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Archives for October 2008

MAC Adoring Carmine 3 Rose Lips: A Pink Lipstick Double Play

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The 3 Rose Lips set ($35.50) from the MAC Adoring Carmine holiday collection makes my pink lipstick-obsessed heart flutter.

Yeah, you might think the red patent bag looks a bit cheesy — it’s more dominatrix than happy holidays — but if you can overlook that, then this lip set is totes worth your attention.

What You Get: Pink-a-licious Goodness

  • To Swoon For: A creamy mauve pink lipstick in the MAC Glaze finish — thin and light on the lips and delivers light to medium coverage. Expect a natural pink lip flush.
  • Romancin’: A creamy magenta lipstick in the MAC Lustre finish. With medium coverage and a slightly thicker feel on the lips than the Glaze finish, Romancin’ reminds me of a perfect pink rose petal.
  • Delicate Crush Lipglass: A shimmery cool mauve pink. Delicate Crush was my least favorite of the three products in the set. By itself it looks milky and kinda sickly on my pucker; I think pairing it with a pink liner like MAC Pink Treat Cremestick Liner would make it much more wearable.


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MAC Little Darlings Sneak Peek!

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For the holidays last year, MAC must have had Tootsie Rolls and time capsules in mind for the packaging of their Curiositease collection — six sets of mini lipglosses, eye pencils and pigments housed in elegant white cylinders with gold and silver accents.

This year, MAC revisits the giant Tootsie Roll with Little Darlings ($29.50 per set), scheduled to arrive November 16 as part of MAC Holiday 2008.

This capsule is hard to miss. Ya’ll know I love red, but the packaging feels a little cold to me. It’s modern — I’ll give it that.

Today I checked out two of the sets from the new collection: 5 Neutral Lipglass/Lustreglass (strange name for a set) and 5 Warm Pigments/Glitter.

5 Neutral Lipglass/Lustreglass

5 Neutral Lipglass/Lustreglass includes mini-tubes of the following products:

  • Beau Lustreglass: a shimmery, warm beige-brown
  • C-Thru Lipglass: a shimmery peachy beige
  • Languish Lipglass: a deep bronze with golden pearl
  • Love Nectar Lustreglass: a light peachy-pink with golden pearl
  • Mouthwatering Lipglasss: a shimmery light pink-beige


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Save Money on Makeup and Beauty in 30 Seconds or Less with ShopLocal.com

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ShopLocal takes those ad circulars you get stuffed between the pages of your local newspaper, scans them into a computer and then makes them easy to search.

Track down sales and gifts with purchase deals at Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bath & Body Works, Ulta, Sephora and hundreds of other retailers, and find the closest store.

On the site, click “Change Location” or “Select a City,” and input your ZIP code or city and state. Back at the main screen, enter the name of a store and click “SEARCH.”

Once you’ve opened a circular on the screen, hover your mouse pointer over it for details of each deal and valid dates.

It’s not comprehensive, and I wasn’t always able to find circulars for every store I suspected of having one, but I was able to find some pretty kick ass deals at my local Macy’s, Walgreens and Target stores — and without staining my fingers with newspaper ink, blech!
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Free $60 Clinique Trina Turk Gift with Purchase at Nordstrom Stores Nov. 5-22

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All hands on deck! An interesting gift with purchase deal just popped up on makeup radar, ladies. If your sights are set on $25 or more in Clinique products, consider standing down till November 5, when you can take advantage of Nordstrom’s Trina Turk for Clinique (a $60 value) gift with purchase!

The Deets

The deal runs from November 5-22 at Nordstrom stores nationwide and online. To qualify for the gift with purchase, all you have to do is purchase $25 or more in Clinique products.

Clinique’s First GWP Designer Collaboration

This is Clinique’s first foray into a designer collaboration GWP. Trina Turk, known for her sophisticated a designer clothing prints, hand picked all the items in the eight-piece set, and her clothes inspires the included silver and white tiger print cosmetics bag.

Love the Bag!

When it comes to GWP sets, there are usually at least a couple items I end up giving away (girrrrrl, like those ubiquitous GWP tubes of Clinique Raspberry Glace lipstick!), but not here, not this time. You’ll want to keep the goodies that come with this set. 🙂

I’m a raging accessories freak, and this bag looks like a big step up from the thin, nondescript bags normally packaged with GWPs. But bag or no bag, I think it’s the makeup that makes this set something to look forward to.

What You Get

  • Zero Gravity Repairwear Lift (love it!)
  • Rinse-off Foaming Cleanser
  • Compact containing Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo in Beach Plum (a shimmer gold and shimmery violet) and Soft-Pressed Powder Blush in New Clover (a matte plum)
  • Lash Doubling Mascara in Black
  • Long Last Glosswear SPF in Bamboo Pink (read the full review)
  • Long Last Lipstick in Beach Coral (shimmery pink coral)
  • Mirrored silver lipstick case


From left to right: Bamboo Pink, Beach Coral, shimmery shade from the Beach Plum eye duo, shimmery violet shade from the Beach Plum eye duo, New Clover blush, Lash Doubling mascara in black

A Look for All Seasons

The gold, plum and coral shades included with the set have a summer and beach-inspired feel to them. Yep, they’re a little out of step with most dark fall and winter shades, but I think that’s part of their charm. They’re pretty and wearable and spark all kinds of new ideas.

Fans: Your Best Friend

LOL! I realize that the hair blown effect in these pics crosses the line into cheese-tacular blogger photography territory, but I’m sorry… I couldn’t help myself!

I’m convinced that the windblown fan effect compensates for at least a few hours of sleep and has anti-aging properties because I laughed so hard taking these pics that I feel 10 years younger. If I could, I’d tote a fan around with me 24-7. I totally would! You hear that, Mariah Carey? You ain’t the only one with a fan now, girl!
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How Do You Wear Red Lipstick? Tips and Tricks

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Like the Ol’ Faithful of lip looks, a red lip is one of the most reliable, fool-proof ways to steal the spotlight.

But red and other bright lip shades can be challenging colors to wear. My secret to wearing reds like Lancome’s Absolute Rouge ($29, pictured above) is to apply them using a MAC 316 Covered Lip Brush ($19).

With the 316’s firm, pointed tip I can really get in where I need to get, precisely controlling my lines and delivering the right amount of pigment for my look — kinda like drawing with a sharpened pencil versus trying to draw with a stubby crayon. When applying directly from a tube of lipstick, I’ll often end up with uneven color or color breaking outside the lines of the natural shape of my lips. Not cute, ladies!

For my makeup this week I’ve alternated between Estee Lauder’s Ruby and Lancome’s Absolute Rouge.

A classic tomato red with subtle golden pearl, Absolute Rouge arrived last August as part of Lancome’s L’Rouge Absolue lipstick line. Richly pigmented, it was designed for full coverage and moisture, thanks, according to Lancome, to Pro-Xylane, a deeply-moisturizing molecule found across their Absolute skincare range. Whatever, right? It’s pretty — the most important thing.


Got any tips or tricks for wearing red lips? Come on, share your secrets. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Paul and Joe for Disney: American Debut Coming Soon!

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The Paul and Joe for Disney collection, released earlier this year overseas, debuts at Bergdorf Goodman in New York next month.

All I have to say about this is WOOTY WOOT WOOT!

I’m a huge Disney fan so this collaboration is a dream come true. I can’t wait to see it in person! Because I’m in San Francisco (WEST SIDE!) and Bergdorf Goodman is located in New York, I plan on calling the store to purchase my items over the phone with a credit card. The folks at Bergdorf’s will then ship the items out to me. If you’re interested in doing the same, the number is (800) 558-1855. 🙂

The entire collection includes…

  • Face Color B: Bambi and Flower from Bambi ($36 each)

    These sheer pearl highlighting powders give cheeks a touch of color and shimmer. There are two shades designed to complement all skin tones, Classical Pink (Flower) and Fantasy Orange (Bambi). Each also comes with a cutie pie powder puff, too. How precious!

  • Milky Lip Treatment: Marie the Cat from Aristocats ($18)

    Get a subtle pink pout with Milky Lip Treatment, which keeps lips moisturized with sunflower and jojoba oil and has a light pink tint.

  • Protective Hand Cream: Lady from Lady and the Tramp ($24)

    Keep hands soft all day long with this orange flower-scented hand cream. It’s infused with peach essence, jojoba oil and hyaluronic acid to protect and moisturize your paws.

Which Paul & Joe for Disney product do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, October 23

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When Crazy Cat Lady Meets Holiday Makeup!

Truly Outrageous

Girl, I hope you win!

  • Sign up for an account with Lucky magazine online (you have to provide your mailing address, so expect some junk mail) and be entered to win a $1,000 Sephora gift card!

I Miss Paris…

  • The magnificent Grand Palais, constructed for the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, has gone all cybernetic. Their innovative website takes you on a cool virtual tour where it’s like you’re practically inside the building. All I need now is a cafe au lait and croissant… and a trip to Paris, LOL!

Travel the World Through Literature

  • Bitten by the travel bug but can’t afford a vacay right now? You aren’t the only one. Escape for free with Salon’s Literary Guide to the World, an interactive map to some of the finest literature from around the world.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Estee Lauder Vintage Jewels Holiday Collection: Holiday Treasure

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*They* say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

I don’t know about that… *They* obviously haven’t seen the Estee Lauder Vintage Jewels collection yet because it’s breaking a lot of those diamond friendships.

The collection’s adventurous eye, lip, face and nail shades remind me of jewel-filled pirate treasure chests bulging with amethysts, emeralds and sapphires. Aye, matey! I’ll walk ye plank for these colors!

Try three bejeweled looks in amethyst, sapphire and emerald.

Eyes

Signature Eyeshadow Duos, $25

  • Amethyst: shimmery violet and shimmery violet-pink (limited edition)
  • Sapphire: shimmery navy blue and shimmery cool-toned grayish blue (limited edition)
  • Emerald: shimmery green and shimmery beige (limited edition)

Smoked Eye Pencil, $18.50

  • Smoked Amethyst: violet with pearl (limited edition)
  • Sapphire: navy blue with pearl (limited edition)
  • Emerald: forest green with pearl (limited edition)

Sumptuous Mascara, $19.50

  • Black: true black

Lips

Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick with Faceted Design, $19.50

  • Black Cherry: deep cool wine with golden pearl (limited edition)
  • Ruby: creamy red with a touch of fuchsia (limited edition)
  • Rich Red: creamy medium blue-red

Face

Shimmering Jewel Powder, $32

  • Gold highlighting powder for face and body (limited edition)

Nails

Pure Color Nail Lacquer, $18

  • Black Berry: creamy deep cool wine (limited edition)
  • Ruby: creamy red (limited edition)
  • Red Tango: creamy warm red (limited edition)

Blue cast a charm spell on me this fall. I trace it back to my run in with the Cargo Color Palette in Vienna.

I couldn’t wait to try the Sapphire eye products in Vintage Jewels and tested some of them this week, along with a smattering of colorful face and lip items from the collection.

Shimmering Jewel Powder

Shimmering Jewel Powder comes housed in a sleek gold compact with a faceted pattern pressed into the pan — so pretty! It’s a cool-toned highlighter with lots of shimmer, not at all like last holiday’s Platinum Illuminator Loose Shimmer Powder, which was a very warm, peachy gold.

A dusting of Shimmering Jewel Powder delivers plenty of small-to-medium flecks of glittering gold shimmer. It functions best as a highlighter because it’s basically pure shimmer, so I prefer to pair it with other blushes rather than using it by itself. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

Signature Eyeshadow Duo in Sapphire

I’m so blue… No, not like that (at least not today, LOL!). I mean to say that I’m so into blue eyeshadow right now.

The two shades in this duo don’t exactly fit the swashbuckling, adventurous analogy because of how well they suit novices and the faint of heart. They apply with sheer-to-medium color payoff and are easy to blend, too. That spells easy, which is something I like. 😉

Some girls might find them a little too sheer, but I like how easy they are to control. With these, the sheerness means being able to carefully manage how much color gets applied, from one or two layers for just a hint of color to three to five layers for a more intense look. And if I want something lusciously rich and dramatic, I’ll reach for a wet brush.

They do need a lil’ help as the day wears on, though, fading a touch faster than my MAC or Lancome shadows. If I’m going to dinner after work, the duo comes along for quick touchups. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

Smoked Eye Pencil in Smoked Sapphire

Um, wow! Pardon my French, but this blue liner is the sh*t! It’s rich and deep like Lake Tahoe and glides along my skin without any tugging or skipping at all.

Estee Laduer should’ve called this a long-wearing eye pencil, too, because DANG, this stuff stays on forever. Once it’s on it hangs around longer than your stalker ex-boyfriend, on *both* the lash and water lines. I think I might love this even more than Lancome Le Stylo waterproof (gasp!), which I’ve been wearing practically non-stop for months, and I’m even tempted to get the two other shades. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara in Black

I think Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara (say that five times fast) plumps lashes fairly well. As for thickening, my results with it haven’t been as pronounced as they are when I use Chanel Exceptionnel, but still… I’d say it makes lashes about 25% thicker.

The formula is a little clumpy, but I’ve found that if I take extra care during application and use the skinny tip of the brush, I can keep the clumps to a minimum.

It doesn’t smudge or flake, but where Sumptuous Bold mascara really excels is in curl hold and staying power. While wearing two coats, my lashes kept the curl all day long.

Wistfully, I wish it lengthened better, but if you’re looking for a basic daytime mascara with pretty good thickening power that holds the curl, you could do a lot worse. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+
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