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NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection: 10-Minute Makeup

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nars erdem strange flowers collection fotd k2

Is this a 10-minute makeup look because it took me 10 minutes to do…or is it a 10-minute makeup look because I only had it on for 10 minutes?

I don’t know!

Oh, goodness… I’m wearing lots of NARS Erdem Strange Flowers in these pics, and there’s a certain irony to this because I was outside walking among the flowers and the nature for approximately 10 minutes before I had to rush inside and wash everything off. Because my allergies went OFF!

It’s been particularly bad so far this year. My eyes started watering like Trevi Fountain, man. So, yeah. Didn’t get to wear this look all day long, which is what I wanted to do, but at least I had 10 minutes of semi-glamour, and sometimes that’s enough.

Couple things about the NARS Erdem pieces I’m wearing in this look…

nars erdem 10 minute makeup

I mean, you might recognize most of the “greatest hits” items in this pic because I’ve talked about most of the face products before, but if there’s anything you’re curious about, lemme know.

As for the NARS Erdem pieces, both the Fleur Fatale Eyeshadow Palette and Poison Rose Lip Powder Palette look like they could lean neutral, or maybe even slightly warm, but on my skin (I’m somewhere between NARS St. Moritz and Cuba), both the eye palette and lip palette appear extremely cool-toned, so that’s something to keep in mind if you were considering either of them.

Also — oh, my gosh — the blush? Loves Me? It’s hella bright and SO PIGMENTED. I dabbed a bit on my cheeks and was like, yeah, I should probably take that down a few steps.

I took the foundation brush I used to apply my base makeup (a MAC 187S… It’s a’ight. I used it because it was clean and convenient.) and ran it across the tops of my cheeks to lift some of the blush off and blend it down into the skin a little more.

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The NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection, and Familiar Flowers in My Neighborhood

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nars erdem wildflower
NARS Erdem

The new NARS Erdem Strange Flowers summer collection is out now (side note: Erdem is a women’s fashion designer, if you’re not in the know… I had to look him up, so you aren’t alone if you had no clue!), so, of course, being the frustrated botanist that I am, I walked all over my neighborhood looking for strange flowers, and that’s when I realized that there aren’t any strange flowers in my neighborhood…

LIKE, NONE.

I don’t think it’s too much to expect to see a Venus Flytrap while you’re taking your cat for a walk.

But I digress…

The NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection

Wanna-Be Botanist Karen is like YAAASSS because every piece in this LE release is covered with 🌺🌻🌹 flowers.

  • The eyeshadows palettes — Super potent. Just a little dip with the tip of eye brush lays down loads o’ pigment. If I get in there and blend with a fierce purpose, I’m fine. Fun for smoky looks. 🙂
  • The blushes — Frostier in the arm swatches than they are on cheeks, yay! Good news for those of us with, like, pores.
  • The lipsticks — Such a twist! They look dark and intimidating, but five of the six are sheer. The only opaque one is red Blood Flower, which I think is OK, but the sheer ones, I LOVE. They’re like super intense lip tints, and I’m all about the pink and purples because they could almost pass for nudes.
  • The blotting papers — OK.
  • The stick highlighter — Opalescent purple dewy gorgeousness. Also doubles as an eyeshadow base (I used it in these pics underneath the blue and charcoal from the Night Garden Palette, and it tinted the smoky look with a hint of purple)
  • The lip palette — I like layering the lip powders on top of the cream lipstick, but they make my lips look and feel a little dry…

Instead of strange flowers, I saw a bunch of familiar 🌺 flowers, and even though I’m bummed about my neighborhood’s lack of exotic horticulture, the familiar flowers always bring me so much joy and fill me with happy memories. 🙂

nars night garden eyeshadow palette
Strange flowers with familiar flowers

Like these white and purple daisies. Oh, my goodness! When my my parents first moved into the house I grew up in, which is the house my parents still live in today, it had this big patch of daisies just underneath the living room window, and when you’d walk in and out of the house, they were the first things you saw in the yard.

white and purple daisies
These were all over our front yard when I was a kid.
nars fleur fatale eyeshadow palette
Fleur Fatale Eyeshadow Palette
nars night garden eyeshadow palette
Night Garden Eyeshadow Palette (in the day!)

My friend Karrie, who lived next door to my childhood home in the East Bay, would hop over the fence, knock on the door, and ask if I could go outside and play. At some point whenever we’d be playing, a few of these daisies would be picked, and they’d end up either in our hair, around our wrists as bracelets, or squashed underneath bicycle tires.

And these California poppies… OH! They take me back, too.

poppies
Poppies

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7 Messages Written in Lipstick I’d Leave for a Stranger on a Bathroom Mirror

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thank you for your bootyshake
Because somebody had to say it.
  1. Thank you for your 💃 bootyshake
  2. Call mom. She misses you.
  3. Tight jeans are bullsh*t
  4. You survived puberty — you can tackle ANYTHING.
  5. Dump his (or her) a$$. *You deserve better.
  6. Beautiful girl, you’re so brave!
  7. The fourth cat is the gateway 😸 cat
tight jeans are bullshit
You know it’s true. 😁

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

An Eye for Color

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connor hello kitty backpack 2

I let her pick out her outfit today, and this is what she came up with. The bows, the Hello Kitty backpack, the flower-print hoodie — everything, all her.

connor hello kitty backpack 2

connor hello kitty backpack

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

10 Things About Makeup and Beauty That Make You Go Hmmm…

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things that make you go hmmm
Deep thoughts?!

  1. How did baby poop-colored nail polish 1) come to be so frighteningly accurate, and 2) so coveted by the masses?
  2. Why are dudes who have no clue/don’t care always blessed with the longest, curliest, lushest eyelashes?
  3. Why do tweens with porcelain skin and no dark circles wear enough foundation to cover a rump roast and go to Target in full-beat glam?
  4. Why are Instagram brow tails SO sharp?
  5. Why do I remember to bring that 14th tube of pinkish nude lipstick but forget my phone at home?
  6. Why do I feel the need to keep three sticks of half-used MAC Teddy Eye Kohl in my makeup bag?
  7. Why does one feel compelled to buy — not one, not two — but FIVE (*rolls eyes*) 🙄 different bougie foundations/face tints at the Sephora VIB sale, even though one knows they will just end up wearing MAC Face & Body half the time anyway?
  8. Why do the makeup powers that be do lame sh*t like discontinue the world’s best brown pencil liner (I’m talking to you, person who took MAC Coffee away from me!)?
  9. Has the “influencer”/brand collaboration trend hit its peak?
  10. Is there anything out there like liquid SPANX for under-eye bags, and if there is, where can I get it, and do they ship overnight?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day, babe! 😁

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