Beauty product reviews, makeup tips and news from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict.
October 9th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Just For Fun, News
In this guest post today, literary Lothario, Tabs, of Party With Tabs, waxes philosophic on a top spring 2010 fashion trend.
Haaay, b*tchezzz.
Tabs here, reporting live from Novato, California. Blog cutbacks forced a change in plans, and I wasn’t able to cover Paris Fashion Week in person.
But I’ve still got the scoop, and it’s all about the runway at the Miu Miu Spring 2010 show. Did you see all those cats?
Cat silhouettes on skirts, shirts and shoes! Kitty appliques on purses and collars! Finally, felines are GETTING THEIRS. It’s about ‘effin time, yo.
My editor (I see her more as an assistant) canceled my credit cards, claiming something about “responsible spending.” Whatev. Good taste comes at a price.
Which reminds me — It’s time to update my kitty couture wardrobe for spring.
Kitty Cat Top by Heritage 1981 ($17, available at Forever 21)
Ooh la la…
Keyboard Cat Tee ($20, available at Threadless)
Le sigh… It ain’t Miuccia Prada, but it’s “affordable.” That’s a word my human captor/editor/assistant seems to like.
Peace out,
Tabs
When he isn’t globetrotting, jet-setting or reporting for Makeup and Beauty Blog, Tabs can be found over at Party With Tabs. He knows he should post more updates and plans to in the near future (lacking opposable thumbs has made typing difficult). He loves gravy, things covered in rhinestones, and long pieces of ribbon. 
October 7th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Just For Fun, Nails, News
Fellow nail polish nerds, did any of y’all spy Whitney’s blue nails on last night’s episode of The City? I am CONVINCED my girl Whit was rocking Lancome’s Indigo Paris, a favorite of mine for fall.
Can I reality TV dish with you for a sec?
It’s about The Hills and The City, two of MTV’s most progressive and enlightening programs, LOL!
LOVE The City, but I barely made it through five minute of The Hills before I had to look away.
I can’t suspend disbelief anymore when it comes to the Kristin/Justin Bobby/Audrina love triangle. It just feels kinda … fake, like a really bad counterfeit purse, ugh!
That, and I think my Speidi cup hath runneth over. I can’t take those two anymore. They made me choke on a meatball — that’s how angry I was.
After coughing it up (it even caught air and launched across the room), I said a prayer of thanks and pledged to live a Speidi-free lifestyle from now on.
Thank goodness The City was actually pretty entertaining. Whit’s fabulous blue nails were hawt!
They’re visible toward the end of the episode. Whitney and her new frenemy/roommate, Roxy, are sitting at work, discussing the previous day’s photo shoot.
I could totally be wrong, but isn’t her polish a dead ringer for Lancome’s Indigo Paris ($18)?
October 1st, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: News
One night exactly one year ago — ironically this very month — El Hub and I were sitting in our small living room watching TV when the phone rang.
El Hub answered the call: “Hello?”
“Hi, my darling son,” said his mom.
“Hi, Mom,” he answered, and his eyes locked on me, his face a mask of worry.
It was a night just like any other, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned that that’s how these things usually are, these life-changing moments. One second everything’s fine — you’re watching America’s Best Dance Crew, doing your nails on the floor when BAM!
That night started my immediate family’s personal journey through breast cancer, which we’re still working our way through. Things happened fast right after the news — a barrage of tests, long talks with doctors about options, and you’re going along for the ride because the procedures get scheduled before the news has even had time to settle.
Didi, my mother-in-law, is classified as “in remission” now. She’s fine — well, not exactly fine, but she’s hanging in there. She had a double mastectomy shortly after receiving the news last year (first one, and then, two weeks later, the other) and four rounds of chemo. Now she’s dealing with less serious (than cancer) complications resulting from the chemotherapy, as well as the mental and emotional trauma of being basically housebound and afraid for 12 months.
I know it all sounds brutal to hear… The words come flooding out from time to time, but that’s another thing about life — it has a funny way of surprising you when you least expect it.
Every October, women around the world take time to remember friends and family and to increase breast cancer awareness. They promote the importance of early detection, help to raise funds for research and treatment and offer information and support to those affected by the disease.
For us, there is no more worthy cause than this one. Breast cancer targets us (women) at a rate 100 times greater than men.
Here’s a statistic that shocked me when I read it, but one in every eight US women will develop breast cancer… That means some of us, here.
So what are we going to do about it?
Answer: we’re going to stick together.
There are many ways to help and many worthy organizations. No one can possibly support them all, but I would still like to see if we here can raise $250 by the end of the month.
I’ll match your donations (up to $250), which means that if there’s $250 on the ChipIn widget below here, then we’ll have raised $500 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the organization I’m choosing for the donation.
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.
In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find a cure. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, the group has invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill Nancy’s promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.
Every dollar gets us closer to that $250, but there are other ways to help. One way is by commenting on this post about your experiences, thoughts or fears about breast cancer. Ask any questions you might have, and I’ll do my best to find the answer.
This month is about getting the word out there and about reminding each of us that we’re not alone, even if we’re miles apart.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
September 20th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: News
I still can’t believe Estée Lauder pulled the plug on Prescriptives…
It must have been a difficult decision for the maker of MAC, Clinique and Bobbi Brown. Any time you shutter doors on a 30-year-old cosmetics line it has to hurt, even if sales of the line have been underperforming for a while.
Global distribution will end about four months from now (Jan. 31, 2010), so there’s still time to stock up before the counters disappear. After that, any remaining stock will be cleared out through the website.
I can’t say I’m heartbroken, but I will miss certain things about Prescriptives, like their approach to color, specifically their range. Even as far back as the ’80s and ’90s I could count on Prescriptives to carry foundation shades that matched my skin tone.
But it wasn’t enough to fend off the competition, and they grew to be overshadowed by EL’s other brands.
Loading ...For whatever it’s worth, fellow fans of Prescriptives’ still popular Calyx fragrance are in luck. We’ll still be able to get our hands on it through Aramis at department stores and online. I guess that’s better than nothing… I do like fruity, fresh Sheer Calyx Exhilaration.
Prescriptives Mineral Bronzer in Warm, $30
Prescriptives Eye Color Compact in Warm from the Well Suited Collection, $40
Continue Reading…
It’s called the Slendertone Face, and there’s a waiting list thousands of ladies long at Harrods in the UK today, despite the whopping £300 (about $500) price.
The headset device, compared to a natural facelift, uses electronic muscle stimulation to strengthen facial muscles. Clinical trials showed that regular use reversed some of the muscle weakening that comes with age.
“It’s very gentle and doesn’t hurt at all,” says Dr. Trish Smith, cardiologist and chief executive of Slendertone, “As it’s hands-free, you can wear it while you’re cooking or ironing.” Electronic panels sit directly over the cranial nerve (scary!), just in front of the ear from where all the facial nerves branch out, so the pulses gently stimulate every muscle in the face. source
The trials, overseen by Dr. Michael Hennessy, head of neurology at the University of Galway, suggested that using Slendertone Face for 20 minutes five times a week for 12 weeks increases the volume of facial muscles by up to 46%, with the average improvement being 18.6%.
Not bad at all.
Electronic facial muscle stimulators manufactured by other companies have been used in salons for years — the CACI Non-Surgical Face Lift is one of them — but the Slendertone was the device examined in the latest trial.
What do you think, ladies? Electrifying new development or future class-action lawsuit?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
