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A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

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Happy Birthday, Bare Minerals! I Wish You Love & Happiness

June 1st, 2011 by Karen 38 Comments

bareminerals love happiness

I thought it was April showers that brought May flowers, but yet it rained today. What’s up with that? I was getting a little down about it, too, until I saw the colors in the new bareMinerals Love & Happiness Collection ($35). There they were, like a break in the clouds, these shimmery pastels and brights.

The collection is, more accurately, a kit released to commemorate the company’s 35th birthday (happy b-day, BM!). I’ve played with a few other bareMinerals kits before but was never really moved. In some cases, it just seemed like there was either something missing or off about those colors. These, however, look like a garden party (complete with knee-length dresses, fine china and cucumber sandwiches) in a pretty pink box.


“Did someone say party?!”

bareminerals love happiness collection box
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There are 38 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews Keywords: bare escentuals, bareminerals

MAC Unsung Heroes: Sunbasque Sheertone Shimmer Blush

June 1st, 2011 by Karen 60 Comments

mac sunbasque blush

At the top of the list of not-so-smart things I’ve done over the past few days: starting to watch a scary movie at 10:30 p.m. Yes, that’s when I cranked up Insidious the other night thinking I’d only watch “10 minutes of it” before going straight to bed.

Bad idea.

Of course I had to finish it, which was like watching Britney’s infamous breakdown (I couldn’t look away!), except with sudden loud noises, scary silhouettes seen through darkened windows, and creaky wooden floors. NOTE TO SELF: films featuring demon possession do not make for relaxing bedtime fare.

Luckily, I also managed to do something pretty smart this week, which almost balances things out. I remembered where I put my missing pan of MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Sunbasque ($19.50), one of my summer faves for sunkissed cheeks, and arguably one of MAC’s user-friendliest (I don’t think that’s a real word…) blushes.

Sheertone and I met a couple of years ago at a MAC counter when I’d asked a MAC artist for a blush recommendation. I wanted something easy that would look great with a tan, and she pulled out Sunbasque, a shimmery, peachy pink bronze. What made it special, she said, was the slight red it contains, which complements the reddish tones in tanned skin.

It’s like a multifunction printer, but instead of printing, scanning and faxing, it blushes, bronzes and highlights. The bronze tones lend warmth to my cheeks, while the peachy pink adds a flush of color. The subtle shimmer just draws a little more attention to the face, but not so much that I look like I’m rollin’ straight to da club.

Two layers (it’s sooo easy to blend), and I look like I spent the entire day practicing cannonballs at the pool…and napping and reading Us Weekly.

mac sunbasque blush in pan

mac sunbasque blush swatch
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There are 60 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, unsungheroes

What Makeup Do You Have in Your Purse Right Now?

June 1st, 2011 by Karen 116 Comments

I ask this question periodically because I get a weird thrill out of finding out what people lug around with them throughout their day.

Strange? Perhaps, but c’est la vie! 🙂

Lately I’ve been traveling surprisingly light, but I think that’s because I just switched purses and haven’t had time to recruit my usual army of random lip glosses, powders and cans of cat food (with gravy, of course).

I’m currently toting five things from the makeup department…

  • MAC Careblend Pressed Powder in Medium Dark
  • MAC Lipglass in Evolution Revolution
  • MAC Cremesheen Glass in Deelight
  • MAC Lip Pencil in Subculture
  • Lancome Yayoi Kusama Juicy Tube in Dot Apricot

How about you? What makeup do you have in your purse right now?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 116 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Essence Stay With Me Long-Lasting Lipgloss

June 1st, 2011 by Karen 7 Comments


Essence Stay With Me Long-Lasting Lipgloss, $2.29.

There are 7 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Daily Beauty Keywords: essence

Hungry Eyes

May 31st, 2011 by Karen 9 Comments


One look at you and Tabs can’t disguise he’s got…

HUNGRY EYES.

There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Daily Photo Keywords: tabs

According to Bare Minerals, July Is Prime Time for These New Tinted Eyelid Primers

May 31st, 2011 by Karen 50 Comments

Are you a bareMinerals fan who fiendishly craves metallic finishes and vivid colors? If you are, July just got a little more exciting. That’s when the brand plans to expand their Prime Time Eyelid Primer line by adding six new shades ($18 each).

The new colors, which, like the brand’s three existing primers, can be worn alone or as bases for cream or powder eyeshadows, promise to increase the wear time of powder and cream products layered on top. They’re designed to postpone creases and fading and should be particularly great for gals with oily skin. The brand’s existing primers include their Prime Time Eyelid Primer (similar to Too Faced Shadow Insurance); a version with a sheer, golden sheen called Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer; and an even lighter version, Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer in Brightening Pearl, which has an iridescent, pearly sheen.

I gave the original Prime Time Eyelid Primer a try a few months ago and remember not falling in love at the time. I had a little trouble blending shadows on top of it, and it creased on me half way through the day (unlike NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, which has been my favorite shadow primer for a while), but these new pigmented versions are convincing me to give the Prime Times another try.

I’d planned to take them for a test drive down to the neighborhood pool last weekend (they’re supposed to be waterproof), but it was chilly…meaning I chickened out. 🙂 I’m curious to see how the pigments handle the water.

For now, here are some quick swatches. Have a look, and let me know what you think.


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There are 50 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup Keywords: bareminerals

What’s the Skinny on Tarte’s EmphasEYES Waterproof Brow Pencil?

May 31st, 2011 by Karen 32 Comments

Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Brow Pencil

Even my dextrous little digits have a hard time holding the Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Brow Pencil ($19.50). Straight up, it’s probably the daintiest brow pencil I’ve ever used!

Years of piano lessons (mostly against my will, I might add) and flute playing gave me fleet fingers and thumbs, and I can usually draw with even the thinnest pencils. This one, however, feels awkward and uncomfortable in my paws.

Bummer, because if it were a bit bulkier, I’d probably be a bigger fan because it reminds me of Benefit’s Instant Brow ($20), which I’ve been wearing for months.

Like Benefit, Tarte got the pigment just right. It’s available in two shades, and when I blend Medium Brown, the one I’ve been wearing, into my brows, I can barely tell it’s there (doesn’t look fake or obvious). And if I need to go darker, it’s also easy to build.


From left: EmphasEYES Waterproof Brow Pencil in Medium Brown, EmphasEYES Waterproof Brow Pencil in Taupe and MAC Technakohl liner in Graphblack (for comparison)
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There are 32 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews Keywords: tarte

12 Ways to Wear MAC Evolution Revolution Lipglass

May 31st, 2011 by Karen 110 Comments

When I imagined MAC Evolution Revolution Lipglass ($14.50), I really wanted it to be flexible — something that wouldn’t only look pretty on its own, but would also work with as many other products as possible.

Here are 12 possible pairings to spark some ideas (featuring some of my favorite peach, pink and coral MAC Lip Pencils, Cremestick Liners and Lipsticks). Oh, and please let me know in the comments if you can think of any other cool combos to try.

mac evolution revolution lipglass Hibiscus

mac evolution revolution lipglass hibiscus

mac evolution revolution lipglass hibiscus

mac evolution revolution lipglass Hibiscus

mac evolution revolution lipglass Subculture

mac evolution revolution lipglass subculture

mac evolution revolution lipglass subculture

mac evolution revolution lipglass Subculture
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There are 110 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: MAC Makeup, Top Posts Keywords: mac

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

Makeup and Beauty Blog features daily product reviews, makeup tips and beauty news — like an interactive version of a monthly print magazine, except with occasional pictures of my cat.

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