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Archives for May 2010

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Move: A Fun Alternative to Pink

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Where do girls who have a hankering for bold, full-coverage glosses go? Well, to Illasmasqua, of course! Their full-coverage Intense Lipglosses dress lips in some of the most opaque, intense colors in the beauty biz.

Last year I fell in love with bright pink Frenzy, but these days I’m all about Move, a creamy purple.

As much as I love pink glosses, there are always those days when I feel like shaking things up, and that’s why I like Move. I think it adds a fresh twist to eye looks featuring blues, purples and grays.

One of nine colors in the Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss line ($19, available at Sephora), Move is thick but not sticky, and it wears for about six hours on me if I’m careful. It can be a little drying, however, so I slather on a rich lip balm before I hit the haaay at night if I’ve worn Move during the day (to counteract the effect).
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MAC Venomous Villains Tribute: How to Draw Tabs in the Disney Style

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Tabs for MAC Venomous Villains

I guess dreams really do come true. The upcoming MAC Venomous Villains collection has me in such a tizzy that I’ve been drawing all morning long! A MAC Cosmetics/Disney collaboration? Um, are you kidding me!? Talk about a recipe for greatness.

Speaking of recipes, here’s one for today — a tutorial on how to draw Tabs in the Disney style (or as close as I can come to it). It’s his tribute to MAC Venomous Villains. 🙂

UPDATE, 8-15-2010: For the inside scoop on the MAC Venomous Villains collection, check out MAC Venomous Villains: 101 Things You Didn’t Know

Have fun! If you decide to give it a try, go on and send me a picture of your artwork so I can show it to Tabs.

Step 1

Simple is the name of the game here. Are you ready? Grab your favorite pen or pencil, and start by drawing one big circle for Tabs’ head, adding in the facial guidelines after that. Next, draw a line for his neck and two more circle shapes for his chest and his bottom. Finish the step with the remaining lines for his legs and tail.

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Saturday Surfing

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Rise and shine, morning glory! It’s a beautiful day today, or at least I hope it is where you are. How did you sleep?

Last night Tabs rented Invictus on iTunes, the rugby film with Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, so we watched that. I liked it, particularly this one scene where Matt takes off his — wait. I don’t want to spoil it for you. 🙂

I don’t feel properly caffeinated yet, but I think I’m ready for a little Saturday Surfing if you are. You may have to help me paddle out (please!)…

What’s new in beauty?

  • The Balm has a new concealer, REJOICE!
    Zap zits and get a flawless face with new Liquid timeBalm ($20) spot treatment concealer to cover redness, smooth imperfections and soothe blemished skin; available in Light, Light/Medium and Medium.
  • Oh, just brighten up…with Illamasqua Gleam Cream
    Mix Illamasqua Gleam Cream ($36), a lightweight and shimmery highlighter, with your favorite foundation or lotion for an instant skin brightening effect.

  • It’s the dance of the Fresh Sugar Plum fairy!
    Fresh’s new Sugar Plum Lip Treatment SPF 15 ($23) is supposed to moisturize, repair and protect lips while adding a deep plum tint.
  • Show those dark circles who’s boss
    Designed to help conceal the most intense dark circles, Laura Mercier’s Under Eye Perfector ($22) comes in two shades — Orange/Yellow to cancel purple/gray dark circles in olive-to-deep skin tones and Mauve/Rose to cancel pink/purple circles on fair-to-medium beauties.
  • Think pink!
    Isn’t this pink Sedu Revolution Styling Iron ($159) adorable? I’m very happy with the Sedu I use to flat iron my wavy locks. Too bad mine isn’t pink, though!
  • Did James Cameron direct this?
    I’m dying to smell the new Bath & Body Works Deep Aqua scent (products range from $3-14). It lists notes of melon, daffodil, violet, daisy and hydrangea. And, hello! — is that Helvetica Neue Ultra Light on the packaging?
  • Would you pay $105 for foundation?
    For that kind of money, By Terry’s new Or de Rose Teing Supreme Foundation sure better lift, smooth and anti-age like there’s no tomorrow (available in Beige, Rosy, Amber, Sand and Sienna)!
  • Easy, BIG FELLA!
    Urban Decay’s Big Fatty Double Hitter Mascara Duo ($29) adds POW! to your lashes with tubes of regular and waterproof volumizing mascaras.

Other random fun facts…

They’re starting ’em so young these days…

Kind of long but interesting. This might make a good “9 Things” topic, yes?

A beautiful take on my favorite Beatles song

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

BB Couture for Regular Guys…and Girls!

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Written by Kelly

Today my girl Kelly of the fantastic Vampy Varnish blog shares the 411 on the new BB Couture Regular Guys nail polish collection.

If you haven’t yet heard of BB Couture nail polish then listen up! The brand hasn’t been around very long but already has an amazing and ever growing array of beautiful and strange colors. If you’re a fan of green nail polishes, in particular, then you might want to strap down your credit card, because they have tons of greens, all unique and gorgeous.

Today’s review looks at one of the collections in their “For Men” line called Regular Guys. Now, just because these are marketed toward men doesn’t mean women can’t wear them! In fact, I don’t know a single man who’d wear nail polish, but that doesn’t mean they don’t. Honestly, I don’t care who these are marketed toward because of how pretty I think they are.

The formula for these, like most of BB Couture’s other colors, is spectacular. It’s smooth, flows nicely and applies quite opaque. BB Couture uses a special “4-in-1 formula”, in which they’ve already added base and top coats to each color, so you don’t need to apply them separately.

You’re supposed to be able to just paint the color on and go, but I still use extra base and top coats, though, just because it’s in my nature, and I feel it helps make my manicures last longer.

Blue Collar, a periwinkle blue with pink shimmer, is right up my alley. Periwinkle happens to be one of my favorite colors for nail polish. What I like about this one? — it isn’t a plain ‘ole crème color; the shimmer makes it special. This was two coats:

Golf Pro, a muted medium dusty green with light blue and green shimmer, also has black flecks of glitter, which are kind of a BB Couture specialty. They add black glitter flecks to a lot of their polishes, and they really are the only ones who do it. I think it gives their colors extra dimension. I love Golf Pro. It’s so unique, flattering and very opaque. This was two coats:


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Rimmel Glam Eyes Mono Eyeshadow: The $4 Drugstore Blending Queen

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rimmel glam eyes mono eyeshadow review

Society accepts when one purposefully resembles a rodeo clown (hey, those clowns know how to WORK!), but when it’s accidental, well, that’s another story.

If past encounters with intensely pigmented eyeshadows left you looking more Krusty than cute, then Rimmel Glam Eyes Mono Eyeshadow ($4) might be your new BFF.

Released with the company’s spring collection and available in drugstores now, these six powder eyeshadows in color-rich shades blend so surprisingly well that I’m betting even eyeshadow neophytes could make them work.


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Noxzema Clean Moisture Makeup Removal Cloths: An Interesting Scent-sory Experience

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noxema clean moisture makeup removal cloths review

Um…someone was straight-up TRIPPIN’ in the beauty lab when they decided to add a strong camphor/menthol/eucalyptus scent to these new Noxzema Clean Moisture Makeup Removal Cloths (about $4 for a pack of 25).

I don’t like to poke fun at suspect beauty products because of all the hard work that people put into making them, but I have to make an exception for these (sorry!). They’re just about the worst smelling wipes I’ve ever encountered, and my nose has been traumatized, yo! 🙂 Think eau de dental office meets a box of old Band-Aids.

To their credit, these pre-moistened, alcohol-free wipes do feel wonderful and are able to cut through most of the makeup I’ve thrown at ’em (foundation, lipstick and eyeshadow) without leaving one of those funky towelette films, but I just can’t get over the scent…
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The Body Shop Nomadic Goddess Collection: These Earthy Shades Shine

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Lean in, and listen to the story of a neutral loving lady waaaay obsessed with shimmery shades of brown.

She’s called Nomadic Goddess, and she grew weary of seeing so many neon hot pinks and purples hog the stage.

One day, she decided to steal the spotlight! 🙂

Today I checked out a few of the earthy tones that make up The Body Shop’s Nomadic Goddess makeup collection for summer 2010.
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Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams: Multitasking to the Extreme!

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Make Up Forever Aqua Cream Shadow in Pink Beach on eyes, Peach on Cheeks and lips

It’s almost that time of year — hot weather, humidity, glittery purple sweat trickling down your forehead and ruining your carefully applied makeup right as you make eye contact with that cute boy on the train…

Been there, done that. 🙂

Just in time for summer, the Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams ($22 each) are here!

These 21 creamy colors aren’t just waterproof; they’re also multitasking, moolah-saving monsters, with some of them usable on the eyes and cheeks, and others on the cheeks and lips. Convenient, yah?

make up for ever aqua cream review

make up for ever aqua cream review

The honor students at Make Up For Ever designed the Aqua Creams with extreme photo shoots in mind (as in extreme environments). They resist perspiration, smudging, creasing and tears (YES!). Also, like that ill-advised, scripty tattoo of Raul on your left boob, they ain’t going anywhere, any time soon. Once dry — and they dry in 1-2 minutes flat — they last and last and last.
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