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

I’ve been crushing pretty hard on MAC Plush Lash for the past few months, but it looks like there’s a new love in town, Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara ($20).

Ooh, shiny!
I have this in black, and the best thing about it is the finish. It’s a deep, inky black that gives my lashes gloss and shine.

Hey fatty!
I like a big lash look, but on me it takes some work ’cause my natural lashes are just plain jane average, both in terms of length and thickness.

A single coat of Ceramide mascara thickens my lashes without leaving them looking fake or unnatural, and two coats produces long, fat, defined, party-like-a-rockstar lashes.

Curly girlie!
Another issue I have with my lashes is that they’re stick straight (BOO), so I need a mascara that holds the curl I get from my lash curler. Ceramide mascara holds the curl all day (and night) long, giving me a wide-eyed look ’til the wee hours.

Rawk on!
But wait, there’s more! To top all this gloriousness off, Ceramide doesn’t flake, keeps my lashes soft and doesn’t leave smudge marks, either.

And it’s good for you, too!
Ceramide mascara has a bunch of superstar stuff in it to condition and revitalize your lashes like:
- Ceramide Triple Complex (Ceramides 1, 3 and 6) plus Vitamins A, C and E to help reinforce and restore lashes’ natural protective barrier
- Keravis, a conditioning ingredient known to help strengthen and fortify lashes

If I had a wish…
I’d made this more easily accessible. None of the department stores at my nearby mall carry Elizabeth Arden, so I have to order it online, and while the brush is easy to use, I wish it were a little fatter like the MAC Plush Lash brush.

Celebrate good times, COME ON!

Friday is that much closer, ya’ll. Are you ready?

Tomorrow I’m busting out the Christmas decorations, doing some blogging and hopefully finishing my Christmas shopping. Why is it so hard to shop for boys? ARGH!

Anyway, I hope your day was swell and that you’re feeling good.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I lurves my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer, but truth be told my cheap ass hates having to pay $42.00 for it. There’s got to be a decent drugstore foundation out there that doesn’t cause break-outs. Could the answer be Maybelline’s Pure Makeup foundation?

The hook behind Maybelline’s Pure Makeup foundation is that instead of it being filled with pore-clogging oils it’s made with water — 50 percent water — allegedly making it better for gals with acne-prone skin like moi.

This oil-free liquid foundation comes in 12 shades, and I’ve tested two of them, honey beige and medium beige. I was really hoping Maybelline Pure Makeup would rock my world because it’s so damn cheap (six bucks, hello!), but I have mixed feelings about it despite its many positives.

Big hearts for:
- Price; a 30ml sized tube for $6.00
- Light-to-medium coverage
- Doesn’t cause me to break out
- Easy to apply and blend
- Texture; it’s more like a tinted moisturizer than a runny liquid foundation
- Tube is travel friendly and hygienic (no dipping of the fingers into a nasty jar)
- Easy to find; I’ve seen it in all the drugstores in my ‘hood including Walgreen’s, Long’s and Rite Aid
- Natural-looking matte finish

I bought the honey beige shade when I still had a tan a few months ago, and it looked good on me despite being a touch too pink. Medium beige has a slightly lighter color, and like the honey beige is just a little too pink on me as well. I’ve always had an issue with foundation color matching though (overly pink shades can look ashy, and overly-yellow shades make me look ill) so this problem isn’t anything new. But the color isn’t the biggest issue for me when it comes to this product. It’s the fact that after a few hours this foundation streaks like a mo’ fo. I’ll put it on evenly in the morning, set it with powder, but by the end of the day I can see the product on my skin in little patches. Big, fat HELL_TO_THE_NO.

However, I don’t think you should dismiss it immediately because it streaked on my skin; I’ve read that it doesn’t happen to everyone, so it might not be an issue for you. Pure Makeup didn’t aggravate my skin at all and is very budget friendly - both huge plusses. If you’ve got acne or sensitive skin issues then check it out, and if you don’t like it you can always return it if you keep your receipt.
You might heart it if:
- You have acne-prone, sensitive skin
- You need light-to-medium coverage
- You like foundations with pink tones
- You are on a budget
- You use primer underneath your foundation

Do you have a favorite drugstore foundation that you can’t live without? What do you think I should try next?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Royal Assets Lip Palette O’ Rama, Part I

Holiday shopping is hard work. You have to hunt and gather, compare and contrast prices, and use your wits to find the shortest lines. Shoot, just the other day I almost had to wrestle a girl for a purse I wanted to buy for my moms … and you better believe I would’ve taken that girl down right there in the middle of Macy’s too. If we’d had spears we’d have been just like the cave girls of yore.

It isn’t always easy to find the right gift for someone. After a brutal day of shopping, you deserve a lil’ reward for all your hard work. Go on, snag a MAC Royal Assets Lip Palette ($22.50) or two for yourself. I won’t tell Santa, promise.

There are four palettes to choose from — tan, coral, red and pink — with coordinating colors for every lipstick loving gal.

In the tan lips set you get:
Pure Pomp - Soft yellow gold with gold pearl
Sceptre - Light tan with bronze pearl
Privee - Midtone brown with gold pearl

Each case fits easily into a clutch purse, perfect for nights out on the town. Also, each palette comes with a small lip brush, too. Normally, I don’t like tiny brushes because they can be too small to use well, but I decided to keep these for on-the-go spot touchups.

Check back later on for swatches of the other sets.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

If you liked this post, check out MAC Makeup Tips: MAC Does Makeup for Music, Too.

What: Badgley Mischka Fleurs De Nuit Perfume
Smells like: An explosion of white flowers
Why: Because the bottle and scent are elegant and beautiful
Get it for: The perfume collector
How much: $90.00 for a 3.4 fl oz. bottle

Suckers for purty perfume bottles, unite! With its elegant silver, lace design and engraved cap, Badgley Mischka’s Fleurs De Nuit will be the star of your perfume bottle collection this holiday season.

The pictures I took of the bottle don’t do it justice, so here’s the promo pic, which gives you a better idea of the intricate silver detail on the sides and engraved “Badgley Mischka” silver top.

Perfumes are like accessories. Some perfumes are “jeans and a tank top” scents. Others, like Fleurs de Nuit, remind me of Chanel tweed suits and pearls.

It’s a very formal and elegant white floral with notes of jasmine, magnolia and quince blossom. White floral perfumes always seem like “grown up” scents. They remind me of ladies who wear gloves and attend society luncheons.

You might like this scent if you are a fan of these other white floral fragrances:

- Marc Jacobs Perfume
- Michael Kors
- Robert Piquet Fracas
- Bvlgari Voile de Jasmin
- Vera Wang Sheer Veil

I only wear white florals on rare occasions, so I gotta fess up that I like this perfume more because of the bottle than the scent. However, if you’re a perfume collector or a sucker for pretty bottles like I am, then you’ll also appreciate Fleurs de Nuit.

What scent are you wearing today? I’m feeling much better than I have been in days, so I’m wearing Happy, by Clinique.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen