Product Reviews

Midnight Manicure with Shu Uemura Nail Polish

March 19th, 2008 by Karen 37 Comments

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Shu Uemura Nail Enamel Supplement Mineral in Gold Beige
Use: To make nails sing with color
Price: $16
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Even with huge work deadlines hanging over my head, I’m not afraid to procrastinate. Procrastination? I say bring it! Last night, when I should have either been sleeping or working on my project for work, I was painting my nails.

I’m on a Shu Uemura nail polish kick, and last night’s midnight manicure in Gold Beige may not have been the best use of time. Eh, who am I kidding?? Of course it was! I officially love these polishes and can’t wait to get more. Gold Beige dries fast, applies easily and looks great. [Continue reading…]

Makeup and Beauty Blog: 2008 Marketing Survey

March 16th, 2008 by Karen 25 Comments

Makeup and Beauty Blog Marketing Survey

Hey, ya’ll. Would you help your girl out by taking a couple minutes to answer this marketing survey? I’m trying to find new ways to advertise besides Google because I’m kinda tired of seeing random ads on the blog for pink compost toilets and Asian brides.

It’s just 12 questions and won’t take very long. Thanks for your help. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sheer Ecstasy: MAC Strobe Lip Conditioner Sticks

March 14th, 2008 by Karen 49 Comments

Imagine a nearly transparent version of your favorite brightly colored lipstick — what you’d end up with would look a lot like MAC’s new Strobe Kiss and Strobe Current Tinted Lip Conditioner Sticks, two little lovelies from MAC’s new Strobe Collection. In stick form both look bold and bright, but they apply unexpectedly sheer. Picture a transparent wash of color.

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I got my hands on two of the five available shades — Strobe Kiss, a light coral with golden shimmer, and Strobe Current, a shimmery red plum. [Continue reading…]

Hello Aveeno Active Naturals Eczema Care, Goodbye Itchy Skin

March 12th, 2008 by Karen 44 Comments

For me, spring heralds the arrival of allergy season and periodic bouts of hives along with random patches of itchy skin. Yea, spring!

When my allergies are acting up, I try to avoid scented body products because they will often make the situation worse. Thank goodness for Aveeno Active Naturals Eczema Care Body Wash ($9.99 ) and Moisturizing Cream ($9.99), a superstar unscented combo able to clean and moisturize without irritating or drying out my allergy-prone skin.

Aveeno Active Naturals Eczema Care Body Wash and Moisturizing Cream

Use: To cleanse and moisturize the itchy, extra-dry skin associated with eczema
Price: $9.99 apiece
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Both Eczema Care Body Wash and Moisturizing Cream are fragrance- and steroid-free, making them ideal for people with sensitive skin. Created by dermatologists to provide itch relief to eczema sufferers (you don’t have to suffer from eczema to use it, though), each contains oat essence and ceramides, compounds with soothing properties. These products are so gentle that they’re approved for use on baby skin (but, as with any product, read your labels and consult a physician if in doubt). [Continue reading…]

Michael Kors’ Capri Perfume Is Paradise in a Bottle

March 10th, 2008 by Karen 39 Comments

It knocked me right off my surfboard! Figuratively speaking. That’s how much I liked Capri, Michael Kors’ latest addition to Island, his line of tropical-inspired perfumes for women. The entire set, all three fragrances — Capri, Hawaii and Fiji — impressed me. How often can any of us say that about a full set of anything?

Capri, along with the two other scents in the set, surprised me because, honestly, when I think of Michael Kors, I don’t immediately equate the man with perfume. Instead, I think of accessories (his bags are all over Macy’s) and his very orange tanned face on Project Runway. But all that has changed for me now. The next time Kors releases a fragrance, I’ll pay close attention, because if his future fragrances are on par with Capri, Hawaii and Fiji, they’ll be great.

Hitting fragrance counters about a month ago, Capri looks and smells like tropical vacation in a bottle. The very sight of the bottle made me think of white, sandy beaches and blue, rolling surf.

White florals like Capri have a tendency to be overwhelmingly strong, but Capri’s blend of bitter Seville orange and bergamot (a small, pear-shaped citrus fruit grown in Italy) notes, mixed with violet, fig and white moss, hit just the right subtle intensity.

[Continue reading…]

Not Your 80s Hairspray: Bumble and Bumble’s Spray de Mode Makes Me Want to Use Hairspray Again

March 9th, 2008 by Karen 45 Comments

Bumble and Bumble enlisted the help of French hairdresser Laurent Philippon to test and fine tune the formula of their Spray de Mode hairspray over several seasons of professional use backstage at the Paris shows (aka in the trenches), and the hard work shows.

Let me just come out and say it: Spray de Mode is nothing like 1980’s hairsprays. I can’t even begin to estimate the obscene amount of stinky, flaky, crunchy aerosol hairspray I used when high hair was the fashion du jour.

[Continue reading…]

Get Eyes That Pop: MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl

March 7th, 2008 by Karen 57 Comments

MAC’s Cream Color Base in Pearl ($16.50) makes colors really pop, taking eyeshadow to a brighter, bolder, and more diva-superstar level. With Cream Color Base, your eyeshadow is like an A-list celeb; without it, it’s like Jen Bunney from The Hills. It’s one of those products that every eyeshadow junkie needs to have in her makeup bag.

Pearl’s a soft, pale gold-colored product with just a touch of shimmer. Layered beneath powder eyeshadows, it intensifies color. To the touch, it feels like a cream blush. The picture below shows 1) MAC Parrot eyeshadow by itself and 2) applied on top of a layer of Pearl:

Pretty, yah? Pearl comes in a standard issue blush pan, so what I do is pick up the product from the pan with a synthetic flat brush like the MAC 239 and apply it directly onto the lid area (not the crease or the browbone), while trying to avoid applying too much. It’s easy to overdo it with Pearl. Too much can cause caking and lead to the product migrating around the eyelid.

[Continue reading…]

Lip Look: Three Custom Color Specialists Dahlia Gloss

March 4th, 2008 by Karen 31 Comments

I’ve still got the fever!

Pink fever continues with Three Custom Color Specialists Dahlia Gloss. How do I love this blue based hot pink gloss?? Let me count the ways.

Color: Blue based tones work well with my coloring, and I love this pink’s vivid brightness. The glitter-free shade is highly pigmented and looks very, very, very pink on my lips… and I like it! It’s definitely not for the pink shy.

Product: Three Custom Color Specialists Dahlia Gloss
Price: $18.50
Use: As a lipgloss
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Shine: Typically, lipgloss formulas radiate a high shine when applied. Unlike MAC Lipglass’ high shine formulas, Three Custom Color Specialists Gloss has a subdued shine that’s less reflective than usual for a lipgloss, resulting in a finish more like a lipstick than a gloss.

I like its subtle shine because of how suitable it is for day wear. And if I want a sassier look for evenings out, I’ll just add a layer of MAC Clear Lipglass and then bam! Ready for a night out at the club with the girls.

Texture: As much as I loves me some gloss, I can’t stand it when my hair sticks to my lips. That doesn’t happen with Dahlia. It’s nonstick, light and long-lasting.

I’m really impressed with this gloss and intend to snag a few more shades. The Three Custom Color Specialists Web site breaks down the gloss colors into three families — warm, cool and neutral — to help you find the right shade. You can purchase your gloss online or from a store near you .

Ya’ll gotta bear with me as I work through this pink lip phase… Maybe one of these days I’ll be healed!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen