Makeup

Bond Girl Makeup Looks Inspired by the OPI Skyfall Collection: From The World Is Not Enough, Elektra King

November 5th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

An Elektra King Bond Girl makeup look — An Elektra King Bond girl makeup look inspired by the OPI Skyfall collection nail polish in The World Is Not Enough

“James?”

“Yes, M?”

“Be…careful.”

“Always.”

“No, James, I mean it. This Tabs character is…dangerous. This whole playboy tabby supermodel persona of his is just a cover. We know he’s up to something… We just don’t know what it is yet.”

“What do we know about his current location?”

“We know you’re close. He was spotted last night at a Petco in Novato, and we expect him to return there tonight. He appears to have a penchant for gravy…”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“I want you to be there when he arrives at the Petco tonight.”

“And?”

“Bring him in, James. I want you to stop that cat.”

. . .

T-minus four days till the new Bond movie unleashes suave justice on American movie goers and I. CAN’T. WAIT.

I grew up on a steady diet of James Bond. 🙂 Both of my parents loved the movies, and when I was a kid, whenever a new one would come out, my folks would pack us all up in the car, and take us to the local drive-in.

Yep, I said drive-in. We used to have an actual drive-in movie theater in our town (some years ago the lot was turned into a strip mall).

Skyfall, the latest film in the Bond franchise, opens this Friday nationwide, and OPI recently released a new 12-piece Bond movie-inspired nail polish collection of the same name.

I was taking a shower the other day when I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to do a series of makeup looks inspired by Bond girls and the colors in the new OPI Skyfall collection?

Yes, yes, I think it would. 🙂

And for the first one, how about Elektra King? She plays cat and mouse with Bond in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough.

It’s not one of my favorite Bond films — I cracked up laughing at the pained expression Pierce Brosnan makes in the unintentionally funny seduction/torture scene below — but I love, LOVE the nail polish based on the movie in the Skyfall collection!

OPI The World Is Not Enough from the Skyfall collection

It’s a shimmery purplish taupe with tiny flecks of glitter, and it looks almost like a silvery khaki sometimes, depending on the light.

So beautiful…

opi the world is not enough swatch — Wearing three coats of OPI’s The World Is Not Enough (but you could probably get away with two)

In the 1999 movie, Elektra King is played by the gorgeous Sophie Marceau. There’s a scene during which she puts JB through hell while wearing a sultry smokey eye and a full-length purple, taupe and black gown — you know, because when you’re inflicting pain upon an international super spy, why settle for sweats?

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Unsung Heroes: Benefit Skinny Jeans Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner

November 5th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

Aaand this is how much I love Benefit’s $19 Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Skinny Jeans…

Yeah, THAT much.

I just picked up my umpteenth pot and figured it was high time I publically professed my love for this shimmery cream eyeshadow.

Why? Because these Skinny Jeans are astronomical! — in that they also moonlight as an eyeliner and an eyeshadow base.

Benefit describes the color as a “pretty pewter,” but I think Skinny Jeans is more complex than that. On my NC42 skin, it’s like an alchemist’s brew, an enchanting blend of khaki, gray and taupe.

So pretty!

Question: how are real skinny jeans like zombies? Answer: they keep coming back from the dead! Seriously, what’s up with that? Just when I think skinny jeans have gone out of style forever, they come back! Which reminds me…OMG! Last night’s The Walking Dead!!

I happen to love these skinny jeans, because unlike the tapered Guess acid-washed pair (with the zippers on the ankles) I wore in eighth grade, these always fit. 🙂

You know how a black blazer can really dress up a pair of jeans and a white tee? Well, that’s what I think Skinny Jeans does for my eyes.

If I’m wearing something basic and simple — like maybe a sheer lip balm, a dash of cream blush and a couple coats of mascara — Skinny Jeans on my lids and lower lash lines adds some polish to the look and turns things up a notch.

I’ll happily wear this Creaseless Cream/Liner any time of year, but because it has some smokiness to it, my favorite times to wear it are fall and winter.

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The Cute Laura Mercier Colour-to-Go Portable Palette for Eyes, Cheeks & Lips in Warm Neutrals Is Such a Fun Size

November 2nd, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

laura mercier colour to go warm neutrals — Wearing the new Laura Mercier Colour-to-Go Portable Palette for Eyes, Cheeks & Lips in Warm Neutrals, $48

A couple of unimportant fun facts for your Friday night…

1. Laura Mercier’s new Colour-to-Go Portable Palette for Eyes, Cheeks & Lips in Warm Neutrals ($48) is roughly the size of three Fun Size Snickers candybars lying side by side.

2. Having eaten the last of the leftover Fun Size Snickers from Halloween, I am now unable to post a picture of the palette with the candies for scale.

LOL! I had that bowl on my lap last night while watching Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and sipping a glass of Riesling…

Klassy. 🙂

I thought the movie was a’ight (neat concept and effects), but those little Snickers bars were great! In fact, I think I had about four of them.

They’re maybe just a morsel more tempting than this two-tiered, limited edition holiday palette from Laura…

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I’m Grateful for Gratitude Lists, Among Other Things, and MAC Superb Extra Dimension Skinfinish

November 2nd, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

One of the first things I’ve been doing shortly after getting up every day this week is tap out a quick list of things I’m grateful for. I usually do it on my phone, and sometimes in the early morning dark before dawn.

There’s something about these lists that curbs the urge to run around like a crazy person wielding a fork…

I kid! But no, seriously, the lists help. Whenever I feel that little twinge and tighten my grip on the closest cutlery, I open the Notes app on my phone and reread my lists. Seeing what I’ve written there in front of me puts things in perspective.

Because I don’t want to write the same lists every day (after all, there are some things that would appear on every list), I jot down the very first things that come to my mind each morning.

Here are five of the things I’m grateful for today, along with brief explanations, so you don’t go thinking I’m completely off my rocker! 🙂

1. The new $29 MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb

MAC Glamour Daze Superb Extra Dimension Skinfinish — MAC Glamour Daze Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb, $29

OHMIGOSH! I’m in lurve. I can’t remember the last day I didn’t wear this shimmery, peachy nude highlighter. I think I’ve worn it every day since Glamour Daze came out.

Ah, but shimmery highlighters can be tricky to wear, especially if you have any blemishes. Luckily, Superb handles imperfections, well, superbly. It’s just so forgiving, and the glow it gives lasts me all day long. Better still, it doesn’t settle into my fine lines, nooks, pores or crannies.

The formula, which is somewhere between a liquid, cream and a powder, is very well behaved.

I just pat it on the tops of my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose, on my cupid’s bow and on my chin with a large, firm, paddle-shaped eye brush (the MAC 227 does a great job).

Then, I buff and smooth away any visible edges with my favorite tapered blending brush, the MAC 224.

What about its availability? Well, you’re in luck! It’s…Superb. 🙂

Haha. Okay, not really. I just wanted to play with the name one more time. Superb is currently a hot commodity, and last I checked, it was listed as sold out on MAC’s website. You should be able to find it, though, at MAC stores, counters and online at nordstrom.com.
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2. Pajama tops with pockets

So I’ve had this PJ Salvage flannel pajama top for about a year now, and I usually use the pockets to hold cat treats and pens (and sometimes my lint roller…’cause that’s how cat ladies roll), but it never occurred to me before to actually use the pockets to warm my hands.

What a revelation!

It occurred to me last night while I was lying in bed. My hands were freezing, and without thinking, I thrust them into the pockets.

Huzzah! So warm, so comforting… It was like hearing a soft lullaby or getting a hug from my mom.

Whoever came up with the idea to put pockets on pajama tops, you sir or madam, were a genius.
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The Bobbi Brown Rich Caviar Eye Palette Hosts a Sumptuous Feast of Mattes, Shimmers and Glitters

November 2nd, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

Bobbi Brown Rich Caviar Eye Palette

If Tabs wasn’t so hell bent on mugging hard for the camera in these pics, it would probably be easier to appreciate the finer points of the new Bobbi Brown Rich Caviar Eye Palette ($47.50), like its mix of mattes, shimmers and glitters, or how its color palette of olive, gold, beige, taupe, gray and dark brown eyeshadows looks kinda like tabby coloring.

Bobbi Brown Rich Caviar Eye Palette

Even when I shoo’d him out of the shot, he still found a way to get in the frame (see the tabby tail in the lower right-hand corner?).

Bobbi Brown Rich Caviar Eye Palette

The Rich Caviar Eye Shadow Palette, $47.50

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Radiant, Peachy Pink Cheeks Are Easy With the Right Blush: MAC Glamour Daze Powder Blush in Easy Manner

November 1st, 2012 by Karen 38 Comments

mac easy manner blush — Wearing MAC Powder Blush in Easy Manner

It’s like the shy boy you met in front of a bookstore, or the brazen street cat who boldly strutted into your apartment one random afternoon (“From this day forward, YOU ARE MY HUMAN!”).

Big change has a funny way of finding us when we least expect it. One minute we’re eating roasted almonds on the couch; the next minute we’re cleaning up cat barf on the living room floor.

