Karen

NY Fashion Week Exclusive: MAC VP of Makeup Artistry Dishes on What to Expect

January 31st, 2008 by Karen 24 Comments

New York Fashion Week starts tomorrow! It’s a little weird for me to think about trends for Fall 2008 when I’m itching so badly for spring to arrive, but, alas, makeup and fashion wait for no one.

MAC Cosmetics is doing the makeup for the shows this year. Earlier this week I spoke with the fabulous Gordon Espinet, Vice President of Makeup Artistry for MAC Cosmetics, to get the skinny on the big makeup trends we’ll be seeing on the runway. Gordon really knows what’s up.

What big makeup trends can we expect to see on the runway for Fall 2008?

“All the elements of beauty that we think of in classic glamor are definitely going to be playing a big key for the whole beauty story for the fall,” says Gordon. Picture the classic Hollywood film star look — think Rita Hayworth and Lauren Bacall.

French film noir actress Simone Simon — Look for her look on the runways!

Pretty, yah? Are you feeling de ja vu/vu ja de? Yes, we’ve seen this look before. Over the past few seasons, dark lips, smokey eyes and flawless matte skin reminiscent of classic Hollywood glam have been huge trends on the runway, but they featured more greys and blues (which will still be big this spring). For fall, however, Gordon predicts a subtle shift away from cooler neutral colors to warmer earth tones — shades of burgundy and brown.

Rich, dark lips

Sorry, lipgloss lovers, gloss won’t be staging a comeback any time soon. “Everybody is moving definitely towards lipstick,” says Gordon. Look for lots of bold reds like burgundy, and brown lipstick colors like…

MAC Paramount (holla!) – Reddish brown
MAC Photo – Golden brown
MAC Film Noir – Intense brown
MAC Diva – Intense reddish burgundy

As far as matte lips, the looks you’ll see won’t be as extreme as the dark matte lip look of the 90s, though. “It’s really about a natural matte lip,” says Gordon. “It’s matte, but definitely much more wearable.”

Smokey eyes

Guess what kind of eyes we’ll see paired with these rich, dark lips? Why, brown smokey eyes, of course, so keep an eye out for lots of browns and burgundy.

Matte skin

Flawless matte skin rages on! — skin that looks perfectly groomed, elegant and glamorous.

“We’re defintely not going to be seeing a lot of shiny glossy skin,” says Gordon. “If there is sheen it’s going to be very specific — not all over the face, but maybe a touch of sheen on the top of the cheekbone, or on the center of the bridge of the nose.” Note: Applying sheen to specific areas adds dimension to a flawless matte skin look.

Lashes

You can’t have old Hollywood glam without big, larger-than-life lashes. Mascara and false lashes will be falling from the sky, yo!

Brows

The film stars of the 40s were famous for highly arched, overly-tweezed eyebrows. Thank jeebus that isn’t something that Gordon thinks we’ll see this year on the runway. “We’re definitely moving towards a natural-looking brow,” says Gordon. Expect well groomed (but not necessarily dark) brows that aren’t too thick or too thin.

Cheeks

Don’t expect a lot of bright cheek colors (boo!). “It’s much more about a sculpted cheek,” says Gordon. “So colors like MAC Taupe blush are a must have. It’s really about shading the cheek bone versus adding color to it.”

Stay tuned for more Makeup and Beauty Blog coverage of NY Fashion Week, on location in rainy San Francisco, yea!

And how are you feeling about these fall looks? I am so excited about the return of browns and burgundy lipsticks! After I did this interview with Gordon I went to the MAC counter and purchased a tube of my first MAC lipstick love, Paramount. The last time I wore it was in 1998 (omfg, that’s a decade ago)! I have so many memories connected to this lipstick because I wore it throughout the 90s, during my formative college years. Do you have a lipstick you feel a special connection to?

I hope your Thursday is going well. Hold on, ya’ll! We’re almost there!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Shu Uemura Eyeshadow Swatches – Rebirth Spring 2008 Collection

January 30th, 2008 by Karen 48 Comments

You know it’s going to be one of those days when you wake up and the first thing you do is call on jeebus (or whatever power-that-be of your choice) for some help to get you through the day…and you haven’t even rolled out of bed yet. I guess they call Wednesday hump day for good reason. Anyway I’m running around today but I couldn’t leave ya hanging, so here are a few lovely swatches for you on this lovely Wednesday.

Will be back this afternoon with detailed info and a review. I hope your day is going well and that you’re feeling happy and inspired! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Paint it Pink, Paint it Black: Prepping for Valentine’s Date Night

January 29th, 2008 by Karen 48 Comments

Ah, the pre-date ritual… It’s one of the many perks of being in love on Valentine’s Day, and whether you’re on the low- or high-maintenance end of the beauty spectrum, the drill usually goes a lil’ something like this:

Crank up the music (a soundtrack helps when you’re getting sexified, yo)
Wash
Contemplate wearing your naughty or nice knickers
Do your makeup and hair
Pick your wardrobe (don’t forget the shoes!)

In a perfect world, I’d always have at least four leisurely hours to beautify myself for my Valentine’s date with El Hub, but with work and life the odds of having a solid block of four hours for anything are slim to none.

Still, a girl can dream, and if I had a world of time to prep for date night, this is how it would go:

Paint it Pink, Vol. 2…

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Grapefruit ($13.50). First priority: getting the lips primed for a mega-makeout session. I’d definitely prepare early in the day to get my pucker in makeout-ready shape with a layer of Clinique’s Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss. It’s a pretty, light pink shade with lots of shine. Plus, it moisturizes the beejebus out of my dry lips and gets them soft and ready for lovin’.

Essie nail polish in Hard to Get ($8). This creamy pink polish is my favorite color from Essie’s spring line. It’s bubble-gum without being too Barbie — perfect for both finger and toes. Of course, in my fantasy I’m getting my nails done in a chair at San Francisco’s Bliss Spa. See, at Bliss they feed you brownies while you’re pampered. Yup.

Philosophy Amazing Grace Perfumed Shampoo, Bath & Shower Gel ($22). Nothing is better than a long, indulgent bubble bath before (or during) a romantic date. With its light, floral scent, Amazing Grace Bath & Shower Gel relaxes me like no other and really gets me into a romantic state of mind. Bubble production is off the chart, and the suds have staying power, too. It leaves my skin feeling silky and soft, every time.

Borghese Fango Brillants Brightening Mud ($59.60). I like to wear a face mask when I do the bubble thing to turn the relaxometer up another notch and make my face extra glowy. Lately I’ve been digging Fango’s Brilliants Brightening Mud. Made from Italian mud (or so they say) and rich in Vitamin A, minerals and citrus peel, this seriously pink mask o’ mud removes dead skin cells, and gently smooths and refines skin. Note: the jar is absolutely ginormous!

I apply a thick layer to a clean face, wait ten minutes for it to dry and then wash it off. You can also use it on your body, too. Imagine covering yourself in bright pink mud, ha!

Victoria’s Secret Beauty Ooh la la Shimmering Fragrance Mist ($22). My fave sexy scent is Chanel Mademoiselle, but I realize that floral oriental perfumes aren’t for everyone.

For ladies who love lighter scents, one delicious option is Ooh la la Shimmering Fragrance Mist. It’s a very feminine mix of cherry blossom, vanilla and mandarin. If you like Victoria’s Secret Heavenly perfume, then I think you’ll dig this, too.

While the product looks like disco inferno trapped in a bottle, it isn’t overly glittery on skin. I would definitely apply it before dressing, though, and not after (learn from my mistake!), to avoid the all-too-frequent glitter mishap.

Hillary Duff Wrapped with Love ($38). Every time I look at this bottle I think of Hillary Duff’s song, Come Clean (also the Laguna Beach theme song). “Let the rain fall down, and wake my dreams…” LOLOL. Anyway, I’ll fess up to being a Laguna Beach fan (Seasons 1 and 2, holla), but I am certainly NOT a Hillary Duff fan. That said, I gotta give the girl and her marketing people props for this fruity-floral perfume, and it’s even guy friendly. According to an informal poll of a handful of random guy friends, it was liked by 4 out of 5 of them.

Wrapped with Love is Hillary’s second fragrance; it’s a playful, lighter, version of With Love, her first perfume. It’s not as spicy or heavy as its older sibling, with notes of honeydew, blood orange, and raspberry mixed in with white florals and musk.

At first I was afraid… I was petrified (sing it, Gloria Gaynor!) it would smell too pre-teen, but the scent is surprisingly sophisticated, fun and sexy — definitely not as heavy as my fave, Coco Mademoiselle. If you prefer lighter, fruit-themed fragrances, you might want to check it out.

This morning I’ve been listening non-stop to this wonderful tune by Sara Bareilles called Love Song. Have you heard it? It’s one of those songs where I wish I wrote the lyrics — a wish usually reserved only for certain Beatles masterpieces like Blackbird and Here Comes the Sun.

Anyway, I’m glad we got through Monday together. To reward myself I’m going to drink another cup of coffee (WHEEE!) and peruse some shoes on Zappos.com. I really should get some practical work shoes that keep my feet warm and dry, but the siren call of impractical (but sexy) strappy high heels cannot be ignored.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Makeup and Beauty Blog Freak-out

January 28th, 2008 by Karen 104 Comments

I keep seeing these Burger King commercials on TV where they show footage of real people freaking out at the counter after being told the Whopper is no longer for sale. It’s all a prank with hidden cameras done for the commercial, but most of the unwitting victims stare ahead in utter disbelief; others totally flip out, launching into verbal assaults on the poor cashiers who delivered the bad news. It’s as if a major paradigm shift has occurred. I love passionate people, but jeebus, guys, it’s a fast food burger!

Still, it got me thinking…. Is there anything I love so much that losing it would make me freak out like that at a sales counter? I always strive to be nice to customer service folks because I worked in retail for many years (girl, don’t make me bust out my pocket-T folding moves on ya), and I know how it is to be on the other side of a full-fledged customer freak-out. It takes a lot to get me to launch into a Whopper-esque meltdown in front of a sales person. It would have to be the loss of something really frickin’ great to push me over the edge. Perhaps integral to my existence, even.

Such things do exist, however, and without further ado (drumroll, please), here are nine things I would FREAK THE EFF OUT over if a sales person told me, “Sorry, we don’t sell _____ anymore. And neither does anyone else.”

In no particular order whatsoever:

Saucony Grid running shoes
The T3 hair dryer
Strawberry Frosted Pop Tarts
DKNY bras (Side note: this would be a freak-out of epic proportions. It’s so hard to find a bra that really fits!)
Dental floss
Toilet paper
Bumble & Bumble hair products
iPods
The holy grail minimal makeup trifecta: MAC 266 Brush, MAC Concrete Eyeshadow, MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer

So what’s on your freak-out list?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Dark Circles Be Gone: Vincent Longo Illumina Concealer Pencil

January 27th, 2008 by Karen 10 Comments

When I first heard about Vincent Longo’s Illumina Concealer Pencil, I really didn’t know what to expect. I’d heard it was a double-sided pencil with concealer on one end (to mask imperfections like dark circles and pimples) and an illuminator on the other (to highlight and brighten dull skin).

I’d never used pencil concealers before, always assuming they’d apply like many other pencils do — too matte, thick and waxy. A few years ago I had a bad experience with a pencil illuminator, Benefit’s Eye Bright. It was far too chalky for my taste and looked unnatural on me. That, coupled with my preconceived notions about pencil concealers, and I wasn’t expecting a lot from Vincent Longo’s.

But alas, I was wrong. Vincent Longo Illumina Concealer Pencil turned out to be a nice surprise.

Product: Vincent Longo Illumina Concealer Pencil
Use: To cover dark circles and skin imperfections
Price: $32.50
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

Under-eye dark circles are no joke, ladies, and right now mine are terrible because I got about two seconds of sleep last night. I was up late watching a terrible 2005 remake of 1979’s The Amityville Horror, starring Ryan Reynolds, blech! This morning I needed a concealer to cover my dark circles.

When I look for new products to address beauty problems, I begin by looking for ones that are easy to use. It’s a well documented fact that I’m hella lazy, so, if something requires more exertion than dotting a liquid concealer under my eyes and blending with a finger, I won’t even attempt to go there.

Illumina Concealer Pencil’s gel-based formula gives it a slippery texture that glides on smoothly. Using it was a little like applying a silky lipstick under my eyes. Because the product applies smoothly and feels so lightweight on my skin, I half expected it would fail to camouflage my really dark purple I-got-two-seconds-of-sleep-last-night circles. I was wrong.

The concealer end concealed my dark circles, and the illuminator end brightened up my eyes. Honestly, the concealer didn’t fully hide the circles like my favorite heavy duty concealers are able to — Make Up For Ever Lift and MAC’s Select Moisturecover — but under most circumstances, it would do a fine job. It’s a great concealer for days when I only need light coverage.

The shade I have, codenamed Dark #3, is yellow with red undertones. To use it I applied the concealer end of the pencil to the inner corners of and directly under my eyes. Then, I added a few dots of the illuminating end on top of the concealer and blended with a finger. In the future, if I’m feeling motivated and have my jar of Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder #2 handy then I’ll add a layer of it on top to “set” the concealer. That should help increase its staying power.

I’m a bit of a concealer freak, so I actually have different concealers for various functions. Illumina Concealer Pencil is one I’ll use for “casual” days, like when I meet the girls for Sunday brunch, hit the gym with El Hub or if I’m just lounging at the beach. I plan to bring it with me the next time I go on vacation, which I hope will be sometime soon. Calgon needs to take my ass away, like, yesterday.

Whatcha got going on today? Brunch with the girls? Spending time with the boy or les babies? Whatever you’re doing today, I hope it’s fun.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Your weekend isn’t over yet! Check out the best posts from the Beauty Blog Network.[Continue reading…]

Beautiful Saturday Obsessions: Terminators and French Skin Care Lines

January 26th, 2008 by Karen 41 Comments

Any day of the week is a great day to obsess over beauty, but for some reason I think it’s just more fun to do on Saturday.

Hard to find French skin care lines…

I really dig French skin care products. Maybe it’s because they’re French; maybe it’s because I can’t understand anything on the labels — who knows? And the harder they are to find, the better!

Nuxe, one of my fave French brands, can be particularly hard to find here in the US. If you read beauty magazines, you’ve probably seen ads for Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse Multi Usage Dry Oil before. It hit the beauty scene a few years ago.

Nuxe specializes in using plant-based ingredients and aromatherapy in their products. They avoid compounds derived from animals, mineral oils and synthetic coloring agents. Oh, and their stuff generally smells really, really great, which is what drew me to the line in the first place.

There are only three stores in the San Francisco Bay Area that carry the line, and I’m lucky one of those stores, Beauty Expo in San Rafael, is just a hop, skip and a jump away. If you’d like to try the brand but haven’t been able to find it locally, Nuxe products are also available online from Beautyhabit.com.

Your girl has tried several Nuxe products, and two of my favorites have been Reve de Miel Ultra Comfortable Body Cream ($31) and Eau Demaquillante Cleansing Water ($22).

Reve de Miel is an all-over body moisturizer for dry, sensitive skin, chock-full of soothing and repairing botanicals like fir honey and macadamia nut oil. It moisturizes like a pro (on par with one of my holy grail moisturizers, Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour cream) and has a light honey scent. I cannot stand moisturizers that leave a greasy film, and Reve de Miel doesn’t. If you like Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour cream but don’t care for the herbal smell, consider Reve de Miel a potential alternative.

My bathroom here at home has a tiled floor that gets freezing cold in winter. The cold radiates up through the bath mat and fills the room. It can even get cold enough to discourage me from undressing to wash my neck before bed, so discovering micellar cleansing water a few months ago really helped remedy the neck washing situation. Unfortunately, I finally finished my bottle of Darphin Micellar Cleansing Water and just haven’t brought myself to pay the $50 again.

Nuxe’s own version of micellar cleansing water, Eau Demaquillante, works just as well as Darphin’s and costs less than half as much ($22 vs. $50). With it, I soak a cotton pad in the morning and night and quickly wash my neck and decollete. It lets me keep warm and toasty in my bathrobe at the same time, yay!

Eau Demaquillante is alcohol free and doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry or tight. It’s supposed to be fragrance free, but I detect a faint floral scent, which makes sense since it contains floral waters (rose, cornflower and lime blossom) and green tea. If my eyes look tired and puffy, I’ll lightly press a cotton pad drenched in Eau Demaquillante against them. It’s a refreshing and soothing treat.

Kitty wigs…

Just like former Poison frontman Bret Michaels (I swear that man wears a weave), your cat can have long flowing locks. Behold: Kitty Wigs, a Web site dedicated to coifing your cat in stylish wigs.

Why am I compelled to place a pink wig on a cat? I don’t know. First off, I don’t own a cat. Second, I usually can’t stand over-accessorized animals (but a tastefully bejeweled collar is fine). I’m sure there exists some deep seeded psychological explanation for this, but for now it eludes me.

Current lemming list…

Lemming \LEM-ing\. verb:
A slang term frequently used on beauty Web site and beauty blogs.
1. To desire.
2. To want to purchase.

Example: “I am lemming a tube of Viva Glam V lipstick.”

What I’m lemming right now:

Everything from the NARS spring Shanghi Lily color collection, especially…
Dolce Vita Lipgloss ($23)
Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow ($31)
Belle de Jour Velvet Matte Pencil ($23)

Terminators + eyeliner = awesomeness!

I am a not-so-closeted sci-fi geek, and one of my favorite sci-fi movie franchises of all time is Terminator. On Monday nights there’s a new show on TV, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and it’s frickin’ fantastic (of course, I also like cats with pink wigs). Cameron, one of the “good” Terminators, is played by actress Summer Glau.

Sure, the show has the usual save-the-world-from-destructive-evil-robots-who-want-to-enslave-humanity schtick, but last Monday’s episode also showed Cameron trying to perfect the art of pencil eyeliner (it’s hard for robots too, yo). She carries around a compact that I swear looks like Stila Convertible Color.

Looks like there’s a break in the rain, so I’m off to the gym and to run some errands. Later I’ll hit the mall to “just look at” the Nars spring color collection. I have a feeling, though, I’ll be adopting a tube of Dolce Vita lipgloss very soon. 🙂

Hope you are having a superb weekend so far!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Paint it Pink, Paint it Black: Going Black to the Gym

January 24th, 2008 by Karen 45 Comments

It’s Valentine’s Day, 1998. I get no roses; I get no candy. What I do get is a kickboxing class and time alone with a punching bag in a stinky karate studio down the street from my house.

Twice a week I was taking a kickboxing class with 30 other women, punching and kicking the air to a techno soundtrack. That was all fine, but far and away my favorite part of class was when they brought out the heavy punching bag.

Fresh out of a bad relationship, I derived great joy from pretending that the bag was my ex. In class on Valentine’s night, I beat that bag with reckless abandon. “You’ll never get the best of me, bastard!” Punch, punch, kick, kick. By the end of class, dripping in sweat, I had punched my knuckles raw. Happy Valentine’s Day to me!

This Valentine’s Day, if your date for the evening is with the gym or a punching bag (try it sometime), you might as well look cute. Work it out with these road-tested gym makeup tips:

Paint it Black, Vol. 1

Clinique Lash Power Mascara Long-Wearing Formula ($14, available in February). Thank you, makeup gods, for bringing this mascara to the US! Designed for humid weather and only previously available in Asia, Lash Power is the ultra-marathoner of all mascara formulas. It won’t streak, run or smudge, not even through sweat, tears, rain, humidity or a dip in the pool. It is the Terminator of all mascaras.

I’ve been wearing it on my heavy duty cardio workouts at the gym. Even after 60 minutes of sweat it hasn’t even begun to streak or smear.

What’s the secret? The formula responds to heat. It comes off with very warm water (39 degrees C/103 degrees F). All you do is dab a cotton pad soaked in warm water, and it cleans right up.

Lancome Potion of Love Lip Stain in Ruby Kisses ($18.50). You don’t have to be in love to wear Lancome’s Potion of Love Lip Stain. With its felt-tip pen applicator, it’s kinda like a Magic Marker for your lips. Lip stains apply like watercolor paints. They’re more watery than lipsticks or glosses. Potion of Love isn’t shiny, either, so it gives my lips a natural, flushed look with just a hint of ruby red tint.

Best of all, the formula isn’t the least bit sticky, which is handy when I’m on the treadmill and the overhead fans blow my hair all over the place. I can’t stand it when stray ponytail hairs get stuck to my lipgloss. With Potion of Love Lip Stain that’s not a problem.

Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Maximum Coverage Concealer ($18). This cream concealer has a natural finish and lasts through an entire 90-minute dance class without budging. If I’m in a hurry, I dab it on my dark circles with warm fingers et voila — my dark circles disappear faster than an ex-boyfriend did with half my CD collection (that bastard).

MAC Blot Pressed Powder ($20). You’ve finished your workout and plan to drop by the juice bar for a quick snack to tide you over before dinner. I know you’ve worked hard, but you can’t leave the gym looking like a complete wreck, girl. Sorry!

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler ($19). Lash Power isn’t a great thickener, but it does create long, natural looking lashes. To use it, I have to curl my stick-straight lashes first, and that’s where the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler enters the picture. It doesn’t pinch my lashes, and the tension is just right. Sometimes with other lash curlers you get this very hard, sort of angled curl. Shu’s curler doesn’t do that. It produces a very natural, soft curl.

After your workout, brush out your hair and dab a little bit of MAC Blot Pressed Powder to hide the shine. You never know when you’ll bump into Mr. or Ms. Right at the juice bar.

Paint it Black is part of a series of posts highlighting pink and black products for Valentine’s Day.

Aren’t you glad tomorrow is Friday? I’ve got a ton of laundry to do tonight before another big rain storm arrives. Tomorrow I was supposed to have coffee with my friend, Jen, and get my hair did (my roots are way past the point of being socially acceptable). Unfortunately, I’d rather stay warm and dry at home than drive very far in the rain, so it looks like dark roots remain in my immediate future.

Stay cute (and dry!) my friend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Beauty in Time: 9 Things I Would Say to My Younger Self

January 23rd, 2008 by Karen 86 Comments

Last week’s What’s in Your Purse post was a lot of fun, wasn’t it? I get a kick out of making strange lists, and I take it a lot of other people do too.

I was thinking last night about an article I read a few months ago where people talked about what they’d tell their younger selves, so I made a list of the things I’d tell my 22-year-old self (yikes! that was 10 years ago?!) if given the chance.

9 things I would say to my younger self…

1. 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…).

2. Be kinder to yourself.

3. In 10 years you’re going to look back and realize that several major life decisions you made were done to please other people. Take more time to think about what you really want and go for it.

4. OMG, wear sunscreen on your neck! Everyday!

5. Resist blowing your paycheck on clothes. Instead, save all that money and blow it on travel and seeing the world.

6. Leave those sorry little makeup sponge applicators alone and get yourself some real brushes, girl. While you’re at it, understand that bleaching your upper lip hair isn’t fooling nobody! Get that ‘stache waxed ASAP!

7. You know that nagging little gut feeling you get when you think about working for a magazine or newspaper? Listen to it. Bite the bullet, screw what everybody else says about employability and just do what you like.

8. Start lifting weights.

9. In four years you’ll meet a boy in a bookstore. You’ll think he’s kind of weird but funny and cute despite his questionable choice of footwear. At first you won’t think much of it, but that little nagging gut feeling will kick in again, so please, please, please listen to it, because knowing him will change your life forever.

What would you say to your younger self if given the chance?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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