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

Chanel Makeup Studios Make Going International as Easy as Placing a Call

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Yes, Virginia, there is Chanel Heaven, and thy name is the Chanel Makeup Studio.

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One of three Chanel Makeup Studios in the US (Honolulu, Hawaii; Costa Mesa, California; and Seattle, Washington), the Honolulu studio, located at Nordstrom in the Ala Moana shopping center, not only lets Chanel junkies play with the company’s full domestic makeup, fragrance and skin care lines but also allows them to get their Chanel-addicted hands on exclusive international products not normally carried by Chanel’s regular US counters.

Some European Chanel products currently available at the Ala Moana Chanel Makeup Studio

  • Chanel Irreellee Blush in Snow ($40)
  • Chanel Irreellee Blush in Sable ($40)
  • Chanel Les 4 Ombres De Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in Beiges Velours ($55)
  • Rouge Allure Lipstick in Reve ($30)
  • Rouge Allure Lipstick in Discrete ($30)
  • Hydrabase lipstick in Sahara Beige ($30)
  • Glossimer in Muscat ($25)
  • Chanel Les Vernis Nail Color in Viollete ($20)

Non-Hawaii Chanel-aholics needn’t despair because nirvana is just a phone call (and a credit card) away. US residents may order Chanel’s international products by calling any of the three US Chanel Makeup Studios. Reach the Honolulu studio at (808) 953-6100. Ask for Sheila, the studio’s fabulous Chanel makeup artist, and tell her “Hi!” for me.
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Bright Ideas for Summer Nails

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Summertime means being able to wear brighter nail colors like corals, hot pinks and even sparkly blues or purples without looking like crazy nail lady. Here are a few ideas to brighten up your fingers and toes.

  • Essie Summer 2008 Nail Polish Collection: Help!
    “After washing off my neon-orange fingers and chewing three Tums (note to file: do not eat half a bag of cheese crunchies in one sitting), I pulled out my Essie Summer 2008 nail polish stash and painted each of the nails on my left hand (and the pointer finger on my right) different colors. This is what too many cheese crunchies can make a woman do.”

  • China Glaze Text in Colour 2BHOT: Holographic Hotness
    “The 2BHOT colors are a bit flashier/more club kid than my usual pink, peach, and coral nail color choices, but I really like them. The funky way the colors seem to change in the light adds another dimension to these polishes that makes them a lot of fun.”

  • Chanel Flamingo Nail Colour: My Sunday Morning Manicure
    “Part of Chanel’s summer 2008 collection, Flamingo is a soft, pale pink with flecks of shimmery silver. I swooned when I first saw it in the store a few weeks ago; I have a well-documented weakness for pink.”

  • China Glaze Ink Nail Polish: Wow, That’s Bright
    “The set includes six bright and slightly obnoxious colors, a cute packet of nail decals, a wee bottle of black polish (great for drawing patterns on the other nail colors) and a bottle of orange-scented cuticle oil.”

  • China Glaze OMG Text in Colour 2BKEWL Nail Polishes
    “I’m lucky enough to live close to my parents, so tomorrow I’m heading home to visit my mom for Mother’s Day. I thought it might be fun if she and I painted our nails a matching color. Here’s the twist: I would like it to be a slightly obnoxious color, so her yoga friends at the senior center can ask her about it (‘Girl, I saw those nails from across the room while I was mid-downward dog!’).”

Right now I’m wearing coral on my toes and sheer pink on my fingers. How about you? Do you have a current favorite nail color?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Lippmann Collection Nail Studio: A Manicure and Pedicure in Paradise

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I did a little post-birthday beauty indulging yesterday at the new Nordstrom store (only three months old) in Oahu’s massive Ala Moana shopping center. Visitors to Oahu often miss or skip Ala Moana, but it’s really quite impressive as malls go.

Beyond the beautiful layout, with open-air sections, koi ponds and indoor palm grottos, Ala Moana is a retail paradise. It houses more than 260 stores and restaurants (making it one of the largest malls in America) and includes a great mix of ultra-high end, Rodeo Drive-esque stores like Chanel, Prada and Tiffany; consumer-friendly shops like Old Navy, Gap, Sephora (aka, home away from home); and larger department stores like Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.

Before coming out to Hawaii, I was told by a friend that the new Oahu Nordstrom store was the only one in the United States with a Lippmann Collection Nail Studio. Uh … when I heard that, I booked a manicure and pedicure with a quickness only known to animals in heat and hopelessly addicted beauty junkies.

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Lippmann polishes, designed by celebrity nail manicurist Deborah Lippmann, are recognized for their durability and color. With Nordstrom’s help, Lippmann created the Lippmann Collection Nail Studio (referred to as The Lippmann Nail Bar by the Nordie’s staff). She got her start after makeup guru Bobbi Brown discovered her polishes, which are known as much for their fun names (Lippmann is also an accomplished jazz singer and names her polish colors after song titles like Tiny Dancer) as they are for their strength and quality.

Since Lippmann began in the business by catering to on-the-go starlets, several of her nail treatment products can be used quickly and without water. The studio is also known for its waterless manicure.

While I had “some work done” at the nail bar, Aimee (pronounced eye-me), the store’s Lippmann counter manager and manicurist, filled me in on the philosophy behind the Lippmann services.

A Lippmann manicure is less painful than a typical mani/pedi treatment. Cuticles aren’t cut, hands and toes are soaked in large bowls of warm water rather than spa tubs with jets, and the nails are only filed in one direction to prevent breakage. It’s more of a holistic approach to nail care. A Lippmann manicure focuses on improving the health of your nails over time. During a mani/pedi, the nail technician asks you about your personal nail care habits and will also recommend treatments and techniques that you can apply at home.

Six Degrees of Mariah Carey

The singer is currently on Oahu to shoot a new video. The first thing Aimee said when I sat down for my manicure was that she was currently on-call to do Mariah’s nails and might have to leave at any second. Consequently, all I could think of during my manicure was, “I’m with Mariah Carey’s manicurist, holy frickin’ crap!”

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The Lippmann Nail Bar offers several different nail treatments. I really wanted to indulge myself, so I went for the Star Treatment Manicure and Pedicure, which includes an exfoliating scrub, as well as a hand-and-foot massage.

Partial menu of services…

Star Treatment Manicure ($40)
Nail and cuticle care, scrub with heated mitts, hand massage, polish (55 minutes)

Star Treatment Pedicure ($60)
Nail and cuticle care, foot soak, exfoliation of callused skin, exfoliating scrub to knee (oy! I’m so glad I shaved my legs), foot massage, polish (60 minutes)

Studio Manicure ($30)
Nail and cuticle care, hand massage, polish (50 minutes)

Studio Pedicure ($50)
Nail and cuticle care, exoliation of calloused skin, foot massage, polish (50 minutes)

Aimee helped me pick out shades for my hands (Tiny Dancer, a pale pink) and my toes (It’s Delovely, a bright coral) and described several of Lippmann’s famous nail treatments.

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I really enjoyed both the manicure and the pedicure, but the pedicure took the cake. You’re treated like queen for a day, reclining in a comfortable, squishy chair while your toes get pampered and painted.
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Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, June 10

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Honolua Surf Co.
My favorite surf apparel company, Honolua makes cute t-shirts, rash guards, dresses and sweatshirts (yes, it gets chilly in the tropics). Every time I visit the islands, I pick up a couple of their printed tees.
honolua

MakeupFix
The lovely Mrs. Lynne takes makeup ‘ohana (family) to new heights with her beauty blog, MakeupFix.net. Reporting from the island of Oahu in Hawaii, she covers MAC Cosmetics and a whole lot more.
makeupfix.net

Poof
Their slogan reads, “Changing the way you do your business, one drop at a time.” A small business based in Hawaii, Poof sells these little drops that you plop into the toilet after you’ve “dropped the kids off at the pool.” I wrote about them once before. The drops eliminate any unpleasant odors … and the whole concept just makes me laugh.
poof
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Most Popular Posts of the Week: June 2-8

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The strangest thing just happened. The sun is out, but it just poured down rain for a few minutes. It was the hardest rain I’ve seen in a while… Maybe it’ll sweep away the chickens, ha!

  • MAC Cosmetics Face of the Day: Hot Pink and Silver
    “It’s standard operating procedure for me to wake up on Mondays feeling grouchy, so to celebrate this minor miracle I decided to go big and bold with a full face inspired by the hot pink lip I wore a few days ago in this cosmopolitan-inspired lip look.”

  • Face of the Day: Simple Smokey Eye with Chanel Winter Nights Quad
    “As far as complete looks are concerned, this one is quick and easy to do. I used shades from the Chanel Winter Nights Quad, a versatile set with four basic, but pretty shades of pink, peachy gold, green and light brown. The look works well for the office or for things like family functions or semi-formals.”

  • Stila Sun SPF 15 Bronzing Powder: Here Comes the Sun
    “Normally, when I apply foundation it evens out my skin color and tone. That’s a good thing, but sometimes foundation creates too much uniformity, aka mannequin skin. Bronzer helps spice up the canvas produced by foundation alone.”

  • Ojon Rub-Out Dry Cleanser: Shower in a Bottle
    “I chose to go with the minimal makeup, but my questionable decision didn’t subject the general population to stinky Karen hair. Nope! I used one of my favorite secret short cuts for time strapped mornings: dry shampoo. It’s an absorbent spray-on powder you apply to your roots to cut down on oil and grease. It can’t replace a cleansing hair wash, but it helps in a pinch.”

  • Get the Look for Less: Sonia Kashuk Eye Shadow Duo in Double Whammy
    “I think the green in Double Whammy looks a lot like Sprout — they could practically be eyeshadow twins! The blue shade doesn’t exactly match Parrot — it’s more royal blue than turquoise — but it’s still a very pretty color that can be used to duplicate many of the same looks.”

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Neutrogena MoistureShine Lip Soother SPF 20 Lipgloss: A Budget Forget-Me-Not

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When I hit the beach I make it a rule to leave the expensive stuff at home because stuff has a tendency to disappear near large bodies of water — fancy sunglasses get forgotten on restroom counters, keys fall out of pockets in the surf and cars get broken into. I just bring the bare essentials of inexpensive beauty beach survival along with me and leave my beach bag in the car or on shore. That way, if (when) something does disappear, it’s not hard to replace.

If I were a rich heiress, I’d have an endless supply of Clinique’s Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 lipgloss and would absentmindedly forget tubes of it everywhere, but I’m not a rich heiress. At $14 bucks a pop, I’m not about to risk losing Glosswear, so on beach trips I’m bringing along my tube of Neutrogena MoistureShine Lip Soother SPF 20 in Sheen ($6). This lil’ tube of gloss works like a charm, costs half as much as Glosswear does and still provides great SPF protection.

Sheen looks bright red in the tube but applies sheer pink. It has a light, slick feel on my lips, a subtle taste (which I don’t mind… It actually tastes really good, like watermelon Jolly Ranchers!) and subtle cooling effect. Great stuff, but it does have one unfortunate drawback: it doesn’t last (gives up after about two hours).
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Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia: A Floral Day Fragrance

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When we arrived in Hawaii the other day, my sweet mum-in-law greeted us at the airport with tuberose leis. Tuberose are small, fragrant, tube-shaped flowers with a light rosy fragrance I strongly associate with Hawaii.

But you don’t have to visit the islands to experience the fragrant tuberose. Just head to your nearby Nordstrom Estee Lauder counter and ask to test the Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia Eau de Parfum ($65-120), a white floral combining the scents of tuberose and gardenia.

There are subtle transitions between the top, middle and base notes.

Aerin Lauder, granddaughter of Estee Lauder, originally developed the fragrance for herself and for friends.

Fragrance notes

Top notes: tuberose
Middle notes: gardenia
Base notes: carnation

Estee Lauder used the following elements to create the fragrance: neroli (a plant oil similar to bergamot), lilac, rosewood, tuberose, gardenia, jasmine, white lilies, orange flowers, carnation, vanilla, bourbon

To closely match the scents of flowers in nature, Lauder used a fragrance technology they refer to as “Nature Intact,” and with it the perfumers really hit this one on the nose (pardon the pun). Wearing the scent makes me feel like I’m wearing a tuberose lei.

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I’ve been “visiting” this scent at the Nordie’s Estee Lauder counter near my house in Marin, practically dousing myself in it for the last month, but I’d been on the fence about purchasing it because of the price. The lesser expensive eau de parfum version (1 oz bottle) will set you back $65; a 2.5 oz bottle runs $120. A 1 oz bottle of the more concentrated perfume version, which I haven’t smelled, comes in a beautiful jeweled-top bottle and costs $300. Yes, you read that correctly: $300.

Since tomorrow is my birthday, and to commemorate this trip, I think I’m going to take the plunge and treat myself to the $65 eau de parfum. Hopefully, back at home in Marin, when I wear it I’ll think of Hawaii!

Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia Eau de Parfum Spray

Price: $65, 1 oz bottle; $120, 2.5 oz bottle
Use: A light, white floral fragrance reminiscent of Hawaii
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Try Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia at Nordstrom Estee Lauder counters or look for it online.

Yesterday, I spent the day in sunny Waikiki after watching the Kamehameha Day Floral Parade, the second oldest parade in America, and the only one to celebrate a king. I didn’t expect the parade to be as interactive as it was. Members of the audience would run out to meet, shake hands with and to hug and take photos with the parade participants as the floats passed by. I was told by people in the audience that Hawaii has a lot of parades. I guess there’s always something here to celebrate.

After the parade we headed to the Elks Club at the foot of Diamond Head mountain to hang out by the pool and to watch contestants come in from a kayak regatta. We finished the day with a trip to the Honolulu Aquarium. I wasn’t able to go surfing because the waves were just too big for me (eight footers!) and, hello! — I am way too wimpy to handle those bad boys.

Kamehameha Day Parade Oahu Hawaii
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Retro Roundup: One Year Ago on Makeup and Beauty Blog

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WOW! I can hardly believe this blog is more than a year old already. Where does the time go? These were some of my favorite posts from this time last year. 🙂

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