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Pack Less and Do More With a Multitasking Neutral Eyeshadow Quad You Can Also Use as a Highlighter

September 12th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Wearing the $5.97 Revlon ColorStay 16 Hour Eyeshadow Quad in Brazen on my eyes, and also used as a highlighter on my face. Available now at Walmart stores and walmart.com

As a participant in the Totally Her program, I’ve received product samples and/or compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

To the millions of makeup lovers trapped in cars for long, grueling hours on trips (I feel your pain!), horror is the very thought of forgetting your makeup bag.

But seriously, whether it’s a 14-day late-summer dream vacation or a quick weekend jaunt, chances are you will not be leaving home without your makeup bag.

I’m always looking for ways to lighten mine, to which end multitasking makeup products like these Revlon ColorStay 16 Hour Eyeshadow Quads definitely help.

Available in a dozen color configurations with sturdy, travel-friendly packaging, they’re just $5.97 each at Walmart.

The two I’m using here, 505 Decadent and 520 Brazen, are both conveniently neutral, which means I can do a lot of different looks with them. Plus, they also double as powder highlighters, which saves a few precious cubic inches in my makeup bag.

Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quads in 505 Decadent (left) and 520 Brazen (right), $5.97 each at Walmart

To use them as highlighters, I’ll swipe a finger across one of the lighter shades (and when my neurons are firing and I feel extra creative, I’ll mix two of the light shades together, ooh-la-la!), and sweep that wherever I want more light to catch, which for me usually means blending down the bridge of my nose…

My Cupid’s bow…

My upper cheekbones…

And just above the highest points on Mt. Eyebrows.

The ColorStay formula gives a soft glow to my skin and lasts all day long.

Without highlighter on the left, and with highlighter on the right

Wearing Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quad in Brazen on my eyes and as a face highlighter — Wearing the Revlon ColorStay Eyeshadow Quad in Brazen on my eyes, and also used as a face highlighter

Gotta love multitasking makeup! 🙂

Both Brazen and Decadent (and 10 more quads) are available now at Walmart.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Simplify Your Look With the Right Highlighting Palette

September 11th, 2014 by Karen 36 Comments

Revlon Rose Glow 02 Highlighting Palette (1) — Wearing the Revlon Rose Glow 02 Highlighting Palette, available now at Walmart for $9.97

As a participant in the Totally Her program, I’ve received product samples and/or compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Looking for a new full-coverage, layered makeup look to wear during the last days of summer?

Uh…wait.

That’s not right. How ’bout this instead?

Looking to simplify your late-summer/early fall looks with something light and fresh? The Revlon Rose Glow 02 Highlighting Palette ($9.97) can help. It works well as a highlighter, blush and an eyeshadow, all rolled into a single useful palette.

Here’s the simple step-by-step:

After filling in my brows and applying foundation and concealer, I apply the shimmery taupe shade (it’s the one in center of the palette) on my lids with a flat eyeshadow brush.

Next, I load a fluffy tapered eyeshadow brush (because a regular blush brush would be too big, and would also pick up the neighboring colors) with the pink shade, second from the top, and buff that on the apples of my cheeks for a fresh wash of summery color.

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Use a Matte Balm on Your Lips and Cheeks for Double-Duty Beauty When You’re in a Rush

September 10th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

As a participant in the Totally Her program, I’ve received product samples and/or compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Crunched for time and crazy busy? If you’re running ragged and barely have any time at all to get ready, let matte lip balms like Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm be your makeup BFFs.

Say “Hallelujah, thank you!” to matte orange Audacious and hot pinkish coral Unapologetic, two of the batch of shades available now at Walmart for $6.48 each.

And here’s the kicker: in these pics, I’m wearing them on my lips and my cheeks.

Revlon Matte Lip Balms, $6.48 each, available at Walmart

210 Unapologetic (left) and 245 Audacious (right)

Yup, cheeks!

Talk about no-brainers. Not only are these multitasking matte balms available at Walmart (read: easy to find), you can use them to add color to your lips and/or cheeks, which also makes them versatile.

Before Revlon Matte Lip Balm in 245 Audacious (left) and after (right)

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Break Out of a Winter Beauty Rut With a 5-Day Winter Beauty Boot Camp

January 22nd, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Okay, okay. Sure, I haven’t painted my toenails in — well, I can’t even remember how long it’s been because I figure, why bother? This time of year, I’m always wearing boots, closed-toe shoes and/or socks.

Same goes for shaving and my legs. I think the last time was a month ago? Something like that, and now it’s like I’ve got built-in boots with the fur from my knees down.

I’m usually pretty good about my beauty routines — tweezing my brows, waxing my ‘stach, painting my nails — but come winter, many of my beauty habits fall by the wayside.

I didn’t realize how lax I’d become until about a week ago, when I had a shower revelation.

I was lathering up the pelt of fur on my calves when it occurred to me that the hairs were long enough to weave a small (yet tasteful) wall tapestry.

Yeah, that long.

As surprised (and appalled) as I was, excuses to leave well enough lone kept springing to mind, like, “It’s soooo cold. Who’s gonna see my legs anyway? People didn’t even used to shave back in the olden days…”

Thankfully this time, I ignored the excuses and decided enough was enough.

My mission: to embark upon a five-day winter beauty boot camp, of sorts, to get my beauty groove back. 🙂

Each day, I committed to doing one little thing to break myself out of my beauty rut. I thought it would be easier than trying to do it all in the same day.

First, I drafted my plan, identifying its major components and dividing them up among the days.

If you also feel like you’re stuck in a winter beauty rut, here’s a copy of my plan. Maybe you could use it as a template to draft one of yours.

Day 1: Time to polish the silverware, or the benefits of exfoliating

There’s something so, I dunno, rejuvenating about exfoliating from head to toe in the shower. Like, “Out with the old, in with the new.”

On day one, gently buff and polish away dead skin cells from your face and neck with an exfoliating face scrub. Then, scrub your bod for smoother skin with a moisturizing oil and sugar scrub.

Day 2: Moisturizing mania!

Nothing like a little extra hydration to help dry, winter skin.

Quench your skin’s thirst on day two in the shower with a luxuriously rich bath or shower gel like Olay Ultra Moisture Body Wash ($5.99 for a 23.6-ounce bottle). Then, after stepping out of the shower, slather up with a thick body butter.

Day 3: Sasquatch legs, be gone!

Say it with me: “I am not a Sasquatch!”

Dedicate day three to eradicating wayward winter body hair with your favorite shave lotion and razor.
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The Makeup and Beauty Blog Buxom Photo Contest: And the Potential Winners Are…

June 19th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

This series is brought to you by Buxom Color Choreography Eyeshadow. Buxom wants to inspire you to live life vividly.

Wow, you guys! I really enjoyed looking through your entries for the Makeup and Beauty Blog Buxom Photo Contest. Thank you for sharing your pictures and stories of how you live your life vividly.

There were so many great pictures! It was very hard to choose among so many good entries, but I’ve narrowed it down to the nine potential winners shown below.

The winner of the contest and the $609 prize is featured in one of the pics above. He or she will be contacted via email with details on how to claim the prize on or around June 29, 2012, and will have five days after being contacted to respond.

Thanks again for entering. I really enjoyed reading your stories and getting a glimpse into your life, and at the risk of sounding like a total cheese ball, you have inspired me to live life more vividly. 🙂

Yeah, that was pretty cheese ball…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Last Day to Enter the Makeup and Beauty Blog Buxom Photo Contest for a Chance to Win More Than $600 in Prizes

June 12th, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

To enter, just upload a pic of yourself “Living life vividly!”

This series is brought to you by Buxom Color Choreography Eyeshadow. Buxom wants to inspire you to live life vividly.

Time’s a’ tickin’, beauty lovahs! Today’s the last day to enter your pics for a chance (actually, up to three chances) to win a $500 Visa gift card AND an assortment of Buxom cosmetics.

Entering’s a snap (details down below), and chances are you probably already have a perfect picture of yourself that you could use. Something that makes you smile from a happy time in your life. 🙂

Your pic doesn’t have to be makeup or beauty related, either, although it could be (perhaps flaunting a bright mani, or smiling in a face of the day). It just has to portray you “living life vividly,” like how I’m making a silly face in the pic above (see a few more examples here).

Yeah…you also don’t have to be making goofy faces in your entry (I just like to!)

Here’s how to enter

Visit www.flickr.com and upload a photo that displays you “living life vividly,” as well as a short caption (200 characters or less) that explains the photo.
Mark the photo as “public” (so I’m able to view it).
Tag it with the following tag:
- BuxomPhotoContestMakeupandBeautyBlog
Simply post a link to your Flickr photo in a comment at the bottom of any of the posts in this series, including this post.

How will the winner be picked?

Tabs and I will choose the winner based on the following criteria…

Creativity/originality (33%)
The overall quality of your submission (33%)
How well it displays you “living life vividly” (34%)

What’s the prize?

A $500 VisaÂ® gift card and an assortment of BuxomÂ® cosmetics, including two (2) Buxom Color Choreography eye shadow palettes, one (1) Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Polish, and one (1) Buxom Lash (volumizing mascara).

Approximate retail value: $609!

What about the small print?

The contest is open to adults 18+ in the US only (sorry, international babes!)
The last date to enter is June 12, 2012 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Up to 3 entries per person (yup, you read that correctly: 3 entries per person)

Click here for the official rules, terms and conditions.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Enter the Makeup and Beauty Blog Buxom Photo Contest to Win a Prize Worth More Than $600

June 5th, 2012 by Karen 59 Comments

One very happy girl and her banana frosty on the North Shore of Kauai

This series is brought to you by Buxom Color Choreography Eyeshadow. Buxom wants to inspire you to live life vividly.

So. Much. Beauty.

If your beauty wishlist is anything like mine, it just keeps getting longer every single day.

What’s up with that? 🙂

A blush here, a mascara there — and before you know it, your wishlist reads like a novella.

If you’re ready to start crossing a few of those things off your beauty wishlist, don’t forget to enter the Makeup and Beauty Blog Buxom Photo Contest if you haven’t already.

You could take home a $500 Visa gift card and a selection of beautiful Buxom makeup worth an additional $109.

All told, it’s a prize package worth $609.

And entering couldn’t be a whole lot easier. Full details are down below, but here’s the gist of it: submit a picture of yourself in which you’re “living life vividly.”

Maybe something from a recent vacation, or a shot of yourself just having fun.

NOTE: Goofy face shots totally count…

This is how we do it!

…as do happy faces and big smiles. 🙂

The beach makes everything better (even cold beaches like this one here!)

You might even have a perfect picture already, like how about that pic you took of yourself in that bright makeup look you did for Halloween?

Next stop: the grocery store!

Or how about a pic of yourself sporting a pair of bright, glossy lips?

Can you spot the husky tabby in this picture?

Highlights and life-changing hairdos also work!

Whatever you choose, your entries (remember, you can enter up to three pics) just have to show you “living life vividly,” like the pictures in this post.

For even more entry ideas, here’s a look at all of the entries so far.

Here’s how to enter

Visit www.flickr.com and upload a photo that displays you “living life vividly,” as well as a short caption (200 characters or less) that explains the photo.
Mark the photo as “public” (so I’m able to view it).
Tag it with the following tag:
- BuxomPhotoContestMakeupandBeautyBlog
Simply post a link to your Flickr photo in a comment at the bottom of this post (yup, this post here)

How will the winner be picked?

Tabs and I will choose the winner based on the following criteria…

Creativity/originality (33%)
The overall quality of your submission (33%)
How well it displays you “living life vividly” (34%)

What’s the prize?

Approximate retail value: $609!

What about the small print?

The contest is open to adults 18+ in the US only (sorry, international babes!)
The last date to enter is June 12, 2012 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time
Up to 3 entries per person (yup, you read that correctly: 3 entries per person)

Click here for the official rules, terms and conditions.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Do you ever take pictures of yourself with your phone (hello, I do)? If you do, you may already have the perfect picture just waiting to be entered. 🙂

Enter the Makeup and Beauty Blog Buxom Photo Contest to Win a Prize Worth More Than $600

May 24th, 2012 by Karen 42 Comments

Ciao, vuoi un gelato?

This series is brought to you by Buxom Color Choreography Eyeshadow. Buxom wants to inspire you to live life vividly.

Got some beauty staples that need restocking?

A collection you’ve been coveting?

A vacation you’ve been wanting to book?

A girl with purple cat ears waits for something, somewhere in the middle of Montana…

Why not do all three? 🙂 Enter the Makeup and Beauty Blog Buxom Photo Contest for a chance to win a $500 Visa gift card.

But wait, there’s more (I always wanted to say that). Because we’re big on beauty ’round these parts, the prize also includes more than $100 in Buxom cosmetics. On top of the gift card, that’s a total prize package worth more than half a grand.

Entering is easy, and the full details are down below, but here’s the gist of it: all you need is a picture of yourself taken at a time when you felt great.

Maybe a travel picture from an exciting trip…

Parisian fountains make everything better