Karen

Saturday Surfing: June 24th, 2017

June 24th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

Hey, friend! Rise and shine, morning glory. I’m excited because I don’t have any big house-related chores to do today.

I mean, there are things I could do around the house, and things I probably should do around the house…but I’m not going to do them today, haha! 🙂

All I have to do is help a friend with something this afternoon, but outside of that, I plan to veg and play.

One thing I want to do this weekend is peruse the MAC lipstick permanent line. There are still so many MAC permanent lip products I’ve never tried before, so if you have any MAC permanent lipstick loves you think I should try, let me know.

Speaking of permanent products…I was chatting with my friend Steph the other day about the whole “limited edition chase.” It’s fun sometimes, isn’t it? Trying to track down LE items before they disappear? But at a certain point, I get tired of the effort it takes. Sometimes I just want to walk up to a counter and get a replacement for something I like when I run out. No muss, no fuss.

That’s one of my favorite things about lipstick — how easy it is to change your mind. I love how noncommittal it is. It’s not like getting locked into a relationship with a new foundation or mascara, which for me are kind of like buying a couch! Your foundation covers so much of your face, and when it comes to mascara, you know, you only have one set of lashes. There’s some risk involved there.

I feel like foundation and mascara are the big ticket items, but lipstick is more like a seasonal throw pillow…

OK! I think that’s enough crazy talk for today. Seriously, though, if you have any MAC perm lipsticks recommendations, please send them my way.

Now for some light reading…

I had a feeling (and a fear) this would eventually happen: Hourglass is getting sold. Shocker! And the buyer isn’t Estée Lauder.
How much time do the people in your neck of the woods spend grooming?
Anna Sui’s summer makeup collection takes you under the sea.
What it’s like to be a small beauty brand in Sephora.
Jouer has some beautiful new high-pigment glosses.
Are you a fan of any of these cult-fave beauty products?
I mean, if Connor asked for a Ken doll with a man bun, I guess I’d say yes?!
25 successful women talk about how to be productive.
Kenya is promising free sanitary napkins to help keep girls in school.
Holy crap, this is kinda scary! If you have a whipped cream dispenser in your home, be careful.
What’s driving the billion-dollar (!) natural beauty movement?
Get your glow on with Charlotte Tilbury’s #GLOWMO collection.
Would you do this? Now there’s a Drybar-like store for makeup application, where you pop in and pay between $35-60 to get your face beat.

Talk to you later, and psssst! — try to take a nap today. For reals, it does a body good. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Coral Lipsticks: 5 MORE Essential Summer Staples

June 23rd, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

mac corals part — MOAR CORALS! From the left, MAC Lipsticks in Nippon, Koi Coral, Shy Girl, Ravishing and Hot Tahiti

Did you really think I could stop at five?? GIRL, YOU SO CRAZY!

It’s totally normal for a MAC coral enthusiast to have at least 10 lipstick options in rotation at any given moment…

Right…?

UGH, keep telling yourself that, Karen. Seriously, I’m only one or two tubes away from an intervention.

YES! These corals (like these from earlier today) are in the MAC permanent line. One of them, Ravishing, is an old fave I’ve been wearing for years, but the other four are pretty new to my personal coral kingdom, like Koi Coral, a creamy, marvelously moisturizing peachy nude coral Cremesheen that happens to share part of its name (albeit with a different spelling) with one of Connor Claire’s nicknames (“Coywolf,” which sometimes gets shortened to “Coy”).

I think of her whenever I wear it.

Mmm, I’m tasting that signature MAC vanilla flavor on my lips right now. It tastes like coming home, and it feels like everything is right again with the world…

Anyway! Diversion much, Karen?

Also in this batch — Shy Girl, and oh, my gosh! So nice. It’s a creamy, dreamy peachy beige coral I just recently found through MAC Fruity Juicy.

I mean, it’s been around a while, but I forgot it was in the permanent collection. It almost functions as a nude.

