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

Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner: Crazy Colors, Crazy Good Price

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HARD CANDY take me out liner review

Killer eyeliner looks come naturally to Tabs. Me? It takes more work.

HARD CANDY take me out liner review

But sexy kitteh liner looks just got that much easier — and tres affordable — thanks to Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner ($5, and part of their permanent line).

For lords and ladies who love creamy, smooth textures and vibrant shades, these pencil liners glide on and stay put for hours with nary a budge.

Available in 20 colors that also cover a variety of finishes from subtle shimmers to metallics to glitter-heavy shades, these liners have a little something-something for almost anyone.

HARD CANDY take me out liner review
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, May 24

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Sunrise over Diamond Head Crater, Oahu, Hawaii

  1. Mood:

    2. Pretty good! I got eight hours o’ glorious sleep last night and feel rested and recharged. 🙂

  2. Three things that bring a smile to your face?

    3. 1) Kittens, 2) finding something great on sale and 3) the smell of freshly brewed coffee

  3. What do you wear to sleep?

    4. Now, mostly workout clothes — tank tops, t-shirts and yoga pants. That way, I’m already dressed to exercise first thing in the morning if the rhythm hits me. Oh, and if a fire breaks out sometime in the night and I have to make a mad dash outside, I’ll be dressed for it… Don’t want my goods hanging out for all the neighbors to see.

  4. Your favorite pair of shoes?

    5. You may already know this one — the yellow platform sandals I got on sale at Aerosoles a few years ago.

  5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:

    6. I’m in product testing mode today and wearing a bunch of random but promising things: Hard Candy 1,000 Lashes Fiberized Mascara in Mermaid Teal/Illamasqua Sheer Lipgoss in Electrify/Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Promise

  6. Your latest food/snack obsession?

    7. Last weekend I re-discovered my love for Jamba Juice’s Orange Dream Machine.

  7. Are you double jointed ?

    8. Nope, but I do have astonishing toe control. I can hold a pen and write with ’em!

  8. What’s one beauty product that everyone else raves about yet doesn’t rock your boat?

    9. Rosebud Salve… I like the way it smells and feels, but my lips need more moisture. And (yep, I know it’s weird), I don’t like dipping my fingers in the tin.

  9. Outfit:

    10. Ha! The layered workout ensemble I wore to bed last night — a gray hoodie over a brown tank top over a brown t-shirt. I’m getting ready to change into jeans and a white tank top here in a minute. Yep, I’m all about tank tops today.

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Adhere to a stricter freelance writing and blogging schedule (I’ve been known to spend 100 hours/week on blogging), avoid junk food, exercise at least three times, and finally deal with the mountain of cardboard boxes in the dining room.

What’s shakin’, turkey bacon? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could grab a cup of coffee in the break room this morning and gab about the weekend (le sigh!)?

For now, I guess the Monday Poll will have to do.

To participate (and I hope you do), use your mouse to copy the following list, and paste if with your answers in the comments at the bottom of this post.

Le list

1. Mood:
2. Three things that bring a smile to your face?
3. What do you wear to sleep?
4. Your favorite pair of shoes?
5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:
6. Your latest food/snack obsession?
7. Are you double jointed?
8. What’s one beauty product that everyone else raves about yet doesn’t rock your boat?
9. Outfit:
10. Your weekly goals:

Now say it with me! — “I’m having a great week!” 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 88

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Tabs comic volume 2

Congratulations, graduates! Today was a lot of fun. I spent a big part of it cheering for the class of 2010 at San Francisco State University. My brother’s girlfriend’s graduation ceremony was pretty cool. I’ll post some pictures soon, but the grads went all out. They even had dance routines and musical numbers. What a trip!

Right now I’m just surfing the web on my laptop and watching Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime. Ahh… it’s nice to relax.

How was your weekend? What was the highlight? I think mine is unfolding right now on the couch, ha! 🙂

Tonight Tabs presents the long-overdue second issue of his Makeup and Beauty Blog comic book, titled On Location: Paris, and he promises not to take another four months to do the third one (sorry!). Here are both of the first two issues, back to back.

Enjoy the rest of your night. Tabs says, “Have a good one, fearless reader!”

Vol. 1

Tabs in Vol.1 of a Makeup and Beauty Blog comic

Vol. 2

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What Were Your Best and Worst Beauty Experiences of the Week?

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MY BEST:

Thanks to miraculous Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Cream, I finally got my cracked heel situation under control! 🙂

MY WORST:

This one’s also foot related, but I’ve been ambling around with a pedicure that looks about four weeks past due (aka BAD). My toenails are starting to resemble Tabs’ claws, EWW!

What were your best and worst beauty experiences of the week? Please share yours in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

This Week’s Top Posts

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Weekly top posts on Makeup and Beauty Blog

My goodness, girl, what is going on around here with these winds blowing through Northern California? We’ve been seeing steady 10-20mph gusts nonstop since Friday. There are tree branches, leaves, lawn chairs and other odds and ends strewn about everywhere outside — the place is a mess!

The other night El Hub sprung out of bed three times at different sounds he’d heard in the night, assuming in that way that only boys do (God love ’em) that he was hearing someone breaking into the house, when it was just the wind knocking things around. Tabs, of course, was absolutely no help in the guard cat department. He claims his contract doesn’t extend to personal security…

What did you end up doing yesterday? I only managed to take care of some of my laundry and chores, so after my bro’s girlfriend’s graduation this morning, it’s right back to more chores for me!

I don’t mind, though. I’m still riding a high from the makeup and beauty products we talked about last week, and here are a few of my favorites of the bunch:

MAC Pro Longlash Mascara for a Flirty Fringe in a Flash

MAC Pro Longlash mascara“I’m in love with MAC Pro Longlash (I hope El Hub understands) — the dark color, the degree to which it lengthens and thickens, the lack of clumping and how quickly it dries. Plus, the price is totally right!”

Sandal-Ready Feet in a Week? That’s Quite a Feat. My Tow-Up Tootsies Test Drove Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme“After one week with this thick, greasy cream, I wouldn’t say my feet are foot fetish worthy yet, but I do think I’m back to being able to wear flip-flops without feeling self-conscious. My heels aren’t as cracked or dry as they were, and there’s a definite decline in skin scaliness around the tops of my feet and toes. ”

Illamasqua Blush in Lover Is Like a Coral on the Hush

Illamasqua Blush in Lover“Lover’s one of 15 blushes in the Illamasqua permanent line and made its way into US Sephora stores last year. It behaves a lot like the other Illamasqua blushes I’ve tried. Not only is it pigmented and blendable, but it also lasts a good amount of time, both in terms of wear time and because of the size of the pan.”

MAC To The Beach: A Bit of Blue for a Rainy Spring Day

MAC To The Beach: A Bit of Blue for a Rainy Spring Day“Today I’m wearing my new ‘I’m living in complete denial about the weather’ makeup look, which features gold, peach, coral, blue and bronze. Even though it still makes use of some of the brighter colors from the MAC To The Beach collection (among other things like these and this), I think it’s a little daytime-friendlier than the orange and green liner look I tried last weekend.”

Tuesday Beauty Tips: Being Resilient

Tuesday Beauty Tips: Being Resilient“Like sailing, life has its ups and downs. One minute you’re cruising along at a good clip, the wind at your back; next minute it’s like you’re beating back a storm, flailing with your arms and legs just to tread water! Because the seas aren’t always smooth sailing, it pays to be resilient.”

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A Pale Girl’s Guide to Getting Bronzed

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Written by Christy Gaeta

Today Christy of XT blog shares some of the benefits of bronzers for pale beauties.

It’s May, and the sun is coming out of hiding. Many of our friends are getting a nice bronzed glow naturally from the sun. But, if you’re fair like me, your skin stays white — that is, if it’s not turning red and itchy. How do we avoid this faux-pas? We could visit a tanning salon and face premature wrinkles and an increased risk of developing skin cancer (no look is worth that!), but I personally prefer to reach into my makeup stash of bronzing products for help.

What are some of the benefits of bronzers?

Versus tanning, it’s easier to control how much bronzing product you apply. You can use a little or a lot, however much it takes to reach a look you like. Once applied, bronzers makes your skin look healthier, and many powder varieties also double as a blush.

I think bronzers makes warmer colors look better on lighter skin tones, and you get all of these benefits without the risks of fake and bake!

Finding a good bronzing product

Many bronzers have warm/orange tones that just don’t work on fair skin. Look for bronzers with grey/cool tones, which should look more natural. When purchasing a bronzer, don’t focus on how pretty the color is in the package, but think about how it will look on you.

Here are a few of my pale girl favorites!

1. Benefit Hoola

benefit-hoola-bronzing-powder

Benefit Hoola is a great bronzer that works well on many skin tones. It’s a great place to start if you’re not sure what you’re doing. You can apply with a very light hand and build up the color as needed.

2. Giorgio Armani Sheer Bronzer #1

Giorgio Armani Sheer Bronzer #1 works particularly well on very light skin tones. The product looks almost entirely gray in the pan, but it provides a nice touch of bronze to very light skin.

3. Cargo Matte Bronzer in Medium

Cargo Matte Bronzer in Medium is another great bronzer for light skin tones and looks quite natural as well.

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