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halloween

Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas: A Fall Fairy Using the MAC Rick Baker and Divine Night Collections

October 24th, 2013 by Karen 30 Comments

MAC Rick Baker Autumn Leaves Look

My inspiration for this Halloween look was a fall fairy prancing home through a damp, leaf-covered forest floor early in the morning after an all-night dance party with her fairy friends.

To really sell the fairy angle better, I even got some elfin ears, but, uh, getting those suckers to peek through when your hair is teased out “to here” and there are leaves and berries all over the place is really hard!

Hey, man. I tried.

My goals for this look were to…

  • Make my skin look both muddy and shimmery, like I’d been prancing around in wet leaves. I figured that fairies partying all night long in the forest would tend to get a little dirty, but being magical creatures, they’d still retain their elfin glow.
  • Wear fall leaves in some big-@ss hair
  • Wear autumnal colors on my eyes
  • Freak out my neighbors — because that’s how I roll 🙂

It’s weird, but I think that even with the dirty skin, the look still ended up kind of bridal/Victoria’s Secret.

MAC Rick Baker Autumn Leaves Look

Too bad about the elf ears, because I think they would have taken the look to the next level.

If you’re on the market for Halloween makeup-based ideas, this one was actually pretty easy to achieve, as far as the makeup goes.

The (muddy) skin

MAC Rick Baker Autumn Leaves Look

Even though I wanted my skin to look dirty, I still started with my regular foundation, MAC Face and Body, to smooth everything out.

Next, for the muddy/glowy effect, I mixed MAC Monster FX Tinted Mixing Medium in Dirt from the Rick Baker collection ($22) with shimmery MAC Old Gold Pigment ($21), and then stippled that randomly around my face, neck, shoulders and arms with a MAC 159 Duo Fibre Brush (although any skunk brush should do).

When it was dry, to create sort of an earthy feel, I contoured my face with MAC Give Me Sun Bronzer.

Then, because I really wanted a noticeable glow, I highlighted my cheeks, nose and cupid’s bow with a bronze highlighter, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Perfectly Poised ($33), from the new Divine Night holiday collection.

The big-@ss hair

MAC Rick Baker Autumn Leaves Look

Today marked three days since my last shampoo/conditioner session, which I did because I wanted my mop to actually look a little dirty and “lived in.” I think that made it easier to go bigger with the hair.

I also used hot rollers yesterday, so I had some leftover curls.

To lift my roots and boost volume, I applied a dry shampoo to the roots and teased the top layers, then sprayed hairspray all over everything to keep it big.

Next, the leaves and berries, which I snipped from a couple of plastic garland strands I got from Joann (on sale for $4!), and tied them into pieces of my hair with some brown paper jewelry cord ($3), also from Joann.

The autumnal eyes and lips

MAC Rick Baker Autumn Leaves Look

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There are 30 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Just For Fun, MAC Makeup Keywords: halloween

Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas: Disco Queen

October 30th, 2012 by Karen 48 Comments

last minute halloween ideas: disco queen

When that brief moment of pause hits as you’re about to push the “order” button on that sequined, sleeveless black jumpsuit, and you think to yourself, “Really, will I ever have a reason to wear this crazy contraption?!” — IGNORE IT.

You just never know when you’ll get the urge to look like Blanche Marie Elizabeth Hollingsworth Devereaux. Or when you’ll need something to wear with your last-minute Disco Queen Halloween costume.

last minute halloween ideas: disco queen
Keep on dancin’!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love disco? Yes, my fellow Dancing Queen, I like to Let It Whip to Brick House!! You could’ve done The Hustle to half the songs played at my wedding, fo’ reals!

So when I found this plastic “Disco” necklace at Party City last week (just a few feet from the Sexy Clown costume), it beckoned me to bring it home.

zoya ziv
I’m wearing two coats of Zoya Ziv on my nails, but you could easily get away with just one

#catlady moment: I kindasorta wish I had a kitty-size one to put on Tabs, so we could match. Oh, wait…

disco tabby
He’s mighty, mighty…just lettin’ it all hang out!

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There are 48 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Face of the Day (FOTD), Just For Fun, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Nails Keywords: halloween

Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas: Katy Perry

October 26th, 2012 by Karen 30 Comments

katy perry costume

Dude, anything can be sexy these days.

No, no, no, no, no, no. Not gonna happen. Don’t even try to rationalize it.

But —

No! I said no, as in no. And I meant it. I absolutely, positively forbid you from dressing up as a sexy clown for Halloween.

Okay, fine. Then how about Katy Perry?

Sure! That’ll do! 🙂

I promise — this last-minute costume didn’t start out as another ode to crazy cat ladies, but we all know how Katy luvs teh kittehs.

Doopdadoo, there I was, browsing the aisles at Party City last weekend, when I spotted this blue wig and thought, “Hmm…” One glittery microphone, a sparkly party dress and loads of liner later, badabing, badabang! — Ms. Teenage Dream!

Kinda sorta. I hope.

katy perry costume

Katy usually wears some kind of variation on a classic pin-up girl look — cat eyes, bold lips and big lashes — so I took the idea and ran with it.

If you think you might like to try something similar, here are some ideas…

Bring on the brows!

Katy often wears super strong, full brows. I fattened mine up first by applying Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow in 25 with a MAC 214 Short Shader Brush, and then patted good ol’ MAC Concrete on top with the same brush.

Get catty, MRRROW!!

Cat eye liner can be très tricky if you’ve never done it before. If this is your first time, or if you’re just looking for a new trick to try, grab a liner in dark gray, instead of black. I find that grays are easier to work with because it isn’t as harsh as black.
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There are 30 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Face of the Day (FOTD), Just For Fun, Makeup Tips/How To Keywords: halloween

Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas: Crazy Cat Lady

October 25th, 2012 by Karen 36 Comments

crazy cat lady costume

Granted, I wear my crazy cat lady costume 365 days of the year, but for the purpose of a last-minute Halloween costume, I feel like I need to put in a little extra work to truly get the message across. 🙂

This costume draws inspiration from a crazy cat lady action figure I found a few years ago at the bookstore.

See, homegirl’s got the right idea. Why bother to put on real clothes when the cats just ruin ’em anyway? LOL!

To start, I grabbed my bathrobe and pinned a few stuffed cats on it. FYI, you need a minimum of three kitties, because the third cat is the gateway cat. It’s the crucial part of the puzzle that takes you from a mere “casual feline enthusiast” to full-blown CCL.

Then I put my hair up in rollers, put on some crazy, bright and glittery makeup…

crazy cat lady costume
On my eyes I’m wearing the 29 Purple Glitter Pencil from the new Sephora Jumbo Liner 12HR Wear Waterproof Set as an eyeshadow base and a mix of the purple and multi-colored glitter liners from the Sephora Collection Glitter Eyeliner Set as eyeshadow

crazy cat lady costume
On my cheeks I’m wearing the blush from the Too Faced Natural Radiance Face Palette, and on my lips that’s MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Outrageously Fun from the new Glamour Daze collection

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There are 36 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Beauty Tips, Face of the Day (FOTD), Just For Fun, Makeup Tips/How To Keywords: halloween

My Last-Minute MAC Halloween Costume, and Beware the Shark Cat!

October 31st, 2011 by Karen 66 Comments

Shoot, I wasn’t even planning to dress up at all this year, but Tabs insisted that I throw something on, because he didn’t want to be the only kitty on the block without a dressed up assistant/trick-or-treating companion.

I couldn’t bear the thought of hitting up the costume store, since I knew it was gonna be crazy busy, so I busted a Tim Gunn and tried to “make it work” with what I had around the house.

As far as last-minute Halloween getups go, this MAC artist costume was super easy. I slipped on a black dress, fashioned a homemade tag out of a MAC logo I found online and stuck some brushes behind my ear. I also really, REALLY wanted to sling a black brush belt around my waist (like the ones that MAC artists wear at the counter), but I kinda ran out of time. I wore a gold brush belt from the MAC Wonder Woman collection instead.

SIDE NOTE: If you plan to recreate this costume and have a brush belt sitting around the house, use it! It’ll totally take it to the next level.


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There are 66 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, MAC Makeup, Makeup Keywords: halloween, mac

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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