Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Don’t Miss These Great Guest Posts: Guerlain, Garnier, Milani and More

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The Guerlain Écrin 6 Couleurs Eye Shadow Palettes
The $3 e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush
Viktor & Rolf Fragrant Flowerbomb
A MAC Lipglass Dupe for $4.50? Try Milani Crystal Gloss
c.Booth Deep Cleansing Volcanic Mud Mask
Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliners
Garnier Fructis Style Wonder Waves Mousse

Good Luxe Resisting The Guerlain Écrin 6 Couleurs Eye Shadow Palettes

AUTHOR: Olga

“Nobody does luxury like Guerlain, but not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined something as glamorous as their new Écrin 6 Couleurs…”

The $3 e.l.f. Studio Powder Brush Will Look Right at Home in Your Makeup Kit

AUTHOR: Katie

“I wasn’t expecting such great quality from a $3.00 brush but this one really proved me wrong! The dense brush head is perfect for picking up powder…”

Viktor & Rolf’s Fragrant Flowerbomb Bursts with Beauty

AUTHOR: Katie

“Flowerbomb is actually less flowery than you might think. When I first spray it on me or in the air, I get some jasmine, freesia, and rose…”

A MAC Lipglass Dupe for $4.50? Try Milani Crystal Gloss

AUTHOR: Makeup Morsels

“I remember seeing pictures of MAC Nymphette on Karen’s blog for the very first time and instantly falling in love. The gorgeous pink gloss, chock-full of golden shimmer, went straight to…”

You Just Might Lava c.Booth Deep Cleansing Volcanic Mud Mask

AUTHOR: Annabella

“After one use I saw a difference. It has a mattifying effect as well but doesn’t leave your skin covered in a film. I saw a continual improvement…”

For $5.50, Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliners Are a Hidden Drugstore Gem

AUTHOR: Appu

“I like the shade selection here. No bright, playful colors, but there are many intense, dark shades that can be…”

Garnier Fructis Style Wonder Waves Mousse: A Wave-Defining $4 Wonder

AUTHOR: Tori

“I squirted out a puff of the foaming mousse (which smells amazing!) and scrunched it onto damp hair and let it work its magic overnight…”

Halloween Hair and Makeup from 1988: 10 Ways to Rock a Totally Legit ’80s Costume

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It’s fun to think of the ’80s as a series of John Hughes films where cool kids cruised high school hallways in preppy sweaters, chunky cable-knit vests and Members Only jackets.

Yeah…it soooo wasn’t like that (well, not all the time).

For some of us who grew up in the decade, it was also about obnoxiously big hair, Esprit sweaters, Michael Jackson zipper jackets and scrunchies.

LOTS of scrunchies.

If you’re thinking about dressing up like an ’80s girl for Halloween this year, you’ve come to the right place!

Break out your Aqua Net and Guess jeans because it’s time for…

10 Ways to Rock a Totally Legit ’80s Costume!

By the time we’re done, it’ll be 1988. 🙂

1. The Scrunchie

The ’80s were a hair-raising decade. The bigger, the better, and elastic was a girl’s best friend.

Short on time to get ready for the big Halloween fete? No prob. That’s what scrunchies are for. First, pump up your bangs with a firm hold hair spray. Then, put your hair up in a high side pony with a ponytail holder, and decorate with a scrunchie in the color of your choice.

2. OPTIONAL: The Banana Clip

The banana clip works like a combined ponytail holder and scrunchie in one, but nowadays they can be a little hard to find.

3. Find a Shirt That Matches Your Scrunchie

IMPORTANT: Ideally, it should be button-down, oversized and hang down just above the knees — anything longer, and you risk concealing your tight acid washed jeans.

4. Don’t Forget the Big Broach

For true ’80s legitimacy, secure an obnoxiously huge broach to the top button of your shirt. CAUTION: Move slowly to avoid accidentally poking yourself with the pin (yes, I speak from experience).


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Would Metallica Rock the Metallic Shades in the $36 Make Up For Ever Rock For Ever Aqua Eyes Kit?

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Make Up For Ever Rock For Ever Aqua Eyes Holiday Kit

According to my very un-scientific research, which involved one sidewalk James Hetfield sighting and 10 minutes of Googling, it’s hard to say. James might not, but Kirk Hammett has been known to sport the guy-liner.

Perhaps the limited edition Make Up For Ever Rock For Ever Aqua Eyes Holiday Kit ($36), with its five mini-sticks of Make Up For Ever’s famous Aqua Eyes liner in mostly metallic finishes (there’s one lonely matte), would be worthy of the stage.

Once dry, the vibrant colors should have the wherewithal to stay put through even the longest, sweatiest, most epic guitar solos.


Make up For Ever Rock For Aqua Eyes Liners from top to bottom: Gold 9L (a metallic yellow), Bronze 10L (a metallic bronze), Dark Grey 21L (a metallic gunmetal gray), Mat Black 0L (a black matte), Silver 8L (a metallic silver)

make up for ever rock for-ever aqua eyes
From left to right: Gold 9L, Bronze 10L, Dark Grey 21L, Mat Black 0L, Silver 8L
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Lush Gorilla Perfumes: Gorillas in a Mist AND Solid Stick Form

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I’ve been trying to get behind the new Lush Gorilla fragrances mostly because I love, LOVE the packaging.

But there’s one thing I don’t get…

What’s up with the gorilla?

Well, not this particular one here. I mean the use of Gorilla in the name. I just don’t get the reference. None of them smell like gorilla, or how I imagine a gorilla would smell, and the sleek black packaging just doesn’t scream great ape to me.

I’ve sniffed five of the six scents, each of them available in spray and solid stick form — Imogen Rose, Lust, Orange Blossom, The Smell of Freedom and Tuca Tuca — and with the exception of Orange Blossom, which smells like the jasmine plant in my front yard (DIVINE!), I’m not in love.
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A Sexy [INSERT PROFESSION HERE] Halloween Makeup Look

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karen from makeup and beauty blog wearing mac a tartan tale moonlight night pigment 3

So is your sweet tooth ready for Halloween? I’ve been working mine out with caramels this week to get it in shape for Sunday.

For the first time in ages I actually have Halloween plans that don’t involve stuffing my pie hole with mini-Snickers at home. El Hub and I are going to a party on a big @ss boat! — well, technically, it’s a decommissioned aircraft carrier called the USS Hornet, and the party’s called the Monster Bash.

Now I just have to decide on a costume, and I did some brainstorming today…sexy brainstorming. 🙂

As a fallback, if I haven’t come up with something better, I may swing by the Halloween store to pick up one of those sexy [INSERT PROFESSION HERE] outfits — sexy nurse, sexy librarian, sexy devil or sexy dental hygienist (sexy bee keeper?).

And if that’s the case, I’ll need makeup to fit the part, makeup like this smoldering, shimmery green smokey eye with glossy hot pink lips.

karen from makeup and beauty blog wearing mac a tartan tale moonlight night pigment

It says, “Hey! I’m in costume! Pay attention to me!” But it’s not too complicated to throw together in a sexy rush.

I used products from the new MAC A Tartan Tale and Chanel Les Tentations holiday collections, with a dusting of makeup from Make Up For Ever, NARS and Fred Farrugia. If you have any similar colors haunting the corridors of your makeup stash, now’s your chance to put them to work!

mac a tartan tale swatches moonlight night teal undercurrent black swan pearlglide liner chanel tweed fuschia nars easy lover fred farrugia
Clockwise from left: Chanel Les Tissages de Chanel in Tweed Fuchsia, MAC Pigment in Moonlight Night, MAC Pigment in Teal, Fred Farrugia Matte Lip Duo in 06, NARS Lipgloss in Easy Lover, Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eye Liner in Mat Black 0L, MAC Pearglide Liner in Black Swan, MAC Pearlglide Liner in Undercurrent
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