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Archives for December 2010

I Say Yes to Cucumbers in My Hair: Yes to Cucumbers Color Conditioner

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Tabs has really been riding me lately to find a good cruelty-free drugstore conditioner. He even threatened to swipe my ankles if I didn’t produce something this week worthy of sharing on the blog. I focussed the search on volumizing products designed to cut down on frizz, since those are both hair issues of mine, and I think I may have found something to save my ankles from Tabs. They call it Yes to Cucumbers Color Care Conditioner ($9).

With a mild cucumber scent, this lightweight, moisturizing conditioner is marketed to gals with color-treated hair, which I have, but I’m so impressed by it that I’d wager it would also do wonders for other types of hair (particularly fine, limp hair because it is quite volumizing).

Not only is it cruelty free, but it’s also made from 99.6% natural ingredients, including minerals harvested from the Dead Sea, organic cucumbers, centaurea extract (an extract from a flower that’s supposed to help prevent brassiness) and green tea. Most of the ingredients are also plant extracts, way up on list, and there’s no mention of silicones among the ingredients at all.

I love the volume I get from using this because it works without leaving behind a thick layer of goop — just lots of lift and body.


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Level Up, Wizard, with Mascara Magic 101

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Sam

Written by Sam

Freelance makeup artist and blogger Sam shows that anyone can wield a mascara wand like a true makeup magician if they find the right technique.

Mascara Magic 101

It’s 6:30 in the morning. You just barely saved your white blouse from a nice warm coffee demise, and all you’ve left to do is throw on some mascara. Do you…

A. Close your eyes, wiggle the wand randomly in the vicinity of your lashes, and hope for the best?

B. Look straight into the mirror, and take a few seconds slowly sweeping the bristled brush from base to tip, possibly allowing time for a second coat?

C. Stop, take a deep breath, and with your disposable sponge, gently lift your eyelid while you wiggle your brush at the roots, sweeping them quickly outward and upward, turning the brush vertically to add a bit of length at the corner, and wiggling it over the lower lashes?

Hopefully, you picked (C), as you may have guessed that in this case, the most complicated answer is the right one.

Mascara is one of those magic products that can completely transform your look, even if you’re not wearing another stitch of makeup. But, like trying a new hair color, not all transformations work out well. Some methods of application could leave you with spindly lashes, clumpy lashes, flakes of black on your cheeks, little freckles dotted over your meticulous eyeshadow or bare lids… You get the idea.
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With the Sonia Kashuk Reach for the Stars Nail Trio, Sonia Hopes You’ll Reach for Your Wallet

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Sonia Kashuk Reach For the Stars Nail Trio Holiday Set swatches

When the goin’ gets tough, the tough paint their nails! Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how the saying goes, but you know what I mean. 🙂 And when a nail polish goes on with near perfect application, like the pretty polishes in the Sonia Kashuk Reach for the Stars Nail Trio ($10), well, ain’t nothin’ gonna break my stride.

The limited edition holiday set comes packed to the gills with glitter in three full-size bottles — a warm peachy gold (looks like a sunset!), a gunmetal gray and a magenta. Sonia filled all three with pounds of pigment and sparkle to spare.

Where’s the party at?! I ask because these festive shades hit all the right notes, but the formula’s what elevates these polishes from good to great. The smooth, thin texture goes on without any streaks (reminds me of OPI’s texture), and because they’re so pigmented, the color is easy to build up with layers. Last week I painted my toes with the gunmetal gray, and it was one of the fastest and easiest at-home pedicures I’ve given myself in ages. Just two coats produced a solid, opaque layer of color. Heck, I probably could have gotten away with one layer if I’d been in hurry.

Sonia Kashuk Reach For the Stars Nail Trio Holiday Set swatches gray

Sonia Kashuk Reach For the Stars Nail Trio Holiday Set swatches gray and gold
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You Might Need a Row of Diplomas to Open the Benefit Crescent Row Coffret Set

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Benefit Crescent Row Coffret Set with box

Don’t let these sharp dressers fool you. The adorable tiny bottles in the Benefit Crescent Row Coffret Holiday Kit ($36) look like they’re begging to be spritzed, but you might need a degree in rocket science to get ’em open.

The limited edition set comes with four almost impregnable bottles of 0.34-oz. eau de toilette — the light and fresh Laugh With Me LeeLee and Garden of Good and Eva, and warm and cozy Lookin’ To Rock Rita and So Hooked on Carmella.

The official fragrance notes…

  • Garden Of Good And Eva: pear, watermelon, ozone accords, muguet, rosebud, jasmine petals, green violet leaves, freesia, sandalwood, musk and cedarwood
  • Lookin’ To Rock Rita: lemon, coconut, freesia, fig, hyacinth, violet, sandalwood, Brazilian rosewood and vanilla
  • So Hooked On Carmella: lemon, grapefruit, rhubarb, cyclamen, peony, tiare flower, vanilla, sandalwood, amber
  • Laugh With Me LeeLee: cassis, melon, citrus, black violet, lily, jasmine, blonde wood, amber and santal

I’ve been fiddling with them for days and still can’t tell if the tops are designed to snap or screw shut. I like all four of the long-lasting fragrances, but truth be told, the packaging’s been a bit of a distraction. Maybe they need a special chant or a sacred dance to close, haha!
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Dec. 13

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  1. Mood:

    2. I was a little agitated earlier (the Christmas tree fell over this morning so there were broken ornaments and pine needles all over the living room floor, plus the carpet was soaked, ugh), but now I’m feeling pretty good. It’s amazing how a quick run and some endorphins can change everything.

  2. Three winter beauty essentials you can’t live without?

    3. Clarins HydraQuench Cream for my hella dry face, Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme for my gnarly feet and Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream for my shredded carrot cuticles, LOL!

  3. Red lips: matte or glossy?

    4. Both. 🙂

  4. One of your life goals?

    5. To visit the pyramids in Egypt.

  5. When it comes to holiday entertaining, would you rather be the host or the guest?

    6. The guest, for sure.

  6. If you were a dessert, what would you be?

    7. A mini cupcake, because it’s small and sweet.

  7. Have you finished your holiday shopping?

    8. No, and I still have a long way to go. 🙁

  8. Your favorite meal of the day?

    9. Hmm, probably breakfast. French toast, banana pancakes, hash browns, omelettes… man, I’m hungry right now.

  9. What sounds do you hear right at this very moment?

    10. Cars driving by in the distance, my fingers typing on the keyboard and Tabs purring up a storm (he’s making biscuits on my lap).

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Drink three big bottles of water every day (been dehydrated lately), log in 10 hours of reading and eat plenty of veggies at dinner every night.

There’s nothing like a portly tabby cat sitting on your lap and tearing the crap out of your clothes to start your week off right, LOL! Other than this morning’s Christmas Tree Incident (I still don’t know how it fell over), things have been just dandy on this end.

What’s shaking out in your neck of the woods? When you get a moment will you let me know what’s going on with you by filling out the Monday poll?

To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.



1. Mood:
2. Three winter beauty essentials you can’t live without?
3. Red lips: matte or glossy?
4. One of your life goals?
5. When it comes to holiday entertaining, would you rather be the host or the guest?
6. If you were a dessert, what would you be?
7. Have you finished your holiday shopping?
8. Your favorite meal of the day?
9. What sounds do you hear right at this very moment?
10. Weekly goals:

Raise your chai lattes with me, and let’s toast to a spectacular week ahead!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 117

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WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is AmyVA! Congratulations, AmyVA! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Enter Today's Tabs Caption Contest

Makeup and Beauty Blog Caption Contest

  • $25 (U.S.) sent via PayPal to the winner’s PayPal account (that’s Christmas money, yo!)

  • There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a caption in the comments for the picture at the top of this post, preceding it with the word CAPTION:
  • Second, you can enter by following me @karenmbb and tweeting a different caption, preceding it with the words @karenmbb CAPTION:

  • The deadline to enter is Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 11:59PM PST.
  • Entrants must have a valid email address and PayPal account to win.
  • A maximum of two entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
  • Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
  • Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “the judges”) will select our favorite caption (1 winner) from all of the caption contest entries that are either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
  • The decision of the judges is final and binding.
  • All entries become the property of Makeup and Beauty Blog (specifically Tabs) and will not be returned.
  • The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
  • If the winner cannot be contacted or does not respond within three (3) days, an alternate winner may be selected at the sole discretion of the judge(s).
  • Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is AmyVA! Congratulations, AmyVA! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

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