Ooh… Big fan of platinum. Meet the China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metal in Platinum Pieces, $8. Coming soon to select beauty supply stores and salons. 🙂
China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metal: Platinum Pieces
Essence Colour & Shine Eyeshadow: Joyride to Jupiter
What a great name, right? Joyride to Jupiter? Yes, please. When do we leave? 🙂
Essence Colour & Shine Eyeshadow in Joyride to Jupiter, $2.99. Available now at Ulta stores and also online.
MAC Unsung Heroes: Crosswires Lipstick
If I tried to corral the coral lipsticks in my makeup collection, gurl, it would cause a stampede. Those corals are wild at heart because I let them run free. I mean, why confine them to summer when they look so good 12 months a year?
Next to pink, coral is one of my favorite lip colors, and those lil’ waxy bullets regularly melt my heart, like today’s Unsung Hero, MAC Cremesheen in Crosswires ($14.50).
It’s a punchy, pigmented pinkish orange, and it’s one of the shades I wear often when I want “look at me” lips. I’ve seen it worn by fair- and dark-skinned gals in a variety of NW and NC tones, and no matter what, I think it pretty much always looks 
hot. It just might be the MAC permanent line’s most wearable coral.
Maybe it’s the pink tones in Crosswires that really set it apart for me. The shade may not be as seductive as some of MAC’s reddish corals (like MAC Viva Glam Cyndi) or as electric as others (like MAC Costa Chic), but it’s sweet, and that’s something I like.
Two Ways to Win a Tube of Benefit They’re Real Mascara (Before It Arrives in Stores)
- WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Veronika! Congratulations, Veronika! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
Not the type of gal who likes to wait (neither am I)? Well, here’s your chance to win the newest member of the Benefit team before it launches next month.
Jet black They’re Real mascara promises beyond-belief (ala, “Yes, they’re real. Thank you for asking.”) length, separation, curl hold, volume and lift — basically, the whole shebang if you like big, bold lashes.
I like it, particularly the dark, rich color and multi-function brush. The staggered bristles do seem to help it in the volume department, and the spiky tip is pretty good for detailed work. I think the finished lash look actually resembles the one I get from MAC Studio Fix BoldBlack Mascara — jet black and lightweight, yet it looks thick, with a moderate increase in length, coupled, however, with a slight tendency to relax the curl from my lash curler.
If you’d like to preview a tube before it officially hits stores, read on, Benefit babe!
One lucky lady (or gent) will win:
- One (1) tube of Benefit They’re Real Mascara (a $22 value) before it launches in-stores this July
Two coats leave my lashes looking thick and dark, and it stays put all day long without flaking or smudging. On top of that, it remains easy to remove.
Before (top) and after two coats (bottom)
Before (left) and after two coats (right)
- 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 was the very first mascara you ever tried? What do you look for in a mascara? Have you ever accidentally sent an email to the wrong person? How many plants do you have in your house? Who’s going to win the Stanley Cup? — you get the idea.
- Second, you can enter by following me on
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a Tube of Benefit They’re Real Mascara http://bit.ly/k6TUua
- The deadline to enter is Friday, June 10, 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).
- 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 Veronika! Congratulations, Veronika! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
3 Lessons Learned During Year 35 (P.S. Today I Turn 36)
I’ll never forget the wise words of a Sephora associate just before my birthday last year. I was a little cranky about turning 35 until she said, “You should be happy because some people never make it that far.”
Yup, that put me in check RIGHT QUICK.
My year 35 had its ups and downs, but for the most part it was great. I learned a lot of valuable lessons, a few of which I tend to re-learn over and over again like…
1. Avoid uncomfortable shoes
NOTE TO SELF: If a pair of shoes hurt within the first minute of trying them on, chances are they’re not the right shoes for you (no matter how cute they are!).
Hurts so good!
2. Trust your instincts…
Because they’re rarely wrong. That inexplicable gut feeling deep down inside is there for a reason. It’s like an internal compass, sometimes guiding us away from danger, other times nudging us toward golden opportunities.
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Birthday Shoes
Yeah, I totally caved on the Michael Kors Braided Chain Platforms. My justifications: 1) you only turn 36 once, 2) they were on sale, and 3) I didn’t already have any “biker bar meets the Hamptons” sandals in my closet.
I’m actually really, REALLY thrilled with them. They fit true to size, the leather’s uber-soft, and the heel feels nice and sturdy.
The only potential problem is actually getting into the shoe. I have to angle and shimmy my foot a certain way to get it into the three braided straps. Not hard, but it does take a minute.
Other than that, they’re perfection.
Paws for a Second
Color Me Intrigued by the New Elizabeth Arden Bronze in Bloom Eyeshadow Quads
Oh, fudge! Where’d I put my white gloves? They’re the only things that go with my Chanel tweed suit. What’s that, you say? They’re on the bureau by my Elizabeth Arden makeup? If I show up to lunch at the country club without my white gloves, Bunny MacDougal will throw a fit!
I don’t know, but I’ve always kind of thought of Elizabeth Arden as a line for mature ladies who lunch. I never would have expected some of the edgier products and colors I’ve been seeing in their new Bronze in Bloom Collection. First the Smokey Eyes Powder Pencil in Black Violet, and now this? With the Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Quads in Golden Lilac and Bronze in Bloom ($30 each), it’s almost like EA is trying to channel her inner MAC or NARS.
Inside each of the palettes live four coordinating colors in shades I typically expect to see in fall, not summer. And a couple of the shadows have a bit of an edge, which I like.
Take the yellowish beige pan in the Golden Lilac Quad. Looks like just another boring beige, right? Not even. It’s actually a duochrome with tiny bits of golden glitter, and it flashes from pink to purple. Then there’s the shimmery navy blue in the Blue Breeze Quad. It has a hint of sultry, smokey black.
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