Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

FOTD: An Eye Look With a Single Product! (Hint: It’s a MAC Classic)

September 18th, 2020 by Karen 7 Comments

mac teddy eyeliner look — Before you scroll down, try to guess which MAC classic eye makeup item I used on my lids!

The only thing that would be easier than this eye look I did here with just one MAC product would be putting on a pair of pajama pants and falling asleep on my couch right now, hahaha! This look is so simple, and I don’t even know why I don’t wear it more often (note to self: WEAR IT MORE OFTEN). And if you haven’t guessed what I used already, I’ll give you one more try…

OK, ya got it?

It’s MAC Teddy eyeliner. Yup. Just eyeliner. On my waterlines, on my lash lines and on my lids. That’s it! I mean, of course, I have stuff in my brows — I didn’t use Teddy in my brows (although I have heard of somebody using Powersurge in their brows before). I’m wearing Brow Blade by Urban Decay in my brows and Laura Mercier mascara on my lashes, of course, but everything else on my eyes is just Teddy.

I put some on my water and lash lines, then sloppily sketched out a shape on my lids with the pencil, a half moon shape on my mobile lid (the part of the lid that moves when you blink), and then on the outer corners I sort of drew a soft winged shape because I like a bit of lift there because the outer corners of my eyes slope downward.

Then I used a brush, a MAC 725S, which is an angled fluffy brush, and I used that to diffuse the edges, blur out any sort of harsh lines, and I layered more Teddy wherever I wanted more depth, like the outer corners, then blended a little bit more.

I briefly thought about using MAC Coffee eyeliner to draw a thin line along my upper lash line, but I only have a smudge of it left, and it’s so precious right now because I seriously can’t seem to find Coffee anywhere! So I decided to just nix that idea and keep it simple.

Yeah. Just Teddy liner. All over! And it was lovely and fast.

Teddy isn’t the only thing from the “MAC greatest hits” list I’m wearing in this look. I’m also wearing Face and Body in C5 (which is O.G. MBB right there!) and MAC Velvet Teddy on my lips.

The blush, by the way, is Hourglass Brilliant Nude, and if you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go if you can. First time I saw it in the pan I thought, “Eh, what’s that going to do for me?” but then I got it on my cheeks, and I loved how glowing and natural it looked. So. Good.
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Product Spotlight: MAC More the Mehr-ier Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolour

September 17th, 2020 by Karen 13 Comments

In a current beauty world where color is seemingly dominated by warm reddish and orangey brown tones, it’s refreshing to see a cool-toned lippie every once in a while, don’t you think?

Enter More the Mehr-ier, from the new MAC Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolour collection!

MAC was very cheeky with the name — Mehr-ier, for “merrier.” It’s a reference to one of their most iconic nude lipsticks, Mehr, which, fun fact, first appeared in the 2010 MAC Mickey Contractor collection. It’s since become a member of MAC’s permanent lipstick collection, and is now here in the new Powder Kiss Liquid Lipstick formula.

The color is very similar to the original Mehr, just a tinge darker. It’s a nude mauve, and this is going to sound weird, but it’s the same color as my gums (LOL!). For that reason, it reads like a nude lipstick on my NC42 skin, which is why I love it. I’ve also seen the original Mehr lipstick on lighter and darker skin tones (fast forward to 2:11 in the video), and it’s a bestseller because it really does work well on everyone.

mac more the mehrier swatch mirror — More the Mehr-ier!

The original Mehr comes in the MAC Matte lipstick formula, which some people find challenging to wear, especially if they have lip lines and/or flakes. I think the Powder Kiss Liquid Lipstick formula is a little easier to wear because the fluffy liquid formula kinda floats on top of your lips, so it doesn’t have that same tightly gripping feeling, and it’s less drying and more forgiving than the Matte.
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FOTD: Elegant Rose Quartz Gemstone Lids With a Smokey Bronze Lower Lash Line

September 16th, 2020 by Karen 21 Comments

I wore this look to drop Connor off at her dance class (she’s taking outdoor classes two days a week now, and yay for seeing other kids her age!), and then to go to Trader Joe’s, because doing that kind of regular everyday stuff is the adult equivalent of going to your high school senior prom now. (Dance studio drop-off IS AN EVENT. Ya gotta do it up!)

I took the new Urban Decay Stoned Vibes Palette for a spin for the first time in this look. It’s a new palette with 12 powder eyeshadows, the majority of them with this chonky-looking glitter formula that has a bit of squish to it. They look like they could potentially look like you’re wearing big flakes of glitter on your skin, but there was hardly any floof, fallout or flakes when I got Tiger’s Eye on my lids. The formula applies smoother than I expected it to, but you get WHOA, WHOA, WHOOOOOA levels of shimmer.

So…Urban Decay isn’t shy about their 420 references, but in this case I think “Stoned Vibes” actually refers to, ya know…gemstones, although Tiger’s Eye looks nothing like a stone on my eyelids. It’s a lovely pinkish bronze (heavy on the pink!), which is why I paired it with rose cheeks and lips.

OH! — I gotta point out the lower lash line. I’m wearing MAC Teddy, yet again, because apparently this fall is going to be my greatest hits tour of Teddy smoked along the lower lash line. I just kinda forgot how great it is when worn that way?! It’s fantastic.

I think I’m going to do a look with the purples in this palette (it’s $54, BTW) next because they remind me of my birth month gemstone, Alexandrite…which leads me to a question for you!

What’s your birth month gem? Drop it in the comments, along with any Qs you might have about the palette or this look, if you have ’em. As usual, the full breakdown of products is down below.

urban decay stoned palette wander beauty — Hey, that arm’s an NC42!

Makeup worn in this look

EYES

NARS Tinted Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base in Medium — all over the lids as a base
Urban Decay Stoned Palette Eyeshadows — Good Karma (brow bone), Antidote (crease), Hexed (outer crease), Third eye (outer v), Tiger’s Eye (lids, applied with finger)
MAC Whisper of Gilt — inner corner highlight
Urban Decay Brow Blade in Dark Drapes and MAC Clear Brow Set — brows
MAC Teddy — lower lash line
Honest Beauty Liquid Liner — winged liner
Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara — lashes

CHEEKS

Laura Mercier Soleil 1 — bronzer
Laura Mercier Rose — blush

LIPS

Wander Beauty B.B. and Riviera Dual Lipstick — mixed together

BASE

Wander Beauty Glow Ahead Face Oil — prep
Laura Mercier Foundation primer — prep
Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter in Tan — foundation, all over face
Kevyn Aucoin Supernatural Concealer in Medium 05 and 06 — under eyes, cheeks and around mouth
Laura Mercier Translucent Honey Loose Powder — forehead, down the sides of nose, around mouth and along the jawline

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: MAC Powder Kiss Eye Shadow

September 15th, 2020 by Karen 11 Comments

mac powder kiss eye shadow swatches — These are fantastic!

MAC should just make these Powder Kiss Matte Eyeshadows permanent already. Come on, MAC! Dooo it! Make our lives a little easier. 😂

If you like ultra-blended, blurred and blown-out eyeshadow as much as I do, the Powder Kisses will get you there without drama. They’re highly pigmented, for one thing. Two, they apply in the thinnest, smoothest layers imaginable, so they look and feel featherweight on your lids. At the same time, they’re super saturated, which is kinda crazy!

Even though you don’t have to use very much, if you do, they still won’t look chunky. It’s FASCINATING. MAC must’ve assigned the “A” team to these when they cooked them up in the lab.

Many matte powder shadows look thick and cakey on my lids (got some fine line action!), especially when I build up layers, but not these. The Powder Kisses definitely don’t emphasize my fine lines.

There are some crazy colors, of course, because it’s MAC, after all, but as far as everyday workhorse colors, I’ve been loving What Clout, a matte mid-toned warm brown that looks like a cross between Soft Brown and Soba with maybe a hint of Kid. I also dig Warm beige Best of Me. I think it’s a lovely lid shade, or along the brow bone as a subtle highlight. Also, Dark chocolate brown Give A Glam is a little bit like Brun.

As for other notable shades, don’t be terrified of Devoted to Chili (I was!) because it looks so reddish and orangey brown. Keep an open mind about it because it’s surprisingly wearable on lids.

mac devoted to chili eyeshadow mask — I’m wearing Devoted to Chili!

MAC is selling them in packaging for $20 each, and as bare pans sans the packaging for nine bucks(!).

MAC doesn’t normally offer both options for every LE eyeshadow launch, so “Cosmetics Conspiracy Theory Karen” is thinking, “That’s gotta be a sign they’re coming to the permanent line!”

I hope so because the neutrals, in particular, are fan-frickin’-tastic, especially if you’re a fan of matte eyeshadows, which you know I am.

Fingers and toes crossed they go permanent. Hey, if it can happen to the Paint Pots (remember them from Fafi, OLD SCHOOL?!) and the In Extra Dimensions from Alluring Aquatic, I think it can happen for these bad gals.

Let us will it into being and manifest that right now! 🤗

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 643

September 14th, 2020 by Karen 29 Comments

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. 🌻

1. Last show you binged and loved?

Ted Lasso on Apple TV. It stars Jason Sudeikis, who — fun fact — is a solid basketball player in his own right. The show is about an acclaimed collegiate American football coach who moves to England when he’s given the chance to coach a professional football (as in soccer!) team there. It’s got a lot of what we like to call in our house “potty talk,” a.k.a. “lazy language,” a.k.a. “four-letter words,” but I really like the characters, and I love the overall optimistic feel of the show. The main characters, shockingly (for a show in this day and age), continuously choose to be kind. It’s very refreshing.

2. Last thing you drank?

I just took a sip of Nestle Pure Life Protect in Blackberry, which I got as a sample with my usual monthly water bottle delivery. It has zinc and is supposed to maintain a normal functioning immune system? I dunno… It tastes alright. Actually, it tastes terrible. Like water with a semi-rotten blackberry in it. LOL! I’m not loving it, but it’s here, it’s open, it’s cold, and I’m drinking it.

3. A snapshot of an ordinary moment in your life that brings you real joy?

One was when Connor Claire was about two or three. I had just put her down for the night, and she was there in her crib underneath the covers, looking up at me very sweetly. She has lullabies that play in her room every night, and she started singing one of the lullabies while it was playing… She just lay there, looking up at me, singing. 😊

4. A concert you’ll never forget?

Oh! — easily, Janet Jackson at the Shoreline Amphitheater in 1994 with my friend Jen. It was outdoors, and we had decent seats. We danced and screamed the whole time. SO. FUN.

5. Something that people often get wrong about you?

LOL… My age? I don’t know if it still happens as much as it used to, but back in the day people would always assume I was younger than I really am. When I worked as a legal secretary in my 20s, I would often be asked if I was one of the college interns, hahaha. If I’d only known how fleeting *that* season in my life would be, hahaha!

6. A favorite movie?

There are so many, but I really do love Clueless.

7. What are you deeply grateful for right now?

My education, because I was just telling Connor that there are countries where many girls aren’t even allowed to attend school, and I’m deeply grateful to have had the chance to finish high school and go on to college.

8. Something happens, and you’re called upon to be brave, but all you feel is fear. What’s the first thing you do?

Put my hand on my belly, and take a few big, deep breaths. Then I repeat to myself, either out loud or in my head, “I know I can do this.” And I say it over and over again.

9. What shoes are you wearing today?

My white Nikes, baby! El Hub calls them my “nursing shoes,” but whatever. I wear them all the time because they go with everything!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Last show you binged and loved?
2. Last thing you drank?
3. A snapshot of an ordinary moment in your life that brings you real joy?
4. A concert you’ll never forget?
5. Something that people often get wrong about you?
6. A favorite movie?
7. What are you deeply grateful for right now?
8. You’re called upon to be brave, but all you feel is fear. What’s the first thing you do?
9. What shoes are you wearing today?

P.P.S. Have a great Monday, my friend. I hope your heart and soul feel light today! 🤗