MAC Fabulous Felines Pigment in Old Gold, $19.50.
MAC Fabulous Felines: Old Gold Pigment
MAC Fabulous Felines: Mineralize Blush in Pet Me
MAC Fabulous Felines Mineralize Blush in Pet Me, $21.
I’m Becoming Fast Friends with Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara
Sometimes “quick” describes something bad…
Like the blind date I went on some years ago with the Beatles-hating dude who confessed to listening to nothing but techno music 24/7. I grew up on a steady diet of John, Paul, George and Ringo, so when he dissed Blackbird five minutes into the evening, something inside me went, “OH, HELL NO!” I faked a headache halfway through my beer and hightailed it home.
And sometimes “quick” describes something good…
Like the new Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara ($30, available in four shades), a new take on Chanel’s original Inimitable (a lengthening, curling, volumizing star!).
The O.G. version was born back in 2006. This new version 2.0 extends its predecessor’s double rainbow “all the way across the sky!” — with MORE lash drama on all fronts. Plus, because it works well even with a single layer, it’s also quick. 🙂
Can I get an “AMEN!” from my perpetually late/lazy makeup friends/fiends?
Whenever I’m in a hurry, deep, dark Noir hits the spot. A true black, it delivers the dramatic, spiky lash look I love.
The smooth consistency and shape of the brush head make it easy to build volume beginning at the base of the lash. A single layer delivers noticeably longer, smudge-resistant lashes with all-day curl hold.
Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Aug. 30
- Mood:
- The last dream you remember having?
- Ankle boots — yay or nay?
- A skincare product you’ve been wanting to try?
- Do you have a twin?
- What do you like most about your best friend?
- How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
- Last time you changed your hair?
- Have you ever lied about your age?
- Weekly goals:
Oddly alert for having gotten up at the butt crack of dawn. I set the alarm for 6:15, but a weird dream (see below) pulled me awake at 4:57.
It was last weekend. I dreamt I was back in high school, and Paul Walker was my boyfriend, which is strange because, while cute, he’s not really my style (I like ’em nerdy). In the dream he was a real gentleman, too, walking me to class and carrying my books. We even shared lockers, ha ha!
It took me a while to get on board, but now I say YAY!
Two things from Chanel, both for sensitive, dry skin: Mousse Confort Rinse-Off Rinse-Off Rich Foaming Cream Cleanser ($45) and Hydramax + Active Moisture Mask ($50)
I don’t, but I always thought it would be really cool to have one.
Her sense of humor. No one makes me laugh like she can!
Anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on how much time I have and how adventurous I feel with my clothes, hair and makeup.
July. I went lighter with my highlights.
No, but I’m tempted to start! 🙂
You know how I watched Gattaca last weekend, right? Well, it was great food for thought (NOTE: Highly recommended! Beautifully filmed with a provocative story, particularly if you like traditional sci-fi (Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Orson Scott Card). Plus — HELLO! — Ethan Hawke in a tailored suit = super hawt!). A theme in the movie has to do with pushing through perceived boundaries, and that’s what I’d like to work on this week, ya know, just putting everything on the table and seeing what happens.
What up, cutie? How’s it going on this lovely Monday? I hope you’re well. I’m actually doing…alright, considering I’ve been awake since 4:57. I may need a nap later this afternoon.
But not for a while. Right now I’m rearing to go!
Do you have a minute to say hi by filling out the Monday Poll?
1. Mood:
2. The last dream you remember having?
3. Ankle boots — yay or nay?
4. A skincare product you’ve been wanting to try?
5. Do you have a twin?
6. What do you like most about your best friend?
7. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
8. Last time you changed your hair?
9. Have you ever lied about your age?
10. Weekly goals:
Now, I’d like to propose a toast (*reaches for cup of coffee*).
“Here’s to a great week, everyone!” 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 102
I can’t talk long, ladies! I have to go pick up Tabs from the airport. He went to Prague for a quick two-day shoot. I’m sure he’s going to be hungry, too. I got an in-flight text from him that read, “food stinks. see you at 11. please bring gravy. will eat in the car.”
Here are some pictures of the cat modeling jobs he’s done lately. 🙂
Stop and Smell the Flowers in the Open Thread
Can you believe it’s already the last Sunday in August? Weren’t we just talking about Fourth of July barbecues? — and now we’re closer to the end of summer than the start. Seriously, Sundays always have a way of sneaking up on me, but this one hit like a breeze that blew in from nowhere!
I know a lot of us are looking forward to fall (hello, boots and scarves!), but I’m really gonna miss summer, and until those last few leaves fall from the oak trees outside my window, I plan to make it last as long as possible. I’m sniffing every flower that crosses my path. 🙂
Are you ready for fall, or would you like a longer summer? Let me know in the Open Thread!
If you’re new to the open thread, here it is in a nutshell:
It’s our chance to chill out, kick back and chat about anything and everything, from makeup to jobs to hobbies, food, relationships and movies.
It goes on for the rest of the day (and night), so stop by if/when you can, and as often as you’d like. Feel free to reach out to me or to anyone else, too. Everyone here is really nice. 🙂
See you inside!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed
Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂
It was so warm and snuggly in bed this morning that I didn’t want to get up. The weather here took a bizarre turn a few days ago, falling quickly from 108F on Wednesday to about 65 yesterday and today.
Blast these silly Bay Area microclimates! I want more summer, stat!
What’s your game plan for today? I never did make it to that movie yesterday (Scott Pilgrim), but hopefully I do today… I did, however, watch Gattaca for the first time, and holy double helix, Batman! — what a great sci-fi flick!
The director, Andrew Niccol, is also directing Stephenie Meyer’s The Host (due out next year!). Now I have much higher hopes for that.
So how are things going with you? What was your favorite makeup of the week? Did you try anything new?
Here are some of the things we’ve talked about lately… I’m not sure which one was my favorite. There’s the obvious, MAC Fabulous Felines, but I’m actually leaning toward those NYX Studio Effect Liquid Liners even more.
MAC FABULOUS FELINES
PREVIEW PICTURES
Keep your cool kitten eyes peeled for the Superslick Liquid Eye Liners ($17.50). Available in nine shades, these innovate long-wearing, water-resistant liners actually look wet when they’re dry, and Tabs thinks they’re the cat’s meow.
Today while he napped (apparently, fabulous felines require a lot of sleep), I took a look at eight pieces from the collection. First up, the Pigment in Blood Line ($19.50). Simply put, I love this purplish brown loose powder shadow. It’s smooth, with just a hint of shimmer, and I bet it would rock the socks off of looks featuring plum or brown smokey eyes. Read more…
LORAC REAL LIFE
TO RED CARPET EYE TUTORIAL KIT
If happy hours, ramen noodles, party crashing, mac and cheese, Taco Bell bean burritos and Totino’s frozen pizzas are fixtures of your college life (like they were mine!), take a little look at LORAC. Their $36 Close Up Real Life to Red Carpet Eye Tutorial Kit has “I’m a [hawt] broke college student” written all over it.
I’ll never forget the first time I went to buy books in college… YIKES! I guess I didn’t get the memo about every thick, hella boring science textbook costing an arm and a leg, and maybe it was out of a desire to prevent that same kind of eye-bulging sticker shock that LORAC came up with the idea.
The kit makes it easy to go from lunch in the campus cafeteria to a look ready for dinner and a movie. For $36 you get four full-size LORAC all-star products — a primer, a mascara, an eyeshadow trio and a liner — along with a small dual-tipped eye brush and a tutorial booklet with step-by-step directions for three different looks. Bought separately, the liner, primer and shadow trio by themselves (not including any of the other cool stuff) would cost almost twice as much as the entire kit. Read more…
NYX STUDIO EFFECT
LIQUID LINER
Hey, boo. Howzit? Sorry if I’ve seemed a little distracted lately, but I’ve been trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with my in-laws before they head back to Hawaii on Friday. Yup, it’s been an interesting beauty balancing act — trying to be a considerate host while also being biologically incapable of resisting makeup for more than a few hours at a time, ha!
But like any self-respecting member of the Borg collective knows, “resistance IS futile.” Keeping this beauty fiend away from her makeup is like trying to keep Tabs away from gravy (read: hard). Today I even locked myself away in the bathroom for an hour just to be alone with the new NYX Studio Liquid Liners ($4.50 each). Read more…
MAC FABULOUS FELINES
SWATCHES GALORE
Tabs couldn’t sleep at all last night and woke me up at 3 this morning like a kid on Christmas morning. MAC Fabulous Felines pounced onto counters nationwide today (and international counters next month), and he wanted to make sure we made it to the mall.
We did. 🙂
Of the collection’s three color stories, Leopard Luxe was the one we’ve both been looking forward to the most (lots of warm corals and golds)…not that Burmese Beauty and Palace Pedigreed don’t also look interesting.
Despite its name, the collection isn’t just for fellow feline enthusiasts. If warm golds and corals sing on your skin/fur, get your paws on Leopard Luxe; if cool plums, pinks and blues crook your tail, consider Palace Pedigreed; and if you prefer to party with a mixed crowd, try Burmese Beauty’s blend of greens, taupes and browns. Read more…
JEMMA KIDD
HI-SHINE GLOSSTICK
Some cats possess talent; others are possessed by it. When that happens, as the great Rod Serling once said, “a talent becomes a curse.”
Imagine, if you would, a cat with sharp claws resting on an air mattress (the same one you’ve been sleeping on since your in-laws arrived).
This cat has a talent for destruction…and for keeping me awake at night.
As sleep deprived as I’ve been these past two weeks, I’d be a heck of a lot grumpier if it weren’t for Jemma Kidd’s new Hi-Shine Glossticks ($25 each, available in five shades).
Inspired by the beautiful colors of beachy Barbados, these hydrating lipstick/gloss hybrids contain nifty light reflective particles to go with their SPF 15. The particles create the illusion of fuller lips, making them great for gals looking for a little lip boost. Read more…
NARS PURE MATTE
LIPSTICK
You know what they say, right? You can take the girl out of the ’90s, but you can’t take the ’90s out of the girl.
Well, I’ve never actually heard that before…but wouldn’t it make an awesome fortune cookie?
Back in the day matte lipstick was my BFF, and I always had at least one in my little black backpack (gawd, remember those?). I loved the look, but dangnabbit those old school matte formulas made my lips dry and flaky!
After all these years, I still love matte lips, and now with uber-moisturizing formulas like the one in new NARS Pure Matte Lipstick ($25), matte lips can be comfy, too (think spaghetti strap dress/baby-T combo, circa 1995).
Available in six shades with spectacular geographic names — Volga (a deep aubergine), Bangkok (a soft rose), Tonkin (a plum), Tere De Feue (a blackish cherry), Tashkent (a nude beige) and Vesuvio (a bold red) — the unscented, unflavored line conditions lips with hydrating vitamin E, wild mango butter and acai oil. Read more…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Becca Creme Eye Colour in Ametrine
As much as I love how glossy Becca’s Creme Eye Colour in Ametrine looks on my lids ($28, one of eight shades), dagnabbit if it doesn’t disappear quicker than pints of Häagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche ice cream in my freezer.
Shimmery golden brown Ametrine has lots of good stuff going for it — great pigment, shimmer and a blendable texture (I’ll use it with my fingers). It bestows a dewy finish that looks youthful and fresh, too, which is no easy feat on this 30-something girl.
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