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

I’m Seeing Stars: Sonia Kashuk’s Starry Eyes Palette for Holiday 2009

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sonia kashuk starry eyes silver frame eye palette open 2

If you’re a budget-lovin’ babe who wears cool-toned shadows well, Sonia Kashuk’s got your back. Her new Starry Eyes Palette ($15) for holiday 2009 comes with six cool-toned powder eyeshadows in a mix of glitters and matte.

sonia kashuk starry eyes silver frame eye palette closeup

Exactly what’s inside?

  • A shimmery brown with glitter
  • Shimmery beige with glitter
  • Shimmery taupe with glitter (fans of MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow, this shade looks like Satin Taupe’s glittery cousin)
  • A matte brown
  • Matte white
  • Matte taupe

I’ve been going through a glitter renaissance of late, and the glitter shadows in this palette are hitting all my right notes. You know how some glittery shadows are just too sheer? How all you can see sometimes is the glitter (but no color)? Well, these aren’t like that at all. All three deliver respectable pigmentation — a nice surprise for gals on Team Glitter.

sonia kashuk starry eyes silver frame eye palette open

Speaking of the glitter, I expected it to feel gritty here based on how chunky the bits look in their pans.

But that wasn’t the case. In fact, the particles appear fine — just right, in fact — once they’re applied.

It adds up to a very refined glitter look, if there is such a thing. 🙂

sonia kashuk starry eyes silver frame eye palette watches with flash
Swatches with flash
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Snow Bunny Beauty Tips

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Snow bunny Jo wants to look her best this winter, and she’s getting ready for a grand adventure on the slopes.

Hiya Karen (oops, feel like I know you!),

I’m about to go skiing for 5 months. I’ve always used cream blush (especially the MAC ones), but now I need one that will give strong color but that won’t rub off too easily with goggles, gloves and possibly snow!

I’m terrified about beauty on the slopes to be honest, so any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Jo

Hi, Jo. 🙂 Sounds like an awesome trip. I’m really excited for you!

Before we start, I gotta come clean. Snow and I don’t always get along (I’m more of a surfer girl), but here are some things that should help keep your makeup where it belongs.

1. Start with a makeup primer

Primers are typically colorless lotions or gels applied before foundation, blush and/or powder to anchor your makeup in place. It’s simple: when I wear a primer, my blush lasts longer, and I don’t have to reapply as often throughout the day. Take a look at Korres Face Primer; deluxe sample tubes are just $10 at Sephora.

2. Try a layer of powder blush above your cream blush

Whenever I wear a cream blush, dusting a layer of powder blush on top really seems to lock in the color. If you can swing by the MAC counter before your trip, bring some of your favorite cream blushes with you, and ask the MAC makeup artists for coordinating powder blush recommendations. Oh, and if you don’t have one already, shop around for a good blush brush. I really like the MAC 129 ($34).
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Two Ways to Win Philosophy’s Hope for the Best!

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win philosophy hope for the best top

Winter’s right around the corner brrr..., and for many of us that means switching up ye olde skin care routine to include richer, more moisturizing products.

But no matter which season we’re talking about, one product I won’t stop turning to is Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser.

A creamy face wash for dirt, oil and makeup, it never rubs my combination dry/oily skin the wrong way, and that makes it a staple in my skin care arsenal.

It also brings me to the topic of this post…

Ready for a mid-week giveaway? 🙂

The prize

One lucky lady will win Philosophy’s Hope For the Best kit, with a bottle of Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser, one Hope in Jar face cream and an Eye Hope eye cream (a $42 value).

win philosophy hope for the best box 1

win philosophy hope for the best box 2

How to enter…

2ways2enterEntering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. In it, tell me about something you hope for. Your answer can be as long or as short as you like.

I hope my friends and family stay healthy for many years to come, and even though the odds are totally stacked against me, I kinda hope I win the lottery.

Follow me
Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to win Philosophy’s Hope for the Best skin care (a $42 Value) http://bit.ly/4iRSBL

Recap…

  1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
  2. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

    RT @karenmbb: RT to win Philosophy’s Hope for the Best skin care (a $42 value) http://bit.ly/4iRSBL

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, November 13.

ขอให้โชคดี!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Too Faced Glamour To Go III Palette: These Eyes Have It

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Too Faced Glamour To Go iii Palette Review closed

The folks at Too Faced Cosmetics are making sure good things come in small packages.

Their latest Glamour to Go Palette (Glamour to Go III, $20) — the third in a series of travel-friendly sets for face, cheeks and eyes — is a lean, mean makeup machine!

Too Faced Glamour To Go iii Palette Review pocket palette

Too Faced nailed the “to go” part, stuffing this slim shady (I love the pink roses on the front!) with eight eyeshadows, a blush and four lipglosses. The sturdy palette easily fits in the palm of my hand, yet despite its diminutive stature looks like it could take a beating from phones, keys and random cans of cat food squirreled away in a purse. 🙂

Color-wise, I think the stars of this show are the eyeshadows. With a good mix of wearable neutrals and fun accent shades, the eight shimmery shades of gold, light pink, dark pink, taupe, black, bronze, silver and violet cover a wide range of potential looks, and I really like them for quick washes of color on my lids.

Too Faced Glamour To Go iii Palette Review swatches
Eyeshadow swatches, top row: gold, light pink, dark pink and taupe; Eyeshadow swatches, bottom row: black, bronze, silver and violet

As for texture and color payoff, the smoothness and rich pigmentation of these shadows remind me of something Urban Decay would create. In other words, good stuff.

Oh, and if you’re a fan of Benefit’s Coralista, check out Glamour to Go III’s blush — a shimmery, peachy pink with a hint of gold that I’m guessing would look great with a snowboarder’s tan.
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Sandra Bullock: Her Best Hair?

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The year was 1995; the movie was The Net, starring newbie movie starlet Sandra Annette Bullock (born July 26, 1964).

Does anyone else remember watching that movie and wondering, “What’s this Internet thing they keep talking about?” LOL! Times sure have changed. 🙂

Sandra was just three credits shy of a degree from East Carolina University when she dropped everything and headed to New York to pursue acting.

Things worked out, to say the least, with more than 30 films to her credit, among them, Speed, Miss Congeniality, Crash and, most recently, The Proposal (which I really liked!).

Which of Sandra's hairstyles do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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