One of four shades from the MAC Surf Baby Surf the Ocean Crushed Metallic Pigment set ($32.50).
MAC Surf Baby: Surf the Ocean Crushed Metallic Pigment
by Karen 6 Comments
One of four shades from the MAC Surf Baby Surf the Ocean Crushed Metallic Pigment set ($32.50).
by Karen 6 Comments





One of four shades from the MAC Surf Baby Surf the Ocean Crushed Metallic Pigment set ($32.50).
What say you?
by Karen 29 Comments

You asked some great questions in the comments on last week’s first MAC Surf Baby pictures post, and I thought it might be helpful to try and answer them here.
The collection breaks onto beaches makeup counters May 26 in North America (internationally, this month).

Q: I apologize for the silly question, but I don’t think I understand how the bronzer stick is to be used. Is it for contouring, or are you meant to dab it all over and blend like foundation?
— Kim
Hey Kim,
Not a silly question at all. Are you familiar with the NARS Multiples? These Skin Sheens are kinda like thicker, stickier versions of those (basically, like a cream bronzer). They’re more pigmented, though, so a little goes a really long way.
I generally use the non-shimmery shades, Billionaire Bronze and Tan-Tint, for contouring and to add a bit of color to my forehead and cheeks, which are parts of my face that tend to really darken when I tan. As for the shimmery color, Gilty Bronze, I like to use it as a highlighter, wearing it on my upper cheek bones, brow bones and down the bridge of my nose.
To apply the Skin Sheens, I usually swipe a synthetic skunk brush like the MAC 188 across the top of the stick and then apply the product to bare skin or atop a liquid foundation/tinted moisturizer. Fingers work great, too, but I find that a skunk brush deposits a great amount of color — neither too little nor too much — and blends the product well, so it doesn’t look obvious or streaky.

From left to right: Skin Sheen Bronzer Stick in Billionaire Bronze, Tan-Tint and Gilty Bronze

Skinsheen Bronzer Stick in Tan-Tint along the curve of the apples of my cheeks to contour
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by Karen 38 Comments

My BFF Cindy is a practical girl, and lawd she knows me well. Fed up with me arriving late to our homegirl dates, she gave me an ultimatem after the last time, threatening to take away my lipgloss if I ever did it again.
Got. My. Attention.
With horror like that hanging over my head, I was extra careful to set aside enough time to get ready last Friday before our ballet date.
I was ahead of schedule when I finished my hair and makeup, so I pulled up Google Images on my computer to take a really quick break.
“S h i r t l e s s C h a n n i n g T a t u m” [ENTER]
When I bolted back to consciousness 15 minutes later, I was, as usual, running late. “No problem,” I told myself in a soothing voice. “Lots of time.” And then I glanced down at my legs and noticed — WHOA! — a thicket of fur on my shins (enough to make a full-length coat).
It has been said that Asian women don’t have a lot of body hair. Well, tonight on MythBusters: my furry legs. 🙂
Thank ye beauty gods for EOS Shave Cream ($3.49)! It delivered one of my fastest shaves ever.

I’ve actually used the same cream in a different scent before. Last summer, I hacked away my body hair with the Pomegranate Raspberry version. I loved how soft it left my legs, how quick it made my shaves and how it never gave me bumps, but I couldn’t stand the scent (sickly sweet). Still, I liked how well it worked enough to finish the bottle.
But then I moved on to other things, discouraged by the scent, and forgot about EOS Shave Cream…until I tried Vanilla Bliss! It’s just as creamy and moisturizing as the Raspberry one, and also works with or without water. It’s one of six flavors in the EOS Shave Cream line.

The scent? Like vanilla ice cream and warm apple pie… And SO much better than the one in Pomegranate Raspberry (at least to me). It’s a softer scent and not at all overwhelmingly sweet.
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by Karen 49 Comments

Happy Tuesday, pretty. 🙂 Tabs woke me up early this morning and then insisted that my makeup today pay homage to him (what a diva!).

Refusing his requests usually leads to scratches, so I reached for one of his current collection crushes, NARS Summer 2011, and told him I would “see what I can do.”

NARS Summer 2011 products clockwise from the eyeshadow trio at the bottom: Cap Ferrat Eyeshadow Trio, Exotic Dance Eyeshadow Duo, Carthage Lipstick, Dogo Eyeshadow Duo and New Order Blush
I built the look with two things in mind — 1) Tabs’ pretty green eyes, and 2) the word “Mixey,” one of his many nicknames (a shortened version of Meow Mix).
Green crops up a few times throughout the NARS Summer 2011 collection, and I tried to really incorporate it into this look, mixing some different colors together.
Unlike my look last week using the Stila Stunning in Sayulita palette, the green here isn’t as obvious or BAM! It’s a subtler hint of green.

The look’s built around the Dogon Duo and Cap Ferrat Trio Eyeshadows. Dogon’s duo chrome taupe side has a touch of green shimmer to it, which I mixed with the light and dark greens in the Cap Ferrat Trio, and then applied to my lids.
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by Karen 25 Comments

NYC New York Color Smooch Proof 16H Lip Stains, $4.99 each. Available now at drugstores and also online.
by Karen 7 Comments

Jouer Tint Lip and Cheek Color in Orchid, $20.
by Karen 76 Comments

NYC New York Color Lipshine in Midtown Mulberry
Today El Hub found out about my affair. 🙁
It had been going on since way back in 2006. That’s when I met the Sally Hansen Diamond 12-Hour Lip Treatments while cruising the aisles at Walgreens one afternoon for a pick-me-up after a really tough day.
There they were, non-sticky and pigmented, with a wear time that lasted for hours and hours…
What can I say? It just happened. When I saw they were a mere $6, I was willing to throw everything away. They were the closest thing to drugstore lipgloss nirvana I had ever seen.
But I’m not going to say I would have done it all again. No way. What I should have done is hold out for the NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshines I met last week. 🙂
Like the Sally Lip Treaments, they’re light and non-sticky with lots of rich color, but they’re an even more incredible bargain at $2.49 a pop!
Since the last experience I had with an NYC gloss was less than stellar, I expected Brighton Beach Peach (a shimmery golden peach), Midtown Mulberry (a creamy berry) and Big Apple Spice (a pearly bronze) to let me down. They’re the three Lipshine shades I recently tried (out of the 10 available).
Thankfully, it didn’t work out that way at all.


From top to bottom: Midtown Mulberry, Brighton Beach Peach and Big Apple Spice

Wands from the left: Brighton Beach Peach, Big Apple Spice and Midtown Mulberry

Swatches from the left: Brighton Beach Peach, Big Apple Spice and Midtown Mulberry
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