Nippon is another peachy coral, but it’s less beige than Shy Girl. Like Koi Coral, it’s also a Cremesheen, so it’s creamy and mega moisturizing. It’s like a drink of water for dry lips.

1. Ravishing

2. Koi Coral

MAC Coral Lipsticks: 5 Essential Summer Staples

June 23rd, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

I’m low-key crazy for coral all year long, but now that it’s summer, I let my freak flag fly and my full-on coral craziness is unleashed!

If it were socially acceptable…I might even wear all five of my favorite MAC coral lipsticks on my face AT THE SAME TIME.

Flamingo, Costa Chic, Coral Bliss, Vegas Volt and Pretty Boy are all found in the MAC permanent line, so they’re always there whenever you need them, which is comforting to me…like a makeup security blanket.

I rotate among them during summer.

If you see a couple you like, jump on them now, because MAC is having a special lipstick promotion where you get a free lipstick if you buy any two lip products. The free lipstick has to be one of six specific shades (Breathing Fire, Lust, Lured In, Pressed & Ready, Barbeque and Invite Intrigue), though, so you can’t go picking any old free lipsticks willy-nilly. But the selections are lovely.

The promo lasts through June 25th, both at MAC stores and the website.

1. Flamingo

BECCA Liquid Crystal Glow Gloss Officially Has Nothing to Do With “The Dark Crystal,” But I Feel Like It Should

June 23rd, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

becca rose quartz seashell liquid crystal 3 — When you hold your lip gloss like a magic wand… I’m wearing BECCA Liquid Crystal Glow Gloss in Rose Quartz x Seashell ($22 and one of six shades), by the way!

So, I realize that the new BECCA Liquid Crystal Glow Glosses officially have nothing to do with the 1982 Jim Henson classic, The Dark Crystal, but I feel like they should, because the movie featured a cracked gem, and these glosses are inspired by gems that have been melted down to liquid form…

Um…leave it the the girl who named her kid after the heroine in the Terminator movies to find the sci-fi angle, LOL.

becca champagne dream liquid crystal 1 — This one is my favorite: Champagne Dream x Bellini

Anyway…I like these a lot. Some more than others. They’re a new line of sheer glosses with different levels of glitter, pearl and shimmer, and you can wear them as standalone lip glosses or layer them on top of lipstick.

“Buuuuut, Karen,” I can already hear you saying, “Can’t you layer any old gloss on top of lipstick?”

Why, yes, sweet thing! You certainly can.

becca amethyst geode liquid crystal 6 — Amethyst X Geode

Milk Makeup Highlighter Is Lit

June 22nd, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

milk makeup lit highlighter k1 — That glow, tho! It’s from Milk Makeup Highlighter in Lit ($24), which I’m wearing on my upper cheekbones, in the inner corners of my eyes and along my brow bones.

Once upon a time, super early in the morning, I almost took a stick of Milk Makeup Highlighter and put it under my arms. Like deodorant! I caught myself at the last minute, so I didn’t actually do it, but if it had, my underarms would’ve been the most perfectly highlighted underarms in armpit history.

This sounds less crazy when you see Milk Makeup Highlighter next to my favorite deodorant. Check it:

Right? That’s what I get for fumbling around in the dark…

Milk Makeup is constantly surprising me. Their vibe, the marketing and their packaging cater to teens, methinks, and being a crabby 40-something-year-old lady (Just kidding! I’m not crabby…except on Tuesdays!), I didn’t think the brand would appeal to me, but that’s been sooooo far from the truth. I’ve loved their Blush Oil and Sunshine Skin Tint and have now entered into a serious relationship with Lit, their stick highlighter.

And it truly is lit.

Lit is a sheer, shimmery, peachy champagne highlighter from the Milk Makeup permanent line that you can wear sheer for a natural look, or layer for a striking, visible highlight, and while cream highlighters aren’t particularly innovative, Milk has perfected this one’s shine.

Or, rather, its dewy glow. That’s a more apt description.