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Just For Fun

Healthy Hair in 4 Easy Steps

February 26th, 2010 by Karen 12 Comments

Can’t go a day without your Chi or T3? Did winter really lick your locks? If your coif is crispier than a bucket of KFC, here are four steps you can take to rescue and restore damaged hair.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Mmm… KFC. 🙂

4 Steps to Shiny, Healthy Hair

by Rachel Hayes, Daily Makeover

The key to creating any gorgeous hairstyle is to start with healthy, shiny hair. Guest editor and NYC salon owner Sam Brocato shares his best beauty tips on how to score healthy hair even after months of winter abuse. Sam and his team have worked with countless celebrities including Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, and Claire Danes.

Step 1: Lather Up Gently

Basic winter hair care starts with a gentle shampoo that won’t strip hair of moisture.

Try to shampoo less than 3 times a week and use a dry shampoo in between washings.

If you simply can’t part with a favorite shampoo or daily wash, blend two parts shampoo with one part conditioner for added moisture.

If you’re ready for something new, try a conditioning treatment that has a mild foaming agent like my Brocato Constructor.

Continue reading…

Check out more of the recent beauty coverage on Daily Makeover

  • How to Straighten Your Hair Without Sacrificing Volume
  • Fashion Week: Put a Bang On It
  • 10 Beauty Looks That Will Never Go Out of Style
There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Two Ways to Win MAC’s (SOLD OUT) Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach

February 25th, 2010 by Karen 681 Comments

  • UPDATE: Mar. 1, 2010. The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Jackie! 🙂

And that’s when my father-in-law said something I’ll never forget: “I was traumatized by peaches.”

To clarify, he wasn’t referring to MAC Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach ($25). No, when he spoke those words a few months ago, I’d assumed he was talking about the singer, Peaches, who can be kinda scary, no doubt!

It turns out my father-in-law was talking about a summer job he had as a young man picking peaches.

But I digress…

Ripe Peach, the guest of honor in today’s giveaway, was released with MAC Spring Colour Forecast. Since then it’s become notoriously difficult to find.

If you, too, have been traumatized by peaches — rather by an inability to track this one down — today could be your lucky day! 🙂

The prize

One lucky lady will win MAC Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach (a $25 value), a coral powder blush with a finish that’s about halfway between shimmer and matte.

How to enter…

2ways2enterEntering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. In it, tell me about your current favorite blush.

It’s hard to pick just one, but Blushbaby comes to mind. It’ll always hold a special place in my heart (it was my very first MAC blush). A matte rosy pink with a natural finish, I reach for it when I want a quick, pretty flush.

Follow me
Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to win MAC’s (sold out) Ripe Peach Blush Ombre (a $25 Value) http://bit.ly/8YRBmo

Recap…

  1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
  2. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

    RT @karenmbb: RT to win MAC’s (sold out) Ripe Peach Blush Ombre (a $25 Value) http://bit.ly/8YRBmo

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, February 28.

सौभाग्य!!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

  • UPDATE: Mar. 1, 2010. The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Jackie! 🙂
There are 681 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, MAC Makeup

Is There a Benefit Product You Can’t Live Without?

February 25th, 2010 by Karen 70 Comments

Dear Benefit:

I would if you ever discontinued Creaseless Cream Liner in Birthday Suit ($19).

So don’t. 🙂

Yours in perpetuity,

Karen

On me (NC35) this shimmery champagne cream shadow is like getting three extra hours of shuteye, and I can even apply it without a brush, haaay! Ah, to be a lazy makeup beast…

How about you? Is there a Benefit product you can’t live without?

Some conversation starters…

  • The Benefits of Benefit’s Confessions of a Concealaholic Kit
  • Benefit’s Bathina Body Balm Gets a Makeover for Spring
  • Benefit Spring 2010 Limited Edition Velvet Eyeshadows
  • Benefit Confessions of a Concealaholic
  • Benefit Sugarbomb: The Zero-Calorie, Super Sheer Blush
  • Benefit Stay Don’t Stray Primer for Eyeshadow and Concealer
  • Benefit Celebutante: Helping Me Face the Day

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 70 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Feb. 22

February 22nd, 2010 by Karen 125 Comments

  1. Mood:
  2. Pretty spiffy. I feel good about this week.

  3. A beauty product you couldn’t live without?
  4. Tweezerman tweezers! Without ’em I’d have chin hairs long enough to braid.

  5. Socks with high heels — yay or nay?
  6. In high fashion mags, yay; worn by me? Nay.

  7. Your beverage this morning?
  8. A mug of piping hot green tea with honey.

  9. Eyes/lips/cheeks:
  10. I’m like Switzerland today (feeling neutral): MAC Woodwinked, Soft Brown and Ricepaper eyeshadows, MAC Blacktrack Fluidline, Dior Extase Mascara/Chanel Rouge Coco Mademoiselle 05 lipstick/MAC Blushbaby blush.

  11. What makeup do you have in your purse right now?
  12. Surprisingly, not a lot (or is it?): Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Grapefruit, NARS Sweet Revenge Lipgloss and MAC Cremestick Pearl Liner in Gingerroot. I’ve also got a couple of makeup-related accessories — Sonia Kashuk Blotting Papers and a Sally Hansen Cuticle Pen.

  13. What was the highlight of your weekend?
  14. I slept for 10 glorious hours on Saturday!!

  15. When was the last time you went shopping for makeup?
  16. Last Thursday. I went to Nordstrom and Bloomingdales and messed around with some lipsticks, foundations and the new Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess collection.

  17. Outfit:
  18. I wanted to look good for Tabs today so I put on the green Calvin Klein dress I found at Marshall’s last night. 🙂 It’s a little wrinkly in the pic at the top; I probably should have ironed it first.

  19. Weekly goals:
  20. Don’t get any further behind on e-mails, keep a positive attitude, eat lots of fiber (LOL!) and *smile* no matter what.

It’s horror-film foggy up here today, babes. It’s thicker than mashed potatoes and kinda scary! Good thing I’ve got 15 pounds of Tabby on my lap to protect me… Tabs waves a sleepy hello, by the way.

Before you get to your regular Monday bidness, take a sec to say hi. 🙂 You know how we do it. Just copy the list below, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le list

1. Mood:
2. A beauty product you couldn’t live without?
3. Socks with high heels — yay or nay?
4. Today’s morning beverage?
5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:
6. What makeup do you have in your purse right now?
7. The highlight of your weekend?
8. When was the last time you went window shopping for makeup?
9. Outfit:
10. Weekly goals:

Have a great Monday, gals, and may you kick some serious arse!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 125 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 75

February 21st, 2010 by Karen 20 Comments


Click the pic for a LARGER version

The image above is a mosaic of Tabs made from MBB reader gravatars. Wait — what’s a gravatar? They’re little thumbnail images that appear next to your comments on blogs. I wish you had one because I think they look cool and make blogs feel more like home. Anywho, they’re free and easy to make if you want one.

Tabs is still working on his… He’s such a diva that he can’t settle on just one, so he’s going to use a different gravatar every day of the week.

In other news, I just got back from Marshalls where I found a really cute green dress on sale (I don’t even have buyer’s remorse!). I’ll post a pic soon. Right now I’m eating a Luna Bar and looking up movie times for tonight. 🙂

Ladies, I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood to skip Monday. Can’t we just start the week on Tuesday instead?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 20 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun Keywords: tabs

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day

February 21st, 2010 by Karen 6 Comments

I’m so excited (and I just can’t hide it)! I’m about to lose control, and I think I like it. What’s up, ladies? Are you raging against the machine today or just taking it easy like Sunday morning? I’m tempted to spill the beans about a project I’ve been working on that’s almost ready for prime time … but I shouldn’t. Soon, though, hopefully within the next few days. All I can say now is that it’s something a lot of you have asked me to do more often. 🙂

Are you doing anything fun today? I’m thinking about catching a movie with Tabs. He wants to see Shutter Island… I figure Leonardo and Scorsese teaming up again HAS to be good, right?

Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

D&G’s Swide Magazine is more than just another company blog. Sure, it covers the company’s seasonal collections and shows around the world, but it was their original beauty and fashion features like Inside Yves Saint Laurent’s secret Moroccan garden that made me want to bookmark the site.

juicystar07 on YouTube

Blair’s got a flair for makeup and hair, and her YouTube videos are some of the best I’ve ever seen, particularly her hair vids, which I love. I think her makeup style is more my speed, too, than a lot of the others I’ve seen. I like that she doesn’t only work with bright, crazy bold combos; she also does some very wearable neutral looks that I can actually see myself wearing to the library.

