Just a quick look at swatches of the new Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliners ($18 each), available now.
More in two shakes. 🙂
Urban Decay Fall 2011: A Few Swatches
Lunch, 07.12.11: Tuscan Bread Salad
What’s for lunch today?
I made a Tuscan bread salad with heirloom tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, grilled sourdough pugliese (I misted the slices with olive oil and grilled them on a non-stick grill pan), olive oil, salt and pepper.
Easy, light and refreshing. 🙂
These MAC Semi Precious Mineralize Blushes Are 100% Great
MAC Semi Precious Mineralize Blushes from the left: Feeling Flush, Pressed Amber and Warmth of Coral
If you haven’t popped by a MAC counter to try the three new MAC Mineralize Blushes ($23) from the Semi Precious Collection, try to pencil in a trip if you can. I think they’re all kinds of awesome, especially if you like a natural-looking cheek flush and blushes that are easy to apply.
I’ve been reaching for Feeling Flush (a marbleized mix of pink, blue and brown), Pressed Amber (a mix of beige, nude and brown) and Warmth of Coral (a mix with a coral and a peach) regularly since last week. All three spread like warm butter on bread, applying smoothly on cheeks and giving them a gorgeous, just-pinched look with one or two layers.
Mineralize Blush swatches from the left with the flash: Feeling Flush, Pressed Amber and Warmth of Coral
Mineralize Blush swatches from the left without the flash: Feeling Flush, Pressed Amber and Warmth of Coral
Feeling Flush on cheeks
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Glow Your Way to Gorgeous
Super pretty! I can’t wait to sink my brushes into the eight-piece Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous Kit ($55).
Amazonian Clay Blush in Peaceful
LipSurgence Natural Lip Luster in Sweet
EmphasEyes Waterproof Clay Cream Shadow in Shimmering Taupe
Amazonian Clay SmolderEyes eyeliner in Fig
Being Bold with One Eyeshadow at a Time, in This Case NARS Outremer
Going bold with your eye makeup by getting back to basics can be a lot of fun. Believe it or not, dramatic looks like this blue cat eye starring NARS Outremer Eyeshadow ($23), my new favorite blue, don’t necessarily need to involve boatloads of products.
This particular cat eye packs an edgy wallop, thanks in large part to Outremer, and only requires a single shadow, a few tools, a positive attitude and a good chunk of time (for me, from 20-30 minutes). I went with bold, blue Outremer here, but you could just as easily use another color you happen to have on hand, like a yellow, orange, pink or green. If you decide to try your hand at a bold look featuring a different eyeshadow single, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. 🙂
Now, I hope you’re ready. Here are the steps I followed this time around…
1. Brushes with greatness
Brushes used, from the left: the MAC 266 Small Angle Brush, MAC 219 Pencil Brush, MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush and the MAC 217 Blending Brush
First things first, I cleared a space to work in at the bathroom counter and gathered the following eye makeup brushes, each of which serves a different purpose in the look.
- A Small-Angle Brush — A great multipurpose brush. I use them for everything from lining my lash and water lines to filling in my brows. In this case I used the MAC 266 ($19.50) to outline the initial shape of the cat eye and to line my water line.
- A Domed Blending Brush — Another awesome multitasking brush. Great for applying powder or cream eyeshadows, blending and for applying concealer. I like the MAC 217 ($17.50) and used it here to apply color to my lids and in the crease. I also used it to blur out the edges of lines and the overall shape of the cat eye.
- An Eye Shader Brush — A solid performer when it comes to applying dense amounts of eyeshadow, and it excels with loose powders and pigments. I used it here (the $24.50 MAC 239) to apply color on my lids and along my lower lash line.
- A Pencil Brush — Great for detailed work. Here I used the pointy tip on the mighty MAC 219 ($24.50) to add dense, concentrated color on my lids and lash lines.
2. Prepare to prime
Next, I prepared my lids for the look by applying a primer. I like the results I get from with NARS Pro-Prime Smudge-Proof Eye Shadow Base ($24). I think it really accentuates colors while extending wear time and preventing creases.
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Show Me Your Tum
SHOW IT TO ME!
(Tabs modeling a birthday gift from my friend, Joanie.)
MAC Unsung Heroes: Lipglass in Spite
So, I totally had a Joey Lawrence-style “WHOA!” moment at the MAC store last weekend. I was there picking up my umpteenth tube of today’s Unsung Hero, MAC Lipglass in Spite ($14.50), when I realized, holy crap! — I’ve been wearing this Lipglass longer than some of the girls shopping in this store have been alive!
Seriously, I’ve been wearing Spite for roughly 12 years. Assuming an average of two tubes per year — yes, I like it that much — that’s 24 tubes.
TWENTY-FOUR TUBES!
I started wearing Spite shortly after I took a job as a legal assistant at a law firm in 1999. I was in my early 20s, but I probably looked a little younger than that at the time. People would stop me in the halls, assuming I was one of the high school interns, and ask things like, “Oh, are you someone’s daughter?”
“Um…yes?” I’d say, a little confused. “How about you?”
Or, “Is this your summer job?”
“Well…sort of, but I would really like to keep it through winter.”
Pretty soon I was trying to look older, which for me meant putting my hair up in a bun, wearing my glasses instead of contacts and slicking my lips with MAC Spite.
While I love nude-ish pink and peach glosses with a flirty, casual, playful vibe, I prefer something like Spite’s plummy brown when I want to convey more of a sense of restraint, maturity and confident control (but don’t want to look stuffy or boring at the same time).
Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, July 11
- 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. 176. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
- Mood:
- Wearing flip-flops to work: yea or nay?
- Do you remember the last outdoor concert you went to?
- I’m secretly terrified of…
- One day, I’d really like to…
- I’d like to sing a duet with ____.
- Have you ever tried to hide a tattoo with makeup?
- Things you say/sing to your pet all the time:
- Do like the taste of raw cookie batter?
- Weekly goals:
Feisty and determined!
Yea for the commute, as long as they aren’t faded, torn up or covered in sand, and the feet should be in pretty decent shape — no crusty heels or tow-up pedicures, please. Nay for the actual workplace, though, unless you work at the beach, which would then be totally awesome.
I think it was Jordan Sparks (of American Idol fame) performing after an Oakland A’s game in 2009, and I thought she was great (whatever happened to her?).
…getting trapped in an elevator, dark caves and porcelain dolls with scary glass eyes (I swear they come alive at night!).
…feel like I’m in complete control of my life. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just along for the ride, if that makes any sense.
Madge! Of course. And our background singers would be a divalicious chorus of really, REALLY hot drag queens with voices like angels. 🙂
Nope. I don’t have any tattoos, although I do consider getting a small one from time to time.
Being a full-on, bat sh*t crazy CCL, I talk to Tabs almost as much as I talk to anyone else, saying things like…
“Gravy, Gravy Crockett!” I actually sing this one to the tune from the Ballad of Davy Crockett. “King of the wild frontier.”
“Who’s mommy’s precious little baby cat?” (LOL! For real.)
“Show me your tum. SHOW IT TO ME!”
Um, yes. I know you’re not supposed to and all, but it’s just so darn tasty. For what it’s worth, I take small bites.
Make some respectable headway on my summer reading list, prepare an actual dinner every night (versus microwaving something frozen), and spend at least 30 minutes/day playing with Tabs.
You better WORK! I continue to be amazed by the pet models sending in pics of themselves posing with MAC Evolution Revolution Lipglass. There’s a lot of undiscovered talent out there.
Watch out, Gisele…
Both Bella and her mom, reader Kaleigh, love EvRev
Enzo, who lives with Jen, expertly works his angles
Rocky (shown above) and Jazz (pictured below) love to show off for Chris
Work it, Jazz!
If you catch your cat (or dog/hamster/ferret/betta fish or other furry friend) modeling with your tube of EvRev, send me a pic by e-mail to karen at makeupandbeautyblog dot com, or via Facebook or Twitter. They just might appear in future MBB pet modeling jobs. 🙂
Now, on to the Monday Poll!
- To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.
1. Mood:
2. Wearing flip-flops to work: yea or nay?
3. Last outdoor concert you went to?
4. I’m secretly terrified of…
5. One day, I’d really like to _____.
6. I’d like to sing a duet with ____.
7. Have you ever tried to hide a tattoo with makeup?
8. Things you say/sing to your pet all the time:
9. Do like the taste of raw cookie batter?
10. Weekly goals:
I hope your week gets off to a great start. Something tells me it will. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen