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Outfit of the Day, Vol. 4: Black and White for My BFF’s Baby Shower

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I’ve been feeling kinda chunky and bloated all day long (damn you, PMS!) and came this close to wearing sweats and a tank top to my BFF’s baby shower this afternoon, but I didn’t want to break any unwritten party etiquette rules like “Thou shalt not wear stretchy pants to events celebrating major life changes,” or anything like that, so I nixed the idea, as tempting as it was.

Instead, I pulled out one of my favorite dresses, a black cotton strapless A-line I picked up years ago at Gap.

I love how forgiving it is. Ah, sweet, wonderful A-line… Fitted at the top, it gradually widens toward the hem to form the shape of a capital letter A. They’re one of my favorite cuts — so great if you’re trying to disguise your tum and/or bum but still want to show a little bit of shape.


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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 Giselle! Congratulations, Giselle! 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
Rise and shine, morning glory. Happy Saturday. 🙂

I hope your weekend got off to a good start. It’s a little foggy out here today, both literally and figuratively. I see fog outside my window and feel foggy in the head, but it’s nothing a little coffee can’t cure.

What’s on your agenda for today? Doing anything fun? Right now I’m just getting ready to drive out to the East Bay for my friend Jen’s baby shower. That should be fun. Tabs is going to stay here at the office, though, and hold down the fort.

Other than that, nothing new to report. I did see Cowboys & Aliens last night, but I didn’t think it was as good as I thought it would be… Shirtless Daniel Craig, however, was exceptional. Truly top notch. If they make a sequel, they should just call it Shirtless Cowboy & Aliens and cut right to the chase, yeehaw!

Now I reckon it’s time for this cowgirl to giddy up and git some caffeine. While I do that, how about we start another giveaway?

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

Win a $50 eGift card from Sephora

  • 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).

  • 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, have you ever dated a cowboy? Do you believe in aliens? What makeup are you wearing today? Have you ever ridden a horse? — 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/nfgvqz

  • The deadline to enter is Sunday, July 31, 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 Giselle! Congratulations, Giselle! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

The Tokidoki Royal Pride Hercolino Palette Sings to a Sheer Toon

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One of these days I’m going to try to draw a Tokidoki-style cartoon starring Tabs, but I’m afraid that if I run the idea by him, he’ll bark out too many diva demands. 🙂

Tokidoki TabsSpeaking of cute characters, how are you doing tonight? I wanted to show you this Tokidoki palette I spotted at Sephora. It’s called the Tokidoki Royal Pride Hercolino ($28).

Check out that dual-door design (CUTE!).

There are six powder shadows inside, but the Tokidoki artwork is really what caught my eye. That space in the middle, by the way, is supposed to hold a cute little charm (a keychain fob of Hercolino, aka Little Hercules).

The palette contains six Tokidoki eyeshadows…

  • Profumo (matte dusty rose)
  • Elettica (sparkling gray green)
  • Ippo (dark purple)
  • Lion Pappa (pearlized bronze)
  • Patatino (cream)
  • Hercolino (pearlized chocolate brown)

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Costa Chic Lipstick

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Okay, sure, it might look a little South Beach swingin’ seniors in its tube, but please, PLEASE, if you have any coral lipstick love in your heart, promise me you’ll try MAC Costa Chic ($14.50) at least once.

This frosty light coral unsung heroine has a distinctly old school flava I like. It reminds me of a hipper, updated version of the Revlon Orange Flip lipstick my granny wore back in the ’80s (and still wears to this day).

Since it is quite bright, I usually pair it with neutral eyes, and I think it looks particularly fetching with black winged eyeliner. When I’m in the mood to wear a retro cat eye but don’t feel like wearing it with a strong red or pink lip, I’ll often reach for Costa Chic.

And sometimes I like to layer it beneath coral lipglosses (like MAC Evolution Revolution) to visibly upgrade the fun. 🙂


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Swatch Ya Think About These Custom Color Kits from Smashbox?

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Last night after dinner I felt like having eye candy for desert, so I zipped over to the Sephora down the street (there’s one literally blocks away, which is equal parts good/bad) just to browse…

No, really! Just to browse. 🙂 And miracle of all miracles, I managed to leave without bringing anything other than these Smashbox swatches home.

These $59 Sephora exclusive Custom Color kits come in three flavors, one for ladies with light skin, another for medium skin and one for dark skin, and each one comes with seven products for eyes, lips and cheeks that, if purchased separately, would cost about $175.

Not too shabby, tabby.


Apologies for the in-store Blair Witchy camera phone pic…

Take a quick look at the swatches, and let me know what you think. Those Cream Eye Trios look pretty awesome to me…

Smashbox Custom Color kit for Light Skin


Swatches from the Left: 1. Eyeshadows in Fizz, 2. Minx and 3. Obsidian; 4. Fusion Soft Lights in Light; 5. Cream Eye Trio in Light; 6. Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx; 7. The Nude Lip Pencil in Light; 8. Lip Enhancing Sheer Color Gloss in Radiant; and 9. Reflection High Shine Lipgloss in Pink Sorbet
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