weeklyroundup

You know the song, Everybody’s Working for the Weekend? I can’t remember the artist, but whoever they are, I think they should rename the song and call it Everybody’s Working on the Weekend. Might as well. I mean it’s true. Whether it’s school, work at the office, driving the kids to jiu-jitsu, getting that oil change, paying bills, making breakast, going grocery shopping — all we do is work!

Well ptooey on that. I’ve had it. Right now, ladies, this time is yours. You know all the things you had to deal with this week, and you did it without any casualties or the credit you deserve. So right now, for the next couple minutes, this is your special time, and I want you to eff anything that stands in your way — I’m serious — eff ’em! 🙂

I know how much you like makeup (great minds think alike), so here’s a sampler platter of posts from the past week, kinda like hors d’oeuvres for your beauty-loving soul.

URBAN DECAY 24/7
JACKPOT KIT

But seriously (in a matter of speaking), don’t most of UD’s holiday releases include a couple of shout-outs to stoners (ala their Smoke Out Kits)?

Unless I’m overlooking something obvs, Mary Jane’s MIA this time around. Well, there is the kit itself… 24/7 Jackpot ($39) — heh, I said pot.

Either way, Jackpot brings beautifully rich, blinged-out liners to the holiday makeup table, and if you’re new to Urban Decay, I think you’re in for a treat. Read more…

BENEFIT GIRL
MEETS PEARL

I’m going to ask you for a favor, young lady, and I’d like you to just do it for me as a friend. Please? I need you to channel Elmer J. Fudd while you speak the name of Benefit’s new highlighter out loud.

Are you ready? Okay, it’s called Girl Meets Pearl ($30).

Ha ha!

Okay, so maybe I’m too easily amused, but at least my skin’s glowing while I laugh maniacally by myself in the corner. Viva la Girl Meets Pearl!

New for fall, it’s a creamy highlighter that contains light-reflective pigments to give skin a pearly shimmer.

Application’s a cinch — easier than downing a pint of Haagen Daz on the couch. Using either my fingertips or a skunk brush with synthetic fibers (more absorbent natural fibers could produce a heavier look), I’ll apply it to bare skin or atop makeup for a warm, golden pink glow.

Doesn’t it remind you of Benefit’s That Gal? If it does, that’s because they’re both wearing similar outfits (party foul!). Read more…

MAC VENOMOUS VILLAINS
MAGICALLY COOL LIQUID POWDER

Don’t tell Tabs (shh!), but I managed to sneak in a little pre-weekend playtime at lunch today (my original plan was to hit up the Whole Foods salad bar, but I fed a different hunger instead) with more devious delectables from the upcoming MAC Venomous Villains collection.

I thought it might be fun to take Magically Cool Liquid Powder in Cajun out for a spin, so I grabbed it and a few other goodies from Dr. Facilier’s color story and put them to work.

I really liked yesterday’s smokey look, but I had to run a couple of errands this afternoon, so I aimed for something a little daytime friendlier this time around, with a purple, brown and peachy golden eye partnered with bronze cheeks and peachy pink lips. Read more…

BENEFIT MAGIC
INK MASCARA

Just in case you were wondering, the answer is yes, you may replace the words to the Lil’ Kim/50 Cent joint, Magic Stick, with the name of Benefit’s new liquid liner, Magic Ink ($20).

For reasons unknown even to me, I’ve taken to singing this while I line my lids with Benefit’s new jet-black liner, and I’m pretty sure it’s driving my cat cray-cray.

For the record, it’s kinda hard to apply liquid eyeliner, even a smudge-proof one like this, while singing (try it sometime!), but in this case, I think the applicator has something to do with it.

Magic Ink comes with a thin, flexible brush a lot like the brush that comes with NYX Studio Effect Liquid Liner but less firm. Read more…

YOU DESERVE
A SHOUT-OUT

There’s a lot of awesomeness in the world, but very little of it gets the recognition it deserves.

Like, when was the last time you gave big ups to your orthodontist? I know that without mine I’d still have a snaggle tooth, so I’d like to say thank you, Dr. Chong, and give you a shout-out. Thanks to you and to all of the people, places and things that make my life better.

Things like frozen broccoli, ponytail holders, two-ply toilet paper — all of you deserve a shout-out!

The idea’s catching on. Shout-outs went viral on Twitter this week (LOL!), with inspired tweeters giving props to everything from single parents, to mix tapes, Snuggies, brow waxers and Santa Claus. Read more…

MAC VENOMOUS VILLAINS
MINERALIZE EYE SHADOW IN SHE WHO DARES

How the heck did this happen? Someone tell me, please. Heads are gonna roll! How did we get halfway through September so fast? I demand an answer!

Before you know it, it’ll be fall, then winter, then FLASH! — it’s 2049 and I’m retiring from the blog to live out my golden years in Boca with my harem of cats!

God help me…

But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Maybe I should just try and focus on the good things about the end of this month, like the upcoming release of MAC Venomous Villains and how much I Mineralize Eyeshadow duo in She Who Dares ($21).

I think I might even like She Who Dares more than I like to shave my big toe, which is oddly, a lot. One of two Mineralize Eyeshadows in the Maleficent color story (the other being My Dark Magic), it makes short work of smokey eyes.

On one side of She Who Dares, a blackish myrtle with flecks of green glitter; on the other, a blackish sapphire with flecks of blue glitter. Both are quite sheer in pigmentation (semi-transparent), which I like with colors this dark because it makes it easier to find my sweet spot building the colors with layers. Read more…

RIMMEL VOLUME
FLASH MAX BOLD CURVES MASCARA

When I heard that Rimmel designed Volume Flash Max Bold Curves mascara ($7) to boost lash volume by 1,400% (OOH!) and lift by 70% (ahh…), it was like teasing a dog with a piece of bacon.

Released earlier this summer in a single shade called Black, Volume Flash Max Bold Curves sports a fancy-shmancy brush built with something called “Perfect Fit technology.”

LOL! It seems like every week there’s a new phrase being coined. Perfect Fit’s flexible bristles were shaped to fit lashes perfectly and coat them for maximum lift and volume, and the mascara’s formula, enriched with keratin and collagen, strengthens lashes, getting them ready for serious volume-boosting action. Read more…

GUCCI GUILTY
EAU DE TOILETTE

I admit it. I have a guilty Gucci conscience, and I’ve had it for years.

It all started with Gucci Envy back in 1999. I was a young 20-something lass living it up in San Francisco, you know, working for the weekends, and I wore Envy almost every day until my sketchy kleptomaniac roommate swiped the bottle from my room (I guess it really did cause some envy).

That’s around the time I moved, and when I did, I changed more than apartments and roommates; I also changed fragrances, switching to Gucci Rush.

I remember it well because I rushed (haha!) to Sephora to buy a bottle of it on my lunch break the day it came out. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Everyone into the pool! Quick, before the kids get here!

Happy Sunday, ladies. 🙂 How’s it going this morning?

I’m buzzing because our community swimming pool finally reopened for business yesterday (YAY!). It’d been under repairs for months, and I’d all but given up on them finishing before the end of summer.

Now I can get my swim on this afternoon!

What did you end up doing last night? Did you go skinny dipping, win any dance contests or catch any fireflies? Come on, please let me live vicariously through you. All I did was stay home, you know, watching TV and plucking my eyebrows… It was exhausting.

What about beauty? What were your favorite finds this week?

Here are some of the things Tabs and I talked about on the blog:

LES KHAKI DE CHANEL
FALL 2010 NAIL POLISHES

Leave it to Chanel to make baby poo/army green into a nail polish that looks downright effin’ cool to me. Last year, they stormed my beaches with another gorgeous green, Jade, forever and always my five-star general of Chanel polishes, but the three shades in the new limited edition Les Khaki de Chanel collection ($25 each) are bringing up the rear.

I like it when beauty products appear to combine contrasting concepts, and I think the rugged, outdoorsy elegance of Khaki Vert (a creamy army green), Khaki Rose (a creamy, rosy brown) and Khaki Brun (a creamy, cool brown) just…works.

These are well-groomed thugs wearing tuxedos, y’all, and I hope to see them gracing fingers and toes this fall. Read more…

DIOR NUDE PINK
DESIGN PALETTE

It’s a little funny to me that Dior calls this 5-Colour Designer All-in-One Artistry Palette “Nude Pink Design” ($58), seeing as how there isn’t a lot of pink in its design.

Like the four other quints in the All-in-One Artistry line, Nude Pink Design comes with three powder shadows, a cream liner and a cream base. A little mascara and you’re good to go.

As for the pink, well, it’s there, hiding within a few of the shades. You might remember another Dior quint with a similar name. Dior released the Dior 5-Colour Designer All-in-One Artistry Palette in Pink Design (sans the “Nude”) earlier this summer, but if you had trubs with that palette’s cool-toned pink and purple shades, you might have better luck with this one’s warmer palette.

Oh, and if you’re torn between what’s behind Door No. 1 (Pink Design) and Door No. 2 (Nude Pink Design), give some thought to where you might wear the colors. The Pink Design palette feels more like a party quint with its POPS of purple, whereas the Nude-ly named one feels more like an everyday product to me. Read more…

9 THINGS
I COULD NEVER DATE…

If 41% of all tweets are considered pointless babble, does that mean the other 59% are awesome little pearls of wisdom like this one that crossed my path last week?

Someone posited the following for consideration: “I could never date ______.”

Hilarity (and zillions of retweets) ensued.

Even though El Hub and I have been together since the dawn of time (roughly a decade), I still remember what it was like to be lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.

Here are nine things on my “I could never date______” list. What’s on yours? Read more…

MAC VENOMOUS VILLAINS
CRUELLA DE VIL

WOW! Where does the time go? Today it occurred to me that the MAC Venomous Villains collection’s just a hop, skip and a jump away (September 30).

Can I get a WOOT, WOOT! (and an evil cackle) from all the MAC-aholics in the hood?

The collection, a collaboration between Disney and MAC, features four separate color stories, each one based on a different Disney villain — Cruella de Vil, of 101 Dalmatians fame; Maleficent, from Sleeping Beauty; the Evil Queen, scourge of Snow White; and Dr. Facilier, from The Princess and the Frog (find out more about the whole collection here).

Despite the subject matter and cartoon imagery, these Trix aren’t for kids. The colors are decidedly grown up, and the products MAC caliber through and through. Read more…

HOURGLASS FEMME ROUGE
VELVET CREME LIPSTICK

Before El Hub I kissed quite a few frogs, and truth be told a few of those kisses were…awkward, like the one with Mr. Sharp Tooth (it was like a single vampire fang!), or the one with Señor Saliva (like kissing a slobbery puppy), or Mr. Mannequin (the dude never bent his elbows).

The first time I tried on the new Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick ($30, available in 12 shades), I was reminded of those frog kisses, because, well, something felt…off.

It wasn’t the texture; no, Femme Rouge feels as light and smooth as a baby-making slow jam. It was something else…

It was the bullet! — its shape, that is. Like a chisel, or a calligraphy pen, the straight edge at the tip is kinda hard to maneuver into the corners of my lips and around Cupid’s bow. Lips are all smooth turns and rounded corners, right? Things this tube is not. Read more…

TARTE EMPHASEYES
GEL EYELINER

No. 4,572 on the list of things I do badly: hip-hop glide moves.

Yeah… The only gliding I’ve done lately has been along my lash lines with Tarte emphasEYES Aqua-Gel Eyeliner ($18).

Released earlier this summer, the eight liners (Tarte refers to them as gel pots in pencil form) turn lash lines into tug-free zones.

I’ve been wearing the bronze, plum and black ones lately, and they’ve been helping me out on some harried mornings. Not needing to be sharpened, the twist-up sticks are built for efficiency; just two quick swipes along my lash line delivers rich, pigmented color.

Rushing with these doesn’t end in disaster, either, as the colors latch on to my lids with the strength of Greek gods, and they don’t migrate into my crease or smudge into places I’d rather they didn’t, even on bare skin.

Tarte also attributes a whole bunch of skin-loving benefits to the line. Read more…

TARTE
TEN PALETTE

It’s true, your honor. I’m horribly, terribly guilty — of abusing denim.

Especially in the late ’80s.

I guess I was just copying my friends. First, it was that pair of cheesy Guess overalls… You see, I wore them with one strap up and one down. Yeah, I should have known it was wrong, but I was just a kid then.

And that wasn’t the worst of it, either. Soon, I graduated from overalls to cropped jeans jackets. They were bedazzled, with golden studs.

That was probably my worst crime…

To help you understand — not that I’m trying to defend my actions — this all happened around the time my parents forced me to get a boy’s haircut. Read more…

RIMMEL MAX
VOLUME MASCARA

Have you been watching the US Open? I’m probably the world’s worst tennis player (sports involving projectiles = not a strong suit) and only know the bare basics of the sport, but I sure like watching it. Team sports are great, but there’s just something about watching two world class athletes go one-on-one, ya know? Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that most of the dudes are cute, heh!

Today was all about the ladies, though, and watching Maria Sharapova duke it out with Caroline Wozniacki got me thinking about — big surprise — makeup.

If, by some miracle of modern science, I morphed into an elite 35-year-old tennis player, I’d be all about waterproof mascara. With that unlikely future in mind, today I gave Rimmel’s Max Volume Flash Waterproof Mascara ($7, available in a single shade called Black) a try. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sometimes it’s fun to be theatrical.

“I’ve never seen this side of you before, Michelle, and it’s just not pretty.”

“Gah! Has everyone gone cray-cray? The girl’s a blogger, Kim, not a singer. She takes pictures and prattles on about makeup. That doesn’t qualify her for the stage. This is Dreamgirls, for Pete’s sake! We have standards here.”

“Wait — you know what I think? I think you’re just jealous, Michelle.”

“What? No! Kim –”

“Yes, I think that’s it. I think this is really all about you and that chubby cat, isn’t it?”

“Of course not!”

“It is! You’re lashing out because you lost the Fabulous Felines job to that cat, what was his name?–”

“Tabs.”

“Yes! Tabs. And now you’re taking it out on his girl…”

“No, that’s not it. You’re wrong, Kim.”

“Sure it is. I mean, you’ve always been a diva, Michelle, but this is low, even for you.”

“Oh, spare me, Kim! You’re not the one who lost the best modeling job of your life to a fat tabby cat, so spare me your righteous indignation. I don’t need it. Not from you. I would have gotten that MAC job if it weren’t for that stupid cat, so yeah, I don’t want his girl performing on my stage, and I’ll be damned if I stand by and let it happen. Over my dead body!”

Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂 The road to Broadway is paved with makeup, ladies! I had such a blast watching Dreamgirls in the city yesterday. Now I feel invigorated and ready to take on the world!

LOL! Not really. Actually, I feel ready to take on a second cup of coffee, but you know what I mean.

So what are you up to today? Something fun, I hope. I don’t have any plans yet, which feels nice. I may go shopping for shoes at Marshalls… That’s always fun.

Here’s a brief look back at some of the makeup and beauty products we talked about this week. Let me know if you had a favorite among the bunch.

BOBBI BROWN
BLACK VELVET

Darth Vader: Bobbi, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.
Bobbi Brown: Speak to me.
Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side…

Actually, Bobbi does know the power of the Dark Side. She joined it this fall, but not in an evil empire kind of way (although I would totally buy a Vader lipstick!). Read more…

MAC FABULOUS FELINES
CAT EYE WITH A GOLDEN TWIST

Tabs has been bugging me to incorporate his MAC Leopard Luxe goodies into a look. It’s his favorite one of the Fabulous Felines color stories, and he’s been going on and on about its warm gold, brown, peach and black shades. Today he said of the colors, “Meow, mrow mrroww ft ft,” to which I think everyone agrees.

Just because a look utilizes neutrals doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Take the standard cat eye, for example. They’re often done with black liners or other dark neutrals, and today I tried mine with a twist — a shimmery golden liquid eyeliner along the lashline. I wanted to spice up the look with glitter without going full-on disco.

Beginning with a basic neutral cat eye using a few colors from the Leopard Luxe eyeshadow quad — shimmery golden beige Wild By Nature on my brow bone, shimmery peachy gold Style Predator on the lid and shimmery brown Notoriety in the crease — I then drew a cat eye shape with shiny black Superslick Liquid Eye Liner in On The Hunt along my upper and lower lashlines. Read more…

LORAC EVENING OUT
COMPLEXION KIT

I didn’t have a cubic inch of extra room in my bag when I packed for that trip to Reno a couple weeks ago, so instead of bringing my usual brigade of face products (tinted moisturizer, stick foundation, liquid foundation… Um, have I ever mentioned that I tend to overpack?), I lightened my load with LORAC’s new Evening Out Complexion Kit ($38).

The sleek gunmetal compact must have been made with on-the-go girl secret agents in mind because concealment is the name of this game.

The kit comes with a powder foundation, two cream concealers, a sponge applicator and a tiny Jane Bond-ian concealer brush. Read more…

MAC FABULOUS FELINES
RUSSIAN BLUE ON BROWN EYES

Vets say he’s an American Shorthair, the cat-chall breed for kitties of questionable lineage (the miscellaneous cat-egory of the kitty world, if you will).

And I’d always figured Tabs was cool with being called an American Shorthair, but ever since the arrival of MAC’s Fabulous Felines, I’ve been finding evidence to the contrary — posters of exotic purebreds on the wall, copies of Cat Fancy around the house, and his diary left open to a page in which he referred to himself as an “Egyptian Mau/Ragdoll/Toyger hybrid.” Read more…

HOURGLASS FILM
NOIR MASCARA

The alley grew darker the deeper she went, but she knew he came this way, the cat with the tabby fur.

She sped around a corner and almost tripped on something metal and loud, a trash can maybe. She didn’t stop. It was dark, so dark. Out of breath, her heart racing, she barely made out the silhouettes of two dogs playing cards under a fire escape before she passed them.

“Which way’d he go?” she barked, pivoting on three-inch heels.

No answer. Damn scamps. She didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, just kept running, arms flailing wildly in the dark.

“Hello!” she cried out, to nowhere, to everywhere, to him. “Please, wait!”

Still nothing. So she kept running, deeper into the night. He was here. She knew it, somewhere, the cat with the tabby fur. Read more…

BOOTS BOTANICAL
CONDITIONING CLAY MASK

My combination skin’s been acting up lately (annoying little pimples on my chin, clogged pores on my cheeks, dry patches around my nose… the usual crapalicious bullsh*t ), so last night I took it as a blogger’s blessing and decided to test oil-free Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask ($9) for the first time.

Just shake (it sounds like canned soup!), slather and let dry for between 10-20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. The mineral-rich clay, which is harvested from the sea and combined with burdock root extract, contains a negative electrical charge that, according to Boots, draws the crud from pores without over-drying the skin.

I kept it on for a full 20 minutes before rinsing, breathing in the earthy scent and enjoying the tightening sensation. While it was on, I could actually SEE the product settling into my pores, too, hopefully working its magic. ‘Twas fascinating AND disgusting — both at the same time! Read more…

CHANEL INIMITABLE
INTENSE MASCARA

Sometimes “quick” describes something bad…

Like the blind date I went on some years ago with the Beatles-hating dude who confessed to listening to nothing but techno music 24/7. I grew up on a steady diet of John, Paul, George and Ringo, so when he dissed Blackbird five minutes into the evening, something inside me went, “OH, HELL NO!” I faked a headache halfway through my beer and hightailed it home.

And sometimes “quick” describes something good…

Like the new Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara ($30, available in four shades), a new take on Chanel’s original Inimitable (a lengthening, curling, volumizing star!).

The O.G. version was born back in 2006. This new version 2.0 extends its predecessor’s double rainbow “all the way across the sky!” — with MORE lash drama on all fronts. Plus, because it works well even with a single layer, it’s also quick. Read more…

LORAC PRIVATE
AFFAIR PALETTE

For Christmas last year my little brother got our mom a Snuggie (“as seen on TV!”).

What’s a Snuggie? Well, if you’ve seen the late-night commercials, it’s the world famous blanket with sleeves (kinda looks like a reverse wizard’s cape), and my mum thinks it’s cooler than a young Paul McCartney in butt-hugger pants.

I talked a lot of crap about ‘em until the day I tried one on…

DANG, they’re unbelievably comfortable and soft.

Which reminds me of another “so soft!” moment I’ve had recently, this one with LORAC’s Private Affair Palette ($38). Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂

It was so warm and snuggly in bed this morning that I didn’t want to get up. The weather here took a bizarre turn a few days ago, falling quickly from 108F on Wednesday to about 65 yesterday and today.

Blast these silly Bay Area microclimates! I want more summer, stat!

What’s your game plan for today? I never did make it to that movie yesterday (Scott Pilgrim), but hopefully I do today… I did, however, watch Gattaca for the first time, and holy double helix, Batman! — what a great sci-fi flick!

The director, Andrew Niccol, is also directing Stephenie Meyer’s The Host (due out next year!). Now I have much higher hopes for that.

So how are things going with you? What was your favorite makeup of the week? Did you try anything new?

Here are some of the things we’ve talked about lately… I’m not sure which one was my favorite. There’s the obvious, MAC Fabulous Felines, but I’m actually leaning toward those NYX Studio Effect Liquid Liners even more.

MAC FABULOUS FELINES
PREVIEW PICTURES

Keep your cool kitten eyes peeled for the Superslick Liquid Eye Liners ($17.50). Available in nine shades, these innovate long-wearing, water-resistant liners actually look wet when they’re dry, and Tabs thinks they’re the cat’s meow.

Today while he napped (apparently, fabulous felines require a lot of sleep), I took a look at eight pieces from the collection. First up, the Pigment in Blood Line ($19.50). Simply put, I love this purplish brown loose powder shadow. It’s smooth, with just a hint of shimmer, and I bet it would rock the socks off of looks featuring plum or brown smokey eyes. Read more…

LORAC REAL LIFE
TO RED CARPET EYE TUTORIAL KIT

If happy hours, ramen noodles, party crashing, mac and cheese, Taco Bell bean burritos and Totino’s frozen pizzas are fixtures of your college life (like they were mine!), take a little look at LORAC. Their $36 Close Up Real Life to Red Carpet Eye Tutorial Kit has “I’m a [hawt] broke college student” written all over it.

I’ll never forget the first time I went to buy books in college… YIKES! I guess I didn’t get the memo about every thick, hella boring science textbook costing an arm and a leg, and maybe it was out of a desire to prevent that same kind of eye-bulging sticker shock that LORAC came up with the idea.

The kit makes it easy to go from lunch in the campus cafeteria to a look ready for dinner and a movie. For $36 you get four full-size LORAC all-star products — a primer, a mascara, an eyeshadow trio and a liner — along with a small dual-tipped eye brush and a tutorial booklet with step-by-step directions for three different looks. Bought separately, the liner, primer and shadow trio by themselves (not including any of the other cool stuff) would cost almost twice as much as the entire kit. Read more…

NYX STUDIO EFFECT
LIQUID LINER

Hey, boo. Howzit? Sorry if I’ve seemed a little distracted lately, but I’ve been trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with my in-laws before they head back to Hawaii on Friday. Yup, it’s been an interesting beauty balancing act — trying to be a considerate host while also being biologically incapable of resisting makeup for more than a few hours at a time, ha!

But like any self-respecting member of the Borg collective knows, “resistance IS futile.” Keeping this beauty fiend away from her makeup is like trying to keep Tabs away from gravy (read: hard). Today I even locked myself away in the bathroom for an hour just to be alone with the new NYX Studio Liquid Liners ($4.50 each). Read more…

MAC FABULOUS FELINES
SWATCHES GALORE

Tabs couldn’t sleep at all last night and woke me up at 3 this morning like a kid on Christmas morning. MAC Fabulous Felines pounced onto counters nationwide today (and international counters next month), and he wanted to make sure we made it to the mall.

We did. 🙂

Of the collection’s three color stories, Leopard Luxe was the one we’ve both been looking forward to the most (lots of warm corals and golds)…not that Burmese Beauty and Palace Pedigreed don’t also look interesting.

Despite its name, the collection isn’t just for fellow feline enthusiasts. If warm golds and corals sing on your skin/fur, get your paws on Leopard Luxe; if cool plums, pinks and blues crook your tail, consider Palace Pedigreed; and if you prefer to party with a mixed crowd, try Burmese Beauty’s blend of greens, taupes and browns. Read more…

JEMMA KIDD
HI-SHINE GLOSSTICK

Some cats possess talent; others are possessed by it. When that happens, as the great Rod Serling once said, “a talent becomes a curse.”

Imagine, if you would, a cat with sharp claws resting on an air mattress (the same one you’ve been sleeping on since your in-laws arrived).

This cat has a talent for destruction…and for keeping me awake at night.

As sleep deprived as I’ve been these past two weeks, I’d be a heck of a lot grumpier if it weren’t for Jemma Kidd’s new Hi-Shine Glossticks ($25 each, available in five shades).

Inspired by the beautiful colors of beachy Barbados, these hydrating lipstick/gloss hybrids contain nifty light reflective particles to go with their SPF 15. The particles create the illusion of fuller lips, making them great for gals looking for a little lip boost. Read more…

NARS PURE MATTE
LIPSTICK

You know what they say, right? You can take the girl out of the ’90s, but you can’t take the ’90s out of the girl.

Well, I’ve never actually heard that before…but wouldn’t it make an awesome fortune cookie?

Back in the day matte lipstick was my BFF, and I always had at least one in my little black backpack (gawd, remember those?). I loved the look, but dangnabbit those old school matte formulas made my lips dry and flaky!

After all these years, I still love matte lips, and now with uber-moisturizing formulas like the one in new NARS Pure Matte Lipstick ($25), matte lips can be comfy, too (think spaghetti strap dress/baby-T combo, circa 1995).

Available in six shades with spectacular geographic names — Volga (a deep aubergine), Bangkok (a soft rose), Tonkin (a plum), Tere De Feue (a blackish cherry), Tashkent (a nude beige) and Vesuvio (a bold red) — the unscented, unflavored line conditions lips with hydrating vitamin E, wild mango butter and acai oil. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂 I hope you’re having a beautiful morning. What are you up to today? Anything exciting? Let’s see… Right now I’m answering some email, drinking a cup of coffee and trying to psyche myself up to exercise. None of that qualifies as exciting, but c’est la vie.

As for the realms of makeup and beauty, hasn’t it been an amazing week? I feel like I’ve been so busy with my in-laws visiting that I haven’t been able to just veg out and play with makeup as much as I usually do, but there’s a time and place for everything, ya know?

Here’s a look back at some of the things we talked about this week on the blog, and let me know how you’re doing today. I feel like we haven’t talked much in a while.

MAC VENOMOUS VILLAINS
101 THINGS

In what turned out to be the BIGGEST post I’ve ever written for the blog (so big, in fact, that I suspect the server may crash), here are 101 things you probably didn’t know about Disney and the upcoming MAC Venomous Villains collection (but certainly will now).

The collection launches in the U.S. on September 30 and internationally in October.

When designing the four Venomous Villains sub-collections — The Evil Queen (as far as we know, that’s her stage name) from 1937′s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Maleficent from 1959′s Sleeping Beauty, Cruella de Vil from 1961′s 101 Dalmations and Dr. Facilier from 2009′s The Princess and the Frog — MAC based the color stories on the original Disney character sketches and Pantone color guides.

They took it all into consideration — the attitudes of the characters, their skin tone, clothes and style — and not just the colors Disney used to ink them.

As a lifelong Disney fan and art fanatic, I’ve been looking forward to this collection for months! Read more…

CHANEL OMBRES
CONTRASTE EYESHADOW DUOS

Chanel should have issued a warning with their new $42 Ombres Contraste Duos: “Caution: The contents of this compact may be hard to resist!”

Seriously, you might want to steel yourself against potential temptation and simply stop reading now.

The part of me that loves elegantly effortless makeup just can’t get enough of these eyeshadow duos. The six of them make me feel like screaming, “Gimme, gimme more!”

This fall luxurious textures and intense pigments have been all the rage among the high-end makeup lines (hello, Givenchy Le Prisme Quartets!), and while these duos may not look the part at first, they’re no exception.

Each one comes with a light cream shadow designed to be used as a base and a darker powder matte shadow for contouring and creating the illusion of depth. Read more…

MAC VIVA GLAM
CYNDI AND GAGA LIPGLASSES

Back in college I volunteered as a peer health counselor, and one of my responsibilities was to visit the different dorms on campus and give presentations on HIV/AIDS awareness. Even though it took a lot of time, it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done (I felt like I was really helping people).

In a small way, MAC’s Viva Glam program allows me to still feel like I’m helping people, and maybe that’s one of the reasons why I like the limited edition MAC Viva Glam Cyndi and Viva Glam Gaga Lipglasses ($14.50 each) so much.

Well, it doesn’t hurt that they’re gorgeous, too.

If I had to pick between the two, I think I’d probably go with Cyndi’s shiny coral. Don’t get me wrong — I love Gaga’s creamy light bluish pink, but I tend to find warmer colors a little easier to wear. Read more…

PACIFICA
ROLL-ON PERFUMES

Heya, ladies. How was your hump day afternoon? We got home from Reno a few hours ago, and since then I’ve done a load of laundry, watered the plants, given Tabs his overdue lurvies and took some pictures (with a little help from Tabs) of Pacifica’s cute line of Roll-On Perfumes ($12 for a 10-ml bottle).

Available in eight classic Pacifica scents — Hawaiian Ruby Guava, Brazilian Mango Grapefruit, Malibu Lemon Blossom, Tahitian Gardenia, Mediterranean Fig, French Lilac, Lotus Garden and Tuscan Blood Orange — and one new fragrance called California Star Jasmine, they should easily slip into most makeup bags or purses; size-wise, they’re TSA-approved, so you can pop ‘em into a carry-on bag for air travel. Read more…

ESSIE FALL 2010
NAIL POLISHES

I’m all for nail polishes that push the boundaries of beauty (I’m looking at you, Butter London!), but I also like traditional products in colors that feel familiar, like the six shades that make up Essie fall 2010.

Colors like these, all of them medium to dark and $8 apiece, remind me of autumns in the city. The red, pink, purple, green, amethyst and blackish brown feel urban and sophisticated, and I see these colors being worn by a stylish girl (for the purposes of this paragraph, let’s call her Karen). I can see her walking the sidewalks of downtown San Francisco in a chic tweed jacket, wearing dark skinny jeans and kickin’ knee-high boots, LOL! And I can almost hear the autumn leaves crunching beneath my feet as my painted nails catch the late afternoon light.

Every color in the collection walks in step with the season, unlike last year’s fall release (remember the neon hot pink and highway worker vest orange?), which l still liked, but those colors seemed a little disjointed and random to me. Read more…

LOVE AND TOAST
PERFUMES, LIP BALMS & HAND CREAMS

Like a peacock’s feathers, some beauty product packaging isn’t meant to be practical. Sometimes it’s meant to grab eyeballs — KAPOW! — which is exactly what the colorfully quirky Love & Toast line did to mine when I stumbled upon it at Pure Beauty.

I love the way products in the small indie line of perfumes, lip balms and hand creams ($9-32 each) are decorated, with their bright tubes and fun, interesting scents — sugared grapefruit, anyone?

Super cute, yah?

I walked away with a tube of the lightly scented Handcreme in Pomme Poivre (French for “apple pepper”), which I’ve been wearing on my paws since we arrived in Reno yesterday. The climate-controlled casino air usually wreaks havoc on my skin, but Love & Toast’s fast-absorbing shea butter formula has kept my hands soft and smooth. Read more…

THE BEAUTY OF
DISNEYLAND

Anaheim’s Disneyland theme park is beautiful in more ways than one. Sure, it’s a colorful feast for the eyes, but it’s also quite literally beauty-full, bursting with Disney-themed jewelry, clothing, makeup and art.

The upcoming MAC Venomous Villains collection is the latest in a long line of historic Disney beauty collaborations, many of which are available for purchase in the park.

Girlfriend, they don’t call it The Magic Kingdom for nothin’.

If you find yourself strolling down Main Street, take a minute to check out the Fortuosity Shop (next to Carnation Cafe). It’s like a playground for beauty addicts, with a slew of Disney-related products and accessories ranging from nail polishes to jewelry to designer bags.

Paul & Joe and OPI have your face, lips and nails covered with these cutie pie Alice in Wonderland goodies. Paul & Joe’s packaging always makes me weak in the knees… This tin comes with blotting papers and a clear lip conditioner. Read more…

CLINIQUE MOISTURE
SURGE SPRAY

Calling Reno dry is like calling Chanel expensive: kinda obvious. Heck, it’s not just dry; the air literally repels moisture! — as if it hates the stuff.

One of the things I did to stay cool and keep my skin from cracking was turn to Clinique’s Moisture Surge Face Spray ($20), which I must have spritzed on myself at least a hundred times (every time I took a break from Kitty Glitter).

It’s an oil-free moisturizing face spray with a faint, almost undetectable licorice scent, and it’s part of Clinique’s famed Moisture Surge line. Designed to soothe and satisfy parched skin, it can be used in conjunction with other facial moisturizers, too, either beneath or atop makeup (spray from about a foot away to keep from disturbing your handiwork), as often as needed. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Ah, sweet sleep, most hallowed of activities, how I love thee! Good morning, girl. 🙂 Happy Sunday. How’s it going this morning?

I’ve been a little busier than usual the past couple of days, trying to spend some quality time hanging out with my in-laws, but yesterday they left Tabs and I home for a few hours to play with MAC Venomous Villains (YAY!) while they went to visit the towns of Mill Valley (where I used to live), Sausalito and San Rafael.

Sausalito is nestled up against the northern coastline of the Golden Gate, at the base of Marin County. It’s a beautiful town, especially on sunny summer days, with a quaint shopping district and panoramic views of San Francisco off in the distance across the Bay.

So pretty…

View of San Francisco from Sausalito, California

What’s on your agenda today? Are there any new movies out? I’m in the mood for a good movie…

Before you go, did you have a favorite new beauty product or collection this week? What do you think of Venomous Villains? I’ve been such a huge lifelong fan of Disney art and animation that I think I was predisposed to it, ha!

NARS BEAUTIFUL LIFE
LIP AND CHEEK PALETTE

The universe is filled with things I do not understand, things like Justin Bieber fever, Crocs, and why NARS chose not to include a lip brush in the Beautiful Life Lip and Cheek Palette ($55).

At first blush, it looks like a traveler’s makeup dream come true — compact, cute, with a convenient zippered case. The included mirror works well for on-the-go touchups, and by leaving out powder products (it comes with four lipsticks and two cream blushes), NARS eliminated annoying product cross pollination (when your powders spill all over your cream products). So smart!

They thought of everything — almost. I know NARS doesn’t usually include brushes with their palettes, but I wish they would have found room in this one for a lip brush. Beautiful Life is just so obviously designed for travel; a brush would have been a great addition. Of course, I’m a stickler when it comes to packaging. Read more…

WET N WILD
COLOR ICON TRIO EYESHADOWS

Wet n Wild’s been setting drugstore aisles on fire lately! If you liked their Icon Eyeshadow Singles (I thought they were the bee’s knees), take a look at these $3 Color Icon Eyeshadow Trios.

They’re available in six palettes of three matching shadows each — enough to use a different shade on the eyelid, in the crease and along your brow bone.

Because Wet n Wild did the color matching for us, these should help make tough mornings a little easier to bear.

I’ve been using two of the trios lately — Cool as a Cucumber and On Cloud Nine — and despite their diminutive size, I’m still finding a lot to love.

I think these shadows are great, but Wet n Wild could take ‘em next level with a minor tweak. They’re not quite as easy to blend as the Icon Singles are (as far as I can tell), and I had to work my brushes back and forth a wee bit more than I would have liked to achieve seamless color. It’s a relatively minor quibble and one I’ll happily overlook on account of the price — basically a dollar per pan. Read more…

STOP COMPARING
YOURSELF TO OTHERS

Your best friend just bought an expensive new luxury car; all of a sudden, your ride looks kinda clunky by comparison.

One of your roommates just got into an Ivy League grad school program; now your day job feels like a total dead end.

Do you ever feel like you’re just standing still while everyone else in your life is hurtling toward a phenomenal and fantastic future?

Welcome to the land of comparing yourself to others.

It can be a dreadful place, and I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been a resident a multitude of times. Read more…

DOLCE & GABBANA
CARAMEL LIPGLOSS

Calling all nudists! Before you strip off your Gap baby T, please note that I’m talking about nudists, as in nude lips, not, um…actual nudists. 🙂

If you love a nude lip look, let Dolce & Gabbana’s new Caramel Ultra Shine Lipgloss ($30), released with the Sicilian Lace Collection for fall, whet your appetite. This creamy, medium-weight warm beige feels slightly sticky on my lips (but not as sticky as a MAC Lipglass) and has a light rose scent (it is unflavored, though).

I get about two and a half hours of color from Caramel when I wear her all by her lonesome. I bet she’d also look divine layered on top of a favorite nude lip liner, too… Can you imagine? — with sooty black smokey eyes? Read more…

BUTTER LONDON
FALL/WINTER 2010

You know, it’s true what they say — butter makes everything better. Even tips and toes!

Like colorful little versions of butter on toast, these new Butter London Fall/Winter 2010 polishes ($14 each) are mighty satisfying.

Known for sassy packaging and their “three free” nail polish formula (no formaldehyde, toluene or phthalate), Butter London cooked up four new filling shades for fall/winter.

For the color story, Creative Director Nonie Creme drew from a mix of modern and classic British influences, combining a dash of the old with a splash of the new. Her goal: fashion forward colors with an edge.

Holographic All Hail McQueen, a shimmery ode to fashion legend Alexander McQueen (*pours forty*), and Bumster, a creamy ochre yellow, pay homage to the designer’s low-slung, booty-crack exposing pants, which shocked sidewalks (and the entire fashion world) back in 1996. Read more…

DOLCE & GABBANA
NAIL LACQUER IN PERFECTION

First nude lips, now nude nails? — there’s a lot of nekkidness going on at Dolce & Gabbana makeup counters this fall.

Do you ever wear nude nails? If you do, what’s your favorite product/color?

Most nude nail parties feature hues based on pinks or peach, but Nail Lacquer in Perfection ($20), the lone lacquer in D&G’s six-piece Sicilian Lace collection for fall, is all about the beige.

Warm and creamy, it applies thick and dries to a high-shine finish…in about 90 minutes (!). Yep, this Perfection takes time, but that’s what hot tea (for me) and quick dry nail drops (for nails) are for.

I bet Perfection would be, um, perfect for elegantly understated nail looks, but $20 seems like a lot for something this subtle. Read more…

BECCA CREAM
BLUSH

You know how there’s always that ONE ANNOYING PERSON who gets to the bus stop a few seconds late? The one who yells, “Wait! Wait!” as the bus pulls away from the curb? Yeah, that person would be me.

There aren’t a lot of positives to being perpetually late for public transpo, but there is at least one: blushed cheeks.

Sadly, it’s the kind of blush that only lasts a few minutes, but Becca may have a longer term solution. Too bad their Becca Creme Blush wasn’t available back when I was regularly missing riding the bus to school.

Of course, all 11 natural-looking shades aren’t exactly built with student budgets in mind ($30), but I probably would have eaten ramen noodles every day for a week (been there, done that) to be able to splurge on one of these pans. Read more…

GIVENCHY LE PRISME
EYESHADOW IN EGERIE

After I finished freaking out over the cost of the new Givenchy Le Prisme Eyeshadow Quartet in Khaki Egerie ($56), I stepped back from the mirror and thought, “Now THAT’s what I’m talking about.”

I swear these colors make my eyes glow!

Givenchy just added it and five other quads to their permanent line, each promising highly pigmented, enduring colors, and if Khaki Egerie’s any indication of what the other quads have to offer, all of them probably warrant closer inspection.

The major selling point for me — besides the rich pigmentation and sumptuous shimmer — has to be the near absence of fallout. It’s minimal (just a tiny spec or two beneath my lower lash line and cheeks)… The soft, finely milled powders adhere to my lids without creasing or settling into my wrinkles fine lines, and they blend CRAZY good, too. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂 Time to get up (unless you’re sleeping in). I’ve got part two of that photography class today, so I’m gettin’ my breakfast on, doing a quick load of laundry and playing with Tabs for a few minutes before I go.

The class is focussed on what they call macro photography — closeup stuff like product shots and bees on flowers. Yesterday we practiced using a large studio light called a soft box. You’ve probably seen ’em before on shows like Project Runway, but a lot of bloggers are using them too. They’re tall lamps with a large rectangular shade that gives off a huge amount of diffused light, almost like having your own miniature sun in the room.

That reminds me, probably the two most helpful bits of photography advice I’ve ever come across are:

1. Shoot with tons of light from multiple sources (i.e. have multiple table lamps, room lights and windows open). Having multiple sources of light or reflective surfaces to bounce light around the subject (like white walls, aluminum foil, mirrors, etc.) lessens the shadows that otherwise appear when a single light source is used.
2. Tripod. Want to take crisp, sharp pictures? One word: tripod. No matter how steady I hold my camera, I can’t hold it as steady as a tripod, and camera shake = blur. Most point-and-shoot cameras have 2- or 10-second timers. Try using your camera’s self-timer with a tripod (here’s a great little one for small cameras), and literally bathe your subject in light.

Do you enjoy photography? It’s one of my favorite hobbies. Digital cameras sure have changed things, haven’t they? Just think — 10 years ago we were taking our film to Costco to have it developed!

Anywho, did you have any favorite products this week? I fell pretty hard for the Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eyeshadow Quad in Nude…

TARTE LOCK & ROLL
CREASELESS EYESHADOW DUOS

Most of my college memories have faded into a fuzzy, frosty haze, but the chaotic mornings I spent rushing to get ready before early lectures remain fresh, fresh, fresh!

The drill was always the same: after rolling out of bed, I’d pull my hair into a ponytail, grab a pair of sunglasses, stuff my makeup bag into my backpack (hoping to get ready in the girl’s bathroom before class), and sprint to catch the bus.

If you foresee a similarly hectic schedule this fall, think about streamlining, and consider adding the Tarte Lock & Roll Creaseless Eyeshadow Duos ($17 each) to your beauty routine.

With a cream shadow base on one end and an eyeshadow rollerball on the other, the nine dual-tipped shimmery shadows work like magic wands in the hurried hands of someone in a rush. Read more…

STILA BACKSTAGE
EYE PALETTE

Like the brightest stars on a crystal clear night, the shadows in the new Stila Backstage Eye Palette twinkle just a little brighter than every other fall product that crossed my path at Sephora yesterday.

Affordable ($28), and filled with fun colors, Backstage looks lovely in its pretty purple packaging.

Girls who like brights might love how intense these colors are and appreciate the thought that clearly went into picking the mix of shades.

Backstage’s frosty shadows sure love to shimmer in the light, and while I think frosts like these can be a lot of fun to play with, these particular ones aren’t the easiest shades to wear. They can be a little messy.

All six of these shadows feel noticeably loose and airy compared to other Stila shadows I’ve tried — like fluffy whipped cream as opposed to smooth cream cheese (yep, I’m hungry). Read more…

DOLCE & GABBANA
EYESHADOW QUAD IN NUDE

Dolce & Gabbana’s Sicilian Lace collection for fall 2010 doesn’t officially hit counters for a couple more weeks, but if you can’t/don’t want to wait that long, don’t. Feed your need for instant makeup gratification with the Smooth Eyeshadow Quad in Nude ($59).

Available now, the quad’s one of two permanent collection products being repromoted in Dolce & Gabbana’s upcoming six-piece fall release (the other being Shine Lipstick in Perfection).

Can I just say how much I this quad? We’re practically inseparable, all because of Nude’s four easy-to-wear eyeshadow shades. Read more…

TARTE
BEAUTY IN A BOX

Wonder Twin powers, activate!

Tarte and Sephora recently did just that — activating their Wonder Twin makeup powers to form the new Beauty in a Box Bronze Smokey Eye Kit ($45).

The six-piece limited edition kit comes with products in bronze, nude and purple, with four full-size items (the Lock & Roll Creasless Cream Shadow and Loose Powder in Burnt Bronze, EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow/Liner in Plum, Rise & Shine Lip Gloss and Stain in Nude, and the Clean Slate Natural Face Primer) and two deluxe minis (Park Ave Princess Mineral Powder Bronzer; and Lights, Camera, Splashes Waterproof Mascara). Read more…

WET N WILD
MEGA LAST

These Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color lipsticks sure take me back…

The year: 1991. I’m a sophomore in high school. Kids are wearing tacky acid-washed overalls, and Color Me Badd reigns supreme.

My good friend Jen and I shared a lab table in biology class, and we’d start and end every class the same way, by applying our favorite Wet n Wild lippies.

Those first generation WNW lipsticks weren’t the greatest (my tummy churns just thinking about that faux rose scent and plastic flavor), but they were hella cheap, which was why we always had at least one tube stuffed into our Liz Claiborne bags.

That was a long time ago… A lot’s changed since then, but some things remain the same. Jen and I still wax philosophic about makeup and beauty (although now we do it by blog, e-mail or text), and Wet n Wild is still a viable drugstore makeup option for ladies looking to save a few bucks. Read more…

RIMMEL LASTING FINISH PRO
NAIL ENAMEL

Sometimes summer makes it hard to commit to fall makeup designed to conjure thoughts of autumn leaves, wool scarves and boots, despite the flourish of fall collections whispering sweet nothings in our ears (Chanel, Urban Decay, Dior!).

To all the beauty companies out there, I’m not quite ready to shift my makeup gears yet, so please bring on more summery brights!

Like these five new Lasting Finish nail shades from Rimmel…

The vibrant $4 colors hail from their 32-piece Lasting Finish Pro Nail Enamel line.

I think they’re notable for the colors, of course, and the wide applicator brush that covers most of the nail and thus speeds application. I also dig the thin, easy-to-apply texture. Read more…

YSL TOUCHE ECLAT
RADIANT TOUCH

I’m chalking up my spur-of-the-moment decision to get $40 YSL Touche Eclat to temporary insanity.

I know a lot of women swear by the stuff — a versatile liquid face product (available in four shades) designed to work as a concealer, highlighter, eyeshadow base and even a lip primer — but when I tried it for the first time years ago, I wasn’t wowed.

“I’m older and wiser now,” I thought. “Maybe I should give it another try.”

Like Mulder from the X-Files, I REALLY wanted to believe. The product’s so popular that the company says they sell one every 20 seconds worldwide! Read more…

NARS ONLY YOU
AND BEAUTIFUL LIFE PALETTES

Do you suppose Francois Nars was bumping vintage Ace of Base when he named his new fall lip and cheek palette “Beautiful Life”?

I secretly hope so, because even though the song’s hella cheesy, I also think it’s kinda awesome.

The new NARS Beautiful Life Lip and Cheek ($55) and Only You Eye and Cheek ($65) palettes for fall, available now on the NARS website, are equally spectacular (but in a totally non-cheesy way). Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Because I watched the latest Star Trek movie again last night (BEST OPENING 9 MINUTES IN SCI-FI MOVIE HISTORY!), I was thinking about doing something Star Trek-inspired for the black-and-white roundup pic at the top…but I thought I might be the only person in the world who’d appreciate the randomness of it, LOL!

How’s it going today? What’s shakin’ in your neck of the woods? I’m just over here loading up on tea and reading some gossip blogs.

Speaking of that, do you have a favorite one? Mine’s pinkisthenewblog.com because I like my celeb news on the light side, ya know? Nothing too snarky or mean.

On Sundays I like to wrap up the week with a quick look back at some of the things we talked about in the worlds of makeup and beauty (and also spend a few hours playing/practicing with Photoshop).

What was the best beauty news you got this week?

EOS EVOLUTION
SHAVE CREAM

My bad luck in the crap shoot that is genetics = totally your gain. Why else would the powers that be bestow upon me a dense thicket of body hair if not to serve as a guinea pig for all of (hairy) womankind?

Peep the latest episode in the epic struggle between Karen and all forms of hair removal technology — this bottle of EOS Evolution of Smooth Pomegranate Raspberry Shave Cream.

I picked it up at Target last week when the cute pink bottle caught my eye (it was also on sale for $2, down from the regular $5). Read more…

BECCA GLOSSY
LIP TINT

Ever since an “incident” about a decade ago involving free cosmopolitans (long story short, but I hadn’t eaten anything beforehand and weighed 98 pounds at the time), I haven’t been a big boozer, but I am a total lush (as you well know) when it comes to makeup.

I can’t restrain myself around colors like Becca Glossy Lip Tint in Mimosa ($23). Seeing how I only just recently got wind of shimmery golden bronze Mimosa, it might be a little premature to declare it “The best Becca Glossy Lip Tint evah.”

But I’m still doing it. 🙂

Like Becca’s other Glossy Lip Tints in Frappe, Colada and Cherry Bomb, Mimosa lavishes lips in wet, glossy color, but it’s even more pigmented and hydrating on the lips. As a matter of fact, with Mimosa I haven’t felt the need to start with a layer of lip balm worn underneath. Read more…

SMASHBOX MASQUERADE
PALETTE

Friends, citizens, insomniacs, lend me your eyes; I come to bury complicated eye looks, not to praise them. Put down that Sleepytime Tea for a second, Caesar, and take a look at the new Smashbox Masquerade Eye Palette ($35) — enemy of complicated eye looks everywhere!

You don’t have to be an aeronautical engineer to put together fly looks with this palette of nine powder shadows in neutral and jewel-toned shades. In it, Smashbox cleverly placed complementary colors in three horizontal rows, basically taking the guesswork out of color matching. It’s a breakthrough of epic proportions, yo! — particularly for lazy chicks and insomniacs (oh, hai!) like me. Read more…

SMASHBOX MASQUERADE
COLLECTION FALL 2010

I’m as happy as a kid at the front of the deep fried Twinkie line at the county fair. Girl, grab your ball gown and bedazzled mask, and prepare to be lured by a Smashbox Masquerade.

Available online now, Masquerade’s a small but comprehensive fall release with seven limited-edition pieces dressed in sophisticated indigo blue packaging. Pink, gold and peach shades softly light up lips and cheeks, and rich browns and beiges — along with a sprinkling of jeweled shimmery greens and blues — smolder on the eyes.

I think there’s something scary seductive about this collection. When I read the color story, I felt the shades drawing me into a fantasy that starred detailed satin ball gowns and glittering masquerade masks. I think the collection’s much prettier and softer than last year’s Reign, which had a cool edginess to it, but some of the colors in Reign weren’t the easiest ones to wear (two words: red eyeshadow). Read more…

TRESEMME HEAT
TAMER SPRAY

Seriously, where would we be without our friends to show us the beauty light? I imagine we’d bumble our way through the beauty-sphere, eventually finding the best stuff on our own, but isn’t it nice when a buddy offers a heads up about something truly great (and cheap!)?

To wit: my pal Marisol recently turned me on to TRESemme Heat Tamer Spray ($5), and HELLO! — talk about bomb-@ss drugstore beauty finds.

I’d been seeing it on shelves for months but wasn’t compelled to give it a try until Marisol’s recommendation.

TRESemme designed the spray mist to protect hair from heat damage, to tame frizz and to add shine.

It’s a breeze to use… Just spritz on wet hair before blow drying, curling or flat ironing (it can also be used on dry hair). Read more…

ESTEE LAUDER
BLUE DAHLIA COLLECTION

Do you ever just stop and stare up at the sky as it changes colors at dusk? As the day slinks away? Doesn’t it look like someone’s cranking up the saturation on everything? Okay, yeah, so it might sound kinda boring, but you gotta do it every so often.

Estee Lauder Creative Makeup Director Tom Pecheux says that’s the kind of light — the colors that emerge at the moment day turns to night — that inspired the company’s new Blue Dahlia collection (have you seen the 1946 movie of the same name?). Read more…

ORLY NAIL
NECESSITIES KIT

What follows is a brief cautionary tale…

Neglect your mani/pedi long enough, and your fingers and toes may turn to eagle talons. It’s true. I speak from experience. I’ve neglected my nails to the point where I could carve hearts in trees, bluh!

Enter the Lori Greiner by Orly Manicure Keeper Nails Necessities Kit ($18), a handy (ha!) three-piece set of goodies designed to make at-home manicures easier. You get a bottle of Rubberized Basecoat to bump up the wear time of your polishes, a bottle Smudge Repair to smooth over any nail polish mistakes (I always make at least one) and a small bottle of Fast Dry Drops to cut down the drying time of polished nails. Read more…

ESTEE LAUDER
BLUE DAHLIA POLISH

An inky blackish blue with a whisper of deep purple, Blue Dahlia Pure Color Nail Lacquer ($18) looks like a midnight summer sky on tips and toes. One of two polishes in EL’s fall 2010 collection, (the other’s called Surreal Violet), it makes me long for late-night adventures and broken curfews, and it’s yet another reason I’ve joined the Blue Dahlia bandwagon.

The shine? Otherworldly. If I were a super heroine, I’d deflect laser beams with Blue Dahlia’s luminous shine.

The thick texture (almost like molasses!) might not appeal to girls who prefer thinner consistencies, but it’s not exactly goopy. As long as I’ve taken my time to apply it slowly, I’ve been able to lay down smooth streaks of color from nail base to tip. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen