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Archives for May 2008

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, May 31

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15 Minute Beauty Fanatic
My friend Christine knows what it means to be busy. As a full-time doctor and beauty blogger, she’s always looking for ways to streamline her beauty routine. On more than one occasion, her beauty tips and shortcuts have helped me get to work on time. If time is a luxury in your life, you owe it to yourself to visit her blog.
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The Knot
Wedding Mecca. The Knot delivers much more than simply advice on how to plan your wedding. It’s also a social networking site, a support system and a reality check for the newly betrothed.
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Lifehacker
Do you ever feel so busy and overwhelmed that you’d trade in your best pair of shoes for a way to shave 10 minutes off your day? No? Me neither, LOL! But seriously, each day Lifehacker posts new time saving tips galore (aka life hacks) and doesn’t charge a thing.
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Animoto
Music video directors everywhere must have freaked when they heard about Animoto. The free service lets you create totally kick-ass 30-second music video slideshows from photographs that you upload yourself. The shows are perfectly timed to music. It’s easy, awesome and totally free. And bloggers can embed their creations into their own websites.
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Lancome Le Stylo Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner Lasts Through Tears of Joy

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G’morning! It’s pre-coffee early here, but I wanted to pop in to say hi. My younger brother’s graduating from college today, and I’m heading home to the East Bay (about 30 miles from here) to watch him cross the stage in his cap and gown. I’m so proud! When it comes to seeing or talking about my brother’s accomplishments, I turn to mush; a few years ago I watched him and his band perform on stage (he plays guitar) at a punk club and broke into tears of joy amid a sea of moshing mohawks and tattoos.

My little brother’s worked hard to reach today, and I’m so very proud of him. The odds that I’ll burst into tears during the ceremoney are high, so I’m wearing my new favorite waterproof eyeliner, Lancome’s Le Stylo Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner ($23) in Noir, a deep, rich black.

Le Stylo Waterproof reminds me a lot of my beloved MAC Technakohl liner. Like Technakohl, it has a twist-up tip and a creamy formula that glides on without tugging or pulling. Le Stylo outlasts Technakohl, though, when applied to the waterline, which is why I’m using it today. It also sports a sponge smudger on one end — handy for diffusing harsh edges and lines.

Le Style Waterproof comes in seven shades — Bronze (bronze), Cafe (brown), Minuit (blue), Prune (purple), Fumee (grey), Noir (black), and Green Buzz (dark green). I can’t wait to grab a couple more!
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A Hot Pink Lip: My Tribute to the Mighty Cosmopolitan

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This hot pink lip pays tribute to the SATC signature drink, the mighty cosmopolitan! Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte turned that cocktail into a cult classic.

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For this lip I used MAC Hollywood Nights lipstick (a hot pink), Chanel Glossimer in Pink Crystal (a light, shimmery pink) and used MAC Pink Treat Cremestick to line my lips. Now, all I need is a group of girlfriends with time on their hands and somewhere fancy to go.
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Chanel Fall 2008 Makeup: Gold, and Lots of It

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We’re gettin’ close, ya’ll. The July release of Chanel’s Fall 2008 makeup collection is almost here, and I can smell the Chanel-ness from here. Back in April Chanel distributed some preliminary details about the collection, i.e. some teaser info. They told us to expect lots of gold, and I mean LOTS.

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The collection marks the first for new Chanel Creative Director of Makeup Peter Philips, who took the position in January. Judging by these promotional pics and my weaknesses for gold and Chanel, Philips has a winner on his hands. I’m going to be falling in love.

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Here’s a marketing rundown of the complete lineup… Keep tissue handy to wipe that drool off ya chin![Continue reading…]

Sonia Kashuk Sheer Lip Glossing: Oh, That’s Rich

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Hot drugstore gloss alert! Sonia Kashuk’s Lip Glossing with No-Feather Pencil ($7.99) creates color-rich, high-shine lips … but there’s a catch (isn’t there always?).

Take a close look at the above picture. See how only half the tube contains gloss? The other half hides a lip pencil, which works a’ight, but it’s not on par with the gloss. If I could, I’d split the tube in half, take the gloss and ditch the pencil, but these two are a package deal, like the Sex and the City girls.

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The lipgloss packs intense color and shine; it’s almost hard to believe it’s a drugstore product. I like the light vanilla-lemon fragrance. As far as taste, it’s not a flavored lipgloss. The semi-sticky texture lasts about three hours per application. I have four of the 14 shades, and I LOVE THEM!

  • Sassy – shimmery peach
  • Precious – creamy coral
  • Vivacious – shimmery hot pink
  • Scandalous – creamy red

Sassy
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Clean and Clear Advantage Invisible Acne Patch

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When work deadlines and sleep loss collide, like they did for me last week, I expect to get a few zits on my face (sigh). My latest little sebaceous gift included a painful pimple right beside my left nostril. Like most women, I usually dread pimples, but this zit (I named her Eva) gave me the perfect excuse to try out Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch.

The product contains salicylic acid (2%) and creates a defensive barrier for pimples (like a transparent Band-Aid). It’s also makeup friendly, designed to be able to apply concealer and foundation on top of it.

Check out the handy-dandy, travel-friendly applicator pen, which I found fun to use. Twisting the bottom (it makes clicking sounds) deploys the product. It oozes out of the applicator tip.

Application is a cinch … like painting pimples. I coated Eva with a thin layer of clear goo which took about two minutes to dry. As it dried, I could could feel the skin around the area tightening somewhat. Once dry, the surface has an almost invisible, smooth, rubbery texture.

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The product contains a smoothing ingredient Clean and Clear calls Chitosan PCA, a film-forming polymer that pulls up low points and pushes down high points on the skin.

I had a lot of fun testing this product. Over the weekend I tried it out with a few different concealers and found that MAC Select Moisturecover (a liquid, not a cream concealer) looked more natural and smooth on top of the Invisible Patch than other concealers did.

It took a bit of trial and error with Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch to determine the ideal quantity to use. It was easy to over-apply, which left me with thick, flaky, visible layers that peeled right off (eww!).

(Sidenote: At one point in my testing, I was two seconds away from taking a close-up photo of Eva in all of her Invisible Acne Patch glory when I realized that ya’ll don’t need to see my zits.)

This stuff works well for an over-the-counter acne treatment. I started using it on Friday, and by Sunday Eva looked smaller, wasn’t as red, nor was she as painful to the touch. She should be gone by the end of the week, hooray!
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What’s the Biggest Risk You Ever Took with Your Makeup?

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What’s the biggest risk you ever took with your makeup?

Mine was orange lipgloss. It terrified me at first, but I’m addicted to it now. I also took chances on blue eyeshadow and bright colored lashes. One of the things I love about makeup is that even if a look doesn’t work out exactly how I hoped it would, makeup isn’t permanent. If I don’t like something, I can always wash it off!

What’s the biggest risk you ever took with your makeup? Let me know in the comments. And try your luck with the Makeup and Beauty Blog slot machine (click BET MAX above to start). You’ll need to have Flash installed on your computer to play. Have fun and good luck!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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