Just some crazy imagery to play with your mind this morning…
You know, there’s a reason why so many cosmetics counters are guarded by armored knights with vorpal swords these days. It’s because of the makeup monsters! Insiders tell me that they’ve really become a big problem for the brands.
You’ve heard about lipstick monsters, right? Well, they’re bad, but blush bashers are even worse! They’re distantly related to jabberwockies, very rare, and hell bent on bashing blush pans into rubble. Their sole purpose in life is to smash and crush blush. They’re just as obsessed with destroying blush as I am about wearing it.
If you happen to cross one in your beauty travels, keep your blush pans under wraps. Blush bashers are pretty harmless and kinda cute as long as they’re kept far, far away from blush.
THE BLUSH BASHER
FREQUENCY: Very Rare (thank goodness!)
SPEED: Slow
ARMOR CLASS: 8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: 5% critical hit against pans of blush
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (he just can’t help himself when it comes to blush)
SIZE: L (14′ tall)
So, it’s probably obvious by now, but I like to draw and blog about strange stuff on the weekends.
Hey, a girl’s gotta keep things interesting for herself, right? 🙂
A few beauty posts that caught my eye…
- Going Medieval on Yer Nail Art, Yo! — The Nailasaurus
- DIY Floral Party Hats — Oh Happy Day
- How To: A Katy Perry Inspired Sparkly Party Makeup Look — Beaut.ie
- 5 Crazy Intriguing Beauty Products (Think Tattooed Lips and Skin That Glows in the Dark) — Beauty Editor
- Nail Polish 101: Dealing With Stained Nails — College Fashion
- 5 Foolproof Ways To Wear Red Lipstick — Afrobella
- Recipes Illustrated by Artists from Around the World (I love this!) — They Draw & Cook
- Easy Holiday Makeup: How to Go From Day To Night — Bella Sugar
- A Gorgeous Look Starring YSL Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre in 110 Fuchsia Symbole — Glitter Geek
- A Red with the Power of Sunshine! Dior Vernis Merveille 651 (Holiday 2011 Les Rouges Or Collection) — Ã la peach
The Weekly Roundup: MBB Posts You Might Have Missed
$28 WORKS OUT TO HALF OFF PACIFICA’S
MAGIC CARPET RIDE
There’s no doubt about it: I’m slowly turning into my mother, and there are moments when it hits me, like after I’ve clipped a great coupon (score!) or cleaned the oven and felt an overwhelming sense of joy.
I had one of those moments the other day when I spotted the new Pacifica Magic Carpet Ride body butter set ($28).
Limited edition for the holidays, it comes with three of my favorite Pacifica scents. The first one, Island Vanilla, has a hint of tea and a grown-up twist. The second one, Indian Coconut Nectar, makes me hungry for warm vanilla cake with coconut frosting and dulce de leche drizzled on top (OH, GAWD!). Read more…
THIS YEAR FOR THE HOLIDAYS,
CLARINS GOT PASSIONATE (AND IT’S A SLOW BURN)
Packaging ho that I am, I always salivate thinking about look forward to seeing what Clarins cooks up for their holiday collections.
Remember the floral flourishes swirling across 2010′s Barocco release and the plaster and pebbled textures from 2009′s Palazzo d’Oro?
Mmm… luxuries limited edition designs. And seriously good stuff.
Since the brand usually displays dramatic flair with the packaging of their holiday collections, I was a little surprised by this year’s release. Passion, available now on Clarins counters and also online, has at least one opulent episode via the curvy red pattern decorating the Passion Face Palette ($55), but the other items in the four-piece collection look uncharacteristically streamlined and restrained. Read more…
CHANEL’S ROUGE ALLURE VELVET LUMINOUS MATTE LIP COLOURS
FEEL SO LIGHT THAT THEY DEFY GRAVITY!
I’ve only been snowboarding once, and it was a very long time ago. I don’t remember much about that day anymore, but I do recall the cold. I remember that much — the part about freezing my @ass off — and I also remember flying down the mountain and feeling lighter than air, with the wind whipping through my ponytail and my heart pounding in my chest.
I’d do it again if it wasn’t so cold, but what can I say? I was made in the tropics.
Snow wasn’t part of my original programming, but I think I was configured to appreciate featherweight lip products like the new Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colours ($32 each, available in eight shades). Read more…
IT TAKES ONE OR TWO TO TANGO WITH
BOBBI BROWN’S NEW CHOCOLATE & GOLD EYE PALETTE
Chocolate & Gold happens to be a great dance partner! The shadows, while fabulous on their own, get along great with others and flat-out love to be layered.
Which reminds me — do you remember the moment you realized that you could wear more than one eyeshadow on your lids at a time? Better yet, when you figured out that you could even layer those shades together?
GASP! That’s a moment that changed my makeup world forever.
Flash forward to today. I was just fooling around this morning when I applied the bronzy gold from the Chocolate & Gold Palette (at the top in the pic below) on top of the darker black and gold shadow on the right. Read more…
NARS UNSUNG HEROES
LOVEJOY BLUSH
Combined, some words are even greater than the sum of their parts. Take Nutella and doughnuts, for instance. Both tasty treats by themselves, for sure, but stick them together and BOOM!
Magic (super high-calorie magic).
I think the same principle also applies to NARS Lovejoy, a $27 powder blush from the NARS permanent line.
NARS Lovejoy does more than combine two — wait, three great words. It also combines two of my favorite products, blush and bronzer.
And seriously, with a name like Lovejoy, how could it have been anything but good? Read more…
SKINCARE FOR THE CHANGING SEASONS
5 HOME REMEDIES FOR PUFFY EYES
’round these parts, the holidays are all about the four F’s — food, fun, friends and family — but there’s a fifth F, a special holiday F, and it’s rarely talked about in polite company.
F-R-E-A-K-I-N-G OUT!
The holidays — gotta love ‘em. Don’t get me wrong: I cherish this time of year, but it does place demands on us that can leave us feeling stressed.
I always look forward to the family get-togethers. For the most part, everyone gets along, but every family has its moments. Having so many people with so much history all under the same roof can start to feel like a pressure cooker, and if someone ends up crying, it’s usually me.
There’s always a silver lining, though, even to tears. Now, I have a pretty decent arsenal of tips and tricks to deal with puffy eyes, and most of them can be done for little to no money using products you may already have around the house. Read more…
FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE CHINA GLAZE
EYE CANDY COLLECTION
Oops! I just misspelled my Google search term. I meant to type “YouTube kittens,” but I accidentally typed “Ryan Gosling abs.”
Don’t you hate it when that happens?
The Internet can be so distracting. It’s easy to get so busy Googling important things like Ryan’s abs that you miss the really important stuff, like all of the glittery nail polishes appearing this season.
The stuff’s been showing up everywhere! — but after a certain point, it all starts to blend together, like house music at a three-day rave (duh-chuh-duh-chuh-duh-chuh!).
No worries. Eye Candy, the latest collection from China Glaze, can simplify the process of finding a glitter polish that’s both flashy and classy. The six-piece collection was inspired by Marilyn Monroe and utilizes a special variety of glitter called GLITTER (in all caps). Read more…
I RECHARGED TODAY WITH A MAKE UP FOR EVER, MAC, NARS AND
CLARINS FACE OF THE DAY
Jeez, I swear, sometimes face paint is like chicken soup for my soul.
I was chugging along just fine this afternoon until about 3 p.m., and then…afternoon slump.
I’m not sure why or what happened — it might have something to do with the chilly weather — but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. All I wanted to do was take a nap, an activity which, by the way, Tabs wholeheartedly approved.
But instead of napping, I made myself another cup of tea and set about trying to do something new for my makeup.
After this face of the day, which I did using holiday fare from the Make Up For Ever Wild & Chic, MAC Glitter and Ice and Clarins Passion collections (with a dash from the NARS permanent line), I actually felt a whole lot better. Read more…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Nina says
time flies! i cant believe its almost turkey day!
Karen says
I know! Are you all prepped and ready to go?
I can’t WAIT to eat. 🙂
Nina says
im all done shopping! the cooking starts on tuesday night! :=)
DalaLuz says
The Blush Basher bit me thrice this month! Woe me…
Karen says
Booo! What did he destroy?
He hit my NARS Orgasm/Laguna duo, btw…
Karo says
Chanel <3 & NARS <3
🙂
Karen says
Yay! <3 <3
PinkGlitter says
I like that you add fun & interesting things to your blog like this! Most make me laugh, especially when Tabs is involved! Do you use photoshop or another program to make the fun graphics & photos?
I also wanted to say that I enjoy the links to other’s beauty blogs. In fact, I think your link was on someone else’s site and that’s how I discovered your blog!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 🙂
Vonvon says
Cute creature is the blush basher! 😉
Good thing I haven’t encountered any yet. Ok, may be once, together with a shadow eater as well! Brrr….scary!
Chris25 says
The only thing that can stop the Blush Basher is Ninja Bubble Wrap! 😛
Adrienne says
I am very familiar with these monsters, and let me tell you, they are tough to stop!
One creature, found lurking around department store counters, seems to often presents itself as a 40-something woman who just had lunch drinks with her friends. More frequently seen than the blush basher, this monster is the Eyeshadow Smusher. “oh here, let me jab my finger into this eyeshadow pan like I’m digging for gold… Oh man it crumbled, oh well no biggie, I’ll walk away like I didn’t see it…oh look, a mirror! I’ll apply some smushed eyeshadow in my crease with my finger for my nighttime disguise, that will look great!”
*sigh*
Rest in peace, super-soft shadows in Lancôme eye brightening 5-shadow palettes, rest in peace.
peach_ says
You drew the little guy? He’s so cute and I like his arm tattoo! His stats make my inner geek giggle. 😀 And thanks for reading and linking my Merveille post, Karen!
Arianne says
Thanks for the link love Karen! 🙂 Scherbie send warmth, purrs, and tuna breath. Ha!
Sadly, I’ve met the Blush Basher before. My poor pan of MAC Cantaloupe pro blush. *wipes tear*
Arianne says
Thanks for the link love Karen! 🙂 Scherbie sends warmth, purrs, and tuna breath. Ha!
Sadly, I’ve met the Blush Basher before. My poor pan of MAC Cantaloupe pro blush. *wipes tear*