Dolce & Gabbana

FOTD: A Beauty Voyage With Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2016 and Shop Fresh Nude Foundation

March 1st, 2016 by Anna Oh 39 Comments

dolce & gabbana d&g beauty voyage palette — FOTD with D&G’s Beauty Voyage Spring 2016

anna oh illustration beauty voygage — Ready for the warmer weather

Hi, everyone! I thought I’d share my face of the day and thoughts on two new-to-me products: Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2016 The Beauty Voyage ($150) and The Body Shop’s Fresh Nude Foundation ($25).

dolce & gabbana d&g beauty beauty voyage palette — FOTD using Anastasia, Benefit, Sephora, The Body Shop, and D&G Beauty

Products used:

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde (I use this light cool shade for a softer effect)
Benefit They’re Real mascara
Sephora Bright Future Gel-serum Concealer
The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation in Bora Bora / Tiare 012
Dolce & Gabbana Beauty Voyage palette

the body shop fresh nude foundation bora bora — The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation in Bora Bora

Since I wanted a sheer and hydrated look, I decided to try out the Body Shop’s new Fresh Nude foundation. With a medium semi-matte finish, it gives a LITTLE glow with none of that awkward greasy 5 p.m. face.

It starts out sticky, but it lasts well for around six or seven hours on my oily-combo face. If you have normal to dry skin, you may really like this option!

[Continue reading…]

This Is a Christmas Mani (not a 49ers Mani)

December 22nd, 2015 by Karen 8 Comments

I like to do red and gold Christmas manis, and I’ve done them a few times over the years. I’ve also been asked a few times, usually by grunting, manly dudes, if I’m wearing 49ers colors on my nails, to which I say, “NO! This is red and gold. It’s a Christmas mani.”

For the longest time I thought this was a weird thing that only happened to me, but I was at the Kaiser lab a few weeks ago to take this really long, intensive glucose test that took three hours, and it was just me and all of the nice lab ladies kicking it old school. Well, Lacey, one of the gals who works there (hi, Lacey!), was wearing a similar manicure with red and gold glitter, and as she was drawing my blood for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day (at this point, we were already BFFs), we got to talking about her mani.

I was like, “I like your Christmas mani,” and she looked at me in complete surprise! Apparently, I’d been the only person to NOT assume she was wearing a San Francisco 49ers mani. She said that everyone, including her husband, all said (and we both said this at the same time), “You’re wearing 49ers colors!”

We had a good laugh.

So, I’m trying again this year, and I’m thinking about making this my latest Christmas mani, primarily because I love this red. It’s Dolce & Gabbana Dora 627 (it’s $27), and it’s from their holiday collection.

The gold on my accent nail is Smith & Cult Shattered Souls (and those Smith & Cult nail polishes sure have amaze-balls wear time).
[Continue reading…]

5 Great Gothy Glam Lipsticks for Fall

November 2nd, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

5 gothy glam lipsticks — You can’t go wrong with one of these gorgeously gothy glam lipsticks this fall

“Luke, I am your father!”

Wha!? Who you talkin’ to? Ain’t no Luke here, buddy. My name is Karen, and this is my cat Tabs.

“JOIN THE DARK SIDE, LUKE!”

Man, you are cray, but OK. Sure, I’ll join the dark side…of lipstick! BOOM! What!? Surprise attack! Get him, Tabs! Attack his ankles!!

–END–

Yes, fellow fierce force users, dark, vampy plums and wines are giving me So. Much. Life. There are so many great gothy glam lip colors out there, and here are five fabulous ones for fall.

1. NARS Audacious Lipstick in Liv ($22)

Oh! I love Liv’s deep, satiny aubergine finish and rich, creamy formula. It livs (get it?) online and at NARS counters, where you can find it now for $22.

2. Dolce & Gabbana Matte Lipstick in Dolce Inferno ($37)

dolce gabbana dolce inferno — Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Inferno

I am burning up with love for $37 Dolce Inferno. It’s hands down one of my favorite deep, dark lippies around. A moody matte plum, it has the faintest essence of pearl that gives it a little kick.

For a dark lipstick, it’s also easy to apply. The smooth, opaque formula feels fairly thick, and it doesn’t slip and slide all over my lips when I apply it, which I do with a lip brush. You’ll find this hot ticket heating up Dolce & Gabbana counters now.

3. MAC Satin Lipstick in Cyber ($17)

My dry lips love MAC Cyber’s comfy, creamy formula. This dark, satiny plum is so creamy that it tends to scoot beyond my natural lip line, so I like to wear it with MAC Cyber World Lip Liner, because 1) the two products are like peas in a pod (the colors match very closely), and 2) the liner totally keeps Cyber under control.

Skynet approved! Look for it passing Turing tests now at MAC counters and online.
[Continue reading…]

An Affable Autumn Moody Monday Makeup Look for a Folksy Fall

November 2nd, 2015 by Karen 44 Comments

I wasn’t sure what to call this look… Moody Monday? Or Folksy Fall? How about Affable Autumn?

So I’m leaning toward a combination of all three — an Affable Autumn Moody Monday Makeup Look for a Folksy Fall — because it’s overcast and drizzling right now (it rained hard last night), and part of me definitely wants to be sitting by a warm fire under a flannel blanket while sipping a mug of hot cocoa, while another part of me wants to be walking around outside in the rain dressed in black from head to toe with my headphones on while listening to Joy Division.

Basically, I’m feelin’ it. 🙂

There are three main concepts at work in this cozy/moody Monday makeup look. First, it features a warm matte reddish brown smoky eye. Second, the edges of the winged liner have been blurred. And third, the dark matte plum lip.

It’s a lot of look, for sure, but I think it all goes well together, especially if the weather where you are is anything like the weather is here now. It’s like it just turned full-on fall last night!

Skipping the winged liner or leaving out the falsies would tone it down. Or, you could not line your lower water line with the black liner, and just leave your lower water line bare.

Of course, to go the other way completely and boost the drama, you could go more intense with the brows, or add a gloss on top of the plum lip, or use a gel or liquid liner, which would add even more oomph (I just used a black eyeshadow applied with a wet brush). Any of those tweaks would look super cool.

[Continue reading…]

5 Magnificent Magenta Lipsticks That’ll Make You Yearn for Fall

August 24th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

Maybe it’s all this talk about El Niño, or maybe it’s just my burning desire to bust out the scarves, and boots, but I’m ready to say “peace out!” to bright, summery pinks and “ciao” to corals for the season. Yup, I’m starting to enter fall mode.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been reaching for darker nail polishes (I’ve got Essie’s In the Lobby on my paws today!) and transitioning to deeper lip shades, but I’m not quite ready yet for full-on fall lip colors like dark browns, wines and purples. After all, it’s still only August. 🙂

But I have been into what I like to call my summer-to-fall transition shade, the always lovely magenta.

MAGENTA! I love wearing colors in the magenta family around this time of year because they seem just as comfortable with scarves and boots as they are with daisy dukes and flip-flops.

So here are five of my current magenta lipstick faves that have been in heavy rotation lately…