The case of the missing MAC Concrete!
Oh, where, oh, where could my pan of MAC Concrete be?
Oh, where, oh, where could she be?!?
I gotta go to the MAC store later today (twist my arm, why dontcha!) because — yup, you guessed it — I lost my pan of MAC Concrete eyeshadow. 🙁 And, yes, I’m stressed out. Concrete and I have a long standing relationship — almost 10 years, can you believe it?
A little back story: Concrete’s a dark, cool-toned matte brown eyeshadow (with gray undertones) from MAC’s permanent line, and it’s fantastic for filling in brows, particularly if you have dark hair (babes with lighter hair, you might want to check out MAC Omega eyeshadow instead).
I have what I like to affectionately call “ghost brows.” At the sides closest to my nose, they’re full, but they thin out as they move toward my ears. I fill the sparse areas using Concrete and MAC’s small-angle brush, the 266. It’s easy, I can do it super fast, and the results last all day long.
Brows frame the face, and well-kept brows can really make the rest of your makeup POP! — like a pretty frame makes a painting or a poster POP!
I feel that as long as my brows are filled in, I can get away with skipping the rest of my makeup if I have to. Duuuuuude, a polished set o’ brows makes a huge diff in your overall makeup look.
Without Concrete, a dark eyeshadow or a brow powder, you can improvise MacGyver-style with an eyeliner. I like Yves Saint Lauren Eye Pencil liner in Leather Brown. I fill in the sparse parts using short upward strokes, and then mellow out the color (because pencils can look harsh) by brushing through the whole brow with a lash comb.
Before I head to the MAC counter, though, we gotta catch up! I feel like I haven’t had the chance to talk to you in forever. What’ve you been up to? What’s new? And, most importantly (LOL!), what do you use to fill in your brows? Share your secrets in the open thread.
If you’re new to the open thread, here it is in a nutshell:
It’s a chat fest that takes place in the comments at the bottom of this post. Feel free to talk about anything — makeup, pets, music movies, you name it!
Except for an errand or two, I’ll be around all day long, so stop by if/when you can. See you inside!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I really love Sundays. They are lazy and I get to catch up on all my reading, blogging, and TV watching! Plus I get to sleep in!
I slept in too — got a miraculous 11 hours! It was GLORIOUS!
Watcha reading these days?
I went to a discount book store by my house and picked up a book called The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley. It’s a memoir. It was written in 2002 so the info is not up to date, it’s okay so far. I slept for 9 hours. It felt good!!! I’m feeling like a catnap is in the near future.
I’m with you on the catnap (apparently 11 hours isn’t enough).
I still have yet to pick up a new read, believe it or not!
speaking of reads – finished mockingjay last night … and my rxn to the ending was “awwwwwwwwwwww” …
😀
we also went to half price books and i picked up some light chicklit reading. 🙂
I was relieved and emotionally spent at the end.
You tore through those books FAST!
bec i wanted to find out who katniss would end up with … <3333
the book i got is called menonnite in a little black dress. just somethign fluffy to rest my tired brain (after dresden files, the hunger games trilogy and the dragon tattoo books, i need it!) …
Oh no, I can’t abide it when everyda-needed things go missing! I should really start filling in my brows again (SUCH a difference when I do) they are so tempermental! It helps me to to think “They are sisters, not twins!” as usually, one decides it wants to miss behave!
Do you think you will be able to go to mac and only come back with just a pot of concrete? I always go to counters and come back with something I wasn’t even looking for! Its the kiddie in a sweet shop syndrome!
Hope your having a fantabulous Sunday!
Ha ha, we’ll see. I did some hauling last week (pics coming soon) so that will hopefully help keep me in check. 🙂
How are things on your end? Isn’t the trip to meet the BF/his parents coming up soon?
All good thanks, Mr Marshall (Mr version of mr tabs!) has been behaving himself, I am meeting him on the 22nd! So nervous! Actually ordering myself some blot powder thanks to all lovely oilyness and am taking your word on it! ~ I’m not sure why I ever switched tbh!
i went to MAC after lunch saying I was just going to back2MAC and get Blot Powder. i walked out with other things as well … 😀
What else did you get?
And yay, Blot!
2 of the Venomous Villains eyeshadows – De-Vil and Vainglorious and the French Quarter GreasePaint stick. I am weak. 😀
Yay for Blot – I <3 it already!
Oh, French Quarter is really pretty. I love the flecks…
So glad to hear you like Blot! Did you know they make a loose version? I haven’t tried it, but I’ve heard it’s great.
i tend to stay away from loose powders bec i get the sneezies when i use them. 😀
french quarter is pretty – i wasnt even gonna buy it but curious me asked the MUA what was on his eyes – it was french quarter and the green part of she who dares – and i fell in love. he says anything over french quarter takes on a totally different appearance – sold!
I’ll have to try French Quarter with green eyeshadow now! Thanks for the idea. 🙂
we have esquire (the MUA) to thank for that! I used it today with purple eyeshadow (top hat) and its purdy! 🙂
I fill in my brows using MAC’s Brun. I feel naked if I don’t have them filled in, almost like my face is incomplete. I have come to realize that they don’t need to match perfectly either ( which saves me a lot of anguish in the mornings now, lol).
Ahh, love Brun! Have you ever tried it layered smudged on top of a black pencil liner, like Smolder? It’s a fast, easy way to get a smoky eye.
I’ll have to check out your suggestion for MAC Omega. I’ve tried approximately 285979878923 things to fill in my brows (okay, slight hyperbole) because mine are a tiny bit uneven. It drives me crazy! I feel like so many things disappear from your face pretty quickly or look really unnatural. Right now, I’m using Paula’s Choice Brow Pen in the lighter color since I have light auburnish hair (it’s hard to describe, haha) and it works pretty well, but I’d be up to trying something else!
I totally know what you mean. Sometimes brow products — especially waxes and pencils — can look really harsh. One thing that I think helps is to run a brow brush through my brows afterward… it helps to disperse the color and mellow it out a bit so they don’t look so obviously “done.”
Other things you might want to try:
1) MAC Eye Brows Pencil: I’ve heard this looks really natural, and it doubles as liner in a pinch.
2) MAC Brow Set: This product is kinda like gel for the brows. It adds a light tint and holds the hairs in place without any crunchiness.
How’s your week been otherwise? Anything new to report?
Hey girls!
Hope you had a great weekend! I’ve been studying all day.. I have an exam tomorrow as well as a literature review loll..fun fun.
I actually don’t fill my eyebrows in with anything. I’m pretty bad at shaping my own eyebrows.. I wanted to buy the Anastasia brow kit but here in Canada it costs 95$ while in the US it’s 75$ !! Not worth it..
I went to my MAC counter and bought Bad Fairy nail polish. I haven’t tried it on yet, because my nails are already painted but I probably will next week. I also bought the Covergirl Lashblast mascara for only 5.50$, because they had it 30% off and I had a 1$ coupon too hehe.. that’s it for my makeup haul!
Would be great if everyone else posted their makeup hauls of this week here too!
$95 bucks for a brow kit!?!? That’s pure craziness.
Anastasia has a more affordable brow set at USD 38. Thats what I got – its got 2 shades of brow powder, a wax and cream highlighter as well as stencils and a brush!
http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P109200&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5746
🙂
Hi Yiota,
Good luck on your test tomorrow. What’s it on?
As for brows… yikes that’s an expensive kit!
You know what I like to do when there’s a technique I can’t quite figure out? Ask for tips from the gals at the MAC counter. Next time you’re there browsing, maybe pull one of ’em aside and ask for some pointers on filling in your brows. Or if you live near a Benefit counter ask them if they have a Brow Bar. I’ve heard they’re fantastic, too!
Houston does have a Brow Bar!!! Its at the Nordstroms at the Galleria (not my fave mall but … for brows, why not!) …
Apparently they can do EVERYTHING for you and make it totally fool proof — waxing, tinting, the whole nine yards!
dang …. i MUST try that. i think ill do that with my sister for her upcoming birthday! 🙂 she will enjoy that! 🙂
My exam is on Research Methods.. loll boring.
I need to get a good shape for my eyebrows before filling them in.. a Benefit brow bar sounds great but I’m not sure there’s any near me. I think there’s one about 35mins away..
I also need some brow gel.. I’m starting to realise that i’m missing alot of things from my makeup collection! haha. I mean, i don’t even use foundation!! :O
went thru the same test during college. 😀
Funny you mention going to the MAC store- I am getting married on the 29th and as part of my present, my sister is taking me to get all new MAC makeup for the wedding! EEEKKK!!! So I get to play with all the new stuff, I cannot WAIT. Let’s hope my face and studio fix mesh well, especially for the photos
Love you Karen!!
Michelle!! CONGRATS on your upcoming wedding!
Spill the deets — where are you getting married? How did he propose? I’d love to see the dress, too! 🙂
yay for weddings enjoy your wedding and your new MAC! 🙂
Lucky you! For my wedding, my friend who’s a makeup artist showed me some techniques and then sent me off to play at the MAC counter at the airport to my heart’s content.
Her main tip for the photos was to make sure that the makeup is matte and to buy blot powder and reapply it during the day.She used the puff that comes with it in a sort of rolling motion across the face – sorry, that’s not a great description. She held the edge of the puff against my face and rolled it onto the area the puff covered and then moved to the next area.
I hope that helps you on your wedding day and for your pics.
Good luck and congrats!
Have your ever heard of Neuvobrow? Its from the people who make Neulash ( Latisses compedatior) I love it. I also have ghost brows but it was only one side and then they stopped just beyond the arch. The neuvobrow workes great. In 6 weeks they were growing back. I still have to fill in a little (MAC lingering is my god send) but not as much as before
I haven’t! I get a little freaked out when it comes to putting stuff that grows hair on my face… it’s hairy enough in certain patches as it is, LOL!
Now if only I could just get those chin hairs to migrate up to my eyebrows then I’d be set.
Is your laundry almost done?
So funny that this thread is about brow fillers, Karen. I was just thinking along those lines, sort of.
With all the questions about what people haven’t finished, in particular products, I was wondering what is the item of makeup that people have owned the longest and still use?
Mine is a brow palette from back when the Body Shop makeup was Colourings (Green package with gold writing). I got it when I worked there so about 10 years ago and it’s still going strong. I’m the same and I’ll use that and mascara and nothing else if I can’t be bothered. So, what’s the item of makeup that you’ve owned the longest and still use?
How did the trip to MAC work out?
Hi Emma,
This is a good question! I try a lot of different products because I’m always curious about new things, but there are certain items I always go back to, like MAC Concrete. 🙂
And oh, how I loved the Body Shop from 10 years ago. Remember the old texture of the Body Butters? I loved how they were so dense.
Still haven’t left the house to go to the MAC counter, but I will in a few…
I know, the Body Shop went downhill totally when L’Oreal purchased it. I was still there when they changed the makeup line (pre-L’Oreal) and they got rid of so many great products 🙁 Some of the new ones were good but it was never the same so I stopped using it when I left the job.
And yes, the body butters were fab until the formulas changed. You wouldn’t believe the number of people who’d come in complaining when something was discontinued and then be annoyed when they were told it was discontinued due to lack of demand. The moral of that story is if you like a product keep on buying it because you might be the person keeping the product from discontinuation.
Sundays are always so busy for me – I go to the supermarket and deal with the second round of weekend laundry (1st is on Sat).
Hubby is watching Colts v Jax – why do all the players have pink shoes? I already think that they’re pussies for playing in armour (I’m from NZ where real men play rugby) but now I think that they’re all gay too!
they have pink shoes for breast cancer awareness month! 🙂
were watching the texans play the raiders at the moment. 😉
I worked at the Body Shop too! I agree – their stuff isn’t as good as it was pre-L’Oreal :(. I also miss the snow-scented products they used to carry during the holidays.
We didn’t have snow scent. That sounds nice. We got the usual cranberry and spiced apple. The thing that bugs me the most is that not only have formulas obviously changed but the prices went up by at least 25%. I remember buying a shower gel for NZ$5 and then when I was in the UK the last couple of years they were charging £15!
The last time I remember the Body Shop carrying Snow was probably 9 years ago. It was a very fresh, cool scent – it had a vanilla undertone, but less sweet.
It is so frustrating when they change the formulas and then charge more, but I don’t think the prices went up as dramatically for us here in the US. That is quite a price jump!
Every time I fell in love with something at the Body Shop they’d discontinue it. I used to live in Saudi Arabia when I was a teenager and the Body Shop was one of the few western stores available to shop at for beauty products. I LOVED their banana shampoo & conditioner and also made my own lotions using their unscented lotion & adding fragrance oils.
OMG!! I just checked their website and they brought back banana shampoo & conditioner!! Also the Ice Blue shampoo, which feels so good & smells fantastic!!
They were having a sale this weekend (I don’t know if it is still going on). If you paid $3 for a bag, you would get 50% off of some products.
Always loved it when they had sales. Actually, I love it whenever anywhere has sales lol! Good news about the banana and Ice blue being back. I liked the leave-in-conditioner. I wonder if that’s back? I’ll check.
I would DIE if I didn’t fill in my brows XD I use DHC Eyebrow Perfect Powder to fill in the inner ends, and it is AWESOME! The product is so easy to use, very quick & convenient 🙂 The powder is in the cap, and the “tip” instead of a pencil, is a little sponge tip. You just twist it in the cap and go! I love it because you can’t go “wrong” with it — The color is buildable but looks very natural, never harsh! 🙂
Happy Sunday!
Ooh, thanks for the product rec, Erynn!
How’s your weekend going otherwise?
No prob ^_^
It’s been a slow weekend for me, catching up on sleep 🙂 Hope your weekend was good! 😀
A little sad because a friend from Canada asked me to pick up Bad Fairy nail polish for her because it was all sold out there, but when I went to check here, all the polishes were sold out, and everything else was in stock! :[ Strange, because I live in a small town in Hawaii where we only have one tiny MAC counter, and even the popular stuff rarely sells out quickly >_<. But I ended up grabbing Strange Potion lipglass for myself 🙂
How freakin cool that you got to go to Milan! Hopefully, you aren’t getting hammered with jet lag.
I had a lovely 30 minute reflexology foot massage today. Am totally floating. Going to have check on the deals for Spa Week next week and get some more.
When I was in NY last week I picked up the Lipstick Queen Jean Queen lipstick and gloss. Such a great MLBB rosy everyday look. They were my consolation for Chanel being sold out of Stunt. Should never have swatched the tester — I swear it is my perfect mauve. The Lipstick Queen stuff is very moisturizing which is great now that the weather is finally turning fallish.
I still haven’t fully recovered from the jet lag, although I did manage to get in 11 hours of shut eye last night. I think my body needed it!
Sooo. You’re gonna have to spill the deets on the reflexology foot massage. Was it ticklish? Did they make you lay down, or sit up? I’ve been wanting to try one, but I figure if I’m gonna spend the time/money, I might as well get my back tenderized/pummeled because that’s where I hold all my tension.
Bummer you couldn’t get Stunt! 🙁 If you’re desperate for it maybe call the Chanel SoHo store to see if they have any around still? Maybe they can ship it to you.
I was at the SoHo store and no dice. They said that there has been such a run on that and the blush that Chanel may do another run. I left them my number and told them to call me if that happens.
I walk hard and have uber flat feet so foot massages are fab. I don’t really buy that pushing on the base of toe helps my liver, I just like the way it feels. She started with peppermint aromatherapy and put my feet in heated booties to warm up and relax the muscles. The tingly peppermint really adds to the whole experience. Then it was a great masage with some added pressure at specifc ponts. I’ll probably go get the boulders in my shoulders pummeled next week with one of the Spa Week deals. I’m with you — I carry the weight of the world in my shoulders.
Ahh, bummer. Well, if they do end up calling you please let me know so I can give it a mention. I know other gals have been dying to get their hands on it, too!
Okay, I think I’m gonna have to try a foot massage. It sounds lovely! I just hope I can get through the experience without cracking up (my feet are really ticklish).
Aren’t back/shoulder massages the best? I always go for deep tissue because those are the only kind that seem to work all the knots out. I always tell the spa tech to tenderize me like a side of beef, LOL!
I have a problem with pedicures because the light pressure of the pumice tickles me. This is firm pressure — no tickling involved.
I tell them to forget about fingers when you work on my shoulders — you gotta use elbows!
I’ll definitely let you know if they call me about Stunt.
One of my eyebrows is really messed up with a huge scar from falling on my face in a parking lot when I was 14. It was stitched up by a plastic surgeon, but the stitching made some of the hairs point in weird directions, so that brow needs some extra help. I use a pencil first for the worst spots and then I go back with Coquette. It’s a really excellent shade for medium-dark brunettes.
I got a sample of Lady Million with my Sephora order. I had to laugh when I sprayed it, because I think it smells exactly like the drugstore fragrance I loved in high school. I have a sample of the men’s version, too, but haven’t smelled it yet.
i have a scar in my left brow, towards the outer end, so my left brow is short.
i got it when i fell down the stairs when i was 3 or 4. our stairs had a ledge and i was trying to grab my flintstones vitamins when i shouldnt. i fell down a flight of stairs and broke the bottle in the process. ended up w/ glass bits in my brow.
Can’t blame you, those Flintstones vitamins were tasty!
so true! 😀
I loved those vitamins! Still do, LOL!
i take the gummie ones now. 😀 sign of maturity, perhaps? 😀
That’s so random that it smells like your HS scent!
Speaking of HS fragrances, I rocked Cover Girl Navy back in the day. Exclamation and Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth were also faves, too.
i <3d exclamation: i always thought the packaging was so mod!
Remember Tribe? I liked that and Poison in middle school!
i used to sneak spritzes from my sister’s poison!
Hi Karen,
i’m sorry to hear about your missing eyeshadow. I was poking around allcosmeticswholesale.com and they’ve got concrete for 10.99! Its a great steal if you don’t mind the wait for it to be shipped.
My sunday’s kinda draggin along, i’m waiting for my boyfriend to wakeup(!) so we can get our homework done. in the meantime, i just made a fantastic udon noodle lunch from scratch. how’s everything else for you?
Hi Kaelin,
Oh, thanks for the heads up! 😀
Did ya get all your homework done? I hope so!
Things on this end have been good. After I popped by the mall I had Vietnamese food… I was in the mood for spring rolls and soup, nom nom!
Still working on homework, but taking a mild break due to writers block. It seems like sophomore yeah is when the school system decides to throw a billion writing assignments at you.
If anyone is looking for good brow shape, I would really recommend looking for someone who threads eyebrows in your area. There are now tons of beauty salons cropping up all over the place where they thread – it’s a technique that more people are getting familiar with & it’s sooo much more precise than waxing & you don’t run the risk of over-plucking (two things I’m also intimately familiar with – eek!) haha
Anyway, right now, I’m using an EL automatic brow pencil in #5 soft brown – it’s really great but so expensive…still kicking myself for that purchase every time I look at my well put-together brows… anyone else know that feeling?
Does anyone know of a MAC alternative to Spiked? It’s hard & it deposits sooo much color that I end up looking like a crazy person…I’m looking for something that’s more waxy & less color-dense…I guess that’s the best way I can put it…
Love your blog, Karen!
Hi Anjali,
Thanks for the 411 on threading. I’ve never tried it before (I’m kind of a control freak when it comes to my brows). Does it hurt?
As for an alternative to Spiked, have you ever played with Benefit Brow Zings? It comes with both a wax and a setting powder… the wax is pigmented, but not so pigmented that it looks scary:
Benefit Brow Zings
Gah, I hate it when makeup goes missing!
Today I stopped by MAC to check out the Disney collection, which I’ve been waiting impatiently for. I splurged (it’s the first time I’ve bought makeup in almost a year) and got several new treats! 🙂 Now I’m at home making vegetable soup. Mmmm!
Hi Brandy,
You’ve gotta dish on your haul! What did you end up getting?
Veggie soup sounds delish, btw.
Let’s see, I got:
– Truth & Light, magically cool liquid powder
– Sweetjoy eyeshadow
– Oh So Fair beauty powder
– She Who Dares mineralize eyeshadow
– Dark Deed lipstick (to use as a stain, wow is it dark!)
– and Smolder eye khol because mine was almost down to nothing
Basically, I picked one thing from each of the villains. There is nothing quite like the joy of a lot of new makeup all at once!
What a fantastic haul! Doesn’t the powder feel really neat when you put it on?
And yeah… Dark Deed is *really* dark.
Sorry, this didn’t work the first time…
Hey- what do you guys think of E.L.F. cosmetics? I just ordered a bunch online, and I’m especially excited about the eyeliner pens and mineral eyeshadows. What’s your favorite E.L.F. product? Also, I just got a smokey eye quad. What shades do you use where on your eye? Thanks a lot!
Hi Lisa,
I’m not really familiar with E.L.F. Can anybody else weigh in on this?
I have the same long=standing relationship with Omega eyeshadow. It’s the perfect colour to fill in my brows.
I haven’t left my house ALL weekend and have lived in my jammies. 🙂 Not sure how I’m going to be able to get dressed for work tomorrow lol!
YES! Do you use the 266 to apply it, too?
But of course!! 🙂
I would freak out if I ever lost my 266, seriously!
Hi ladies! I hope all of you are having a good weekend!
I’ve spent the weekend running errands and in meetings. However, I went to MAC on Friday to buy some Blot Powder (it is awesome!). I also purchased a brush for my cream shadows, and it amazes me what a big difference the right brush can make.
Which brush did you get? I love cream shadows but I hate dipping my finger in the pot all the time.
I got the MAC 242 Shader Brush: http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/145/287/242-Shader-Brush/index.tmpl
I used to use my finger or a really puny brush I got in a makeup kit to apply my cream shadows, and I always had a problem with precisely putting on my cream shadows. This MAC brush is perfect for the job. It offers great control and lets me place my shadow exactly where I want it.
that brush is on my list! i should have picked it up today when i got blot powder but i got sidetracked! 😀
Hi Terri,
YAY! I’m happy to hear you like Blot! Which shade did you pick up?
As for brushes… it’s so true that the right brush makes a huge diff. 🙂 Do you have the 217 in your stash? It’s great for both powder and cream shadows.
I have a love/hate relationship with brow fillers – whether it’s powder or pencil. Due to overplucking by yours truly during my teenage years my browns are on the thin side. I like to fill them in a bit to give them more oomph but often I feel that they overpower my face. I like having them tinted at my local BeneFit brow bar and the darker shade makes me feel like I don’t need to fill in, but then sometimes my face just feels unfinished if I don’t. Ah, the drama…
My hubby just got back from a trip to NYC and guess what he did for me – went to the SoHo Chanel boutique and picked up Stunt, Strong, & SoHo de Chanel!!! They were out of the quad, which was what I really wanted, but he was kind enough to pick up my 2nd choices. Yaaaay!!
That’s so sweet if your hubby! I’m so glad you were able to get some SoHo goodies, especially Stunt. Have you had a chance to play with your haul yet? What do you think?
I’ve only tried Stunt so far and it’s a tiny bit out of my comfort range as far as lippies go. I found that I can remedy that by using a gloss over the top to tone down the purpleness that seems to come out and depending on the shade of gloss I can transform the color of the lipstick altogether. It’s a pretty color though, and I can’t wait to try the powder & polish.
Hmm, I bet you could also do the same thing with a lip pencil too! Maybe try layering a pink or a brown lip pencil beneath? Rimmel makes some nice ones that are really affordable.
Ahh! Hello everyone. I’m very excited today. I just bought my very first MAC eyeshadow, it’s in amber lights. It makes me happy to just click open the top and swatch it, haha… I think I’m going to be a MAC addict.
Hi Ella,
Congrats! Are you wearing your new shadow today?
I really like how your brows are shaped Karen!
haha this post is right in line with my day (I just finished shaping my right eyebrow this morning). It’s driving me absolutely crazy! My right brow is a LOT shorter than my left brow, which is why I’m glad I’ve got sidebangs to cover the end lol. I just try to make them look the same up until the arch, which is about where my right brow disappears…*sigh* well it’s the best I can do.
filling in my brows really does make a huge difference though. I’m going out with my friend for some yummy Korean food tonight! I can’t wait, although I’m starting to get hungry already lol
I just got sideswept bangs and it’s a whole new world! You’re so right in that they make the brow situation less stressful. 🙂
How was dinner with your friend? What did you eat?
hahah very much so! Except when I pin them back to go running, then my brow-and-a-half is once again exposed to the world.
I got dumpling tofu soup and stone pot rice. It would probably have been better if the weather was cold, but still delicious. How’s your Sunday night been?
Mine was good. I ran some errands and then watched Mad Men with Tabs. 🙂
Your dinner sounds like it was delish! I’ve never had those dishes before, but I want to, LOL!
My brows are two caterpillars marching above my eyes! So no brow pencil or powder for me, just landscape, landscape landscape!
I got a fun surprise this weekend. Sephora just opened in the JC Penny’s in Columbia, MO. I live in Jefferson City, (30 miles away) So I have access without having to drive to St Louis, which is two hours away! I can’t use my VIB points at the Penny’s store, but everything I buy there DOES contribute to my points. I picked up some Korres shower gel in guava (yum!) and the travel size of MUFE’s HD powder. I use MAC prep and prime, so I wanted to see the difference between the two.
Also got my Chanel lip laque in Stunt this week and so far I’m pretty pleased with it and I feel so chic having something with Chanel on it in my makeup bag!
Lisa – my eyebrows also require a lot of landscaping, particularly since they grow at an alarming rate :(.
i also <3 the korres guava shower gel! the body butter is also pretty much great! 🙂
I second the guava body butter. It smells delish, and it’s super hydrating!
Hi Lisa,
Nice haul! I’ve never shopped at a Sephora inside JC Penny. How’s the selection compared to a regular Sephora?
You will loooove that shower gel, btw! 🙂
It really isn’t too bad, they have all the main brands MUFE, Urban Decay,
Stila, Benefit and so on, But I thinks it’s the higher end stuff they kinda skimp out on. Dior, Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana. But really it’s still quite decent and you should have seen the women! It was like watching a starving man suddenly come upon a feast!….
I’ve been surviving. This cold and rainy weekend has driven me to curl up on the couch with my sidekick (and diva) kitty watching Glee. She’s also extremely helpful with the gloves and hat I’ve been crocheting. I have hair that’s somewhere between copper and auburn, so I use MAC’s Swiss Chocolate. It’s red enough to match but not so much that it looks like I fill my eyebrows in with lip liner. Which I’ve done before, sadly.
Hi Rachael,
Are you all caught up with Glee? What did you think of the last episode? I wasn’t too crazy about it.
lotsa unresolved stuff in that episode – kurt was going all hormonal and then – thats it. no resolution. i hate episodes like that!
It wasn’t their best work. Such a disappointment after the season premiere!
i hope tomorrow is better. 🙂
I use MAC’s Folie, since I usually have bright red/orange hair (with some yellow). It works, I guess. I just haven’t found anything I like that much.
Also I dislike the shape of my brows. I’m too afraid of going any place to get them waxed/threaded for fear they’ll be butchered. No place around here does threading, the ones I’ve seen near my parent’s place are those mall kiosk ones.. yeah no thanks.
I have super long brow hair (eww), and they are very, very, very thick naturally. I’ll trim them down because nothing will hold them. Meh..
I’m limiting myself to $50 a month for makeup/nail polish. I have $29 left for this month!
Hi Neela,
Oh yeah, I know Folie. I never thought of it as a brow shade, but I can see how it would work for redheads. 🙂
I have sections of my brows that are long, too. I trim ’em with scissors, and if they’re extra unruly I’ll set ’em with brow gel.
As for your monthly makeup haul, what have you picked up so far?
I have to trim almost all the hair down, which is sad because my brows would be semi-thick if i could keep the length longer. Filling them in doesn’t take that long so I don’t mind I guess.
I got Illamasqua’s “Collide” nail polish, along with my birthday gift from Sephora. I knew I wasn’t going to be anywhere near a Sephora store (1.5 hour drive away) to pick it up, so I went an ordered.
Trying to find something close to Urban Decay’s “Woodstock” polish, it’s the perfect neon pink for me. Collide is close, but not as purple toned.
I used to use Folie when I had red hair… Definitely a good brow color for auburn/redheads!
-Lindsay
I use the 99 cent Wet ‘n Wild pencil in taupe. I used to use the MAC brow pencil in Lingering but it’s too expensive! My brow “routine” involves brushing them w/ one of those comb/brush combos but using the brush part, fill in with pencil, and brush through with an old toothbrush which helps distribute the color.
I went to the local wine and food festival today – “A Taste of Carytown.” Met up with a couple Twitter pals and had a blast!
Using an old toothbrush — SMART! How does the Wet n’ Wild pencil compare to Lingering, btw?
It sounds like you had a fun Sunday. Anytime you can get wine/food/friends up in the mix is a good day. 🙂
The toothbrush trick definitely helps because the bristles don’t spread the color all over the place like the tradition brow brush/comb combo. 🙂 I am digging the WnW pencil – second time I’ve bought it. It’s le cheap and gets the job done and the lasting power is really good. Once in a while I will need to re-draw the tails if I have touched my face too much but that rarely happens.
I met up with some new Twitter friends at the festival too. It was so much fun – the weather was a little chilly and definitely windy but the company of good friends always helps and WINE of course. 🙂
Oh yeah, wine ALWAYS helps! I love the taste of it but don’t drink it very often… one glass and I’m GOOD for the entire night (what can I say, I’m a cheap drunk, LOL!).
Isn’t twitter fascinating? I love how it brings people together in real life.
Karen, I am such a Twitter junkie… But I am passionate about social media and the relationships it builds! I’m trying to get in the habit of blogging more though… It’s hard to do it on an everyday consistent basis. I’m at the point of reviewing products already in my stash because my wallet can’t afford to add anything new to my collection. I miss my employee discount when I worked at Nordies… That made buying “high end” a lot easier. But I do love your blog and your tweets, it’s one of the few blogs I read *every* day. 😀
Plus the photos of Tabs reminds me of my two kitties Olive and Feta. I miss my kitties – when I moved out, my old roomie kept them because we didn’t want to split up the pair.
Ok, I’m rambling now… I need to start figuring out some blog posts and content for the week. I did a review on a fab leather jacket though!
Hi Karen!
I don’t fill in my brows, mine are really low on my face and when they’re filled in they’re all you see. It’s a strange phenomenon.
Do you visit any make-up forums?
Hi Michelle,
Le sigh… What I’d give for naturally filled-in brows! I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, right?
As for makeup forums, nope, I don’t really visit any. Do you? Which ones are your faves?
Oh man, my brows are a “hot mess right now.” And I quote. So bad that when I was walking through Macy’s, the Urban Decay dude said in all his glorious fabulosity, “GURRRRRLL, you look a hot mess with those brows! You can tell you know what you doing, cause you some fierrcceeness. But the brows, you need to be slapped!” Luckily I can take honesty because although I have never met this dude before, he is so right!
To my defense, my brow appt is on Tuesday, and just like you, I lost my brow filler: an old Paula Dorf cake mascara that I have been using for the purpose for umm, when did Sephora FIRST open? So he covered them in concealer and faked the funk with a pencil and powder until I get them done on Tuesday.
Right now I am enjoying the cross town rivalry that is Los Angeles Professional Hockey. It’s chilly in here, but there are some fine players to look at, (with teeth to boot,) that make it all worth it.
Oh no! What is it with brow stuff going MIA this week? Do you have any idea where you lost it?
Oh, and I hope your team won the hockey game!
I know right. Brows should be top priority. Even though the cake mascara sucked at being mascara it was great at being a brow. Especially for long but sparse eyebrows I have. I think it was victim to my croissant shaped purse that has no zipper. I also can’t find my Chanel Kohl that can handle my allergies and Minnie Mouse crystal business card holder from Disney Sea in Tokyo! I think they all left me at the same time 🙁 The Kings lost. I was a traitor in a sea of Ducks. 🙂
I’m always losing stuff, and I usually find whatever I was looking for when I’m *not* looking. I had a pan of MAC Trax that had gone MIA for three years (!)… it eventually revealed itself (was hiding underneath my dresser). I’m sure your goodies will turn up — hopefully sooner rather than later.
I think it’s rad that you like watching hockey, btw. I used to follow the sport years ago, but not so much now. I still enjoy watching it though!
Right now since my hair is mostly midnight blue with darkened blue-teal in the front, I’ve been filling my brows in a couple of different ways.
1. With Urban Decay’s 24/7 pencil in Flipside
2. With MAC Plumage eye shadow.
I definitely feel more put together and polished when I fill my brows in. I love how it looks.
This morning I got up relatively early for a weekend and took the dogs to the dog park. I also did 3 tutorials for my blog.
Join the stress group.
I had to replace the Bag. My Airport Security Bag (aka the ASB. it’s a joke. My bag would never pass airport security considering the bobby pins, nail clippers, nail file and the sheer amount of medicine in my bag. My life is in my bag). The bag I’ve toted around daily for the past four and a half years. MY BAG!!!! : cries :
I dragged myself to TJ Maxx and tested bags for ONE hour testing bags seeing if one came even close to the feeling of the ASB. I settled for this one. I miss my old bag.
It’s been less than a day. Oh yea, this is going to be a looooooooong journey. The photo of the old bag has my favorite scarf on it two.
I hauled at TJ Maxx. Emotional hauling, my favorite.
What did you get at TJ Maxx?
Hey, all.
Busy day today. After church, a friend came up and we went out to brunch, then did a major haul at ULTA (two nail polish sets, a lip/cheek stain, conditioner, two body sprays and a shower gel), and then went grocery shopping at Trader Joes.
As far as brows, go, I have two products I love, depending on how much time I have. If I have no time or patience, it’s Benefit’s Speed Brow. If I feel like opening a jar and using a separate brush, I’m really loving the new brow mousse from Tarte.
Hi Heidi,
Sounds like you had a busy, but fun day!
Tarte’s been coming out with some interesting stuff lately, yah? I was wondering if the brow mousse was any good… I might have to try it!
I love Tarte. Natural ingredients, no animal testing, and really high quality. The brow mousse looks so natural. Haven’t tried it in really hot weather yet so can’t attest to it’s staying powder when one starts to “glow” a bit.
That reminds me of something I say all the time in hot weather: “I’m not sweating. I’m glowing!” LOLOL! 🙂
Have you tried Tarte’s lipglosses? They’re my favorite item in the line.
I do love their glosses and right now I’m CRAZY about their rise n shine lipstains. One end has the stain (which I also use as a cheek stain when pressed for time, which is often), and the other has a coordinating gloss. I find the stains to not be drying at all and come in really beautiful shades.
Whew! Ever since the beginning of school I feel like I’ve been going full steam ahead without a break. As far as I know, my next break will be Thanksgiving, hahaha!
I’m hoping to get a bit of shut-eye before finishing up a calculus paper (I know, a paper for calculus? Absurd!), but I’ve decided that the next weekend I’m free I’m getting to the mall and splurging on some beauty-related purchases. Any recommendations for not too expensive treats as a pick-me-up?
Hi Mai-Huong,
How did the calculus paper go? I hope you were able to finish!
As for an affordable beauty pick-me-up, how about the My Name is Glowla set from Benefit? It looks REALLY cute, and you get a ton of stuff for just $36!
I’m in the stress think over my HG product/item as well. Except, well, mine’s impossible to replace fully!
I had to go out last night and replace the Bag, aka the Airport Security Bag (ASB) aka my Life, aka the bag I carried around me daily for four years. It was starting to fall apart. I got it for $39.99 at TJ Maxx.
This is a photo of the OLD bag for posterity’s sake: My precious, old, worn in ASB!
This is a photo of the NEW bag: The new bag
It’s NOT MY OLD BAG.
My mom is rolling her eyes and telling me to give change a chance.
Did I ever mention I’m very resistant to change?
P.S. Zena says high from her high angelic stateliness. She got blessed today at church. She thinks she’s God now.
Your new bag is cute! I’m sure if you carry it around for a bit it’ll grow on you.
It looks roomy…
At TJ Maxx I got the bag, a navy long navy blue viscose fringed scarf (soooooooo soft) that would have retailed for $36 but I got for $16 (ha ha ha, behold TJ Maxx!) and a patterned silk scarf for $12.99 (that retailed for $24, $27? I can’t remember. I have the tags upstairs still) and a pair of Betsey Johnson Halloween socks (my mom and I got matching pairs because we are THAT chintzy. They were SEVEN BUCKS there).
The only thing I hate about new bags is that the stray strings that were cleverly hidden tend to show themselves when you’re breaking the bag in; of course, this means I have to pull it because it annoys me and then cut them off. It only happens with leather bags too….it’s really, really annoying. If you want to know if your bag is genuine leather, I swear that’s the way to know. It’s only happened with a bag with genuine leather parts with me.
It is very roomy; roomier than my old bag actually. It’s just very hard for me to replace something I’ve had for years and years and years. It would be like your trying to replace your brow color if MAC Concrete ceased to exist. It’s so hard because you’re so used to having something that makes you feel (or look) good. It’s like bringing home a new pet actually.
Hi Karen
I have dark brows and had a hard time finding a match. Most brow colors are too brown or “warm” to me. But this is the perfect color: Joppa Minerals brow powder in sable. Just perfect, and cheap!
You can find it here: http://www.joppaminerals.com/products/Sable-Brow-Powder.html
😉
Hey Renata,
Love the price on that product! 🙂
im kiiinda lucky, my brows dont need fillin’ in, they’re thick and stuff. ive never plucked them and i never will ;). hey, the thick hair had to be good for something! its certainly not good for all the unwanted body hair… :/
this last weeks been gooood. ive excersiced a lot for starters, running, which is rare for me- i prefer pilates or volleyball. also been catching up on a bunch of tv shows- Gossip Girl, Glee, Dexter, Hellcats and the like. yay for september (well now october…)!
speaking of, wow, its october already? holiday season!
i lost a concealer brush the other week and it was my only one so i felt surprisingly attached to it 🙁 hope your having a good week apart from this loss karen!
Hi Mill,
Good for you for exercising more! I’ve got that on my agenda too.
As for TV shows, what did you think of the last Glee?
i liked it, and my argument is that after the season premier, whic was heavy on plot development and low on songs (or at least decent ones) and flashy dance sequences, etc, they needed something that had impressive songs and choreography, because it would be exhausting writing interesting plot for the full 22 episodes of the season. so they have to break it with episodes like this, and it was pretty darn impressive for an in-between. well, the first half, anyway. but i can see where everyone is coming from when they say they didnt like it 😛
I dont fill in my brows 🙂 Im lucky, i dont really need it. I have pretty big brows.
Well, if we cant talk about anything…. i would love to meet Tabs, he and my cat would be like THE perfect couple. I should send you a picture of her 🙂
Please do!
I gotta warn you — Tabs *is* a playa!
Once again you cost me money…in a good way! I decided to order Omega shadow for my brows, and Nymphette gloss. Also ended up ordering a pigment as well (Antique Green – looks so pretty). Oh well…what’s another product or three?
Antique Green is really pretty, especially when applied with a wet brush. LOVE!
Do you have an angled brush in your stash similar to the 266?
i always forget to fill my brows. lol
I actually just started paying attention to my brows. I just started plucking them into shape and it’s true they really do change your look dramatically. In terms of taming I love to use Bee Bar solid moituriing wax as a brow wax.
My brows tend to grow all over my forehead 😀 Okay, not all over but sometimes I have that feeling, lol 😀 BUT, I finally started to pluck them on regular basis so it’s a much easier job for me know, and I managed to find a perfect tweezer which makes to whole process faster and painless.
When it comes to filling them, I’ve been looking for a perfect shade for such a long time that I don’t even remember what I’ve tried in the past. 😀 And finally, I managed to find THE perfect shade for my brows (which are rare and medium-light). It’s Anastasia Duo Brow Powder in Ash Blonde. I’ve tried many ash blond shades before, but none of them was anything like this. Anyway, gotta go to Sephora to get that shade. For now I’m using a sample which I received not so long ago. 🙂
I have been using Shu Uemura’s brow pencil in seal brown for a year now. It is not as harsh as many pencils, it is a long wearing hard formula. I have dark hair ~NC 35 skin.
I know this sounds weird, but the idea of filling my eyebrows would just be horrible for me!
Imagine Frida Kahlo eyebrows, darker, threaded (not to much, I like my eyebrows thicker, but not manly looking) and that’s what my eyebrows look like!
I once DID try to fill them in, and it just look very….strange 😛
Recently, I’ve been using MAC’s brow pencil in Lingering to fill in my brows- darkens my taupe-ish brows, but I’m switching over to Too Faced Brow Envy soon, as I prefer the powder texture.
Ohhh.. nice post but i have very thick and big brows so really dont need it… 🙂 lucky enough….
hallo karen,
well, i usually use chocolate brown pencils to fill my brows (i’m a very dark sista). i used one by iman sometime ago (i can’t remember the name) and really liked it. i’m yet to try out powders though. i’ve got really sparse brows and i just feel powders may not work for me.
by the way any tip on applying mascara to the lower lashes without smudging. i don’t seem to get the hang of it. so i just skip it most times
Hi Bola,
It’s nice to meet you! I think a lot of it has to do with the mascara brush. You gotta find one that works for you. That said, Tarte makes a mascara designed specifically for the lower lashes called Bottoms Up. It has a teeny brush that’s easy to control! I’ve never had trubs with it. Here’s a review:
Just Call Me Doe Eyes: Tarte Bottoms Up Mascara