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Archives for November 2008

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, November 14

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I Want All The Bags From the Hayden-Harnett Target Line

  • SO CUTE! I’m a total handbag ho, so I can’t wait for Hayden-Harnett’s Target Line (a collection of tote bags, clutches and a single, random umbrella) to debut on December 28th.

James the Vampire = Kinda Hawt

Say It Ain’t So

  • Are you ready for the return of the bowl bang? I used to have a Dorthy Hamill bowl cut with bangs just like these circa 1981, LOL. 🙂

Coming Soon

  • When you hit those day-after-Christmas sales on December 26, head over to MAC to peep the new Dame Edna collection. Also keep your eyes peeled for Clinique Instant Relief Mineral Powder ($32.50), a yellow, loose powder designed to cancel out red tones, which debuts in January.

The Return of the Pant Suit

The Case of the Disappearing Collar


OMG, scandal. I hadn’t seen Tabs all day yesterday, and when he arrived home last night his collar was totally MIA. This cat better not be cheating on me with another human. 🙁 It’s one of those safety collars that’s designed to break away if a kitty gets stuck, so I am really hoping that unsavory human hands did not remove the stylish blue collar from my rotund, striped friend.

Still, I’m happy it’s Friday. It’s been a long week. Today I’ve got grand plans to buy Tabs a new collar (pink with rhinestones?), test my tube o’ MAC Dazzle Lash mascara and experiment with the Nars Jolie Poupee eye duo (from the Nars holiday 2008 collection). So excited!

Are you having a good day so far?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Is Enormous Lash the Next Great Cult Beauty Item?

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Hi, ladies! I’m here at my fave MAC counter at Nordstrom picking up a tube of the new MAC Dazzle Lash Mascara ($12). I can’t wait to try it when I get home. I hope it delivers glamorous lashes.

Speaking of the eternal quest for bigger lashes, I was wondering if you’ve heard of a product by Beauty Society called Enormous Lash. It’s a liquid lash growth formula that’s supposed to dramatically increase the length of your lashes. You apply the serum to your lash line, kinda like a liquid liner, and in about 30 days your lashes supposedly grow longer and fuller.

Usually I’m very skeptical of lash growth products, but all the makeup artists here are raving about the results. Each person gushes over and over again, “Oh my gawd. It TOTALLY works.”

A single tube of Enormous Lash costs $95 (ouch), but they tell me that’s enough for at least six months.

While I’m tempted to get a tube for myself, I really want it more for my mom-in-law for when she starts doing chemo. She has really long lashes now (which El Hub inherited, the lucky bum), and I know they’ll probably fall out, so I want to give her something that will help her when that time comes.

Have you used Enormous Lash? Did you get good results?

Hope you’re having a great Thursday. I’m off to go play with some Dior shadows. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Cargo Boogie Nights Eye Pencil Set: Makeup Tips and Tricks

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Boogie nights! Keep on dancing… keep on dancing. BOOGIE NIGHTS!

Whew. Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. It’s just that whenever I use the eyeliners from the Cargo Boogie Nights Eye Pencil Set ($18), I can’t help but burst into song (please tell me I’m not the only one who does this).

A limited-edition release for the holidays, the Cargo Boogie Nights set comes with five glittery, mini eyeliners and a sleek case that fits snugly in the palm of my hand.

  • Aqua: shimmery teal with silver glitter
  • Black: shimmery cool blue-black with silver glitter
  • Blue: shimmery royal blue with silver glitter
  • Purple: shimmery dark purple with silver glitter
  • Silver: shimmery silver




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Eco Lips Launches Edible Lip Line

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I’m starving! Where the heck did I put my lip balm?!?

Organic lip balm maker Eco Lips has created a 99 percent organic and 100 percent edible lip line. Pure & Simple joins the company’s growing batch of organic lip products. The “recipe” includes organic sunflower seed oil, organic beeswax, organic flavors and vitamin E and will come in three flavors — kiwi-strawberry, coconut and grape ($1.99 each).

I don’t mind the idea behind tasty lip products, and bravo that these are also mostly organic, but when I wear flavored stuff on my lips I tend to lick it off, immediately. I can’t refrain. If it’s yummy and it’s right there, I lick and smack and … DANGIT!

How do you feel about edible lip products?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Eco Lips even makes a Red Bull-ish energizing lip balm infused with caffeine, green tea and vitamin B12. WEIRD!

Givenchy Pop Gloss Crystal in Plum By Night Brings the Hawtness

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For once Tabs wasn’t the sexiest thing in the house.

Today the honor went to Givenchy Pop Gloss Crystal in Plum By Night ($23.50), one of two limited edition glosses from the Givenchy Holiday 2008 collection.

A dark, shimmery berry shade with multi-colored glitter that’s oh-so-very fine, this cream gloss not only looks pretty, but also feels fabulous on the lips. Its thin, non-sticky and moisturizing formula is a dead ringer for Dior Creme de Gloss.

Like Dior Creme de Gloss, Pop Gloss Crystal is highly pigmented, with *hella* shine and full color-coverage. I’ve found that using less is the key to getting Plum By Night looking its best. 🙂


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Nars Super Orgasm Blush: Less Glitter, Please

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Just uttering the words Nars Super Orgasm Blush ($25), makes my cheeks flush with embarrassment. Maybe it was all those Sunday morning Catholic masses, LOL. All I know is when I say the name of this blush, I feel the need to cover the ears of small children (and pets) within the vicinity.

All awkward name issues aside, I have to give Super Orgasm props. It begets cheeks with a perfect, just-pinched, shimmery peach color. Super Orgasm Blush would totally be the stuff of legend if it weren’t for one flaw — massive, meteoric, chunks of golden glitter.


Nars Holiday Collection 2008

Rich, Pigmented Color… YES!

Released as part of the Nars Holiday 2008 collection, Super Orgasm is the amped-up version of Nars’ best-selling Orgasm Blush, touted for years in beauty mags as a universally flattering shade for a boom-chicka-wah-wah glow.

Unfortunately, the light, peachy-pink color never worked on my tanned skin. Instead of a post-O flush, my cheeks looked candy-colored and clownish. Eeek!

But Super Orgasm’s darker, more intense pigmentation works for me. It’s so saturated with color that just one layer produces a beautiful, golden, peachy-pink glow. Oh yes, yes, yes!

Big, Chunky Glitter… NO!

But then comes the glitter.

Sigh.

There’s lots of it. The pieces are very big and unevenly shaped, so they don’t sit on the skin well. Most of the time I see flecks sticking up on my cheeks!

Also, the glitter pieces migrate like a flock of Canada Geese, flying off my cheeks and landing on my nose, chin and forehead.
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Oprah and Dr. Oz on the Science of Beauty

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Did you catch yesterday’s Oprah? She and Dr. Oz, her BFF medical buddy, went over some of the most common beauty concerns (like adult acne) and most popular beauty trends and fads out there and then gave beauty checkups to a select group of women from the audience.

Oz looked at their overall health, both medical and emotional, and, after running the women through a barrage of blood tests, sat down with them to discuss eating and exercise habits and the other aspects of their lives.

Oprah.com has a section dedicated to the Science of Beauty. It’s a great resource.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Dior Sparkle Shine Glitter Top Coat For Lips Gets the Party Started

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If a tube of glitter lipgloss looks like something a gang of tween girls would wear to a Miley Cyrus concert, I usually stay far away. It’s just when glitter goes wrong it can go *really* wrong, you know?

There are those rare times, though, when a truly dynamic glitter gloss takes my breath away. That magical feeling swept over me when I first marveled at Dior Sparkle Shine Glitter Top Coat for Lips ($24.50), a limited edition lipgloss from the Dior Night Diamond holiday collection.

Imagine sucking on a disco ball lollipop for hours; that’s the effect Sparkle Shine gives lips. Infused with a plethora of large green, blue, pink, gold and silver glitter pieces, this bad boy is the mutha of glitter glosses.

Girrrrl… This Is GOOD GLITTER

Dior really should call this stuff glitter with a touch of gloss.

While there are many elegant glitter lipglosses out there, like Chanel Galactic Glossimer, Sparkle Shine stands out because it contains an abundance of glitter (I’m guessing double the average amount).
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