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

Product Review – Three MAC Eye Brushes to use with Fluidline Liner – 212, 209 and 316

May 4th, 2007 by Karen Leave a Comment

Good things comes in threes! MAC Makeup Week at Makeup and Beauty Blog continues with a review of three of my favorite brushes to use with Fluidline Liner!

Product: MAC 212 Flat Definer Brush
Use: To line eyes with powder, liquid or cream products
Price: $20.00 for a long handled, synthetic brush
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A-

Back in December, a lovely MAC Makeup Artist at the Bloomingdales in San Francisco first brought this brush to my attention. I asked her to recommend a brush to use with MAC Fluidlines and she suggested the 212 Flat Brush. It was the beginning of the holiday season, and MAC was rolling out the holiday palettes and brush kits for 2006.

I ended up buying the 212 with a bunch of other eye brushes in the 2006 Ruffle Holiday brush set. The brush I have is the travel version of the regular 212 — the handle is short and made of plastic, unlike other regular MAC brushes which have long handles and are usually made of wood. [Continue reading…]

Product Reviews – MAC Blushes – A Few Favorite Pinks: Dollymix, Blushbaby and Pearl Blossom Beauty Powder

May 2nd, 2007 by Karen 5 Comments

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MAC Makeup Week at Makeup and Beauty Blog continues! Don’t forget to email me your favorite MAC product and why you can’t live without it – karen at makeupandbeautyblog dot com.

Today will be all about three of my favorite MAC pinks for the cheeks!

Product: Blushbaby
Use: Blush
Price: $17.50 for a pan
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

So MAC blushes seem a bit pricy, but they last forever. I got Blushbaby in 2003 and hitting the pan was a momentous event for me. I use this color frequently as my go-to blush when I’m in a hurry and don’t want to spend too much time blending. The website describes it as a flushed beige pink but it shows up as a light pinky brown on me. It’s a Sheertone blush, so it’s easy to apply and easy to build up. Blushbaby looks natural (no sparkle) but not flat. A great blush for blush newbies. I like to combine it with Pearl Blosson Beauty Powder.[Continue reading…]

MAC’s Strange Hybrid Limited Edition Makeup Collection is Out!

May 1st, 2007 by Karen 4 Comments

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The MAC Web site now features makeup from the Strange Hybrid Limited Edition collection.

If you like bright, floral, spring colors you will love this collection. Below are the three looks featured on the Web site. The looks remind me of Monet’s Iris paintings! While I could probably rock the Strange & Exotic look at work, I would save the Cultured look (LOVE THIS) for going out. I’m not a fan of the Strange Hybrid look, but that’s prolly ’cause I can’t wear yellow eye shadow.[Continue reading…]

It’s MAC MAKEUP WEEK at Makeup and Beauty Blog!

April 30th, 2007 by Karen Leave a Comment

mac-week-comic
It’s MAC MAKEUP WEEK here at Makeup and Beauty Blog!

Okay MAC junkies – it’s been a while since I’ve done any MAC makeup related entries, so this week Makeup and Beauty Blog will wax philosophic on several can’t-live-without MAC products.

Got a MAC product that you makes you sing “I can’t live, if living is without yoooouuuuu?” E-mail me at karen at makeupandbeautyblog dot com and tell me what MAC product you love and why you can’t live without it. I’ll be compiling all of your favorite MAC products into a Reader’s Favorite MAC Products Post at the end of MAC MAKEUP WEEK!

The Mighty MAC 266 Small Angle Brush

April 30th, 2007 by Karen 8 Comments

Product: MAC Eye Brush — 266 Small Angle Brush
Use: For application of eye shadow, liquid liner and other eye products.
Price: $18.50
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Behold, beauty obsessed readers — the MAC 266 brush! Bow down before it! Worship it for its magical ability to create eyebrows out of thin air! SHHHHH – speak only of it in hushed tones – for it is the 266 and your new favorite brush.

Okay, okay, so maybe you’re not about to start chanting “266! 266! 266!” But after you try this brush you may not be able to live without it.

[Continue reading…]

Hair Tip for Dry Hair — Skip the Shampoo and Wash With Conditioner Instead

April 28th, 2007 by Karen 20 Comments

Alberto VO5 Tea Therapy Clarifying Conditioner in Vanilla Mint Tea

It’s usually standard operating procedure to wash your hair with shampoo every day. While this may work for many women, it doesn’t work for me because my hair is thick, wavy and dry. No, I don’t walk around with a stinky head of hair a la Pig Pen. I “shampoo” using a cheap drugstore conditioner!

Why Skip Shampoo?
I started skipping shampoo when my hairstylist noticed my hair looked and felt overly dry. She asked what my routine was, and I told her I was coloring my hair, and then on top of that washing and blow drying it straight every day. She suggested skipping a day (even skipping two or three days if I could handle it) between washing and blow drying. That way, my blow out would last longer and I wouldn’t have to subject my hair to the daily abuses of heat styling. Another alternative she mentioned was to skip shampoo entirely a few times a week. She suggested using water to rinse my scalp and hair and then following up with a conditioner.

I did this for a few years until I realized that I hated spending so much time with my hair dryer. If you have thick, long, curly hair and wear it straight, you know it can take from 45-60 minutes to blow it out. If you’re blowing it out at least four times a week that’s four hours spent with your blow dryer! When I had this epiphany I realized, holy crap, all that time I spent fighting to get my hair straight I could’ve been doing other things like learning French or building a better mouse trap.

So about a year ago, I decided to stop fighting nature and embrace my wavy hair. That’s when I learned about the world of conditioner washing.[Continue reading…]

Product Review – Smith’s Rosebud Salve

April 27th, 2007 by Karen 1 Comment

Product: Smith’s Rosebud Salve
Use: As a lip blam and moisturizer for chaffed skin.
Price: about $5.50 for a 0.8 oz tin
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: C

Smith’s Rosebud Salve has been around since 1892 and consistently gets favorable write ups in the big fashion and beauty mags.

It’s made from a petrolatum base mixed with cotton seed oil, aromal and essential oils. The tin says that in addition to using it as lip gloss or balm, it can also be used on chapped skin, blemishes, diaper rash or detergent burn.

I bought a tin on impulse at Pure Beauty and after using it for a few weeks I have only one word regarding all the hype: WHY? So many beauty editors love this stuff but I think it’s way overrated.[Continue reading…]

Laura Mercier Makeup Event With A Premier Artist

April 26th, 2007 by Karen 3 Comments

What’s a Laura Mercier Makeup Event Like?
A few weeks ago I attended a free makeup event at the Laura Mercier counter at Nordstrom in Corte Madera. The event featured a makeover from a “specially trained premier artist” from Laura Mercier and products from their new spring line, Peaches and CrÃ¨me. When I visited the counter a few weeks before to pick up some foundation, the makeup artist mentioned that they were having this event and then she uttered the magic words that monetarily-challenged makeup junkies always love to hear: “It’s free!”

Full face picture taken after the makeover

“Free Makeover” Etiquette 101
Now most of you lovely readers probably know that “free event” at the makeup counter doesn’t really mean free. It’s code for “you better buy at least a lip liner, yo!” So if you sign up for one of these things be prepared to purchase at least one or two products, lest they think you were raised amongst wolves.[Continue reading…]