Archives for July 2015

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 356

July 26th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

14 Pictures of Tabs in a Box

All the great kitty supermodels have to earn their chops posing with cardboard, and before they can move into catalog work or runway, they have to demonstrate a certain level of kitty cardboard aptitude.

It isn’t an easy prop to work with, either. It takes some cats years to master the art of acting like they’re completely hidden when just their head is covered, or figuring out how to fit into boxes that are clearly too small for them. Or the most difficult cardboard skill of all — hopping in and out of boxes over and over again for no apparent reason.

But good cardboard box modeling skills are probably the best overall indicator of kitty modeling greatness. Nothing else showcases a kitty model’s full repertoire of modeling moves like cardboard boxes.

Case in point, the following examples from my employer’s portfolio… 🙂

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Comment to Win a $50 eGift Card From MAC! (Ends Monday)

July 25th, 2015 by Karen 440 Comments

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, KAREN!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Good morning and happy Caturday! ?

I hope you’re having a great morning so far. I’m just making myself some French toast and a cup of decaf green tea for breakfast while Tabs whines and mewls incessantly around the house.

He’s a very mad/sad tabby right now.

I think his meows roughly translate to, “Caturdays are the WORST, Mom!” Because we sleep in a little, which means that he doesn’t get to go outside at the crack of dawn like he does on the weekdays.

But I’ll take him out right after I have my noms, and after that, I’m heading to Napa for a weekend girls’ trip with my friends Jen and Cindy, just to hang out and relax. We’re gonna do a sleepover at the Meritage Resort & Spa and chill out by the ? pool.

Yes, I am really looking forward to that.

I hope that you have a wonderful Saturday and a great weekend ahead of you. I’d better go attend to Tabs now because he’s FREAKIN’ out. His highness is freakin’ out! Talk to you soon.

One (1) MAC eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter by leaving a comment below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- Favorite MAC counter in the whole entire world?
- Have you ever done any freestyle rapping?
- Best casual conversation you had this week?
- Last time you tried something new with your makeup and it turned out great?
- Something other than a picture or a painting hanging on your walls?
- Funniest movie you’ve ever seen?
One entry per person.
You must use a valid email address to win.
The giveaway ends on Monday, July 27, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Get Into Character With the OCC Cosplay Collection Lip Tars

July 24th, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

occ cosplay swatches — The six new OCC Cosplay Collection Lip Tars ($18 each, available now)

I have yet to partake of the costumed creative greatness that is cosplay, but if/when I do, the character I play will HAVE to have crazy-@ss green lips — obviously — because if I’m going to go through the effort to dress up like a fantastical/comic book character, there is no way I’m wearing a soft mid-toned neutral pink on my lips or a hushed neutral beige.

LAME.

Green lips all the way! 🙂

And apparently Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (also known as OCC) feels me on this.

Their six new $18 Summer 2015 Cosplay Collection Matte Lip Tars (the collection also has six nail polishes) includes a bright, vibrant leafy green appropriately called Cosplay, and no, I haven’t worn it to Trader Joe’s…yet.

occ cosplay cosplay — OCC Cosplay Lip Tar/Matte in Cosplay

Like OCC’s other Lip Tars, these totally tubular liquid lipsticks have a peppermint flavor and scent. Just dab a drop of one on the back of your hand, and then use a lip brush to apply them from there.

occ cosplay belladonna — OCC Cosplay Lip Tar/Matte in Belladonna

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New Paul & Joe Pressed Face Powders and Refillable Cases: The Look of Loose Powder From a Lovely Pressed Pan

July 24th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

paul joe pressed face powder — The new $10 Paul & Joe Face refillable Powder Case (comes with a powder puff inside), and one of the new $33 Powder Refill pans

Cross my heart, criss-cut fries, grab a husky tabby’s thighs!

Wait — isn’t that how that rhyme goes? I can’t remember…

Never mind! 🙂 What I meant to say is that I SWEAR pressed and loose powders look completely different once I get them on my skin. I used to think they look alike, but after taking roughly a gazillion pics of my mug over the past few years, I’m convinced that my pores usually look smaller, and my makeup less obvious, in the pictures where I’m wearing loose powder instead of pressed. The loose powder works like Instagram’s Valencia filter to smooth and mellow everything out.

paul joe pressed face powder case — The Case with Powder Puff ($10)

paul joe pressed face powder open — The Case ($10) with one of six Pressed Powder Refills ($33 each)

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Fri-Yay Makeup Fun: Strobing Made Easy

July 24th, 2015 by Karen 42 Comments

If you’ve been wondering about this whole “strobing” trend and whether it involves pulsating lights and high-octane house music, it doesn’t, so feel free to leave your glow sticks at home. 🙂

But what is does involve is highlighting, and LOTS of it. Basically, it’s good old-fashioned highlighting, only more intense and extreme, and it usually involves layering a number of products to accentuate specific areas and/or one or more of your features.

In strobing the skin looks dewy and glowing, but not in an icky or sweaty way, and the trick is to highlight specific areas while keeping the rest of your skin relatively matte or semi-matte.

Here’s how I like to do it…

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Paul & Joe Perfect Makeup Primer Is Also a Purr-fectly Moisturizing Serum

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

Excuse me, um…why doesn’t this tube have a cat on it?

Dear Friendly Person at Paul & Joe,

A kitty cat somewhere on the packaging of your Perfect Makeup Primer would have turned it into the most Purrrrfect Makeup Primer, in my humble cray-cray cat lady opinion. Please take this under advisement for future product modifications. Thank you. 🙂

Feline wordplay aside, $42 Paul & Joe Perfect Makeup Primer is one of two new makeup primers coming from Paul & Joe this fall, and it does a little bit of everything. It’s a tinted gel makeup primer to prep skin for foundation by filling in pores and fine lines, and it also moisturizes and improves wear time while adding a sheer veil of tinted color.

This is the option you want if you’re seeking heavy-duty spackling.

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NARS Shows a Softer Side With the New NARS 413 BLKR Blush Duo

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Whenever I think of New York, I think of that majestic, awe-inspiring Manhattan skyline, busy sidewalks, edgy street fashion and a go-go-GO hustle and bustle (among other things), but every city also has a softer side, and that’s the side I see when I see the latest addition to the NARS 413 BLKR fam, the new 413 BLKR Blush Duo ($42).

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Honey, These Delicious New Paul & Joe Lip Treatment Balms Are Da Bomb!

July 23rd, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

I put one of Paul & Joe’s three new $18 Lip Treatment Balms (which they refer to as “flavors”) on my lips before bed last night, and when Tabs woke me up this morning (and BTW, he’s been biting me lately!), I ended up with cat hair all up in my grill. #catladyproblems

This clear balm is so long-lasting, so thick and so rich that it stays put the ENTIRE evening, all through the night, and lasts so long that you can still feel it on your lips the next morning.

And after plucking all the hair from my lips (why is this tabby so furry?!), my lips looked great and felt fantastically soft, smooth and flake-free.

paul joe lip treatment balm 001 — Paul & Joe Lip Treatment Balm in 001

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