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Just For Fun

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, June 7

June 7th, 2009 by Karen 2 Comments

Freestyle Tabs

Tabs came home this morning covered in sand and smelling of beer and sunscreen. While he slept it off in the corner, I looked through the browsing history on his iPhone. 🙂

Here are some of the links he bookmarked this week…

  • What would it be like to wear a rainbow to the beach?
  • Here’s how to pinch mad pennies with RECESSION HAIR!
  • I dig the look and feel of this short film by Christian Dior (starring Marion Cotillard of La Vie en Rose).
  • Washing is for squares, yo. Why not skip the suds and rock the dirty hair look instead?
  • I wonder how much time I spend surfing for websites to help me be more productive…
  • It’s the perfect excuse to break some lipstick!🙂
  • Louis Vuitton’s new ad campaign to mark the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing on the moon is a little “out there.”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 2 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun Keywords: tabs

Comment to Win MAC Style Warrior Brave New Bronze Lipstick

June 7th, 2009 by Karen 177 Comments

This giveaway is closed! Thank you for entering. I’ll be contacting the winner by e-mail soon.

mac style warrior brave new bronze

Good morning, glories. 🙂

How’d you sleep?

I’ve only been awake for a few minutes, which means I’m nowhere near awake yet, LOL!

The coffee is brewing, and I’m sitting here at my computer desk, catching up on the news…

The New York Times has a fascinating article about beauty schools and how the curriculum has changed over the past 20 years.

Tabs is stretched out on the floor under my chair and purring loudly. He’s getting a massage from my toes.

I just remembered — I have a birthday coming up this week, whoa! Yup, I’m heading full speed towards my mid-30s.

Age is a funny thing, ladies…

I have a better understanding of myself and the world around me than I had in my 20s, but I’m becoming more resistant to change, more set in my ways. I used to be more willing to take risks! — with my career, my hobbies, travel, you name it.

I think that adventurous girl’s still in there somewhere, but she is getting harder to find.

I hope I’m brave enough to take some chances this year…

Brave like the name of the prize in today’s MAC Style Warrior giveaway!

The prize

One lucky lady will win a tube of creamy MAC Style Warrior Brave New Bronze Lipstick (a $14 value).

How to enter

To enter, please leave a comment below describing the bravest thing you’ve ever done or plan to do soon.

Tell me about your biggest leap of faith or greatest act of courage, a choice that changed your life or took a lot of guts for you to do.

I went skydiving about 10 years ago.

Sometimes I can’t believe I went through with it. They had me sign a waiver where the words “death and dismemberment” came up repeatedly, LOL! But I did it.

Now, whenever something scares or intimidates me, I tell myself, “Karen, you jumped out of a plane. This isn’t half as scary as that.”

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59PM PST Monday night.

Good luck, my brave friends! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I had a blast at yesterday’s NARS event in the city. I’m prepping some pictures and tips and will post them very soon.

This giveaway is closed! Thank you for entering. I’ll be contacting the winner by e-mail soon.

There are 177 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

YOU MUST CHOOSE: The Tough Choices Edition

June 5th, 2009 by Karen 56 Comments

makeup-and-beauty-blog-kanye-glasses-final

If you were forced to do one or the other 24/7 for an entire year (to job interviews, prom, the beach, your wedding…), would you rather 1) have to wear a combination of knee-high leg warmers and slitted Kanye West glasses OR 2) have porcelain veneer vampire fangs?

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

hella-hairy1

For a period of one year, would you rather 1) give up toilet paper OR 2) refrain from all forms of body hair removal?

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

speidi-at-taco-hell

Would you rather 1) have your hair go suddenly and completely gray OR 2) have to accompany Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag on a cross country road trip in a car without air conditioning or radio?

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

karen-and-tabs-sleeping-on-couch

Would you rather 1) have to give your pet(s) up for adoption (TABS!) OR 2) have to eat nothing but earthworms (they are high in protein) and carrots for the next three years?

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

kfed-with-pimp-cup

If you had to choose, which of the following men would be your baby daddy: Kevin Federline, Michael Jackson or Bobby Brown?

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

i-will-not-break-your-heart
Photo by Dawn Endico

While having lunch with a friend, you run into your ex — you know, the one who totally crushed your heart. You’re single now and look totally smokin’ HAWT. The chemistry’s still there; your ex asks you out to dinner, but you *know* it’s just a front to start things up again.

Do you say yes to dinner OR no thanks?

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

C’mon, you know you wanna play YOU MUST CHOOSE! Just copy the list below, and paste it with your answers in the comments. 🙂

The Tough Choices Edition

1. The knee-high leg warmers/Kanye West glasses combo OR porcelain veneer vampire fangs?
2. Give up toilet paper OR all forms of body hair removal?
3. Overnight gray hair OR Speidi road trip?
4. Pet adoption OR earthworm/carrot diet for three years?
5. Baby daddy: K-Fed, Michael Jackson or Bobby Brown?
6. Your ex wants you back: yes or no?

Let the weekend begin!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 56 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Comment to Win MAC Style Warrior Purple Rite Lipstick

June 5th, 2009 by Karen 232 Comments

The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

mac style warrior purple rite

Yes! We made it to Friday, haaay!

I wish we could all take a long lunch together, hang out at the MAC counter and talk about our weekends while drooling over makeup…

I’m starved, but before we go, let’s hold a Friday giveaway!

The prize

One lucky lady will win a tube of frosty MAC Style Warrior Purple Rite Lipstick (a $14 value). 🙂

How to enter

Entering is supa dupa easy. Just leave a comment describing your plans for the weekend.

I’m attending a NARS event at Nordstrom, and then El Hub is taking me to a baseball game tomorrow night.

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59PM PST Saturday night.

행운!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is now closed, and I’m contacting the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

There are 232 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, MAC Makeup

Should Makeup Be Tax Deductible as a Business Expense if Wearing It Meant Earning More Money at Work?

June 4th, 2009 by Karen 26 Comments

Business woman in makeup

A new study published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management shows that makeup can boost a woman’s earning potential by a whopping 25 percent!

Researchers studied 186 men and 98 women who all lunched alone in the same restaurant, served by two waitresses aged 19 and 20.

After a beautician applied makeup to the waitresses, male customers were 70 percent more likely to leave a tip, and the average size of each tip rose by 25 percent.

The addition of makeup had virtually no effect on the amount of tips that female customers left, but the researchers said the results had implications for all women in the workplace.

Psychologist Ingrid Collins of the London Medical Centre said men tipped the made-up waitresses more because they appeared more alluring — and also because cosmetics made them seem more “child-like and needy…”

OUCH!

“It makes men feel they need to be masculine and tipping, providing for this need, does that rather well.”

Or, did the women wearing makeup just look cleaner, tidier, more confident and organized?

What do you think? Would you wear makeup if it meant earning more money at work?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 26 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

New from NARS: What Would You Get?

June 3rd, 2009 by Karen 80 Comments

nars-loves-san-francisco-top
Ladies, do ya ever go through makeup phases? Right now I’m having a serious NARS moment!

It’s like I physically can’t stop myself from reaching for Supervixen lip gloss, The Multiple Orgasm (ha!) and the Modern Love palette every morning. Call me crazy, but I’ve been hearting all three so much I might as well attach ’em to my body. 🙂

I guess that it’s no surprise today’s sesh of WHAT WOULD YOU GET, which features new limited edition NARS items, killed me a little softly. It was so hard to decide!

WHAT WOULD YOU GET works like this — you check out the pictures, read through the product descriptions and then tell me in the comments what you’d like to take home for your virtual haul.

Option one: a smokin’ hawt set of vintage NARS nail polishes

nars-vintage-nail-polishes

To celebrate their 15th anniversary this year, NARS recently resurrected five old school NARS Nail Polish favorites ($16 each).

  • Cha Cha: a semi-sheer tangerine with golden shimmer
  • Hunger: a creamy orangey red
  • Zizi: a clear peach with golden glitter
  • Tallulah: a creamy dark plum
  • Blue Lagoon: a shimmery powder blue

Isn’t that purple to die for?

NARS nail polishes are thin and apply with rich, non-streaky color. The polish resists chipping well and lasts a long time, too.

Option two: The NARS Loves San Francisco Set

nars-loves-san-francisco-set

NARS plus my favorite city (*please* don’t call it Frisco) equals makeup nirvana. This extremely limited edition set features four previously released NARS products re-christened with names inspired by San Francisco ($75).

  • Angel Island Single Eye Shadow: a sparkly lavender
  • Golden Gate Bridge Highlighter/Cheek Color: a bright, yellowish gold
  • Haight Ashbury Eye Shadow Duo: a light matte gray and a shimmery pale green
  • Alamo Nail Polish: a shimmery, bronzey cream

[Continue reading…]

There are 80 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Makeup

Comment to Win MAC Style Warrior Bright Future Eyeshadow

June 3rd, 2009 by Karen 189 Comments

This giveaway is closed! Thank you for entering. I’ll be contacting the winner soon.

060309-mac-style-warrior-bright-future

If the summer sun hasn’t brightened your corner of the world yet, MAC’s Bright Future eyeshadow may be able to help.

One of five shadows in the new MAC Style Warrior collection, it’s a vibrant yellow — almost like a slice of summer in the pan.

If Mother Nature isn’t cooperating and you need a summer sunshine fix, enter today’s giveaway! 🙂

The prize

One lucky lady will win a pan of frosty, golden MAC Style Warrior Bright Future eyeshadow (a $14.50 value).

How to enter

It only takes a second to enter (well, a few seconds). Just leave a quick comment on this post letting me know something that always brightens your day.

A big cup of coffee, an upbeat song and well-behaved hair are all things that brighten my day!

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59PM PST Thursday night.

Noroc!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

This giveaway is closed! Thank you for entering. I’ll be contacting the winner soon.

There are 189 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, MAC Makeup

What’s Your Hot Weather Makeup Routine?

June 2nd, 2009 by Karen 56 Comments

self-tanning

I *loves* me some hot weather, but extreme heat and/or humidity wreak havoc on my makeup.

MBB reader Sara knows where I’m coming from, and she’s hoping we can help her with a few makeup tips to beat the heat.

I live on the East Coast (New Jersey), and it’s starting to get warmer out. What’s the best summer makeup, and what works best for minimal/warm weather coverage?

I found myself blotting my makeup off the other day because it was so hot, and I was sweating.

Sara

Hi Sara,

First off, when it’s REALLY hot outside, I stick to minimal makeup.

Here’s a routine I started doing a few years back while living in a town called Davis (go Ags!). Temps there would often reach triple digits. People would call it “hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk!”

I never gave that a try, but I always wanted to. 🙂

My “It’s Getting Hawt in Here” Makeup Routine

  1. It all starts with a great sunscreen. Then, I fill in my brows and conceal my dark circles.
  2. Next, to brighten my eyes, I curl my lashes and apply two coats of a waterproof mascara (I usually go with waterproof mascara when it’s hot out) like Stila Lash Visor, and if I have the time, I’ll also line my upper lash line with a black waterproof eyeliner like Benefit Bad Gal Waterproof Liner.
  3. For a little color in my life, I’ll dot some liquid blush on my face, and I really like Benefit’s Benetint on my cheeks, blended in with my fingers. I like liquid blushes because they seem to outlast creams or powder blushes in uber-intense heat.
  4. I usually wear both powder AND a tinted moisturizer, but not when it’s hot. It just feels too heavy. Instead, I’ll skip both, but in their place I’ll bring along some blotting papers like MAC Blot to cut down on the shine throughout the day.
  5. I’ll finish with a sheer lipgloss on my lips, something like Chanel Aqualumiere Lipglosses for work or Neutrogena MoistureShine Lip Soothers for play.

Lovelies, what’s your take on summer makeup? Do you change your routine when it heats up outside? What can Sara do with her makeup to breeze through the Jersey summer in style?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 56 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Makeup Tips/How To

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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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