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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 DOES Rimmel Sexy Curves Waterproof Do Well?

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Rimmel Sexy Curves Waterproof Mascara Review

Greetings, loved ones, from one of my favorite places in makeup-ville: the land of cheap drugstore mascara.

This time I’m here with Rimmel Sexy Curves Full Volume & Curve Waterproof Mascara ($7.50)…but we aren’t exactly best buds. As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for how well Sexy Curves lasts on wet lashes, we probably wouldn’t be friends at all.

I applied some before my workout yesterday, a sweaty 30-minute run on the treadmill, and it didn’t even budge. No smudging or flaking to speak of, and my lashes stayed deep, dark and black after every mile.

Rimmel Sexy Curves Waterproof Mascara Review
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NARS Daphne and Eye: A Monday Face of the Day

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nars daphne eyeshadow

We’re almost there. That’s it up ahead — the Monday finish line — and we’re about to cross it together. 🙂

How was your day? Good, I hope.

Mine wasn’t bad as far as Mondays go. I rode my bike for the first time in forever over my lunch break (hello, sore booty!) and had a grand old time experimenting with the new NARS Daphne eyeshadow.

Remember it from the NARS fall 2010 collection? The pretty purple girl?

nars fall 2010 swatches review photos daphne
NARS Daphne eyeshadow

Oh, she’s quite the charmer… If you like sheer purple matte shadows, beware; she could rock your boat. I took her out for a spin today, and now I’m smitten.

Daphne and Eye: A Monday Face of the Day

The Eyes

The first thing I did was find my flat eyeshadow brush…which turned out to be the hardest part of this look (it was hiding in a purse)! With the brush (a MAC 239), I packed several layers of Daphne on my lids, drawing the color up into the crease. Next, I swept the shimmery golden brown side from the NARS Rajasthan duo, another new product for fall, into the crease and up a bit to the brow bone (I like how the shimmer contrasts with Daphne’s matte finish).

Then, to define the whole eye and tie it all together, I lined the upper lash line with the shimmery dark blue shadow from the same duo (Rajasthan), and lined the lower lash line with Coconut Grove (another eyeshadow from the fall collection).

The Lips and Cheeks

Smokey purple eyes without coordinating cheeks and lips are like Salt without Pepa, or Keith without sweat. To make sure Daphne wouldn’t feel lonely, I brushed NARS Sin blush onto my cheeks and a mix of NARS Strawberry Fields and NARS Greek Holiday lipglosses on my lips (Question: Do you ever wear multiple lipgloss colors?).

nars fall 2010 swatches review photos rajasthan
Rajasthan eyeshadow duo
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Two Ways To Win 5 MORE Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams for Lips and Cheeks (a $110 value!)

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  • The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Jenna! Before you go, check the home page for ongoing giveaways.

Red lips are just so…classic, aren’t they? They never go out of style. You can dress ’em up, maybe with your best business suit or ball gown, or dress ’em down with a bikini and high heels.

Yes, you read that right. 🙂

At the Ed Hardy show on Saturday in Miami, models tested the bikini/red lippie theory on the runways at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week: Swim.

Make Up For Ever sponsored the makeup for the shows (check out their Facebook page here), which wrap up today. Their artists turned up the heat on Miami with sooty smokey eyes created with the Aqua Cream shadows.


Aqua Creams in action at the Ed Hardy show

Would you ever wear this look? Maybe to a Beach party, perhaps? What if you won a set of Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream Shadows today?

Giveaway Time

To brighten your Monday Miami-style, Make Up For Ever has another fantabulous Miami Fashion Week prize package for us featuring FIVE MORE of the Aqua Creams for lips & cheeks (a $110 value).

The Prize

One lucky lady (or gent) will win ALL of the following Aqua Cream Shadows:

One (1) Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Fresh Pink, a bright pink for lips and cheeks ($22)
One (1) Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Fuchsia, a hot pink for lips and cheeks ($22)
One (1) Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Red, a tomato red for lips and cheeks ($22)
One (1) Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Coral, a bright coral for lips and cheeks ($22)
One (1) Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Orange, a golden tangerine for lips and cheeks ($22)


Fresh Pink


Fuchsia


Red


Coral


Orange

How To Enter…

2ways2enterEntering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

  1. First, you can enter by retweeting (RT) the following message:

    Follow @karenmbb and RT to win $110 in @makeupforeverus Aqua Creams http://bit.ly/9SUny6

  2. Second, enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all — tell me what you’re having for lunch, describe your Monday makeup, write the name of secret crush, or dish about your favorite product from Make Up For Ever.

    My favorite Make Up For Ever product? Right now, it’s gotta be Peach Aqua Cream; it makes quick work of quick looks. I love the pigmentation (SO INTENSE!) and how I can use it on my cheeks and my lips (see my review here).

  • Oh, yeah. This giveaway IS also open to international folks and readers living overseas (YAY!); entrants must be at least 13 years of age or older at time of entry.

Recap…

  1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
  2. Retweet the following message on twitter:

    Follow @karenmbb and RT to win $110 in @makeupforeverus Aqua Creams http://bit.ly/9SUny6

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Monday, July 19 (that’s today).

Good luck!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. And don’t forget to enter the NYX cosmetics/AMEX gift card giveaway (the $200 card’s good anywhere that takes American Express, i.e. Sephora, Macy’s, Ulta, etc.). It’s a big ol’ $322 prize package.

  • The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Jenna! Before you go, check the home page for ongoing giveaways.

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, July 19

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  1. Mood:

    2. Great! I slept soundly last night (it’s a Christmas miracle!). The sun is shining, Tabs is behaving (for once), and I’m drinking a delicious cup o’ tea. Sometimes it’s all about the simple pleasures, ya know?

  2. Describe your makeup style in three words.

    3. Eclectic. Wearable. Easy.

  3. If you were to move to a big city (if you don’t live in one now), which city would it be?

    4. Hmm… This one’s tough because I’m a city girl at heart. It would either be San Francisco (I’m still plotting to move the family back there someday), Paris or Honolulu.

  4. Do you have a personal motto?

    5. Whenever you fall, just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going.

  5. What’s your dream job?

    6. Professional money spender. Seriously!

  6. Your favorite part of your job?

    7. The freedom to set my own schedule, although I don’t take advantage of it very often.

  7. What’s the first makeup or beauty tip that comes to mind?

    8. Use Wet Ones antibacterial wipes to quickly clean your makeup brushes.

  8. What’s the first non-beauty tip that comes to mind?

    9. Find something/someone to care for.

  9. What are you wearing?

    10. A blue and white print sundress and a red cardigan with pearl buttons.

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Do cardio at least three times before the next Sundays with Tabs, organize a different part of my office every day, and get to bed by 10!

Looks like it’s that time again, ladies — the start of what WILL be a great week for us all. 🙂

Do you have a minute to take the Monday Poll with me? If you do, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.



1. Mood:
2. Your makeup style in three words:
3. If you were to move to a big city, which city would it be?
4. Do you have a personal motto?
5. What’s your dream job?
6. Your favorite part of your job?
7. What’s the first makeup or beauty tip that comes to mind?
8. What’s the first non-beauty tip that comes to mind?
9. What are you wearing?
10. Weekly goals:

One of the best things about Mondays is that they never last more than 24 hours, ha! It’ll be Tuesday before we know it.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. If you’re new here, thank you for visiting. Makeup and Beauty Blog is a makeup blog with daily product reviews, beauty tips, giveaways and the random shenanigans of a crazy cat lady/makeup enthusiast named Karen (that’s me!). 🙂

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 96

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Tabs for Dolce & Gabbana Sunglasses

Another busy week for cat models, y’all! My tubby tabby was all over the map. He had modeling gigs in So Cal (Urban Decay, NYX), Italy (D&G), New York (Fusion Beauty) and Dar es Salaam (the Smashbox job).

I miss him when he’s busy like this, but at least he’s back for the weekend. He’s chillaxin’ on the couch (still jet-lagged). We might go get a salad in a little while. I don’t know if you heard, but the Whole Foods salad bar has catnip now. 🙂

Tabs for NYX Russian Blue
“I spent 11 hours in the chair getting my hair and makeup done for this shoot.” – Tabs

Tabs for Fusion Beauty The Cat Tower Collection
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Wrap Up Your Weekend in the Open Thread

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Our weekend may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean the fun’s anywhere near over. Grab a drink, kick off your shoes, and welcome to the party. The open thread starts now. 🙂

Makeup and Beauty Blog Open ThreadIf you’re new to the open thread, here it is in a nutshell:

Anything goes! It’s a chat fest where we get together in the comments at the bottom of this post to chill and chat about whatever’s on our minds — makeup, cooking, relationships, whatever. And please feel free to reach out to me or to anyone else (everyone here is really nice!).

It goes on all day (and night), so stop by if/when you can, and as often as you’d like.

A few topics to kick-start the convo…

  1. Are you into typography, and do you have a favorite font?
  2. Have you ever been to a drive-in movie theater?
  3. If you won the lottery this week (say $30 million), what are the first few things you’d do?

Talk to you soon!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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