Deluxe fake teeth, frying garlic and more random acts of iPhone photography.
Random Acts of iPhone Photography, 03.05.12
Milani’s New Spring 2012 Runway Eyes Eyeshadows for Spring 2012 Have Something Big in Common With Tabs
I like my kitty supermodels chunky…
E! True Hollywood Story: Tabs the Cat, from Stray to Supermodel
…and my eyeshadows smooove, like Ryan Gosling. 🙂
Last weekend I gave Milani’s three new spring 2012 Runway Eyes eyeshadows a try, but instead of marveling at their sparkly abundance and bodacious $6.99 price tag, I kept getting distracted by something in the mirror…
Chunks, and not the kind I like.
When I apply these dry, I can see the grains chillin’ on top of my eyelids. No, they aren’t the smoothest shadows at the rodeo, if you catch my drift.
Applied wet, using a brush moistened with MAC Fix+, seems to smooth out the texture. It also intensifies the shimmery colors of these shadows, in particular Golden Touch (the golden beige) and Peaches & Cream (the silvery peach), but I still see stray grains on my lids that I feel the urge to buff.
Golden khaki Antigua, on the other hand, gets closer to great. I think it looks and feels smoother than the other two shades, and at least for me, with its hint of gray, has the most star power among these three.
From the left, Antigua, Golden Touch and Peaches & Cream applied dry (the three shades on the left) and wet (the three shades on the right)
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Out on a Wedge With the Comfy Unisa Kami Shoe
So, I made a shoe pact with myself a few weeks ago in which I pledged, from now on, to only bring home new shoes that I can actually walk in.
A novel concept, I know. 🙂
I probably should have done it sooner, too, because I can barely walk in half the shoes I own.
But it’s not my fault (well, I mean it is). It’s the high heels! They’re the worst offenders. It’s too bad they’re such tasty eye candy…
The very uncomfortable Seychelles Squeak Sandal
So this pact of mine, I started doubting my commitment to it the other day at DSW, surrounded by aisle after aisle of sky-high heels. Then, the $49.95 Unisa Kami Wedge walked into my life.
I’d been on the hunt for a stylish, comfy pair of nude wedges to wear with jeans and spring dresses, and had visited a bunch of different stores and poked around online, but nothing really struck my fancy until I spotted these wedges.
I don’t know much about Unisa beyond the fact that they’ve been around for a while. The Kami, which is fashioned with faux leather straps and has a synthetic sole, comes in tan, white, black, dark brown and a neutral reptilian print.
As soon as I slipped on a tan pair and took a few steps around the store, I knew they were comfortable and a good height for me. The cork wedge measures about 3 inches tall, but because of the ½-inch platform, the heel feels more like a 2, or a 2½.
I love how stable I feel in these shoes, like there’s no chance I’m going to topple over, and I think it’s mostly because of the wedge, which is thicker than most of the other wedges I’ve worn.
The vintage-looking t-strap helps. It secures my heel better than slip-ons do, so that’s another nice plus.
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It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
The cherry blossoms are blooming in my neighborhood right now. I love seeing all the pink flowers; it feels surreal.
Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 210
- You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”
Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past four years. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
- Mood:
- Milk, dark or white chocolate?
- Peeta or Gale?
- Have you ever rocked out to a Paula Abdul song?
- Fingerless lace gloves: cute or tacky?
- The current state of your eyebrows?
- Have you ever worn feather extensions in your hair?
- Strapless dresses: yea or nay?
- What’s the most surprising thing a stranger’s ever said to you?
- Weekly goals:
Just peachy. 
How ’bout milk and dark, please? Milk when it comes to chocolate candies, and dark when it comes to brownies, cookies and cupcakes.
Mmm… cupcakes.
Team Peeta all the way, ever since the first book.
Three words: Forever Your Girl.
If you’d asked me in 1988, I would have said, “cute!” I used to think they were awesome back when Madge wore ’em. Now? Not so much.
Long overdue for a trim and a session with my Tweezerman tweezers.
Nope, but Tabs has.
Yea, but only if I’m wearing a gravity-defying bra.
That I can remember? Well, it wasn’t directed at me, but maybe the time I overheard a flight attended describing me to a coworker as “the young girl sitting in the aisle seat.”
I was 35 at the time (read: score!).
Just one: keep smiling. 🙂
Hey, hey, happy Monday!
Got a sec for the Monday Poll? I sure hope so.
- To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.
1. Mood:
2. Milk, dark or white chocolate?
3. Peeta or Gale?
4. Have you ever rocked out to a Paula Abdul song?
5. Fingerless lace gloves: cute or tacky?
6. The current state of your eyebrows?
7. Have you ever worn feather extensions in your hair?
8. Strapless dresses: yea or nay?
9. What’s the most surprising thing a stranger’s ever said to you?
10. Weekly goals:
Enjoy your week! I’ll try to do the same.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. The Walking Dead last night — what did you think? Can I suggest a couple of alternate titles for the episode? How about, “I would have killed for more zombies,” or, “The moral dilemmas are killing me quicker than this zombie bite”? 🙂
Neighborhood Cat Watch
I went walking this afternoon and bumped into a silver, orange and black tabby who lives down the hill.
I call her Charlize…
She’s a small kitty at about 6 pounds, and she loves chin and back-of-the-ear scratches.
Note the low-hanging belly
When I got back home, I let Tabs sniff my fingers and his tail puffed up within seconds. I don’t think he was too thrilled with me “cheating” on him, LOL!
Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 181
One of the things Tabs and I like to do together on Sundays is surf the Web for cat videos. I take care of the keyboarding (on account of my opposable thumbs), while he commanders the mouse.
I think we found a few good ones today. 🙂
Tabs likes this first one best because of its “organic nature and abstract transcendentalism.” His words.
Apocalypse Miau!
What a catnip trip, right? So weird! Did you notice that paw emerging from the lipstick tube at the 0:28 mark?
Tabs knows the cat that paw belongs to. He says she’s an up-and-coming kitty supermodel.
Aqua
Maybe it’s because I’m PMSing like crazy right now, but this animated story about a cat who wakes up in a world surrounded by water made me cry buckets. It explores themes like survival and overcoming one’s fears in such a poetic and touching way.
Okay…I’m gonna cry again.
What cats dream
I can see Tabs having dreams like this… If my dreams are weird, and they are, I can only imagine what his little kitty brain is doing when he’s asleep, and his little paws are REM twitching.
Sun-dappled tabby
I have a crush on this handsome tabby! Shh… Don’t tell Tabs. I snuck this simple, soothing video in the list when he wasn’t looking.
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Benefit Revamps Boo Boo Zap, Dropping the Comic Book Motif While Zapping a Couple of Ingredients
Meet the newest member of the Benefit B.Right Skincare clan, the repackaged and reformulated Benefit Boo Boo Zap ($16).
Its objective remains the same, even though it’s decked out in new digs — to banish blemishes and reduce the appearance of redness and swelling.
Like the current formula, this one’s clear, so it can be worn beneath or on top of makeup. It also contains salicylic acid (0.5%).
Say “bye bye” to boo boos with this fast-acting invisible acne treatment. It purifies & dries out blemishes and reduces the appearance of acne-related redness & swelling. Perfect for all skin types, this clarifying wonder is gentle enough to be used multiple times a day, but powerful enough to prevent new blemishes from forming.
I’m going to miss the comic book packaging, with that zit-fighting superheroin leaping high above the San Francisco skyline. It was always so easy to spot and such a favorite at the Benefit counter.
Benefit trades the comic book flair for more sophisticated beachy attire in green, tan and white, keeping it consistent with the rest of the B.Right line. They also increased the amount of product while decreasing the price, which is always nice to see. The old/current zapper held 6 milliliters and cost $20; the new one houses 7.4 milliliters and costs $16. A pretty significant change.
But even more important than that, Benefit adjusted the ingredient profile. It still contains salicylic acid, but they removed the witch hazel and camphor, and added glycolic acid, bisabolol (an extract of chamomile believed to soothe flaky dry skin) and a couple of acronyms, PPG-26 and PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, a compound some folks try to avoid.
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