Wander Beauty

FOTD: Elegant Rose Quartz Gemstone Lids With a Smokey Bronze Lower Lash Line

September 16th, 2020 by Karen 22 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

Summer Glam on the Go! Coral Lips and Peachy Bronzed Lids

July 15th, 2020 by Karen 10 Comments

honest beauty happiness lipstick glam on the go coral lips 2 — Today’s summery glam on the go!

The other day, when I was wearing this makeup, I ran into my neighbor, and she asked if I was going anywhere special, to which I replied, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, “I’M GOING TO SPORTS BASEMENT!”

You know the bar for your entertainment is set reeeeeeeally low when you dress up like you’re going to fancy brunch on vacation, but in reality you’re going to a sporting goods store to look for weights…

Oh, the pandemic stories we’ll have to tell! 😂

honest beauty happiness lipstick glam on the go coral lips 4 — A summery color palette

This summery look has a few of my favorite warm-weather shades — coral and bronze! — and looks fancy, but it’s very easy to do. It also feels light and weightless, which are must-haves when the temperature’s rising.

This look has three distinguishing features — long, lifted, lush lashes; warm, peachy bronze lids; and luminous skin.

honest beauty happiness lipstick glam on the go coral lips 5 — Streamlined and summery makeup

1. Primer on the outer lashes

To make your lashes look longer and more dramatique, coat your outer lashes with a lengthening lash primer before loading them up with mascara. This creates a lush lash effect without the time and effort of falsies.

2. Bronzer is your buddy for glam-on-the-go eyes

Bronzed eyes are a summer staple, and while you could always search your makeup collection for that perfect shade, why not save yourself a little time and swish your favorite bronzer on your lids instead?

Here, I layered a warm golden tan bronzer atop a satiny peach cream shadow…

3. Define your lash line with brown and black eyeliner

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: gradients are your friend.

This brown-into-black eyeliner gradient on the upper lash line is subtle, but I think that’s the beauty of it.

Start by lining your upper and lower waterlines with a matte brown pencil. Then, draw a thin line on your upper lash line, and smudge the outer edge of that ever so slightly.

Add depth to the gradient by etching a very thin line of black liquid liner along the top lash line.

Added bonus: the black liner also creates the illusion of a thicker lash base!

Flexible face oil

You probably already know I’m a fan of customizing foundation — mixing in a few drops of concealer for added coverage, or adding a few drops of liquid highlighter for a luminous effect. Well, here’s another one to try: blend a drop or two of face oil into your foundation to dial down the opacity of your base. This trick is handy for applying base to sections of the face where you want more of your natural skin to peek through, and it’s what I did here for my forehead and the outer edges.

Fastest updo

If your hair is crazy from quarantine, and you’re tired of rockin’ your fun bun, gather it into a high pony, and secure it into small sections with tiny hair ties (I like these. Three bucks at Ulta!). You can keep the hair ties bare, like I did here (I think the shiny effect looks like jewelry), but if you want to boost the sophistication factor, cover up the ties by wrapping a small piece of hair around each one and securing it with a bobby pin.

honest beauty happiness lipstick glam on the go coral lips 1 — See the shine from the hair ties?

Makeup worn in this look

I listed everything on my visage below, so please feel free to ask about any of these products in the comments. 😊
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Spring Makeup Ideas: Sparkly Taupes and Purples With a Soft Hint of Pink

March 19th, 2020 by Karen 31 Comments

wander beauty wanderess k3 — Big hair, big dreams

It’s weird. Even though the world around me feels like it has gone full-on BONKERS, when I go outside for walks with the Coywolf (and we’ve been going for a lot of them), the great outdoors seems unaware of the sitch in the human world.

Spring, in all her glory, keeps coming.

Case in point: One of the showiest trees in the neighborhood is blooming, and she’s absolutely gorgeous.

(Yes, she’s a dainty lady in my eyes.)

Coy-Coy and I went for several walks yesterday, and on one of them we stopped by to visit our favorite tree. As we stood under the canopy of flowers and looked up, tiny pink petals gently floated onto my hair, and I felt a song in my heart.

Thank you, tree, for your inspiration — makeup and otherwise!

For this springtime makeup look, I did shades of taupe and light purple on the lids, with plummy cheeks and soft pink lips.

wander beauty wanderess taupe look swatches — Key items in this springy look

wander beauty wanderess taupe look — Feelin’ springy

Key items worn in this look

EYES: MAC Groundwork Paint Pot (eyeshadow base), Wander Beauty Wanderess Escape Palette (Nude beach and Enchanted in the crease, Flourish on the lids, and Moonlit in the inner corner), MAC Coffee and Cargo Liner (lash and water lines), Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara (lashes)

CHEEKS: NARS Sin (blush)

LIPS: MAC Oak pencil (outer lip edge), MAC Boldly Bare pencil (inner portion of lips), MAC Oyster Girl gloss (all over lips)

BASE: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream (to prep skin), Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze mixed with MAC Strobe Cream, Estee Lauder 24H Concealer, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Golden Tan

What does spring look like in your neck of the woods?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Dreaming of Vacay With Wander Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, MAC and More

March 11th, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

I woke up wishing I was on vacation this morning. There weren’t any viruses to worry about, no freaky headlines on the news, or piles laundry to fold, no meals to plan. Ah…

When I dream of vacation, it usually involves a beach, ‘cause I’m a sand, surf and sun girl.

I LIKE ALL THE TROPICAL PLACES, and I’m equally happy at remote, out-of-the-way secret beaches that are only accessible by rickety rope ladders as I am at Disneyland-like resorty beaches with all the accoutrements, including a big umbrella, a comfy chair, a clean bathroom and a snack shack. (Gimme all the snacks!)

Walking down to Hideaways beach on Kauai

A play on sheen, shimmer and shine

You know how when you’re at the beach on a hot day, you’re always kinda sweaty, even if you’re just sipping on strawberry shave ice? Well, that’s what I was aiming for with the base in this look. I wasn’t going for “sweaty” necessarily, but rather glistening. There’s an all-over subtle sheen on the skin (thanks, Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter), paired with bright, shimmery spots beaming from specific areas — the inner corners of the eyes, in particular, and the bridge of the nose. Then, there’s just the faintest amount of shine on the lips, thanks to a bright reddish coral lippie with a creamy finish.

I know I talk about “Char’s” Flawless Filter all the time, but really, it’s that good. I like it just as much as I ever have, and I still routinely say, WHAT THE HELL KIND OF MAGIC IS IN HERE? when I blend it in and look in a mirror.

If you’ve tried it and didn’t like it because you felt like the opalescent finish made you look sweaty, try setting it with a face powder that has a matte or demi-matte finish. For this, I’m a massive fan of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. And Chanel’s loose powder is good with Flawless Filter, too. Both temper the sheen a tad for a purrfect glow.

Cue the contrast

Did ya notice the matte lids and lash lines? Yup, that’s on purpose. I wanted a flatter finish on those areas to play against the intense inner corner highlight, and I’m wearing shadows from the new Wander Beauty Wanderess Escape Palette, which has a mix of matte, shimmer and glitter shadows in warm, summery shades of brown, bronze, gold and peach (there’s also a pop of teal in there). If you’ve ever fallen in love with any of the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess palettes, I think you’ll like it.

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Ringing in the New Year With Warm Browns and a Splash of Blue on the Waterline

January 1st, 2020 by Karen 12 Comments

urban decay stay naked threeesome in naked swatches — There’s a 100% chance I’m wearing pajamas right now.

First, hello and welcome to 2020, my friend! 😊 Hope you’re having a happy new year so far!

Second, I know there must be a scientifically explainable reason why warm orange browns look sooooo good with blues (is it because orange and blue are on opposite sides of the color wheel?), and my left brain knows this, yet when I see the two colors happening on my face, my right brain steps in and is like, GIRL, YES. My heart begins to flutter, and I get that tingly crazy makeup lady feeling in my toes! It’s one of those electric color combinations I love to wear.

I wore the combo yesterday to work at the bakery, where, speaking of color, I made the most beautiful blush pink buttercream frosting. Check it…

View this post on Instagram

Made the most beautiful blush-colored buttercream frosting at the bakery today! I would love this as an opaque pastel nail polish. 💅🏽 😍 Also, watching the frosting get fluffier is the most satisfying thing.🦄

A post shared by Karen | Makeup and Beauty Blog (@karenmbb) on Dec 30, 2019 at 9:19pm PST

I KNOW. I’m going to shop my nail polish stash for a similar opaque pale pink today.

But first, back to the warm browns and blue…

I knocked this out in about 10 minutes yesterday because, basically, it’s just a neutral look with a slice of color on the lower waterline.

If you’re wearing something like this and going about your business, most people won’t be able to tell that you’re wearing blue liner, but ya know, if I were to run into you at TJ’s and we’re chatting about the Mini Brie Bites, if you’ve got blue liner on like this, then I’m gonna be like, “BABES, whatcha got there? Tell me about this business on your waterline.”

This blue, by the way, is one of my MAC favorites. It’s called Take the Plunge, and it’s one of the Technakohls (which I love for the waterline because they don’t move), but (SAD PANDA) I just looked on the MAC website, and it appears to be missing in action. So, if you can’t find it, try something like Urban Decay Mainline, or really any of the dark blue/teal 24/7 Glide-Ons. Basically, if it’s a dark blue/teal, you’re good!

If you struggle to get bright colors to look bold on your waterline, you’re not alone. It’s common for blues like this to look muddy, especially if you wear liner on your upper lash line or upper waterline, because they can get mixed in with the blue and tone it down.

So here’s whatcha do…
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