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

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

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

by 21 Comments

Makeup and Beauty Blog Weekly Roundup

It’s Easter, everyone! And I hope wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you’re having a wonderful day. 🙂

First thing this morning, while I was still asleep, El Hub sneaked out of the house on a quest to find hot doughnuts and coffee. Not an easy task at 7 on Easter morning (even Starbucks is closed), but he somehow succeeded! He must have found the only open doughnut shop in the county, LOL!

Yup, fresh doughnuts and coffee are a pretty good way to start a lazy day.

In other news, no makeup monster sightings today, but I’m sure they’ll be back soon… I bet they’re just busy with their families today.

If you feel like saying hi, I’d love to hear from you. Please drop me a line in the comments.

A few beauty posts that caught my eye…

Makeup and Beauty Blog Weekly Roundup

MAC Modesty Cremesheen Lipstick MAC Modesty Cremesheen Lipstick

MAC Reel Sexy Collection Lipstick The MAC Reel Sexy Collection Lipsticks

CK One Color Makeup The New CK One Color Makeup Line

The Becca Balearic Love Collection Violet and Bronze Line and Define Pencil The Becca Balearic Line and Define Pencil in Cabrera

MAC Tres Cheek For Cheeks That Turn Heads: MAC Très Cheek

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics Nail Polish This Cheeky Monkey Is Having a Blast With Nails

MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow

MAC Extra Dimension Mineralize Skinfinish MAC Extra Dimension Mineralize Skinfinish

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Roses Are Red Before They’re Pink With Becca Sheer Tint Lip Colour in Valentina

by 9 Comments

becca valentina

Quite frankly, Becca Sheer Tint Lip Colour in Valentina ($24), the sole lip product in the new Balearic Love collection, surprised the heck out of me when I saw it in person for the first time. From the look of it on the model in the Balearic Love campaign, I expected a lighter pink, but on me, it begins as an intense rose.

What I love most about this lipstick is how it changes on my lips over time. What starts as an almost opaque rosy red (at least on my lips), slowly fades and wears down to a softer rosy pink. One layer provides medium coverage that then fades to a quiet pink stain.

The basics…

  • Flavor and scent: Both are like faint brown sugar
  • Wear time: About three hours on me
  • Formula: It’s pretty moisturizing, but in the dead of winter I would probably wear it on top of an even more moisturizing lip balm
  • Finish: A soft shine that fades to a matte pink stain

becca valentina

becca valentina swatch

becca valentina lip closeup
[Continue reading…]

Dry Cheeks and Knitters Wool Love Physicians Formula Cashmere Blush

by 16 Comments

physicians formula cashmere blush

Physicians Formula Cashmere BlushNow is one of those times I wish I belonged to a kick-@ss stitch-and-bitch group.

See the pattern on that pan of Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Blush ($12.95)? Totally makes me want to knit and purl… Yeah, I’m a closet knitter. Not a very good one, but I can make scarves (and that’s about it).

I love so many things about knitting. I love picking out yarn (does anyone else like to smell the skeins, or is that just me?), love the satisfaction I feel after completing a knitting project, love how a well-balanced bamboo needle feels in my hands…

Shoot, I’m still cursing the day I lost my favorite pair of needles. It was at a Bebe sample sale in South San Francisco a few years back.

I knew it was going to be crowded, so I brought along a scarf to work on while I waited in line to get in. When it was my turn, and I finally got inside to shop, somewhere between the jeans and embroidered jackets, my bamboo needles must have fallen out of my tote bag and forever disappeared.

Sucks, too, because I could have used them to defend myself against a couple of the girls who straight-up grabbed things out of my hands. Those sample shoppers are NO JOKE! They’re like UFC fighters about clothes.

I would not be surprised if the textile pattern on pans of Cashmere blush caused some of them to see red.

Physicians Formula refers to Cashmere, a new product recently released for spring, as “the ultimate in attainable luxury,” and I gotta say — it just might be that. It’s available in two shades, Natural and Rose. I’ve been road testing Natural, a fairly sheer warm pink (I have use two layers to clearly see it on my skin) with light silver shimmer.

The formula supposedly contains 100 percent pure cashmere extract, which the company says helps create skin that looks smoother and line-free. Soft focus pearls in the powder also help further diffuse the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

It’s fragrance-, oil- and paraben-free; hypo allergenic; and designed for all skin types, although it sounds like dry skin might benefit from it the most, since the formula is quite moisturizing, and it was designed to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles (more on that in a minute).

As for the packaging, isn’t it nice? Especially for a drugstore blush? It almost looks like a present. What a great-looking gift. I love the bookish tassel on the front and how the back side opens to reveal a mirror and a brush.

I’m not really a fan of the brush … but it could come in handy for impromptu touch-ups.

Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush 1
Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush in Natural, $12.95; also available in Rose

Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush 4

Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush 5
[Continue reading…]

Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!

by 494 Comments

  • WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Katrina! Congratulations, Katrina! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

A Makeup and Beauty Blog giveaway
A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway

I’m really hoping to go to brunch this morning because I’m craving banana pancakes like crazy!

Mmm, pancakes…

Happy Easter weekend! 🙂 You know what I don’t understand? Oatmeal at brunch. Maybe it’s because I have oatmeal for breakfast every other day during the week (I call it gruel). But I figure, if I’m going out to breakfast or brunch, I like to have something a little special, ya know?

Don’t get me wrong — I love oatmeal, but I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say, “We should totally go to this place I heard about for brunch because they have AMAZING oatmeal.”

LOL!

Another of my favorite breakfast/brunch foods: hash browns. I’ve yet to perfect the art of making hash brown at home. Mine are usually overdone.

As much as I love breakfast, I’m not the greatest breakfast cook. I think it takes my brain a lot longer to wake up than it takes my tummy.

What folks are saying…

“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)

“Hi Karen and Tabs. Wow! Thanks so much for this! It’s hard to believe I actually won something. I can’t wait to shop my little heart out! Thanks again. Love to Tabs! And I love your blog with the Tabs stories. ;+)”
-Sophie, St Petersburg, FL

“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. 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

“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

Win a $50 gift card from Sephora

  • 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 out to breakfast/brunch? Do you apply your makeup before or after breakfast? Are you reading any good books? Are your brows filled in right now? What are you up to this weekend (happy Easter!)? — you get the idea.
  • Second, you can enter by following me on twitter Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
    • Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/HoAEFX

  • The deadline to enter is Sunday, April 8, 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 Katrina! Congratulations, Katrina! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Copyright © 2025 Makeup and Beauty Blog. Get in touch.