• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To MakeupMakeup 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

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
    • Advertising & Media
  • Categories
    • Product Reviews
    • Makeup
    • Skincare & Fragrance
    • Style & Fashion
    • Hair
    • Nails
    • Tips & Tutorials
    • Just for Fun
  • Brands
  • Store

Just For Fun

Cats “In Style” For Spring 2010

October 9th, 2009 by Karen 9 Comments

In this guest post today, literary Lothario, Tabs, of Party With Tabs, waxes philosophic on a top spring 2010 fashion trend.

It's Tabs, B*tchezzzz!

Haaay, b*tchezzz.

Tabs here, reporting live from Novato, California. Blog cutbacks forced a change in plans, and I wasn’t able to cover Paris Fashion Week in person.

But I’ve still got the scoop, and it’s all about the runway at the Miu Miu Spring 2010 show. Did you see all those cats?

miu-miu-cats-1

Cat silhouettes on skirts, shirts and shoes! Kitty appliques on purses and collars! Finally, felines are GETTING THEIRS. It’s about ‘effin time, yo.

My editor (I see her more as an assistant) canceled my credit cards, claiming something about “responsible spending.” Whatev. Good taste comes at a price.

Which reminds me — It’s time to update my kitty couture wardrobe for spring.

kitty-couture-forever-21
Kitty Cat Top by Heritage 1981 ($17, available at Forever 21)

Ooh la la…

keyboard-cat-tee
Keyboard Cat Tee ($20, available at Threadless)

Le sigh… It ain’t Miuccia Prada, but it’s “affordable.” That’s a word my human captor/editor/assistant seems to like.

Peace out,

Tabs

When he isn’t globetrotting, jet-setting or reporting for Makeup and Beauty Blog, Tabs can be found over at Party With Tabs. He knows he should post more updates and plans to in the near future (lacking opposable thumbs has made typing difficult). He loves gravy, things covered in rhinestones, and long pieces of ribbon. 🙂

There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, News

The Benefits of Benefit Holiday 2009

October 8th, 2009 by Karen 24 Comments

benefit-holiday-2009-best-of-sets

Sweeeeet! EVEN MORE holiday goodness coming at ‘cha, this time from Benefit Cosmetics.

Remember their Crescent Row fragrance sets and makeup kits? If they caught your eye, check out the company’s Holiday 2009 sets.

The Glam Eyes, Sexy Starlet and Tainted Love sets each come with heavily discounted Benefit bestsellers (full sizes, not samples) like…

Glam Idol Best of Benefit Set

What: Four pieces for face, lips and cheeks.
How much: $60 (but it’s a $74 value)
Where: Check your local Benefit counter or browse online
What you get:

  • That Gal Primer
  • California Kissin Lip Shine
  • Posie Tint Lip and Cheek Stain (LOVE!)
  • A stylin’ clutch purse

Sexy Starlet Best of Benefit Set

What:A sassy set four-piece set for face, cheeks and eyes.
How much: $58 (a $74 value)
Where: Benefit counters and online
What you get:

  • Coralista Cheek Powder
  • Some Kinda-a Gorgeous Oil-Free Foundation
  • Badgal Lash Mascara
  • A cute clutch purse

Tinted Love

What: A two-piece set for lips and eyes.
How much: $38 (a $58 value)
Where: Exclusively at Sephora stores and online
What you get:

  • Benetint Lip and Cheek Stain
  • Pocket Pal (a double-ended duo; one side with Benetint and the other a clear gloss)

🙂 I love the holidays and all of the cool cosmetics sets that drop. Considering that each of these comes with full-size products, they seem like pretty good bargains.

Speaking of bargains, I think I’m addicted to Hulu.com. I’d heard about it from different people, but until this week I had no idea they had so many shows! It almost makes cable unnecessary, right?
[Continue reading…]

There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Makeup

What’s Your Least Favorite Beauty Ritual?

October 7th, 2009 by Karen 53 Comments

100709-least-favorite-beauty-ritual

No matter how many times I’ve done it myself at home, hair coloring is just not one of my talents.

It’s like I’m finger painting with dye all over my face, the bathroom, my clothes… sometimes even a little in my hair. 🙂

Lovely.

Wouldn’t be so bad if the end results were better, but they’re usually a little off, with overly dark patches here and there.

That’s why I look forward to those rare trips to the salon to get my roots done. I’ll mark appointments on my calendar weeks out.

It’s definitely a splurge… I could save money by always coloring at home, but the results with a pro’s help are just so much better than mine. I tell myself it’s cool as long as I do my own waxing and painting my nails.

What’s the bane of your beauty existence? Is it shaving, plucking, coloring or painting your nails? Do you wish someone else could exercise for you? Would you rather face hordes of ravenous zombies than have to pluck your eyebrows? What’s your least favorite beauty ritual and why?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 53 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Is Whitney Wearing Lancome’s Indigo Paris Nail Polish?

October 7th, 2009 by Karen 45 Comments

the-city

Fellow nail polish nerds, did any of y’all spy Whitney’s blue nails on last night’s episode of The City? I am CONVINCED my girl Whit was rocking Lancome’s Indigo Paris, a favorite of mine for fall.

whitney-the-city-nails-1

Can I reality TV dish with you for a sec?

It’s about The Hills and The City, two of MTV’s most progressive and enlightening programs, LOL!

LOVE The City, but I barely made it through five minute of The Hills before I had to look away.

I can’t suspend disbelief anymore when it comes to the Kristin/Justin Bobby/Audrina love triangle. It just feels kinda … fake, like a really bad counterfeit purse, ugh!

whitney-the-city-nails-2

That, and I think my Speidi cup hath runneth over. I can’t take those two anymore. They made me choke on a meatball — that’s how angry I was.

After coughing it up (it even caught air and launched across the room), I said a prayer of thanks and pledged to live a Speidi-free lifestyle from now on.

Thank goodness The City was actually pretty entertaining. Whit’s fabulous blue nails were hawt! 🙂

They’re visible toward the end of the episode. Whitney and her new frenemy/roommate, Roxy, are sitting at work, discussing the previous day’s photo shoot.

whitney-the-city-nails-3

I could totally be wrong, but isn’t her polish a dead ringer for Lancome’s Indigo Paris ($18)?

lancome declaring indigo le vernis indigo paris 2
[Continue reading…]

There are 45 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Nails, News

Bloggeratti Spotlight

October 7th, 2009 by Karen 10 Comments

The Beauty Bloggerati

    Bailey Vincent Clark of Makeover Momma

  • A five second makeup routine — Makeover Mama
  • Estee Lauder makes over your social media profile picture— Product Girl
  • Cynthia Nixon’s looking very 80s on the Sex & the City set — The Jet Set Girls
  • Lancome’s Juicy Tubes Pure gloss looks like a winner — Beyond Beauty Basics
  • Bracelets that help tone your arms? I’m on it! — A Mom in Red High Heels
  • Ever wonder what makeup the True Blood ladies wear? — Beauty Blogging Junkie
  • How to get Khole Kardashian’s bridal glow — Spoiled Pretty
  • What a difference some bangs make — Hair Thursday
  • MAC Style Black Q&A with MAC Senior Artist Terry Barber — Talking Makeup
  • Are you a Dior Diva? — Makeup Bag

Good morning! It looks like it’s going to be a sunny day out here at the edge of the earth, aka the land where wild turkeys run free.

Even though the new place is farther away from San Francisco (where my heart permanently resides), the sunrise here has the city beat.

When the sun stretches over the horizon, hundreds of red, orange and gold shades stream through the windows and dance against the walls. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

Early this morning Tabs and I gazed out the living room window and watched the colors drench the sleepy hills in the distance. Well, I admired the hills. He stared the neighbor’s Siamese down, thuggish-ruggish style.

Speaking of The Hills, did anybody watch it last night? We still haven’t set up our TV and I’m missing all my trashy reality shows.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Makeup and Beauty Blog: Random Acts of Beauty, Vol. 2

October 6th, 2009 by Karen 29 Comments

urban-decay-rocks-per-aspera

One girl. 24 hours. Three random acts of beauty.

7:00 a.m. — I’m jolted awake by bongo drums from my iPhone’s alarm, but instead of feeling refreshed, I feel fussy, foggy-headed and confused.

The past 72 hours have been exhausting — scrubbing, lifting, driving, packing and moving until the wee hours every night. Making matters worse (at least emotionally), I haven’t eaten well, haven’t showered enough and have a lethal case of PMS. 🙂

I slink from bed and lumber to the bathroom, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

What I see before me in the mirror frightens me… It’s a creature akin to a zombie, but with worse skin, and dark half moons beneath its eyes. They mock me and I wonder, “Will I be able to keep it together today?”

I want to be funny and interesting and friendly, but that’s not how I feel.

Brushing the fuzz from my teeth, I notice the Urban Decay Rocks kit ($18, new for Holiday 2009) sitting beside me on the bathroom sink. I don’t remember setting it there… Perhaps it was left by an angel.

The kit contains little gold, silver and iridescent glue-on crystals, along with a tube of glue. Despite my appearance, I glue three of them onto the side of my left eye.

urban-decay-rocks

Wow… *BLING*

urban-decay-rocks-hello-bling

“Girl,” I say to the bedazzled zombie before me, “you ain’t no Hemingway, but you WORK those crystals and ratty pajamas. WORK!”

12:37 p.m. — I’m weeping on my knees in the kitchen.
[Continue reading…]

There are 29 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Two Ways to Win MAC Style Black Seriously Hip Nail Lacquer

October 6th, 2009 by Karen 176 Comments

The giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted. Please check the home page for current giveaways.

mac-style-black-seriously-hip-giveaway

BEEP! BEEP! More MAC Style Black coming atcha. 🙂

Today’s giveaway features Seriously Hip, another one of the Nail Lacquers from the collection.

The prize

One lucky lady will receive a bottle of MAC Nail Lacquer in Seriously Hip (a $12 value), a shimmery black with flecks of golden glitter.

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 something that always makes you feel hip.

This one’s easy! 🙂 Ain’t nothin’ out there makes me feel hip like a cute pair of high heels.

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

RT @karenmbb: RT to MAC Style Black Seriously Hip Nail Lacquer http://bit.ly/QT4tB

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 MAC Style Black Seriously Hip Nail Lacquer http://bit.ly/QT4tB

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Wednesday, October 7.

Maika’i Pomaika’i!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted. Please check the home page for current giveaways.

There are 176 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, MAC Makeup

Penelope Cruz: Her Best Hair?

October 5th, 2009 by Karen 13 Comments

penelope-cruz-hair-poll-2

Actress Penelope Cruz (born Penelope Cruz Sanchez on April 28, 1974) is getting hitched!

News broke of her engagement to actor Javier Bardem (aka the scary dude in No Country For Old Men) today.

The two starred together in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a film that helped snag her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress last year.

I wonder what her hair will look like on the big day. Penelope likes to change her look by adding highlights, varying the length or switching the texture from straight to curly, so you never know.

Which of Penelope's hairstyles do you like best?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 13 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 568
  • Go to page 569
  • Go to page 570
  • Go to page 571
  • Go to page 572
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 651
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog

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.

Recent Posts

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 878

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 894

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 893

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 892

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 891

/* real people should not fill this in and expect good things – do not remove this or risk form bot signups */

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Featured Posts

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 771

Lady Unicorn

Weird Things I Like to Do

brows fill out beforehand

Before You Pluck or Wax Your Brows, You Must Do This

current bare skin status

What’s One Thing That Drastically Changed Your Skin for the Better?

Copyright © 2025 Makeup and Beauty Blog. Get in touch.