There’s a chain of drugstores out here called ABC Stores, and you’ll find one on almost every corner in Honolulu. They outnumber the Starbucks, and that’s no joke!

Like most drugstores, they carry lots of miscellaneous knickknack-ery (aka stuff you’d end up giving to your coworkers), but they’re upgrading their image when it comes to beauty. Now, they carry products I’d actually want to keep for myself.

The Island Girl line of beauty products, exclusive to ABC Stores, ranges from cuticle oils to nail polishes and eyeshadows. Prices are generally low, like around $2.50-$10 per set, and since some of the palettes and polish sets include multiple shades, the price often breaks down to less than a dollar per color.

The new line should be available for purchase on the ABCStores.com website soon.

Continue Reading…

Tarte wants to wish you a very berry Christmas with the Berry Couture gift set ($35).

It comes with two products (actually, three, because one’s a duo) — one full-sized Cheek Stain and a mini-Rise and Shine lip duo with a gloss and a stain — items perfect for rushed makeup morning or for those moments when you just want a little color.

The shade is a limited edition, sheer strawberry red called Berrylicious. YUM!

From left to right: Berrylicious Cheek Stain, Lipgloss, Lipstain

An Easy Natural Flush

For the look above, I used Berrylicious Cheek Stain on my cheeks and the stain and gloss from the Rise and Shine lip duo on my lips. It’s easy to apply and wear — no extra brushes required!

First, I swipe the Cheek Stain stick once onto the apples of each cheek once (it feels really moist and slick), and then blend in the edges with my fingers. After a minute or so, the blush dries to a sheer, matte, pinched-cheeks flush.

The Rise and Shine duo comes with doe foot applicators on both ends — easy to use.

The lip stain has a gel consistency. I get the best results with it when I allow it to dry for about 30 seconds, and then add a layer of the gloss on top. It’s supposed to be a plumping gloss, but my lips don’t really look significantly bigger. They do, however, take on that “I’ve just had a hot hour-long make out session” look.

Daily Photo

I’m heading home to Hawaii for the holidays with El Hub tomorrow morning. Our mom is doing better and recovering from the two mastectomies last month. We can’t wait to see her!

This morning I dropped off Tabs at the kitty hotel again… Poor guy was not happy about it, but we don’t really know our neighbors well enough to ask them to take care of him. I miss him already…

On my way back from Hotel Cattyfornia I ran into Starbucks for a latte. The guy in front of me in line had a parrot on his shoulder, pirate style.

Continue Reading…

Golden Lips and Golden Girls, Part II: The Rose

Ya’ll know I loves me some Blanche, but I couldn’t leave the other Golden Girls hanging without lip looks of their own!

Today’s look salutes the ditsy yet oh-so-lovable Rose Nylund and features Benefit Gilded Pencil, MAC Pink Treat Cremestick Liner and Chanel Astral Glossimer (a glittery hot pink).

I was inspired by Rose’s golden hair and the pink flush of her cheeks whenever she tells crazy St. Olaf stories.

While it has crossed my mind that very few people may appreciate Rose and The Golden Girls as much as I do (LOL!), I think the pink and gold in this lip look perfectly capture Rose’s cheerful personality.

From left to right: MAC Pink Treat, Benefit Gilded, Chanel Astral

The Look

I started by lining and filling my lips with a layer of MAC Pink Treat and a layer of Benefit Gilded pencil directly on top for added shimmer. Then, for even more sparkle and shine, I popped on a layer of Chanel Astral Glossimer.

For a more subdued version of this lip look, I’d skip the gloss. MAC Pink Treat and Benefit Gilded make for a pretty matte lip all on their own!

Continue Reading…

You know how The Golden Girls is one of my favorite TV shows, right?

Well, this morning I decided to pay homage to Blanche — she’s the sassy Southern one — with a lip look using Chanel Gold Shine Glossimer and Clinique Party Red Lipstick.

From left to right: Clinique Party Red Lipstick, Chanel Gold Shine Glossimer

The Golden Girls was an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a Miami, Florida home. The Golden Girls won several awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. All four stars won at least one Emmy Award throughout the show’s entire run.

Of course, I *had* to name this combo “The Blanche,” after the show’s resident man magnet, Blanche Marie Elizabeth Hollingsworth Devereaux.

Actress Rue McClanahan played Blanche.

I think it’d be a good lip look for a black tie holiday party… What do you think?

What I Want for Christmas

The necklace is fo’ reals! It’s by TrashedClothing ($20), a store on Etsy. I saw it mentioned on the Shibuya Baby Jewels Blog! I. Must. Have. It.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Ladies, I’m plum tuckered out! After fall’s flood of faux plum mascaras (ahem, Benefit BadGal Plum and Clarins Wonder Plum), I started to think plum lashes were the stuff of legend — just something from the land of make believe, like unicorns and hit movies starring Cuba Gooding, Jr.

But Dior had a little something to say about that. They’ve proved me wrong with their limited edition Diorshow Plum Mascara ($24). Finally! A plum mascara that actually looks purple on lashes and not just the brush.

Because this is the first mascara I’ve seen all season to actually bring the plum, I’d like to marvel at its purple-osity for a moment.

*pauses*

Ahhh…

Two layers of Diorshow Plum turns my knees to jelly. The mascara excels at three things: delivering rich purple color, lengthening lashes dramatically and keeping a curl all day long.

Now, in a perfect world, the formula would thicken a little better than it does, maybe more like Chanel Exceptionnel mascara (aka the motha of all thickening mascaras!), and the humongous brush makes it difficult to coat and separate lashes individually (keep a lash comb handy), but those are minor quibbles, all things considered.

Diorshow Plum Mascara

Price: $24
Use: Longer, thicker purple lashes, hallelujah!
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

I can’t wait to pair it with gold eyeshadow!

What’s your favorite tinted mascara?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen