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Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 531

December 9th, 2018 by Karen Leave a Comment

Only two weeks to go before Catsmas! 😺🎁🎄

Some of the employees have been taking advantage of the season to crawl into work a little late and sneak away a little early, which Tabs ain’t having none of, so he guarded the front entrance today to make sure there weren’t any stragglers dilly-dallying.

Because, as you know, according to the Tabs the Cat Industries LLC Employee Handbook, employees must be seated in their chairs or on top of their desks 30 minutes prior to their official start time, with their computers booted up so they can peruse the latest kitty modeling pics of Tabs on the company website.

While Tabs was outside, he spotted a rival doing a photo shoot in the area and surveilled her to assess her kitty modeling potential.

After determining that her posing wasn’t all that, he did a little gardening, and then returned to his security duties…

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Saturday Surfing, December 8th, 2018

December 8th, 2018 by Karen 5 Comments

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Fresh paint with @smithandcult Vegas Post Apocalyptic 😍 #glitternails💅 #smithandcultnailpolish

A post shared by Karen | Makeup and Beauty Blog (@karenmbb) on Dec 7, 2018 at 8:37am PST

G’morning! Got glitter on my mind today because I painted my nails for the first time in weeks yesterday (FINALLY), and I used Smith & Cult Vegas Post Apocalyptic. It’s a clear glitter base with mostly lavender glitter flecks in it, but also some holographic blue, pink, yellow and green flecks as well.

Yup, this is my idea of holiday nails. 😊

I don’t really do traditional Christmas color combos like red and gold anymore because one year everyone I ran into (SERIOUSLY, EVERYONE) assumed that whenever I wore a red/gold mani, it was a shout-out to the San Francisco 49ers, which was fine…but that wasn’t what I was going for. I must’ve said, “Christmas nails, not 49ers nails” three thousand times, ha ha! So, yeah.

This particular glittery polish isn’t on the Smith & Cult website anymore (boo!), but there’s a super similar color called Take Fountain, which I think might actually be the same polish with a different name.

Also, I think A Little Lovely looks very cool, too…

ALL TEH GLITTER! AAAAAH!

On that note, today’s reading…

What it’s like to spend 48 hours in New York with Chanel’s global creative director for makeup and color, Lucia Pica.
Shout-out to my alma mater UC Davis for their cutting-edge burn treatments for cats and dogs injured in the Camp Fire last month. The vets apply sterilized tilapia skin to wounds because the fish skin contains collagen, a protein that can help prevent infection and encourage the skin to repair.
Fun facts about Ulta! Did you know that the store used be called Ulta3??
Cat ladies, you’ll want to grab these adorable holiday-themed cat scratchers and kitty gear on your next Target run.
Feel free to forward this post on the five beauty products to get when you start wearing makeup to all the dudes you know.
Here’s how many makeup artists like to apply makeup on people with freckles.
The NY Times and I agree — you should walk your 😸 cat.
Here are the two artists who did the special effects makeup for the Swedish movie Boarder, a dark fantasy about two trolls, and the winner of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard prize.

The post describes the technical aspects of the makeup, including the use of old-school gelatin, rather than silicone, for the actors’ prosthetics.
The reason why Queen Elizabeth I caked her face in a mask of white makeup.
There’s a movement happening in South Korea called “Escape the Corset.”
Just in case you would like a nail polish to match the Mercedes-Benz you’re getting for Christmas, LOL!

That Lil’ Kim sample, tho!!!

Old school! I love the styling in this video. (I used to dress like this back in the day!)

Note to self: Watch this.

Somebody please 1) kidnap this cat for me, and 2) make me this omelette.

OK, now we’re off to get our Christmas tree 🎄 and to decorate the house.

So…how long do you think it’ll take before Tabs 🐱 attacks the tree…? One day? A week?

What are you up to?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Clinique Pretty Easy Liquid Eyeliner Pen

December 7th, 2018 by Karen 17 Comments

clinique pretty easy liquid eyeliner pen 2 — I love this so much that I rubbed off the writing on the package!

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

OK…I don’t know how you feel about liquid eyeliner in general, but this is THE best black liquid eyeliner in the known universe, IMO, and yes, I think it’s just as good as the Tom Ford pen.

(Yup, *that* $58 Tom Ford Liner.)

It’s the Clinique Pretty Easy Liquid Eyeliner Pen, and it’s a comparatively bargain $22. It does so many of the things that the Tom Ford liner does, and does them just as well. It’s a deep, dark black; it draws super skinny lines; dries quickly; it’s really, REALLY easy to use.

It’s got one of those long, flexible felt tips, so if you want to draw an ultra-fine line on your upper lash line or a precise cat flick in the outer corner, you can easily do it, even if you’re all thumbs, half-asleep or in a hurry.

Normally, I’d never dream of applying liquid liner when I’m in a rush, but it’s totally doable with this one. There’s something kinda magical about it and very user-friendly…which is probably why they call it the Pretty Easy Liquid Eyeliner Pen, ha!

clinique pretty easy liquid eyeliner pen 1 — When you try to make kissy faces and look awkward but decide to just go with it anyway. (That’s the liner on my upper lash lines, by the way.)

One of my favorite things about it is the ~20-second drying time, which doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but it’s just enough to either 1) let the line dry on its own, or, 2) and this is what I like to do, I grab a smudge brush and feather out the edge of the line to make it look blended and smooth.

And after that 20 seconds, you can blink, roll your eyes or whatever, and your liner won’t transfer up onto your lids! Once this stuff is dry, it’s smudge-proof and budge-proof.

But that’s not all! You can also find it pretty much anywhere. I love that I can just pop into the Novato Sephora and grab one if I “need to,” or that I can stop by a Clinique counter at Macy’s or Nordstrom.

I should probably get a new one soon because mine is looking very…well-loved, ha ha ha!

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Product Shout-Out: Estée Lauder Defiant Nude Is the Neutral Palette You Didn’t Know You Needed

December 6th, 2018 by Karen 19 Comments

estee lauder defiant nude — ***ALERT*** Makeup workhorse! ***ALERT***

All through November, every single time I had to get ready for something — be it Thanksgiving dinner, a Novato Mothers Club meeting or lunch with a friend — I was always strapped for time (partly because I have bad time management skills, but I’m working on it. #keepingitreal).

With this palette, however, I was able to do a put-together makeup look from start to finish in 10 minutes time.

Yup, just when you thought when you’d seen and hoarded every neutral eyeshadow palette that you absolutely “needed” (“air quotes”) to get, along comes one from Estée Lauder to blow your mind.

Estée Lauder Defiant Nude ($54) has five powder eyeshadows — two mid-toned golden browns, a dark matte neutral brown, a neutral matte beige and a slightly darker matte peachy beige.

Do these colors sound pretty basic?

Yes, yes they do…

But let me tell ya, every single time I had to dress up and go out to see people looking respectable in the month of November, I grabbed this palette. Then I grabbed it again. And again. AND AGAIN!

It’s just so wearable, lovely and easy to use, and all of the shadows are long-lasting, with or without an eyeshadow base.

(Yes, sometimes I leave the house without an eyeshadow base… I know! Believe it or not, though, the world does not fall apart.)

estee lauder defiant nude swatches — wear Honey Bronze in Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation (NC42 in MAC)

You know me; I love my golden browns, cooler-toned browns and neutral browns, and this user-friendly palette masterfully sculpts the crease while adding an opalescent, understated glow to your lids. Plus, you can be imprecise with your application AND your blending, and your eye makeup will still look good.

That’s magical.

Estée Lauder gave it just enough pigment to define your eyes and add some color, but not so much that you’ll miss the movie because you’re stuck buffing and correcting and blending at home because you accidentally overdid it during the application.

And they also have such gorgeous finishes! The two golden browns get the most play on my lids because they’re both… Well, you know how when you want your lids to glow, but you don’t want them to be so shiny that they scream “LOOK AT MY FINE LINES”? These two golden browns are it!

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Someone Is (Illegally) Using My Name and Likeness to Contact Beauty Companies and Solicit Free PR Products

December 6th, 2018 by Karen 32 Comments

PR friends, contacts and dear readers,

Someone is using my name and likeness in order to obtain free PR products (and who knows what else?).

This appears to have been happening since March of 2018 (!).

I apologize for any confusion this may have caused. If you’ve corresponded with someone via the following email address:

karenmakeupandbeautyblog@gmail.com

Or, if you’ve sent, or have been asked to send, PR review products to a mailing address that includes…

San Francisco, CA 94118

That was not me. 🙁

To the person doing this, you should know that this constitutes mail fraud, which is a federal offense. Your email address, San Francisco mailing address, and other pertinent details have been provided to law enforcement.

Also, this is so not cool. Shame on you.

— Karen