Makeup

Glowing Khaki Lids and Coral Lips (A 15-Minute Makeup Look)…and a Pumpkin Cupcake Question!

November 4th, 2019 by Karen 13 Comments

If you ever need to “improv” maracas (it could happen), just grab a jar of autumnal sprinkles, and give ’em a little shake! They’ll get the job done in a pinch.

Yes, Bon Jovi is FEELING IT.

I wore this khaki makeup look to the bakery last Friday, by the way.

autumn sprinkles — Fall colors AND an improv instrument in one fell swoop

It was inspired by this jar of mixed sprinkles and these fall leaf cupcake liners I found at Michaels.

Aren’t they pretty? I just love the greens and golds, and the little sugar dots have a subtle shimmer.

I was trying to channel fall via the khaki lids (which come courtesy of MAC Sumptuous Olive eyeshadow (an oldie but goodie) and Maybelline Jade Olive (a drugstore superhero), but it turned out more summery than I thought it would. HELLO, STORY OF MY LIFE.

mac sumptuous olive flat lay — I was going for fall colors, really!

I mean, I could’ve swapped the coral matte lip for something like MAC Burnt Spice, but I swear, I could not physically stop my hand from grabbing that coral. I saw my hand reach out, and I literally could not stop myself (coral addicts, you know what I’m talking about).

The glowing skin upped the summery-ness of the look even more, and that’s the work of this new-to-me product from It Cosmetics called Bye Bye Foundation Full Coverage Moisturizer SPF 50+ in Tan.

I didn’t anticipate so much sheen from this tinted moisturizer. It’s very similar to NARS Pure Radiant — so it’s dewy, but with slightly more coverage and an even shinier finish. My skin ended up with a beach babe glow, and even though I tried to matte it down with a loose powder, it was still super shiny.

Basically, this stuff really wants to glow on your face!

Overall, I think it’s just OK… It doesn’t feel heavy, which is nice, and it does give a good amount of coverage, but I’m not crazy about the Tan color (I think it’s a little too gray on me) or how the finish seems to amplify the size of my pores.

Anyway, I’m gonna take another crack at another autumnal look again soon, perhaps with a brown smoky eye, or — ooh! — maybe a cranberry smoky eye with gold liner? We’ll see what happens… I have to admit that there still exists a slim chance that whatever I do will go summery again, because that’s just the story of my makeup life, HA HA HA!

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3 Powerful Tips for Doing Quick, Colorful Makeup (And a 20-Minute Bronze/Green/Gold Eye Look With Pink Cheeks and Nude Matte Lips!)

October 31st, 2019 by Karen 17 Comments

urban decay on the run g train — Today’s 20-minute makeup look

Working at the bakery has been such a blessing in so many ways, makeup and otherwise. I’ve been learning so many new things, and the loneliness I’ve felt for a long time is finally starting to leave.

In terms of makeup, though, my goodness! — the 15-minute window I typically have now to don my face paint in the mornings has been the catalyst for all manner of shortcuts.

Like these three powerful tricks you can use when you want to do quick, colorful makeup (but don’t have a lot of time). I used them for to do bronze, green and gold eye look (paired with pink cheeks and a matte nude-pink lip), which I wore to the bakery yesterday…

Tip No. 1: Intensify and extend the wear time of your eyeshadow by using a long-wearing pencil liner as a base

This is one of the speediest ways I know to 1) get your eyeshadow to last longer, and 2) to amplify the intensity of your shadows to make them look brighter and richer.

For this, you want to use a liner that sets relatively quickly…like in less than 30 seconds. I love the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-Ons because they come in tons of colors and finishes. And, because they dry very quickly, I’m forced to work fast!

Note: When you’re using a quick-drying pencil liner as a base, your best friend is a stiff (but still soft) synthetic brush, ideally something with a slightly domed tip, like the Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush.

Synthetic bristles tend to be more rigid than natural bristles, so you can push and blend that liner and tell it where to go, LIKE RIGHT MEOW!

In the look I wore yesterday, I wore Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Smog as a base. I roughly drew a few fatty-bo-batty messy lines all over my lids, and then I took the Real Techniques brush and buffed the liner into a thin, even layer.

Then, I applied warm browns and bronzes from the new Urban Decay On the Run Palette in G Train.

Tip No. 2: Use an angled brush to line your eyes with the darkest shade from your favorite eyeshadow palette

Not only is lining with an eyeshadow and angled brush super speedy, but it’s also forgiving, so you can make mistakes and nobody will even realize it!

Note: If you want the most room for error, keep the brush head dry for a soft and diffused line.

You can also wet your brush head with a setting spray to dial up the richness of the color, but FYI, it’s not as forgiving as a dry application.
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Your Best and Worst Halloween Costume?

October 30th, 2019 by Karen 18 Comments

I think all the plastic costumes I wore as a child in the ’80s fall into a collective “worst” category. 😂 If you had to suffer through a plastic mask back in the day, you know what I’m talking about. The eye and nose holes were always juuuuuust a little bit askew, which left me unable to see or really breathe for that matter, LOL! Every Halloween in a mask was hot, sweaty and uncomfortable.

The candy made up for it, though! 🎃

As for best, hmmm. Well, I quite enjoyed dressing up as the crazy-looking beauty queen inspired by the cover of Hole’s Live Through This album a few years back.

How about you?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. We’re home! The power is officially back on!

Anyway, I can’t tell you how relieved I am to do simple things like run a load of laundry, brew a cup of coffee and surf the web. ❤️

The past few days have felt like I’ve been waiting at an airport for an uncertain connecting flight, and now that the power is back on, life will hopefully continue on as usual, knock on wood. My nerves are sighing the most epic sigh of relief.

Red Lip Redux: MAC Matte Lip Mousse in Cordon Bleu

October 29th, 2019 by Karen 15 Comments

mac cordon bleu — MAC Condon Bleu, I heart you

Officially, this MAC matte lipstick is a warm pink, but on my lips it looks red, yet the name is Cordon Bleu, like the color blue.

We should just rename it something like, “When Colors Confusingly Collide.” 😂

I wore this lippy last week in one of the Charlotte Tilbury posts not realizing just how much it would steal the show. It’s one of the Matte Lip Mousse lipsticks from the MAC Pony Park collection, so it’s limited edition (I know), and while a lot of the items from that launch are sold out, Cordon Bleu is still available.

The Matte Lip Mousse lippies play on the blurry edged lip trend that’s happening right now, so they’re designed to draw a diffused edge that feathers out ever so slightly.

You don’t really have to do anything fancy to get the effect either — just apply it with the doefoot directly onto your lips. Don’t worry, it won’t travel outside your natural lip line, so you won’t end up looking like the accidental Joker.

Cordon Bleu’s lightweight mousse formula stays put, feels comfy, and best of all, doesn’t dry out lips. It also tastes and smells like MAC’s signature vanilla, which I love. If you’re a fan of MAC Relentlessly Red Lipstick, I think you’ll like this color, too, because it has similar warm coral undertones.

mac cordon blue — Living my best NC42 life

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Long Lasting Makeup for Hot Kitchens (A 15-Minute Look)

October 25th, 2019 by Karen 41 Comments

No, I am not trying to tease your sweet tooth…but yes, you are staring at cupcakes for a reason. 🧁😁

That reason would be this: I started a new job this week! At a bakery!

I know, it’s out of my lane, but with Connor going to preschool five days a week now, and me having been working at home for eons, I’ve been going a little stir crazy. Then one day a couple weeks ago, an opportunity arose to bake for a local bakery, and I took it.

If you’ve followed MBB for a while, then you probably know that I love to bake at home, and I’d love to get better at it. I want to learn to make all teh things! And I want to be surrounded by sugar and gluten and chocolate and frosting ALL. DAY. LONG.

I’ll try to temper/limit the amount of baking-related pics and info I share on MBB (unless you REALLY want to see more, in which case lemme know), but I’ve been doing MBB for almost 13 (!) years now. I love it too much to stop, but mama needs some other interests too. Way I see it, I’ll still be wearing makeup to work at the bakery, so I’ll still have plenty of makeup and skincare to test and talk about. So…you won’t be getting rid of me yet. LOL!

The new new gig is “back of the house,” which means that my primary responsibilities will be the actual baking…of all the delicious things.

Mmm…

First thing I noticed this week in the kitchen for training was that it gets REALLY hot when the ovens are cranking, and even HOTTER when it’s also hot outside, like it has been the past few days.

I wore the littlest amount of stick foundation on my first day (and I also happened to skip powder), so my base had all but slid off my face by the end of my shift.

So, for my second day at work, I busted out the long-wearing guns…

urban decay highway queen palette — When you’ve only got 15 minutes…

Base

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation (my shade is Honey Bronze) and Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer (I wear Golden). Both of these base products last a long while, and neither one looks or feels heavy. I set them with a light dusting of Chanel loose powder, which has a lovely natural finish.

Eyes

A liquid bronze eyeshadow base (Wander Beauty Amber Wave! Layer it under your bronze eyeshadows for added intensity and staying power) with a dusting of a shimmery warm bronze from the new Urban Decay On the Run Mini Palette in Highway Queen. I also went with a long-wearing purple liner on the upper lash line (UD Ether, which pairs well with bronze shades and doesn’t look *too* obviously purple. Unfortunately, it’s discontinued.). Next, I used a long-lasting curling mascara on my lashes (MAC Extended Play Perm Me Up Lashes).

Eyebrows

I was blown away by how well my brows made it through the second day, because — no joke — it was hot 🔥 in the kitchen. I’d assumed they would disappear, BUT THEY DIDN’T! Anyway, I wore NARS Komo brow pencil and MAC Clear Brow Set.

Note to self: this combo frickin’ lasts.

Cheeks and lips

Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy blush on my cheeks, along with a couple of shades from the Wander Beauty Cloud9 Mini Lipstick Kit (the lipsticks are super creamy, so they don’t really last more than two hours) mixed together.

urban decay highway k closeup — My hair is crazy, I know.

It took me 15 minutes to do this look, which I put on at 6:45 in the morning.

I’m writing this post a full 12 hours later, and after five hours in a hot kitchen, all of the makeup I used in the morning still looks pretty good, if I do say so myself…with the exception of the creamy lipstick.

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, I don’t eat cupcakes all day long now, HA HA HA!

I certainly want to though. 😁

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen