Just For Fun

Cast Your Vote for Best Makeup Collection of the Year

December 29th, 2010 by Karen 63 Comments

Your vote for best makeup collection of the year

Another year, another gaggle of gorgeous (and some not so gorgeous) makeup collections. There sure were some doozies this year. Innovative products, imaginative color palettes and provocative imagery propelled several ahead of the pack.

Some, like the MAC Fabulous Felines collection, really resonated with me and my cat lady soul (didn’t the three color stories for Felines make such perfectly good sense?). It also introduced me to the awesome MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liners. Tabs and I still purr when we think about the Fab Felines release…

I also went coco for the chocolate browns and playful pinks in the Chanel Les Tentations de Chanel Holiday 2010 collection, but I think I still preferred Fab Felines overall.

Which collection stood out to you as the best of the year? Cast your vote in the comments. 🙂

Make sure I don’t miss your vote by including it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: Makeup Collection. That’ll make it easier for me to tally the entries and share the results. After you’ve made your nomination, let me know why you picked that one collection over everything else.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Two Ways to Win a Clarins Barocco Eye Colour Trio

December 28th, 2010 by Karen 341 Comments

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is aclearcutsign! Congratulations, aclearcutsign! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

clarins barocco collection holiday 2010 review swatches photos barocco eye colour trio

So maybe stretchy pants and overindulging in holiday yummage aren’t conducive to feeling glamorous. I could use an emergency glamor adjustment, and I’m thinking the Clarins Barocco Eye Colour Trio could help.

clarins barocco collection holiday 2010 review swatches photos barocco eye colour trio product shot open 1

Can you imagine the looks you could bang out next year with these three sheer shadows? There’s a shimmery sunset gold (with traces of blackish brown, just like a tiger’s coat!), a matte brownish black, and a shimmery blackish gold.

This particular trio here is in need of a good home…

Are you ready to help? 🙂

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

One (1) Clarins Barocco Eye Colour Trio (a $40 value).

There are two ways to enter, 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, a comment about anything at all, like the name of the person you’d love to kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve, the name of your favorite beverage, the last pair of shoes you bought, one of your resolutions for 2011 — you get the idea.
Second, you can enter by following me on Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a Clarins Barocco Eye Colour Trio (a $40 Value) http://bit.ly/hunSNi

The deadline to enter is Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 11:59PM (PT).
Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is aclearcutsign! Congratulations, aclearcutsign! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Dec. 27

December 27th, 2010 by Karen 60 Comments

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”
Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past three years, which I guess makes this somewhere around Vol. 150. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

Mood:

Absolutely spiffy. El Hub has some time off before the new year, so Tabs and I are thrilled to have him around today.

Best thing that happened to you in 2010?

Going to Milan to cover the Dolce & Gabbana show last October, for sure.

Worst thing?

2010 was pretty good to me (knock on wood), so I don’t really have a specific thing, but I do think I have to get better about balancing blogging and my offline life. Time flies when I’m at the computer, and I didn’t spend nearly enough time with my family this year. Over Christmas, I realized how much I miss them. You know what they say — time waits for no one.

Your biggest beauty revelation of 2010?

That chin and eyebrow hairs suck, but white chin and eyebrow hairs suck even more!

Your biggest personal revelation?

I’m my own best cheerleader. 🙂

Something you’d like to cross off your bucket list in 2011?

Make it over to Europe. I’d love to spend a holiday swimming and relaxing somewhere along the Mediterranean coast. Got any suggestions?

Your plans for New Year’s Eve?

Nothing yet (I know, so last minute!), but later today I’m going to look for something to do, maybe one of those restaurants that hosts big NYE dinners.

Write yourself a New Year’s love note…

Dear, Karen. Remember to be kinder and gentler to yourself in 2011, because you’re doing just fine. And if you’re meant to be a mother, don’t worry. It will happen.

And now write a love note for anyone who’s reading this right now.

I wish you an ocean of good luck, love and happiness in 2011. If worry is weighing on you, know that 1) you’re stronger than you think, and 2) turn to the people you know you can trust to lift you up when you need it.

Weekly goals:

Finish entering info into my Nike + iPod (a gift from El Hub). It has a pedometer and tracks workouts online. I also want to clean the house from top to bottom before the new year, and touch base with my family and some friends by e-mail or phone at least once this week.

Can you believe we made it through another year together? Because he’s so in the moment, Tabs doesn’t really think about what tomorrow brings, but I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately — about what I would like to accomplish in 2011. If you’re in the mood to reflect with me, or you just feel like popping by to say hi, please take a moment to fill out the Monday Poll. I’d love to hear from ya. 🙂

To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

1. Mood:
2. Best thing that happened to you in 2010?
3. Worst thing?
4. Your biggest beauty revelation of 2010?
5. Your biggest personal revelation?
6. Something you’d like to cross off your bucket list in 2011?
7. Plans for New Year’s Eve?
8. Write yourself a New Year’s love note…
9. …and now write a love note for anyone who’s reading this right now.
10. Weekly goals:

Here’s to our last Monday Poll of 2010 and to all our future Mondays together in 2011 (*raises chai latte*).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 119

December 26th, 2010 by Karen 37 Comments

Dear Diary,

Before I get into the drama-dy that was Christmas 2010, can I just take a moment to bask in the glory of my modeling skills? Observe the evidence: the centerfold pic from my last photo shoot, which I took for the cover of People magazine when they named me “World’s Sexiest Tabby of 2010.”

See how I skillfully raise my paws? The nonchalant look of disinterest and the artful placement of my whiskers? It takes a lot of work to look this hot.

People just don’t seem to get that my life isn’t all jet setting and cat walking; I have to make critical decisions EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Take, for instance, my holiday plans (or lack thereof).

JF (that’s James Franco to you) asked me to hang with him and his buddies in Aspen this Christmas. I really wanted to break in my new snowboard and those Louis Vuitton boots (ya know, the ones with the fur?) I picked up in Paris a few months ago, but due to my assistant’s usual incompetence, I was stuck here in the Bay Area. She couldn’t find a first class flight out of SFO in time, and, you know, I soooo don’t do coach.

It was royally annoying, but one thing that perked me up was this awesome present from my grandparents:

I call them Lolo and Lola, which means “grandfather” and “grandmother” in Tagalog, their native tongue (for the record, I’m half Filipino).

[Continue reading…]

Check Out the Spread in the Open Thread

December 26th, 2010 by Karen 76 Comments

This morning I awoke to a rumbly tummy, which is nothing new, but this time I had a jar of special Christmas Nutella — see, they DO have hazelnuts in the North Pole! — around to alleviate it. Yup, Santa actually brought me a jar of Nutella. Oh, and a pedometer… Gotta love that guy’s sense of irony.

Did you get any odd gifts this year? My parents are so sweet, and I love ’em to pieces, but creative gift givers they’re not. This was the third consecutive year we received a two-pack of smoked salmon and a box of chocolate truffles from Costco. Third. Consecutive. Year. 🙂

But I don’t mind one bit. I feel blessed and lucky to have family around. They’re the real gifts; the presents are just the ~~salmon and~~ chocolate icing on the cake.

Tabs, of course, made off like a bandit, even though Santa didn’t bring him the kitty Tron outfit he wanted. Instead he scored a huge box of Fancy Feast (in gravy) from his grandparents.

Watcha up to? The couch doesn’t think I should go to a movie today. It thinks I should spend the afternoon sitting, eating and watching movies on TV. Yesterday I watched three: Outsourced (LOVED IT! A touching indie comedy about an American guy who goes to India to train a group of call center workers), Bobby Z (stars Paul Walker, so that’s a BIG plus, but the story bites) and Brick (stars a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt; interesting premise, with 1940’s noir-ish dialogue set in a modern high school, but I slept through most of it).

If you’re gonna be around today, we should hang out for a spell in the open thread.

Makeup and Beauty Blog Open Thread If you’re new to the open thread, here it is in a nutshell:

It’s just a post where we leave comments for each other and talk about whatever’s on our minds — holiday hijinks, food, beauty (of course!), books, TV shows, pets, whatever! Stop by if/when you can.

See you soon!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

December 26th, 2010 by Karen 5 Comments

Can you believe Christmas has passed? For the last two months I’ve been thinking Christmas, Christmas, Christmas every day, and then BAM! Welcome to December 26.

It’s enough to give a girl holiday whiplash. 🙂

How are you doing? Tabs, El Hub and I are just enjoying a slow day… I think we might try to catch a movie this afternoon. That sounds like fun.

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

CHANEL MAT LUMIERE
SOFT MATTE MAKEUP WITH SPF 15

Who among us hasn’t crossed paths with her share of craptacular liquid foundations? â€” the runny ones that leave streaks, the heavy pore-suffocating ones, and, oh, how about the ones with the open-mouth bottle…like the one you accidentally spilled on your buddy’s white shag carpet back in school (so sorry, Shell!).

I know it’s asking for a lot, but I would love a great, preferably inexpensive medium-coverage liquid foundation that I can wear every day (something I can throw on before I run out for a chai latte). That said, it’s with great joy, and a little pain, that I type these words: Chanel’s $54 Mat Lumiere Long-Lasting Soft Matte Makeup SPF 15 just might be the best liquid foundation I’ve used in years.

But…it’s $54. Read more…

THE CHANEL QUADRA
EYE SHADOW QUAD IN REGARD PERLE

Every girl remembers her first…Chanel eyeshadow quad. 🙂

Mine was Garden Party. Ah, Garden Party… Just saying the name brings back memories (and a warm, fuzzy feeling) of the first time I laid eyes on that mix of green, peach and pink.

I still love that quad so much that it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw promo pics of the new Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow quad in Regard Perle ($56). I was kindasorta hoping Perle would look more like it in person.

It’s not a Garden Party dupe, but I think it’s very pretty in its own right, particularly if you have a thing for glowy skin.

Each of its four soft powder shadows shine with a mirror-like finish that lights up eyelids when when they’re applied. Chanel channeled pearls this season â€” or rather the way skin glows when you’re wearing pearls â€” and here they got it spot on. The chai latte I had last night right before dinner screwed with my sleep, and it was evident all over my face this morning. But a few swipes of Regard Perle today, and my eyes looked visibly brighter and more awake. Read more…

THE LUSH SUGAR
PLUM FAIRY SCRUB

Look, over there â€” do you see it? The limited edition Sugar Plum Fairy Scrub ($4.95)? Isn’t it cute?

This heavenly creature is mostly made of sugar and spice and everything nice…like sodium bicarbonate (that’s baking soda, babe). It’s an exfoliating scrub scented with ylang-ylang (like a deep custard) and jasmine, and it leaves a light floral fragrance on my skin.

I took it into the shower with me last night, hoping it would smooth my bod â€” specifically the rough patches on my knees, heels and elbows.

The bar melts on contact with water, foaming into a lather with moderately rough scrubbing grains. I was hoping to get away with using half, or maybe a quarter of the bar, but it wasn’t in the mood for that once it got wet. Perhaps I could/should have broken it in half before the shower, just to be able to use it a second time. Read more…

THE NYX SOHO
GLAM COLLECTION

I was sitting in bed reading Stephen King’s Under the Dome the other night when it hit me. No, not the book, silly. 🙂 It occurred to me that I should get a tattoo of Tabs.

Don’t ask me why, because the book doesn’t have anything to do with cats, tattoos or cat tattoos, but since Tabs is my kitty BFF, and he comforts me whenever I get scared (like when I’m reading a Stephen King book), it makes a kind of weird sense.

I don’t have any tattoos right now, but most of my friends have â€˜em. My brother’s covered in tats, but I haven’t gotten any mostly because 1) I’m not into pain, and 2) I’ve never really liked anything enough to permanently inscribe it on my body.

Except for Tabs (and maybe El Hub, but that’s just too cliche, LOL!).

I’m still mulling over the idea, and it’s not official yet. Knowing me I’ll probably chicken out. El Hub’s totally against it. He’s afraid a cat tattoo would only serve as a gateway tat, but not necessarily into more tattoos; he’s afraid my level of crazy cat lady-ness would escalate, and I can’t argue with that logic. Read more…

THE MAC CHAM
PALE COLLECTION

I would like to propose a toast, friends â€” my very first serious toast ever â€” and I think there’s something fitting about it being dedicated to makeup. If you’ll bear with me for a moment, please raise your glass, be it filled with bubbly, wine, water, chai latte or anything else, to the MAC Cham Pale collection, one of the most inspiring neutral releases this lass has seen this year.

Launching right after Christmas (Dec. 26), the limited edition collection is a relatively small one for MAC, with just 26 pieces for the face, eyes, cheeks, lips, nails and skin in prices ranging from $14-36.

As much as I love neutral colors like gray, beige and and peach, collections dominated by them run the risk of venturing into snooze territory, especially when the finishes are mostly matte. They may be practical as all getout, but matte beige and gray don’t exactly set the world on fire, ya know? Read more…

THE MAC STYLISHLY
YOURS COLLECTION

You don’t have to be a crazy cat lady (or a rotund tabby cat with a low-hanging belly) to appreciate a strong cat eye liner look with bold lips. It’s an enduring, timeless combination that looks great on almost everyone.

The new 19-piece MAC Stylishly Yours collection, a limited edition release for eyes, lips and face (pieces $14-22 each), embodies this tried-and-true classic in a modernized, 21st century way.

The collection purrs onto MAC counters, stores and maccosmetics.com on December 26 and stays put through January 11, 2011. Tabs, being the ho for brights that he is, can’t wait.

With Stylishly Yours, MAC offers fans fun, fast ways to give makeup looks a shot of dramatic color (without having to think too hard). Eyes in the look are kept simple, clean, and simultaneously dramatic with matte black and burgundy gel liner and mascara. Bright coral, pink, magenta, red and violet leap onto lips and cheeks in lipsticks, cream blushes (they double as lip colors, too!) and loose pigments with creamy and shimmery finishes. But that’s not all â€” two pink pressed highlighting powders imbue faces with a lovely soft sheen. Read more…

CHANEL BLACK PEARL
PEARL DROP AND PECHE NACREE NAIL POLISHES

Merry Christmas Eve-Eve! Christmas came early! I braved the mall today to peep the new Les Perles de Chanel spring collection up close and personal. Yup, to say “the mall was crowded” would be like saying “I like Chanel.” Duh.

I think the last time I was at a mall two days before Christmas was when my friend Jen and I both worked together at The Limited in 1994 (I hawked a lot of ugly purse wallets, yo). Ah, memories…

I couldn’t wait to see the three new limited edition Le Vernis Nail Colours â€” Black Pearl, Pearl Drop and Peche Nacree ($23 each). There’s been some serious brouhaha about â€˜em, especially Black Pearl (is that Jack Sparrow?!), which has been hyped as Chanel’s next big thing.

Take a look, and let me know if you think they’re worthy of the buzz. 🙂 Read more…

CHANEL EXTRAIT DE
GLOSS IN GENIE

A few days ago I made a wish, and this week it came true. I wished for a new purse gloss, and it appears a genie was listening.

What’s a purse gloss, you ask? It’s a gloss that’s worthy of permanent residence in your purse. You keep it close for touch-ups and other beauty emergencies…like when you randomly run into your ex and his new lady love at the mall (she’s cute, but you’re cuter), or when a TV crew asks you for an impromptu sidewalk interview about hot dog street vendors (yep, that really happened).

With a tube of Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Genie ($32) in your purse, you’ll be tough to catch off guard. One of two Rouge Allure glosses in Chanel’s limited edition Le Perles de Chanel collection for spring 2011, it’s a shiny but wearable coral with golden micro glitter and comes in Chanel’s trademark Extrait de Gloss formula. Non-sticky, luscious, hydrating, and lacking any potentially bothersome scents or flavors, it’s ready for drama AND flexibility. With a four-hour wear time, it’s also designed to laaaast. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Two Ways to Win 2 Pieces of MAC Peacocky Makeup

December 25th, 2010 by Karen 440 Comments

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Scientific Housewife! Congratulations, Scientific Housewife! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Heya, ladies. Do you ever wonder what Christmas is like in Australia? If you live there, please leave a comment and let me know, because I often wonder about it. I mean, this is the middle of your summertime, right? Do you guys decorate Christmas trees? 🙂

In Hawaii, some folks decorate the coconut trees in their front yards, but most people either decorate fake trees, or they buy regular pine trees that come shipped over from the mainland (and consequently cost about twice as much as ours do here).

I remember one December when we were visiting my in-laws in Hawaii we woke up on Christmas morning to find a peacock chilling in the back of my father-in-law’s pickup truck. Now that’s something you don’t see every Christmas. Tabs would have thought, “WOW! Is that for ME?!”

Speaking of peacocks, the brand spankin’ new MAC Peacocky collection of 15 Mega Metal Eyeshadows and 12 Kissable Lipcolours will strut onto counters, eyes and lips on January 6, but here’s a sneak peek: two eye-popping brights from the release — the bold, shimmery teal Odalisque Mega Metal Shadow and the creamy blueish pink Vanity Fair Kissable Lipcolour.

Gorgeous, right?

You know what time it is. 🙂

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

One (1) tube of MAC Peacocky Kissable Lipcolour in Vanity Fair and (1) pan of MAC Peacocky Mega Metal Shadow in Odalisque (a $38 value).

There are two ways to enter, 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, a comment about anything at all. Tell me about one of your holiday traditions, how you feel about pajamas, what yummy treats you’ve been enjoying this week, or describe what you felt was the best gift you gave this year.
Second, you can enter by following me on Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win 2 Pieces of MAC Peacocky Makeup (a $38 Value) http://bit.ly/fXNxHQ

The deadline to enter is Monday, December 27, 2010 at 11:59PM (PT).
Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Scientific Housewife! Congratulations, Scientific Housewife! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Merry Christmas from Makeup and Beauty Blog

December 25th, 2010 by Karen 35 Comments

Merry Christmas from Makeup and Beauty Blog

Good morning, young lady (and you too, young man). It’s Christmas! Rise and shine. Tabs will be down in a minute; he’s just freshening up. In the meantime, can I get you a cup of coffee? Or perhaps a chai latte?

How did you sleep? Good, I hope.

Oh, here comes Tabs! Hi, Tabs. How did you sleep?

“Mrow.”

Yeah, me too. In fact, I feel super powerful today! It must be that Christmas spirit.

“Mrrrew.”

Hahaha! Exactly. 🙂

“Meow?”

Oh, that’s a great idea. I’ll tell them right now.

Tabs would like me to tell you how much we love you. We wish you and yours a very merry Christmas, and a totally @ss-kicking, awesome new year. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, I hope you have a wonderful day.

Seriously, I wish everyone in the world could have a wonderful day today… It should just be a rule.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addicts,

Karen and Tabs