Outtakes from the big bangs tutorial. 🙂
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, my friend!
Outtakes
Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!
WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Lexi! Congratulations, Lexi! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
“Wait — but who’s bringing the folding chairs?!”
Gah!
Holiday stress. Yep, it’s that time of year. It’s hard enough trying to balance your regular workload while attending to your feline/canine/human teenage, infant or adolescent overlord’s needs, but then you throw Thanksgiving preparations on top of that, and stress levels go ballistic!
What’s a guy or girl to do?
Well, there’s herbal tea… 🙂
But tea is only marginally helpful.
In my case, I also turn to TV, chocolate and makeup, preferably all at the same time, LOL!
Welcome to another weekend, friend. I hope you’re hanging in there. Tabs, El Hub and I are doing our best.
Oh, I ended up liking that movie I watched last night, Your Sister’s Sister. I can’t believe the main dude in it is Mark Duplass from The League (it also stars Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt). I thought it was a little emotionally twisted, but not too bad. I liked it (although I wanted more from the ending).
In other news, it’s Sephora eGift card giveaway time! — and it only takes a comment to enter (full details down below).
Good luck! And may the fierce force be with you. 🙂
What folks are saying…
“Shut the front door! OMG Karen, you have made my day. 🙂 I’m sick in bed with the flu and this has just cheered me up immensely!!!!!!!! BTW, I’m the one that sent you that pic of my pug in a wig a few weeks back LOL! Thanks again, honestly, I’m beyond giddy right now.”
-Angel“What a lovely surprise it was to see your announcement (after completing one of many exams/papers/projects I have this crazy week)! The eCard will definitely ease expenses for this broke, beauty-obsessed college student. Thank you, Karen and Tabs!!”
-Katie“Thanks so much, Karen. Just in case you were wondering what I got with it, I decided to go with the Clarisonic Mia–I’ve been wanting it for years now, but have never purchased it because of the price. Your eCard helped me finally buy it! I look forward to using it. Thanks again!”
-Jane“Thank you SO much Karen! OMG! Wishes really do come true! I can’t believe I won! You have no idea how much this will help me through the holidays. I’ve been an avid fan of your blog for the past two years. Your witty and creative entries, informative makeup information, and beautiful photos have kept me hooked. I look forward to more of it. Goodness, you’ve
seriously just made my week and it’s only Tuesday night! :)”
-Zharlynne“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much Karen (and Tabs, of course)! I really appreciate this! I’d been eyeing the Anastasia brow pencil in Strawburn to match my red hair!”
-Chelsea (and Jiji the kitten and Quincy the bunny)“Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I’m so excited, I’ve never won anything before. My name is Hana … I just turned 25 (today is my birthday!) Yay! Thank you.”
-Hana
- 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).
- There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, what makeup brush do you use most often? Most underrated makeup or beauty brand? Who’s your favorite actress on TV? Has it started snowing where you live? Do you prefer to shave, wax or pluck? If you could change your eye color (and wanted to), what color would you choose? — you get the idea.
- Second, you can enter by following me on
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/Wdwhie
- The deadline to enter is Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 11:59PM (PT).
- Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
- A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
- Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
- Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.
- Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
- The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Lexi! Congratulations, Lexi! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
Fishing for a Bargain on a Holiday Brush Set? Cast Your Eyes on Sonia Kashuk’s New Gilded Cages Holiday Brush Set, and Net Six Ultra Soft Face and Eye Brushes and a Cute, Sparkly Clutch
It may be cold and rainy here in the Bay Area tonight (boo!), but at least I don’t have to see dudes with long toenails wearing flip-flops. #glasshalffull
The rain also gives me an excuse to stay home and gaze at the sparkly clutch that comes with Sonia Kashuk’s new $24.99 Gilded Cages Holiday Brush Set…
(And rub the six ultra plush brush heads all over my face.)
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Professor Sonia Kashuk’s Class in Modern-Day Makeup Metallurgy Starts With the Four-Piece Precious Gems Lip, Liner & Nail Set for $12.99
QUESTION: What’s better than a fantabulous smokey eye look?
ANSWER: A fantabulous smokey eye look with a twist!
There are so many reasons to like Sonia Kashuk’s new four-piece Precious Gems Lip, Liner & Nail Set, like the price (just $12.99), and Sonia’s contemporary take on the mixed metal theme…
…but my top reason, by far, is the liquid eye liner that comes with the set. It’s a metallic, rosy golden taupe with a mirror-like shine that illuminates lash lines like Hollywood special effects.
Remember the gorgeous Chanel Rose Platine eyeliner from spring 2011? Well, this metallic meistro is like a liquid liner version of that.
I almost can’t believe the set is only $13, because it kinda looks like something Coco would do (and sell for considerably more!).
To take a pair of smokey eyes for a metallic walk on the wild side, just do your regular smokey eye look first (here I’m wearing MAC Patina Eyeshadow on top of a base of MAC Feline Eye Kohl). Then, line your upper lash lines with the liquid liner from the set.
The stuff is packed with metallic pigment, so one or two layers should do the trick.
Big Spoon and Little Spoon
Tyra Banks Releases New Smize Yourself! App, Makes Making Faces Even More Fun
Life lessons learned from watching America’s Next Top Model…
- If you think you can watch “just one episode” of that 8-hour Top Model marathon, fugghetabboutit.
- Don’t forget to “pop the hip.” (Side note: Miss J’s hip control? Off the chain!)
- And always, always remember to smile with your eyes.
Question: When can you tell that smiling with your eyes, or “smizing,” a term coined by model, TV show host and enterprising businesswoman Tyra Banks, has officially become a cultural phenomenon? Answer: when your 65-year-old mom calls to tell you that “you need to smize more often in your blog pictures.”
Well, can do, because smizing just got a whole lot easier. 🙂
Now, we can even smize ourselves on our phones!
Hello, is that fierceness calling?
Ty-Ty plans to smize you up, literally, with her latest venture, a new mobile phone app called Smize Yourself! (exclamation mark included).
On a Skype call with bloggers and reporters yesterday, Tyra described the $1.99 app, which launched last night (it’s available in the iTunes App Store now, but I’m not sure about Android availability).
You can smize an existing pic of yourself on your smartphone, or snap a new one with your phone’s camera. The app does the rest, turning you into an exaggerated smizing version of yourself.
Tyra provides an instructional video in the app on the finer points of smizing and rocks some seriously stunning smokey eyes.
When you’re ready to smize, take a pic of yourself, and listen as Tyra cheers you along with catwalk catchphrases like “Work!” and “Honey, you look fierce!” Wait for the app to automatically place eye and mouth points on your picture, and then adjust the location of the points to suit the shape of your face. When you’re ready, hit the “smize” button, and await your customized smize shot.
Big Bang Theory! Pump Up Your Volume With This Hair Tutorial for Big Bangs
Yet another hairstyle to try if your mane ever starts looking like this…
LOL! (Note to self: call the salon first thing tomorrow morning. For realz!!)
I wore this big bang hairstyle last week for the Xenia Onatopp Bond Girls look, and it’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine to keep my shaggy mop in line. It’s a little bit Joan Cusack in Working Girl, with some Marge Simpson and a dash of rock ‘n roll, and best of all, it’s pretty easy to do — 10 minutes, tops.
Maybe you’re growing out your bangs. Maybe you’re neglecting your long layers. Or maybe you’re just in the mood for something kind of casual and messy to wear to a concert or a club. Whichever the case, try big bangs. 🙂
For this style, I start by sectioning off my bangs and spraying my roots with a lightweight hairspray. Right now I’m loving Suave Touchable Finish because it doesn’t flake or leave my hair uber-crunchy. Plus, it’s only $3.
Next, I aim a hairdryer at my roots to get things moving along. It usually only takes about 10-20 seconds for the hairspray to fully stiffen.
Then, I start building some volume at the roots…
I couldn’t find my teasing comb today, so I improvised with a boar’s hair brush. The stiff, dense bristles tease the heck out of hair, and they’re great for adding lots of lift.
Now it’s construction time. I start shaping the bangs, BIG, gathering them and kinda pushing them up in the back.
Then I secure them in place using several bobby pins.
The Tempting Taste of LORAC Tucked Into a Sweet Set of Six Shiny Glosses: The New $25 LORAC Sweet Temptations Lip Gloss Collection
I’ve been paying weekly visits to the milk chocolate buttercerams at See’s Candies lately, and yes, it’s only a matter of time before my transformation into Liz Lemon is complete!!
Soon, my delicious little friends will probably start wondering about the nature of our relationship…
“Where’s that hella short cat lady with the cray-cray hair who always visits on Sundays?” they might ask, if/when I miss a visit.
Heck, they might even shed a tiny, sugary tear…
And I would reply, “It’s nothing personal, guys. It’s just that my sweet tooth has become totally infatuated with the flavors and scents of the new $25 LORAC Sweet Temptations Lip Gloss Collection.”
Each of the six sheer, shiny glosses in the set are named after sweet treats, like Butterscotch and Creme Brulee, and they smell and taste like them, too.
But that’s not even the best part… LORAC actually figured out a way to make the scents and flavors good!
Each gloss is tastefully done (LOL!), and not artificially sweet.
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