Karen

Is Sephora’s Professional Platinum Lash and Eyebrow Comb Worth Your Moolah?

October 19th, 2009 by Karen 41 Comments

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The first time I gave it a try, it took me a good five minutes in front of the mirror to build up the courage to raise Sephora’s Professional Platinum Lash & Eyebrow Comb ($10) to my eyes.

I kept imagining myself scratching an eyeball with its pointy metal teeth. Compared to the cheap plastic drugstore lash combs I’ve always used, this metal monster looked downright frightening!

But after breaking three of the plastic ones so far this year, I was fed up and ready to try something new.

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Having heard nothing but good things about metal lash combs, I took a few deep breaths, made the sign of the cross and went for it.

“Go towards the light, Carol Anne! Towards the light!!”

As luck would have it, all my fears were for naught. Sephora’s metal monster isn’t frightening at all.
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Basin White: Lush Better Look Out

October 19th, 2009 by Karen 30 Comments

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The Basin White store in Las Vegas, Nevada

All work and no play makes moi a cranky beauty addict, but the Las Vegas Basin White store, a beauty brand I’d never even heard of before, saved me from myself.

The company has just two stores for now (Vegas and Orlando, Florida). The Vegas one, located among the Grande Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Hotel, is brand spankin’ new. If you’d like to learn more about the company, the line’s also available online.

I guess it’s fitting that after their Downtown Disney store in Orlando, Basin White chose the Disney-like Grande Canal indoor mall for their second location.

Gondolas packed with tourists weave through Venetian-inspired canals as shoppers cross footbridges and live opera singers provide the background music for ambiance. Yeah … it’s Vegas cheesy, but still pretty fun. 🙂

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The store itself stopped me in my tracks. It’s gorgeous and smells wonderful. There are other brands out there like Basin White, with similar rows of colorful glycerin soaps, tubs with gigantic bath bombs and various scents, but this one stood out to me for a bunch of reasons.

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Like Lush but with subtler scents

Their products look Lush-y — similar shampoo bars and solid moisturizers — but I think the shopping experience at Basin White beats Lush hands down, as a lot of Lush’s products pack too much fragrance for my sensitive schnozz. Sometimes it’s just too much.

Basin White’s products smell lighter and generally less synthetic to me. Granted, scent’s a very personal thing, but I absolutely love Basin White’s approach to fragrance.

Time to play, aka the shopping experience

The store feels like a spa. The open layout, lighting and black/white tiled floor reminded me of a Pottery Barn-inspired bathroom.

Like any good beauty store should, Basin White makes samples of everything available to smell, touch and test. The highly interactive staff isn’t pushy either, and they encourage product playtime, waiting at the ready by testing sinks with paper towels and smiling faces.

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Quality ingredients

Josh Jacks, one of the sales associates at the Vegas store, gave me the background on Basin White while showing me around.

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basin-white-testing-out-the-bath-bomb

With only two physical locations, the line’s still pretty exclusive, but I expect that to change. Their products are made without synthetic fillers, parabens, alcohol or mineral oil and contain high-quality ingredients like shea butter, beeswax and sunflower oil.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Oct. 19

October 19th, 2009 by Karen 91 Comments

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Mood:

Hyper-organized and hopeful — I’m surrounded by seven Post-It notes filled with lists, and dag-nabbit, all this stuff is gonna get done some how, some way.

List three things currently inspiring you.

1) The weird, quirky writing on Woot!. 2) Projects like Operation Beautiful that use the interwebz to spread a positive message. 3) Piet Mondrian.

MAC or PC?

MAC attack!

Gladiator sandals: yay or nay?

Nay (I have long monkey toes).

Lips and cheeks:

Stuff from Chanel Holiday: Aqualumiere Lipstick in Maldives, Aqualumiere Gloss in Canari and Les Tissages Lames de Chanel.

What’s one quality you like about yourself?

I’m not afraid of what the beefy gym rats refer to as “the heavy lifting.” Even if something seems intimidating, I’ll jump in and find a way to get it done.

Fragrance?

D&G Rose the One (LOVE!) Eau de Parfum.

Name three ways you’ve changed in the last 10 years.

Hmm, 10 years ago I was 24, and since then I’ve changed in both positive and not-so-positive ways. Nowadays, I’m less afraid to tell people “No.” I also feel emotionally steadier and less volatile than I did back then. On the flip side, I’ve become more set in my ways — it’s definitely more of a challenge for me to deal with change now than it used to be.

Outfit?

Diva Bootcut Jeans from Old Navy (sooo comfy and affordable), brown cardigan sweater, dark purple tank top and brown peep-toe heels.

Weekly goals:

Keep my work life organized, deal with at least one moving box a day, avoid the temptation to cover my desk in clutter and exercise at least twice.

Hey, bootcut divas! 🙂 Happy Monday! It’s raining out here in Marin County, and even though it’s gray and gloomy outside, I’m feeling sunshiny on the inside.

I think a big part of it is this article I read yesterday on how to overcome burnout and stay motivated.

If you’ve been feeling run down or find yourself struggling with school/work, maybe give it a read.

Last night I took some time to process and really think about the tips and tricks from the article, and today I’m feeling very hopeful about the week to come.

Well, it looks like there’s a break in the storm, so I’m heading outside for a quick walk.

If you’ve got a little time to spare, can you take a moment to check in? I’d love to hear what’s going on in your neck of the woods.

Copy the list below, and paste it in the comments with your answers. Talk to you soon!

Le list

1. Mood:
2. List three things currently inspiring you.
3. MAC or PC?
4. Gladiator sandals: yay or nay?
5. Lips and cheeks:
6. What’s one quality you like about yourself?
7. Fragrance?
8. Name three ways you’ve changed in the last 10 years.
9. Outfit?
10. Weekly goals:

You kick some arse today, okay?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sunday Surfing

October 18th, 2009 by Karen 2 Comments

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Hiya, ladies. I hope you had a relaxing Sunday. Mine was mellow. I needed to recover from traveling. I slept in, read a little (A Writer’s Coach by Jack Hart), watched the new 30 Rock on Hulu and cooked a peppery shrimp stir-fry for lunch.

I did a little recreational web surfing, too…

Try Halle Berry’s warm, glowing makeup look — Bella Sugar
Carrie Bradshaw gets her own fragrance — Beauty Addict
These costumes are only for “the sexy people” — We Heart This
Les Impressions Makeup Collection by Chanel, Spring 2010 — Makeup 4 All
It’s that time of Year: Essie Sweet Time of the Year — All Lacquered Up
A Q&A with E! makeup artist Lisa Zimmitti — The Lancome Blog
Benefit has a new blog — Secret Life of a Benefit Girl
Once upon a time, your parents were awesome — My Parents Were Awesome
Ugandan refugee turns soap into hope — Happy News
Ghost of My Braver Self — Dan-ah Kim
Defeat burnout and stay motivated — Zen Habits
I need an excuse to buy this dress — BCBG
What gives you hope? — GivesMeHope

What are you up to?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 58

October 18th, 2009 by Karen 25 Comments

Tabs doesn't see the point of shaving

Do you use shave gels and creams?

Tabs is fascinated by shaving… He says he doesn’t see the point. I, on the other hand, don’t have his same appreciation for fur. 🙂 I shave about every other day, most of the time using whichever shower gel I have on hand at the time, but I do think I get closer shaves when I use a designated shaving cream, gel or lotion.

It’s more about being lazy than anything else, something I’m sure Tabs can appreciate.

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Beauty of Blog World 2009: How to Make Better Videos

October 18th, 2009 by Karen 3 Comments

The Beauty of Blog World 2009: How to Make Better Videos

If a picture’s worth 1,000 words, what’s a moving picture worth? Blog World 2009 speaker Cali Lewis of GeekBrief.tv posed that question at the convention yesterday, and it really made me think…

The answer depends on the quality of the video, right?

I’m on a mission to improve the quality of my videos (not just for the blog, but for home/travel videos too), so I sought out the sessions on video yesterday and took copious notes.

Tip 1: Write a script

When it comes to video, material trumps production quality, but watch any random 10 videos on YouTube, and what do most of them have in common? According to Sara and Lee O’Donnell, the couple behind Average Betty, the most popular short-form food entertainment web series online, most of them weren’t made with a script.

It doesn’t have to be fancy — even a few notes scribbled on index cards — but working from an outline or script can really make your videos stand out.

Tip 2: Choosing the right camcorder

“Buy a camera with the biggest lens, best glass and best sensor you can afford,” says Cali. Of course, that’s more for professional setups. Serious home movie makers and beginning web videographers might take a look at the Kodak Zi8 (about $180). Not only does it shoot in 1080p high definition video, but it’s image stabilized (less shaky in your hands) and has an external microphone jack (more on that later), too.

If you’re willing to spend more, both Cali and the O’Donnells mentioned the $550 Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder. It can do everything the Kodak Zi8 can do, does it better and does more.

For help choosing a camcorder, check out camcorderinfo.com.

Tip 3: Use an external microphone

Poor audio can ruin even the highest quality videos, and the microphones built into most small camcorders just aren’t very good. They struggle to capture clear voices more than a few feet away from them, and they tend to pick up too much background noise outside.
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Two Ways to Win MAC Smolder Eye Kohl and Greetings from California

October 17th, 2009 by Karen 151 Comments

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The eagle has landed, ladies! I’m back at home in Cali, eating chips for dinner and chatting with Tabs (he says hi, BTW).

I just saw myself in the mirror, and I look a fright! — kinda like how I used to look back when I was first trying to do smokey eyes.

That reminds me of something MAC VP of Makeup Artistry Gordon Espinet told me about MAC Smolder Eye Kohl. He described a way to use it to create a really easy smokey eye.

Smolder’s a creamy black (one of my favorite smokey eye products), perfect for classic black versions of the look or goofy twists like this Halloween one here.

As part of MAC’s permanent line, it’s been easy to find for a while, but they decided to re-promote it with Style Black.

Hmm… Feels like time for a giveaway!

The prize

One lucky lady will receive a tube of MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder from the Style Black Collection (a $14.50 value).

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mac-smolder-top

mac-smolder-box

How to enter…

2ways2enter Entering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. In it, tell me how you’d wear (or have worn) Smolder.

I like to layer it beneath MAC Club, a duo-chrome (changes colors in the light) powder shadow, for a blueish green smokey eye.

Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to MAC Smolder Eye Kohl http://bit.ly/3zEALg

Recap…

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.
Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to MAC Smolder Eye Kohl http://bit.ly/3zEALg

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, October 17.

Buena Suerte!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Will You Adopt a Stila Kitten Today? Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten

October 17th, 2009 by Karen 20 Comments

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I’d been missing Tabs something terrible even BEFORE I saw Stila’s new Smudge Pot in Kitten ($20) at Sephora the other day…

It’s a shimmery cream shadow that doubles as a liner — the cream version of Stila’s cult classic powder eyeshadow in Kitten.

Pale pinks like this really perk up my eyes when I look tired (read: often), and this one applies and builds easily. I use my finger to pat it on my lids, where it stays put for hours.

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Stila Kitten swatch with flash