Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Get the Look for Less: Sonia Kashuk Eye Shadow Duo in Double Whammy

June 3rd, 2008 by Karen 37 Comments

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Remember the MAC Cosmetics blue and green face of the day from a few weeks ago? Parrot ($14), a turquoise eyeshadow, and Sprout ($14), a sea green, featured heavily in the look. While I think they’re both fabulous colors, I wanted to find another more budget-friendly option, considering how $28 is a lot to pay for two colors that may not get a lot of regular use. Enter Sonia Kashuk’s Eye Shadow Duo in Double Whammy ($7.99). It offers two very similar blue and green shades for a quarter the price.
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Stila Sun SPF 15 Bronzing Powder: Here Comes the Sun

June 2nd, 2008 by Karen 55 Comments

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“Here comes the sun, little darling, and I say, it’s all right.”

When I stare lovingly at Stila’s Sun Bronzing Powder SPF 15 ($28) compact I always think of Here Comes the Sun, one of my favorite songs by The Beatles. I love the compact’s cheerful design and pretty bronze case. How can something so small put me in such a wonderful mood?

Sun Bronzing Powder isn’t just pretty on the outside, though. This pressed powder delivers a glowy warmth and comes in two shades, codenamed 01 and 02; I’ve used 02, a warm brown matte with just the tiniest bit of sparkle.

I feel like my skin glows after applying Sun Bronzing Powder. It’s a very subtle glow that people may not even notice, but I can. I can really see the difference when I apply the powder shortly after putting on foundation.

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.
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MAC Cosmetics Face of the Day: Hot Pink and Silver

June 2nd, 2008 by Karen 59 Comments

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Happy Monday! Talk about unexpected. I woke up this morning feeling extra spunky — and that was even before my first cup of coffee. 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.

These lips stand out from a mile away, so I went with a soft pink and silver eye to add some semblance of balance to the look.

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The first layer of eye makeup…

MAC Girl Friendly Paint Pot on the browbone and crease
MAC Shimma Paint on the lid and barely into the crease

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Wellness by Clean: Tranquility in a Bottle

June 1st, 2008 by Karen 10 Comments

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Between the blog, freelancing and my day job at the literary agency, I’ve been pretty busy lately. It’s nothing like how busy those of you with young children or full-time class schedules are, but it’s still been enough to stress me out. To say I’ve been on edge for the past few months is probably the understatement of the year, so when I heard about two new Wellness by Clean perfumes ($76 each), both created to help women relax and to feel rejuvenated, I had to try ’em out. They’re expensive, but so is therapy.

Clean claims that spritzing either eau de parfum, Harmony or Purity, on your pressure points induces a sense of tranquility, like a spray-on spa treatment.

Harmony:
Top notes — Italian lemon, eucalyptus, tea and dewberry
Middle notes — rose, jasmine, orange blossom
Base notes — cedar wood and musk

Purity:
Top notes — bergamot, mandarin, tea and dewberry
Middle notes — rose, jasmine, muguet (Lily of the Valley), germanium
Base notes — cedar wood, sandalwood, leather and musk

I am impatient with fragrances. If the top notes — that is, the initial burst of fragrance — don’t hook me, I usually look elsewhere, but that’s not how it played out with either of these perfumes. Both scents had powerful top notes that almost overwhelmed my sensitive nose, but the subsequent middle and base notes more than made up for the initial shock.

Initially, Harmony smelled like a huge basket of lemon rind strapped to my face, and Purity smelled like crushed mint leaves in my nostrils, but as soon as the dominant top notes mellowed out and transitioned into the milder middle and base notes, I began to feel some of the rejuvenating effect.

Harmony turned into a soft, powdery jasmine and rose floral fragrance; Purity morphed into a warmer floral with rose notes blending with musk and sandalwood.

I feel that Purity is the more invigorating, rejuvenating fragrance of the two, while Harmony is the more soothing scent.
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A Look Back: 90s Supermodels

June 1st, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

I read a piece in The Independent this morning about how some of the famous OG supermodels of the 1990s are getting work again.

“Three of the original ‘Big Four’ that Gianni Versace sent down the catwalk in 1991 will be back on the billboards. Linda Evangelista, who celebrated her 43rd birthday this month, is starring in Prada’s autumn/ winter adverts, and Christy Turlington is the face of Escada.”

I remember when you couldn’t escape Cindy Crawford’s face. It seemed like it was everywhere you turned. For years I watched her on MTV’s House of Style. I even went through a Crawford mole phase; I drew it in and wore it around for a few days (until my mom told me I looked completely ridiculous).
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Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, May 31

May 31st, 2008 by Karen 22 Comments

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic
My friend Christine knows what it means to be busy. As a full-time doctor and beauty blogger, she’s always looking for ways to streamline her beauty routine. On more than one occasion, her beauty tips and shortcuts have helped me get to work on time. If time is a luxury in your life, you owe it to yourself to visit her blog.
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The Knot
Wedding Mecca. The Knot delivers much more than simply advice on how to plan your wedding. It’s also a social networking site, a support system and a reality check for the newly betrothed.
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Lifehacker
Do you ever feel so busy and overwhelmed that you’d trade in your best pair of shoes for a way to shave 10 minutes off your day? No? Me neither, LOL! But seriously, each day Lifehacker posts new time saving tips galore (aka life hacks) and doesn’t charge a thing.

Animoto
Music video directors everywhere must have freaked when they heard about Animoto. The free service lets you create totally kick-ass 30-second music video slideshows from photographs that you upload yourself. The shows are perfectly timed to music. It’s easy, awesome and totally free. And bloggers can embed their creations into their own websites.
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Lancome Le Stylo Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner Lasts Through Tears of Joy

May 31st, 2008 by Karen 34 Comments

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G’morning! It’s pre-coffee early here, but I wanted to pop in to say hi. My younger brother’s graduating from college today, and I’m heading home to the East Bay (about 30 miles from here) to watch him cross the stage in his cap and gown. I’m so proud! When it comes to seeing or talking about my brother’s accomplishments, I turn to mush; a few years ago I watched him and his band perform on stage (he plays guitar) at a punk club and broke into tears of joy amid a sea of moshing mohawks and tattoos.

My little brother’s worked hard to reach today, and I’m so very proud of him. The odds that I’ll burst into tears during the ceremoney are high, so I’m wearing my new favorite waterproof eyeliner, Lancome’s Le Stylo Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner ($23) in Noir, a deep, rich black.

Le Stylo Waterproof reminds me a lot of my beloved MAC Technakohl liner. Like Technakohl, it has a twist-up tip and a creamy formula that glides on without tugging or pulling. Le Stylo outlasts Technakohl, though, when applied to the waterline, which is why I’m using it today. It also sports a sponge smudger on one end — handy for diffusing harsh edges and lines.

Le Style Waterproof comes in seven shades — Bronze (bronze), Cafe (brown), Minuit (blue), Prune (purple), Fumee (grey), Noir (black), and Green Buzz (dark green). I can’t wait to grab a couple more!
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A Hot Pink Lip: My Tribute to the Mighty Cosmopolitan

May 30th, 2008 by Karen 36 Comments

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This hot pink lip pays tribute to the SATC signature drink, the mighty cosmopolitan! Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte turned that cocktail into a cult classic.

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For this lip I used MAC Hollywood Nights lipstick (a hot pink), Chanel Glossimer in Pink Crystal (a light, shimmery pink) and used MAC Pink Treat Cremestick to line my lips. Now, all I need is a group of girlfriends with time on their hands and somewhere fancy to go.
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