Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
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OK, so, technically spring is still a few weeks away, but I’m already in full-on summer mode in the Long Live Lipstick Tee. 💄 Here it is in tropical Papaya.
The store is chock-full of tees and accessories for makeup lovers and feline fanatics, also known as “my people.”
Check it out.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. This is one of many new products coming to the store over the next few months. Stay tuned!
Greetings from The Land of No Pants.
No, I’m not just sitting here at my desk with my bum hanging out. I’m wearing these fantastic tights that I can’t believe I just found out about. They’re called the Brushed Sweater Tights, and they’re by a brand called Hue.
Normally, they’re $15, but I got them back on Black Friday for $9.99 each. Also, though, they’re on sale right now on the Macy’s website for $10.50.
These are great! They’re the warmest, most comfy tights in all the land, and they’re really thick. When you slip into them, it’s almost like you’re wearing a cashmere sweater on your legs and booty.
You’d think you’d get overheated, right? Nope. I feel perfectly toasty when I wear these tights, so you will not be sweltering.
Now, of course…I don’t just wear the tights by themselves, so no, I’m not walking around with just tights on, ha ha! I usually wear a dress on top, and then a sweater, and pair them with my khaki Fergie boots. (Which I still love! They’ve held up for years. Props to you, Fergie-Ferg.) OR, I wear them with my over-the-knee Sam Edelman boots, and if it’s extra cold, I’ll add a scarf and a winter coat.
Granted, here in Northern California, while it does get chilly (~30 degrees), the winters are relatively mild compared to the Midwest and the Northeast, where you have sleet and snowbanks and temps fall well below freezing. I don’t know if I could handle wearing just these tights in a place with extreme winter weather, but maybe if you do live someplace like that, you could wear these underneath your pants for an extra layer of warmth, or you could double up on them, which is what I would probably do, LOL!
I think they’re great. They retain their snugness throughout the day, too, so they don’t loosen up, and they kinda hold you in… I mean, not as intensely as Spanx or anything, but I do feel a moderate sausage-y effect, which I appreciate.
Leave it to the universe to have impeccable timing, because it just reminded of a commitment I made to myself years ago about Turkey Day — that I would never again wear pants with buttons that constrain me in any form or fashion upon the date of a major mega-food fest!
All those years of wearing bullsh*t jeans to Thanksgiving meals… NEVER AGAIN.
Which leads me to my latest aha! find: Spanx leggings. Girlfriend, I AM SHOOKETH.
This knowledge was dropped on me, an unsuspecting woman with a closet filled with raggedy “private stretchy pants”, last Sunday at a meeting of the Novato Mothers Club.
It was held at a Nordstrom. The store sectioned off some of the dressing rooms for the moms, and provided drinks, snacks and stylists.
One of the stylists brought out a selection of Spanx leggings and subsequently raved about them. I kid you not, the leggings looked amazing on everyone — like J. Lo booty, outta-this-world amaze-balls.
More than half the women left with a pair.
OK, first things first: These are NOT workout leggings (although Spanx makes some of those, too). This line is for everyday life. These are thick, high-waisted stretchy pants that suck in your gut, smooth out cellulite, slim your quads and lift your butt to the next level. A couple of the styles also come in petite sizes.
The stylist recommended wearing a long sweater or a tunic with the leggings if you don’t want your booty showing, which is probably what I’d do for some of the styles, like the Faux Leather, the Moto (SUPER CUTE) and the camo.
Oh, and don’t reflexively dismiss the camo. I wanted to hate on it at first because camo isn’t my thing, but one of the moms actually showed up to the event wearing the gray camo pair with black booties, a loose camel sweater tunic and a few layered gold necklaces, and she looked super chic. Equal parts edgy and elegant.
Nordstrom didn’t have any of the jeans-looking leggings in stock, but those look very tempting, too.
And this pair with sequins! WANT. You know me, though. Any excuse for bling.
Booties, booties, booties, booties rockin’ everywhere!
One could totally take the words “nude booties” in a myriad of directions, but for the purposes of this post we’re talking about shoes — specifically cutie-patootie tan, taupe, brown and beige ankle boots with totally comfy and walk-able heel heights, i.e. 2 inches or less, because I got no time to chase after a tabby in high heels.
I don’t know how I missed this nirvana of nudity when I was at DSW last week looking for flats, but this week DSW’s ankle boot situation is all kinds of lit. I’m talking boots with braids, buckles, buttons and steely studs.
No worries if you aren’t into trendy tassels or flirty fringe, either, because they had lots of low-key styles, too.
The Novato store had at least three rows dedicated to booties, and I tried on every single pair. (Not really, but almost.) Meanwhile, Connor kissed every mirror she passed and pretended to change her doll’s diaper on the every single bench.
I also spent a good chunk of time chasing her as part of her training for American Ninja Warrior: The Toddler Edition. Her training involves sprinting down the long aisles at DSW, which also affords me an opportunity to chase her, thereby conducting an impromptu bootie test.
These three passed with flying colors…
Perforations (a.k.a punched out holes in the material, which is typically suede) are a big bootie trend right now.
At first I wasn’t sure about these Bare Traps booties. Are you supposed to wear them with bare feet like a hybrid bootie-sandal? If so, wouldn’t your feet be cold? Or is the suede supposed to keep your toes warm??
Such important questions, right? 🙂
Turns out you can go bare or wear them with socks… Yes, socks will still look cute, but I think you’d want solid color socks in a complementary shade because you’ll see them through the perforations.
I’m wearing black ankle socks with these, and I think they’re totally cute.
SNEAKY SHOE PRO TIP #1: (Because I cannot be the only person who does this.) If you ever go to DSW and don’t see your size on the side of a box, turn the box around to check the back for a size label. 😉
I wear a size seven, which is pretty common, so it usually sells out quickly. Shh… Don’t tell anyone, but when I’m on the fence about a shoe and only see one pair available, I’ll turn the box around and put the box back on the shelf so the label with the size isn’t immediately visible…
Yes, I do this to discourage other people from finding it… I don’t know if it actually works, but I do know that when I was looking for a size seven in these Bare Traps, it just so happened that someone had sneakily turned the box around! HMMMM.
These tan suede booties have a cushioned footbed, so they feel like you’re walking on fluffy clouds.
They’re also slightly pointy in the toe, so the lengthening effect (which I want!) is more obvious than it is with the other styles. The only thing is, the heel is 2 1/4 inches high, which is still a relatively low heel…but if you prefer flats, it might be a smidgen too high.
Ooh! This video!? I just learned a really handy trick for using nude flats to look taller:
If you’re petite like moi, or if you just want to add a couple of virtual inches without wearing heels, wear a pair of nude flats — ideally, with a slightly pointy toe — in a shade close to your skin tone. It’ll make your legs look longer.
Also, for the full effect, pair the flats with pants that hit above your ankle, and tuck in your shirt.
Well I’ll be a crazy cat lady… It really works! I got iPhone pic proof yesterday when I went to DSW looking for a pair of nude flats (I had a coupon burning a hole in my pocket. WOO HOO!).
Much to my chagrin, I didn’t hit a home run on the flats, though. I came pretty close with this tan and gold number by Vionic…
They’re one of those shoes that look cuter on your feet than they look sitting on the shelf, but I really wanted something with pointier toe, so I left without them.
At first I thought the cork-like material was kind of odd-looking (like, am I gonna be walking around with wine corks on my feet??), but with the gold flecks, the material looks almost like Chanel tweed.
MONEY SAVING TIP!
If you’re shopping in a DSW store and see a pair of shoes you like, check the website before buying, because sometimes their shoes are less on the website than they are in the stores, and vice versa. For example, the Vionic Minna Ballet Flats shown here are $119 in the store and $89.99 online. That’s a big difference!
The flats also felt like they were already “broken in” (so, not stiff), and the insoles had a fairly high cushioned arch, which I was living for because flats usually have zero arch support.
I came this close to bringing them home, but alas… Gonna keep looking around. If I can’t find anything else, I’ll go back for them.