Makeup and Beauty Blog: Makeup Reviews, Beauty Tips and Drugstore Beauty Finds

Bumble and Bumble enlisted the help of French hairdresser Laurent Philippon to test and fine tune the formula of their Spray de Mode hairspray over several seasons of professional use backstage at the Paris shows (aka in the trenches), and the hard work shows.

Let me just come out and say it: Spray de Mode is nothing like 1980’s hairsprays. I can’t even begin to estimate the obscene amount of stinky, flaky, crunchy aerosol hairspray I used when high hair was the fashion du jour.

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MAC’s new Beauty Powder Blushes hit counters next Thursday, March 13. The blush junkie in me cannot wait to check these babies out! Infused with fine, pearl shimmer, each of the eight limited edition shades promises to deliver a subtle, natural glow.

“The trick to wearing it is to find a shade right for your skin tone because ultimately what you want is a perfectly natural veil on your face,” says Gordon Espinet, Vice President of Makeup Artistry for MAC Cosmetics.

I’m all for perfectly natural cheeks, so I’m stoked about this release.

Beauty Powder Blushes ($17.50) are coming in the following shades:

• Shy Beauty- Pastel apricot with gold pearl (satin)
• Feeling- Dirtyplum with silver pearl (satin)
• Sweetness- Intense blue pink (satin)
• Joyous- Peach with gold pearl (satin)
• True Romantic- Mid-tone pink with silver pearl (satin)
• Serenely- Deep brownish red with gold pearl (satin)
• Eversun- Neutral peach bronze with gold pearl (satin)
• Secret Blush Dirty neutral plum with gold pearl (satin)

What say you about Beauty Powder Blushes?

I didn’t end up making it to the video store last night, so no Dirty Dancing for me, but Step Up was on TV. Watching that temporarily scratched my dance movie itch. I have a huge weakness for cheesy dance flicks with characters pirouetting, stomping, and boom-boom-kacking their way through life obstacles, and getting to watch Channing Tatum shake his stuff doesn’t hurt, either.

The sun’s out today, so I’m getting ready for a nice, long run around the neighborhood. I hope you’re having a good day so far.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

And if you enjoyed this post, check out this one here: MAC Russian Red Lipglass Face of the Day

MAC’s Cream Color Base in Pearl ($16.50) makes colors really pop, taking eyeshadow to a brighter, bolder, and more diva-superstar level. With Cream Color Base, your eyeshadow is like an A-list celeb; without it, it’s like Jen Bunney from The Hills. It’s one of those products that every eyeshadow junkie needs to have in her makeup bag.

Pearl’s a soft, pale gold-colored product with just a touch of shimmer. Layered beneath powder eyeshadows, it intensifies color. To the touch, it feels like a cream blush. The picture below shows 1) MAC Parrot eyeshadow by itself and 2) applied on top of a layer of Pearl:

Pretty, yah? Pearl comes in a standard issue blush pan, so what I do is pick up the product from the pan with a synthetic flat brush like the MAC 239 and apply it directly onto the lid area (not the crease or the browbone), while trying to avoid applying too much. It’s easy to overdo it with Pearl. Too much can cause caking and lead to the product migrating around the eyelid.

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Genetics bestowed upon me wimpy, ho-hum lashes… and then made me so clumsy that I couldn’t apply false ones to save my life. Oh, the sweet eyelash irony! Enter the Shu Uemura lash bar, aka false eyelash nirvana, where the lashes are affordable and the appointment booking process couldn’t be easier. Whether you’re looking for a little lash extension, or you’re aching for crazy, over-the-top-lashes to overcompensate for many years of eyelash inadequacy (*ahem*), Shu’s got you covered.

Case in point:

Notice how fabulously non-wimpy these are. I done died and went to eyelash heaven, ladies!

Would you believe a trip to eyelash heaven is actually pretty darn affordable? From a Shu lash bar, all you do is purchase any pair of their false lashes, which run from $16 to about $50 a pair, and a Shu makeup artist will apply your new lashes (and answer any questions you might have about them) for free!

Gratis rules, but I know you work hard for your money, so to stretch those dolla-dolla-bills a wee bit further, here’s a great money saving tip I got from Jeccica, a Shu Uemura makeup artist and manager (and all around rad girl) at the San Francisco Fillmore store: buy a pair like False Eyelashes Luxe ($20) and ask the makeup artist to cut one of the lashes in half.

Ask the artist to apply each of the cut halves to your outer lashes only. It’s a simple way to get a sexy, yet natural-looking eyelash boost. Save that uncut lash for future use. Cut that bad boy in half and you’re good to go with a new pair. It’s like getting two sets of lashes for the price of one, yah?

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