Beauty Tips

3 Mind-Blowing Ways to Transform Your Makeup and Have Tons of Fun With Face Oil

September 18th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

chantecaille rose de mail face oil — Wait — what? Why would I want to mix face oil with my makeup?? Please explain.

This one never would have occurred to me on my own. I had no idea anyone was doing this — mixing face oil into their makeup. Then I saw MAC Senior Artist Alev Karli do it in a video (check out her Instagram feed because it’s gorgeous!). She blended a couple drops of MAC Essential Oil into Groundwork Paint Pot, and BAM! — ye olde proverbial light switch got flipped in my head.

Whoa! You mean that if I add a few drops of face oil to cream eyeshadow or cream blush, it’ll thin them out and change their consistency??

That’s brilliant.

mac constructivist face oil — Adding a drop of face oil to MAC Constructivist Paint Pot

Adding a few drops to cream shadow makes it easier to buff and blend (and also makes it look less cake-y and more natural). The finish changes, too. It gets dewier and glossier.

mac constructivist with face oil — The oil makes it glossier.

If you’re in the mood to mix, here are some variations to try…

1. Face oil + cream highlighter

I did this with Cream Colour Base in Hush last weekend and a few drops of Chantecaille Rose De Mail Face Oil, which someone gave me as a gift a few years ago (it’s crazy expensive!), but I bet it would work just as well with any face oil you have around.

mac hush with face oil — MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush with Chantecaoill Rose de Mail Face Oil

I added the oil right into the pan of Cream Color Base, mixed it with a face brush, then gently stippled the new concoction onto my upper cheekbones for a dewy, pearly glow.

You can wear do this on top of your face makeup (although I recommend applying it before you do your face powder so it doesn’t make whatever you’re wearing under it scoot around too much), or apply it under foundation or tinted moisturizer for a soft, subtle highlight.

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These Pixi Sheer Cheek Gels Are Perfect for Way-Too-Hot Mascara/Brows/Gloss Days

July 18th, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

pixi sheer cheek gel natural flushed rosy — Barely-there cheek color that’s oh-so-hot. From the top: Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel in Natural, Flushed and Rosy ($14 each)

You guys…it is SO FREAKIN’ HOT.

As I’m sitting here, literally not doing anything except existing, I’m covered in sweat, and I feel the sweat running down the valley between my boobs.

Boob sweat. It’s a real thing.

Now, what does that have to do with the Pixi Sheer Cheek Gels? Actually, a lot! LOL! Because when it’s BEYOND hot like this, I don’t like to wear a lot of makeup. I draw the line at mascara (waterproof, of course), a lip tint or gloss, filling in my brows, and using a tiny touch of concealer and blush. That’s all I can handle. (“That’s all,” she said, as if that wasn’t still a lot.)

I like these gel blushes because they’re perfect for those way-too-hot-mascara/brows/gloss days, or, whenever you need to look presentable and fresh-faced but can’t bring yourself to try too hard.

pixi sheer cheek gel swatches natural rosy flushed — Swatches from the top: Natural, Rosy and Flushed

They come in these little 0.45-oz. tubes, and it doesn’t seem like you get a lot for $14, but you don’t need to use very much. I do a little squeeze for each cheek and gently blend the edges.

You don’t get a ton of color — I’ll tell you that right now — and if you’re expecting Insta-glam intensity, you’ll be disappointed. The effect is sheer and natural-looking, and very similar to the effect I get from Clinique Pop Oil Lip & Cheek Glow, except without the oil, as Pixi’s blushes don’t have it (they’re oil-free).

I like to wear gel blushes on bare skin, as opposed to wearing them on top of other products, to keep things easy and minimal. Whenever I layer them on top of foundation or tinted moisturizer, the gel ends up moving stuff around, so I don’t even wanna bother. But you could wear these Sheer Gels on top of face makeup if you wanted to… Just be sure to pat them, instead of sweeping, to protect whatever you may be wearing under them.

pixi sheer cheek gel review rosy — Wearing sheer red Rosy

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A MAC Chromat Collection Makeup Tutorial With Royal Blue Cat Eyeliner, Deep Orange Lids and Bright Aqua Lips

June 28th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

mac chormat the future is meow k ears — The future is meow!

Hmm… What does one do, and where does one go, while wearing shimmery royal blue cat eyes, teal brows and aqua blue lips?

Perhaps waaaaaaay far into the future behind the wheel of a time-traveling DeLorean? To a time in a fantastical future when bad-@ss babes run the show wearing makeup by MAC and clothing by Chromat?

Gigawatts of girl power course through the MAC Chromat collection, which electrifies domestic MAC counters and the MAC website starting June 29th (and internationally this July), and it got me fired up to turn this look into a tutorial.

The MAC Chromat collection: Overview

Blue and gray supercharge the eight-piece limited edition release, while pops of orange and red crackle, and the collection comes complete with bionic-seeming blue LE packaging that looks like something straight out of Tron!

I’m feelin’ the eyeshadow palette, the lipsticks and the mini angled brush, which is a re-promote from the MAC permanent line. The blue mascara, blue gel liner and blue pencil liner, however, aren’t quite as electrifying IMO. I don’t dislike them… I think they’re fine. The only thing is, they require lots of layering to get them to really show up on me. Major patience.

becca chromat — Designer Becca McCharen of Chromat

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A Makeup Math Formula: Taupe Eyeshadow + Matte Red Lips + Bronzer = Easy Elegance

June 27th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

From the left: Chanel Ombre Premiere Eyeshadow in Talpa, NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment in Light My Fire and Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Sheer Colour in N40

There’s this great blog I’ve been reading for the past couple years for…let’s just call them “vertically challenged ladies” like myself, called Extra Petite, and Jean, the gal who runs it, is a big fan of something she calls “outfit formulas” — particularly kick-@ss, easily repeatable combinations of colors or articles of clothing, like a white tee and dark jeans, that always go well together.

Hmm… Could this work with makeup??

I mean, I wouldn’t want to follow a formula all the time, because sometimes I like to meander through my makeup and feel my way through whatever I’m doing (particularly when I have time), but there are moments when I don’t want to think, don’t feel very creative, and just want some easy routine of items that I know work well together.

Basically, a formula.

I do them all the time with certain colors and combos, like the combo I’m wearing here, which is comprised of three things — a shimmery golden taupe eyeshadow, a warm red matte lip and a sheer bronzer, but I don’t always think of them as “formulas.”

One of the main reasons I love the one above is because I can get a good amount of color on my face with it (’cause you know I love wearing color!) without doing too much work.

Here I’m wearing an incredibly user-friendly, gorgeous golden taupe taste of perfection called Chanel Talpa that I talked about a while back when it launched. Basically, it’s super creamy and easy to buff out, so you don’t need a lot of blending skills to pull it off. Plus, it’s long-wearing too.

Anyway, oops! I’m getting off topic. My bad!

I’m combining the shimmery golden taupe on my lids with the matte red statement lip to create two focal points that don’t require a lot of blending or other heavy makeup lifting (especially, if you use a liquid matte lipstick like I do here).

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Makeup Packing Adventures: Which Bag to Bring?

June 8th, 2017 by Karen 32 Comments

Allegedly, I’m trying to pack light for this upcoming trip to Hawaii. “Allegedly.” 😉

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Karen.

No, really, it’s gonna happen this time. I’m going to be that girl with the impossibly streamlined makeup bag.

I just have to figure out which makeup bag to bring with me… I realized the other day that if I bring a smaller-than-normal makeup bag, I should be alright, because there just won’t be room to go completely cray-cray overboard. This will take tremendous willpower, though, because if were to do what comes naturally to me, I’d bring something like this behemoth…

I got this awesomely roomy see-through makeup bag from a SpaceNK promo, and no sh*t, it’s big enough to fit body parts.

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