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

10 Days of Giveaways: Comment to Win Barielle Sugar Rush Nail Polish Collection

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The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

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Hawaii is like something from an artist’s imagination. Everywhere I turn, colors catch my eye — a vibrant rainbow painted across the sky, thick bunches of bright flowers along the side of the road or the stark blue sea that spans the horizon.

Colorful things have always made me happy. They get the neurons firing and endorphins pumping, and I don’t think we can ever have enough color in our lives, especially when it comes to nail polish!

Speaking of color, it’s what today’s giveaway is all about. 🙂

The prize

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Two lucky ladies will win a set of all six nail polishes from the Barielle Sugar Rush summer 2009 collection (a $48 value).

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Swizzle Stix

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Sweet Addiction

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Lemonade

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Grape Escape

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Decadence

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Cotton Candy

How to enter

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section below with the name of your favorite candy of all time!

Mine has to be Snickers candy bars. *LOVE* those! 🙂

I’ll pick both winners at random from among the people who enter by 11:59PM PST tonight (Monday).

ご幸運を祈ります!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

Sundays without Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, May 17

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Like the crazy cat mom that I am, I called the Hotel Cattyfornia (such a lovely place) to check on Tabs this morning. The staff tells me he’s having a grand time sunning himself in the windows and staring at the caged birds in the center of the playroom.

I miss my kitty, sigh…

Since I’m suffering from a bad case of the cat mom blues, I’m trying to get some kitty lurving from the strays that live in the condo complex here. A gang of tail-less tabbies has always run the place, but I haven’t seen them around lately. The new kings of the neighborhood may be the two cats that guard the playground out front.

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I’ve named this gray and white one Cutie Pie…

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…and this black and white one Peanut.

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Cutie Pie and Peanut standing guard.

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I like to think Tabs would get along with his Hawaiian brethren!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Style Warriors Swatches and Pictures

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MAC Style Warriors display

Yesterday I spent about an hour at a Nordstrom store here on Oahu getting familiar with MAC’s new Style Warriors collection. It goes on sale in stores nationwide in a few days (May 21), but Nordies is taking pre-orders right now and has the products available for display on counter (if they’re not out, you may have to ask).

If you can’t wait, MAC has the products, at least most of them, for sale online, but they haven’t turned on their Style Warriors collection page yet, so you’ll have to dig around through their product sections like those for Eyes and Lips to find ’em.

Swatches and pictures (with the exception of the Leg Bronzers and Lustre Drops)

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The other half of the MAC Style Warriors display

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Eyeshadows in Soft Force, Tempting, Night Manoeuvres, Bright Future and Vibrant Grape

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Lipglasses from left to right: Liberated, Gold Rebel, Fierce and Fabulous and Style Warrior

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Sunsational Lipstick

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Brave New Bronze Lipstick

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Purple Rite Lipstick

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Tribalist
[Continue reading…]

Benefit Posietint Lip and Cheek Stain: Gorgeous Yet Understated

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Today my Bay Area buddy Glosslizard shares her thoughts on Benefit Posietint lip and cheek stain.

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Hello, all you MBB beauties! Glosslizard here, for the ever-fabulous and currently vacationing Karen!

I recently had the chance to play with Benefit Cosmetic’s Posietint lip and cheek stain ($28), thanks to a generous sample from one of the lovely MA’s at my local Benefit boutique!

Posietint is not new (it was released last year) but is the younger, flirtier sister of Benefit’s cult fave lip and cheek stain, Benetint (also $28).

It’s a lighter color than Benetint (Posietint is described as “petal pink” vs. Benetint’s “Rose”) and seems aimed at fairer complexions.

The bubble-gum pink fluid has a thicker texture than Benetint, almost gel-like, and spreads easily over cheeks and lips.

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Bare lips

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One coat

I found that one coat gave my lips a super-faint pink flush that was very flattering, and the kind of thing I might wear to work out when I don’t want to look like I bothered to wear makeup (hah)!

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Two coats

Two coats (applying a thin coat, allowing it to dry, and then applying the next) provided a more vibrant shade of pink, and three coats left my lips with a definite rosy flush comparable to a light coat of Benetint. It felt no more drying than bare lips, but I prefer it with a touch of gloss!

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Swatch for texture

I tried Posietint on my cheeks as well, and it gave a lovely, sheer hint of color. It would look gorgeous yet understated on pale-skinned ladies, and would probably work well on fair to medium complexions layered under or over a bronzer!

The lasting power of Posietint is not amazing but seems pretty good for a light-colored stain. One coat on my lips didn’t last through eating or drinking anything, two coats left a light but visible flush after I indulged in tea and snacks, and three coats lasted all afternoon and into the evening under a coat of gloss.

A couple warnings…

First, Posietint comes in a container with an opaque coloring, and the bottle color is not the color of the product! To me, the bottle is a little peachy or coral, while the stain itself is definitely a blue-based pink. If you’re looking for a warmer color I would suggest looking elsewhere.

Second, as with all stains, you’ll get the best results with a smooth, even starting surface, so exfoliate lips (and cheeks too, if necessary) first! A damp washcloth rubbed gently on the lips after showering works well, or, for an indulgence, I love Tarte’s FRXtion lip exfoliator ($11)!

How ’bout your favorite lip/cheek stains? Have any worth sharing?

This post was written by Glosslizard, a Bay Area beauty enthusiast since the age of 14. When she isn’t taking care of her two sons, husband, three cats or her snake, you’ll find her gardening, practicing aikido, or drooling over the latest and greatest MAC and Chanel releases.

10 Days of Giveaways: Comment to Win Sonia Kashuk Brushes and More

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The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

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Aloha from the w i d e s t state in the United States when measured from east to west.

Rise and shine, pal ‘o mine. It’s 5:15AM out here right now, not long before dawn, but even in the dark the jungle surrounding my in-law’s condo is filled with deafening birdsong from more species than I can count. I recognize the sound of roosters and doves, but I’m not sure about the rest of them.

Yesterday we spent the day catching up with family and walked around Ala Moana Shopping Center’s 300 stores. It’s pretty much your typical open-air mall experience but on a gigantic scale.

Mom is getting better every day. She’s lost a lot of weight from the chemo and gets tired quickly, but that’s what frequent breaks on mall benches are for.

I hope you had fun at the virtual potluck, but I apologize for El Hub’s behavior and the incident with the tree swing. He had one too many cups of sangria. 🙂

But that was then and this is now. There’s no sense crying over spilled punch.

Are you ready for today’s installment of 10 Days of Giveaways?

The prize

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One lucky lady will win the following items from Sonia Kashuk (a $43 value):

How to enter

Entering is easier than ordering froo-froo drinks at a beach bar.

All you have to do is leave a comment about anything you like — the name of your favorite mixed drink, what shoes you’re wearing today or what your plans are tonight.

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59PM PST tonight.

Boa sorte!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Like my mother-in-law, Sonia Kashuk has faced breast cancer. You can read about Sonia’s story here.

The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

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