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Don’t Be Camera Shy with Smashbox Girls on Film

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smashbox girls on film

“Girls on film (two minutes later); girls on film (got your picture)!” – Duran Duran, Girls on Film

Does Duran Duran’s ode to celluloid sirens have anything to do with Smashbox’s new eight-piece Girls on Film collection for fall?

Perhaps, but either way, I’m just glad the references aren’t more obvious.

I remember being very, very confused by the Girls on Film video when it came out… My eight-year-old mind just couldn’t put the pieces together. I mean, why was that nurse giving that husky dude a massage? More importantly, why was she doing it in a boxing ring?

Hell, I’m 36 now, and I just have to assume that some questions are better left unanswered. 🙂

What I do know is this: Smashbox must have had wearable makeup in mind when they developed this collection. Available now at Sephora stores and also online, the one neutral eye palette, smokey eye palette, two cream liners (a shimmery brown with golden pearl and a shimmery black with blue pearl) and four cheek/face products (in pinks and nudes) that comprise Girls on Film practically beg to be worn.

I’ve been carousing with three of the eight products from the release for a few days, and we’re getting along well.

  • Girls on Film Cream Eye Liner & Travel Brush Set in Sepia ($28) What a gorgeous twist on brown! It looks like a boring ol’ brown in the pan, but on my lids this creamy, smooth liner looks more like a plum with flecks of golden glitter. When I apply it with the flat brush that comes with the kit, I get a lovely soft line slightly blurred at the edges. Smooth, pigmented and easy to apply, it lasts all day long on my lids, whether with or without primer. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+
  • Girls on Film Blush Rush in Pose ($24) I used three layers of this matte rosy pink blush to get it to appear on my tan skin the way it does in these pics (at the top and bottom). Lighter lovelies should be able to get away with less (and darker damsels, a little more). I wish I didn’t have to use so much product, but I do love how easy the finely milled powder is to blend. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
  • Lip Enhancing Gloss in Underexposed ($18) I have a feeling this pigmented brownish pink would be a perfect date night gloss. I think the strong cinnamon flavor and scent feel très fall, but they’re a little too intense for me; the color says, “Sure, I try to look put together, but I don’t obsess.” With a super sticky texture, this gloss lasts for hours (about four between meals). MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

smashbox girls on film

smashbox girls on film
Girls on Film Blush Rush in Pose
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I Find It Hard to Get This Sula Beauty Creaseless Creme Eye Shadow to Last on My Oily Lids

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sula beauty hard to get creme shadow

I had grand plans last Saturday afternoon to just bum around the house and paint my nails, but that all changed when El Hub asked if I wanted to catch Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

You know how much I love movies, right? So I couldn’t refuse. We decided to try and make a 3 p.m. show, which meant I’d have to get ready in a flash.

Now, El Hub and I have been together for years, so homeboy knows that when I say, “I’ll be ready in 10 minutes,” it’s actually code for, “sometime today.”

This time, that wasn’t gonna fly. My mild mannered husband desperately needed his movie fix, and from the other end of the house I heard him yell, “10 minutes really means 10 minutes this time, babe!” with a tinge of desperation in his voice.

I had to hustle.

Sitting on the table right in front of me was Sula’s shimmery yellow-gold Creaseless Creme Eye Shadow in Hard to Get ($8), one of eight cream shadows in Sula’s new makeup line.

Like creamy versions of powder eyeshadows that come in tubes or pots, these are supposed to be a busy gal’s BFF, and they’re designed to be worn by themselves, or to give depth to some of your other favorite products, beneath powder eyeshadows or atop an eyeshadow primer (I love this untinted one from NARS).

Like I often do with cream shadows, which I generally love, especially when I’m in a hurry, I applied and blended Hard to Get on my lids with my fingers.

Tabs is always on me to try more cruelty-free products, so he was stoked to see me using this one from Sula. The line doesn’t test on animals and for that gets a big paws up from Tabs. They also take a more natural approach to ingredients than many brands do, leaving out the parabens, phthalates and petroleum by-products.

With the clock mercilessly ticking, I used my favorite NARS primer on my left eyelid but kept the right one bare, and then patted and blended Hard to Get on top.

Immediately, I noticed how dense and dry it felt — even drier than a MAC Paint Pot!

sula beauty hard to get creme shadow
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, August 15

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  • You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”
    Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past three years, which I guess makes this somewhere around Vol. 181. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
  1. Mood:

    2. I’m like Cesar Millan right now, yo, filled with calm, assertive energy… I hope it lasts because it feels great. 🙂

  2. What’s your least favorite vegetable?

    3. Okra, blech! So hairy… So slimy… It’s my nightmare veggie.

  3. When was the last time you took a midday nap?

    4. About a week ago on the plane ride back to SF from San Diego. I almost always conk out on flights. I think planes vibrate on the same frequency that those chairs do that lull babies to sleep. Zzzz…

  4. Do you ever/still rock scrunchies?

    5. Yes, but only in my car (I keep one around the gear shifter to use when hair gets on my nerves when I’m driving) and in my bathroom (for when I wash my face).

  5. What’s the best piece of relationship advice you ever received?

    6. Don’t date a DJ.

  6. I love it when…

    7. …everything just falls into place.

  7. Sleeveless denim vests: yea or nay?

    8. Lawd, forgive me, but around 1995, yea, I wore ’em. I had one that I got on sale at the Gap, and I wore it so much in college that it stars in about half of my pics from that era.

    These days, though, no way. If I’m gonna wear denim above the waist, it had better have sleeves. That’s all I’m sayin’.

  8. Have you ever given yourself highlights at home?

    9. Yup, when I was in high school. I used one of those kits with the plastic cap and the dots that you pull the hair through with a hook. I remember walking around the house like that, with the hairs sticking out of the cap, and my brother just totally cracking up!

  9. What would you do if a first date asked you to split the check?

    10. Back when I was dating, I would have paid my half, high tailed it out of there as fast as I could, and said “adios” to the guy. I’m old fashioned that way, I guess.

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Just one this week — to keep hope alive! I hope we all have a great week.

Happy Monday, holmes. Wait — please no True Blood spoilers just yet, okay? I still have to watch last night’s episode.

But was it good…? You can tell me that. 🙂

Hope you’re having a lovely morning. I feel pretty good so far. Sure, my to-do list is about two miles long, but c’est la vie.

Before you dive headlong into your day, do you have a minute to catch up with the Monday Poll?

  • To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.



1. Mood:
2. What’s your least favorite vegetable?
3. When was the last time you took a midday nap?
4. Do you ever/still rock scrunchies?
5. What’s the best piece of relationship advice you ever received?
6. I love it when…
7. Sleeveless denim vests: yea or nay?
8. Have you ever given yourself highlights at home?
9. What would you do if a first date asked you to split the check?
10. Weekly goals:

Here’s to hoping for rays of sunshine while sending you waves of hope. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 152

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Remember how I was saying that Tabs likes my zinnias? Well, I wasn’t kiddin’. All I wanted to do this afternoon was read my book on the deck, but a certain someone wasn’t having it. Every time I took my eyes off him, he’d take another bite!

He likes the catnip, cilantro and the echinacea plant, too, but he LOVES the zinnias. It’s like he’s incapable of resisting it.

An uninvited guest…

When I stepped out of the house today, I spotted our Russian neighbor traipsing around one of our potted catnip plants.

Tabs was like, “WTF!?”

He grows that catnip for medicinal use…


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The 3-Step Ombré Lip

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Lilit

Written by Lilit

What’s up, ombré? Coming to you straight from Australia (by way of Novato, California), beautiful blogger Lilit of Makeup and Macaroons shows how to create a fantastic makeup effect in three simple steps.

How to do an ombre lip

Ombré is everywhere — ombré eyes, hair, and even ombré nails.

But what exactly is ombré? And can you do it to your lips?

Ombré is French for an effect with a gradual colour transition from light to dark; for example, with hair, when the ends are deliberately lighter than the roots. Notice I said, “deliberately,” and not the usual “I can’t be bothered with it” regrowth.

And yes, you can do it to your lips. In fact, here’s how!

You’ll need…

Ombre lips

  • 1 x dark lipstick — I used MAC Up The Amp ($14.50 US; $36 AUD)
  • 1 x light lipstick (or concealer) — I used one of my favorite lighter colors from a local Australian brand Innoxa Matte Lipstick in Peaches & Cream ($14.95 AUD) because it creates a concealer-like effect

TIPS: I think it’s better to use fairly opaque lip colours for this effect because you want to get enough coverage both with the first dark layer, and then again with the light layer on top. So, ladies, set aside those Rouge Cocos for this look.

Step 1: Apply the darker, opaque lipstick straight from the tube

How to do an ombre lip

And I’d suggest leaving the lipliner alone for this, unless you’re going for a ’90s throwback look.

Step 2: Apply the lighter lipstick (or concealer) in the middle of your pout

How to do an ombre lip

Step 3: Blend

How to do an ombre lip

Using your finger, blend the lighter colour into the darker one, while being careful to leave the edges darker than the middle.

Optional Step 4: Add a clear gloss

How to do an ombre lip

An optional step. For more of a modern edge, add a clear gloss on top.

And you’re done! I hope you enjoyed. 🙂

Lilit

Written by Lilit

Lilit was born in Armenia but has lived in Australia for more than 20 years. She started her blog, Makeup and Macaroons, to save her husband from having to listen to her explain the benefits of MAC lipsticks over every other brand, and why a girl can never have too many peachy blushes. She and her husband both travel a lot, and their favourite places to go are off the beaten track, especially in South America — basically, places where you don’t need makeup at all, not that that stops her from bringing an entire suitcase filled with it (and adding more along the way).

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