Can you believe Christmas has passed? For the last two months I’ve been thinking Christmas, Christmas, Christmas every day, and then BAM! Welcome to December 26.
It’s enough to give a girl holiday whiplash. 🙂
How are you doing? Tabs, El Hub and I are just enjoying a slow day… I think we might try to catch a movie this afternoon. That sounds like fun.
The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed
CHANEL MAT LUMIERE
SOFT MATTE MAKEUP WITH SPF 15
Who among us hasn’t crossed paths with her share of craptacular liquid foundations? — the runny ones that leave streaks, the heavy pore-suffocating ones, and, oh, how about the ones with the open-mouth bottle…like the one you accidentally spilled on your buddy’s white shag carpet back in school (so sorry, Shell!).
I know it’s asking for a lot, but I would love a great, preferably inexpensive medium-coverage liquid foundation that I can wear every day (something I can throw on before I run out for a chai latte). That said, it’s with great joy, and a little pain, that I type these words: Chanel’s $54 Mat Lumiere Long-Lasting Soft Matte Makeup SPF 15 just might be the best liquid foundation I’ve used in years.
But…it’s $54. Read more…
THE CHANEL QUADRA
EYE SHADOW QUAD IN REGARD PERLE
Every girl remembers her first…Chanel eyeshadow quad. 🙂
Mine was Garden Party. Ah, Garden Party… Just saying the name brings back memories (and a warm, fuzzy feeling) of the first time I laid eyes on that mix of green, peach and pink.
I still love that quad so much that it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw promo pics of the new Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow quad in Regard Perle ($56). I was kindasorta hoping Perle would look more like it in person.
It’s not a Garden Party dupe, but I think it’s very pretty in its own right, particularly if you have a thing for glowy skin.
Each of its four soft powder shadows shine with a mirror-like finish that lights up eyelids when when they’re applied. Chanel channeled pearls this season — or rather the way skin glows when you’re wearing pearls — and here they got it spot on. The chai latte I had last night right before dinner screwed with my sleep, and it was evident all over my face this morning. But a few swipes of Regard Perle today, and my eyes looked visibly brighter and more awake. Read more…
THE LUSH SUGAR
PLUM FAIRY SCRUB
Look, over there — do you see it? The limited edition Sugar Plum Fairy Scrub ($4.95)? Isn’t it cute?
This heavenly creature is mostly made of sugar and spice and everything nice…like sodium bicarbonate (that’s baking soda, babe). It’s an exfoliating scrub scented with ylang-ylang (like a deep custard) and jasmine, and it leaves a light floral fragrance on my skin.
I took it into the shower with me last night, hoping it would smooth my bod — specifically the rough patches on my knees, heels and elbows.
The bar melts on contact with water, foaming into a lather with moderately rough scrubbing grains. I was hoping to get away with using half, or maybe a quarter of the bar, but it wasn’t in the mood for that once it got wet. Perhaps I could/should have broken it in half before the shower, just to be able to use it a second time. Read more…
THE NYX SOHO
GLAM COLLECTION
I was sitting in bed reading Stephen King’s Under the Dome the other night when it hit me. No, not the book, silly. 🙂 It occurred to me that I should get a tattoo of Tabs.
Don’t ask me why, because the book doesn’t have anything to do with cats, tattoos or cat tattoos, but since Tabs is my kitty BFF, and he comforts me whenever I get scared (like when I’m reading a Stephen King book), it makes a kind of weird sense.
I don’t have any tattoos right now, but most of my friends have ‘em. My brother’s covered in tats, but I haven’t gotten any mostly because 1) I’m not into pain, and 2) I’ve never really liked anything enough to permanently inscribe it on my body.
Except for Tabs (and maybe El Hub, but that’s just too cliche, LOL!).
I’m still mulling over the idea, and it’s not official yet. Knowing me I’ll probably chicken out. El Hub’s totally against it. He’s afraid a cat tattoo would only serve as a gateway tat, but not necessarily into more tattoos; he’s afraid my level of crazy cat lady-ness would escalate, and I can’t argue with that logic. Read more…
THE MAC CHAM
PALE COLLECTION
I would like to propose a toast, friends — my very first serious toast ever — and I think there’s something fitting about it being dedicated to makeup. If you’ll bear with me for a moment, please raise your glass, be it filled with bubbly, wine, water, chai latte or anything else, to the MAC Cham Pale collection, one of the most inspiring neutral releases this lass has seen this year.
Launching right after Christmas (Dec. 26), the limited edition collection is a relatively small one for MAC, with just 26 pieces for the face, eyes, cheeks, lips, nails and skin in prices ranging from $14-36.
As much as I love neutral colors like gray, beige and and peach, collections dominated by them run the risk of venturing into snooze territory, especially when the finishes are mostly matte. They may be practical as all getout, but matte beige and gray don’t exactly set the world on fire, ya know? Read more…
THE MAC STYLISHLY
YOURS COLLECTION
You don’t have to be a crazy cat lady (or a rotund tabby cat with a low-hanging belly) to appreciate a strong cat eye liner look with bold lips. It’s an enduring, timeless combination that looks great on almost everyone.
The new 19-piece MAC Stylishly Yours collection, a limited edition release for eyes, lips and face (pieces $14-22 each), embodies this tried-and-true classic in a modernized, 21st century way.
The collection purrs onto MAC counters, stores and maccosmetics.com on December 26 and stays put through January 11, 2011. Tabs, being the ho for brights that he is, can’t wait.
With Stylishly Yours, MAC offers fans fun, fast ways to give makeup looks a shot of dramatic color (without having to think too hard). Eyes in the look are kept simple, clean, and simultaneously dramatic with matte black and burgundy gel liner and mascara. Bright coral, pink, magenta, red and violet leap onto lips and cheeks in lipsticks, cream blushes (they double as lip colors, too!) and loose pigments with creamy and shimmery finishes. But that’s not all — two pink pressed highlighting powders imbue faces with a lovely soft sheen. Read more…
CHANEL BLACK PEARL
PEARL DROP AND PECHE NACREE NAIL POLISHES
Merry Christmas Eve-Eve! Christmas came early! I braved the mall today to peep the new Les Perles de Chanel spring collection up close and personal. Yup, to say “the mall was crowded” would be like saying “I like Chanel.” Duh.
I think the last time I was at a mall two days before Christmas was when my friend Jen and I both worked together at The Limited in 1994 (I hawked a lot of ugly purse wallets, yo). Ah, memories…
I couldn’t wait to see the three new limited edition Le Vernis Nail Colours — Black Pearl, Pearl Drop and Peche Nacree ($23 each). There’s been some serious brouhaha about ‘em, especially Black Pearl (is that Jack Sparrow?!), which has been hyped as Chanel’s next big thing.
Take a look, and let me know if you think they’re worthy of the buzz. 🙂 Read more…
CHANEL EXTRAIT DE
GLOSS IN GENIE
A few days ago I made a wish, and this week it came true. I wished for a new purse gloss, and it appears a genie was listening.
What’s a purse gloss, you ask? It’s a gloss that’s worthy of permanent residence in your purse. You keep it close for touch-ups and other beauty emergencies…like when you randomly run into your ex and his new lady love at the mall (she’s cute, but you’re cuter), or when a TV crew asks you for an impromptu sidewalk interview about hot dog street vendors (yep, that really happened).
With a tube of Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Genie ($32) in your purse, you’ll be tough to catch off guard. One of two Rouge Allure glosses in Chanel’s limited edition Le Perles de Chanel collection for spring 2011, it’s a shiny but wearable coral with golden micro glitter and comes in Chanel’s trademark Extrait de Gloss formula. Non-sticky, luscious, hydrating, and lacking any potentially bothersome scents or flavors, it’s ready for drama AND flexibility. With a four-hour wear time, it’s also designed to laaaast. Read more…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Nina says
so i was at the nordstrom website ordering my champale/stylishly yours stuff and i was soooo tempted to buy the chanel palette.
i resisted for now but im thinking ill cave in soon. 🙂
Karen says
Just do it already! When you see it in person I promise you that your resolve will weaken.
Nina says
i probly will cave in soon … im just resisting for now because ill be off most of next week and wont be there to receive the package (my mailing addy is my work addy) …. 😀
Dao says
I just ogled at the photos. Your photography skill is awesome! Also, Tabs looks so regal with the bow. I want to give him a big hug!
indoorkitty says
Our holiday traditions include juggling dinner dates between three sides of the family plus the extended relatives, staying quiet on the work email front as I’m on holiday and eating food from the east and west and in between! There’s naps, runs, weights and chatter to fill in any remaining gaps. Oooh and there’s the shopping. I had a run in with the Dior counter today. We both didn’t know how to say no to each other… *wink* Hope you and T-dawg are having a relaxing last weekend of 2010, wooooooo!