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Saturday Surfing and a Vacation Makeup Question

December 4th, 2010 by Karen 19 Comments

A week ago I was sitting on a beach in shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops. Today, I’m parked in front of my computer in sweats, a turtleneck and rainbow striped toe socks. It’s freezing here in Nor Cal, yo!

If you’re reading this from warmer climes, please note: I envy you.

This morning I desperately needed to warm it up, Chris (I’m about to), so I snagged a chai tea latte from Starbucks (NOM!) and looked through the pictures I took last week.

A few things hit me…

…like, doesn’t Tabs look like a bird of paradise from certain angles?

It’s weird that I hardly wore any makeup on the trip (weird because I usually do). At a minimum, I usually fill in my brows and throw on a little concealer, but this time all I wore was an occasional gloss and some waterproof mascara.

I did buy a tube of Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Waterproof Mascara ($6) on the island because I forgot to bring a mascara, and eh, it was alright. I think it looks its best after two coats and resists smudging pretty well. If you’re looking for a better waterproof mascara for thicker, more dramatic lashes, Stila Lash Visor is a good one.

Because I wasn’t wearing much makeup, there were moments when I felt a little self-conscious, like at the mall or the grocery store, but definitely not at the beach.

Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii - Peace

Do you find you wear more or less makeup when you go on vacation? I guess it really depends on what you’re doing, but what’s typical for you?

Anywho, before I start shivering too bad to type (even my booty bones are frozen), I’m gonna try to warm up by web surfing. I got the boards. Care to come with? 🙂

Saturday Surfing: Sites I Surfed Today

  • Wow, this lip swatch of the limited edition MAC Nicki Minaj Pink 4 Friday lipstick is really, REALLY pink.
  • Speaking of pink, have you seen Dior’s spring 2011 Avenue Montaigne Collection?
  • Ben Nye’s Grand Lumiere Eyeshadow palette sports some seriously gorgeous greens.
  • Anyone else excited about The Black Swan? This Q&A with the MAC team that worked on the film shows how they created the trademark look.
  • The Lush King of Skin Body Butter is soooo bananas (B-A-N-A-N-A-S).
  • Mad props to the genius who thought of combining Flashdance and Jane Austen for this snazzy sweatshirt.
  • If you own a cat you’ve GOTTA read this. Skip straight to step four to see how it is to live with Tabs.


‘Cause that’s what I was born to do

Have a splendid Saturday!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Urban Decay Spring 2011: I Tip My Hat to the New 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils

December 3rd, 2010 by Karen 44 Comments

karen of makeup and beauty blog reviews urban decay 24 7 glide on shadow pencils 1
Wearing Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils in Sin, Lit and Morphine

The new Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils ($20) are the jam, but if you’re gonna do any blending you’ve gotta work hella fast.

“Run, Forest, run!”

urban decay 247 glide on shadow pencils small
Clockwise from lower left: Barracuda, Rehab, Delinquent, Wasteland, Clash, Clinic, Mercury, Midnight Cowboy, Lit, Sin, Narc and Morphine

New for spring 2011, these 12 creamy shadows in a stick are spin-offs of Urban Decay’s famed 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils. They’re just as smudge- and crease-proof as the originals with the same smoooove texture.
[Continue reading…]

There are 44 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews Keywords: urban decay

Beauty Elements Facial Treatment Mask: Holy Crap, Is That Michael Myers?

December 3rd, 2010 by Karen 32 Comments


Seriously, this IS happening

There is no way to look cute wearing a Beauty Elements Facial Treatment Mask. I really did try to make these pics appear less scary by throwing a chubby tabby cat into the mix (usually works like a charm), but in this case even Tabs couldn’t help.


Er, not sure what’s going on here

Take home lesson: before you pop on one of these pre-moistened cotton masks, usher your crush/hubby/kids outside, since the only option is to look completely frightening.

These treatment masks, which cost $8-15 each, are made by an Oahu-based spa and skincare line called Beauty Elements. You can find them at select stores across Hawaii (I snagged mine at Blue Hawaii Lifestyle in the Ala Moana mall), and I’d bet that at least one of them would ship to the mainland if you called around.

Each one comes soaked with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, silk proteins and seaweed, and they’re supposed to help with a number of skin issues (fine lines, firmness etc.). I picked up two: Hydra (for the dry skin part) and Time Reverse (for the getting old part).


[Continue reading…]

There are 32 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Product Reviews, Skin Care

Urban Decay Spring 2011, Part 2

December 3rd, 2010 by Karen 19 Comments

Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints from clockwise from lower left: Score, Greedy, Quickie, Indecent, Bang and Fetish; Crush in center

The Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints, new for spring 2011. $24 each, available soon!

urban decay spring 2011 afterglow glide on cheek tint swatches
Swatches of the Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints from left: Fetish, Score, Greedy, Quickie, Indecent, Bang and Crush

urban decay spring 2011 afterglow glide on cheek tint

urban decay spring 2011 afterglow glide on cheek tint

And even more Urban Decay spring 2011…

urban decay spring 2011 24/7 glide on eye pencil set 15 year anniversary collection
Urban Decay 15-Year Anniversary 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set ($92). Includes nine existing shades (Baked, Binge, Bourgon, Electric, Mildew, Ransom, Rockstar Stash and Zero) and six new colors (Asphyxia, Corrupt, Midnight Cowboy, Perversion, Stray Dog and Uzi)

urban decay spring 2011
From left: Supercurl Curling Mascara ($22), False Lash Mascara ($18), Lush Lash System Growth Accelerating Serum and Conditioning Mask ($42), Urban Lash in Babydoll, Urban Lash in Come Hither

urban decay spring 2011
Greed Eyeshadow Primer Potion ($18), 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Midnight Cowboy ($18), 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Illegal($18) and 24/7Shadow Pencil Blending Brush ($16)

There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Daily Photo Keywords: urban decay

Urban Decay Spring 2011, Part 1

December 3rd, 2010 by Karen 17 Comments











Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils clockwise from lower left: Barracuda, Rehab, Delinquent, Wasteland, Clash, Clinic, Mercury, Midnight Cowboy, Lit, Sin, Narc and Morphine

The new Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils, $20 each, available spring 2011.

urban decay spring 2011 glide on shadow pencils swatches
Swatches from left, first row: Barracuda, Rehab, Delinquent, Wasteland, Lit and Sin; Second row: Clash, Clinic, Mercury, Midnight Cowboy, Morphine and Narc

urban decay spring 2011 24/7 glide on shadow pencils

More swatches, details and reviews coming soon!

There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Daily Beauty Keywords: urban decay

Going Behind the Scenes: A Makeup Artist’s Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

December 3rd, 2010 by Karen 24 Comments

audrey of makeup by audrey

Follow me on TwitterFriend me on FacebookWritten by Audrey

Freelance makeup artist Audrey of Makeup by Audrey pulls back the curtain on a magical world of makeup in today’s guest post.

A Makeup Artist's Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

Have you ever been curious about what goes on behind the scenes at a fashion shoot? Well you’re about to find out! I recently had the honor to be the makeup artist for the winter issue of Scene Magazine, a women’s style magazine based in northern California, and I’m going to take you behind the closed doors to get a peek on all the fun that was had!

The day started at 9AM where the hair and makeup team immediately got started on beautifying our two lovely models, Brooke and Gina, from Ford Models. Meanwhile, our talented photographer got to work on setting up the lights in the studio while the stylists were in a separate room getting all the looks together.

Before I went to work, I made sure to discuss the desired makeup look, a bold smoky eye, with the editor-in-chief, Katharine Fong, and the contributing fashion and beauty editor, Donna Kato. I also ran over to the styling room to see what ensembles the models would be wearing so I could have a complete vision of the entire look. Once I had that, I was ready to go! I did Gina’s makeup while the two hairstylists, Karie and Shayne from Aveda at Santana Row, styled Brooke’s hair and then we switched models. It probably took about an hour and a half to get them ready.

A Makeup Artist's Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

Then the models headed over to the styling room to get dressed in their first looks. I loved hanging out in this room! Donna and her team did an amazing job of pulling the wardrobe for this shoot. There were racks and racks of gorgeous, luxurious clothes and tables of drool-worthy shoes, handbags, jewelry, and other accessories.

A Makeup Artist's Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

A Makeup Artist's Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

A Makeup Artist's Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

A Makeup Artist's Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

A Makeup Artist's Take on a Magazine Fashion Shoot

Because this shoot would support two fashion spreads (Timeless Chic and The LBD Primer), we had a lot of looks (over ten!) to shoot so everyone had to be on their toes to keep everything moving in order to be done by 5PM.
[Continue reading…]

There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup Keywords: guest post

Balms Away! Hawaiian Bath & Body Pineapple Lip Balm

December 2nd, 2010 by Karen 33 Comments

Hawaiian Bath and Body Review Pineapple Lip Balm open

Yes, I made it out of the Land of Aloha with more than handmade, cold process soap! For starters, I brought home this bag of red coconut ball candy:

It looks kinda scary, but trust me — this stuff is great (if you like coconut). One could easily devour a bag in a single sitting. Um, not that I’d know…

Besides crazy technicolor sweets, I also brought home a tube of Pineapple Lip Balm ($3) from a local company called Hawaiian Bath & Body.

Hawaiian Bath and Body Review Pineapple Lip Balm
[Continue reading…]

There are 33 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Product Reviews, Skin Care

You’ll Love This Soap, Child: The Indigenous Soap Company

December 2nd, 2010 by Karen 19 Comments

indigenous soap company love child review

Tangerine essential oil has a calming effect? For reals? Just when I thought I had enough Hawaiian handmade soap to keep me squeaky clean until summer, I ran into this bar of Love Child, made by The Indigenous Soap Company ($8.50 for 5-oz.).

A line on the packaging about tangerine oil, which supposedly helps children chill the eff out, sealed the deal.

indigenous soap company love child review calming effect

Even though my childhood was — holy crap! — decades ago, I need all the calming help I can get on high stress days. If tangerine oil takes my mental sh*zz down a notch or two, then I’m all for it.

Love Child’s one of seven soaps from the small local line, which is based on Oahu. I snagged a bar when I was at the Blue Hawaii Cafe at Ala Moana getting an acai bowl the other day (ever have one of those? so good!), but you can buy ’em at stores all over Hawaii and online at indigenousoap.com.

indigenous soap company website

This particular soap’s supposed to be gentle enough for kids, and I’d believe it from the short and sweet ingredient list. It’s made with lots of natural good-for-your-skin stuff (like shea butter and aloe vera gel) and without synthetic preservatives, color or fragrance.

Small touches like the “born on” date, drawings, feel-good text and the hidden “soap of fortune” lend a really personal touch.

indigenous soap company love child review ingredients

indigenous soap company love child review soap fortune
So that’s all I needed to free my doubts, *smacks forehead*!
[Continue reading…]

There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Product Reviews, Skin Care

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

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