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Archives for December 2010

Wishes Come True with Chanel Extrait de Gloss in Genie

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chanel genie on karen of makeup and beauty blog

A few days ago I made a wish, and this week it came true. I wished for a new purse gloss, and it appears a genie was listening.

What’s a purse gloss, you ask? It’s a gloss that’s worthy of permanent residence in your purse. You keep it close for touch-ups and other beauty emergencies…like when you randomly run into your ex and his new lady love at the mall (she’s cute, but you’re cuter), or when a TV crew asks you for an impromptu sidewalk interview about hot dog street vendors (yep, that really happened).

With a tube of Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Genie ($32) in your purse, you’ll be tough to catch off guard. One of two Rouge Allure glosses in Chanel’s limited edition Le Perles de Chanel collection for spring 2011, it’s a shiny but wearable coral with golden micro glitter and comes in Chanel’s trademark Extrait de Gloss formula. Non-sticky, luscious, hydrating, and lacking any potentially bothersome scents or flavors, it’s ready for drama AND flexibility. With a four-hour wear time, it’s also designed to laaaast.


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Burt’s Bees Naturally Happy Solid Perfume Always Puts a Smile on My Face

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burts bees naturally happy solid perfume

I like the idea of being able to bring along some extra happiness with me wherever I go, and that’s what I hoped for from Burt’s Bees Naturally Happy Solid Perfume ($10).

I’ve been toting the tiny tin around with me everywhere, pulling it out of my purse whenever I’ve needed a quick pick-me-up or a change in my mood. I rub it into my pulse points (on both sides of my neck, the insides of my elbows and on both wrists), and let the woody citrus scent propel me on my merry way.

And ya know, I think it has put an extra spring in my step. Made from a mix of natural oils, waxes and shea butter, it came out earlier this fall with three other travel-friendly solids from Burt — Naturally Beautiful, Naturally Fresh and Naturally Sensual.

Burt lists Naturally Happy’s official fragrance notes as Brazilian orange, Argentinian lemon, Florida grapefruit, raspberry, rose and cedarwood…but I’d characterize it more as a faintly spicy grapefruit.

It’s a very subtle scent, coy and mellow, and doesn’t hit you with a major burst of citrus. It also only lasts about two hours on my skin.

burts bees naturally happy solid perfume
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Two Ways to Win a Clarins Barocco Rouge Prodige Lipstick

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

clarins barocco collection holiday 2010 review swatches photos barocco rouge prodige product shot

You may be asking yourself, what’s with all the rouge lately? The brands just love that word, don’t they? Rouge this and rouge that.

The word may not be all that original anymore, but it’s berry appropriate when it comes to Clarins’ Rouge Prodige limited edition lipstick.

Dressed to thrill in black and gold, it’s semi-matte, unflavored/unscented, and looks opaque on my lips with a single coat.

If you can see yourself slipping into this lovely lippie, then warm up your giveaway muscles, girl.

Here. We. Go! 🙂

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

  • One (1) tube of Clarins Barocco Rouge Prodige lipstick (a $24 value).

  • 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 comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like how you apply lipstick (Do you go straight from the tube or use a lip brush? Do your bottom lip first and then pressing your lips together? Do tell.), the name of the last movie you watched in a theater, the person you look up to the most, or tell me about one of your hidden talents — you get the idea.
  • Second, you can enter by following me on twitter Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
    • Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a Clarins Barocco Rouge Prodige Lipstick (a $24 Value) http://bit.ly/fv9OgD

  • The deadline to enter is Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:59PM (PT).
  • Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
  • A maximum of two (2) 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 “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
  • The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
  • Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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

I’m Dreaming of a Rouge Springtime with Chanel Rouge Coco in Peregrina

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Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco on karen of makeup and beauty blog

I’m supposed to be battening down the hatches right now to brace us for a big storm, but I’d rather play with the new Chanel Rouge Coco in Peregrina ($30) and daydream about sunny skies (let’s hope I don’t regret that later tonight…).

Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco

Forget dark clouds. I see myself wearing this warm and creamy peachy pink on a leisurely stroll through Golden Gate Park in the springtime. I’m wearing a shimmery bronze and khaki eye look, a peachy golden cheek and sheer, creamy peach nails (ya know, to match). At one point, just to complete the fantasy, Ryan Reynolds and I stop at a park bench to discuss the finer points of mens grooming. Oh, and I’m also about six inches taller. 🙂

For more on the Rouge Coco lipsticks (texture, wear time and all that good stuff), click here.

Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco swatch

Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco lip swatch
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The NYX Soho Glam Collection Is Perfect for Fickle Girls

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nyx soho glam on karen of makeup and beauty blog

I was sitting in bed reading Stephen King’s Under the Dome the other night when it hit me. No, not the book, silly. 🙂 It occurred to me that I should get a tattoo of Tabs.

Don’t ask me why, because the book doesn’t have anything to do with cats, tattoos or cat tattoos, but since Tabs is my kitty BFF, and he comforts me whenever I get scared (like when I’m reading a Stephen King book), it makes a kind of weird sense.

I don’t have any tattoos right now, but most of my friends have ’em. My brother’s covered in tats, but I haven’t gotten any mostly because 1) I’m not into pain, and 2) I’ve never really liked anything enough to permanently inscribe it on my body.

Except for Tabs (and maybe El Hub, but that’s just too cliche, LOL!).

I’m still mulling over the idea, and it’s not official yet. Knowing me I’ll probably chicken out. El Hub’s totally against it. He’s afraid a cat tattoo would only serve as a gateway tat, but not necessarily into more tattoos; he’s afraid my level of crazy cat lady-ness would escalate, and I can’t argue with that logic.

Since I’m about as fickle with makeup as I am with body art, I’m especially thankful for blockbuster sets like the new NYX Soho Glam Collection ($30).

(Yes, I know it took me an unusually long time to get around to the actual subject of this post. Sorry.)

Girls and guys who love experimenting with color just might love the massive variety of shades, textures, levels of pigment, and finishes (oh hai, shimmers, glitters and mattes!) in this limited edition palette of 54 eyeshadows — a few of them even double as face powders — four powder blushes, eight lipsticks, two glosses and one lip liner.

Released new for the holidays, Soho Glam covers a lot of makeup territory. Here are some quick observations on the palette…

  • Eyeshadows — Although I had an easy time blending these shadows together, the color payoff varies wildly, with the mattes being more sheer than the shimmers and glitters. I wish NYX had gone with less gray on the neutral side, because for me it gets a little repetitive. But if you appreciate the nuances among the shades you might not mind. As for fallout, I experienced a bit with the shadows in the center of the palette, but in general these remained on my lids without any trouble.
  • Blushes —All four of the blushes apply very sheer, and they’re particularly great for a naturally-flushed cheek look.
  • Lip Products —Both the pan lipsticks and lip liner are unscented and unflavored (yea!), and I like the wide range of colors. I was a little nervous about the gloss in the tubes and expected them to have that gnarly NYX taste and scent, but thankfully they don’t.


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Lush Sugar Plum Fairy Scrub: A Fairy Fun $5 Treat

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Look, over there — do you see it? The limited edition Sugar Plum Fairy Scrub ($4.95)? Isn’t it cute?

This heavenly creature is mostly made of sugar and spice and everything nice…like sodium bicarbonate (that’s baking soda, babe). It’s an exfoliating scrub scented with ylang-ylang (like a deep custard) and jasmine, and it leaves a light floral fragrance on my skin.

I took it into the shower with me last night, hoping it would smooth my bod — specifically the rough patches on my knees, heels and elbows.

The bar melts on contact with water, foaming into a lather with moderately rough scrubbing grains. I was hoping to get away with using half, or maybe a quarter of the bar, but it wasn’t in the mood for that once it got wet. Perhaps I could/should have broken it in half before the shower, just to be able to use it a second time.


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