Archives for December 2012

Ooh, Girl! I’ll Take Issey Miyake’s Pleats, Please: Issey Miyake Pleats Please Perfume

December 31st, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

Issey Miyake’s Pleats, Please! 🙂 I was at Nordstrom last Saturday looking for a birthday gift for my mom (she just turned 64, happy birthday, mommy!), and while I was looking around, I stumbled on to a perfume I’d never seen before called Pleats Please, by Issey Miyake.

First thing that caught my eye was the bottle. Look at it! It’s almost like someone was holding it in their hand and crumpled it like a piece of paper. Anyway, I thought it was just really cool, and so I gave it a sniff.

It’s like a white floral, and it totally reminds me of Michael Kors — mostly plumeria, light and effervescent, but with a musky feeling to it.

When I got home I did a little research on it, and I guess it launched in September. I just hadn’t seen it here in the United States until now.

It’s based on a fashion collection — Issey Miyake is a fashion designer from Japan — from 1993, and apparently, the clothes had lots of pleats and colors, and the pieces had/have a sense if movement to ’em.

And, ya know, I can see those same traits in the bottle. That same flow.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 252

December 31st, 2012 by Karen 19 Comments

the makeup and beauty blog monday poll — Shauna the Wonderdog is ready to party!

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past four years. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

Mood:
I’m okay. I’m a little anxious just because I kind of want to play hooky today and spend the last day of the year doing fun things out and about.

What’s one thing you’ve been doing a lot lately?
Eating. Everything that comes across my path. Because at family celebrations, um, there’s just a ton of food, and it’s everywhere.

What’s one of the best things that happened to you in 2012?
I went to Kauai last spring with El Hub. It was one of those things where I really needed a vacation, and it was the perfect type of vacation that I needed at the time. I didn’t do much, just hung out at the beach, swam my little mermaid’s heart out, and I hung out with the beach kitties. It was relaxing and just fun.

What are you hoping for in 2013?
I’m thinking…to be honest, I would love to have my work and my personal life balanced. I want to be able to write with passion and joy and not feel so angry when I get a bout of writer’s block.

Are you protective of anyone?
Yes. My cat, my brother and El Hub, although El Hub doesn’t really need a lot of protecting. Maybe just protecting from himself when he buys clothes. 🙂

What fragrance have you been loving lately? Have you been loving any fragrances lately?
Yes. Coco Mademoiselle. I’ve been wearing it since about 2007, off and on. When I went to that Chanel thing, that trolley thing a couple weeks ago, I just sort of fell in love with Chanel scents again.

Have you ever worked a retail job over the holidays?
Yeah. Jen and I did a ton of retail jobs together when I was in college. The most memorable one was when we worked at the Limited together over Christmas. I just remember the soundtrack in the store… They played Motown all the time, and we had so much fun. I sold a ton of fuzzy sweaters to clueless dudes, and purse wallets.

Overall, how would you characterize 2012?
It was a good year. You get older, and you start to realize that you’re not going to have your family around forever, so when you make it through another year, and everybody’s healthy, and you still have your core family members around, you’re just really happy. I mean, these days I get excited to just have things stay the same, even though I know that sounds really boring.

What are you doing tonight? Are you going out for New Year’s?
I still don’t know! No parties. I STILL DON’T KNOW!! El Hub and I aren’t exactly “planning” (insert air quotes) people. I have a feeling we’re going to wing it, or end up eating a pizza in front of the TV with Tabs begging for food.

What are your weekly goals?
I want to make a healthy dinner at 6 o’clock every day. I want to end each day not feeling completely loony tunes, and feel like I did good work. And I want to give Tabs extra lovies because I feel like he’s been needing his mama.

To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le List

1. How do you feel right now?
2. What’s one thing you’ve been doing a lot lately?
3. What’s one of the best things that happened to you in 2012?
4. What are you hoping for in 2013?
5. Are you protective of anyone?
6. What fragrance have you been loving lately? Have you been loving any fragrances lately?
7. Have you ever worked a retail job over the holidays?
8. Overall, how would you characterize 2012?
9. What are you doing tonight? Are you going out for New Year’s?
10. What are your weekly goals?

It’s the last day of 2012. We made it through another year together, and I feel like I say this every year, but this one really did seem to go by fast, and let me just say that as you get further up into your 30s, something odd happens where the days seem to just fly by, and the seasons fly by, and it’s honestly something that I never anticipated happening.

Just you wait. Wait until it happens to you, you’ll be like, “Hey, Karen, you were so right!” 🙂

I just want to wish you a happy new year, for one, and say that whatever you’re doing today, even if it’s just working, or you’re puttering around the house, or just hanging around with your family, I hope that you get to do a little something for yourself today that makes you happy. Maybe it’s painting your nails, or curling your hair, or straightening your hair, whatever it is. Try to end the year on a good note.

Before you know it, we’ll be talking in 2013.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Laura Mercier’s Arabesque Collection

December 31st, 2012 by Karen 11 Comments

laura mercier free spirit baked eye colour palette big

I’ll be happy to do jazz hands with you (JAZZ HANDS!!), but please don’t ask me to pliÃ© or relevÃ©. A ballet dancer I am NOT.

Anywho. Thankfully you don’t have to be a prima ballerina to enjoy the Laura Mercier’s new Arabesque spring collection, which twirls onto counters in January.

laura mercier arabesque collection — Six items from the 11-piece Arabesque collection

Clinique’s Endless Eye Looks Palette

December 31st, 2012 by Karen 3 Comments

Clinique’s Endless Eye Looks, a new travel exclusive palette, should look fab on cool-toned gals/guys. 🙂

PRICE: TBD
AVAILABILITY: Available now worldwide at Clinique travel retail locations
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 224

December 30th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

A RELAXING TIME: PART 2

by Tabs the Cat

Tabs sat motionless in the shed, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness as the ringing in his ears from the once noisy generator subsided.

Soon, thanks to the sparse moonlight coming in through the one tiny window in the room, he could clearly make out shapes — the chair, his Louis Vuitton luggage and Chanel overnight bag, the generator, electric heater, the hole in the ice and the small wooden workman’s desk — and then details, like the lovely Chanel double C logo, the elegant Louis Vuitton pattern and a familiar-looking tool on top of the desk…

Can opener, he thought. That’s what his assistant called them. He never figured out how to make it work, but he knew that it could produce gravy. His assistant did it all the time.

Knowing it was here, he felt a tinge of relief. Maybe he could figure out how to use it if he had to. If his assistant could use it, it couldn’t be that hard.

Carefully, he walked over to the edge of the hole in the ice and peered down. Water gently lapped against the sides, but its depths were impenetrable, even to his efficient kitty eyes.

“Meow!” he called. Siri! Then he made his way around to the other side of the hole and tried again, louder this time. “Meow!!” Siri!!

No answer… Was she ignoring him, or somehow unable to reply?

“Mrf!” he huffed. Probably the former. These days, it’s just so hard to find good help.

It occurred to Tabs that he wouldn’t be in this situation had his assistant back at the office done her job. She was in charge of travel arrangements, after all, so this was entirely her fault.

“Mmrrrwww…” he grumbled. He was going to give her an earful when he got —

Tabs whipped around and focussed his senses intensely on the door. He heard something outside, something shuffling on the ice. His ears rotated on his head like tiny radar dishes trying to triangulate the source of the sound.

There! He heard it again. Something skilled in the art of espionage. It was close. Right behind the door, and it was big. Tabs could tell. Much bigger than a cat.

Then, the smell. Instinctively, Tabs arched his back to appear larger, triggered his claws and hissed loudly at the door.

Dog!

— TO BE CONTINUED —

If you enjoyed this little tale and would like to see Tabs continue the story, let him know in the comments. 🙂 And now, here are some pics from Tabs’ ever-growing kitty modeling portfolio.

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New Year’s Eve Looks in 5, 10 and 15 Minutes

December 29th, 2012 by Karen 56 Comments

Ahh… Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas — done, done and done. We’re almost through another holiday season, babe, and from here on out, as Tabs loves to say, it’s all gravy.

Next up, New Year’s. Do you have any plans yet? More specifically, do you have any New Year’s makeup plans? 🙂

None yet for me. I mean, none that I know of, but El Hub might be planning something special behind the scenes, and I hope that he is (hint, hint!), because I’m in the mood to get gussied up.

I like taking my sweet time with my makeup on New Year’s Eve, just buffing and blending for hours. That’s my idea of a perfect start to a perfect New Year’s night, but sometimes, like when your demanding, diva kitty employer sends you on a last-minute Petco run for feather toys and catnip at 9 p.m. on Monday, December 31, things don’t always work out. You see, diva kitties can throw even the best laid beauty plans completely out the window.

Luckily for us, there are lots of ways to pull together a last-minute New Year’s Eve look when you don’t have all night to get ready.

Whether you’ll be chilling at home, watching the ball drop on TV, or braving the elements and the rowdy crowds with your crew, you can still look pretty and primped with these 5-minute, 10-minute and 15-minute New Year’s Eve looks.

A casual 5-minute makeup look

Plan to ring in the new year with a comfy, cozy group at home? Expect impromptu camera phone pics, and be ready for them with this easy, natural-looking 5-minute makeup look.

For this look, I started by using my fingers to work a sheer tinted moisturizer, Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting CC Cream ($22.99), all over my face to even out my skin tone. Then, on the areas where I needed a bit more coverage, I dotted and blended concealer.
Next, for a natural-looking matte finish, I dusted powder lightly on my oily areas to cut down on shine. Here, I used COVERGIRL + Olay Pressed powder in Medium ($11.99) on my forehead and nose.
Then, for a healthy hint of a glow, I blended a pink blush (COVERGIRL Cheekers Blush in Golden Pink, $3.99), on the apples of my cheeks.
To open up my eyes, I filled in my brows, curled my lashes and coated them with a tinted mascara. COVERGIRL LashBlast 24HR Mascara in Blue Black ($7.99) adds a little color without going over the top.
To complete the look, I slicked a moisturizing, peachy pink lip balm on my lips.

nye-products-look-1 — From the left: Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting CC Cream, COVERGIRL LashBlast 24HR Mascara in Blue Black, COVERGIRL + Olay Pressed Powder in Medium and COVERGIRL Cheekers Blush in Golden Pink

A casual 10-minute makeup look

Got a few more minutes to get ready? If you have 10, then you can spend one or two on your skin, incorporate a little more color, and do a quick hairstyle to embrace 2013 in more polished, yet casual style.

The winter winds strip every ounce of moisture from my skin and leave me with dry patches, so I started this look by prepping my face first with moisturizer, which also makes blending my foundation easier. One to try: Olay Age Defying Instant Hydration Day Cream ($12.99). It absorbs quickly and doesn’t feel like a heavy wool blanket on my face.
A medium-coverage foundation like COVERGIRL + Olay Tone Rehab 2-in-1 Foundation Base ($16.99) helps even out my skin tone. I applied the Golden Tan shade all over my face with my fingers and, so that the finish didn’t look too “done,” gently blended everything together by going over it all with a skunk brush. Then, to set the foundation and bring down the shine, I dusted powder on my oily areas.
To kick up the color content a little more, I applied a shimmery golden bronze eyeshadow on my lids (COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers in Golden Sunrise, $2.99), a nude blush (COVERGIRL Cheekers Blush in Soft Sable, $3.99) on my cheeks and a nude lipstick (COVERGIRL Outlast All Day Lipcolor in Forever Fawn, $8.49) on my lips.
To finish the look, I filled in my brows, curled my lashes and added three coats of COVERGIRL LashBlast 24HR Mascara in Very Black ($7.99).
With the couple extra minutes I had left, I ended with a quick hairstyle. I gathered my mop into a low ponytail, sprayed a small amount of hairspray (in this case, Pantene Pro-V Stylers Shaping Extra Hold Hairspray, $5.99) on my fingers, and then used them to guide my bangs and tame flyaway and stray hairs on the top and sides of my head.

nye-products-look-2 — Clockwise from the bottle of hairspray: Pantene Stylers Anti-Humidity Hairspray Maximum Hold, COVERGIRL Outlast All Day Lipcolor in Forever Fawn, COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers in Golden Sunrise, COVERGIRL Cheekers Blush in Soft Sable, COVERGIRL LashBlast 24HR Mascara in Very Black, COVERGIRL + Olay Tone Rehab 2-in-1 Foundation Base in Golden Tan, Olay Age Defying Instant Hydration Day Cream

A casual 15-minute makeup look

Got a few more minutes to play? If you do, you could start with the 10-minute look above, and incorporate a few extra touches in step 3 to take casual to the next level.
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Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora!

December 29th, 2012 by Karen 451 Comments

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

I can totally picture my little tabby Jedi fighting alongside Yoda against the Separatist droid forces… 🙂

So how’s it going this morning? Are you coming down from the whir of the holidays? I’m still kind of in that buzzing mode. I have to run to the mall a little later today, and I’m wondering what the crowds are gonna be like. I hope they aren’t too out of control.

Oh, guess what I’ve been doing lately? About a week ago I started re-watching the entire series run of The Hills on Netflix. I’m almost finished with season three, when everything pretty much revolves around the Spencer/Heidi/LC/Audrina/Lo maelstrom of melodrama.

I get so sad watching Heidi get caught up in everything and how she’s totally manipulated by Spencer… Like El Hub always says, “That guy really needs to get his @ss kicked.”

Anywho, I hope you have a good weekend. Here’s a Sephora eGift card giveaway to move things along. 🙂

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 favorite one of the Star Wars movies? Do you take your pets to get groomed? Do you curl your lashes, or are they naturally curly? Do you like oatmeal? Have you been exercising over the holidays? Do you have a favorite chair? Did you give any beauty gifts this year? — 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/Vo8krE

The deadline to enter is Sunday, December 30, 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 Felicia Russell! Congratulations, Felicia! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

MAC’s Silver Birch Mineralize Eye Shadow

December 29th, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

What say you?