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Chantecaille Lip Chic in Tea Rose, YOU Can Give Me Lip

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Aloha nui loa

Beautiful Girls, by Kat Reeder
Beautiful Girls, by Kat Reeder, $595

Howzit, girl? Aloha from Hawaii’ne. Our flight got in a few hours ago. We’re at my in-laws place now in Kaneohe, just catching up and watching Entertainment Tonight, LOL!

So sleepy… I’m exhausted. What are you up to right now? Did you watch the Dancing with the Stars grand finale? It hasn’t aired yet here, but I couldn’t wait and looked up the winner online. All I can say is YES! Don’t worry. No spoilers (except in the comments!). 🙂

I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled this week for any interesting makeup and beauty products (and any other cool stuff), taking pics of everything to share. Also while I’m here, some very awesome guest bloggers and friends will be helping out, so stay tuned for reviews this week from Sam, Olga, Audrey and more.

Aloha from Waikiki

Pretty bird

Sweet dreams. It’s time for this tired girl to hit the haaaaay!

But before I go, how about a little look at Chantecaille?

karen of makeup and beauty blog reviews chantecaille lip chic in tea rose
Chantecaille Lip Chic in Tea Rose on lips

Before you write off Chantecaille Lip Chic in Tea Rose because of its $30 price tag, take a moment to scroll…down. 🙂

Okay, yes, it’s very expensive, and, yes, the whole gloss/lipstick hybrid thing’s been totally done to death (see: Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Glossticks, Avon Glazewears, MAC Slimshines, the Prescriptives LipShines, etc.), but OH, NELLY! It sure feels great on my cold-burned lips.

Tea Rose is one of 14 permanent shades in Chantecaille’s Lip Chics line of lipsticks designed to smooth, firm and plump puckers.


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These Pretty Becca Jewel Dust Eyeshadows Are Priced Like Pirate Treasure

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karen of makeup and beauty blog reviews becca jewel dust 2

Becca longs to light up your lids for the holidays, babe! 🙂 Just say “Seasons Greetings” to their Jewel Dust loose powders ($24).

I’ve been wearing two of the 16 shimmery powders (they’re like business casual MAC Pigments) — Mazikeen (a rich royal purple with subtle, multi-colored glitter) and Asral (an opalescent pinkish purple with silver glitter) — and I can’t wait to give the rest of them a try.

Like the MAC piggies, these come loaded with full of pigment, but the finish is a touch different.

Neither of them are as frosty as MAC Pigments, which is cool in this case because I think they end up looking more natural on the eyes.

Just gives you another option. 🙂

Becca loves products that multitask (hello, Beach Tints!), and, while most of these 16 shades were designed with eyes in mind, a few of the colors — Titania, Astra and Nissa — also play well on lips and cheeks (they’re marked as lip and cheek-safe).

All of them can be worn alone, wet or dry, or layered atop other products like powder/cream shadows and cream blushes on the eyes, or lipglosses for the lip-friendly ones I mentioned above.

For awesome all-day wear, layer Jewel Dusts on top of an eye primer like NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base or Urban Decay Eden Primer Potion.

becca jewel dust review swatches photos
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A $10 Makeup Look: Smokey Taupe, Brown and Violet Eyes with Lilac Lips

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Here’s a full face — eyes and lips — for $8.91

How low can you go? (Sing it!) How lo-oh can you go? Okay, so I had a lot of fun last week trying to put together a makeup look for less than $10, and I think I did an okay job. The whole shebang came to a whopping $9.85, but I think I can do better. 🙂

I gave it another go, this time shooting for something 1) cheaper and 2) more dramatic. I paired smokey taupe/brown/violet eyes with lilac lips. Again, the products are all from N.Y.C New York Color because, obvs, they’re really inexpensive, cruelty-free, and altogether not half bad.


NYC New York Color products from bottom to top: Ultra Last Lipstick in Lilac Dream ($1.89), Brow/Eye Liner Pencil in Jet Black ($1.14), Metro Quartet Eye Shadow in Chelsea Chic ($3.99). Also used in this look but not pictured: NYC New York Color Lengthening Mascara in Jet Black ($1.89)

Since the eyes AND lips are pretty colorful in this look, I kept the cheeks bare (don’t want to overwhelm passers by, LOL!), but a nice blush probably wouldn’t have hurt.

If you decide to give something like this a try but feel that the lilac lips are way too much, you could swap ’em out for something a little quieter, like perhaps a light peach gloss (maybe the $6 Sally Hansen Diamond 12-Hour Lip Treatment in Flawless?).
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All Aboard the Jouer Train Case Makeup Essentials Kit: Departing for Warm Bronze, Peach and Pink Shades Now

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karen of makeup and beauty blog wearing the jouer train case
Jouer Powder Eyeshadow in Caramel and Eye Definer in Chocolat on eyes; Powder Blush in Rose and Highlighter in Champagne on cheeks; Lipstick in Kiki, Lipgloss in Glisten and Lip Definer in Rose Pale on lips

Can’t get enough of NARS Orgasm? Do MAC Nymphette Lipglass and Power Surge Eye Kohl give you heart palpitations? If so, you may suffer from warm shade lust-alaria.

Don’t worry. It’s a treatable, albeit sometimes expensive condition, and one possible cure could be the new Jouer Train Case Makeup Essentials Kit ($200).

Jouer, an indie makeup line known for natural colors and their chic girl-about-town packaging, leans more toward the Clinique/Bobbi Brown end of the spectrum than the MAC/Illamasqua side, and it’s a very pretty place to be.

This adorable pink zip-up train case comes with makeup for your eyes, lips and cheeks, and a mini- blush brush.

In addition to the case and the brush you get…

  • Powder Eyeshadow in Caramel: a shimmery warm peachy gold
  • Eye Definer in Chocolat: a shimmery golden bronze
  • Powder Blush in Rose: a matte warm pink
  • Highlighter in Champagne: a shimmery peachy gold
  • Lipstick in Kiki: a shimmery peachy pink
  • Lipgloss in Glisten: a sheer, shimmery light peach with multi-colored glitter
  • Lip Definer in Rose Pale: a matte peachy pink
  • Lip Enhancer in Conditioning Lip Treatment: a colorless lip moisturizer
  • Luminizing Moisture Tints in Bronzed, Deep Bronze, Glow, Golden and Pearl: sheer, shimmery tinted moisturizers with SPF 20

…and a big $200 bill (ouch).

jouer train case review swatches photos 1

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Sheers to You, JK Jemma Kidd: The Signature Shadow Palette and Air Kiss Duo Sure Are Sheer

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karen of makeup and beauty blog reviews jk jemma signature shadows and air kiss lipgloss duo for holiday 2010
JK Jemma Kidd Signature Shadows on eyes and Air Kiss Duo Lipgloss in Rendezvous on lips

Don’t you love a bargain? JK Jemma Kidd cranks out a lot of ’em, but if the brand’s new $9.99 JK Signature Shadows and JK Air Kiss Duo had the word “bargain” stamped across the front of their packaging, it would be in very, very sheer ink.

I spotted these a couple weeks ago and was immediately reminded of MAC.

At first glance, don’t the powdered eyeshadows in the Signature Shadow palette look kinda like the colors in the MAC Royal Assets Warm Eyes Palette (Antiquitease Collection)? And Sassy, the pink Air Kiss gloss, looks a little like MAC Nymphette Lipglass, while Rendezvous, a shimmery plummy taupe, looks like it could be MAC Spite’s sparkly cousin.

I thought, “$10 dupes for MAC!?” But, alas, Jemma was just Kidd-ing with these colors. I definitely think these are lovely in their own softly understated way, but if you’re on the market for MAC-like pigments, these may not be what you’re looking for.
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You Could Be Naughty and Nice with the Becca Fallen Angel Palette

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karen of makeup and beauty blog wearing the becca fallen angel palette
Becca Fallen Angel Palette: Lip & Cheek Creme in Nectar and Highlighter in Narcissus on cheeks; Lip Gloss in Sunrise on lips

Santa knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, but Becca wants you to be both. Their new Fallen Angel Collection, seven pieces for eyes, face and lips, brings a bit of sugar to your spice.

Tawny peach lips, and cheeks with a hint of honied sparkle, contrast with sooty smokey eyes in shades of black, violet, navy and mauve, resulting in one heck of a wickedly beautiful look.

the becca fallen angel collection on makeup and beauty blog
Love the imagery for this campaign!

I like to think of Becca, a pricey indie line from Australia, as sort of a beach resort-hopping version of Chanel, because I think they handle color in a similarly elegant way, except more relaxed and dressed down.

A lot of their products are waterproof, long-wearing and made to multitask, and, while interesting enough to satisfy fervent color fiends, most of them are still practical enough to wear every day.

The Fallen Angel Palette shown here, one of two palettes in the Fallen Angel Collection, comes with three creamy peach products for a pricey $52. The rather small collection also includes a few individual products (listed below), but sadly none of them are cheap.

becca fallen angel palette review swatches photos palette open
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Saturday Surfing, and The Quest for a Dynamite Drugstore Concealer

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Doctor Fealgud, it’s a Code Brown! The patient needs a cup of coffee, stat! She’s going into a decaffeinated stupor!

With cream and sugar, doctor! WITH CREAM AND SUGAR!

Howzit, ladies? Ye olde mental motor blew a head gasket this morning because I was up late last night watching the new Harry Potter movie.

I won’t post any spoilers (outside of the comments) today, but I will say that this one scared me more than the other ones did. If you’ve seen it, let me what you thought in the comments. I didn’t read the book, and I’d also like to hear what someone who read it has to say. I’ve read some mixed reviews.

Weird… You wouldn’t think that sitting relatively still in a movie theater for a few hours could be as tiring as it appears to have been, judging by my dark circles this morning, but it gives me an excuse, like so many things do, to try new makeup.

I’ve been trying to find a good drugstore concealer, and I picked up this one by Almay last week called Smart Shade with SPF 20 ($9) in Medium. It’s the darkest of the three shades it comes in.

The company claims these change color to match your skin tone when they’re applied. The Medium shade definitely does darken as you work it in, but I can’t tell if it’s just darkening as it dries, or actually responding to my skin tone… Either way, it sure is neat to see it change color on the skin.

After using it a few times this week, I think it’s time to set it aside and get back to shopping. I mean, it’s easy to blend, and I like the color changing aspect, but the Medium shade is lighter than I expected and has pinkish beige undertones that lend a gray cast to my skin. Plus, the coverage is just way too sheer for this brown girl.

If you get real deal Holyfield dark circles, you’ll probably need something more opaque, but if you have good luck with beige/pink face products and only need mild coverage, it’s probably worth a try.

Before you Tom Cruise outta here, we can’t let those good waves go to waste. Are you up for a little Saturday Surfing with me?

Saturday Surfing: Sites I Surfed Today


Via Milo Minousky’s Munchkinland

Have fun today. 🙂 Tabs says hi.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Becca Beach Tint Trio Holiday Gift Set Smells Like Fruit Salad

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karen of makeup and beauty blog wearing becca beach tint in apricot
Becca Beach Tint in Apricot on cheeks

Okay, so you know the Becca Beach Tints? Talk about makeup salvation for the lazy. They’re these multipurpose, oil-free, water-resistant creams for adding a hint of scented color to cheeks and lips. Not only are they easy to blend without streaks, but you can layer them beneath blushes, bronzers and lip gloss, too.

Tubes usually go for $25 a pop, but you can save a few bucks on them with the limited edition Becca Beach Tint Holiday Set ($63). It comes with three full-size Beach Tints in Watermelon (a pink from the permanent collection), Grapefruit (a coral from the permanent collection) and Apricot (a new limited edition peach).

And the scents are delicious! The Watermelon like watermelon, Grapefruit like grapefruit — you get the picture.

becca beach tint trio review swatches photos tints with box

becca beach tint trio review swatches photos tints
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