Karen

9 Things: Makeup and Beauty Blog Friday Fun

June 20th, 2008 by Karen 6 Comments

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You know I love lists, and it was only a matter of time before I made a list of my favorite, well, lists. 🙂 It’s Friday afternoon, and you may be sitting there at work or in school, achin’ for the bell to ring. While you wait, grab a snack and browse through some of my favorite lists.

9 Things I’m Glad I Know
“How good it feels to be useful. Shoot, I can’t do calculus or play basketball (or any sport involving projectiles), but at least I’m not a bump on a pickle.”

Beauty in Time: 9 Things I Would Say to My Younger Self
“Savor eating fried zucchini sticks at three in morning and staying a size 2 because that high metabolism will be GONE FOREVER in four years (sigh…).”

9 Things: My Makeup Lust List
“MAC PowerPoint Eye Pencil in Tealo and Forever Green ($13.50) — Wee! I love green eye pencils. I can’t get enough of green eye pencils, and I want to try these because they’re supposedly waterproof, too. I hope they’re nice and blendable like the Technakohls. Both of the greens that I want are out of stock on the MAC Web site (boo), but the Nordstrom site has ’em in stock (yay).”

9 Things: Toot Thy Horn
“When I’m feeling a little sad or down, one thing I do to cheer myself up is make lists. Yesterday, I had a craptacularly rough afternoon and cried, oh, about six times. There are just some days when you feel like you can’t get anything right, ya know? After the sixth round of tears, I made a list to remind myself of the things I’m pretty darn good at.”

43 Things I’m Thankful For — The Non-Makeup Edition
“Modern medicine and dentistry. It’s kind of a weird thing to be thankful for, I know. But last night I watched an episode of the HBO TV show, Rome, and one scene showed an ancient Roman guy getting operated on. The process included straps, a saw and a filthy kitchen table. I have only three words to convey how I feel about ancient medicinal practices: SO NOT COOL.”

9 Things I Wish I Didn’t Know
“Driving home from the gym tonight I heard the song Baby Got Back on the radio, the 1992 smash hit by celebrated lyricist Sir Mix-a-Lot (LOL). I cannot stand that song, but for reasons unknown I am able to recite every single word of it. As soon as that intro starts I am compelled to sing: ‘I like big butts and I cannot lie! Those other brothers can’t deny!'”

9 Random Things: The Getting-to-Know-You Stage
“Last week, during dinner at one of my favorite Thai restaurants, there was a couple sitting next to me who were clearly on a first date. My nosy ass couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation between bites of yellow chicken curry (what can I say? I multi-task) and spring rolls. The boy hailed from Texas and liked indie rock; the girl liked to meditate and go hiking. They looked cute together, but there were several awkward moments of silence during which both of them sat there, obviously nervous, nibbling away at the Pad Thai for way too long.”

Just for fun: Random Acts of Beauty
“Random Act of Beauty: October 24, 2007, 5:35 p.m. — I finally find sunblock that doesn’t leave my neck feeling sticky, Shiseido’s Ultimate Sun Protection SPF 55 for Face & Body, at my local Macy’s Shiseido counter.”

Just for Fun – Seven Things You Didn’t Know About Makeup and Beauty Blog
“I believe everyone should have a theme song! Your theme song can change depending on where you are in life or what you need at the moment. Currently, mine is Jay-Z’s ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder.'”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Dior Impression Cuir: Early Reviews and Swatches

June 20th, 2008 by Karen 21 Comments

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Bust out your alligator pumps, white cardigan sweater, pearls and pencil skirt, and let’s explore Dior’s upcoming Fall 2008 Impression Cuir collection. YES!

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I just received previews of two of the items from the upcoming collection (due out this August). Sometimes, I feel like brown can be a little boring, but when it’s done well, as I think it has been here, brown can be downright smokin’.

After playing with the Impression Cuir eyeshadow palette and Rouge Dior Fiction Brown lipstick this morning, I felt very much like a hot librarian in training. I almost wanted to don my glasses, put my hair in a bun and talk sweet, sweet dewey decimals. Fo’ reals!

Impression Cuir eyeshadows on the top; Fiction Brown lipstick on the bottom
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The Impression Cuir Palette ($55) contains a trio of bronze, brown and beige shimmer eyeshadows embossed with a pretty alligator-skin pattern on the pan. The tiny sparkles give the shades a lil’ extra kick, but the colors in this palette are still very work-friendly.

In the picture above I’m wearing the beige on the brow bone, bronze in the crease and beige on the lid. I like how the colors blend seamlessly into each other. With these shades, creating subtle, yet sexy eye looks is a breeze. I can even picture the colors mixing well with greens, browns, pinks and purples. If you’ve been wanting to try Dior eyeshadows, let this palette be your gateway makeup drug! Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

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MAC Cosmetics Neo Sci Fi Face of the Day

June 19th, 2008 by Karen 38 Comments

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I’ve had sun on my mind lately and felt inspired this morning to reach for a few brighter-than-bright items from MAC’s Neo Sci Fi collection. I didn’t really feel like going buck wild with a lot of blending or a wide variety of products with my look today, and I limited myself to just two (!) eyeshadows. Oh, and because I woke up a little late this morning (surprise!), I only had 15 minutes to get ready for work. 🙂

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5 Summer Beauty Tips for Color Shy Girls

June 19th, 2008 by Karen 6 Comments

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Hey, I know how it is to be color shy. For years I stuck to shades of brown and beige makeup because I didn’t feel bold enough for brights. If you long for color but don’t feel ready for hot pinks or bright reds, take a look at some of the subtle color ideas below.

Lip Look: Crushing on Three Custom Colors Papaya Crush!
“…I’m wearing two coats, which was just enough to achieve a subtle pop of coral color without going over-the-top. If you’re color shy but have been wanting to try a cute coral lipgloss, Papaya Crush should be a good way to get your feet (lips?) wet.”

Laura Mercier’s Creme Eye Duo: Pink Has a New Friend
“You might be wondering, “Um, is girlfriend actually wearing any eyeshadow at all in this pic?” Yup, I am! As part of the Dreamy Collection, the pink and violet shadows in the Fairytale duo are almost translucent upon application. I think they’re soft and pretty, but if you prefer bold and flashy eyeshadows, this duo might not be your cup o’ tea.”

Face of the Day: A Smokey Eye with MAC Club
“I had a lot of fun with MAC Club eyeshadow today. Its versatility makes it great for creating quick, daytime smokey eyes. I had about three seconds to put on my makeup this morning, and I owe this look to MAC Club. Paired with a few new products from Fafi and the N Collections, MAC Club helped me finish this look in 10 minutes.”

Stila Strikes Again with Stila Silk Shimmer Gloss in Kitten, Silk Eye Shadow Wash
“Fellow Stila fans, I just let out a big ol’ MEOW! Guess what? The company has just introduced two new products in Kitten, their cult classic shimmery shade of pink… Kitten is one of those pinks that looks good on a range of skin tones. Kitten’s flexibility helped make Stila’s original Kitten eyeshadow the companys best selling product.”

Sheer Ecstasy: MAC Strobe Lip Conditioner Sticks
“Imagine a nearly transparent version of your favorite brightly colored lipstick — what you’d end up with would look a lot like MAC’s new Strobe Kiss and Strobe Current Tinted Lip Conditioner Sticks, two little lovelies from MAC’s new Strobe Collection. In stick form both look bold and bright, but they apply unexpectedly sheer. Picture a transparent wash of color.”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Splurge or Steal: Essie Neon Delivers Chanel Nail Colors for Less

June 19th, 2008 by Karen 43 Comments

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I know I can’t be the only one out there drooling over the upcoming Chanel Robertson Boulevard limited edition nail polishes; the neon-bright shades in pink, purple, orange and yellow remind me of 1960’s pop art. I think they’ll look groovy on fingers and toes, but at $25 apiece, they sure aren’t budget friendly.

Let’s consider an option. If you’re lusting after Chanel’s upcoming Robertson Boulevard colors like I am, then Essie’s super hot Neon collection (just released this month) may help. I have yet to see the Robertson Boulevard colors in person (I’m basing this on the promo photos), so I can’t say exactly how close these Essie colors are to their apparent Robertson Boulevard equivalents, but the shades in both collections sure look close to me based on Chanel’s promo shots. And at a reasonable $8 apiece, you could buy all four Essie Neon shades for a total cost just a few dollars more than a single one of the Robertson Boulevard colors.

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Essie’s Neon Collection…

Short Shorts – hot pink matte
Mini Shorts – neon highlighter orange matte
Shorty Pants – banana yellow matte
Bermuda Shorts – bright violet matte

What do ya think of the names? Aren’t they fun? I sort of wish Essie had included a shade called Booty Shorts, ha!

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My favorite out of the four shades has to be Shorty Pants, the bright yellow. It reminds me of a perfectly ripe banana (sans brown spots).

All of the colors, with the exception of Mini Shorts, have that thick, high shine, classic finish Essie is known for. Mini Shorts doesn’t seem to be quite as shiny as the other shades are, and I’m not sure why that is, but a high shine top coat like Seche Vite should bring the shine up to par.

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Dior Fall 2008: Impression Cuir Fall Pics and Full Product List

June 18th, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

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It being almost summer and all, let’s take a moment to wax philosophic about an upcoming fall collection slated for a summertime release: Dior’s Fall 2008 Impression Cuir makeup collection. No matter what Dior calls it, this collection looks hot. Put on your water wings, grab some sweet tea (or gin and juice, haay!) and take a look.

Due for release this August, the collection features rich, romantic colors like burgundy, plum and copper and embossed animal-inspired textures — think crocodile and python. The makeup gods say dark lipstick will be big this fall, and I’m looking forward to Fantastic Plum Rouge Dior (pictured below). I think it’ll look great with my warm winter coat and knee-high boots.

The Dior Impression Cuir Fall Collection…

Eyeshadows

2-Colour Eyeshadow ($35)

Bronzy Look #695
Silver Look #775

5-Colour Eyeshadow ($54)

Earth Tones #673
Iridescent Leather #539

Dior Impression Cuir Palette ($55)

A trio of bronze, brown and beige eyeshadows

Eye Liner

Crayon Eyeliner ($25)

Iridescent Khaki #363

Lipgloss

Creme de Gloss ($25.50)

Cream Burgundy #735
Delicious Plum #875

Ultra-Gloss Reflect ($24.50)

Lace Beige #587
Lurex Plum #877

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Lipstick

Rouge Dior ($27)

Western Beige #423
Pink Drama #559
Fantastic Plum #874
Fiction Brown #619

Lip Liner

Dior Contour ($25)

Mythical Brown #713
Mysterious Plum #988

Powder

DiorSkin Poudre Shimmer ($24)

Copper Diamond #003

Blush

DiorBlush ($38)

Pink Copper #739

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Chanel Fall 2008: Early Reviews and Swatches

June 18th, 2008 by Karen 42 Comments

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Ahhh… You know things are going well when 1) your coffee tastes better than usual, and 2) your day begins with new Chanel.

Even though it feels a little weird to talk about fall makeup in early summer, my Chanel homie just hooked me up a with few preview products from the fall 2008 collection. Autumn leaves, here I come!

The entire gold-themed collection lands at Chanel counters this July, but here are three members of the fall collection. I’ve yet to see the items I’m *really* lusting after — the Gold Fever Highlighter and the Gold Light Glossimer — in person, but these should tide me over for now.

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Rouge Hydrabase Lipstick in Great Copper ($26)

A semi-matte lipstick, Rouge Hydrabase in Great Copper feels nothing like those dry, cakey, heavy matte formulas of the 90s. I really like the formula Chanel used for Rouge Hydrabase. It’s light and incredibly moisturizing. Great Copper literally shimmers on my lips, and it almost couldn’t be easier to wear (That’s it in the picture above without a lipliner).

I can see myself wearing it to work every day. I know that wearing gloss on top of matte lipsticks sort of defeats the purpose, but I can’t wait to wear a thick layer of clear gloss on top of this. My makeup spider sense tells me it’s gonna look somethin’ fierce. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

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Jouse Contraste Powder Blush in Rose Dust ($40)

This beauty gives cheeks a matte, rosy plum glow. At first glance I was afraid this shade would be too cool and light for my tanned, post-vacation face, but after dusting two layers onto my cheeks I saw I was wrong to worry. Unlike light pink blushes with a tendency to look too obvious on tanned or dark skin (in a “Hey, look at me, I’m wearing blush!” kind of way), Rose Dust looks great on a tan. The shade reminds me of MAC’s Blushbaby! Still, because the pink is so light, I have a feeling it will look great on pale gals, too. Oh, and the texture? It’s soft like buttah, baby! Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+
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Review: Bumble and Bumble Creme de Coco Masque

June 17th, 2008 by Karen 41 Comments

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Sorry for the late post, guys! I got home from the airport around midnight last night and woke up a little jet lagged. All morning I felt like I was slow-motion Karen, like my brain was moving at the speed of soup!

I took a nice, long shower to get my rear into gear and did much-needed post vacation beauty maintenance before heading to work. I used Volcanic Ash Exfoliator by MAC Cosmetics to exfoliate my feet and body (review to follow shortly!) and Bumble and Bumble’s new Creme de Coco Masque ($24) on my hair, a once-a-week moisturizing conditioner that’s supposed to make hair shiny, smooth and soft.

It’s the newest member of Bumble and Bumble’s Creme de Coco family and chock full of coconut oil, a common ingredient in beauty products for skin and hair. The folks at Bumble and Bumble say that Creme De Coco Masque takes coconut oil to the next level with “breakthrough Japanese technology.” I’m not exactly sure what they meant by that, but it sounds sufficiently awesome.

In a coconut and vegetable derived base, Creme de Coco also contains mango and shea butters, avocado oil, and botanical extracts of olive leaf, nettle, horsetail and mallow. I think it sounds like a yummy salad.

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I returned from Hawaii with a tan, macadamia nuts, kona coffee … and dry, crunchy, damaged hair. Go figure. There’s a certain poetry to using a product filled with tropical ingredients to repair the damage done to my hair by sun and salt water.

A few years ago I went through a bout of extra crispy hair and tried Bumble and Bumble’s Deeep (with three Eees) Conditioner, another weekly hair masque treatment. I liked it and remember that it worked back then, so I was eager to try out Bumble and Bumble’s Creme de Coco.

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Still in the shower after washing my hair, I massaged two silver dollar’s worth of Creme de Coco Masque into my hair, spending extra time to work the product into the dry ends. Directions on the bottle suggest leaving it on for at least seven minutes before rinsing, so, while I waited for the Masque to do its thang, I took the opportunity to exfoliate my body, because I’m all about multi-tasking. 🙂
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