Search Results for: cult of cherry

All Aboard the Cherry Train with Laura Mercier Cherries Noir

August 24th, 2008 by Karen 15 Comments

It’s cherries, cherries everywhere as Laura Mercier boards the cherry train with her Cherries Noir fall makeup collection of colors inspired by 1940s Hollywood glam.

Due on counters nationwide September 1, the collection includes six matte and shimmer Eye Colour eye shadows ($22 each), one Illuminating Powder quad for cheeks ($35) and five Lip Velvet ($22) lipsticks.

Like last week’s MAC Cult of Cherry, Cherries Noir features some really striking lip products I think they’ll be the stars of the show.

A friend of mine who works for Laura Mercier said the new Lip Velvets aren’t exactly lipsticks but rather lip stains packaged like lip glosses, with textures similar to LM’s Glace lip gloss.

With a demi-matte finish (semi-matte, halfway between a matte lipstick and a shiny gloss), the wine, berry and plum shades look easy to wear. If you’ve been looking for a lip that leans toward dark without going full-on vampire, look out for Cherries Noir.

Cherries Noir Lips

Cassis: deep mulberry
Cherry Blossom: earthy berry
Mocha Rouge: tawny brick red
Naked Rose: neutral peachy pink
Royal Plum: muted wine

I’m looking forward to these and will stalk Nordstrom until I get my hands on ’em!

What do you think about Laura Mercier’s Cherries Noir? Cherry overkill or can’t wait?

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Saturday Surfing: August 26th, 2017

August 26th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

saturday surfing peach makeup flat lay — I’ve been feeling a little like this picture this week… Scattered all over the place.

Why are humans so inconsistent? One week I feel motivated and organized and ready to go, and then I have a week like this one, where I never felt like I was firing on all cylinders.

I dunno… It’s just weird.

The past few weekends, I woke up on Saturday revved up and ready to kick @ss. Not today, though.

I still have to get a few things done, like, I need to do the bare minimum of cleaning (just to keep from completely losing my sh*t next week), but I’m gonna stop after I do a quick once-over of the bathroom, speed vacuuming and ONLY one or two loads of laundry.

But that’s it.

Man, I was feeling all over the place yesterday, so I did my thing with the timer. I set it for 20-minute blocks a few times during which I only worked on one task at a time. And after each 20-minute block, I took a 10-minute break.

It helps, but it wasn’t enough.

Yes, I know I’ve talked about this trick before and must sound like a broken record. I’m sorry. Please feel free to slip into that daydream about Viggo Mortensen while I babble…

I really need to refill my well this weekend, so I’m not going to push myself. After a little cleaning, I just want to read and rest. Ahh… That sounds nice. 🙂

Speaking of reading (and weak transitions), I found a few interesting things on the Interwebz this week…

Allegedly, these leggings are like sports bras for your booty.
SkinStore is having a Labor Day sale. Use code BEAUTY to take 20% off everything site-wide from Peter Thomas Roth, Sunday Riley, GlamGlow, Illamasqua and more.
Next month Pat McGrath releases a permanent collection of makeup at Sephora, and it looks luxe, OMG!
My friend Rae recently wrote an interesting op-ed for Teen Vogue — which, by the way, has been KILLING IT lately — called “Why the Trope of Rebellious Asian Women With Colorful Hair Is Problematic.”
There’s actually something called “a bone lift,” and it’s for your face.
Researchers at Harvard believe that they have found the next Einstein, and she’s 23.
Whoop-whoop! If you’re an Amazon Prime member, look for special discounts at Whole ~~Paycheck~~ Foods.
How Martha Stewart finishes all the stuff she needs to get done
Got long locks? Here’s how to How to Bring Out the Wave in Long Hair bring out the wave in that magnificent mane.
I’m trying to “chill out” and resist my makeup hoarder tendencies (really!), but Makeup Museum’s display of summer makeup — especially the vintage 1940s compact — is making it hard, man!
For my fellow GoT fiends: wild theories about Daenerys’ new hair!
Now that’s a real-deal, fancy-schmancy makeup organizer.

Have a good one, babe! 🙂 I’d love to hear from you.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. If you’re anywhere near Hurricane Harvey right now, I’m sending warm, dry thoughts. I hope you’re OK.

P.P.S. If your urge to read hasn’t been quenched, here’s a look baaack at the MBB archives…

One year ago today on Makeup and Beauty Blog: Finding Great Cards for Great Grandparents This Grandparents Day

Two years ago: Come With Me on My Walk!, Super Blocky, Angular, Super Sharp Brows: A Do or a Don’t?, For More Precise Eyeshadow Placement, Try Applying Your Crease Color With a Flat Brush, For Better Blending, Try Holding Your Brush at the End

Three years ago: Makeup Tips for the Red Carpet and/or Black-Tie Events, The Nude ’90s Are Back With Rosy Brown Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color in Negligee, Do the Chop! This Easy Trick Could Solve Your False Lash Woes, The Sonia Kashuk Eye Palette in Sweet Nothings Is Sweet on Lids, Any Time Is a Good Time for Bronzer With Guerlain Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder in 05 Sun Brunettes

Four years ago: Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 286, POPBeauty Plump Pout Liquid Lipstick Stain in Peony Petal Blooms With Major Cat Lady Potential, Today’s Purse and Shoes, Christmas Comes Early in California With the New NARS Loves Los Angeles Gift Set, Why Stop and Smell the Roses When the New Clarins Graphic Expression Face & Blush Powder Palette Smells This Divine?

Five years ago: Rouge Bunny Rouge Glide Concealer, Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 206

Six years ago: Green Day, Ryan Gosling: His Best Hair?, Get Homework Help with the New LORAC Close Up: Real Life to Red Carpet Natural to Dramatic Face Tutorial, Who Gardens at Midnight? YSL, Of Course, with the YSL Midnight Garden Collection for Fall 2011, YSL Midnight Garden: Wintergreen La Laque Long Lasting Nail Laquer

Seven years ago: Lea Michele: Her Best Hair?, NARS Pure Matte Lipsticks, MAC Fabulous Felines Leopard Luxe Eyeshadow Quad, Wild Cats Couldn’t Keep Me Away from MAC Fabulous Felines, Could EZface Kiosks Change the Face of Drugstore Beauty?

Eight years ago: Lip Look: Plum Diggity with MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics, More Zoya Tastiness, Random Acts of Beauty: 7 Things (Beauty or Otherwise) Currently Rockin’ My World, Green Means Go: Tarte Green Siren Cheek Stain

Nine years ago: Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, August 26, MAC Cult of Cherry Face of the Day Using the Shadowy Lady Quad

Tom Ford Burnished Copper Creme Colour for Eyes: 5 Reasons to Fall Hopelessly in Love

August 22nd, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

1. It’s the perfect color for your dream ? dragon

If I had a dragon, I’d want her (because she’d be a girl, obvs) to be the same exact color as Tom Ford Burnished Copper Creme Color For Eyes — a beautiful deep khaki with hints of gold.

And speaking of dragons…OMG, Game of Thrones! Can we talk about it please? Because I’m still shaken from last Sunday’s episode, and I need to release all the feelings.

2. The finish is unreal

It’s like purposefully weathered metal. Not super metallic. More like buffed to a fine patina. The shine is dampened down, but it’s definitely there, and it’s unlike anything else in my makeup collection.

3. It wears so well that you can even skip primer

Yeah, man! Burnished Copper’s BFF is bare freakin’ lids. No matter how I work it (sheer or layered or with other eye products), I get a full day’s wear sans creasing or drama. Yeah, you can wear a primer with it if you want to (I recommend NARS Pro-Prime if you do. It’s the best!), but if you’re feeling lazy, 1) I can relate, and 2) Burnished Copper doesn’t really need one, so save yourself the effort, and use all that extra energy to do a quick dance in your chair.

Go ahead, I’ll wait. 🙂

tom ford burnished coppe closeup — Wearing Burnished Copper on my lids and MAC Saddle in my crease. The liner is Tarte Sex Kitten Liquid Liner.

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The MAC By Request Collection: Nine Classic Shades Return for an Online Encore

August 6th, 2012 by Karen 49 Comments

mac by request candy yum yum
Wearing Eyeshadow in Moth Brown on my eyes and Lipstick in Candy Yum-Yum on my lips

Rock the makeup vote! Power to the lipgloss-loving people!

The citizenry has spoken, and MAC mavens made their voices heard in the new MAC By Request collection, a nine-piece limited edition release featuring nine comeback colors chosen by MAC fans.

Last spring MAC-aholics worldwide voted for their favorite shades on Facebook from among a field of 18 classic colors previously featured in limited edition collections. Nine colors made the final cut — three Eyeshadows, three Lipglasses and three Lipsticks — earning spots in the new MAC By Request collection ($15 each).

Get to know the nine comeback kids in the following pics and swatches. 🙂

mac eye shadows in guacamole, moth brown and jete
Eyeshadows in Guacamole, Moth Brown and Jete

MAC Guacamole Eye Shadow
Eyeshadow in Guacamole

MAC Moth Brown Eye Shadow
Eyeshadow in Moth Brown
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Which Way Did You Vote for MAC By Request?

March 16th, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

The riddle of time travel remains a nut science has yet to crack, but even though we can’t alter the past (yet), we can shape the future!

With the new MAC By Request collection, MAC is giving 18 of their former bestselling Eye Shadows, Lipsticks and Lipglasses a second chance at stardom, and it’s by people’s choice on Facebook.

The three top vote getters in each of the three categories will go on sale again in the limited edition release beginning this August in North America (online only) and in internationally sometime this fall.

Missing your favorite MAC colors from days of yore, like the kinder, gentler days of The Jersey Shore’s first season (when Sammi and the Situation were, like, a thing)? Act now, because MAC is taking requests for comeback colors. Now through March 30, cast your vote on Facebook for the colors you’d like to make an encore appearance in MAC By Request. The top nine fan favorite shades will go on sale again beginning this August, exclusively online.

I was able to track down 13 of the 18 eligible colors… Have you made your decision yet? Which of these former stars (three each per category) deserves a comeback? The shades not shown here are Candy Yum Yum and Moxie among the Lipsticks, Icescape among the Lipglasses, and Moth Brown and Solar White for the Eye Shadows.

I cast my votes for… 🙂

Lipsticks: 3N, Eden Rocks and Rocker
Lipglasses: Cult of Cherry, Flash of Flesh and Bait
Eye Shadows: Cool Heat, Guacamole and Heavenly Bliss

Eye Shadows

mac by request eyeshadows
Eye Shadows clockwise from the blue pan on the left: Cool Heat, Heavenly Bliss, Guacamole and JetÃ©

mac guacamole
Guacamole

mac heavenly bliss
Heavenly Bliss
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MAC Unsung Heroes: Sandy B Lipstick

March 8th, 2012 by Karen 36 Comments

T-minus 961,218 seconds to spring and counting! 217…216…215…

That’s just a little more than 11 days from now, love! Here in the Northern Hemisphere, spring begins on March 20, but before I ask you to hand me that bottle of Zyrtec on my desk (ah-choo!), could I trouble you to pass me that perky, peachy pink tube of lipstick there instead?

mac sandy b

That, my friend, is someone I’d like you to meet. Her name is MAC Sandy B, and I think she, with her peachy pink pigment and golden shimmer, sure looks lovely worn with spring and summer shades like bronze, teal, gold, peach and brown.

Sandy B is just one of those shades that makes everything better. Seeing it on my lips always fills me with a little more hope and puts an extra spring in my step (I think it might even give my ponytails more bounce).

mac sandy b

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Retro Roundup: One Year Ago on Makeup and Beauty Blog

August 22nd, 2009 by Karen 11 Comments

So, what were we talking about this time last year? Here’s a hint: It starts with MAC and ends with cherry. 🙂

Mmm…

How Would You Describe Your Signature Makeup Look?
“…a simple, subtle smokey eye. I call it signature because I wear it all the time, LOL! It takes no more than 15 minutes to do, and I think it’s appropriate both for work or a night on the town.”
MAC Cult of Cherry Face of the Day with Spiced Chocolate Quad
“In the Cherry Blossom chart, the eyes are bold, but the cheeks and lips are soft and subtle. I reached for Plum du Bois and, following the chart, swirled some on my cheeks with a MAC 187 brush (aka the skunk brush).”
Clean and Clear Soft In-Shower Facial Passes with Flying Colors
“Over the weekend, a gang of tiny pimples set up shop on my chin. I used In-Shower Facial on Monday, and by this morning the three baddest members of the gang had all but disappeared — and this was without a secondary acne treatment. Purified pores was what I wanted, and that’s exactly what I got.”
Beauty Sleep, Interrupted
“Tabs says hi! He’s in the doghouse today because he was naughty yesterday. He kicked kitty litter all over the floor and felt like meowing all night long. With my help he put together this little story that he hopes you enjoy. :)”

MAC Cult of Cherry Face of the Day Using the Shadowy Lady Quad
“I am *lurving* the colors in this quad, particularly Smudged Violet and Shadowy Lady. I dig wearable purple shades. I think Deep Truth, the shimmery blue, is also gorgeous, but I’ll have to work with it a bit more.”
9 Things I Wish I Could Do
“…6. Be able to ride a bike without having to hold on to the handle bars; 7. Get my parents to understand what a blog is; 8. Have coffee with El Hub at a Paris cafe and spend the afternoon at the Musee d’Orsay…”
Looking for Cheap, Stylish Ways to Organize Your Makeup?
“Most arts and crafts stores stock unvarnished wooden boxes in assorted shapes and sizes. They make perfect (and affordable) makeup storage containers. I spied these boxes, each ranging from a whopping $1.50 to a staggering $3, at my local Ben Franklin Craft Store this afternoon.”
9 Things I Would Like to Try
“A fancy honeymoon. El Hub and I just had our second anniversary. With our jobs and whatnot we never went on a fancy honeymoon. I can’t complain, but I’d sure love to go to Italy!”
MAC Kirsch Face of the Day: A Dark Shade for Day Walkers
“day | walker; noun; 1. a sub-species of vampire from European folklore, which unlike traditional vampires is able to survive in full sunlight; still must drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth.”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics: Something for Everyone

August 20th, 2009 by Karen 59 Comments

mac makeup art cosmetics 1a

Shh… Do you hear that sound, ladies?

It’s the sound of millions of MAC fans being kept on their toes.

Seeing the new MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics collection at the mall today, I had to overlook my preconceived notions of typical fall makeup and remember what I was supposed to be seeing.

MAC chose to name this collection “Make-Up Art Cosmetics” for a reason. It’s the company’s name, after all, and I’m guessing they intended for it to reflect more than just a season.

Remember Cult of Cherry last fall? Or Smoke Signals the fall before that? Both releases epitomized fall makeup with sultry smokey eye colors and vampy lips (mrow!).

With Make-Up Art Cosmetics, however, MAC stitched together a crazy quilt of colors running the gamut from neutrals to brights to bliggity bling-bling — a release representative of the company itself.

mac makeup art cosmetics 2a

Widespread appeal

I really get the feeling MAC tried to include something for everyone.

The subdued neutrals, elegant greens and sheer purples in the Richard Phillips set appeal to the Chanel lover in me, while the vibrant eyeshadows, liners and pigments of the Maira Kalman and Marilyn Minter sets feed my hard-core color cravings and glitter pangs.

mac makeup art cosmetics 3a

It’s a HUGE collection, too, with neutrals for my makeup-shy mom and brights for my makeup-obsessed BFF. Either one could walk away from the MAC counter with something new to wear.

What caught my eye?

Mostly the products in the Richard Phillips set — Notable blush, the Notoriety Eyeshadow palette and the New Spirit Lipglass (funny how they all start with the letter N!) — all great neutrals for work or other responsible daytime looks.

I’d really like to hear your take on this collection. What do you think MAC meant by choosing to name it Make-Up Art Cosmetics, and does it deliver? Let me know what you think in the comments.