Face of the Day (FOTD)

Urban Decay Sin Potion Primer Face of the Day

January 14th, 2009 by Karen 26 Comments

Sephora’s got Urban Decay Sin Primer Potion for sale online, yea!

I think Sin’s shimmery champagne looks sinfully good paired with bright eyeliners…

Color for the color shy

To line my eyes in this look I tried the four new 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil shades from Urban Decay’s Spring 2009 collection: Graffiti, Flipside, Rasom and Underground.

Their colors are rich and vibrant and took me a little out of my conservative color comfort zone. I decided to go with a very thin, tri-colored line on the top lash line because it seemed to keep the look in check but still gave me a lil’ somethin’-somethin’.

Champagne eye with bright green, teal and purple liner

Sin Potion Primer (1) gets this look going. I start by swiping a layer directly onto my lid with the doe-foot applicator and then use a finger to spread the gel evenly over the whole eye.

With the liner, my goal is to merge from green to teal to purple seamlessly. I grab Flipside (2), a shimmery green, and line the inner third of my lash line (the side closest to my nose).

Then, with Graffiti (3), a shimmery teal, I place the pencil tip close to the line of Flipside. The colors will overlap a tad at the start of the line, but that’s cool. I just drag Graffiti along along the inner third of the lash line, transitioning from green to teal.

Next, I do the overlapping thing again, only this time placing the tip of Ransom (4), a shimmery purple, over Graffiti to transition from teal to purple. I finish the line by dragging Ransom toward the side of the lash line closest to my ear.

I don’t want the lower lash line to compete with the brights on top, so I use shimmery bronze-brown Underground (5) on the lower waterline and lash line.

Of course, I couldn’t — shouldn’t? — finish the look without filling in my brows, curling my lashes, adding mascara and covering up my dreaded dark circles, ha! It’s kinda like makeover housekeeping.
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Going Peach and Purple with MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead

January 12th, 2009 by Karen 49 Comments

I know I look totally spaced out in the picture above, but I’m having one of those days. I feel like every picture I take ends up looking unintentionally comical.

I guess all I can do is smile and keep on trucking, right? Anyhooty, the look above features a few products from last week’s MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead release. I’m adding this peach-brown-purple combo to my “neutral looks for school” file. 🙂

Eyes

The look starts with the mighty MAC Nice Vice Paint Pot (1), a shimmery purple, patted onto the lid and into the crease with a MAC 249 Large Shader Brush. If the 249 leaves any harsh lines, I smooth them away with a finger.

You may recall Nice Vice from last year’s MAC Fafi collection. It was limited edition, but I really think Artifact Paint Pot, a shimmery burgundy from MAC’s permanent collection, would work just as well.

Next, I apply peachy pink MAC French Cuff eyeshadow (2) over the whole eyelid with a MAC 252 Large Shader Brush and sweep MAC Folie eyeshadow (3), a reddish brown plum, into the outer third of the crease with a MAC 217 Blending Brush.

I want this to look a little smokey, so I pat something dark like the matte chocolate brown MAC Handwritten eyeshadow (4) into the outer corner of the eye using a MAC 239 Eye Shading Brush.

Then, I line the upper lash line with MAC Fluidline in Graphic Brown (5), a shimmery brown, using Laura Mericer’s Flat Eye Liner brush.

I was all aboard the insomnia train last night! — which means I have all-star deluxe super fantastic dark circles right now! When my dark circles are bad I won’t use a dark liner or shadow on the lower lash line.

Instead, I’ll line my lower waterline instead with something like MAC’s Eye Kohl in Powersurge (6), a shimmery bronze-gold. It makes the lower lash line more prominent without making my dark circles take center stage.

To finish the eyes, I curl my lashes with the Shu Uemura lash curler, add two coats of Chanel Exceptionnel mascara and fill in my brows.

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Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, Jan. 11

January 11th, 2009 by Karen 11 Comments

Not sure what to do with all those old lipstick tubes?

Why not make a makeup mosaic of Mariah Carey?

Bikini model, TV hostess and hair care industry entrepreneur…

Daisy Fuentes is launching a new drugstore line of multicultural hair care products this March.

Deja vu: Barbie hearts Stila

Barbie sure gets around! What do ya think of Stila’s new Barbie branded makeup line?

How to do a ponytail pouf

Dang, Pursebuzz makes some hella good hair videos…

Return of The Purple One (no, not Barney)

Prince is readying a new music website where fans will be able to hear his latest tracks (as well as songs by special guests), watch videos and even buy music and concert tickets. HOLLA!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Makeup for Work: Club and Woodwinked Eyeshadows

December 12th, 2008 by Karen 34 Comments

Happy Friday, ladies!

I’m feeling retro today — wait, let me back up.

Get it?

Retro MAC, that is! I’m sporting two of my very first MAC eyeshadow purchases, Club and Woodwinked (both part of the permanent collection). I could write sonnets on both of these colors, as they’ve seen me through a lot over the past few years.

Club, a shimmery duochorome, flashes from green to brown, and Woodwinked is a warm, shimmery gold. Today I paired ’em for this easy, breezy, work-friendly daytime eye.

Club and Woodwinked

This is one of the looks I wear when I want to look kinda chic but not overdone.

To start, I applied MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl on the lid with a MAC 239 Eye Shading Brush.

Then, I applied Club on the lid, Woodwinked in the crease and Malt eyeshadow on the browbone with a Sonia Kashuk Large Eyeshadow Brush.

After that, I blended away the harsh lines with the MAC 217 Blending Brush.

To line the eyes, I used MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack on the upper lash line with a Laura Mercier Flat Eye Liner Brush.

I applied MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl on the lower water line and then added a soft line of Woodwinked on the lower lash line with the ever-handy Sonia Kashuk Angeled Eyeshadow brush.
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MAC Infatuating Rose Face of the Day: Pink with Indigo Liner

December 9th, 2008 by Karen 41 Comments

OMG! I forgot to mention the minor traumatic incident I had this morning while I was doing my hair — I found a gray hair that looked exactly like a crunchy cellophane noodle.

I kid you not. It was all dry and twisty… UGH!

Everyone in my family goes gray early (I’ve been getting gray hairs since my teens), but this was the first time I’d ever found one of these. How precious.

After plucking it out, I flailed about the bedroom for a few minutes, desperately searching for something to help me forget what had happened.

And that’s when I thought of MAC. I decided to do this playful pink and purple eye with eyeshadows from the MAC Cosmetics Infatuating Rose: 6 Cool Eyes palette ($38).

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Stila Surprise and Shine Talking Palette Has Something to Tell You about Red Lipstick

December 3rd, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

If you have at least one tube of red lipstick stashed away somewhere at home, you gotta peep the Stila Surprise and Shine Talking Palette ($45).

Why?

Because these ivory, beige and brown colors will perfectly balance out a bold red lip.

In the palette you get…

Nude eyeshadow: shimmery pink
Wheat eyeshadow: beige pearl
Espresso eyeshadow: shimmery gray-brown
Convertible Color in Peony: creamy peach-brown

In the pic above I’m wearing the palette colors with MAC Red She Said Lipstick and MAC Clear Lipglass. Don’t the shadows and blush highlight the eyes and cheeks without competing with the lipstick?

Stila calls it a “Talking Palette” because — big surprise — the palette talks. No kidding! There’s a built in microphone and speaker, with the idea being that you can record a special message for someone and give the palette away as a gift. Not only does the recipient get the gift of great makeup, but they also get to hear your lovely voice, too. Cute, yah?

Clockwise from upper left: Nude, Wheat, Peony, Espresso

Or… you could keep it for yourself and spend countless hours playing back messages like, “Girl, you are so hot it burns me just to think about you!” 🙂
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The Boca Raton: Soft Green Eyes, Coral Cheeks and Lips

November 22nd, 2008 by Karen 23 Comments

Greetings, fellow Twilighters. The wedding starts in a few hours, but I squeezed in a run in the neighborhood around the hotel here in Boca Raton. Judging by the mini-mansions (lots of palatial estates) and proximity to the ocean, the folks who live here sho’ ain’t po.

I jogged by some beautiful tropical landscaping on a long, quiet street called Banyan Road.

The lush greens and corals inspired my face of the day. This isn’t the makeup I’ll be wearing to the wedding today; just something I was playing around with. It’s soft greenish-gold eyes, coral cheeks and a coral lip.

I tried to get close-ups of the eyes, but I forgot how bad the lighting was in the hotel room until I’d already removed my makeup, shoot!

For this face I used products from Shu Uemura, Benefit, Chanel and MAC. It being cold back home in Northern California and just about everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere right now, this FOTD won’t see a lot of action, but it might be fun to try something similar on a sunny day, even if it is chilly outside. Plus, it’s easy! 🙂

How I Did The Eyes

To get the eye look, I patted a layer of Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit over the entire eye with my finger, concentrating most of the color on the lid and fading on the way up to the brow bone.

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit

Next, I patted the green shade from the Shu Uemura Adorned Marguerite Palette with a MAC 252 Large Shader Brush onto the lid and just barely into the crease.

Using a Laura Mercier Flat Eye Liner Brush I applied MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack to the upper water line, applying the liner close to the roots of the lashes.

With the same brush, I drew a thick black line onto the upper lash line, thickening the line toward the outer lash line (the side closest to my ear).

To make the liner pop, I patted the shimmery black shadow from the Shu Uemura Adorned Marguerite Palette directly on top of Blacktrack on the upper lash line with a Sonia Kashuk Eye Angeled Brush.

sonia-kashuk-tools-angled-eye-shadow-brush-1

Next, I curled my lashes with the incredible Shu Uemura lash curler and added two coats of Chanel Exceptionnel mascara in Noir.

To complete the look, I filled in my brows by applying MAC Concrete to the sparse ends with the mighty MAC 266 Small Angle Brush.

The Cheeks

The cheeks were super easy. The key is the big, cheesy smile. Then, I swept MAC Sunbasque, a shimmery coral, on the apples with a MAC 129 Blush Brush.

The Lips

Beach Coral Lipstick
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Lancome Holiday 2008 Face of the Day

November 5th, 2008 by Karen 30 Comments

Greetings, fellow citizens of the world! This morning I experimented with the Lancome Holiday 2008 C’est Manifique makeup collection for this subtle brown and purple eye.

I took Glamour Premiere Eye Shadow Quad ($42), one of the two limited edition C’est Manifique holiday palettes, and paired it with a dark red lip using In All Her Splendor ($18), one of five limited edition Ultra Shiny Juicy Tube lipglosses from the collection.

Earlier today I walked by a fire station out here; all the fire dudes were outside washing the truck. I couldn’t help thinking how glad I was to be wearing lipgloss, LOL! I loves me some El Hub, but I gotta say there’s just something hot about dudes washing fire trucks…

From left to right: In All Her Splendor, Pinkee, First Take, Camera Queen, Beauty Brown

The Eyes

First, I primed my lids by applying a thin layer of Too Faced Shadow Insurance over the entire lid.
Next, I patted Camera Queen (a shimmery light purple) onto the lid with a Sonia Kashuk Large Eye Shadow Brush.
Using the same brush, I applied Pinkee (a shimmery beige) onto the brow bone.
Then, with a MAC 217 blending brush, I swept First Take (a shimmery taupe) into the crease.
For a smokey effect, I applied Beauty Brown (a shimmery, cool bronzy brown) into the outer v and along the lower lash line with a MAC 239 eyeshadow brush.
With Lancome Le Stylo Waterproof eyeliner in Noir, I lined both the upper and lower water lines.
To finish the eyes, I curled my lashes and added two coats of Lancome Virtuose mascara in black.

The Cheeks

Step One: Smile a big cheesy smile in the mirror, and then use a MAC 129 blush brush to sweep two layers of Lancome Blush Subtil in Bronze Escapade (a shimmery warm brown) onto the apples of your cheeks.

The Lips

This was the easiest part! I just applied a small amount of All Her Splendor from the tube directly onto my lips (a single layer).

I dig both of these items. The four Glamour Premiere palette shadows work well together. I think they’d even work well for simple washes over the eye, like for really quick day looks.

Next time I wear ’em I think I’ll try layering a rich brown eye pencil beneath Brown Beauty and Camera Queen for a brown and purple smokey eye…

OOH! If you’re more into red, you gotta check out In All Her Splendor next time you hit a Lancome counter. It’s sheer and glamorous and very nicely done.

Daily Photo

This doe was all “BINGO!” when she found some tasty red flowers and berries today. I had to pull over and snap her picture.

NOTE: If you ever stop in the middle of the street to take pictures of deer, people in other cars will look at you strangely. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen