Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Mmm, tasty…
Why does the new Buxom Eyeshadow Bar ($40 for an empty palette and six eyeshadows) have to look like a chocolate bar? — because according to the official transcript of my tummy, that falls under the category of “Cruel and Unusual Punishment.”
Oh, well… It’s a good thing my tummy takes orders from my eyelids when it comes to makeup. 🙂
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Flowers, birds, brights and BECCA — four of my favorite things. 🙂
GURL, there’s so much to like about these new BECCA Mineral Blushes that I don’t even know where to start. Bright poppy pink Hyacinth, reddish poppy Lantana and deep mulberry Nightingale are the latest additions to the brand’s bodacious Mineral Blush line, and if you have medium-toned or darker skin (or, if you just dig blushes with cray-cray intense pigment), you’re gonna freakin’ flip your hair when you see these new powder blushes.
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High five to the bad-@ss Benefit High Brow Glow Pencil that has been taking names and kicking butts in my makeup bag for the past few months, because it has taken my brow (and other) highlights to greater heights!
What is it?
Well, Benefit High Brow Glow, a member of the brand’s brow product line, is a shimmery $22 champagne pencil intended to be worn under brow arches to make them look more arched and lifted.
How does it work?
It’s the shimmer, man! It makes wherever it’s applied appear brighter and closer to the spectator’s eye. It’s an illusion.
Yes, you could also use a shimmery eyeshadow to do the same thing, but a handy pencil makes it easier, and when every second counts, easier is awesome-r.
The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of my all-time favorite permanent collection products.
I definitely use it for its designated purpose — I think it’s a great brow lifter if you buff it down a tad with a finger or a domed eyeshadow brush because it’s VERY shimmery — but I think its other abilities are what elevate it into Unsung Heroes territory.
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You know what they say: “Ear cuffs are the new studs!”
Wait — is that what they say? Maybe? I hope so.
I’m going through a non-dangly earrings phase, and these extra sparkly Dainty Crystal Spike Ear Cuffs ($28) by Kristin Perry have been a perfect alternative to everyday studs.
This one is just a single cuff for the left ear only, which I like. Makes me feel like a warrior princess or something, and I think a pair of them might be a little too matchy-matchy.
I usually wear it with one of my cat studs on my other ear because…well, I’m a crazy cat lady like that. 🙂
P.S. Oh, my gosh. I’m watching Beaches for the first time, and I may or may not be a little teary at the moment. 🙁
I don’t know what took me so long to watch it. It’s really good!
I am totally fixated on MAC Fix+, and the obsession is so real that I can’t even figure out how many bottles I’ve gone through in my life.
Ten? Twenty??
No, it’s gotta be more than that… I usually get a new bottle about every two or three months.
I know that I talk about Fix+ a lot, but I use it every single day (I even bring a small bottle on trips).
Also known as MAC Prep + Prime Fix+, it’s a refreshing $22 mist in the MAC skincare line that you spray on bare skin or other products to moisturize and set your makeup to help it last longer. It contains water packed with vitamins and minerals and infused with a blend of green tea, chamomile and cucumber. Just spray it directly on your face for a subtle sheen.
I usually use it right when I start applying my makeup to moisturize my skin, and then again when I finish to help my face products last longer.
Starting when I’m bare-faced, before I’ve put anything else on, I spray Fix+ all over my face, where it adds a light layer of moisture and creates a wet surface upon which to more easily blend foundations, tinted moisturizers and BB creams. The end result just looks more natural and “lived in” (particularly if you tend to be heavy-handed with your product application).
After finishing my makeup, when I’m all done with my eyes, face and lips, I spray another misty layer all over my face to mellow out the powdery texture.
And there are also some other things you can do with Fix+, like using it to wet your eye brushes (it intensifies the shimmer and color of powder eyeshadows), to amplify highlights on your cheekbones and to blend foundation.
Yup!
I’m conflicted…
I spotted these kaleidoscopic cuties at Nordies the other day. They’re the Bernie Mev “Cuddly” Sneakers ($59.95).
On the one hand, rainbows and comfort! On the other hand, I’m getting a distinct comfort shoes/lunch lady shoes vibe… Granted, if you wore these, you’d be an incredibly awesome lunch lady rocking the cafeteria in your awesomely colorful shoes.
My first reaction was “no,” but now I’m leaning toward “yes,” because if I’m going to wear “comfort shoes” (air quotes), they sure as heck have to be fun and interesting. And these are both.
Loading ...Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. How are things going? What are you doing today?
The new $26 Too Faced Love Flush Long-Lasting 16-Hour Blushes are named after famous love songs (aw!), and one of them is called I Will Always Love You.
So, of course, I’m wondering which version.
Of the song.
The one by Whitney Houston or the one by Dolly Parton?
“Ladies and lipstick-loving gentlemen, allow me to introduce my friend here. He’s from theBalm, he costs $17, and his name is Matt(e) Hughes Long-Lasting Liquid Lipstick. Go on, Matt(e)! Say hi to everyone.”
“Oops, I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse Matt(e). He’s not much of a talker on account of him being a liquid lipstick with a matte finish.”
“Matt(e) and I have been ‘friends’ for a few weeks now 🙂 — yes, ever since he showed up in theBalm’s permanent collection — and, well, I thought you might like to meet him because we’re getting pretty serious…”
“Yup, he’s everything my lips have ever wanted — Adoring (a merlot), Loyal (a deep red), Devoted (a bright red), Sentimental (a warm magenta), Charming (a rich mauve), Honest (a warm coral), Committed (a pinkish nude) and Chivalrous (a warm magenta).”
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