'm allowed. I just have to get back on strict beauty buying budget after this spending spree!

 

Well dear Readers, I hope you enjoyed my adventures at The Makeup Show 2011 and check back soon for product reviews and videos of several products.  Thanks again for your support!!