The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

It’s Oscar night, yo! And I’m so excited this year because Tabs was nominated in TWO different categories — the Best Supporting Cat Actor category for his performance in Tabs Story 3, and then also in the Best Makeup category (of course) for his work on The Fighter. A lot of people don’t know this, but it was Tabs and his wicked blending who really made Christian Bale look like he lost all that weight.

Are you gonna watch the show? I have to because of Tabs (I feel like a proud stage mom!), but I also want to see how co-hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco do. They’ll be the first-ever female/male Oscar hosting duo, and it’s also unusual for a host to be one of the nominees as Franco is up for Best Actor for 127 Hours.

Before the festivities begin, here’s one last look back at a few of the things we talked about this week in the lovely worlds of makeup and beauty. 🙂

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

BOBBI BROWN + TIBI
PEONY & PYTHON COLLECTION PUTS THE SQUEEZE ON PURPLE AND PINK

One day last year during a trip to the Philippines my parents trekked deep into the heart of the jungle on a tour to see a massive python (their idea of a good time), but when they finally located the legendary beast, it turned out to be so desensitized to tourists that it practically posed for the cameras.

When they returned home to California and showed me the pictures, I still couldn’t bear to look at them without shivering. You see, I’m one of those girls averse to creepy crawly things…even tame ones that work in the tourism industry. Read more…

DO OUI LOVE ESSIE AND THE
ESSIE SPRING 2011 FRENCH AFFAIR COLLECTION?

The one time I visited France was part of a whirlwind European vacation with El Hub before we got married, and we rode the rails to get around, hustling from train station to train station in performance fleece and flannel.

I must have looked more like a hobo than a fashionable girl, burdened by the weight of my big red backpack, as I passed perfectly put-together French women on the streets, them with their scarves and perfume; me with my maps and dirty laundry.

I tried to soak up as much proximity glamor as possible, a feat I believe is also possible by osmosis, even though there’s very little (read: no) scientific evidence to back it up. (Persnickety science fun fact: technically it would probably be glamor through diffusion, not osmosis, since osmosis refers specifically to the movement of water molecules from a higher to lower concentration through a semi-permeable membrane.) Read more…

MAC UNSUNG HEROES:
SUBCULTURE LIP PENCIL
Colleges could teach courses in ways to pair MAC Subculture Lip Pencil ($13). Seriously, I wear this warm rosy nude with practically everything. EVERY. FRICKIN’. THING. I use it so much that I’ve gone through about four sticks of it over the past few years. It’s a regular Ms. Versatility, boo, and if you two haven’t met, it’s high time ya did.

Many gals, myself included, feel that Subculture’s color matches the natural color of their lips perfectly, which, I know, seems counterintuitive. I mean, why buy a lip pencil in the same shade as your lips?

Well, for the definition, doll. 🙂 I use this creamy, long-wearing, non-feathering pencil to define my pucker with crisp edges when I wear lipsticks and/or gloss, and I also think my lips look smoother and plumper with it on. Read more…

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN WITH THE
MAC JEANIUS COLLECTION

OH, what I wouldn’t give to be able to fit into my acid wash Guess overalls from seventh grade. I’d wear them to the MAC counter on March 3 (with one strap up and one down, of course) to welcome the limited edition MAC Jeanius Collection. 🙂

To any and all denim angels listening, please take pity on my 35-year-old bum. It longs to fit into a pair of size 7 juniors pants.

I’m pretty stoked about MAC’s 16-piece denim-themed collection for eyes, lips, cheeks and nails, even if we’ve seen similar themes like it before. Read more…

THE BENEFIT B.RIGHT SKIN CARE
LINE LAUNCHES APRIL 2011

Hi, cutie! I’m live blogging from the Benefit headquarters in San Francisco and just wanted to give you a quick sneak peek at what’s coming down the pipe from Benefit — a new skin care collection launching in April called B. Right. The eight-piece collection, which focuses on hydration and brightening, is designed to work hand in hand with Benefit’s makeup.

The products are designed to work quickly and easily, with prices ranging from $21-38. Expect to see cleansers, a toner, an eye makeup remover, an exfoliator, an eye cream and face moisturizers. Read more…

I’M NUTS OVER PACIFICA INDIAN
COCONUT NECTAR BODY BUTTER

I can’t decide whether to praise or curse (a pox upon thee!) those little bins by the register at Sephora, with all their last-minute impulse purchase temptations… Last Saturday, after I’d already found what I’d gone into the store to get, I was in the checkout line when one of those blasted bins acquired the power of speech!

“Karen,” it whispered. “Over here, by the register.”

Of course, I had to look. I saw these little 2.5-oz bottles of Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter for $5. I grabbed one and took a quick sniff.

I love the scent, which Pacifica describes as a warm coconut vanilla, but I get more of a warm vanilla cake with coconut frosting and a light drizzling of dulce de leche on top. In other words, YUM! I’ve come damn close to gnawing off my arm Donner party-style, and each time I’ve worn it I swear I’ve craved cupcakes. Read more…

HAUTE STUFF COMING THROUGH!
THE NEW GIVENCHY NAIVEMENT COUTURE COLLECTION FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2011

Merci beaucoup, Givenchy. Today your 10-piece Naivement Couture Collection for spring/summer 2011 let me momentarily forget about winter and the aching chill in my booty bones.

I may have even developed a fever in Sephora while swatching Naivement’s palette of sun-kissed pink, orange and gold, because I had a hallucination, fo’ reals!

At one point an eye palette in my hand turned into a tube of sunscreen right before my eyes (wha!?). When I looked up, I was standing on a warm beach at sunset. There was a bucket of beer at my feet and a man standing beside it. The man was James Franco. “Where’d you run off to, babe?” he said, and I answered, “Sephora?” I turned my head to see where I’d come from, but when I turned it back, James and the beach were gone. Read more…

THESE $7 BURT’S BEES TINTED LIP
BALMS ARE THE BEE’S KNEES

Burt sure keeps his bees busy! Their latest creation, a concoction of 100% natural ingredients, gives a soothing sheer tint to lips.

Available in six sheer shades ranging from pink to red to neutral, these Tinted Lip Balms ($7 each) moisturize and nourish lips with soft flower waxes, shea butter and added vitamin E.

The ones I’ve been wearing lately are peachy Tiger Lily and Pink Blossom. Both feel smooth, light and non-sticky on my lips, and I dig their light, sweet raspberry flavor and scent.

Like all of Burt’s products, the Tinted Lip Balms proudly display (well, they could) the official Tabs Stamp of Approval, since they’re cruelty-free and were developed without being tested on animals. Read more…

MAC SHEEN SUPREME LIPSTICK
SWATCHES AND PRODUCT PHOTOS

Whew! It’s been a full on MAC swatch fest here at Casa MBB today. 🙂 Here’s the last of the bunch — six of the 14 new MAC Sheen Supreme Lipsticks ($14.50 each). Smooth, creamy, and with a light vanilla scent and flavor, these new lippes feel a lot like the discontinued MAC Slimshines. Expect to see the Sheen Supremes kissing lips at MAC stores and counters on March 3. Read more…

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT
CHANGING YOUR HAIR COLOR?

I’ve changed my hair color so many times over the years that I’m not even sure what my natural hair color is anymore (I just know it contains some gray). Yes, despite all the many things I fear about our world — underground caverns, the coming zombie apocalypse, submarines, and earthworms come to mind — I’m downright courageous when it comes to the color of my coif.

Senior year in college, I wore it mahogany brown with a single blonde streak in the bangs, which I kept long, swept to the side and always, ALWAYS tucked behind my left ear. After graduation, hoping it would make me look older and more responsible, I trekked up and down San Francisco’s steep hills with long, jet black hair flowing behind me. A few years later, after a gut-wrenching breakup, I entered my red phase, hacking my hair into a short bob and adding angry vermillion streaks. And when I felt I’d finally moved on, so did my hair, which morphed into an optimistic fawn brown with sunny golden streaks. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen