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Archives for September 2009

MAC Style Black: A Tutorial with Gilt By Association Eyeshadow and Black Cream Colour Base

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mac style black collection tutorial

I’m having a blast exploring different ways to wear MAC’s new Style Black collection.

Earlier today I tried a bronzy black smokey eye using Mineralize Eyeshadow in Gilt By Association ($20).

It turned out better than I thought it would! At first I was afraid (I was petrified) the slippery Cream Colour Base would look too messy, but I found that as long as I didn’t overuse it, it stayed put reasonably well.

This is a look I’ll definitely wear again, maybe with a white, brown or bronze top and some gold jewelry.

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Tutorial: What you’ll need

  1. An eyeshadow primer like Too Faced Shadow Insurance ($17)
  2. A creamy black eyeshadow base like MAC Cream Colour Base in Black ($17)
  3. A shimmery blackish bronze shadow like MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Gilt By Association ($20)
  4. A shimmery, peachy golden eyeshadow like MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked ($15)
  5. A shimmery, bronze pencil liner like MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge ($15)
  6. A black liquid pen liner like LORAC Front of the Line Pro ($22)
  7. A black mascara like MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara ($13)
  8. A black gel liner like MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack ($15)

mac style black collection tutorial swatches-1
Swatches from left to right: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, MAC Cream Colour Base in Black, MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Gilt By Association, MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked
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10 Days of Giveaways: Comment to Win a T3 Featherweight Dryer!

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The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

t3 featherweight dryer

It may not have been wrenched from a stone like Arthur’s Excalibur, but the T3 Featherweight Hair Dryer feels that enchanted to me. When it entered my life two years ago (like mana from heaven!), it changed my life forever!

This thing isn’t merely a gizmo or an electronic doohickey. It’s mythic — an object worthy of flat-out worship. 🙂

t3-giveaway-i-can't-live
Why? Because of how much time it saves.

Drying my mane with my old broke-ass hairdryer used to take me 45 minutes, at least, but the T3 cuts that down to 15. 15!

To me, it’s one of those rare beauty products that totally lives up to the hype.

Every half an hour it saves is an extra half an hour to sleep, to plot world domination or to drool over, say, Agent Ballard.

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Not only does it dry hair like greased lightning, it’s super quiet (shhh…) and barely weighs a thing.

This month the T3 line celebrates their five-year anniversary, so let’s join the party with a giveaway!

The prize

Thanks to the good folks at T3, one lucky lady will take home a T3 Featherweight Dryer ($180 value).

How to enter…

2ways2enterEntering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post — in it, tell me why you’d like a T3 in your life. 🙂

I use some of the time it saves me to watch brainless, mind-numbing reality television — the kind of television that’s good for my soul.

Follow me
Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to Win a $180 T3 Featherweight Dryer http://bit.ly/XLKSs

Recap…

  1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
  2. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

    RT @karenmbb: RT to Win a $180 T3 Featherweight Dryer http://bit.ly/XLKSs

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, September 27.

Oodgay ucklay!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

MAC Style Black FOTD: Greasepaint Stick in Black with Young Punk Eyeshadow

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mac style black fotd

Rise and shine, ladies. 🙂 TGIF!

This shimmery purple eye comes courtesy of two products from the new MAC Style Black collection, the Greasepaint Stick in Black and Mineralize Eyeshadow in Young Punk. That’s Young Punk layered on top of the stick on my lids.

Also in the mix: the Eye Kohl in Smolder along the waterlines (upper and lower), Young Punk along the lower lash line and two coats of the new Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara on my lashes.

I was shooting for something wearable enough for a business meeting…

mac-style-black-fotd-eyes

Oh — remember the Origins GinZing Eye Cream-concealer trick for dark circles we talked about the other day? I used it for this look, mixing GinZing with Laura Mercier Secret Concealer and applying under my eyes.
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10 Days of Giveaways: Queen by Queen Latifah

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The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

queen-by-queen-latifah

10 Days of Giveaways keeps chugging along with today’s celebrity fragrance, a tribute to one of my favorite celebs, the very talented Queen Latifah. 🙂 She raps, acts, sings and brought to market a lovely fragrance fit for — you guessed it — a queen.

The prize

One lucky lady will take home a bottle of Queen by Queen Latifah (a $59 value).

With notes of Italian bergamot, mandarin, rose, jasmine and sandalwood, it almost makes me feel like royalty.

How to enter…

2ways2enterEntering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post — a comment about anything at all. 🙂

Speaking of Queen Latifah, I’m bumping Ladies First in iTunes right now.

Follow me
Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to Win Queen by Queen Latifah http://bit.ly/4rMdRt

Recap…

  1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
  2. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

    RT @karenmbb: RT to Win Queen by Queen Latifah http://bit.ly/4rMdRt

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, September 25.

Успех!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

MAC Dazzleglass Creme, Zoom Black Zoom Fast Lash: A Quick Look

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mac dazzleglass creme 1

Yikes! Only time will tell if we MAC it through all of these concurrent releases today, ladies. It’s as if MAC’s trying to give us makeup conniptions! 🙂

Say howdy to the new Dazzleglass Creme glosses ($18) and Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara ($13). They join Style Black on counters today.

Remember those sheer, non-sticky Cremesheen Glass glosses from earlier this year? Well, these Dazzleglass Cremes kinda look like shimmery versions.

I see some nice colors here, but I really haven’t been able to concentrate on ’em yet because of that blasted Zoom Fast Black Lash. It just looks so awesome! The newest member of MAC’s mascara family, MAC says it delivers incredibly dark, midnight black lashes. With hella high hopes, I grabbed a tube to test. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

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From left to right: Perfectly Unordinary, My Favourite Pink, Do It Up and Creme Allure

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Soft Dazzle, Luscious Spark and Amorous

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Sublime Shine and Totally Fab

mac cosmetics dazzleglass creme swatches perfectly unordinary my favourite pink do it up creme allure 5
Perfectly Unordinary, My Favourite Pink, Do It Up and Creme Allure

mac dazzleglass creme swatches soft dazzle luscious spark amorous 6
Soft Dazzle, Luscious Spark and Amorous
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MAC Style Black: Everyday Edgy

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The scene is hawt! We’re backstage at Fashion Week, a post-runway mixer with models, makeup artists and designers, sipping sparkling wine and talking MAC.

“Action!”

The camera cuts to MAC’s latest launch as it arrives on counters today, the drama-for-your-mama Style Black.

The edgy 18-piece collection for lips, nails and eyes features dark, shimmery purple, gold and, of course, black. For my Joy Division-lovin’ goth chicks — homies, this is YOUR release!

More into neutrals instead? No worries. MAC even remembered to include a few items appropriate for everyday wear.

More wearable than I expected

Style Black knocked me back at first, intimidating me a little, but upon closer inspection I found some pretty wearable goodies as well.

Rocking a full Style Black makeup ensemble at once might make for a fun night out (Halloween, perhaps?), but I can see myself more often sticking to just one or two of the edgier elements at a time.

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Tabs does Style Black

For instance, I might try a bold eye with the Greasepaint Stick in Black (lovin’ the blue and purple shimmer!) layered beneath one of the Mineralize Eyeshadows on the lid but toned down with a nude lip.

Or, maybe a dark lip with Night Violet Mattene lipstick and a softly lined eye (smudged along the lash lines) using something like the Smolder Eye Kohl. 🙂

What stands out?

I like several things from Style Black but love the Greasepaint Stick in Black, the Mineralize Eyeshadows in Gilt by Association and Young Punk, the Cream Colour Base in Black (*can’t wait* to layer it beneath a shadow for smokey eyes) and Night Violet Mattene. Of everything, these four also struck me as the most user-friendly.

Oh! And skin care junkies, consider the Volanic Ash Exfoliator, a gently moisturizing exfoliator I first fell in love with last year (glad to see it here, too!).

What do you think so far? What moves (or doesn’t move) you?

mac style black swatches black bat black
From left to right: Cream Colour Base in Black and Bat Black

mac style black mineralize eyeshadows blue flame cinderfella gilt by association young punk
Mineralize Eyeshadows in Blue Flame, Cinder Fella, Gilt by Association and Young Punk
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