Milani Jewel FX in Hot Pink, $4.99. Available now at drugstores and online.
Archives for February 2012
Tabby Play Time
You Know What They Say About This Cremeblend Blush From the Shop MAC Collection (They Say It Restores Dazzle!)
NOVATO, CA — MAC Restores Dazzle! More at 11…
LOL! I’m lovin’ that exclamation mark at the end of this plummy Cremeblend blush’s name. It’s just so forceful and emphatic! — but it also sets some pretty high expectations.
In its pan, like sangria; on my skin, a sheer plum. MAC Cremeblend Blush in Restores Dazzle! ($20) applies surprisingly sheer.
More importantly, does it dazzle?
I think it does. 🙂 A few pats here, a little blending there, and I swear I look a little brighter, even after a bout of insomnia.
A few other things that restore dazzle…
- A cute new pair of shoes I can actually walk in
- Fresh roots and highlights after a visit to the salon
- An afternoon of cheesecake, The Golden Girls re-runs and some time alone with my dog-eared copy of Twilight
One of three limited edition Cremeblend blushes from the Shop MAC collection, Restores Dazzle! looks right at home with the purple eyeshadows and lip colors I’ve been loving lately (like MAC Shop & Drop and YSL Pourpre Preview).
Wearing Cremeblend Blush in Restore Dazzle! on my cheeks and the colors from the MAC Eye Shadow X4 quad in Shop & Drop on my eyes
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Smokey Eyes Are Just a Few Swipes Away With the MAC Eye Shadow X4 Quad in Shop & Drop
I’ve been belting tunes and chair dancing to a lot of old-school Whitney lately (RIP, Whit), and I’ve also been thinking back to when I Wanna Dance With Somebody took the pop music world by storm. Do you remember that? Whenever my friends and I would hear those first few notes start playing on MTV, we’d all drop whatever we were doing and tear into the living room, turn up the volume and start dancing.
Those were good times… 🙂
This was back before I was allowed to wear makeup, but it didn’t stop me from admiring Whitney’s bold ’80s eye looks.
I bet the new MAC Eye Shadow X 4 quad in Shop & Drop ($38), one of three quads in the new Shop MAC collection, would have been a big hit back then with its smokey purples, pinks and grays.
The first time I saw these four eyeshadows in Sugar Snack (a light pink matte), Hypnotizing (a frosty grayish mauve), Power Boosted (a pearly violet) and Shop & Drop (a deep blue satin), I thought, “Better for cool-toned babes,” but after getting to know ’em better, I think they’re also neutral enough for gals with warmer skin tones like mine.
Swatches from the left: Sugar Snack, Hypnotizing, Power Boosted and Shop & Drop
Viola Davis: Her Best Hair?
From humble beginnings, actress Viola Davis, the second of six children, worked her way up through abject poverty and dozens of bit parts in movies and TV, some of them uncredited (like “unnamed CIA Chairwoman” in Syriana), to become one of Hollywood’s most distinguished and sought after actresses. Born August 11, 1965 on her grandmother’s farm in St. Matthews, South Carolina, Viola is now getting some very good roles.
Her mother, Mae Alice, was a maid, factory worker and homemaker, and her father was a horse trainer. When Viola was just two months old, the family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island, where her love of acting began.
Probably best known for her portrayal of Aibileen Clark, a maid and nanny in Civil Rights era America during the early 1960s, in last year’s The Help, a role for which she has been nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award, and also for her performance as Mrs. Muller in 2008’s Doubt, Viola says she was a freshman in high school when she first saw acting as her way out of poverty.
A representative from The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York had visited her school, and when he asked how many of the students wanted to become actors, Viola and every one of her classmates raised their hand. Then, as the man explained how difficult the life of an actor could be, and the hardships that struggling actors often face, half of the hands went down, then more of them, until Viola’s was the only hand still raised.
“When you haven’t had enough to eat,” she says of that moment, “when your electricity and heat is cut off, you’re not afraid anymore when someone tells you life is going to be hard. The fear factor was minimized for me. My dreams were bigger than the fear.”
Lucky for us, she found her niche. 🙂
I love the idea of dreaming bigger than the fear. I think I’ll have to add that into my rotation of daily mantras.
Good luck at the Oscars, V!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Sudden Haute Flash!
Milani Haute Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Lipglosses, $7.49 each. Available now at drugstores and online.
Happy Hiking Buddies
Two labs by a waterfall. I met them (along with their human parents) when I went hiking a few weeks ago.
I wish I could take Tabs out like this!
New Glossimers Are Growing at Chanel in the Roses Ultimes de Chanel Collection
Wearing Chanel Roses Ultimes de Chanel Glossimer in Jalousie on my lips
Quick! — what’s the first flower that comes to mind when you think of Coco Chanel? If you said “camellias,” there’s a good reason for that. They were her signature bloom. Now, whenever I see one I think, “How very Chanel!” 🙂
This time, however, for Chanel’s latest makeup collection, camellias take a bow, and roses take center stage.
Glossimers and nail colors are blooming in the 10-piece, limited edition Roses Ultimes de Chanel, available now at Chanel counters and online. It features six thick, sticky Glossimers ($29.50 each) and four Les Vernis Nail Colors ($26 each) in springy shades of pink, peach and coral.
For the record, I have a thing for Glossimers. I’ve fallen for many of them before, and like those, these have that same thick, sticky consistency and unscented, unflavored formula that lasts from 3-4 hours.
Lately, I’ve been supervising visits between my lips and four of the six Glossimers from Roses Ultimes de Chanel, and so far everyone’s really getting along. 🙂
These vary in coverage, but I like how springy they feel without going down the typical spring pastel route.
For daytime errands, I’ve been grabbing the two lighter shades, creamy, peachy pink Plaisir and creamy coral Voluptè. Both are semi-sheer and oh, so easy to wear.
If you prefer more dramatic Glossimers and don’t mind having to do some light maintenance (may need to use a lip liner and do frequent check-ups), look for shimmery pink Dèsir (has the most prominent glitter of these four, and I can just barely feel it on my lips) and the potently pigmented fuchsia Jalousie. Both seem to take a little more babying than Plaisir and Voluptè, but WOW! — what an impact.
Glossimers from the left: Plaisir, Voluptè, Dèsir and Jalousie
Swatches form the left: Glossimers from the left: Plaisir, Voluptè, Dèsir and Jalousie
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