Archives for November 2012

Professor Sonia Kashuk’s Class in Modern-Day Makeup Metallurgy Starts With the Four-Piece Precious Gems Lip, Liner & Nail Set for $12.99

November 16th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

Wearing the new Sonia Kashuk Precious Gems Lip, Liner & Nail Set ($12.99), available now at Target

QUESTION: What’s better than a fantabulous smokey eye look?

ANSWER: A fantabulous smokey eye look with a twist!

There are so many reasons to like Sonia Kashuk’s new four-piece Precious Gems Lip, Liner & Nail Set, like the price (just $12.99), and Sonia’s contemporary take on the mixed metal theme…

…but my top reason, by far, is the liquid eye liner that comes with the set. It’s a metallic, rosy golden taupe with a mirror-like shine that illuminates lash lines like Hollywood special effects.

Remember the gorgeous Chanel Rose Platine eyeliner from spring 2011? Well, this metallic meistro is like a liquid liner version of that.

I almost can’t believe the set is only $13, because it kinda looks like something Coco would do (and sell for considerably more!).

To take a pair of smokey eyes for a metallic walk on the wild side, just do your regular smokey eye look first (here I’m wearing MAC Patina Eyeshadow on top of a base of MAC Feline Eye Kohl). Then, line your upper lash lines with the liquid liner from the set.

The stuff is packed with metallic pigment, so one or two layers should do the trick.

Sonia Kashuk Precious Gems Lip Liner Nail Set swatches — Lipgloss on the left, and the Eyeliner on the right

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Big Spoon and Little Spoon

November 16th, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

Tabs keeps his friends close and his enemies closer.

Tyra Banks Releases New Smize Yourself! App, Makes Making Faces Even More Fun

November 16th, 2012 by Karen 19 Comments

Life lessons learned from watching America’s Next Top Model…

If you think you can watch “just one episode” of that 8-hour Top Model marathon, fugghetabboutit.
Don’t forget to “pop the hip.” (Side note: Miss J’s hip control? Off the chain!)
And always, always remember to smile with your eyes.

Question: When can you tell that smiling with your eyes, or “smizing,” a term coined by model, TV show host and enterprising businesswoman Tyra Banks, has officially become a cultural phenomenon? Answer: when your 65-year-old mom calls to tell you that “you need to smize more often in your blog pictures.”

Well, can do, because smizing just got a whole lot easier. 🙂

Now, we can even smize ourselves on our phones!

Hello, is that fierceness calling?

Ty-Ty plans to smize you up, literally, with her latest venture, a new mobile phone app called Smize Yourself! (exclamation mark included).

On a Skype call with bloggers and reporters yesterday, Tyra described the $1.99 app, which launched last night (it’s available in the iTunes App Store now, but I’m not sure about Android availability).

You can smize an existing pic of yourself on your smartphone, or snap a new one with your phone’s camera. The app does the rest, turning you into an exaggerated smizing version of yourself.

Tyra provides an instructional video in the app on the finer points of smizing and rocks some seriously stunning smokey eyes.

When you’re ready to smize, take a pic of yourself, and listen as Tyra cheers you along with catwalk catchphrases like “Work!” and “Honey, you look fierce!” Wait for the app to automatically place eye and mouth points on your picture, and then adjust the location of the points to suit the shape of your face. When you’re ready, hit the “smize” button, and await your customized smize shot.

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Big Bang Theory! Pump Up Your Volume With This Hair Tutorial for Big Bangs

November 15th, 2012 by Karen 31 Comments

Yet another hairstyle to try if your mane ever starts looking like this…

LOL! (Note to self: call the salon first thing tomorrow morning. For realz!!)

I wore this big bang hairstyle last week for the Xenia Onatopp Bond Girls look, and it’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine to keep my shaggy mop in line. It’s a little bit Joan Cusack in Working Girl, with some Marge Simpson and a dash of rock ‘n roll, and best of all, it’s pretty easy to do — 10 minutes, tops.

Maybe you’re growing out your bangs. Maybe you’re neglecting your long layers. Or maybe you’re just in the mood for something kind of casual and messy to wear to a concert or a club. Whichever the case, try big bangs. 🙂

For this style, I start by sectioning off my bangs and spraying my roots with a lightweight hairspray. Right now I’m loving Suave Touchable Finish because it doesn’t flake or leave my hair uber-crunchy. Plus, it’s only $3.

Next, I aim a hairdryer at my roots to get things moving along. It usually only takes about 10-20 seconds for the hairspray to fully stiffen.

Then, I start building some volume at the roots…

I couldn’t find my teasing comb today, so I improvised with a boar’s hair brush. The stiff, dense bristles tease the heck out of hair, and they’re great for adding lots of lift.

Now it’s construction time. I start shaping the bangs, BIG, gathering them and kinda pushing them up in the back.

Then I secure them in place using several bobby pins.

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The Tempting Taste of LORAC Tucked Into a Sweet Set of Six Shiny Glosses: The New $25 LORAC Sweet Temptations Lip Gloss Collection

November 15th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

lorac sweet temptations lip gloss collection frosted gumdrop — Wearing Frosted Gumdrop from the new LORAC Sweet Temptations Lip Gloss Collection

I’ve been paying weekly visits to the milk chocolate buttercerams at See’s Candies lately, and yes, it’s only a matter of time before my transformation into Liz Lemon is complete!!

Soon, my delicious little friends will probably start wondering about the nature of our relationship…

“Where’s that hella short cat lady with the cray-cray hair who always visits on Sundays?” they might ask, if/when I miss a visit.

Heck, they might even shed a tiny, sugary tear…

And I would reply, “It’s nothing personal, guys. It’s just that my sweet tooth has become totally infatuated with the flavors and scents of the new $25 LORAC Sweet Temptations Lip Gloss Collection.”

Each of the six sheer, shiny glosses in the set are named after sweet treats, like Butterscotch and Creme Brulee, and they smell and taste like them, too.

But that’s not even the best part… LORAC actually figured out a way to make the scents and flavors good!

Each gloss is tastefully done (LOL!), and not artificially sweet.

lorac sweet temptations lip gloss collection tubes — From the left: Candy Apple, Butterscotch, Creme Brulee, Cotton Candy, Frosted Gumdrop, Sugar Plum

lorac sweet temptations lip gloss collection swatches — Swatches from the left: Candy Apple, Butterscotch, Creme Brulee, Cotton Candy, Frosted Gumdrop, Sugar Plum

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Glitter on a Thursday Afternoon

November 15th, 2012 by Karen 8 Comments

It’s aways a good thing. 🙂

The new LORAC Sweet Temptations Lip Gloss collection ($25), available now at Sephora and sephora.com.

Sonia Kashuk’s Crown Jewels Set Keeps Rebellious Heads of Hair From Raising Hell

November 15th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

sonia kashuk crown jewels hair set — Wearing the new limited edition Sonia Kashuk Crown Jewels Hair Set ($9.99), available now at Target

For morning hair mayhem — those cracks of dawn when your hair is staging a rebellion, and you don’t even have the hair-withal to attempt the faux bob — there’s always Sonia Kashuk’s new $9.99 Crown Jewels Hair Set.

Yes, once again, Sonia ventures into The Land of Hair Accessories to bring us something great.

Truth be told, though, I’m a little confused by this item’s name. I’m not sure why it’s called a set, since it’s just a single black- and gold-beaded elastic headband…and it lacks any visible jewels.

But I digress…

More importantly, I like it! Like Sonia’s Haute Hair Sets last fall, this headband looks tough girl approved. It has an edginess that I like, despite the elegant beading, which keeps it from looking too cutesy.

As for the elastic? Holla! Comfy as can be (and it doesn’t squeeze my brain).

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