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Saturday Surfing: October 21st, 2017

October 21st, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

You know you’re a rebel when you take your coffee in a teacup.

YES.

I get a lot of questions about this Cat Whiskers cup and saucer set by Roy Kirkham, which I got at Homegoods, I believe (although it might have been Marshalls).

I’m doing something called “dessert for breakfast” this morning…

(It’s a thing.)

Well…I’m making it a thing if it isn’t already. (I’m sure it is.)

The other night I made a delightful apple crisp for dessert, thanks to this cooking site I recently found called Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

It’s got, like, apples, oatmeal, butter, brown sugar, and it’s so tasty and breakfast-y that I’m going to also deem it appropriate for the first meal of the day.

Mmm… *makes crunching noises* Sorry, I get caught up in my food. (It happens!)

In other news, I’m still trying to decide if I want to dress up for Halloween. Connor Claire and Tabs will, of course (of course), but I myself haven’t been feeling it, man. Some years, I’m totally in the mood to dress up, but this whole month has been off kilter… It’s mostly because of the Sonoma and Napa fires, which are, for the most part, now under control (HURRAY!). We ended up getting a little rain yesterday, and it really helped.

I’m finally starting to feel playful again, so I dunno… I feel like you need to feel super playful to do Halloween right.

We’ll see… I plan to think it over today during my nap.

Yup, that’s how we do it here at MBB. 🙂

I also hope to get in some high-intensity couch reading, and if that’s also something on your agenda, here are some stories that caught my eye this week…

Studies have actually been done on whether one should wear makeup to work.
Once upon a time, the names for makeup colors were driven by sentimentality…rather than shock value.
Here’s a new spot to shop if you’re into cruelty-free beauty.
Wait — so, you’re telling me that there are people out there buying underwear that purposefully mimics the look of a camel-toe crotch…? WTF? And now I’m ready to retreat into my cave, where I will live alone for the rest of my days.
I never thought I’d say this about hospital food, but these meals, which were served to a woman in a Japanese maternity ward, look damn delicious.
How do you create a makeup line that truly includes all teh colors?
The 411 on Guerlain’s new liquid lipsticks…
Speaking of liquid lipsticks, Make Up For Ever has some new shades.
Dior’s holiday packaging suuure looks luxe.
Pink and black eye makeup? I’m down!

So, dessert for breakfast. Who’s with me? 🙂 And what’ll you have? (Someone please say chocolate cake.)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Introducing 6 New Shades of Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner for Holiday 2017

October 20th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

Wait! Stop! Hold up… Please don’t walk away just ’cause these are glittery. I’m serious, you can totally wear the Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliners.

I’ve been a fan of these for years because the glitter bits are so small and…classy? — for lack of a better word? This is classy glitter.

If you run a little along your lash lines, or even just your lower lash line, you get the most lovely (yet understated, by glitter standards) sparkle. I’ve been doing it for years with one of the shades, gold Midnight Cowboy, for lazy person’s party makeup.

UD just added these six new shades to the existing Heavy Metal Glitter permanent line, and of these, I’m all about Punk Rock, the dark purple one with multicolored sparkle, because it looks gorgeous along the lash lines with a black, brown or purple smoky eye (especially if you tightline your water lines with black liner).

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BECCA Après Ski Glow Face Palette for Holiday 2017

October 20th, 2017 by Karen 2 Comments

becca apres ski glow face palette k — BECCA Eye Lights Palette on my eyes and NARS Vibeke Lipstick

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — I am not a snow person.

I mean, I like hanging out in the lodge by the fire with a glass of wine on a bearskin rug after snowboarding… You get back to the cabin after a day on the slopes, have some hot cocoa and snacks. That’s cool, right? And then, like, your skin looks all glowy, like you’re wearing the BECCA Après Ski Glow Collection Face Palette ($45), because you’ve been exerting yourself on the slopes.

becca apres ski glow face palette open — Ready to glow?

becca apres ski glow-face palette swatches final — From the top: Rose Quartz, Icicle, Winter Berry, Blushed Copper, Opal, Bronzed Bondi

BECCA sure knows how to handle seamless integrations, ya know? When I wear their products, I can’t tell where my bronzer stops and my blush begins, and that also goes for their highlighters. Their products melt into each other without leaving any harsh lines. Their Shimmering Skin Perfectors basically blend like you’re frosting a cake.

Enter the BECCA Après Ski Glow Face Palette for Holiday 2017.

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BECCA Après Ski Glow Collection Eye Lights Palette for Holiday 2017

October 19th, 2017 by Karen 1 Comment

becca eye lights palette k — BECCA Après Ski Glow Face Palette on my cheeks and NARS Vibeke Lipstick

If the thought of wearing a face product on your eyes freaks you out (apparently, it does not freak me out, ha!), don’t worry. The new $45 BECCA Après Ski Glow Collection Eye Lights Palette is officially an eye product…even though the “shadows” in it have almost the same formula as the actual BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Powders. 🙂

(Side note: am I the only one who already uses the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfecting Powders and Bronzers as eyeshadows? Just curious…)

becca eye lights palette open — Let’s talk about brown shadow, baby!

This is a gorgeous palette. It has seven neutral shades — two of them new (bodaciously buttery brown Toasted Marshmallow and Hot Cocoa) and five of them based on existing highlighters in the BECCA permanent line.

All of them feel just as soft and buttery, and blend just as easily, as BECCA’s full-fledged, official highlighters.

I like using the browns (big surprise) as quickie crease colors, because they aren’t very pigmented, so you can almost instantly define your eyes by swishing a few swipes on your lids.

Golden brown Toasted Marshmallow is basically rocking my world right now. It looks a little like MAC Soba to me, but with, like, amplified golden pearl. And reddish brown Hot Cocoa looks like a satiny version of MAC Swiss Chocolate. It’s red, but it isn’t too red, if you know what I mean.

The only big catch with this palette, and it is kind of a big catch, is that most of the shades — the lighter ones, especially — all (with the exception of Topaz) look pretty much the same on my NC 42 skin, so if you’re my shade or darker…it’s kinda repetitive.

I’m just sayin’.

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The Nail Polish Club

October 19th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

The fires are slowly but surely being contained, and the air has cleared up enough to go for walks again. We went for one on Monday evening and found a sign advertising a new neighborhood business…

For The Nail Polish Club!

Two dollars a hand… That’s a TOTAL bargain compared to the local nail place I usually go to, and it’s great if you’re, say, right-handed and can only paint the nails on your left hand decently. If you only need help painting the nails on one hand, you can call The Nail Polish Club, and they’ll assist you for just TWO BUCKS!

Oh, they also do nail art. It’s 50 cents for add-ons like glitter, stickers or flowers-slash-dots.

What I love most is the specificity of the sign. They’re available for clients on Tuesdays, and each appointment is 30 minutes. 🙂