Karen

9 Things: Toot Thy Horn

March 30th, 2008 by Karen 68 Comments

Makeup and Beauty Blog: Toot your 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.

9 Things I’m pretty darn good at…

Blueberry and peach cobbler. I make it from scratch, and some say it’s truly fierce. One bite can make your eyes roll back into your head. It’s cobbler crack! Holla at me and I’ll send you the recipe.

Running hills. I can run up all the hills in my neighborhood. El Hub can smoke me on a level surface, but he eats my dust on the hills. The steeper, the better!

Folding clothes. Years ago I did time working as a sales clerk for The Limited, Miller’s Outpost and Emporium-Capwells (a now defunct department store). I can fold a mean pocket-t.

Bullsh*t detection. Don’t even try to pull the wool over my eyes, ’cause I can smell it coming from a mile away.

Swimming. In a past life, I think I might’ve been an aquatic animal.

Making music playlists. My gym playlists are guaranteed to get your booty shaking.

Shoe shopping. 🙂

Falling asleep on public transportation. Cars, planes, trains, pony express (kidding!)… if it moves and I’m on it for any length of time, I can cat nap, even while standing up!

Befriending strays (both animals and people).

How about you? What are some things you do well? Toot your horn! *toot toot!*

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

It Ain’t Cheap, But L’Occitane’s Ultra Comforting Cleansing Milk Moisturizes Like a Champ

March 29th, 2008 by Karen 12 Comments

LOccitane

L’Occitane’s new Ultra Comforting Cleansing Milk doesn’t remove all of my makeup, but it’s one of the most moisturizing cleansers I’ve used in a while.

It’s no-rinse, so you can use it with or without water, and leaves a soothing, moisturizing film. I have sensitive skin, and some moisturizing cleansers I’ve used in the past left my face dry, stripped and tight. L’Occitane got the moisturization part of Cleansing Milk right because after using it my face feels incredibly moisturized and soft to the touch.

Now for the catch: it doesn’t remove all of my foundation and powder, and at $22 for a 6.7oz. bottle, it’s expensive. Because it’s not a great makeup remover, I only use it in the mornings.

I think it’s a better moisturizing cleanser than Cetaphil, but Cetaphil has it beat as far as price (an 8oz. jar of Cetaphil runs about $8) and its ability to remove makeup.

Ultra Comforting Cleansing Milk is one of four products in the Shea & Cotton skin care line, which was formulated by L’Occitane to minimize the risk of allergic reactions for folks with sensitive skin. The products contain minimal ingredients and no perfumes, alcohol, artificial colors or preservatives. L’Occitane also says they’re packaged in a special way to minimize contamination.
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Lip Look: Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited in RD 165N

March 29th, 2008 by Karen 25 Comments

I’m still crushing big time on red lipgloss (sorry, pink), and yesterday I got my fix with Shu Uemura’s Gloss Unlimited in RD 165N ($22).

shu-uemura-gloss-unlimited-rd-165N

Hot, yah? The color makes me look like I just ate a whole bag of red Jolly Rancher candies, but I think it even looks brighter in the tube than it does on my lips.

Gloss Unlimited RD 165N has a light orange scent and feels thinner than Clinique’s Cherry Bomb. Despite its consistency, Gloss Unlimited didn’t dry out my lips when I used it on Friday. I had to apply it a few times throughout the day, but because of how moisturizing it is, I didn’t mind.
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Innovative New Remington Shine Therapy Flat Iron Straightens and Conditions at the Same Time

March 28th, 2008 by Karen 24 Comments

I don’t straighten my hair very often, but what Remington said about their new Shine Therapy Straightener really got my attention. According to Remington, the straightener’s ceramic plates are porous and infused with a blend of conditioners and avocado oil. With the heat cranked up, the plates evenly emit their conditioning blend during styling to protect and moisturize hair. Neat, yah?

The idea is simple. A flat iron straightener needs heat to work correctly, and heat can damage hair, so the conditioners infused into the plates help to protect the hair while it’s vulnerable to damage. When the iron heats up (it only takes a minute), heat triggers the conditioners to rise to the surface of the ceramic plates. Supposedly, the plates contain enough conditioners to last through four years of use.

Shine Therapy transformed my wavy hair into stick straight locks in less then five minutes. This thing heats up fast! I only had to run the iron down a section of hair once or twice to do the job, not five or six times like my prehistoric 1999 flat iron. I used the Remington Wednesday, and it left my hair shiny and soft. That night I got several compliments from El Hub and my dance buds on my new ‘do.

I would give Remington an A+ for effort if it weren’t for one thing: this bad boy is really hard to switch on and off. The on/off button is depressed into the side of the handle and so small that the only way I can push it is with the tip of a fingernail. It’s annoying and inconvenient, and I can already see myself struggling with it when I’m late for work. Sure, you could just unplug it between use, but there’s a button there for a reason, and it’s not like I have big, clumsy sausage fingers or anything. My paws are tiny, nimble and strong from years of piano lessons, but dangit if that tiny button didn’t drive me crazy![Continue reading…]

NEWS: Macy’s Flower Show, Free Shipping on MAC Cosmetics

March 28th, 2008 by Karen 8 Comments

Hey, MAC-aholics, guess who’s offering free shipping on MAC products. Yup, Macy’s. Through April 1, MAC purchases of more than $50 made through the Macy’s Web site ship for free.

During checkout, where it prompts you for a promo code, enter the word HEATHER and hit Apply.

Planning to be in the SF Bay Area tomorrow? If so, head over to the Union Square Macy’s store in San Francisco for the final day of Macy’s annual flower show. For two weeks each year, the Union Square store gets decked out with fresh flowers and elaborate floral displays. The theme of this year’s show was A Mosaic of Spain. My hat goes off to Macy’s for putting these shows together. Stop by if you get the chance because the flowers are amazing! Here are a few pictures I took from my visit:

macys-flower-show-union-square-1
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Rimmel and Revlon: A Trip to Longs

March 27th, 2008 by Karen 78 Comments

Every time I visit a drugstore, I walk in to get one or two things but end up leaving with a whole basket full o’ haul. ‘Tis the weirdest thing!

So, when I stopped by my local Longs Drugs store today I started by getting the things I actually needed to get: a new Conair paddle brush, Reach mint floss and a bottle of hand soap for the kitchen.

I went with the Burt’s Bees Citrus & Ginger Root hand soap because it smelled good and I liked the bottle. I hope it doesn’t dry out my paws!

After the soap, I started wandering around the makeup aisle (danger!). That’s where the serious hauling occurred. I found this mystery jar of mysterious stuff. I had no idea what it was, but it only cost three bucks! It had a drawing of a horse on it and the words, “Healthy Hoof.” Yeah… I sooooo had to have it.

Next up: Rimmel eye pencils (Two True, Dynamic Duo and Pine) and a Revlon makeup removing pen that Megan here from the blog told me about a few months ago.

rimmel-revlon-longs-haul

Then, I found this green, beige and brown eyeshadow quad from L’Oreal. It caught my eye because of the name: Aishwarya’s Greens. Aishwarya, as in the smokin’ hot Aishwarya Rai, one of my favorite Bollywood stars. Sometimes I get up early on weekends to watch Indian music videos on Namaste America, even though I don’t understand anything they’re saying.[Continue reading…]

NEWS: Allure Program Helps You Look Younger in 30 Days

March 27th, 2008 by Karen 18 Comments

A new program developed by the beauty gurus at Allure.com promises to help you (and me) look younger within the span of 30 days. Let me take this moment to say … I love you, Allure!

Here’s how the program works: Create your free Allure.com account. Then, each day you log on to the site you’ll get a new, easy anti-aging tip. The tips are really more like articles or blog posts, with advice from experts in the health or beauty fields. My tip today was to try to get an extra hour of sleep each night, and the article suggested a few ways for me to try and do that.

Each time you try a tip, check it off on your progress list to track your way through the program. Each time you check off a tip, you’re entered to win a collection of anti-aging products. How smart is that?? We all need a little encouragement along the way. One lucky winner will score a trip for two to the Golden Door Spa (I’m dying to go there!). Other prizes include anti-aging products from Clinique, Neutrogena, Olay, Lancome and Avon.

On your account screen, there’s even a place to keep private notes to yourself — little reminders of things you’d like to try.

For each of the tips, I found it helpful to be able to read through the user comments. Seeing what other women have to say about a tip really takes the program to the next level.

User Peggy3 left this suggestion in the comments:

“my best sleeping tips……ban the acohol. if you need a solid sleep for the next day, take 1 paracetamol before bed, dulls the nerves a little….but don’t do it often. it is very mild and harmless. always have fresh air in the room, and yes….pitch black room, for your circadian cycles.”

I don’t know what paracetamol is (and I would never advise taking anything without investigating it first)… but I made a note to myself on my account screen to find out.

“The makeover program cuts through the clutter of the different information you hear about anti-aging,” says Fiona Gibb, Allure.com web editor. [Continue reading…]

Lip Look: Clinique Cherry Bomb

March 26th, 2008 by Karen 46 Comments

Gasp! A break in the pink madness? Yep. Now I’m crushing big time on red lip glosses like Cherry Bomb ($17.50), a sheer red gloss from Clinique’s Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine line.

They may call it a lip plumper, but I didn’t notice a difference in pucker plumpness. Not a problem, though, because I I love Cherry Bomb’s subtle shimmer and the light red stain it delivers to my lips. It’s tasteless, odorless, non-stick and has a fab shiny finish, too. Love it!

Oy, I’m having a killer day at work today. I’m heading straight to Rite Aid after I leave to grab an ice cream and do some haulin’ (I’m thinking Rimmel lip liners, ooh!). What’s crackin’ for you this afternoon, homie? I’ll hang tough if you will!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen