Archives for November 2012

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 219

November 25th, 2012 by Karen 5 Comments

SUNDAY, NOV. 25, 2012 — Today outside

My taller assistant accompanied me on my tour of the grounds this afternoon. I believe the girl refers to him as “El Hub.”

Nice enough fellow, I suppose. Not very talkative though. Our whole time outside, I think he only said two words to me: “Come here,” which he barked repeatedly (how rude!).

I’ve heard the phrase before, but I’m not sure what it means. I assume it’s some sort of compliment…

The tour was uneventful. No cat intruders or dog sightings, and I didn’t see any of those gigantic flightless birds that always yell, “gobble, gobble!” Odd, because I saw quite a few of them before Thursday of last week…

I got hungry while we were patrolling the periphery of the estate, but I didn’t want to break for lunch, so I just had a salad of grass saplings along the way.

This year’s crop has been exquisite; I can’t remember the last year they were this crisp and sweet.

I looked for that tiny tabby who lives on one of the neighboring estates but didn’t see her. I wanted to ask her if she has a kitty modeling agent, because she has great bone structure.

Oh, well. Next time… That reminds me, I should bring some business cards on my walks.

When I got back to the office, I made a few calls and updated my portfolio with pictures from my latest modeling jobs.

Would you care to take a look?

Silly me. Of course you would.

-Tabs

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Urban Decay Naked Basics Swatches and Pics

November 25th, 2012 by Karen 37 Comments

Super new from Urban Decay: the new Urban Decay Naked Basics palette ($27). It’s a matte palette with neutral shades designed to complement both the Naked and Naked2 palettes.

Naked Basics includes six full-size shadows with four new shades:

Venus: a demi- matte soft off-white
Foxy: a matte light yellowish beige
Walk of Shame: a matte light pinkish nude
Naked2: a matte rosy taupe
Faint: a matte warm brown
Crave: a matte dark brownish black

Find it soon at Sephora, Ulta and select Macy’s stores, and online November 29 on urbandecay.com.

Something to Remember

November 25th, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

Albeit Lipstick From Anthropologie

November 24th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

Spotted these cute Albeit Lipsticks at Anthropologie today. They’re $18 each, blended with argan oil and vitamin E, and available in six shades:

Bisque: a slightly rosy, warm beige
Peony: a clean, fresh, medium pink
Mauvette: a dusty mauve, muted pink
Claret: a rosy berry shade
Vermilion: a dramatic creamy red with blue undertones
Mulberry: a red-tinged, deep aubergine

Find ’em now exclusively at Anthropologie stores and anthropologie.com.

albeit lipsticks swatches — Swatches from the left: Bisque, Mulberry, Peony, Claret, Vermilion and Mauvette

Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora!

November 24th, 2012 by Karen 408 Comments

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

World’s Best Programmer: Tabs the Cat.

Programmer, gamer, hacker, creator of famous 8-bit graphical works of art — not to mention world-renowned plus-size kitty supermodel.

Tabs sent a very important email last night…an email that could change the course of history and alter the fabric of space and time, at least as it pertains to plus-size kitty supermodeling and professional gaming.

It was an email sent to Satoru Iwata, the current president of Nintendo corporation, the world’s largest video game company by revenue, and it starts with the line, “Let me resurrect Donkey Kong.”

Unbeknownst to me before last night, Tabs actually has an honorary degree in computer programming from NIT (the Novato Institute of Technology).

You see, back before he got into modeling, even before his stint as a construction worker, Tabs was a famous script kitty… Actually, he was the scr1ptki77y, otherwise known as the cat who hacked the PetCo corporate network, which was believed to be impregnable at the time.

Anyway, Tabs gave up hacking and transitioned to kitty modeling shortly after the PetCo incident, when it started looking like the authorities were closing in on him.

This was a few years ago, and since then the statute of limitations on kitty hacking expired, and so Tabs is now comfortable publicly discussing this part of his past…

In the email to Iwata, Tabs included the first 500 lines of code for his new game engine, which he claims is so sophisticated that it makes Halo and Call of Duty look like Pong.

Time will tell, I guess. If Iwata responds and offers a coding job to Tabs, Makeup and Beauty Blog may be going on temporary hiatus…

If that happens, this could be one of the last Sephora eGift card giveaways for a while. You better enter this one right now, just in case. 🙂

What folks are saying…

“What a lovely surprise it was to see your announcement (after completing one of many exams/papers/projects I have this crazy week)! The eCard will definitely ease expenses for this broke, beauty-obsessed college student. Thank you, Karen and Tabs!!”
-Katie

“Thanks so much, Karen. Just in case you were wondering what I got with it, I decided to go with the Clarisonic Mia–I’ve been wanting it for years now, but have never purchased it because of the price. Your eCard helped me finally buy it! I look forward to using it. Thanks again!”
-Jane

“Shut the front door! OMG Karen, you have made my day. 🙂 I’m sick in bed with the flu and this has just cheered me up immensely!!!!!!!! BTW, I’m the one that sent you that pic of my pug in a wig a few weeks back LOL! Thanks again, honestly, I’m beyond giddy right now.”
-Angel

“Thank you SO much Karen! OMG! Wishes really do come true! I can’t believe I won! You have no idea how much this will help me through the holidays. I’ve been an avid fan of your blog for the past two years. Your witty and creative entries, informative makeup information, and beautiful photos have kept me hooked. I look forward to more of it. Goodness, you’ve
seriously just made my week and it’s only Tuesday night!”
-Zharlynne

“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much Karen (and Tabs, of course)! I really appreciate this! I’d been eyeing the Anastasia brow pencil in Strawburn to match my red hair!”
-Chelsea (and Jiji the kitten and Quincy the bunny)

“Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I’m so excited, I’ve never won anything before. My name is Hana … I just turned 25 (today is my birthday!) Yay! Thank you.”
-Hana

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

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, what’s your all-time favorite video game (and favorite game of the moment)? Have you ever written a computer program? Do you do more of your makeup and beauty shopping in stores or online? What’s your favorite beauty brand website? Do you use any electronic devices in your beauty regimen (iPhones, Clarisonics, vibrating mascara wands, etc.)? How many bits are in a byte? Just for fun, how do you see technology changing the beauty industry 20 years from now? — 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 a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/UyhKP2

The deadline to enter is Sunday, November 25, 2012 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 any country 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).
Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.
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 Carol! Congratulations, Carol! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

DÃ©tente

November 24th, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

Breaking news: Tabs and Marmalade seen chilling on top of the cat tower in my living room!

Unsung Heroes: Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Waterproof Mascara

November 23rd, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

I have a theory that if by some magical force we were all turned back into babies and allowed to go buck wild in a drugstore, I doubt that very many of us would go goo-goo, gaa-gaa over Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Waterproof Mascara based solely on its simple, unassuming tube.

I mean, just look at it. That’s some pretty basic packaging right there. No neon to speak of, vibrating brushes, fancy fonts or flashing lights.

But man! — I gotta say, this $7 workhorse is quite a wonderful drugstore gem.

My reasons for having kept a tube of it in my makeup bag for the past few years (I literally never leave home without it) reads like an awesome laundry list (or an awesome list of awesomeness from Trader Joe’s).

First and foremost, it’s only seven bucks! And it’s carried in probably 5,000 drugstores nationwide.

I think those are two pretty great reasons, but Full ‘N Soft Waterproof also does all of the things I want a mascara to do — adding length and separation to my lashes while holding a curl, so that I look wide awake (even when I’m not).

What about raccoon eyes? you might ask.

Great question, but nope. None of that. Full ‘N Soft doesn’t flake, smudge or run, and one of the things I really like about it is how well it layers.

No bumps or clumps, just smooth, evenly coated lashes, which means I get control over how my lashes look.

When I want them to look natural, like for the beach, I just apply one or two layers for that feathery, separated look. Or when I’m craving something more dramatic, I’ll do three or four.

Either way, I think my results with this mascara are consistently great.
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Unsung Heroes: Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Gold

November 23rd, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

On super busy days (ahem, like the first time you host Thanksgiving dinner at your house), getting an extra five minutes to put on some makeup in the morning can mean the difference between success and a nervous breakdown.

Those 300 critical seconds could end up saving someone from being shanked with a butter knife, and preventing me from spontaneously transforming into a brains-craving zombie.

To take absolute advantage of those vital minutes of life-saving meow time, there’s Laura Mercier’s $22 Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Gold, a shimmery cream shadow capable of overcoming a number of makeup and beauty challenges like…

Problem: Totally tired eyes.
Solution: Let’s not even go there about my insomnia issues and the 50 shades of purple I’ve been waking up with under my eyes. This cream shadow’s softly golden finish glows like a tropical vacation in a tube. Wearing it I feel like I look relaxed and well rested, almost like I just woke up from a three-day power nap (I WISH).

Problem: No time for brushes.
Solution: Gold’s as quick and easy to use as pecan pie is to love (my favorite, BTW — much more than pumpkin). I pat and blend a small amount on my lids with a finger. Takes all but 60 seconds.

Problem: Getting the look of effortless eyes.
Solution: Easy like Sunday morning, Gold highlights eyes with a whisper, versus a SHOUT. But you still look like you’re wearing something, making it a great choice for busy mornings, brunches and first dates (among other events).

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