Karen

Retro Roundup: One Year Ago on Makeup and Beauty Blog

October 30th, 2008 by Karen 28 Comments

My Halloween Costume — Amy Winehouse

“I haven’t done big hair in about 15 years so I hope this massive bird’s nest on the top of my head stays put for the rest of the day…”

Makeup Tips from LA Fashion Week

“This year Smashbox sponsored the makeup. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the flawless skin trend we saw at the San Francisco and New York shows was a big theme this year on the LA runways, too.”

Boots No. 7 Restore and Renew Beauty Serum

“Women all over the UK went buck wild after a program on the BBC, Professor Regan’s Beauty Handbook, showed scientifically that No. 7 Restore and Renew (known as ‘Protect & Perfect’ in the UK) repaired photo-aged skin and improved the fine wrinkles associated with photo aging. After the show aired, sales increased by nearly 2000%, with 13 bottles being sold every minute.”

MAC Artist Louise Zizzo Gives Tips for Working With Matte2 and Mattene

“The key is to make sure whenever you are using these shadows or any matte shadows is you need to make sure you have a nice powdery base to put them on, otherwise they will grab patchy. I really recommend using softer brushes to apply these like the #224 and gradually building up to the intensity you desire. Don’t press hard, use a light touch and these look absolutely amazing.”

Product Reviews: Bliss Snow Wonder Body Butter; Thinny Thin Chin; Jingle Bell Socks

“Bliss has got your turkey neck covered, gobble-gobble (totally kidding!), with Thinny Thin Chin, a light lotion designed to improve the appearance of neck lines and cleavage creases.”

Face of the Day with Mac Matte2, aka When Purple Doesn’t Reign

“Try as I might, I can’t seem to get it together when it comes to MAC’s Matte2 shadows. I’ve tried to do a full on matte eye a few times, but it’s just too hard for me in terms of blending. Plus, I need a lil’ sparkle and some shine, ya know?”

Makeup and Beauty Tips for Breast Cancer Patients: Staying Beautiful Inside and Out!

“Remember, life is worth every minute. You can choose your thoughts. Keep a positive attitude, and if there is any time to erase negativity in your life, it’s NOW. Choose to LOVE LIFE and never lose HOPE. Plus, when your kids see you love life and do good for others, they will be happier and will contribute more to this beautiful world in their lifetimes. As you go through this challenge, you will be amazed by your strength, courage, and stamina. You will also be amazed by the resilience of your body.”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Get the Clinique Blackberry Bloom Look: Purple Smokey Eyes, Berry Lips and Cheeks

October 29th, 2008 by Karen 30 Comments

Everyone loves blackberries. Take Clinique, for example. Next month they’re introducing Blackberry Bloom, a collection of violet and plum eye, lip and cheek makeup for the holidays. The first time I saw the gorgeous model in this promotional picture — her smokey purple eyes, berry lips and cheeks — I about fell over in my chair!

So, I marshaled my courage and attempted the look with some items from the upcoming collection.

It wasn’t the easiest look I’ve ever tried, but it wasn’t the toughest one either. You can definitely do it with the same shades I used or with other ones already in your collection. Here I used the following items from Clinique Blackberry Bloom:

Eye Products You’ll Need

Colour Surge Eye Shadow Super Shimmer ($14)

Black Coffee: shimmery cool brown (limited edition)
Black Amethyst: shimmery berry (limited edition)
Black Smoke: shimmery gray-black (limited edition)

Kohl Shaper for Eyes ($15.50)

Black Honey: matte plum (limited edition)

High Impact Mascara ($14)

Black Honey: deep berry-brown (limited edition)

From left to right: Black Coffee, Black Amethyst and Black Smoke eyeshadows

Black Coffee Colour Surge Eye Shadow

Black Amethyst Colour Surge Eye Shadow

Black Smoke Colour Surge Eye Shadow
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MAC Red She Said Face of the Day: Navy Blue, Bronze and Brown Smokey Eye

October 29th, 2008 by Karen 55 Comments

For one precious hour last Saturday afternoon I got in some quality me time. El Hub had gone to the bookstore for something, so I had the place to myself. I plopped down on the living room floor with a bowl of chilled grapes, started an episode of Law and Order: SVU (lovin’ ya, Detective Stabler!) on the Tivo and reached for a few items from MAC Red She Said.

My mind was racing with thoughts of Tabs and other troubles, and I needed to distract myself with something uncomplicated, like Inter-view Mineralize Eye Shadow ($17.50), Enough Said Beauty Powder Blush ($18), Quiet, Please lipstick ($14) and Miss Dynamite Dazzleglass ($17.50).

From left to right: Enough Said Beauty Powder Blush, three shades from the Interview Mineralize Eye Shadow trio

I tried this brown, bronze and navy blue smokey eye. When I was done with the look, I walked around the room by myself, pretending I was contemplating impressionist paintings in a fancy art gallery.

Here’s how I did this look…

The Eyes

I started by priming my lids with a layer of MAC Painterly Paint Pot applied with a fingertip.
Next, I layered a mix of the brown and bronze shades from the MAC Inter-view Mineralize Eye Shadow Trio onto the inner two-thirds of my lid using a MAC 252 eyeshadow brush.
Still with the same brush, I patted the navy blue shade from Inter-view onto the outer third of the lid and just barely into the crease, concentrating most of the color on the side closer to the ear.
Then, I wet a MAC 239 eyeshadow brush with a spritz of MAC Fix+ and swept the wet brush head across the pan of bronze eyeshadow to load the brush and applied the rich, wet shadow to the inner third of my lid. With the edge of the brush, I lined the lower lash line.
Using MAC Technakohl liner in Graphblack, I lined my upper and lower water lines.

To finish the eyes, I curled my lashes with the (legendary) Shu Uemura lash curler and added a couple coats of MAC Zoomlash mascara in Zoomblack.

The Cheeks

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5 More Smokin’ Smokey Eye Tips

October 29th, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

Ladies, when it comes to smoldering smokey eyes, the secret sauce is in the blending. Dark eye makeup looks best when it’s blended really well, and nothing can steal smokey eye thunder like a patchy makeup job that draws attention away from your eyes and onto your makeup. Lawd knows I’ve rushed through my share of smokey eyes. Regrettably, there are few eye makeup looks that can so easily go awry.

But don’t be discouraged! Try one of these tips the next time you’re feelin’ smokey.

1. Fingers Are Built-In Brushes

If you’ve never tried a smokey eye using your fingers before, give it a try. Using fingers can even be easier than using a brush. Start by loading up your ring finger with black shadow. Dab over your lid. Follow the black up with a shimmery gray shadow, and blend with a finger. Add mascara and you’re done! Just be careful you don’t drag shadow out of the lid area or too far into the inner corner of the eye.

2. Use Liner Pencils as a Base for Eyeshadows

Color the entire lid with a dark pencil before applying a lighter coordinating shadow (not necessarily the same color) on top of it. It’s a quick way to add more depth than eyeshadows alone and looks amazing!

3. Black Eyeliner and Eye Gloss Mashup

For uber-easy smokey eyes, use a jet black eyeliner smudged out with a bit of eye gloss. You won’t get a look that lasts forever, but a little loose powder patted over the edges will help prevent smearing. NOTE: don’t rub those eyes!

4. Get to the Root of Things

When lining your waterline with black, cover every nook and cranny. Get as close to the root of the lash as possible, even going in between them, to add as much black to the look as possible. What you don’t want is some of your natural skin tone along the waterline showing through to sabotage all your hard work.

5. Dab a Dot for a Pop of Color

For a pop of color, apply a neutral shadow to the entire lid. Then, smudge a dot of brighter shadow in the center of the lid and thoroughly blend.

Happy Hump Day!

How’s your week coming along? I’ve had better, but we don’t get to choose our days. All we can do is choose how we deal with them.

Have you seen the new holiday palettes for Shu Uemura? They’re called mika shu, and I think they’re adorable! I’ll post thoughts and swatches very soon.

Hang in there this week. This kind of comes out of nowhere … but that’s the kind of week I’m having. I’ve got something big on my mind. Our family’s going through some stuff that I’ll be ready to share with you soon, but for now I just want to thank you all for brightening my days and sharing your time with me.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Infatuating Rose: 6 Ways to Wear the 6 Cool Eyes Palette

October 28th, 2008 by Karen 39 Comments

I momentarily set aside my issues with the huge bling-bling jewel on the top of the MAC Infatuating Rose: 6 Cool Eyes palette ($38, part of the Passions of Red collection) today. Sure, the packaging is cheesy enough to pair it with crackers and wine, but I don’t care because the shadows inside this little cheese log more than make up for it.

6 Eye Looks with the 6 Cool Eyes Palette

From left to right: Satisfy, Cavort, Bon Fete, Platonic, Feast, Deep Feelings

1. Pink With Indigo Liner

I tried this subtle pink look with just a touch of indigo liner. It’s a simple way to wear a little daytime color.

First, with a MAC 252 eyeshadow brush, I applied Satisfy onto my entire lid, concentrating color on the lid area and fading up toward the eyebrow.
Then, I swept Bon Fete onto the lid, also with the MAC 252.
Taking a MAC 239 eyeshadow brush, I applied Feast onto the outer third of my lid, blending out the edges with a finger.
Next, with a MAC 266 angled brush wet with a spritz of MAC Fix+, I swept the brush head across the pan of Deep Feelings to grab some color and then lined both the upper and lower lash lines with it.
Finally, to complete the eye look, I layered Feast directly on top of Deep Feelings on the lower lash line with a Sonia Kashuk Angled Eye Shadow Brush.

2. Smokey Purple with Indigo Liner

A purple smokey eye can be a good way to wear some color during at work. It’s vibrant but not necessarily as bold as a bright blue or green. I plan to pair this with MAC Too Swoon For lipstick, a light pink shade, to keep the club kid factor in check.

First, I swept Bon Fete onto my entire eye with a MAC 252 brush.
With the same brush, I applied Platonic onto my lids.
And to complete the look, I lined the upper and lower lash lines with Deep Feelings using a wet MAC 266 brush spritzed with MAC Fix+.

3. Purple Parfait

This three-colored lid is a little out of my usual color comfort zone, but I thought it might be fun to try! I’ll be rocking this one in my living room until I build up the courage to wear it outside.

First, I swept Satisfy onto the brow bone with a MAC 252 eyeshadow brush.
Next, I patted Platonic onto the center of the lid with a MAC 239 brush.
Also with the 239, I applied Cavort onto the inner third of the lid (the side closest to my nose).
To add some smokiness to the eye, I used the 239 again to apply Deep Feelings onto the outer third of the lid. Then, with the edge of the brush, I extended the color along the lower lash line and ran a MAC 217 blending brush gently along the edges of the shades to blend away any harsh lines.

4. Simple Slice of Purple

Here’s another simple one with a pop of color. If you’ve just started wearing color, this could be a nice way to get used to seeing it on your lids!

I started the by applying Cavort onto the lids with a MAC 252 eyeshadow brush and then gently blending out any harsh lines with a finger.
To concentrate the color, I wet a MAC 239 eye shadow brush with MAC Fix+ and then swept it across the pan of Cavort to pick up the product. Then, I patted the wet shadow onto the lid area closest to the lash line, taking care to really concentrate the color by the lashes.

5. Purple with a Pop of Pink

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5 More Places to Buy Makeup

October 28th, 2008 by Karen 25 Comments

Last week I asked y’all where you like to buy your makeup. Not surprisingly, most of us prefer to shop for makeup at Sephora and MAC stores, but department stores like Macy’s and Nordstrom weren’t far behind.

But beyond those well known makeup outlets, here are a few more sources that may not be on your radar yet…

1. Amazon.com

Pretty soon Amazon’s gonna start selling trips to the moon because they already sell just about everything else, even makeup and beauty. Check out their discounted shipping program, Amazon Prime. For $79/year, you get free 2-day shipping or optional 1-day shipping for $3.99/item on a huge selection of already marked down products. I find that just about everything I buy from Amazon is eligible, and it really works out if you buy more than a couple things from Amazon.com per month and don’t like waiting 5-7 business days for your stuff.

2. Boots

I lurves Boots! The company was founded in Nottingham, England by John Boot, who opened his original shop in 1849. They burst onto the US scene a few years ago, and now the brand is carried at Target and other drugstores nationwide, yea! Their website doesn’t sell direct, but it does have this nifty Skin Wheel doodad, whee!

3. Walgreens

Walgreens? Never heard of ’em, LOL! That’s not likely seeing how there are almost 7,000 Walgreens stores in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Walgreens carries a ton of drugstore makeup, has a great return policy (just keep your receipt!), and many stores are open 24 hours/day.

Through Oct. 31, they’re offering a free 12-month gift subscription to Marie Claire magazine with any purchase of $10 or more on select Beauty Insider products from the Walgreens website, so you could stock up on Biore Cleansing Cloths and get a year of Marie Claire for free.

4. Drugstore.com and Beauty.com

Two stores, one shopping cart. Stock up on beauty swag over at beauty.com, throw in some dental floss and deodorant over at drugstore.com, and then do one checkout for everything. New customers save an additional 10% on beauty and spa products and get free shipping with coupon code BEAUTIFUL at checkout. Straight up, drugstore.com has great prices.

5. Shoppers Drug Mart

If you’re ever north o’ the border and running low on concealer, stop by a Shoppers Drug Mart. They’re Canada’s largest pharmacy chain with more than 1,000 stores operating under the names Shoppers Drug Mart in nine provinces and two territories, and Pharmaprix in Quebec. They carry a wide selection of drugstore and department store makeup brands like Benefit, Boots, Clinique, Smashbox, Lancome and more. Their website doesn’t fulfill orders, though, so this is more for future travel reference than anything else.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. SPOILER ALERT! So whadja think of The Hills last night? Can you believe Audrina dumped that sweet Aussie boy? Damn, I was so Team Corey.

MAC Fascinating Ruby 3 Plum Lips: Is that Ruby Big Enough for Ya?

October 27th, 2008 by Karen 28 Comments

Stare deeply into the ginormous gem on the top of MAC’s Fascinating Ruby: 3 Plum Lips ($22.50) palette… IF YOU DARE!

Concentrate hard enough, and the gem will imbue you with mystical makeup powers and reveal the deepest secrets of the universe.

Okay, not really… This gem doesn’t do anything cool like that, but it does contain some pretty cool makeup.

From left to right: Mutual Attraction, Insinuate, Marvel

MAC likes to push the envelope with the packaging of their holiday stuff, and they’re at it again.

Part of the MAC Passions of Red holiday 2008 collection, Fascinating Ruby doesn’t work for me the way that the elegant and edgy packaging of last year’s Royal Assets holiday collection did. Matter of fact, I think it’s a little corny, but who cares, right? I’m here for the makeup more than anything else.

And speaking of that, I like each one of Fascinating Ruby’s three plum lip shades. The set comes with two lipsticks, a gloss and a teeny, tiny lip brush.

I ended up ditching the brush because using it to apply product was like trying to paint with a needle, so I opted for my trusty MAC 316 covered lip brush instead.

Mutual Attraction gloss: A shimmery, reddish plum gloss. The silver glitter turns up the drama factor, but I think I’d like it more if the glitter were gold.
Insinuate lipstick: I love this cool pink-plum with subtle golden pearl and can’t wait to wear it with purple smokey eyes!
Marvel lipstick: A shimmery, deep magenta plum. My lip color really brings out the red in this lipstick. I bet it’ll be a nice option for when I want to wear red with a conservative look.

From left to right: Mutual Attraction, Insinuate, Marvel
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Add Red to Your Lipstick Repertoire with these 10 Tips

October 27th, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

Hi, ladies! Thanks for all your wonderful tips and tricks to wearing red lips. Here’s a list featuring a few of your secrets. 🙂

1. Set Down the Tube and Grab a Brush

My secret to wearing reds like Lancome’s Absolute Rouge is to apply them using a MAC 316 Covered Lip Brush ($19).

With the 316’s firm, pointed tip I can really get in where I need to get, precisely controlling my lines and delivering the right amount of pigment for my look — kinda like drawing with a sharpened pencil versus trying to draw with a stubby crayon. When applying directly from a tube of lipstick, I’ll often end up with uneven color or color breaking outside the lines of the natural shape of my lips. Not cute, ladies!

2. Use a Waxy Lip Liner

Use a very waxy lip liner to keep your color from bleeding; apply very heavily and blot. It helps the color sink in, and, when it begins to fade, your lips will still look pretty and stained.

3. Smooth That Pucker

Bright red looks great on super smooth lips, so consider using a lip exfoliator every other day.

4. Beet Juice, Baby!

Apply beet juice to your lips before you go to sleep. If your lips are darkened from smoking, it’ll correct the problem better than lipstick. It produces a semi-permanent stain that doesn’t rub off. Be careful not to overdo it, though. What you want is a stain very similar to your natural lip color.

5. Line with a Cream Concealer

After you’re done applying a red lipstick, take a cream concealer or foundation and a 266 brush and line just outside your lips; blend any harsh lines into your skin. It cleans up any crooked lip liner you may have, covers red smudges and really makes your lips POP!

6. Ease into Red

To ease your way into wearing red on your lips, don’t jump straight into something bold and bright. Start with cranberry colored lip gloss or a brown based red.

7. Cargo The Reverse Lip Liner

Try using Cargo The Reverse Lip Liner, a flesh colored liner used outside your lip line, and then apply a very thin layer of balm before applying red lipstick.

8. Tone It Down

If you’re unsure about red, consider toning down bright red shades with a darker red like MAC Kirsch Mattene.

9. MAC Russian Red!

Look for MAC Russian Red. It’s the perfect blue-based red for nearly all skin tones, and, instead of going for a full-on red pout, smear on some Chapstick and dab until you’ve got a pretty, stained effect. It lasts all day long and works well if you’re a little shy when it comes to wearing red.

10. Line with a Flesh Toned Pencil

Line and fill in your lips with a flesh toned pencil onto which you apply your red lipstick. The liner helps define and hold the color while helping to prevent blurring and fading around the edges of your lips as your lipstick fades over the course of the day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen