Product Reviews

Bite Beauty Upswing Extreme Longwear Liquid Eyeliner

March 10th, 2021 by Karen 6 Comments

This product does not bite.

There, I said it. 😁

Bite’s new $25 matte black liquid liner has flower power. (Side note: I just threw up a double-peace sign.) By flower power, I don’t mean in the “Let’s come together and love one another, man!” way. I’m referring to passion fruit flowers.

It’s the not-so-secret ingredient in this “clean” (air quotes) formula to stop smudging, transferring and flaking.

Also, remember when “carbon black” was the hottest thing in eyeliner and mascara? So many products boasted about being “carbon black.” Well, this liner is actually carbon black-free (I’m honestly unsure if that’s a good or bad thing).

The liner has a long wand with a flexible, thin brush, which broke my heart a little when I first saw it because I typically do better with pen-style liners. For whatever reason, they’re just easier for me to hold and easier to execute a wing or a baby kitten flick with. Just a personal preference.

I’m fine using this wand along the lash line, and I can draw thin, precise lines with it there, but when I get out to the wing with it, I’m a mess. I can eventually get there, but it requires cleaning up the edges with a Q-tip and some makeup remover to get a chiseled edge I like. So there’s that.

The liner itself is really beautiful, though. It’s a deep, dark true black without any blue or red undertones, and each layer is intensely pigmented.

The formula also glides and dries in about a minute, which is nice and quick, so it doesn’t transfer up into my lids when I blink.

I haven’t worn it for a full 12-hour period yet, but I have worn it from shortly after dawn till dusk, and it does just fine. No flaking or fading in that time.

If you’re good with a wand applicator and looking for a “clean” product in the $25 range, put it on your list of possibilities to try.

FYI, Honest Beauty’s liquid liner is comparable. It also has a wand with a flexible tip, a similarly rich black color without any weird undertones, and it’s $9.99. That said, the Beauty Beauty one is a smidgen darker and smoother, IMO, and consequently a little easier to use, but both are quite good.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Bronze and Gray Lids With the Urban Decay Naked Wild West Palette

March 4th, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

urban decay naked wild west swatches — Yup, more naked. 🤭

Seriously, how many more of these are they gonna do?!

The newest incarnation of ze Naked palette calls itself Naked Wild West (no relation to Kanye), and it’s inspired by the California desert.

No, not dessert. DESert. 😂

I patted Rustler, the shimmery bronze shade, on my lids and was surprised to see taupe-y grey undertones when I blended out the edges.

Kinda cool…both literally and figuratively, hahaha. To complement the gray, I lined my upper lash line with an angled brush that I’d dipped into Pony Up, the matte dark gray.

I did remember to tap my brushes to unload any excess powder before applying but still ended up with a little bit of fallout on my cheeks. Not a lot though…

I hadn’t done my base yet (a 50/50 mix of Urban Decay 24-Hour Hydration in 50 Medium, and Lancôme Skin Feels Good in Tan, set with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural) so I just wiped it off. No biggie.

For my cheeks, I swept a low-key hero from the UD permanent line, the Stay Naked Threesome trio in Naked, onto my cheeks (the bronzer and the blush).

Incidentally, I’m still on an Origins sheer lipstick kick, so I layered two shades on my lips — Honey Blush and Fuchsia Fields — to finish the look.

Just for fun, I tried the makeup with a brighter lip using Honest Beauty Passion.

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It’s nice to have options, ya know?

In other news…I’m all “mommed out” from the birthday excitement of the past few days, and I’m super tried right now! I skipped exercising yesterday, so I told myself this morning that I had to work out today…but right now all I want to do is take a nap.

Ugh, I know I’ll feel better when I’m done with it though. I just have to remind myself that I don’t have to give it 100%… 50% today will do!

You already know this, but Target has some weird stuff.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Smudged Cat Eye | Day 4 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 26th, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

honest beauty smudged cat eye side — Today’s smudged cat eyes; I really love this!

