Makeup

3 Very Important Things

July 5th, 2018 by Karen 11 Comments

1. Le Sportsac has a new line of bags printed bags in a “Caturday” print…

…with drawings of cats doing fun things on a boardwalk on Saturday (as cats are wont to do).

Note: There’s a kitty in a green bikini ordering a hot dog!!!

Seriously, I need everything, but I especially need the backpack. Should I go with the large or the medium? I just need something to hold my wallet, all of Connor’s kid things (which now includes a pink fold-up potty training seat –> who knew these things existed?), and all 14 of the lipstick tubes I have on me at any given moment.

Thanks to my buddy Suzanne for the heads up!

2. There’s a Mrs. Meyer’s Peony Dish Soap, and a Lilac Hand Soap, at Target right meow.

I think they’re both LE for summer? Anyway, they smell really good. I bought both, and I kinda wish I’d gotten backups, too.

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Hello, Hydration! Clinique Pop Splash Lip Gloss + Hydration

June 28th, 2018 by Karen 3 Comments

“You can never have too many tubes of gloss in your purse. Or too many kittens.”

— Ancient proverb (author unknown)

Clinique Pop Splash Lip Gloss + Hydration ($18.50, 0.14-oz. tube with a doe-foot applicator, 20 shades)

The key words here are “HELLA HYDRATION.”

You probably don’t *need* to collect ’em all, since the peaches, roses and pinks all look very similar on lips (the hot pink and red are pretty distinctive, though), but you might want to keep one or two in your purse for when your lips are dramatically dry (like mine are).

clinique rosewater pop — My fave: Rosewater Pop

Be prepared for a touch-up every couple hours if you wear one because they aren’t long-lasting (unlike the recently discontinued Glosswears), buy it’s a decent trade-off considering how cute and compact the tubes are. I do like seeing them in my T. Rex claws…

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Mat Taupe Is Dope! Chanel STYLO YEUX WATERPROOF Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Mat Taupe

June 27th, 2018 by Karen 24 Comments

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Who am I? What have you done with Karen? What’s happening to me? I don’t know why — whether some otherworldly entity has commandeered my body — but I’m having a majorly transformational moment with eyeliner right now, specifically brown eyeliner.

Actually, I do know why… Lately, whenever I look in a mirror, I feel like my eyes look even more exhausted than usual, and black liner makes it worse. Ironically, I used to almost exclusively wear black liner, and I LOVED it.

Then I discovered dark brown MAC Coffee.

MIND BLOWN.

It filled the same need that black liners filled — creating a thicker lash base, bigger-looking lids, defining the shape of my eyes — but didn’t look as harsh.

So…I just figured out that even lighter shades than brown, like taupe, can work like this too. And taupe. Is. Dope.

I’m super in love with this $33 liner from the Chanel Le Stylo Yeux line called Mat Taupe, which is — surprise! — a matte taupe. Like MAC Coffee, it doesn’t have red undertones, but it’s slightly lighter and less gray.

When I wear it to tight line and along my lash lines, it does ALL THE GOOD STUFF — defines my eyes, makes my lashes look thicker, etc. — but it’s even less harsh than dark brown.

For years, I pooh-poohed the idea of wearing brown liner because I thought it was boring (“Why wear brown when you could wear black?”), but now I get it. Now I know.

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The BECCA Be a Light Face Palettes in Light to Medium, and Medium to Dark

June 26th, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

becca be a light face palette medium dark — The BECCA Be a light Face Palette in “Medium to Dark” (there’s also one called “Light to Medium”) on my face and cheeks

If we’re talking about a palette from BECCA, invariably I’m gonna compare it to Chrissy Teigan’s, because it’s the best one BECCA’s ever made. Even after a year, I still go “HOT DAMN, THAT’S GOOD!” every time I bust it out.

So the question I faced (haha) today is, “Do the new BECCA BE a Light palettes kick Chrissy’s palette to the curb?”

Hey, phones can make you look like a cat now, so stranger things have happened. 😁

The BECCA Be A Light Face Palette ($46, two versions — Light to Medium, and Medium to Dark)

With the two Be a Light palettes, BECCA is introducing a new powder formula to their line. Allegedly, the powders bounce light and blur pores like the Hourglass Ambients…and they do!

That’s great, right?

They aren’t exactly dupes, though. The Ambient powders are finer, and I think they do a better job overall, but that’s not to take anything away from these.

“Introducing the next generation of glow. This palette features Sheer Glow Filter Powder, a brand new, skin-smoothing powder, in four different finishes designed to blur, brighten, contour, and add a radiant flush of color. Microfine, luminescent pigments diffuse light to soften the look of skin and blurring pigments even skin’s texture so light bounces off it more effortlessly. The light-as-air, buildable shades brighten, blur, and softly define the complexion to create a sheer, natural glow—effortlessly. Unlike heavier powders, the oil-absorbing formula retouches and sets without disrupting makeup, making it your perfect 3pm-pick-me-up in a palette.”

— sephora.com

becca be a light face palettes — Medium to Dark (top) and Light to Medium (bottom)

In fact, if it weren’t for one thing, I’d be proclaiming my undying love for them. I even love the way they look from the outside (the rose gold is pretty!), but dang the shade selection, though!

The girls in the middle like me are getting the short end of the stick. The “Light to Medium” palette is too light for me (I’m an NC42 in MAC), while the “Medium to Dark” is a smidgen too dark.

To the powers that be, why didn’t you make a dedicated Medium version?! That said, I can get Medium to Dark to work for me, but only if I use the sheerest application and do an annoying amount of buffing.

If the shades work for you and you have combo or straight-up dry skin, you’re in luck, and the powders will do what they’re supposed to. Your skin will look effortlessly satiny and beachy with a touch of glow. Very, very BECCA.

On the other hand, if you have oily skin and want to completely matte everything down, well…you’ll be more shiny than dewy after a few hours (which is what happens to me on the oiliest spots on my face, like my forehead). The lack of oil control is another weakness, but, on the flip side, the powders layer really well, so even if you have to touch-up often, these powders won’t look heavy, which is always a plus.

As for the blush, it’s not my fave… It’s awfully shimmery, but at least the pearl particles are fine, so your pores shouldn’t look crazy big.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: NARS Deep Throat Blush

June 22nd, 2018 by Karen 8 Comments

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

I realize that NARS Orgasm is widely believed to be the true tour de force of the NARS blush multiverse, and for sure, I totally get why so many people love it…but NARS Deep Throat to me is a far better peachy pink option. Hands down.

Like Orgasm, it looks incredible on a wiiiide range of skin tones, but it lacks Orgasm’s intensely golden pearl, which in this case is a good thing, particularly if you have pores — like I do.

I actually like that I can’t see Deep Throat’s golden shimmer unless I’m way up in a magnifying mirror. Most of the time, all you see is the lovely color.

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