Beauty Tips

The Best Glue for False Lashes

November 6th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

urban decay lash glue the best — The best!

It had been a minute since the last time I wore false lashes, but I went there on Halloween. Thankfully, I remembered an absolutely game-changing tip when it comes to falsies. If you’ve every had trouble applying them (and who hasn’t?), what you need to do is hunt down a set of UD Urban Lash False Eyelashes.

They’ll make your life easier.

Doesn’t really matter which style… Seriously, it’s not about the lashes themselves, although they’re pretty good too.

But I’m all about that lash glue. I think it’s the best out there. I stockpile Urban Decay falsies just to get more of the glue!

I think it’s even better than Duo lash glue, which you can find everywhere and almost everyone (except me) seems to like… I think it’s 1) stinky and 2) almost too sticky, and unless I place it perfectly that first time, it’s darned near impossible to lift the lashes off to re-position them.

Urban Decay’s glue, on the other paw, doesn’t stink (YAY!), and it has some “leeway” to it, meaning that I can lift off the lashes and put them back on a few times (which always happens because I never get it perfect on the first try) before committing to the final positioning.

It’s just so easy! Plus, once it’s dry, it doesn’t move at all.

The viscosity of the UD glue is perfect, too. It isn’t too runny or too thick, which are other issues I have with Duo. The consistency of the formula varies wildly, whereas I’m consistently able to apply the exact amount of UD’s glue I need on the lash band.

Oh, and when you open the tube, there’s also the teeny, very skinny applicator, and it’s easy to get just the littlest amount of glue on your false lashes with it, which is crucial because you want to use the least amount of glue you can get away with (bonus: one tube will last a while).

halloween 50s girl — Is it weird that I have a favorite lash glue?

Did I mention the style I’m wearing in this pic? It’s called HBIC.

I mean…by no means is it a natural lash look, but it’s great for ? parties and cutting-loose days.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Another #PSL Pumpkin Spice Look (I Call It “Pumpkin Spice Jewels”), and Bowing Down to the Wonder That Is Charlotte Tilbury

October 4th, 2018 by Karen 19 Comments

I don’t want you to think I’ve been neglecting my pumpkin spice devotion, seeing as how it’s now October, and therefore officially pumpkin season.

SO MANY PUMPKINS EVERYWHERE. One can’t even whip her high pony without bumping into one, and I still have mad love for pumpkin spice, as demonstrated by this look, which I call “Pumpkin Spice Jewels.”

A few things I learned in the process of doing my makeup…

1. This Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino will shake you to the core

Or, should I say, “shake your core”? Because when I’d finished about half of it my body literally started shaking from all the caffeine.

I’d never had one of these before. It’s just a pumpkin version of a regular frap (like the other drinks I’ve tried in this series, I got the recipe from theMacroBarista on Instagram).

I could only finish half of it because I couldn’t take any more caffeine. I dunno… Maybe you’re made of stronger stuff than I am, but if not and you’re also a wimp when it comes to caffeine, you can still admire it from afar (because it’s certainly nice to look at).

pumpkin spice frappuccino — WHOA there, sweet tooth.

2. I may need to build an alter to worship Charlotte Tilbury

Her stuff is so spendy, but when it comes to that effortless, dewy skin-that-looks-like-skin, C.T. has that game on lock. I’m wearing her new Magic Away Liquid Concealer ($32) and Genius Magic Powder ($45) in this look, and I didn’t really have to do any of the buffing, blending and dabbing that’s usually involved in achieving a no-makeup makeup look.

I just swiped a concealer wand on my face (I’m wearing shade 8 underneath my eyes and shade 9 on the rest of my face), blended with my fingers, then dusted a sheer veil of the powder with a fluffy brush, which took all of two minutes.

I love how my skin looks when I wear C.T.’s stuff. Like, I can’t even tell I’m wearing makeup, and it doesn’t budge. Not one bit.

charlotte tilbury — Divine if you’re into the dewy skin thing

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Before Your Pluck or Wax Your Brows, You Must Do This

September 4th, 2018 by Karen 19 Comments

brows fill out beforehand — Oh, hai, brows!

Before you pluck or wax your brows, fill them out first so you can clearly see the shape you’re going for. Then, just remove the hairs that *aren’t* in that shape.

Makes total sense, right? — yet peeps (myself included) repeatedly fall into the trap of tweezing willy-nilly without keeping in mind the final brow look.

Whenever I do it (tweeze without planning ahead), I miscalculate my brow arch and end up over-plucking the wrong place.

DOH!

Apparently, this has been a lesson I’ve needed to relearn over and over again…

Brow fillers that won’t let you down

Here are my faves at the moment!

MAC Eye Brows Styler — This easy-to-use tool has a super thin tip that makes it easy to draw in those tiny brow hairs, and the formula lasts a long time.

Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel — THE BEST for speed. It’s great for quickly filling in and fluffing up your brows. And did I mention it’s super fast!? You gotta get a tinted one, though, because the clear one is pretty much useless.

Tom Ford Brow Sculptor — Pricey, but the best of the best IMO.

MAC Brow Sculpt — This is MAC’s version of the Tom Ford Brow Sculptor, and I think it’s pretty good (although no match for Tom’s).

So, yeah, next time you notice things looking kinda jungly up there, grab your brow pencil, brow powder, gel or whatever you’re using at the moment, “fill out” and “fluff up” those fuzzy little caterpillars, and then go to town with your removal method o’ choice!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Tuesday! ?

Another Way to Work Your Favorite Nude Lipstick

August 28th, 2018 by Karen 23 Comments

Even when you regularly roll with eight nude lippies at any given moment, sometimes you want to shake things up, which is when a sheer berry gloss comes in handy.

“Sheer” is the key here, i.e. something to add a tantalizing touch of berry tint that will tease and tempt without taking over.

Start with a layer of your nude lippie du jour.
Blot (if you want), but I usually skip it because…laziness, TBH. But it’s helpful if you’ll be taking pics because it keeps your lip color from looking thick and gooey.
Apply a layer of gloss directly on top, but WAIT! — don’t stick that wand back in the tube quite yet. Wipe off any lipstick with a tissue first so the lipstick doesn’t mix with your gloss and change the color. Alternatively, instead of using the doe foot directly on your lips, you can swipe it on the back of your hand, then pick up the gloss from there and apply it to your lips with a finger.

chanel jumbo matte lip crayon 257 — Chanel Jumbo Matte Lip Crayon in 257 Discretion

chanel rouge coco gloss 764 — Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in 764 Confusion

chanel jumbo matte lip crayon 257 chanel rouge coco gloss 764 — Just a hint of berry

You can also do this trick with reds, purples, browns — any sheer gloss you like.

Good morning, BTW. Happy Tuesday. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

When You’re Wondering About Winged Liner at 3AM (and Reviews of the PTY Beauty No BS Eyeshadow Palette, a Fab Crease Brush for Hooded Lids, and a Drugstore Beauty Staple)

August 27th, 2018 by Karen 28 Comments

pyt beauty no bs eyeshadow palette 1 — WINGS!

I haven’t been sleeping through the night lately, and by “lately” I mean for the past two weeks, which was approximately when Tabs started his new workout regimen where he does wind sprints up and down the stairs beginning at the witching hour, and Connor started having dreams that wake her up in the middle of the night. (Last night she woke up saying, “Mama, NO! Those are my bubbles. MY BUBBLES!”)

The routine has gone something like this: After I’ve comforted all of the little animals, I crawl back into bed and lie there for an hour or two with my gumbo stew of thoughts.

Among last night’s ponderings…

Is it possible to make a gluten-free roux for a white sauce?
If all of your teeth were pointy, could you still eat Popsicles?
When was the last time I wore winged liner?

I have a pretty good memory for makeup-related tidbits, like what lip liner I wore with Clinique Black Honey circa 1994 (it was Wet ‘n’ Wild 666, which is still around!), so to NOT remember when I wore winged liner last is a minor tragedy in my book, which is why I busted them out today with a mix of products, old and new…

PYT No BS Eyeshadow Palette ($28)

Ooh, can’t say enough about this cool-toned palette with its eight neutral powder eyeshadows. Whether you’ve taken a two-year hiatus from serious blending (LIKE ME), or you’ve just started experimenting with making windshield wiper motions, these buttery powders will make your crease work look like you can blend in your sleep. The shadows combine the fineness of NARS eyeshadows with the softness and smoothness of Dior, and they feel much higher end than $28 to me.

pyt beauty no bs eyeshadow palette swatches — I’m an NC42 in MAC for reference.

For my wings today, first I lined my upper lash line with a black pencil liner to sketch out the wings, and then I dipped an angled brush into the matte dark brown and layered directly on top to set the pencil and soften the color just a touch.

pyt beauty no bs eyeshadow palette k — Dark brown eyeshadow + black pencil liner = a kinder, gentler wing

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