Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

MAC Lipglass in Russian Red: A Bold Lip Look

April 4th, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

mac Cosmetics russian red lipglass

Dang, that’s red…

And sheer?

No, not sheer.

Subtle?

No, not subtle.

Bold, bright and sexy?

Hell, yeah!

There are things in life that every girl should try at least once. Make one of those things MAC Russian Red Lipglass ($14). Nothing says “I kick booty” like entering a room with knock-out red lips does. Russian Red’s blue-based (blue undertones) lipgloss brings your lips to full attention, soldier! To work it well, you’ll also need…

Confidence. Russian Red’s shine and bold color aren’t for the faint of heart. People WILL stare. Revel in the attention!

Lipliner, and a healthy dose of patience to apply. Vivid colors like Russian Red make it easy to spot uneven lipliner and lipgloss application, so take your time. To achieve a crisp, defined red lip, I first line my lips with MAC Red Enriched Cremestick liner, taking special care to balance the left and right sides. With a crisp lip line in place, I slowly apply two coats of Russian Red inside the lines. Why two coats? Because if you’re gonna go red, you may as well go big.

Maintenance. I’ve found that Russian Red requires tender love and care. Wearing it, I have to check on my lips constantly because, seriously, it gets all over the place. One windy day, while wearing Russian Red gloss, some of my hair got stuck in the gloss. I haphazardly pulled free the strands of hair and tucked them behind my ear. I didn’t realize until half an hour later that it had left faint red streaks of gloss on my cheek. Lovely.

Another time, I accidentally dribbled a few drops of coffee down my chin. When I went to clean up with a napkin I momentarily forgot that I was wearing Russian Red. One quick swipe later … yup, crazy clown lips.

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Choose Your Own (MAC Cosmetics) Adventure

April 3rd, 2008 by Karen 31 Comments

The new MAC-pod
I’d buy this in a hot minute if it were real (but it’s not, sigh).

Hey, gals! How ya be? I’m heading out the door for a quick bite to eat. Puerto Rican food, anyone? Hope your day went well.

Viva la carbs!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Tag: Hump Day Games

April 2nd, 2008 by Karen 52 Comments

Every once in a while a fellow beauty blogger will invite me to play a game of blog tag. In blog tag, a blogger is asked a series of fun questions or asked to write something like I Love the 80s!.

When you’re done, you tag another blogger, and it spreads from there (like wildfire!). I don’t always have time to play, but today when my homegirl Christine of Temptalia.com tagged me to play Getting to Know You, I couldn’t resist! Ya’ll know I love to write lists.

Here are my answers, in no particular order…

Things I’m passionate about

Dancing
Surfing
El Hub 🙂
Blogging
Kindness
Cultivating a unique point of view to share with the world
Not being stagnant, and challenging myself to evolve mentally, physically and artistically
Flossing and dental hygiene in general
Bringing out the best in others
Laughter, humor and having fun
Details
Adventure!
Audrey Hepburn’s fashion style in Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Music

Things I’d like to do before I die

Be a mum
Interview Madonna
Write a teen fiction book
Skydive one last time (this ought to happen before the becoming a mum thing, I reckon)
Go on a worldwide surf vacation
Drink a pina colada and get caught in the rain
Live in Paris
Be able to bench press with one 45-pound plate on each side of the bar (!)
Grow a watermelon
Eat that watermelon
Send my parents on an awesome vacation
Own a pony

Things I say often

I love you.
What’s up?
I’m feeling all shades of crazy!
Did you brush?
Oh my god, what’s that smell?
Where’s Tabs? (This is in reference to the neighbor’s tabby, whom I’ve named Tabs — alternate spelling: Tabz. He’s also referred to as Tab-money, Tabula rasa and Taboo.)

makeup and beauty blog tag tab money
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Get Long, Dramatic Lashes with Shu Uemura’s Precise Volume Mascara

April 2nd, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

Makeup and Beauty Blog Shu Uemura Precise Volume Mascara 1

I’m the type of girl who doesn’t care for drama, but I’ll take dramatic lashes any day! If you crave long, can’t-miss-me lashes like I do, get thee a tube of Shu Uemura’s Precise Volume Mascara ($23)! Using it lately I’ve achieved some of the longest, most defined lashes I’ve seen on myself in a while.

Because Shu bills Precise Volume Mascara as a “volumizer,” I expected thicker, fuller lashes mainly at the base of the lash. Instead, two coats seemed to extend the length of my lashes near the tip.

The results look dramatic to me; I feel like I’m wearing falsies, or like I applied some sort of miracle grow lash formula.
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You Must Choose: Separated at Birth! Mario Lopez and Jay Manuel

April 1st, 2008 by Karen 44 Comments

There’s no shortage of reality TV reruns on the boob tube, and I’m a lil’ ashamed to admit the multi-show marathons always send me into a state of five-hour couch paralysis. The other day, I sat down to watch cycle 8 of America’s Next Top Model for like the fourth time (team Natasha, yo!) when it hit me: Jay Manuel bears a striking resemblance to America’s Best Dance Crew host Mario Lopez (of Saved by the Bell fame).

You know you can’t deny the resemblance.

This got me thinking: which half of this dynamic, separated-at-birth duo would I rather share a cup of coffee with? Jay or Mario?
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Get Energized and Go Fresh: Dove Energizing Grapefruit and Lemongrass

April 1st, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

This week your girl tested (aka played with) three of the products from Dove’s new Go Fresh line. You may have heard about Go Fresh while watching The Hills. In one of last night’s episode’s, Alicia Keys co-stars with two other women in an extended-length commercial — what Dove calls a micro-series.

The Three Go Fresh Fragrances

Refresh: water lily and fresh mint
Cool Moisture: cucumber and green tea
Energize: grapefruit and lemongrass

Far and away, Energize took the cake as my favorite of the Go Fresh fragrances. Dove describes it as “grapefruit and lemongrass.” I could have sworn I picked up more orange, lemon, baby powder and soap, but still — it’s a wonderful scent.

In the interest of beauty science, I road tested three of the Go Fresh family products in the Energize scent last night before and after dance class — Ultimate Clear Invisible Solid deodorant, Beauty Body Wash and the Body Mist. In hindsight, it may not have been a great idea to nighttime test a so-called energizing product, but I expected to be up late anyway (TV time).

Was your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, in fact, energized by Energize?
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A Perfect Coral Color: Chanel Glossimer in Gazelle

March 31st, 2008 by Karen 54 Comments

It’s lipgloss crack! That’s how I felt when I first peeped Chanel’s limited edition Glossimer in Gazelle ($26), a bronzy orange lipgloss with shimmery golden sparkles. I was instantly hooked.

Chanel Glosslimer Gazelle Swatch Makeup and Beauty Blog

Chanel describes Gazelle as a praline pink (huh?), but on my lips the color looks like coral with touches of bronze and gold. The shade is unlike the other coral colors in my lipgloss stash, like MAC’s Lychee Luxe and Sock Hop, which are mostly brighter orange tones. Gazelle feels more subdued and sophisticated, like the older, more worldly coral cousin (the one with the haughty accent) who went to finishing school.

Chanel Glosslimer Gazelle Makeup and Beauty Blog 2
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Face of the Day: MAC Cosmetics Heatherette Trio 1

March 31st, 2008 by Karen 51 Comments

I finally wrapped my grubby little hands around MAC Heatherette Eyeshadow Trio 1 last weekend, and I have to say: I love this bad boy!

MAC Cosmetics Heatherette Trio 1 Fotd 4

Sometimes, in trios and quads, one or two of the shades just aren’t up to snuff, but all three shades MAC chose for Trio 1 — a pink, green and black — work well together. That said, Mood Ring, the green shade (more of a teal) is definitely my favorite of the bunch.

For the green, pink and black smokey eye look below, I layered each of the shadows over MAC Pink Pearl Pigment (also part of the Heatherette collection). Layering Pink Pearl Pigment underneath these shadows creates an effect similar to how the colors of a peacock’s feathers can seem to change with the light. So purty!

Even though this eye pushes the envelope as far as its appropriateness for day wear, I wore it to the movies yesterday afternoon and didn’t feel out of place.
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