As you well know, Tabs loves fashion and style. He’s all about the bling. Here are a few of his recent collaborations.
Celebrity Poll: What Do You Think of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Audrey Hepburn Look?
At last night’s Sex and The City: The Movie DVD release party in New York City Sarah Jessica Parker took inspiration from an icon of Hollywood style. The gloves, bangs, the black shift dress — girlfriend was obvs channeling Holly Golightly/Audrey Hepburn’s look in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
I think Audrey’s classic, timeless look in Breakfast represents the pinnacle of style. Sure, 99% of the time I dress like a bum in tank tops and jeans, but with unlimited financial resources you better believe I’d hit the Safeway wearing pearls, a tiara and a black satin gown.
At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about SJP’s interpretation of the look (the sheer gloves, eek!), but I think I’m on board. The pink patent leather shoes won me over in the end. 🙂
I wish I had a Holly Golightly dress to wear to the wedding I’m going to this afternoon in SF. One of my best friends from college is getting hitched. They’ve been dating forever, so it’s about time. I’ll take some pictures to share.
I’ll probably recycle the dress I wore to Macy’s Passport the other night (Shhh…).
Whatcha doing this fine Saturday? Got any plans?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Makeup Tip: Layer Benefit Gilded Beneath Red Lip Glosses for Warmth and Shimmer
I just got a makeup tip and had to share! A friend who works for Benefit Cosmetics suggested I try their shimmery gold Gilded ($20) pencil with some of my red glosses. I tried it and BAM! — it breathes new life into glosses with instantly warmer, more shimmery color.
I applied a layer of Benefit’s Gilded creamy gold pencil for lips, eyes and cheeks beneath MAC Russian Red Lipglass, MAC Cult of Cherry Lipglass and Sally Hansen’s Natural Lip Gloss in Juicy Cherry.
Here’s a layer of Gilded on her own. I think she’s even pretty by herself…
Beneath a layer MAC Cult of Cherry Lipglass ($14)…
Beneath a layer of MAC Russian Red Lipglass ($14)…
Beneath a layer of Sally Hansen’s Natural Lip Gloss in Juicy Cherry ($8)…
I’m thinking Gilded will work well with dark berry and bright pink lip glosses, too.
Can you think of any other lip products I should try with Benefit Gilded?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
YOU MUST CHOOSE: The Road Trip Edition
1. Whom would you rather drive across the country with: Tyra Banks or Martha Stewart?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
2. Whom would you rather dirty dance with: Tom Hanks or Bobby Brown?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
3. An eccentric billionaire offers you $10 million, but to earn the money you have to either live the rest of your life naked OR take a vow of silence for five years.
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
4. You need an emergency date for a company dinner, and you only have two choices. Both guys are cute and perfect in almost every way — almost. One has uncanny body odor and always smells like dirty belly button; the other smells strongly of Britney Spears’ Fantasy perfume (he exudes it from his pores). Which guy goes with you to dinner?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
5. Describe the happiest day of your life so far.
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
Girl, don’t even front… I know you want to play! 🙂
- Road trip with Tyra or Martha?
- Dirty dancing with Tom Hanks or Bobby Brown?
- $10 million to live your life naked, or 5-year vow of silence?
- Boy who smells like belly button or like Britney Spears’ Fantasy?
- The happiest day of your life so far?
Have a great night. It’s almost my bed time. Zzzzzz…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Red Lips and Smokey Eyes at Macy’s Passport 2008
Last night at the Macy’s Passport fashion show in San Francisco, the makeup was all about 40s-inspired glamour. Dark lips, smokey eyes and brown, shimmery cheeks dominated the runway.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Today I tried to re-create a slightly toned down version of the look (sans flowing burgundy gown) using the Shu Uemura Duo Eye Shadow in Mystifier on my lids and in the crease, the Dior 5 Couleurs Palette in 569 Golds (the pale pink shade in the center of the palette) on the brow bone and MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder on the water line.
For help I looked up the basic smokey eye technique MAC Cosmetics VP of Makeup Artistry Gordon Epsinet described earlier this year.
5-Step Smokey Eye
- Start with a dark pencil eyeliner like MAC Smolder, which blends beautifully with cream shadows and MAC paints as well, and apply lots of black pencil to the eye. Apply the pencil around the rim of the eye first, then blend it with a MAC 219 brush.
- Blend and smudge until it looks like a smokey black stain.
- Then, blend a dark brown eye shadow into the black liner to create a mix of browns and black. Blend the brown shadow over the black pencil stain.
- Next, using a MAC 224 brush (a soft, fluffy, tapered brush), blend a lighter eye shadow color into and above the dark brown layer.
- The final look should have the darkest colors at the lash line, and the colors should transition into lighter colors the farther away you get from the lash line.
For the dark red lip I used NARS Lip Pencil in Amazon and Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in Crimson Dazzle and once again followed Gordon’s advice.
The final look…
Face of the Day with Stila’s Red Carpet Looks Palette
Heya, ladies! What’s shakin’? I just got home from work and wanted to share the look I wore to the office today. It’s a subtle, smokey, purple, pink and taupe eye (what a mouthful!) done using products from Stila’s Red Carpet Looks palette.
Self-imposed makeup lockdown came to an end a few days ago when I spotted the palette on sale for $15.20 at Beautycrunch.com. Isn’t the “magazine” cover cute? Inside are three shadows, a blush and a lipgloss.
Stila Red Carpet Looks
- Shell eye shadow: light, shimmery pink with glitter
- Puck eye shadow: shimmery taupe
- Dahlia eye shadow: matte, dark purple
- Fade blush: matte tan
- It Gloss in Sweet: a shimmery coral-pink lipgloss
I like to wear a lil’ color to the office but can’t go over the top, ya know? I’ll gladly push the envelope, but I can only push it so far before getting in trouble. I think the shadows that come with this kit are great work shades — colorful but not draggy.
Tonight I’m heading into SF for the annual Macy’s Passport charity fashion show. I went last year and had a blast. No interviews scheduled this time around, but I’m bringing along my trusty camera and reporter’s notebook, so hopefully I come away with some good photos and maybe a makeup tip or two for the blog.
We’re almost to Friday. Looks like we made it! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Share Your Mirror Mantra [WIN A PRIZE]
UPDATE 9/20/08: The giveaway is closed, and winners will be notified soon. Good luck!
As women, we often struggle to see beyond our perceived flaws. I know that in my case when I see myself in a mirror I first notice my dark circles, my figure and any fine lines or blemishes on my face before I notice anything else.
It seems like the things that stand out the most are usually the things I’d most like to change.
And I get the feeling I’m not alone. Studies have shown that only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful.
Makeup artist Carmindy of TLC’s What Not to Wear wants to help women see their beauty before their faults. The overriding theme of her new beauty book, Get Positively Beautiful, is to help you train your brain to focus on your strongest features first.
The book shows how to enhance your natural beauty with step-by-step instructions for eyes, brows, lashes, lips, cheeks and skin. It covers ways to adapt looks to different weather conditions and “beauty moods.” There’s even a useful index in the back that lists high end and budget beauty products Carmindy recommends.
I like how the book uses pictures of real women (not models) in the tutorials and tips, and the personal “mirror mantras” sprinkled throughout the book are my favorite touch.
A mirror mantra is an uplifting statement you say to yourself while looking in the mirror. Yeah, it’s a bit cheesy, but words hold power. If mean words have the power to hurt our feelings, then kind words have the power to help them.
A few of my favorites from the book…
Mirror Mantras
I’m blessed to have a dark skin tone that enables me to wear such beautiful shades.
–Theta, 47, El Cajon, CA
As a war survivor from Cambodia, I am thankful each day for my life and health. Many others were not so lucky.
–Sori, 25, Las Vegas, NV
You have the right to remain fabulous!
–Elaine, 51, Arlington, MA
Get Positively Beautiful Book Giveaway
Enter today’s Get Positively Beautiful book giveaway by sharing your own mirror mantra in the comments.
The Prize
Five winners will each receive a copy of Get Positively Beautiful by Carmindy (222 pages, hardcover); $21.99 value.
How to Enter
To qualify, leave a comment below with your own mirror mantra. It can be as short or as long as you like (up to a maximum of 250 words), and there are no right or wrong answers. I’ll choose the winners at random from among the people who enter by 11PM PST on Friday. Be sure to use a valid email address when you comment so I can reach you if you win! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Benefit Dallas Blush Gives Cheeks a Peachy Glow
When I was growing up in the 80s and listening to hip hop in the ‘burbs, I totally wanted a pony. In terms of transportation, I figured a pony would be soooo much cooler (and much more interactive) than my yellow bike with the banana seat. My bike was a’ight, but a pony would have been able to jump fences when I needed to escape the playground bully (let’s call her Tammy… B*tch, you know who you are!).
I never got the pony, but I think that wanting one partly explains why I like Benefit’s Dallas blush ($28).
Look at the cute box it comes in! I could have been that girl riding the pony, le sigh!
Dallas comes with a small, flat brush with a wooden handle. The wearable color would have made it great to take on vacay if the box had been better constructed for travel. It’s just cardboard and doesn’t snap shut. I could see it withstanding a brief Tabs attack (he’s been into swiping at stuff lately), but it might not do well stored in a checked bag or casually dropped into a big purse.
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