Rise and shine, pal o’ mine. Happy Easter. 🙂 You’re just in time for the big Easter egg hunt. The eggs are hidden all around, but you better hurry. Tabs got an early start this morning, and it looks like he’s already found at least two of the eggs in the yard.
Here’s your Easter basket. Yup, that one’s all yours. You can put your eggs right in there next to the Jelly Bellies, Cadbury Creme Eggs and Marshmallow Peeps.
Well, go on. Get a move on, and have fun! You don’t want Tabs finding all of the eggs.
The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed
THE $5 GOODY REVERSIBLE HEADBAND
MAKES FOR GOODY, CLEAN FUN
Maybe I’m just way too easily amused, but I can see myself having a lot of fun with these new Goody Reversible Headbands ($5).
These fabric wrapped headbands are double sided, so when you feel like switching up your look, all you have to do is move the fabric to reveal the other side. It’s like getting two headbands for the price of one.
One minute, I’m sitting in a crowded boardroom. “Pardon me, everyone,” I say, getting up from my seat. “I’ll be right back.” I walk out of the room and around the corner, reverse the headband, and then nonchalantly walk back to my seat. Hehe… Psyche!
As far as headbands go, it’s great. Comfy and doesn’t squeeze or hurt my brain. It’s really just a headband, though, except with the power of reversibility. It should come in handy when my bangs start to grow out. Read more…
HOW HOT IS THE $36 LORAC HOT OFF THE RED CARPET COLLECTION?
IT’S SO HOT THAT IT MADE SUMMER START EARLY
The LORAC Hot Off The Red Carpet Collection ($36) may not push the boundaries of summer makeup, but I’m okay with that. With plenty of metallic gold, teal, bronze and brown, products in the five-piece limited edition will look right at home this summer gracing makeup counters and tan, warm skin.
Two words: smokin’ hot. Hot, like Giselle working the Victoria’s Secret runway, or a shirtless Jakey Poo working an outdoor car wash.
The kit comes with four full-size pieces of makeup (two eyeshadow duos, a bronzer and lipgloss) and A cute golder-than-gold clutch.
I love where LORAC went with these finishes, in particular the powders. The eyeshadow duos and bronzer apply with sophisticated, fine shimmer that says, “Yes, I’m classy (with a ‘c’),” and they stop shy of crossing the line into obnoxiously frosty territory. Read more…
GO BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MAC COSMETICS PRODUCTION FACILITY
AND ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES CANADIAN INNOVATION CENTRE
Last week my adventures in Toronto led me and a group of fellow bloggers to the MAC production facility and Estée Lauder Companies Canadian Innovation Centre, where MAC and some of the other members of the ELC family create makeup magic. Both buildings are located right next to each other in the nearby city of Markham in Ontario, about an hour from Toronto.
The tour was only one of the reasons for my trip. I’ll share the others soon, but for now, help yourself to some steel-toe boot covers, safety glasses and a white lab coat — oh, and you’ll need to stow your jewelry in your purse — because where we’re heading, it’s safety first!
The inside of the production facility looks like a cross between a hospital and Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory (sans the Oompa-Loompas). The scent of vanilla fills the air, and you find yourself looking for MAC Lipsticks around every corner. As luck would have it, they are around every corner here. Read more…
IS BARE MINERALS PRETTY AMAZING
LIPCOLOR, WELL, PRETTY AMAZING?
When makeup marketers name a product “Pretty Amazing,” they’re setting the bar high. I mean, what do they do if the product only ends up being mediocre? How do they answer their boss when she asks, “How did those new Pretty Amazing Lipcolors turn out?” Well, miss, I think they turned out…fine.
Ouch.
I have to admit, I had high expectations when I heard about the new Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolors line of hybrid liquid lipgloss/lipsticks ($16 each). I wondered if they’d make my eyes roll back in my head in ecstasy (I hope!). Would I find myself speaking in tongues?
Judging by their names, the eight new Lipcolors do have a certain swagger. There’s Bravado (a brick rose), Charisma (a coral pink), Ambition (a fuchsia), Courage (a warm strawberry), Fearless (a rosy mauve), Free Will (a pink nude; oddly, I keep wanting to call this one “Free Willy”), Moxie (a bright petal pink) and Strength (a vibrant red). Hot. I’ll call your positive messages, Bare Minerals, and raise you some power.
No, these aren’t lipglosses for wallflowers. They’re much stronger than that. These are like lipglosses on P90X — super thick and sticky with full-color coverage and subtle shine. Imagine the thick, sticky texture of a MAC Lipglass coupled with the uber-pigmented power of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams and BAM! — you’re Pretty Amazing. Read more…
NOW HERE’S A TIP: IT’S ATOP THE NEW
HOURGLASS SCRIPT PRECISION LIQUID LINER PEN
So tiny and cute! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a liquid liner tip as teeny as the one atop the new Hourglass Script Precision Liquid Liner pen ($32).
The pen’s extra fine 0.5mm nib would make drafting pens jealous. New for summer, it’s built for the ultimate in line drawing precision and lays down fine, thin lines along my lash line with very little skipping. It did, though, take me a couple of minutes of fiddling to find a good position to hold the pen, as the tip is shorter than most liquid liners and feels a little awkward in my hand.
Jett, the single color available, looks like a shiny grayish black with blue undertones on me.
If you and Jett hit it off, hang on to your receipt until you’re able to make sure your pen works because the first one I tried had problems. The tip had dried up and wouldn’t work at all. It might’ve been a fluke, but for $32 (expensive!), you definitely want one that works. Read more…
MAC UNSUNG HEROES
RUSSIAN RED LIPGLASS
Heads turn so fast when MAC Russian Red Lipstick ($14.50) enters a room that some of them get whiplash.
The blue-based red, long a favorite of MAC fans (like moi!), lives in the permanent line, but she also guest stars from time to time in limited edition releases like the MAC Wonder Woman Collection as a repromote shade.
I’ve loved the color for years, but I didn’t always know she had a sister, super shiny, highly pigmented MAC Russian Red Lipglass ($14.50).
If any product deserves a share of the MAC Unsung Heroes spotlight, it’s Russian Red Lipglass — one of my go-to colors to pair with cat eyes. Just how red is it? Well, do you remember how red your cheeks got that time in gym class with the sit-ups (PROOOT!)? Yup, it’s even redder than that. Read more…
HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL! GOODY’S NEW
PEARLIZED SHELL HEADWRAP DELIVERS A LUXE LOOK FOR LESS
When it comes to hair accessories, I’m a gal of simple tastes. I’ll do black ponytail holders and Spin Pins; sometimes I’ll even rock a scrunchie around the house (hey, they’re comfortable), but Goody’s new slew of spring headgear has me rethinking my minimalist ways.
Their Modern Organica Collection, available now at Target, features a bevy of new barrettes, headbands, headwraps and clips with an earthy theme, some of which would probably be more expensive on the shelves of a department store.
This $7 Pearlized Shell Headwrap has a non-rigid elastic band with braided fabric and shell accents (like mother-of-pearl). It’s available in beige, brown and black.
For what it’s worth, the neutral brown one seems to go well with white, pink, beige, peach, orange and blue shirts… I have a feeling there won’t be an accompanying color it doesn’t like. Read more…
MAC FLIGHTY
PRODUCT PICS AND SWATCHES
Whatever Tabby wants, Tabby gets! That’s right, Tabs threatened to swipe the living crap out my ankles if I didn’t take product pictures and swatch the new MAC Flighty collection, ASAP (damn cat).
He’s especially excited about the new Big Bounce Shadows ($16.50), a line of whipped mousse cream eyeshadows with a fluffy texture and pearly finish that MAC’s adding to their permanent line.
The MAC Flighty collection bounces onto MAC counters May 5 in North America and June internationally. Read more…
I HAVE A BLUE CRUSH ON
THE NARS SUMMER 2011 COLLECTION
I wonder what prompted this 11-piece release. I can imagine François Nars, all tan and relaxed from a kick-ass beach vacay, dreaming up these playful colors because the teal, coral, citrus and cantaloupe fit the tropics to a (surf) T.
But there’s much more to the collection than that. An opaque white nail polish and warm, shimmery gold and silver metallics join the punchy, vibrant hues. By all appearances, someone had a blast this time around.
While the NARS Spring 2011 and Holiday 2010 collections reminded me of cocktail dresses, dainty heels and white wine spritzers at a bar in the Financial District downtown, this collection reminds me of a girl on vacation in Hawaii. She’s cruising around the island in a rented jeep with her surfboard in back. After catching a few waves, she stops by a beach bar, tucks a hibiscus behind her ear, and charms the bartender, who serves her free umbrella drinks all night long. Read more…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Yea! That was fun. I see you found some of the eggs. 🙂
El Hub and I are driving out to the East Bay to spend the day with my parents and brother. My dad’s birthday is coming up, so we’re also going to combine the festivities for that. Should be a lot of fun.
No matter what you’re doing or where you are, I hope you have a great day today. Tabs says hi!
If you’re a packaging nerd like I am, I think you’ll be impressed. The system itself is housed in a magnetic closure box, and nestled in a fitted plastic container that rests over the other components: air-hose, power source, instructional DVD, and warranty. Glossy minimalism at its best. 
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