Karen

Makeup Mania Strikes Neiman Marcus Beauty Event

February 22nd, 2008 by Karen 35 Comments

Today I suffered a debilitating case of makeup buying indecision at the Neiman Marcus Beauty Event, a national event (in-store and online) in which visitors to Neiman Marcus stores who purchase $100 in beauty or fragrance products through March 2 receive a batch of six sample products along with their choice of tote bags in hot pink, teal or neon green.

Cute bag, yah? I entered the San Francisco Union Square store on a mission. I cruised the beauty department with my homegirl Jo-money, scoping out spring products from both Nars and Laura Mercier, but I couldn’t decide what to get.

I love both lines, but today I was caught between NARS Shanghi Lily and Laura Mercier Seduction. I knew I couldn’t get everything I wanted, but instead of actually getting anything, I ended up snapping pictures, assuming that as the day wore on I’d choose from one collection or the other.

I went to lunch thinking food might help (hey, it always does) and took a long walk down Market Street in SF, but the answer never came to me. I couldn’t decide between the two collections and went home empty handed. 🙁

Yeah, I know I should have just chosen a few products from each line, but I have until March 2 to make up my mind. Laura? Nars? BOTH? *Wallet throbs* HELP! What should I do?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Bright Blushes, Fan Brushes: Shu Uemura 7.5EX Brush Makes Color Easy

February 21st, 2008 by Karen 37 Comments

Anyone else terrified by goats? I know I can’t be the only one. They’ve got those creepy horizontal pupils that look ready to teleport you across the River Styx, and at the petting zoo they’re always really naughty; they walk right up and try to snatch the food from my hands or chew on my t-shirt or shoelaces.

Anti-goat bias initially made me reluctant to give the Shu Uemura 7.5EX brush ($35) much love. The word “goat” (strike one) is etched into the brush’s handle, and the white, fan-shaped brush head is made from — you guessed it — goat hair (strike two). I’m glad I was able to overlook my problem with goats, though, because the 7.5EX deserves love.

MAC Fafi Fashion Frenzy blush on the left, Hipness Blush on the right

Soft and luxurious, the bristles of Shu’s 7.5EX brush feel nothing like the dirty, coarse hair of goats at the petting zoo. The Shu Uemura Web site describes the 7.5EX brush as having a “light” touch, meaning that when you use it to apply powders, the color applies sheer, not intense. Not just for blush, this InStyle Best of Beauty Buy can also be used to blend or to dust away loose powder.

This morning I was in a hurry but wanted to wear a bright blue-pink blush. I know from experience that if I rush while using a regular blush brush, I end up with scary-clown-who-haunts-children’s-nightmares cheeks, so I grabbed the 7.5EX brush instead.

Wearing a big, goofy smile (the goofy part is key!), I applied MAC Fafi’s Fashion Frenzy to the apples of my cheeks, lightly drawing color upward at an angle toward my ears. With just a few swipes my cheeks looked pinched and flushed. I can’t wait to use this brush with my other bright cheek shades, MAC’s Dollymix (hot pink) and Frankly Scarlet (bright red).

If you have a few bright blushes in your color collection that you don’t use enough, give them another try with the 7.5EX, a brush designed for powdered products. Blush newbies who have a tendency to use too much color might dig it too because its fanned bristles make it almost impossible to over-apply color.

Don’t be afraid to go bold with your blush colors. With the 7.5EX in your arsenal, go forth and be bright!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Gimme, Gimme Rice, aka I Hate P.F. Chang’s

February 21st, 2008 by Karen 23 Comments

I didn’t think it was possible before last night, but apparently a venue does exist that I hate even more than the dreaded Container Store, and its name is P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

P.F. Chang’s is a chain of Chinese restaurants. We have one here in Marin. You can’t miss ’em because out front they hang a red neon sign beside a life-size stone statue of a Medieval Chinese warrior’s horse. Not the warrior, just the horse. The horse stares your ass down when you enter the restaurant. It’s kinda freaky but in a cool way.

I went there for dinner last night to celebrate the blog’s birthday (before the party =), and I was soooo excited to go because a friend recommended the place, saying the food and service were great.

I worked on my cardio before dinner, so I was starving when I got to the restaurant and extra excited when the waiter warned me of their “huge, family style portions.” BRING IT, said my tummy.

Twenty minutes later, the friendly waiter brought out our food. Sadly, the portions were … not huge. There was barely enough to feed my right thigh! The kicker happened when he set down a teeny, tiny bowl of white rice in front of me — seriously, the little scoop of rice was the size of my eyeball. I wanted to say, “Um… sir, what am I supposed to do with this?” How do you stiff someone on rice at a Chinese restaurant?! It goes against all laws of nature.

I’d like to give P.F. Chang’s the benefit of the doubt in this catastrophe. Maybe last night was an exception. Perhaps they were running low on rice and had to cut back. I don’t know, but as far as blog birthday dinners go, that dinner so did not count! I think I’ll have to go to at least two more celebratory dinners to ease the pain. 🙂

What did you do before the blog’s birthday party last night? I hope it involved adequate amounts of rice, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup Inspiration: MAC Fafi Fun ‘n’ Sexy Lipstick, Pink Lilies

February 21st, 2008 by Karen 50 Comments

What kinds of things inspire your makeup looks? I get a lot of my ideas for looks from magazines, other beauty blogs and books, but some of my favorite looks are based upon things in nature, especially flowers. I’m a sucker for flowers.

Can you spot the mini calla lilies in my wedding bouquet?

Pretty, yah? I love all flowers, but lilies are my favorite, so whenever El Hub gets me flowers, he always throws in a lily or two for good measure. Last week’s Valentine’s bouquet contained a handful of pink stargazer lilies.

I still have the bouquet in my bedroom. When I awoke and saw them this morning, I decided I wanted to wear a lip color today that reminded me of pink lilies! I grabbed two hot pink cuties from the MAC Fafi collection — Fun ‘n’ Sexy lipstick ($14) and Cult Fave lipgloss ($14) — and went to work building my look for today.

Fun ‘n’ Sexy lipstick reminds me of the bright pink Wet n’ Wild lipsticks I wore as a teenager, ha!

Here’s the pink stargazer inspired result…

To get this look, I first lined my lips with MAC’s Pink Treat Cremestick Liner and then applied two coats of Fun ‘n’ Sexy with a MAC 316 lip brush. I topped it off with a layer of Cult Fave applied directly from the lip gloss applicator.

It’s raining here in San Francisco today, but this pink lip combo puts a little springtime pep in my step. A girl can never have enough pink lip combos, right? What’s your favorite?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen