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
I was standing on my deck this evening trying to catch a glimpse of the ring of fire eclipse when I saw the shadows from the oak trees on the back of the condo. I can’t believe I’ve lived here for almost three years and never noticed them before! I love the patterns and think they’d look really pretty on a piece of fabric.
This sucks! I hardly got to see Tabs at all today, first because I was in the city this morning for the Bay to Breakers, and then second, by the time I got home this afternoon, he was out on the Bay training for the America’s Cup.
Yup, the big sailing race…
I don’t know if you knew this about him, but Tabs is a natural born sailor. His ancestors actually worked as mousers on the first ships that sailed here from England. Oh, yeah. He comes from a long, proud lineage of mousers with natural sea legs, thanks to their low-hanging bellies, which provide a low center of gravity and great shipboard balance.
He was on the water today training with his team. They’ve been using the Team Friskies boat while Tabs saves up for a boat of his own, which I’m supposed to help him research this week.
It just occurred to me… I hope Tabs doesn’t expect me to be part of his crew, because I get seasick very easily.
Knowing Tabs, he probably already has an outfit picked out for me! 🙂
It was no coincidence that Tabs worked on a nautical kitty modeling job this week for MAC’s new Submariner collection. He got the job specifically because they’d heard about his sailing experience and wanted a cat they could “trust on the water.” (The art director’s words.)
Submariner was just one of the gigs Tabs had this week. He also modeled for Essie, Covercat, Sugarpill and TRESemmé, as you can see from these pics of the shoots…
Tabs got a visit from his beloved Aunt Keri yesterday! He was so excited that he insisted on an impromptu modeling session in the hallway. 🙂
I bet MAC Cleanse Off Oil/Tranquil could stand up to the Hulk!
I rarely stick to the same beauty products for long (unless I think they’re great) because in testing new things I tend to get distracted, but now that I think about it, I’ve been loving and, more importantly, regularly reaching for MAC Cleanse Off Oil/Tranquil for months.
As a matter of fact, I picked up a backup bottle. That’s how much I like it.
It’s like the Hulk of the makeup remover world (nothing stands in its way!). Foundation, primer, long-wearing concealer, waterproof makeup — it brushes them aside, and it works fast, too, without tugging at my skin.
On top of everything else, it doesn’t give me breakouts (knock on wood!).
I always have to remember to knock on wood when I say that… I don’t want to tempt fate, LOL!
How about you? What’s your go-to makeup remover and why?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Just a quick note to say hi. 🙂 Hopefully, I’m on the last leg of the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco right now (I wrote this last night) and not still sleeping at home or passed out on a city sidewalk from fatigue.
(I better not still be asleep… If I am, I’m very sorry, Marisol!)
I remembered seeing someone at a coffee shop use a regular Apple iMac wireless keyboard to type directly into their iPhone. Since both have Bluetooth, you can pair the keyboard to the phone (or an iPad). For bloggers, or anyone who needs/wants to take notes or write lengthy emails, it’s a good travel combination. Any Bluetooth keyboard should work. Just slip the keyboard, if it’s small enough, into a big purse or your book bag when you hit the road.
With the prepaid ones, you aren’t under a contract, and you only pay for the months you use. Oh, and the connection is more secure than free Wifi hotspots in public places like coffee shops and bookstores, where it’s possible to steal your passwords over the air.
About the Netflix app, don’t tell anyone I told you :), but it’s possible to share a single subscription between two different households, as long as they use the same Netflix login account (shh…).
Lips Luxe Dior Addict Lip Balm in Crystal Coral
Chanel Peche Cuivre Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil
Say Hey to the MAC Hey, Sailor! Lipglasses
MAC Hey, Sailor! Collection Pics and Swatches
Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Shines a Light on Lips
Neon Helps Nails Do the Bright Thing
My latest skincare crushes from Sephora
A Look at the MAC Hey, Sailor! Blushes
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Well these are kinda fun! The new MAC Hey, Sailor! collection also stars a couple of limited edition MAC To The Beach Body Oils ($22.50 each), shimmery sprays of soothing, moisturizing oil that dry down to a sheer, shimmery sheen.
Available in two lightly tinted shades — Seaside, a dirty, blushy pink with multidimensional sparkles; and Man Rays, a glowing tan with multidimensional golden shimmer — both have a very faint almond and honey scent.
They apply slick, but quickly dry in about a minute, and leave behind neither a heavy nor sticky film.
MAC formulated them with a soothing fusion of moderately moisturizing botanical oils. My dry skin appreciates the extra hydration, but it craves a little more, so I’ve been starting with a layer of a separate body lotion worn beneath (otherwise, I grow alligator skin!), and this week that’s been Caudalie’s Nourishing Body Lotion, which I’m loving so far.
I like the diminutive, almost microscopic flecks of glitter, but the formula’s quite thin. I mean, it probably should be thin for something like this, but it’s so thin that I find myself using a lot, like 5-6 pumps per arm or leg. Anything less on my NC42 skin, and the effect is barely noticeable, if at all.
It’s funny, but I didn’t expect the lighter shade, Seaside, to show up at all on my skin, but it does. In fact, I think it’s more visible than its darker Man Rays counterpart, which reminds me of a quieter version of Nuxe’s Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, whereas Seaside’s lighter pink and silver glitter contrast with my tan.
I think both are super pretty. I’m just afraid that one 1.7-ounce bottle won’t last long.
Oh, and bring the bottle and your big purse if you want the effect to last longer than 4-5 hours. On me, that’s about how long it takes for the glitter to completely flake away, making it time for a touch-up.
To the Beach Body Oil in Seaside (left) and May Rays (right), $22.50 each
Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Bronzing Powder in Nude on Board
I love bronzer. I do. And I wear it almost every single day to give my skin some extra warmth and definition. For sculpting, the general rule (of course, rules are meant to be broken) is to apply it to the areas of your face that naturally recede, like the hollows of your cheeks or your temples, and also to enhance your prominent places, and the areas of your face that you’d like to make more prominent (sometimes with the help of a highlighter), which are often cheekbones, brow bones and the bridge of your nose.
The MAC Hey, Sailor! collection features four limited edition powder bronzers, two in the MAC Bronzing Powder line ($24 each in Soft Sand and Refined Golden), and two MAC Pro Longwear Bronzing Powders ($28 each in Nude on Board and Sun Dipped).
This week I took two of them out for a spin, the Bronzing Powder in Soft Sand and the Pro Longwear Bronzing Powder in Nude on Board, the later being the one that really caught my eye.
Now, I’ve used the MAC Bronzing Powders before and like them just fine, but I do prefer some of MAC’s other bronzers, namely the Careblend Powders from last year’s Surf Baby collection, which feel smoother to me, with finer grains and, to my eye, I think they look more natural on my skin.
We didn’t get any new Careblends this time around (bummer), but that doesn’t mean MAC left us in the lurch. I think we got something equally great in the Pro Longwear Bronzing Powders, and I’ve been obsessively using and loving Nude on Board, one of the two Hey, Sailor! Longwear shades, this entire week.
I love the way this bronzed yellow’s sheen works with my NC42 skin. Like last year’s Careblends, the finish looks flawless, and the lightweight formula blends easily on bare skin and atop foundation.
Oh, and so far, no breakouts (knock on wood!). 🙂
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A (an A+ if my skin stays clear)
I’ve also worn Soft Sand a few times this week, one of the two Hey, Sailor! powders from MAC’s Bronzing Powder line, and I like it just fine.
No problems blending, and I think it looks natural, but it also feels a little grainier and takes a couple more minutes to blend. It’s a fine bronzer, but I think you get a lot for the extra $4 MAC charges for the Pro Longwear Bronzers.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
Pro Longwear Bronzing Powder in Nude on Board, $24
Pro Longwearing Bronzing Powder in Nude on Board
Bronzing Powder in Soft Sand, $24
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Good morning, glory. 🙂 Let me be one of the first people in your life to wish you a happy Saturday. Not much going on for me other than cleaning, grocery shopping and relaxing…not necessarily in that order.
I figure I shouldn’t do anything too strenuous before the Bay to Breakers tomorrow. I’m setting two separate alarms for 4 o’clock tomorrow morning, just to be safe.
The costumes that some of the runners wear are a big part of the race. There’s even a costume contest. Last year a group of people won for their royal centipede of 13 people, which had newlyweds Kate and William, and a royal posse of the Archbishop, Prince Harry, Prince Beatrice and others.
I’m all for expressing yourself — daily — but I really, really hope that everyone on the shuttle tomorrow morning is fully and completely clothed (the race is famous for its nude runners) because, seriously, I don’t think I could handle smalltalk with a naked stranger at 5:30 in the morning. “So…is this your first Bay to Breakers? My, that is an interesting tattoo on your bum of a phoenix rising from the ashes… Boy, these seats are cold.” LOL!
Well, it’s that time again. Time for you to get lucky and hopefully win today’s Sephora giveaway.
What folks are saying…
“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. 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“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
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
