Just For Fun

Disney Does Shoes and a Bunch of Other Stuff

• Did you know that in addition to mouse ear hats, Disney also sells bridal gowns, shoes and chandeliers?

Shoe Lust, Part Deux

• I saw these red strappy sandals on Seychelles Footwear and instantly fell in lurve. With cold weather just around the corner my sandal-wearing days are numbered, but I’m oh-so-tempted!

Rabid About Twilight? Me Too!

• The Twilight Lexicon Blog features up-to-the-minute news and info on the upcoming movie! I check it every day. 🙂

Annie, Get Yer Gunn… Yer Tim Gunn, That Is

• Last night I watched my very first episode of Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style. Yes, I’ve been living underneath a rock. In the show T. Gunn (of Project Runway fame) helps women discover clothing shapes and colors to suit their body types, so they can make smarter fashion choices.

  The show’s website features this really fun game called The Wardrobe Room, where you can create outfits by paring up Tim Gunn’s wardrobe essentials — tops, bottoms, dresses and jackets (no accessories though, boo). It’s fun… and addictive. I spent WAAAY too much time playing this today.

Get Your China Glaze On For Mere Duckets

• The Eighty Eight Beauty Supply online store is not the flashiest or fanciest site, but they offer a staggering collection of nail polishes like China Glaze and OPI at bargain prices.

Smell Less Stinky, Naturally

• Looking for an all-natural deodorant? Bella Sugar suggests trying Bergamot Oil to mitigate that stinky pit sitch!

New Bath and Body Works Packaging

• Beauty Addict gives the run down on the redesign of the bottles, tubes and artwork on the new Bath and Body Works Signature Collection product packaging.

Heya! I’m off to do a short run before the sun sets. Gotta burn some calories so I can eat popcorn when I go to the movies tonight. I’m taking El Hub to watch Let the Right One In, a Swedish film about vampires!

Watcha up to tonight? 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

UPDATE: We have a winner! Sylvie, you were the first person to submit the correct answer, which was MAC Cosmetics Originals Glitter Swatches. Congratulations!

Clinique Holiday 2008 Blog Treasure Hunt

What’s up, girls! Tabs, that naughty kitty and part-time beauty booty pirate, is up to his old hijinks again.

Deep within the blog archives he’s hidden some Clinique Holiday 2008 treasure. Do you think you can find it?

Enter the Clinique Holiday 2008 Treasure Hunt for a chance to win some cool stuff. Just be the first to find the picture of Blackberry Bloom Tabs hidden within a post. Keep reading for your clue!

The Prize

The winner receives the following items from the Clinique Blackberry Bloom and Party Red Holiday 2008 collections; a $132 value.

Clinique = Awesome…

1. Fresh Bloom Allover Colour in Blackberry Bloom
2. Colour Surge Eye Shadow in Black Coffee
3. Colour Surge Eye Shadow in Black Amethyst
4. Colour Surge Eye Shadow in Black Smoke
5. Kohl Shaper for Eyes in Black Honey
6. High Impact Mascara in Black Honey
7. Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine in Sugarfull
8. Buttershine Lipstick in Parisian Red

How to Enter

Search through the blog archives to find the hidden picture of Blackberry Bloom Tabs (just like the one above). When you find it, shoot me an email (karen_at_www.makeupandbeautyblog.com) with the name of the post. The first person to email the correct answer wins.

Use any combination of the blog search box, Google, the monthly archives links in the right sidebar and the navigation links above and below each post to find the hidden pic! Good luck!

Here’s your clue…

If you’re trapped in a rut,
Use those guts.
Don’t freak out;
Tabs has no doubt,
You’ll use your smarts.
No need for martial arts!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Comments are turned off for this post.

1. Mood:

Relieved! For once, I’m glad it’s a Monday because it should be a slow week at work.

2. First song I heard today:

Valerie, by the hot mess known as Amy Winehouse (still lovin’ you, girl… just please go to rehab already!).

3. Outfit:

Running pants, t-shirt and cold-weather running jacket from Lululemon Athletica. Hopefully the rain clears up enough for me to actually do some running in this ensemble. 🙂

4. Hair:

Messy ponytail.

5. Lovin’:

Sleep, modern dental technology and plumbing (seriously, no thank you to outhouses), English muffins with a dash of butter and lots of raspberry jam, file cabinets, NonStopPlay.com, Shu Uemura lash curlers and the Orange Dream Machine from Jamba Juice.

6. Cheeks:

Prescriptives Winter Reflections All-Over Highlighter.

7. Lip liner:

Chanel Pretty Pink.

8. What I’m looking forward to today:

Breakfast (I always wake up *starving*), going for a run, rearranging my workspace, watching Heidi get canned in tonight’s episode of The Hills.

9. Foundation:

Nothing yet, but later today perhaps Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation.

10. Goals for the week:

To call my parents, to find a strapless bra to wear with my bridesmaids dress, to obliterate the piles of paper on my desk and to stay positive no matter what.

Happy Monday, homie! Let me know you’ve got going on this week. Just copy the empty list, and paste it with your answers in the comments. 🙂

Le list

Mood:
First song I heard today:
Outfit:
Hair:
Lovin’:
Cheeks:
Lip liner:
What I’m looking forward to today:
Foundation:
Goals for the week:

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Tabs: Harmless Cat or Hell Spawn?

Yowza, I got off to a late start today… Dark, primeval forces took hold of Tabs last night, turning our cute little tabby cat into some kind of furry hell beast. At around 2am, after El Hub and I had gone to bed, Tabs started meowing at the front door to be let outside, so, El Hub, being the trooper that he is, got up to let him out.

Ten minutes later we hear “Meeeoowwww! MEOW!!! MEEEEoooOOOOOoow!!” at the door. He’s screaming his little tabby brains out to be let back inside, so, El Hub goes and lets him back in.

This cycle of doom went on for a couple hours — cry to go out, then cry to come in — until Tabs finally decided in his little evil way that he’d tortured us enough and stopped. We would have just let him cry himself silly outside, but he’s got a set of Pavarotti pipes on him that would have kept the entire neighborhood awake.

But now, of course, Tabs knows that he can control us with his cries, so he feels empowered, and we’re basically at the mercy of our cute 10-pound cat.

My tired ass sure would appreciate any insights into feline psychology, LOL!

1. Chanel Holiday 2008!

“It looks like nothing can stop the gold fever train that roared through the makeup world earlier this year, and now it’s chugging all the way to the holidays! Remember Chanel’s Gold Fever Collection? Well, Holiday 2008 is here, and — you guessed it! — gold (with touches of red, bronze and beige) still plays a starring role.”

2. 10 Fantastic Smokey Eye Tutorials

“One of my favorite things about makeup is that there’s always room to step up your game. I love to imagine all the tips and tricks that I’ve yet to learn. I’m always looking to get better at doing smokey eyes. I’ve come across hundreds of smokey eye tutorials, and I think these 10 are some of the most helpful ones. I hope you find them useful…”

3. MAC Infatuating Rose: 6 Ways to Wear the 6 Cool Eyes Palette

“I momentarily set aside my issues with the huge bling-bling jewel on the top of the MAC Infatuating Rose: 6 Cool Eyes palette ($38, part of the Passions of Red collection) today. Sure, the packaging is cheesy enough to pair with crackers and wine, but I don’t care because the shadows inside this little cheese log more than make up for it.”

4. MAC Emanuel Ungaro Product Pictures, Swatches and First Impressions

“MAC’s highly anticipated collaboration with designer Emanuel Ungaro arrived on counters nationwide today, and it reminds me of stargazer lilies — like a dreamy watercolor painting, with pops of bright but sheer magenta accenting its palette of soft pastels.”

5. 11 Great Makeup Wipes and Cleansers

“A few days ago I reviewed L’Oreal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes with BHA. A few of you gals then offered up your fave makeup removing wipes and cleansers in the comments. Here’s a list featuring your recommendations and why you love ’em!”

6. Does L’Oreal Bare Naturale Mascara Thicken, Lengthen AND Separate Lashes?

“Have you seen that commercial for L’Oreal’s new Bare Naturale Mascara ($9) in which Penelope Cruz looks into the camera, bats her eyelashes and then BAM! — they morph into super lashes, all thick, lush and magnificent?”

7. Chanel Les Tissages Blushes: When Shimmer Meets Matte

“Slivers of silver and gold thread through these mixes of matte and shimmer. Inspired by classic Coco tweed, each of the four Les Tissages blushes (also referred to as the Chanel Tweed blushes) look like little works of art set in classic black Chanel compacts.”

8. Add Red to Your Lipstick Repertoire with these 10 Tips

“My secret to wearing reds like Lancome’s Absolute Rouge is to apply them using a MAC 316 Covered Lip Brush ($19). With the 316’s firm, pointed tip I can really get in where I need to get, precisely controlling my lines and delivering the right amount of pigment for my look — kinda like drawing with a sharpened pencil versus trying to draw with a stubby crayon.”

9. Bobbi Brown Holiday 2008 Limited Edition Palettes

“A few years ago, when I worked a 9-to-5 gig in downtown San Francisco, I’d bring my makeup and brushes with me to work and apply makeup in the bathroom on my breaks. I’ve always had issues packing light, even for work, so streamlined I was not. I’d walk around looking like I had a turkey stuffed in my bag. If I could turn back time, I’d totally give myself this palette along with a note that read, ‘Streamline, girl!’”

10. 5 More Smokin’ Smokey Eye Tips

“Ladies, when it comes to smoldering smokey eyes, the secret sauce is in the blending. Dark eye makeup looks best when it’s blended really well, and nothing can steal smokey eye thunder like a patchy makeup job that draws attention away from your eyes and onto your makeup. Lawd knows I’ve rushed through my share of smokey eyes. Regrettably, there are few eye makeup looks that can so easily go awry.”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen