Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
I know I can’t be the only one who breaks out the Sade when Tarte’s Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Eye Base ($20) is around.
The waterproof, brightening eye base is available exclusively on qvc.com.
Coast to coast L.A. to Chicago…
Cue cheesy saxophone solo!
Here’s my new favorite way to spice up a run-of-the-mill frozen burrito (’cause lately I’ve been too lazy to cook).
Heat a frozen burrito in the microwave until it’s about halfway done.
Layer sliced olives on top.
Pour on some pre-made enchilada sauce.
Sprinkle a handful of shredded cheese.
Nuke that sucker until the cheese is melted and burrito is cooked all the way through.
Voila — a lazy girl’s lunch in less than five minutes!
Yesterday you asked some great questions about the upcoming MAC Mickey Contractor Collection, which shakes, rattles and rolls onto counters next week, and made some interesting observations in the swatch post.
I’d like to highlight some of your questions and coments here and post a few more swatches to help the lighter lasses among us see what the products might look like on paler Bollywood beauties.
“Karen, thank you for posting these swatches and pictures! If you have a chance, I’d appreciate your answering this question: do you think the Oomph eyeshadow and the Fluidlines would work on someone who is ridiculously pale and cool-toned? Most of the other stuff looks like it’s not for my skin tone, but the shadow and Fluidlines did catch my fancy. Unfortunately it’s not going to be at my local MAC, so I’d have to order it online and would rather not do that if I know ahead of time they won’t work for me. Thanks!”
–Faye
Hi Faye,
It looks like Oomph appears as a blackened green on cool-toned lighter skin. If you’re looking for a color to create, say, a dark greenish smokey eye, Oomph should do the trick.
As for the Fluidlines, I’m guessing you’ll be able to easily pull both of them off (Siahi and Ivy). 🙂
Here are a few swatches of Oomph, the Fluidlines and most of the collection on NW20 skin.
Eyeshadows from left: Oomph, Saffron, Marvel and Rani
Fluidline in Siahi (left) and Ivy (right)
Swatches from left Eye Shadow X 4 Quad in Athma: Jaan, Folie, Vivah and Carbon
Blushes in Gana (left) and Sur (right)
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And now, ladies, it’s that time in the show when Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, lookin’ hotter than any two people should be allowed to look, take the stage to announce the biggest award of the evening…
Best Makeup or Beauty Product of the Year!
LOL! 🙂
What was your pick for the overall Best Makeup or Beauty Product of 2010? Be it drugstore, high-end, hair care, fragrance, lip product, palette or tool, which product gets your personal People’s Choice Award in the overall Makeup and Beauty category? It can be a product you already voted for in the drugstore, makeup collection or skin care categories, or it can be something that didn’t quite fall into one of those three (a fragrance, hair care product, shadow quad, lippie or anything else).
This one’s a toughie, isn’t it? I can’t decide. I loved so many things — Panthera Mascara, MAC Pro Longwear Concealer, NARS Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Benefit Bella Bamba, Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint… The list goes on and on!
Which makeup or beauty product stood out to you as the overall best of the year? Cast your vote in the comments.
Make sure I don’t miss your vote by including it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Makeup or Beauty Product. That’ll make it easier for me to tally the entries and share the results. After you’ve made your nomination, let me know why you picked that one product over everything else.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to cast your vote for Best Makeup Collection of the Year, Best Skin Care of the Year and Best Drugstore Product of the Year. Let your voice be heard!
Drugstore beauty kicked bargain booty in 2010, and the greatness covered the gamut from affordable makeup to skin care to hair products to tools. NYX, Sonia Kashuk, Rimmel, NYC and wet N wild were just a handful of 2010’s affordable overachievers, and they made this bargain huntress dance her “I’m saving MONEY!” dance more than a few times this year (looks like a cross between the robot and the snake).
With big budget retailers like Target expanding their cosmetics departments, the definition of drugstore continues to change. Traditional drugstores like Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens have bargain competition now, and that’s great news for us.
If your fave budget beauty product came out in 2010, give it your vote. Which drugstore product (Target counts too!) stood out to you as the best of the year? Tell the world in the comments. 🙂
Make sure I don’t miss your vote by including it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Drugstore Product. That’ll make it easier for me to tally the entries and share the results. After you’ve made your nomination, let me know why you picked that one product over everything else.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Hi, ladies. I’ve been thinking about redesigning the layout of the blog (the equivalent of giving her a new outfit), and I know you have a great eye for design. I would really appreciate your feedback. Can you spare a few minutes to take a quick redesign survey (eight questions)?
Any feedback, suggestions, wishes or ideas that you have are welcome. I can’t promise to put every suggestion into place, but I can promise to read everything you have to say.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Skin care products continued to flood the market, counters and store shelves in 2010 because, well, great skin is always in. A few rose to holy grail status, but most quickly faded into the vast nadir of beauty product oblivion.
Two of my top skin-tastic products of the year — Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector (reduces dark spots to even skin tone on the face, hands and chest) and Korres Quercetin & Oak Eye Cream (I apply a layer of this rich, hydrating superstar beneath my eye makeup) — are now fixtures in my daily skin care routine.
Which one is my favorite? Hmm…that’s a toughie, but I have to go with my little angel from Korres.
Now it’s your turn! Which new skin care product rocked your skin and your world this year? Drugstore or department — doesn’t matter, just as long as it debuted in 2010. Cast your vote in the comments. 🙂
Make sure I don’t miss your vote by including it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Skin Care Product. That’ll make it easier for me to tally the entries and share the results. After you’ve made your nomination, let me know why it got your vote.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Heya, ladies. Here are swatches and photos of 15 pieces from the new MAC Mickey Contractor Collection. I’ll have face and lip shots coming soon, but for now, take a look at the colors and let me know if there’s anything that strikes your fancy. 🙂
Eyeshadow X 4 in Athma clockwise from shimmery gold bottom pan at the bottom: Vivha, Jaan, Folie and Carbon
Eyeshadows from green pan on lower left: Oomph, Saffron, Marvel and Rani
Fluidline in Siahi (left) and Ivy (right)
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