Fashion Templates

Fashion Templates might not seem cool to anyone else but me, but if you’re interested in fashion design or just plain drawing in general, there’s some pretty awesome stuff on the site. The site sells those outline fashion templates designers sometimes use. They’re cheap too (about $1 each). And the Free Tutorials section of the site has tuts on fashion illustration, storyboarding, finding inspiration and fashion education, as well as practical drawing advice for tricky body parts like faces and hands.

Record Tripping – A Bell Brothers Game

LOLZ! This game is sooo cute! Okay, it took me a couple levels to get the hang of it, but now I’m scratching records and passing levels like DJ Jazzy Karen.

[Continue reading…]

There are 6 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Saturday Surfing

February 20th, 2010 by Karen 12 Comments


Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

I hope you’ve been maxing and relaxing today. I’ve still got a hella long list of really boring (but totally necessary) things to do like cleaning the cat’s litter box, doing the grocery shopping and preparing food for the week, HUZZAH!

And it’s still all kinds of cold and gray outside… Methinks a bowl of chicken noodle soup is in order. While I stir the pot, here’s a look at the sites I surfed this afternoon.

Random bright spots

  • How to match your lipstick and accessories (without looking dorky) — Bella Sugar
  • Practice radical self-love — Gala Darling
  • Eyes sure are *shimmering* this fall — The Cut Blog
  • Doesn’t the teal POP in this lovely neutral eye? — Temptalia
  • What stands out the most in this picture? — The Notice
  • The 4 best hair looks from Fashion Week — Allure Daily Beauty Reporter Blog
  • Alexander McQueen, A Life of Shoes 2003-2010 — Imelda The Despotic Queen of Shoes
  • Illustrated pictures of celebrity Tweets — Museum of Modern Tweets
  • How to live 100 Years — Time.com
  • MAC fiends, can you name this release? NOTE: This is NOT a painting — Guitar at LLC
  • 20 unholy recipes: dishes so awful we had to make them — St. Louis Food Blog
  • Help! I’m drowning in email! — Zen Habits

New in stores

  • Yves Saint Laurent claims Noir Radical Luxurious Mascara ($30) looks like false lashes
  • Take self-tanning to infinity (and beyond) with the Luminess Tanning System ($149)
  • Paging Dr. Dry Skin: “Laura Mercier’s Perfecting Water in Rich ($38) is supposed to help moisture penetrate deeper in the skin
  • Sue Devitt’s Hydrating Marine Minerals Eye Palette in Solomon Islands ($38) has a hydrating formula and long-lasting color
  • Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Mascara Duos ($11) add length, volume and color to lashes — available in blue, green and brown
  • Speaking o’ Physicians Formula, these Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls ($14) and Healthy Wear SPF 50 Powder Foundation ($15) look kinda neat…
  • What do you think of the new packaging for Bath and Body’s Sweet Pea and Moonlight Path?
  • The Hot for Dots Matchbox Itty Bitty Files ($4) look SUPER CUTE! And they’re tiny enough to keep in your pocketbook
  • Bonjour, Sephora Lush Flush
  • Tarte says their creamy Cheek Tint ($30) hides fine lines and wrinkles

Welcome to my world

This looks like fun

Check out the face closeups at 1:30, ha ha!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

What Are You Wearing on Your Nails Today?

February 19th, 2010 by Karen 49 Comments

TGIF, rockstars! Congrats on making it to the weekend, *raises teacup.* Just a quick polish check in — I’m wearing China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy ($6.50) on my fingers and toes, ’cause I want to pretend it’s summer. How about you?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Speaking of nail polish, Illamasqua’s hosting a contest to create their next hot Nail Varnish colors.

Submit an image, photograph and/or swatch of your dream color along with a description of it in 50 words or less. Tell ’em what inspired you and why the shade should be one of Illamasqua’s next polishes (one entry per person, please).

From February 21 through March 14, send your entry via e-mail to competition@illamasqua.com; bloggers who post an entry on their sites can send their link to competition@illamasqua.com. Snail mail more your thang? Send your entry to Competition c/o Illamasqua, 6-8 Amwell Street, London, EC1R 1UQ.

On May 5, two winners will be selected to see their dream colors created and sold exclusively online at Illamasqua.com and at select Selfridges department stores in England. They’ll also get a bottle of their winning colors before anyone else. Kinda cool, yah?

There are 49 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Nails

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

Makeup and Beauty Blog features daily product reviews, makeup tips and beauty news — like an interactive version of a monthly print magazine, except with occasional pictures of my cat.

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