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
My eyelids and have a thing for shimmery Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer in Golden Nude ($20). Released earlier this summer with the Smasbox Naked Beauty collection, the products is supposed to act as a moisturizing base for powder and cream shadows to extend wear time and boost their vibrancy while making fine lines harder to spot.
The new color’s a riff on Smasbox’s standard issue warm beige Photo Finish Lid Primer, and the second I swatched it my heart went bumpity-bump!
Let’s strip, shall we? If you’ve been lusting after the hard-to-find Urban Decay Naked palette, NYX has some potentially great news for you and your wallet.
Swatching the NYX Nude on Nude Natural Look Kit ($11) this afternoon, one of three NYX sets released for summer, I was struck by how similar its shades are to some of the ones in UD’s $44 Naked.
Could it be?? A Naked dupe for one fourth the cost?
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The iridescent purple and shimmery reddish copper of the Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Blossom are so bright that they should have come with shades! Expensive ones ($36 for two shadows, oy vey!).
One of 10 powder eyeshadow duos in the company’s permanent line, Blossom lights up lids like a double rainbow all the way across the sky. 
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Black Opal Mosaic Golden Bronzer, $10.
I like the pattern in this pan (so pretty!). Have you tried anything from this line before?
Boots Mineral Perfection Eye Shadow Palette in Breeze, $9.
The colors remind me of the ocean. Isn’t the curved shadow applicator kinda neat?
For turning 30, my parents threw me a birthday bash at a crowded drag queen karaoke bar in the South Bay. I wore a pink outfit, sported a jewel-encrusted tiara and wobbled across the stage singing songs in four-inch heels. When the queens, rocking fierce hair and makeup, dragged (ha!) me up on stage to harmonize We Are Family with them, I felt like a star. 🙂
I’ve always adored drag queens, so when the folks at Logo, the channel that airs the hit RuPaul’s Drag Race, offered to host today’s giveaway and share deets about their new RuPaul show (RuPaul’s Drag U) premiering July 19, I jumped for joy (not in heels, though)!
Bust out your most glittery shadow because…
In the show, RuPaul serves as the Dean of Drag at Drag U, guiding women (the kind who, um, don’t have to tuck) through extreme makeup, beauty and confidence transformations — drag queen style.
The students are everyday women looking for a little help with their style and confidence (false lashes, anyone?).
At the start of the show, RuPaul inputs each student’s info into the Dragulator (cutting-edge technology, LOL!), which assigns them drag names and gives a glimpse of each woman’s potential.
With the help of Drag Race alumni, the ladies learn how to get in touch with their softer sides and unleash their inner divas! The pressure’s on, too, because each show ends with the women doing a musical number in front of a live audience of friends and family.
There can be only one — valedictorian. One of the ladies in each episode is chosen as valedictorian of her class, but every one leaves Drag U a lil’ more confident, sassy and knowledgeable about makeup and beauty.
Catch Drag U on the Logo channel starting July 19 at 9 p.m. (check your local listings). You can also follow Drag U on Facebook and take the Dragulator out for a spin.
I have been Dragulated!!
To kick off the show, the folks at Logo put together a fantastic prize package worth $322.
One lucky lady (or gent) will win ALL of the following:
One (1) $200 American Express Gift Card!
One (1) copy of Workin It!:Â RuPaul’s Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style ($20)
One (1) NYX Body Glitter Gel ($6)
One (1) NYX Blotting Paper ($3.50)
One (1) NYX Cream Blush in Glow ($6.50)
One (1) NYX Concealer Jar in Lavender ($5.50)
One (1) NYX Concealer Magic Wand in Green ($5.50)
One (1) NYX Doll Eye Mascara Long Lash in Extreme Black($9)
One (1) NYX Fabulous Lashes ($4.50)
One (1) NYX The Caribbean Collection 5 Color Palette in I Dream of St. John ($8.75)
One (1) NYX The Caribbean Collection 5 Color Palette in I Dream of St. Lucia ($8.75)
One (1) NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk ($4)
One (1) NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in French Kiss ($5.50)
One (1) NYX Lip Gloss Palette in The Naturals ($8)
One (1) NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Purple ($4.50)
One (1) NYX Slim Eye Pencil in Black ($3.50)
One (1) NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Natural ($3.50)
One (1) NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker in Carbon Black ($9)
One (1) NYX Chrome Eye Shadow ($6)
Entering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.
RT @karenmbb: RT to win a NYX Cosmetics prize pack and a $200 gift card (a $322 Value) http://bit.ly/93t3wM Rules: http://logo.to/DUrules
How do I unleash my inner drag queen? I loves me some fierce drag queen lashes; the bigger and bolder the better! I pile on volumizing and thickening mascara (sometimes four or even five coats, yikes!), and when I’m in the mood, I’ll throw on some falsies to up the drama even more.
I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Tuesday, July 20.
Sretno!!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Before the $29 price of LipFusion Luxe Boudoir Collection lipgloss makes you totally cranky (that’s Chanel territory, yo!), consider this: $1 of that goes to the Seven Bar Foundation, a non-profit group helping to empower underprivileged women to start small businesses through microfinanced loans.
What are microfinanced loans? They’re pretty cool. Read more about the Seven Bar Foundation’s work here.
Truth be told, I’d love to see LipFusion contribute more than $1 from every sale (while lowering or keeping the price the same), but I digress…
The limited edition line contains four shades — Vixen (a shimmery mauve), Lolita (a shimmery pinkish beige), Coquette (a shimmery pinkish coral) and Princess (a shimmery purplish hot pink). Today I tipped my hat to the one called Princess. 🙂
Is it wrong to want Sunday brunch on a Wednesday afternoon? — or to get a little dolled up and don colorful makeup in the middle of the week? I hope not, because today the Benefit Sunday Funday palette and I have reservations. We’re doing a daytime/brunch look together featuring eyes in purple and bronze.
To test the versatility of the brushes that come with the kit, I told myself not to use any other brushes for this look, which was tough because I’m really picky about my eye brushes. I usually ditch the ones that come with palettes like this one, but the Sunday Funday brushes actually shine like stars. I wouldn’t toss my best brushes for ’em, but they should be great for trips and purses when you want to travel light.
The Benefit Sunday Funday Palette
Despite the palette’s name, I’m guessing these colors are safe to wear any day of the week, ha!
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