Karen

Bobbi Brown Beach Shower Gel, Take Me Away!

April 28th, 2008 by Karen 28 Comments

If I had my way, I’d live near a beach in the tropics and go surfing every morning before work, but, alas, I live in Northern California, where the water temp hovers around 50 degrees Fahrenheit all year round.

Since fate hath dealt me this cruel and ironic hand, I’ve resorted to several different tricks to capture that beachy, laid-back, surf-all-day-’til-your-arms-give-out feeling. For example, on days when I’m missing Hawaii somethin’ fierce, I’ll watch the Kuhio and Waikiki beach webcams and drink margaritas while listening to the Steve Miller Band (“Some people call me the space cowboy…”).

But while helpful at times of makeup despair, booze is not a long-term solution, and last weekend I discovered a new (and alcohol-free!) form of surf therapy. It’s called Bobbi Brown’s Beach Shower Gel ($32), and it smells just like a day at the beach.

bobbi-brown-beach-final-1

The second I rubbed the foaming gel into my skin in the shower I felt transported to Waikiki beach. Bobbi says the scent contains jasmine, sea spray and mandarin, but I’d characterize it as more a mix of the ocean, sunblock, off shore breezes and clean beach towels. That may not be the most sophisticated definition of the fragrance, but I think it’s apt. My nose knows (ha ha) the smell of the beach, and how much this tube of shower gel captures that scent is kinda miraculous.

After I lathered up and rinsed off in the shower, I actually couldn’t stop smelling myself for hours. I was like a fiend for it, and every single time I caught a whiff, I felt like I was at Waikiki beach, drinking in the sunshine and enjoying a warm day by the ocean.

Bobbi, take me away…

Oahu’s famous Waikiki Beach

Bobbi’s Beach scent comes in various forms…

Beach Fragrance – $55
Beach Body Oil – $28
Beach Shower Gel – $32
Beach Body Lotion – $35
Beach Body Scrub – $35
Beach Suncreen Body Spray SPF 15 – $25
Beach Sandbar Soap – $16

Bobbi Brown Beach Shower Gel

Price: $32
Use: To clean yo’ stinky self
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

For a limited time, when you buy any two Bobbi Brown Beach products you’ll also snag this cute tote fo’ free.
[Continue reading…]

Today Marin Was Like Hawaii

April 27th, 2008 by Karen 21 Comments

hawaii-sharks-cove
Shark’s Cove: awesome snorkeling spot on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii

Hi, ladies! It was just too nice outside for me to sit in front of the computer today. It seems like I spend more time at my computer desk than I spend anyplace else!

What have you been up to today?

I’m working on a couple projects for you guys that I hope to have ready to share soon. One has to do with MAC Cosmetics, and the other has to do with finding makeup bargains, which is something I hold near and dear to my heart!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. You know what time it is! Are you ready for the week’s best posts from the lovely ladies of the Beauty Blog Network?
[Continue reading…]

Lancome Star Bronzer Plus Clinique Fireberry Glosswear Equals 3-Minute Makeup

April 26th, 2008 by Karen 42 Comments

That cherub’s got junk in his trunk!

Not only does Lancome’s new limited edition Star Bronzer ($50) for face and body work like a charm; it looks like one too.

Doesn’t it look like the cherub in the pan is hugging the sun?

Star Bronzer gave my cheeks a warm glow, and, coupled with Clinique Fireberry Glosswear, helped me do this easy summer look.

Lancome obviously had fun with this compact. Within the image in the pan are three different bronzing colors. I love the golden brown matte from the cherub’s bum.

Here are swatches of the three most distinct shades from different parts of the compact:

A shimmery bronze with golden sparkle swatched from the sun to the left of the nekkid cherub
A warm golden brown matte from the cherub’s arse
A shimmery yellow gold from the cherub’s wings

What a great bronzer for summer! Too bad it’s a little on the expensive side. I do love how it looks with Fireberry Glosswear. I discovered how compatible the two products are by accident this morning.

I wanted a latte from the coffee shop across the street, but I didn’t want to leave the house without minimal makeup (I don’t want to scare the local children with my dark circles).

3-Minute Makeup

I grabbed my MAC 116 blush brush and swiped Star Bronzer onto the applies of both cheeks. Then, I added Dior Concealer to hide my dark circles and curled my lashes with Shu Uemura’s Curler.

I used a MAC 266 brush and MAC Concrete eyeshadow to fill in my brows and finished the look with Clinique Fireberry Glosswear lipgloss. Done in less than three minutes.

Don’t you love it when you find cheek and lip colors that complement each other? I like how the bronze and gold tones in both Star Bronzer and Fireberry work together.

Lancome Star Bronzer

Price: $50
Use: A powder bronzer
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B
[Continue reading…]

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow: Bonjour Credit Card Debt

April 25th, 2008 by Karen 28 Comments

chanel-ombre-essentielle-45-safari

Chanel’s eyeshadow quads (aka instant credit card debt) are one of my weaknesses. For months, whenever I’d hit a Chanel counter I’d go straight for the quads, fiddling joyfully with them and looking for my next favorite palette.

But a while ago, while at Nordstrom peeping the summer collection, I decided to swatch all of the Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow singles. I loved them all! Hello, more credit card debt.

I’m glad I didn’t overlook the singles because the colors seem richer and more vibrant than those in the quad.

Unfortunately, as far as eyeshadows go, the singles ain’t cheap ($27.50, eep!), but if high-end makeup is your thing then these shadows belong in your collection. They’re available in matte, shimmer and satin finishes and come in a whopping 25 different shades.

On the Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus websites there are only 24 of them listed; Midnight, the elusive 25th shade, is only available online from Chanel.

chanel-ombre-essentielle-72-nomade

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow Shades – All 25

Abricot (listed as “Apricot” on the Nieman Marcus website)
Amethyst
Bambou (“Bamboo” on Neiman Marcus)
Beige
Candide
Cinnamon
Ebony
Fizz
Gold
Island
Ivory
Jungle
Khaki
Lagoon
Lavande (“Lavender” on NM)
Lotus
Mahogany
Midnight (available on Chanel website)
Nomade (limited edition)
Quartz
Safari
Sand
Silvery
Starlight
Tigre (limited edition)

chanel-ombre-essentielle-soft-touch-eyeshadow-shades

I grabbed two of the shades, Safari (a shimmery gray-taupe) and the limited edition Nomade (a cool light pink with gold glitter sparkles), and this week they made their way into my workday makeup rotation.

chanel-ombre-essentielle-safari-nomade-swatches

While you can mix and match the Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadows, I prefer using the two shades I have all by their lonesome. Individually, they’ve been great for creating simple washes of color over the entire eyelid.

When I use them I apply a layer of eyeshadow primer first, like Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Then, I grab one of three brushes — the MAC 252, MAC 217 or the Sephora All Over Shadow brush from the Smokey Eye brush kit. Any one of the three can do the job.

I swipe the brush across the pan to load it up with color, but before applying I tap it against the side of the sink to unload any excess shadow.

Gently patting my eyelid with the brush has given me better results than when I swept the brush back and forth. I do it until I’ve got an even layer of color on each eye.

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow

Price: $27.50
Use: Eyeshadows for a simple wash of color
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+/A-

[Continue reading…]

9 Things: My Makeup Lust List

April 24th, 2008 by Karen 52 Comments

‘Twas a slooow day for me today, so during a break I did one of the things I do best: cruise for makeup online! Here’s my current makeup lust list!

Makeup Lust List

1. The entire MAC Neo Sci Fi collection ($14-21)!!!
mac-neo-sci-fi
Photo credit: Specktra Blog

2. The entire Nars summer collection! ($22-$32) – Hot, hot and hot! I’ll have to “adopt” the Unconditional Love Duo Cream Eyeshadow and Supervixen Lipgloss, ASAP.
nars-summer-2008

3. Hanae Mori Butterfly Eau Fraiche Fragrance ($65) – I’m dying to try this out. Sephora.com says it’s a fruity floral with notes of grapefruit, strawberry, black currant and jasmine, and although I haven’t sniffed it yet, my fragrance ESP tells me (hopes) it smells divine.
hanae-mori-butterfly-eau-fraiche

4. Guerlain Meteorites Powder Pearls in Pink Fresh ($51) – Ooh! I wish I had jewelry with pearls as big as these powder pearls.
guerlain-meteorites-powder-pearls

5. Fresh Island Reverie Face Palette ($55) – Now, this is the palette I’d want to bring with me on a worldwide surf vacation. It includes three eyeshadows — Tiare (a sheer champagne), Plumeria (a sheer shell-pink) and Rum (rich coffee) — a blush (Island Reverie, a coral shade) and a bronzer (called Treasure Cove).
fresh-island-reverie-face-palette

6. Best of Becca Palette ($65) – Why do we always want what we can’t have? This palette must be the shizz because it’s always out of stock! In it Becca stuffed two eyeshadows (a golden bronze and a rich bronze shimmer), a cream blush called Turkish rose, a caramel lip/cheek cream and a peachy pearl lipgloss.
becca-best-of-becca-palette

7. 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).
mac-powerpoint-1
[Continue reading…]

Lancome High Definicils Mascara: What a Difference a Brush Makes

April 24th, 2008 by Karen 28 Comments

lancome-high-definicils-mascara-black

High Definicils, Lancome’s new release of their legendary glossy black Definicils mascara, features an improved soft rubber brush that makes Definicils much easier to apply.

Shortly after Lancome introduced the original Definicils mascara in 1991, it became the “it” mascara of the 90s. I remember being in college and seeing Definicils ads in beauty mags, but I could never afford it back then. Later, when I finished school and got my first real job after graduation, one of my first little splurges was on a tube of Definicils mascara.

Unfortunately, that was my first, and, um, last tube.

I liked the rich black color, the shine, and how well it thickened and lengthened my lashes, but I could never quite figure out the brush. The Definicils formula is and was surprisingly thick, and the dense brush Lancome included with the product back in the 90s always gave me clumpy lashes.

Flash forward about a decade. The new brush that ships with High Definicils mascara makes a world of difference. Lancome hasn’t changed the famously black Definicils mascara formula, but the old dense, bristly brush has been replaced by what the company calls a “high precison” brush (aka, soft rubber brush with stubby rubber bristles). It makes Definicils worth another try.

After applying a layer with the high precision brush I didn’t see any clumping at all, just an even application of product onto my lashes. Unlike the old school brush, the newer one delivers great lash separation and consistent coverage for long, thick, natural-looking lashes.

High Definicils in action…

Nekkid lashes!
lancome-high-definicils-mascara-eye-1

One layer of High Definicils…
lancome-high-definicils-mascara-eye-2
[Continue reading…]

MAC Collections Due May 1: Naughty Nauticals, Dazzleglass and Skinsheen

April 23rd, 2008 by Karen 36 Comments

mac-cosmetics-naughty-nauticals-beauty-shots

MAC lovers, mark yo’ calendars! Three brand new MAC collections hit counters on May 1st — Naughty Nauticals, Dazzleglass and Skinsheen Leg Spray.

I like the sound of Naughty Nauticals and love the ocean, so I’m particularly excited about the pink, coral, red and blue colors prominent in the collection.

mac-cosmetics-naughty-nauticals-lips

MAC Naughty Nauticals Colors by Category…

Lipsticks ($14)
Buoy-o-Buoy (lustre) – Creamy neutral pink-brown
Port Red (frost) – Clean yellow-red with gold pearl
Party Mate (lustre) – Sheer mid-tone pink
Ahoy, there! (glaze)– Sheer, light dirty pink with multi-dimensional pearl

Lustreglass ($14)
Hey Sailor (lustre) – Blue plum-pink with flecks of white pearl
Love Knot (lustre) – Sheer pink with blue & white duo chrome
Bateaux (lustre) – Neutral brown-peach with white frost
Ensign (lustre) – Peachy pink with white and gold pearl

Eye shadow ($14)
Shore Leave (veluxe pearl) – Pale frosty cream
Illegal Cargo (frost) – Mid-tone frosty grayed plum
Meet the Fleet (matte) – Matte midnight blue
Pandamonium (lustre) – Frosty gunmental with white pearl
Submarine (frost) – Mid-tone frosty clear blue

Pigment ($19.50)
Lark About (frost) – Sheer frosty white-blue
Mutiny (frost) – Clean sky blue with gold pearl
Bell-Bottom Blue (frost) – Frosty blue with white pearl
Lovely Lily (frost) – Dirty lilac with red pearl

Technakohl ($13.50)
Smoothblue – Ocean blue with frost
Greyprint – Rich pewter grey with frost

Prolash ($11)
Coal Black – “Honest-to-goodness-black” (LOLOL)

Nail Lacquer ($10)
Naughty Nauticals (frost) – Dark royal blue
Shirelle (cream) – Classic “she’s a dame”

One of my favorite pictures!
[Continue reading…]

Lip Look: Chanel Rouge Hydrabase Leopard Lipstick

April 22nd, 2008 by Karen 42 Comments

chanel-leopard-rouge-hydrabase-144-lip-swatch

It’s raining out, so I totally ditched going to the gym; instead, I’m at home watching yet another America’s Next Top Model marathon (Cycle 7) and playing with lipstick. I had to take a break from the Melrose madness (anybody else suspect she might be a cyborg?) because in my soul I felt compelled — yes, compelled — to share this picture of Chanel’s Rouge Hydrabase Leopard lipstick ($26) with you.

It’s my civic duty to inform coral lipstick lovers everywhere…

how creamy and smooth this formula feels on my lips!
how the intense, rich color stays on for hours (five so far, and even through dinner)!
how moisturized my lips feel (the formula contains both Vitamin E and chamomile to protect and soothe yer pucker)!

chanel-rouge-hydrabase-144-leopard-product-shot

This leopard deserves her big jungle cat name. She’s an awesome, semi-matte golden coral, and she makes me look and feel ready to pounce! Even though I’m looking pretty tow up right now in my stretchy pants (had to have ice cream after dinner) and oversized UC DAVIS ALUMNI t-shirt, with Leopard on my lips I still feel hot enough to stalk unsuspecting man prey. This is my very first Chanel Rouge Hydrabase lipstick, and I predict it won’t be my last. Leopard is the queen of my lipstick jungle, rrraaoooww!

But now… the couch beckons me, so I gotta get back to Tyra, Miss J. and hottie photographer Nigel Barker.

leopard-smile-with-your-eyes

Did you have a good day today? I hope so. What are your plans for tomorrow?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen