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

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 201

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Tabs for the MAC The Real King of the Jungle Collection

Dang! It was burnin’ up in Redding this weekend. We’re talkin’ hot, like fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk hot.

It was so hot that charcoal briquettes were jumping out of the bag into the fire to cool off.

It was so hot that I used my finger as a curling iron.

It was so hot that Tabs would have been jealous (because he’s usually the hottest thing in the room).

In other words, it was hot!

We just walked in the door, and wouldn’t ya know it? — who texts, but none other than Tabs from the tarmac at the airport to ask for a ride home. I may not have mentioned this before, but I’m also his chauffer/airport shuttle (he doesn’t do public transpo).

Yeah, while El Hub and I were frying in Redding, Tabs was flying to and from Maui for a weekend of fun in the sun with Jay-Z, Beyonce and baby Blue.

Tabs must have sent about 10 pics over the past 24 hours from the beach, the pool and the spa at the Four Seasons.

Lucky cat.

I’m sure I’ll get all the deets in the car on the drive home.

I admit that sometimes it seems like Tabs lives this jet-setting playboy tabby lifestyle, but it’s not all about weekend getaways with hip-hop royalty. He also werks, and here are some of his current kitty modeling campaigns… 🙂

Tabs for the Benefit Drive In Tabby Collection

Tabs for NARS Furplay Palette
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Makeup For a Weekend Trip

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In no particular order:

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in St. Moritz
Hourglass Oxygen Finishing Powder in No. 4
MAC Pro Longwear Bronzer in Nude on Board
Tom Ford Cheek Color in Love Lust
Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint in Score
MAC Extended Play Lash Mascara
MAC Eyeshadows in Soba, Concrete, Club, Tempting, Retrospeck and Sumptuous Olive
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25 and NC42
MAC Care Blends Essential Oils in Grapefruit + Chamomile
MAC Iridescent Powder/Loose in Golden Bronze
MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge
MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline
Shu Uemura Lash Curler
Laura Mercier Finishing Brush
MAC Brushes: 138 Tapered Face Brush, 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brush, 217 Blending Brush, 239 Eye Shader Brush, 224 Tapered Blending Brush and 266 Small Angle Brush
Sonia Kashuk Crease Brush
Hourglass No. 2 Foundation/Blush Brush

Not pictured:
Too Faced Perfect Lips Pencil in Perfect Spice
Tarte LipSurgence Lip Shine in Smitten
MAC Plushglass in Confetti
bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Show Off

Note the cherub lamp’s tum in the upper right. 😀

Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!

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  • WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Vanessa! Congratulations, Vanessa! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

A Makeup and Beauty Blog giveaway
Win a $50 eGift card from Sephora

Hello-hello, and happy Saturday, sweet friend! I’m feeling unusually perky right now, which is weird because morning isn’t usually my best time of day (I’m lucky if I can hold a conversation involving monosyllabic answers before 9), but on rare occasions I wake up with a random burst of energy, WHEEEEE!

I have no idea how I’m going to be able to sit still in the car today… El Hub and I are driving up to Redding to visit his parents, and it’s about a four-hour drive. That’s a lot shorter than the trip across the Pacific ocean when they lived in Hawaii, but it’s still a trek.

We haven’t seen them in a while, so it should be fun. I invited Tabs, but he said he “already has plans with Beyonce and Jay-Z.” 🙂

What are your plans today? Whatever they are, I hope they involve entering this weekend’s Sephora eCard giveaway.

What folks are saying…

“Hi Karen. Oh my goodness! I can’t believe I won! :O Thank you so much! You, Tabs, and your blog are amazing! Thank you for keeping me updated on all things beauty and more importantly, for keeping me entertained! Keep doing your thing! Thank you again.”
-Jacqueline

“Thanks so much, Karen. Just in case you were wondering what I got with it, I decided to go with the Clarisonic Mia–I’ve been wanting it for years now, but have never purchased it because of the price. Your eCard helped me finally buy it! I look forward to using it. Thanks again!”
-Jane

“Shut the front door! OMG Karen, you have made my day. 🙂 I’m sick in bed with the flu and this has just cheered me up immensely!!!!!!!! BTW, I’m the one that sent you that pic of my pug in a wig a few weeks back LOL! Thanks again, honestly, I’m beyond giddy right now.”
-Angel

“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much Karen (and Tabs, of course)! I really appreciate this! I’d been eyeing the Anastasia brow pencil in Strawburn to match my red hair!”
-Chelsea (and Jiji the kitten and Quincy the bunny)

“Never before have I been so pleased to check my email right before bed!!! Thank you so, so much! I truly enjoy your blog and check it almost daily! Thanks again! This made my night!”
-Melissa, Edmond, OK

“Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I’m so excited, I’ve never won anything before. My name is Hana … I just turned 25 (today is my birthday!) Yay! Thank you.”
-Hana

Win a $50 gift card from Sephora

  • One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

  • There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, have you ever found a foundation that matches your skin perfectly? Tell me about the jewelry you wear most often. What’s a lip color you wore a lot in high school? What do you want to be when you grow up? What’s one makeup or beauty product you can’t leave home without? Pancakes: buttermilk or fancy? — you get the idea.
  • Second, you can enter by following me on twitter Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
    • Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/MAZ7dI

  • The deadline to enter is Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 11:59PM (PT).
  • Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
  • A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
  • Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
  • Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.
  • Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
  • The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
  • Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

  • WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Vanessa! Congratulations, Vanessa! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

A Dior Golden Jungle Face of the Day (Night?)

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dior golden jungle

Wow, I can’t believe it’s 11 already. I seriously zoned out playing with makeup this afternoon. Somehow I lost track of about three hours, LOL!

Oh, well. Not like it’s the first time that’s happened. 🙂

What are you up to tonight? No plans for me, obviously. My office is in a room upstairs, and El Hub and Tabs are watching TV downstairs, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, judging by the sound of it. I think I’ll go say hi to the boys.

I wish I had somewhere fun or fancy to go because I’d love to take this eye look out for a spin. I used the new Dior Golden Jungle Palette in Golden Browns #002.

Dior probably could have left out the sheer, nude peach gloss… It doesn’t exactly scream, “I’m worthy of a $70 palette!” especially one that could really benefit from the addition of a blush, but whatcha gonna do?

Love the little hatch over the gloss to protect it from any eyeshadow spillover. Good on ya, Dior. That’s a nice touch.

I think the rest of the palette is pretty fab. The eyeshadows are top-notch (and should be for $70). No fallout, easy to blend, and no creasing, yes!

dior golden jungle

dior golden jungle swatch

dior golden jungle
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Lush Is Getting Emotional About Makeup With Their New Emotional Brilliance Makeup Collection

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lush emotional brilliance
Wearing Lush Emotional Brilliance Liquid Eye Liner in Motivation and Cream Eyeshadow in Happiness on my eyes, and Liquid Lip Color in Power on my cheeks

I’m feeling emotional today…but for once it’s not because Tabs is ignoring me or because I’m PMS-ing.

Shocking, I know! 🙂

It’s because of Lush and their new Emotional Brilliance Collection, the brand’s first-ever line of color cosmetics. It launches tomorrow worldwide at Lush stores and online at lushusa.com, featuring 13 Liquid Lip Colors, 11 Liquid Eyeliners and 6 Cream Eyeshadows, each priced at $22.95.

lush emotional brilliance product shot
From the left: Liquid Lip Color in Power, Liquid Lip Color in Vibrance, Cream Eyeshadow in Happiness, Cream Eyeshadow in Wise, Liquid Eye Liner in Motivation and Liquid Eye Liner in Feeling Secure

Instead of basing the colors on trendy seasonal shades, Lush tried to tap into their emotional side, choosing a pigmented palette and giving the pieces names like Happiness and Motivation.

According to Lush, each of the product names/shades can help you draw on the power of suggestion. Say, “happiness, happiness, happiness,” visualize yourself feeling better, and apply golden coral Cream Eyeshadow in Happiness on your lids, with the idea being that the happy color and name could lead to a positive change in behavior.

Sounds worth a try. I could always use a little extra happiness.

Or maybe you’d prefer one of the Lip Colors, like shimmery red Power, to help you through that big meeting at work.

Even the little jars look therapeutic with their dropper caps, like vintage medicine bottles.

“Apply two of these, Karen, and call me in the morning.”

Yes, Dr. Tabs. 🙂

Kinda touchy-feely, but Lush is crunchy granola like that (as am I sometimes).

Some first impressions on six of the 30 new pieces…

The Liquid Lip Colors

First I powered up with Power, a shimmery reddish orange that glides across my lips like a drag queen down a runway. With the doe-foot applicator (the dropper handle is just for show), it applies smoothly, like whipped butter, and feels lovely, but it also got my hopes up dangerously high…

When I tried shimmery golden Vibrance, I was surprised by its almost chunky consistency — not at all like Power. I had to pat it down to get the color to spread across my lips.

Hmm… Seems like these lippies vary widely, although both of them are unscented, unflavored and feel as light as feathers. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

The Liquid Eyeliners

At least for me and my small hands, the quaint dropper handle makes the liner brush a little tricky to control, so I skip it and use my trusty Sonia Kashuk Bent Brush instead.

Both bright, shimmery teal Motivation and matte purple Feeling Secure dry in less than a minute, so they’re probably better suited for sharp liner looks than smudged ones (Note: not recommended for water lines; I tried ’em, and my eyes started tearing up).

Of these two, I definitely prefer shimmery Motivation. Compared to it, Feeling Secure looks dull and lifeless. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

The Cream Eyeshadows

Shimmery golden coral Happiness and matte khaki Wise latch on to my lids like eagle talons!

Like the liners, both of them dry very quickly, completely setting in less than a minute, and on the one hand, I appreciate being able to just swipe and go, but on the other, I miss not being able to blend out the edges.

As for layering, neither one likes it, and both begin to look uneven and patchy when I apply too much. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-

lush emotional brilliance swatches
Swatches from the left: Liquid Eye Liner in Motivation, Liquid Eye Liner in Feeling Secure, Cream Eyeshadow in Happiness, Cream Eyeshadow in Wise, Liquid Lip Color in Power and Liquid Lip Color in Vibrance
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