Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
I was running around like a crazypants yesterday (we hosted this year for the first time!), but I did manage to grab some snaps of the Thanksgiving spread before we chowed down.
This was just a sampling of what we had on the table, because at Filipino holiday celebrations, it’s traditional to have enough to feed a small army and then some. The idea is to make enough to give to your family, friends and neighbors so that they’ll have leftovers to eat for the next few days. 🙂
WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Mykeshia! Congratulations, Mykeshia! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
You know what would go really well with that second piece of pumpkin pie…?
A new Benefit Fine-One-One Cheek and Lip Trio. 🙂
Silly rabbit, it’s not for eating (although when I see it I think, “cupcake frosting”). This cream brightening stick trio is for illuminating lips and cheeks, and for imparting a glow that rivals the one I had after yesterday’s Thanksgiving meal.
I hope you’re ready to glow, because today’s giveaway start in 
Enter now (it only takes a comment and/or tweet)!
One lucky lady or gent will win a new Benefit Fine-One-One Cheek and Lip Trio ($30 value), a push-up stick trio of brightening pink champagne, sheer watermelon and soft coral creams that blend together beautifully on cheeks and lips.
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Mykeshia! Congratulations, Mykeshia! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
Red hot mama or not, Laura Mercier’s new $22 Lip Lacquer in Laque Rouge, from the new Art Deco Muse Collection, is not a lipgloss I’d want to wear on the dance floor while Bizarre Love Triangle pulses over loudspeakers.
No, it is not ideal for such situations — like when you’re shaking your groove thang and that cute boy across the room makes goo-goo eyes at you…
(You know what I’m talking about.)
There are better lip products for times like that, like perhaps sheerer products, like good ol’ MAC Big Baby and Ample Pink.
Limited edition Laque Rouge is so rich, red and opaque that a lip liner and a steady hand are practically required.
Normally, my lazy side would say, “pish-tosh!” to something like that. “I’ll pass.” But Laque Rouge forces me to reconsider. It’s one of the shiniest, most intense fire-engine reds I’ve even seen, and wearing it makes me feel like a (short, Filipino) ’40s screen siren.
A full-coverage, intensely pigmented lipgloss with a lacquer-like finish.
The medium-weight formula feels a little sticky, but comfortable, and it applies evenly without streaking.
Very! My parched pout had a few flakes before I put it on the other day, and after a few hours, my lips felt about a million times better, softer and satiated. I also like that the formula doesn’t emphasize every little crack or flake.
Non existent, because it has neither.
I get anywhere from 4-6 hours per application (less if I’m sipping or snacking).
Are you familiar with Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Icon or MAC Extreme Sheen in Drive By Love? — because it reminds me of both of those, and other pigmented, high-shine glosses.
Yay for the easy-to-use doe-foot applicator! For a super precise look, though, you might also want a lip brush for getting into corners, and for your cupid’s bow.
One more thing — Laque Rouge seems to lean a little warm on me and has yellow undertones, so it might not be a great fit if you prefer your reds with a blue base. If that’s the case, MAC Russian Red Lipglass might be a better choice.
Happy Thanksgiving, love. I know I’ve said it before, but I still can’t believe this is our sixth (!) one together. When they say, “time flies,” girl, they sure aren’t kidding.
I’ve been up for a couple hours already working in the kitchen on the sides for today. There’s a (hopefully yummy) corn casserole baking in the oven at this very moment, and the house smells like nom. 🙂
I really wish you were here (but I’d need a much bigger living room). After so many years together — your stories, graduations, new careers, weddings, kittens, puppies, babies and world travels — I feel like you’re my extended family now. Growing up I always wished I had a sister, and now I have them all over the world! Over the years, I’ve come to realize that MBB is so much more than the lipsticks, eyeshadows (Nutella) and collections we talk about.
Alright, before I get too cheeseball on ya, I just wanted to say thanks…
Thank you for just being you.
When I started this whole blogging thing back in 2007, I never expected this — something that would push me creatively and bring me so much joy. You’ve been there for me through a lot of ups and downs, always cheering me on, holding my hand and lifting my spirits when I needed a friend.
I’m so, so thankful for you. Love you very much. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Added to the many mysteries of the universe: where the last letter of this tube of Bobbi Brown Shimmer Lip Gloss in Black Pearl ($23, from the new Caviar & Oyster collection) went.
Ever been cruising a beauty department and suddenly start daydreaming about leopard-print carpeting and YSL?
Really?! Me, too! 🙂
It happened the other day while I was playing with the new Yves Saint Laurent Northern Lights holiday collection.
The quads? Mmm-kay. The blushes? I thought they also were pretty cute, but the new $25 Creme D’Eyeliner in No. 07 Gold Star?
Love it!
Note to self: if I ever inherit a mansion from a mysterious billionaire benefactor (BTW, WHERE ARE YOU?!), I’m painting one of the rooms from floor to ceiling in this warm, bronzy gold (and installing leopard-print carpeting and red velvet curtains).
Can you picture Tabs in a room like that wearing his Hugh Hefner robe?
LOL! Here’s my point: this cream liner is opulent and rich.
Oh, it’s time! It’s time! He’s coming on stage. Quick, take out your lighter and hold it up like this while we sing along. “Purples reign! Purrrples reign!”
What do you mean, “Those aren’t the lyrics”?
Of course they are… Okay, sure, I’m changing them a little, but it’s only because I’ve got these new purple MAC Taste Temptations Lipglasses ($15 each US, $18 CDN) on my lips and my mind.
There are three of them in the new 16-piece release, and to keep playing with the whole Prince/royalty metaphor, vivid purple Revenge Is Sweet commands the royal guard, while pale mauve Good Times softly sways the crowd, and shimmery lilac Perky (not shown here in this post) aims to ascend to the purple lipgloss throne.
This morning, after I grabbed my scepter and donned my bejeweled crown, I took two of them, Revenge Is Sweet and Good Times, out for a tour of the kingdom…
Alright, I was actually wearing a pair of stretchy pants, my new hoodie and sitting at my messy desk with Tabs on my lap, but come on, where’s the fun in that?? 🙂
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I picked up a couple of new teas at Trader Joe’s yesterday. Would you like Ginger Pear White Tea or Candy Cane Green Tea? Let Tabs know and he’ll brew you a cup.
