*Most* of the Benefit Fall 2009 collection. More details coming soon!
Benefit Fall 2009
And If You Complain Once More
You’ll meet an army of Mr. Potato Heads.
Skynet Returns, Now Judging Beauty Pageants
Imagine asking, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” and having the mirror actually answer. Someday soon it may — if the mirror contains computer chips programmed to run new software developed by Canadian university undergraduate student Joshua Chauvin.
Chauvin and fellow Canadian researches have found that a computer can be trained to rate human facial attractiveness the same way that people do.
To test their creation, the researchers asked a group of people to rate the attractiveness of other people in images, and then asked the computer to follow suit. Eighty-five percent of the time the computer’s ratings fell within one point of the human rating.
According to Chauvin…
“So what (the neural network is) doing is coming up with its own rating for those images based on some sort of understanding of what it thinks the population finds as attractive.”
source: CTV.ca
The technology isn’t ready to start replacing beauty pageant judges yet, but who knows? To his credit, Chauvin sees the potential for more practical uses for it, like one day using the software to corroborate a doctor’s diagnoses by identifying certain facial characteristics of some diseases.
Perhaps less altruistically, he also sees the software being used by marketing and advertising companies to assess how their target audience may respond to the models hired for different ad campaigns.
This young researcher’s name (Chauvin) sounded French to me, so I pulled up Yahoo! Babel Fish to check the translation.
What are the odds? 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
MAC Baby Bloom Brings New Tinted Moisturizers and Lip Balms
July 30 isn’t just the day MAC’s Love That Look collection drops. It’s also the day we meet MAC Baby Bloom, a new 10-piece release for face and lips, with new tinted moisturizers and sheer, tinted lip balms with SPF 20.
The Studio Moisture Tint SPF 15 ($29.50) family of tinted moisturizers comes in five shades (Light, Medium, Medium Dark, Dark and Deep Dark), and all five will be permanent additions to the MAC line.
The new Suntints SPF 20 Liquid Lip Balms ($14.50), on the other hand, won’t be around forever. They’re limited edition, and the colors include Just a Smudge (a soft pastel yellow with pearl), Lilt of Lily (a soft and creamy pale pink), Pink Tinge (a yellowish pink with golden pearl), Full of Grace (a sheer rose) and Moist Plum (a light lilac with pearl).
This morning I tried Lilt of Lily, a super sheer pink (almost clear on my lips). The texture feels thick, like a MAC Lipglass, but isn’t sticky, and I kinda like the light vanilla taste and smell.
I haven’t been using it long enough to gauge wear time or hydration, but I’ll report back on those soon…
Enjoy the rest of your afternoon. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
MAC Love That Look: The Eyes Have It
“Smile with your eyes,” as Tyra might say. 🙂 MAC must have had the same idea, because this month’s Love That Look collection is all about the eyes.
Love That Look brings 12 limited edition Starflash Eye Shadows ($14.50) and four Pearlglide Eye Liners ($14.50) to counters July 30, introducing a few new shades and re-promoting some previously released colors as well.
MAC Starflash Eye Shadow in Fashion Groupie
Nice to see you again
With their pearlescent finish (opalescent + pearl) the Starflash Eye Shadows have been driving me and many of my fellow MAC fans a little nuts since they first arrived last summer.
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Urban Decay Fall 2009: What Would You Get?
Yo, I’m stoked about the Urban Decay fall 2009 collection and totally blame it on the presentation. For the first time ever, UD created an online catalogue for a release and daym — all the graphics, product pics and saucy makeup looks are toying with my mind.
There’s a slew of classic UD-style makeup (bold eyes and lips!) along with an interesting new group of primers for face, lashes and lips.
Like a makeup junkie in need of her next hit, I spent a good half an hour doing the online shopping cart dance, repeatedly going through the checkout process only to pause before clicking that final SUBMIT…
Now, if you had $200 to spend on anything you wanted from this collection — anything at all — WHAT WOULD YOU GET? 🙂
OPERATION WHAT WOULD YOU GET: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to spend $200 in virtual Urban Decay Fall 2009 haul. After looking through the product pics and descriptions, post your wish list in the comments.
Some food for thought…
Primers
If you’re already a fan of Urban Decay’s cult classic Primer Potion for eyes (Sin is my fave), then you might be interested in their five new primers for face, lips and cheeks (prices range from $17-30).
Eyes
Urban Decay is known for edgy, bold eye colors, and they’re living up to it this fall with a new line called Ink For Eyes Cream Eyeliners ($22) and three new Deluxe Eyeshadow shades ($18).
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Two Ways to Win $215 in Perricone MD!
Do ya ever get the itch to try new skin care stuff? I have my favorite fallbacks — the products I run back to when my face freaks out — but I’m a product junkie at heart. I’ll use any excuse to try a new cleanser, treatment or moisturizer, le sigh!
I’ve been wanting to check out Perricone MD and their cosmeceuticals. Perricone’s a high-end line of facial cleansers, moisturizers and anti-aging treatments, and prices range from $30 to $300 per item.
Which is why I think it’s time for a giveaway. 🙂
The prize
One lucky lady will win a prize package worth $215 in Perricone MD.
The prize includes…
- A bottle of Advanced Face Firming Activator (a $120 value). This bestseller’s a lightweight, non-greasy anti-aging treament formulated with alpha lipoic acid (an antioxidant) and DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol, an organic compound found in many anti-aging supplements). Perricone claims this bad boy will reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and enlarged pores.
- A bottle of High Potency Eye Lift (a $95 value). Also a Perricone favorite, this eye treatment is said to repair advanced signs of aging around the delicate eye area while also minimizing deep lines, wrinkles and under-eye bags.
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 your biggest skin care concern.
Right now I’m looking for a product to reduce the appearance of fine lines beneath my eyes, gah!
Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:
RT @karenmbb: RT to Win $215 in Perricone MD. http://tinyurl.com/n5vrxj
Recap…
- 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.
- Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:
RT @karenmbb: RT to Win $215 in Perricone MD. http://tinyurl.com/n5vrxj
I’ll choose the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 PM PST on Saturday, July 18.
Ngikufisela iwela!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Lancome Declaring Indigo Fall 2009: Enough to Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Have you ever noticed how often the word “blue” turns up in song titles? Sitting down to play with Lancome’s Declaring Indigo collection, I thought of New Order’s Blue Monday and When the Stars Go Blue, by Ryan Adams.
Lancome’s new collection is blue beauty booty for eyes and nails. So far I’ve tested three pieces from the release.
Ink Artliner in Indigo Charm and Virtuose Mascara in Royal Blue
Yesterday I fell hard for Les Vernis nail polish in Indigo Paris ($18).
It had me at bonjour!
And today, Ink Artliner in Indigo Charm ($24) and Virtuose Mascara in Royal Blue ($25) ran away with my heart.
Ink Artliner in Indigo Charm ($24) is captivating in her shimmery, intensely pigmented indigo blue. A gel liner that doesn’t budge for nuthin’, she stays on my lids all day long without smudging, and I think she totes makes brown eyes *pop*.
The thick, semi-wet formula — easy to apply and control — should also be great for gel liner neophytes and lazy girls (like moi). Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+
Virtuose Mascara in Royal Blue ($25) nearly blinded me with bling when I first laid eyes on her. A dark blue mascara with golden glitter, this baby curls, lengthens and defines lashes like nobody’s bidness.
It looks a little scary in the tube, but no worries — she’s completely wearable. The shade applies as a subtle dark blue with teeny pieces of golden glitter — enough for just a hint of sparkle — so you don’t have to worry about looking like one of the Solid Gold Dancers circa 1981. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+
Swatches from left to right: Virtuose Mascara in Royal Blue, Ink Artliner in Indigo Charm
I think Lancome stands out with this release. Shades of gray are making big splashes over at Chanel and Dior this fall, but Lancome veers into almost summery territory with Declaring Indigo’s palette of deep blues, bronzes, golds and browns. It’s different, and from what I’ve seen so far, I like. 🙂
Let me know what you think.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen