News

Full List of US Sephora Stores to Carry Illamasqua Cosmetics this Fall

August 6th, 2009 by Karen 54 Comments

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Hola, my little isla bonitas. Ever since news broke on Twitter a few weeks ago of Sephora’s intention to carry Illamasqua cosmetics at select stores nationwide, I’ve been trying to confirm the list of *exact* stores.

Here’s the list!

Of note — a contact at Illamasqua informed me of a change to the news as it was originally reported. The line will now be carried in 25 (not 27) U.S. Sephora stores, with the rollout taking place from mid-September through mid-October.

California

Fashion Valley, San Diego
Hollywood and Highland, Hollywood
Manhattan Village, Manhattan Beach
Powell Street, San Francisco
Santa Monica, Santa Monica
South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa

District of Columbia

Georgetown, Washington D.C.

Florida

Boca Town Center, Boca Raton
Dadeland, Miami
Florida Mall, Orlando
South Beach, Miami

Georgia

Lenox Square, Atlanta

Hawaii

Ala Moana, Honolulu

[Continue reading…]

Subscribe to Makeup and Beauty Blog — Get MBB Delivered Hot and Fresh to Your Inbox!

July 28th, 2009 by Karen 6 Comments

Makeup, makeup everywhere!

Each morning at around 11 o’clock my time (Pacific Standard), an email with my latest posts goes out to Makeup and Beauty Blog subscribers.

If you aren’t already subscribed, the daily emails can be a nice way to unwind over your lunch break. I try to keep things interesting, alternating makeup and beauty news with giveaways, product reviews, photo posts, tutorials and tips. I’ll never share your address with anyone for anything. You’ll get just one email per day, delivered fresh and hot out the kitchen (not really, but you know what I mean). 🙂

Subscribe to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Email:

Thank you for visiting, and I hope we get to chat in the comments soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. If you’re completely swamped with email, you can also subscribe by RSS feed or follow me on twitter or facebook.

One Week with Twitter

July 18th, 2009 by Karen 24 Comments

Before I signed up last week, I thought Twitter was just another glorified chat program, another time-wasting instant messenger filled with people tweeting their bathroom breaks and eating habits.

Truth be told, there is some of that on Twitter (and I do it too)…

But there are also tweets like these (from a search for “eyeshadow tips”):

And these (from my unfiltered stream today)…

It’s easy to find and follow the conversations of people who share your hobbies and interests, just as it’s easy to unfollow people who don’t. Follow only as many people as you want to (as many as you can handle), or download a free program like Tweetdeck, which adds the ability to group conversations and filter tweets by topic.

I’m still new to Twitter and figuring out the ropes, but I think I can already tell why it grew 1,928% over the past year.

It’s fresh and relevant, attracting people of all interests and walks of life. News spreads virally on Twitter faster than anywhere else, even TV! Professionals use it to share details on their latest products and services, and businesses use it to keep consumers up to date. It’s also widely used to share discounts, coupons and to get feedback from people in a flash.

One week in, and I’m already hooked!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Follow me on Twitter at karenmbb.:)

Skynet Returns, Now Judging Beauty Pageants

July 18th, 2009 by Karen 6 Comments

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Imagine asking, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” and having the mirror actually answer. Someday soon it may — if the mirror contains computer chips programmed to run new software developed by Canadian university undergraduate student Joshua Chauvin.

Chauvin and fellow Canadian researches have found that a computer can be trained to rate human facial attractiveness the same way that people do.

To test their creation, the researchers asked a group of people to rate the attractiveness of other people in images, and then asked the computer to follow suit. Eighty-five percent of the time the computer’s ratings fell within one point of the human rating.

According to Chauvin…

“So what (the neural network is) doing is coming up with its own rating for those images based on some sort of understanding of what it thinks the population finds as attractive.”

source: CTV.ca

The technology isn’t ready to start replacing beauty pageant judges yet, but who knows? To his credit, Chauvin sees the potential for more practical uses for it, like one day using the software to corroborate a doctor’s diagnoses by identifying certain facial characteristics of some diseases.

Perhaps less altruistically, he also sees the software being used by marketing and advertising companies to assess how their target audience may respond to the models hired for different ad campaigns.

This young researcher’s name (Chauvin) sounded French to me, so I pulled up Yahoo! Babel Fish to check the translation.

What are the odds? 🙂

Gotta love the irony

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog on Twitter

July 12th, 2009 by Karen 22 Comments

Click here to follow me on Twitter…

What is Twitter? — As far as I can tell so far (and I’m VERY late to the party), Twitter is at least two different things, the first of which is the reason I refrained from using it for so long.

The beauty of Twitter

It’s an instant messaging/chat service similar to the old AOL chat rooms, AIM or MSN, except that it makes it easier to carry on conversations with large groups of people (from one to potentially millions of people in the same conversation!) and archives each individual message (aka a Tweet) on the web.
Twitter’s also a great way to find and instantly communicate with people and businesses with similar interests (in my case cats, photography, blogging, writing, randomness, makeup and beauty).

How do I know this?

Because of something that happened last week…

It was early on Thursday morning. I was at my computer, drinking coffee in my pajamas and catching up on beauty news online. I saw a blurb in my feed reader for a blog post titled, “Illamasqua Coming to Sephora!!!!”

Holy shizz! Fo’ reals? I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I Googled for info and called Illamasqua to confirm.

It was true, and guess where the news first broke — where did it first appear?

You guessed it: Twitter. 🙂

Even though I’m afraid I’ll get sucked in, that I’ll need a Twitter intervention by Christmas, who cares? All of the big cosmetics and beauty companies are tweeting out coupon codes, announcing new products, events and sales on Twitter; I can no longer resist.

If you have any Twitter tips or just want to scold me for taking so long to join, let me know in the comments (or via Twitter, ha! Love the irony). I pledge to make up for my lateness with frequent Twittaway beauty giveaways and breaking beauty news.

Quick and easy

I was also really surprised by how easy it was to make a Twitter account. It’s free and easier than ordering a book on Amazon. The toughest part was choosing a username.

My first choice (mbb) was already taken. I’d wanted something short because of how people send messages on Twitter, and “makeupandbeautyblog” isn’t exactly short, right?

So, on Twitter I’m karenmbb. Tweet ya later.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Do you use Facebook? On Facebook I’m at facebook.com/makeupandbeautyblog. I have my Twitter and Facebook accounts linked, so you can reach me at either one.

Illamasqua to Launch in 27 U.S. Sephora Stores September 2009

July 9th, 2009 by Karen 38 Comments

illamasqua-us-launch

Upstart British makeup brand Illamasqua will soon be crossing the pond.

I spoke with a contact at Illamasqua this morning and confirmed that in addition to the upcoming July 30th launch of their first counter at the new Sephora flagship store at 5 Times Square in New York, the line will also be available at 27 Sephora stores across the United States starting September 2009.

Rollout to be completed by Christmas 2009

The brand plans to launch at a select number of stores starting on September 15th, with plans to fully rollout counters to all 27 by Christmas.

Locations will include Sephora stores in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami, Seattle, Boston and San Francisco (Powell Street, WOOT!). I’m currently working on finding a full list of the stores and will update this post once I’ve tracked it down.

Select, best-selling items

Illamasqua plans to sell a limited range of 200 of their best-selling items. Included will be their entire range of nail varnishes, as well as select items for eyes, lips, cheeks, face and body. Prices will range from $18-30.

Online availability

If you don’t live near a Sephora — don’t fret. The brand will also soon be available at Sephora online. I’m still confirming the date of online availability but will let you know as soon as I know more.

Can I just say, YAY? What great news to wake up to on a Thursday morning!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

4 Takes on Smokey Eyes

June 30th, 2009 by Karen 27 Comments

Smokey eyes

I’ve always wanted a Burberry coat like the one Harry Potter alum Emma Watson has on here, but the coat wasn’t what first grabbed my attention about this new ad campaign. It was her smoldering, smokey eyes!

The one-minute smokey eye

The look, in its many incarnations, never really goes out of style, and one of my favorite things about smokey eyes is how little effort they can take.

Take, for example, this one-minute smokey eye by MAC Senior Makeup Artist James Malloy, which breaks down a little something like this:

Start with a jet black eye kohl pencil like MAC Technakohl Liner ($14.50). Really get the black in between the root of the lashes and build outward.
End with a blackened silver shadow over the top of the kohl pencil, adding a spot of a steely gray, gunmetal shadow pressed in the center of the lid to add a highlight.

Or how ’bout a shimmery midnight blue?

A brownish black with false lashes?

This look by makeup artist Nancy Spencer starts with a base on the eyelid and an eye primer like Urban Decay Primer Potion ($17) to help the eyeshadow stay put.

Or a sexy red carpet look?

Experiment with your smokey eyes, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Like MAC Pro Artist Neil Young says, “It’s not a tattoo; it [makeup] comes off.” 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Have you peeped the new Benefit Smokin’ Eyes Palette yet? With seven products for $36, I think it smacks of a pretty good deal.

Pretty in Pink: Make a Difference with OPI Bubble Bath

June 29th, 2009 by Karen 18 Comments

opi-bubble-bath-1

Two women I love — my mother-in-law and my good friend Mary Anne — are breast cancer survivors (click here for info on performing monthly breast self-exams), and I know that many of you have also been touched by cancer in one way or another.

With their Nail Lacquer in Bubble Bath ($7), OPI is trying to help women cope with changes in their appearance that can result from cancer treatment. Part of every sale goes toward Look Good…Feel Better, a national public service program with more than 50,000 participants each year.

Easy-to-wear color

opi-bubble-bath

Part of OPI’s Soft Shades Collection, Bubble Bath hides chips well, which is one reason I like it a lot. It applies as a non-streaky pale pink and dries quickly to a shiny finish.

Because it hides chips so well, I think it makes a great low-maintenance shade if you’re rough on your fingertips like I am (lots of typing).

Boosting self-esteem

Through the Look Good…Feel Better program women are able to take free workshops on makeup application, dealing with hair loss and taking care of nails both during and after cancer treatment.

Where to buy

Over 10,000 salons and beauty retailers nationwide will be selling OPI Bubble Bath this July and August, so look for displays featuring OPI Bubble Bath and information about Look Good…Feel Better. 🙂

Every bottle helps

OPI will donate a portion of proceeds from the sale of every bottle of Bubble Bath Nail Lacquer, with a minimum contribution of $25,000.

I like the idea of something as seemingly insignificant as a little bottle of nail polish making a positive difference in someone else’s life.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. The fabulous Christina over at Dishiness has chosen to donate her hair in honor of Farrah Fawcett. The decision is between two worthy groups, Locks of Love or Pantene Beautiful Lengths, that make wigs for cancer patients. If you’ve ever donated your hair before or know of someone who has, please let Christina know.