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Archives for November 2009

NARS Unsung Hero: The Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo

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nars kalahari duo

The vibrant blues, greens and purples that make up the NARS Eyeshadow Duo family (hello, Rated R!) make it easy to overlook the gorgeous neutrals in the line.

Case in point: Kalahari ($35).

Part of the permanent collection, it’s one of my all-time François faves. Both of its shimmery shades — the golden peachy bronze and rich cocoa brown — excel at brightening up tired eyes, imparting a natural glow to lids that never looks overdone, and helping me fake a good night’s sleep. 🙂

Without Kalahari in my life, I’d probably look 200 times more tired, LOL!

nars kalahari duo swatch
Shimmery golden, peachy bronze on the left; cocoa brown on the right

These are shades I like to pat on my lids with a flat shadow brush when I’m pressed for time but still want a polished look, and I’ll just use a finger to blend them into the crease. Then, if I have a couple minutes to spare, I’ll line my eyes (both Urban Decay Bourbon and MAC Powersurge play well with these shades), and apply two coats of mascara.

Tada! An easy peasy way to look reasonably well put together. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sephora Brand Cuticle Pens are Mightier than the Sword

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sephora cuticle pen review
I promise I’ll write you

Did you know that some gals carry hot sauce in their purses? It’s true! I saw an episode of Cheaters where a woman busted out her own personal bottle of Tabasco sauce at a restaurant. Her dedication inspired me — in an unrelated but equally silly way — to start carrying cuticle oil with me everywhere I go.

Why cuticle oil?

Because I wash my hands, a lot. Consequently, my cuticles look like shredded carrots, and regular hand lotion just wasn’t cutting it.

But then disaster struck when a bottle of cuticle oil accidentally opened in my purse… Oily phone = beauty grouch.

It put an end to my cuticle carrying until I came across this little miracle at Sephora last weekend: Sephora Brand Cuticle Pen ($12).

What is it?

Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s a click pen filled with moisturizing cuticle oil. 🙂

It comes in three different flavors — Healing Eucalyptus, Stimulating Lavander and Original. I have it in Original, which moisturizes and softens with shea butter and the oils of Aloe vera, jojoba, apricot and evening primrose.

As you can probably imagine, it’s not complicated to operate. Just twist the bottom of the click pen to deploy the oil through the brush at the opposite end, and paint with the oil-soaked tip directly on your cuticles.

sephora cuticle pen review brush
Brush it good… brush it REAL good
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Nov. 30

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113009-monday-poll

  1. Mood:

    2. Unusually calm for a Monday… We’ll see how long that lasts, LOL!

  2. What’s your favorite body lotion at the moment?

    3. I’m fickle when it comes to body lotions and rarely stick with the same one for long, but last week was all about Vaseline Sheer Infusion. Over the weekend I started crushing hard on Olay In-Shower Moisturizer — a *powerful* enabler of laziness (review coming soon!).

  3. Yay or nay for ankle booties?

    4. Yay with skinny jeans or leggings. 🙂

  4. Are you a creative person?

    5. It depends on my general well-being from day to day. On bad days, your average piece of cold, greasy bacon has more imagination than I do.

  5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:

    6. It’s a NARS kinda day. I’m going with the Kalahari Duo (LURVE!) on my eyes, Sweet Revenge Lipgloss on my pucker and the Portofino/Malibu Multiple Duo on my cheeks.

  6. Are there any beauty items on your holiday wish list?

    7. I’m thinking about hand delivering my list to Santa at the mall to make sure he gets it. On the list so far — the NARS I Want You Lip Gloss Set and Chanel Professional Makeup Brush Set.

  7. How did you sleep?

    8. Pretty well, mostly. I’ve had some insomnia lately, but I took a sleeping pill before bed last night :(, and that helped. With the exception of one weird dream (I ran into Roger Sterling from Mad Men at the grocery store), I slept soundly through the night.

  8. What are your plans for the upcoming holidays?

    9. Home to visit our family in Hawaii, but I’ll be back in the Bay by New Year’s Eve. On that note, does anyone know much about pet sitting services? Any things to know before I look around? King Tubby Tabs will need an assistant while I’m out of the office.

  9. Outfit:

    10. Stretchy dark jeans with a black t-shirt and brown sweater.

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Get a small Christmas tree, go running at least three times before Saturday, and find a kitty sitter/executive assistant for Tabs.

It’s hard getting back to the grind after a long weekend, isn’t it? I’m determined to make this a good day, though.

I was chatting with a friend last night about ruts and routine tasks, and how they tend to overtake life. It’s not always easy to see the forest through the trees… I told myself that today, if I start feeling overwhelmed, I’m gonna take a step back and remind myself to keep everything in perspective. 🙂

If you have a sec, pop in and let me know what’s shaking in your land of milk and honey. Just copy the list below, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le list

1. Mood:
2. What’s your favorite body lotion at the moment?
3. Yay or nay for ankle booties?
4. Are you a creative person?
5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:
6. Any beauty items on your wish list?
7. How did you sleep?
8. What are your plans for the holidays?
9. Outfit:
10. Weekly goals:

Do you believe there’s power in positive thinking? I think there is, and I’m positive we’re going to have a great week (assuming we make it through Monday, ha!). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Are Cosmetics Regulated by the FDA?

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Are Cosmetics Regulated by the FDA?

There are misconceptions galore out there about what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has to do with cosmetics. Do they or don’t they regulate makeup and beauty products the same way they regulate drugs? Inquiring minds want to know! The answer, so it seems, is both yes and no. I’m not an attorney, but I think it breaks down a little something like this:

Drugs and premarket approval

The FDA treats drugs and cosmetics differently, except when they’re one and the same (more on that in a minute). For public safety, the distinction matters because the FDA subjects drugs to premarket approval, taking a closer look at their safety before they ever go on sale.

What about cosmetics?

Cosmetics, however, aren’t really examined by the FDA before they end up at Sephora, Nordstrom or MAC. The FDA still requires that beauty products list their ingredients, and they can shut down companies for making misleading claims (although we still see these claims made all the time) or for putting the public at risk, but when you get right down to it, makeup isn’t approved by the government before it winds up at the store.

BOTTOM LINE: With drugs, the FDA takes responsibility for ensuring their safety before they hit the market; with cosmetics, this responsibility falls to the manufacturer, who can be penalized for breaking the rules, but it’s mostly after the fact. 😉

When it’s both a cosmetic AND a drug

Now, there’s one big “but,” and it has to do with products the FDA says are both a cosmetic AND a drug.
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Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 64

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What should Tabs wear out to da club?

On Tuesday night Tabs is going to a big party in the city being thrown by one of the cool cats at work. Tabs knows he wants to wear something dramatic on his eyes, and he has it narrowed down to these five products.

Can you help him figure out what to wear? He really wants to look his best. 🙂

Eyeshadows for a night on the town

What should Tabs wear to the club?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. What a nice long weekend, ladies. I’m a little bummed it has to end… What do ya got going on tonight? I’m playing it low key. I have some TV to catch up on (the last two episodes of V), but that’s about it.

5 Ways to Boost Your Hair’s Volume

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big-hair-tips-and-tricks

What’s a girl to do when she’s longing for big hair with tons of volume?

A few days ago I asked you for your volumizing secrets, and you gals shared some fabulous tips and tricks.

1. Blow dry upside down

To pump up the volume, MBB readers love blow drying upside down. t3

“OOOO! I love big hair! I blast root pumper spray DIRECTLY on my roots; none of this spraying mousse in the hands first business. Then, I blowdry my hair with my head flipped upside-down from start to almost finish. Once about 85% dry I use a round brush at the roots for extra volume. This creates volume that lasts almost all day!”
— Morgan

“Personally, I have tried a number of tricks. I like to spray some root-voluminizing spray (I could only afford things like Tressemme or Garnier), and I blow dry my hair upside down with a diffuser. I then add in some mousse while I’m blow drying it to set in the style. If I am straightening my hair, I will blow dry it with a large round brush upwards to give it a little lift. Having enough volume has always been a issue for me cause I have such long hair, but I try my best!”
— Genesis C

2. Try a new volumizing product

There’s a big world of products out there devoted to big hair! A few reader faves:aveda-volumizing-tonic

“My hair is really fine but there’s a lot of it, so I use Aveda’s Volumizing Tonic at the roots, paired with their Phomollient foam. When I start blow-drying I make sure to lift and blast the roots, then use the Marilyn Tuxedo big round brush — totally makes a difference.”
— Trude

“I have tried everything to give my hair more volume: I blow dry it upside down; I use root lifter; I use huge velcro rollers; I tease it. Heck, I thought cutting my hair off would help, but it didn’t. I do like the Tresemme 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray; I think that works best on my hair.”
— Katrina

“Got2B 2Sexy mousse — this stuff is like a Pammie boob job for your hair. My hair’s pretty normal, color damaged, but medium-thick hair: a good pump of that, combed through my hair upside down and FOOMP! Suddenly, I have GIANT voluptuous hair that actually holds a curl for more than ten minutes.”
— Molly

“I use this awesome stuff called Volume Fusion Spray by Eufora. I LOVE it. I have the thickest, most asian hair you could possibly get. It gives me AMAZING volume when I blowdry my hair upside down.”
— xtina

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