Feast your eyes upon the bane of my eyelining existence this past month, the dreaded tube of MAC Liquidlast Liner ($16.50) in Inkspill.

I’m usually a Fluidline/Technakohl kinda gal, but I’ve heard many wonderful things about MAC Liquidlast Liner and was stoked to pick up a tube. Plus, I couldn’t say no to the pearly deep green color.

Little did I know the world of hurt this tube would unleash.

The 266, the 209 – I’ve tried applying Inkspill with several different brushes but for some reason couldn’t draw a straight line to save my life. Every time I put it on I end up looking like a crazy, cracked-out circus clown! I briefly thought about posting pictures of one of my many bad Liquidlast experiments, but I am so not ready to go there.

After every ill-fated attempt I had to take off all my eye makeup and start over again because this stuff requires a strong oil-based makeup remover; otherwise, this liner stays put through your next few lifetimes.

But I’m not ready to give up the fight. There’s gotta be a way to make this work!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My MAC Antiquitease love just keeps growing and growing. Here’s the Queen’s Sin look, which features red lips and gold eyes.

Where to work it?

The red lip look is strong, but at the same time versatile. You get lots of mileage out of this look because you can work it in many different settings.

A classic look for work. I’ve been wearing the Queen’s Sin look to work a lot lately. Yes, the colors are bold, but the overall feel is conservative because you’re not sporting bright jewel tones or lots of glitter. The look would suit lots of different work environments – a buttoned-up law firm, a creative advertising company, or even a laid back office.

A gala night. If you need to dress to impress, you can’t go wrong with red lips, gold eyes and a great formal black dress. Don’t forget to throw in some pretty gold accessories and a dainty clutch.

Rober Palmer (RIP) back up singer. Remember the girls from the “Addicted to Love” video?
When I was a kid I got in so much trouble when my friend and I dressed up as the backup band! My mom was not happy about us “borrowing” her expensive red Clinique lipstick!

Get the look!

Beginners, don’t be intimidated by this look. It might seem complicated but it’s really easy to do!

I had most of the products featured on the Queen’s Sin face chart but had to do just a few replacements.

MAC face chart: Brown Down eye shadow in crease (teddy bear brown)
Replaced it with: Soft Brown Matte eye shadow (soft golden peachy brown)

MAC face chart: Plum Foolery blush (faintly plum)
Replaced it with: Fab blush

MAC face chart: Burgandy lip pencil (brownish burgandy)
Replaced it with: Rimmel Indian Pink lip pencil

To turn the look up a notch, I’ve also topped these fab red lips with a layer of Chanel Myriade Glossimer lipgloss.

And if red lips are too vavoom for you, you can always do a toned down version by doing a light stain and leaving out the gloss.

One more face of the day

I like to call this the MISERY GRIN. It comes out when people (El Hub, family members, random annoying people) ask me to do something when I’d rather just be sitting on the couch in a state of vegetation.

The key to the MISERY GRIN is moving that bottom lip directly downward to expose all of your bottom teeth! That way the misery can’t be missed from a mile away.

The MISERY GRIN is especially effective when you are wearing lipstick that draws attention to one’s pout, like in the can’t-miss red lips from the Queen’s Sin look!

YES! Wednesday. I’m happy that the week is almost over. Got anything exciting happening today? I’m going to dance class tonight for the first time in a month so I’m really looking forward to it.

I hope you’re having a good day so far!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My Christmas confession: I’m guilty of sending out last minute Christmas cards. Last year I ended up buying a pack of cards I found at the bottom of the 75 percent off bin at Walgreen’s three days before Christmas. I highly suggest not doing this as your choices may be limited to boxes of drunken cartoon snowmen telling lame Christmas jokes (Really, I couldn’t make this shizz up).

This year I intend to avoid the last minute budget card bin because I just picked up a few boxes of Kids Helping Kids Greeting Cards from MAC! These brightly colored cards are designed by kids living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and sale proceeds go to the MAC AIDS Fund to help support pediatric AIDS organizations around the world.

