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

Saturday Surfing

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Saturday beauty surfing

Good morning, ladies. Did you sleep well?

I just spent about an hour web surfing my way through two cups of green tea. I’ve been on a tea kick lately, but I’m starting to miss that familiar smell of coffee in the morning.

No big plans for me today. I kind of want to just wander around the mall and window shop, maybe watch a movie — do some fun stuff to recharge my batteries.

Did anyone watch any movies last night? I meant to but got sucked in by E! True Hollywood’s biography on Michael Jackson…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Benefit Crescent Row Fragrances: My Place or Yours, Gina?

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benefit my place or yours gina crescent row review

Have you seen the packaging for Benefit’s new trio of Crescent Row scents ($36 each)?

Benefit Crescent Row

Super cute, yah?

Each one (all eau de toilettes) represents a different fictional girl.

There’s Laugh With Me Lee Lee (the playful flirt), Something About Sofia (the dreamer) and My Place Or Yours Gina (the seductress).

This week I gave all three scents a try, at first assuming I’d be a Lee Lee girl.

benefit my place or yours gina crescent row review 3

But I ended up liking My Place Or Yours Gina best.

Weird, because I’m not exactly seductress material. Hello — I wear yoga pants with holes in the booty. 🙂

My Place Or Yours Gina

Benefit describes Gina as a warm and woody oriental fragrance. On my skin she begins with a strong but feminine burst of peppery citrus and chocolate.

Maybe it’s Gina’s daring, sexy side. She’s not afraid to flaunt her shizz, ya know? And you’d better believe the hotties say “yes” when she offers to buy them a drink at the bar.

benefit my place or yours gina crescent row review 2

But there’s more to Gina than first impressions. After about 20 minutes with her, the top notes mellow out, revealing soft, gentle notes of lily, white musk and vanilla.

That’s the side of Gina her family and closest friends know. Yes, she’s seductive and alluring in her man-eater outfits and sky-high killer heels, but she’s also sweet, devoted and loving, too.

  • Top notes: pink pepper, bergamot, tangerine
  • Middle notes: peony, wild raspberry, white lily
  • Bottom notes: patchouli, tonka bean, vanilla bean

For an eau de toilette, Gina lasts a surprisingly long time. A few spritzes in the morning are enough to last all day long.

Gina reminds me of a lighter, fresher (but with stronger citrus and pepper notes) version of the $65 Chanel Coco Mademoiselle.
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Do You Do Beachy Waves?

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Do you do beachy waves?

Are any of you gals going to the beach this weekend? I wish it were warmer here right now because I sure could use a beachy break.

The bay out here is always pins-and-needles cold — not exactly bikini friendly — even when it’s hot outside, and most swimmers will wear a wet suit in the water.

I would, too, if they didn’t make me look and feel like a sausage, bluh!

Even when it’s too cold for the beach, I still like to dress the part, which is why I’ve been all about sundresses, flip flops, sunglasses and hair with beachy waves for the past few weeks.

There are different ways to do ’em, but here’s an approach that I use.

How I do my beachy waves

  1. For me it all starts the night before. I get better results in the morning when I’ve washed and conditioned my hair before bed. Lately, I’ve been using and loving Living Proof No Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner ($48).
  2. After my shower, I wrap my hair with a highly-absorbent microfiber towel like the Aquis ($18; hello, awesomeness) for 15-20 minutes. Then, I remove the Aquis, which has sucked out most of the excess water, and air dry until bed.
  3. Right before bed I apply and comb through a leave-in conditioner like Living Proof Leave-In Conditioner ($24), concentrating on the mid-shaft to the ends.
  4. With my hair conditioned, I put it in a loose French braid; the thicker the pieces in the braid, the bigger the waves the next morning. I secure the end of the braid with a ponytail elastic band (I like these summery, bright bands from Bumble & Bumble’s Bandball, $20), and then I hit the haaaaay.
  5. The next morning, I remove the braid and gently run my fingers through the waves, misting with Bumble & Bumble Curl Conscious Reactivating Mist ($22). I think it gives the waves some extra spring.
  6. For extra definition and hold, I spray on a light hold styling product like Redken Layer Lift ($15) on the upper and middle layers; when I want a softer, slightly messier look, I’ll use Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray ($22) instead.
  7. To finish, I scrunch the ends and let the products dry. 🙂

Drugstore alternatives

You can also substitute any of the above products with the following drugstore goodies…

Do you do beachy waves? What products/techniques do you use to get the look?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Bloggerati Spotlight

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The Beauty Bloggerati

I’m a little late with my morning greetings today, girls, so without further ado, GREETINGS! Looks like we’re almost through another week.

