MAC Makeup

MAC Unsung Heroes: Half ‘N’ Half Lipstick

August 19th, 2019 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.

MAC Half ‘N Half Lipstick ($18.50) is a neutral girl’s neutral — a nude pinkish brown with a creamy finish that you can wear with warm Havana eyeshadow, neutral golden brown Soba, or cool-toned taupe Omega, plus each and every natural-looking neutral in between.

You want pigment? Girl, you got pigment. You want shine? Half ‘N Half has you covered, and since Half ‘N Half has MAC’s intense Amplified formula, you can swipe once and ask questions (or reapply) later.

Like, much later.

Three or four hours, even.

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Adventures in Long-Lasting, Sweat-Proof Makeup (and a Shout-Out to Urban Decay)

August 13th, 2019 by Karen 13 Comments

long lasting makeup top — Anatomy of an (easy) long-wearing makeup look!

I wore makeup to the gym for the first time in forever yesterday (There was a reason… More on this in a sec.), and guess what? It led me to develop a list of go-to sweat-proof long-lasting makeup products that I know won’t budge an inch, even after an intense 60-minute HIIT class!

Not that I ever wear a full face when I exercise, but it never hurts to be prepared, right? At least now I know what to grab if Sydney Cummings ever asks me to do a workout video with her.

long lasting makeup products — The go-to gang

I think having a number of sweat-proof, water-proof products on hand is a good idea for people who do performances (dude, those stage lights are HOT), or if you’re going to be a guest at a destination wedding in a tropical locale, or if you’re going to Vegas to sit by the pool — basically, any situation where you know you’ll be sweating and you don’t want your brows/lashes/lips to melt off.

long lasting makeup before — The before pic: Let’s get sweaty!

Anyway, the reason this particular makeup challenge came about was because my HIIT teacher asked me to be the “member of the month” at the gym for September 2019.

Being member of the month entails having your picture taken, which will appear on a big ol’ poster in the middle of the gym (EEK), and answering some exercise-related interview questions.

long lasting makeup after — The after pic: Makeup after a 60-minute HIIT workout

We did the picture part during Monday night’s class, and that included some action shots of me sweating (and hopefully) looking somewhat cute with makeup on, even in that terrible overhead florescent lighting.

I used the least amount of product I could get away with because I didn’t want to be wearing layers and layers of heavy makeup. Also, most of the items I used were from Urban Decay, a line with a solid reputation for long-wearing makeup.

BROWS

I’ve noticed that filled-in brows make all the difference in pics, so I used Urban Decay Brow Blade Waterproof Pencil and Ink Stain in Dark Drapes to fill them in (pencil first, then the ink).

By the end of the workout, the drawn-in tail on my right brow had faded ever-so-slightly, which wasn’t surprising, really, with the amount of sweat that was pouring out of me, but both brows remained more or less intact.
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Milkshakes and Massages

July 24th, 2019 by Karen 17 Comments

take me to shake shack — YAAAAS KWEEN!!!

Things that go together like cookies and cream:

Reality TV and bad decision making
Underwear and pants (generally speaking)
Prince and the Revolution
Fast food and deep-tissue massage

And yes, I just figured out that last one, and I think it may be the key to the universe’s riches — a business that combines a luxury spa with bougie-bouge fast food.

I know this ’cause I saw my high school friends Jen and Cindy last weekend for our yearly summertime spa catch-up, and this time we met at a fancy-schmancy outdoor mini-mall called the Marin Country Mart.

Oh, and side note, when you live in the Bay Area and you’re tasked with doing the planning for a get-together, you try to arrange for the festivities to happen on your side of whichever of the three Bay Area bridges is closest to you (Dumbarton, Bay Bridge or the Golden Gate). #bayareafunfacts

Anyway, the Marin Country Mart. It has turtles in a fountain, upscale restaurants, shopping, and a large parking lot where, over the years, I’ve weaved creative blankets of expletives at people who have rudely cut me off. (My 10-year-old Mazda looks out of place amidst the sea of Range Rovers and Teslas.)

It also just so happens to be heaven on earth, because it has a Shake Shack *and* an International Orange Spa.

I love going to spas, but the snack situation is almost always dire. There may be cucumber water, tea, fruit and, if you’re lucky, trail mix. International Orange has dried apricots and dark chocolate, which is OK I guess…but it’s nowhere near as satisfying as stuffing yourself silly with a salted caramel milkshake, cheeseburger and fries!

So, we had a long lunch at Shake Shack — which is like In-n-Out, but with super intense milkshakes — then walked over to International Orange for massages.

international orange spa marin — International Orange Spa

international orange marin inside — Minimalist and zen…

My 60-minute deep-tissue massage liquefied my bones. When it ended, I crawled into a lounge chair in the relaxation room, covered myself with a blanket, and fell asleep…

inside international orange spa — Inside the relaxation room

international orange sun deck — View of the bay from the spa’s sun deck

international orange spa snacks — Spa snacks

At the end of the day, we all made a blood vow to return and experience the magic of milkshakes and massages again, ASAP.

I’m serious, this is a highly recommended spa+cuisine combo!

New face base dynamic duo

While we’re on the topic of ultimate combos…

MAC Face and Body and Kevyn Aucoin Etherealist Super Natural Concealer are SO, SO GOOD together.

mac face and body kevyn aucoin etherealist — For Face and Body, I usually do a mix of C4 and C5. In the Kevyn Aucoin Supernatural Concealer, I wear EC04 (the peachy shade for color correcting) and EC06 (a medium warm beige).

Super Natural is yet another makeup gem I unearthed while recently cleaning out my makeup drawers. It’s a medium-coverage liquid concealer with a demi-satin finish and comes in eight shades.

When I first tried it a while back, I remember loving how it looked on my skin, but I wasn’t a fan of the way it disappeared under my eyes.

But when I wear it on my cheeks on top of Face and Body, it’s a different story.
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MAC Unsung Heroes: Chili Lipstick

July 15th, 2019 by Karen 5 Comments

mac chili lipstick — MAC Matte Lipstick in Chili is hot stuff! 🔥

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.

So, I was making homemade taco seasoning a few nights ago, and the color of the chili powder reminded me of one of my favorite MAC lipsticks.

Smooth, long-lasting MAC Chili is a warm orange-reddish brown beauty in the MAC Matte Lipstick line. You can wear it all year round (’cause red is timeless like that!), but I think it looks particularly great this time of year with toasty tans.

mac chili lipstick swatch — An NC42, always and forever!

Chili perfectly pairs with summery bronze, copper and gold shadows. A few of my favorite eyeshadows to wear it with are MAC Bronze, Antiqued and Mulch, but Amber Lights looks fab with it, too.

I also like it with the NARS Isolde Duo (Tip: Mix both shades together and buff all over lids, and then do MAC Teddy liner on the waterlines… It’s FIRE.) and NUDESTIX Rustique.

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Fireworks!!!!!

July 4th, 2019 by Karen 12 Comments

Your Fourth of July fun fact! — aerial fireworks go by several different names, many of which are botanically themed…like peony, dahlia and chrysanthemum.

Coincidentally, I was thinking about vibrant, dynamic peonies when I did this eye look.

As each boom radiates outward, the circumference of each colorful circle has a defined shape, but as it expands, each individual point of light trails off ever so slightly until it disappears.

For the eye, I tried to convey the radiating roundness with the half-moon shape, and then spread the bronze and ruby red glitters outward.

For the lips, I experimented with two different styles — one, an opaque, editorial (a.k.a. “artsy-fartsy”) matte red; and the other a sheer raspberry, which I think is slightly more wearable.

Um…is red glitter ever wearable, though? DISCUSS. 😁
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