A pack of six cards with envelopes is $6.00 and features six festive designs. My favorite is the red card with the crayon reindeer drawing.

In addition to greeting cards, MAC also has Kids Helping Kids Gift Cards, smaller versions with the same designs. They’re perfect stocking stuffers. A pack of 12 of the smaller gift cards with envelopes is also $6.00.

Please help support the MAC AIDS Fund and make a difference by picking up some cards during your next MAC counter visit. Got your card bases covered? If you’re lucky enough to live by a MAC store, then you can still help by purchasing a roll of Kids Helping Kids Gift Wrap. There are three different designs, and each roll is $10.00.

I can’t wait to give out these cards! I feel good about sending out my cards on time this year, but I feel even better knowing it’s also supporting a great cause.

How’s your afternoon been? I’m currently craving brownies, chocolate chip cookies and green tea! If only we could go on an afternoon cookie break together!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Monday used to be my favorite night for television, but unfortunately things have taken a dark turn. Seeing New York’s crazy makeup is the only thing I have to look forward to now, since the remaining boys on VH1’s I Love New York 2 are proving to either be REALLY BORING or REALLY FRICKIN’ NUTS.

Ahhhh, yes. I don’t have solid proof but I’m pretty convinced New York is a MAC girl. Check out her not-to-be-missed lashes. I’d put my money on those bad boys being a set of MAC #37s.

Does anybody else with a pulse find this man alarming?

Why was The Entertainer constantly seeing pictures of devils in those ink blots? I honestly thought I could get behind TEAM ENTERTAINER, ’till I figured out that he’s probably a warlock skilled in the ways of the dark arts.

I can’t even get myself to join TEAM BUDDHA, ’cause he’s so boring he puts himself to sleep.

I keep waiting for the guys to get all Lord of the Flies on each other but nooooooo! Even stupid Tailor Made’s been playing nice with everybody.

Somebody please save us all from dying a slow, boring, reality TV death!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I went to the movies last night with El Hub to watch “No Country for Old Men” and to stuff myself silly with popcorn. Here’s the Antiquitease-inspired look I wore on our pre-Thanksgiving date!

Antiquitease – A Fantastic Date Night Look

This is my new favorite winter date night look. On the fence about trying it?

It’s easy. This look was easier to do than Gilty Kiss, fo’ sho. On date night I like to take my time doing my makeup, and this look took about 25 minutes.

It’s subtle. For a casual movie date, sometimes bold statement looks, like smoky eyes or glossy red lips, are too much. This look has subtle layers of color – blues, browns, golds – and is very feminine and pretty.

It pairs easily with lots of different outfits. I wore it with a powder blue turtleneck, which really brought out the blues from the Silversmith Mineralize eye shadow. This look would work great with a cream, gold, or grey top, too!

Get the Look

The face chart I used is from the “Antiquitease” look on the MAC Web site. I didn’t have all of the suggested colors, so I had to do some improv.

MAC face chart: MAC Wedge eye shadow (a soft, muted, golden beige taupe matte) in the inner crease.
Replaced with: A mix of MAC Cork (muted golden brown satin) and MAC Saddle (golden orange brown matte) eye shadows. I think when I do this look again I’ll be leaving out Saddle, ’cause it shows up waaay too orange on my skin.

MAC face chart: Hushabye blush (rich, red, plum sheertone) on the cheeks
Replaced with: MAC Frankly Scarlet blush

MAC face chart: Cream Colour Base Pearl (soft, pale gold with icy shimmer) in center of lid
Replaced with: MAC Bare Canvas Paint (champagne with shimmer)

MAC face chart: Mahogany lip pencil (intense reddish brown)
Replaced with: Nars Amazon lipliner (cool brick red)

I’m off to the gym to work on my fitness – gotta have that extra scoop of mashed potatoes, oy! Happy Thanksgiving!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen