Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Paint Job: Pixi Nail Colour in Classy Cocoa

October 25th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

A few snapshots of my morning. 🙂

I’m trying to get out of a funk, so I started off the day by cooking a good old-fashioned Filipino-style breakfast, OM NOM NOM! An egg over easy, garlic fried rice and fried shrimp — it’s comfort food my mom makes on Sunday mornings.

A typical Filipino breakfast involves 1) eggs (or meat or seafood), 2) tons of garlic and 2) frying anything (AND EVERYTHING) in copious amounts of oil, LOL! I tried to make it a little healthier by using a non-stick pan and an olive oil mist spray from Trader Joe’s to cut calories and lighten things up, but it was still very hearty. I haven’t been eating a lot (just not hungry), and it certainly filled me up.

After breakfast I took some pics of leaves in the rain…

…and then spent way too much time trying to learn the dance from Jordan Knight’s magnum opus, 1999’s Give It To You.

Note to self: Not a good idea to attempt body rolls before 9 in the morning without stretching first. You’re way too old for that sh*z.

But what really cheered me up was the mani I did with Pixi’s new Nail Colour, Classy Cocoa ($8; available now at Target stores and target.com).

It flashes from a deep chocolate to a purply taupe, and from certain angles, a golden shimmer peeks through. Really super cool, and I think it looks like something you’d find over at Chanel or Dior. I can’t believe it’s only $8!

I used three coats, but you could probably get away with two. I just like how the polish looks that much richer with the third coat.

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Tabs Versus Marmalade

October 25th, 2012 by Karen 41 Comments

Meet Marmalade, Tabs’ nemesis.

Say Hello, Kitty, to the New Hello Kitty Eyeshadow Palette in Wild Thing

October 24th, 2012 by Karen 40 Comments

Apparently, I’m a one cat woman. This, according to Tabs.

That cat is so protective, or territorial, or whatever it is, that he won’t even tolerate another feline diva in the house if it’s orange and stuffed!

Witness his fearsome reaction to this predatory plush toy…

Observe the menacing posture, raised claw and puffy tail. There was also a lot of angry meowing and hissing.

Hello Kitty, however, is a completely different story.

Tabs just loooooves anything and everything Hello Kitty, and that includes the new Say Hello Eyeshadow Palette in Wild Thing ($36).

Like a brazen alley cat, the new limited edition palette recently strutted onto shelves at Sephora, just in time for the holidays. The funky print packaging (um…is that a giraffe or a leopard pattern?) contains two tiers of products, one row of shimmery powder eyeshadows, and a second row with a bronzer and a pale powder matte blush.

I also Hello Kitty, but I’ve always thought of Sephora’s Hello Kitty makeup line as something targeted to teens and tweens (MAC’s Hello Kitty collection, on the other hand? — totally different story).

I am kinda feelin’ this palette, though, especially the eyeshadows. A couple of the colors seem surprisingly complex. There’s a pretty purple, all packed with flecks of golden glitter; an opalescent, peachy pink that reminds me a little of MAC Vex, except without the green and blue; a warm bronze; and a neutral gold. All four of them apply with little-to-no fallout, a good amount of pigment and a striking, shiny finish.

Hello Kitty Say Hello Eyeshadow Palette in Wild Thing — Hello Kitty Say Hello Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

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MAC Is Making Holidays Happier in 10 Different Ways: Glamour Daze, All for Glamour, Primped Out and Guilty Passions Pics and Swatches for MAC Holiday 2012

October 24th, 2012 by Karen 41 Comments

Most of MAC’s massive holiday 2012 collection is already online and hits stores and shelves tomorrow, and if any part of you loves girly packaging and makeup, you just might freak!

Leopard prints, lace, bows, pink, black and satin — what a bevy of appetizing nouns. 🙂 Thematically, they also comprise the list of ingredients for this year’s holiday feast from MAC, one of the sweetest, most fabulously feminine holiday collections from the brand in years.

The voluminous release, with its individual pieces, kits and sets, is so big that MAC divided it into 10 parts…

Fabulousness (eyeshadow kits)
All for Glamour (face and eye kits)
Primped Out (eye, lip and brush kits)
Hang Up The Glamour (a portable hanging travel bag)
Divine Desire/Sinfully Chic (eye, lip, cheek and brush kits)
Viva Glam It UP (a kit with MAC’s Ricky Lip Conditioner and Nicky Lipstick)
Kids Helping Kids (holiday greeting and gift cards)
Glamour Daze (a 35-piece sub-collection for eyes, cheeks, lips and nails)
Guilty Passions (lipgloss and Crushed Metallic Pigment sets)
Making Pretty (a luxury set of powders, lipsticks and brushes in gold- and rose-accented packaging)

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a MAC holiday release (maybe Antiquitease?)…

My camera’s flash almost overheated this afternoon from all the pics! I haven’t had enough quality time with any of the pieces yet, but here’s a first look at some of the pieces that initially caught my eye, along with swatches on my NC42 skin.

So, are you ready? Because here comes your “Happy holidays!” from MAC.

MAC Guilty Passions 4 Tenderly Warm Crushed Metallic Pigments — Guilty Passions 4 Tenderly Warm Crushed Metallic Pigments, $32.50

MAC All For Glamour Face Kit Gorgeous Bronze open — Glamour Daze All For Glamour Face Kit Gorgeous Bronze, $49.50

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I’m in a Glamour Daze

October 24th, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

The new MAC Glazmour Daze holiday 2012 collection, coming soon to MBB…

MAC Unsung Heroes: 33 Lash

October 24th, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

The MAC 33 Lash ($16) is a bundle of joy — well, technically, bundles of joy — and my favorite false lash style in MAC’s entire permanent line.

See how the lashes are gathered into little bundles along the strip? And how within each bundle, the individual lashes on the sides are shorter than they are in the middle?

Also, notice how the biggest, baddest bundles are near the middle of the strip?

Now that’s just cool. And fancy. 🙂

“Well, hello there, young sir. Why, yes, these are my natural lashes, and yes, I do always look this wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, thank you for asking. I hope you don’t mind if I bat my “natural” lashes at you. It’s a nervous habit, tee-hee!”

I love that when I wear these, I can really see the difference in the length and thickness of my lashes, but I still feel like they could almost pass for natural. They’re big, but not crazy, totally outlandishly huge.

That said, these are not the false lashes I’d want to wear if I were otherwise covered in glitter at da cloob.… Not that I’ve done anything like that in, like, 10 years.

Seriously, if there were a cage, glitter and dancing in my immediate future (stranger things have happened), I’d probably opt for something more club-rageous like MAC’s 34 or 36 lashes instead.

These 33s are more like wedding day lashes — flirty, classic, beautiful and comfy. The super thin lash strip feels like nothing at all on my lids, and the lashes themselves aren’t so long that they make my eyes feel all droopy, which happens with some really ridonkulously huge false lashes.

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Today’s a Good Day for Glitter

October 24th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

Sometimes you just need a little bit of sparkle on a Wednesday morning.

Hopefully the new Sephora Collection Glitter Eyeliner Set ($15) will do the trick.

Have a good day, my friend. 🙂

I’m Getting a Pretty Big Thrill From the Blushes in Tarte’s Big Thrill Palette

October 23rd, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

Pics of the new $48 Tarte The Big Thrill Palette, available now at Ulta.

The palette — which is more like a set — includes 16 of Tarte’s signature square eyeshadows infused with Amazonian clay, three of Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blushes in three brand new shades, one Bronzer, and three Vitamin Lip Glosses neatly tucked away inside a tiny drawer.

Hmm… $48 for 23 pieces? That’s not bad. Not bad at all.

I’m looking forward to getting my cheeks on those blushes…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen