Makeup and Beauty Blog: Makeup Reviews, Beauty Tips and Drugstore Beauty Finds
Beauty product reviews, makeup tips and news from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict.
March 6th, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, News
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?
February 21st, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: MAC Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Product Reviews
What kinds of things inspire your makeup looks? I get a lot of my ideas for looks from magazines, other beauty blogs and books, but some of my favorite looks are based upon things in nature, especially flowers. I’m a sucker for flowers.
Can you spot the mini calla lilies in my wedding bouquet?
Pretty, yah? I love all flowers, but lilies are my favorite, so whenever El Hub gets me flowers, he always throws in a lily or two for good measure. Last week’s Valentine’s bouquet contained a handful of pink stargazer lilies.
I still have the bouquet in my bedroom. When I awoke and saw them this morning, I decided I wanted to wear a lip color today that reminded me of pink lilies! I grabbed two hot pink cuties from the MAC Fafi collection — Fun ‘n’ Sexy lipstick ($14) and Cult Fave lipgloss ($14) — and went to work building my look for today.
Fun ‘n’ Sexy lipstick reminds me of the bright pink Wet n’ Wild lipsticks I wore as a teenager, ha!
Here’s the pink stargazer inspired result…
To get this look, I first lined my lips with MAC’s Pink Treat Cremestick Liner and then applied two coats of Fun ‘n’ Sexy with a MAC 316 lip brush. I topped it off with a layer of Cult Fave applied directly from the lip gloss applicator.
It’s raining here in San Francisco today, but this pink lip combo puts a little springtime pep in my step. A girl can never have enough pink lip combos, right? What’s your favorite?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
February 19th, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: MAC Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Product Reviews
I finally got my paws on MAC Fafi yesterday, and all I have to say is MEOW! Love it. This morning I busted out a few things from the collection — Fafi Eyes 1 Quad, Nice Vice Paint Pot and the Not So Innocent Lipstick — and created this subtle gold and black smokey eye for work.
A few days ago, after the super-spy MAC Fafi swatch mission, I fell in love with Fafi’s Paint Pots (love Nice Vice!) and lipsticks but wasn’t floored by the eyeshadow quads. I changed my tune after playing with the Fafi Eyes 1 Quad ($36) this mornin’. The colors work with my skin tone (so far the shades “Hey” and “Vanilla” are my faves), and the textures apply like butter. If you love neutral eyeshadows, I think you’ll dig this quad.
Now, on to the look! New to semi-complicated makeup? Don’t despair. If you’ve ever worn at least two eyeshadow colors at a time, then you can certainly handle this. Yes! You! Can!
Products I used to create the look…
February 13th, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To
No matter how hard I try, I am physically unable to pack light for trips. My main weakness: makeup. I always bring way more than I should.
If I were forced to pick just one eyeshadow palette to bring with me on, say, a three-day trip to Las Vegas, that palette would have to be the new Lancome Stylish Neutrals Color Design Artist Palette.
This Friday morning El Hub and I catch a flight to Las Vegas (4:00 a.m., OUCH!) to hang out with my in laws, who are flying over from where they live in Hawaii to meet us there. We haven’t seen them in a while. It’s just a short three-day trip, so I don’t want to bring my entire makeup collection (actually, I do). Lancome’s Stylish Neutrals Palette has everything I should need.
It would be an understatement to say I’m a lil’ obsessed with this palette. I’ve been rocking the colors for a week. Here’s a super easy tutorial of a pink and light purple eye using four of the shadows.
This map shows where the shadow placement should go:
First, prep your eyelids. Apply a few dots of your favorite concealer and blend it thoroughly with a concealer brush. I used Dior Long-Wearing Moisturizing Concealer and Billy B’s Paintbrush #5.
Next, apply MAC Shadestick in Pink Couture to your lids and barely into your crease.
Use warm fingers to gently smooth out the edges.
Now, grab a fluffy rounded edge brush, like the MAC 252 or Sephora Shader brush, and apply Lancome’s Optic eyeshadow (#1), a cool grey shimmer, to the brow bone.
With the same brush, apply Off the Rack eyeshadow (#2), a metallic light pink, to your lids on top of the MAC Pink Couture Shadestick. Concentrating most of the color on your lid, bring the eyeshadow color up into the crease, fading it as you move upward.
Next, still with the same brush, apply a shimmery mauve like Exhibition eyeshadow (#3) into the outer V. It’s a light but highly pigmented color. Go easy on it if you plan to wear the look to work. Be sure to dilute it first by tapping the brush against the side of the sink, or swipe the brush head against a piece of tissue or the back of your hand. Apply the color slowly, one layer at time. It’s always easier to add color than to take it away.
Now, using a stiff angled brush like the MAC 266 (yay!), apply Backstage Pass eyeshadow (#4), a dark matte burgundy, beneath the lash line. I prefer soft lines, so I applied the shadow dry. If you prefer more intense color and defined lines, wet your brush before using it.
Next, grab a small fluff brush like the MAC 228, and blend a little more Optic eyeshadow (#1) just beneath the line you created with Backstage Pass (#4).
To finish the look, fill in your brows, curl your lashes and add two coats of mascara.
For my brows I used a MAC 266 brush with Concrete Eyeshadow, and on the lashes I used the Shu Uemura curler and Shu’s Precise Volume Waterproof Mascara.
Don’t forget your blush and your gloss! Here, on my cheeks I went with MAC Mocha blush, and on the lips that’s MAC Spice lipliner and Chanel Pink Crystal Glossimer lipgloss.
I like this look’s lil’ color punch. It’s not over-the-top and takes my laziness to new and glorious heights. All six shadows and the Shadestick work so well together and in so many different combinations that I can create any of several different eye looks in 10 minutes from start to finish.
I hope you had a mellow Wednesday. Keep on truckin’, girlfriend!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
If you are looking for a easy liquid liner... Out of all of the products you listed I’ve only... I have always had a battle with not only dark circles, but dry under-eye area...© 2009 Makeup and Beauty Blog | Design By The Blog Studio
