Beauty product reviews, makeup tips and news from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict.
May 23rd, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Skin Care
Here at my in-law’s, *everybody* falls asleep by 9. I’m a night owl by nature, so I’ve been staying up after they’ve all gone to bed, watching MTV shows on my laptop in the dark.
Last night I watched an episode of True Life that featured young people dealing with severe acne. It chronicled their journeys through various acne treatments and the emotional trauma caused by bad acne.
The show got me thinking about how appearance can affect self-esteem.
I remember going through a terrible bout with acne on my cheeks and forehead at age 19. It undermined my confidence and left me so emotionally sensitive that I’d cry whenever my mom or a close friend would even bring it up.
My skin eventually improved (it was Accutane that finally worked), but I’ll never forget the way I felt over that trying time in my life.
Because knowledge is power, I’m always looking for new skin care tips. Here are 21 more tips to go with the ones I posted last week.
I hope you find them as handy as I did. 
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May 21st, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Makeup Tips/How To
Today Rae of theNotice shows how to rescue a broken pan of pressed powder from the brink!
Hi there, ladies! It’s Rae from theNotice. I just wanted to take a moment to say “thanks!” to Karen for letting me guest blog. Makeup and Beauty Blog is definitely one of my favourites, so this is pretty much the best. thing. ever.
Okay. Moment’s over!
It’s happened to us all: you go traveling, or you move, or you take a compact with you on your way out the door. When you open up your traincase or cosmetic bag, there’s a thin film of powder everywhere, and then you just know — one of your pressed powders broke in transit, and it’s completely unusable in its current state.
But it’s not the end of the world, because this is a problem that’s easily fixed! Seriously, folks. It’s easier than making toast to fix a hungry stomach or tempting children with candy or Jell-O.
We start our endeavor with one of the Smashbox Brow Tech duos from my makeup kit (this one’s Blonde). The powder portion had completely broken in transit — crumbles and chunks everywhere!
You know how when you get to the bottom of your Special K Cinnamon Pecan, there’s just… dregs? Well, it was like that. And for all of you who don’t obsessively eat that stuff, just check out the photo below (and add the cereal to your shopping list, because it’s like heaven. But in cereal form. And edible).
So because this was a duo, I started by scraping off the top layer of the wax with a clean cosmetic spatula and using an eyedropper to moisten the powder half with alcohol.
Use a damp towel or Q-tip to clean up around the edges a little, but it doesn’t have to be perfect — trust me, it’s easier to clean it up at the end, when more doesn’t tip out every time you move the pot!
For the wax, I just wiped off the top with a tissue after scraping, and it was pretty much good to go. But for the powder (or for a single pan) it’s a little harder. To fix this one, you have to keep putting in alcohol until it turns into pudding. I know. SO much harder, right? Oh, my god! I can’t do this! It’s too difficult!
…aaaand I’ll pretend you recognize the sarcasm in my, erm, font.
Anyhow, that’s really all you need to do! Once it’s mushy, all you have to do is let it dry (the stronger the alcohol, the faster it’ll be ready for the next step). Because this was a half-pan, re-pressing was a little harder. But for a normal 26mm MAC shadow pan, all you have to do is wait until it’s just barely damp, put a paper towel or handkerchief on top, stack a couple quarters on that, and apply pressure!
SHAZAM! Just like that, you’ve got a like-new pan again — clean up the edges, let it dry overnight before closing it, and you’re ready to face the day. If you have a half-pan like mine, and not a full circle, just press it with your fingers. The result won’t look new, but unless you’ve found a way to get a half-quarter, it’s the best you can do!
TIP: if you’re pressing something large — like a foundation, powder or blush — the bottoms of glasses work wonderfully instead of quarters!
One last thing, though. The pans in this were a little loose (if by “a little loose” you mean “totally not connected with the pot anymore”), which I’m thinking was the reason for their demise. So I took ‘em out with tweezers, applied a couple drops of Krazy Glue, put them back in, and after about 10 seconds, they were secure again!
For loose pans, plain ‘ole Krazy is a lifesaver. It’s my number-four beauty tool, preceeded only by my Tweezerman tweezers, lash curler, and Q-tips. Just please don’t use it as cosmetic glue, alright?
Is it just me, or did this turn into a lesson about how you shouldn’t blog while hungry, instead of one about re-pressing broken powders?
This post was written by Rae, the beautiful brains behind theNotice. Beauty blogger, student and makeup enthusiast, Rae can’t remember a time when she didn’t love makeup.
May 16th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Skin Care
Like our stomachs, our skin doesn’t always work the same way every day. Sometimes it gets a little fussy and doesn’t want to behave.
Skin care is one of those things I didn’t really take seriously until my late twenties. I WISH I’d started paying more attention to it sooner, but c’est la vie!
To help with a wide variety of skin situations (I’ve faced my share of them), here’s a list of 21 skin care tips.
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May 9th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Just For Fun
Have you ever used an online makeover tool before? I’ve used a few of them, where you upload a picture of yourself and fit it with virtual hairstyles and different colors of makeup.
The thing is, they’ve always seemed more toys than tools, with very few colors to choose from and a paint-by-numbers feel.
DailyMakeover.com’s Makeover Studio is the first online makeover service I’d actually call a real tool.
What makes it more than just a toy?
For starters, DM has a huge selection of makeup colors to choose from, and they’re based on actual products, so you’re not just choosing a random shade of beige blush or pink lipstick and swiping it over your picture with the mouse. You’re choosing from among actual brand name products and colors and setting the colors down precisely where they’re supposed to go on your face.
Second, you have an amazing amount of control over everything, from the way each hairstyle hugs the contours of your face to the angle you use to apply eyeliner.
If it is a toy … then it’s a toy meant for women who are serious about (having fun with) makeup and beauty.
Today I wanted to see what I might look like with a different hairstyle, so I pulled up DailyMakeover.com.
You can use the makeover tool for free, but with the free trial you’re limited to uploading a single picture of yourself. That, and you only get access to a pretty small group of hairstyles, accessories (like earrings) and brands of makeup.
The free selection is still broad enough to try quite a few different looks, but with one of DM’s premium All-Access memberships you get access to literally thousands of hairstyles and makeup — we’re talking current makeup collections in stores now — and can upload an unlimited number of pictures.
The All-Access membership costs $14.95 for 3 months or $29.95 per year.
I grabbed my digital camera, opened the drapes to allow in as much sunlight as possible and took a picture of myself with my hair pulled back in a ponytail.
The site says the best pics are full-frontal portraits with uncomplicated backgrounds, where you’re not standing directly in front of something like a painting or bookshelf. You want a picture taken in good natural lighting, too, for accurate makeup colors.
After uploading my picture, the tool guided me through some simple steps to define the shape of my eyes, lips and face.
I even thought this part was cool (seems very high tech)…
May 4th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Hair, Product Reviews
While having dinner with a couple of my BFFs last month, my girl J-Money surprised me with a gift — the Aquis Microfiber Hair Towel ($18).
With the care one reserves for items of great value and importance, she looked me dead in the eyes, placed the package in my hands and said, “You’ll understand its power soon enough.”
The Aquis Hair Towel is made from a special microfiber fabric supposedly able to absorb far more water than a regular cotton towel. Awesome, because my hair retains a lot of water and takes forever to dry.
After two weeks with the Aquis, I think I understand why J-Money treated it with such reverence — the thing really works!
Normally, I wrap my hair up with a towel when I step out of the shower and leave it on for about 15 minutes before taking it off to air dry. The process takes about three hours to thoroughly dry my hair.
Continue Reading…
