Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Ahoy, matey! The new China Glaze Anchors Away Collection for spring 2011 just docked onto my doorstep, so I thought you’d want to see some swatches. 🙂
From left: Pelican Gray, First Mate and Lighthouse
Knotty, Life Preserver and Ahoy!
Starboard, White Cap and Sunset Sail
Below Deck, Hey Sailor and Sea Spray
Pelican Gray
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Once upon a time, I had my aura read in a Las Vegas bathroom. I know it sounds a little pervy in a George Michael kinda way, but it was all good, clean (if not totally random) fun.
I was in town for a wedding and went to the restroom to wash my hands before the reception dinner. There was a woman at the sink next to me, and she was intensely staring at my reflection in the mirror.
I smiled at her while preparing to jet, ’cause, you know, in the movies, nothing good ever happens when strangers stare at you in public bathrooms. And that’s when she said, “Your aura’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Um…thank you?
Some people believe that each of us has an aura, a field of radiant, luminous color that surrounds us. These fields, which are invisible to all but a few gifted individuals who are able to perceive them, are unique combinations of colors, like pigmented fingerprints, and I can only imagine how beautiful they must look.
I got to chatting with the woman in the restroom, who as luck would have it turned out not to be a serial killer (BIG relief). She was a kind of mystic and insisted on giving me a quick reading right there at the sink. She described my aura as an unusually bright mix of beautiful yellow and orange.
How intriguing! Perhaps almost as intriguing as the Hourglass Aura Collection for lips and cheeks. 🙂
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Hey, babe. Just a quick heads up. Benefit’s hosting an online “Saleabration” right now with select makeup and skincare products on sale for up to 70% off.
Several of the makeup items are beautiful, wearable neutrals from limited collections that have come out over the last couple of years, with many priced at $10 or less.
A few bargain highlights:
Eyes
Lips
Not sure what to get? Check out my swatches and reviews of the sale products mentioned above:
Happy shopping, bargain hunters!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Yesterday I almost judged a book by its cover. After reader Mahnaz asked how Aragonite, one of the new Glossimers from the Chanel Les Perles de Chanel spring collection, compared to NARS Moon Fleet, my initial reaction was, “Uh oh! Chanel must have copied NARS.”
NOTE: If you’re interested, you can see swatches of the entire Les Perles de Chanel collection at the bottom of this post.
But then I pulled out both colors and gave the question more thought. Both shades are related, but NARS Moon Fleet, a permanent color from the line, is a sheer and shimmery yellow gold, and I think it looks much darker and yellower than Aragonite does.
What about other possible Aragonite dupes? Hmm… How about Chanel Glossimer in Galactic (circa 2007)?
NARS Lipgloss in Moon Fleet (left) and Chanel Glossimer in Aragonite (right)
First cousins, perhaps?
Chanel Glossimer in Aragonite (left) and Galactic (right)
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I wonder what Lewis Carroll 
would have thought about the secret garden of pink Post-It notes that decorate my desk…
…and my notebook.
Of course, the note’s totally unnecessary, because there’s no way I’m going to forget about the new 12-piece Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden collection for eyes, nails, face and lips. When it hops into town this spring, I’ll need a fainting couch to catch me when I fall (in love). 🙂 
The colors look so bright and authentically springy that I can almost smell fresh-cut grass and sunshine when I look at them (I swear I can smell the sunshine).
But the story behind the collection, according to Dolce, is one of mystery…
“With Secret Garden, we wanted to provide a kind of privileged information — or a secret formula — for the women we love so much, so she could effortlessly achieve that illusive look of intrigue that all women crave.”
–Domenico Dolce
I haven’t quite figured out the mystery angle yet, but designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana say they played with the idea of a hidden paradise in which a mythical, delicate beauty seduces the senses.
Perhaps she’s wearing a flower-print dress to a garden party. Yes, I think I can see her now. She’s walking barefoot across a large lawn of vivid green grass. I don’t know who she is, but I feel like I should go to her.
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Today I took the brand spankin’ new Dior Soft Pink Design All-In-One Artistry Palette ($58) from the Dior Montaigne spring 2011 collection out for a spin using the little tutorial that comes with the palette as a guide…
I love it when products come with these things (sending positive reinforcement to all the companies out there) because they make looks as easy as 1-2-3.
Base
Colour
Shadow
Shine
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