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Face of the Day (FOTD)

A Polished Daytime Makeup Look With Gunmetal Gray Liner, Lightly Defined Taupe-Brown Lids and a Whole Lotta Laura Mercier ❤️

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laura mercier 2021 face of the day
Loving this vibe

Fun fact: makeup artist Laura Mercier spent her formative years in France. (Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to picture myself wearing her makeup while getting coffee and croissants?!)

laura mercier 2021 face of the day

If we were going to meet at a cafe today for a socially distanced lady date (I WANT!), I’d wear this Laura Mercier makeup look, and I’d get an iced latte and a plain croissant. What would you order?

marin coffee roasters
Incidentally, my favorite coffee drink as of late is an iced latte with a single shot from Marin Coffee Roasters.

Laura Mercier is one those lines I keep coming back to, over and over and over again. My love affair with all things LM began before I started MBB (so, we’re talking prehistoric time).

In teen romance terms, we’ve been going steady…for a good 14 years now (here’s Baby Karen mixing and wearing Laura Mercier foundation). I know I can count on the makeup, and whenever I wear it, I truly feel like myself.

I recently restocked on a few oldies but goodies (and a few new-to-me things as well)…

  • Caviar Volume Mascara: Epic curl, lift and volume. SO GOOD for wimpy lashes that need lots of help.
  • Eye Basics in Wheat: A beautiful satiny matte cream shadow that you can wear alone as a lid base or as a primer. Fun fact — this used to be called “Basic Color.”
  • Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Cobblestone and Moonlight: Cocoa is my favorite in this line of cream shadows, and these two are new to me. Cobblestone, I LOVE. It’s a mid-toned matte brown and adds just the right touch of light definition to lids. And Moonlight is a shimmery taupe… I like it, but don’t love it because it’s a little too frosty for my taste.
  • Inner Eye Definer in Stormy Grey: I hope LM never discontinues this gunmetal gray liner, which I’ve been wearing and loving for 10 years, at least.
  • Cheek Color in Ginger: The shade Rose is my jam, but I like this sheer matte peachy nude too.
  • Tinted Moisturizer: OLD SCHOOL, BABY! Lightweight feel with just a hint of tint to even everything out. I mixed Wheat with Tan and set it with Laura’s iconic loose setting powder in this look.
  • Vanille Gourmande Eau Gourmande: Did you know Laura Mercier makes some beautifully wearable scents too? This one has notes of vanilla, vanilla orchid, vanilla liqueur, bourbon vanilla and vanilla musk, mixed with heliotrope, lily, sandalwood and amber.
laura mercier 2021 flat lay
Current faves!

Do you have any Laura Mercier loves? I wish we could chat about them over croissants in real life!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Pretty in Pink, Plum and Bronze, and Sea Otters!

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jane iredale naturally glam origins va va violet
A little bit of color!

“You can do it. Yeah, champ, keep moving that blending brush. You got this… YOU CAN WEAR COLOR! COME ONNNNNNN!”

Yes, these days, my internal makeup dialogue sounds like a boxing trainer talking sh*t from the sidelines.

(Not that I’ve ever boxed a day in my life… The closest I’ve ever come to a ring is watching Million Dollar Baby. Like Tabs was (RIP, buddy), I’m a lover, not a fighter.)

Put this in your “note to self” file next time you get tired of wearing brows and beiges and the usual neutral fare: pink, plum and bronze. It’s so good, and depending on the intensity of your shades, can be surprisingly colorful but still wearable, too.

jane iredale naturally glam origins va va violet
Loving this combo of plum, pink and bronze

jane iredale naturally glam origins va va violet

I’m wearing the same Jane Iredale Naturally Glam Palette from the other day; I blended the dark bronze and the pink shades atop a plum eyeshadow base (MAC Prunella liner, which I buffed out all over my lids).

You guys, don’t sleep on this palette. It’s not flashy by any means, but the more I use it, the more I fall in love with it, especially the glowing finish. It’s SO forgiving, and much appreciated by my experience lines.

The pink in this look also comes through on the cheeks via a peachy pink gel blush by Chantecaille (pricy but natural looking) and a pinkish violet lip from an Origins Lipstick called Va Va Violet.

origins va va violet
Origins Va Va Violet

This lippie is not playin’ because the payoff is crazy intense — like MAC level intense! Here I’m wearing it lightly dabbed on my lips for a stained effect, but it still looks pretty pigmented. I love how this lipstick’s pinkish violet tones complement the subtle pink and purple on my lids.

Note to self: REMEMBER THIS COMBO! It’s a good one!

Makeup Worn in this look

Hanging with my lady love

jane iredale naturally glam bronze purple lips coycoy
Just chillin’ with my sidekick!

Connor is home this week for spring break, so we’ve been hanging out a lot! Our new favorite thing to do in the morning is watch the live Otter Cam at the Monterey Bay Aquarium while we eat breakfast. I don’t know why, but drinking coffee and watching otters play and swim is the best thing ever.

We’re headed to DSW in a few because this child just keeps growing! I swear I just got her a pair of Nikes, and now they barely fit.

I’m also in the pursuit of a pair of low-heeled platform sandals, ideally in a tan shade.

I’ve decided it’s time to officially retire my collection of heels, which is a little bittersweet because I used to love them so much. I tried wearing a pair of Franco Sarto wedges the other day (they used to be my “comfortable heels”), and I realized — OH, HELL NO! — there’s just no way. LOL! First of all, I can’t chase after a child in them, and second, they’re super hard to drive in. Also, I can’t bend down! I’m done, dude. No more.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Soft Bronze and Beige-Pink Tones for Glowing Lids, Lips and Cheeks (And a Baked Chicken Recipe to Curb Dinner Rage)

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jane iredale naturally glam
A glowing look for an action-packed day! (Not really.)

This is one of those looks I didn’t do for any reason in particular other than it seemed like fun, because I ended up only sitting around the house like this, but dang if it wasn’t still fun! And I’ve got the pictures to save it for posterity!

I wish I’d thought of someplace interesting to take it out for a spin, even though I have low-key anxiety now around large groups of people. Soft, sparkling lids like this deserve to see the world, haha!

jane iredale naturally glam
Lids!

I didn’t really plan on this color palette with bronzes and soft beige-pinks. It just kind of happened, but I love how it turned out. It’s so delicate and girly, and it reminds me a little bit of the pink blush shades ballet dancers wear in their leotards, tights and tutus.

jane iredale naturally glam
Swatches of today’s makeup

The Jane Iredale Naturally Glam Palette

The glowing goodness happening on my lids comes courtesy of the magical Naturally Glam Eye Shadow Kit by Jane Iredale. They’re a cruelty-free line that does mineral makeup.

Have you ever put something on — I dunno, a bra or a pair of jeans or a shirt — that instantly lights you up and makes you feel good? That’s what happened to me with this palette. The powders have that perfect balance of pearl and pigment, and they’re awfully flattering. They sparkle in a non-frosty and totally forgiving way, and the pigment packs just enough punch (I’d call it mid-level, since it’s definitely NOT full-blown intensity) to delicately define lids and lash lines.

jane iredale naturally glam
Jane Iredale Naturall Glam Eye Shadow Kit

For this look, I buffed the golden beige (the one in the big circle) all over my lids as a base, then blended the gold (inner corner) and the mid-toned brown taupe (outer corner) directly on top. Then, I wet an angled liner brush and loaded it with the dark brown to line my lash lines. To finish the look, I tightlined with MAC Teddy, which goes great with this palette’s bronze vibe, and coated my lashes with mascara.

jane iredale naturally glam
Well, hi there!

Nude lip combo of the moment

Oh! — I’m back on a nude lip kick (What can I say? I love me a soft lip.) and found a new pinkish nude lip combo to share…

origins sweeter than honey hourglass provoke gloss
Origins Sweeter Than Honey Lipstick and Hourglass Provoke Gloss

I feel like this lip could also be cool with a darker, unblended lip liner for a ’90s vibe too…

Makeup worn in this look

The Dinner Rage chronicles, part 3,456

I mentioned to a friend of mine that I’ve been having major Dinner Rage lately (FYI, it’s that feeling that kicks in about an hour before dinnertime when I realize that I have to make food YET AGAIN, hahaha), and she passed along her go-to baked chicken recipe for these days.

vinegar chicken olive

vinegar chicken olives

It’s a vinegar chicken with crushed olive dressing, and I made it the other day… It turned out OK, even though I under-seasoned it, because I always have a hard time when recipes call for you to just season things with salt and pepper at your will (I always end up erroring on the side of not seasoning enough).

Here’s the recipe in case you want to try it, by the way. Oh, and I ended up substituting the wine vinegar with apple cider vinegar and using dried parsley instead of fresh because that’s what I had. If you make it, let me know how it goes!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Rainbow Nails and Bright Lips, Funfetti Cake, and the MAC Makeup in “Promising Young Woman”

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skittles mani mac all fired up
It’s a rainbow of color

For the record, it’s very, very awkward to take a picture of yourself that has your hands in it and have it look natural! Why do I feel like my paws look bigger than my head here? 🙄

I haven’t worn rainbow nails in a minute, but I absolutely HAD TO after we rented Promising Young Woman last weekend. It’s a thriller starring Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a young 30-something woman who experiences something traumatic that leads her to drop out of medical school, move back in with her parent and…pursue other ends. I don’t want to give away too much, but it involves some revenge.

Cassie wears a pastel rainbow manicure throughout the movie, and it’s front and center at a few key moments.

I’ve been reading about the styling for the film, and it turns out that the manicure was writer/director Emerald Fennell’s idea, and fun fact for ya — she’s the lady who plays Camilla Parker-Bowles in The Crown!

Symbolically, Cassie’s nails and makeup represent both her armor and a weapon. Her sweet girlishness at times conceals her anger.

I just wanted to wear rainbows on my hands to have a little fun, but I definitely appreciate using makeup as armor.

skittles mani mac all fired up

Near the end of the film, there’s a scene with Cassie in a candy-colored wig putting on a bright lipstick, and dagnabbit, even without my glasses on, and consequently being half-blind, I knew it was MAC. The movie’s makeup artist, Angie Wells, used MAC All Fired Up Retro Matte Lipstick.

I’m wearing it here with MAC Beet Lip Pencil.

skittles mani mac all fired up
MAC attack!

Speaking of bright and colorful things…I got a gluten-free sprinkle boxed cake mix and a matching sprinkle cake frosting (both by Pillsbury) at Target a few weeks ago to make a cake, and you know what? It was pretty darned delicious. Both the boxed Funfetti cake and the frosting were surprisingly tasty and flavorful (I could really taste the vanilla). The cake was also light and fluffy, and the frosting spread easily.

Everything was so good that I went back to the store and got more for the next time I have to bake something last-minute!

You know that I’m totally 100% down to bake a cake and make frosting from scratch, but sometimes it’s sooooo nice to have something easy around for when you get a hankerin’ for cake.

While we’re on the topic of baking, look what I found at Michaels…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Elegant Brick Brown Lids and Charcoal Wings (and a Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cake Recipe!)

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I feel like I’m wearing a lot of makeup here, but I’m not…comparatively speaking. Compared to what I used to rock on the daily five or six years ago! 😂 😭 I swear, if I just do a little concealer and foundation these days, and maybe a light dusting of powder, bam! — I feel ready for a black-tie ball from The Great Gatsby.

chanel arthur urban decay naked wild west down swatches
Swatches

Funny thing is…I was trying for an “everyday look” here with UD’s Naked Wild West Palette, which is why I used the matte, neutral workhorse shades — gray, a reddish brick brown, a taupe and a beige. I dunno though… I also couldn’t resist adding a little glitter in the inner corner!

Truth be told, my threshold for “dressing up” is very low now. Basically, whenever I put on a T-shirt and jeans that, ya know…fit, I feel dressed to the nines!

chanel arthur urban decay naked wild west down smile

The Naked Wild West workhorse shadows blend beautifully with very little fallout, and I also like how smooth they look on my lids. They don’t look heavily creased or dry.

To go with the warm red brick tones on the lids, I added a warm reddish blush (Hourglass Diffused Heat, an old standby that goes really well with so many different shades of red lipstick) and sheer warm red Chanel Rouge Coco in Arthur on my lips.

chanel arthur urban decay naked wild west closeup

DUDE, I am on a total Chanel Rouge Coco kick right now! It’s fancy yet approachable, with just the right amount of shine and opacity (or rather, semi-sheerness). The shade on my lips here is called Arthur, which I applied by dabbing the tube lightly on my lips. Then I pressed it in with a finger to create a warm reddish stain.

Makeup worn in this look

And now…

Chocolate chip applesauce cake

chocolate chip snack cake

Quite a few gals requested this recipe, so here it is, from my tummy to yours! I originally billed this as a “one-bowl baking job,” but I was overzealous there. You will need two. I hope that doesn’t stop you from trying it because the batter comes together really quickly, and the cake bakes in about 30 minutes.

choclatechocolate chip cake -chip-cake-front

chocolate chip cake slice

When you’re done, listen for the sound of angels singing (AAAAAHHHHH!!!!), as you’ll be rewarded with the most shockingly delicious, otherworldly, melt-in-your-mouth cake!

If you’re looking to cut down on the simple carbs, feel free to dial back the granulated and brown sugar, or, you could leave out the topping entirely. Or, you can just make it as is!

Since it’s a good amount of cake for just me, El Hub and my sous chef, I usually divvy up the cake and pass on the sugary goodness to my neighbors. You could also try cutting the slices and freezing them, although I haven’t done that yet.

INGREDIENTS

For the batter, wet ingredients:

  • 2 cups no-sugar added applesauce
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) lightly packed brown sugar

For the batter, dry ingredients:

  • 2 cups (10 ounces) gluten-free flour, or all-purpose flour, either one works great
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips, I like Guittard Semi-Sweet because that’s the brand we used in the bakery

For the topping:

  • 2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. If you’re using a glass pan like I did, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients — the applesauce, melted butter, vanilla, eggs, granulated and brown sugar.
  3. In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients — flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chips. You’ll want to coat the chocolate chips with the dry ingredients to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake while it bakes.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until just combined. Whatever you do, please don’t overmix!
  5. Spread the batter evenly in your prepared pan, then sprinkle the brown sugar and chocolate chip topping evenly across the top.
  6. Bake for 28-30 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (a little bit of melted chocolate is just fine). If you’re using a glass pan, you may need to bake a little bit longer… My cake ended up taking about 38 minutes total.
  7. Store well-covered at room temperature, and it should keep for several days!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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