Archives for June 2014

Maybelline Is Staking a Claim on Cute Corals With Master Hi-Light Powder Blush in Coral, a Bonafide Drugstore Gem

June 6th, 2014 by Karen 7 Comments

Maybelline Master Hi-Light Powder Blush — Wearing Maybelline’s Master Hi-Light Powder Blush in Coral ($9.99) on my cheeks

Let the record show that as of today, in my official capacity as the mayor of this little beauty burg, I formally proclaim this to be the season to go totally and completely bat-sh*t cra-zay-zay for coral.

*BEEP*

(The beep is supposed to make it official.)

Who’s with me?! 🙂

Lately, everywhere I go, I feel like a makeup prospector mining coral gems on shelves and counters, and these are the coral gold rush days.

“Eureka!” I frequently exclaim. There are just so many gorgeous corals out there these days, like this Master Hi-Light Powder Blush in Coral by Maybelline, waiting for nice cat ladies (and other friendly folks) to discover them.

Dude, I almost can’t believe this is only $10! — because it looks like a $42 Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick on my cheeks, only better. I get that same ethereal Shimmer Brick glow with it, but with a more diffused and forgiving finish.

Hi-Light contains a bit of everything — an illuminator, a bronzer and a blush — all in one pan.

I’ll usually swirl my brush around in it to mix the products together and apply that to my cheeks for a softly blended coral glow. Then I’ll run a finger across the lightest shade in the pan, and apply that down the bridge of my nose, on my upper cheekbones and on my Cupid’s bow as a highlighter.

[Continue reading…]

How Sweet It Is To Wear These Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments

June 6th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

I’m going to file these Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments under, “GURL, what in tarnation was I thinking?! Why did it take me so long to get on this train?”

Shoot, I’ve walked by these so many times at ~~my home away from home~~ Sephora, thinking to myself, “Cute! But $22.50 cute? I dunno…”

I mean, let’s face it — they’re lip treatments. I figured there would be dozens of things just like ’em, but cheaper, at any drugstore.

These Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments, which are available now in 10 shades, have been around a good long while. They seem to send beauty lovers into a crazy-pants tizzy every time a new color joins the fam.

I just haven’t understood the hype, ever since I got sample in a Sephora VIB gift set a few years back. I wasn’t impressed with it then, but looking back now, I think I may have gotten a bad tube, because the three colors I’ve been wearing this month — creamy pink Petal, sheer red Cherry and bold juicy Coral — are the cat’s meow.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments counterclockwise from the lower left: Coral, Cherry and Petal — Counterclockwise from the lower left: Coral, Cherry and Petal

Being the perfect time of year for casual lip looks, these kittens love summer. They have just enough tint to show up clearly on my pigmented lips but aren’t fully opaque, so I can still see some of my natural lip color.

And, hello moisture! When I use these throughout the day, all ye flakes be gone.

Mmm…

Oh! — my bad. Pardon me while I sit here rubbing my lips together all day long like a weirdo makeup pervert. 🙂 Because these feel fantastic on my lips. Just really buttery and comfortable.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Swatches from the left: Petal, Coral and Cherry — Swatches from the left: Petal, Coral and Cherry

Some folks aren’t big fans of the flavor and scent, but I kind of like ’em. They remind me of lemony fresh sugar cookies. I quite enjoy them.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Cherry — Cherry

[Continue reading…]

What Beauty Products Do You Like To Splurge on or Treat Yourself With?

June 6th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

Oh, how I love thee, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue!

I’m a big believer in treating yourself after a job well done…and just in treating yourself in general, because a treat is something special, and special things feel good. 🙂

My treats of choice are very often splurges on beauty products (and snacks!). “Sweetie,” El Hub says, “do you really need another [INSERT BEAUTY PRODUCT HERE]?”

Yes, yes, I do.

I also like to get a good deal, too, so a lot of the time I’ll splurge at the drugstore, especially on body care stuff.

Body care products

When it comes to body basics like sunscreen, shave lotion, body lotion and body wash — things I use daily and don’t notice much of a difference between high and low end — I prefer drugstore.

But yeah, I still like to treat myself on occasion to something higher end, like a really nice set of products in a scent I love, like the Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue line, or a body lotion by Laura Mercier.

I’m hooked on Laura Mercier’s new Verbena Infusion Body Gel

Hair care

I tend to buy my hair products at the salon, mostly because I have unruly color-treated hair, and it just seems to do better on salon shampoos, conditioners and styling products from brands like Bumble & Bumble, Kerastase and Oribe.

So those are things I’ll sometimes treat myself with.

Today I was a hair model for an Oribe class — Hair modeling for my friend Alis in a class on Oribe products earlier this year

[Continue reading…]

Latest Trader Joe’s Obsession: The Harvest Grains Blend

June 5th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Easy to make and ready in 10 minutes, this delish side dish o’ grains is SO good. I’ve been making it lately, instead of rice, whenever I make fish and veggies.

It’s a dried mix of pearl couscous, red and green orzo, garbanzo beans and red quinoa, so you get a nice blend of soft and firm textures. Directions on the bag, but basically, pour it into a pot of boiling water with a bit of butter, wait 10 minutes and devour.

There’s a bit of flavor (tastes a tad like barley), but it’s not the main course, you know? The flavor shouldn’t overpower a protein or something else served with it.

It’s also a great starting point for a side salad. I like to add chopped mango (which you can find in the frozen food aisle at TJ’s), slivered almonds, dried cranberries and a little olive oil.

If it looks yummy to you, it should be in the aisle with the pastas and rice at your TJ’s.

Now That You’ve Applied Your False Lashes, How the Heck Do You Remove Them?

June 5th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Katy Perry Lashes Feline Fierce — My inner cat lady loves these Katy Perry Lashes in Feline Fierce, mrrow!

OK, let’s say we’ve put our false lashes on, partied like rock stars, and now it’s time to get ready for bed.

What now? How do we actually remove the darned things?

I can’t wait to try these just Ardell 105s I just picked up from Ulta!

Well, I have a confession… I’m totally guilty of just ripping those suckers off, mostly with pairs that felt heavy or uncomfortable for some reason, and I JUST COULD NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE.

I’ve actually done this more times than I can count (even though I knew it was terribly unwise). Once it was halfway through a fancy party. Mid-mingling I suddenly said, “Please excuse me for a moment. I need to remove these false lashes because they’re driving me completely insane.”

Ripping those bad boys off is quick (rrrrrrip!), but it’s also risky. You could, and probably will, tear out some of your natural lashes with the falsies, and when you barely have any lashes to start with (like me), that’s ill-advised.

Back to that party I mentioned…

Luckily, being a makeup hoarding packrat, I had a tube of mascara and a lash curler in my bag, so I plopped a few coats on in the bathroom.

Crisis averted.

Now, when I’m in my right mind, here’s how I like to remove my lashes…
[Continue reading…]

Better Together: Laura Mercier Metallic Crème Eye Colour in Burnished Copper, the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette, and MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl

June 5th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

My goodness, sweets. You HAVE to try this combo if you love copper, which I do, ’cause it brings out the richness in so many different eye colors! Brown, hazel, green, blue — especially blue.

I was chatting in the comments yesterday with long-time MBB reader Saffron (‘sup, S?) about one of my favorite copper eyeshadows, Laura Mercier’s Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Burnished Copper, which, of course, gave me an idea for my eye makeup today.

I took out the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette (don’t forget to enter the giveaway if you haven’t already), figuring that the Burnished Copper would make a good base for the warm reddish browns and bronzes in the palette.

I also grabbed MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl, a warm reddish brown liner I absolutely adore.

Gosh, I wish makeup playtime was a mandatory thing. Wouldn’t that be cool? It could be like recess for beauty lovers.

I think I’ve said this before… Maybe if I repeat myself it’ll come true, LOL!

Just think of all the great combos we could stumble upon by accident. 🙂

Will New Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer Help Your Shadows Stay Strong While You Dance Till Dawn?

June 5th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

It’s been a while since the last time I wore the same makeup for a full 24 hours.

I seem to recall something about a nightclub and having to run a race early the next morning. But, as these things sometimes go, one thing led to another, and pretty soon eating French fries at the witching hour seemed like a really good idea (“I’m carbo loading!”).

Then you’re doing the robot at the End Up (the club where you “end up” when all the other clubs in San Francisco close) while the sun is rising outside…

Anywho!

If you’re all about that 24-hour, French-fry-eating, robot-dancing life, or you just like wearing eyeshadow all day, errr-day, the new 24 Hour Photo Finish Eye Primer by Smashbox says, “Hey, girl, haaay!”

That’s a name with a bold claim right there. It’s supposed to lock your shadow down for 24 hours, even under extreme conditions — perspiration, high humidity, thunder showers, you name it. It also promises to amplify the vibrancy of any shadows worn with it and prevent creasing and smudging.

Just give it a squeeze (the tube, not the tabby’s tum), and apply a thin layer of the colorless primer to your lids. Wait 30 seconds for it to dry, then go at it with your brushes and shadows.

I’ve been using it for about a week now with powder shadows, creams and various eye combos, because girlfriend likes to play. 🙂

The smooth formula feels wonderful — like a silky eye cream — and doesn’t change the color of the shadows I layer on top.

Everything stays true.

[Continue reading…]

You Must Choose: The Lucky Ladies Edition

June 5th, 2014 by Karen 58 Comments

YOU MUST CHOOSE! Giving you messed-up choices since 2007…

Haven’t done one of these in a while!

If you’ve never played “You Must Choose” before, it’s easy — kind of. The idea is to choose between two or more seemingly impossible, or at least disturbing, choices.

And some of them are REALLY messed up like…

You win a real estate sweepstakes, and the prize is your dream home, yay!

Only thing is…the house must be built either next door to a sketchy liquor store, or directly on a busy highway (literally right on the highway, like, you look out your kitchen window and see cars driving past your front lawn).

Do you choose to build your house on the highway, where you may gaze at gridlock every weekday afternoon, or next door to the liquor store, which comes alive with riff-raff every night? YOU MUST CHOOSE.

You receive a letter one day from a well-known eccentric billionaire. He explains that he was the elderly gentleman you politely held the door open for at Pasta Pomodoro last week, and he wants to give you $5 million (after taxes!) if you do one of the following:

Give up bathing/showering for an entire year (and no, you may not take sponge baths, run naked through your neighbor’s sprinklers, bring a bar of Dr. Bronner’s soap with you into the ocean, or use baby wipes all over your stinky self. No bathing of any kind.
Wear an itchy, bejeweled two-piece thong bikini everywhere you go for 5 years.
Quit wearing makeup for 10 years. YOU MUST CHOOSE.

For being their ten millionth customer, a major makeup retailer gives you the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and rebuild your entire makeup collection from scratch! I’m talking makeup, brushes — the whole nine yards.

The catch? (There’s always a catch.) You may only choose products from two brands…

Which brands? YOU MUST CHOOSE.

Leave your answers in the comments, babe! I can’t wait to read ’em. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen