Archives for October 2008

Makeup and Beauty Blog Saturday Steals

October 18th, 2008 by Karen 33 Comments

I took my near-sighted self out to Costco today for some new contact lenses and scanned the beauty aisles for deals.

What do you think of Lancome Bi-Facil eye makeup remover, on sale for $19.99 (that’s 25% off the regular retail price of $26)? This stuff removes even the most stubborn eye makeup and has been a favorite of mine for years.

Costco also had Guerlain Le 2 De Guerlain Mascara in black for $19.99. The boxy, clear plastic packaging Costco uses isn’t flattering for cosmetics, but with this same mascara selling for $35 at Sephora (45% more), I’m going to cut Costco some slack.

And how about this cute three piece body care gift set by J.R. Watkins? In old-fashioned packaging, the set comes in two fragrances — mango and lemon cream — and includes a hand and body lotion, shea butter body cream and a hand and cuticle salve.

I thought this was so cool: each box has a scratch and sniff sticker! Cute, yah?

After Costco, I dragged poor El Hub to Sephora and parked him on a bench in front of the store while I got my makeup swerve on. 🙂

What do you think of the Too Faced The Quickie Chronicles Mini Collection ($59.10)? It features eight mini-palettes with coordinating eyeshadows and cheek and lip shades. These are just too cute!

My favorites were Temptress and Cupcake…

I wanted to leave Sephora empty handed because the contact lenses from Costco had already put a big dent in my wallet, but I couldn’t resist this Cat Eyes Liner in Black Onyx ($16; a shimmery deep black with subtle blue flecks) by Pop Beauty and a bottle of Sephora by OPI nail polish in Metro Chic ($9; a plum-gray creme).

One of the counter girls at Sephora showed me how to use the liner. I’m gonna try a tutorial with it in the next couple days. That should be fun.

How was your Saturday? Do you know of any good makeup/beauty sales out there right now?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, October 18

October 18th, 2008 by Karen 9 Comments

My Halloween Costume (I wish)

I saw this haunting skull-and-rose print dress in a store window this week. It’s by Bay Area independent designer Catherine Jane. At $335, it’s not in my costume budget, but maybe they’ll mark it down on the day after Halloween… Stuffed crow sold separately!

Zombies 101

Speaking of Halloween, I found this helpful book the other day, the Ultimate Zombie Survival Guide. Did you know that zombies can’t climb stairs? Good to know, right? If you don’t have time to read the guide, there’s also Zombies in Plain English, a three-minute video guide. Don’t wait; be prepared, and survive the next large-scale zombie attack.

What Lies Within Us Bracelet

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Wear those words of wisdom with this thoughtful engraved sterling silver bracelet from Target, $70.

Goodbye, Grumpy-saurus

You know those morning folks who wake up running on all cylinders the minute they get out of bed? Yeah, I am *so not* one of them. I was royally grumpy all morning long until I heard Love at First Sight by Kylie Minogue.

Late Night Drunk Dialing E-mailing: Step Away From the Keyboard!

These days, after a night of partying, don’t drunk dial your ex. No, try drunk e-mailing him/her instead, but be smart. Use Mail Goggles, Google’s new “sobriety checkpoint” feature in Gmail, to prevent you from making a complete ass of yourself the next time you’ve overloaded on pina coladas. Once you’ve enabled the feature, you’re prompted to perform five simple math problems within a 60-second window before you’re able to send e-mails between the hours of 10 pm and 4 am on weekends, ha! No kidding. Think of all the potential mortification this could thwart. I *so* wish I’d thought of this. Still loving you, Larry and Sergey!

Budget Back Massage

You don’t have to spend $100/hour to get a decent massage. Work out those kinks with a little help from Babyassface. All you need is a tennis ball. Now, help me think of some way to get Andy Roddick involved…

How Well Do You Know Your Mullet?

Are you weirdly fascinated by mullets? I am. Take Bella Sugar’s Guess the Celebrity Mullet Quiz to gauge your mullet identification prowess.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Marin County photographer Mindy Pines has an interesting way of framing casual moments and turning them into art. Her photo blog, F-StopMarin.com, features everyday people, scenes and landmarks out here in my neck of the woods.

Evolution of Style

I still have way too many Banana Republic tops from 2005, so I devoted mucho time this week to surfing the web for cute clothes. My favorites were these 40s-style dresses by Stop Staring, an indy clothing line out of Los Angeles. The Ashley, Raileen, Vogue Rosalyn and Vogue Glamour Blush dresses totally spoke to me. I added them to my shopping cart but didn’t pull the trigger (maybe next time).

Hope you’re having a lovely day so far! I’m off to grab some lunch. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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11 Great Makeup Wipes and Cleansers

October 18th, 2008 by Karen 26 Comments

A few days ago I reviewed L’Oreal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes with BHA. A few of you gals then offered up your fave makeup removing wipes and cleansers in the comments. Here’s a list featuring your recommendations and why you love ’em!

1. MAC Wipes

$24.50 for 100 wipes
Super duper. They’re a great cleanser and come in a resealable bag (that actually works) to keep them moist and fresh until you need ’em.

2. Korres Wipes

$12 for 25 wipes
Sticker trubs. Great wipes, but the package closes with a sticker instead of a Ziplock and doesn’t always form a tight seal. If you’re not careful, the wipes can dry out soon after the package has been opened.

3. EveryDayMinerals Cleansing Wipes

$3.75; I don’t know the package size
Great scent. People seem to really like the mild lavender and grapefruit fragrance. These wipes are all-natural, but aren’t considered among the softest wipes on the market.

4. Garnier Nutritioniste Nutri-Pure Wet Cleansing Towelettes

$6 for 25 wipes
Soft and clean. These are said to be softer than most other moist cleansing towelettes and remove makeup well. They have a fresh scent, don’t leave behind a sticky residue, but the pack tends to dry out if you’re not careful.

5. Olay Daily Facials Express: Sensitive Skin

$6 for 30 wipes
Velvety soft. These wet cleansing cloths contain aloe and vitamin E, making them extremely soft and moisturizing. They great makeup cleansers, too, even removing waterproof mascara with ease.

6. Boots No7 Quick-Thinking 4-in-1 Wipes

$7 for 30 wipes
Handy dandy. With Boots now carried in Target stores nationwide, these are easy to find (and sometimes on sale). They remove makeup well, even mascara, but they can be a little bit drying.

7. L’Oreal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes

$8 for 25 wipes
Acne fighter. These extremely soft wipes have a nice honeysuckle/rose scent and contain BHA (beta hydroxy acid) to help treat mild acne.

8. Comodynes Dermatological Cleansing Towelettes for Acne and Problem Skin

$4 for 20 wipes
Bargain Basement. I’ve never tried ’em before, but if rumors that Trader Joe’s carries them are true, sign me up. I love Trader Joe’s!

9. MAC Cleanse Off Oil

$21 per bottle
Fan favorite. A gentle, cleanser for oil-based makeup; 100% mineral-oil free, even removes waterproof mascara.

10. Shu Uemura Skin Purifier High Performance Cleansing Oil

$28 per bottle
Super moisture. Similar to MAC’s Cleanse Off Oil but doesn’t smell as good; said to be more moisturizing, though, and ya gotta love Shu.

11. L’Oreal Skin Genesis Pore Minimizing Gel Cleanser

$8 per bottle
Deep cleaner. Also contains BHA, like the Skin Genesis cleansing towelettes, and considered a good cleanser, able to even remove eye makeup.

So tell me… How do you remove your makeup? Do you use a liquid cleanser, a wipe or a combination of both?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Wedding Palette Auditions: Stila Front Cover Look No. 4

October 17th, 2008 by Karen 17 Comments

Traveling Light

My good friend Jen gets hitched in Florida next month, and I can’t wait! I’m looking forward to the wedding, but I’m not looking forward to packing.

Why? Because I overpack (hey, I like options) — always have — but not this time. This time, come hell or high water, I’m going to streamline. 🙂

To manage my makeup better than I usually do, I thought I’d bring along some palettes — just two (or three or four!). Today, I interviewed the first applicant for the job: Stila Front Cover Look No. 4.

I’m Jen’s matron of honor (I’m still not sure what matrons do). Both my bridesmaid dress and shoes are gold, so I’d like my makeup to complement them. As far as how bold a look I can get away with, it’s an afternoon church ceremony, which means nothing too disco or drag queen (oh, well).

There Are 4 Stila Front Cover Look Palettes

Look No. 4 is one of four limited edition Front Cover Look palettes by Stila. They’ve been out for a while (not exactly sure when they came out), and I had to get a little creative to find this one. Each includes three eyeshadows, a blush and one lipgloss, all packaged in a slim case with magazine motif.

Gotta Love Beautycrunch.com

Looks No. 2 and 3 are still available on the Stila website for $40 each. I decided to check beautycrunch.com for the No. 4 and BINGO! There it was, for $14!

The Front Cover Look No. 3 palette makes an appearance in this Face of the Day.

I love No. 4’s neutral peachy pink and brown…

Stila Front Cover Look No. 4

Nude eyeshadow: a matte peach-beige with large flecks of silver glitter
Icon eyeshadow: a shimmery pink peach
Twig eyeshadow: a shimmery rich chocolate
Heat blush: a peachy tan matte
Inviting lipgloss: a shimmery peach gloss with gold and silver glitter

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The Affordable Bath and Body Works Liplicious Collection

October 17th, 2008 by Karen 19 Comments

Bath and Body Works wants us to ring in the holidays with pretty lips, courtesy of their new line of lipglosses, Liplicious. Starring more than thirty scented and flavored glosses, moisturizing lip colors, scrubs and lip gloss tubes all for an economical $7-8 apiece. The glosses and lip colors are double-sided, and after you throw in the buy two, get one free deal available on their website, that knocks the final price of these products down to less than $5.50 each ($2.25 per side on the double-sided ones)! HUGE BARGAIN POTENTIAL!

I tested three of the double-sided glosses: Platinum Glow/Gold Dust, Brown Sugar/Dulce de Leche and Mango/Peach.

Platinum Glow/Gold Dust

Platinum Glow

Gold Dust
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5 Makeup Storage Idea Starters

October 17th, 2008 by Karen 24 Comments

Sometimes I feel like a disorganized mess, especially when it comes to my makeup. I think some of it has to do with the process I like to use when I plan my looks in the mornings, how I like to set products out on the bathroom counter, contemplate each one, feel around through different eyeshadows and lipglosses until a combination strikes my fancy.

But some of it has to do with makeup storage choices. If you’re like me and struggle to stay organized, here are a few simple makeup storage ideas.

More Makeup Storage Solution Ideas
“The quest to rein in my makeup continues. At some point, I fear I’ll end up like those peeps you see on 60 Minutes who’ve trapped themselves in their homes behind stacks of boxes and crap. They end up living like sardines in a tin can. I’ve told myself I can’t get my Christmas tree until I clear out the corner where most of the makeup is sitting, boo hoo.”

Take Back Your Sanity! Lipstick Storage Only $1.79 Away
“Try as I might, I can’t avoid the siren call of The Container Store. Sure, it irks me that a store can survive on the premise of selling you new crap to store all your present crap, but desperate times call for desperate measures!”

Looking for Cheap, Stylish Ways to Organize Your Makeup?
“Your local art store may have just the thing you need to keep your growing makeup stash organized. Most arts and crafts stores stock unvarnished wooden boxes in assorted shapes and sizes. They make perfect (and affordable) makeup storage containers. I spied these boxes, each ranging from a whopping $1.50 to a staggering $3, at my local Ben Franklin Craft Store this afternoon. They’re perfect for storing eye shadows, blushes, glosses or whatever your makeup-lurving heart desires.”

Makeup Storage Solution Idea #1, Sears Craftsman
“For the past few months I’ve been storing stuff in Sterilite plastic craft drawers located in different rooms at home. I like that the drawers are cheap and easy to clean, but I’d still like to be able to keep it all in one central place. I was cruising Sears a few weeks ago, ’cause I had to buy some vacuum bags, and found a possible solution to the ever-increasing makeup madness: a Craftsman rolling tool chest! It’s tall, has several long, shallow drawers (perfect for eye shadow pans and palettes) and has enough storage room to hold everything.”

Makeup Storage for Traveling and Vacation; Makeup and Beauty Blog’s Travel Makeup List
“Ziplocs aren’t sexy, I know. I go on trips a few times a year, and at the airport I always see at least one cute girl hauling a sleek, heavy-looking train case full of makeup to her gate — and I’m always glad it’s not me.”

How do you store your makeup? 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. If you’re new here, thank you for visiting. Makeup and Beauty Blog is a makeup blog with daily product reviews, beauty tips, giveaways and the random shenanigans of a crazy cat lady/makeup enthusiast named Karen (that’s me!). 🙂

Face of the Day: Pink and Brown Smokey Eye with MAC Emanuel Ungaro, Suite Array and Sheer Minerals

October 16th, 2008 by Karen 17 Comments

I knew I’d be working closely with the new girl at work today, training her on our filing system and some billing stuff, so I wanted to look as polished and semi-reliable (ha!) as possible. I decided to wear this soft, smokey pink and brown eye. It has just the teeniest touch of sparkle and draws heavily on a few of MAC’s recent collections, including Emanuel Ungaro, Suite Array and Sheer Minerals.

The look was actually my second choice this morning. At first I’d wanted to wear blue, perhaps coupled with high heels, a feather boa and something with sequins, but I didn’t want to end the day thought of as the crazy chick at work, so I went with the upstanding and responsible citizen look instead. 🙂

First, I primed my lids with a layer of Benefit Birthday Suit cream shadow applied with a fingertip.

Next, I layered the light pink shade from the MAC Rose Suites Eye Shadow Duo directly on top of Birthday Suit using a Sonia Kashuk Large Eye Shadow Brush.

With the same brush, I swept MAC Mineral Eye Shadow onto the lid and just barely into the crease, concentrating most of the color on the outer third of the lid (the side closer to the ear).

Then, with a MAC 239 eye shadow brush, I applied the dark pink shade from the MAC Rose Suites Eye Shadow Duo in the outer third of the crease and, softly sweeping with a MAC 217 blending brush, soften away any harsh lines.

Using MAC Rave Pearlglide liner, I lined my upper lash line…

… and lined my lower lash line with Lancome Le Stylo Waterproof in Noir. Sweeping with the Le Stylo’s sponge tip end, I diffused the color until all that remained was a very faint line.

To finish the look, I curled my lashes with my trusty Shu Uemura lash curler and added two coats of Chanel Exceptionnel mascara in Smoky Noir.

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Lippmann Collection Party Like a Rockstar: Encore! Encore!

October 16th, 2008 by Karen 20 Comments

It’s true — Lippmann Collection’s limited edition Party Like a Rockstar nail kit ($24) won’t get you on the VIP guest list for the MTV VMA after party, but who cares? Your nails will look hot!

The kit comes with three .6-oz. mini bottles of Lippmann Collection polish in a cute plastic carrying pouch of shiny faux snakeskin. It’s very disco ball and should make a really eye-catching gift.

Devil in a Blue Dress: a creamy midnight blue

This creamy, inky blue looks almost black in some lighting. I didn’t expect to like Devil in a Blue Dress, but once I put her on she became my favorite of the three shades. I don’t have anything else like it in my nail polish stash. Love this!

Good Girl Gone Bad: a shimmery dark plum

Good Girl Gone Bad wields lots of silver and shimmery plum, but despite the shimmer it’s not gritty at all. The plum reminds me of some of the deep purple shades released earlier this year, like Sally Hansen’s Alchemy and Dior’s Vernis Nail Enamel in Liquorice, but the shimmery silver is what really sets it apart.

Addicted to Speed: a clear, quick drying top coat

I’ve used Addicted to Speed in the past and remember liking it then. It was released before this kit. She’s a shiny, long wearing, durable top coat comparable to — the mother of all nail polish top coats — Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat.
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