Sephora

Unsung Heroes: The $6 Sephora Collection Eco Biodegradable Sharpener

August 20th, 2019 by Karen 5 Comments

makeup pencil sharpener — All that and a bag of chips!

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.

Y’all…with the 15% off VIB sale happening now, I know you’re busy playing chicken with your Sephora cart, but please take a moment to consider one of the most underrated (and best!) tools the mother ship has to offer — the $6 Biodegradable Pencil Sharpener, otherwise known as “the pencil sharpener that elevated my winged liner and saved me from a lifetime of makeup misery.”

It’s the only makeup pencil sharpener I’ve ever owned that I haven’t wanted to hurl across the room.

From sephora.com:

What it is:
A professional-grade, two-in-one pencil sharpener made of an innovative, biodegradable, and sustainable bio-polymer.

What it does:
The Eco Biodegradable Sharpener is a perfect accessory to your cosmetic collection. This sharpener not only accomodates a multitude of pencil sizes, but you can feel confident knowing that you are also helping the environment when you dispose of it. The corn-based PLA body of this sharpener is biologically degradable, while the blade is recyclable. Made in Germany, the carbon steel blades give your pencils the perfect pointed tips for flawless application.

What else you need to know:
This sharpener can be used with a multitude of pencils, sized from 8mm to 12mm. It includes a removable pick tucked neatly into the body to help dislodge the toughest pieces of shavings and lead from the blade.

Sharpest tips EVRRRR

Every successful kitten flick I wore this summer, I totally owe to this sharpener. You know how sometimes you’ll sharpen a pencil, and the end will get nice and pointy but then immediately when you run it across your skin the tip breaks off? That happens to me all the time…but never with this sharpener. The blades whittle dull tips into sharp points with just a few twists and turns, yet they still hold back juuuuuust enough from going past the point of no return.
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Sephora Beauty Insider Collectible Pin Set

January 18th, 2018 by Karen 23 Comments

Throughout the entire history of “Karen going to Sephora,” which is a long history, I’ve never gotten as excited about a Sephora Beauty Insider points exchange as I got for this Collectible Pin Set.

How cute is this!? It’s sooo cute, right? I had to (“had to,” air quotes) go to Sephora last week… Was it last week? Yeah, it was just before I got sick.

Anywho… I had to pick up another bottle of Kate Somerville Anti Bac Clearing Lotion because I was down to the last drop, and without it my face totally breaks out. So, I ran to Sephora, grabbed it, grabbed an $8 lipstick too (we’ll talk about that in a second), and when I was at the front counter, I saw this cute little set of four enamel pins.

sephora beauty insider collectible pin set — I couldn’t say no.

When the sales associate asked me if I wanted to redeem any points, I didn’t use my standard answer, which is almost always “no” because I’m hardly ever really moved by any of the chintzy samples they give away for like 500 points, but I saw these pins and was like, “YES, GIRL. HOOK A CAT LADY UP.”

OK, there are four pins… There’s a peace sign with painted nails. That one’s very sassy.

sephora beauty insider collectible pins peace — Nail art lives!

There’s this unicorn, whom I’ve named “Treasure.”

sephora beauty insider collectible pins unicorn — Say hi to Treasure.

This trio of cute little hearts…

sephora beauty insider collectible pins hearts — Hearts are my thing, man.

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Purple Power! A New Purple Liner Love I Found at Sephora

May 16th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

purple eyeliners — Kindasorta obsessed with purple at the moment. Here’s an assortment of old faves (and a new one!) from the top: MAC Eye Kohl in Prunella ($17), Urban Decay Glide on Eye Pencil in Vice ($20), Sephora Colorful Shadow & Liner in Violet ($14), Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eye Pencil in 1-90 ($21) and MAC Pearlglide Intense in Designer Purple ($17)

It’s both wonderful and terrifying to live so close to a Sephora, because when I get on a makeup whim, I can just hop in my car, and BAM! Five minutes later I’ve got every purple liner in the store swatched on the back of my hand.

Yeah, I’m going through a purple liner phase right meow, big time (in case you haven’t noticed, LOL!). I love the look of a warm brown lid with purple liner on the lash lines. I’ve just been into it lately! Please be patient with me as I work my way through it…

Anyways, Connor convinced me to go to Sephora last Friday (yes, it was all the baby’s doing), so we went looking for a new purple to add to my collection. This latest love is a shade called Violet by Sephora Collection.

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What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 9: Purple Wings and Lips

April 19th, 2017 by Karen 41 Comments

It’s been a minute since I’ve worn this much color! It felt SO good though. I was inspired by a picture I saw of model Ruby Rose on Urban Decay’s website wearing purple winged liner with matching sparkly purple lips.

So I took the idea and ran with it. I’m wearing a lot of Urban Decay in this look, including their Afterdark Eyeshadow Palette.

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Today’s Mini Sephora Haul

March 15th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

I think I’m at the point where I should just stop pretending that I can go into Sephora and leave with just one thing.

Like really Karen? Who do you think you’re foolin’?

I went in there today to grab a new bottle of Rita Hazan Root Concealer Touch-Up Spray, which is THE BEST tinted spray I’ve ever found to temporarily hide gray roots between coloring sessions.

It’s $25, so it’s a little expensive, but it’s the only one of these sprays that hasn’t made my scalp itchy and make my hair feel stiff or look too matte.

Basically, it’s epic, and if I did the math on how many of these bottles I’ve bought over the past few years… Well, I don’t want to do the math because I’d probably pass out on the spot.

So, yeah, I went into the store for this. That’s all I wanted, but of course I also walked out with a bottle of Sephora Perfect Mist Airbrush Foundation in Medium, which has like a billion great reviews on the Sephora website and gets 4 1/2 stars. It’s comes in 13 colors for $28 each.

I was just about to head over to the register to pay for the bottle of Rita Hazan when I saw it and thought, “I’ll swatch a couple, just for fun,” and I probably would’ve walked away if I hadn’t seen it in Medium, which was practically the same color as my skin…but I did see it in Medium.

Oh, well!

My skin has slightly warm undertones (warmer in the summer), and I can’t always find matching foundation shades that aren’t too pink or peach for me.

I’m stoked to try it because I’ve heard it’s like Dior Airflash… which is like $62 BIG ONES. I used Dior Airflash once a long time ago during a makeover, and I remember liking the feel but not the color (too pink).

Hopefully Perfect Mist is a better match.

Have you ever tried Sephora Airbrush? If you have, lemme know. I’m curious.

Oh! I almost forgot. Today for the first time ever I asked a lady if I could take a picture of her tattoo. I can’t post it because I told her that I’d only share it with my brother (he’s got tons of tattoos), but it was so cool! It looked like one of those little Leggo people wearing a black ninja outfit, and it had cat ears. Or it was a Leggo cat woman. Not sure.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Almost forgot… I also left with a sample of Sunday Riley Good Genes, which I actually needed because I’m running low. 🙂