Brighten your lids, your look and your summer days with these three bold summer makeup looks

This summer inspiration is brought to you by Target. Find more fun and surprises all season long on Target’s #SummerUp Pinterest board.

“No fear!”

I think we should make that our summer makeup motto… After all, it’s only makeup, right? Nothing to be afraid of (we can always wash it off).

And summer is a perfect time to shine. The longer days, the warmer nights, flip-flops and loose-fitting clothing.

Why be daunted by daring, dynamic duos and multidimensional eye looks? In the spirit of adventure! — let’s kick off the season and face our fears right now.

Flashes of teal, shimmery oceans of blues, gleaming golds and juicy pinks and corals crank up the heat and fun-factor in these three bright, bold makeup looks.

Everything I’m wearing on my eyes, cheeks and lips in these looks comes from Target, so it didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Your beauty assignment today: nothing! And you will not be graded.

We only have one goal here: no fear! Just have fun.

Purple, Teal and Fuchsia

A look featuring purple lids, with shimmering teal on your lower lash lines, bronze cheeks and hot pink lips. This one’s for fearless felines unafraid of color. In other words, you.

1. Begin by applying a shimmery beige cream shadow, like Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR Metal in Barely Branded ($6), all over your lids and along your lower lash lines.
2. Next, sweep a matte brown eye shadow in a shade close to your natural skin tone into your crease. I ended up mixing two shades from the Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral Palette ($20) to create a custom color (just for the heck of it).
3. Then, sweep a shimmery coral shadow just above your matte brown. If you’re stuck for ideas, try Pacifica’s Coral Sand from the company’s new Enlighten Eye Brightening Shadow Palette ($12). I’m lovin’ it so far.
4. Pat a dark black matte shadow, like the black matte from Sonia Kashuk’s Eye on Neutral Palette, into the outer corners of your eyes, and then blend away any harsh lines you see.
5. Blend a gray matte shadow directly on top of that to create a soft gradient of color by dragging the gray into the middle of your lids. I used Sonia Kashuk’s Eye on Neutral Palette again here.
6. Now, wet a flat eye shadow brush with water or a makeup setting spray, and use it to pat a bright purple shadow in the center and at the inside of your lids (the side closer to your nose). Aim for blending the purple into the black and gray gradient from the previous two steps. I used Urchin, the purple shade from the Pacifica Enlighten Palette in step 3.
7. Next, line your upper lash lines with a black gel liner, like L’Oreal’s Infallible Gel Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black ($7).
8. Then line your lower water lines with a vibrant teal blue pencil, like Pixi No. 6 True Teal Endless Silky Eye Pen ($15).
9. To intensify the effect, sweep a bright teal shadow along your lower lash lines. I like L’Oreal’s 24HR Infallible Eye Shadow in Endless Sea ($7) for this…
10. Lift your brows a bit by drawing a line beneath them using a flesh-toned matte liner like Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 005 Nude ($5), and blend.
11. Buff a beige shadow just beneath the arch of each brow to appear to lift them even more. I chose Skinnydip, a shimmery beige from the Pacifica Enlighten Shadow Palette.
12. Finish your eyes with a couple coats of black mascara. I’m using COVERGIRL LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara ($7) here.
13. Now for your cheeks and lips! Blend a shimmery bronze blush, like Bronzed from Pacifica’s Radiant Shimmer Coconut Multiples Palette ($12), on the apples of your cheeks, and tie a ribbon around the entire look with a bright fuchsia gloss like Physicians’ Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Glossy Stain in Hot Pink ($9).

Cat lady says “meow!” to these white cat eye sunglasses, which are only $12 at Target

Blue, Teal and Pink

Mermaid eyes! A blue and teal gradient will dance across your lids like dolphins dancing across a beautiful blue lagoon, while coral and pink serenade your cheeks and lips.

1. Begin by blending a shimmery peachy pink cream shadow like Pixi Lid Last Shadow Pen in Shell Sheen ($18) all over your lids.
2. Next, darken the outer corners of your lids with a matte black shadow pencil. I used Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes Eye Shadow Stick in Blackmail ($5) here.
3. Deepen your outer corners by patting a black eye shadow, like the black shade from Maybelline’s Eye Studio Palette in Sapphire Siren, directly on top of the black shadow pencil.
4. Pat a shimmery blue in the center of your lids and at the inner corners, and then drag a small amount of it into your crease to connect the two areas.
5. Then, creating a gradient with the blue from step 4, pat a shimmery bright teal in the center of your lids. I used a teal from Maybelline’s Sapphire Siren Palette.
6. Soften the edges of the blue and teal on your lids by sweeping a matte brown shadow, like the lid shade from the ELF Beautiful Browns Flawless Eyeshadow quad ($2), into your crease.
7. Now, give your brows a lift by lining the arches with a flesh-toned matte liner like Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 005 Nude ($5), and blend.
8. Dust a beige on top of that, like the pearly base shade from ELF Beautiful Browns.
9. Line your water lines with a black liner (can’t go wrong with L’Oreal’s $7 Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in Black, a true black without any blue or green undertones), and give it some depth by lining the outer third of your lower lash lines with the same pencil.
10. Line your lower lash lines with the same shimmery blue shadow you used on your lids (layering it directly on top of the black liner from the previous step).
11. Make your eyes the focal point of the look by lining the inner corners along your lower lash lines with the teal shadow you used a moment ago on your lids.
12. Coat your upper and lower lashes with a good black mascara like COVERGIRL LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara ($7).
13. Now, get cheeky by blending a bronzer just below your cheekbones for definition, and then buff a coral blush on the apples of each cheek for color. I used Sonia Kashuk’s Chic Luminosity Bronzer/Blush Duo in Glisten ($13).
14. At this stage, I was going to say, “Don’t gloss over your lips,” but that’s exactly what we want. Slick a pink gloss like Sonia Kashuk’s Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss Prettiest Pink ($9) on your lips to wrap things up.

Mint green glasses! These are the Gelato Sunglasses in Mint ($12), available now at Target stores and target.com

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This is a quick meal that only takes 10 minutes to make from start to finish.

Chop 1 shallot, peel and smash 1 clove of garlic, and mix both with 3 tablespoons of really good extra virgin olive oil (my favorite is Ascolano Certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Lucero) and the juice of 1 lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chop a few leaves of fresh basil into thin strips.

Chop 2 tomatoes.

Toss the lemon and olive oil mixture, basil and tomatoes with cooked fusilli or your favorite pasta o’ choice. DONE.

Gobble it all down, but don’t forget to Instagram that ish first!

If you want, you can let it sit overnight in the fridge to marry the flavors even more. This is one of those dishes that’s even better the next day.

You can also easily modify it by adding cheese (fresh mozzarella, feta or parmesan would be tasty) or grilled chicken or salmon.

Pacifica’s Enlighten Eye Brightening Shadow Palette ($12). Available now at Target stores and online.

Skinnydip (left) and Coral Sand (right)

Golden (left) and Urchin (right)

It’s getting hot in here… No, in here — inside the MAC Temperature Rising Makeup Bag ($34)

Recently added to the rapidly growing list of ways I’m turning into my mother (a list that also includes hits like “#25: Washing bars of soap so they look nice and clean in the soap dish” and “#18: Writing lists for everything”) — “#37: Putting bags within bags.”

My mother is notorious for doing this.

At any given moment, there are at least five or six smaller bags inside her purse, each dedicated to storing something different, like medication, snacks, office supplies, first aid, gadgets…

And wouldn’t ya know it? Slowly but surely, I’m going that route.

Never mind that the roomy Poverty Flats Perforated Satchel I’ve been toting around already has three deep pockets on the sides (what is it with me and deep pockets lately??), I’m also putting other bags inside it…

…like the new $34 MAC Temperature Rising Makeup Bag, which has been holding some of my beauty booty essentials.

This slim zippered bag looks deceptively small, but it actually fits a ton of stuff.

Things I need quick access to go in the front pocket — iPhone, tubes of gloss, stuff like that.

What I can fit inside the MAC Temperature Rising Makeup Bag

Behold! The mighty MAC 109 Small Contour Brush! ($35; lens flare not included)

1. Standing in the spotlight on a massive stage in front of thousands of adoring fans, with your cheekbones contoured like WHOA! — as confetti, balloons and glitter rain down upon your glorious form
2. Wondering how you ever lived without it
3. Marveling at how perfectly the diminutive, rounded brush head fits into pans of MAC Eye Shadow singles and the hollows of your cheeks
4. Contemplating how strange it is for you to want different 109s for bronzer, blush, another one for powders, highlighters, two more for foundations (one for liquids and another for creams, both of which it easily applies) and another one strictly for buffing…
5. Considering time travel, specifically going back in time 10 years to gift yourself with a 109 and a pan of MAC Refined Golden, and while you’re there, reassuring yourself that you’re doing just fine, so keep up the good work
6. Singing Debbie Gibson’s Only in My Dreams at the top of your lungs in the shower (using a bottle of shampoo as your microphone, of course) and yelling, “That was for you, 109!!” at the end of the song
7. Blurting out, “Whoa there, cowgirl!” to no one in particular after you get a look at how many bristles it leaves on your face, because it sheds A LOT — more than any other MAC brush you’ve ever tried
8. Questioning your sanity after spending $35 on a makeup brush, good or not, that sheds as much as the 109…
9. Sighing with relief after washing and drying it for the first time, which dramatically cuts down on the future shedding
10. Gushing to all your girlfriends and makeup-lovin’ guy friends about how great the 109 is, but also warning them about the shedding and suggesting that they give it a good washing beforehand

From the left for size: 109 Small Contour Brush, 116 Blush Brush and 129 Powder/Blush Brush

The brush head perfectly fits into pans of MAC Eye Shadow singles as if it were designed for ‘em

PRICE: $35
AVAILABILITY: A permanent collection product available now at MAC counters, stores and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+ (an A if it didn’t shed so much at first)

Pretty stoked about…

This purple cauliflower.

Stopped by the farmers’ market yesterday and picked it up on a whim.

Have you ever tasted one of these before? I haven’t, but I’m going to steam it and toss it in some lemon vinaigrette and capers tonight.

It’s supposed to be sweeter than regular cauliflower… We shall see!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen