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A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Karen

Just How Glittery Is the Urban Decay Vegan Palette?

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urban decay vegan palette review swatches

Ladies, I have an awful case of kitten fever (now with makeup complications).

Because I want a second cat — err, I mean, “Tabs needs a coworker” — I’ve been surfing rescue kitty websites and bookmarking prospective kitty candidates, but whenever I run one of them by El Hub, he replies with grumble, grumble, grumble, “just feeding the CCL fire.”

And that’s not all: Tabs hasn’t been very supportive of the idea either. When I showed him the last batch of kitty resumes, he shot me a dirty look! 🙁

Whatev… The boys don’t have final say in the matter. I do.

Come hell or high water, a kitten like the one on the new Urban Decay Vegan Palette ($34) will find its way into my arms.

urban decay vegan palette review swatches

She’s adorable, right?

UD decorated the box with sweet animal illustrations and filled it with six shimmery shades of brown, green, blue and gray eyeshadow.

The shadows happen to be Urban Decay’s bestselling “vegan” shades — colors made without any animal byproducts (two paws up from Tabs!).

They also threw in a travel-size 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Zero (a matte black) and a tiny bottle of shimmery champagne Sin Primer Potion.
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It’s Official: I’m Getting Naked with Urban Decay This Fall

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urban decay naked palette swatches photos pictures

As an international kitteh model, Tabs love the feline form.

After years spent striking fierce poses as a top talent in the fashion and beauty industries, he’s comfortable in his own fur, but sometimes when a shoot calls for him to pose in the buff, he has to pause…

urban decay naked palette review swatches

He often wonders about the ethical implications. For instance, is it a Sin to want to get Naked in public?

Not according to Urban Decay! 🙂

If you like neutral makeup and palettes, you might want to Hustle on down to Sephora this September when the new Naked Palette ($44) disrobes on shelves.

urban decay naked palette review swatches

Don’t be surprised to find yourself overwhelmed by a euphoric Smog the first time you peep this palette of 12 powder shadows.

The smooth champagne, brown, bronze, gold and charcoal shades (in a variety of finishes!) might leave you feeling Toasted (like the time you drank that Sidecar on an empty stomach, oy!).
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What’s the Most Unusual Lipgloss You Own?

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“I myself am strange and unusual.” — Lydia Deitz, Beetlejuice

Okay, I’ve been seeing a lot of weird lipgloss colors lately (and I like it!).

Take MAC, for instance. Their two most recent collections, Alice + Olivia and In The Groove (both launch on Thursday), have a couple of totally outside-the-box shades.

I.Want.Candy., a bright yellow Dazzleglass Creme gloss ($18) from Alice + Olivia looks like an ’80s neon dream! I’ve heard it looks great on top of matte reds (turns them into shimmery corals), but I haven’t tried it yet. Certainly is unusual, though, isn’t it?

And then there’s You’ve Got It, from MAC In The Groove. It’s a silvery grayish Cremesheen Glass ($18).

Um, gray? For lips?

Both colors are kinda strange, but I think the most unusual ones I have are Tokidoki Prisma Lipgloss in SANDy (a sheer apple green) and JK Jemma Kidd Plumping Gloss in Angelina.

Aren’t they weird??

What’s the most unusual lipgloss you own, and what does it look like?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day! 🙂

Does a New Formula Show These MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow Trios How To Groove?

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mac in the groove mineralize eyeshadow review swatches photos

Sometime today, between shaving my toe hairs and vacuuming the stairs (Tabs is shedding like cray cray!), I had an affair…

It started innocently enough with a crush (as they often do). I’d played with three of the nine new MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow Trios ($19.50 each) from the upcoming In The Groove collection. One thing led to another, yadda yadda yadda and BAM! — I couldn’t stop myself.

We’re supposed to meet again this Thursday when the collection arrives on counters.

Shh! Don’t tell El Hub. 🙂

If you’ve ever tried any of the older MAC Mineralize Eye Shadows, these are different. MAC reformulated them, and while I still love the old school formula, this new one takes the cake. MAC stepped up their game, creating a product that’s basically everything I ever wanted in a powder shadow. Silky soft, they apply like butter on toast, depositing ample color and blending like a dream. Shoot, the colors almost blend themselves! — and so far today they’ve lasted from my first cup of Irish breakfast tea all the way through dinner.

If you had fallout trubs with the older Mineralize Eye Shadows ending up on your cheeks or beneath your eyes (sometimes I did too), I think these adhere WAY better to skin.

mac in the groove mineralize eyeshadow review swatches photos
In The Groove
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MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Ups the Ante (AND the Price)

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MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

Edward or Jacob? Eric or Bill? Nutella or — NO! Forget it. There are some choices I’m simply not prepared to make. 🙂

At least now when it comes to mascara, fickle girls like me don’t have to wrestle with difficult choices. We can have our cake AND eat it too, thanks to MAC Haute & Naughty Lash ($18; available in a single shade, Haute & Naughty Black).

The disco turtleneck on the tube (see the pic below) is what MAC calls their “two-in-one dual wiper system,” and it’s one of the keys to Haute & Naughty’s success.

Unscrewing the wand from the glittery purple end loads the brush with product — LOTS of product — enough for dramatic lash volume from root to tip with just one coat.

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

But even if you’re more interested in lash length and separation than lash volume, you’re still in luck!

See, this thing’s a little like a Transformer… By disconnecting the wand from the hot pink extension end, the brush loads with less product, resulting in slightly thinner, yet better defined lashes.

Neat, huh?

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review
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Light Your Way with MAC By Candlelight Mineralize Skinfinish

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mac by candlelight review

If there’s a cure for my addiction to MAC Mineralize Skinfinish powders, I don’t want it! Whenever MAC releases these limited edition shimmery powders for face and cheeks (so fab for highlighting!), I always fall for at least one of the new pans. 🙂

My latest MSF obsession? By Candlelight, from the upcoming MAC In The Groove collection (arrives Thursday, July 8).

It may not look like much in the pan (just another blah brown, right?), but don’t be fooled. Introduce it to cheeks, and By Candlelight comes to life!

One of four limited edition Mineralize Skinfinishes released with In The Groove ($28 each), this shimmery cheek and face powder adds a gentle flush of rosy pink and warm golden glow — fresh, breezy and casual.

On laid-back, minimal makeup days of the kind I’d like to have quite often this summer :), where I limit my looks to tinted moisturizer, concealer, mascara, brow powder and lip balm, By Candlelight works wonders, and those are the times I like to use it as a shimmery blush.

The look is relaxed, yet still kinda sexy, like familiar jeans, or that old grey tank that fits you *just* right.
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