
A taste of what’s coming for the holidays from Benefit. 🙂 More info, pics and swatches in two swipes of Dancing Queen gloss.


by Karen 4 Comments

A taste of what’s coming for the holidays from Benefit. 🙂 More info, pics and swatches in two swipes of Dancing Queen gloss.


by Karen 13 Comments

Can we all agree that stars are awesome? — how they twinkle, sparkle and glimmer like glitter in the sky, inspiring poems, songs and sonnets as they hold back the darkness for zillions of years, billions upon billions of them light years away, and every one a giant, sometimes larger than our sun.
Chanel’s new soft pink Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Star Dust ($43) is a little like that… I mean, it has the twinkling part down.
The one and only blush in the new Eclats du Soir de Chanel collection for holiday 2012, Star Dust’s microscopic flecks of multicolored gold, pink, purple and green glitter glimmer on cheeks (more so in person than in pics) like diamonds in the sky.
But Star Dust isn’t any old sparkly blush. It has just enough glitter and pigment to catch the light without going astronomical. Now, I wouldn’t wear it to a disco diva dance-off, because I don’t think it’s glittery enough for that (GURL, you don’t want to battle me when I’m doing the hustle!), but that’s fine by me. Most of the time when I’m out on the dance floor with Tabs and his entourage, I try not to take the spotlight away from you-know-who. 🙂




by Karen 17 Comments



Brownie points if you get the reference in the title!
The beauty pictured above is Tom Ford’s Eye Color Quad in Emerald Lust ($75; available now at neimanmarcus.com).
I want to dive right into those colors, especially the pan in the upper right.
by Karen 28 Comments

They say that history repeats itself, and if that proves correct, then my sweet tooth and I will devour every last treat in the new Too Faced Holiday 2012 collection!
Un-luckily for my muffin top (she says “HAAAY!” by the way), these indulgences are calorie free.

The five-piece limited edition collection of value sets and palettes is all sugar and spice and everything nice! Hand me some of those bonbons, love, because we’ll need simple carbs to power through these pics and swatches of four of the five pieces.
This seven-piece set includes…
by Karen 14 Comments

Life is a mystery, and no matter what we learn about the world around us, it seems as if every answer leads to more questions.
Questions like…
Why is it physically impossible to eat just one spoonful of Häagen-Dazs ice cream?
Is Dillon Panther tailback Tim Riggins really a misunderstood genius?

What is Tabs thinking in his little kitty brain when he rushes into the loo to watch me, um, handle my business (swear to you, I don’t think I’ve had one minute of potty privacy since this cat came into my life)?

Yes, my fellow Chanel lovers, once again, Coco and Co. are doing nude, glossy lips in their latest limited edition launch, Eclats du Soir de Chanel.
Mystery, a medium pigmented creamy pinkish brown, guest stars as one of three Glossimers in the holiday release, and I can’t deny the chemistry it shares with the smokier, darker eyeshadows in the collection’s Nuit-Claire duo and Harmonie quad.
Nude lips and smokey eyes are like the peanut butter and jelly combo of my makeup world. I’ve been loving them for years because they’re just so blasted wearable (um…the look, not the sandwich), and Mystery has “wearable nude gloss” written all over it.
I guess the $64,000 question comes down to this: is Mystery a must-have?


by Karen 9 Comments



Yeah, boo-boo! I’m taking pics right now. 🙂
by Karen 28 Comments

Brushes are useless…
Oops! I meant “useful.” Brushes are useful. 🙂 And you can use ’em for way more than just the purpose they’re usually marketed for, because who says that a blush brush can only be used to apply blush? Hogwash! A brush is just a tool, right? And like any tool, it can be used for different things.
My tip for today’s installment of Share a Tip Tuesdays: think of your brushes as tools, and look for new and different ways to use them.
When I started really getting into makeup, I also started investing in brushes. I did my research and picked up the best brushes I could afford, only using them according to each brush’s official description. Eyeliner brushes for liner, blending brushes for blending, and so on like that. It never occurred to me to use my brushes for more than their designated tasks…
Until it finally did. Now, I regularly use crease brushes for concealer, concealer brushes for lips, angled brushes for liner, blush brushes for foundation — why not?
Play with your brushes, because you never know when you’ll find one that excels at doing something it wasn’t originally designed to do. 🙂
Welcome to another edition of Share a Tip Tuesdays! Last week we talked liner tips, and you guys/gals left some great ones in the comments…
I use UD Perversion for my water line..is really reeeallly black and stays put without too much of a fuss. I find applying a bit of primer along the lash line (on the skin, not the lashes, of course!) helps avoid raccoon eyes.
— RadsMy fave trick for lining my waterline (and I do so almost everyday) is to use a long wearing gray eyeliner. Things like UD 24×7 in Gunmetal, Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Charcoal or MAC Grey Utility Powerpoint Liner.
Its less harsh and finishes softer, making it more forgiving and easier to correct (use a pointy QTip to correct, its cheap and works wonders).
— NinaMy trick is to use a primer, like UD in Sin or Eden, along the area of the waterline. I have found it really makes a difference and helps my cheaper liners, like Rimmel Exaggerate in Deep Ocean, and my NYX Slide On Glide On liners, really stay put all day.
— Katherine GI sometimes use a gel liner like MAC Blacktrack. I will also carry a mini Smashbox pencil in my bag for touch ups.
— Chris25I don’t use liner on my waterliner (my eyes are incredibly sensitive!) but to keep my liner on my top lash line I layer, layer, layer! First, Primer — Usually Too Faced Shadow Insurance) then I set it with Cover FX Setting Powder. Next I apply a long wearing liner — usually gel, then set it with a matching shadow! Poof! All day liner!
— ShayleeTry Guerlain Kohl powder, it is designed for the waterline. Its a kolh powder, so i will line it on my waterline, blink and reapply.
— Rena
This week, let’s open the floor up to any makeup/beauty topics, and here are a few ideas to get the conversation started: what’s your favorite multitasking makeup brush? Can you recommend a long-lasting beige, nude or white eyeliner with all-day staying power? What are the best eyeliners for gals who wear contacts?
[Continue reading…]
by Karen 25 Comments
It’s been about two weeks since the blog brought home its new outfit, and things behind the scenes are moving right along (iPhone and Android users, the mobile version should now be working).
Here’s a quick screencast showing some of the new features. I hope you like how things turned out. 🙂 Thanks for all of your great feedback so far.
Slowly but surely, I’m filling out the Brands dropdown menu with posts from the archives. Because it was something we never had before, Tabs and I (haha, okay just me) have been editing each of the 7,200 posts and clicking little checkboxes next to the brands they correspond to. That way, the posts appear when we click the corresponding brand names in the new dropdown menu.
As for the new Galleries (my favorite new feature), it’s thumbnails, thumbnails everywhere! I think the new galleries are fun, look pretty cool, and they’re a good way to discover posts you may have missed back when they were originally published (the MAC gallery goes aaaaaaall the way back to 2007). They’re also a great way to get to know me and Makeup and Beauty Blog if you’re a new visitor.
Thank you as always for visiting. Have fun, click around, make yourself at home, and I’ll see you soon in the comments. 🙂



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