Karen

Dior: Go Green (and Brown) for Earth Day 2008

April 22nd, 2008 by Karen 33 Comments

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Happy Earth Day, ya’ll! Guess what happened to your friendly neighborhood beauty addict at 2:00 am this morning? I got up because the neighbor’s cat was meowing at the door (why do they always want to party at the most inopportune times? Sucks!), drank a glass of water, and then realized that today is Earth Day. That got me thinking about Earth Day-esque things like composting, Toyota Priuses and low-flow shower heads, and from there my brain made the leap to earthy Dior eyeshadows.

Eventually, I fell back to sleep. Later in the morning (after taking out the recycling), I whipped up this list of Earth-Day inspired green and brown eye colors from the Dior makeup line…

Earth Reflection 609 ($54) – A palette with gold, bronze, golden pink, dark brown, and golden pearl shadows that I’d wear for daytime looks.
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Tropical Light 409 ($54) – I got all swoony when I saw the light green shade in this palette. I also dig the bronze, pink pearl, silver taupe and pearl shades, too.
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MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Loose Foundation: For the Lazy in You

April 21st, 2008 by Karen 38 Comments

My makeup laziness knows no bounds. I can be such a lazy beast. Lately, I’ve been reaching for MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Loose Foundation ($29). It’s easier to apply than liquid foundation yet still provides doable medium-to-heavy coverage. I’m not sure how I feel about the NASA-looking packaging (although the fluffy puff is cute) MAC chose to include with the product, but no problem — I’ll just use my trusty skunk brush (aka the MAC 187) with it instead!

Disco glitter queens, you’ll freak out when you see how sparkly it looks in a wrist swatch, but hold on a minute because the sparkle disappears (poof!) once the product has been applied to your face. The result: a dewy matte finish.

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Mineralize Loose feels good, too. It’s light, doesn’t cake and allows my skin to breathe. MAC blended moisturizers, conditioners and a mysterious “Mineral Complex” that MAC claims keeps skin healthy and nourished.

MAC has given us seven shades to choose from (I’m using Medium Dark).

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Because the jar is oddly shaped, you can’t exactly carry it in your sleek clutch purse, so bust out your big ole’ Marc Jacobs bag to carry it around for touch-ups throughout the day.

MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Loose Foundation

Price: $29
Use: As a foundation
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+
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Dior Goldrush Face of the Day: A Brown and Khaki Eye

April 21st, 2008 by Karen 35 Comments

I must confess: I have a kindergarten crush on the new Dior Golds 569 palette. Actually, I have room in my heart for all five of the colors in the new Dior quint, but my favorite is khaki. Today I paired it with MAC Soba eyeshadow (in the crease ) to create a brown and khaki daytime eye.

Dior me, baby!

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Chanel Flamingo Nail Colour: My Sunday Morning Manicure

April 20th, 2008 by Karen 49 Comments

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Today I treated my nails to pricey pink perfection by way of $19 Chanel Flamingo nail polish. Part of Chanel’s summer 2008 collection, Flamingo is a soft, pale pink with flecks of shimmery silver. I swooned when I first saw it in the store a few weeks ago; I have a well-documented weakness for pink.

So, I was doing my nails this morning while watching the Torchwood season finale (R.I.P., Tosh and Owen), and I made some observations about Flamingo. The formula Chanel uses is a ‘lil thicker than both Shu Uemura ($16) and Laura Mercier ($15) nail polishes. Consequently, Flamingo takes longer to dry. A thicker consistency also typically requires more care to apply than a polish with a thinner consistency, but despite the consistency Chanel Flamingo was relatively easy to use. No goopy mess.

It took me three layers to get the vibrant pink in the picture above. Pretty, yah? I love Flamingo, but I do have an issue with its $19 price tag. I know $19 isn’t that much more than both Shu or Laura nail polishes, but it’s still $14 more than a bottle of Revlon!

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You Must Choose: Eternal Crease Colors, Afterlife Preparation

April 20th, 2008 by Karen 70 Comments

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This is probably not a big surprise, but I was kind of a weird kid. Case in point: when I was eight, I had a mummy obsession. It was just a phase, but it lasted for months. Day after day I would come home from the library with armfuls of books about mummies, and I’d spend hours reading about burial preparations (removal of the brain with a hook through the nose was my favorite part), pyramid building and Egyptology. My mom would look at me strangely as I’d describe the books and pets I’d bring with me into the afterlife.

My childhood mummy phase eventually passed, but the other day, while watching Nova, The Mummy Who Would Be King, my mind wandered to — surprise, surprise — makeup.

Is there a cap on how much makeup one can bring with them into the afterlife? — ’cause Cleopatra must’ve taken a TON of black eyeliner with her!

As I pondered my ginormous eyeshadow collection, I wondered which crease colors I would want to be buried with in my (presumably fabulously decorated) tomb for all eternity. I’d hire only the best tomb-keepers, too, and they would hook me up with giant custom-made eyeshadow pans of MAC Soft Brown, Soba and Sable eyeshadow, my top three go-to crease colors of all time! If we’re talking eternal resting places, we really ought to be prepared.

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Which crease colors would you bring if you could actually “take makeup with you”?

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

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Chanel Fall, Holiday 2008 Makeup Collections by Chanel’s New Golden Boy

April 19th, 2008 by Karen 43 Comments

In less than three years, the value of gold has more than doubled, now selling for more than $900 an ounce. Chanel must have noticed how much people have been lovin’ on gold lately because both of their upcoming fall and holiday makeup collections go after gold in a mad, crazy way.

The fall 2008 collection debuts in July, and like Laura Mercier’s Gold Digger and Dior’s Goldrush it’s all about the gold.

The collection will be the first for new Chanel Creative Director of Makeup Peter Philips. Inspired by Coco Chanel’s now historic apartment on the Rue Cambon in Paris, each of the products range in color from warm brown to bronze and gold.

Philips drew upon more than just the colors inside Coco’s elegant abode. He also took inspiration from some of its furnishings, including a large gold-framed mirror and a rough crystal chandelier.

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The fall lineup…
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Basis Cleaner Clean Face Wash, a Drugstore Gem

April 18th, 2008 by Karen 18 Comments

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This morning I went digging through one of my bathroom drawers to find a brush. Instead of the brush I found buried drugstore treasure — not one, but *two* tubes of Basis Cleaner Clean Face Wash (about $5 each).

Two years ago, back when my skin was mad crazy oily, Basis Cleaner was my go-to face wash. I figure that since it was good enough to stockpile (I wouldn’t be surprised to find a few more tubes stowed away in other drawers) back before I started blogging, it deserves a second look now. I vividly remember this cleanser saving my skin back in the day.

Throughout my 20s I had skin problems. Even as recently as two years ago I suffered from really oily, acne-prone skin, and Basis Cleaner Clean was the only face wash able to remove all of my makeup without making my skin feel tight and dry.
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Lip Look: Clinique Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Bamboo Pink

April 18th, 2008 by Karen 24 Comments

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One day about a week ago I set out to find Clinique’s new Long Last Glosswear SPF in Bamboo Pink. On my mission, I trekked to three different Clinique counters in downtown San Francisco (in three-inch heels), but it was nowhere to be found. “I’m sorry, dear,” the sales associates said. “It’s sold out.”

Never one to give up easily, I finally got my hands on Clinique’s little beast a few days ago (yay!). It didn’t take long at all to see why it has been so hard to keep in stock — it’s *gorgeous!*

Clinique has a winner on its hands. Clinique Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Bamboo Pink is a cool-toned pink with silver shimmer, and it’s a perfect, wearable shade for days when you just want a lil’ somethin-somethin on your lips but aren’t in the mood to spend too much time on your look.

For the picture above, I paired it with Bamboo Pink Long Last Shine Lipstick.
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