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It Costs 99 Cents to Colour & Go with Essence Quick Drying Nail Polish

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One day, after cleaning my room back when I was in elementary school, I asked my mom for an allowance and tried to justify it as compensation for a job well done. Her reply? “When someone starts paying me for making dinner and washing clothes, then you get an allowance.”

Oh, snap! Score one for Team Mom. 🙂

I still managed to scrape together a few bucks here and there, like the one my grandma gave me for being cute. “You’re so cute!” she said. “Here’s a dollar!”

I strutted around with that dollar in my pocket for days, like I was some kind of third-grade baller.

Yes, those formative years probably have something to do with why I love bargain beauty deals so much. My newest cheap thrill: the 99-cent Essence Colour & Go Nail Polishes.

They’re from the same drugstore line responsible for the kick-arse Stay With Me Longlasting Lipglosses, and they come in a bunch of different colors — 22, in fact — spread out among three finishes in shimmery, creamy and holographic.

The 0.16-oz. bottles are quite a bit smaller than regular nail polish bottles (which are typically 0.5 fluid ounces), but I’m fine with that. Heck, I can’t recall the last time I finished a regular bottle of polish, so the smaller size of these doesn’t bother me at all.


From the left: Wake Up, Mellow Yellow, Irreplaceable and You Belong to Me


From the left: Let’s Get Lost, Where Is The Party, Dress for a Moment
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MAC Semi Precious Collection: Cremesheen Glass and Lipstick Swatches and Pictures

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Last batch! Three of the four Lipsticks ($14.50 US/$17.50 CDN each) and three of the five Cremesheen Glasses ($18.50 US/$22 CDN) from the upcoming MAC Semi Precious Collection.

Maybe I’ve been hanging around Tabs too long, but for some reason I want to call Musky Amethyst Lipstick “Husky Amethyst” instead, LOL!


Cremesheen Glasses from the left: Geo Pink, Natural Flare and Looks Like Sin


Lipsticks from the left: One of a Kind, Musky Amethyst and Gem of Roses


Cremesheen Glass swatches from the left: Geo Pink, Natural Flare and Looks Like Sin


Lipstick swatches from the left: Gem of Roses, Musky Amethyst and One of a Kind

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Semi Precious Collection: Mineralize Skinfinish and Mineralize Blush Swatches and Pictures

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Swatches and pictures of more tidbits from the upcoming MAC Semi Precious collection: three of the four Mineralize Skinfinishes ($28 US/$33.50 CDN each) and all of the Mineralize Blushes ($23 US/$27.50 CDN).


Mineralize Skinfinishes clockwise from left: Semi Precious Crystal Pink, Semi Precious Goldstone and Semi Precious Rose Quartz


Mineralize Blushes from the left: Feeling Flush, Pressed Amber and Warmth of Coral
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MAC Semi Precious Collection: Mineralize Eyeshadow Swatches and Pictures

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mac semi precious collection msf eyeshadows

Super quick pictures and swatches of six of the 12 Mineralize Eye Shadows ($20 US/$24 CDN each) from the upcoming MAC Semi Precious Collection, which launches in North America on July 7 and internationally sometime in the same month.

Don’t they look like works of art? Unsurpassable reminds me of a Monet waterlily painting.


From the left: Blue Sheen, Hint of Sapphire and Jade’s Fortune

mac semi precious collection msf eyeshadows
From the left: Rare Find, Smoked Ruby and Unsurpassable
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5 Summer Staples: Eye Makeup Essentials to Beat the Heat

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Summer, summer, summer time!

Orange eyeshadow? Come to mama. Teal eyeliner? I’m all over it. You don’t have to ask me twice when it comes to trying trendy eye makeup. The answer is the same emphatic “Yes!” I’d give to an up-close-and-personal search from Detective Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU.

But while outrageous eyes can be a blast, this girl’s gotta have her steady staples, too. Tried-and-true eye makeup essentials, like the five summer staples below, can keep your eyes fly when the temperature climbs.

1. Waterproof mascara

urban decay cannonball review brush
Urban Decay Cannonball Waterproof Mascara

Don’t let melting mascara ruin your chances with that hot, muscled, baby-faced guy in your summer school statistics class — the one you thought was adoring you from across the room but later realized was probably wondering how you ended up with two black eyes.

Escape that fate with an industrial-strength waterproof mascara like Urban Decay’s Cannonball ($20). It’s a little pricey, but it stretches my lashes to the limit, resisting sweat and water like a champ (I’ve been wearing it in all my pictures as of late).

2. Eye primer


NARS Pro Prime Smudge-Proof Eye Shadow Base

Whether I’m applying a single eyeshadow or five, I reach for eye primers to protect my work from fading, creasing and melting in the heat. My favorite right now? — NARS Pro Prime Smudge-Proof Eye Shadow Base ($24), and I also like Urban Decay Primer Potion ($19) and Too Faced Shadow Insurance ($18).

I haven’t had the chance to try it yet, but Cover Girl’s $8 Intense Shadow Blast in Beige Blaze sounds like a great drugstore option. MBB reader Erin says it intensifies colors and keeps eyeshadows locked down all day long (thanks, Erin!).
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Go from Day To Night in a Flash with the MAC Bloggers’ Obsessions Collection

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mac bloggers obsessions

Never work for a cat. I’m serious. Mine has me running around like a chicken with its head cut off this week, and I’ve been puting in some long 14-hour days, dashing from meetings with kitty modeling agency executives, to working lunches, to Petco on behalf of Tabs, who just broke another cat toy, and apparently replacing it is “the company’s top priority.” WHATEVER, DUDE!

tabs broke his toy
Edward Scissorpaws strikes again!

What’s that old saying? When it rains it pours? I try to remember that this surge of stuff on my calendar is only temporary and something we all go through from time to time. We’re busy gals, after all, with places to go, pets to appease and shoes over which to obsess. 🙂


Michael Kors Braided Chain Platforms

Speaking of obsessions, I haven’t had a lot of time between errands and events to do my makeup this week, so I’ve been trying a new day-to-night routine using a mix of MAC Bloggers’ Obsessions items and pieces from the permanent collection. Here’s a look that with a few simple tweaks can take you from work to dinner/drinks.

mac bloggers obsessions
MAC Bloggers’ Obsessions products from the left: Eyeshadow in Hocus Pocus ($14.50), Lipglass in Evolution Revolution ($14.50), Lipglass in Caqui ($14.50) and Lipglass in All Of My Purple Life ($14.50)

mac bloggers obsessions
Additional MAC products clockwise from the pan on the lower left: Eyeshadow in Woodwinked ($14.50); Eyeshadow in Soba ($14.50); Lipstick in Impassioned ($14.50); Blush in Sunbasque ($19.50); Eye Kohl in Feline ($14.50, please note this is a limited edition color; Eye Kohl in Smolder also works); Lip Pencil in Subculture ($13); Lip Pencil in In Synch ($13)

As a bonus, you won’t have to haul your entire makeup collection around to switch things up — a HUGE plus if you’re already loaded down with technology (i.e. cameras, laptops and cell phones with 800 pictures of your cat).

Day look

When I have meetings and errands to run during the day, I like simple, conservative looks designed to subtly enhance my features while drawing just a little attention to my face. In a professional environment, I want people to see me, and not the multi-colored, neon eyeshadow on my lids, you know?

A look with slightly smokey eyes, soft matte cheeks and a nude lip fits the bill.

mac bloggers obsessions
Blush in Sunbasque on cheeks; Lipglass in Evolution Revolution atop Lip Pencil in Subculture on lips

mac bloggers obsessions
Eyeshadow in Soba in crease; Eyeshadow in Woodwinked on inner half of lid; Eyeshadow in Hocus Pocus on outer half of lid
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