Karen

MAC Cosmetics Neo Sci Fi Review, Swatches: Beam Me Up, Scotty

May 21st, 2008 by Karen 61 Comments

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The odds of me falling in love with MAC’s newest collection, Neo Sci Fi, were higher than both Whitney Houston AND Bobby Brown in the late 90s.

Just put a label on my forehead that says, “Easy Prey.” First, there’s the bright orange packaging. Sure, it’s kinda highway-worker vest, but I think it’s fun and cheerful. Then there’s my weakness for warm shades of bronze, pink and plum, which headline the sunbaked, summertime collection.

And then there’s my not-so-secret penchant for, um, sci-fi. Did I ever tell ya that Terminator is one of my favorite movies of all time and that the sci-fi classic book Ender’s Game changed my life? Fo’ reals! In case you were wondering, no, I’ve never been to a Star Trek convention or to Comic-Con, but I have both on my list of things to do.

I was totally set up to fall hard for this collection. Hard!

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Neo Sci Fi hit MAC counters today, and I love pretty much everything about it. Electro ($14, a bright orange lipstick) and Pink Grapefruit ($14, an orange Lipglass) demand attention. I don’t usually dig orange makeup, either, but both of these shades really pop and would look great with a summer tan.

I’m definitely going to snatch up as many of the Neo Sci Fi Lipglasses (remember Soft & Slow last year’s Smoke Signals release?), lipsticks, blushes and polishes as I can.

I thought I’d go crazy over the eyeshadows, too, but they didn’t wow me as much as I thought they would. Surprisingly, the color I liked most was Expensive Pink, a warm gold-pink duochrome in MAC’s permanent eyeshadow color collection. Where have you been all my life, Expensive Pink? Love ya!

The entire Neo Sci Fi collection includes…

Lipsticks ($14)

Sci-Fi-Delity (frost) – burnt red with gold pearl
Pleasureseeker (glaze) – creamy peach
Astral (lustre) – mid-tone brown with red pearl
Electro (lustre) – bright orange
Sunsonic (frost) – white gold

From left to right: Sci-Fi-Delity, Pleasureseeker, Astral, Electro, Sunsonic
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Lipglasses ($14)

Supreme – bronzed brown with white pearl
Naked Space – creamy mid-tone nude peach
Pink Grapefruit – orange with gold pearl
Soft & Slow – mid-tone creamy plum

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China Glaze Ink Nail Polish: Wow, That’s Bright

May 20th, 2008 by Karen 35 Comments

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I don’t have any tattoos, but I always knew that if I got one it would be colorful, maybe like these tattoo-inspired shades from China Glaze’s Ink collection ($24.12, 8-piece collection).

They’re sold either individually or as part of an eight-piece set. The set includes six bright and slightly obnoxious colors, a cute packet of nail decals, a wee bottle of black polish (great for drawing patterns on the other nail colors) and a bottle of orange-scented cuticle oil.

I was pretty stoked to give the colors a try when I spotted the kit because I’ve been going through a bright nail polish phase. I couldn’t wait to try these colors on.

Blue Sparrow
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Flying Dragon
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Rose Among Thorns
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Prescriptives Blue Grotto Kohl Eyeliner: A Smooth, Mediterranean Blue

May 20th, 2008 by Karen 36 Comments

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Prescriptives chose to call their new limited-edition Kohl Eye Pencil Blue Grotto ($18.50), but I can think of a few other names that would have suited it quite nicely, like Kohl Pencil So Fabulous, Better than Revenge On Your Ex or Beeyotch, Step Away From My Blue Eye Kohl!

If I’d worked with Prescriptives on the product naming committee, I might have just chosen to call it AWESOMENESS because it truly is one of the best liners I’ve used in months.

What sets Blue Grotto apart from most other pencils on the market? One word: smooOOoove. Applying color to delicate parts of the eye, like around the waterline, usually takes me a lot of effort. I end up having to run the pencil back and forth several times to deposit enough color, and then my eyes start watering and everything goes downhill from there. With Blue Grotto, though, there’s no tugging or the feeling of a hard pencil edge against my skin; just a soft, creamy formula that deposits rich color in just a few easy swipes.

And the color! Oh, the color… It reminds me of pictures of the Mediterranean, or a bottle of rich, dark blue ink. It’s a gorgeous blue and unlike any other in my current eye pencil collection.

The other thing I noticed was how it holds. On the waterline, the pencil’s long-wearing, water-resistant formula just lasts and lasts and lasts… The first swatch of the shade I did on the back of my hand was still visible after two days, during which time I showered twice. It finally came off with Lancome Bi-Facil makeup remover, whew!

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This past Saturday I wore Blue Grotto on my eyelid (the upper lash line). I drew a line, smudged it a bit with a MAC 219 pencil brush and then braved the heatwave to run some errands. After a full day of running around covered in sweat (it was HOT, yo), the liner still looked just as perfectly smudgy as it did when I left the house (Sidenote: Did you know the average person sweats about four cups of water per day?).
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MAC Cosmetics Blue and Green Face of the Day

May 19th, 2008 by Karen 67 Comments

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We’ve had a stretch of unseasonably warm weather here in the Bay Area, but this morning started off overcast and gloomy. To brighten up my Monday, I did this blue and green eye with MAC Parrot and Sprout.

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I didn’t feel like going all crazy with the blending, so to keep it simple I limited myself to just three eyeshadow colors. If you’re new to makeup, this would be a super easy look to try! Please ask if you have any questions about reproducing it yourself. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll track down someone who does.

Color map…

MAC Ochre Style on the browbone
MAC Sprout on the inner half of the eyelid and just barely into the crease
MAC Parrot on the outer half of the eyelid and slightly into the crease
MAC Indigo Eye Pencil on the outer 2/3 of the lid and on the upper waterline
MAC Powersurge Eye Pencil on the lower waterline

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If the blue and green together are a lil’ too much color for you, you can try the look using neutral pairs. I have a feeling gold and brown or pink and brown on the lid and a neutral shade like MAC Shroom on the browbone would look awfully pretty.

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To complete the look…

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Take Back Your Sanity! Lipstick Storage Only $1.79 Away

May 19th, 2008 by Karen 42 Comments

Try as I might, I can’t avoid the siren call of The Container Store. Sure, it irks me that a store can survive on the premise of selling you new crap to store all your present crap, but desperate times call for desperate measures!

I reached critical mass last weekend. My lipstick disorganization finally crossed the line. For the past few months, tubes just kept disappearing and reappearing in the strangest places (How does a tube of lipstick find its way into a kitchen soap dish?).

Luckily, my sanity was only $1.79 away. The Container Store sells these clear accessory boxes designed for belts and jewelry, but they’re also the perfect height to store tubes of lipstick.
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Afternoon Reading, Makeup-Related and Otherwise

May 18th, 2008 by Karen 33 Comments

I don’t think there’s anything better than spending a Sunday afternoon reading and drinking tea.

BellaSugar

I am totally hooked on Bella’s blog for its witty, helpful posts and her fun contests. I just took the Sex and the City quiz, which entered me into a contest to attend an exclusive pre-screening of the Sex and the City movie. To enter the contest, log on to the site and take the SATC quiz — you have until 11:59 pm tonight. Don’t worry if you’re rusty on your SATC trivia; no matter how you score on the quiz, you’re still entered to win.

The Host, by Stephanie Meyer

I’m a big fan of Stephanie Meyer, the woman behind the Twilight series of novels. So, they’re young adult books … but I love young adult books. Twilight’s a love story about a teenage girl and her vampire boyfriend. The Host, Meyer’s first book for actual grownups, deals with an alien invasion on earth. Do you suppose alien invaders care about dark circles? I guess I’ll find out!

Allure’s June 2008 issue

I’m looking forward to reading Allure’s Secret Beauty Finds story, which supposedly discusses where the hair and makeup pros shop. I’ll let you know if I find out anything good! I also really liked Jessica’s cover look with purple shadow. I’m going to attempt to recreate it this week. Oh! And did you know Allure.com has a beauty blog called the Daily Beauty Reporter?

I am always curious about what other people like to read, and I can never resist checking out the bookshelves and magazine racks in the homes of people I know, LOL.

What’s on your current reading list? Is it a steamy romance, an O-chem book (*snooze*) or an issue of US Weekly?

Do you ever get the blues on Sunday? I’m not at all ready for Monday, ya’ll. I sure could use five more days of weekend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen
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11 Luscious Lash Tips

May 17th, 2008 by Karen 31 Comments

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Wiggle, Wiggle

Mascara belongs on your lashes, not the brush. When applying, gently wiggle the brush from side to side (instead of up and down) as you work your way from root to tip. The extra movement provides a thicker coat.

Aim High

For a larger-than-life, wide-eyed look, apply mascara to the top lashes only.

Natural Curl

For a natural looking curl with an eyelash curler, give a couple good squeezes, once close to the eyelid, and then a second squeeze closer toward the tip.

Thick and Luxurious

For thick, luxurious lashes, apply two coats of MAC Prep + Prime Lash. For best results, allow it to dry between each coat.

Great Separation

For great separation with a light touch, try applying mascara with a MAC 204 Lash Brush. It’s a great tool for the job.

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Tweens and Makeup: How Young Is too Young?

May 17th, 2008 by Karen 45 Comments

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Women’s Wear Daily (subscription only) and The NPD Group recently looked at the spending habits of young girls and found that tweens — girls between the ages of 8-12 — are spending $500 million a year annually on beauty products, with body sprays being the most popular items among girls of that age.

Holy crap, that’s a lot of allowance money!

“Also popular among tweens are body washes, cleansers and gels, as well
as lip products such as glosses and balms. Skin care is second to
fragrance in terms of usage among tweens, with more than 50 percent of
tweens having used skin care products, according to NPD, which added
that nearly 40 percent of tweens say they have used color cosmetics.”

I was about 13 when I started getting interested in beauty products, but Mom wouldn’t let me wear makeup until I turned 14. I didn’t get an allowance, but once when I tried to negotiate a $5 fee for cleaning my room my mom replied, “Can I start charging you for cooking your food, doing your laundry and tucking you in?” Ouch! Denied!

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