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Archives for October 2008

BOO! My MAC Smokey Eyes for Halloween

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Hey, ghouls! I’m on my way to a pet costume Halloween parade (insert collective “Awww…”) before dinner but wanted to say another quick hi. Here’s my look for tonight. I didn’t feel up to one of those deluxe MAC Halloween looks, and, since we’re just going out to dinner, opted instead for this moderately scary smokey eye with false lashes and pink lips.

I used MAC false lashes and a bunch of pigments to get this eye look, including Dark Soul, Smoke Signal and Your Ladyship from last year’s Smoke Signals collection.

Send me some pictures (karen_at_www.makeupandbeautyblog.com) of your Halloween look, okay? Be safe and sane tonight!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

YOU MUST CHOOSE: The Halloween Edition

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1. Trick or treat!

With whom would you have the most fun trick or treating with: Paris Hilton, Tina Fey or Mariah Carey (when she was going through her crazy phase)?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

2. Pumpkin dilemma

Would you rather spend the day wearing a huge, human-sized pumpkin shell (it’s heavy, hot and slimy with pumpkin guts — ewwwww…) or be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic after having eaten three pumpkin-bran muffins for breakfast?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

3. Your horror film debut…

A rich Hollywood producer offers you $100,000 to star in a remake of one of the following horror films: The Blair Witch Project, The Shining or Scream. Which movie do you grace with your screen presence?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

4. Dress up time

Seal and Heidi Klum invite you and a friend to their big Halloween party! What will your costumes be?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

5. Face your fears

What’s scarier: Alec Baldwin doing a strip tease dance for you and your parents (Oh, snap! He’s getting buck nekkid!) or being chased by a gang of toothless vampires?
YOU MUST CHOOSE!

Happy Halloween, girls! Are you ready to play? Just copy the list below and paste it with your answers in the comments. 🙂

1. Paris, Tina or crazy Mariah?
2. Wear the pumpkin or eat the pumpkin-bran muffins?
3. Star in The Shining, The Blair Witch Project or Scream?
4. Costumes for Heidi and Seal’s Halloween party?
5. Alec Baldwin getting buck nekkid or toothless vampire gang?

Have fun tonight!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Shu Uemura: Getting to Know Shu, Getting to Know All About Shu

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Shu know me so well…

To simply say that I love Shu Uemura would be an understatement of mammoth proportions — mammoth as in gigantic, dramatically unforgettable false eyelashes!

The brand’s one of my favorites of all time. First, I fell in love with their fabulawesome eyelash curler, but then I tried their makeup, their brushes and eventually their false eyelashes, too. It just kept getting better!

Here are some of my favorite Shu posts and products…

Now, Shu! Go have a happy Halloween! 🙂

Accessible Luxury: Shu Uemura Knows Lashes Inside and Out

“Genetics bestowed upon me wimpy, ho-hum lashes… and then made me so clumsy that I couldn’t apply false ones to save my life. Oh, the sweet eyelash irony! Enter the Shu Uemura lash bar, aka false eyelash nirvana, where the lashes are affordable and the appointment booking process couldn’t be easier.”

Glow in Style with Shu Uemura Glow On Blush

“I was vegetating on the couch the other day, watching my upmteenth hour of the America’s Next Top Model marathon on MTV, when El Hub walked by and said, ‘Did you do something different today? Your face looks so bright and glowy.'”

Shu Uemura Fall 2008 Limited Edition Instinct Collection

“Aren’t the textures and shades interesting and sexy? I’m in love with the packaging. If you’re on a strict makeup budget and need to triage, take a close look at the eye shadow duos. I think they’re the real stars of the show!”

Get Long, Dramatic Lashes with Shu Uemura’s Precise Volume Mascara

“I’m the type of girl who doesn’t care for drama, but I’ll take dramatic lashes any day! If you crave long, can’t-miss-me lashes like I do, get thee a tube of Shu Uemura’s Precise Volume Mascara ($23)! Using it lately I’ve achieved some of the longest, most defined lashes I’ve seen on myself in a while.”

Shu Uemura Phyto-Black Lift, Anti-aging Skin Care Collection

“I believe exfoliating toners do help to clear my skin, but they’re often too drying for long-term use. Radiance Boosting Lotion, with fruit extracts and alpha hydroxy acids, exfoliates without leaving my skin feeling tight and dry. And after two weeks of testing, my skin seems clearer and less pimply. This is my favorite product from the collection.”

7 Ways to Wear Shu Uemura’s Fleur de Rose Palette

“Emancipate yourself from the land of bland, chalky eyeshadows with Shu Uemura’s Fleur de Rose Palette! With soft, velvety textures and rich, intense colors, the seven pink, purple and neutral shades combine easily to create several different looks. The palette’s great for makeup neophytes as well as eyeshadow experts…”

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine Lipstick Swatches and Pics

“Lovely ladies, I’d like to introduce you to my latest lipstick obsession: Shu Uemura’s Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine lipstick! Falling in love with these $23 lippies was easy. They make my lips shine brighter than a glazed doughnut (mmm… doughnut) yet still feel feather-light on my lips. They pack tons of color, and there are a bunch of shades to choose from — 17 in all!”

Midnight Manicure with Shu Uemura Nail Polish

“I’m on a Shu Uemura nail polish kick, and last night’s midnight manicure in Gold Beige may not have been the best use of time. Eh, who am I kidding?? Of course it was! I officially love these polishes and can’t wait to get more. Gold Beige dries fast, applies easily and looks great.”

Lip Look: Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited in RD 165N

“I’m still crushing big time on red lipgloss (sorry, pink), and yesterday I got my fix with Shu Uemura’s Gloss Unlimited in RD 165N ($22). Hot, yah? The color makes me look like I just ate a whole bag of red Jolly Rancher candies…”

Plans Tonight?

Do you have Halloween plans tonight? It’s raining out here in Marin, but a friend of mine is driving up from the city to deliver my bridesmaid dress for Jen’s wedding next month. No big plans for me, but I’m going to try to talk her into doing one of the MAC Halloween makeup looks with me and hitting Cheesecake Factory for dinner. When the waiter comments we’ll just play nonchalant like, “Um, yes, I think I’d like the fish tacos please… Oh, this? This is my usual makeup. Why do you ask?” LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hangin’ Tough with Clinique Party Red

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When I’m feeling great, I think of myself as a strong and tough girl, but my inner warrior’s been MIA for weeks. I’ve felt kinda beaten down. This morning I wanted — correction — I needed a pick-me-up, and I turned to Clinique Party Red. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror today, this red lip reminded me of the fighter I know I can be.

To get the look, a classic red lip and neutral eye, I used a few items from the Clinique Party Red holiday makeup collection (available soon).

Butter Shine Lipstick in Parisian Red, $14 (limited edition)


A warm and creamy brick red, Parisian Red belongs to Clinique’s line of Butter Shine Lipsticks. Its soft, buttery texture feels moisturizing, and it’s easy to apply (even straight from the tube).

With a glossy finish, this shade of red has visible pizazz but isn’t “too sexy” for work (although it might be too sexy for church, LOL!). Makeup and Beauty Blot Rating: A

Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Sparkling Nude and Lucky Penny, $14.50 each


From top to bottom: Sparkling Nude, Lucky Penny


Sparkling Nude


Lucky Penny

For my look today I wore Lucky Penny (a shimmery light tan) on the lid and Sparkling Nude (a shimmery beige) on the brow bone.

Both shades applied without a hitch, blended easily and lasting all day long without noticeable creasing or fading. If you haven’t tried any of the Quick Eyes Cream Shadows, try to find one of these neutral shades, stat, because not only are they cute and long lasting, but they even work well as a base for powder eyeshadows. Makeup and Beauty Blot Rating: A+
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Shu Uemura Mika Holiday Collection: Eye Color Palettes, Rouge Unlimited Lipstick Swatches and First Impressions

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Um, WOW! The Shu Uemura Mika Holiday Collection is in the mutha truckin’ hizzouse. I was so stoked when I first saw the three new palettes and limited edition Mika lipsticks on the Shu Uemura website, but now that I’ve seen them in person … I LOVE THEM EVEN MORE!

Each of the eyeshadow palettes comes with pressed shadows and a cream liner shade with the same wonderfully high color pigmentation and fine textures we’ve come to expect from Shu Uemura’s eye products.

I think Shu’s among the top brands when it comes to quality and their attention to detail, and one thing I lurve about these particular palettes is how varied the color combinations are — they’re visually interesting yet highly wearable at the same time.

Shu Uemura joined forces with Japanese photographer Mika Ninagawa to conceptualize Mika Holiday. I love the clean, floral aesthetic of the eye, lip and face products and makeup storage cases. Check out the entire collection on the Shu Uemura website and let me know what you think.🙂

Midnight Winter Sakura (limited edition, $65)

A palette with strong, rich colors for bold, glamorous looks. I think the blues in this are *amazing* and the coloring vivid and highly pigmented, like deep blue tropical seas.

From left to right:

  • Eyeshadow: a warm and shimmery gold
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery taupe-gold
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery bronze
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery khaki
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery teal-blue
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery royal blue
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery rose-gold
  • Cream liner: a black with hints of shimmery rose and purple

Adorned Marguerite (limited edition, $65)

The vivid shades in this cool-toned palette made me go “OoOOooOOO!” — in particular Adorned Marguerite, which may turn out to be the palette that erases my fear of bold daytime eyeshadow colors forever.

The included sparkly white cream liner isn’t as spreadable as the black liner that comes with the Winter Sakura palette, but I’m excited about layering it beneath a few of the other brighter shades in the palette.

Oh, and what do you think of the psychedelic packaging? It makes me kinda want to stop the world and melt with you.

From left to right:

  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery, cool gray-black with flecks of silver
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery, cool lemon yellow
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery, cool pinkish rose
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery turquoise-blue
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery, cool pastel purple
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery moss green
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery bronze
  • Cream liner: a cool white with flecks of white and silver glitter

Secret Luscious Rose (limited edition, $65)

OMG! This one has my favorite packaging of the three. According to the Shu Uemura website, the palette contains a collection of dusty rose shades to express “elegance and mystery” (LOL!).

Beyond their mystery and elegance, these shades are pretty and practical, but they’re also a lot like several shades I already have. Still, I like this palette and plan to combine the brighter shades with the two neutral shades on the far left.

From left to right:

  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery cool brown (this reminds me of an amped up version of MAC Soba)
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery golden beige
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery red-bronze
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery rose
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery violet
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery royal blue
  • Eyeshadow: a shimmery khaki gold
  • Cream liner: a shimmery, warm brown with flecks of golden glitter

Which Shu Uemura Mika Holiday Collection Eye Color Palette Do You Like Best?

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Mika Collection Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks

With their limited edition pink-petal inspired packaging, the three Rouge Unlimited lipsticks in the Mika Collection are certainly pretty on the outside. As for the lipsticks themselves, all three shades revolve around beige: Petal Pink Beige, Petal Orange Beige and Petal Brown Beige.

I really wanted these shades to work for me, but, unfortch, beige is not my best lip color, and these shades didn’t really pop on my lips like I wanted them to. My favorite one was Petal Brown Beige, mostly because Petal Pink and Petal Orange looked so much alike to me. I’d suggest that unless you really lurve beige, save your pennies and splurge instead on the eye palettes. 🙂

Petal Brown Beige Rouge Unlimited Lipstick, $23


Petal Orange Beige Rouge Unlimited Lipstick, $23


Petal Pink Beige Rouge Unlimited Lipstick, $23



Which Shu Uemura Mika Collection Rouge Unlimited Lipstick Do You Like Best?

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Happy Thursday, ladies! Just have to make it through today at work, and then I’m in the clear for a few days, yea! My week hasn’t been all puppies, flowers and rainbows, but things are starting to look up. 🙂

Hope you’re having a wonderful day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Retro Roundup: One Year Ago on Makeup and Beauty Blog

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My Halloween Costume — Amy Winehouse

“I haven’t done big hair in about 15 years so I hope this massive bird’s nest on the top of my head stays put for the rest of the day…”

Makeup Tips from LA Fashion Week

“This year Smashbox sponsored the makeup. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the flawless skin trend we saw at the San Francisco and New York shows was a big theme this year on the LA runways, too.”

Boots No. 7 Restore and Renew Beauty Serum

“Women all over the UK went buck wild after a program on the BBC, Professor Regan’s Beauty Handbook, showed scientifically that No. 7 Restore and Renew (known as ‘Protect & Perfect’ in the UK) repaired photo-aged skin and improved the fine wrinkles associated with photo aging. After the show aired, sales increased by nearly 2000%, with 13 bottles being sold every minute.”

MAC Artist Louise Zizzo Gives Tips for Working With Matte2 and Mattene

“The key is to make sure whenever you are using these shadows or any matte shadows is you need to make sure you have a nice powdery base to put them on, otherwise they will grab patchy. I really recommend using softer brushes to apply these like the #224 and gradually building up to the intensity you desire. Don’t press hard, use a light touch and these look absolutely amazing.”

Product Reviews: Bliss Snow Wonder Body Butter; Thinny Thin Chin; Jingle Bell Socks

“Bliss has got your turkey neck covered, gobble-gobble (totally kidding!), with Thinny Thin Chin, a light lotion designed to improve the appearance of neck lines and cleavage creases.”

Face of the Day with Mac Matte2, aka When Purple Doesn’t Reign

“Try as I might, I can’t seem to get it together when it comes to MAC’s Matte2 shadows. I’ve tried to do a full on matte eye a few times, but it’s just too hard for me in terms of blending. Plus, I need a lil’ sparkle and some shine, ya know?”

Makeup and Beauty Tips for Breast Cancer Patients: Staying Beautiful Inside and Out!

“Remember, life is worth every minute. You can choose your thoughts. Keep a positive attitude, and if there is any time to erase negativity in your life, it’s NOW. Choose to LOVE LIFE and never lose HOPE. Plus, when your kids see you love life and do good for others, they will be happier and will contribute more to this beautiful world in their lifetimes. As you go through this challenge, you will be amazed by your strength, courage, and stamina. You will also be amazed by the resilience of your body.”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Get the Clinique Blackberry Bloom Look: Purple Smokey Eyes, Berry Lips and Cheeks

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Everyone loves blackberries. Take Clinique, for example. Next month they’re introducing Blackberry Bloom, a collection of violet and plum eye, lip and cheek makeup for the holidays. The first time I saw the gorgeous model in this promotional picture — her smokey purple eyes, berry lips and cheeks — I about fell over in my chair!

So, I marshaled my courage and attempted the look with some items from the upcoming collection.

It wasn’t the easiest look I’ve ever tried, but it wasn’t the toughest one either. You can definitely do it with the same shades I used or with other ones already in your collection. Here I used the following items from Clinique Blackberry Bloom:

Eye Products You’ll Need

Colour Surge Eye Shadow Super Shimmer ($14)

  • Black Coffee: shimmery cool brown (limited edition)
  • Black Amethyst: shimmery berry (limited edition)
  • Black Smoke: shimmery gray-black (limited edition)

Kohl Shaper for Eyes ($15.50)

  • Black Honey: matte plum (limited edition)

High Impact Mascara ($14)

  • Black Honey: deep berry-brown (limited edition)


From left to right: Black Coffee, Black Amethyst and Black Smoke eyeshadows


Black Coffee Colour Surge Eye Shadow


Black Amethyst Colour Surge Eye Shadow


Black Smoke Colour Surge Eye Shadow
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MAC Red She Said Face of the Day: Navy Blue, Bronze and Brown Smokey Eye

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For one precious hour last Saturday afternoon I got in some quality me time. El Hub had gone to the bookstore for something, so I had the place to myself. I plopped down on the living room floor with a bowl of chilled grapes, started an episode of Law and Order: SVU (lovin’ ya, Detective Stabler!) on the Tivo and reached for a few items from MAC Red She Said.

My mind was racing with thoughts of Tabs and other troubles, and I needed to distract myself with something uncomplicated, like Inter-view Mineralize Eye Shadow ($17.50), Enough Said Beauty Powder Blush ($18), Quiet, Please lipstick ($14) and Miss Dynamite Dazzleglass ($17.50).


From left to right: Enough Said Beauty Powder Blush, three shades from the Interview Mineralize Eye Shadow trio

I tried this brown, bronze and navy blue smokey eye. When I was done with the look, I walked around the room by myself, pretending I was contemplating impressionist paintings in a fancy art gallery.

Here’s how I did this look…

The Eyes

  1. I started by priming my lids with a layer of MAC Painterly Paint Pot applied with a fingertip.
  2. Next, I layered a mix of the brown and bronze shades from the MAC Inter-view Mineralize Eye Shadow Trio onto the inner two-thirds of my lid using a MAC 252 eyeshadow brush.
  3. Still with the same brush, I patted the navy blue shade from Inter-view onto the outer third of the lid and just barely into the crease, concentrating most of the color on the side closer to the ear.
  4. Then, I wet a MAC 239 eyeshadow brush with a spritz of MAC Fix+ and swept the wet brush head across the pan of bronze eyeshadow to load the brush and applied the rich, wet shadow to the inner third of my lid. With the edge of the brush, I lined the lower lash line.
  5. Using MAC Technakohl liner in Graphblack, I lined my upper and lower water lines.

To finish the eyes, I curled my lashes with the (legendary) Shu Uemura lash curler and added a couple coats of MAC Zoomlash mascara in Zoomblack.

The Cheeks

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