When I was 14 my mom bought me my first tube of lipstick. I cherished that Clinique tube of silver sophistication, and whenever I put it on I felt like an elegant world traveler was staring back at me in the mirror. My actual reflection, of course, was of an awkward teenager with braces, big, unruly hair and weird clothing (it was hard to be haute couture in the East Bay in the early 90s, and try as I might I could never quite get it right.) But that tube made me feel like I was the person I was meant to be – put-together, sophisticated, beautiful.

There’s something special about a great tube of lipstick. Don’t get me wrong … I loves me some gloss. Gloss is sexy, youthful and fun. But lipstick always reminds me of different steps in my life that led me to become a woman: that first Clinique lipstick, countless tubes of MAC Paramount I wore throughout college, and the first Chanel lipstick I bought when I finally got a “real job” in the city.

And just like Justin brought sexy back, the beauty powers-that-be declared this the year of the return of lipstick. Huzzah, sound the trumpets! If you’re not ready for a full-on dark, pigmented mouth (and I’ll have to admit that I am not quite ready for it either), you don’t have to go all the way. These fall lipsticks from MAC’s Smoke Signals line and Cargo’s PlantLove line have enough gloss to make your Lipglasses jealous, but enough thickness and color punch for an air of sophistication.

Product Review – MAC Smoke Signals Lipsticks – Sparks Can Fly, Barely Lit, Mellow Flame, Burnin’

Smoke Signals madness continues! MAC released five different colors that are very natural and for the most part, user friendly. Yesterday I rocked the Brew, so let’s check out the other four!

Barely Lit
Price: $14.00 for a tube
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A
I am sucker for the MAC’s lustre formulas, because they give just enough color without feeling heavy. I also like that they feel very moisturizing on my lips. Barely Lit is a pink sand with a gold pearl. The color is pretty, natural and really warms up my skin. This picture shows it with two coats applied carefully with the 316 lip brush. However, it also looks great when you are in a hurry (story of my life) and need to apply it straight from the tube. I like this for an easy day look paired with curled lashes and filled in brows. It’s also very pretty for night, too, and for you single ladies (and lads) oh-so-very date friendly. Your crush will not fear giving you a big ole’ fatty of a kiss with this light beauty on your lips!

Mellow Flame
Price: $14.00 for a tube
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+
Mellow flame is another lustre in the Smoke Signals lipstick series, a warm coral pink with red pearl. I love coral colors, and MAC really hit it out of the park with this one based on color alone. Even though the color is brighter in comparison to Barely Lit it is still natural-looking without being overwhelming. It’s warm and wearable, and if you wanted to really make it sexified you could pop a coat of Lipglass over it and woo-hoo-va-va-voom! Call the fire department cause there’s a hottie in the house!

Sparks Can Fly
Price: $14.00 for a tube
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: D
Um, sparks were so not flying. This creamy rose frost just does not work on me when I use it by itself. There’s something about the coloring that makes my lips look blue-grey, like a lovely zombie bride with frostbite. I’m so not kidding. I think I’ll have to pair it with a warmer Lipglass in order to make it work. Ugh. Don’t do it, ya’ll.

Burnin’
Price: $14.00 for a tube
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B
Talk about a kick back to the past. This dark, wine-colored lipstick takes me back to my formative years in East Bay (which coincidentally, is the word “beast” in pig latin). So when you grow up in the East Bay, you end up having so many types of friends because it’s such a melting pot of races and colors. Burnin’ reminds of my friend Monica from algebra class, who wore tight jeans, thick black liner, and was in a Latina gang. She wore dark, wine-colored lipstick like it was nobody’s business. Even though she was tough and could beat the beejebus out of anyone who crossed her, she was very sweet. We’d go on for hours and hours about the merits of Wet & Wild versus Cover Girl.

So my first reaction when I saw this color was “OHHHHHH. Monica would rock this, but could I?.”

I was surprisingly pleased with Burnin’. This was my first time using MAC’s amplified texture, which is slightly glossy and very color-rich. It’s dramatic yet surprisingly wearable, and I didn’t feel like a vampire when I had it on. The biggest drawback about Burnin’ is that applying the deep color takes time and patience, two things that I don’t always have. I also would not give this color to my 14-year old cousin. The color is too mature and too sexy.

If you’re in the mood for a dramatic change then this is worth a go. While not exactly kissable, it would be fab for a sophisticated night out in a little black dress.

Product Review – Cargo PlantLove Lipsticks – Muir Woods, Joshua Tree, Gamba

Cargo PlantLove Lipsticks
Price: $20 for a tube
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Cargo’s line of eco-friendly lipsticks called PlantLove recently fell into my hot little hands. One look at the super cute packaging and I was hooked. And would you believe that the tube is made entirely out of corn?!?!

Cute, yah?

PlantLove, Gamba

PlantLove, Muir Woods

PlantLove, Joshua Tree

The lipstick comes in an outer carton made out of biodegrable paper with flower seeds embedded in it. You wet the carton, pop it in some dirt, and bam, purty flowers just for you. Satisfy your lipstick lust and your inner botanist in one fell swoop!

All three colors have a similar texture that feels halfway between a lipstick and a gloss. They’re sheer, easy to apply and build up nicely. If you are new to lipstick (or just hella lazy like yours truly) then Gamba is a good gateway product to the big guns, lol. Oh, and if you’re a mom looking for colors for your teenager you’ll like colors like Muir Woods and Joshua Tree, which are natural-looking, not too over the top and perfect for girls who are interested in exploring makeup.

And to top it off Cargo is donating two dollars from every sale of every shade to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, yay.

Lol, don’t you wish

Dear Makeup and Beauty Blog: the Upper Lip Hair Edition


Friday means it’s time for your weekly dose of tough love from Dear Makeup and Beauty Blog. Got a beauty question but afraid to go there? Never fear. We’re hear to break it down for ya.

Dear Makeup and Beauty Blog,

Hairy in Hartford

Dear Hairy,

Don’t go running off to join the circus to just yet. Many women deal with upper lip issues in different ways, but we don’t always like to talk about our ‘stache hair in casual company (so not sexy). Not to fear. You’ve got many options.

There are so many people who either don’t like to wax or just can’t do it for various reasons. I had a roommate who always broke out in bumps after she got waxed so she eventually developed a method of bleaching first and then using small cuticle scissors to cut off the bleached hairs.

Before I started waxing, I would cut the hairs down as much as I could using curved cuticle tweezers. I’d then go to town on the remaining hairs with some fine-tipped tweezers. For me, tweezing isn’t painful, so I don’t mind. I eventually quit this method just because it takes forever and rarely did I ever get truly hair free.

I don’t recommend using the bleach alone ‘cause girrrrrrl…you ain’t fooling nobody. Step away from the bleach unless you just want to look like you’ve got an orange caterpillar growing underneath your mose.

I know you mentioned that you are afraid of waxing – I used to be too – but I find that it is the most cost effective and best method of hair removal. I do my own waxing with an at home kit; it’s cheap, easy and fast.

I used a transition method to help me go from wax newbie to wax pro:

1. I first went to a professional salon and had my ‘stache waxed about 4 times over a 12 week period. Where I live you can get an upper lip wax for 8-10 bucks, so it’s not too expensive. Think of it as a small investment in your hair-free future. If your budget is tight try to get it done at least once or twice. My reasoning behind this was to get me used to the sensation of how it feels to have the hair ripped out. I figured I’d then know what to expect once I started doing it myself.

2. After the four waxing sessions, I bought a wax strip kit at the drugstore called Sally Hansen Hair Remover Wax Strip Kit for Face, Brows & Bikini. It’s about $8.00. I only use this for the upper lip. I’ve tried it for body hair and it just doesn’t work well for coarser, thicker hair. There are small, medium and large strip sizes. You can use the small strips for your upper lip, and when you run out of them you can just cut the medium and large strips down to size. One box lasts me at least 5 months, and I wax every three weeks. It averages out to a little over a $1.00 per wax, saving me lots of time and money.

3. Okay. Now to the hard part! First I warm the wax strips in my hands. Some people recommend giving the strip a quick shot with a blow dryer, but I never do that because I’m afraid of heating up the wax too much and burning myself. I then place the strip on half of my ‘stache, pushing it down in the direction of the hair growth. I then take a deep breath (seriously, this is important), and with one hand, pull my skin in the direction of the hair growth, and then use my other hand to pull the wax strip in the opposite direction. I do this quickly! Right as I pull the wax strip off I exhale. It doesn’t really hurt, but the breathing helps to lesson the shock to my system. Right after I pull the strip off I place a finger on the area and gently apply pressure to reduce any sting.

4. The kit comes with azulene oil, which I then use to remove any remaining wax. Sometimes I use Jojoba oil too, which works just as well.

5. I found out that timing was important during those first few sessions. I would take two painkillers at least an hour before and I would never wax right before my period (which is when I become very sensitive to pain.)

6. Voila! No more bearded lady!

I hope this helps! Good luck. Stay smooth.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Weekend Beauty Roundup

Beauty Reading is Fundamental! To start your long weekend off right here’s a round up of the best posts from the lovely ladies at the Beauty Blog Network!

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic does a Bioelements Review Series
A Touch of Blusher wants to know if you’d like some samples
All Lacquered Up reviews the China Glaze X collection for fall
Beauty and Fashion Tech looks at Neutrogena lip products
Beauty and Personality Grooming gives natural remedies for undereye dark circles
Beautynomics unwrinkles your eyes with Venom
DivaShop reviews e.l.f. cosmetics
Elke Von Freudenberg checks out the newn ShopVogue.tv
Hello Dollface reviews SuperSmile Toothbrush
Kiss and Makeup reviews Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss
Lipstick, Powder n’ Paint shares a blast from the past on last year’s Tarte cosmetics
Life of a Ladybug shares her list of beauty bargains

And in case you missed it (oh no you didn’t!), makeupandbeautyblog.com’s The Best of San Francisco Fashion Week 2007: Super-secret makeup tricks from 5 backstage MAC artists, Runway Videos and MORE!

Can you believe that summer is over and that it’s Labor Day weekend already? Will you be going to few barbeques and doing fun outdoor stuff? I hope so! I’ll be busy this weekend writing a story on Hawaiian heirloom jewelry. Somehow, someway, I will squeeze in some time for some relaxing fun.

Have a fantastic weekend, wear your sunscreen and work that bikini, girl!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A video of Friday Night Backstage at San Francisco Fashion Week



Getting the models ready in the MAC tent…

My current fascination with MAC’s Mulch shadow continues, and today I rocked the Mulch once more with a super-easy look that’s great for makeup newbies.

When girls/boys do these makeup tutorials it seems customary to have a mortifying shot of your face without any makeup on it. I don’t even go across the street without any concealer on, ya’ll!

First I prepped my skin by washing it with a gentle cleanser, Clean & Clear. I have acne-prone skin so I put on a thin layer of DDF’s Benzoyl Peroxide with Tea Tree Oil, followed by Olay Complete. After all of this stuff sinks in I put on a thin layer of Laura Mercier Oil-Free foundation all over my face, including my lids.

I’m kind of clumsy, so I like to do eyes first. That way if I totally screw up I don’t have to bother with re-doing foundation, powder, blush, etc. I also do this because inevitably there will always be niblets of shadow all over the place, and I like to swipe the under eye area clean before applying concealer.

Here’s what I used, from the left to the right going counterclockwise:
- MAC Paint in Magrittes
- MAC Concrete shadow (I use this in my brows)
- MAC Ricepaper shadow
- MAC Mulch shadow
- MAC 266 (stiff angled brush)
- Studio Basics lash and brow comb
- MAC 217SE (blending brush)
- MAC 217 (blending brush)
- MAC 209SE (eyeliner brush)
- MAC 212SE (push brush)
- MAC 252 (laydown brush)
- MAC 275SE (angled fluff brush)
- LORAC 103 (concealer brush)
- Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder in #2
- L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black
- MAC Select Moisturecover in NW 25
- MAC lash curler
- MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

I used MAC Paint in Magrittes as a lid primer. Magrittes is a really pretty gold, with shimmer. Don’t fear this shimmer – it’s not too disco, I promise.

MAC Paints are creamy and give shadow something to grab onto. I like ‘em because I find it easy to blend shadows with Paints as a base. One caveat: if your lids are oily you may have some product migration if you use Magrittes by itself. One trick to try is to use Urban Decay’s Potion Primer first and then layer Magrittes on afterwards.

Next I used a 252 brush to apply Ricepaper shadow all over the lid.

Now it’s time to rock the Mulch. I first used the 217 to put a light wash of Mulch all over the lid (from the lash and then upward to just the start of the crease), and then concentrated the color on the outer ends using the 252. Then I blended with the 217 to remove any harsh lines.

Using MAC’s Lash Curler, I the curled my lashes: I placed the curler closed to the base of the lashes and then pulsed the lash curler (not pinched!) as I moved it upwards to the end of the lashes to create a smooth curl.

If you find the lash curler intimidating or scary you are not alone! So if you have long, thick, pretty lashes then you can probably get away with skipping this step and maybe even skipping mascara. It’s really up to you and how comfortable you are.

Next I added two layers of L’Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon Black. Love. This. Stuff. Side note: see those purple-ish undereye circles? Last night I was sucked into a vaccum of bad late night television, and I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch both “Lindsey Lohan: Hollywood Trainwreck” and “Mission: Man Band,” on VH1, LOLOLOL. Oh, and if you happen to know who “Color Me Badd” is then don’t miss “Man Band.”

I initially was going to skip liner totally but on a whim decided to use MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack to line the outer-upper-lash line. I used a 212 push brush, but the 209 liner brush is a good option, too. I only lined the outer two-thirds because I didn’t want it to look too obvious. This trick is awesome – it totally makes your upper lashes look thicker.

After I finished with shadow and before I applied concealer did a quick cleaned up of my underye area with Boot’s No. 7 Quick Thinking cleansing wipes.

Remember those purple-lish undereye circles? Well, some MAC Select Moisturecover applied with a Lorac concealer brush helps to remedy the situation by leaps and bounds. I set it by applying Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder in #2 with the 217SE. THANK YE GODS FOR CONCEALER!

Now the eyes are done, yay!

Now onto foundation and powder.

I mixed together Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in Almond with Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation in Suntan Beige and applied the mix with a MAC 190 foundation brush. I don’t like to feel like I’m spackling on the foundation, so I apply just a light layer on to even out the red spots around my nose and to even out the my skin tone. I then set it all over with Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder using a Sonia Kashuk powder brush.

Whew … almost there!

Lastly I do cheeks and lips. Here’s what I used from left to right:
- MAC 129 blush brush
- MAC Blushbaby blush
- Rimmel Pink Rose blush
- Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lipliner in Tiramisu
- MAC 316 Lip Brush
- Bobbi Brown Beige Lipstick, from the Best Of lip palette
- Paul & Joe Lipgloss in #10

For lips I lined with Rimmel’s 1000 Kisses Lipliner in Tiramisu and then used my finger to blend the color in.

I then added a layer of Bobbi Brown Beige lipstick and topped it off with Paul & Joe Lipgloss, using a MAC 316 lip brush.

I used a MAC 129 to apply Blushbaby on the cheeks and to blend the color upwards toward my ears. I then put a pop of pink shimmer with Rimmel’s Pink Rose blush on the apples only.

Voila! Here’s the final look, without and with the flash.

Crap, now I have to clean up …

I usually don’t like to write with music on but because this post was so pic-heavy I spent most of my time working with the pics and listening to this song by Robin Thicke and Pharrell. It’s called “Wanna Love You Girl” and it totally makes me want to dance. Give it a listen – it’ll be like we’re hanging out together and talking shop about makeup, LOL.

You better be working it today because it’s FRIDAY!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Good morning! Grab your cup o’ joe and settle in for The Weekend Beauty Round Up!

A Touch of Blusher reviews Erth Minerals.

Beauty and Fashion Tech breaks down the Lumene Skin Product Line.

Lipstick, Powder and Paint reveals some Summer Bag Basics.

Face Candy extends the Smokey Eye Contest.

Life of a Ladybug test drives Smashbox and Tarte’s cheekstains.

Today my 30 days of obscene cardio begins. My goal is to make it through an hour-long spinning class at the end of thirty days at full tilt cardio (and to also earn a Lauren Merkin bag as a lil’ self reward!)

Have a fantastic weekend, and wear your sunscreen.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The American Beauty Tour kicked off on Sunday, July 22, 2007 in San Francisco at the W Hotel

This past Sunday, July 22, I got up at the crack o’ dawn and headed over to San Francisco for the opening session of The American Beauty Tour.

The speaker, celebrity makeup artist Billy B., offered tips on making it in the competitive world of the makeup industry, makeup application and life in general. Cheesy as it sounds, I was actually really inspired.
Continue Reading…