Karen

The Benefits of Benefit Holiday 2009

October 8th, 2009 by Karen 24 Comments

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Sweeeeet! EVEN MORE holiday goodness coming at ‘cha, this time from Benefit Cosmetics.

Remember their Crescent Row fragrance sets and makeup kits? If they caught your eye, check out the company’s Holiday 2009 sets.

The Glam Eyes, Sexy Starlet and Tainted Love sets each come with heavily discounted Benefit bestsellers (full sizes, not samples) like…

Glam Idol Best of Benefit Set

What: Four pieces for face, lips and cheeks.
How much: $60 (but it’s a $74 value)
Where: Check your local Benefit counter or browse online
What you get:

That Gal Primer
California Kissin Lip Shine
Posie Tint Lip and Cheek Stain (LOVE!)
A stylin’ clutch purse

Sexy Starlet Best of Benefit Set

What:A sassy set four-piece set for face, cheeks and eyes.
How much: $58 (a $74 value)
Where: Benefit counters and online
What you get:

Coralista Cheek Powder
Some Kinda-a Gorgeous Oil-Free Foundation
Badgal Lash Mascara
A cute clutch purse

Tinted Love

What: A two-piece set for lips and eyes.
How much: $38 (a $58 value)
Where: Exclusively at Sephora stores and online
What you get:

Benetint Lip and Cheek Stain
Pocket Pal (a double-ended duo; one side with Benetint and the other a clear gloss)

🙂 I love the holidays and all of the cool cosmetics sets that drop. Considering that each of these comes with full-size products, they seem like pretty good bargains.

Speaking of bargains, I think I’m addicted to Hulu.com. I’d heard about it from different people, but until this week I had no idea they had so many shows! It almost makes cable unnecessary, right?
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Bobbi Brown Holiday 2009 Earth Metal Lip and Eye Palette

October 8th, 2009 by Karen 25 Comments

Dontcha just love that dark, shimmery gray?

Tabby Wants Out

October 8th, 2009 by Karen 34 Comments

Guess who’s having major cat mom guilt right now!?

Benefit Holiday 2009: Followup Questions

October 8th, 2009 by Karen 24 Comments

benefit holiday 2009 celebutante no competition
Benefit Full Finish Lipsticks from left to right: No Competition and Lady’s Choice

I pulled a Cinderella last night — but not the cool glass slipper/pumpkin part. It was the part with all of the cleaning, the singing animals (in this case, Tabs) and the late-night floor mopping.

Pretty soon the new place will be clean enough, and I’ll be able to get back to commenting on a regular basis. One of the highlights of my days is commenting, and I’ve been going through withdrawals lately. I’ve still been reading them all, even though I may not have been able to respond.

Speaking of comments, I saw some great questions in response to this week’s Benefit Holiday 2009 post.

Here’s a quick followup:

1. What’s that second lipstick in the Celebutante set?

benefit celebutante 3-1

Eagle-eyed DJ and Jess caught that there are two Full-Finished Lipsticks in the Celebutante Set. Good eye, gals!

Lady’s Choice (a creamy pink) joins No Competition (a deep plum) in the set.

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A swatch of No Competition lipstick

No Competition is a color I like to wear with eyeshadows in gold and brown.

2. How big are the blush pans in the Powderazzi palette?

benefit holiday 2009 powderazzi and regular sized blushes

Readers Nicole and Sdpfeiffy asked how the blush pans in the Powderazzi set compare to Benefit’s full-sized box blushes.

Well, the Powderazzi blushes are about a quarter the size of the regular box blushes (a .10-oz pan versus a .42-oz pan), so they’re substantially smaller.

But consider this: choice. 🙂 I’d choose an option with three blushes over an option with one any old day.

Powderazzi also comes in a slim, portable box that’s kind to makeup bags (e.g. it’s small), taking up less space than most bulky, full-size box blushes.

And, seriously, can you remember the last time you finished an entire full-size pan of blush? I can’t. These smaller blushes seem pretty practical to me.
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Urban Decay Holiday 2009: 24-7 Set in Stereophonic

October 8th, 2009 by Karen 20 Comments

urban decay stereophonic 24 7 set 1

“Urban Decay is rocking my world lately.” — MBB Reader Louise Gray

Louise, you took the words right outta my mouth! Cruelty-free Urban Decay took vegan makeup mainstream with bright colors and glitter, and they’re still going strong with what I think are some really interesting and fun launches for fall and holiday (Book of Shadows Vol. II!!!) .

Makeup newbies, or those new to the brand, may want to keep eyes peeled for UD’s new holiday liners. Called the 24/7 Set in Stereophonic ($29), the kit I’m talking about here includes four large 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils in some very wearable colors, along with one full-size Heavy Metal Glitter Liner (for when you need a little sparkle in your life).

urban decay stereophonic 24 7 set 2
24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils from left to right: Crash, Underground, Zero and Gunmetal
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What’s Your Least Favorite Beauty Ritual?

October 7th, 2009 by Karen 53 Comments

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No matter how many times I’ve done it myself at home, hair coloring is just not one of my talents.

It’s like I’m finger painting with dye all over my face, the bathroom, my clothes… sometimes even a little in my hair. 🙂

Lovely.

Wouldn’t be so bad if the end results were better, but they’re usually a little off, with overly dark patches here and there.

That’s why I look forward to those rare trips to the salon to get my roots done. I’ll mark appointments on my calendar weeks out.

It’s definitely a splurge… I could save money by always coloring at home, but the results with a pro’s help are just so much better than mine. I tell myself it’s cool as long as I do my own waxing and painting my nails.

What’s the bane of your beauty existence? Is it shaving, plucking, coloring or painting your nails? Do you wish someone else could exercise for you? Would you rather face hordes of ravenous zombies than have to pluck your eyebrows? What’s your least favorite beauty ritual and why?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Is Whitney Wearing Lancome’s Indigo Paris Nail Polish?

October 7th, 2009 by Karen 45 Comments

the-city

Fellow nail polish nerds, did any of y’all spy Whitney’s blue nails on last night’s episode of The City? I am CONVINCED my girl Whit was rocking Lancome’s Indigo Paris, a favorite of mine for fall.

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Can I reality TV dish with you for a sec?

It’s about The Hills and The City, two of MTV’s most progressive and enlightening programs, LOL!

LOVE The City, but I barely made it through five minute of The Hills before I had to look away.

I can’t suspend disbelief anymore when it comes to the Kristin/Justin Bobby/Audrina love triangle. It just feels kinda … fake, like a really bad counterfeit purse, ugh!

whitney-the-city-nails-2

That, and I think my Speidi cup hath runneth over. I can’t take those two anymore. They made me choke on a meatball — that’s how angry I was.

After coughing it up (it even caught air and launched across the room), I said a prayer of thanks and pledged to live a Speidi-free lifestyle from now on.

Thank goodness The City was actually pretty entertaining. Whit’s fabulous blue nails were hawt! 🙂

They’re visible toward the end of the episode. Whitney and her new frenemy/roommate, Roxy, are sitting at work, discussing the previous day’s photo shoot.

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