Makeup 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
Heya, ladies. Guess which blog just turned three years old. 🙂 Yup, that’s ancient in internet years! MBB’s officially a senior citizen.
Sorry about the hiatus from video, but I’m gonna do them more often now. Here’s a quick tip I learned from makeup artist Billy B, who explained that moisturizers are good for more than just moisturizing.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Last week I asked you about your favorite beauty tools and mentioned a couple of mine. Here are 10 of our favorites among favorites — the beauty tools we can’t live without.
An Allure Best of Beauty winner nine years running, the Tweezerman just might be the finest general purpose tweezer in the world! Whether you’re an eyebrow artist or the girl next door, the Slant Tweezer’s ($20) perfectly aligned, hand-filed tips will grab every hair, every time. Available in classic stainless steel finish, Signature Red, Neon Pink, Blooming Lilac and Khaki Gold.
TIP: Tweeze in the direction your hairs grow to keep from breaking strands. Tweezing is also easier after a hot shower, or you can use a warm washcloth to open pores. To close pores when you’re finished (and reduce redness and irritation), rinse with cold water.
I like everything about the MAC 239 ($24.50). It’s soft and dense (just like Tabs!), and shades and blends eyeshadows like a dream. The head is tapered and rounded, with smooth, firm fibers that deposit lots of color. It’s one of the beauty tools I’m not sure I could (or would rather not) live without.
TIP: You can use it to apply powders AND creams, and when you’re done using it, if you don’t have time for a thorough brush cleaning with brush cleaner or a gentle shampoo, you can wipe the bristles down with a Wet Ones Wipe.
The Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler ($19) is practically iconic! — a legendary beauty tool, perfectly balanced and precise like a ninja’s sword. The shape of the curling surface, frame length, ergonomic handles and hinge help it to deliver the right amount of pressure to delicate eyelashes. Amazingly enough, it also suits just about every eye shape out there.
TIP: Curl before applying your mascara to reduce the risk of pulling out or breaking your lashes, and here’s a tip to get a natural lash curl.
An everyday brush for shading and/or blending color or cream products. With fine, densely packed fibers and an oval head, the MAC 217 ($22.50) will take your makeup game to the next level.
TIP: A super versatile brush you can even use as a crease brush or to apply/blend cream or liquid products (like concealer).
Heavy duty hardware like the Clarisonic ($195), a gentle, sonic micro-massager (ala the Sonicare Toothbrush), removes makeup better than anything I’ve ever used before. Gentle enough to use twice/day, it also helps reduce oily areas, dry skin patches, blemishes and the appearance of visible pores, fine lines and wrinkles.
TIP: If you’re gonna pick one up, shop at a store with a good return policy (like Sephora) because it may take a couple weeks to see results (and they’re HELLA expensive). You want the option of being able to take it back if you need to.
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Good morning, ladies. 🙂 Yes, the rumors are true. In a little more than 12 hours, we’ll close the book on 2009 forever and begin a new chapter titled “2010”, a brand-spankin’ new year filled with promise and hope for us all.
With a lead like that, it feels like I should do something special tonight, LOL! Ya know, it’ll be special, no matter WHAT — even if I end up just spending the night home with the two men in my life (El Hub and Tabs). So far my plans involve the three of us, a couch, Hulu and perhaps a glass (or three) of something bubbly.
What about you? What’s on your dance card tonight? While I think I’m staying in, I still have designs on my New Year’s makeup, and I’m thinking about something with fireworks.
Like…
Then, after the funeral, I swung by my parents’ house in the East Bay for a low-key birthday celebration for my mom.
I’m pretty spent right now but have so much I want to share… I think it’ll have to wait, though, until I’ve gotten some sleep.
How was your day? What was the highlight?
Tonight, I went digging through the blog archives and found this post from almost three years ago. I’m due for a new DMV picture soon, and this post came to mind.
I double dare you to email a scan/photograph of your DMV picture to me (karen@makeupandbeautyblog.com ). 🙂 Pretty please? And if you’ll let me, I’d like to post it on the blog.
Nighty night…
Your sleepy neighborhood friendly addict,
Zzzzzz…
My mission today is possibly one of the biggest of all of beauty challenges: I have to go to the DMV to take a new license picture and somehow make it look cute.
The nasty florescent lighting, the institutional blue paper background … there are many elements that point toward certain disaster. Plus, I think the picture-taking dude that works at the nearby DMV REALLY HATES his job. He purposely waits for your eyes to be crossed, or for you to look like you’re confused before he snaps away, thus preserving your startled doe-in-the-headlights look for all eternity.
The only decent license picture I ever took was when I was 21 and weighed 20 pounds less … needless to say, I need a little bit more help now, since the fresh blush of youth and innocence has left (I’m not bitter!).[Continue reading…]
I recently went on a weekend trip and had to scale down my makeup kit (normally a 3-foot-tall, multi-compartment wheeled kit). I only brought the essentials — the products I most often use on myself and constantly find myself suggesting to clients.
Eye primer is always the first step in my makeup process. Because most people like to draw attention to their eyes, it’s important that the shadow stays on and doesn’t crease. Too Faced Shadow Insurance ($17) eye primer does exactly that, and a little goes a long way.
Talk about smooth! Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils ($17 each) truly does glide on, and it’s easy to work with when you want a smudged liner look. It’s also great on the waterline, and comes in a variety of colors.
It’s a cult favorite for a reason — it works. I use it on myself and on my clients because it lengthens, thickens, and doesn’t clump. I use the original >DiorShow Mascara ($24) for an everyday look, but I like Diorshow Blackout ($24) for a more dramatic look.
A truly matte bronzer is hard to find, but Benefit has done it. I apply Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder ($28) all over the face after foundation and powder, and it really evens out the skin. It can also be used to contour lighter skin.
I use this after foundation, and it really helps set it. I work with a lot of brides, and Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder ($30) is the product that keeps their makeup on all day. It gives a flawless finish to the skin and doesn’t feel heavy at all.
The perfect peachy pink. NARS Blush in Orgasm ($25) flatters most skin tones and builds and blends with ease. That, and the compact lasts for a while, so it’s also a good value.
MAC’s Devil May Dare eye palette, part of the Magic, Mirth, and Mischief! holiday ’09 collection, is a versatile palette stocked with six eyeshadows that can be worn on virtually any skin tone. Reasonably priced at $36, it’ll carry you through the winter (and beyond) with an endless variety of day/evening eye looks like these.
But first, the shades! 🙂
These looks can also be created with shadows from MAC’s permanent collection. Below is a list of substitutes for each shade in Devil May Dare.
This look is perfect for ladies who prefer something demure. It sculpts and polishes the eye without looking overly makeup-y. The shimmer in the shadows illuminates without over-depositing color. Best of all, it’s super easy and quick.
For those who want a finished eye with more intense (but still daytime-appropriate) color, give this look a whirl. It’s pretty and fun — not overly dark around the eye. Those who are averse to dark eyeshadow may like it as an evening look.
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Good morning, glories. 🙂 A few weeks ago I asked for some of your favorite mascara tricks, and the ones you left were brilliant!
So, here are five fantastic ways to work those lashes with a little help from our friend (mascara)…
Try layering multiple mascaras for a look that’s tailor made. 
“I love using two different mascaras (one specifically for lengthening, and one specifically for volumizing) to get that full, fake lash look. First, I swipe on a coat of a lengthening mascara, then a coat of a volumizing mascara. If I really really want super huge lashes, I swipe on a another coat of each. Et voila! Fake lashes in a bottle!” – Carolanne
“My tip is to use a variety of mascaras to achieve the perfect look! I currently have Maybelline Full ‘n’ Soft, Maybelline The Colossal, several Clinique samples I’ve received with free gifts and some Bare Escentuals mascara. They are all different formulas, from plumping to curling and everything in between, so I get new benefits with each coat I brush on! My friends tease me about my collection of mascaras, but trust me — IT WORKS!” – Holly G
Business cards aren’t just for networking anymore, LOL! Keep a few of them handy for lash work.
“I use a business card to shield my lid. It helps me curl my lashes and make sure they’re all coated!” – Spiff
“[I] use a credit card beneath [my] lower lashes to get get them coated nice and good!” – Nina
“I use a business card to gently pull back my upper lid so the lashes are vertical, and I can get at every single one. 🙂 The business card also stops me from getting mascara smudges all over my eyeshadow!” – J
The Smokey Eye.
Some call it the Little Black Dress of the makeup world — sexy, fun, flirty, and definitely attention-grabbing. It’s also the number one request I get as a makeup artist. And with the right tools, products, and application techniques, it can be just as easy as slipping into your knock ’em dead little black dress.
It may seem natural to apply your face makeup first, but doing your eyes first will save you time (and possibly frustration). Since you’re probably going to get some shadow fallout and smudging, it’s much easier to do a quick swipe with some makeup remover on bare skin than on skin that’s already been made-up. I’ve been using L’Oreal Eye Makeup Remover ($7) for years and love it!
I recommend using a primer under all of your shadows, but it’s especially important with a smokey eye. The primer gives a smooth, even base, which is necessary for all the blending that goes on with a smokey eye. Primer also makes the shadow last longer and prevents creasing. I use Too Faced Shadow Insurance ($17) for smokey eyes and all of my other looks.
You can do a black smokey eye, a silver one, a teal one — whatever you want. But since the point of a smokey eye is to have the colors form a gradient — from darkest to lightest — it helps to have a variety of shadows to work with. For example, if you’re doing a black smokey eye, you’ll want a dark black shadow, a lighter black shadow, a couple of grays, and a white or silver (for highlight). A palette like the Coastal Scents 88 Color Palette ($19) makes things easy by grouping similar colors together.
Eyeliner accessorizes smokey eyes like killer heels do for the LBD. I recommend pencil, crayon or gel formulas, as liquid liners dry quickly and are harder to smudge. You’re going to need a liner to line the top lashline, the bottom lashline, and the waterline. But relax, you don’t need to draw a perfect line, because the liner is meant to blend right into the shadow. When doing a smokey eye, I always find myself reaching for the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils ($17).
You’ll need a flat shader brush to apply shadow to the lid, a mid-sized brush for the crease, a pencil brush to work on the tearduct and lashline, and a fluffy brush to blend and apply highlight color. I prefer brushes from MAC and CVS’s Essence of Beauty line.
The last thing you want are obvious lines where one color has ended and another has begun. Use that fluffy brush to blend out any harsh lines. When blending the crease color, use small circular motions to “smoke it out.” Gently wipe the brush on the back of your hand to remove color before blending each new section.