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 Fall 2008 Makeup: Gold, and Lots of It

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We’re gettin’ close, ya’ll. The July release of Chanel’s Fall 2008 makeup collection is almost here, and I can smell the Chanel-ness from here. Back in April Chanel distributed some preliminary details about the collection, i.e. some teaser info. They told us to expect lots of gold, and I mean LOTS.

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The collection marks the first for new Chanel Creative Director of Makeup Peter Philips, who took the position in January. Judging by these promotional pics and my weaknesses for gold and Chanel, Philips has a winner on his hands. I’m going to be falling in love.

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Here’s a marketing rundown of the complete lineup… Keep tissue handy to wipe that drool off ya chin![Continue reading…]

Sonia Kashuk Sheer Lip Glossing: Oh, That’s Rich

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Hot drugstore gloss alert! Sonia Kashuk’s Lip Glossing with No-Feather Pencil ($7.99) creates color-rich, high-shine lips … but there’s a catch (isn’t there always?).

Take a close look at the above picture. See how only half the tube contains gloss? The other half hides a lip pencil, which works a’ight, but it’s not on par with the gloss. If I could, I’d split the tube in half, take the gloss and ditch the pencil, but these two are a package deal, like the Sex and the City girls.

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The lipgloss packs intense color and shine; it’s almost hard to believe it’s a drugstore product. I like the light vanilla-lemon fragrance. As far as taste, it’s not a flavored lipgloss. The semi-sticky texture lasts about three hours per application. I have four of the 14 shades, and I LOVE THEM!

  • Sassy – shimmery peach
  • Precious – creamy coral
  • Vivacious – shimmery hot pink
  • Scandalous – creamy red

Sassy
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[Continue reading…]

Clean and Clear Advantage Invisible Acne Patch

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When work deadlines and sleep loss collide, like they did for me last week, I expect to get a few zits on my face (sigh). My latest little sebaceous gift included a painful pimple right beside my left nostril. Like most women, I usually dread pimples, but this zit (I named her Eva) gave me the perfect excuse to try out Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch.

The product contains salicylic acid (2%) and creates a defensive barrier for pimples (like a transparent Band-Aid). It’s also makeup friendly, designed to be able to apply concealer and foundation on top of it.

Check out the handy-dandy, travel-friendly applicator pen, which I found fun to use. Twisting the bottom (it makes clicking sounds) deploys the product. It oozes out of the applicator tip.

Application is a cinch … like painting pimples. I coated Eva with a thin layer of clear goo which took about two minutes to dry. As it dried, I could could feel the skin around the area tightening somewhat. Once dry, the surface has an almost invisible, smooth, rubbery texture.

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The product contains a smoothing ingredient Clean and Clear calls Chitosan PCA, a film-forming polymer that pulls up low points and pushes down high points on the skin.

I had a lot of fun testing this product. Over the weekend I tried it out with a few different concealers and found that MAC Select Moisturecover (a liquid, not a cream concealer) looked more natural and smooth on top of the Invisible Patch than other concealers did.

It took a bit of trial and error with Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch to determine the ideal quantity to use. It was easy to over-apply, which left me with thick, flaky, visible layers that peeled right off (eww!).

(Sidenote: At one point in my testing, I was two seconds away from taking a close-up photo of Eva in all of her Invisible Acne Patch glory when I realized that ya’ll don’t need to see my zits.)

This stuff works well for an over-the-counter acne treatment. I started using it on Friday, and by Sunday Eva looked smaller, wasn’t as red, nor was she as painful to the touch. She should be gone by the end of the week, hooray!
[Continue reading…]

What’s the Biggest Risk You Ever Took with Your Makeup?

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What’s the biggest risk you ever took with your makeup?

Mine was orange lipgloss. It terrified me at first, but I’m addicted to it now. I also took chances on blue eyeshadow and bright colored lashes. One of the things I love about makeup is that even if a look doesn’t work out exactly how I hoped it would, makeup isn’t permanent. If I don’t like something, I can always wash it off!

What’s the biggest risk you ever took with your makeup? Let me know in the comments. And try your luck with the Makeup and Beauty Blog slot machine (click BET MAX above to start). You’ll need to have Flash installed on your computer to play. Have fun and good luck!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Face of the Day: Chanel Oasis Quad and Leopard Lipstick

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Today felt like a bold lip kinda day for me, so I decided to take Chanel Leopard Hydrabase Lipstick out for a spin. I didn’t want Leopard to be lonely, so I paired her with her new best friend, the Chanel Oasis Quad (from this year’s summer collection)!

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This coral and brown eye riffs on the blue and green eye I did a few weeks ago. I used the same basic eyeshadow layout this time but switched out the blue and green shadows for neutral tones to balance with the coral-red lipstick.

Two layers of eye makeup bring this look together. Don’t worry, girl! It’s still easy. 🙂

The first layer of eye makeup…

  1. MAC Bare Canvas Paint on the brow bone
  2. MAC Perky Paint Pot on inner lid
  3. MAC Quite Natural Paint Pot on the outer lid

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The second layer of eye makeup…

  1. MAC Shroom eyeshadow on the brow bone
  2. Chanel Oasis Quad in the coral shade on the inner half of the lid (on top of Perky)
  3. Chanel Oasis Quad in the brown shade on the outer half of the lid
  4. MAC Showstopper eyeshadow in the outer corner
  5. Lancome Noir Le Stylo Waterproof eyeliner on the upper and lower waterlines
  6. Chanel Oasis Quad in the khaki underneath the lower lashes

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[Continue reading…]

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, May 27

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Shake Your Beauty
Tia Williams: Novelist. Fashionista. All around bad-ass beauty blogger. Look up “beauty blogger” in the dictionary… that’s all I’m saying. There she is.
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Tag Galaxy
Do you have a muse? When I need a little makeup inspiration, I visit Tag Galaxy. They’ve got this snappy Flickr gizmo/photo search engine that presents a visual representation of your search results. When you input a term (like makeup), the resulting photos from Flickr’s gargantuan library fly in to skin a group of revolving planets right before your eyes! Move over, NASA.
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Songza
Don’t you hate being stuck at work when you want to hear Play that Funky Music White Boy but can’t because you forgot your iPod at home? No problem! Look no further than internet jukebox Songza. Just type in a song’s title or artist, and it streams like on-demand radio. Did I mention it’s free?
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[Continue reading…]

MAC Wipes: Take It Off! Take It all Off!

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I’ve scoured the earth searching for the ideal makeup removing wipe. Okay, well, maybe not the earth, but I have scoured the Bay Area, and I have yet to find a wipe that doesn’t smell weird, doesn’t hurt my eyes, doesn’t cost too much or doesn’t dry out too quickly due to packaging design flaws.

Although I’ve tried wipes by so many other brands, I always resisted buying MAC Wipes because I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $24.50 per pack.

Then, a few weeks ago, before a trip to the MAC Pro Store, I did some long overdue makeup math. I’d just run out of Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes ($9 per pack of 25) and realized that the cost of the bulk pack of 100 MAC Wipes for $24.50 came out to just 25 cents per wipe (versus 36 cents/wipe for Neutrogena’s). Hello, bargain!

That day I bought my first pack of 100 MAC Wipes, and I’m glad I did.
[Continue reading…]

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