Just For Fun

Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, July 5

July 5th, 2008 by Karen 12 Comments

How many times have you left the house late for school or work and not wearing any makeup? But when you caught a glimpse of your pretty, painted nails, didn’t you let out a sigh of relief? Sometimes, all it takes to feel put together is a little color on your fingertips. If you love nail polish as much as I do, check out All Lacquered Up.

Graphic designers and web developers use Adobe kuler to help them identify color palettes to use in projects for work, but I think it’s a great tool for makeup lovers, too. One nifty feature suggests color schemes based on images you upload yourself (Create>From an Image). Say you have a picture of a lovely pink and yellow flower. Upload the photo to kuler, and it’ll return a list of colors — like swatches — based upon the predominant colors in the picture. COOL!

PopSugar is one of the ways I get my celebrity gossip fix. I like to go there when my brain needs a break. It’s part of the Sugar Inc. network of women’s blogs (ala , and ). Interesting… I just learned Luke Perry may sign on for the new 90210 TV series. He better not be playing a high school student because he’s *hella* old.

iVillage is kinda like one-stop shopping for beauty and fashion news. It’s another good way to start your research if you’re unfamiliar with a topic. Try the Makeover-O-Matic. With it you can test virtual makeup, hairstyles and celebrity looks.

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Who Else Wants Great Hair?

July 4th, 2008 by Karen 13 Comments

The road to accepting my hair fate has been long and filled with bad haircuts and products that delivered heartache and frizz. If I had a dime for every time I cursed my wavy hair I’d be a rich woman. I swear, I’m filing a request with the powers that be for straight, wash-and-wear hair, LOL.

On my seemingly never-ending quest for more manageable hair, I’ve found a few products and tips that have helped, and here are some of my favorite ones. What are yours? What are your hair care power tips? Do share in the comments — I need all the help I can get!

Fight Frizz with Fekkai Summer Hair Zero-Humidity Frizz Control
“Zero-Frizz isn’t just a hair smoothing spray. It smells great (like coconut and citrus) and even contains a UV protectant Fekkai calls Solarshield, designed to prevent sun damage and lightening. And no alcohol here, which is a big , as hair products containing alcohol tend to be drying.”

Tips for Breast Cancer Patients: Staying Beautiful Inside and Out!
“One of the many challenges for Mary Anne was navigating the world of makeup and beauty as a cancer patient. How do you deal with losing your eyebrows? What do you when you feel a hot flash coming on? These are just a few makeup/beauty issues that she had to deal with.”

Hair Tip for Dry Hair: Skip the Shampoo and Wash With Conditioner Instead
“It does take time to get used to not having bubbles. You may want to transition by alternating the conditioner wash with your regular shampoo for a few weeks, and then going every two days, then three days, etc., and thus slowly weaning yourself off your shampoo…”

Not Your 80s Hairspray: Bumble and Bumble’s Spray de Mode Makes Me Want to Use Hairspray Again
“I’ve been wearing my hair big and wavy lately as a homage to my 80s pre-teen self. Spray de Mode’s worked wonders in keeping the waves in check without leaving my hair feeling sticky or crunchy. I can even run my fingers through my mane, and it keeps its shape. And Spray de Mode dries quickly. I remember 80s hairspray taking forever to dry.”

Innovative New Remington Shine Therapy Flat Iron Straightens and Conditions at the Same Time
“…the straightener’s ceramic plates are porous and infused with a blend of conditioners and avocado oil. With the heat cranked up, the plates evenly emit their conditioning blend during styling to protect and moisturize hair. Neat, yah?”

Product Review: Bespoke Labs T3 Featherweight Hair Dryer
“There are so many es to this dryer, but the best part is that it gets the job done fast, and now I get an extra an hour and a half every week. It used to take an hour to blow dry my hair with my old hair dryer. With the T3 the time is cut down to 30 minutes. And a good blow out on Sunday means that I won’t have to bother with my hair until Friday…”

Garnier Nutrisse Product Review Plus Tips For At-Home Hair Color
“The smell is pretty strong, but in comparison to other at-home dyes it’s not bad. It also doesn’t dry my hair out, which is one thing I hated most about Feria, the dye I used in high school. If you have dark hair like me and want to go a few shades lighter, Garnier is a good choice…”

Oh, and thanks to Marisol for pointing out that Bella Sugar is doing a Friday giveaway today featuring the product shown above. You have until 5 pm PDT today to enter; head on over to for details. Good luck, bonne chance, held og lykke, viel glueck, etc., etc.

I hope you’re having a great Fourth of July!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Dear Kamod-ua.xyz, July 3

July 3rd, 2008 by Karen 20 Comments

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Dear Kamod-ua.xyz,

I’ve read on your blog that you take hip hop dance classes. I want to start taking them too, and there’s a place near my house, but I have a problem. I absolutely have to wear eyeliner to look presentable out in public, but I sweat a lot when I exercise. I don’t want streaks of liner running down my face, and the thought of watching myself for an hour in those huge dance mirrors without eyeliner stresses me out. Can you recommend a good eye pencil that can stand up to someone who sweats a lot like me?

Love,

Eyeliner Lover in Emeryville

Dear Eyeliner Lover in Emeryville,

Girl, I am a huge fan of sweat-resistant makeup, especially when big mirrors are involved. I know I don’t want to look at smudgy eyes and dark circles while I drop it like its hot (well, like it’s warm; this 30-something booty can’t move like it used to). I *totally* feel your pain.

What you need is a good waterproof eye pencil. I’ve road tested some different brands in dance class and my favorite by far is ($22). It’s both sweat- and smudge-proof, even when I’m sweating buckets. And the texture feels creamy and soft, so the pencil doesn’t tug at my lids (a pet peeve) when I apply it onto my upper or lower lash lines.

clarins-crayon-yeux-waterproof-eye-pencil

It comes in four lovely colors — black matte, bronze shimmer, violet matte and turquoise shimmer. I’ve worn all four in different combinations while dancing, and my fave combo is violet on the upper lash line, with bronze on the lower. The look packs just enough color to make my eyes pop.
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Maggie Gyllenhaal Hairstyle Celebrity Poll

July 3rd, 2008 by Karen 22 Comments

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Mark your calendars, ladies, because it’s almost time for Christian Bale to strut his stuff on screen in the next Batman movie. The new flick, (followup to 2005’s Batman Begins), opens Friday, July 18. I welcome any excuse to drool over C. Bale’s hot, muscled bod. Girlfriend, you know I’ll be there!

The fabulous and talented Maggie Gyllenhaal, one of my favorite actresses, takes over the role of Rachel Dawes (played by Katie Holmes in the first film) playing opposite C. Bale as Batman’s love interest. I dig Maggie’s trademark brown tresses, especially when she wears her hair long. From the trailers and previews I’ve seen so far, that’s how she wears it in the film.

Although Maggie often plays brunettes, she has sported other hair colors and cuts in several of her films and on the red carpet.

Morning eye candy… Mmm… Christian…

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Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, July 2

July 2nd, 2008 by Karen 17 Comments

I tower at exactly 5’2″ tall, and when you’re my height, clothing presents certain … challenges. Christa Jean at Petite Fashionista understands the plight of the vertically challenged. Her site gives shorter women everywhere the tools they need to dress in style.

You can’t help but catch Vanessa’s exuberance for makeup when you pay a visit to her site. She does some really colorful looks, but beyond her skill with makeup she’s the cool cousin you wish you had, the really nice one you could go shopping with any time.

Sometimes, inspiration comes in the form of an ink blot. Stefan Bucher creates art by dropping ink on a page and blowing it out with a straw until he sees the shape of a monster. Then, he fleshes out the creature with a pen. I know, it’s weird, but trust me; it’s also beautiful and cool. He records the entire process, too, and posts the videos on his blog.

Julyne Derrick has run the ME.com Beauty Guide since 2005. The site maintains a huge library of how-to articles and general information about makeup and beauty. The easy-to-follow layout makes it a perfect resource for women testing the makeup waters.

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