China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Swanky Silk. Pretty, yeah?
Color Shift
Serious Face
E equals MC squared. Or something like that.
–Tabs
Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!
- WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Ginelle! Congratulations, Ginelle! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
“Mrrrrow…” Tabs grumbled to himself. His nemesis, the blue kitty from the house down the hill, was already there, reaching up for what looked like the last box of Caudalie fur cream.
Blast! Tabs had been waiting for this day for weeks, the first annual Bring Your Cat to Sephora Day, and he’d planned to get to the store early, hopefully beating the other cats to the best stuff.
The details were all supposed to have been taken care of. His assistant got him up early and prepped his morning gravy, but the special fur and makeup team he’d hired for the occasion were held up in traffic on the 101.
Unbelievable. The Navy Seals of the feline fur and makeup worlds, and they get waylaid by a little traffic? It’s called problem solving, people!
Cats were everywhere in the store, snatching up all the best products. “Mrow!” Briefly, Tabs considered using brute force to wrest the box of Caudalie cream from the blue kitty’s paws, but with so many witnesses around…
Oh, well, Tabs thought to himself, there’s always next year.
* * *
Good morning, glory! 🙂 Hope your weekend got off to a great start. No complaints out here. I ended up not going to that party in the city last night. 11 p.m. was just too late for me, so I just watched some TV until I passed out.
This is random, but I just had the most amazing meyer lemon croissant. Perfectly flaky, buttery layers, and the lemony parts weren’t too sweet or heavy. It was like eating a fluffy, buttery, lemony pastry cloud…
Anywho, while I relive that awesome croissant in my daydreams, have you entered this weekend’s $50 Sephora eGift card giveaway yet? I hope you do, and don’t forget — there are two ways to win.
What folks are saying…
“Hi Karen. Oh my goodness! I can’t believe I won! :O Thank you so much! You, Tabs, and your blog are amazing! Thank you for keeping me updated on all things beauty and more importantly, for keeping me entertained! Keep doing your thing! Thank you again.”
-Jacqueline“Thanks so much, Karen. Just in case you were wondering what I got with it, I decided to go with the Clarisonic Mia–I’ve been wanting it for years now, but have never purchased it because of the price. Your eCard helped me finally buy it! I look forward to using it. Thanks again!”
-Jane“Shut the front door! OMG Karen, you have made my day. 🙂 I’m sick in bed with the flu and this has just cheered me up immensely!!!!!!!! BTW, I’m the one that sent you that pic of my pug in a wig a few weeks back LOL! Thanks again, honestly, I’m beyond giddy right now.”
-Angel“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much Karen (and Tabs, of course)! I really appreciate this! I’d been eyeing the Anastasia brow pencil in Strawburn to match my red hair!”
-Chelsea (and Jiji the kitten and Quincy the bunny)“Never before have I been so pleased to check my email right before bed!!! Thank you so, so much! I truly enjoy your blog and check it almost daily! Thanks again! This made my night!”
-Melissa, Edmond, OK“Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I’m so excited, I’ve never won anything before. My name is Hana … I just turned 25 (today is my birthday!) Yay! Thank you.”
-Hana
- 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, when was the last time you went to Sephora? Do you ever take your pet to work with you? Are you good with numbers? Describe your favorite summer dress. Is there a place you like to go when you need to think? If you could work for any makeup or beauty line, which one would it be? — you get the idea.
- Second, you can enter by following me on
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/P3kKzD
- The deadline to enter is Sunday, August 19, 2012 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 Ginelle! Congratulations, Ginelle! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
She’s So Unpredictable
Is she blue? Is she green? You never can tell with China Glaze’s Unpredictable.
You Can’t Stop Me, Woman
Tabby wants plants. PLANTS!!!
Decisions, Decisions… Summer in Malibu or the Hamptons? Jouer’s Sheer and Shiny Moisturizing Lip Glosses in Malibu and Hamptons
Only a couple weekends left until the end of August, and by virtue of that, the unofficial end of summer.
NOOOOOOO!!!
Oh, cruel, cool fall, how darest thou impinge upon my summer fun?!
Back! Back, I say! Away with you!
Oh, what’s the use? Fall is coming; there’s no stopping it. The very thought of being cold again gives me chills, and not in a good way.
What we need is an app for that… If you happen to be an iPhone developer, please invent an app with a summer pause button so we can extend the last weeks of the season and play with products like these two juicy, summery lipglosses from Jouer while it’s still summer.
The Moisturizing Lip Glosses in hot pink Malibu and shimmery golden coral Hamptons ($20 each) strutted onto Jouer counters and the Jouer Cosmetics website earlier this season, joining the ranks of the company’s permanent collection.
Both unscented, unflavored glosses feel thin and non-sticky on my lips, and they last about 2-3 hours.
Lipgloss in Malibu (left) and Hamptons (right)
Swatches of Hamptons (left) and Malibu (right)
Lipgloss in Malibu
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A MAC Styleseeker Makeup Tutorial: Brown, Gold and Purple Cat Eyes With Red Cheeks and Bronze Lips
Guess what, fellow style seekers! The MAC Styleseeker collection is now available online (yay!), and I thought it might be fun to do a quick tutorial this afternoon with a few of the pieces (complete with optional Victoria’s Secret wind tunnel effect).
The 24-piece collection contains a mix of rich, warm bronzes, purples, browns and reds punctuated by a smattering of lighter pinks, corals and beige shades.
Something about it just says, “globe trekker” to me and makes me want to check on airfares to Southeast Asia for fall, LOL!
But seriously, this look features a matte brown, and a shimmery golden orange eyeshadow, and a dark purple cat eyeliner on the eyes; a surprisingly wearable red blush on the cheeks; and a bronze gloss on my lips.
Here are the Styleseeker pieces I used…
- Eyeshadow X 2 in Marche Aux Puces (includes two powder shadows, the chestnut brown matte Indie Spirit and the mid-tone golden orange Chessa), $27.50
- Fluidline in Dark Diversion (a blackened plum with a pearl finish), $15
- Fluidline in Blacktrack (a matte black), $15
- Powder Blush in Hidden Treasure (a rich burned red with a satin finish), $20
- Lipglass in Restless (a dark burned bronze), $15
The eyes
I started with my eyes, using a finger to spread MAC Paint Pot in Quite Natural, a creamy matte brown eyeshadow, on my eyelids. The cream shadow acts as an intensifying base for the other eyeshadows I’ll apply on top.
Then, I grabbed some of Indie Spirit, the brown shade from the Eyeshadow X 2 Duo in Marche Aux Puces, with a MAC 217 Blending Brush, and applied it on my lids, concentrating most of the color on my lash line, and fading as I moved up.
After that, I took what was left on the brush and ran it along my lower lash line.
Next up, shimmer. Using a MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush, I applied Chessa, the shimmery golden orange shade from the same duo, directly on top of the brown shadow on my lids.
A Quick Friday Makeup Tip for Eye-Catching Lips
Lipstick in this look: Hourglass Opaque Rouge in Muse
I frickin’ love Will Ferrell movies. Really, the dude can just be sitting quietly in a chair, and I start cracking up.
I’ve seen Step Brothers about 20 times. That’s my favorite one, with Night at the Roxbury and Elf tied for second.
I caught Anchorman for the first time a few weeks ago, and even though I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, I loved the makeup…
Yup, the makeup.
The movie’s set in the 1970s. Will Ferrell plays this cheesy news anchorman who pursues a beautiful and ambitious reporter, Veronica Corningstone, played by Christina Applegate. 
Through the whole movie, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Christina’s lips. Her character wears bright, eye-catching lip colors, and if you look closely, you can see also see a shimmery highlight on top of her cupid’s bow, at the top center of her upper lip.
It’s a little thing, but it adds a lot to your look, especially when you really want to put the focus on your pout and make your upper lip look a little more lifted.
I do this trick a lot because it only takes a few seconds…
And there’s not much to it. I usually use an eye pencil brush, one with a small brush head like the MAC 219. It has a stiff, dense, pointy end that’s great for little details like this.
I use all kinds of different highlighters for this one, too — creams, liquids, solid sticks, pressed powders, loose powders and pencil highlighters. Give it a try with one of your favorites.
Some ideas for highlighters…
Here I’m using a silvery pinkish beige loose powder, MAC Iridescent/Loose Powder in Silver Dusk.
MAC Silver Dusk
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