Product Reviews

MAC Cosmetics Dame Edna Collection Swatches and First Impressions

December 10th, 2008 by Karen 57 Comments

I watched Dame Edna work the runway and fire up the crowd for a charity auction at Macy’s Passport earlier this year… Yup, if you’d told me then that she’d be coming out with her own MAC collection, I would have thought you were kidding, but here we are, LOL!

Here’s a sneak peak and a few swatches from the upcoming collection, which is due on counters December 26.

Like Le Grande Dame herself, the collection is a little odd. It’s heavy on blue-based shades and frosty finishes with splashes of coral. I haven’t figured out how it’s all supposed to mesh together, but I think I’ll have a better idea once MAC posts the face charts online.

What do you think of the colors?

Royal Tour Eye Shadow Trio

1. Royal Tour: Shimmery cool purple
2. Dame’s Desire: Frosty pale purple
3. Climate Blue: Shimmery purple-blue

Wisteria Eye Shadow Trio

4. Wisteria: Frosty pale Tiffany blue
5. Fireshine: Frosty silver
6. Divine Night: Frosty charcoal

Powders

7. Spectacle!: Matte pale pink
8. What a Dame!: Matte pale peach

Lipsticks

9. Kanga Rouge: Creamy blue-red
10. Gladiola: Matte blue-pink
11. Coral Polyp: Creamy bright orange-coral

Lipglasses

12. Hot Frost: Shimmery blue-pink
13. Possum Nose: Bright red-coral
14. Splendid: Pale pink-coral

First Impressions

The Eye Shadow Trios
Wisteria’s frosty finishes have fab bold club looks written all over ’em. I might pass, though, because these are shades I wouldn’t have many opportunities to wear.
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Benefit the Overnighter: Covering Your Bum Since 2008!

December 10th, 2008 by Karen 19 Comments

Being married, I’m gonna wager a guess that I wasn’t in Benefit’s target market for the Overnighter Set ($38).

Designed for life’s “unexpected sleepovers,” (I think the technical term is booty call, haaay) it comes with four pieces of mini-makeup and a cute pair o’ drawers.

Even the happily betrothed/attached can still appreciate a cute pair o’ drawers.

Speaking of drawers, these are frilly black and magenta and made by Hanky Panky. If you’ve never heard of Hanky Panky before … you need to remedy that ASAP, girl. I think they make the most comfortable bum floss EVER! They’re one of those gifts that keeps on giving.

This set is all about flirty wordplay. Take the Justine Case (“just in case,” get it?), for example, designed to keep all your booty call booty safe and sound, LOL! — perfect for the single and ready to mingle. 🙂

But what about the makeup?
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Benefit Cosmetics 24K Sexy Gold Set: Blingin’ It Down for the Holidays

December 8th, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

I can appreciate the over-the-top-ness of gold grills and pimp cups as much as the next girl, but I don’t always want my gold makeup all blinged out, ya know?

That’s where the new 24K Sexy Gold Set ($32) by Benefit Cosmetics comes in. It delivers frosty golden sparkle without going over the top.

The three-piece limited edition set comes with a lipstick, loose gold powder and a cute mini-purse…

24K Sexy Gold Lipstick: A moisturizing, frosty golden lipstick in hawt metallic packaging, this baby washes lips in warm bronzy-gold. I like to wear it with a layer of MAC Clear Lipglass on top, but I think it’d look wonderful with warm pink or red lipstick shades, too. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

24K Nugget Shimmering Loose Powder for Eyes and Face: This shimmery pale lemon-gold is quieter than I expected. It almost looks like a neutral beige with tiny flecks of blue and green glitter on my lids. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

Gold clutch pouch with 24K logo: I’m going to fill this soft, small zippered pouch with lipstick and gloss to take some of the pressure off my heavy duty purse, aka the over-the-shoulder turkey holder. My only wish is that it had its own wristlet… Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

From left to right: 24K Sexy Gold Lipstick, 24, Nugget Shimmering Loose Powder for Eyes and Face

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Smashbox Rapture Travel Brush Collection: Great Case, Good Brushes

December 6th, 2008 by Karen 15 Comments

I got all lusty lady today when I opened the Smashbox Rapture Travel Brush Collection ($49), with the world in slow motion, the air searing hot, and the beating of my heart pounding in my ears.

Gingerly, I unbowed the ribbon on the pink quilted purse (sooo Chanel-esque, LOVE!), teasing the soft fabric with my fingers…

Smashbox’s Travel Brush Kit is one of several gift sets now available as part of the Smashbox Rapture Holiday Collection and comes with five short-handled travel brushes for face and eyes.

Soft Brush Heads

I don’t always like holiday brush sets because I think a lot of them come with brushes of poorer construction (scratchy and/or flimsy) than usual for a line. Most of the time, their allure has to do with the fact that, bundled with gift sets, they’re a heck of a lot cheaper than $20-30 brushes from the big guns like MAC.

But the Rapture Travel Brush set is better than most. I wouldn’t use these brushes every day for months (they’re not quite as soft as my full-size Sonia Kashuk and MAC brushes), but they’re definitely a step up from the MAC travel brush sets I’ve used in the past. Throw in the gorgeous pink carrying case, and you’re looking at a pretty good deal.

Travel Face Brush:

This medium-sized brush head is flexible enough to be used as a face or a blush brush, but out of the five brushes in the set, this one feels the coarsest to me.

Travel Contour Brush and Liner Brush:

With heads on both ends, it’s like you’re getting a sixth brush in the set. One end is for liner, and it’s amazing! It feels incredibly soft on my lash line and creates very smooth, silky lines. The other end — the angled contour brush — has stumped me. I haven’t figured out how to use it yet, LOL! Any suggestions?

Travel Angled Blending Brush:

This brush easily blends away harsh lines and feels cozy and soft against my skin.

Travel Shadow Brush:

Fluffier than most shadow brushes I’ve used before, this brush can also apply color to the crease and the outer V. It applies dry shadow flawlessly, but I’m won’t use it with creams and wet products. When I did it applied kinda blotchy.

Travel Smudger Brush:

This brush’s blunt shape makes smudging eyeliner a breeze, but I wish the bristles were softer (boo).

Smashbox Rapture Travel Brush Collection

Price: $49
Use: A sexy carrying case and five above average brushes make this a nice gift
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

Made for Travel

The lightweight brushes fit well in their pink quilted bag, yet aren’t so snug that they’re apt to get squished or deformed while they’re in storage.

A Few Things to Consider

As good as they are, these brushes don’t include equivalents to the MAC 266 or 217, and those go with me everywhere, so I’d want to bring along a couple extra brushes to supplement the set.
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Wash the Blues Away with Origins Gloomaway

December 5th, 2008 by Karen 10 Comments

Earlier this week I was feeling blue and tried a bunch of different things to pull myself out of my funk.

Like…

I tried exercising more often than usual (endorphins, heed my call!) and even dug out my old aromatherapy candles, LOL!

They definitely helped, but what really cheered me up were these scented Gloomaway body products from the Blue Skies Ahead holiday gift set by Origins ($29.50).

Like the other products in the Gloomaway line, they smell like yummy grapefruit, and the company claims the scent creates a sense of “optimism and contentment.”

Sign me up. 🙂

I think the products smell more like a combination of grapefruit and sweet orange rinds than straight grapefruit alone, but more importantly the scent isn’t artificial or sugary at all. Oh, and it’s subtle — not overly citrus-y like Pledge cleaner, yuck!

The Blue Skies Ahead set comes with a nice selection of products, making it a good way to try out a few different products from the popular line…

Body-Buffing Cleanser. Gently scrubbing with this in the shower softens rough skin patches but doesn’t rub my skin raw. It lathers up into a rich foam and, like the other products in the line, smells divine. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A
Body Wash and Bubble Bath. This gel creates so many big, frothy bubbles… It’s like a bipedal bubble bath!Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+
Body Souffle. The souffle provides medium-weight daytime moisturization for parched skin. I’ve liked using it on my hands and arms throughout the day because it absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave an oily film. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

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The Sedu Revolution Styling Iron Giveaway!

December 5th, 2008 by Karen 192 Comments

UPDATE: The contest is closed. Congrats to Indian Girl, who won the Sedu Revolution Styling Iron!

Girl, my hair has been working my last nerve! It’s getting long, feeling heavy and always up in my mix, gahhh! I’ve been thinking about getting a haircut but haven’t been able to choose a new style.

But you know how it is when you know you want a change but can’t make a decision. Sometimes, after enough time spent waffling, you just snap! I don’t want that to happen, so in an effort to prevent my own personal bald Britney moment (seriously, I’m two seconds away from chopping it all off!) I’ve been flat ironing with the new Sedu Revolution Professional Nano Tourmaline Ionic Styler ($139), a one-inch plate flat iron that even does curls and waves.

Who’s that girl? Is that Marcia Brady, LOL!

The Revolution works fast, heating up to 450 degrees F in about a minute. Yes, that’s seriously *HOT*, but Sedu says the Revolution causes less heat damage than most flat irons thanks to so-called infrared ceramic heating elements in the plates. Set at 390 degrees, the recommended temperature for normal hair, I’ve gotten good results and haven’t seen any signs of damage to my hair, but as with all heating flat irons, please be careful.

At that temp it takes me two slow passes with the iron to straighten one batch of hair — not only straighten, but also shine. I can’t believe how shiny this thing makes my hair, KABAM!

Because the Revolution’s plates are curved, you can also use it to curl and make waves. Since my hair’s naturally wavy, I probably won’t use it to curl very often, but you never know. And the company was good enough to bundle the iron with a Styling Guide DVD, showing how to use it for different looks. 🙂

Something else I like about the Revolution… It’s travel friendly. It weighs less than it looks like it should and even comes with a heat-resistant storage pouch perfect for carry-on bags!

The Sedu Revolution Professional Nano Tourmaline Ionic Styler

Price: $139
Use: A flat iron to straighten hair; doubles for curls and waves
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

The Sedu Revolution Styling Iron Giveaway!

Straighten up this winter with the $139 Sedu Revolution. Enter by signing up to receive my updates by email or by leaving a comment on this post (or both!). If you’re already signed up for the updates, you don’t have to do anything else to be entered to win — you’re already entered — but you can double your odds by also leaving a comment on this post (a comment about anything at all).

The Prize

The winner receives the…

Sedu Revolution Nano Tourmaline 1″ Styling Iron
Sedu Styling Guide DVD
Heat Proof Appliance Storage Pouch
Owner’s Manual

How to Enter

There are two ways to enter the giveaway, and you can do both of them to double your chances to win.

If you haven’t already signed up to receive Makeup and Beauty Blog daily email updates, then enter your email in the pink box below (or click this link).
If you have already subscribed to the email updates but want to double your chances of winning, add a brief comment at the bottom of this post (be sure to use a valid email address).

I’ll choose the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11 PM PST on Sunday, December 7. GOOD LUCK!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Benefit Coralista Blush Has Got Me Purring

December 4th, 2008 by Karen 39 Comments

MEOW! I’m a packaging ho, and Benefit Coralista ($28) blush’s jungly, cheetah print box (don’t you just love the font?) sucked me in immediately. It makes me feel like a cat woman on the prowl!

Arriving at Benefit counters in February, this shimmery coral powder has cult beauty fave written all over it.

Coralista’s soft, shimmery coral-pink looks neutral on my cheeks, and that’s weird because most coral blushes usually look warmer on my skin tone. I’m thinking it has something to do with the cooler pink tones, like they mellow out the warmer corals. Both warm and cool beauties ought to be able to work this blush with equal flava. 🙂
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JK Jemma Kidd Plumping Gloss: Angelina, Where’s the Blue?

December 1st, 2008 by Karen 11 Comments

Years ago I read that wearing blue lipgloss could make your teeth look whiter, and ever since then I’ve been on the lookout for shades of blue…

…like Angelina, a shimmery blue from the JK Jemma Kidd Plumping Gloss line ($17).

First, the good news: Angelina doesn’t sting! Unlike so many of the other lip plumping formulas I’ve tried, Angelina doesn’t hurt. Some lip plumpers chemically burn the lips, causing them to swell, or “plump,” but that’s not the kind of plumping action I’m looking for, thank you very much.

I also like the lemony taste and fragrance and that the formula doesn’t feel too sticky or thick, despite the inclusion of subtle blue glitter in the mix.

Now, the not-so-good news: this isn’t much of a lip plumper. The formula didn’t make my lips look any fuller than usual (as far as I could tell), and the blue tint is barely noticeable (shoot!). Oh, and the teeth? No difference in whiteness. My fangs looked their normal shade (I drink coffee every day, yo).
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