Karen

MAC Jeanius Collection: Swatches and Product Photos

February 24th, 2011 by Karen 32 Comments

mac jeanius

Denim clad divas, please momentarily tear your eyes away from those Pajama Jeans (don’t lie, I know you want a pair!), and take a second to check out these swatches and product photos of some pieces from the new MAC Jeanius Collection (launches March 3 in North America; some time in March internationally).

For starters, and I write this with a tinge of sadness, the pattern on the eyeshadows is just an overspray… 🙁

mac jenius all

mac jenius motorhead
Eye Shadow in Motorhead

mac jenius white jeanius
Eye Shadow in White Jeanius

mac jenius diva in distress
Eye Shadow in Diva in Distress

mac jenius stovepipe black
Eye Shadow in Stovepipe Black
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MAC Cremeblend Blush: Official PR Information and Photos

February 24th, 2011 by Karen 8 Comments

MAC Cremeblend Blush: Official PR Information

For every contour control freak, for every persistent perfectionist comes this wondrous way to play with blush that gives you the most magnificent flexibility you’ve ever had…Starts creamy, stays creamy and proves once and for all that powder is NOT your only prerogative. You can get back to a new build for that retro “rouge” look — Old Hollywood Glamour made modern — or stop at subtle and natural; it’s all in your hands. In three aspects, two shades of each: One matched to skin, one for a brighter glow and one darker for cream contouring, it’s perfect for all skin colours, minus the silicone, particularly adept at preventing ashiness on darker complexions. Make powdery a thing of the past.

Cremeblend Blush, available March 3, 2011 at all MAC locations in North America and internationally in March 2011 ($19.50 U.S./$23.50 CDN)

So Sweet, So Easy — a bright yellow pink
Something Special — a light coral
Posey — a warm peach
Ladyblush — a warm neutral coral
Brit Wit — a dusty rosey mauve
Tea Petal — a mid-tone reddish brown

MAC Cremeblend Blush: Official PR Photos

mac cremeblend blush
So Sweet, So Easy

mac cremeblend blush
Something Special

mac cremeblend blush
Posey

mac cremeblend blush
Ladyblush

mac cremeblend blush
Brit Wit

mac cremeblend blush
Tea Petal

mac cremeblend blush

MAC Sheen Supreme: Official PR Information and Photos

February 24th, 2011 by Karen 7 Comments

MAC Sheen Supreme: Official PR Information

Gloss is good, but there’s nothing quite as wonderfully, worldly cinematic as a Lipstick — and they’re coming back! We’ve updated formulas to make it all plausible. Sheen Supreme is the combination of the strong, sensually saturated colour of, say, Tilda Swinton’s I Am Love Milanese Lipstick, leavened with the light feel and clear vibrancy, the see-through sheen of a modern New York City Girl Gloss. Imagine no muddy undertones, gliding in pearl or creme finish, moisturizing with no sticky/ tacky feel. It’s a new medium, with MAC in the lead. This is retro/modern — and devastatingly chic.

LIPSTICK, available March 3, 2011 at all MAC locations in North America and internationally in March 2011 ($14.50 U.S./$17.50 CDN)

Supremely Confident — a pale nude
Bare Again — a pinky neutral beige
Can’t Get Enough — a beige neutral
Behave Yourself — a light blue pink
Gotta Dash! — a pale clean coral
Full Speed — a bright clean yellow pink
Insanely It — a watermelon pink
Ultra Darling — a mid-tone yellow pink
New Temptation — a vivid blue red
Quite the Thing! — a deep blue plum
Impressive — a neutral gilded plum
Look at Her! — a metallic copper
Can’t Resist — a golden purplish red
Good to be Bad — a deep burgundy

MAC Sheen Supreme: Official PR Images

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Supremely Confident

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Bare Again

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Can’t Get Enough

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Behave Yourself

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Gotta Dash!

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Full Speed

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Insanely It

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Ultra Darling

mac sheen supreme lipstick
New Temptation

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Quite the Thing!

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Impressive

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Look at Her!

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Can’t Resist

mac sheen supreme lipstick
Good to be Bad

mac sheen supreme lipstick

This Summer, Don’t Let the Heat Put a Stop to Your Hot Hair Color

February 24th, 2011 by Karen 30 Comments

This series is powered by Pantene.

The heat is on! Okay, not really. It’s been epically cold here in the Bay Area, but that’s not stopping me from looking forward to summer. A few days ago the weather dude said it might even get cold enough to snow here this week, and when you’re a California weather wimp like me, that’s all the motivation you need to indulge in a bout of summery escapist daydreaming. Never mind the fact that it’s barely 50 degrees outside. If I pretend hard enough, it’ll seem like summer. 🙂

What I wouldn’t give for shorts and flip-flop weather right now… Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could drop everything, change our plans and take an immediate tropical vacation today? I’d be happy to share my sunscreen with you (gotta protect that skin, yo!) and, I should warn you, I will nag you about wearing your sunglasses. I’ve already got a bag packed and ready to go with our sunny day hair essentials — a tube of leave-in conditioner and sun protectant spray. And don’t make me bug you about wearing that hat of yours, young lady, especially if you’ve got highlights/color.

My hair and I learned that lesson the hard way on one of our first trips to visit El Hub’s family in Hawaii. I spent most of the time in the water, either surfing in the ocean or swimming in the pool, and by the end of the trip, the golden highlights I’d gotten a few weeks earlier looked lackluster, brassy and basically bad. My mane looked like straight up haaay!

When I got back to the Bay Area, my stylist gave me a good dose of tough hair love as well as some tips for the future to protect my hair color in the heat.

First, she suggested spritzing hair with a sun protectant spray before heading outside, and wearing hats whenever possible. Next, before swimming in either a pool or the ocean, she recommended wetting hair thoroughly with fresh water to let the strands absorb as much clean H2O as possible, as saltwater and chlorinated water can mess with hair color, too.
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Benefit B.Right Skin Care Line Launching April 2011

February 23rd, 2011 by Karen 62 Comments

Hi, cutie! I’m live blogging from the Benefit headquarters in San Francisco and just wanted to give you a quick sneak peek at what’s coming down the pipe from Benefit — a new skin care collection launching in April called B. Right. The eight-piece collection, which focuses on hydration and brightening, is designed to work hand in hand with Benefit’s makeup.

For updated information and many more pics of the new Benefit B. Right skin care line, see Will Benefit’s New Skin Care Line B. Right for You?

Benefit Global Beauty Authorities Annie Ford-Danielson (left) and Maggie Ford-Danielson (right) with the B.Right Skin Care collection

The products are designed to work quickly and easily, with prices ranging from $21-38. Expect to see cleansers, a toner, an eye makeup remover, an exfoliator, an eye cream and face moisturizers.

More info to come!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

It’s Time to Shine a Light on the New NARS Illuminators

February 23rd, 2011 by Karen 43 Comments

It’s time to shine a light on an illuminating development, ladies. 🙂 Last week NARS released three new shades in their Illuminator line. You may have seen the names Super Orgasm, Laguna and Copacabana ($29 each) before because all three are very familiar faces on NARS counters (have I ever mentioned how I can’t live if living is without Laguna Bronzer?). Now they’re just adding illumination to their repertoire.

I’ll share a detailed review soon, but for now here are some pictures and swatches. Let me know what ya think.

nars illuminator super orgasm laguna copacabana
NARS Illuminators from the left: Laguna, Super Orgasm and Copacabana
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The Bobbi Brown + Tibi Peony & Python Collection Puts the Squeeze on Purple and Pink

February 23rd, 2011 by Karen 34 Comments

Bobbi Brown Peony & Python Lilac Rich Lip Color SPF 12

One day last year during a trip to the Philippines my parents trekked deep into the heart of the jungle on a tour to see a massive python (their idea of a good time), but when they finally located the legendary beast, it turned out to be so desensitized to tourists that it practically posed for the cameras.

When they returned home to California and showed me the pictures, I still couldn’t bear to look at them without shivering. You see, I’m one of those girls averse to creepy crawly things…even tame ones that work in the tourism industry. 🙂

Needless to say, I was on the proverbial python fence about the theme of Bobbi Brown’s newest makeup collection, Peony & Python. A collaboration with clothing line Tibi, the spring collection slithers onto counters next month (but it’s already available online).

Snakes and flowers? — the pairing seemed a little out there to me, so I did some digging. Turns out that New York-based Tibi often incorporates contrasting elements into their clothing designs — masculine and feminine, bold and muted, youthful and sophisticated/mature.

After spending some time with Peony & Python, I think I see what Bobbi and Tibi were shooting for because the products are both sweet and sinister, ranging from sheer to opaque in pigmentation, with delicate colors dancing alongside harder-edged shades.

The seven-piece limited edition collection’s color palette blooms with purple, gray, plum, pink, taupe and mauve. It includes a printed makeup case (see the snake skin pattern?), an eyeshadow palette, a lip gloss, two mascaras, one lipstick and a kit for face, eyes and cheeks (exclusive to Neiman Marcus).
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I’m Nuts Over Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter

February 23rd, 2011 by Karen 33 Comments

I can’t decide whether to praise or curse (a pox upon thee!) those little bins by the register at Sephora, with all their last-minute impulse purchase temptations… Last Saturday, after I’d already found what I’d gone into the store to get, I was in the checkout line when one of those blasted bins acquired the power of speech!

“Karen,” it whispered. “Over here, by the register.”

Of course, I had to look. I saw these little 2.5-oz bottles of Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter for $5. I grabbed one and took a quick sniff.

I love the scent, which Pacifica describes as a warm coconut vanilla, but I get more of a warm vanilla cake with coconut frosting and a light drizzling of dulce de leche on top. In other words, YUM! I’ve come damn close to gnawing off my arm Donner party-style, and each time I’ve worn it I swear I’ve craved cupcakes…

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Karen

MAC Cremeblend Blush: Official PR Information

MAC Cremeblend Blush: Official PR Photos

MAC Sheen Supreme: Official PR Information

MAC Sheen Supreme: Official PR Images

For updated information and many more pics of the new Benefit B. Right skin care line, see Will Benefit’s New Skin Care Line B. Right for You?