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New Year’s Eve Makeup Ideas from Benefit Cosmetics Co-Founder Jean Ford

December 31st, 2008 by Karen 10 Comments

Earlier this month I got the chance to chat with Jean Ford, co-creator of the Benefit Cosmetics line.

To be blunt, Jean’s hot (and *very* tall!), and she has lots of fierce fashion and makeup advice.

We talked about high heels and Foot Petal inserts, makeup trends and what kind of makeup to wear to parties.

Jean even offered some tips for creating a soft and subtle brown and pink look for New Year’s Eve. Thanks, Jean!

Come hither eyes

For this look, start with a deep, rich cocoa colored shimmery shadow on the lids, working the color just barely into the crease. Try the dark brown shade from the Big Beautiful Eyes Palette (a shimmery dark brown) or Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Busy Signal (also a shimmery brown).

Next, ramp it up by patting a shimmery pink eyeshadow like Lust Duster loose eyeshadow in Cloud 9 on top of the brown. Use your fingers to place the shadow on the center of the lid and to blend out the edges.
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There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To

Magic Makeup GPS

December 31st, 2008 by Karen 18 Comments

Have you ever used one of those GPS devices in a car to help you get where you were going? Well what if there was a special makeup GPS that helped you find exactly what you were looking for?

What if you had your very own Magic Makeup GPS?

What would your Magic Makeup GPS help you find?

View Results

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Enter One Final Giveaway of 2008: MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead

December 30th, 2008 by Karen 320 Comments

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

Get ready to flip, whip and work that hair because MAC’s new Brunette Blonde Redhead Collection is about to land on MAC counters nationwide, HAAAAAAY!

The mega huge release features three distinct sets — Brunette, Blonde and Redhead — with more than 30 total products (30 pieces of makeup and three brushes). Each of the three sets is made up of products designed to complement a different color hair. Clever, yah?

Click here and here to see full listings and swatches.

The MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead Giveaway

No matter what your haircolor, chances are you’ll find something to like in this collection.

Enter today’s year ending MAC giveaway 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

One lucky winner will ring in the new year with six items from the MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead Collection ($85 value).

  • What A Do! Lipstick: neutral pink coral
  • Soft Wave Lipglass: tan bronze
  • Henna Eye Shadow: dark gold

  • B-Babe Lipstick: rich pink

  • Red Devil Lipglass: coral orange
  • Flip Eye Shadow: bronze gold

How to Enter

Again, there are two 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 winners at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 PM PST on Wednesday, December 31. The contest is open to all US and international readers. Good luck, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 320 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, MAC Makeup

Chanel Spring 2009 Makeup: The Aqualumiere Lipsticks

December 30th, 2008 by Karen 18 Comments

The two Aqualumiere lipsticks in Chanel’s Spring 2009 Makeup Collection make me want to sip hot java late at night from oversized mugs while listening to spoken word poetry and whispers of revolution.

The collection’s called Bohemian Fantasy, and both of the lip shades, Malta and Positano ($27 each), ease out of winter with just the faintest hints of color.

The easy-to-wear, nude colors are tender enough to work with almost any look, like the comfy white t-shirts of the lipstick world — classic yet breezy — and will pair perfectly with floaty floral dresses, or jeans and tank tops.

Malta’s a shimmery peachy-pink copper with golden glitter, and unlike many coppers that look too Oompa Loompa orange on my lips, Malta looks just right (yay!). One layer and I’m ready to spring out the door! Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A


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There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

December Roundup: The Month in Review

December 30th, 2008 by Karen 19 Comments

A Smokey Eye Tutorial with MAC Cosmetics Metal Urge Gilded Ash Cream Shadow and Cocomotion Pigment

“I don’t know if I’ll ever tire of doing smokey eyes. There are just so many different ways to work the look, like this spin on a daytime eye for work. It’s a method I learned from my favorite MAC artist, Jen, using products from the MAC Metal Urge and Red She Said collections.”

MAC Makeup for Work: Club and Woodwinked Eyeshadows

“I’m sporting two of my very first MAC eyeshadow purchases, Club and Woodwinked (both part of the permanent collection). I could write sonnets on both of these colors, as they’ve seen me through a lot over the past few years.”

NARS The Multiple Duo and The Multiple Bronzer

“I’d been looking forward to trying the new oil-free, cream-to-powder The Multiple Duo ($45) in Portofino/Malibu and The Multiple Bronzer ($37) in Malaysia since they debuted last month, but because I’d never used any of the original The Multiple products, I had no clue how and where to apply ’em! Thank goodness for Nars National Trainer Janice Daoud. She was nice enough to offer a few of her favorite application tips and tricks.”

Benefit Coralista Blush Has Got Me Purring

“MEOW! I’m a packaging ho, and Benefit Coralista ($28) blush’s jungly, cheetah print box (don’t you just love the font?) sucked me in immediately. It makes me feel like a cat woman on the prowl! Arriving at Benefit counters in February, this shimmery coral powder has cult beauty fave written all over it.”

MAC Cosmetics Dame Edna Collection Swatches and First Impressions

“Like Le Grande Dame herself, the collection is a little odd. It’s heavy on blue-based shades and frosty finishes with splashes of coral. I haven’t figured out how it’s all supposed to mesh together, but I think I’ll have a better idea once MAC posts the face charts online.”

How to Cover Up Dark Circles For a Wedding, Prom or Party with MAC Cosmetics Studio Finish Concealer

“I suffered through a really bad bought of insomnia a few weeks ago, and my dark circles were extra terrible. My regular concealer, MAC Select Moisturecover, just wasn’t gettin’ it done. My friend Jen’s wedding was right around the corner, and I didn’t want to show up looking like death warmed over. I needed serious coverage, and I needed it fast.”

With Pop Beauty Cat Eyes Liners It’s Good to Be Catty

“OBSESSION ALERT! Pop Beauty Cat Eyes Liners ($16) make applying eyeliner easy and, well, kinda fun. Slanted like the tips of calligraphy pens, these three three highly pigmented pencil liners are built to hit the right angles for slick cat eyes (think Amy Winehouse pre-hot mess).”

Berry Me in Tarte Berry Couture for the Holidays

“Tarte wants to wish you a very berry Christmas with the Berry Couture gift set ($35). It comes with two products (actually, three, because one’s a duo) — one full-sized Cheek Stain and a mini-Rise and Shine lip duo with a gloss and a stain — items perfect for rushed makeup morning or for those moments when you just want a little color.

Chanel Spring 2009: Product Pictures and Description

“Inspired by boho-chic style and gypsy dresses, the new look features plum and beige colors for the eyes, fiery red and nude lip shades and a brown cheek color. I haven’t seen it in person (yet), but the product descriptions and pictures make me think of singer Stevie Nick’s early 80s witchy-boho-gypsy style.”

Go Purple with Diorshow Plum Mascara

“After fall’s flood of faux plum mascaras (ahem, Benefit BadGal Plum and Clarins Wonder Plum), I started to think plum lashes were the stuff of legend — just something from the land of make believe, like unicorns and hit movies starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. But Dior had a little something to say about that. They’ve proved me wrong with their limited edition Diorshow Plum Mascara ($24). Finally! A plum mascara that actually looks purple on lashes and not just the brush.”

Slumdog Millionaire: SERIOUSLY. FREAKIN’. BRILLIANT.


I went to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire last night, and can I just say WOW? Run to your nearest theater and watch it. Today! Brilliant storytelling and cinematography, and I wouldn’t be surprised if director Danny Boyle takes home some big awards for this one.

In the film, slumdogs are unfortunate people born and raised in the sprawling slums of India. From birth they’re almost assured a life of extreme poverty and squalor, and the story follows a small group of slumdogs trying to break free from their past.


Actress Freida Pinto plays the female lead character, Latika, and HELLO, the woman’s uber-gorgeous. I’d never heard of her before I saw the movie, but she (along with the rest of the cast) does a fantastic job.

What’s the last great movie you’ve seen?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Chanel Spring 2009 Makeup: The Glossimers

December 29th, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

It’s that time again, ladies … time for Chanel! And time to go buck nekkid lips courtesy of spring’s two 2009 Glossimer lipglosses ($26 each).

They’re new, they’re nude, and they’re ready to bust a micro-glittery move on that pucker.

Wild Rose (my *favorite*) shimmers as a cool-toned plum pink with teeny flecks of silver glitter. She’s a beauty worn all by her lonesome, but I picture her pairing perfectly with smokey brown and plum eyes. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Beige Guitare grossed me out a little at first because it’s flesh-colored in the tube, kinda like Spencer Pratt’s fleshy beard, EWWW.

But I changed my tune after a quick swatch on the back of my hand. The color flashes from pink to beige to gold in the light, just like RuPaul, LOL! And there’s even glitter — hot pink, gold and silver — for extra credit.
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There are 29 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, Product Reviews

When It Comes to Travel Makeup…

December 29th, 2008 by Karen 53 Comments

Hi, ladies. I’m just playing around with video on the blog. Yes, I know I’m a dork.

You can do the look I describe in the video in under 5 minutes. Great for when you’re running late and struggling to catch an early morning flight.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 53 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Makeup Tips/How To, Video

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Dec. 29

December 29th, 2008 by Karen 59 Comments


Orange hibiscus

  1. Mood:
  2. Inspired and ready to kick some ARSE!

  3. Theme song o’ the week and why:
  4. Luck be a Lady, because my horoscope says I’m supposed to come into some money this week (*fingers crossed, yo*) 🙂

  5. Lips:
  6. Chanel Ultra Wear Lip Colour in Alexandrite (from the Spring 2009 collection)

  7. When I grow up I want to be _____:
  8. I want to be famous! I want to be a star! I want to be in movies! LOL, not really. I want to be a writer with 60 cats just like Ernest Hemingway (sans the drinking problem).

  9. Face wash:
  10. Philosophy Purity Made Simple

  11. Blush:
  12. Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Fandango

  13. Things I’m really good at:
  14. Being easily amused, eating chocolate, running up hills, poking fun at myself and making friends

  15. Things I need to work on:
  16. Time management, eating too much chocolate, not beating myself up when I don’t perform/write/achieve the way I want to, popping and locking (my body just won’t do it, and when I try I look like a complete dorkus maximus), photography

  17. Foundation:
  18. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

  19. Weekly goals:
  20. To stick to my writing deadlines, to go to yoga class, to watch the second season of The Tudors, to cook a meal in my crock pot (any recipe suggestions?), to make out with Christian Bale, LOL!

Hey, cuties! Are you ready to play? Please copy the empty list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le list

Mood:
Theme song of the week:
Lips:
When I grow up I wanna be _____:
Face wash:
Blush:
Things I’m really good at:
Things I need to work on:
Foundation:
Weekly goals:


Face of the day: When a wave unexpectedly rushes up and your pants and booty get completely drenched, this is what happens.

Let’s BRING IT this week!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 59 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

Makeup and Beauty Blog features daily product reviews, makeup tips and beauty news — like an interactive version of a monthly print magazine, except with occasional pictures of my cat.

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