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Archives for September 2009

The Chanel Jade Collection: A Softer Alternative to Fall’s Dark Nail Polishes

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chanel jade

What’s up, Jade-a-kisses?

Ever since I saw pictures of the Chanel runway models rocking jade green nails earlier this year, I’ve been dying, DYING to get my hands on the Chanel Jade Collection polishes.

This month the two limited edition shades, Jade and Jade Rose ($25 each), finally hit Chanel Makeup Studio and boutiques shelves. I ordered mine online last week from Chanel.com, and both pastel cuties finally arrived on my doorstep last Friday.

Chanel Jade background

Beauty junkies first got a glimpse of the colors in Paris last March during the Chanel Ready-to-Wear Fall 2009-2010 show, when Monsieur Karl sent a collection of black clothes punctuated with pale pink and jade green accents down the runway.

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Saturday Surfing

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

One Way to Remove Glitter Nail Polish

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Would you believe my glittery Illamasqua Harsh mani lasted all but one day?

It wasn’t the polish’s fault. Coco and Co. were to blame! Late yesterday afternoon, the new Chanel Jade nail polishes I’ve been dying to try arrived in the mail (swatches coming soon!).

Glittery nail polishes can be notoriously difficult to remove — so difficult, in fact, that some women refuse to wear them at all. Those little bits of glitter will just grip nails with a fierceness and refuse to let go!

When I sat down to remove my polish a few minutes ago, I remembered that a few of you, including reader Sarah, asked about it too.

Hi, Sarah. 🙂 Here’s a way to remove glittery nail polishes that works pretty well for me:

What you’ll need

Glitter polish removal, step-by-step

  • Start by thoroughly soaking a cotton ball or pad with the nail polish remover.
  • Place the soaked pad on the nail, making sure you cover it from cuticle to tip, and gently press down.

Acetone removers and glitter polish: There are many different varieties of nail polish remover, but ones containing acetone (a colorless, flammable solvent also found in many household cleaners and chemicals like paint thinner) seem to work faster than the non-acetone polishes I’ve tried, at least when it comes to removing glittery polish. Acetone is not a green chemical, however, and can be rather harsh on nails (making them dry/brittle), so I try to limit my use of it to polishes with glitter.

One brand I like is Zoya’s Remove +. It works well without over-drying my nails.

  • Hold the moistened pad in place for 30 seconds to give the remover time to work its mojo.

TIP: When I don’t have a clock nearby, I hum the Happy Birthday song to myself three times. That takes me about 30 seconds. 🙂

  • Gently slide the moistened cotton ball/pad from the cuticle to the tip of each nail. Most of the glitter should rub away, but remove whatever’s left with the same pad.
  • Repeat the same process for each of your other nails.
  • When you’re finished, wash your hands and nails well to remove the acetone and any stray bits of glitter that were left behind.

A remover just for glitter polishes? While surfing the web I spied a remover specifically designed for glitter called Cutex Glitter Girls Acetone Nail Polish Remover ($3). Have you given it a try? If you think it’s any good, please let me know.

  • You can help to keep your nails healthy after using acetone on them by using a nail polish moisturizer like Nailtiques Nail Moisturizer. It has a thick, rich formula and a light vanilla scent.

Sin Nombre: Beautiful cinematography, intense story

sin-nombre

How was your night?

I rented Sin Nombre, a subtitled film about a teenage Central American gang member who tries to escape the gang by heading north to the US. He joins up with a Honduran family also heading north but for different reasons.
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Comment to Win 5 Bare Escentuals Buffing Brushes

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Bare Escentuals Buffing Brushes

Are you a good buffer? I’m not. People say they can read me like a book. 🙂

No, I mean buffer as in applying your bareMinerals makeup. Even if you’re not a great buffer, I’m sure one of these five buffing brushes can help.

As a matter of fact, let’s get this party started with a little giveaway.

The prize

One lucky lady will take home the Bare Escentuals Buffing Brushes Escentual Collection, a kit with the following five brushes and accompanying travel case (a $49 value):

  1. Handy Buki Brush
  2. Tapered Blush Brush
  3. Precision Liner Brush
  4. Wet/Dry Shadow Brush
  5. Soft Focus Shadow Brush
  6. Travel Case (looks like a fancy Yahtzee cup)

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, describe your closest brush with fame. 🙂 Do you have a cousin in the movies? Have you ever starred in a TV commercial or eaten a cobb salad seated next to a famous singer at a Denny’s in Las Vegas?

I got a very brief interview with Sarah Jessica Parker in the back room of a Macy’s last year. The room was small like a coat closet, and I was sweating bullets! She was doing a promotional tour for Covet Pure Bloom, her latest fragrance at the time.

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

RT @karenmbb: RT to Win 5 Bare Escentuals Buffing Brushes http://bit.ly/11JEjD

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 5 Bare Escentuals Buffing Brushes http://bit.ly/11JEjD

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Monday, September 21.

Bona fortuna!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Oh, Philosophy — Your Duos Make Me Blush!

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philosophy you make me blush review sunny bright 2

Smokey eyes? Check. Vampy lips? Check. Along with the return of boots, sweaters and new episodes of some of my favorite TV shows (counting down the days ’til The Mentalist premiere, holla!), fall also heralds the return of bold makeup colors for lips and eyes.

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I’ll gladly climb aboard the drama-for-yo’-mama makeup train, but it’s not hard to overdose on bold color statements that take a look from chic to cheap.

So when I’m wearing a smokey eye or a dark lip, I’ll tend to go with sheer colors on my cheeks (for balance), colors like Philosophy’s new You Make Me Blush Duos ($25) powder blushes.

There are four available — Hugs/Kisses, Happy/Healthy, Honest/True and Happy/Healthy. I have the Happy/Healthy duo, which comes with two matte blushes, one a warm orangey brown and the other a blue-based pink.

philosophy you make me blush review sunny bright

I know, I know! 🙂 The colors look *crazy* bright in the pan, but both apply surprisingly sheer on my skin. Worn separately or together they add just a whisper of sun-kissed color.
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Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Harsh: Every Girl Needs Some Bling

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(If you’re reading this in the feed, there’s a video embedded in this post.)

Happy Friday, Sparkle Motions!

Ya know, sometimes it’s the little things that matter most…

This week was a rough one for me (lots of stress eating, yikes!), and I needed a way to unwind. I decided to reward myself with an at-home mani using one of fall’s hottest nail polish colors, gray.

I thought about busting out one my faves from Barielle, Essie or Zoya but felt like a little more bling.

I knew I wanted something in the gray/silver family, and I found my match in Illamasqua’s Nail Varnish in Harsh ($14).

One of the 22 nail colors in Illamasqua’s permanent polish line, it shines on its own or layered on top of other polishes. Although, technically, it isn’t a fall release, I think it fits really well both with the season and my current mood. 🙂

Friday night?

I don’t have a lot going on tonight other than maybe a movie and the start of my packing.

What are you up to? Tell me about your makeup today.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

7 Reasons to Love NARS

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7 Reasons to Love NARS

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  1. NARS Modern Love Palette Rocks the Cradle of Eyeshadow Love
    With a mix of shimmery neutrals; sexy, sparkling plum and a sprinkling of basic brown and black all together in the same place, this well-coordinated eye palette still packs some serious potential.

    2. nars multiple duo orgasm south beach open

  2. NARS Multiple Duo in Orgasm/South Beach: With a Name Like That, It Has To Be Good!
    This Multiple Duo is one of five and comes with shimmery, peachy pink Orgasm and South Beach, its shimmery coral partner in crime. At $45, it’s a little on the expensive side, but considering how lovely the colors are, and that both shades purchased individually would set you back $74, it’s not a bad deal at all.

    3. nars cosmetics shrinagar lipstick

  3. NARS Shrinagar Lipstick: Berry Sexy!
    Shrinagar was the only lipstick color in Nars’ last spring release, but never mind when it arrived. It looks great any time of year! It’s a sheer wash of deep, glossy raspberry with microscopic flecks of silver — complex, even flashing purple at certain angles. Picture hot librarians in nerdy chic glasses! 🙂

    4. nars cosmetics hula hula eyeshadow duo

  4. NARS Says Aloha with the Hula Hula Eyeshadow Duo
    This shimmery eyeshadow duo feels like poetry on my eyes… One of two eyeshadow duos from the NARS spring 2009 collection, Hula Hula comes with two cool-toned eyeshadows, the first in shimmery strawberry pink and the other in gold. For all my glitter girls, both colors in the duo have bangin’ flakes of glitter — HUGE chunks like the glitter in NARS’ Super Orgasm Blush, BAM!

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  5. NARS Mounia Blush: More Wearable Than It Looks
    The first time I swatched this shimmery reddish brown coral with golden pearl, I was convinced it would cause crazy clown cheeks! It looked almost like bright orange paint in the pan and on the back of my hand. To my surprise, the shade doesn’t look anywhere near as bright on my cheeks. It delivers a bright yet natural, just-pinched flush — not at all what I expected!

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  6. Live Nude Gloss! NARS Supervixen Lipgloss
    Movie moment! If I were starring in a blockbuster, this is how I’d want my lips to look in my closeups, with hair perfectly tousled, of course, and C. Bale feeding me croissants and coffee in bed (assuming he wasn’t being mean to his mum, oh, gawd).

    7. nars-mediteranee-eyeshadow-duo

  7. NARS Mediteranee Face of the Day: Orange, Anyone?
    Here’s a bright look I really like (despite my confused, far-off stare in the picture at the bottom) using the orange and gold shades from the NARS Mediteranee eyeshadow duo and products from MAC Cosmetics, Shu Uemura, Laura Mercier and Chanel.

TGIF, ladies! Looks like we made it through another workweek. I hope yours wasn’t bad, but if it was, I hope it gets better. 🙂

This morning I reminisced about some of my favorite NARS products of the past few months. Actually, since NARS is so good about maintaining the availability of their older products, one or two of these are from last year, but all are still available through their website.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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