Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Gah! This freezing cold’s been suckin’ the moisture clean out of my lips. If it’s not the dry chill in the air outside, it’s the heater running indoors all night long. My lips need help!
I’m hoping these new Mango Lipsticks from the Korres Delight Your Lips Set do the trick because I love the way they look.
Korres released several holiday value sets this year. This one comes with four hydrating lipsticks in earthy warm tones, all of them broadcasting natural, shiny color.
‘Tis the season for late nights, ladies — holiday parties, cramming for finals and waiting up for Santa. 🙂
If you’re not getting enough shuteye over the holidays, why not fake a good night’s sleep with a little help from makeup?
Last week in the comments you left some of your favorite tips to disguise dark circles, restore sallow skin and brighten tired eyes — tips like…
It brightens in a flash of white!
“I find that lighter, more natural eyeshadows with a nice sheen for the lid, white eyeliner for my waterline and MAC’s Select Moisturecover for my undereye circles are really awesome for hiding the fact that I may be running on only a couple hours of sleep.”
– Miriam
“I wear white eyeliner on my waterline (I love Rimmel’s white eyeliner) and add a light colored shadow like MAC Phloof! to the inner corners of my eyes. I also use Rohto eye drops if my eyes are red!”
– Nancy
Two minutes to a wide-awake look! 
“I use a light shimmery champagne color on the lids, and I curl my eyelashes! I can’t tell you how much that helps; it just makes me look so much more awake.”
– Gracie
A must for girls burning the midnight oil! A few faves:
“I don’t usually get a lot of sleep, and even when I do I have genetically dark and puffy undereyes, so I always need concealer. I use MAC’s Studio Sculpt.”
– Phoi
“Can’t live without Fresh Concealer! Works to get those circles to disappear.”
– Styleezta
“I use Bobbi Brown Concealer under my eyes and the built-in powder underneath to make my eyes seem more open.”
– Denny
“Aww man, I NEVER get enough sleep. [I use] TimeBalm concealer topped with Boots No. 7 illuminating concealer then crimped lashes and mascara (if I have time.) I know I should do a lot more to wake up my face, but I figure the extra ten minutes of sleep are worth it!”
– Rae
To deal with heavy duty dark circles, start with a layer of a color correcting concealer beneath your regular concealer.
“I use a salmon-colored concealer to first neutralize the blue. Then, I use a concealer a shade or two lighter than my normal skin color to really brighten my eyes.”
– Diana Kim
It’s time to put aside those unfinished TPS reports, ladies (they can wait), and reach for the eggnog, because the office holiday party season has officially begun!
Your coworkers might be dancing on tables and acting in ways they normally never would (haaaaay!), but most work parties still call for slightly sophisticated makeup and party attire.
Makeup-wise, that often means classic neutrals (but that doesn’t have to mean boring).
This year, I’m going to El Hub’s office party with his coworkers, and today I started brainstorming my look with tidbits from the eight-piece Prescriptives Lustre Holiday Collection.
It’s a subtle, understated look with bronze, gold and pink that’s pretty enough to get the attention of coworkers without stepping over “that” line.
Lustre Baked Eyeshadow Color Quad in Warm, $40
Lustre Shimmer Cheek Color in Warm, $24
Moonbeam Reflective Gloss in Rose Gold, $18
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The food, generosity and general merriment in the air make the holidays a great excuse to par-tay!
In keeping with that spirit, tomorrow I’m meeting some good friends from college for grub in the city (we try to meet around this time every year).
Because we can’t hang out that often, I kinda feel like getting all dolled up.
I’m thinking of going with something sassy, like this shimmery teal and peach look I tried today using Urban Decay’s Show Pony Palette.
The giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted. Please check the home page for current giveaways.
How I love thee, mighty Kalahari, prince of NARS Eyeshadow Duos. I’d give up Nutella for you. Oh, yes, THAT’s how strong my feelings are for your eye brightening golden bronze and shimmery cocoa brown.
Girlfriend, are you ready to fall in love with Kalahari? Methinks it’s time for a giveaway. 🙂
One lucky lady will win her very own NARS Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo (a $32 value), with its two shimmery powder shadows in golden bronze and cocoa brown.
Entering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.
First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. In it, tell me what you do with your makeup when you look like you didn’t get enough sleep.
I brighten my lids with the NARS Kalahari duo and lighten my dark circles with a mix of concealer and an illuminating eye cream like Origins GinZing.
Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:
RT @karenmbb: RT to win a NARS Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo ($32 Value) http://bit.ly/8fjwwP
I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, December 4.
Ä°yi ÅŸanslar!!!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. How was your afternoon? We made it over the hump, so from here on out it should be smooth sailing until the weekend. Here’s a phone pic of my new ‘do. I went pretty short, taking off about six inches, and I got bangs!
What’s on the agenda for tonight? Right now I’m just playing around on Facebook and Twitter. Tabs and I are going to watch the latest episode of Glee.
The giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted. Please check the home page for current giveaways.
Back when I worked as a legal assistant in the city — what I like to call my cubicle days — I would take quick mental health breaks throughout the day, like whenever I overheard one of my attorneys say, “That shouldn’t take long. Karen will handle it.”
I’d hunker down behind my monitor and start applying lip gloss like a MAD WOMAN!
I think it kept me sane… Mostly, I liked my job, but it wasn’t always emotionally easy. Lip gloss helped me get through the day. 🙂
What kinds of lip gloss? It varied, of course, but I didn’t wear many high shine varieties (many were too sexy for the office). I was partial to work-friendly shades like the ones in Fusion Beauty’s Lip Fusion Collection ($40).
Blush, a sheer and creamy baby pink
It’s a limited edition holiday set with six little Lip Fusion Color Shine Glosses in a mix of basic nude, pink and bronze.
Bare, a shimmery and sheer nude
The colors look pretty work appropriate — noticeable yet subdued — and deliver medium shine.
Goddess, a shimmery golden bronze
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The vibrant blues, greens and purples that make up the NARS Eyeshadow Duo family (hello, Rated R!) make it easy to overlook the gorgeous neutrals in the line.
Case in point: Kalahari ($35).
Part of the permanent collection, it’s one of my all-time François faves. Both of its shimmery shades — the golden peachy bronze and rich cocoa brown — excel at brightening up tired eyes, imparting a natural glow to lids that never looks overdone, and helping me fake a good night’s sleep. 🙂
Without Kalahari in my life, I’d probably look 200 times more tired, LOL!
Shimmery golden, peachy bronze on the left; cocoa brown on the right
These are shades I like to pat on my lids with a flat shadow brush when I’m pressed for time but still want a polished look, and I’ll just use a finger to blend them into the crease. Then, if I have a couple minutes to spare, I’ll line my eyes (both Urban Decay Bourbon and MAC Powersurge play well with these shades), and apply two coats of mascara.
Tada! An easy peasy way to look reasonably well put together. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I’m always on the market for makeup with real deal, all day long, no muss/fuss/budging staying power.
Why? Because my skin seems to absorb everything that touches it. No matter what I use, it doesn’t hang around for long.
Even skin tone is at the top of my makeup agenda, so naturally, it’s extremely frustrating to get home at the end of the day with uneven skin.
One night, perusing the makeup aisle at Walgreens while I waited for a prescription to be filled, I noticed Maybelline SuperStay 24HR Makeup (foundation).
Twenty-four hours?! Doubtful, I thought, but for less than $10, I had to give it a try.
I compared my results to the claims on the label: does it withstand heat, sweat and humidity? Yes, yes and yes. How about non-transferable? I think so, another yes.
Even though it doesn’t last a full 24 hours (didn’t expect it to), I have to say, SuperStay 24HR passed my test.
And I’m amazed! This stuff did not budge at all. My biggest pet peeve is makeup that rubs off on anything and everything I touch. To see how well it would fare, I purposefully skipped primer OR setting powder (which I usually use), and it fared well.
As you’ll notice in these comparison pix, the foundation didn’t hold up quite as well in my oily t-zone as it did on the rest of my face, but this was without a setting powder. All things considered, I’d say SuperStay 24HR Makeup performed rather impressively.
This pic was taken around 10 a.m. First, I washed and moisturized, then waited about 8 minutes before applying the foundation.
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