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Just For Fun

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, July 15

July 15th, 2008 by Karen 15 Comments

Flying Saucer
I wish I had a tricked out flying saucer that could zip me over to the UK for shopping trips. I’d love to meet UK fashion and beauty blogger Selina Jervis. On her awesome Flying Saucer blog, she displays her daily fashion adventures in all their photographic glory, and she sounds like a cool person, too. Don’t fear flying saucers, yo!
flyingsaucer

The Daily Cookie
If you need a dose of sweetness, head over to The Daily Cookie. Lilan blogs about all things beauty and spices it up with reality TV talk, recipes and restaurant reviews. If you’re having a rough day, she’s always there with kind words to cheer you up.
thedailycookie

Specktra Beauty News
A stellar blog for breaking MAC news, Specktra Beauty News is an extension of the busy Specktra makeup forums. The Specktra beauty girls preview and review the full gamut of makeup and beauty products, but they excel at covering MAC.
specktrablog

Snarkstress
OMG! Did you hear Brangelina had their twins? I just read about it on Snarkstress.com. Liberty Kontranowski dishes on celebrity gossip ala Us Weekly (one of my secret favorites). I can always count on Snarkstress to give me the scoop.
snarkstress
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There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, July 14

July 14th, 2008 by Karen 82 Comments

  1. Mood: Ready for battle. It’s going to be a hectic week at work, but I’m giving it my best shot 🙂
  2. Cheeks: MAC Cosmetics Sunbasque blush
  3. Fragrance: Can Can by Paris Hilton
  4. Sweet tooth: Meyer lemon cupcakes from Kara’s Cupcakes
  5. Celeb crush: LOL, you already know this answer
  6. Makeup crush: Dior AirFlash foundation and the Becca Avalon palette
  7. Outfit: White and navy blue striped seersucker pants, navy blue tank top, white cotton blazer
  8. Hair: Yep, it’s still dark (I’m not yet used to the new/old color). Today I’m wearing it down in loose waves.
  9. Songs of the day: Izzo by Jay-Z (lovin’ ya, Jigga!); No Air by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
  10. Goals for the week: To rise to the challenge and to ROCK IT!

Your turn! Just copy the list, insert your answers and leave ’em for me in the comments. 🙂

Le list

Mood:
Cheeks:
Fragrance:
Sweet tooth:
Celeb crush:
Makeup crush:
Outfit:
Hair:
Song of the day:
Goals for the week:

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 82 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Retro Roundup: This Time Last Year

July 13th, 2008 by Karen 10 Comments

  • The 2007 American Beauty Tour
    “Eye pencils are emollient, which means that after you apply the pencil, it always moves around unless you set it with shadow or powder. You don’t have to set your eyeliner with the same color. Try layering it with different colors to get added dimension.”
  • Final Night of San Francisco Fashion Week 2007: Backstage Makeup Tips from 5 MAC Artists
    “Always make sure you blend out your liner whenever you are using a dramatic look with color. If you’re wearing eye shadow color, use a 212 brush to blend out your line to make it more smoky and smudged right by the lash line.”
  • Face of the Day: An Easy Day Look with MAC Mulch Shadow
    “I’m kind of clumsy, so I like to do eyes first. That way if I totally screw up I don’t have to bother with re-doing foundation, powder, blush, etc. I also do this because inevitably there will always be niblets of shadow all over the place, and I like to swipe the under eye area clean before applying concealer.”
  • Face of the Day: Minimal Makeup for Busy (or Lazy!) Days
    “I’ve been super busy lately, so I’ve gotten my makeup routine down to three (YES THREE!) minutes. In this pic above, it took me less than ten minutes to get from completely ready, including hair, makeup and clothes.”
  • Fabulous Post-Vacation Skin and Hair Products to the Rescue!
    “Incredible Spreadable Scrub plus exfoliating gloves from Parissa equals skin smoother than a baby’s butt. Seriously. Incredible Spreadable Scrub is a salt and olive oil based exfoliator, so if you have open cuts or just got waxed don’t use it cause it will hurt like a mofo. But if your post-vacay skin needs some serious scrubbing then this gets the job done.”
  • Makeup and Beauty Blog’s Beach Essentials
    “Most experts recommend reading the list of ingredients to look for two things. The first is to see if it [sunscreen] has broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) coverage. The second is to see if the broad-spectrum sunscreen contains avobenzone, titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide. These ingredients provide significant UVA protection.”

It’s been yet another wonderfully mellow Sunday, and I’m sad to see the weekend slip away. Right after my run this morning, El Hub and I headed to Jamba Juice (seriously, just rename it Jamba Crack already) and then waited in line for 20 minutes at the Apple store to see the new iPhone. ‘Tis a fine piece of technology, I must say.
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There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Beauty Watch 2009: Upcoming Trends

July 11th, 2008 by Karen 28 Comments


According to a recent article in Women’s Wear Daily (subscription required), eight trends will set the tone for beauty in 2009.

  1. High Impact Makeup Colors: Bold colors for lips, eyes and cheeks
  2. Budget Luxury: Getting the latest looks on the cheap
  3. Do It Yourself: At home waxing, hair coloring and laser hair removal
  4. Makeup as Jewelry: Beauty products as fashion accessories
  5. Bright Nail Colors: Bold nails are back
  6. Messy Updos and Buns: Sloppy chic
  7. Real Women Have Curves: Love your body
  8. Organic Beauty: Go green without sacrificing quality

I think all of these are pretty accurate, but I’m surprised they didn’t talk about matte makeup looks. I have a feeling matte is coming back in a big way.

Do you predict any upcoming beauty trends that aren’t listed here? What did the experts miss?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 28 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, News

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, July 10

July 10th, 2008 by Karen 9 Comments

Imelda
It’s not unusual to like shoes. I like shoes. Most women do. But Imelda (yes, in honor of that very same one) doesn’t just like shoes — no, with them she defines her very existence and life itself!
imelda

Raging Rouge
Jen always gets the scoop on the best cosmetics and beauty bargains. How does she do it? Ya got me, but if Sephora.com is offering 10% off all purchases with a coupon code, Jen will know about it. She’s a top beauty blogger with an eye for detail and someone you can turn to for accurate news.
ragingrouge

Total Beauty
Total Beauty burst onto the beauty scene less than a year ago, and in that time they’ve become one of the top, corporate-backed health and beauty e-magazines for women. Product reviews, how-tos and quick tips, samples and contests, message boards and a section dedicated to beauty, health and fashion blogs — Total Beauty has a lot to offer.
totalbeauty

Crazy Blind Date
Crazy Blind Date likes to keep things simple. On very short notice they can set you up on quick dates with total strangers at public places like bars and coffee shops (safety first!). You’re not allowed to see their picture or even communicate with your dates beforehand. Yes, it’s risky, but that’s why they call it Crazy Blind Date.
crazyblinddate
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There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Hairdo Clip-in Hair by Jessica Simpson: Hairdo or Hair Don’t?

July 9th, 2008 by Karen 37 Comments

jessica-simpson-hairdo

So, I was at the salon waiting for my appointment this afternoon when I decided to actually pick up and read a box of Jessica Simpson’s hairdo clip-in hair extensions.

I’m not a faux hair expert, but I can usually spot bad fake hair from a mile away. Well, Jessica and her hairdresser, Ken Paves, sure fooled me because this stuff looks — *gasp* — like real hair.

It comes in short, medium and long versions of either curly or straight hair.

hairuwear-salon-shot

I like having long hair, but I’d love to be able to switch between long and short at the drop of a hat. I thought about the bob I rocked last year and came *this close* to impulse buying the 15″ wavy extension, which doesn’t actually extend your hair but makes it shorter.

jessica-simspon-hairdo-2

And then I saw the price: $90! Wow! Isn’t that a lot? I don’t know squat about fake hair, but $90 sure sounds expensive.

I decided not to buy it this time, but I came close! If the urge for short hair strikes again, I just may have to give Jessica’s hairdo a try.

What say you about clip-in hair? Hairdo or hair don’t?


Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 37 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hair, Just For Fun

Tuesday Beauty Tips, July 8

July 8th, 2008 by Karen 27 Comments

Your Dreams

Find a pretty notebook, and write out your hopes and dreams for the future. Think about where you’d like to be in a year, two years or ten years. The crazier and more outrageous the dream, the better. Keep your pen moving across the page, and try to avoid self editing while you write — nobody ever has to see your list, so don’t worry about grammar or spelling. Let the words flow unbidden.

Just try to get those dreams down on paper. The simple act of writing things down helps bring them to life.

Inspiration

Study orchids, other flowers and even photographs of beautiful things to inspire your eye makeup color combinations. Hold onto an image of something beautiful in your mind as you try different looks. Remember, makeup washes off.

Buy or make a card for someone special in your life. Make it something you can send by snail mail. Inside the card, write a quote from a song or show that reminds you of this person, along with an invitation to coffee or a movie.

Schedule tea time with yourself. Clear off your desk or your kitchen table, and serve tea from a teapot with a proper cup. Find something uplifting to read while you sip slowly, and let your mind wander.

Listen to Nina Simone during a summer rainstorm. A few choice cuts: I Think It’s Going to Rain Today, Feeling Good and Sugar in My Bowl.

Share

Look for beauty everywhere, and share what you’ve learned with others. What inspires you to feel more beautiful? Please share your tips in the comments. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 27 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Just For Fun

MAC Makeup Rewind: Some of My MAC Favorites

July 8th, 2008 by Karen 15 Comments

I’ve got MAC on my mind today. A quick check of the MAC site revealed that all three new collections are now available for purchase, woot! I guess they couldn’t wait for Thursday. To celebrate one of my all-time favorite makeup brands, here are a few posts from the archives.

  • Face of the Day: A Smokey Eye with MAC Club
    “I had a lot of fun with MAC Club eyeshadow today. Its versatility makes it great for creating quick daytime smokey eyes. I had about three seconds to put on my makeup this morning, and I owe this look to MAC Club.”
  • MAC Makeup Tips: MAC Does Makeup for Music, Too
    “For a long-wearing foundation that won’t melt under hot stage lights, choose a silicone-based foundation.”
  • MAC Cosmetics Face of the Day: Hot Pink and Silver
    “These lips stand out from a mile away, so I went with a soft pink and silver eye to add some semblance of balance to the look.”
  • MAC Cosmetics Naughty Nauticals Face of the Day: A Light Purple and Blue Eye
    “Even though it’s a purple look, I don’t think it’s too obnoxious to wear to work. A fine line exists between pretty/soft purple looks and streetfight/Barney purple looks, and I think this more closely resembles the former.”
  • MAC Cosmetics Neo Sci Fi Review, Swatches: Beam Me Up, Scotty
    “Just put a label on my forehead that says, ‘Easy Prey.’ First, there’s the bright orange packaging. Sure, it’s kinda highway-worker vest, but I think it’s fun and cheerful. Then there’s my weakness for warm shades of bronze, pink and plum, which headline the sunbaked, summertime collection.”
  • MAC Makeup Fafi Tutorial: A Black and Gold Smokey Eye
    “New to semi-complicated makeup? Don’t despair. If you’ve ever worn at least two eyeshadow colors at a time, then you can certainly handle this. Yes! You! Can!”
  • MAC Cosmetics Mulch Eyeshadow Face of the Day
    “I started this face of the day with one pan — ONE PAN! — of MAC Mulch Eyeshadow. From there, it quickly spiraled out of control into a look with seven different shades.”

Good morning! I had a nice anniversary dinner with El Hub last night and ate a ton of sushi. I feel like I should give the man a trophy or something for putting up with me, LOL. How’s Tuesday so far? Got anything exciting planned for today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, MAC Makeup

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