Charlotte Tilbury

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?

[Continue reading…]

Feel Good Makeup

April 3rd, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

Good morning, friend. If you’re struggling right now, I’m right there with you.

Nothing personally devastating happened this week (knocks on wood), but the realness of the new world order is sinking in, and it’s manifesting itself in an ever-present tightness in my body.

Like many people around the world right now, I feel the weight of an uncertain future, and it’s heavy. 🙁

I keep replaying a memory of something I did with Connor a month ago… Wow, it was only a month ago! We were walking down the aisles at Trader Joe’s singing David Bowie while looking for Jojo the stuffed horse (a fun thing they do for kids) and touching everything in sight without a care in the world.

THERE WAS SO MUCH PASTA. And rice! And flour! The frozen food section was gloriously bursting at the seems with bags of frozen broccoli and peas. Nothing was out of stock!

Connor found Jojo the stuffed horse that day, and we walked straight up to one of the sales associates (barely two feet away). He congratulated us and handed Connor her reward — a red lollipop — which she promptly opened and quickly devoured without a second thought.

This was back when Connor still had school to go to and was allowed to physically touch her friends. I also had the bakery… Life was sweeter than I realized at the time.

Today’s makeup was supposed to be inspired by pastel Easter eggs, but for the life me…I just couldn’t get into it. I tried a few times, swiping and playing with purples, pinks and blues, but I couldn’t make it work.

Sooooo, instead of bulldozing my way through it (which is what pre-pandemic Karen would’ve done), I stopped, took a few deep breaths and did what I knew would make me feel good.

Bronze eyes and neutral lips are the makeup equivalent of comfort food for me, so out came the bronze big guns! — Tom Ford Spice eyeshadow (THE BEST CREAM BRONZE), Charlotte Tilbury foundation and MAC lipstick and blush, of course.

I know, I know… How many variations on bronze lids and neutral lips can one girl possibly wear?! (Apparently, it’s a lot!)

But I really, really *needed* this today. I needed to feel normal, even though we all know life is nothing close to normal now and probably won’t be anytime soon.

tom ford spice — My feel good makeup products

Makeup worn in this look

Base: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter in Tan, Estée Lauder Double Wear Instant Fix Concealer in Medium Deep Warm, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden

Eyes: Tom Ford Spice, MAC Coffee pencil, Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara (SO GOOD), Nudestix Brow Pencil, MAC Brown Set in Clear

Cheeks: Chantecaille Radiance Gel Bronzer, MAC Pro Face Palette Bright Blush

Lips: MAC Cosmo lipstick

You hang in there, OK? Sending a warm virtual hug. 🤗

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

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.

[Continue reading…]

All Star Products for 3-Minute, No-Makeup Makeup

February 4th, 2020 by Karen 14 Comments

Some days you have 20 minutes to put on your makeup…and some days you only have three.

Yesterday was a “three” day for me. I had to drop off Connor at preschool in the morning before heading to the bakery, as usual, but because I was running late (I’d just finished making her lunch, and then I accidentally dropped EVERYTHING on the floor, ARRGHHH! It happened in slow motion, too! I’ve re-lived those sliced bananas falling to the ground about 20 times already.), I only had a sliver of time to transform myself from full-on two-month-turned zombie to quasi, two-days-dead semi-zombie. Three minutes, to be precise, and yes, I timed it, because without a timer, I’d never make it out the door on time.

I’ll be the first to admit that there isn’t anything glamorous or dramatic or life-changing about this makeup, but you know what? Sometimes I crave looks like this, like on the days when lunch falls on the ground (THOSE BANANAS ARE STILL HAUNTING ME), and the last thing I need is to be deeply challenged by my concealer or crease color.

If I were to compare this type of makeup to a hair style, it would be like running a brush through your hair, and putting it in a neat, low ponytail before donning a cute baseball cap. 🙂

The real MVP in this look: Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter

I love and wear it ALL THE FREAKIN’ TIME (my shade is 5 Tan). This tinted moisturizer has very fine pearlescent particles that make your skin look dewy (but not oily), and it gives enough coverage to hide redness and ever-so-slightly diffuse pigmentation and freckles. It’s also still somewhat sheer and doesn’t look thick.

(You will not look like you’re wearing a mask.)

From a few feet away, most folks won’t even be able to tell you’re wearing makeup. They’ll just assume you have naturally flawless skin. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOOOOOOVE IT.

Other key players

What else is doing the heavy lifting here?

I’m also wearing two gel cheek products by Chantecaille — their Radiance Gel Bronzer and Hydrating Gel-Cream Blush in Happy. I mixed a few dots of both on the back of my hand and patted/blended the combo directly on my cheeks with fingers. Just like Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter, these two moderately pigmented products deposit natural-looking color and don’t look obvious or heavy, so they’re ideal for fresh-faced cheek color that lasts all day long.

I wear them all the time and love them to bits.

Eyes and lips

I did the bare minimum on my eyes and lips.

A quick lash curl and a couple layers of mascara (IT Cosmetics Superhero, a superstar for thickness and curl) and a dash of dark brown eyeliner on the upper waterline (just at the roots of the lashes) immediately opens up my eyes.

Next, I quickly filled in my brows with MAC Brun eyeshadow using an angled brush, then ran a clear brow gel through them. I like to do the clear brow gel last because it mellows any overly dark spots.

Last, but not least, I lined and filled in my lips with a nude liner, then topped them off with a glossy lip tint.

Done and DONE, in less than three minutes! 🙂

Isn’t it nice sometimes to just get your face on quickly so you can jump directly into your day?!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen