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Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 154

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Dear Diary,

My mentor Tim GunnStress alert! Where the hell is Tim Gunn? I’ve had my assistant call him like five times over the past hour, and he’s totally MIA. I’m starting to think he’s screening my calls.

But why? He knows he’s my mentor. Even after Project Runway propelled him to stardom, we always kept in touch. We even had a spirited discussion about pocket squares just the other day.

I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope he calls soon. I need him by my side in NY next month when I accept that Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Pet Modeling Community Commission (IPMCC). They’re honoring me for my groundbreaking work in plus size kitty modeling.

Cats are saying that I made curves cool again. Whatev. I’m just glad the kitty fashion world is finally recognizing that big is beautiful.

I hope Tim can be there, since he was instrumental in getting my career off the ground.

Tabs on his first catwalk

Not much going on here tonight other than prepping for Fashion Week. I’ve got NY next month, then the European shows shortly after.

I’ve been trying to get my mind and body ready for the long days with lots of P90X (I already feel a difference in my haunches) and extra private lessons with Zen Master Morris. Gotta stay on top of my game because the cats in this industry will tear you apart if you slack off for one second!

And, truth be told, I’m thinking about returning to the mixed martial arts ring. I know I promised my fans that I was done cage fighting, but I miss the thrill, ya know? My therapist says it has something to do with my formative years. Something about having to fend for myself on the streets of Mill Valley, but I don’t know. Sometimes I think I just like to tear sh*t up.

I’ve been busier than usual lately, but I still got some “me” time in last night. I finally bought those Jimmy Choo Uggs I saw in Paris last week. Huzzah!

My assistant kept trying to talk me out of them (“Dude, those are so beyond fug!”), but what does she know? The chestnut looks fab under my tum. Plus, you know how I am about fringe.
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The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

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The Makeup and Beauty Blog Weekly Roundup

Mornin’, glory. How’s it going today? I hope you’re staying dry out there, no thanks to Irene rather rudely dousing a big chunk of the Northeast (the least she could have done was wait until fall).

I hope you still had a pretty good week, though, even if you found yourself in the path of the storm.

What was the highlight of your week? Maybe a movie, a good hair day or some good news about school/work?

The best parts of my week were my movie date with El Hub (I really enjoyed Crazy, Stupid, Love.), this cool lipstick from Sula and the delicious grape tomatoes I got at the farmers’ market…

Whoa. I just pictured myself with a big bag of popcorn in a movie theater, except that instead of popcorn the bag was filled with grape tomatoes.

Yum. 🙂

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

Basics with a Twist for a Casual Date OUTFIT OF THE DAY, VOL. 5
BASICS WITH A TWIST FOR A CASUAL DATE

Last week for date night El Hub and I went to the market! — the farmers’ market, in the nearby town of San Rafael.

Now, style icons like Carrie Bradshaw can probably strut down pot-holed streets and weave between vegetable stands in five-inch Manolos and marabou feather coats without skipping a beat, but I opted for more casual comfort in a tank top and jeans.

And basics, of course, don’t have to be sloppy or boring, not with the help of a few easy accessories.

Spruce Up Jeans and a Tank Top with A tote bag in a fun print. This spacious blue and white one from Kate Spade is perfect for sightseeing because of how much it holds — everything from my wallet, to my camera, my makeup and all the late-summer produce I love (peaches, pluots and plums, yes please!). Plus, the colors match my jeans and top. Read more…

Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Trios SMILE FOR THE CAMERA WITH THESE
NEW SMASHBOX PHOTO OP EYE SHADOW TRIOS

You don’t have to be a photography nerd to appreciate these new Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Trios ($28 each), but it wouldn’t hurt if you are. For gals familiar with the photographic arts, the 16 trios in the line, each with three coordinating powder eyeshadows, have fun photography-related names like Aperture and Telephoto (I’m surprised they left out ISO and Bokeh).

For the past couple of seasons, I’ve been a little unsure about Smashbox’s eyeshadows. I thought many of them were hit or miss, and I’ve had issues with texture, fallout, wear time, blending and pigment. These new ones, however, are restoring my faith in the line. Read more…

Sula Beauty Awake Till Sunrise Lipstick I’D GLADLY STAY AWAKE TILL SUNRISE FOR
THIS VIBRANT SULA BEAUTY LIPSTICK

Just how pigmented is vibrant orange Sula Beauty Lipstick in Awake Till Sunrise ($8)? Well, if I were ever going to scribble a note on a bathroom mirror with a tube of lipstick, I’d use it, because “YOU’RE MINE FOREVER!!” scrawled on a mirror in sheer baby pink just doesn’t have the same impact.

This — THIS! — is what I’ve been hoping for from the Sula Beauty line. Creamy reddish coral Awake Till Sunrise totally hits it out of the park (think MAC Hibiscus), and I wouldn’t be surprised if it and the other lipsticks in the line skipped right past “Go” on their way to the Drugstore Makeup Hall of Fame. Read more…

LORAC Ooh La Lace Palette THE LORAC OOH LA LACE PALETTE
MAKES ME FEEL OOH LA LA

CAUTION: Seductive palette ahead.

LORAC’s lurvely Ooh La Lace palette ($36), the latest piece from the brand’s fall collection of lingerie-inspired delectables, has been wooing me with its smoldering selection of baked eyeshadows in neutral and smokey shades of beige, gray, black, peach, bronze and brown.

Want big, bedroom eyes? Lucky for you if you do, because LORAC chose the colors they put into the palette to create eyes just like that.

But that’s not all this palette has. I also see versatile, wearable colors here capable of going out for drinks with the girls after work. Read more…

La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermo Cleanser MY DRY, SENSITIVE SKIN SAYS ‘OUI’ TO
LA ROCHE-POSAY TOLERIANE DERMO CLEANSER

Dude, I don’t know when it happened, but somehow, somewhere, I turned into a 30-something chick. In my teens and through my 20s, I thought I looked young for my age, but at some point over this past year, I started feeling like I look, well, my age. I decided to step up my anti-aging game with the help of Retin-A.

I’ve been using it for about a month so far, and overall I like the results, but in that time my face has been flakier, drier and moodier than it was when I was 14. Even skin care products I’ve known and loved for years have started giving me grief, like my usual go-to face wash, Philosophy Purity Made Simple. When it left my cheeks dry and tight one day, I knew something had to change. Read more…

Burberry Beauty Lip Cover in Nude Cashmere BRIEF ENCOUNTER WITH BURBERRY BEAUTY’S NEW NUDE CASHMERE
LIPSTICK LEFT ME FEELING UNDRESSED

It’s true — nude lipsticks might not drive makeup lovers into frenzies like a brilliant fuchsia lipstick or a cobalt blue nail polish can, but lip looks featuring nudes are still among my favorites, just the same.

Nude lips are always in style and look great with almost anything. Unfortunately, finding a good nude lipstick can be tougher than finding a good man.

If I had a nickle for every time I tried a new nude lipstick, only to look up at myself in the mirror at something totally and completely wrong, I’d probably have between 80 cents and $1. 🙂 But seriously, the truly great ones are few and very far between. Read more…

Nuance Salma Hayek Dual Phase Makeup Remover NUANCE SALMA HAYEK CUCUMBER & ROSEWATER (AND AGAVE)
DUAL PHASE MAKEUP REMOVER ISN’T AFRAID TO FACE ANYTHING

These days, the only resident of Casa de MBB who regularly parties like a rock star is Tabs, but back in the day, gurl, my middle name was margarita (on the rocks with salt, please!).

Kidding, of course (sort of).

Interestingly enough, the new Nuance Salma Hayek Cucumber & Rosewater Dual Phase Makeup Remover ($7.99) contains two ingredients that also appear in my former favorite drink.

No, not cucumber and rose water, although I bet those could make a tasty drink. I’m referring to aqua (water) and agave. Read more…

Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow BARE ESCENTUALS BAREMINERALS
READY EYESHADOW: ARE YOU READY FOR THESE SWATCHES?

Bare Escentuals bareMinerals has something BIG lined up for fall, and the question is, are you ready?

The line is leaping into the thrilling world (it is to me) of pressed eyeshadow duos and quads with a brand new line of permanent collection products called Ready. The 19 pieces in the Ready Eyeshadow Collection, which arrives on counters this October (ready or not), consist of four quads ($30 each) and 15 duos ($20 each), and for a brand best known for their loose mineral eyeshadows, it signifies a brave shift in a bold new direction.

But what about the minerals…? Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

LAVANILA The Healthy Body Wash 2-in-1 Shower & Shave Gel in Vanilla Lavender Loves to Shower But Not to Shave

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I sure do love the light scent of Lavanila’s new Healthy Body Wash 2-in-1 Shower & Shave in Vanilla Lavender ($15 for an 8-oz. bottle), and not just because it combines two of my favorite scents.

It’s one of five fragrance “flavors” in a new line of body washes — the others being Vanilla Coconut, Pure Vanilla, Vanilla Grapefruit and Vanilla Passionfruit — that Lavanila designed to double as shower gels and shave gels.

As a shower gel, let me be blunt: I think it rocks, and I’m assuming the other flavors do, too. It lathers up into a rich, cleansing foam, feels light and fresh, does a great job of actually cleansing, rinses easily away and doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight. The lovely fragrance even lingers for a few hours after rinsing.

And, miracle of all miracles (because of how great it works), it’s all natural; many of the ingredients are even certified organic. 🙂

What Lavanila Healthy Body Wash 2-in-1 Shower & Shave doesn’t contain: parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, mineral oils, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMOs or tricolans.


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Dressing Up for Asparagus with Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. IV

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Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume 4 FOTD

If you saw a girl all dressed in black with a gunmetal grayish purple cat eye fondling the asparagus at Whole Foods in Novato last night, yup, that was me. 🙂

It’s been a long week, so last night I decided to reward myself with makeup for dessert. Before I left to hunt and gather at Whole Foods, I opened Urban Decay’s Book of Shadows Volume IV, scanned a few of the included QR codes with my phone and watched the corresponding tutorials.

One of the videos is for a dramatic purple-ish cat eye look (it’s actually called the “Purple Cat Eye”), and that’s the one I chose.

The Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. IV kit/palette comes with five very sci-fi QR codes, which work a little like bar codes. After installing a free iPhone app to read QR codes, I held the phone’s camera up to the code. The phone scanned it and then opened a link to the video. Each tutorial features Urban Decay’s Executive Creative Director Wende Zomnir and a model, on whom Wende completes the look while describing each step in the process, including which products and brushes to use.

The look is a sultry twist on a classic cat eye using products from the palette — perfect for an evening out, or for any time you’re in the mood for something a little naughtier than a simple smokey eye. It involves makeup for eyes and lips, but the cheeks are bare.

Unfortunately, these pics don’t convey one of the coolest, most unusual things about the cat eye part of the look — how the colors subtly flash from gray to purple and back. I think it looks more gray than purple in these pictures than it does in real life.


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Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!

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  • WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is MM! Congratulations, MM! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Win a $50 Sephora eGift card from Makeup and Beauty Blog
Right now I smell like cilantro because I was just outside tending to the garden on the deck.

Greetings, young lady! I got a late start again today… That seems to be my new Saturday slogan: “I got a late start again today.” 🙂

Tabs has decided that cilantro is no longer the new catnip, and he totally ignores it now when we’re outside. And that means that the plants are overgrown, so I had to pick some off and trim it back…which made me hungry for Chipotle (their rice).

I think I might go for lunch to get a veggie burrito.

Oh! Here’s a fun fact: at Chipotle, if you order the veggie burrito, if you really and truly want it to be veg, you have to get it with the black beans, because they use bacon to make their pinto beans.

They don’t always mention that when you order the veggie burrito. I’ve seen it before…

So what are you up to today? Doing anything fun? I don’t have anything going on other than house chores and errands. Nothing exciting.

If I can sneak away for an hour, I’d like to swing by Nordstrom again to return the top I bought yesterday under duress. It looked cute on the rack and has a cutout back, which I thought I’d wear with a tank top underneath. I didn’t try it on in the store — it was one of those stress purchases — but I should have, because with it on I look like a trucker from the ’80s.

I didn’t notice in the store that the sides are also cut out, like how those rocker metal guys from the ’80s would cut out the sides of their shirts? That’s what it looks like. I look like a little rocker, biker girl with it on, and it’s not flattering at all.

Anywho, I hope your weekend got off to a good start, and maybe today’s giveaway will help. 🙂

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

While I’m at Nordie’s, I’m also gonna check out some of the new makeup from fall, like Bobbi Brown Marrakesh Chic, Lancôme’s Fall 2011 collection and MAC Me Over (the Shadesticks turned out to be really long lasting).

Now, on with the show!

Prize

  • One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Rules

  • There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, what are your favorite stores to buy clothes? Do you ever wear headbands? Do you know how to write in cursive? How many plants do you have in your house? Have you ever seen a cat attack a lizard (would you like to?)? What are you doing with your makeup today? — you get the idea.
  • Second, you can enter by following me on twitter Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
    • Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/pyw4q9

Terms and Conditions

  • The deadline to enter is Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 11:59PM (PT).
  • Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
  • A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
  • Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
  • Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.
  • Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
  • The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
  • Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

  • WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is MM! Congratulations, MM! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

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