Karen, Author at Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup - Page 1155 of 1879

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

MAC Daphne Guinness for MAC Collection Product Pics and Swatches

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mac daphne guinness for mac

What up, MACaholics! Here’s a quick peek at product pics and swatches of some items from the new Daphne Guinness for MAC collection. The mostly cool-toned launch hits MAC counters and stores December 26 in North America and January 2012 internationally.

mac vintage grape
Blush Ombre in Vintage Grape, $26

mac azalea blossom
Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom, $26

mac too chic
Beauty Powder in Too Chic; NOTE: this item isn’t listed in the Daphne Guinness for MAC official PR; I’ll let you know its status is a few

mac nebula
Pigment in Nebula, $20

mac interior life
Eye Shadow X4 in Interior Life, $38
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NARS Unsung Heroes: Night Star Eyeshadow

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It’s holiday party time! — but if you’re a busy gal with too many emails to answer and a to-do list longer than your arm, getting ready to party may be the last thing on your mind. If it is, perhaps NARS Night Star Eyeshadow can help.

Now, you know me when it comes to wearing color on my eyes — I love it! But I also like the versatility of neutral shades, and that’s the side of me that $23 Night Star excites. An eyeshadow single in the NARS permanent line, it’s a sheer peach with a golden glitter kick — a perfect pick for office parties this time of year.

When I want to brighten my lids and give a golden sparkle to my eyes, this is the color I grab.

I realize that it’s not easy to gauge how the glitter captures the light in the pics (I tried!), but I think the shade is much more sparkly in person than it appears here. This is one of NARS’ quieter colors, and because of that it probably won’t appeal to everyone, but if you have a thing for sheer neutrals with flecks of mid-volume golden glitter, give NARS Night Star a try.

I’ve heard from some makeup lovers who have issues with fallout while wearing Night Star, and I’ve experienced it, too. I get my best results with it when I wear it atop a very sticky primer, like a MAC Paint Pot (Soft Ochre’s my fave to wear with this shade), and apply it by patting the shadow on my lids with a finger, instead of a brush.
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Lemony Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo Is No Desert Rose, But It Should Buy Your Hair Some Time Between Washes

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Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo (4)

When I caught my first whiff of Lush’s citrusy new No Drought Dry Shampoo ($12.95), I wondered if it could handle the scent of eau de greasy roots — that scent somewhere between musk and the fragrant toe funk that manifests after one too many days without shampoo.

To erase my doubts about No Drought, I went four days sans shampoo, at the end of which my mop had reached greasy critical mass, complete with limp roots, a gummy scalp and a scent akin to El Hub’s sock drawer. With my hair at new heights of jankiness, I reached for Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo.

I followed the directions on the bottle, or tried to at least, but the bottle doesn’t make this loose powder easy to dispense.

Correction — it makes it too easy. The cap has a regular lotion topper that dumps out a ton of product when it’s tipped, and I wound up with more powder on the sink and bathroom floor than I successfully got in my hair.

Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo (1)

Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo (2)
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Remove Glitter Nail Polishes Quicker With This Little Trick

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A tip to remove glittery nail polish

I love glittery nail polishes, and I suspect that you may love ’em, too. Lately, I’ve been having a blast with glittery ombre manicures, which have taken my lacquer love for glitter to whole new levels, but they’ve also opened my eyes to a downside of having so much glitter on my nails…

It can take forever to remove!

I can usually remove non-glittery polishes in 2-3 minutes, tops, but getting the glittery ones off can easily take me 10 minutes or more.

Until last weekend, my technique for removing glitter polishes involved soaking a cotton pad in an acetone nail polish remover, wrapping the wet pad around each nail, and then massaging the moistened pad around the nail for a minute or so before firmly sliding it from the base up to the tip. Sometimes, I’d have to repeat the process three or four times per nail to get them nice and clean.

Then, last weekend, I stumbled upon something that really helped move the cleaning process along.

It was Saturday night, and I was just about to remove my sparkly Raiders mani my normal way when I decided to hop in the shower first (three words: hella greasy roots).

After the shower, I moisturized, got into my jammies and sat down on the floor with my polish remover and cotton pads.

I started going through my regular routine, soaking and massaging a moistened pad on the first nail, but this time it was working much better than usual. On some of my nails, I only had to repeat the process once; on others, the first pad did the job.

A process that usually takes me 10-15 minutes ended up only taking 5 — still a little longer than usual for non-glittery nail polishes but a big improvement nevertheless.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Dec. 12

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  • You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”
    Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past three years, which I guess makes this somewhere around Vol. 198. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
  1. Mood:

    2. Not bad at all for a Monday. 🙂 And I bet I’ll feel even better once I get in a few miles on the treadmill. My inner night owl can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really am turning into a morning person.

  2. What’s the best way to treat/cure a cold?

    3. I wish I knew, but if I can nip one in the bud as soon as I start feeling symptoms, I’ll usually feel better in a few days. I’m a firm believer in Cold-Eeze zinc lozenges, drinking tons of water with Emergen-C, skipping workouts and just taking it easy.

  3. Your longest road trip?

    4. I’m not sure if it was the longest in terms of distance, but it sure felt like it. when I was 15 my parents loaded everyone up in the RV, and we went from the San Francisco Bay Area all the way up to Canada.

    You know how it is when you’re that age, too, trapped in close quarters with your parents and no means of escape… Let’s just say that it was a very, very long trip.

  4. Something you enjoyed last weekend?

    5. Curling up on the couch under a blanket and watching a couple movies on TV, The Debt and Water for Elephants. Oh, I also had fun cruising Pier 1 for furniture and Christmas decorations.

  5. What are the first things you notice about people when you meet them for the first time?

    6. Their eyes, and I always notice when they’re smiling. 🙂

  6. Who taught you to drive?

    7. My dad, God love him, and it was about as much fun as a root canal. Before my first lesson, my mom made huge signs that read “Student Driver” and tried to tape them to the car, but I fought her tooth and nail on it and eventually won…

    I knew things weren’t going well when after 5 minutes my dad was already yelling that I was “DRIVING TOO FAST!” which I was, but in my defense the car had a broken speedometer.

    After a day or so of this, he gave up and enrolled me in driving school, haha…

  7. Your idols when you were a kid?

    8. Outside of family, her Madge-esty, of course! And I also thought that Barbra Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters were pretty cool.

  8. Who’s the strongest person you know?

    9. It’s a tie between my mom, my mother-in-law and my friend, Jen. All three are pretty tough ladies.

  9. Your favorite cold weather beverage?

    10. Please pass me a piping hot soy chai latte, please. Pronto!

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Make some headway on a few writing projects, clean and organize my bookshelf, hang Tabs’ Christmas stocking, and soak up the holiday spirit!

Hey, hey, friend. I hope you had a nice weekend. Do you have a minute to let me know how you’re doing in today’s Monday Poll? I feel like we need to catch up.

  • To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.



1. Mood:
2. What’s the best way to treat/cure a cold?
3. Your longest road trip?
4. Something you enjoyed last weekend?
5. What are the first things you notice about people when you meet them for the first time?
6. Who taught you to drive?
7. Your idols when you were a kid?
8. Who’s the strongest person you know?
9. Your favorite cold weather beverage?
10. Weekly goals:

You have a good week, okay? And try your best to smile. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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