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3 Easy Steps to Loose Waves

January 17th, 2009 by Karen 27 Comments

Left to its own devices, my naturally wavy hair turns into a big, frizzy mess.

I may not have Jennifer Aniston’s enviable loose waves, but I can almost fake ’em with the help of a few products — Sexy Hair Organics Styling Creme ($20), Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine ($20) and L’oreal Elnett Hairspray ($15).

Used together, they do a great job loosening naturally wavy hair.

1. Apply Sexy Hair Organics Styling Creme to damp, towel dried hair

It loosens my waves and eliminates frizz without killing the bounce. It’s neither crunchy nor sticky and moisturizes, too — a big plus for dry hair!

After washing and drying with a towel, I coat my hair with the creme from the roots to the ends, and then run through it with a a wide-toothed comb. The comb distributes the creme and starts loosening the waves.

2. Add definition with Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine

Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine works and smells great (like freesia). It’s a thick styling lotion that adds shine, smooths away frizz and creates touchable, malleable chunks of hair.

Choose a few pieces of hair around the bangs that you want to stand out. Dab a tiny bit of Brilliantine on your pointer finger (a little goes a long way). Then, pinch a piece of hair near the roots between your pointer finger and thumb.

Distribute the Brilliantine by running through the hair all the way from the roots to the end and repeat a few times on different pieces of hair until you have about 5-10 well defined sections around the face.

3. Set the look with a layer of L’oreal Elnett hairspray

Spray on a layer of soft and flexible Elnett to lock in that style. It keeps my hair in place without making it flake or feel sticky or crunchy.

It takes me about five minutes to apply all three products. Then, I air dry and let the products work their magic.

Do you have a special hair “cocktail” of products you use to get your hair looking its best?

Your friendly neighborhood beauyt addict,

Karen

There are 27 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hair

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, Jan. 17

January 17th, 2009 by Karen 10 Comments

Cleans computer keyboards *and* hair

Did you know that canned air dusters (ya know, the ones with the skinny straw) also work to keep dreads and cornrows flake-free?

I now pronounce you man and wife… Now pass the fire sauce!

Forget the expensive wedding planner. To cut costs couples are tying their knots at Taco Bell.

Here, kitty, kitty

Are you excited about the upcoming MAC Hello Kitty collection? Don’t the Lipglasses look cute?

Your love is like a heat wave…

This year Motown, the record label behind some of the most awesome girl groups of all time (Martha and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, etc.), turns 50! Now you, too, can get that classic Motown girl group look, but I have to warn you — it involves LOTS of hair spray.

Tabs: Sean Jean of the cat world

Besides chasing butterflies, Tabs the cat spends hours each day working on his new fashion line. If you look closely, you can spot his logo on this guy’s coat. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Saturday!

There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Do You Have a Favorite Workout Tip or Trick?

January 16th, 2009 by Karen 46 Comments

How do you get yourself to exercise when you don’t really want to? Do you have any secret tips or tricks? I need all the help I can get (I have a problem with Cheetos… and cookies, and ice cream).

Here’s my favorite workout trick (it’s another video).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 46 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Just For Fun

How to Apply Eyeliner: Soft Lines with Kohl Pencils

January 16th, 2009 by Karen 32 Comments

There are so many ways to apply eyeliner, and depending on the look I’m going for I tend to switch things up.

One of my favorite eyeliner techniques is to use a kohl liner for a soft, diffused lower lash line. Softly lining the bottom lash line without the top (or vice versa) still draws attention to the eye but doesn’t look too harsh or unnatural.

It’s also really easy to do (yay!) and kinda fun because it involves connecting the dots. 🙂

lancome-le-stylo

I like this technique with Lancome’s soft and smudgy Le Stylo Waterproof in Noir. It has a great texture and doesn’t migrate or disappear once applied. That, and the attached sponge smudger eliminates the need for a separate brush. Hello, lazy. 🙂

To use it I place the tip of the pencil on the outer most corner of my lower lash line and draw a small dot about the same size as the tip (shown above).

Working inward (toward the nose), I draw more dots, evenly spaced, shooting to get each one as close to the roots of my lashes as possible. Really digging the pencil tip between the lashes really helps to get the color “up in there.”

I’ll draw dots until I’m about a fingertip’s length away from the innermost corner of my lash line. If I go to far with my dots, I think the look ends up a little too harsh.

The dot approach doesn’t take but a minute. It helps to keep in mind that all of the dots are going to get smudged, so each one doesn’t have to be perfect. I usually do about five messy dots that look kinda Clockwork Orange before they’re smudged.

With my dots in place, I take the sponge tip of the Lancome Le Stylo pencil and start blending them together, gently running the tip back and forth between each dot. I like to think it’s connecting the dots for grownups.

I continue along the lash line, smudging dot by dot…
[Continue reading…]

There are 32 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup Tips/How To

FREE MAKEUP on Inauguration Day, Holla!

January 16th, 2009 by Karen 19 Comments

Tuesday marks a BIG DAY for Americans in more ways than one. Yes, it’s the day our new president takes office, but it’s also the first day of a $175 million nationwide cosmetics giveaway! 🙂

The giveaway’s part of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit that alleged there was an agreement among manufacturers and stores not to discount their premium cosmetics.

How much is the giveaway worth to you and are you eligible?

Short answer: $25 in merchandise, and you’re eligible if you sign a document verifying that you purchased cosmetics from one of the defendants between May 29, 1994 and July 16, 2003. Employees of any of the retail or manufacturer defendants and their immediate family are not eligible.
[Continue reading…]

There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: News

Blush for Beginners

January 15th, 2009 by Karen 32 Comments

Hi, ladies! How’s your day been?

Mine started out rough because I woke up sleepy, but things have steadily improved (coffee = joy).

Here’s another attempt at a video. This one’s about blush, and I apologize because I let Tabs do the editing. I think he got a little carried away. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 32 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Makeup Tips/How To, Video

Spring Forward with Essie Spring 2009!

January 15th, 2009 by Karen 198 Comments

UPDATE: The contest is closed, and I’ll be notifying the winners shortly. Thanks for entering!

What do ya get when you mix sassy red with nude pink, add a dash of Smurfy blue, and pour in *lots* of cream?

Answer: a recipe for Essie’s spring 2009 color collection.


From left to right: Mesmerize, One of a Kind, Status Symbol


From left to right: Eternal Optimist, Flawless, Lacquered Up

The six sweet and spunky $8 nail colors go on sale next month, and aren’t they cute?

Compared to winter’s dark purples and deep reds, these nudes and classic reds (and the surprise blue) have spring written all over ’em, and I dig the vibe. It’s dreamy and playful — like a warm, lazy afternoon in the park.

I’m new to blue — nail polish (aka Le Club du Blue). Creamy, royal Mesmerize caught my eye because I don’t have anything like it in my nail polish stash. And for some odd reason when I look at Mesmerize I feel patriotic, go figure!

I can see it looking great well into summer. Could you imagine having her on your toes and wearing a pair of cute, strappy sandals? Hot!

Status Symbol, a creamy and bright pink coral, looks like food. By that I mean it looks good enough to eat, LOL! It makes me want to suck on my fingers, as if I’m sporting strawberry-flavored candy nails, and like Mesmerize it should look great worn well into August.

I think many of the collection’s other pinks and reds look somewhat similar but have subtle differences.

The creamy reds — One of a Kind and Lacquered Up — could be twins! But a hint of orange makes One of a Kind just slightly warmer.

And Lacquered Up looks more like a true red to me. I like both of these crimson divas, but I think I prefer the way One of a Kind cooperates with my skin color.

Creamy Eternal Optimist a peachy-brown and pink, looks warmer than her sister Flawless, a cool and pale pink.

I think I’m drawn more to Eternal Optimist, though. She just seems a little more natural, but it’s a tough choice. Flawless is one of those sweet pinks that pops!

Despite the nudes that make this feel like a traditional spring release, I love how the collection adds some funner shades to keep things interesting, particularly Mesmerize and Status Symbol. They’re my favorite stars of the show.

The Essie Spring 2009 Giveaway

Are your current nail polish colors giving you the blahs? Get a fresh nail look this spring. Enter the Essie Spring 2009 Giveaway!

You can enter to win by signing up to receive my updates by email or by leaving a comment on this post (or both!). If you’re already signed up for the updates, you don’t have to do anything else to be entered to win — you’re already entered — but you can double your chances by also leaving a comment on this post (a comment about anything at all).

The Prize

Four lucky winners will slip into new nail colors this spring with a complete set of all six polishes Essie’s Spring 2009 collection ($48 value).

How to Enter

There are two different ways to enter, and you can do both of them to double your chances.

  1. If you haven’t already signed up to receive Makeup and Beauty Blog daily email updates, then enter your email in the pink box below (or click this link).
  2. If you have already subscribed to the email updates but want to double your chances, add a brief comment at the bottom of this post (be sure to use a valid email address). 🙂

Enter your email address:

I’ll choose the four winners at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 PM PST on Saturday, January 17. The contest is open to all US and international readers. Good luck!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 198 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Nails Keywords: essie

Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash Mascara Gives Chanel Exceptionnel a Run for Its Money

January 15th, 2009 by Karen 48 Comments

Question: Can I get a what-what from all my girls who love dramatic eyelashes??

Until today, *no other* mascara came close to my beloved Chanel Exceptionnel ($30) for delivering the super thick and long, ultra-defined drag queen lashes that I crave.

Today, everything changed.

Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Lash mascara ($22) stole Exceptionnel’s spot to become my new number one. It similarly thickens, lengthens and separates lashes — and for eight dollars less, holla!


Hella nekkid, wimpy lashes… Damn you, Mother Nature!

Most thickening mascaras will clump into little mascara globules, but not Smoky Lash. It applies smoothly, even after multiple layers, almost like it’s seducing my lashes. It’s the James Bond of mascaras — smooth but deadly hot.

Not only does it make my lashes look exceptionally dark, thick and long, but I think they even look more defined with better separation.
[Continue reading…]

There are 48 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

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