Karen

Saturday Surfing, February 27, 2021

February 27th, 2021 by Karen 10 Comments

Good morning, my friend! Rise and shine, morning glory! I see signs of spring around these parts! I know we’re still a ways away, but just think — pretty soon the trees will be filled with lush, green leaves and pink and white flowers. This year the Lady Sanctuary is gonna be LIT! LOL. 😃

lady sanctuary with coycoy reading — The lady sanctuary: for girls only!

coycoy reading in lady sanctuary — We’re going to read so many books out there…

This weekend we’re celebrating Coywolf’s 5th birthday. It’s actually March 2, but we’re doing a few things this weekend to celebrate. The festivities kick off today with a small outdoor get-together with a couple of the children from the neighborhood with cupcakes and pizza. The two children are brothers (4 and 6) that Connor plays with all the time, and I’m hoping that even though it’ll just be a few socially distant kids and a low-key party, Connor will really enjoy it.

Truth be told, way back before 2019, I originally envisioned Connor’s fifth birthday would be a Disney princess blowout at Disneyland, but ya know, pandemic times. We gotta adapt.

After the party today, the fun continues tomorrow when we spend the day with her uncle outdoors at the San Francisco Zoo! 🦁🐘🐧

Anywho, that’s what’s going on here. What are you up to?

BECCA is going out of business.
Bright, dewy undereyes? Yes, please!
These entrepreneurs show that science can be smart and stylish.
My makeup spirit animal Sir John predicts these three beauty trends will be big.
Fun fact for your next trivia night: hair embroidery used to be a thing.
NOOOOOOO! Caroline Hirons says she’s leaving YouTube!
Typology is a minimalist French brand to keep on your radar (side note: I just put a crap ton of stuff in my cart).
Allegedly this is how to make your cat use a freaking litter mat. Um, good luck with that!
This may be the world’s oldest pet cemetery.

LOVE this whole look

I’ve had this on repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat… 😁

LEGEND

Note to self

Yet again, NOTE TO SELF

Have a great weekend!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Smudged Cat Eye | Day 4 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 26th, 2021 by Karen 6 Comments

honest beauty smudged cat eye side — Today’s smudged cat eyes; I really love this!

Leave it to the cat lady to love a smudged cat eye, hahaha! This is yet another look — I’ll say “inspired by” the tutorial card that comes with the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette.

honest beauty smudged cat eye swatches — Just four eyeshadows

The tutorial suggests using the beige shade all over the lid as a base, but I thought that might look a little weird on me, so I buffed the matte brown shade (Soft Bronze) on top of the beige to define my crease.

Gosh, these shadows blend so well! But that’s just one of the great things about this palette.

Can we talk about lips for a second, because I need to know if anyone else out there has been into tinted lip balms lately? They’re SO MY JAM, which is kinda funny because until recently I’ve been solidly Team Liquid Lipstick for the last few months. My previous lip logic was that if I’m going to wear something on my pout during the pandemic…it had to last long enough under my mask to ensure that I wouldn’t have to keep removing my mask to reapply it.

I know, interesting logic. 🙄

Turns out tinted balms are a great no-drama/low-effort option, since I can 1) easily apply one without a mirror (doing it right now, as a matter of fact), and 2) remove it just as quickly with a tissue when I’m about to mask up. Plus, hello moisture! (Side note: my lips have been dry lately.)

This sheer plum tinted balm by Origins is called Night Bloom, and it’s low-key epic in terms of moisture. I get old-school Clinique Black Honey vibes from the color because it looks crazy dark in the tube, but it’s just a sheer plummy tint when it’s applied.

Night Bloom pairs really well with mauves, taupes, browns and bronzes, a.k.a. all of the colors in the Honest Beauty Get It Together Palette. It’s also sheer enough to wear with just bare skin and mascara.

In case you’re wondering, it smells and tastes a little minty, but it’s not overwhelming.

origins night bloom — Moisturizing, sheer and just lovely

Another thing I’ve been into: the look of barely-there blush. MAC Warm Soul is great for this!

honest beauty eye palette mac warm soul — Love ya, MAC Warm Soul!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! 😄

Classic Smokey Eyes | Day 3 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 25th, 2021 by Karen 5 Comments

The Honest Beauty eyeshadow palette comes with a card with four looks you can do with the palette. I followed the one called “Classic Smoky Eye” for this post, although with one tweak. I started by buffing the matte beige shade (Vanilla’d Velvet) all over my lids as a base so the subsequent colors would pop a little more.

I was a wee bit nervous about using the shimmery gold all over my lids and the shimmery dark purple on the outer corner because…I’m in my 40s now, and shine doesn’t always play well with my 40-something skin, particularly in the crease. Some may even say that I’m “overly picky about shimmery finishes,” *ahem*. Can you blame me though? One false move and you see every fine line!

Buuuut, I decided to go for it anyway, hoping that the matte beige underneath would tone down the shine, and it did!

As I was blending, I realized another reason to love this palette. The more you buff and swirl these shadows, the less intensely they shine, until they have more of a satiny finish. The finish ends up as a soft, pearly glow, which makes this classic smokey eye very workable for daytime wear! When I dropped Connor off at school this morning, I didn’t feel like I was wearing “too much.”

Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you — I found the most beautiful cream blush by Chanel! It’s Les Beiges Blush No. 20, a stick blush, $45 (!), but dang, lady! It’s so good. It’s a bronzy, peachy tan with the finest flecks of pearly gold, and it adds a hint of natural-looking color to cheeks. I love how easy it is to blend and that I can’t see it sitting on top of my skin or in my pores.

If you’re a real stickler for blush that doesn’t heavy on your cheeks, then you might want to consider it because it’s so natural-looking on skin.

FYI, if you’re lighter than I am, No. 20 will probably function more as a straight-up bronzer on your skin, and if you’re darker, then you might better off with one of Chanel’s brighter cream blushes like No. 21 or No. 22, since I’m betting No. 20 won’t show up as readily on darker skin.

Other things I’ve been into lately: mixing two shades of Honest Beauty liquid lipstick, namely Passion and Off Duty, to create the purrfect mid-toned coral pink; and wearing an old-school standby base combination with MAC Face and Body (I mix C4 and C5), set with the tiniest smidgen of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder (my shade is Medium Golden).

Seriously, why did I ever take a break from wearing Face and Body? IT’S SO GOOD, especially for no-makeup makeup. I’ve talked about it ad nauseam on MBB for years, so if you’re relatively new here and want to know more about why it’s the stuff, hit me up in the comments and I will repeat myself once again, LOL! LOVE IT.

Oh, my gosh, one last thing before I leave you — have you seen the Britney Spears documentary on Hulu? I kept hearing about it, and I told myself, “OK, I’ll give this 10 minutes of my life, and that’s it,” but then I started watching it and I COULD. NOT. LOOK. AWAY.

The one-hour documentary by The New York Times charts Britney’s rise to fame, her very public issues in the press in the early 2000s, and the conservatorship that was placed on her in 2008, which some people believe was against her will. Some conspiracy theorists go so far as to think that her Instagram is an entire series of coded cries for help.

As you might know, I’m solidly on #TeamBritney, and so watching the doc left me with the hope that one day she’ll surprise us all (in the best possible, emotionally healthy way).

To Britney and all my ladies out there currently holding on, make that delicious lemonade out of those lemons, mama. You hang in there!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Mauve Smokey Eyes | Day 2 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 24th, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

I followed Jessica A’s tutorial to do this mauve smokey eye with the Honest Beauty Get It Together! It was pretty easy too…which of course you know I liked. 👍

Here are the eyeshadows I used…

Base: Matte beige vanilla (Vanill’d Velvet) buffed from lash line to brow bone
Lid and crease: Satiny coppery brown (Sunlit Copper) on lids and in the crease in a half moon shape for soft definition
Outer half: Satiny dark mauve-plum (Chromed Petal) blended onto the outer half (Side note: at this point, I cleaned up the edges with a makeup wipe.)
Upper lash line: Matte black (Magnetic Ink) applied with a wet brush on the upper lash line
Inner corner: Shimmery gold (Strobed Champagne) mixed shimmery light pink (Iced cotton)

Pretty much, I followed everything she did step by step. The only tweak I made was buffing a couple of layers of the matte beige shade, Vanilla’d Velvet, all over my lids first to give the other eyeshadows a smoother base (handy when you don’t want to apply a separate eye primer first).

In the video Jessica calls the palette the most “non-intimidating” eyeshadow palette, and I have to agree! The colors work perfectly with each other, and they’re easy to blend. It’s the most interesting product to cross my makeup path in a while, and I’m almost excited to wear eyeshadow again.

Ooh! — speaking of shocking developments, I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you this, but last weekend Rosie and I got a solid FOUR HOURS of quality “meow time” together on Saturday. I almost didn’t know what to do with myself because it was the first time I had a block of time alone in the house in I don’t know how long! El Hub took Connor fishing at Bon Tempe Lake, so I was left to my own devices at home.

The lake is absolutely beautiful, BTW! We all went for the first time a couple weeks ago. It’s clear like a mini Lake Tahoe.

So, even though El Hub and I have been living in Marin County for almost 15 years now (YOWZA), I don’t really consider myself a local because I’m originally from the other side of the Bay, which, honestly might as well be a completely different planet. Anyway, my point is that I don’t know how to pronounce the names of all the places around here. I incorrectly assumed that “Bon Tempe” was French for “good time,” so I was saying it with my lame high school French accent, “BAHN THAMP.”

Then, my neighbor, who grew up in this area, politely informed me that it’s “BON TEMP-Y.”

HAHAHA! I’ve been saying it all bougie-fied this entire time… Whoops! 🤷‍♀️

There’s a trail that goes around the entire lake that’s about 4 miles long, so if you’re in the mood for a pretty gentle hike (nothing too steep or strenuous), it’s a good one with beautiful views of the water the entire time. FYI, there aren’t any bathrooms along the way…soooo 1) if you like to drink copious amounts of water, and 2) your bladder is about the size of a pea like someone’s I know (AHEM), you may want to wear pants that you can pull on and off quickly in case ya need to pop a squat behind a tree… I’m just sayin’! 😁

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Soft, Springy Plum Look With Bronze and Mocha (and Warm Nude Lips)

February 23rd, 2021 by Karen 13 Comments

honest beauty get it together eyeshadow palette — Feels like spring!

I got an idea! I decided I’m gonna do looks with this eyeshadow palette from Honest Beauty all week long, and this first one — a soft, springy plum look with bronze and mocha — is firmly in my comfort zone.

I’m intrigued by this palette… I like the combo of cool and warm plums and browns. Plus, most of the shades are in that mid-toned range, which means that if you have a tan (like yours truly), there’s no extra trickery involved in getting the colors to actually show up on your lids!

Also, don’t laugh, but I also love that there’s a matte beige and matte black in the palette.

Is it weird to be thrilled by that? I dunno. Maybe. Probably. 🙂 But let me tell you — having both of them is convenient, because you can use either of them as an eyeshadow base or a liner. Or, mix them with the other shadows in the palette to lighten or darken them up.

Shoot, you could even mix together to make gray (also super handy).

Having both a black and gray shade on hand is so useful! I’m a little concerned about the pans being so close together, but eh, you know… When you’ve been to this rodeo before, you can make it work.

Makeup Worn in this Look

Base: MAC Face and Body in C4, Honest Beauty Honestly Bright Eyes Tinted Eye Cream in Sandstone
Cheeks: MAC Warm Soul
Lips: Honest Beauty Liquid Lipstick in Off Duty
Eyes: It Cosmetics Brow Power (brows), MAC Teddy (waterline), Lancôme Idôle Mascara (upper lashes), Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette (Soft Bronze, Iced Cotton, Matte Plum, Gilded Muave, Burnt Mocha and Vannila’d Velvet)

I ran out of time to do swatches because I had to get Connor’s birthday present — a hot pink scooter. She turns five next week (!), which means that 1) spring is right around the corner, 2) I’ve been wearing ill-fitting pants for half a decade (I really need to just bite the bullet and buy clothes to replace my pre-pregnancy wardrobe, which hasn’t fit in a long time), and 3) pretty soon I’ll be living with a kindergartner.

Birthdays in our neck of the woods also mean birthday lasagna!

lasagna from connors 2nd birthday — You know somebody loves you when they give you pasta for your birthday…

I got the idea to make birthday lasagnas from a coworker years ago. Her mom would make her a lasagna every year on her birthday, and I thought that was just the coolest thing ever. I promised myself that if I ever had a kid I’d do the same, and here I am, showing love through carbs and copious quantities of cheese. 🙂

Last year I made Connor cupcakes from scratch, but this year I decided to make it easy on myself and bought a confetti cake mix and frosting from the store. I’ve used Pillsbury mixes for brownies and liked the results, so I’m hoping this one turns out well too.

pilsbury gluten free funfetti — Let’s. Do. This.

Even though parts of the country are literally freezing, spring is getting closer, and the Easter/spring decor stuff is rolling out again, all of which I luuuuurve.

Girlfriend, give me a springy lemon print, and I am in HEAVEN.

Throwback to when this girl one was a tiny little lemon!

I spent a good chunk of last night putting ALL OF THE THINGS into my cart at Williams Sonoma because they have the cutest set of springy, citrus-themed dishes.

(Side note: did I ever mention that I have a thing for nice plates and table settings?)

This collection is called Citron, and I love everything about it.

Love the colors, love the botanical print vibes of the lemon drawings, love the graphic patterns on the plates with the leaves and the lemon slices, love it all. Don’t love the price, obvs (SO EXPENSIVE). But le sigh… This makes my heart sing for spring!