Archives for 2014

Should You Say Eye Do to Eyeko Makeup?

November 28th, 2014 by Karen 22 Comments

Bangs and a British accent are partly responsible for attracting me to Eyeko makeup.

I desperately wanted to believe that lining my eyes, coating my lashes and filling in my brows with Eyeko products would summon the powers of makeup magic, so that suddenly, one misty morning, I’d awaken with fab fringe and a bangin’ British accent like Alexa Chun, the stylish model/TV presenter/writer and face of the Eyeko brand.

Hey, man, you never know… Stranger things have happened. 🙂

If, one day, I’m pimpin’ Lloyd Christmas hair in my pictures and start a post with, “I fancy a pasty this morning and a spot of tea!” you’ll know the deal.

I’ve been using some of Eyeko’s permanent collection products lately — a couple of their liquid liners, a mascara and a brow filler — and here are a few thoughts…

Visual Eyes Liquid Eyeliner ($19)

This waterproof liquid liner’s thin, flexible felt tip says “meow!” to the part of me that loves kitten flicks and skinny lines (it’s a BIG part). It’s preternaturally precise, but I have to make quite a few passes with it to get the color fully opaque, and that’s a bit of a bummer.

I’ve been using Mocha, the brown shade, but it’s also available in Ebony and Marine.

Eyeko products from the left: Brow liner, Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner, Visual Eyes Liquid Eyeliner, Me & My Shadow in Charcoal and Eye Do Mascara — From the left: Brow liner, Eye Do Liquid Eyeliner, Visual Eyes Liquid Eyeliner, Me & My Shadow in Charcoal and Eye Do Mascara

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Thanksgiving Spread

November 27th, 2014 by Karen 41 Comments

Your nephew did a wonderful job assisting me with Thanksgiving today. He kept close watch as I prepped the food in the kitchen, and then supervised the actual eating at the table.

Such a dedicated kitty. 🙂

The crab was a success by the way. In case you were wondering, yes — crab tastes pretty darned good dipped in gravy (who knew?).

Now I’m off to swan dive into my third (!) slice of pecan pie.

Can I get you a slice? Would you like it with, or without whipped cream (or one of each)?

A Pair of Kinky Boots That Should Fit Most Everyone: The MAC Kinky Boots Collection

November 27th, 2014 by Karen 17 Comments

MAC Kinky Boots Lipstick and Lipglass — Wearing both the Kinky Boots Lipstick and Lipglass

We interrupt your Thanksgiving food coma to bring you this important shoe-related announcement…

One does not need to own a pair of kinky boots to appreciate the MAC Kinky Boots collection.

But please don’t let that stop you from shoe shopping. 🙂

Kick up your heels and dance to the tune of this limited edition lipstick and gloss, which were inspired by Kinky Boots, the Broadway musical (fun fact: MAC Viva Glam alumna Cyndi Lauper wrote the music and lyrics for the show!).

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Happy Thanksgiving, My Friend!

November 27th, 2014 by Karen 41 Comments

“Gobble gobble!”

It’s Thanksgiving here today in the U.S., and Tabs, El Hub and I will be celebrating with a small festive Thanksgiving feast featuring large quantities of ~~turkey!~~ crab!

Yes, crab (we’re trying something different).

But we’ve got some of the traditional fixin’s too, like we’ve got stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, pecan pie, mashed potatoes (and gravy, of course, purr Tabs)…

I can’t take credit for everything. I did make the potatoes, some corn and prepped the crab (like that’s hard), but some of our local eateries also helped, which is code for, “Some of it came from Whole Foods and Costco.” The plan for the day is to stay in my jammies as long as humanly possible, watch football (go Niners!), relax and start eating at noon, hopefully wrapping up the eating portion of the activities around 5:30, at which point I will most likely pass out. 🙂

Thank you, as always, for keeping me company and for putting up with my product review bizarreness (WOW! Bizarreness is actually a word?). Stay warm and have a wonderful day. Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Cool-Toned Grays Signal a Smoky Black Friday at MAC: Available for One Day Only, the $25 MAC Smoky Black Friday Veluxe Pearl Fusion Shadow Trio

November 26th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Ya know…we should really figure out some sort of long-range communication system that doesn’t involve technology, just in case the sh*t ever hits the fan, and the Internet goes dark, and we need a way to ask each other important questions like, “Girl, are you doing any Black Friday shopping?” or, “What do you think of the new MAC Smoky Black Friday Velux Pearlfusion Shadow Trio?”

My first thought was carrier pigeons, but then many of us have cats…

So now I’m thinking smoke signals, but I haven’t figured out the vocabulary yet.

Like, how would you say, “I think the three Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadows in this online exclusive are just OK,” with a small fire and smoke?

I don’t know…

I’d also want to say, “I probably wouldn’t take off my hoop earrings and throw down if there was a shortage of these trios and I was forced to fight for the last one, but I might reach for one on a Friday night if I wanted to do a fast and shimmery smokey eye that didn’t require a ton of work.”

But that seems like a lot to say with puffs of smoke…

MAC Smoky Black Friday swatches — Wearing Smoky Black Friday on my lids and MAC Matte Lipstick in Nouvelle Vogue on my lips

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Tonight, I’m Livin’ in a Fantasy (My Own Little Nasty World), With the New MAC Nasty Gal Collection Lipsticks

November 26th, 2014 by Karen 34 Comments

MAC Nasty Gal Matte Lipsticks from the left: Runner, Stunner and Gunner ($16 US each, $19 CAD)

“Psst! Look at that girl.”

“Which girl…?”

“That one!”

“Which one? That one right there?”

“Yeah, that one you’re rudely pointing at in broad daylight right there, LOL! The one wearing the dark matte lipstick.”

“Yeah, I see her… She’s nasty.”

“What!? What are you talking about, ‘she’s nasty’? That’s a terrible thing to say!”

“No, doofus. Not like that. I mean she is literally a nasty gal.”

“You lost me…”

“I mean she’s wearing one of the three lipsticks in the new MAC Nasty Gal collection.”

Another fab collab, this one between MAC and Nasty Gal owner/founder Sophia Amoruso, the four-piece MAC Nasty Gal collection is coming to select MAC stores and the MAC website December 4 (through January 1, 2015) with three lipsticks in Stunner (a matte red), Runner (a matte burgundy) and Gunner (a deep matte purple) for $16 US/$19 CAD, as well as a true red Studio Nail Lacquer with a creme finish called Flaming Rose ($12 US/$14 CAD; not shown in this post).

MAC Nasty Gal Swatches from the left: Stunner, Runner and Gunner — Swatches from the left: Stunner, Runner and Gunner

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Matte Madness: MAC Matte Lipstick in Pander Me + MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Etcetera

November 26th, 2014 by Karen 34 Comments

I wonder how many times I’ve typed “matte” over the past two days…

A lot, methinks. 🙂

Here’s a matte neutral combo I’ve been crushing on: peachy mocha brown MAC Matte Lipstick in Pander Me ($16), with creamy beige MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Etcetera ($20).

MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Etcetera — Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Etcetera ($20)

MAC Matte Lipstick in Pander Me (left) and Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Etcetera

Yes, I’m in the midst of a pretty serious matte kick right meow…

The Matte Madness series features some of my favorite matte products as of late

Kerastase Carre Lissant Hairstyle Touch-Up Sheets for Hair Do the Dryer Sheet Dance to Fight Frizz

November 26th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

Tonight, in Urban Legends of the Beauty World…

Long, long ago in a town, far, far away, a girl did something unfathomable!

It was the night of the big winter semi-formal, and she was getting ready at home. Her date — a cutie, of course — was on his way to pick her up, but her hair was a frizzy mess.

Ding-dong! The doorbell rang downstairs.

In a moment of random panic/fortuitous kismet, the girl grabbed an old dryer sheet from the trash and ran it over the top layers of her hair.

Miraculously, her wild, wayward strands were smoothed! Huzzah!

Or so the story goes…

Well, Kerastase is taking that idea and making it less MacGyver-ish, and more hair-friendly, with their new fancy-schmancy Carre Lissant Hairstyle Touch-Up Sheets ($28.50 for a box of 50).

They’re basically the same idea. Each sheet contains a waxy-feeling, smoothing product to fix fly-aways and frizz, but instead of scenting your mop with Eau de Snuggle Bear, they leave behind a soothing lavender fragrance.

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