Up until a couple days ago, I thought I was going to be interviewing superheroes and heroines at Comic-Con in San Diego this weekend. Wouldn’t that have been cool? I had it all planned out — with pictures and video of costumed guys and gals in comic-themed makeup — but my plans changed when we found a potential new place to live.

So I’ll be staying local this weekend, keeping El Hub and Tabs company. Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Special shout out to Daily Makeover’s Beauty Bloggerati crew, who are holding it down in The Big Apple this weekend. Hope you’re all having a great time. Wish I could be there.

Urban Decay Fall 2009: How Nude Lips Look with the 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils

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urban decay fall 2009 lip liners

Thanks to Urban Decay’s two newest 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils, public nudity is back — nudity as in nude lips, the kind that go great with everything. They’re super low maintenance, which spells great for lazy beasts like moi.

But getting the right nude lip look can be tricky. It doesn’t take much to go from Angelina Jolie lip color to Night of the Living Dead.

This fall, Urban Decay is making nude lips a little easier to get with two new shades of lip liner.

Wallflower (a warm peachy pink) and Paranoid (a cool dark pink) join UD’s existing family of 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils ($16 each).

If you’re new to them, you’re in for a treat. UD cooked up a moisturizing formula packed with hydrating ingredients like vitamin E, jojoba and cottonseed oils. They combine to create a soft, creamy lip pencil that applies like butter on bread.

All that, and they’re waterproof, too, lasting all day long without drying out my lips.

Both Paranoid and Wallflower pair perfectly with Urban Decay’s creamy pink lipstick in Naked ($22), another standout member of UD’s collection for fall.

Paranoid

urban decay fall 2009 paranoid lip swatch final
Paranoid on lips

urban decay fall 2009 paranoid with naked lip swatch final
Paranoid layered beneath Urban Decay lipstick in Naked

urban decay fall 2009 paranoid closeup
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Two Ways to Win the Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Nail Color Collection

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The giveaway is now closed to new entries, and the winners are being contacted. 🙂 Good luck!

sally hansen hd hi definition nail color all

San Francisco is famous for foggy summer days, especially through July and August. It’s part of the city’s charm, not knowing what to expect from the weather, and why visitors to SF should always dress prepared. 🙂

Sometimes, though, when it’s warm almost everywhere else in America, SF’s overcast days get *really old*.

Up here in Marin County this morning, about 10 miles north of the city, I woke up to one of those foggy summer days.

I decided to brighten my outlook with brightly colored nails — a crazy mix of colors from the new Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Nail Color collection ($6 each).

Here are seven of the collection’s eight shades (click here to see the eighth color, Digital, a shimmery cool pink).

sally hansen hd hi definition nail color hi def
Hi Def

sally hansen hd hi definition nail color cyber
Cyber

sally hansen hd hi definition nail color lite
Lite

sally hansen hd hi definition nail color pixell
Pixell Pretty

sally hansen hd hi definition nail color three d
Three D

sally-hansen-hd-hi-definition-nail-color-hi-res-final
Hi Res

sally hansen hd hi definition nail color blu
Blu

To make the vibrant, shimmery polishes in this collection, Sally says they used liquid crystals and pure pigments. The colors are supposed to be as clear and brilliant as high definition TV.

Looking at these colors, I can’t help but smile. The shades are like little bursts of bright color on my nails!

I think it’s time for a giveaway. 🙂

The prize

Five lucky ladies will win a set of Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Nail Colors with all eight polishes (a $50 value).

The prize includes…

  1. Hi Def: a shimmery green
  2. Cyber: a shimmery purple
  3. Lite: a shimmery yellow
  4. Pixell Pretty: a shimmery teal
  5. Three D: a shimmery orange
  6. Hi Res: a shimmery red
  7. Blue: a shimmery blue
  8. Digital: a shimmery hot pink

How to enter…

Entering is easy. There are two different ways, 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. In it, tell me what brightens your mood on a gloomy day.

Bright nail polishes, upbeat dance songs and Tabs are all things that cheer me up.

Follow meSecond, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to Win $50 in Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Nail Color. http://tinyurl.com/n78vxw

Recap…

  1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
  2. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

    RT @karenmbb: RT to Win $50 in Sally Hansen HD Hi-Definition Nail Color. http://tinyurl.com/n78vxw

I’ll choose the five winners at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 PM PST on Saturday, July 25.

Kali tihi!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. To celebrate the launch of the HD Hi-Definition collection, Sally Hansen’s hosting an online sweepstakes with prizes like an HD TV, an iPod and a bunch of Sally Hansen goodies. Head over to the Sally Hansen website to enter.

The giveaway is now closed to new entries, and the winners are being contacted. 🙂 Good luck!

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