Behold! The mighty MAC 109 Small Contour Brush! ($35; lens flare not included)

1. Standing in the spotlight on a massive stage in front of thousands of adoring fans, with your cheekbones contoured like WHOA! — as confetti, balloons and glitter rain down upon your glorious form
2. Wondering how you ever lived without it
3. Marveling at how perfectly the diminutive, rounded brush head fits into pans of MAC Eye Shadow singles and the hollows of your cheeks
4. Contemplating how strange it is for you to want different 109s for bronzer, blush, another one for powders, highlighters, two more for foundations (one for liquids and another for creams, both of which it easily applies) and another one strictly for buffing…
5. Considering time travel, specifically going back in time 10 years to gift yourself with a 109 and a pan of MAC Refined Golden, and while you’re there, reassuring yourself that you’re doing just fine, so keep up the good work
6. Singing Debbie Gibson’s Only in My Dreams at the top of your lungs in the shower (using a bottle of shampoo as your microphone, of course) and yelling, “That was for you, 109!!” at the end of the song
7. Blurting out, “Whoa there, cowgirl!” to no one in particular after you get a look at how many bristles it leaves on your face, because it sheds A LOT — more than any other MAC brush you’ve ever tried
8. Questioning your sanity after spending $35 on a makeup brush, good or not, that sheds as much as the 109…
9. Sighing with relief after washing and drying it for the first time, which dramatically cuts down on the future shedding
10. Gushing to all your girlfriends and makeup-lovin’ guy friends about how great the 109 is, but also warning them about the shedding and suggesting that they give it a good washing beforehand

From the left for size: 109 Small Contour Brush, 116 Blush Brush and 129 Powder/Blush Brush

The brush head perfectly fits into pans of MAC Eye Shadow singles as if it were designed for ‘em

PRICE: $35
AVAILABILITY: A permanent collection product available now at MAC counters, stores and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+ (an A if it didn’t shed so much at first)

Pretty stoked about…

This purple cauliflower.

Stopped by the farmers’ market yesterday and picked it up on a whim.

Have you ever tasted one of these before? I haven’t, but I’m going to steam it and toss it in some lemon vinaigrette and capers tonight.

It’s supposed to be sweeter than regular cauliflower… We shall see!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

That’s MAC Nude on Board Pro Longwear Bronzer ($30) below my cheekbones…

While I’m willing to give up some things in the interest of streamlining — spare toothbrushes (do you really need more than one of them?), clothes that no longer fit me and that fourth half-empty jar of Tiger Balm — I refuse to relinquish any all-important necessities like shoes, handbags, earrings, jeans, lipsticks and, in the summer months, bronzer because, I mean, you just never know, right?

You just never know…

You just never know when a freak cold front will blow through town in the middle of August (well…), and you’ll want to warm up with MAC’s Nude on Board Pro Longwear Bronzing Powder.

It’s perfect for times when I need a little extra warmth and contouring — but less than full-on “tiara and feather boa” levels.

Nude on Board Pro Longwear Bronzer, $30

A golden tan powder, Nude on Board leaves my skin lightly toasted, and like MAC’s Refined Golden Bronzer (from the same Temperature Rising collection), its micro-fine flecks of golden glitter, much finer than grains of sand, give skin that extra something-something.

It’s a subtle effect, but I think that’s the beauty of it.

To apply, first find a fainting couch… Then, leisurely lower yourself down onto it, and languidly apply the satiny smooth powder just below your cheekbones.

It won’t take much muscle at all, as the application is darned-near effortless.

Yeah, it brings out yo’ lazy like that!

Nude on Board Pro Longwear Bronzer on NC42 skin

Just $2.49 each!

Available now online.

Your nephew likes to be hand-fed echinacea leaves…

Wearing colors from the new $48 Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette on my eyes

I’m equal parts enthralled and dismayed that there’s a TV show called America’s Worst Tattoos.

My mind wanders when it’s on…drifting like an asteroid in the Kuiper belt, but then I start to feel guilty for watching it, because I know that I should probably be doing something productive instead, maybe reading something more substantial, like The Grapes of Wrath or For Whom the Bell Tolls or Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret.

But I have learned one or two things from the show, like that there is A LOT of tattoo regret out there, and that because of my fickle nature, I should restrict myself to tattoos of the temporary Cracker Jack variety.

I’m way, waaaaaay too fickle for permanent ink.

Even if I went with something safe, like a picture of Tabs, how would I decide which one?? A single pic of Tabs to stare at for all eternity? But…he has so many good looks.

T-Money insists on being hand fed at snack time

As an example of my fickleness, I can’t decide whether I prefer the powder eye shadows in the new Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette more when they’re applied wet or when they’re applied dry.

I like both ways for different reasons.

Flexible like WHOA!

Smashbox designed this palette of 10 warm and neutral summer shades to be worn wet or dry. A big WHOOP-WHOOP for that, right?

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