Leave it to the cat lady to love a smudged cat eye, hahaha! This is yet another look — I’ll say “inspired by” the tutorial card that comes with the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette.

honest beauty smudged cat eye swatches — Just four eyeshadows

The tutorial suggests using the beige shade all over the lid as a base, but I thought that might look a little weird on me, so I buffed the matte brown shade (Soft Bronze) on top of the beige to define my crease.

Gosh, these shadows blend so well! But that’s just one of the great things about this palette.

Can we talk about lips for a second, because I need to know if anyone else out there has been into tinted lip balms lately? They’re SO MY JAM, which is kinda funny because until recently I’ve been solidly Team Liquid Lipstick for the last few months. My previous lip logic was that if I’m going to wear something on my pout during the pandemic…it had to last long enough under my mask to ensure that I wouldn’t have to keep removing my mask to reapply it.

I know, interesting logic. 🙄

Turns out tinted balms are a great no-drama/low-effort option, since I can 1) easily apply one without a mirror (doing it right now, as a matter of fact), and 2) remove it just as quickly with a tissue when I’m about to mask up. Plus, hello moisture! (Side note: my lips have been dry lately.)

This sheer plum tinted balm by Origins is called Night Bloom, and it’s low-key epic in terms of moisture. I get old-school Clinique Black Honey vibes from the color because it looks crazy dark in the tube, but it’s just a sheer plummy tint when it’s applied.

Night Bloom pairs really well with mauves, taupes, browns and bronzes, a.k.a. all of the colors in the Honest Beauty Get It Together Palette. It’s also sheer enough to wear with just bare skin and mascara.

In case you’re wondering, it smells and tastes a little minty, but it’s not overwhelming.

origins night bloom — Moisturizing, sheer and just lovely

Another thing I’ve been into: the look of barely-there blush. MAC Warm Soul is great for this!

honest beauty eye palette mac warm soul — Love ya, MAC Warm Soul!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! 😄

Classic Smokey Eyes | Day 3 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 25th, 2021 by Karen 5 Comments

The Honest Beauty eyeshadow palette comes with a card with four looks you can do with the palette. I followed the one called “Classic Smoky Eye” for this post, although with one tweak. I started by buffing the matte beige shade (Vanilla’d Velvet) all over my lids as a base so the subsequent colors would pop a little more.

I was a wee bit nervous about using the shimmery gold all over my lids and the shimmery dark purple on the outer corner because…I’m in my 40s now, and shine doesn’t always play well with my 40-something skin, particularly in the crease. Some may even say that I’m “overly picky about shimmery finishes,” *ahem*. Can you blame me though? One false move and you see every fine line!

Buuuut, I decided to go for it anyway, hoping that the matte beige underneath would tone down the shine, and it did!

As I was blending, I realized another reason to love this palette. The more you buff and swirl these shadows, the less intensely they shine, until they have more of a satiny finish. The finish ends up as a soft, pearly glow, which makes this classic smokey eye very workable for daytime wear! When I dropped Connor off at school this morning, I didn’t feel like I was wearing “too much.”

Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you — I found the most beautiful cream blush by Chanel! It’s Les Beiges Blush No. 20, a stick blush, $45 (!), but dang, lady! It’s so good. It’s a bronzy, peachy tan with the finest flecks of pearly gold, and it adds a hint of natural-looking color to cheeks. I love how easy it is to blend and that I can’t see it sitting on top of my skin or in my pores.

If you’re a real stickler for blush that doesn’t heavy on your cheeks, then you might want to consider it because it’s so natural-looking on skin.

FYI, if you’re lighter than I am, No. 20 will probably function more as a straight-up bronzer on your skin, and if you’re darker, then you might better off with one of Chanel’s brighter cream blushes like No. 21 or No. 22, since I’m betting No. 20 won’t show up as readily on darker skin.

Other things I’ve been into lately: mixing two shades of Honest Beauty liquid lipstick, namely Passion and Off Duty, to create the purrfect mid-toned coral pink; and wearing an old-school standby base combination with MAC Face and Body (I mix C4 and C5), set with the tiniest smidgen of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder (my shade is Medium Golden).

Seriously, why did I ever take a break from wearing Face and Body? IT’S SO GOOD, especially for no-makeup makeup. I’ve talked about it ad nauseam on MBB for years, so if you’re relatively new here and want to know more about why it’s the stuff, hit me up in the comments and I will repeat myself once again, LOL! LOVE IT.

Oh, my gosh, one last thing before I leave you — have you seen the Britney Spears documentary on Hulu? I kept hearing about it, and I told myself, “OK, I’ll give this 10 minutes of my life, and that’s it,” but then I started watching it and I COULD. NOT. LOOK. AWAY.

The one-hour documentary by The New York Times charts Britney’s rise to fame, her very public issues in the press in the early 2000s, and the conservatorship that was placed on her in 2008, which some people believe was against her will. Some conspiracy theorists go so far as to think that her Instagram is an entire series of coded cries for help.

As you might know, I’m solidly on #TeamBritney, and so watching the doc left me with the hope that one day she’ll surprise us all (in the best possible, emotionally healthy way).

To Britney and all my ladies out there currently holding on, make that delicious lemonade out of those lemons, mama. You hang in there!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Mauve Smokey Eyes | Day 2 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 24th, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

I followed Jessica A’s tutorial to do this mauve smokey eye with the Honest Beauty Get It Together! It was pretty easy too…which of course you know I liked. 👍

Here are the eyeshadows I used…

Base: Matte beige vanilla (Vanill’d Velvet) buffed from lash line to brow bone
Lid and crease: Satiny coppery brown (Sunlit Copper) on lids and in the crease in a half moon shape for soft definition
Outer half: Satiny dark mauve-plum (Chromed Petal) blended onto the outer half (Side note: at this point, I cleaned up the edges with a makeup wipe.)
Upper lash line: Matte black (Magnetic Ink) applied with a wet brush on the upper lash line
Inner corner: Shimmery gold (Strobed Champagne) mixed shimmery light pink (Iced cotton)

Pretty much, I followed everything she did step by step. The only tweak I made was buffing a couple of layers of the matte beige shade, Vanilla’d Velvet, all over my lids first to give the other eyeshadows a smoother base (handy when you don’t want to apply a separate eye primer first).

In the video Jessica calls the palette the most “non-intimidating” eyeshadow palette, and I have to agree! The colors work perfectly with each other, and they’re easy to blend. It’s the most interesting product to cross my makeup path in a while, and I’m almost excited to wear eyeshadow again.

Ooh! — speaking of shocking developments, I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you this, but last weekend Rosie and I got a solid FOUR HOURS of quality “meow time” together on Saturday. I almost didn’t know what to do with myself because it was the first time I had a block of time alone in the house in I don’t know how long! El Hub took Connor fishing at Bon Tempe Lake, so I was left to my own devices at home.

The lake is absolutely beautiful, BTW! We all went for the first time a couple weeks ago. It’s clear like a mini Lake Tahoe.

So, even though El Hub and I have been living in Marin County for almost 15 years now (YOWZA), I don’t really consider myself a local because I’m originally from the other side of the Bay, which, honestly might as well be a completely different planet. Anyway, my point is that I don’t know how to pronounce the names of all the places around here. I incorrectly assumed that “Bon Tempe” was French for “good time,” so I was saying it with my lame high school French accent, “BAHN THAMP.”

Then, my neighbor, who grew up in this area, politely informed me that it’s “BON TEMP-Y.”

HAHAHA! I’ve been saying it all bougie-fied this entire time… Whoops! 🤷‍♀️

There’s a trail that goes around the entire lake that’s about 4 miles long, so if you’re in the mood for a pretty gentle hike (nothing too steep or strenuous), it’s a good one with beautiful views of the water the entire time. FYI, there aren’t any bathrooms along the way…soooo 1) if you like to drink copious amounts of water, and 2) your bladder is about the size of a pea like someone’s I know (AHEM), you may want to wear pants that you can pull on and off quickly in case ya need to pop a squat behind a tree… I’m just sayin’! 😁

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen