Feast your eyes upon the bane of my eyelining existence this past month, the dreaded tube of MAC Liquidlast Liner ($16.50) in Inkspill.

I’m usually a Fluidline/Technakohl kinda gal, but I’ve heard many wonderful things about MAC Liquidlast Liner and was stoked to pick up a tube. Plus, I couldn’t say no to the pearly deep green color.

Little did I know the world of hurt this tube would unleash.

The 266, the 209 – I’ve tried applying Inkspill with several different brushes but for some reason couldn’t draw a straight line to save my life. Every time I put it on I end up looking like a crazy, cracked-out circus clown! I briefly thought about posting pictures of one of my many bad Liquidlast experiments, but I am so not ready to go there.

After every ill-fated attempt I had to take off all my eye makeup and start over again because this stuff requires a strong oil-based makeup remover; otherwise, this liner stays put through your next few lifetimes.

But I’m not ready to give up the fight. There’s gotta be a way to make this work!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

If you obsess over sleek, silver packaging, then Lancome’s got a few holiday products you can’t miss.

My favorite is Lancome’s Colour Focus Palette in Black Tie Affair ($40.00), a fantabulous purple eyeshadow quad.

If you’ve followed this blog for a while you know I sometimes feel too purple to function when working the shades o’ eggplant. But, alas, all four colors in Black Tie Affair are so creamy and buildable that even the clumsy (ahem, like yours truly) can easily use them to do a purple smoky eye.

Mad crazy big hearts for:
- Hot chrome packaging! Love it!
- Shadow texture. All four shadows are finely milled, smooth and soft. They also have *fantastic* color payoff. These shadows remind me of my beloved shadows from the Chanel Garden Party Quad.
- Blendability.
- Color Flexibility. The colors are matched well, giving you plenty o’ combination options. For a daytime work look, I’d apply the white color on my browbone, take the light purple from the lash line up into the crease, wet a MAC 266 brush and apply the black shadow on the top lash line. It would also work for a light smokey eye! I’d do the same browbone and lid colors and then apply black shadow on the lashline, fading the black into the darker purple color as I moved into the crease. Many looks await you in this quad, oy!

Itty bitty hearts for:
- Brushes. Honestly, why do cosmetics companies even bother? I feel like applying these shadows with lil’ plastic sponge brushes would be a travesty.
- Price. Oui, oui, it’s pricey but you do get a lot of eyeshadow for your money.
- Fingerprint factor. I know this is kind of knit-picky, but the cool silver packaging, unfortunately, picks up all of my fingerprints, which makes it look dirrrty.

Um, not that kind of dirty.

You might heart it if:
- You want to try more adventurous eye looks but need help coordinating colors (hey, I know I do!).
- You like Chanel quality shadows but not Chanel prices.
- You’ve been wanting to do a purple eye but have been too intimidated to try. The Black Tie Affair quad makes it really easy.

A girl’s best friend

Got a girlfriend obsessed with gloss? Get her Lancome’s Precious Carat Lip Gloss Jewel ($40.00). This cutie pie is cut like a precious diamond and made from Swavorski crystals. The color, Diamond Splendor, is a clear gloss with big glitter sparkles.

Mad crazy big hearts for:
- Packaging. The diamond packaging and crystal top give this gloss elegance. There’s also a very handy mirror on the inside of the cap, useful when you’re admiring your bad self glossing it up.

Itty bitty hearts for:
- Sparkle. I’m very particular about my glitter. Although I like the color of the glitter in this gloss — peach, pink, green and gold — I find the chunks of glitter too big for my taste.

You might heart it if:
- You like a “big glitter” look.
- You collect cute gloss.
- You want to hint to your significant other that you’re ready to get engaged!

Get the look: Purple smokey eye and neutral lips

Hallelujah! Finally, a purple eye that doesn’t make me feel like a drag queen. I used both the Black Tie quad and Precious Carat gloss to get this look.

Eyes

All the shadows I used are from the Black Tie Affair quad.

Browbone – white shadow
Lid and crease – light purple shadow
Outer crease – dark purple shadow
Lash line – black shadow
Lashes – three coats of MAC Plushlash
Lower waterline – MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

Cheeks and Lips

To keep the emphasis on the eyes I kept the cheeks and lips soft.

Cheeks – Neutrogena Soft Suede Blush
Lips – MAC Honey B. Cremestick Liner
Lipgloss – Lancome Precious Carat Lip Gloss Jewel in Diamond Splendor

Did I mention that this look is easy? Makeup newbies, you gotta try it!

Misery, all alone in the moonlight

Remember the MISERY GRIN from yesterday? Well, it was in full force today. At work our internet connection was out, and it took three hours and eight phone calls to a call center half way around the world to get it up and running. The entire experience was about as pleasurable as gouging my eye out with a blunt, rusty nail.

So glad tomorrow is Friday. I’m going into SF to peep MAC’s new Stylistics collection and attend a Chanel event. Yeah, my wallet’s throbbing.

I hope your day was technologically sound … and that your brows looked extra cute.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My MAC Antiquitease love just keeps growing and growing. Here’s the Queen’s Sin look, which features red lips and gold eyes.

Where to work it?

The red lip look is strong, but at the same time versatile. You get lots of mileage out of this look because you can work it in many different settings.

A classic look for work. I’ve been wearing the Queen’s Sin look to work a lot lately. Yes, the colors are bold, but the overall feel is conservative because you’re not sporting bright jewel tones or lots of glitter. The look would suit lots of different work environments – a buttoned-up law firm, a creative advertising company, or even a laid back office.

A gala night. If you need to dress to impress, you can’t go wrong with red lips, gold eyes and a great formal black dress. Don’t forget to throw in some pretty gold accessories and a dainty clutch.

Rober Palmer (RIP) back up singer. Remember the girls from the “Addicted to Love” video?
When I was a kid I got in so much trouble when my friend and I dressed up as the backup band! My mom was not happy about us “borrowing” her expensive red Clinique lipstick!

Get the look!

Beginners, don’t be intimidated by this look. It might seem complicated but it’s really easy to do!

I had most of the products featured on the Queen’s Sin face chart but had to do just a few replacements.

MAC face chart: Brown Down eye shadow in crease (teddy bear brown)
Replaced it with: Soft Brown Matte eye shadow (soft golden peachy brown)

MAC face chart: Plum Foolery blush (faintly plum)
Replaced it with: Fab blush

MAC face chart: Burgandy lip pencil (brownish burgandy)
Replaced it with: Rimmel Indian Pink lip pencil

To turn the look up a notch, I’ve also topped these fab red lips with a layer of Chanel Myriade Glossimer lipgloss.

And if red lips are too vavoom for you, you can always do a toned down version by doing a light stain and leaving out the gloss.

One more face of the day

I like to call this the MISERY GRIN. It comes out when people (El Hub, family members, random annoying people) ask me to do something when I’d rather just be sitting on the couch in a state of vegetation.

The key to the MISERY GRIN is moving that bottom lip directly downward to expose all of your bottom teeth! That way the misery can’t be missed from a mile away.

The MISERY GRIN is especially effective when you are wearing lipstick that draws attention to one’s pout, like in the can’t-miss red lips from the Queen’s Sin look!

YES! Wednesday. I’m happy that the week is almost over. Got anything exciting happening today? I’m going to dance class tonight for the first time in a month so I’m really looking forward to it.

I hope you’re having a good day so far!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My Christmas confession: I’m guilty of sending out last minute Christmas cards. Last year I ended up buying a pack of cards I found at the bottom of the 75 percent off bin at Walgreen’s three days before Christmas. I highly suggest not doing this as your choices may be limited to boxes of drunken cartoon snowmen telling lame Christmas jokes (Really, I couldn’t make this shizz up).

This year I intend to avoid the last minute budget card bin because I just picked up a few boxes of Kids Helping Kids Greeting Cards from MAC! These brightly colored cards are designed by kids living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and sale proceeds go to the MAC AIDS Fund to help support pediatric AIDS organizations around the world.

A pack of six cards with envelopes is $6.00 and features six festive designs. My favorite is the red card with the crayon reindeer drawing.

In addition to greeting cards, MAC also has Kids Helping Kids Gift Cards, smaller versions with the same designs. They’re perfect stocking stuffers. A pack of 12 of the smaller gift cards with envelopes is also $6.00.

Please help support the MAC AIDS Fund and make a difference by picking up some cards during your next MAC counter visit. Got your card bases covered? If you’re lucky enough to live by a MAC store, then you can still help by purchasing a roll of Kids Helping Kids Gift Wrap. There are three different designs, and each roll is $10.00.

I can’t wait to give out these cards! I feel good about sending out my cards on time this year, but I feel even better knowing it’s also supporting a great cause.

How’s your afternoon been? I’m currently craving brownies, chocolate chip cookies and green tea! If only we could go on an afternoon cookie break together!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Monday used to be my favorite night for television, but unfortunately things have taken a dark turn. Seeing New York’s crazy makeup is the only thing I have to look forward to now, since the remaining boys on VH1′s I Love New York 2 are proving to either be REALLY BORING or REALLY FRICKIN’ NUTS.

Ahhhh, yes. I don’t have solid proof but I’m pretty convinced New York is a MAC girl. Check out her not-to-be-missed lashes. I’d put my money on those bad boys being a set of MAC #37s.

Does anybody else with a pulse find this man alarming?

Why was The Entertainer constantly seeing pictures of devils in those ink blots? I honestly thought I could get behind TEAM ENTERTAINER, ’till I figured out that he’s probably a warlock skilled in the ways of the dark arts.

I can’t even get myself to join TEAM BUDDHA, ’cause he’s so boring he puts himself to sleep.

I keep waiting for the guys to get all Lord of the Flies on each other but nooooooo! Even stupid Tailor Made’s been playing nice with everybody.

Somebody please save us all from dying a slow, boring, reality TV death!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen