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

Karen

Oil Absorbent Kaolin Clay and a Much Beloved Color Make Sula Beauty Forget Me Not Blush Impossible to Forget

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And I thought those stiff, stubby little hairs that popped up on my chin were fast (I swear, it takes less than a second for me to go from hairless to full Santa beard!).

When I saw the new Sula Beauty Blush in Forget Me Not ($8), one of four new powder blushes from the brand, then read that it’s free of parabens, phthalates and petroleum by-products, AND wasn’t tested on animals, I snatched it up even quicker than my wayward chin hairs grow.

It’s a matte peachy pink with the faintest whisper of golden shimmer. I have a feeling that someone at Sula had NARS Orgasm blush in mind when this Forget Me Not came to be, but they chose to button it up, and make it a little less flashy.

Yes, Sula, you’re speakin’ my language. 🙂 I couldn’t wait to get this cutie on my cheeks.

Ingredients: Mica, Zinc Stearate, Magnesium Carbonate, Ester Isopropyl Isostearate, Kaolin, Benzoic Acid. (+/-) Iron Oxide (CI77491, CI77492, CI77499, CI77891), Titanium Dioxide (CI77891), Carmine (CI75470), Ultramarines (CI77007 ), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI77163 ), Chromium Oxide Green (CI77288), Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI77289), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI77510), Manganese Violet (CI77742), Silica, Yellow 5 Lake (CI19140 ), Blue 1 Lake (CI42090)

Right away, I liked the look of the swatch on the back of my hand, and then how sheer and natural the blush looked on my cheeks. Why yes, I am the girl next door, thank you very much.

The powder contains kaolin clay, a frequent flyer in a lot of beauty products today, where it’s added to help products absorb oil. Perfect, because when my combination skin kicks into oily overdrive, some blushes slide right off.

Not Forget Me Not. It stays put all day long, which means no touchups (a HUGE plus).
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The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

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The Makeup and Beauty Blog Weekly Roundup

Guess who had 15 ounces of Pinkberry over the past two days. I’ll give you a hint — her name sounds like Sharon. 🙂

Okay, so you know how yesterday I said that if I was a good girl and went to class at BlogHer, even though a big part of me wanted to take advantage of the sunny San Diego weather instead, that I’d treat myself to Pinkberry again?

Well, AWW YEAH! Five more ounces of salted caramel, y’all!

Damn, I love that stuff…

The conference is over now, so I’m just taking it easy today. I might do a little sightseeing if I can.

Yesterday’s classes were hit and miss. One of them, a class on video blogging, was actually fantastic, and I’ll definitely share some tips from that. I got some really great, helpful stuff there about recording voiceovers and putting together inexpensive DIY lighting setups using things from Ikea.

How are things out yonder way? What was the highlight of your Saturday night?

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

Essence Mini Lipgloss Set WALLETS AND POCKETS WON’T PROTEST
THESE TWO NEW MINI LIPGLOSS SETS

When you find a man who’ll carry your lipgloss for you in his pocket without protest, you best hold on to that boy! I’m dead serious.

Most of the dudes I dated before El Hub were pretty rigid about what they’d put in their pockets. Keys went here, wallet and phone went there — there was a system at work, and they didn’t like it when things disrupted the system.

The keepers, though, won’t mind holding your gloss for you, even if it messes up their routine.

Which brings me to these two new Essence Mini Lipgloss Sets ($2.99 each). I wouldn’t be surprised if the peeps at Essence had male/female pocket politics in mind when they dreamed up these tiny tubes of sheer, long-wearing lipgloss. Dudes might even appreciate how streamlined (and pocket friendly) they are. Read more…

ELF Glossy Gloss Dragonfruit NEW SPECIES OF DRAGON DISCOVERED LIVING WITH AN E.L.F. AT THE DRUGSTORE
NEW $3 GLOSSY GLOSS IN DRAGON FRUIT

Three dollars? No way. I can’t believe this gloss is just $3.

E.L.F. Glossy Gloss in Dragon Fruit just might be my new favorite glitter-less pink gloss. Without a doubt, it’s my new favorite $3 one. I mean, you can’t even cross a bridge around here for $3 anymore (to cross the Golden Gate Bridge costs $6!).

Eight shades live in Glossy Gloss, E.L.F.’s line of hi-shine glosses with a creamy finish, and Dragon Fruit, a pinkish peach with medium pigment, is my first. The hint of peachy pink it bestows upon my lips is noticeable, but not high maintenance. Read more…

Sula Beauty Natural Lip Gloss I FIND IT TOUGH TO LOOK AWAY FROM
SULA BEAUTY NATURAL LIP GLOSS IN MESMERIZING…

Tabs is 1) constantly getting up in my grill/personal space and 2) constantly getting on my case about finding him cruelty-free makeup lines.

When I introduced him to Sula Beauty the other day, a new line of cruelty-free makeup for eyes, cheeks and lips, he leaped onto my lap, looked deeply into my eyes and said, “Meow.” Bravo.

The line, which launched in early summer, is available now at Ulta stores and also online, but after catching a glimpse of the list of ingredients for one of the new lipglosses below (see below), I half expected to see it also sold at the Target Garden Center. Read more…

Goody Statements Headwrap in BlackOH GOODY! MY FAVORITE HEADWRAP
IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN BLACK!

Remember that glorious Goody $5 tortoiseshell headband I gushed about a while back? — almost as good as stretchy pants, for real. Well, while cruising Targhay over the weekend (allegedly, I was there to get grapes and dental floss), I found it in black!

One word (in all caps, spelled phonetically for emphasis): YAY!

I still have mad love for the tortoiseshell one, but black is just so versatile, I couldn’t resist. I’ll be able to wear it with outfits like my black ’80s off-the-shoulder T-shirt (complete with giant Mr. T chain necklace).

This one totally hits the spot, and it’s just as soft, flexible and comfortable (doesn’t squeeze the living daylights out of my noggin) as the other one. Same thing except it’s black. Read more…

MAC Unsung Heroes MAC Sable Eyeshadow MAC UNSUNG HEROES
SABLE EYESHADOW

MAC Sable Eyeshadow ($15) and I go way back. I think it was maybe the fourth or fifth eyeshadow I brought home from the line, and I remember the day we met because of the hot guy in drag who helped me pick it out.

He looked fierce working behind the MAC counter, like straight off a runway, and I asked him what he was wearing on his eyes.

He said it was Sable, a bronzy golden plum with a frosty finish, and he considered it one of the most flexible MAC shadows, saying it went with just about everything. I’d already decided to get it when he said he thought it would really pop on my skin. Read more…

ELF Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder IS THE E.L.F. STUDIO CONTOURING BLUSH AND BRONZING POWDER
A DUPE FOR THE NARS ORGASM-LAGUNA DUO?

E.L.F.’s bargain basement beauty comes up often in conversations about the fabulous $40 NARS Highlighting Bronzing Blush Duo in Orgasm/Laguna, a makeup masterpiece, if you ask me, and one of my favorite pieces of all time, because it’s seen by many as a major money-saving dupe.

What’s so special about the Orgasm/Laguna Duo, you might ask? Well, that depends. If you ask my cheeks, they’d say they love the way it brightens them up. I use the Laguna bronzer to contour my cheeks with a rich golden brown and the Orgasm blush to give the apples of my cheeks a golden, peachy pink flush.

I love the duo so much that I haven’t taken a trip without it in at least three years.

But at $40, it’s far from cheap, which leaves the door wide open for a drugstore dupe. Read more…

Jouer Fall 2011 Collection EYES SHIMMER WHILE LIPS
GO NUDE IN JOUER FALL 2011

Allow me to direct your attention to the picture above. See, that is why you don’t let your husband futz with a fresh tube of lipstick.

I sure do love that man, but sometimes he’s all elbows and thumbs. Seriously, watching him try to open something delicate is like watching a bear touch type (i.e., it’s not pretty).

The moral of this story? — if you’re super-stoked about a new lippie, especially one as smooth and moisturizing as this new one from Jouer, keep it safely tucked away in your purse.

That poor thing up there is Dusty ($22), one of six new Jouer products for fall (coming to counters and online this September). The focus is firmly on lips and eyes in this release, and Dusty, a full-coverage nude lippie, joins three Liquid Shimmer Eyeliners ($22 each; available in Fox, Sable and Mink), a Travel Eyelash Curler ($14), and two Everyday Classic Wear Mascaras ($20 each; available in Noir and Brun). Read more…

Tokidoki Royal Pride Bobbi Pins THESE TOKIDOKI ROYAL PRIDE SAFARI BOBBI PINS
ARE BRINGING BOBBIES BACK

I’m totally using my new Lloyd Christmas bangs as an excuse to go buck wild explore new developments in the hair accessories department, and this new mission of mine took me to Sephora.

I went under the guise of finding something to hold my bangs in place and bumped into these packs of (adorable) limited edition Tokidoki Royal Pride Safari Bobbi Pins and Heart & Cross Bones Bobbi Pins ($9 each).

So cute!

But when I stepped up to the register with them, what ensued was a lovely reminder of my age. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

BlogHer 2011: Perfecting Product Reviews

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BlogHer 2011: Perfecting Product Reviews

The second class I took here at BlogHer was on writing product reviews, something I’ve done a few thousand times, but there’s always room to grow. 🙂 The class was sort of dominated by questions related to the business of writing product reviews, rather than actual writing techniques and mechanics, but I think I still got a little something out of it nevertheless.

The speakers…

Stacie Haight Connerty

@stacieinatlanta
Mom of 3, Writer, Social Media Consultant, Foodie, Lifestyle & Travel Blogger, Into Marketing & PR, Groupon Addict, Food Truck Stalker, TV Junkie, Follow Back
thedivinemissmommy.com

Amy Bellgardt

@momspark
Wife, Mom, Blogger, Business Woman, Social Media Addict & Founder of MomSpark.net, MomSparkMedia.com, & MomMadeThat.com
momspark.net

Niri Jaganath

@mommyniri
Social Media Junkie and Founder of MommyNiri.com and MommyNiriCares.com
mommyniri.com

1. How do you get free products to review?

This question seemed to dominate the conversation in the class. In one form or another, it was asked several different times. Here’s what the panelists had to say.

  1. The best way is to just start blogging about the products you already buy, own and like because the brands are out there looking and watching. They have staff members monitoring social networking sites, have Google Alerts set for specific words and use Twitter search to find people discussing their products. The companies do sometimes contact new bloggers when they come across reviews of their products that are getting large numbers of readers engaged, either in the comments on the blog or elsewhere.
  2. Try to attend as many in-store events, brand-sponsored classes, conferences and release parties as you can, and while you’re there, introduce yourself and your blog to any company reps and PR people present (bring business cards with you!).
  3. Send pitch letters. A pitch letter is basically a brief email (no more than a few short paragraphs) sent to a company rep or a PR person where you introduce yourself and — to be blunt — usually ask for something, be it a free product that you’d like to review or give away to your readers, or some other type of partnership.

    First things first — brands are in business, and they want positive publicity. They need help getting the word out about their brands and new products, and they know that blogs are one way for them to do that, but they can’t afford to just ship out free products to everyone who asks.

    PR reps sometimes receive hundreds of email pitches per day. They’re busy people, and what they’re looking for are established sites with active readerships. They didn’t mention this in the class, but I think it’s easier to get a foot in the door if you have thousands of readers per day (versus hundreds), and thousands of followers, fans and subscribers. The reps will want to see your blog traffic stats, Twitter followers, Facebook fans, YouTube Chanel subscribers, etc. — basically, they need to be able to gauge your level of influence online.

    They also want to hear some specific ideas, and not just “I would like to hold a giveaway on my blog,” so propose something new in a short bulleted list, and try to be different.

2. How do you handle negative reviews when you have a relationship with the company that provided the product?

Above all, be honest and fair in your reviews. No relationship with any company is ever worth the loss of your credibility.

Try to find the positives when you’re doing a review because people want solutions. Remember that even with a product you didn’t really like, there may be other people for whom it works better, so be fair, and try to look at the product from all sides.

When something really doesn’t meet your expectations, it might be worth it to contact the company directly for a response. They may already be aware of the issues you had with their product and have tips or suggestions to improve its performance. Those would be great to share with your readers, along with any alternatives that you think might also work better.
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The New Nuance Salma Hayek Makeup, Skin and Hair Care Line: Available Now Exclusively at CVS/pharmacy Stores

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Do you remember when Salma Hayek guest starred on a few episodes of 30 Rock a couple seasons ago? She played a caregiver to Jack’s ailing mom, but she and Jack quickly embarked upon a forbidden romance. Forbidden in the “love not meant to be” comedic vein.

Hilarious! Truth be told, as much as I’ve liked Salma, I didn’t see us having much in common. I mean, the woman’s an international sex symbol/movie star, and I spend many days in stretchy pants, and many nights watching TV with my cat.

But then I heard about Salma’s new line of beauty products sold exclusively at CVS/pharmacy stores, and thought, isn’t it great how beauty can bring people together? — sometimes, at the drugstore.

Maybe Salma and I do have a few things in common…

Salma says that her grandma’s homemade beauty recipes, which combined exotic ingredients, inspired her to create the new line. In a weird coincidence, my grandma’s stint as a cosmetology student in the ’80s inspired the awful perm I rocked in kindergarten.

The products are carried at CVS/pharmacy stores, but you can also check ’em out and purchase them online. The items range from $7.99 – $19.99 each.

Salma’s products, which are all paraben free, weren’t tested on animals. In another weird coincidence, I live with an international kitty supermodel/cat diva who loves cruelty-free lines.

Salma’s Beautiful Blends Eyeshadow Quad looks like an H. R. Giger alien egg. In another weird coincidence, I’ve watched Alien more than a dozen times.


Beautiful Blends Eye Quad in Neutral
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Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!

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

Win a $50 Sephora eGift card from Makeup and Beauty Blog
One of the most valuable things I’ll take away from my time here at BlogHer is a motivational trick I actually learned at the San Francisco International Airport on the way here. It’s a great way to get yourself to do things you might otherwise not want to do. In my case, they might be things like getting up early on a Saturday morning, going for a run, doing laundry, vacuuming the stairs or cleaning the kitchen.

In practice, it works a little something like this: “If I get out of bed by 6:30 this morning, I can have a Pink Berry.” Or, another variation, equally effective: “If I clean the toilet today, I can have a Pink Berry tonight.”

It’s surprisingly effective. 🙂

Rise and shine, morning glory! It’s going to be a beautiful day. I’ll be over at the conference hall for most of it, but I hope to be able to walk around in the sunshine later this afternoon before the sun sets. I told myself that if I pay attention in class today, I can have a Pink Berry this afternoon…

I hope your workweek ended on a good note; let’s make sure your weekend starts on one.

I think you know what that means…

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

Win a $50 eGift 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 attended a conference? What’s your favorite flavored lipgloss? Best travel beauty tip? What’s been the highlight of your summer so far? — 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/oTlJ3v

  • The deadline to enter is Sunday, August 7, 2011 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 Kristy! Congratulations, Kristy! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

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