Archives for August 2008

MAC Cult of Cherry: T-Minus Two Weeks and Counting

August 7th, 2008 by Karen 47 Comments

Here’s a brief peak at some of the products from MAC’s upcoming Cult of Cherry collection. I haven’t been this excited about a MAC collection since … well, since the last MAC collection.

What makes Cult of Cherry noteworthy? For me it’s the rich reds, dark plums and chocolate browns. The collection includes nine lipsticks (four Mattenes), two blushes, five Lipglasses, three eye shadow quads, two nail polishes and Zoom Lash mascara (also part of MAC’s permanent collection).

Tempting Quad

What do you think of Tempting Quad? It houses four shadows for $36.

Next to Nothing: A pinky beige shimmer shadow; on me it shows up more pink.
Tempting: OMG. Where has this rich, shimmery golden brown been all my life? It just melts into my skin. What a fabulous crease shade.
Dark Edge: A sheer, deep chocolate brown semi-matte that’s a bit on the cool side. I really like this in the outer V.
Sharp: This shimmery green-gold shade turned out to be a nice surprise. In the pan it looked a little garish, but I like the way it looks on my lids.

On this eye that’s Next to Nothing on my brow bone, Tempting in the crease, Sharp on the lid and Dark Edge in the Outer V. I have a feeling there are endless ways to wear this quad. It’s lurve, ladies!

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Lip Look: Today with Chanel Formentera Lipstick

August 7th, 2008 by Karen 17 Comments

chanel-aqualumiere-formentera-final

My obsession with pink lipstick kicked into high gear again. Today I’m wearing beigey pink-gold Chanel Formentera Aqualumiere Sheer Colour Lipshine SPF 15 ($27).

Part of the Chanel Fall 2008 makeup collection, Formentera shines like mad yet feels whisper light on my lips. It’s a pretty option when you want the staying power of a lipstick with the shine of a gloss. I’ve been pairing it with subtle smokey eyes, like this khaki-grey eye with Benefit Cream Shadows or this black-champagne eye with Clinique’s Midnight matte.

ALERT: Coco Chanel Heads to Lifetime Television!

Confession time: I loves me some Lifetime (“Television for Women!”) movies, especially ones starring B-list celebs like Tori Spelling. I can’t resist dramatic woman-in-peril story lines.
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Project Beauty: Makeup Meets Your Nintendo DS

August 7th, 2008 by Karen 11 Comments

Gaming legend Sega and cosmetics giant Shiseido are teaming up to bring makeup tips and beauty advice to the Nintendo DS.

Details are sketchy, but rumor has it that Project Beauty, aka Shiseido Beauty Solution Supervised Exploration Center Project Beauty (LOL!) will go on sale in Japan this November.

With an optional add-on camera, users will be able to take photos of faces, which are then analyzed by the system. Based on bone structure, skin tone and the position of features in the face, the program then creates tailor-made makeup looks optimized for your convenience. Geek out, yo!

Depending on how it’s executed, I think the idea has potential. I’m intrigued! Software like this could potentially come in handy, especially if it’s made available for devices like smartphones. Quality beauty-related applications for mobile devices would come in handy while one is haulin’, yah? 😉

I’m guessing that since Shiseido is involved with Sega and Nintendo on this one, the makeup and skin care suggestions will draw primarily from their line of products, but who knows? — if it catches on in Japan, other makeup brands may soon follow.

If MAC or Chanel released a lipgloss advisor for my iPhone I’d be all over it in a *hot second*!

What fashion or beauty applications would you like to see developed for your game system or mobile phone?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sally Hansen Diamond Lip Treatment Gloss Is on Sale at Rite Aid

August 6th, 2008 by Karen 23 Comments

Hey, chicas! I stopped by Rite Aid to grab a snack before dance class. *Somehow* I ended up in the makeup section, LOL. Check out this sweet sale on my favorite drugstore gloss, Sally Hansen Diamond Lip Treatment. Regularly $4.95, it’s currently buy one, get the second one half off.

It’s a highly moisturizing, super shiny gloss and comes in 17 different shades. I keep Antique Bronze (a tan-bronze shimmer) in my stash at home for easy nude lips. Yep, the rhinestone on the case is a bit cheesy, but I pretend that I can see the future if I gaze into it.

How was your day today? I’m glad we’re over the hump!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Simulate Sleep with Bobbi Brown Metallic Eye Shadows

August 6th, 2008 by Karen 34 Comments

Yippee! Let’s hear it for sleep deprivation! I stayed up late again reading Breaking Dawn. Now I’m a little bleary eyed and loopy. In my altered state I realized a few things:

Did you know there’s a difference between the words “ya’ll” and “y’all”?
I Must. Have. More. Coffee. When I’m tired my coffee consumption increases, which consequently makes me even more tired when the caffeine wears off. Shoot!
Shimmery pastel eye shadow colors aren’t a substitute for a good night’s sleep, but light shades of purple, green, pink and beige shimmer eye shadows do help to conceal tired eyes. Huzzah!

My eye look of choice for the past few days has been a light purple and beige eye with a touch of green. I’ve been using the three pastel shades in Bobbi Brown’s new Metallic Eye Shadow collection ($20).

A Look for Tired Eyes

Bobbi Brown’s Pastel Metallic Eye Shadows

The three pastel colors from Bobbi’s Metallic Collection make it easy to fake a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed look.

Mint – light green shimmer
Lavender – light purple shimmer
Navajo – beige shimmer

All three colors are highly pigmented with excellent color payoff. They’re also easy to blend and apply, lasting all day long with nary a crease.

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Last Month’s Top Posts

August 6th, 2008 by Karen 4 Comments

Now You Can Go Goth with Bobbi Brown Mauve Collection Lipsticks and Glosses
“…these colors are, dare I say, edgy yet wearable. They’re eye-catching without going over the top, and within the colors there’s enough variety to allow you to create lots of different looks. Go on with your bad self, Ms. Brown!”

Gaga for Gold with Chanel Fall 2008
“My local Chanel counter sales rep told me the Facettes D’Or Highlighter is goin’ fast, and there were only six of them left after barely a week on sale! That one has bestseller written all over it.”

6 Minutes with Sarah Jessica Parker
“Sarah said Covet Pure Bloom reminds her of summer and the islands. Even though it has a seasonal feel to it, she hopes the fragrance transports people to the source of that pikake fragrance in Hawaii even if they’ve never been to the islands before.”

Makeup Tutorial: A Peach, Brown and Green Eye for Summer
“Lancome knocked it out of the park with Couture Warms, ladies. It’s an amazing palette, but you can always duplicate this look using similar products from other lines.”

The #1 Best-Selling Chanel Lip Liner
“On my lips, Nude is a light reddish-brown with just a flash of golden shimmer. It’s hawt, like Angelina Jolie-luscious-lips HOT, LOL! I finally understand why all the Chanel peeps bow down to this liner.”

Nars Mediteranee Face of the Day: Orange, Anyone?
“Before heading to work, I did the following look with the Mediteranee shadows and incorporated products from MAC Cosmetics, Shu Uemura, Laura Mercier and Chanel.”

Autumn in the City: Sally Hansen Fall Nail Lacquer Colors by Tracy Reese
“I suppose my love for the city in fall explains why I’ve fallen for Sally Hansen’s new nail collection, inspired by 10 fall colors created in collaboration with clothing designer Tracy Reese. The industrial grey, black and blue shades contrast well with maroons and neutrals, as do the streets of my favorite city in the fall.”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Parissa 2 in 1 Roll-On Body Sugar: Hair Removal System or Medieval Weapon?

August 5th, 2008 by Karen 24 Comments

Ah, Parissa, you drugstore queen of hair removal, I love your Warm Wax and Body Sugar kits oh so very much! When I heard about your latest hair removal product — 2 in 1 Roll-On Body Sugar ($20) — I was *so confident* in your skillz that I grew out my ‘stash for two whole weeks! Sure, I looked like Groucho Marx, but I knew you wouldn’t let me down.

Or so I thought…

Check out the green dispenser ball. Doesn’t it look like medieval weaponry? I’d never used anything quite like it before. According to the company, the shape of the ball (fits nicely in the palm of my hand) and the roller wheel dispenser are supposed to make it quick and easy to use. Holding it in my hand for the first time, I was definitely looking forward to giving it a try.

Per the instructions, I microwaved the ball to warm the wax stored inside. Then, I attached the roller applicator. It just screws onto a spot on the outside of the ball.

So far, so good.

I took one last look in the mirror at the furry little caterpillar growing on my upper lip. “Say goodbye, fuzzy,” I thought to myself.
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Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow: A Quick Look

August 5th, 2008 by Karen 56 Comments

The Benefit brand sorta slipped under my radar for a couple years, but I used to be a big fan.

Back when I worked in downtown SF and every other person worked for a dot com (*rolls eyes*), I remember wearing Benetint and Dr. Feelgood. I’m not sure why I stopped following the line. I guess it fell into the same black hole that swallowed my Hello Kitty lunch box and black jelly bracelets.

I decided to take a new look at Benefit recently and noticed a few things, like their Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner ($19), lil’ pots of cream shadow similar to MAC Paint Pots. Bellasugar wrote about them in a recent post, and so far I dig ’em too.

I went to see all 15 shades in person at a freestanding store, and three of them really stood out:

Birthday Suit: light tan shimmer
Skinny Jeans: khaki-grey shimmer
Strut: grey-black shimmer

Birthday Suit

Skinny Jeans

Strut

A Smokey Eye with Benefit’s Cream Shadows

Try a quick and easy smokey eye using Skinny Jeans on the lid. After applying Skinny Jeans, add Strut to the outer corner of the eye, finishing with a swipe of Birthday Suit on the brow bone.

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