Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Kiss Frizzy Hair G’Bye With the Living Proof Restore Collection

August 1st, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

Today turned out to be quite an innnnteresting Wednesday. Remember a few days ago when I mentioned that I had a bout of hives on my left eyelid? It was just the left eye, and it went away on its own after a couple of hours, so I chalked it up to a minor allergic reaction to something (to be safe, I still changed my laundry detergent and fabric softener and laid off the makeup for the afternoon).

Well, wouldn’t ya know it? — the hives came back! Today! Right after my workout! And this time they were on both eyes, and much worse, like horror movie scary with huge, bright red welts.

Long story short, it is some kind of allergy. I went to the doctor this afternoon, which is why I’ve been incommunicado.

The doc said I’m fine but couldn’t pinpoint the cause. I asked him if he thought it could be caused by a beauty product because, yeah, I use a few of those, but he didn’t think so. The symptoms pointed to good ol’ fashioned hay fever. I guess I just gotta wait it out.

He did suggest that I “lay off the eye makeup for the next few days…”

“What’s that now?” I asked, after I regained consciousness, LOL!

I suppose there is a bright side to all this. I figure, if I’m gonna be tooling around town without a stitch of makeup on and these two cray-cray swollen eyelids, I might as well do something sassy with my hair.

As long as I can wear it down, which I did today, to sort of hide behind, but at least my waves were bouncy and (almost) frizz-free! 🙂

I’ve been using a few products for dry and damaged hair from Living Proof’s gentle, moisturizing Restore collection, which came out last spring (available now at Sephora). The shampoos, conditioners and styling products are supposed to make hair easier to manage.

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Facing the Day the MAC Makeup Way With a Teal, Brown and Blue Smokey Eye

August 1st, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

mac tarnish with club eyeshadow

“When the makeup calls, the girl must answer.”

That’s how I feel today, like I was lured by love to do something more special with my makeup than my plans today would otherwise warrant.

I think that’s one of the things I love so much about makeup, that you don’t really need a good reason to play with it. It’s just there, so why not?

Sure, so I got glammed up to swing by Safeway at lunch to get heirloom tomatoes and basil. It won’t be the first time I go grocery shopping all gussied up.

Actually, I didn’t do anything fancy at all. Just a teal, brown and blue smokey eye using some of my MAC favorites, like Tarnish Kohl.

mac tarnish with club eyeshadow

This is one of my favorite MAC eye looks because of how easy it is, and because it’s a little different than a standard smokey eye with black or gray.

I call it my “peacock feather” eye look. 🙂
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Armani Eyes to Kill Quad in 01 Maestro

August 1st, 2012 by Karen 2 Comments

The Armani Eyes to Kill Quad in 01 Maestro ($59), one of eight new Armani Eyes to Kill Quads from Giorgio Armani Beauty arriving on counters and online in October.

She’s pretty, yeah?

The Scents of Summer: Especially Escada

July 31st, 2012 by Karen 3 Comments

Today I wore Especially Escada ($84 for a 2-ounce bottle).

It’s like cutting class and going to the beach with your girlfriends — carefree, happy and feminine.

Official fragrance notes: pear, rose, ambrette seeds, ylang ylang and musk.

The Dainty Dolce & Gabbana Lace Collection Delivers Nude Lips and Nails for Fall

July 31st, 2012 by Karen 23 Comments

dolce gabbana lace collection

As much as I like the idea of working beside Vampire Pam behind the bar at Fangtasia this fall, sometimes the look — the stilettos and skin-tight leather from head to toe, the super serious smokey eyes, and the jewel-toned shadow shades — is a little too, well, much for me.

So, this afternoon, I hit the pause button on the kinds of rich colors and intense shades we’ve been seeing a lot for fall, and spent a little time with the dainty, nice nudes in the new Dolce & Gabbana Lace collection.

The 10-piece release is all about bronzed skin and nude lips and nails, and the packaging? — oh, the packaging…

I just lurve lace. 🙂 I kinda wish all of Dolce & Gabbana’s makeup had this same limited-edition packaging.

Here’s a quick peek at three pieces from the collection…

dolce gabbana lace collection product shot
From the left: Intenseyes Black Intensity Mascara ($31), Ultra Shine Gloss in Perfection ($32) and Intense Nail Lacquer in Pink ($22)

Intense Nail Lacquer in Pink ($22)

If you’re getting married soon, consider classic, soft pink Intense Nail Lacquer in Pink ($22) for your tips or toes. Creamy, smooth and semi-sheer, it’s a little like Essie’s Ballet Slippers, but much, much smoother.

I’m wearing two coats here, but I’m sure I could have gotten away with one. Yes, the color isn’t altogether unique, but I think it’s perfectly executed.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

dolce gabbana Intense Nail Lacquer in Pink
Two coats of Intense Nail Lacquer in Pink

Ultra-Shine Lipgloss in Perfection ($32)

On my lips, creamy beige Ultra-Shine Lipgloss in Perfection ($32) feels thick, but not sticky, and it has Dolce & Gabbana’s signature rose flavor and scent. It’s one of the smoothest beige glosses I’ve ever tried, and I can totally see it cruising down a red carpet below a shimmery gray smokey eye.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

dolce gabbana perfection swatch
Ultra Shine Gloss in Perfection swatch
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Easy on the Eyes: Flaunt Your Inner Feline With This Soft and Simple Cat Eye

July 31st, 2012 by Karen 42 Comments

cat eye makeup tutorial 1

Even if you feel like your previous attempts at eye makeup left you looking like a horror movie zombie clown (been there, done that!), trust me, babe, you can do today’s easy cat eye makeup look.

Because it relies on forgiving neutrals, as opposed to saturated brights, and doesn’t require extensive blending or complex brushwork, it’s a great confidence builder. Perfect for when you want a quick, elegant eye look easy to dress up or down.

Before we get started, let’s go over the products we’ll use…

cat eye makeup tutorial 2
From the left: MAC 217 Blending Brush, MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush, MAC 266 Small Angle Brush, Dior 3-Couleurs Glow Palette in 651 Nude Glow

Like last time, these are only suggestions, so feel free to substitute any similar colors you already have. As you browse through your collection, look for 1) a neutral (beige, brown, peach, taupe, gray, etc.) powder eyeshadow, ideally one within a few shades of your natural skin tone; 2) a complementing glittery shadow; and 3) a black, brown or gray shadow for the cat eye itself.

(Note: For this cat eye look, I find that soft powder shadows are easier to work with than eyeliners. The shadows don’t look as intense as liners, and you don’t have to worry as much about buffing out the edges.)

I’ll be using the new Dior 3-Couleurs Glow Palette in 651 Nude Glow because it has a good selection of shades for this particular look, but you could also use shadows like NARS Cyprus, MAC Soba, MAC Patina, or MAC Arena as your main neutral; NARS Night Star for your shimmer/glitter shadow and something like MAC Carbon for your darker shadow shade.

Okay, here we go! Let’s get started. 🙂

First — and this is really only the first step if you have oily eyelids — starting with a primer can really help extend the wear time of your shadows. If it’s not a problem for you, you can skip ahead.

Now, using a flat eye shader brush like the MAC 239, pat your main neutral shadow, which for me is the darker golden brown shimmery shade in the upper left of the Dior palette, on your lids starting at the lash line and slowly working up into the crease.

cat eye makeup tutorial 3

Try to concentrate more of the color near the lash line than the crease, as this creates the gradient/transition effect, and also gives the eye more depth, and the overall look more polish.

While you’re still holding the same brush, take the leftover product, and run it along your lower lash line.

cat eye makeup tutorial 4

Then, grab a domed blending brush like the MAC 217, and gently buff the edges, further diffusing the color, by running the brush along your brow bone…

cat eye makeup tutorial 5
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Clawing Your Way to the Top: Nail Art Inspired by the London Olympics

July 31st, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

Source: The Polished Mommy

Trying to get good looks at the stylin’ manis and pedis on the female athletes at the 2012 Olympics in London is like a sport in and of itself! One minute I’m rooting for Dana Vollmer to break the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, next minute I’m screaming “Pan down! Pan down! Pan down!” at the TV to see her fierce fingers and toes.

Poor El Hub… Thank goodness I married a man with the patience to sit through my long, drawn out soliloquies on nail art and other beauty trends in international athletics, LOL!

And the athletes aren’t the only ones getting in on the action. People around the world are celebrating the London Olympics with their own gold medal-worthy manis.

Here’s a look at some of them. If you’ve seen others that you really like, please share them in the comments. 🙂

Source: The Daily Nail Blog