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

7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

March 29th, 2014 by Karen 378 Comments

It’s that time again! Rise and shine, pal o’ mine. Happy caturday! 🙂

Goodness, it’s raining cats and frogs here this morning, and it looks like it rained all night. I have absolutely no problems with that, mind you, because the rain makes everything greener.

What did you do last night? Did you see any movies, go out to dinner, play any games? El Hub and I were going to go out to dinner or something but opted for pasta at home and a rental instead.

Uh…I watched Catching Fire. Again. For the third time.

I know! But I just love that movie (and the first Hunger Games) so much.

As for Divergent, well, it didn’t really do anything for me. To each her own, though, ya know what I mean? That one just wasn’t my cup o’ tea.

I hope you do something fun this weekend. If the weather cooperates, get out there and enjoy it.

Good luck in this weekend’s giveaway, and don’t forget about The Walking Dead Twitter party Sunday night. I’d love to see you there.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- How many times have you been overseas?
- What’s the name of your favorite park, and where is it?
- What’s the best toothpaste?
- Where do you want to go today?
- Do you have a favorite coffee shop or cafe?
- Are you happy with your current makeup storage system?
- Describe your favorite cup or mug.
- What’s the best BB cream?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, March 31, 2014 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hangin’ With BECCA This Weekend…

March 29th, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

BECCA products, clockwise from the lower left: Matte Skin Shine Proof Foundation in Bamboo, Blotting Powder Perfector in Tinted, Blotting Powder Perfector in Translucent and Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Topaz

I’ve been fairly infatuated with BECCA lately… I’ve been in a big-time BECCA phase, and I’m really looking forward to taking a handful of their products out for a spin this weekend, namely Ever-Matte Shine Proof Foundation in Bamboo ($42), Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Topaz ($38), Blotting Powder Perfector in Translucent ($38) and Blotting Powder Perfector in Tinted ($38).

BECCA swatches from the left: Matte Skin Shine Proof Foundation in Bamboo, Blotting Powder Perfector in Tinted, Blotting Powder Perfector in Translucent and Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Topaz — From the left: Matte Skin Shine Proof Foundation in Bamboo, Blotting Powder Perfector in Tinted, Blotting Powder Perfector in Translucent and Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Topaz

Have you spent much time with BECCA products? What are your favorite things in the line? If you haven’t seen this video yet, here are five of mine…

The Estée Lauder Travel Exclusive Eye Color Luxuries Set Is Now Boarding

March 28th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Estée Lauder Eye Color Luxuries Set Travel Exclusive

Hey, hey, road warriors. Next time you find yourself checking out the travel makeup displays at the airport while waiting for your flight, I’ll be with you in spirit. Keep an eye out for this cute eyeshadow set from Estée Lauder.

New for spring 2014, the Eye Color Luxuries Set includes six shades of Pure Color Eyeshadow in 79 Summer Linen, 47 Nude Fresco, 52 Sizzling Copper, 33 Ivy Envy, 63 Tempting Mocha and 45 Lavish Mink. Price depends on your departure city and country, but palettes like these typically go for between $40-60 at locales here in the U.S.

The set is available now exclusively at Estée Lauder travel retail locations worldwide.

Happy travels!

Guerlain Is Cooking Up Delicious New Lip Looks With Seven New Rouge G Lipstick Shades

March 28th, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

Guerlain Rose Grenat — Cooking with K-Dawg and T-Money!

[OK, GUYS, WE’RE LIVE ON THE AIR IN THREE, TWO, ONE…]

Hi, everyone, and welcome to Cooking With K-Dawg and T-Money, the number one cooking show on TTCTV (Tabs the Cat TV), where we teach you absolutely nothing about food.

That’s right! — not a damned thing. 🙂

Hungry for homemade pasta? Salivating over sushi? Craving killer creppes? GURL, you won’t hear about any of that stuff here.

That’s because we dish about makeup, and today we’re cooking up delicious looks for lips with some new products from Guerlain.

Wearing the new Guerlain Rouge G in 864 Rose Grenat ($51), new for Spring 2014 — Wearing Guerlain Rouge G in 864 Rose Grenat ($51), new for Spring 2014

Shoo’, I couldn’t cook my way out of a paper bag, and my cat co-host Tabs lacks opposable thumbs, so he’s no cordon bleu chef, either.

Oh! — I’ve just been corrected by my producer. Apparently, I should have referred to my kitty co-host as, “Internationally renowned plus-size kitty supermodel, hip-hop mogul and founding member of Kitty Mensa Tabs the Cat.”

My bad.

Let’s get started. Step one: prepping our ingredients. 🙂

Four of the seven new Guerlain Rouge G's — Four of the seven new Guerlain Rouge G’s, $51 each, coming next month to Guerlain counters and online

It’s important to use the freshest ingredients, so today we’ll be working with a new crop of Rouge G Lipsticks ($51 each).

Four of the 7 new Guerlain Rouge G's — Four of the seven new spring 2014 Guerlain Rouge G’s

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Get Glowing Skin That Looks Like You Just Got a Facial, With the Help of a Liquid Highlighter and a Flat Foundation Brush

March 28th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Illuminator in Opal — Ah, spa! Here I’m wearing BECCA’s Shimmering Skin Perfector Illuminator in Opal on my upper cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose and on my cupid’s bow

No, seriously, if you and I get J-Renn’s permission to open a spa called “Deep-Tissue Massage by Jeremy Renner” we would make GAZILLIONS. We could even have, like, a rewards card, where you “Book nine deep-tissue massages with J. Renn and get the tenth free!”

It would be almost as rad as these cat lady shoes by Vans…

Cat lady says what now? — See, dreams DO come true

But I digress…

I’ve been using this technique to get glowing, “you just got a really, really, really great facial at a fancy-schmancy spa” skin with liquid highlighter and a foundation brush lately that I think you might like. It’s like getting an entire spa day in 60 seconds or less. 🙂

1. Start with a good liquid highlighter

The $41 BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Illuminators from the left in Moonstone (a pale gold), Pearl (a white pearl), Opal (a golden opal pearl) and Topaz (a golden bronzed pearl)

First, grab a good liquid highlighter, and there are lots of ’em out there, like MAC’s Lustre Drops, the NARS Illuminators or Benefit’s Highbeam, to name a few.

I use a variety, but my current favorites are the Shimmering Skin Perfectors by BECCA ($41, available in four shades).

BEYOND obsessed with these, for so many reasons. I love the way their pearlescent, natural-with-a-kick finish catches the light, and yet isn’t frosty, so it doesn’t emphasize my fine lines or pores. Because they contain just the right amount of shimmer, they glow without looking oily.

The BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Illuminators from the top down in Pearl, Moonstone, Opal and Topaz

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California Poppin’

March 28th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

In my neighborhood.

This here is the California poppy, also known as Eschscholzia californica, the official state flower of California.

Right now they’re blooming all over the place!

Aren’t they beautiful?

Chic Cheeks Are MAC-ing a Comeback: The MAC Tres Cheek Blushes Are Back

March 28th, 2014 by Karen 27 Comments

Three of the four MAC Tres Cheek 2014 Blushes

You might remember these MAC cuties from waaaay back in the day — like, um, 2012, LOL!

MAC quietly re-released four of the six shades from 2012’s fabulous Tres Cheek collection of blushes on maccosmetics.com this week.

Remember Tres Cheek? It had some majorly memorable shades. Smooth textures, fresh colors and some of the most natural-looking, wearable shades I’d seen from the line.

If ya missed them the first time around, here’s a second chance to grab bright pink Lovecloud, lavender Full of Joy, reddish orange Modern Mandarin and/or bright bluish pink Peony Petal ($20 each) while they’re available online. They’ll also be coming to counters April 3.

MAC Modern Mandarin — Modern Mandarin Blush

MAC Full of Joy Blush — Full of Joy Blush

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My Nose’s New Spring Addiction: Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline L’Eau de Parfum

March 27th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Light, refreshing and kind of addictive. I have to warn you… If you wear Bvlgari’s Omnia Crystalline L’Eau de Parfum ($95), you may end up spending half your day sniffing your wrists and rolling your eyes in ecstasy.

Um…not that I do that.

Nope. Not at all. 🙂

A white woody floral with notes of lotus and heliotrope flowers, sandalwood and musk, it has one of the more interesting bottles I’ve seen in a long time. I think the fragrance — for lack of a more imaginative expression right now — is off the frickin’ hook! I’ve never thought of myself as a Bvlgari girl, because almost all of the scents I’ve tried from the line smell a little synthetic/plastic to me, but not Omnia. It’s like a walk through a garden after a warm spring rain. Absolutely lovely!

You can find it now at Neiman Marcus stores and neimanmarcus.com.