Archives for March 2008

Rimmel and Revlon: A Trip to Longs

March 27th, 2008 by Karen 78 Comments

Every time I visit a drugstore, I walk in to get one or two things but end up leaving with a whole basket full o’ haul. ‘Tis the weirdest thing!

So, when I stopped by my local Longs Drugs store today I started by getting the things I actually needed to get: a new Conair paddle brush, Reach mint floss and a bottle of hand soap for the kitchen.

I went with the Burt’s Bees Citrus & Ginger Root hand soap because it smelled good and I liked the bottle. I hope it doesn’t dry out my paws!

After the soap, I started wandering around the makeup aisle (danger!). That’s where the serious hauling occurred. I found this mystery jar of mysterious stuff. I had no idea what it was, but it only cost three bucks! It had a drawing of a horse on it and the words, “Healthy Hoof.” Yeah… I sooooo had to have it.

Next up: Rimmel eye pencils (Two True, Dynamic Duo and Pine) and a Revlon makeup removing pen that Megan here from the blog told me about a few months ago.

rimmel-revlon-longs-haul

Then, I found this green, beige and brown eyeshadow quad from L’Oreal. It caught my eye because of the name: Aishwarya’s Greens. Aishwarya, as in the smokin’ hot Aishwarya Rai, one of my favorite Bollywood stars. Sometimes I get up early on weekends to watch Indian music videos on Namaste America, even though I don’t understand anything they’re saying.[Continue reading…]

NEWS: Allure Program Helps You Look Younger in 30 Days

March 27th, 2008 by Karen 18 Comments

A new program developed by the beauty gurus at Allure.com promises to help you (and me) look younger within the span of 30 days. Let me take this moment to say … I love you, Allure!

Here’s how the program works: Create your free Allure.com account. Then, each day you log on to the site you’ll get a new, easy anti-aging tip. The tips are really more like articles or blog posts, with advice from experts in the health or beauty fields. My tip today was to try to get an extra hour of sleep each night, and the article suggested a few ways for me to try and do that.

Each time you try a tip, check it off on your progress list to track your way through the program. Each time you check off a tip, you’re entered to win a collection of anti-aging products. How smart is that?? We all need a little encouragement along the way. One lucky winner will score a trip for two to the Golden Door Spa (I’m dying to go there!). Other prizes include anti-aging products from Clinique, Neutrogena, Olay, Lancome and Avon.

On your account screen, there’s even a place to keep private notes to yourself — little reminders of things you’d like to try.

For each of the tips, I found it helpful to be able to read through the user comments. Seeing what other women have to say about a tip really takes the program to the next level.

User Peggy3 left this suggestion in the comments:

“my best sleeping tips……ban the acohol. if you need a solid sleep for the next day, take 1 paracetamol before bed, dulls the nerves a little….but don’t do it often. it is very mild and harmless. always have fresh air in the room, and yes….pitch black room, for your circadian cycles.”

I don’t know what paracetamol is (and I would never advise taking anything without investigating it first)… but I made a note to myself on my account screen to find out.

“The makeover program cuts through the clutter of the different information you hear about anti-aging,” says Fiona Gibb, Allure.com web editor. [Continue reading…]

Lip Look: Clinique Cherry Bomb

March 26th, 2008 by Karen 46 Comments

Gasp! A break in the pink madness? Yep. Now I’m crushing big time on red lip glosses like Cherry Bomb ($17.50), a sheer red gloss from Clinique’s Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine line.

They may call it a lip plumper, but I didn’t notice a difference in pucker plumpness. Not a problem, though, because I I love Cherry Bomb’s subtle shimmer and the light red stain it delivers to my lips. It’s tasteless, odorless, non-stick and has a fab shiny finish, too. Love it!

Oy, I’m having a killer day at work today. I’m heading straight to Rite Aid after I leave to grab an ice cream and do some haulin’ (I’m thinking Rimmel lip liners, ooh!). What’s crackin’ for you this afternoon, homie? I’ll hang tough if you will!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Get Mariah Carey’s Look with MAC Heatherette Beauty Powder

March 26th, 2008 by Karen 48 Comments

Mariah Carey’s makeup always looks fierce, especially when she wears a bronzed cheek like she did in her live Monday night performance on MTV’s The Hills.

Mariah totally works her wardrobes (no matter how questionable her taste in clothing) and flat-out owns that killer five octave voice. She mixes just enough ‘tude with a dash of crazy diva to always stand out in a crowd (and to really stand out in a crowd, try this other MAC look on for size).

Re-create Mimi’s signature look with two products: 1) MAC Heatherette’s Smooth Harmony Beauty Powder ($22) , and 2) your favorite cheek brush!

Shimerless Smooth Harmony, part of the Heatherette collection, is a medium-golden bronze compact powder. If you’d like to draw more attention to your cheeks but don’t want to wear pink, coral or plum blush, give Smooth Harmony a try. I think it would look hot with smokey eyes or paired with neutral shades [Continue reading…]

Can You Spot the MAC 217?

March 25th, 2008 by Karen 53 Comments

So, it’s official — I’m a MAC brush geek. Last night, watching the season premier episode of The Hills on MTV, my eagle eye peeped a brush that looked exactly like the MAC 217!

There it is, in all its brush glory, at the Teen Vogue shoot in Paris. A makeup artist uses it to prep a group of French debutantes before their big photo session…

Maybe I’m wrong, fellow brush geeks, but that sure looks like a MAC 217 to me.

In the scene, the makeup artist grabs color from the back of a hand before applying it to the lucky girl. [Continue reading…]

MAC Viva Glam Fans: You Know I Like Free…

March 25th, 2008 by Karen 14 Comments

Hey, MAC Viva Glam fans, if you’re on the prowl for a new dance remix featuring Fergie’s song, Glamorous, MAC launched a special site to help. It just launched today. The first 15,000 folks to download Fergie’s song will get it for free (and you know I like free!). The song, titled Viva Glam Remix, is bass-and-drum heavy, so make sure you’re ready for this jelly before you start bumping it at full blast. Also on the site are e-cards, along with a behind-the-scenes look at Fergie’s Viva Glam ad shoot.

Glamorous, oh, the flossy, flossy!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I Dream of Raspberry Iced Tea with Lacoste Dream of Pink

March 25th, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

It’s Spring Fragrance Quest at Makeup and Beauty Blog!

Before reading I Dream of Raspberry Iced Tea with Lacoste Dream of Pink,Â check out a couple past installments…

I Dream of Raspberry Iced Tea with Lacoste Dream of Pink

I love raspberry iced tea. I do, but when it comes to perfumes, raspberry is a tough scent to get right. Berry infused or inspired fragrance have a tendency to go overboard with the sweet berry notes. When it comes to berry perfumes, there’s a fine line between just right and fragrance headache.

So, I wondered, would Lacoste’s new Dream of Pink get it right? Or would it be just another Strawberry Shortcake doll wrapped in sheep’s clothing?

I admit to having anti-berry bias. After spritzing Lacoste’s red berry-infused Dream of Pink ($52) on my wrist the other day, I had a bottle of Ibuprofen ready to help with the headache I was sure it would cause. Oh, but I was wrong. No headache. Instead, I was met with a nice surprise — the natural, subtle scent of raspberry iced tea!

Lacoste’s Dream of Pink is an updated version of one of their standby fragrances, Touch of Pink. Released in February, Dream of Pink falls into what I’d characterize as the fruity floral fragrance (say that fast five times) category. Lacoste claims that in addition to red berry, Dream of Pink contains [Continue reading…]

Moisturize in a Flash with Olay Quench Mousse

March 24th, 2008 by Karen 41 Comments

When I hear the word “mousse” I think of Bullwinkle, or maybe a creamy chocolate mousse (yum), or perhaps hair mousse, but I don’t think of moisturizing lotions — that is, until now. Introducing Olay Quench Mousse, Olay’s latest entry in the crowded field of body moisturizers.

I usually look for thick, rich body lotions and creams. My first impression of Olay Quench Mousse was that it felt light and fluffy, so I didn’t expect to like it. But ooh la la I did!

I gave it a try after my shower last night. I shook the bottle, squirted a few dots o’ mousse onto my arms and watched in fascination as the dots reacted with air, magically growing into[Continue reading…]