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Caveman Cosmetics? Neanderthal Makeup Discovered

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Pretty prehistoric girl

Cleopatra may have rocked a mean cat eye, but she wasn’t history’s first style icon. Scientists say that title may belong to a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal.

Professor Joao Zilhao, an archaeologist from Bristol University in the UK, and his team say that shells found at two sites once inhabited by Neanderthals in the Murcia province of southern Spain were actually containers used to mix and store “body paint.”

Along with the ancient pigment-coated shells, the team uncovered black sticks of manganese, lumps of a yellow pigment possibly used as a foundation, and a red powder mixed with flecks of a reflective brilliant black mineral (used as eyeshadow, perhaps?).

Our ancient girl was quite the trendsetter, at the forefront of natural cosmetics. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The MAC Care Blends Essential Oils: Your Thoughts?

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Have any of you gals tried either the Grapefruit + Chamomile or Sweet Orange + Lavender MAC Care Blends Essential Oils ($20 each)?

They came out with the Warm & Cozy collection…

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I have Sweet Orange + Lavender, and so far I’ve only used it on my hands, mixing in a few drops with my lotion before bed. I’m scared to death apprehensive about trying it on my face, though, where I have VERY sensitive skin.

I just have a weird feeling it’ll cause me to break out.

Am I worrying for nothing? Have you tried these yet? And if you have, have you used them on your face?

Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Spring 2010 Les Impressions de Chanel Collection: A Friday Lip Look

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The weekend’s officially ON! 🙂
WOOT!
Tabs and I kicked ours off early. He spent the afternoon at the spa (aka the bathroom sink), while I clocked out early to take pictures of spring’s Les Impressions de Chanel collection.

MUSICAL SIDE NOTE: Hall and Oats, the song One on One — It’s about basketball, right?

I’ll have more swatches up soon, but I wanted to show you the plummy brown lip look I did for Tabs.

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Just fooling around I decided to add a layer of Rouge Double Intensite Ultra Wear Lip Colour in Rose Agate (a plummy brown cream, $34) on top of Glossimer in Maline (a shimmery gold, $27).

I kinda like how it turned out!

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From left to right: Rose Agate, Maline

Speaking of one on one, I bet this would play nicely with Benefit Sugarbomb (a sheer, plummy peach with golden shimmer) or the neutral blushes from MAC Ages, All Races, All Sexes…

Try to stay warm

Is it cold where you are? I am freezin’ my bum off right now, ladies. It’s colder than Häagen-Dazs up in here!
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50% off LORAC Front of the Line Liquid Eyeliner

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Lorac Front of the Line

Hi, gals. 🙂 Happy Friday!

Ahh, do you smell that? It’s the scent of you snagging LORAC’s Front of the Line eyeliner on d e e p discount.

I got an email from the company this morning announcing the sale. These water-resistant, felt-tip liners normally sell for $20 apiece, but you can get ’em now for $10 at Lorac.com (while supplies last).

Front of the Line comes in three shades — Black, Brown and Green. I haven’t used these exact ones before, but I am a big fan of LORAC’s Front of the Line Pro (which I love more than flip-flops, stinky cheeses AND Jersey Shore). I’m hoping the non-pro version, which looks and sounds very similar from the pictures and reviews I’ve found online, wears just as long and goes on just as smoove.

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Guess who just shaved her toes?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Bobbi Brown fans! Mark your calendars. Tuesday, January 12 at 12:30 p.m. EST, Ms. Brown (if ya nasty!) will host a live Twitter Q&A. For two hours, she’ll answer questions and provide personalized advice, FUN! I’ll definitely be there. 🙂

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My Thursday MAC Attack with All Ages, All Races, All Sexes and MAC in Lillyland

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Tonight I stopped by the mall to get an up close and personal look at the rest of the two brand-spankin’ new MAC collections that arrived today, All Ages, All Races, All Sexes and MAC in Lillyland. 🙂

I set out to find my favorites and brainstorm with the makeup artists at the counter to find the best of the rest.

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MAC in Lillyland: I’m blushing

Lillyland’s color palette takes me straight to the tropics, with glistening sparkles like droplets of rain on exotic flowers in shades of vibrant pink, orange and purple.

Cremeblend Blush in Florida ($19). Florida looks shockingly pink in her pan, but she applies like a semi-transparent hot pink on cheeks. My MAC buddy Rose loves Florida, which she called a dead ringer for MAC Dollymix powder blush (an all-time fave!). I’ve always wanted a cream blush version of Dollymix… I guess some dreams really do come true! 🙂

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All four of the Cremeblend Blushes ($19 each). Don’t be scurred, holmes! They may look bright in their pans, but these creamy blushes, with their dewy finish, go on like transparent washes of color. Wear ’em on bare skin OR above your foundation and/or powder. So purty!

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From left to right: Joie-De-Vivre; Optimistic Orange; So Sweet, So Easy and Florida

Pearlmatte Face Powder ($27). MAC artist Michelle called this pan of powder the Lillyland product that would wear best across the board. She suggested swirling the shimmery brown, peach, gold and pink shades together to create a golden brown. BONUS: Should work great as either a blush or a highlighter.
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Do Josie Maran’s Bear Naked Wipes Take It All Off?

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Oh, the pink packaging, the adorable photo of the polar bears, and the slick title font… THE FONT! — is that Helvetica Neue Ultra Light?!

Reacting to this perfect storm of marketing cuteness, I just impulse purchased these $12 Bear Naked Makeup Wipes by Josie Maran.

I tried to resist — honest, I did — but part of the proceeds go to the Polar Bear SOS Initiative. How cool is that?

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With 30 wipes per package, the cost breaks down to about 40 cents a wipe — a little on the expensive side, but you’re mostly paying for what you don’t get…

That is to say, these wipes come without parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petro-chemicals and phthalates. 🙂 They’re biodegradable and feel oh-so-gentle on my skin, too, thanks to a soothing blend of aloe vera, chamomile, cucumber and vitamin E.

And Tabs likes that they’re 100% cruelty free.
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