Kits and Sets

This Bargain Holiday Kit Will Have You Singing Songs of Savings: The New Anastasia Kisses on My List Volume 2 Hydrafull Gloss Set

September 13th, 2012 by Karen 31 Comments

anastasia kisses on my list sharona — Wearing the New Anastasia Kisses on My List Volume 2 Hydrafull Gloss in Sharona

Um…like I really needed another excuse to randomly bust out in song today.

Sun’s up? That’s a good reason. Cup of coffee? That’s a good reason. Tabs hasn’t scratched my ankles yet? That’s a good reason. Waiting in line at Trader Joe’s, taking Tabs for a walk, indoor plumbing, having ice cream for dinner, sitting in front of the computer like I am right now? All good enough reasons.

But lately, I’ve been singing aloud with even more gusto than usual, like I’m stuck in an a very special episode of Glee (guest starring Tabs the Cat and Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog), and I MUST EMOTE! 🙂

I wonder if it has something to do with Anastasia…

I’ve been wearing the new glosses in her latest set a lot this week, and not just because they shine like my tubby tabby’s eyes.

Most of the glosses in the limited edition $30 holiday Kisses on My List Volume 2 Hydrafull Gloss Set of six full-size tubes are named after a different old-school jam.

There’s Lola, a shimmery, cool pink that changes to a deeper hue after a few minutes on the lips (Anastasia calls these Hypercolor glosses); Maggie May, a sheer and creamy nude; Jolene, a shimmery rose (another one of the Hypercolors); Roxanne, a shimmery gold (also a Hypercolor); and Sharona, a sheer and shimmery peach.

The only one I don’t recognize from a song is Moi, a sheer and creamy pink (got any ideas about the name?).

The other day I took out Roxanne and applied a single layer.

No, it did not sting. 🙂 Nor did the police arrive (ba-dum bum!).

But I did feel inspired to pretend the tube was a microphone and belted out, “Rrrrrox-anne! You don’t have to put on the red light!” in the middle of my living room.

anastasia kisses on my list — From the left: Moi, Maggie May, Sharona, Lola, Jolene and Roxanne

anastasia kisses on my list swatches — Swatches from the left: Jolene, Lola, Maggie May, Moi, Roxanne and Sharona

You might be thinking, “K, you so crazy! I love good glosses too, but there’s no way one would make me sing in public or my living room.”

You never know, my friend. Even if you’re the silent type, this set is one heck of a deal. In the set, the glosses work out to just $5 per tube, versus the $18 they usually sell for individually.

anastasia kisses on my list jolene — Jolene

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The New Anastasia Want You to Want Me Holiday Kit Sings Songs of Soft Satin Finishes and Long-Lasting Wear

September 10th, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

anastasia want you to want me palette

I have an urgent and important question for you, friend!

Are you ready…?

Brace yourself. Here goes: what’s your karaoke song?

LOL!

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t important in the Merriam-Webster sense of the word, but I’m curious.

Me? I have a couple of musical standbys honed by the fires of fifty Filipino family gatherings! Seriously, you can always count on two things at a Filipino party — 1) a redonkulous amount of food and 2) karaoke! 🙂

Myself, I like to warm up with a little Phil Collins…

“She’s an easy lover! She’ll take your heart but you won’t feel it!”

And then really get the crowd going with Cheap Trick…

“I waaaant yoooo to want meeee!”

The later meets the three crucial criteria of a top karaoke song. It’s upbeat, almost everyone knows the words to it (so they can sing along), and it doesn’t require any complex vocal gymnastics, which is good because I reserve that kind of thing for my car or shower.

Next time I hit the mic (hopefully soon — karaoke, anyone?), I’m wearing Anastasia’s new holiday 2012 eye makeup kit, because not only does it pay homage to my go-to karaoke tune, but the colors are just plain pretty!

The $34 limited edition Want You to Want Me kit’s lush velvet case houses enough eye makeup to keep your eyes glowing softly while you rock all night long.

The kit includes…

A gift box with a velvet cover, chain detailing and a magnetic closure (so pretty!)
An eyeshadow palette with nine powder shades in mostly shimmery brown, beige, taupe and purple colors; the palette pops out of the larger velvet box for easy touch-ups on the road
A black liquid eyeliner with a thin brush applicator
A clear brow gel
A small dual-tipped brush

anastasia want you to want me palette

anastasia want you to want me palette swatches

anastasia want you to want me palette
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This Is the Story of a Miracle Makeup Tree and the LORAC Pro Palette’s Cool-Toned Neutral Shades

September 5th, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

LORAC Pro Palette

Doop-da-doo, there I was, happily skippin’ down the street, Tabs’ leash in one hand, ice cream truck money in the other (one Drumstick please…actually two, ’cause I’m PMS-ing!), when I stumbled upon a tree bearing the most unusual fruit.

The branches hung low, weighed down not with plump, juicy apples or ripe peaches, but with bushels of new LORAC Pro Palettes.

For real!

A magical makeup tree

I stood there with my mouth agape, staring up in awe, as more and more neighborhood beauty addicts gathered ’round, and women, men, young and old alike, all marveled at the miracle makeup tree.

Each of the $42 palettes (a $110 value), which hung beside a tiny tube of Behind the Scenes Eye Shadow, housed 16 powder eyeshadows in neutral shades, eight of them matte shades and eight of them shimmers.

I could have stood there all day if it hadn’t been for Tabs…

He ran toward the tree, claws poised and ready to climb the trunk!

“Stop!” I called out to him. I wasn’t about to watch my 20-pound tabby get stuck in a makeup tree, so I skittered over and scooped him up.

That’s when I heard someone near me ask if anyone had tried the palette.

“I have,” I said, slinging Tabs over my shoulder. Tabs grumbled, of course, in response. “I think it’s pretty good. I like that it comes with an even mix of mattes and shimmers and that most of the colors are cool toned.”

I plucked one of the palettes from a branch and handed it to a woman standing next to me with a red stroller.

“Makes it a little different from the other neutral eyeshadow palettes that are out there,” I said. “Here, swatch the eyeshadows. They’re super soft, easy to blend, too, and most are packed with pigment.”

I felt a little tickle on the back of my head. Hmm… It was Tabs, chomping on my hair — his way of letting me know that he was hungry and ready to go home.

Just then a perky teenager wearing glittery golden eyeliner asked me a question about fallout.

“There is some,” I replied, “so you may want to do your eye makeup first, and then follow with foundation and powder. Or, tap-tap-tap your brush against something to remove some of the excess powder before applying.”

LORAC Pro Palette

LORAC Pro Palette swatches

LORAC Pro Palette
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The Perk-Up Artist Loves Giving Ladies a Lift: Benefit’s New Perk-Up Artist Complexion Corrector Palette Neutralizes, Covers and Conceals

August 23rd, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

benefit perk-up artist

“Hey, baby, can I perk you up?”

No, seriously…I’m pretty sure I met that dude on the cover of Benefit’s new pocket-sized $30 Perk-Up Artist complexion corrector palette at a bar in San Francisco’s Financial District some years back.

benefit perk-up artist
Boom-chika-wah-wah!

This was pre-El Hub, so I may or may not have allowed him to buy me a mojito, LOL!

Pink hearts, Edwardian Script, a cheesy dude with aviator glasses and little plastic covers to protect the three creamy face perfecting products from drying out? Benefit always does packaging right.

So what do you get in this travel-friendly palette? Basically, Benefit’s Lemon Aid, Boi-ing and Eye Bright, each in pot form.

There’s Correct, a creamy yellow for neutralizing redness; Cover, a medium beige concealer to mask under-eye circles; and Brighten, a pale pink eye brightener to give tired eyes a lift (just apply in the inner corners of your eyes).

benefit perk-up artist

benefit perk-up artist
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You’ve Piqued My Interest With Neutrals, Benefit! The New Benefit Peek-a-Bright Eyes Eye Illuminating Kit

July 24th, 2012 by Karen 32 Comments

benefit peek a bright eyes eye illuminating kit

Of course I got all jazz hands (JAZZ HANDS!) when I saw the neutrals in Benefit’s new eye illuminating kit, Peek-A-Bright Eyes ($32).

Brown, beige and pink eye makeup works on me like shot of makeup love straight to the heart! The combo takes me to that happy place where pink unicorns with rainbow manes roam free, Ryan Gosling walks around shirtless 24/7, and everyone’s eye makeup always looks flawless. 🙂

Benefit says the shades in the kit, which arrives at Benefit stores, counters and online next month, all work together to create a dazzling, bright-eyed, wide-awake look.

A pink unicorn with a rainbow mane It comes with three eyeshadows (a base shade in Buff, a contour shade in Brown and a highlight in Pearly Pink), two tiny eye brushes, an Eye Bright and a booklet with a tutorial, and some tips and tricks.

For my makeup this afternoon, I used the tutorial in the kit as a jumping off point…

Benefit Peek-a-Bright Eyes Eye Illuminating Kit swatches

benefit peek a bright eyes eye illuminating kit

benefit peek a bright eyes eye illuminating kit product shot
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ON SALE NOW: Benefit Beauty Kit Pics and Swatches and a Flash Sale Reminder

July 19th, 2012 by Karen 13 Comments

benefit how to look the best at everything

In case you were thinking about partaking of Benefit’s Beauty Kit fall 2012 flash sale tonight, here are pics and swatches of the six limited edition kits to help you decide. 🙂

The online-only sale (no promo code necessary) ends tomorrow morning, July 20, at 9 a.m. (PST). After that, these kits are going, going, gone…

Feelin’ Dandy Lip and Cheek Kit ($28)

benefit feelin dandy

Go Tropicoral Lip and Cheek Kit ($28)

benefit go tropicoral 2

benefit go tropicoral
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Today I Tried to Answer the Question Tarte Poses With Their New Makeup Kit, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?”

June 28th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

This morning, while Janet rocked, “What have you done for me lately?” I sang something similar while applying the products in Tarte’s latest makeup kit.

What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately? — that’s a good question, and it’s also the name of the $49 six-piece kit (a QVC exclusive).

Listening to Janet, I came this close to teasing my hair and slipping into something with shoulder pads, but then I came to my senses, thankfully, because real life ’80’s fashion wasn’t always as cool as a John Hughes film… 🙂

For this look, I’m wearing all of the products in the kit except for the Maracuja Oil, and I’m also wearing Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Peaceful on my cheeks, because the kit doesn’t come with a blush.

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately
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Tired of Being Disappointed With Your Makeup? With Their New QVC Exclusive Kit, Tarte Asks, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?”

June 27th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

Every time I say the name of Tarte’s new $49 QVC exclusive kit, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?” (a $160 value) I think of this old-school Janet Jackson jam…

I find it really funny that I can’t remember the last name of that boy I dated for three months in my freshman year in college (Mike something-or-other? I want to say Mendoza?), but I can recite the lyrics from Janet’s video word for word!

“What’s up, girl?”

“He stood me up again.”

“Again?!”

“Um-hmm.”

“Well, what’s up with this guy? Do you really like him that much?”

“Yes, honey, I love him. He is fine. He does a lot of nice things for me.”

“I know he used to do nice stuff for you, but what has he done for you lately?”

Don’t even get me started on the choreography. 🙂

But I digress…

Tarte’s latest makeup kit, a QVC exclusive (QVC and QVC.com) on July 13, features six pieces, most of them new.

For $49, or about 70 percent off the regular price of all of the products purchased separately, you get one LipSurgence Lip Shine in Smitten (a glossy pink), the new Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball, the new Retoucher Flawless Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush, the new Maracuja Miracle 12-HR Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15 (choose from one of five shades in Fair, Light, Medium, Tan and Deep), the new modernEYES Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner in Plumberry/Plum Brown, and a re-promoted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara.

Oh — and as a bonus, you also get a sample jar of Tarte’s new Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment, a cream designed to conceal dark circles immediately and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles over time.

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately box

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately in hand

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately foundation
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