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
MAC Russian Red has been my favorite red lipstick for years, but Dior’s Rouge Dior Lipcolor in Rouge Favori 752 ($30) is nipping at its heels. Part of Dior’s permanent line, it’s a rich, full-coverage matte red with a hint of magenta, which gives it a little extra oomph.
And the oomph lasts. The non-drying formula feels light and comfy on my lips, and the color lasts all day long.
Lancôme’s betting their latest vibrating mascara wand will work wonders on your lashes. Ôscillation Intensity PowerMascara ($34) is basically an upgrade of the company’s O.G. Ôscillation, which was one of the first pulsating wands to shimmy across makeup counters.
Like its predecessor, it oscillates an astounding-sounding 7,000 times per minute (dude, that’s a lot!), but Lancôme says this one’s fuller brush helps it wrap each lash with more mascara for a bolder, longer lash look. And the mascara itself? According to Lancôme, it contains the highest concentration of carbon black pigments on the market.
My mind is taking a bit of a beauty detour this morning. El Hub and I went to see X-Men: First Class last night, and so far today all I’ve been able to think about is how bad@ss Emma Frost was (diamond skin!), which superpower I would want to have and how I thought Jennifer Lawrence did as Mystique (good, but Rebecca Romijn = AWESOME!).
I wish I’d collected comic books when I was growing up because I think I really missed out. They’re just an amazing art form, and more complex than I think they get credit for a lot of the time. Beyond the beautiful 
hot dudes in spandex art, I love the conflicted characters, the kick-@ss ladies, the unrequited love, the ethical quandaries and the sociological significance of the issues some of them confront.
While I keep pondering which superpowers I’d like, let’s get the weekend off to a good start. You know what that means. It’s…
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I’m taking MAC Prep + Prime Beauty Balm SPF 35 ($30) for a spin this weekend.
The font nerd in me loves the “BB” on the tube. So hot!
Oh, yeah, and doesn’t the model kindasorta look like Taylor Swift?
Even though I feel like I’m getting a little better at packing (thanks to the power of the pre-made list), I still stress out over how to bring my liquid beauty products on trips.
I swear, those little zip-top bags the TSA makes you use are cruel. They’re never big enough to hold everything I want need, but now MAC has a possible solution. Thanks to the new MAC Sized to Go line, I shouldn’t ever have to leave home without at least some of my MAC must-haves again.
The new collection, coming soon to MAC freestanding stores, contains nine miniature versions of MAC skin care favorites in tiny 1-oz. bottles and tubes.
Aren’t they cute? 🙂
Mini me!
Kate Spade Date Night Ring in yellow, $39.50. Available now at Nordstrom stores and also online.
Lancome’s Natural Juicy Tubes should come with a warning for pet moms that reads, “‘It’s better to apply your Natural Juicy Tubes before (and not after) your cat/dog/hamster/fur baby comes over for a snuggle session.” Last night I slicked on a layer of Dot Apricot, one of six sheer shades in the limited edition Yayoi Kusama collection ($15 each), before Tabs climbed onto the bed for his nightly post-gravy petting, head butts, biscuits and chin bites, and by the time we finished, I had enough cat hair on my lips to weave a friendship bracelet.
It’s uncanny! The thick (even thicker than a MAC Lipglass), gooey formula must be made out of melted fur magnets… I seem to remember the limited edition Natural Juicy Tubes I tried last year feeling lighter, smoother and less sticky than these.
Each shade also sports a different signature fragrance. Dot Apricot’s subtle citrusy apricot is my fave, with Happy Honey (yup, it smells like honey!) a close second. The scents, and the light honey flavor that each of them has, fade after about five minutes on my lips.
I do the artwork on the tubes, though. Lancome tapped the Princess of Polka Dots for the designs, Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist known for her use of repetition, pattern and accumulation.
If you like ’em too, you might want to make your move before they say sayonara from Lancome counters for good.
When I’d tried those other Natural Juicy Tubes from Lancome last year, it had been right after the company reformulated the line. Like those, these are made without preservatives, and with Hungarian honey, royal jelly, shea butter and annatto.
Dot Apricot (left) and Happy Honey (right)
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Summer showcases so many bright, bold coral blushes (hello, MAC My Paradise!), but if you’re a paler princess struggling to find summer shades that work well with your skin tone, you might really like Elizabeth Arden’s new Pure Finish Mineral Cheekcolor in Sunkissed Coral ($28), one of seven pieces in the new Bronze in Bloom Summer 2011 Collection.
I had to apply four layers of this pinkish coral sheen to get it to make a statement on my tan skin, but I’m betting that a single layer would give lighter lasses a gentle, summery flush.
While I give the packaging major points in the cute category (LOVE that it fits in my palm), I wouldn’t have minded a wider pan. It comes with a mini kabuki brush, which does fit inside just fine, but the pan’s too small for my blush brush (at least without having to shove). A small detail, but it’s a little irksome.
