Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Connor Claire carries her soccer ball ⚽ everywhere. When we play outside, she kicks it around and chases after it, laughing the entire time and smiling with her eyes. It’s the cutest thing!
I’m wondering if this means that I’m a soccer mom now and can legit rock this gloss by Lune + Aster called Soccer Mom?! I’m going to go with a “yes.”
Orange lips: still a big trend this summer, and since I love bold, bright lip colors, especially in warm shades like orange, yeah…I’m totally down!
I don’t know if it’s a trend that a lot of people I know are into, though. I’ve been trying to persuade the ladies in my life to try orange lips, but most of the time when I bring it up, they make some version of this face…
Incidentally, this is the exact same expression I wore all the time when I worked as a legal assistant back in the day. I’d have my coat on my arm and be halfway out the door at 5:01 p.m. when someone in the office would inevitably ask me to make 500 collated copies of a document that needed to get to so-and-so ASAP, and I’d be like, “Suuuuuuuuure, no problem. I’d love to do that for you RIGHT NOW.” 🙂
I’ve tried to convince my gal pals that orange lips don’t necessarily have to be bright, bold and opaque, like the lip look I’m wearing in these pics. In these shots, I’m wearing a single layer of the lovely NYX Butter Lipstick in Hot Tamale (smooth and pigmented, no funky flavor or scent, and just $6!) at full strength, but you could just as easily take it down a notch by dabbing the tube lightly on your lips to create more of an orange stain.
Or, you could reach for a super sheer gloss, like Chanel’s Sunny Glossimer ($29.50, and part of their permanent collection).
Name: Sabrina
Location: Southern California
Day job/current gig: For my day job I currently work as a business analyst for a Fortune 500 company (it’s in the top 100 within the US). My work covers a diverse range of areas for financial and market analyses. My background has always been in finance. Prior to my current job I completed my MBA in Finance and Marketing.
Hangouts online: thebeautylookbook.com, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin’. I’ve also recently started a lifestyle blog called Styled Notes.
Current favorite product: Diptyque Candles — any scent! I love re-using them once they’re burned to hold brushes, flowers, pens, etc. They make a beautiful decorative accent for home.
Beauty inspirations: My favorite local makeup artists from Chanel, the Dolce & Gabbana team from Saks Houston, numerous beauty and fashion bloggers. Fresh cut flowers are always an inspiration for color.
One word that best describes your outlook on beauty: That’s hard! I think I see beauty in lots of different things. What I like most about it is playing with the different textures and finishes.
I can’t live without sheer glossy lipsticks like Chanel Glossimers, YSL Rouge Volupte Shines, Chanel nail polishes and my Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer. I also swear by my Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation. Current cult-classic favorites include Chanel Boy, NARS Fez, Armani Eyes to Kill Stretch Lengthening Mascara, Diptyque Baies Candle and Chanel Particuliere Nail Polish.
I started getting into makeup in high school with Bonne Belle and Jane (mainly clear glosses). I remember my first gloss with color was Wet and Wild Bronzeberry lipgloss (back in the ’90s). My first beauty splurges were MAC lipsticks in Wuss, Pink Glaze and “O”. I didn’t really get into wearing makeup items other than lips until college.
I’m rarely successful when it comes to time-saving for beauty. Although when I’m short on time, I use a warmer bronzer as a contour/bronzer/blush. My favorite is Chanel Soleil de Tan (the cream bronzer in the big tub). It goes with anything and gives the face a healthy glow, so you don’t necessarily need blush to brighten your look.
My top three beauty tools include my Solano Hair Dryer, Shu Uemura Tweezers and Mason Pearson Detangling Comb.
I never knew how to contour until a Trish McEvoy artist showed how to blend in bronzer on the sides of the face in the shape of a “3.” After that — it made contouring easy!
Right now I alternate between Dior Purifying Foam Cleanser and SK-II Facial Treatment Cleanser (morning and night). To remove long-wear foundations I use Koh Gen Do first before cleansing.
I’m in between toners right now. To moisturize I alternate between Le Metier de Beaute Revitalizing Anti-Aging Day Creme and Chanel Resynchronizing. I don’t always use weekly masks or scrubs, but my holy grail face mask is by Koh Gen Do Macro Vintage Essence Mask. It works wonders for your skin, making it baby soft and leaving you truly refreshed and glowing.
I also use Cle de Peau Eye Cream, but I often neglect eye care (it’s a step I always forget).
Paraffin waxes for hands and feet. The results are amazing but short-lived (and pricey). And they feel pretty weird to me.
I’m a minimalist when it comes to styling. My look is always evolving as I brave bolder colors, but it’s still typically very natural. I’m also rarely without some kind of bronzer.
Oh, yes… I’ve cut my own hair before (disaster) and had a perm when I was in grade school. Also, multiple times I’ve asked my hair dresser to cut off “one more inch”, only to regret it afterwards.
Nordstrom by far. They have the best customer service and friendliest sales associates, and you can’t beat their free online shipping. I also like shopping at Neiman Marcus and Barneys (perfume heaven). Other favorites include J.Crew, Banana Republic and Sephora.
Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog was my inspiration to start blogging back in 2009. She had openings for guest writers, and I submitted an article on Le Metier de Beaute glosses. It was a lot of fun.
Cargo’s Lip Glosses are supposed to last six hours, but I usually get from 3-4.
What do you think of Cargo’s Lip Glosses?
If I’d realized back then as an undergrad slogging through chemistry classes that science could also be used for things like building a better lip gloss…I probably would’ve paid closer attention in class and said things like, “Cyclohexane chair and boat shapes? I’M ON THAT SH*T!”
Thank you, science, for taking us to the moon, creating super-sized movie popcorn kernels and for providing us with better living through advanced lip gloss chemistry, like the chemistry behind Giorgio Armani Beauty’s new line of Beauty Flash Lacquers ($29 each and available in 36 shades).
The brand new line of lip glosses flaunts scientific-sounding bells and whistles and a stratospherically shiny, smooth formula with characteristics like…
All of this in the pursuit of one lofty goal: to fashion the highest reflection ever achieved in a lip gloss!
Groovy…
Well, it’s shiny — that’s for sure. And dramatic like a microphone drop.
Earlier today I was standing in front of a window, and I could see the color on my lips in the reflection as clearly as if I was standing in front of a mirror.
Boom.
And the formula remains super shiner as long as I don’t go rubbing or pressing my lips together. When I do, the shine quickly dulls down to a slight sheen.
I’ve been testing two of the shades this week, shimmery Pink 526 and creamy red Rouge 400.
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“Aww, you’re not smiling in this pic. Get back there and take it again.”
— DMV Picture Lady
Nope, I wasn’t smiling. I was at the DMV this afternoon for what felt like ages, breathing in the scent of humanity — which, by the way, smelled like a mix of cigarettes, man funk, greasy roots and barbeque potato chips — and listening to teenagers fight with their mothers (was I ever that bratty? I’m pretty sure I was, sigh).
I was fussy because, you know, the DMV, and because I ended up not having enough time to put on false lashes before going (boo!).
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Good morning and happy Sunday, fellow beauty lover! 🙂 What’s new?
When I hopped off the treadmill this morning I thought I’d fiddle around for a few minutes online while I cooled down, but here it is two hours later, and I’m still fiddling around…
Fiddle, fiddle, fiddle!
It’s the Oscars stuff. It’s everywhere I look. I’m reading about the show tonight and who’s expected to win what, not that I usually watch awards shows, because I don’t. But I might tonight. I’m curious about a couple of the categories, and I love Billy Crystal.
Are you gonna watch? As much as I love movies (and you know I do!), I usually skip the awards shows and catch the recaps the next day…although, I did watch the Oscars last year, but that was mostly to check out James Franco.
Speaking of James, what’s homeboy been up to lately? He’s been kinda MIA.
No big plans for me today, other than chasing food trucks again. Oh, and I should do some cleaning… Bluh.
DESCRIPTION: Abominable Powder Punishers are gargantuan, grossly confused and filthy beasts that perceive all powders as a threat. They believe that poofs of powder are actually swarms of tiny biting insects, and they swat furiously at them when exposed.
FREQUENCY: Rare (thank goodness!)
SPEED: Medium (see below)
ARMOR CLASS: 10+ (heavy fur acts as a form of padded armor)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Incredibly fast swatting. When an Abominable Powder Punisher detects the presence of powder, or sees a poof of powder in the distance, it flies into an uncontrollable rage, swinging and swatting its huge clawed hands and roaring in a combination of fear and fury, “NoooOOOoOOoOO!!!”
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Berserker rage
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: Huge (15′ tall)
The New MAC Eye Shadow X4 Quad in Colour Added
And the MAC Eye Shadow X4 Quad in Shop & Drop
The Roses Ultimes de Chanel Collection Glossimers
MAC Cremeblend Blush in Restores Dazzle!
Milani Haute Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Lipgloss
Lancôme’s Color Design Eye Palette in Vert Tendresse
I’m Getting Carried Away by L’eau de Chloè
New Milani Illuminating Face Powder
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Pink lips get a lot of 
from me 365 days a year, but on Valentine’s Day I usually pay them extra attention.
And that’s because I usually spend more time than I’d care to admit trying to figure out which particular pink to wear out to dinner with El Hub.
What do you think? Which of the following 14 pink lipsticks, balms and glosses do you like best? These are some of the shades that frequently catch my eye.
Yes, I busted a Tabs this morning and tried on every single one…
There’s a pretty wide range represented here, from splurge-worthy brands like Chanel and YSL, to budget-friendlier brands like Soap & Glory and L’Oreal.
Oh, and if your favorite pink lip isn’t listed here, let me know what it is in the comments. Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture in Fuchsia Dore, $32
Soap and Glory A Great Kisser in Chocolate Cherry, about $8
MAC Kissable Lipcolour in Woo Me, $18
MAC Lipsticks from the left in Quick Sizzle, Innocence Beware and Naughty Saute, $14.50 each
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