Boop-oop-a-doop!
OK…that’s all I know about Betty Boop, LOL! 🙂 I just never went through a Betty Boop phase, but I did envy her skinny brows somethin’ fierce in the ’90s.
That, and her signature red pout was/is perfection. It inspired MAC’s sassy new Betty Boop Lipstick, which comes to town on Valentine’s Day for $17. It’s an opaque bright red online exclusive, and it looks a little like MAC Red Lipstick. ?
Ya know, I’ve really been into MAC mattes lately. I think they totally stepped up their game in terms of their matte lipstick formula, and even though my lips are ragged as hell in this pic (I’ve got flakes for days), you can’t really see them. The lipstick lounges magically on my lips without hugging any flaky bits, and it avoids my vertical lip lines, too.
Is it just me, or does this finish have a lazy luster? It’s isn’t completely flat, is it? There’s a subtle shine up in the mix… I think. Hard to say. I like it, though. It keeps things interesting.
I love this color, but gosh, MAC, couldn’t you have done a little something with the packaging? I mean, come on. It’s Betty Boop! Sure, the box is cute, but what about the tube?
Missed opportunity.
If you rock reds with a slight blue hue a la MAC Russian Red, I bet you’ll love ? MAC Betty Boop. Check it out on the MAC website (remember, online exclusive) February 14th through March 31st.
Buttons and hems
OH! So you know how I’m going to my HIIT classes at night now, right? Well, it’s been kind of weird, because I got to know the people I was in the morning class with, but I don’t know anyone in the night class yet.
You know how you get to know people after you’ve sweat with them for a few months. You develop a sense of camaraderie, but it was kind of weird sweating in a room filled with people I don’t know…
OK, yeah, I know that sounds strange.
Anyway, I tried to get myself to socialize, so I was chatting with a lady who told me that she belongs to a sewing group, and she said that their project this week was a makeup bag.
“Makeup?!” I asked. You said the magic word, girl. LOL! 🙂
They meet every day, sew together and hang out. Isn’t that cool?
I have no idea how to sew, but I’ve always wanted to learn how. When I was 14, I asked for a sewing machine for my birthday, and I got it. Of course, I never figured out what to do with it, so I got tired of it in about two months. I’d load the thread, and stitch random pieces of fabric together, LOL!
In retrospect, I wish I’d done more with it. I still have Project Runway dreams of sewing my own clothes.
Do you know how to sew? I can probably manage a button and maybe an emergency hem, but that’s it.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Jennifer says
Oh Karen, I wish you hadn’t said the S word.
I have such bad memories of having to sew for my high school home ec class. I made a really bad pair of Hawaiian board shorts, which fit but looked ridiculous because I had no idea what I was doing and it was incredibly painful because I really didn’t like sewing and had zero patience.
I haven’t sewn since. Nor do I plan to. However, I have all the sudden started collecting vintage embroidered napkins. Not sure what’s up with that other than I need lots of props for food and drink photos.
Love the red lip. But I agree with you on the packaging. Betty Boop deserves a bit of outre or something.
Fran says
Cute new lipstick! However, I recently got MAC Candy Cane lipstick, and it’s a great red for me, plus two other new red lipsticks, MAC Jasper and Make Up For Ever Acrylip in Raspberry Red, also great for me, after getting that set of mini reds MAC put out for the holidays, so I’m covered for now! (Of course I still want the Hourglass Girl lip stylo in Icon, though… )
I totally agree with you about MAC having improved their matte lipstick formula. I love the color of Stone, but it always felt a little uncomfortable/drying on my lips, and the finish was really flat (which is what matte is supposed to be, I guess, but not really my favorite thing). The newer mattes that I have from MAC (Candy Cane, and now several of the Rocker Chick unconventional shades) are *so* much more comfortable! They’re easy to apply and wear, even in bright or crazy colors. And the finish is less flat matte. Sometimes there’s a hint of shine. Which might bother some people, but I figure that’s what those ultra-matte liquid lipsticks are for.
And I’ve resumed knitting (stopped temporarily due to school and subsequent exhaustion) and seriously thinking of taking up sewing again. I used to sew a lot of my own clothes when I was a teen, including two prom dresses for myself and a flower girl dress for my younger sister when she was in a family wedding. I gave it up in my late twenties when it became more expensive to sew clothes than it was to buy them. That’s right! The cost of pattern, fabric, zippers, etc. started adding up to a lot more than the lower-priced clothing that was hitting the stores.
But now I long for clothes that really fit me. Which means I would need to take my sewing to the next level, get a dress form and learn how to use it to make muslins and alter patterns. It’s a lot of work, and takes a lot of time! And I’m mostly self-taught; when I was eleven, I sat down with a pattern, some fabric, and the sewing machine my mother inherited from her mother, and tried to make sense of it all. When I got stuck, I would call my friend’s mother and try to explain over the phone what my problem was. I’m actually amazed at my own persistence. Sometimes I think we have a lot more persistence in learning things when we’re children! But now there’s a place in Philly called Butcher’s Sew Shop where I could enroll in a class… I only know about it because it’s next door to a yarn shop I go to. The biggest obstacle is clearing out some space to work here, and taking my sewing machine in to either get it tuned up or decide to get a new one.
But it sounds like these women may be doing hand sewing. That’s more conducive to sewing in a group. Lots of knitters get together like that — it’s really fun, everyone helps each other learn and is very supportive 🙂 And I think it’s much less intimidating to start out with hand sewing small items like makeup bags than to jump straight to making fitted garments using a machine. There’s a whole movement for slow clothing, like there is for slow food. I think you might enjoy it, Karen. I find it easier to make new friends in a setting where we’re all working on a common interest. I’ve met some of my best new friends in informal knitting groups 🙂
Sarahc says
I don’t know Betty Boop beyond tattoo parlors, but I love this color! It’s rich and sweet at the same time.
Jane says
Betty Boop does bring back memories. I love the red lip. I am always tempted to try it, but then I think for what?
Anyway, I haven’t followed your blog in a week. It has been a very sad week here at Chez Lemberg. My father-in-law died Sunday morning from a heart attack. He was 86 years old, in great shape and very active. It has been a shock. His funeral was Tuesday and we have been observing shiva at my mother-in-law’s house. To add to that Zack had a stomach bug on Wednesday, we had a bad snow storm on Thursday and I got the bug yesterday. I think we all have recovered.
I will say that, if I can sound petty, I have been liking my minimalist makeup look. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a waterproof mascara, so I went sans. No big deal.
Be well.
Carolina Braina says
Ooooh, what a beautiful red!
I wish I knew how to sew, but I don’t. My grandma was amazing at it! She used to make incredible clothes and I was in awe of her talent.
I hope you’re having a nice weekend, Karen!
Annabelle says
This is so cute! And such a lovely colour!
x Annabelle
travelsandtea.com
Erin says
I can sew but I’m better at embroidery. My husband is the sewer in our house. He has two little kits and he’s not bad at it, so I let him have it.
Chelsea says
I used to be a decent seamstress. My grandma was one, and I spent sooo many weekends at her house making things – dresses, stuffed animals, lots of different things. I knitted too! I made a pair of socks for my dad a long time ago.
My hands are shaky now because of a medication I take but I might try knitting again. I never learned how to crochet because my grandma didn’t know how, LOL.
MelodyJ says
I love the new Mac Betty bop color. I wonder what character they will do next.
My grandma sewed and quilted. My mom wants to get back into sewing. I want to learn to sew. I actually have a second hand sewing machine from when I was teen. I just cleaned it up this week. I like an early poster had a bad high school sewing experience. The teacher only helped the kids who already knew how to sew.
I can knit and crochet. I really want sew now. Check at Craftster, Pattern Review, Burda Style and Tilly and the Buttons blog to start. McCalls patterns has a pattern series called Learn to Sew for Fun. Keep us updated if you decide to sew.
Eleni says
Betty Boop lipstick! Love the idea <3!
Rachel R says
I love Betty Boop, but I agree that MAC should have done something with the packaging. It seems like MAC misses out on great packaging opportunities an awful lot. 🙁 Don’t they know we nerdy fans would pay an extra buck or two for it?
I never really learned to sew very well. I can knit, crochet, and embroider, though.
Angie says
Its 2/14 and its not available yet ……why mac why
Erin says
I haven’t found a red I loved since the Dita Von Teese lipstick.
I was extremely extremely disappointed about the chinese new year collection not having bullets like the packaging, sad about this one too. I may get this because that does look like an awesome shade of red.