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

Using Lip Balm to Fix a Sticky Socket, and Other Acts of Makeup MacGyver-ism

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Makeup MacGyver

Like a beauty Beowulf, today I vanquished a household Grendel with my trusty lip balm sword!

That is to say I used a spare tube of Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm to grease the threads of an old light socket. Thanks to Apartment Therapy for this one:

“To remedy old and sticking sockets simply use a small bit of lip balm on the inside of the threads and the light bulb won’t have any problem screwing in! You can also apply it to the bulb instead of the sockets — it’s a great preventative measure, especially with new lamps. Just be weary of the very bottom of the bulb or socket being coated. If you’re worried things will get messy, just use a cotton swab to apply.”

We have some bare light sockets around the outside of the condo that I’ve been meaning to fill with bulbs. A few of them are rather beaten up after living life exposed to the elements for 30 years, and the sockets are sticky. A while back I was trying to screw a lightbulb into one of them (I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere) when the bulb cracked in my hand!

This time, with a swipe of lip balm applied to the threads on a new bulb, it screwed right in. 🙂

Got any other beauty-based home care tricks to share? Let me know in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Oh, and TGIF! Do you have plans tonight? El Hub wants us to re-watch Avatar on DVD… I thought it was a great movie, but I’m kinda not in the mood, le sigh!

YSL Fard Lumière Aquarésistant Water Resistant Cream Eyeshadow: For Eyes Like an Oasis

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A desert princess might wear Yves Saint Laurent’s Water Resistant Cream Eyeshadow in Golden Sands to a royal banquet, but I’d probably wear it to the club. 🙂

New to YSL’s makeup line, it’s a very light, airy mousse eyeshadow, thinner than a regular cream but thicker than a liquid. One of six colors overall, it’s the only one to come out for summer 2010 (available now).

ysl summer 2010 makeup

For $30, you get 0.22 oz of light peachy golden glitter for your eyes, like a sunset in a jar. As a shimmery wash over the entire lid, it’s a marvel, water-resistant and easier to use than a glittery powder that might leave fallout on my cheeks.

ysl summer 2010 makeup

This particular shade isn’t very pigmented at all; it’s almost like glitter suspended in a mousse base, but judging by the swatches online, some of the other colors pack a stronger punch.
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What Are You Wearing on Your Nails?

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Not that it was hot here today, but I felt like something warm on my nails, so I went with Scorcher. It’s the orangey red from the MAC To The Beach collection (the other color in the collection is the avocado-like In the Buff). I wore Scorcher on my tips and Chanel Jade on my toes.

How about you? What are you wearing on your nails today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I think I’m calling it a night — rather, I think I’ll step away from the computer and go grab a bite to eat with El Hub. Whatever you do, have a great night. Treat yourself to something for desert! 🙂 Tabs says hi. I know he wants to go to dinner with us… Sorry, tabby.

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pure Shine Sheer Lipstick in Pink Lychee Lasts but a Moment, yet Still Makes an Impression

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ysl pink lychee

There’s something poetic about Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pure Shine Sheer Lipstick in Pink Lychee ($30) — how pretty yet fleeting it is, like butterflies, or a summertime tan.

By all appearances…

It’s one of two limited edition SPF 15 Pure Shine Lipsticks YSL released with their summer 2010 collection, the other being Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pure Shine Sheer Lipstick in Blood Orange Blood Orange.

The first thing I thought after seeing it in the tube? — wow, that sure looks pale. I didn’t think I’d be able to wear it, but I’ve been surprised so many times before that I figured, who knows, right?

I really didn’t know what to expect and hoped it wouldn’t have that p0rn star opaque coverage we’ve seen from other light pink lippies.
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MAC Unsung Heroes: Woodwinked Eyeshadow Fakes a Good Night’s Sleep

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MAC Woodwinked Eyeshadow ($14.50) rocks harder than Metallica. 🙂 Like a beauty BFF, this shimmery shadow’s been with me through good times and bad. Brown in the pan, it applies like a lovely warm gold, and I find myself still reaching for it often because it’s one of those disbelief-suspending shades able to fake a good night’s sleep.

If I had to pick one shadow to have with me after an all-nighter, Woodwinked would be it. A few swipes of this permanent collection shadow on my lids, and I swear I look well rested.

The MAC Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite products from MAC’s permanent collection…

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A View of San Francisco From My Favorite Parking Garage

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I drove into San Francisco yesterday to have lunch with Annie from Bellasugar, and I parked in my favorite parking garage. Yes, I have a favorite parking garage. It’s the Sutter Stockton Garage on Nob Hill, and as far as parking garages go, it’s awesome. It’s close enough to both Union Square and the Financial district, and finding a space is never stressful.

MAC To The Beach: Breaking Waves and Hearts

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FINALLY! After so many, many months of waiting, surfer girls, we’re going MAC To The Beach! — It’s a warm beach…and we’re walking along the shore, picking up sea shells, pretty pieces of coral, and starfishes like the ones that grace the limited edition packaging.

If I close my eyes and picture the delicious greens and corals in the collection, I feel relaxed and happy; if I listen hard enough and breath deeply, I can almost hear waves breaking and smell the salty air. 🙂

MAC To The Beach crashes onto North American counters May 27, but a handful of US and Canadian MAC stores will be hosting pre-release parties on May 18. To see if there’s a pre-release party in your area, give your local MAC store or counter a quick call.

Wrap it up!

Can I just take a second to marvel at the packaging? We’re talking ’70s, but in the best possible way.

mac to the beach review

mac to the beach review

The house I grew up in was built in the ’70s, and I remember some of these same colors (LOL!). Our kitchen walls were the exact same shade of pea green! Our countertops, the fridge, the dishes, and my mom’s treasured Pyrex mixing bowls were also in colors very much like the shades in To The Beach.

Well, they say everything old is new again, and I guess they’re right! 🙂 But coming across these shades in a West Elm or Pottery Barn would have been one thing; seeing them on a cosmetics counter is something else entirely. Way to go, MAC, for always pushing beauty forward, even when you’re looking back. Fusing the ’70s with an ocean theme? I mean, who does that?
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