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It Would Be a Crime to Keep Hourglass Film Noir Mascara Away from Your Fringe

September 1st, 2010 by Karen 18 Comments

Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara

The alley grew darker the deeper she went, but she knew he came this way, the cat with the tabby fur.

She sped around a corner and almost tripped on something metal and loud, a trash can maybe. She didn’t stop. It was dark, so dark. Out of breath, her heart racing, she barely made out the silhouettes of two dogs playing cards under a fire escape before she passed them.

“Which way’d he go?” she barked, pivoting on three-inch heels.

No answer. Damn scamps. She didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, just kept running, arms flailing wildly in the dark.

“Hello!” she cried out, to nowhere, to everywhere, to him. “Please, wait!”

Still nothing. So she kept running, deeper into the night. He was here. She knew it, somewhere, the cat with the tabby fur…

At $28 the new Hourglass Film Noir Mascara is priced more like a big budget Hollywood blockbuster than art house film noir.

Available in a single shade, Onyx, a deep, dark jet black, it borrows a page (or two) from Chanel’s new $30 Inimitable Intense Mascara — sleek, sophisticated packaging, similar lash lengthening prowess and volume plumping powers; all that, and it lifts curls, keeps them lifted all day long and resists smudging, too.

What Hourglass says about Film Noir…

  • That it conditions and hydrates lashes with pro-vitamin B5
  • That polymers in the formula help it adhere to lashes while also resisting smudging and fading
  • The triple-cut, hourglass-shaped brush distributes the product across lashes while creating volume, lift and length
  • It’s free of parabens, sulfates and pthalates

While similar, Inimitable’s spiky lash look limits its flexibility. It’s also not the easiest product to layer (gets clumpy and messy after one layer).

Film Noir has the smoother formula (how smooth is it?). It’s smoother than that sweet talking ex-boyfriend who kept making excuses for not returning your Notorious B.I.G. CDs…

I’m not bitter. 🙂

And it doesn’t clump at all, not even after three (or more!) layers, delivering beautiful definition.


[Continue reading…]

There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews Keywords: hourglass, mascara

Is Boots Botanical Conditioning Clay Mask a Blessing in Disguise?

September 1st, 2010 by Karen 34 Comments

Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask Review

My combination skin’s been acting up lately (annoying little pimples on my chin, clogged pores on my cheeks, dry patches around my nose… the usual crapalicious bullsh*t 🙂 ), so last night I took it as a blogger’s blessing and decided to test oil-free Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask ($9) for the first time.

Just shake (it sounds like canned soup!), slather and let dry for between 10-20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. The mineral-rich clay, which is harvested from the sea and combined with burdock root extract, contains a negative electrical charge that, according to Boots, draws the crud from pores without over-drying the skin.

Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask Review
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There are 34 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Drugstore Beauty Finds, Skin Care Keywords: boots

A MAC Fabulous Felines Face of the Day: Cat Eyes with a Golden Twist

August 31st, 2010 by Karen 65 Comments

mac fabulous felines leopard luxe fotd

Tabs has been bugging me to incorporate his MAC Leopard Luxe goodies into a look. It’s his favorite one of the Fabulous Felines color stories, and he’s been going on and on about its warm gold, brown, peach and black shades. Today he said of the colors, “Meow, mrow mrroww ft ft,” to which I think everyone agrees. 🙂

mac fabulous felines leopard luxe fotd
MAC Fabulous Felines Leopard Luxe products clockwise from left: Lipglass in Wildly Refined, Leopard Luxe eyeshadow quad, Utterly Game Mineralize Blush, Superslick Liquid Eye Liner in Pure Show, Superslick Eyeliner in On The Hunt

Just because a look utilizes neutrals doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Take the standard cat eye, for example. They’re often done with black liners or other dark neutrals, and today I tried mine with a twist — a shimmery golden liquid eyeliner along the lashline. I wanted to spice up the look with glitter without going full-on disco.

mac fabulous felines leopard luxe fotd
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There are 65 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup Keywords: mac

MAC Ming Blue Nail Lacquer

August 31st, 2010 by Karen 6 Comments

MAC Nail Lacquer in Ming Blue ($13).

How ’bout this shimmery blue? Yes, no, maybe so?

There are 6 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Daily Photo

MAC Imperial Flower Nail Lacquer

August 31st, 2010 by Karen 4 Comments



MAC Nail Lacquer in Imperial Flower ($13), from the Nail Trend F/W ’10 collection.

Would you rock this?

There are 4 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Daily Beauty

The LORAC Evening Out Complexion Kit Isn’t Just for Evenings Out

August 31st, 2010 by Karen 24 Comments

lorac evening out review

I didn’t have a cubic inch of extra room in my bag when I packed for that trip to Reno a couple weeks ago, so instead of bringing my usual brigade of face products (tinted moisturizer, stick foundation, liquid foundation… Um, have I ever mentioned that I tend to overpack?), I lightened my load with LORAC’s new Evening Out Complexion Kit ($38).

lorac evening out review The sleek gunmetal compact must have been made with on-the-go girl secret agents in mind because concealment is the name of this game.

The kit comes with a powder foundation, two cream concealers, a sponge applicator and a tiny Jane Bond-ian concealer brush. 🙂

Available in Light, Medium or Tan (the one I have), it covered all of my bases (and most of my skin imperfections) on the trip, working well no matter what outfits I wore, from ripped jeans to my favorite black cocktail dress.

When I wanted light, natural looking coverage during the day, I applied the powder foundation with a brush. Then at night I’d apply the finely-milled powder (has a medium opacity) with the included sponge. Because the powder layers well, it never looked like a heavy makeup mask.

lorac evening out review swatches
Swatches of Tan on NC35 skin from left: Powder Foundation, Light Concealer, Dark Concealer
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There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

Kyra Sedgwick: Her Best Hair?

August 31st, 2010 by Karen 14 Comments

It wasn’t billed as a rematch, but Sunday’s Emmy Awards pit two of TV’s most kick-@ss lady cops together for the FIFTH time in a row in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series — LAW & Order: SVU’s Detective Olivia Benson, played by my girl Mariska Hargitay, and The Closer’s Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, played by Kyra Sedgwick — and this time Kyra came out on top (Mariska won it in 2006).

It was good to see Kyra finally get the win. I’ve always liked her (and her hair!). Shoot, it’s about time homegirl got an Emmy to put on top of ye olde fireplace mantle. Fifth time’s the charm! 🙂

Which of Kyra's hairstyles do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hair, Just For Fun

Joining the Dark Side with the Bobbi Brown Black Velvet Collection

August 30th, 2010 by Karen 94 Comments

Bobbi Brown Black Velvet swatches review

Darth Vader: Bobbi, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.
Bobbi Brown: Speak to me.
Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side…

Actually, Bobbi does know the power of the Dark Side. She joined it this fall, but not in an evil empire kind of way (I would totally buy a Vader lipstick! Darth Vadar).

Bobbi’s new 14-piece Black Velvet collection (pieces $20-24 each) features, as one might expect, a selection of sooty black-based makeup for eyes and lips, and since we’re talking about the Queen of Wearable Makeup here, there’s nothing too cray-cray in the mix. The colors have all been dialed down enough to make them suitable for sidewalks AND catwalks.

Yes, each of the new permanent collection products and limited edition shades is influenced by black, but Bobbi kept everything street- and workplace-friendly, adding plums, cherries and maple tones, as well as a few semi-transparent shades.

My lips like these dark lipsticks; they totally take me back to the gothy mid-’90s, when night shades and black lips were all the rage. Those were my college years, and I remember getting a lot of use out of a color that was similar to Bobbi’s Lip Color in Black Maple (can’t remember the name, but it was also a semi-matte blackish plum), which I’d wear with plaid shirts, ripped jeans, big hoop earrings and Converse high tops. 🙂

Here are some swatches and pics from the new collection… Let me know what you think!

Bobbi Brown Black Velvet swatches review
Clockwise from bottom: Sparkle Eyeshadow in Black Velvet ($24), Metallic Eyeshadow in Black Berry ($24) and Eyeshadow in Black Chocolate ($20)

Bobbi Brown Black Velvet swatches review
Clockwise from bottom: Sheer Lip Gloss in Black Chocolate ($20), Lip Color in Black Maple ($22) and Creamy Lip Color in Black Cherry ($22)

Bobbi Brown Black Velvet swatches review
Swatches from left on NC35 skin: Sparkle Eyeshadow in Black Velvet, Metallic Eyeshadow in Black Berry, Eyeshadow in Black Chocolate, Kohl Eyeliner in Black Chocolate, Kohl Eyeliner in Black, Creamy Lip Color in Black Cherry, Lip Color in Black Maple, Sheer Lip Gloss in Black Chocolate
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There are 94 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup Keywords: bobbi brown

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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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