Archives for February 2011

5 Fantastic Drugstore Makeup Brushes

February 16th, 2011 by Karen 68 Comments

5 fantastic drugstore makeup brushes

I was cleaning my makeup brushes yesterday when I remembered a recent email exchange across the Northern border. Canadian reader Siobhan asked…

Hi Karen,

Family members are in the States right now and have offered to bring me back a little present. 🙂

I’m thinking about asking for some makeup brushes, and you have stores there that we don’t have here in Canada (Target and CVS come to mind). What kinds of drugstore brushes do you recommend? Thanks!
–Siobhan

Heya Siobhan,

Smart thinking! Makeup brushes are lightweight, easy to pack, and make fantastic little travel gifts. Both of the chains you mentioned, Target and CVS, carry several affordable, high quality brushes like the…

1. EcoTools Bamboo Bronzer Brush

This cruelty-free brush has a dense head (there’s a pun in there somewhere) and super soft bristles. It’s designed to be used with bronzer, but I prefer to use it to buff loose powder on top of my foundation for an airbrushed look. $12

eco tools bamboo bronzer brush review 3

2. Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush

An affordable, all-purpose eyeliner brush with an angled barrel, a long handle and a pointed brush head made with soft, yet firm, synthetic fibers. I think it’s a star with gel liners like MAC Fluidline and makes winged cat eye flicks super easy to do. $6

Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush Review closeup

3. Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Flat Top Blusher Brush

My local Target has a tough time keeping this brush in stock; it’s usually sold out! Forged in the fires of Mt. Kashuk by the mighty SK to apply cream blush, this multitasking tool also tackles liquid foundation, cream/liquid highlighters and powder products, too. It’s totally worth the hunt. $15

Sonia Kashuk Flat Top Blusher Brush
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MAC Room for the Cute Bag That Comes with the MAC Shape & Perfect Brushes

February 15th, 2011 by Karen 38 Comments

mac packed to go 5 shape perfect brushes

The case that comes with the MAC 5 Shape & Perfect Brushes kit is in one way like a Mini Cooper — small on the outside, but surprisingly roomy on the inside (Beep! Beep!).

For kicks today I tried to see just how much stuff I could squeeze into it. In addition to the five miniature makeup brushes it comes with, I managed to also find room inside for two full-size MAC pressed powder compacts, three full-size tubes of Cremesheen Glass and three eyeshadow singles.

Hot damn, that’s a lot! My inner makeup hobo approves. 🙂

mac packed to go 5 shape perfect brushes 3

Frankly, I wish MAC sold the bag separately (it’s zippered and made of some kind of canvas/fabric), because the five travel brushes it comes with really aren’t all that…

I should say right off the bat that I’m not a big fan of MAC’s travel brushes. The ones I’ve tried haven’t performed as well as the brushes in their permanent line, but I tried to keep an open mind today while testing the five in this set — the 168SE Angled Contour Brush, 187SE Duo Fibre Brush, 212SE Flat Definer Brush, 219SE Pencil Brush and 275SE Medium Angled Shading Brush.
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I’m Adding Lush R&B to My List of Greatest Hair Hits

February 15th, 2011 by Karen 43 Comments

LUSH R&B Revive & Balance Hair Moisturizer

Lush R&B Revive & Balance Hair Moisturizer ($18.95) is so damn good that whenever I use it, I burst into song.

Whoever invented Lush R&B, homeboy was such a whiz!
Now my waves, soft and shiny, hardly ever frizz.
It hydrates my hair while it soothes my scalp.
(It really has been a great deal of help.)
With a touch of hold, I’m totally sold
On Lush R&B!

Okay, so maybe this won’t be my year to win a Grammy, but really, this stuff rocks. I’ve been using it lately to get what I’ve referred to on the blog as “brunch hair” and “vacation hair” — touchable, cooperative hair with a bit of hold and definition.

Lush markets R&B as a hair moisturizer, a kind of rich, hydrating leave-in conditioner designed for dry scalps and hair. It’s a frizz-smoothing, shine-enhancing hair hero recommended for hair types that often benefit from extra hydration, and they mention African American, curly, wavy and generally dry hair.

With organic avocado and extra virgin coconut oil for moisture, soothing oat milk, and jojoba oil for shine, it addresses many of the issues I have with my hair.

It also addresses one of the biggest issues Tabs has with many hair products by not containing any animal products at all. 🙂

After shampooing, conditioning and towel drying my hair, I take an amount about the size of a penny into my hand. The product’s a thick, rich balm, and I’ve found that a little goes a really long way. Rubbing both hands together warms it up, thins it out and seems to make it more pliable and easier to work with.

Working in sections, I coat my hair with it, sliding each section between my palms from root to end. I also gently scrunch the ends to enhance my waves, and let my hair air dry when I’m done.

Once it dries, my hair has a look like my favorite pair of broken-in jeans. It’s shiny, with lightly defined waves that feel soft to the touch. It’s a casual look, unconstructed and completely unfussy. Seriously, if a cute boy (let’s call him El Hub) were to ask me out on a picnic date in the park, this is the hair look I’d want.

LUSH R&B Revive & Balance Hair Moisturizer packaging
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The MAC Future Face Collection

February 15th, 2011 by Karen 7 Comments

The MAC Future Face Collection

STUDIO FIX FLUID SPF 15 FOUNDATION — N18, NW18, NW22, NW33, NW44, NW46, NW48 and NW58. $26.50 each.
STUDIO MOISTURE TINT SPF 15 — Medium Plus, Tan Beige, Dark Plus and Neutral Tan Beige. $29.50 each.
190 FOUNDATION BRUSH — A brush to apply liquid or cream foundation. $32.
150 LARGE POWDER BRUSH — A brush to apply loose or pressed powder. $42.
STUDIO CAREBLEND/PRESSED — Light (a soft pale beige), Light Plus (a pale golden beige), Medium (a soft creamy beige), Medium Plus (a tan beige), Medium Dark (a caramel beige), Medium Deep (a rich golden tan), Dark (a deep caramel) and Dark Deep (a rich golden bronze). $23 each.

Available in North America on February 17, 2011 at all MAC counters, stores and online; internationally in February 2011.

A Travel Exclusive: MAC Packed These 3 Cremesheens To Go

February 15th, 2011 by Karen 41 Comments

MAC Packed to go 3 cremesheens double dare
Cremesheen in Double Dare on the lips

G’morning and happy Tuesday, cutie pie.

I thought you might like to see another of those MAC travel exclusives, and this one’s a real trip (LOL!). It’s called 3 Cremesheens, and it’s part of the new MAC Packed to Go collection.

Like all of MAC’s other travel exclusives, 3 Cremesheens will spend most of its time at select domestic and international airports and duty free stores when its flight arrives this spring (prices will vary by location).

I’d originally heard that the set would include Boy Bait, one of my favorite Cremesheens, but that appears incorrect. The set I have came with a pretty light pink called Right Image instead.

MAC Packed to go 3 cremesheens box

MAC Packed to go 3 cremesheens box 2

MAC Packed to go 3 cremesheens box 3

MAC Packed to go 3 cremesheens box 4

MAC Packed to go 3 cremesheens tubes
From the top light pink tube to the bottom: Right Image, Over Indulgence and Double Dare
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MAC Future Face: Studio Careblend/Pressed Powder Q&A with Nick Gavrelis

February 15th, 2011 by Karen 8 Comments

Q&A with Nick Gavrelis Vice President, Global Product Development, Face and PRO, MAC Cosmetics

Q: What makes the Studio Care Pressed Powders such a valuable addition to the MAC powder lineup?
Studio Careblend Pressed Powder fuses high technology with botanical extracts to give “real women” and make-up artists a unique, creamy feel to the touch. The luxurious powder glides onto skin, yielding an undetectable finish without a dry powdery look — leaving the skin feeling tremendously comfortable.

Q: What is so unique about the coverage and finish the Studio Careblend Pressed Powder provides? Can it be used alone or should it be used layered with other products?
Studio Careblend Pressed Powder provides sheer to medium coverage with perfect skin adhesion that helps to create a more flawless, refined look to skin. Studio Careblend Pressed Powder’s versatility allows users to apply it alone, over moisturized skin, atop foundation to set, or simply to touch up and perfect skin throughout the day.

Q: What are the Skincare benefits of the new Studio Careblend Pressed Powders?
Studio Careblend Pressed Powder has a super comfortable, weightless cream-like feel on skin, thanks to our unique botanical complex that consists of Safflower Seed Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Shea Butter, Olive Oil and Lecithin. This “Comfort Complex” helps contribute not only to the beautiful skin adhesion and flawless finish look, but it also ensures that the powder will be non-drying, non-powdery and extremely comfortable to wear for all skin types.

Q: What are some of the technologies used to develop this product make it stand out?
This is truly a modern, next generation pressed powder. It is formulated with a combination of micronized treated pigments and luxurious ultra fine Venetian particles and worked in a special Crosspolymer and other ingredients to give the most luxurious glide and application with amazing, undetectable skin adhesion — looks like flawless skin, not pressed powder! Then, with the addition of the botanical “Comfort Complex,” we help the skin to feel its best and look its best, without the dry, chalky look of powders from generations past.

Q: MAC is known for testing our new products backstage at Fashion Weeks — what was the reaction from our artists to the Studio Careblend Pressed Powders?
The reaction from our Sr. Artists and MAC PRO Team backstage during fashion week in NY, London, Milan and Paris has been amazing! They love the luxurious feel and ultra smooth, non-powdery looking application they get… Finally, a Powder that looks like silky skin!

According to the Girl Next Door, MAC Put This Look in a Box

February 14th, 2011 by Karen 39 Comments

mac packed to go collection

What would you do if I told you that MAC put a look in a box? Would you want to set it free?

Before you answer that, what if I also told you that the neutrals in this particular box don’t bite? No, they’re much too sweet for biting. As a matter of fact, the shades in the MAC Look in a Box: Girl Next Door kit ($40) are sugar and spice and everything nice (i.e. charming), like the kind of makeup you’d wear to meet a new beau’s mom for the first time.

The limited edition 2011 travel exclusive boxed set, one of three from the MAC Packed to Go Collection, comes with five products, a few of them full-size items from the MAC permanent line, and a couple of hard-to-find limited edition shades from previous releases.

(2) Eyeshadows in Grand Entrance and Smoke & Diamonds: Remember these two from 2009’s Love That Look? Well, the names are the same, but MAC changed the finish. When they came out with Love That Look, they sported the limited edition Starflash finish, but these have the MAC Frost finish instead. Frankly, I like both finishes and think the differences between them are subtle. Color-wise, however, I think the new colors are a shade lighter than the originals.
Iridescent Power in Belightful: This sheer and shimmery peachy gold highlighting powder had its coming out party back in 2008 with the fabulous MAC Fafi Collection. This version’s the spitting image, too, right down to the big chunks of golden glitter.
Zoom Lash in Zoomblack: Like “Drag Queen Lashes Light,” or the mascara a diva would wear to Sunday service, what we have here is a repromote from the MAC permanent line. It subtly thickens while it lengthens to take lashes up a notch or two.
Cremesheen Glass in Deelight: This creamy neutral rosy pink feels smooth and non-sticky on my lips, and if you find yourself falling in lurve, it’s also available now on the MAC website.

MAC Packed to Go Look In A Box: Girl Next Door
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MAC Future Face Collection: The Studio Careblend Pressed Powders

February 14th, 2011 by Karen 15 Comments

MAC’s introducing a new line of powders called the Studio Careblend Pressed Powders ($23 each) to the permanent line in the upcoming Future Face Collection, which launches February 17.

Along with the new powders, the Future Face Collection will include repromoted MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundations ($26.50 each), Studio Moisture Tints ($29.50 each), the 190 Foundation Brush ($32 each) and the 150 Large Powder Brush ($42 each).

Tabs with the MAC Future Face Collection Studio Careblend Pressed Powders

MAC says the Studio Careblend Pressed Powders offer sheer to medium coverage, feel weightless and can be worn alone or atop foundation. Find them in the following shades…

Light — a soft pale beige
Light Plus — a palte golden beige
Medium — a soft creamy beige
Medium Plus — a tan beige
Medium Dark — a caramel beige
Medium Deep — a rich golden tan
Dark — a deep caramel
Dark Deep — a rich golden bronze

MAC Future Face Collection Studio Careblend Pressed Powders
MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powders clockwise from the left: Light Plus, Medium Dark and Dark