Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, July 27

July 27th, 2008 by Karen 24 Comments

Reiss Online
I wish I could get my entire wardrobe at Reiss. A British chain store with nine stores in the United States, Reiss’ clothing evokes Jackie-O elegance — simple, modern, yet classic pieces with personality. Shopping there will put a serious dent in your wallet (many of their skirts, coats and dresses cost upwards of $200), but damn, baby, you’ll sure look good!

Spectra Visual Newsreader | msnbc.com
For all you visual learners out there (like moi), the Spectra Visual Newsreader might tickle your fancy. It’s a colorful, new way to read the news. News topics and headlines are represented by a range of rotating blocks of color. How cool is that?

COLOURlovers
If you need quick inspiration for a makeup look or design project (or even painting the walls at home), just head over to COLOURlovers. I could spend hours surfing the bajillion color patterns and palettes on the site and thinking of all the lid, crease and brow bone possibilities.

Now Smell This
I’ve learned a lot about perfume and fragrances reading the Now Smell This blog. With posts written by several contributors, the site covers breaking perfume news along with in-depth scent reviews.

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Save Big Bucks on Stila and Smashbox at Costco

July 26th, 2008 by Karen 57 Comments

After that free Chanel makeup class wrapped up this afternoon (soooo fun — a post with deets on how you, too, can attend one to follow shortly), I stopped by Costco and browsed the bulk beauty aisle while El Hub stared hypnotized at the store’s giant row of HD TVs.

I found some really great deals!

Seriously, I nearly fainted when I saw this cute limited edition Stila set called Brown Look ’08. For $18.99 you get one palette with four full-size pans of color coordinated shadows (brown, wine, peach and khaki), the #5 All Over Shadow Brush, the #9 All Over Blending Brush and one .18-oz tube of Major Lash Mascara in Black.

The exact same set sells for $40 on the Stila website (and it’s currently out of stock, to boot). Um, can you say hella cool bargain?

I wasn’t quite as psyched about the second bargain I found but figured hard core Smashbox fans might appreciate knowing it’s there. $20 ($19.99) gets ya nine Smashbox items: Picture Perfect Eyeshadow Quad; a sample of Photo Finish Primer; three mini lipglosses in Pout, Fame and Glitz; Skintint in Radiance; a mini Lash Primer; That’s a Wrap mascara in Black and a cute, pink mirrored mini lipgloss case.

For $20, whoa!
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Rainkissed Leaves Takes Me Back: Bath and Body Works Rainkissed Leaves

July 26th, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

G’morning! 🙂

Yawn, I’m a little sleepy this morning. I got in late last night after seeing Sex and the City with my homegirl, Cindy. I’d already seen it once before, but I wanted to catch it again and promised Cindy I’d see it with her.

I kinda like revisiting movies and books; seems like I pick up on things I missed the first time around, like the first time I saw the movie I didn’t notice the wide, studded black belt Carrie wears to go apartment shopping with Big. Unless my mind was playing tricks on me (a frequent occurrence, I might add) that belt reappears in a number of Carrie’s outfits throughout the film.

Shalamar got it right when they sang the second time around.

Speaking of the second time around, I had serious fragrance deja vu yesterday with the new Rainkissed Leaves by Bath & Body Works. It reminds me of the smell of fresh cut flower stems, crushed leaves and soap and brought images of freshly cut suburban lawns to mind. Crazy as it sounds, I love it!

It’s a very “green” scent and bears a striking resemblance to my favorite Bath & Body Works fragrance of all time, Green Clover and Aloe. If you like fresh, green fragrances, you gotta check this out!

After my run yesterday afternoon, I washed with the shower gel (on sale now at B&BW for $6!), following it up with the Body Lotion ($10) and Body Splash ($11).

I didn’t want to stink up the theater, you know.

Oh, snap! I just realized I have to leave the house in 15 minutes to attend a free Chanel makeup instruction class at my local Macy’s store, and I am still in my pajamas. I recently heard about the class and wanted to check it out. I’ll report my findings later.

What are your plans for today? Is the weather nice in your neck of the woods?

Be back in a few! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

YOU MUST CHOOSE: Friday Randomness

July 25th, 2008 by Karen 30 Comments

Would you rather have a forked tongue or very long, skinny, pointed teeth? YOU MUST CHOOSE!

Would you rather have to live six months without toilet paper or six months without a toothbrush (yes, this includes Sonicare)? YOU MUST CHOOSE!

Would you rather spend an entire night dancing to Prince songs or dancing to Michael Jackson songs?YOU MUST CHOOSE!

Would you rather be forced to endure every single episode of American Gladiators (those girl gladiators are no joke) or every episode of Shot at Love with Tila Tequila? YOU MUST CHOOSE!

You’re on a date with a really cute guy (a boy you like A LOT). Unfortunately, you’re out of antacids and you have terrible gas. Would you rather pass silent but deadly gas every 15 minutes (you could always blame it on the waiter) or let out dainty burps that smell like sausage and onions? YOU MUST CHOOSE!

You’re trapped in an 80s music video. Which one is it? YOU MUST CHOOSE!

You get an urgent phone call. It’s Beyonce. She wants to know if she can wear your favorite pair of high heels to the Grammy Awards, but she still hasn’t returned the Juicy Couture terry cloth track suit you let her borrow in 2002. Do you loan her the shoes? YOU MUST CHOOSE!

Keanu Reeves circa Speed or Tom Cruise circa Top Gun? YOU MUST CHOOSE!

Wow, lucky you! You’re getting a live performer for your wedding reception; unfortunately, it must either be Bobby Brown or Jodeci. YOU MUST CHOOSE!

LOLOLZ… I think I’d have to go with Jodeci (I’ve left the rest of my answers in the comments).

You can play too. Just copy this list and add your answers. 🙂

YMC 1: Forked tongue or pointed teeth?

YMC 2: Toilet paper or toothbrush?

YMC 3: Prince songs or Michael Jackson?

YMC 4: American Gladiators or Shot at Love?

YMC 5: Silent but deadly or dainty burps?

YMC 6: 80s music video?

YMC 7: Yes or no to Beyonce?

YMC 8: Keanu or Tom?

YMC 9: Bobby Brown or Jodeci?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Live Nude Gloss! Nars Supervixen Lipgloss

July 25th, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

nars-supervixen-lips-2

Anyone else like the phrase “nude lips”? It gets thrown around a lot in beauty circles and refers to shades of lipstick or lipgloss that produce a pale or natural look, which is ironic considering how a truly nude lip would be one not wearing anything at all!

But where’s the fun in that?

I can’t tell you how many times I fell in love with lip products based on how they looked in the tube, only to find them failing miserably on my lips. The wrong pale lip can leave you looking like an undead graveyard extra on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so when I do find nude shades that I feel actually work well for me, it’s my beauty duty to shout it from the rafters! My newest find — Nars Supervixen Lipgloss ($24).

nars-supervixen

A single coat applied directly with the included doe-foot applicator intensifies my natural lip color. If I were starring in a movie, this is how I’d want my lips to look in my closeups, with hair perfectly tousled, of course, and C. Bale feeding me croissants and coffee in bed (assuming he wasn’t being mean to his mum, oh gawd).

nars-supervixen-closeup

Not as sticky as MAC Lipglasses or Chanel Glossimers, Supervixen feels light on the lips and doesn’t have a noticeable flavor or smell. It lasts about three hours on my lips, which is a pretty average wear time for a thin gloss.
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