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
Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Secret
As promised, here are those swatches of the two lipsticks and two lipglosses from the new Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden Collection.
Ultra Shine Lipstick in Love, $30
Shine Lipstick in Romance, $30
What do you think? Ultra shiny, right? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say they’re aptly named.
Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Secret, $30
Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Bon Bon, $30
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Greetings and salutations, mon amie. I wanted to quickly show you the new Clinique Milly Pretty in Prints Palette ($36) in action.
What do ya think? I followed the tutorial that comes with the eye and cheek palette this afternoon, and the whole thing took only about 10 minutes to do.
The palette comes with four shadows and a blush; the shadows contain just the right amount of pigment, and all of them are super easy to blend. Heck, I’d call the palette downright perfect if it wasn’t for the matte brown shade, which left mad fallout on my cheeks when I used it as a liner today (which is what the tutorial suggests).
As for the blush…I love it! It’s like a sheerer, less golden version of NARS Orgasm.
MAC Viva Glam V Lipstick
I was digging through my MAC favorites this morning when I remembered a question asked by reader Sheila Z in the comments yesterday.
“Karen, I’ll be getting my makeup done this saturday at MAC for my brother-in-law’s engagement party. Part of the process requires that I buy at least 5 items. What are the top 5 you recommend?”
— Sheila Z
Hey Sheila,
Pardon me for this, but right now I feel Ready For The World! “Oh, oh, oh, oh, Sheila!”
(Please tell me you’re familiar with that song.)
With that out of the way, let’s get back to beauty. 🙂 You’re going to have such a blast at the MAC counter on Saturday. For what it’s worth, here are my five (current) MAC must-haves.
I wield this multi-tasking goat hair fiber brush Every. Single. Day. It has its way with both cream and powder products, and I use it for everything from loose pigments to under-eye concealer.
This black gel liner stays put no matter what! I’ve shed a million tears with this stuff on, and it doesn’t budge for nothin’.
I really fancy this miracle working liquid concealer. Not only does it cover my dark circles well with its water-resistant formula, but it lasts all day long without fading, too. My one caveat? — it has a tricky pump.
If you like the look of browns with orange undertones, this matte shadow could be your new best friend. I wear it in the crease with smokey looks to give my eyes depth and dimension.
LOVE 
this shimmery neutral pink! I think it looks great on almost everyone, and 100% of the proceeds go to support men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS.
I also asked the gals on Twitter what their MAC must-haves are, and here’s what they had to say:
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Sooo, guess who’s procrastinating? 🙂 Yeah, I have about a billion things on my to-do list, but none of them are as much fun as makeup.
I put the new Clarins Neo Pastels Collection to work today for this here face of the day.
Clockwise from the lipstick on the left: Rouge Hydra Nude SPF6 Lipstick in 03 Pastel Beige, Blush Prodige in 02 Soft Peach and the Eye Quartet Mineral Palette
I loosely based the eye portion of the look on the Neo Pastel makeup tutorial here, and the edgy look of the black liner along the waterline is one of my favorite parts.
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The limited edition Smashbox In Bloom Eye Shadow Palette, $48.
What say you?
For more on Smashbox In Bloom, peep At Smashbox, Neutrals Are In Bloom for Spring 2011.
I have a big ol’ makeup crush on the limited edition Clinique Milly Pretty In Prints Palette, $36.
She’s cute, yah?
For more in the Clinique Milly collection, check out Be Pretty in Prints This Spring with the Milly for Clinique Collection.
Planning any trips soon? If you are, and they happen to involve a short airport layover, you might be able to MAC 🙂 good use of your wait time with the new MAC Packed to Go travel Exclusives for spring 2011.
Travel exclusives are limited edition sets, and sometimes individual products, special to travel hubs like airports and duty free stores (you won’t find them at regular stores or counters).
A lot of the bigger beauty brands like MAC, Dior, Estee Lauder, Chanel and Guerlain (to name just a few), have them, and they’re a boon to beauty obsessed travelers like us.
MAC Packed to Go is being released in two “phases” for spring.
The first, available now, features three MAC Look In A Box kits, each one designed with a different themed look in mind using products for eyes, cheeks and lips.
The second phase, which launches in March, will encompass 11 MAC Packed to Go sets organized by category, like lipstick, Lipglass, mascara and brush.
I always try to keep an eye out for travel exclusives because some of them contain hard-to-find limited edition pieces from long lost (but not forgotten!) collections, making them great opportunities to snag something you might not have had the chance to get the first time around.
In my case, it was the MAC Trip Cool Eyes Palette Travel Exclusive that finally put me in touch with the Springtime Skipper Eyeshadow from the 2007 Barbie Loves MAC Collection.
And the MAC Packed To Go sets also appear to have some familiar faces, and they’re taking me waaay back to 2008-2009 (LOL!).
Iridescent Powder in Belightful hails from 2008’s Fafi Collection; the Eyeshadows in Grand Entrance, Smoke & Diamonds and Glamour Check also appeared in 2009’s Love That Look; and the Cremesheen Glass in Looks Like Sin starred in 2009’s Creme Team.
There’s just something about travel exclusives that appeals to my primitive makeup hunter-gatherer instincts… 🙂
Skim through the product listings below, and let me know if anything strikes your fancy. Pricing and availability varies from airport to airport with these, but approximate US prices are shown.
Look In A Box in Girl Next Door
Look In A Box in Stylish Girl
Look In A Box in Rocker Chick
Loading ...Note: Prices TBD (they’ll vary)
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A bit overwhelmed by a couple of big projects (stay tuned!), but they’re almost ready. Just have to remember to breathe. 🙂
Most definitely. I love red lipstick in all its incarnations (blueish reds, brick reds, orangey reds, pinkish reds, I’ll take ’em all), but my favorites are deep, rich mattes, a la MAC Russian Red. Throw in thick, black cat eyeliner and a pretty blush, and I feel ready for (almost) anything.
Yup, but it sho’ ain’t fancy. It’s a gray/black Timex Ironman… I know, not exactly fashion forward, but it’s easy to read, waterproof, has a timer and glows in the dark!
Where do I begin? Well, perhaps at the peak of my big hair phase, circa 1989. My bangs were beyond high, and I had side wings so wide that I probably looked like I was about to take to the air, LOL! I must have looked like a lion…with braces and acid-washed overalls.
I actually have! There’s a ProActive machine at the mall by my house. I’ve picked up bottles of their Repairing Lotion many a time.
Yes. Truthfully, I didn’t think I’d end up in the suburbs (I’ve always been more of a city girl), but the burbs have perks. It’s so much easier to do “life” things out here, like go grocery shopping, visit the Target (always a struggle when I lived in San Francisco), and here I rarely have to deal with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Plus, I have a garage now, which is a luxury I would have never been able to afford living in the city.
Yup. That cheesy-looking romcom with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, No Strings Attached. Predictable? Yeah, probably, but sometimes I just don’t want to have to think too hard, ya know?
I would love to go back to Kauai for a solo vacation. I went once back in 1999 and hiked all over the island, but I felt like I didn’t have the chance to really see and do everything I wanted to. I would love to be able to spend half the trip doing outdoorsy things, and the other half doing nothing but hanging out at the beach/pool/spa. Ah, someday, someday…
When the chips are down, I think I’m able to get things done. Mind you, I’ll have a breakdown or two, and tears will be spilled along the way, but the important stuff still seems to work itself out.
Stay calm, focus, and remember to take breaks throughout the day. Do the 30 Day Shred at least four times, and try not to freak out! 🙂
Hey, cutie pie. I think I’m gonna need your help this week! Can you spare any words of encouragement? I know you’re really busy, too, but how about taking a moment to touch base in the Monday Poll? Maybe we can momentarily distract each other with some chit-chat.
1. Mood:
2. Are you a red lipstick kinda girl?
3. Do you wear a watch?
4. What was the most cringe-worthy beauty moment of your teenage years?
5. Have you ever purchased a beauty product from a vending machine?
6. Do you like where you live?
7. Is there a movie you’ve been wanting to see?
8. Where would you like to visit?
9. What’s one thing you love about yourself?
10. Weekly goals:
I’m gathering my strength and throwing in a little extra to send to you this week, just in case you need a boost. 🙂
We can do this if we stick together!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
