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Archives for April 2009

Gwen Stefani: Her Best Hair?

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One of my favorite bands, No Doubt, is reuniting next month and going on tour, haay!

I’ve always loved their distinctive ska/punk/new wave sound.

I associate certain periods in my life with different No Doubt records… Rock Steady, for example, saw me through some serious early-20s growing pains!

But I like more than just their music. I’ve always admired Gwen Stefani’s sassy style.

Born Gwen Renee Stefani on October 3, 1969 in Anaheim, Cali, Gwen has never been afraid to take risks when it comes to her wardrobe or her hair — blonde, blue and sometimes pink. I have no doubt (ha!) she’ll always keep us guessing when it comes to her coif.

Which of Gwen's hairstyles do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Summer 2009 Cote D’Azur Nail Colours: For Die-Hard Chanel Fans

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If you’ve ever lost your sense of balance upon seeing a new Chanel nail polish for the first time (hellooo, VAMP?), you’re not the only one!

I almost passed out at the counter a few months ago when I first peeped deep, shimmery violet Vendetta — so frickin’ hot!

And before that, after seeing fall’s Haute Chocolate, a shimmery deep brown, I almost dropped to my knees.

But with the new Cote D’Azure collection, Chanel seems to have taken a quieter approach, with two fairly basic summer shades ($23 each): Orange Fizz (a creamy coral) and Golden Sand (a shimmery, peachy gold).

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The colors still have an elegant, summery vibe that I think stays true to the Chanel brand.

Can you imagine how pretty they’ll look with a tan?

Each color applies differently. Golden Sand, a limited edition shade, applies smoothly with even pigmentation. Using Orange Fizz, on the other hand, which isn’t limited edition, is a little bit trickier — as in thick and a little streaky — but a good base coat should fix the uneven color issue.

I’ve always had good luck with Chanel polishes in terms of wear time, and these shades seem just as durable as usual.

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While I like these colors, my jaw didn’t drop (and I maintained my balance) when I saw them for the first time. Yeah, they’re pretty, but I wouldn’t drop everything to snatch a bottle.

As much as I LOVE Chanel and always will — this time, one could probably find similar shades from other nail polish lines for half the price…
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How to Find a Wedding Gown: Got Tips?

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I dunno about you, but I sure enjoy a good wedding. Cake, dancing, the crackle of crazy emotions in the air AND the chance to get your drank on (hopefully at an open bar, haaaay)?! — I’m so there.

With wedding season swinging into high gear, MBB reader Katy emailed for help finding her wedding gown.

Hey Karen!

I’m sure you’re used to getting the typical beauty questions–but I was wondering if you could help me with something fashion related?!

I know you’re a Bay Area girl, and I’m beginning the search for my wedding dress (getting married in October of this year). Do you have any salon suggestions? I don’t mind traveling around the greater Bay Area, I just want to find the right dress!

Thanks!

Oh, Katy. The dress. THE DRESS! You gotta make sure you have one you absolutely love! Along with a bridal salon suggestion (more on that in a minute), I thought I’d throw in a few things I learned along the way while searching for a gown.

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  1. If the person assisting you at the salon shows you a dress that at first glance doesn’t quite seem your style, just try it on anyway. Experienced shop people tend to develop an eye for how dresses will work with certain body types. You never know what will end up looking great on you until you try it on.
  2. Bring a friend who’ll dish out tough love. Thank gawd my girl C. Money was there at the gown shop with me to talk me out of that slinky silk slip of a Monique Lhuillier gown. She told me, in the best possible way, that the cut of the dress wasn’t the most flattering for my body type (“That thing just might burst at the seams if you have an extra glass of wine and slice of cake at the reception”).

    If I hadn’t listened to her, I might’ve looked like a silky sausage in my wedding pics. You can’t put a price on a friend who can give it to you straight, ya know?
  3. Check out Amy Kuschel Bride in San Francisco. Amy’s an SF designer who creates sophisticated, elegant custom couture wedding gowns at pretty affordable prices.

    A custom dress is created specifically for you from scratch (as opposed to an off-the-rack dress) so the gown should fit you to a T!

    If you don’t live in the Bay Area but are still interested in Amy’s dresses, you can also find them at select salons and trunk shows across the US.

    Not only are Amy’s gowns amazing, but her staff is prompt, friendly and fast.
  4. Save a few bucks by purchasing a sample dress. If the wedding’s already over budget, consider buying a sample gown. Many dress shops sell sample gowns for up to 50% off!

MBB former brides and brides-to-be … do you have any other wedding dress advice for our homegirl Katy?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Re-Introducing Curly Sexy Hair!

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It’s really amazing how far curly hair shampoos, conditioners and styling products have come. During the ’80s products specifically designed for curly hair were scarce. We had L’Oreal Pumping Curls (a spray curl enhancer) and that was IT. Those were some rough years, and I have the bad pictures to prove it!

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Fast forward to 2009: now there are entire lines of hair care products for curly hair. 🙂

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This week I started testing cleansing, conditioning and styling products from the newly revamped Curly Sexy Hair line. Have you tried these yet?

The Curly Sexy Hair line’s been around for a few years, but I just never got around to trying their stuff until now. The company folks say the new products feature a more moisturizing formula than before — perfect, since my hair’s always dry and thirsty.
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Take a (Brief) Break from Dark Circles with DuWop Circle Block Concealer

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Turns out my concerns about how DuWop Circle Block Concealer ($28) would actually work in practice were right. I’m glad I saved my receipt because it’s going right back to Sephora!

It’s really too bad ’cause I was so excited about this product. I’d never seen anything like Circle Block’s two-part concealer system before. The cute lil’ jar comes with both a creamy peach colored waterproof color corrector to block dark circles and a liquid under-eye concealer to cover them up. Sounds genius, right?

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Circle Block in Medium

There are three shades (light, medium, dark) to choose from, and I decided to go with medium.

My eyes look pretty good when I have it on; the color corrector covers up the dark areas thoroughly, and the concealer lightens up the eye area — like it’s supposed to.

Unfortch the effect doesn’t last, and after just one hour of wear it all but disappears. Hello again, zombie girl![Continue reading…]

Website Wonkiness…

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Hi, homies!

Just a quick heads up — I’m sorry if the site’s taking hella years to load today or if you haven’t been able to get on at all. I’m having some technical trubs (argh!), but I’m working on getting them fixed right now.

Hopefully everything will be back to bid-ness as usual very soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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