BOOM!

That’s how it was for me and $22 MAC Glamour Daze Powder Blush in Easy Manner, one of the happiest accidents I’ve had in weeks.

MAC Glamour Daze Easy Manner — MAC Glamour Daze Powder Blush in Easy Manner, $22

I was thrilled the first time I saw this sateen, slightly pinkish peach radiantly glowing on my cheeks…

Just like I was on my first date with that shy boy from the bookstore (who turned out to be El Hub). 🙂 Or the first time that brazen kitty purred in my lap.

And the best thing about Easy Manner’s understated but electrifying thrill? — it’s easy to repeat. Just sweep or swirl a couple layers on the apples of your cheeks.
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The MAC Primped Out Lip Look Bag in Lavish Coral, and an Open Letter to Curmudgeons and Grinches-in-Training

November 1st, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

Dear Curmudgeons and Grinches-in-Training,

Avert your eyes! Step away from the monitor or makeup counter, and don’t even think about looking at MAC’s new $39.50 Primped Out Lip Look Bag in Lavish Coral, a new limited edition holiday gift set in the MAC Fabulousness collection.

Like Santa’s bag of gifts, this pink leopard print purse (cute overload!) is filled with goodies, namely three coral lip products.

MAC Primped Out Lip Look Bag Lavish Coral — Primped Out Lip Look Bag in Lavish Coral, $39.50

If you didn’t heed my advice and looked at the bag, you might be wondering, “Would this kit be a good holiday gift?”

Well, unless you want your 14-year-old niece throwing her arms around your neck and calling you “the coolest aunt evah!” — DON’T DO IT!

Unless you want your favorite coworker, the one who dutifully listens to your endless cat stories without ever rolling her eyes, to send you a text that reads, “WERK BFFs 4 LIFE!” — DON’T DO IT!

Unless you’re completely comfortable being adored and repeatedly hearing, “OHMIGOSH! This bag is so cute, and I can totally wear all of these colors!” — DON’T DO IT!

Why? Because I think this kit is entirely capable of thrilling everyone on your holiday list. The three neutral coral colors it contains should suit most skin tones, and the black and pink leopard print bag is full-on adorable.

5 Reasons to Love the New MAC Lip Look Bag in Lavish Coral

The primped-out purse is so cute! It’s also easy to open and close, and large enough to hold everything that comes with the kit, as well as a full-size powder compact.

The Lip Liner Pencil in Boldly Bare looks great with coral, peach or brown lipsticks. This neutral reddish brown pencil is even deluxe sized, and I think it also looks great with a nice gloss slicked on top.

The Cremesheen Glass in Kiss Me Softly is slightly larger than the Cremesheen Glasses in MAC’s permanent line. But just barely. It comes in a 0.09-ounce tube, versus the 0.08-ounce ones from MAC’s permanent line. This soft peachy golden pearl is also lovingly sheer and moisturizing, and the non-sticky, lightweight formula has a faint vanilla flavor and scent.

Cremesheen Lipstick in Shy Girl is a perfect everyday color. This sheer, beige-like coral has a creamy finish and the same vanilla vibe as the gloss. This one here is also full size.

The price! I think $39.50 is actually a pretty sweet deal, considering that one full-size MAC Lipstick, a Cremesheen Glass and a Lip Liner Pencil would by themselves cost $59 (and that doesn’t include the print bag).

MAC Primped Out Lip Look Bag in Lavish Coral swatches — From the left: Lip Liner in Barely Bold, Lipstick in Shy Girl and Cremesheen Glass in Kiss Me Softly

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A 60-Second Review: Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Vintage

November 1st, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

Haven’t we all rutted around in our makeup bags from time to time and wished for that one special lipstick? That one lipstick both professional enough to wear to the office (“Hey, new girl, have you filled out those TPS reports?”), and dynamic enough to dazzle a first date? A lipstick so resourceful, so transcendent, that it possessed the power to turn you into a one-lipstick girl?

If there ever were such a shade, it would be Vintage. The new $30 Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Vintage.

One of four new winter neutrals in the long-wearing Femme Rouge Velvet Cream Lipstick line, creamy, rosy pink Vintage feels delightfully indulgent for such a lightweight lippie, like adding full-fat cream to your morning coffee (whatevs, you’ll just run it off later!). 🙂

The new Hourglass Femme Rouge Lipsticks in Icon (left) and Vintage (right)

hourglass femme rouge velvet creme lipsticks in fawn, peach, mural and vintage — The four new Hourglass Femme Rouge shades: Fawn, Peace, Mural and Vintage

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