Archives for April 2011

If you liked 12 Monkeys, Groundhog Day and Moon, don’t miss Source Code. For serious! I was hooked from the opening credits. The movie opens with some incredible swooping overhead shots of daytime Chicago looking bigger and brighter than I ever thought it did and then zooms in on a man yanked awake from a restless sleep on a commuter train. The man knows himself as an Army helicopter pilot who an instant ago had been flying a combat mission over Afghanistan, and now, as if somehow teleported from thousands of miles away, he finds himself where? On a train? Who are these people? WTF? GREAT. SCI. FI. FLICK.

How about you? What have you been up to this weekend? I hope you’re doing something fun.

Last week took a lot out of me, and if it wasn’t for the Becca Halcyon Days Palette and China Glaze Island Escape collection, I might not have made it through… Okay, that’s being overly dramatic, but you get the idea.

This is unrelated, and I hadn’t thought of it like this before, but doesn’t it seem like the prices of Target’s makeup and beauty products have been trending upward lately? Wait — not only at Target. I haven’t done the math yet, but it seems like after a brief downward price trend, makeup prices everywhere are again heading up. Where we were seeing some great value kits and palettes from beauty brands late last year, now we’re seeing a return to the $45-65 range, especially for department store kits and palettes.

I hope I’m wrong… Maybe I’m just attributing too much to Jemma Kidd’s recent higher-priced products.

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

THE BECCA HALCYON DAYS PALETTE SOFTLY SHIMMERS
LIKE SUNSET AT AN EXPENSIVE BEACH RESORT

When I opened the new Becca Halcyon Days Palette ($65), sunbeams shot out of the pans directly into my gold, bronze and coral-lovin’ heart. BAM! This palette is almost everything I could ever want from summer makeup. Just thinking about it fills the air with the scent of sunscreen, my mouth with the taste of orange Creamsicles, and my ears with the sound of surf pounding on a beach.

Take unseasonably warm weather like we’re having here in the Bay Area this week (this, after last week’s downpours and freeze-your-butt-bones weather), add Halcyon Days, and you get one happy Karen. 🙂

Here, let me show you! Grab my virtual hand because the journey to summer, summer, summertime is just a hop, skip and a Becca palette away. Read more…

STRIKE A POSE (THERE’S NOTHING TO IT)
WITH JK JEMMA KIDD IN VOGUE PERFECT BLUSH

Don’t just stand there, let’s get to it, strike a pose, there’s nothing to it —

Aw, man! It was only after I took these pictures that I put two and two together. I should have done Vogue poses for these pics! Oh, well… Next time.

Have I ever told you about the time my friend Cindy and I went to Madonna Night at a club in San Francisco? Yep, the DJ played Madge hits all night long. It was awesome! — except for one thing, and that thing had nothing to do with the music and everything to do with my height.

I’m a little shorty, and every time the DJ played Vogue, which he did several times, I spent the entire song dodging sharp Vogue elbows to my temples and long arms to my face. I left the club happy that night, but I looked like a to’ up rag doll with a mild concussion. Read more…

I’M BRINGING JELLY BEANS
TO MY CHINA GLAZE ISLAND ESCAPE

With a name like Island Escape, China Glaze’s new nail polish collection could be about bright, tropical colors, but the sugar fiend in me can’t help but see jelly beans in these bottles.

The six-piece summer collection (about $5 per bottle) features a rainbow of tropical candy colors — four shimmers (108 Degrees, Cha Cha Cha, Senorita Bonita and Blue Iguana), which require two coats to reach full opacity, and two creams (Papaya Punch and Electric Pineapple), which take three.

If you were wondering, yes, I did eat these jelly beans, starting with the popcorn ones first (they’re my fave!).

I’ve had excellent luck with China Glaze polishes over the years; they’re some of the sturdiest and most chip-resistant polishes I’ve tried. They get the texture and consistency just right — it’s not too thick nor thin — and they don’t skimp on the pigment. Read more…

THE JEMMA KIDD GLITTERATI SHADOW DUST DUO
COLLECTION IS CONSPIRING AGAINST BOREDOM

In Dan Brown’s new book, a secret society of cream shadow enthusiasts plots to overthrow the government from a network of hidden catacombs beneath the country’s largest Target store. At the heart of this cosmetics conspiracy — the JK Glitterati Shadow Dust Duo Collection.

Angels & Demons was only the beginning! Where the Illuminati failed, the Glitterati succeed by appealing to lazy ladies who love shimmery cream shadows. Each of the three $18 duos in the collection has two ends. On one, a cream shadow with a doe-foot applicator; on the other, a loose powder shadow with a roller ball.

Despite being expensive for a drugstore makeup product, the flexible, long-wearing duos quickly spread to Target’s many stores nationwide…

It’s quite a page-turner. 🙂 Read more…

MIGHT AS WELL FACE IT I’M ADDICTED TO DIOR
THE NEW DIOR ADDICT LIPSTICK

Alright, did someone sneak in a second Monday today? Yeesh! I had a tough Tuesday, ladies. Couldn’t focus worth squat. I felt like a cat in a thunder storm — perpetually on edge and ready to freak out. The only headway I made all day was with these newly reformulated Dior Addict lipsticks ($28 each). I say headway because I actually tried them on my lips.

Dior refers to these as iconic, a gutsy claim if we were talking about a different company, but Dior gets a pass from me for marketing speak like that. That’s how much I like the brand. Their corny tagline, on the other hand, I think I’ll gently tease: “A declaration of love between beauty and style, color and couture, and Dior and its addicts.” Come on, guys. You can do better than that. 🙂

I counted 44 shades on their website and tried three of them today. The new formula seems slightly thicker and more pigmented to me than the old one did. I could wax philosophic about how hydrating and extraordinarily shiny these heavenly bobbins are, but wax is one thing these lipsticks don’t do. Well, they do, but they do it less than usual, which is to say that they’re made with 25% less wax than classic lipsticks are. Read more…

WHAT’S THE STORY MORNING GLORY?
THE TALE BEHIND BARE ESCENTUALS BE CARES SWEET SMILE EYECOLOR

One thing I’ve always liked about makeup is the story behind the product, and how when you see a piece of makeup, you’re not just looking at a lipstick or an eyeshadow. Sometimes, you’re also seeing someone’s hopes and dreams.

Who was that someone at Bare Escentuals who, when they first saw the opalescent purplish grey that would later become limited edition BE Cares Sweet Smile eyeshadow, thought they would release the color to honor Jessica, one of their customers, and her sister, who underwent 24 operations to correct a cleft palate?

I’ve been wearing Sweet Smile as a light wash over my lids this week for a hint of color and blue sparkle that don’t look too overdone. The color isn’t incredibly pigmented, but applying it with a wet brush helps (makes it more intense). Read more…

SONIA KASHUK’S NEW SPRING 2011 NAIL COLOURS
HAVE A FORMULA THAT’S RIGHT ON TARGET
If Sonia Kashuk’s new Nail Colours were any easier to apply, they’d be called Nail Polish for Dummies — or, in my case, Nail Polish for the HELLA Sleep Deprived.

I barely slept at all last night, which, as you can probably imagine, isn’t conducive to good decision making. For reasons I won’t even try to understand, I decided to do some swatching this morning…at 3 a.m. (aka the witching hour). Yes, I know. Crazy, right? Well, I was awake, and it just seemed like a good idea at the time. Despite the ridiculous hour and this little thing called “poor hand-eye coordination,” Sonia’s polishes still did a remarkable job.

I tried three of the four new colors released for spring — khaki green Fatigued, creamy purple Violetta and bright reddish coral Tutti Frutti. I also really wanted to try the fourth shade, hot pink Jammin, but I haven’t been able to track it down. Like another one of Sonia’s popular products, her Flat Top Brush, it’s always sold out at the store. Read more…

THIERRY MUGLER MAKEUP, COMIC SANS AND
FASHION DON’TS FOR DUDES

Hey, friend. How’s Wednesday treating you? Sorry if it seems like I haven’t been around as much as usual, especially in the comments, but I’ve been a little out of sorts. It started with a bad case of writer’s block yesterday, which I think I’m still recovering from. I feel much better today, but it still wore me out.

I feel selfish complaining with everything going on in the world, but who else can I tell if not you? Unless it involves gravy, Tabs isn’t concerned.

Even though I haven’t been able to express myself, I’ve been dying to tell you about some of the weird things that have crossed my path lately, like…

Comic Sans! You know how much I like typography, right, and can’t stand Comic Sans? Well, for some reason, I’ve been getting almost one e-mail per day written ENTIRELY in Comic Sans. Like, paragraph after paragraph of bold 18-pt Comic Sans, usually in violet, orange or pink. 🙂 I kid you not! The universe is having a free-for-all font field day at little old moi’s expense. It makes me want to laugh and barf at the very same time. Read more…

THE URBAN DECAY ROLLERGIRL NAIL KIT
MAKES THE CLAWS COME OUT

Sometimes I wonder if Tabs has lost his ability to connect with felines and humans outside of the digital world. Since getting his iPhone, he communicates more and more of his requests demands via text, like this one from yesterday: Woman, you need to swatch the Urban Decay Rollergirl Nail Kit ASAP or suffer the consequences. Don’t make me take my claws out!

I haven’t worn them long enough to gauge wear time yet, but so far I like the colors and formula. They apply smoothly with nary a streak, and two coats deliver full, opaque coverage.

Roller girls, roller boys and makeup-loving tabby cats, this $28 limited edition summer kit of six minis skates onto counters soon. See anything you like? Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen