So Karen what are you doing Wednesday night?

Well, hmm, lets see, there’s the lovely vegetarian take out burrito that I plan to eat, and I have to charge my camera batteries, plus I gotta wax my ‘stache because I can’t be hairy when I’m interviewing MAC Viva Glam Spokes person Dita Von Teese.

WHAT?

Yes, yes, ya’ll… on Wednesday, September 19th makeupandbeautyblog.com will be heading to Macy’s Passport 2007 in San Francisco to rock you from American Express Evening and to interview Dita Von Teese, the queen of burlesque dancing and one of the faces of MAC’s Viva Glam line.

What’s Macy’s Passport?

Macy’s Passport is a charity fashion event, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

The fundraiser/fashion show’s raised $25 million in charity funds for HIV/AIDS organizations in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and brings together designers, celebrities and entertainers for three nights of fundraising, fashion and excitement.

Passport 2007 opens at Fort Mason Center on Tuesday, September 18th and Fashion Inform: HIV Prevention 101, a night just for Bay Area high school students, and continues with American Express Evening on Wednesday, September 19th and Gala Evening on Thursday, September 20th.

In addition to the fashion show, which includes designers like Calvin Klein, Mark Echo, Via Spiga, MAC and Levi’s), there will entertainment from Cirque du Soleil, celebrity choreographer Brian Friedman, the Spirit of Uganda, an award-winning African youth dance troop, and of course, the lovely miss Dita.

Designer Marc Ecko

Celebrity choreographer Brian Friedman

A shot from last year’s Passport 2006 show

Should I ask Dita where I can buy a life-sized champagne glass to dance in? I’ve always wondered if that’s an item you have to special order.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Gentle Fume Quad, Take Two

Despite our rocky start, the Smoke Signals Gentle Fume quad and I are starting to become fast friends. I’ve discovered that it really comes in handy when you want to look like a vampire (a cute one, of course). I wore Rondelle on the entire lid, Waft on the outer third and a teeny tiny bit o’ Carbon in the outer v. (Big ups to my blogging buddy temptalia.com for suggesting this look!) I wore this out yesterday and can safely report that I felt 100% non-drag queeny. That’s Burnin’ on my lips along with Bazaarish Lipglass on top, and lil bit of Emote on the cheeks!

Lol, I just realized that this looks like a high school senior pic with a messy kitchen as the background


MASCARA REVELATION: L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black + Max Factor 2000 Calorie = BIG DRAMATIC LASHES!


Whenever I have a rough day I like to head to the drugstore to grab an ice cream cone and look at makeup. Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know it’s kind of eighth grade but it’s a nice pick me up and it keeps me from dropping serious stress cash at the MAC counter.

I’ve got straight, medium length lashes that aren’t full or thick, so I’m always looking for mascara. My favorite drugstore mascara lately has been L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black. It’s really glossy and dark and builds up my ho-hum, straight lashes nicely. Despite its great color and thickening power, I’ve noticed that it really doesn’t hold a curl from the lash curler. Within an hour or so I have stick straight lashes again. Boo!

Today just for fun I layered L’Oreal Voluminous over MAX Factor 2000 Calorie. 2000 Calorie has excellent curl hold, but the color isn’t as glossy or dark as Carbon Black. Layering the two mascaras makes a dramatic difference, and I loved the results: I got thick and glossy lashes that kept the curl throughout the day.

Before

…and after

From the earlier FOTD

The only thing is I have to work quickly when applying this both mascaras. I used Waterproof 2000 Calorie, which dries really fast, so if I wait to long to apply the Carbon Black it starts to get flakey and hard to apply.

If you’ve got these two around then give it a go, and let me know if it works for you (I hope it does!)

How’s your Wednesday been so far? I hope that your coffee tastes perfect and that you’re feeling happy and pretty.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

So here’s the Smoke Signals Gentle Fume quad. You might notice that it looks a little world weary, like it was in after school fight where the girls took off their earrings and busted out a jar of Vaseline. Damn if this quad wasn’t the bane of my existence this weekend! I love it and I hate it at the same time!

The “Gentle Fume Incident” happened when I first tried it on Thursday night. I put a little swatch of Rondelle on my wrist. “OHHH!” I thought. “Love!” Unfortunately it was all down hill after that. For some unknown reason I was physically unable to stop myself from putting on layer after layer of Waft! It was like the ghost of Ru Paul (should s/he ever become a ghost) came and guided my brush further and further into the palette to turn my eye makeup into the uber-ist, fiercest Filipino drag queen eye makeup ever. And let me tell you, there are some fierce Filipino drag queens!

After recovering from to the trauma of El Hub asking if I was trying out for a job at Asia SF, I tried again on Saturday after getting some inspiration from the Chris Brown video, Wall to Wall. The video is all about Chris (what a cutie!) being lured into a life of the undead by some vampire hotties who just happen to be wearing lots of black vinyl and smokey eye/Smoke Signal-ish looks.

Here’s what I ended up with:

I used:
Concrete on brows
Bare Canvas Paint on lid
Rondelle all over lid
Lithograph Fluidline on top and bottom lashline applied with soft, pointed concealer brush
Waft layered on top of fluidline
Waft and Gentle Fume brought barely into crease
The tiniest amount of Carbon in the outer v
Blacktrack fluidline on top and bottom waterline
Orpheus Kohl Power Pencil on top lash line
L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

Cheeks:
Ablaze and a touch of Emote. Ablaze shows up highly pigmented, so use this sparingly unless you want to look like Bozo the clown!

Lips:
Barely Lit lipstick
Bare Truth Lipglass on top
Soft & Slow Lipglass applied on lower pout

After the “Gentle Fume Incident” I was wary of putting on too much color. And looking at these pics I almost feel like I should’ve put more on to increase my vampire-osity, but that could be my inner drag diva trying to find her way out again. I still love Rondelle, and will keep trying to find ways to make this pretty quad wearable.

It’s been a great weekend so far! My childhood friend and good buddy J-MONEY called me at the crack o dawn to announce her engagement. Her man, M-MONEY, popped the question this weekend. Maybe we’ll do some bridal makeup posts to celebrate. YAY, wedding!!!

J-money and K-love on the catwalk at SF Fashion Week

Hope ya’ll are having fun so far this weekend. Enjoy your Labor Day!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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

I’ve got deadlines galore (the beauty book editing and writing another Hawaii story…yay!) but here’s a quick face of the day using MAC Smoke Signals.

The look:
The Smoking Eyes Quad: Next to Nothing, Satin Taupe, Smoking and Showstopper
Raven Kohl Power pencil
Emote blush
Brew Lipstick
Illicit Lipglass

The skinny:
If you are on the fence about the smoking quad lemme tell ya – the Smoking shadow (applied with a fluff brush on the upper lash line and brought barely to the crease; also on the lower lash line layered over Raven Kohl) on the lower right hand side makes it all worth it. This is a beautiful rich black with gold flecks, and when applied with a fluffy angled brush like the 275 it is *very* pretty AND beginner friendly. Next to Nothing is pretty, it reminds me of Shroom. I like it on my brow bone because it’s not too disco or silvery. I have lukewarm feelings about Satin Taupe – I find it really difficult control for some reason. I have to really watch how much I put on otherwise it overwhelms the other colors. I used Showstopper on the outer v. If you are a beginner then you may find this hard to apply. It’s dark and very matte and it can go very wrong very quickly, so you’ll have to watch how much you apply and apply it carefully.

I give this a Makeup and Beauty Blog rating of an A-. I think it’s a great beginner palette for smokey eyes, and seasoned MAC makeup junkies will GO FRICKIN BUCK WILD over Smoking.

Emote is another not to be missed part of the Smoke Signals collection. It looks kinda gross and brown and blah in the pan but it gives me the perfect warmed cheek without being too orange. It’s easy to apply, too, which I love! I think it will become one of my go to 5-minute makeup blushes. VERY beginner friendly!

Emote gets a Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating of A+! I love the color, the application and like that I can use it as both a blush and a contour color.

If you like multi-dimensional eye pencils you’ll love Raven Kohl Power Eye Pencil. I put this on the top and bottom lash line and layered it with Smoking! The color is gorgeous – kinda bronzey/black. It was very soft, didn’t tug, and made a nice, smooth line. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

As for Brew lipstick, Illicit Lipglass and the “natural” lip … what’s kinda funny to me is that to achieve this “natural” lip takes a lot of work. I just can’t slap the Brew on and throw some Illicit over it because it looks chalky and weird and kind of scary lunch lady wrong. In order to make this work I had to use a 316 and take the time to carefully put two layers of Brew on and then one layer of Illicit. I like the look of this nude lip but I wish it was easier to achieve. (What can I say? I’m lazy, ya’ll.) If you’ve got Viva Glam V then you don’t need this. However, if you have a natural lip fetish then you still might want to try this. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B-

Have a wonderful Thursday, friends. =)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen