Archives for August 2010

Which Do You Prefer: Brown or Black Mascara for Blondes?

August 18th, 2010 by Karen 40 Comments

Earlier this week MBB reader Emma emailed to ask for mascara recommendations. She’s a blonde beauty, and I’m hoping we can help her out.

“Hey Karen!

So I am in high school and a blonde and very pale. Should I wear brown mascara or black mascara? Will black be too harsh?”

Hi, Emma. Hmm… I have blonde friends that like both, and I think both colors look great — it really depends on the look you’re going for. In general, though, for a natural look, I’d suggest brown, and for a more amped-up, dramatic look, try black.

This, of course, coming from a brunette. 🙂

You might want to try a few drugstore mascaras first to figure out which color you like better. Rimmel makes a few affordable drugstore mascaras that work pretty well. Two to consider: Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara in Black Brown ($7) and Rimmel Glam Eyes Lash Flirt in Black ($7 each).

Oh! I also asked the girls on Twitter for some recs, and here’s what they had to say:

Ultimately, I like to follow the “there are no rules” philosophy when it comes to makeup, and I think it’s safe to go with whichever route you like best.

Do you have any specific mascara recommendations for blondes like Emma? Maybe some brands or colors you really like? 🙂 Please share in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Daniel Radcliffe: His Best Hair?

August 18th, 2010 by Karen 14 Comments

Every time a new pic for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I surfaces on the interwebz I squeal with fan-girl delight! I’ve been counting down the days till the November 19 release, daydreaming about Harry’s return (and his friends, of course).

Actor Daniel Radcliffe was a lad of 12 when 2001’s Philosopher’s Stone premiered; now he’s a 21-year-old man. Watching the characters and the actors who’ve played them evolve and mature over the past decade has been one of my favorite things about the series.

Not surprisingly, Daniel long ago ditched the bowl cut he made famous in the first film. Of his different looks (some are just subtly different), I’m definitely partial to No. 9.

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

It’s Never Too Late To Fall for These Hot Summer Glosses

August 17th, 2010 by Karen 21 Comments

Written by Stef

Today Stef of the hella cool We Heart This (a little bit of everything, a whole lot of love) shares some of her favorite summer lip glosses.

As I sit and ogle the fabulous fall collections that have surfaced so far, I have to remind myself: it’s still summer! As much as I’m loving the rich golds, dusty teals and vampy berries that we’ll all be lusting after come September, for now I’m still reaching for fun summer shades.

And for me, that means one thing: lip gloss! Here are the glosses I’ve worn the most this summer — the ones that have worked best for a fair-skinned, neutral-to-warm NC25 girl like myself.

I’ve tried to keep my Limited Edition choices to a minimum, but seeing as how I have LED (Limited Edition Disorder; if it’s only available for a short time, I must have it!), I had to throw in a few must-haves. You should still be able to find them all, if you’re resourceful/obsessed like me!

(Clockwise: Lush, San Paulo, Boy Bait, Melonie)

Coral

Let’s get straight into my lip gloss weakness, shall we? Summer is made for coral, I am made for coral! It’s bright, punchy, and a virtual beach trip in a tube. When the weather’s hot, I just can’t get enough coral.

Smashbox Lip Enhancing gloss in Beauty – The first of two LE’s I had to include. If I could only wear one lip gloss for the rest of my life (what a cruel world that would be!) it would be Beauty. A shimmerless pink-kissed coral, it goes with just about everything, and true to its name — really lights up your lips (and face!)
Vibrant Benefit Ultra Shines in Spiked Punch is a bit lighter than most of the corals I’m usually drawn to. It’s creamy, rather opaque, and its micro silver shimmer gives it an almost 3D look on lips. $18
Hourglass Extreme Sheen in Lush is perfection in a tube — juicy color, fine golden shimmer that works so well with us warm-toned gals, and the dreamy, ultra smooth Extreme Sheen formula. $28

(From left: Beauty, Spiked Punch, Lush)
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I Did It for Love & Toast: Pretty Packaging Sets This Line of Perfumes, Lip Balms and Hand Creams Apart

August 17th, 2010 by Karen 23 Comments

Like a peacock’s feathers, some beauty product packaging isn’t meant to be practical. Sometimes it’s meant to grab eyeballs — KAPOW! — which is exactly what the colorfully quirky Love & Toast line did to mine when I stumbled upon it at Pure Beauty.

I love the way products in the small indie line of perfumes, lip balms and hand creams ($9-32 each) are decorated, with their bright tubes and fun, interesting scents — sugared grapefruit, anyone?

Love & Toast Lip Balms ($9 each), available in Gin & Lime, Lemon Mint, Prickly Pear, Star Anise, Cherry Lemonade and Vanilla Chai
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Paul Mitchell’s New Luxury Hair Care Line Caters to Cats and Dogs

August 17th, 2010 by Karen 21 Comments

Written by Tabs

Today trendsetting cat blogger Tabs of the terrific Party with Tabs spills the gravy about a new line of luxury pet grooming products from Paul Mitchell.

Rise up, my four-legged friends, and demand luxurious locks and tresses! Have I got some great news for you. 🙂

Last weekend I sent my intrepid assistant over to Pure Beauty to investigate an intriguing new luxury line of pet grooming products (human tested) from acclaimed hair guru Paul Mitchell. It’s called John Paul Pet, a comprehensive system of pH balanced shampoos, conditioners and pet wipes for cats (and dogs, hrmpf!).

Lackluster coat? Flyaway fur? Perhaps John Paul can help. If your career, like mine, depends on your beguiling good looks, it might be worth a try. You may not be an international cat/dog model, but you can still look like one with the right grooming.

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Look Your Best Heading Back To School with These 18 Marvelous MAC Makeup Tips

August 16th, 2010 by Karen 24 Comments

You know you’re a crazy cat lady when you enter a casino and the one video slot machine you want to play is called “Kitty Glitter.”

The fam and I arrived here in Reno late this afternoon, road weary but ready for fun! Although I’m not a big gambler at all, I still wanted to be able to hang out with everyone, so I’ve been amusing myself in front of the penny slot machines (three cheers for Kitty Glitter!). So far I’ve won a whole two bucks, woo hoo!

Turns out the CCL’s have a lock on penny slots; I’ve found several cat-themed games.

And have you ever noticed how many slot machines have pictures of cheesy dudes on them?

Would you date this guy?

Doesn’t this cap’n kinda look like John Stamos?

I think this outfit was stolen from Adam Ant. Does anyone else remember him?

Never trust a bearded man with an abacus…

One of my favorite things about casinos is all of the cheesy slot machine art everywhere. The games are wildly decorated. It’s a total hoot!

Since it’s a little late tonight for a full post, let’s go retro with a reprint of one of my favorites MAC posts on the blog. It seemed particularly apt with school starting up again soon. 🙂 -Karen
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Let’s Share a Bottle of Red Zin: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Red Zin

August 16th, 2010 by Karen 7 Comments

Written by AnÅ¡Ã¡ Reams-Johnson

Today AnÅ¡Ã¡ Reams-Johnson reviews one of her new favorite nail polishes, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, in a new favorite shade.

My hubby thinks I look great in red, and after many years of pinks and corals I’ve gotten aboard the bandwagon too. It helps that as I’ve gotten older my skin tone has changed, along with my propensity toward bolder colors.

So, after our recent move to Florida I set off to find the perfect shade of red nail polish — and not just any red, but a dark, wine red.

As I entered CVS, I was stopped in my tracks by a range of new nail polishes from Sally Hansen. Her Complete Salon Manicure collection promises what the name implies, a manicure in every bottle.

At this stage in my life, I don’t like to spend the time on a base coat, two coats of polish, and a top coat, and these polishes from Sally supposedly combine all of those products into one. I was sold at a glance!

I purchased two colors right then and there, which were actually almost the same. The big difference between them being that one shimmers while the other’s matte. I decided to use the matte color first, 610 Red Zin, which I think is a beautiful color, quite classic in fact. The name Red Zin truly fits it too as it looks like a small, albeit thick, bottle of red wine.

Wearing two coats of Red Zin
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