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Archives for March 2011

Glisten Closely, Because Jouer Has Something Shimmery to Say: The Jouer Glisten Up Collection for Spring 2011

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jouer glisten up
Jouer Glisten Lip Gloss in Nude Glisten on lips and Glistening Brightening Powder on upper cheek bones

My brain perceives sparkly makeup and ice cream (BASKIN-ROBBINS!) in similar ways. When I see either of them behind their respective counters, I do a lot of ooh-ing and aah-ing with grabby fingers in the air. Most of the time I can barely speak at all, with the only sentence I’m able to utter consisting of the words, “I want!”

That’s what glitter can do to ya. It’s powerful stuff — especially good glitter, like the kind in Jouer’s new Glisten Up collection for spring.

jouer glisten up in hand
From left to right: Glisten Lip Gloss in Rose Glisten, Coral Glisten and Nude Gliste; Glisten Brightening Powder

Indie line Jouer takes a simple, straightforward approach to makeup that’s both feminine and sophisticated at the same time. The brand reminds me of Becca…if Becca left the beach early to hang out downtown.

Like good-looking, well-mannered men who also happen to be a little short, good glitter is small, fine and sophisticated (Ben McKenzie in a suit). It’s glitter for grownups. Picture the kind of glitter Snooki would wear, swing the pendulum in the opposite direction, and BAM! That’s good glitter (sorry, Snooks!).
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I Thought I’d Be Hungrier for Bite Beauty Lip Rouge Multitasking Lip Color and Blush

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Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine

Oh, hell naw! Remember how excited I was to try the new $22 Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine? Check it. THIS (up top) is what happened the very first time I opened the compact.

What a way to make a gal grumpy, right? I suppose one could even say it “bites.” Sure, the compact could have been damaged in shipping; it may not have had anything at all to do with Bite Beauty’s quality control, but I’ve received many other orders from Sephora, and this kind of thing’s never happened before…

Nevertheless, we persevere! I’m not going to let a possible shipping accident stand in the way of getting Lip Rouge on my lips and cheeks.

Looking at their name, you may be wondering if vampires made the new Bite Beauty line. Nope. The 50 pieces in the line, which recently went on sale at Sephora, get their name from the edible ingredients they contain — ingredients like resveratrol, a potent antioxidant.

I’d hoped that matte peach Nectarine, one of six creamy Lip Rouge shades in the line, would have a thin texture like the Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints (LOVE!) previously released for spring, but it’s surprisingly thick, almost like a matte lipstick.

Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine box

Bite Beauty Lip Rouge in Nectarine side
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Two Ways to Win 10 Pieces of Milani Makeup (a $59 Value)

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

Top o’ the morning to you, lass! Happy St. Patrick’s Day. 🙂 There’s green all over the place! — green clothes, green beer (soon) and now green makeup in this here giveaway.

Tabs and I teamed up with drugstore brand Milani on today’s prize package of 10 pieces of eye makeup and nail polishes in festive shades of green.

Kermit the Frog once said, “It’s not easy being green.” Well, we’ll see about that. The giveaway starts in three, two, one…

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

  • 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, are you wearing something green? Do you believe in luck? What was your most memorable St. Patrick’s Day? Have you ever had green beer? Do you have a favorite Milani product? 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 10 Pieces of Milani Makeup (a $59 value) http://bit.ly/gAZ7VN

  • The deadline to enter is Friday, March 18, 2011 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 the United States (sorry, ladies living overseas; I promise a giveaway that includes you soon) 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 Laura! Congratulations, Laura! 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 Getting a Charge Out of Dior Electric Tropics Nude Healthy Glow Powder in Sunset

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dior electric tropics

Hey, cutie. Remember the Dior Electric Tropics collection you and I drooled over last week? Today I spent some time getting to know one of the limited edition Nude Healthy Glow Powders, Sunset #002 ($46), and now we’re officially attached.

Sunset’s a warm orangey brown with coral accents (like a blush version of MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow), and I swear it’s just as gorgeous in person as it is in the promo pics. Here I’m wearing it on my cheeks as a blush, but I also tried (and liked) it as a bronzer and an all-over face powder.

dior nude glow sunset with brush

dior nude glow sunset open

dior nude glow sunset pan
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April Showers Bring Make Up For Ever Flowers Like the New Uplight Face Luminizer and Aqua Liners: Coming Soon

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make up for ever up light

Beauty confession: I haven’t been drinking enough water this week. I usually try to drink at least 64 oz. a day because — well, you know why. It’s good for your health, and I also think my skin looks plumper, with fewer dry patches, when I’m drinking enough.

The problem is that I’ve been extra lazy lately, and even the effort it takes to raise the bottle to my lips has been more effort than I can spare. Lame, I know.

I hope these two new product lines from Make Up For Ever encourage me to get my H2O on again and WAKE ME UP like a splash of cold water in the face. Both of them have something to do with agua.

Uplight Face Luminizer Gels ($29 each)

The new Uplight Face Luminizers are lightweight gel highlighters that contain more than 70% water. Available now at sephora.com (although they won’t arrive on shelves until April), they’re oil-free, and Make Up For Ever says the high water content enables them to melt right into the skin.

They’re supposed to be multi-talented (like Broadway stars). Apply them alone to highlight specific areas, like your eyelids, lips and cheeks, or mix them with foundation or cream blush to make your full face glow. MUFE says they even work on collar bones, yo.

make up for ever uplift cool shades

Among the colors, there are three different finishes — Dewy, Pearly and Sparkling. The Dewy and Pearly ones contain MUFE’s Star Powder for a bold, iridescent effect; the ones in Sparkling contain MUFE Diamond Powder for softer shimmer.

make up for ever uplift warm shades

Since my skin naturally looks duller than it did way back in the day, light-reflecting products have become staples in my daily routine. That means I hope these work. 🙂

Right now I’ve got my heart set on #12 Dewy Golden Warm, which looks to me like a warm version of MAC Strobe? Could it be? WANT!
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Raye Wedge Sandals by Coconuts: These Coconuts Are High in Fun

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So I realize that I don’t review shoes often, but the more I wear these Coconuts sandals, the more obligated I feel to share their awesomeness with womankind. 🙂

These Coconuts Raye Wedge Sandals usually go for $65 a pair, but I stumbled upon them at Marshalls for $30. They come in three colors — Metal (multicolored gold, silver and bronze), Pink (multicolored pink, orange, purple, blue and green) and Black (multicolored black, pewter and gold; the ones I got). I usually wear shoes in a 7, but the closest size I found was an 8. Luckily, these run kinda small. They’re still a touch big, but not annoyingly so, and they’re surprisingly comfortable for high heels. As a matter of fact, I barely had to break them in.

Exactly how high are they? Well, they’re 3 and a 1/2 inches beneath a platform of about an inch. Gurl, my vertically challenged self feels SUPER tall with ’em on!

It hasn’t stopped raining here for days, so I haven’t wanted to wear them out yet, but I have been wearing them around the house. You know, for fun. They’re quite stable and easy to walk in, despite the height, and the soft straps don’t dig into my skin.


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