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Archives for November 2008

Killer Kushionz Make High Heels Comfortable

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I swear, there must be a law of fashion nature that dictates that the hotter a strappy sandal looks, the more uncomfortable it has to be. Seriously, it’s like the yin and yang of sexy shoes.

I’ve been wearing high heels for years, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still make my feet hurt. Yesterday, for Jen’s wedding, I decided to try something new.

I inserted Killer Kushionz by Foot Petals ($12.95) in my gold BCBGirls high heels.

They’re designed to cushion the heel, arch and ball of your foot and also work like grip tape to keep your foot from slipping and sliding around (I hate it when my toes slide down the front of my sandals).

Made out of breathable foam, they don’t get hot, either, which means they don’t make my feet sweat (sexy!).

A super adhesive sticker keeps each pad in place, and they’re perfectly sized (but can still be trimmed to fit if necessary), so they fit well under your feet without obviously sticking out. That means they won’t make your great shoes look like orthopedic sneakers, LOL!

How well do they work? Well, normally after 5-6 hours in my 3.5-inch gold heels my dogs would have been KILLING me, but with Killer Kushionz I was relatively pain free in those same heels for 10 straight hours.

I am so totally sold on Killer Kushionz. They’re like Dr. Scholl’s for high heels! And they even come in pretty colors (I got them in rose). 🙂

Foot Petals Killer Kushionz

Price: $12.95 each; $34.95 for a three pack
Use: To make high heel shoes more comfortable
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. El Hub and I drove down to Key West this afternoon, which is about 220 miles south of Boca Raton. We’ll be here for a couple days before returning to the Bay Area on Wednesday. Ernest Hemingway, one of my favorite writers, had a home here, and I’ve always wanted to visit. After his death the home was turned into a museum, and today the property is also home to more than 60 cats! Hemingway had a thing for cats, and he protected his feline descendants in his will. How cool is that?

Sundays without Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Nov. 23

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Before leaving for Florida, we got Tabs a suite at Cat’s Cradle, a kitty hotel/pet boarding facility, because we didn’t want to worry about him while we were away.

Most kennel/boarding facilities (I found Cat’s Cradle on Yelp) charge between $8-$17/day and usually include meals. You get the peace of mind of knowing that someone is looking after your pet, which means not having to worry about flaky cousin Fred forgetting to refill the water bowl.

Well… at least that’s the idea. I just got a call from Cat’s Cradle. Tabs escaped! He was last seen at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Can you help me find him in this picture (click for a larger version)?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Jen’s wedding and reception went off without a hitch. There were no serious injuries on the dance floor, although I think a middle-aged groomsman might have pulled a muscle doing the worm, LOL! Here are some pics…
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Wedding Makeup Tips: Live Blogging from Boca

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Left: Lynette, the makeup artist; Right: Jen, the beautiful bride

We’re here in the bridal suite getting ready! I’ve been picking the makeup artist’s brain (Lynette) for wedding makeup tips and she’s been great!


Highly recommended…


Yours truly…


These things rock!

Wedding Makeup Tips

  1. Lynette prefers matte blush over shimmer because, she says, “mattes look more natural and shimmers
    look oily in pictures.”


  2. Recommends L’oreal Original Voluminous mascara because “it goes on thick and isn’t
    clumpy, and thickens and lengthens the best” out of all the mascaras she’s used for weddings.


  3. For photographs, she loves Cinema Secrets cream foundation in the pan
    and Cinema Secrets pan concealer because “it covers everything and looks great in flash
    photography.”


  4. To get a soft look with your eyeliner, “apply powder shadow dry to the lower lash line with
    an angled brush.”


  5. If you have very oily skin, “try using a mattifying gel addition to primer.” Try OC
    Eight Mattifying Gel 8 Hour Control.


  6. Definitely look for Ardell InvisiBands (semi wispies) false lashes. They look natural in photos
    “because they have tiny hairs,” and they’re very easy to apply.


  7. Lipstick can look heavy in photos, so try using a mix of lip liner and gloss instead.


  8. To help your makeup stay in place better on your wedding day, “do a clay mask before you apply anything.”

Reporting live from Jen & Michael’s wedding in Boca Raton… 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Boca Raton: Soft Green Eyes, Coral Cheeks and Lips

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Greetings, fellow Twilighters. The wedding starts in a few hours, but I squeezed in a run in the neighborhood around the hotel here in Boca Raton. Judging by the mini-mansions (lots of palatial estates) and proximity to the ocean, the folks who live here sho’ ain’t po.

I jogged by some beautiful tropical landscaping on a long, quiet street called Banyan Road.

The lush greens and corals inspired my face of the day. This isn’t the makeup I’ll be wearing to the wedding today; just something I was playing around with. It’s soft greenish-gold eyes, coral cheeks and a coral lip.

I tried to get close-ups of the eyes, but I forgot how bad the lighting was in the hotel room until I’d already removed my makeup, shoot!

For this face I used products from Shu Uemura, Benefit, Chanel and MAC. It being cold back home in Northern California and just about everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere right now, this FOTD won’t see a lot of action, but it might be fun to try something similar on a sunny day, even if it is chilly outside. Plus, it’s easy! 🙂

How I Did The Eyes

To get the eye look, I patted a layer of Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit over the entire eye with my finger, concentrating most of the color on the lid and fading on the way up to the brow bone.


Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit

Next, I patted the green shade from the Shu Uemura Adorned Marguerite Palette with a MAC 252 Large Shader Brush onto the lid and just barely into the crease.

Using a Laura Mercier Flat Eye Liner Brush I applied MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack to the upper water line, applying the liner close to the roots of the lashes.

With the same brush, I drew a thick black line onto the upper lash line, thickening the line toward the outer lash line (the side closest to my ear).

To make the liner pop, I patted the shimmery black shadow from the Shu Uemura Adorned Marguerite Palette directly on top of Blacktrack on the upper lash line with a Sonia Kashuk Eye Angeled Brush.

sonia-kashuk-tools-angled-eye-shadow-brush-1

Next, I curled my lashes with the incredible Shu Uemura lash curler and added two coats of Chanel Exceptionnel mascara in Noir.

To complete the look, I filled in my brows by applying MAC Concrete to the sparse ends with the mighty MAC 266 Small Angle Brush.

The Cheeks

The cheeks were super easy. The key is the big, cheesy smile. Then, I swept MAC Sunbasque, a shimmery coral, on the apples with a MAC 129 Blush Brush.

The Lips


Beach Coral Lipstick
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Twilight Movie Makeup, Part 2

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It’s bubblegum/popcorn movie time, girls! Twilight opened in US theaters yesterday, and I *cannot* wait to plop my behind in a cushy movie chair with my $10 bag of popcorn for two hours of preternatural fun! Sometimes, I just need a little film fluff in my life, ya know?

The rockstars over at MAC did the makeup for the movie. Jeanne Van Phue, makeup department head for Twilight, must have had a blast turning all those hot actors into undead heartthrobs!


The Cullens…

Jeanne Van Phue, Makeup Department Head for Twilight

Q: How does the makeup for the “bad” vampires (James, Victoria and Laurent) differ from the Cullens?
A: The looks of the two didn’t differ that much. The pale skin was a constant. The differences were more apparent in their actions and facial expressions as opposed to makeup.


Q: Can you walk me through the looks of a few female members of the supporting vampire cast? What was the inspiration behind the looks for Rosalie, Alice and Esme; and what MAC products did you use to achieve their looks?
A: When designing the looks for the characters, you have to take into account the description of each in the book. Both Rosalie and Alice had a very similar look. Eyeliner was important to create depth to the eyes, as the skin was so pale. No blush or contouring was used. MAC products used were Blanc Type and Wedge Eyeshadows.


Q: Can you tell me about the makeup you used on the La Push werewolf characters (Jacob Black, Embry, etc.)?
A: Jacob doesn’t start exhibiting the werewolf characteristics until he hits manhood… The idea was to have him look like an average teenager [in the first film].


Q: Have you read any books in the TWILIGHT series? Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?
A: I read the first book for this film, to become familiar with the story and the characters. I haven’t read any of the others yet, as I didn’t want to confuse the stories, while working on the first film. I hope to read the second book over the holidays. We didn’t work too much with Jacob on this film. I had the character of Edward in my chair everyday and fell in love with the character….so I guess I am Team Edward.

I wanted to catch a midnight showing on Thursday night but couldn’t swing it. I might have to wait until we get back from Florida. If you get to see it before me, don’t forget the popcorn! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the $300 Vera Wang LOOK Perfume Giveaway by 11PM PST tonight!

New RapidLash Claims 4 Weeks to Longer Lashes and Thicker Brows

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Prostaglandins — they’ve been doing the info-mercial circuit lately, getting in their 15 minutes of lash blasting fame, and RapidLash Eyelash Renewal Serum ($50) is the product du jour!

RapidLash makes some very bold claims…

Potent Polypeptides help amplify the length, thickness and volume! Powerful Polypeptides provide effective protection against breakage and naturally support longer, stronger more voluminous lashes.

Vital proteins and vitamins help replenish and fortify! Panthenol and rich minerals join forces to help replenish and rejuvenate lashes with essential proteins and vitamins that provide strength, shine and enhance lashes.

Moisturizing and rejuvenating agents help add shine and flexibility! Unique moisturizing agents provide extreme hydration to lashes by locking in moisture while improving elasticity and durability.

The product contains bioengineered octa/copper/oligo peptides, an “effective combination of amino acids,” according to CEO Robert Trow, to help “amplify volume by strengthening and rejuvenating” lashes and brows, and isopropyl cloprostenate, a fatty acid (LOL!) derivative, to help “promote cell regeneration.”
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Korres Natural Products Sugar & Spice Showergels Make Good Scents

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WARNING: Korres Sugar & Spice Showergel Trios ($12) will test your will. If you get these intending to stuff them in stockings or to give them away as gifts, be warned — they smell great, and you might want to keep them for yourself.

It’s weird because these don’t look like much from the packaging — not like holiday or food-scented products. The nondescript packaging doesn’t convey the holidays or rich, authentic foody fragrances. You look at ’em and think, “Meh,” but that only adds to the effect.

These are far more authentic and less synthetic fragrances than the typical sugary sweet pumpkin-spice-gingerbread scented concoctions you’ll find from other holiday lines.

  • Hot Spiced Chocolate Like you’re waiting in line at a Starbucks and someone walks by with a grande dark chocolate and cinnamon latte. I WANT!
  • Sugar Glazed Clementine Reminds me of fresh cut orange slices and brown sugar.
  • Honey Spice Like warm honey cookies and roasted pecans. Mmm…

Each moisturizing gel creates lots of big, frothy bubbles and gets the job done in the shower, but the yummy fragrances are what really set them apart. The scents quickly fade and don’t really linger on the skin, so I’ll still use them with other scents or perfumes.

Scent is highly tied to memory, yo, and showering with one of these takes wash time to a whole new level.

Korres Natural Products Sugar & Spice Showergel Trio

Price: $12
Use: Fantastic scented bath gels to get into the holiday spirit
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

TIP: Be careful when you pour from the bottles because the mouth is wide and pours like a gusher. It’s not hard to empty half a bottle in a couple seconds.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! It’s a little after 8:30am out here in Florida. Do you know where your gators are?

Bienvenidos a Florida!

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Hola, ladies! I just got into town (Boca Raton, to be exact) and wanted to say a quick hello. Surprisingly, I am still functional enough to type (LOL!) because travel always wears me out.

Guess who almost missed her flight this morning. I’ll give you one guess… 🙂

Note to file: running through airport terminals to catch a flight is SO NOT COOL!

But we’re here now, at the hotel in Boca. Jen’s wedding is the day after tomorrow.

Don’t let the view from the hotel room balcony deceive you; it’s friggin’ freezing up in here, Mr. Bigglesworth! Well, not exactly freezing, but it sho’ ain’t 85 and balmy.

For the record, hotel bathroom lighting isn’t conducive to good photography or to the proper application of concealer.

My first order of business is to find a place to get my nails done for the wedding. Hmm…

I’m bringing my bottle of NARS Bohemia Nail Polish (a shimmery pink with green pearl) with me.

I want to thank you guys for being so nice and supportive about my mother in law’s illness. She goes in for her second surgery tomorrow (to have another mastectomy, the other side).

El Hub ended up coming out here to Florida with me, although I know he really wanted to be in Hawaii to help. He’d only been back from Hawaii for three days when we learned that Mom had to go in for another operation.

We spoke with her today on the phone, though, and it was good to hear her voice. It’s hard going to something fun like a wedding knowing what she’s going through, but our hearts and minds are with her.

Anywho, I don’t mean to dampen your day or to bum you out. Just wanted to say thanks. Here’s to hoping you’re having a great Thursday! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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