Beauty Tips

FOTD: Warm, Shimmery Bronze-Brown Eyes With Coral Cheeks and Lips

July 23rd, 2020 by Karen 10 Comments

Is it gold? Is it brown? Khaki? Taupe?! HMMMM! I think it’s pretty cool how this eye makeup can look so totally different depending on the details — the color of my clothes, the color temp of the light. Gotta love those secretly complex makeup things.

Officially, I’m wearing a warm and shimmery bronzed brown on my lids (MAC Monaco-co, from the summer collection) with a cool-toned matte taupe in the crease (MAC Omega), a satiny beige on the brow bone (MAC Brule), and a satiny brownish black on the outer corner and lower lash line (MAC Brun).

Unofficially, however, this eye makeup will ad lib with whatever color top you’re wearing. Doesn’t it seem more golden in the pic with the light gray top and more green in the one with the khaki? So, it’s multifunction that way.

I bet you could riff on other colors, too, with a matching liner, like a khaki or a warm dark brown. Or how about bronze? Ooh! — I bet Powersurge would be BEAUTIFUL with this combo.

Also, my brows appear thicker than usual in this look because I feel like full, lush brows frame the eyes nicely when there’s a lot of shimmer on my lids. Alternatively, you could do a subtle brow with a clear brow gel, but you won’t get the same contrast of the big, bold matte brows butting up against the shimmery lids.

It’s all about contrasting finishes, babe! You know I’m all about that life.

Makeup worn in this look

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FOTD: Violet Tendencies and a Shout-Out to the Early Aughts With an Icy Blue Highlight!

July 17th, 2020 by Karen 13 Comments

Do you ever start a look with a specific idea in mind, but then it turns into something completely different?! That’s what happened with this eye makeup. I fully intended to do a simple lid with a sweep of matte brown eyeshadow and the thinnest slice of purple winged liner (“Just five minutes, Karen, that’s it!”), but surprise! — somehow I ended up with several shades of purple swirling together into this violet smoke show.

I mean…there is a hint of a gradient wing happening (on the upper lash line if you look closely), so I guess I kinda stuck to the plan? HA HA HA. Eventually, at some point along this crazy makeup journey we call life, I’m just going to have to lean into my smokey eye tendencies and accept that I really don’t want to do any other type of look. 🤷‍♀️

Also, shout-out to the early Aughts with the shimmery, icy blue inner corner highlight. Add a satin camisole shirt, low-slung bootcut jeans and a fedora. and it’s 2002 all over again!

(You know you rocked this same look back in the day. 😂)

I’m wearing a couple new Urban Decay products, by the way — the Naked Ultraviolet Palette (very easy to blend!) and the Lash Freak Mascara (tons of volume at the roots). If you have any questions about either, hit me up in the comments.

Makeup worn in this look

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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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FOTD: Real-Life Minimal Makeup Look for Zoom/Video Calls With Other People Who Don’t Wear a Lot of Makeup

July 9th, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

I realize this is a very specific type of “Zoom” makeup, buuuuuuut I recently did this look for a live video visit with my family, and then my buddy and MBB reader Jan mentioned that she was looking for a basic look to wear when you’re Zoom-ing with people who don’t wear a lot of makeup, so I figured that if at least two people had the same idea, someone else out there might find it helpful, too.

(Hopefully that someone is you!)

wander beauty double date k1 — You could easily do this look as everyday makeup, too.

I typically like to adjust the level of makeup I wear according to who I’m chatting with (both for video calls and for real life); this look is an idea of what you could wear when you want to get some stuff on your face so you don’t look like a zombie on camera.

wander beauty double date k2 — 10 minutes, from start to finish

The step-by-step

BEGIN WITH BROWS AND LASHES: First, fill in your brows (I used a brow pencil first, then brushed a clear brow gel through to mellow it out). Next, curl your lashes, and apply a thin coat of mascara to lock the curl. Allow this thin layer to dry as you work on the rest of your face.
ACE THAT BASE: Blend a medium-coverage matte or semi-matte tinted moisturizer all over your face with your fingers, and then buff your base lightly with a skunk brush to blur any harsh lines or edges. Dot concealer under your eyes and/or wherever you want extra coverage, and blend with fingers or a tapered eye brush. If your skin is oily, then set your base with a sheer dusting of powder.
BRONZE AND DEFINE: Dust a powdered bronzer on your cheekbones, around the perimeter of your forehead, and on your cheeks and chin, and then across the bridge of your nose with a big, fluffy powder brush. Next, load your favorite eye brush with the same bronzer, and sweep it into your crease and along your lower lash lines to softly define your eyes.
CHEEKS AND LIPS: Tap a cream blush (ideally, one that also doubles as a lipstick) on the apples of your cheeks with your fingers, and feather out the edges. Line and fill in your lips with a nude lip pencil, and blend a bit of the cream you used as a blush on top.
HELLO, HIGHLIGHTS: Use your fingers to blend a cream blush onto your upper cheekbones and down the bridge of your nose. Then, blend a little on your lids from the lash line to your crease.
LINE AND LIFT: Draw a thin line with a pencil or a liquid liner along your upper lash line, and then smudge the edge with a pencil brush. If you want, tightline your upper lash line, too. (I usually like to do this because it makes my lashes look thicker.) Finish by coating your lashes with mascara that lifts and curls your lashes.

From start to finish, this usually takes me from 10-20 minutes (usually about 10 because I fly through it!).

nars kalahariwander beauty double date makeup zoom call — All the makeup I’m wearing in these pics

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FOTD: Khaki and Copper Tones for a Zoom Call

June 24th, 2020 by Karen 21 Comments

Wore this look on a Zoom call with a beauty brand yesterday (it was Urban Decay to talk about their latest Naked palette, for the nosey noodles who were wondering!), and in classic K-dawg fashion I banged it out in 15 minutes before it started because that’s how I roll.

And, um…Connor also had a social distancing playdate at the park shortly before the call was scheduled to start, and we made it back home by the skin of our teeth, ha ha ha! Whenever I’m pressed for time but want to look gussied up, I always fall back on smokey eyes and nude lips. This khaki and copper version relies on just two products.

I paired the eyes with peach lips and cheeks because EASY. PEASY.

I’m also wearing a little more base makeup than I have been lately because I knew that “makeup people” (air quotes) were going to be present, so if there were ever a time to load up on a little more concealer, this was it.

Since we’re on the topic of quick looks, what’s your default medium-impact makeup look when you’re pressed for time?

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