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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

Karen

What Were Your Best and Worst Beauty Experiences of the Week?

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So I know this is totally not exciting, but my cuticles have been looking GREAT lately! I’ve been taking the Sephora Stimulating Lavender Cuticle Oil Pen to ’em a lot (every few hours and then also before bed). I’ve also been unusually good about remembering to use hand cream after each of the 3,456 times I wash my paws throughout the day… Not gonna lie, I’m a bit of a germaphobe. This isn’t something I say very often, but damn my cuticles look sexy, haaay! 🙂

My bangs, for sure. They’re starting to stress me out, always getting in my grill, and you should see them when I get up in the morning… Um, do you remember those troll dolls? Yeah, like that.

What were your best and worst beauty experiences this week? Please share yours in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Weekly Roundup

Can I ask you a question, ladies? It’s very important. Okay, not really. It’s about bangs. I got mine trimmed a few weeks ago, and they’ve grown out to where they’re starting to work my nerves. My stylist offers free bang trims, which I know a lot of stylists do, but I’m not quite sure if I should tip her, and if I do, how much. I mean, I love how she cuts my hair. She’s gifted with curls and waves, but it doesn’t take long to trim bangs, and my regular haircuts do cost an arm and a leg… I just don’t want to be rude, but she does stress how the trims are free.

Do you ever take stylists up on their offer of free bang trims, and if you do, do you tip?

In other news, it’s Sunday! Do you know where your tabby cat is? Mine’s on my lap, making biscuits on my thigh.

What are you doing today? Got anything fun lined up? El Hub and I are going out to get breakfast, and then I’ll be back here to work on a project for tonight on the blog. Stay tuned! 🙂

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

Orofluido Beauty Elixer for HairOROFLUIDO HAIR
ELIXIR

When I went to get my bangs trimmed a couple weeks ago my stylist gave me a sample of Orofluido Beauty Elixer (regularly $32 for a 3.38-oz. bottle) and raved on and on about how it was to going to change my life, starting with my hair.

I’d never heard of Orofluido before, but it’s a small indie haircare line a little more popular in Europe than here in the States. They only list two products on their website — the Beauty Elixer that my stylist gave me, and something new called Shine Spray. Read more…

Urban Decay Cowboy Junkie Shadows and Gloss SetURBAN DECAY
COWBOY JUNKIE SHADOWS & GLOSS SET

Of course, on the ONE DAY I actually need the only cowboy hat I’ve ever owned, I can’t find it. Welcome to the story of my life. Wherever you are, my beloved black straw cowboy hat, I reckon we would’ve made sweet music together today, taking pictures of ourselves covered in glitter with the new Urban Decay Cowboy Junkie Shadows & Gloss Set ($38).

The new set rides into town for the holidays, kicking up glitter in its wake with four powder shadows, a liner and one lonesome lip gloss.

Three members of the set hail from the Midnight Cowboy eyeshadow gang, known for their eye-catching, dramatic glitter.

But this glitter is like dust on a desert trail (gets everywhere). Midnight Cowboy (a gritty, glittery peachy pink), Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (a glittery peachy tan) and Midnight Cowgirl (a glittery gold) leave fallout everywhere — beneath my eyes, around my nose and on my cheeks. Shoot, I even found some on Tabs.

I think if you’re going to try to get behind this set, you just gotta go with the glitter and fallout. Resistance is futile. It’s kinda like the zombie apocalypse that way, I guess. Read more…

LORAC Box Office Hit Full Face PaletteLORAC BOX OFFICE HIT
FULL FACE PALETTE

How do you spell a scream, friends? Gaaaaah! perhaps? I had one of those days… I started with grand plans and great expectations to write about, among other things, the beauty gods’ gift to big hair and the new smokey Urban Decay Black Palette, but I hit The Great Wall.

No, not the one in China.

Writer’s block, which you might think I wouldn’t get anymore after four years and 4,000 posts, but I do.

I’d hoped for witty prose, but all that came out of my fingertips today was gooey green baby poo. At one point I just gave up on the whole sentence thing and decided to take a ton of pictures of the LORAC Box Office Hit Full Face Palette ($35) instead. Read more…

NYX Eyebrow ShaperNYX EYEBROW
SHAPER

Some mornings I just CANNOT get it together, and even something as simple yet important as operating the coffee maker might as well be quantum physics.

I call those my makeup-for-dummies days, and when they strike I turn to instant coffee my arsenal of tools and tricks to fake a good night’s sleep.

Can’t have my neighbors mistaking me for the first wave in the coming zombie apocalypse, right?

The latest addition to my makeup-for-dummies kit, NYX’s new Eyebrow Shaper ($8.75), is one of several new eyebrow products from NYX this fall. It’s a colorless, waxy brow gel in pencil form — perfect for sculpting and taming unruly brows — and for me it takes the place of having to fill in my brows with a colored brow pencil, wax or eyeshadow, particularly when I’m tired and/or lazy (read: often). Read more…

Urban Decay Purple EyeshadowsA COMPARISON OF URBAN DECAY
PURPLE EYESHADOWS

Last night when MBB reader Steph B asked this about the Urban Decay Cowboy Junkie Palette ($38), I thought it was a perfect excuse to paint my arm purple.

Hmm… Good question. To get to the bottom of it, I busted out some of the similar Urban Decay purples in my stash to do a quick comparison.

I don’t have Purple Haze, but Flash, Freakshow, Ecstasy and Frigid are currently available as singles in UD’s permanent line; AC/DC is from last fall’s Book of Shadows Vol. II.

From the left that’s Romp (from the Cowboy Junkie Palette), Flash ($17), Freakshow ($18), Ecstasy ($17), AC/DC and Frigid ($18).

I’d have to say that of these colors here, Romp most closely resembles AC/DC in its pan, but I think it looks more like Frigid (a dark purple with hints of navy blue and black) on the skin. Read more…

Clarins Barocco Holiday 2010 CollectionCLARINS BAROCCO
HOLIDAY 2010 COLLECTION

Ladies, I haven’t felt very glamorous this week… On a scale of 1 to 10, my glamorousness has been hovering around a -3. With scrunchies in my hair and my bum glued to the couch and wrapped in stretchy pants, I’ve watched just about every zombie movie and TV show released since 1969. Has it been educational? Sure, but it hasn’t been great for glamor.

The new Clarins Barocco Holiday Collection couldn’t have come at a better time.

Look at all that fancy… 🙂 It’s like a shot of fabulous straight to the heart!

The floral swirls/filigree designs both inside and out, and the rich berry, gold, black and peach shades seduced the sweat pants right off me (actually, they were raggedy yoga pants). These are products begging to be worn with a shimmery golden gown and dangerously high heels. Read more…

NYX Velvet Rope PaletteNYX VELVET ROPE
10 COLOR EYESHADOW PALETTE

Oh, my goodness! Look at all that purple. Is this a Prince video or a beauty blog? 🙂

Today I left the thugs to their gangsta’s paradise while I escaped yet again to my purple one. I could go on and on about how much I love purple eyeshadow, but the No. 1 reason why I think every girl (or makeup loving boy, for that matter) should play with purple is because of how great it goes with everything.

Alright, I admit I’m plum biased, but I think purple looks great on almost everyone. Whether brown, green, gray, blue or hazel eyes, the right purple on your lid or lash line can make those peepers POP!

POP! Yeah, I use that word a lot…but you know what I mean.

Now, brace yourself for a plethora of purple, and behold the new NYX Velvet Rope 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette ($9.75)! Read more…

Sephora Stimulating Lavender Cuticle Oil PenSEPHORA LAVENDER
CUTICLE OIL PEN

The only thing that could possibly make Sephora Stimulating Lavender Cuticle Oil pens ($12) better would be if you could buy them at bulk prices in packs.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but this pen’s the frickin’ bomb-dot-com, particularly if your cuticles look like Snooki after a long night at da club…

Twisting the bottom soaks the brush tip with moisturizing oil. Then just brush onto dry cuticles. Simple but effective.

I picked one up at Sephora’s Friends & Family sale, and my only regret is that I didn’t get more.

This Stimulating Lavender version is one of three flavors. Last year’s was called Nourishing Cuticle Oil (there’s also Healing Eucalyptus). This one works the same as that one but has a lavender scent. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Smile! It’s the Whiter Than White Home Teeth Whitening Kit

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Chloe on the Whiter Than White Home Teeth Whitening Kit

Written by Chloe

You know what they say; the world always looks brighter from behind a smile. 🙂 Chloe shares why she’s been all smiles lately in today’s guest post.

Whiter Than White Home Teeth Whitening Kit

I fear opening that dreaded email from Facebook declaring someone’s tagged me in a photo, a hideous one I’m sure, yet last time this happened I was pleasantly surprised. There I was looking super happy with a big cheesy grin, but my close-lipped smile seems to have disappeared since I brought home the Whiter Than White Teeth Whitening Kit (£99 plus shipping; international shipping available).

The kit came with custom made trays, which meant I had to take an impression of my teeth myself, which I found slightly alarming due to never having done anything like it before. I watched the instructional DVD and then felt a lot more confident to give it a go without my dentist.

I mixed the putty as per instructions, put it on the plastic tray, and then attempted to get my whole mouth over it and bite down quickly before the putty hardened. You get about three minutes before its too late, and I’ve never been great with time management. My first thought was, “Hmmm, did I bite down hard enough?” and then, “Arrrgh, am I going to get this thing out of my mouth?”

The suction caused by the process was a little distressing, but with a bit of patience I managed to pry it out along with the excess dribble. Unfortunately, only a mere dent of my teeth appeared on the putty. I phoned the free phone number and was told that another set of putty would be on its way. Great!

Is the Whiter Than White tooth whitening service the same service I would get from my dentist?

According to the company, yes, the Whiter Than White two-step tooth whitening service is exactly the same service you would get from your dentist, using the same carbamide peroxide gel.

The only difference is that your dentist is not present when you do the impression of your teeth, hence the price difference. Your dentist will charge you between £200 to £400 ($320 to $640) or more, but the company doesn’t have the same expenses as the dentist.
– source

Next day, sure enough the putty arrived, so I had another go at it, working much quicker this time, and success! My teeth perfectly formed in the yellow putty.
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When You Open NYX Casting Call, You May Go Gray: The NYX 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Casting Call

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I was really hoping my recent run-in with the NYX Velvet Rope Palette was a harbinger of really rad NYX things to come, but the company’s 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Casting Call ($9.75) totally nixed that theory.

With 10 mostly shimmery (there’s one very sheer matte black) powder shadows in shades of gray, silver and one lonely bronze, it’s one of four new palettes recently added to NYX’s “The Runway Collection.”

If you think you’ve seen this palette before…you may have. Are you thinking of the NYX Winter in Moscow Palette ($20)? It had a very similar vibe.

These are colors that would probably look their best on lighter lovelies, with the nuances of the different grays appearing more pronounced than they do on my NC 35 skin. Unfortunately, of the nine shadows I tried on my lids (I didn’t try one of the lighter frosty grays), all of them went on patchy and uneven, so texture may be an issue with these.

I think it was smart of NYX to include a bronze that can work as either a highlighter or a crease color, if for no better reason than to liven up this sea of gray.


NYX Winter in Moscow Palette (left) and Casting Call (right)
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Saturday Surfing and MAC Strobe Cream

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Photo by Ornesllaswouldgo

What up, buttercup? How are you doing today? I’m just over here playing with makeup and watching one of the funniest TV shows I’ve seen in ages! It’s called The League. Have you seen it? Seriously, I know almost nothing about fantasy football, but damn that show’s hilarious.

Speaking of funny TV shows, what do you think about Modern Family? That’s another one that gets me every time.

Back to that makeup I’m playing with… It’s a highlighting illuminator called MAC Strobe Cream ($30), and other than TV it’s been the highlight of my weekend so far. Ha! You know you’re a makeup junkie when a product can be the highlight of your day…

Ever since discovering how great the combo of Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener and MAC Pro Longwear Concealer work for me (BTW, isn’t Nancy’s concealer tutorial great!?), I’ve been looking for an illuminator to wear beneath foundation.

Thanks to my friend Marisol (and MAC), I think I found it!

Have I mentioned that a new MAC store opened just 5 minutes away? Marisol and I hit it after dinner last night (¡nos gusta Chipotle!), and she promptly sold me on Strobe, which she’s been loving for a while.


MAC Strobe Cream unblended (left) and blended (right)

Worn either alone or under foundations and tinted moisturizers, it imparts a very subtle brightening sheen — not a glitter, just a very soft pearl glow.

PRETTY!

I’m gonna put some on right now and head to Trader Joe’s, where I hope to appear all fresh and glowy as I cruise the frozen food aisle. 🙂

But before that, you know what time it is. Surf’s up!

Saturday Surfing: Sites I Surfed Today


Thanks to reader Amber for sending this hilarious cat video!

Have a fantastic Saturday, ya hear?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How To Cover Pimples and Scars with a Combination of Concealers

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Written by Nancy

Today beautiful blogger Nancy of Miss Nancy’s Fancies shows step-by-step how she covers pimples with a combination of concealers.

How I conceal my blemishesLately I’ve been getting different kinds of breakouts — from small zits to big cystic acne — and after a lot of trial and error I came up with a system of different ways to conceal different types of breakouts. Here is how I conceal my blemishes with a combination of green concealer, cream concealer, mineral concealer, and mineral foundation.

When I took these pictures I had an active pimple (A), scars (S), and pink bumps (B) on my cheek. The active pimple was bumpy, but the scars were flat.

For active pimples I like to use a green concealer first, since my pimples tend to be very red, and using a cream concealer alone doesn’t cover up the redness. Here I’m using Physicians Formula Gentle Cover Concealer in Cover Green ($6).

How I conceal my blemishes

I use a concealer brush to apply cream concealer over the scars, only on the discoloration. Using a small concealer brush makes the application very precise, which is important here because we only want to conceal the discoloration and not the skin around it. Here I’m using Laura Mercier Secret Camoulage/Secret Concealer in SC-2 and Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Brush ($26).
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