…flowers for you, my friend. 🙂
Everyone deserves flowers sometimes.
Just Some…
Have You Hit Major Pan on Any Products Lately?
And not just when you catch an itty-bitty glimpse of silver. I’m talking MAJOR pan, like when there’s more metal at the bottom of that pan than powder, and you start worrying about running out completely.
I jump around between products, so it doesn’t happen too much, but sometimes (’cause I do love wearing the face paint!), it happens, and when it does, for a time it feels glorious! — like I conquered something BIG, a makeup Mt. Everest or something.
But that soon turns to sadness or panic, when I realize that, shoot, I’m gonna run out.
Here are some of the products I’ve hit major pan on, in no particular order, which is a testament to how much I love them.
- MAC Woodwinked Eye Shadow — One of my old faithfuls. I wear Woodwinked on my lids a lot after sleepless nights. It’s one of my tried-and-true tools to fake looking awake.
- Bobbi Brown Peach Color Corrector — OK, don’t ask me why I’m keeping two empty pans of this right now. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s just one of those weird makeup things, I guess. There’s still a tiny bit of product in there, and I can’t bear to let it go.
- MAC Blushbaby Blush — Man, if MAC ever discontinued Blushbaby…I don’t even know what would happen. Sh*t would hit the fan! That’s all I’m sayin’. I’d be out there tracking down every last one like a mad woman. Out of my way, b*tches!
- MAC Soba Eye Shadow — Soba, a golden brown with a sheen finish, is one of my shadow faves this time of year (I like it best when I don’t have a tan)…and other times when I’m too lazy to buff MAC Cork’s matte finish, haha. Soba’s subtle shimmer makes it easier to blend, which is why I wear it a lot. It looks amazing smudged on top of a basic black liner, by the way.
Have you hit major pan on any products lately? (I’m talking major pan. Not just a flash of silver.) 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S.
For Vampire-Light Looks, Try the Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Sticks in Rich Raisin and Perfect Plum
If you’ve seen many vampire movies and TV shows, you probably know that in the supernatural world, the vamps usually have the market cornered on cool clothes, cars, castles and makeup.
If it wasn’t for the whole blood drinking thing…I would actually consider the lifestyle.
This past fall all I wanted to wear were opaque, dark berries, reds and plums on my lips. I was going for that whole “I’m an extra on the next Underworld” effect.
Vampire lips all the way. 
Well, now that phase seems to have morphed into something else. I’m still into rich fall colors, but in sheerer, more lower-maintenance shades, like these two Neutrogena Perfect MoistureSmooth Lip Colors in Rich Raisin and Plum.
They’re moisturizing, easy to apply and look lovely with smokey eyes. Plus, because these shades are pretty sheer, I don’t have to worry as much about making mistakes as I did with those richer fall colors.
They’re available now in vampire nests, drugstores, grocery stores and online for $8.49 each (along with some other shades, too).
By the by…
Do you happen to recognize the gal in that illustration at the top?
Yup, that’s me! — looking impossibly tall in a pair of skinnies and holding a bottle of my fave Neutrogena Ultra Cleanser.
The drawing is by Brook Hagel, a fabulous New York-based fashion illustrator. Here’s her Etsy shop (I think she’s away on vacation), where she does drawings on commission.
Ooh… Wouldn’t that be such a great gift for a gal pal?
YOU MUST CHOOSE: The Mrs. Bret Michaels Edition
We haven’t done a YOU MUST CHOOSE post in a hot minute! This is way overdue. 🙂
Sooo…what is YOU MUST CHOOSE?
It’s just a game I used to play with my BFF, Naaman, at work when we got really bored. You present two really messed-up scenarios and make your friend choose between the two, mwahahahahaha!
Yeah, it’s pretty dumb… But it’s so much fun!
Brace yourself now, because YOU MUST CHOOSE!! Just leave your answers in the comments.
Scenario #1
All of your teeth have to be filed down to razor-sharp fangs (they’d look exactly like the fangs the vamps had in 30 Days of Night) and stay that way for the rest of your life…
or
You have to marry Bret Michaels, who in this scenario is a polygamist and you’re wife number three of eight. You also have absolutely no chance of escape/divorce.
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
Scenario #2
You have to spend your entire wedding day with extra large, extra obnoxious rollers in your hair, so that when you walk down the aisle, smile and say, “I Do,” BAM! — you’re wearing those big-@ss rollers in all of the pics (and you can’t take them out or cover them with anything)…
or
You can spend the rest of your life with a thick carpet of wiry, plush hair on both of your butt cheeks. And it grows really fast (when you shave at night, it’s back in full force by the next morning).
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
Scenario #3
You have to get two permanent brow tattoos, where one side is thick like Groucho Marx’s, and the other is pencil thin…
or
You have to tattoo the names of all of your exes across your left boob in a list titled, “This is a list of all of my exes,” and it has to be written in 24-point Comic Sans.
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
Scenario #4
You have to give up living with/assisting pets for the rest of your life (that means no animals at all)…
or
You have to give up wearing makeup forever.
YOU MUST CHOOSE!
Seriously, that last one? Either choice would break my heart.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. 🙂 To play, just copy the list and paste it with your answers in the comments.
1. Vampire teeth or Mrs. Bret Michaels the Third?
2. Wedding day rollers or hairy butt cheeks?
3. Two different brow tattoos or your exes on your boob?
4. Give up pets or makeup forever?
A Face of the Day With a Few Tried-and-True Shades From MAC’s Permanent Line: A Smokey Brown Cat Eye, Pink Cheeks and Lips
I can’t even begin to describe to you the chaos swirling around me right now. Almost every single one of the houses in my neighborhood is under some kind of construction — I am so not exaggerating — and behind the cacophony of hammering and sawing is poor Tabs pacing the house while adding his own mewling and grumbling (“Mrrroooow!”) to the symphony of sound.
I am *this close* to completely loosing my sh*t…
Safe place! Safe place!
The only thing preserving my sanity has been this song: Sail, by Awolnation, which I’ve been trying to play loud enough to drown out the noise outside.
That whole entire album (Megalithic Symphony) is my power jam right now. I listen to it and pretend that all of the banging going on outside is part of the song, haha.
SAIL!
The ruckus started right after dawn and hasn’t let up. By 11 I felt like I needed the makeup equivalent of a large vanilla shake and a basket of fries, also known as comfort food, so I fell back on a look I do all the time with some of my favorite things from MAC’s permanent line.
More classy than flashy (hopefully), it’s a softly smoky golden brown eye with black cat liner, pink, barely-there matte cheeks and glossy pinkish gold lips. I used to wear this look a lot when I worked in the city and still do whenever I want to look pulled together but not over the top.
Ready, Set, Bow! Tarte’s $49 Bow and Go 3-in-1 Gift Set Makes Gift Giving Easier
MBB FUN FACT: Despite my love for Biggie and Tupac, I can’t rap worth a damn, but when it comes to wrapping — as in gift wrap — I do alright, if I do say so myself. 🙂
I owe it all to the extensive training I received as an Emporium Capwell gift wrapper in the winter of ’92.
GURL, don’t make me take out my scissors, ’cause I will wrap those boxes like WHOA! (Complete with swirly curly ribbons.)
The $49 Tarte Bow and Go 3-in-1 gift set, which actually has a pretty cool schtick, comes with a gold ribbon (not shown in any of these pics), and I was all set to tie it around the three included gift boxes, but wouldn’t you know it? Tabs took off with the ribbon, and now it’s MIA.
Story of my life…
You’re supposed to tie the ribbon around the boxes (all of them, or just one if you plan to break up the set), add your to/from tag and BAM! — you’re done. A gift on the go.
If I were a grumpier gal, I’d probably go on and on about the lost art of gift wrapping, and how I’ve got nothing but love for this set because 1) I think the colors are gorgeous, and 2) it’s a pretty good price, considering that you could get three gifts out of it for about $16 each ($49 for the whole set).
It’s a Moisturizing Hair Masquerade, and Tickets Are Only $7: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Mask
Sooo, I’ve been kind of patrolling my local drugstores, looking around for a not-too-expensive hair mask to help offset the $65 (OMG!!) Kerastase Masque Elixir Ultime I’ve recently fallen in love with, and I’m beginning to think that Neutrogena’s $6.99 Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Mask fits the bill. 😀
First of all, my hair loves the moisture. It contains olive, meadowfoam and sweet almond oils, and I like that I don’t have to use a ton of it because it’s concentrated. A small amount makes my hair crazy shiny and soft.
I should also note that it contains silicones (cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone), and they’re pretty high up on the ingredient list, so that’s something to consider if you’re trying to avoid them.
I’m OK with them in moderation. My hair starts feeling really heavy and thick with residue if I use silicone-containing hair products on a daily basis, but as long as I only use them once or twice a month, like I do with this mask, no problem.
It smells amazing, by the way. The mask has a light and fresh fragrance that smells just like peaches to me, YUM!
You should be able to track down Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Mask at drugstores near you and online. Around here it’s about $7.
I Only Have Cat Eyes for…Jouer’s New Liquid Shimmer Eyeliners in Lynx, Leopard and Panther
Meow-za! I’ve been having a good ol’ time today with these three new Liquid Shimmer Eyeliners from Jouer — bronzy brown Leopard, glittering gunmetal gray Panther and golden khaki Lynx.
Of course, you can’t go wrong in my book with big cat names, but that’s not the only reason I like ’em. I also think they’re really easy to apply, as far as liquid liners go.
