October 13th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Makeup

Before bed I like to surf for celebrity makeup inspiration online.
I’ll bookmark the looks I think I might like to copy and save them in a folder ironically titled, “Celebrity Makeup Inspiration.”
Last night I bookmarked this pic of Jennifer Hudson at the 2009 Grammy Awards.
Hello, hawtness! I love the black, gray and white eye she’s wearing. Soo sultry…
This morning I rifled through my makeup stash to see if I had dupes for a similar look when I remembered Urban Decay’s Smoke Out Kit in Sweet Lucy ($34).
It’s one of three Smoke Out Kits UD released for the holidays. This one’s all about the smokey eyes.
Each Smoke Out Kit comes with four powder shadows in coordinating shades, a mini 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero (a deep black), a mini tube of Skyscraper Mascara (black) and a tiny eye brush.
- Sweet Lucy: Blacks and grays for smokey looks
- Ju-Ju: Browns for neutral looks
- Yerba: Deep greens for colorful looks

Eyeshadows from left to right: a neutral tan matte and a cool white matte
Continue Reading…
October 13th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Makeup

Ladies, here’s a closer look at the lippies from the Bobbi Brown Earth Metal Lip and Eye Palette ($60).
BAM! Giant lip swatches comin’ atcha.

Rose Bud: a creamy warm brown cream
These join six shimmer eyeshadows in the Earth Metal palette.
I think Rose Bud’s (shown above) my favorite…
What’s yours?
Continue Reading…
October 12th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Makeup

Bobbi Brown Earth Metal Lip and Eye Palette Shadows from left to right: Black Spruce, Sunset Gold and Antique Gold
Hi, gals. A few of you asked about the Bobbi Brown Earth Metal Lip and Eye Palette ($60, part of the Holiday collection) and demanded some swatches.
Here are the six eyeshadows; the lippies will be coming soon.

Bobbi Brown Earth Metal Lip and Eye Palette Shadows from left to right: Golden Leaf Shimmer, Earth Metal Metallic and Zinc Metal

Swatches from left to right: Black Spruce, Sunset Gold and Antique Gold

Swatches from left to right: Golden Leaf Shimmer, Earth Metal Metallic and Zinc Metal
Continue Reading…
October 8th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Just For Fun, Makeup

Sweeeeet! EVEN MORE holiday goodness coming at ‘cha, this time from Benefit Cosmetics.
Remember their Crescent Row fragrance sets and makeup kits? If they caught your eye, check out the company’s Holiday 2009 sets.
The Glam Eyes, Sexy Starlet and Tainted Love sets each come with heavily discounted Benefit bestsellers (full sizes, not samples) like…
What: Four pieces for face, lips and cheeks.
How much: $60 (but it’s a $74 value)
Where: Check your local Benefit counter or browse online
What you get:
What:A sassy set four-piece set for face, cheeks and eyes.
How much: $58 (a $74 value)
Where: Benefit counters and online
What you get:
What: A two-piece set for lips and eyes.
How much: $38 (a $58 value)
Where: Exclusively at Sephora stores and online
What you get:
I love the holidays and all of the cool cosmetics sets that drop. Considering that each of these comes with full-size products, they seem like pretty good bargains.
Speaking of bargains, I think I’m addicted to Hulu.com. I’d heard about it from different people, but until this week I had no idea they had so many shows! It almost makes cable unnecessary, right?
Continue Reading…
October 8th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Makeup

Benefit Full Finish Lipsticks from left to right: No Competition and Lady’s Choice
I pulled a Cinderella last night — but not the cool glass slipper/pumpkin part. It was the part with all of the cleaning, the singing animals (in this case, Tabs) and the late-night floor mopping.
Pretty soon the new place will be clean enough, and I’ll be able to get back to commenting on a regular basis. One of the highlights of my days is commenting, and I’ve been going through withdrawals lately. I’ve still been reading them all, even though I may not have been able to respond.
Speaking of comments, I saw some great questions in response to this week’s Benefit Holiday 2009 post.
Here’s a quick followup:

Eagle-eyed DJ and Jess caught that there are two Full-Finished Lipsticks in the Celebutante Set. Good eye, gals!
Lady’s Choice (a creamy pink) joins No Competition (a deep plum) in the set.

A swatch of No Competition lipstick
No Competition is a color I like to wear with eyeshadows in gold and brown.

Readers Nicole and Sdpfeiffy asked how the blush pans in the Powderazzi set compare to Benefit’s full-sized box blushes.
Well, the Powderazzi blushes are about a quarter the size of the regular box blushes (a .10-oz pan versus a .42-oz pan), so they’re substantially smaller.
But consider this: choice.
I’d choose an option with three blushes over an option with one any old day.
Powderazzi also comes in a slim, portable box that’s kind to makeup bags (e.g. it’s small), taking up less space than most bulky, full-size box blushes.
And, seriously, can you remember the last time you finished an entire full-size pan of blush? I can’t. These smaller blushes seem pretty practical to me.
Continue Reading…