A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
This morning I jumped on the treadmill (it’s in a room on the second floor) and spotted this wild turkey on the roof ledge outside the window. Um, weird!
A bunch of them were chilling in the oak tree, too… Can you find all three?
Not too shabby, tabby. I sawed logs last night and actually feel like I’m firing on all cylinders (for once!).
The smell of new plastic toys, vomiting in front of other people (ugh…), high-waisted pants, pretentious films, and chewy seafood (abalone, etc.).
…a pint of pistachio gelato and to get extra lurvies from Tabs.
My J. Brand 811 Jeans (they’re grafted to my body!), a black button-down sweater, a pair of yellow Seychelles wedge sandals, and a green, yellow, black and beige scarf.
I’m sitting on the left side of my living room couch with a laptop on my lap. Degrees Minutes Seconds: N 38° 6′ 26.6652″, W 122° 34′ 11.0136″, or thereabouts.
The Guess Metallic Faux Leather Scuba Jacket I picked up last year during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. It’s in basic black, so it goes with everything. Plus, it has a high neckline that keeps out the chill when there’s a breeze.
Hmm… Really? Well, maybe 1984? I know I had one growing up, although honestly, I have no idea why my parents let me have one. Those things are dangerous!
A dentist friend of mine (Mary Anne) advised me to always drink coffee, tea or red wine (highly pigmented/acidic beverages) through a straw to avoid staining your teeth. Yes, it looks goofy, especially when you’re drinking wine.
Podcasts help pass the time when you’re working out. Lately I’ve learned about the history of casinos, genetic diversity as it pertains to bananas, baseball and songwriting.
To dance every single day, even if it’s just to the Chipmunk’s version of 50 Cent’s Go Shorty, It’s Your Birthday in my living room.
WARNING: The following song may prompt you to throw something.
All sorts of wrong…but strangely satisfying!
I hope your week got off to a good start. No complaints on my end of the keyboard. I just finished a quick run, so I’m jacked up on endorphins right now.
Would you care for a delicious smoothie (frozen berries, vanilla yogurt and a dash of apple juice)? Have a seat, take a moment to fill out the Monday Poll, and I’ll make you one. 🙂
1. Mood:
2. What are a few of your least favorite things?
3. Today I’d love…
4. Outfit?
5. Exactly where are you right now?
6. Describe your favorite jacket to wear in the fall.
7. When was the last time you bounced on a pogo stick?
8. Your two cents (beauty related)?
9. Your two cents (non-beauty related)?
10. Weekly goals:
Go shorty (it’s your birthday)… And have a great week! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The Bobbi Brown Nude on Nude Eye Palette travel exclusive set, available now at select airports and duty free stores.
Shades include: Navajo, Cement, Heather Mauve and Mahogany.
Doesn’t it seem like ever since Urban Decay released Naked that nude is the color palette du jour?
I keep wanting to say “Matchmaker” every time I see MAC Matchmaster. Is that just me?
Guess who’s been busy jet-setting around the globe this week? Yup, America’s favorite playboy Tabby. He just got back from Milan. Designers, fashion houses and big beauty brands all want him waddling down runways wearing their wares, but Tabs is very picky about the jobs he’ll take. He has to believe in the creative concept behind the work; otherwise, he says he’s perfectly happy just stalking wild turkeys here at home.
This week he worked with MAC, Illamasqua, JK Jemma Kidd, Chanel and Pixi, and here’s the photographic evidence. 🙂
I’d have to go with Bumble & Bumble’s Super Rich Conditioner ($23 for an 8-oz. bottle; $58 for a 1-liter/34-oz. bottle).
I try a lot of different conditioners, but it’s the one I keep coming back to. It tames and hydrates my lion’s mane hair without weighing it down, and I never get tired of the fresh honeysuckle scent. I’ve been using it regularly since about 1999, if I remember correctly, and I don’t even want to think about how much money I’ve spent on it over the years, ’cause the shiz ain’t cheap.
How about you? What’s one makeup or beauty product you’d like a lifetime supply of?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
It’s a blast from the past! Remember Barbie Loves MAC from 2007?
The one that started it all. My very first MAC obsession. I can still remember going to the counter and debating whether to buy backups of the two Beauty Powders (I never did).
The pieces here hold a special place in my heart because they were the subjects of the very first post here on MBB.
ZOMG!
I cringe a little when I see these old pics because at the time I didn’t know anything about photography. I know they’re a little blurry.
The pieces are old… Yes, I’m guilty of keeping makeup longer than I should, but 1) I like to have them around to reference, and 2) I think some products (like these) are collectibles.
Barbie Loves MAC Fab Powder Blush
Barbie Loves MAC Lipstick in Style it Up (left) and Lipglass in Fashion Pack (right)
Barbie Loves MAC Beauty Powder Blushes in Pearl Sunshine (left) and Pearl Blossom (right)
It’s not fair! I was lured out of bed this morning with promises of breakfast. “Come downstairs,” he said, “and we can have breakfast.” That’s what El Hub leaned over and whispered into my ear a few minutes ago. I thought it meant that he made breakfast and it was waiting for me downstairs, but nope. What he meant to say was, “If you get out of bed now, I’ll take you to breakfast.”
Okay, I guess that’s better than nothing. 🙂
Rise and shine, morning glory! It’s…autumn.
So how’d you sleep? Did you do anything fun last night? We just stayed in, but it was great. I got to paint my nails and see a movie I really enjoyed on Netflix called The Winning Season, starring Sam Rockwell and Emma Roberts. It’s about a girl’s high school basketball team and their well-intentioned but hopelessly clueless coach. Sam Rockwell plays the coach. He’s a drunkard with a potty mouth, but he means well. The movie only got a 55% on rottentomatoes, but I’m gonna have to politely disagree with the critics this time. I think it deserved much better than that.
What do you have planned for today? Has it started cooling off where you are? It’s actually a little foggy and chilly out here in Marin this morning, and I read that it might even rain. Oh joy.
If you’re a new visitor to the blog or haven’t stopped by in a while (welcome!), here are links to some of my favorite posts of the week.
What did you think about the worlds of makeup and beauty last week (JK Jemma Kidd made some noise)? Or how about last summer overall? Did you think it was a good season for makeup, or has it been overshadowed by fall?
GET REAL (LOOKING)
MAC MATCHMASTER FOUNDATION EXCELS ON OILY SKIN
“Why, yes, Ryan Gosling, I am wearing something new. How nice of you to notice. It’s the new MAC Matchmaster Foundation ($32.50; available in 14 shades) in shade 5.0, and I’ve been wearing it for about a week…”
Okay, no, Ryan Gosling did not actually remark upon my makeup regimen, but I sure wish he had. I think he might find the technology behind MAC’s new liquid foundation almost as fascinating as I do.
Almost?
You see, it’s all about those spheres we talked about last week. For the new foundation, MAC encapsulated pigments in translucent spheres that they say allow Matchmaster to cover imperfections while still looking like real skin. Read more…
THE NEW FALL 2011 JK JEMMA KIDD EYESHADOWS
AND A HELPING OF LOVE YOURSELF SOUP
Hey, boo. You having a good Tuesday? I hope so. Before we take a look at the new JK Jemma Kidd eyeshadows for fall ($16 each), grab a spoon, and pull up a chair. I’m gonna fix you a bowl of my world famous Love Yourself Soup.
Yup, Love Yourself Soup. I know it sounds silly, but I’m convinced that after you have a bowl, you’ll feel that much better. And really, doesn’t “Love Yourself Soup” sound cooler than “Corn Soup with Tomatoes, Garlic and Basil”?
Oh, what’s that, you say? You’d like to help me in the kitchen? That’s so sweet! Read more…
SUBTLY SWEETENED
WITH PIXI BEAUTY BLUSH
With a name like Pixi, it’s gotta be sweet. Take these three new Beauty Blushes ($16 each). It’s like the mint green cases (complete with fairy logo), and the eminently agreeable pink and peach powders inside them, were specifically designed for that part of me that still, and always will, love girly things.
Sure, the price is a king’s ransom for a drugstore brand, but that’s not a big surprise. Pixi’s one of the “highest end” beauty lines available at Target. Still, $16 is getting close to a standard MAC blush.
At least Pixi wasn’t chintzy with the product. With these I feel like you do get more for your doubloons than usual for a drugstore brand blush, both in terms of quantity and quality. The packaging feels sturdier than most, and the blush itself is so soft that based on texture at least, I’d bet these could even pass for a pricier line like Shu. Read more…
JK JEMMA KIDD IS ROLLER BALLING OUT THE RED CARPET
WITH HER NEWEST LIP/CHEEK TINT & GLOSS
I find that even on my worst days, a dash of cheek/lip color always perks me up. I probably won’t be using these as cheek tints, but that’s because my lips want them all to themselves. 🙂 Mad props to JK Jemma Kidd for opening my eyes to the joy of lip products with roller-ball applicators. Dang, feels so good.
Methinks the unscented, unflavored liquid excels as a lip tint; it applies evenly all over my lips (and fades evenly, too). As a cheek tint, though, it applies patchy on me, emphasizing any dry flakes I might have, and it takes a while to blend on top of either bare skin or liquid foundation. The clear, non-drying gloss goes on smoothly and has a non-sticky, medium-weight texture that I like; it’s also unscented and unflavored. Read more…
THERE’S A PARTY IN EACH BOTTLE OF MARIAH CAREY
LOLLIPOP SPLASH THE REMIX PERFUME
I cross my heart and swear on my husky tabby’s low-hanging belly that I really, really tried not to mention Ryan Gosling in this review of the new Mariah Carey Lollipop Splash The Remix perfumes (available in three fragrances; $35 each).
But I failed (obviously), and I blame it on the poster for Ryan’s new movie, Drive.
You see, I’m a font freak — a “ho for Helvetica,” if you will — and the handwritten hot pink type on the poster and in the movie’s opening credits made me hyper aware of flamboyant fonts this week. Fonts like the one on boxes of Mariah’s new Lollipop Splash. Read more…
THE CHANEL OMBRES TISSÉES IRIDESCENT
EFFECTS EYES IN BEIGES AND YOUR INNER PRINCESS
I like to think that within every girl lives a princess, and this morning my princess demanded two things: shimmer and Chanel.
Loved and nurtured, the princess is all smiles, sweetness, sparkles and light. She exists solely to love, and to appreciate beautiful things. Instead of walking places, she frolics; instead of talking, she sings. And sometimes she has daydreams like black and white Fellini films, in which she meanders down cobblestone Roman boulevards wearing a white dress and red high heels.
Not wanting to disappoint the princess, today I introduced her to the new Ombres Tissées Iridescent Effects Eyes in Beiges ($75). Read more…
CRAZY PURPLE LIPS AND AN ILLAMASQUA
THEATER OF THE NAMELESS FACE OF THE DAY
I came across purple Kontrol a few weeks ago with Illamasqua’s fall collection, Theater of the Nameless, and even though it wasn’t quite like anything I’d ever worn before, I still really wanted to give it a try.
I wore it around the house today with a few other pieces from the collection. Something about Kontrol’s rich, dramatic take on purple speaks to me, but I think I might be too goody two-shoes to pull it off (am I wearing it, or is it wearing me?). Maybe if I had a brightly colored vintage tattoo on my shoulder and hot pink ombre highlights. Read more…
MAC UNSUNG HEROES
SUMPTUOUS OLIVE EYESHADOW
Adulthood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are bills to be paid, work to be done and calories to count (lame). On top of everything else, it becomes harder to meet up with your friends. Getting together with my gal pals used to take a quick phone call (on a LAND line) or a five-minute walk. Now, lunch with the girls requires weeks and sometimes months of planning, eight e-mails, a few Twitter DMs, GPS (or Google Maps), babysitters and bridge tolls.
Yup.
But there are, of course, perks to getting older, like learning when and how to improvise. After stumbling and bumbling enough, you start getting better at rolling with the punches, and figuring out how to “make things work.” Read more…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The Bobbi Brown Nude Pink Lip Palette travel exclusive set, available now at select airports and duty free stores.
The shades include: Lip Colors in Brown, Pale Pink and Raisin; and Lipglosses in Pink Beige, Berry and Pink Chocolate.
Aren’t these colors cute?
