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

Share Your Philosophy on Beauty [WIN A PRIZE]

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UPDATE 8/27/08: The giveaway is closed. Congrats to Kristina! She won the Philosophy gift set.

I’ve been bad about my diet this week, so this morning I put myself on a no junk food regimen, which means no chips or soda (boo!). Thank gawd for Philosophy’s The Soda Fountain ($30), a fun trio of soda-scented body washes. The Root Beer, Cherry Cola and Fruit Punch scents smell just like fountain soda, yum! Each gets my body squeaky clean and, no joke, even curbs my carbonated cravings … sorta. They even work as shampoos or bubble baths.

And take a look at this limited edition Soda Fountain Lip Shine Trio, featuring three soda-fountain scented lipglosses for $28.

Philosophy Giveaway

Enter today’s Share Your Philosophy on Beauty giveaway!

The Prize

A gift set containing the following Philosophy products: Amazing Grace Perfumed Shave Gel (7 oz.), Perfumed Buffing Wash (16 oz.) and Perfumed Body Spritz (8 oz.), and a 3-pack of Philosophy’s new Soda Foundation lip shines (colors: Root Beer, Cherry Cola and Fruit Punch); $94 value.

How to Enter

To qualify, leave a comment below with your philosophy on beauty. What makes someone beautiful? It can be as brief 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 winner at random from among the people who enter by 11PM PST on Tuesday. 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

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, August 25

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  1. Mood:

    2. A little fussy but eager to make the day a good one

  2. Eye shadow:

    3. MAC Shadowy Lady Quad

  3. Working out today?

    4. I sure hope so. I’d like to go for a run around the neighborhood after work.

  4. Lips:

    5. Nothing yet, but I’m thinking Cult of Cherry Lipglass.

  5. Outfit:

    6. Grey dress, yellow shoes and a simple pink sweater

  6. What I’m looking forward to today:

    7. Watching The Hills in my pajamas tonight and talking sh*t about Heidi and Spencer the entire time

  7. Where I hope to be in six months:

    8. Working a full time writing job, living in a bigger place and having a better relationship with my parents

  8. Foundation:

    9. Chanel Teint Innocence Compact Foundation in 50 Naturel

  9. Gotta get it done today:

    10. Book airline tickets to Florida for a friend’s wedding, find Tabs (aka “Cat Houdini”) a cat carrier from which he can’t escape

  10. Goals for the week:

    11. To stay positive, get organized, make more time for reading and to get disciplined about my diet. I need to lay off the Baked Lays potato chips, yo!

Now it’s your turn! Just copy this list, and paste it with your answers in the comments. 🙂

Le list

Mood:
Eye shadow:
Working out today?
Lips:
Outfit:
What I’m looking forward to today:
Where I hope to be in six months:
Foundation:
Gotta get done today:
Goals for the week:

Let’s all have a great Monday, ladies!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How Would You Describe Your Signature Makeup Look?

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My signature makeup look is a simple, subtle smokey eye. I call it signature because I wear it all the time, LOL! It takes no more than 15 minutes to do, and I think it’s appropriate both for work or a night on the town.

How would you describe your signature makeup look? If you have a picture of it hosted online (I recommend flickr or photobucket), post a link to it in the comments, or send it to me in an email. I’ll put ’em together in a fun future post with all of our signature looks! Who knows? Maybe Tabs will make an appearance in his slimming stripes. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

All Aboard the Cherry Train with Laura Mercier Cherries Noir

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It’s cherries, cherries everywhere as Laura Mercier boards the cherry train with her Cherries Noir fall makeup collection of colors inspired by 1940s Hollywood glam.

Due on counters nationwide September 1, the collection includes six matte and shimmer Eye Colour eye shadows ($22 each), one Illuminating Powder quad for cheeks ($35) and five Lip Velvet ($22) lipsticks.

Like last week’s MAC Cult of Cherry, Cherries Noir features some really striking lip products I think they’ll be the stars of the show.

A friend of mine who works for Laura Mercier said the new Lip Velvets aren’t exactly lipsticks but rather lip stains packaged like lip glosses, with textures similar to LM’s Glace lip gloss.

With a demi-matte finish (semi-matte, halfway between a matte lipstick and a shiny gloss), the wine, berry and plum shades look easy to wear. If you’ve been looking for a lip that leans toward dark without going full-on vampire, look out for Cherries Noir.

Cherries Noir Lips

  • Cassis: deep mulberry
  • Cherry Blossom: earthy berry
  • Mocha Rouge: tawny brick red
  • Naked Rose: neutral peachy pink
  • Royal Plum: muted wine

I’m looking forward to these and will stalk Nordstrom until I get my hands on ’em!

What do you think about Laura Mercier’s Cherries Noir? Cherry overkill or can’t wait?

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Harajuku Lovers by Gwen Stefani

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Hey, girlies! I’m here at the mall killing some time before heading over to the movies to watch Pineapple Express. At Nordstrom I spied Gwen Stefani’s new Harajuku Lovers fragrances. The bottles are just as cute as I thought they’d be, and each scent comes in two sizes. The large 1.0-fl oz bottles cost $45, and the small 0.33-fl oz are $25.

Unfortunately, none of these lil’ cuties will be coming home with mama. I sniffed all five fragrances and found them too fruity and sweet. “G,” the Gwen doll’s scent, smelled exactly like the bag of Hawaiian coconut candy I finished off the other night. Good for my tummy, yes, but not so good as a fragrance.

Turns out I’m not the only person who wasn’t thrilled by these; bellasugar didn’t think too highly of them, either. Le sigh… I really wanted to like these, too.

Oh, snap! I just looked at the clock, and I need to head to the theater (gotta get my popcorn before the show).

Hope you’re having a good evening!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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Do You Like Pink Lips?

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If there’s a cure for pink lipstick and lipgloss mania I don’t want it. Other color trends come and go, but for me pink lips will always stand the test of time. Here are some of my recent pink lip obsessions.

Happy Saturday! How’s it going today? After straightening out the living room, putting everything in its proper place and thinking about pink lipsticks for a long, long time, I’m officially ready to begin the rest of my day. Better late than never, yo!

Oh, yeah, if you’re ever in my part of California and craving reasonably priced, authentic Japanese food (never mind the giant bronze eagle statue in the dining room), I highly recommend Sushi Boat in San Rafael. I only just found the place a couple weeks ago, but it has already become one of my favorite restaurants in Marin.

I hope you’re having a great weekend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Cult of Cherry Face of the Day with Spiced Chocolate Quad

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Am I the only girl out there who thinks watching The Golden Girls and playing with makeup constitutes a good time? I hope not, LOL!

Earlier this afternoon, with MAC’s Cherry Blossom face chart laid out on the floor in front of me, I did some experimenting with MAC Cult of Cherry’s Spiced Chocolate Quad, Plum du Bois blush, Creme Cerise lipstick and Cherry Blossom Lipglass.

Face charts for Cult of Cherry and MAC’s other makeup collections are available on the MAC website. The charts indicate which products and brushes to use for different looks, and, in some cases, indicate the proper placement of color.

The Cheeks and Lips

In the Cherry Blossom chart, the eyes are bold, but the cheeks and lips are soft and subtle. I reached for Plum du Bois and, following the chart, swirled some on my cheeks with a MAC 187 brush (aka the skunk brush).

Then, I lined my lips with Sublime Culture Cremestick Liner, filling them in with Creme Cherise Lipstick. I topped them off with a layer of Cherry Blossom Lipglass.

The Eyes

Eye Products I Used

I prefer to do one eye at a time, working each one to completion before I move on to the next eye. Some women prefer to work on both eyes at the same time, completing a step on one eye and then repeating it on the other, since they already have the correct brush in hand. I think it boils down to personal preference. For me, it’s faster if I finish one eye before moving on to the other.

The Eyes: Step by Step

  1. First, using a MAC 266 brush, I shaded in my brows with Concrete.
  2. Then, I highlighted the brow bone by dusting Nanogold onto it with a 252 eye shader brush.
  3. I applied Pink Couture Shadestick onto my lids, blending out the edges with my finger.
  4. Then, I swept Sweet Chestnut Eye Shadow directly on top of the Pink Couture Shadestick with a 217 blending brush.
  5. To add more depth to the eye, I added Spiced Chocolate Eye Shadow into the crease with a 219 pencil brush.
  6. With the same brush, I ran Sweet Chestnut Eye Shadow along the lower lash line.
  7. To finish the eye look, I curled my lashes, and then added two coats of Zoomblack mascara onto both the upper and lower lashes.

All done, my little cherry blossom! 🙂
[Continue reading…]

YOU MUST CHOOSE: The R. Kelly Edition

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1. For three months, would you rather live with unwashed hair or uncut toe nails (and you can’t file or sand them down at all)?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

2. Destiny brings you together with your high school or college crush (the one who got away, le sigh). Unfortunately, the two of you are forced to catch up either locked for 24 hours in a Twilight Zone version of an Abercrombie & Fitch store (with music blasting and stinky cologne hanging in the air) or a haunted Ferris wheel that never stops spinning (not even to let you use the ladies room!).
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

3. If you could take home *any* fall makeup collection in its entirety, which one would it be?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

4. Would you rather have unnaturally fast hair growth in your ears or your nose?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

5. You’re shipwrecked on a deserted island with either R. Kelly or the most annoying person you know.
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

6. During a solar eclipse, a booming voice from above (sounds like Cher) orders you to use one single mascara ALL YEAR LONG. Which mascara would it be?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

It’s Friday, yea! Come on, let’s play! Just copy the following list and paste it along with your answers in the comments. 🙂

  1. Unwashed hair or uncut toe nails?
  2. Abercrombie store or the haunted Ferris wheel?
  3. Which fall makeup collection?
  4. Crazy hair in your ears or your nose?
  5. R. Kelly, or the most annoying person you know?
  6. Mascara for the year?

Today is my day off (wheee!), which doesn’t actually mean I don’t have any work to do. It just means I don’t have to go to work at the literary agency. I’m headed to the city in a few for a quick coffee with a friend and may do a little window shopping if time permits. I should be back home soon.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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