Big fan of the fern… I really enjoy taking pics of them.
Just look at all those shades of green! 🙂
Delicate and Dainty
Archives for March 2012
Urban Decay’s New and Improved Big Fatty Mascara
Contrary to the rumors circulating in the kitty modeling world, the new Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara ($20) was NOT named after Tabs. 🙂
Although I can see why some would believe that to be true…
“I’m too husky for this box.”
If the Big Fatty Mascara name rings a bell, you’ve probably seen it before. It’s been a part of the Urban Decay line for years (in the psychedelic red and yellow tube). UD just revamped it and gave it a new outfit.
BFM promises a bit of everything — volume, length, definition, curl hold and jet-black color in a lightweight formula.
Urban Decay also traded the original Big Fatty’s over-sized Diorshow-esque bristle brush for a minimalist approach. The sleek new brush head is designed to fan out lashes.
And those little nubs really get in there! When I used this today, my fringe looked s u p e r s t r e t c h e d out.
By the way, if you love the original Big Fatty, you still have time to stockpile. It’s still available on urbandecay.com.
I never gave the original Big Fatty a try, but I like what I’ve seen from this new version so far, especially the thickness I get from it at the base of my lashes.
Before (top pic) and after two coats of Big Fatty Mascara (bottom pic)
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Mambo Italiano! The Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet Collection Eyeliners
Wearing Dolce & Gabbana Eyeliner in Acqua
Happy vernal equinox, fellow weather watcher! It’s official. Spring is in the air. 🙂 Bring on the flowers, the pollen, the unbidden allergies. Zyrtec, my trusty steed, come hither! Winter hath ended, and it’s time to…
…update my makeup and wardrobe for spring. It being that time and all, I’ve been contemplating ways to incorporate different springy themes into the mix, and this outfit in Nordstrom’s February catalog got me thinking about florals:
HEART! The pants, especially. The muted tones say to me, “Yes, Karen, I’m dressing for spring, but I’m also a grownup.” They’re flowery, but not in a bunny rabbits and Cadbury Creme Eggs kind of way, ya know? And I think the denim jacket and white top give the outfit a vintage feel.
I bet it’ll look lovely with makeup from the new Dolce & Gabbana Bouquet collection, which, by the way, makes me feel like this:
Sophia Loren = the hotness!
Have you seen this spring/summer launch yet? It’s still pretty new (just recently arrived at Saks), and has some eyeliners, a quad, some lipglosses and six rainbow polishes.
Since I started playing with it last week, I’ve grown quite attached; it could be one of my favorite Dolce & Gabbana launches to date.
The collection combines floral, Italian and 1950s themes for a retro vibe that’s flirty and fun. The color palette picks from lilacs, roses, some vivid shades of fruit, and the concept of summers in Southern Italy.
Yeah, that’s some pretty great sources of inspiration right there. 🙂
I can really see the different themes play out among the six Eyeliners ($29 each) in the collection as I’ve worn them over the past few days.
Man, talk about soft! When Dolce & Gabanna first launched their liners, the pencils felt stiff to me, but these? — these feel great! I don’t know if they changed the formula, but these sure seem to glide better than the earlier versions.
Crayon Intense Eyeliners in Shimmer (repromote), Lilac (repromote), Agave (repromote), Lemon (new), Acqua (new) and Mint (new), $29 each
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Two Ways to Win the China Glaze Capitol Colours Collection and the Electropop Brights Kit (a $126 Value)
- WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winners are Ruchita and Sienna! Congratulations, gals! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
Girl on fire, it is time! — time to liberate your nails from oppressively boring, bland shades with a giveaway that strikes at the heart of the Capitol. The rebellion against boring nail colors starts now with a China Glaze giveaway featuring the entire Capitol Colours collection and the Electropop Brights Kit.
Raise your bow, steady your aim, and let your arrow fly! 🙂
Two (2) lucky ladies will win…
- One (1) full set of all 12 polishes from the China Glaze Capitol Colours collection (Dress Me Up, Foie Gras, Fast Track, Hook and Line, Stone Cold, Smoke and Ashes, Agro, Mahogany Magic, Luxe and Lush, Harvest Moon, Electrify and Riveting) and
- One (1) China Glaze Electropop Brights Kit with six shades from the Electropop collection (Techno, Aquadelic, Sunshine Pop, Gaga for Green, Make Some Noise and Wicked Style)
- 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, the name your favorite sci-fi heroine, the title of the last great book you read, your favorite China Glaze color of all time, your favorite kind of bread — you get the idea.
- Second, you can enter by following me on
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win the China Glaze Capitol Colours Collection and the Electropop Brights Kit (a $126 Value) http://bit.ly/GASXBY
- The deadline to enter is Friday, March 23 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 U.S. residents (sorry, international babes; I’ll have a giveaway that includes you very 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 two (2) winners 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 winners are Ruchita and Sienna! Congratulations, gals! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
Kermit the Frog Green!
Ribbit! Illamasqua Eyeshadow in Pivot, $24.50. Ribbit!
Can You Guess What This Is?
I bet you can. 🙂
Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss: When Literature and Lipgloss Collide
Wearing bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Spark Plug
Please note that if The Hunger Games movie ends up being a dud, you will find me holding a pitchfork and torch and leading an angry mob in the movie theater parking lot.
(I just got tickets for Friday’s midnight show!)
I can still remember when the only people talking about this series were 12 years old. Wait — except for me. 🙂 Young adult science fiction with a bad@ss heroine? Totally my thing.
I’ll be rocking the China Glaze Capitol Colours to the show, of course, but I haven’t decided on the rest of my makeup for the night. Maybe just a simple, Cinna-inspired gold liner along my upper lash line (LOVE YOU, CINNA!).
Photo credit: seattlepi.com
For my lips? Hmm… I’d love to make a statement, but for this, the purple pout I wore for the Sex and the City midnight show doesn’t feel quite right.
And I see myself having more in common with the residents of the Seam than the green-skinned, gold-tattooed girls of the Capitol. Purple lips don’t exactly scream “District 12.”
No. I should go bare, or almost bare. Maybe with something sheer and shiny, like one of the 10 new Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipglosses ($18 each).
I like how the colors in this line of lightly mint-flavored and scented long-wearing glosses have such powerful names. They remind me of many of my favorite Hunger Games characters, like Risk Taker (a chocolate shimmer), Trail Blazer (a nude gold) and Maverick (a rosewood shimmer) to describe Katniss. Smooth Talker (a golden pink) — now that could describe Peeta; and Rebel (a pink mauve) — perhaps Gale?
Gotta love any collision of literature and lipgloss, even when they’re (probably) unintentional.
Here’s a closer look at four of the 10 shades, all of which lightly tingle and are supposed to have a subtle plumping effect. Per usual, I don’t really see a difference in the size of my lips with ’em on, but I rarely do with products that allegedly plump.
At least I know these glosses will shine through the movie. I’ve been getting about four hours from them, and they should withstand a big bucket of popcorn (I know this because I wore Spark Plug to see 21 Jump Street last Friday).
From the left: Risk Taker, Party Starter, Spark Plug and Show Off
Risk Taker
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MAC Unsung Heroes: Bamboo Eyeshadow
What do we want? BAM-BOO!
When do we want it? NOW!
What do we want? BAM-BOO!
When do we want it? NOW!
Weirdo that I am, I’ve been chanting this to the windows and walls all morning long. FYI: This is what happens when you’re a stay-at-home professional pet assistant starved for human contact (no offense, Tabs).
I’ve also been marching up and down the halls, one fist raised in defiance, the other clutching a pan of MAC Eye Shadow in Bamboo ($14.50), to protest against the lack of love this often overlooked warm brown matte receives. RAGE AGAINST THE MAKEUP MACHINE, YOU UNSUNG MAKEUP HERO!
LOL! Seriously, though, MAC rock star browns like Soft Brown and Soba always get a lot of love, while Bamboo scoots under the radar.
I know it might sound strange to refer to matte browns as flashy, but for me, as far as staple shadows go, Soft Brown is a rock star. A lot of people, and I’m one of ’em, love it for contouring and as an anchor shade for more complicated eye looks.
Basically, Bamboo is like the light rock version of Soft Brown. Instead of those intense orange tones, I get more of a subdued apricot on my NC42 skin, which I think is just as pretty in its own quiet way.
And Bamboo fits a niche that Soft Brown sometimes fails to fill. On some skin tones, Soft Brown can look really…orange. If you feel too much like an Oompa Loompa in Soft Brown, take a swipe at Bamboo on your next trip to a MAC counter.
I love it in the crease for subtle contouring, and all over the lid when I want a really simple neutral eye; I think it looks great patted on the brow bone, too.
