Just For Fun

I can’t speak for all families, but mine has a lot of weird old wives tales and superstitions, one of which involves giving the gift of shoes.

It states that if you ever give anyone a pair of shoes, they’re supposed to give you something in return; otherwise, well, let’s just say it’s bad for the relationship.

I have no idea where this one comes from, but I do know that one of my college roommates had heard of it, too. Once after giving me a pair of boots as a gift, she even reminded me, “Don’t forget to give me something back,” and suggested a penny. I loved the boots so much that I forgot about the penny and the superstition. A year later, after a huge argument, she moved out, and we haven’t spoken since.

Years have passed since the last time I received the gift of shoes, and over that time I’ve kept all of my close relationships intact. Coincidence? Hmm… 🙂

Of course, I love shoes and sometimes get myself a pair for Christmas, but when I do, as silly as it sounds, I always pay myself a penny in return, just in case (because you never know).

This year my Santa self gave me these leopard print Sam Edelman Lylas, which I found on sale online at Dillard’s.

Observe the possessive tabby in the pictures… As you can see, he has already claimed the shoes as his own.

I suspect that he believes they’re another cat.

FLASH — In breaking makeup monster news, a gang of despicable (yet somewhat cute) creatures was spotted this morning outside a Sephora store. Witnesses heard one of them roar, “Rawr! Open! Open! Monster need makeup!”

Details are sketchy, but it doesn’t look like any makeup was harmed…

THE MAKEUP MONSTERS: “MERRY CHRISTMAS, RAWR!”

A few beauty posts that caught my eye…

• An affordable $11 wrinkle reducer — Bella Sugar
• This homemade coconut citrus body scrub sounds good enough to eat — Evolution You
• “Things my grandmother never told me” cracks me up — Behance
• How to deal with dream zappers — Mars Create & Conquer
• Have a merry berry Christmas with YSL’s Ombres Duulumieres #21 — Priscilla Francine Makeup
• A Christmas snowflakes nail art tutorial — Memorable Days
• The trials and tribulations of growing out eyebrows — Love Audrey
• My inner blush ho is now craving this Sunday Riley Blush — The Non Blonde
• Glittery green and smoky party eyes for the win — Lisa Eldridge Make Up
• I’m intrigued by this sheer red by Lavshuca — Glossed in Translation

The Weekly Roundup: MBB Posts You Might Have Missed

NARS UNSUNG HEROES
AFGHAN RED LIPSTICK

Every year around this time, my regular weakness for red lipsticks turns into a serious condition, but even now, it’s usually treatable (with the careful administration of crimson cosmetics), except when I’ve been exposed to a jewel-toned red from NARS.

Then, the only cure is a tube of something like NARS Lipstick in Afghan Red ($24), a rich pinkish garnet. I tooled around town with this particular tube all weekend long, trying to keep the fever at bay…

To be safe, I should probably just keep it in my purse.

Never mind that my purse is already loaded down with compacts, other lippies, emergency cans of gravy and the occasional acorn, it never hurts to be prepared. Once you’ve been exposed to a shade like Afghan Red, you never know when another red lipstick episode will occur. Trying to predict them is like trying to forecast when terry cloth tracksuits will be back in style (read: impossible to know). Read more…

IF YOU LIKE SMOKEY LOOKS,
MAKE SPACE IN YOUR MAKEUP COLLECTION FOR MAC NEBULA PIGMENT

Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise…

Wait — no they’re not. This isn’t a voyage. It’s actually a review of the new MAC Nebula Pigment ($20). I guess I just had a random Trekkie moment, like that time at the gym back before I’d met El Hub. I was running on the treadmill when a cute boy climbed up on the one next to me, turned my way and said, “Hi.”

My witty response: “Live long and prosper.”

Oh, yeah. It was smooth…

Seriously, though, I might not have had game, but I did know a lot about Star Trek. Read more…

MIXED METAL MANIS: GET THE PARTY AND CONVERSATION
STARTED WITH A SILVER AND GOLDEN GLITTER OMBRE MANICURE

Yes, ma’am, I’m still in a metallic mani mode, also known as a mixed metal mani state of mind. Why? Because it’s magnetic! — not literally, of course — but I think there is something bewitching about nails that look like shiny baubles shimmering in silver and gold. Perhaps it’s because they remind me of disco balls, or perhaps it’s an ancient urge more primitive and primal than that.

This particular metal mani, a silver and gold ombre affair, is a manifestation of this MAC purse from holiday 2007, and how its tweed pattern melts from silver to gold (LOVE!). Read more…

NARS UNSUNG HEROES
DAMNED VELVET MATTE LIP PENCIL

Lately (in case you haven’t noticed), I’ve had a thing for red lips. I look at them the same way I look at pairs of black shoes, which is to say that one tube (or pair) is never enough.

There are just so many different spins on the red lip motif, just as there are when it comes to black shoes. With the shoes, you’ve got your black high heels, low heels, stacked heels, platforms, and don’t get me started on the sub-shades of black.

It’s the same thing with crimson lip colors. Every one is unique, or at least different in some small but significant way. Read more…

BUXOM TRUE HUE, BABY I LOVE YOU:
THE NEW $24 BUXOM TRUE HUE BLUSHES ARE COMING IN FEBRUARY TO SEPHORA

Calling all blushing beauties and buffs! — Buxom plans to introduce a new collection of colorful cheek products into their permanent line. The new True Hue family arrives in February, bursting with bold pigments and, according to Buxom, the powers of a plant called rhodiola.

Buxom claims that the plant, used for centuries by people in Russia and Scandinavia to cope with the stress and cold of Siberian life, makes cheeks wearing the True Hue blushes appear refreshed, but I’d probably give these pigments more credit for that. I find them very easy to manipulate, thanks to super smooth powders that are a breeze to build up or sheer down. Read more…

ARE YOU A TOCCA GRACIELLA GIRL

It’s her hair you notice first — long, loose and wavy, and still a little damp from this morning’s shower. Today she’s riding her rickety bicycle, the one with the worn wicker basket on the front, along the cobblestone streets of the small Italian village you both call home.

“Hello, Graciella!” you call to her. She sees you, smiles and waves a hand high in reply.

Clackity-clack-clack, goes the bicycle, as it moves along the cobblestones. She’s wearing a flowery, flowing dress today, and all of a suddenly the air is filled with the scent of oranges, you assume from her shampoo. Fresh from a visit to the early morning market, her basket is brimming with white lilies and a brown paper bag filled with pears. Hungry (she’s always hungry), she nibbles on one of them as she cruises along, and when she passes you, there’s a whiff of soft musk from her skin, but it slowly drifts away. Read more…

MIXED METAL MANIS:
LIKE BRITNEY, MY NAILS ARE GOING BEIGE, SILVER AND GOLD

Aha! I always knew (or hoped) that those countless hours spent watching Pop-Up Video would pay off eventually. Yup, it was while watching Britney shake her moneymaker in the Toxic video (one of my faves) the other that day that I came up with this idea for a Mixed Metal Mani.

You know that nude bodysuit she wears with the diamonds? Wouldn’t that look pretty chic and blingy on your nails? — a minimalist nude nail layered with gold and silver glitter? Read more…

I CAN’T IMAGINE FALLING OUT OF LOVE WITH
LAURA MERCIER’S NEW BAKED EYE COLOUR PALETTE

Are they macarons, or are they eyeshadows? Well, that depends. The baked beauties in Laura Mercier’s new Baked Eye Colour Palette ($48) just might be a bit of both.

Like macarons, they make me smile. All five of the shimmery shadows in brown, bronze, beige, pink and purple deposit very little fallout on my cheeks, and I love the glowing, wide-awake look their punchy pigments bestow upon my eyes.

The palette, a holiday release, also comes with a time-saving surprise — a dual-tipped brush with a flat eyeshadow brush on one end and a dense, pointed cream shadow brush on the other. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Do you ever read through your old journals and think, “Wow, was that really me?” A few nights ago I was rifling through some boxes and found an old journal of mine from 2003. At the time I was working at a job I despised and filling page after page in journals with things like, “I feel as though everyone I know is moving forward, but I’m standing still.” I hadn’t yet figured out what I wanted to do about my job. All I knew was that I wanted to make a change, and I was caught in that unhelpful loop of constantly comparing myself to others.

I wrote that “many irrational feelings are rushing through my half-dead veins. Everyone seems to be catapulting toward their beautiful, amazingly bright future, while all I’m doing is sitting on my @ss complaining about how tired I am.”

Brings back a lot of rough memories, but whatcha gonna do? It happens…

I wish I still had more of my journals from high school, even though I’m pretty sure I’d be mortified to read them now. I came across this book that sounds like it summarizes what reading them would be like: Cringe: Toe-Curlingly Embarrassing Teenage Diaries, Love Letters and Bad Poetry.

Isn’t that a great title? Kinda hits the nail on the head. 🙂

In other news, I hope you’re having a nice weekend so far, and if, per chance, you plan to paint your nails today, be on the lookout for this loathsome beast:

THE LACQUER LEVIATHAN

FREQUENCY: Common
SPEED: Normal
ARMOR CLASS: 10+
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Can cause seemingly sealed bottles of nail polish to thicken overnight into a useless goopy mess. Its breath is also able to induce chips in brand new manis and pedis.
SPECIAL DEFENSES: The Lacquer Leviathan’s tough hide is covered in thousands of layers of built-up lacquer and top coat, making the creature almost invulnerable.
INTELLIGENCE: Not so much, but they do know the names of every nail polish ever created.
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: Huge (9′ tall)

A few beauty posts that caught my eye…

• How to Apply Eyeshadows in 3 Easy Steps with the Wet n Wild Knock on Wood Trio — My Weekend Ramblings
• One of my favorite blogs celebrates its 5-year anniversary — Gala Darling
• DIY Holiday Photobooth Props — Oh Happy Day
• 12 Days of Christmas Nails: Sweet Talkin, Sugar Coated Candy Cane — The Nailasaurus
• 5 Must-Have Items to Update Your Wardrobe for Winter — College Fashion
• Don’t these three Bite High Pigment Matte Pencils look great? — the Notice
• I love infographics, and this one shows how to do a basic manicure — The Beauty Department
• It’s time for Santa nails! — Swatch and Learn
• Earth Tones with Fyrinnae and Chantecaille: A Weekend FOTD — My Funny Valentine
• DIY Pomegranate Beauty Recipes — Beautylish

The Weekly Roundup: MBB Posts You Might Have Missed

REMOVE GLITTER NAIL POLISHES QUICKER
WITH THIS LITTLE TRICK

I love glittery nail polishes, and I suspect that you may love ‘em, too. Lately, I’ve been having a blast with glittery ombre manicures, which have taken my lacquer love for glitter to whole new levels, but they’ve also opened my eyes to a downside of having so much glitter on my nails…

It can take forever to remove!

I can usually remove non-glittery polishes in 2-3 minutes, tops, but getting the glittery ones off can easily take me 10 minutes or more.

Until last weekend, my technique for removing glitter polishes involved soaking a cotton pad in an acetone nail polish remover, wrapping the wet pad around each nail, and then massaging the moistened pad around the nail for a minute or so before firmly sliding it from the base up to the tip. Sometimes, I’d have to repeat the process three or four times per nail to get them nice and clean. Read more…

NARS UNSUNG HEROES
NIGHT STAR EYESHADOW

It’s holiday party time! — but if you’re a busy gal with too many emails to answer and a to-do list longer than your arm, getting ready to party may be the last thing on your mind. If it is, perhaps NARS Night Star Eyeshadow can help.

Now, you know me when it comes to wearing color on my eyes — I love it! But I also like the versatility of neutral shades, and that’s the side of me that $23 Night Star excites. An eyeshadow single in the NARS permanent line, it’s a sheer peach with a golden glitter kick — a perfect pick for office parties this time of year.

When I want to brighten my lids and give a golden sparkle to my eyes, this is the color I grab. Read more…

MAC DAPHNE GUINNESS FOR MAC COLLECTION
PRODUCT PICS AND SWATCHES

What up, MACaholics! Here’s a quick peek at product pics and swatches of some items from the new Daphne Guinness for MAC collection. The mostly cool-toned launch hits MAC counters and stores December 26 in North America and January 2012 internationally.

Have a look at these swatches and pictures, and let me know what you think. Read more…

WITH THE ESSIE LUXEFFECTS COLLECTION,
GLITTER IS A SHINE OF THE TIMES

The other day at the grocery store, I got to chatting with the cashier who was helping me. She was sporting one of the cutest sparkly manicures I’d seen in a while, and when I told her how much I liked it, she replied, “Aw, thanks! Since I have to wear a uniform every day, I like to do something to spice it up.”

Amen to that! Working for Tabs, I also have to wear a uniform of sorts — you know, sensible shoes and clothes that show I’m responsible enough to handle midnight gravy runs, and other crucial cat-assigned tasks. To spice things up this week, I plan to wear something from Essie Luxeffects.

The new collection of nail polishes launched earlier this month with five glittery shades ($8 each), and WOW! — what a surprise. I think of Essie as a pretty conservative line, so it’s neat to see them take a detour down a sparkly path. Read more…

WITH THE MAC DAPHNE GUINNESS INTERIOR LIFE QUAD,
THERE’S A STORM BREWING, BUT IT’S COOL

I love it when life imitates art, or seems to, like it did yesterday when a storm passed overhead while I was contemplating the Eyeshadow X4 quad in Interior Life ($38).

The gray clouds came out of nowhere — clear skies one minute, a downpour the next — and when a blast of thunder roared, I was clutching the quad and its four cool-toned shades.

Looking up at the sky and then down at the quad, I realized that both of them were cut from the same cloth, a shawl of moody grays, purples, blues and pinks…

Now, I like these colors. I do. They’re just not the easiest shades for me to wear, and if you’re a damsel with a darker skin tone like mine, you might find that these shadows appear quite sheer when applied. Read more…

NARS UNSUNG HEROES
TAOS BLUSH

NARS Taos Blush ($27) belongs to an elite battalion of blushes in my beauty brigade called the One Swipers, a group of blushes able to deliver all-day color from a single swipe across the pan.

What makes it special?

These One Swipers pack a lot of pigment, so a little goes a long way — which is great when they’re as expensive as a NARS blush. Taos, here, should last until forever, or at least until Bella and Edward break up (whichever comes first).

A platoon leader in the NARS permanent collection, Taos is one of those vibrant colors that I always notice when I walk by an open pan. A bright rosy red with golden shimmer and a wisp of coral, it’s like NARS Torrid’s darker red doppelganger. Read more…

SKINCARE FOR THE CHANGING SEASONS
PAMPER YOUR SKIN WITH THESE 3 DIY RECIPES FOR SKINCARE TREATS

I have a love/hate relationship with my kitchen…

Sometimes, like when I have a long, lazy Saturday afternoon stretched out in front of me and very little on my plate, I enjoy cooking and preparing meals from start to finish. Other times, though, like after a busy day on an average Wednesday night, even the thought of tearing open a bag of baby carrots is enough to wear me out.

Last Saturday wasn’t exactly a lazy day, but I did have a little time to explore the culinary arts. While rooting around the cupboards, I realized that my pantry contained the fixin’s for more than good eats. It also had some great ingredients to make a number of do-it-yourself skincare treats.

All three of these recipes rely on ingredients you may already have in your kitchen at home, and the best part? — they only call for two ingredients each. Read more…

MIXED METAL MANI
A NAIL TUTORIAL STARRING TWO-TONE SILVER AND GOLD

Earlier this year when I met with Rob, a personal stylist at Nordstrom, one of the things we chatted about was metal — that is, mixing metal accessories.

I was drooling over a pair of shoes with silver accents at the time and wondered about incorporating gold and silver jewelry into the outfit. Rob said, “Sure!” He thought that mixing silver and gold was a cool and modern way to update a look.

I remembered Rob’s metallic moxie this week while trying to figure out something fun to do with my nails. I wanted something festive that wasn’t red and green, so I figured, how about silver and gold?

It’s a little quirky, but that’s one of the things I like about it, and I can see myself wearing this with various shiny baubles all year round. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen