Makeup

The New MAC Art Library: Nude Model Eye Palette

March 1st, 2019 by Karen 11 Comments

mac art library nude model open — The new MAC Art Library: Nude Model Palette ($48)

There’s a long list of lovely neutral eyeshadow palettes out there in the makeup multiverse, but when it comes to the best of the best, maaaaaaan, MAC? *snaps* When they get it right, they get it right. They write the freaking book.

Cases in point: Brooke Shields. (I still drool a little every time I think about it.); the Nordstrom Naturals palette; and the Warm Neutral and Cool Neutral Palettes.

BOMB.

And now, the new MAC Art Library: Nude Model palette.

It’s $48 and one of three eye palettes available now in the new MAC Art Library collection. I think it’s the most wearable of the bunch with its 12 neutral shades, but that’s just one of many reasons I’m lovin’ on it.

With it, you get a mix of old faves (hi, Shroom and Espresso!) and new ones, but the real beauty is that there are so, SO. MANY. MATTES.

Seven of them! When does that ever happen?! Um, never?

The rest are shimmers, none of which are too obnoxious, with various levels of shine and glitter.

mac art library nude model swatches — I’m an NC42, by the way.

All the Art Library palettes were pieced together by MAC artists, and you can totally tell the these gals/guys had wearability and flexibility in mind.

Making matters even more profoundly wonderful is how easy all 12 are to blend. Plus, there aren’t any orange-y or reddish brown transition colors, which is quite unusual. Most of the MAC neutral palettes I mentioned at the top have at least one warm, mid-toned orange brown transition shade like Saddle or Soft Brown, and don’t get me wrong — I love those shades, but they can be a tad repetitive, particularly in neutral palettes.

Bucking that trend, Nude Model’s mid-toned matte transitions are yellowish browns and cool-toned beige grays, which you don’t see often, and it changes the palette’s overall vibe. It can’t be characterized as a simple warm-toned palette or a cool one. It’s smack dab in the middle. A neutral’s neutral, so to speak.

mac art library nude model k — Oh, hey! Eyes: MAC Art Library Nude Model Eyeshadows in Sandstone, Shroom, Tete-A-Tint, Espresso and Drop the Robe. Lips: MAC Art Library Lipstick in Down to An Art. Cheeks: MAC Melba Blush

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Bay Area Beauty Loves: Everyone for Every Body, and EO Essential Oils

February 28th, 2019 by Karen 10 Comments

eo essential oils everyone for everybody — Marin County in the house!

Yay for the Bay! This is the last in this series featuring products from and around my stomping grounds — the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Be relaxed,” it says.

Jeez, my body oil is sooooo bossy… 😂

eo essential oils lavender final — When body products make declarative statements…

OKURRRR!

I laugh every time I bust out this bottle of EO Essential Oils Body Oil in French Lavender , which is often, because I feel like it’s giving me tough love and telling me to chill-the-eff out, Karen.

Funny thing is, after I shower and slather my legs and limbs from tip to toes with this $15 lavender-scented body oil, I actually do feel very relaxed… After using it, I’ve fallen asleep on the couch at 8 (OK, 7:30!) more than a few times. 😴

For the record, it’s quite hydrating, but it isn’t greasy, and the lavender scent isn’t obnoxiously powerful.

EO Essential Oils and Everyone for Every Body, their sister brand, are based here in my neck of the woods in the North Bay Area, Marin County. Both of them carry every kind of body care product you can imagine — hand soap, hand sanitizer, lotion, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, body oils, deodorant, face wash, the works — and their products are cruelty-free, made without synthetic fragrances, and best of all, affordable. A huge 34-oz. bottle of their Everyone 3-in-1 Body Lotion is $11! I’m a big fan of the Apricot + Vanilla and the Citrus Mint scents, which are spring and summer staples for me.

And as an avid hand washer (some might even call me obsessive about it, but whatevs!), I’m also a fan of their liquid Hand Soaps. Lots of bubbles, but the soap is easy to rinse away, and it cleans without stripping my skin. My fave “flavor” is the $8.99 EO French Lavender, which by the way also tells me to “be relaxed” whenever I see it, ha ha! If you like the liquid hand soaps from Mrs. Meyers, I bet you’ll like these, too.

Oh! — and they also do products for babies, toddlers and bigger kids! Connor Claire has a bottle of the 3-in-1 Soap Orange Squeeze, which is an $8 shampoo, body wash and bubble bath combo, in the tub, but El Hub and I shamelessly pilfer from it on occasion.

everyone kids soap coco — Orange Squeeze is her main squeeze.

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New Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation (And a Book Review of Lilac Girls!)

February 27th, 2019 by Karen 24 Comments

hourglass vanish seamless liquid — The newest foundation in the Hourglass line: Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation ($56). I wear the shade Beige.

If you were wondering if new Vanish Seamless Finish Liquid Foundation by Hourglass is just as good as their B.O.M.B. Vanish Stick Foundation…well, sorry to bum you out, babe, but the stick is so much better.

I know. I was also hoping for a new go-to liquid version of Vanish with the same “Oh, I forgot I’m wearing makeup!” super power.

hourglass vanish beige swatch — Swatch of Beige. (I’m an NC42 in MAC.)

I wanted the stick’s same medium-to-full coverage and satiny finish, but importantly, I wanted the eeeeease. With the stick, you just draw a few stripes and blend with whatever you can grab first — a buffing brush, a sponge, your fingers, a cat’s paw… It’s like a minute, tops.

The liquid version, though? Bah, so complicated! The liquid has intensely concentrated pigment, and it’s like an airtight alibi (it completely covers its tracks, ha ha), but the finish settles into pores and fine lines if you use more than a drop or two.

hourglass vanish seamless before — Before: No makeup and a smile with my sidekick.

hourglass vanish seamless after — And after! I’m wearing Beige without any setting powder (just the foundation), because I felt like it looked kinda heavy already on its own. Eyes: MAC Art Library Nude Model palette and It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara. Cheeks: Hourglass Ambient Blush in Brilliant Nude. Lips: MAC Matte Lipstick in Down to An Art.

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Aging In Allure… How Cool Is This?

February 27th, 2019 by Karen 15 Comments

As I was flipping through the March issue of Allure (to be honest…I was procrastinating, LOL!), this beautiful picture stopped me in my tracks.

The woman’s name is Maye Musk (Elon’s mom), and the caption says she’s a model, muse and truth-teller (hyphenated!).

I can’t remember the last time I saw a picture of someone in Allure, or really any big beauty magazine, with real “experience lines.”

How awesome is this? I mean, it’s a magazine, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were still some Photoshopping happening, but you can actually see everything — the texture of her skin, her smile lines, the creases between her brows and the beautiful crinkling at the outer corners of her eye. Basically, the markers that decorate the face of someone who’s lived a long life.

Let’s get real, when do you ever see pictures of women in big beauty magazines who actually look like they’re getting older? And she’s so totally working it! I love it.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Hiya, friend. How are you? I’m doing better today than I was yesterday afternoon, because yesterday I spent half the day at the dentist’s getting four (!) fillings on my upper right side.

On the one hand…my jaw is still a little sore. On the other, I’m happy to report that I didn’t shed a single tear at the dentist’s office. NOT ONE. I was shockingly calm the entire time, which was a first for me.

I almost celebrated this victory with an Ulta run afterward because I reeeeeeally want to get L’Oréal Infallible Fresh Wear Foundation, but my stomach started rumbling (the visit took almost three hours).

Anyway, miss you. Are you having a good week so far? Have I mentioned that we’re also in the midst of an atmospheric river here, and it’s been pouring FOR DAYS?

Bay Area Beauty Love: E.L.F.

February 22nd, 2019 by Karen 12 Comments

Yay for the Bay! In this series, for the month of February 2019, I’ll be featuring products from and around my stomping grounds, the San Francisco Bay Area.

A trifle of trivia for my friends who marvel at makeup minutia: Drugstore brand E.L.F. was founded in Oakland, California, in 2004. Contrary to popular myth, their name stands for “Eyes Lips Face,” and not for the classic Christmas film starring Will Farrell (which I’ve seen about a million times!).

WOW! That’s a lot of fun facts, I know! 😉 You’re soooooo welcome.

E.L.F. is low-key famous for doing a full range of super affordable drugstore makeup — color, tools, skincare, the whole nine yards — with plenty of products to choose from under $10. Whenever I have a beauty itch that needs scratching but don’t want to start a raging bonfire in my wallet, I’ll go to Ulta or Target and grab a few $2 doohickeys in the E.L.F. section for some instant gratification.

Granted, it doesn’t always work out for me, because I’m pickier about textures and finishes now that I’m in my 40s than I was in my 20s and 30s (a.k.a. the age when I could throw any shimmery shadow with the consistency of almond meal on my lids and be just fine), but sometimes I’ll find something great! Sure, it might not be the most perfect product in the history of the world, but it also won’t require me to take out a loan.

What happens when you “smize” and pop your hip in front of your garage… BTW, I’m wearing the E.L.F. Shadow Brow and Liner Palette and the No Budge Retractable Liner on my eyes.

Like their $12 matte powder eye palette with cool-toned mattes (YES!), which you can use to fill in your brows, shade your lids AND line your eyes.

Let me say that again: COOL-TONED MATTES. As in *no* orange or red shades. What a gem! I can do pretty much an entire eye look from start to finish with this palette (just add a tightline and mascara), and it works with practically every blush/lip combo around.

The caveat? Nil wear time…so I absolutely have to use it with an eye primer. If I don’t, the shadow vanishes in less than two hours.

Even with primer, it fades more and faster than higher-end shadows. But still…it’s $12! For that price, I’ll take it. I’m happy enough with the colors, the blending and the texture of the powders (similar to Urban Decay).

I made an E.L.F. run last week because I needed a pick-me-up after going to the dentist, so I got…

A $3 No Budge Retractable Eyeliner in Black: Long-wearing and decently pigmented (although not as pigmented as the Maybelline twist-up, so I have to use two or three layers). It’s stiff, but it’s good enough for tightlining.
A $2 pack of Line & Define Tape: This stuff is juuuust sticky enough. You can even cut them in half to make a pack last longer.
A $4 Solid Brush & Sponge Cleanser: Pretty great.

An entire haul for less than $10!? How is that even possible!?

What are your E.L.F. faves?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!!!