Product Reviews

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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Get Gorgeous Doughnut Lips with NARS Oil-Infused Lip Tint

July 3rd, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

When your lips gleam like a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, you’re doing it right! 🍩

The new NARS Oil-Infused Lip Tints blaze bright neon in their tubes, but they look almost clear on lips. There’s just a wink of coy color, and thanks to the bevy of fruity moisturizing factors they contain, my dry lip flake situation is currently MIA.

The formula feels like a cross between a gloss and a balm, and these somehow manage to not glide around the outline of my lips, which, as a chronic lip-rubber, I appreciate.

One swipe across my lower lip, and another swipe across my upper lip, and then a quick smack-smack-smack, and my lips have that healthy, shiny sheen normally reserved for teenagers just getting outta bed.

I particularly like how sheer the brights are (the rose is a little too shy on my pigmented lips), and I think their delicateness makes them work well with a wider array of looks than a full-tilt, high-pigment gloss.

INGREDIENTS:
HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE · DIISOSTEARYL MALATE · BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER · ETHYLENE/PROPYLENE/STYRENE COPOLYMER · SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE · SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL · RUBUSIDAEUS (RASPBERRY) SEED OIL · PUNICA GRANATUM FLOWER EXTRACT · GLYCERIN · TOCOPHEROL · HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL · ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS (ROSEMARY) LEAF EXTRACT · POLYETHYLENE · MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX/CERA MICROCRISTALLINA/CIRE MICROCRISTALLINE · POLYGLYCERYL-10 PENTAOLEATE · BUTYLENE/ETHYLENE/STYRENE COPOLYMER · FLAVOR (AROMA) · SILICA · GLYCERYL DIISOSTEARATE · TRIISOSTEARIN · TRIMETHYLOLPROPANE TRIETHYLHEXANOATE · TIN OXIDE · ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE · POLYSILICONE-2 · BHT · PHENOXYETHANOL · [+/- (MAY CONTAIN): MICA · TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891) · IRON OXIDES (CI 77491) · RED 27 (CI 45410) · RED 33 (CI 17200) · RED 28 (CI 45410) · CARMINE (CI 75470)]

They’re $26 each, limited edition, and you can find ’em at Sephora.

nars disco infernal — Disco Infernal (by the way, I’m wearing the NARS Wanted Mini Eyeshadow Palette on my eyes).

What’s bumping in my headphones at the moment?

Sometimes when I get home from the gym I like to sit in my car in the garage for a few minutes and listen to music, because, I dunno…I’m alone, nobody’s asking me any questions, and I can just ~~chair dance in complete and total privacy~~ simmer with my thoughts.

Last night, I was listening to a local hip-hop station (106.1 KMEL, which I’ve been listening to since I was in middle school, OMG!) when this song started playing.

I had a moment, man! For approximately four minutes, my Mazda temporarily transformed into Club Karen, complete with booty shaking and arm waving — the whole kit and caboodle.

Of course, this song played in the middle of a mix, so I had to reverse engineer it to find the artist (Ari Lennox). I found her by Googling a phrase from the song: “break me off gitchy gitchy ya ya.”

Seriously, the Internets are amazing!

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Bigs and Littles

July 2nd, 2019 by Karen 8 Comments

biolage matrix equisite oil — Big things and little things

Sometimes you need a little…and sometimes you need a lot, which is why I grabbed two liter-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner last weekend, along with a gaggle of cute skin care minis.

Ulta is having a liter-sized sale right now on select brands of big shampoos and conditioners. I popped over there yesterday and grabbed these GINORMOUS bottles of Matrix Biolage ExquisiteOil Micro-Oil Shampoo and Conditioner…

The shampoo usually sells for $28, and the conditioner for $33, but I got them for $15.99 apiece.

What a steal!

I’ve never tried them before, so I realize that this could have been risky, but Ulta has a generous return policy. Both the shampoo and conditioner are silicone-free, which my hair usually likes. Plus, back in college I used Biolage all the time.

I took both for a spin last night, and this morning I woke up to soft, bouncy hair! Paws up! 🙌

The Drunk Elephant face cleanser and moisturizer came in a Sephora VIB birthday gift set. I actually went in last Friday to restock a bottle of Kate Somerville Anti-Bac for the gazillionth time, and the MAC minis are limited edition scented versions of the classic Fix+.

mac fix plus setting spray cucumber — Tiny!

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Neon Lights: 3 Colorful Looks

July 1st, 2019 by Karen 18 Comments

The three colorful looks in this post have a couple things in common.

I wore them all to preschool drop-off in the last few days (the pink look at the top was from this morning!).
I did all of them using the $29 LORAC Neon Lights palette.

In the Neon Lights palette, that yellow is more of a goldenrod, which I’m kind of disappointed by because I wish the palette had a lemon yellow… The goldenrood just isn’t yellow enough for me.

Wow, that’s something I never thought I’d ever say!

Say “what,” Karen? You’re not wearing a sh*t-ton of browns for once? LOL. Neutrals are normally my wheelhouse, it’s true. I usually default to them because they fit my my lowest energy state, ha ha ha! Plus, you can’t really muck up neutrals.

Still, I’ve been itching to wear more color. I’ve just been trying to think of ways to feel comfortable doing it, because as fun as bright, intense glittery looks are, I feel a little crazy wearing that kind of makeup when all I’m doing is bringing coywolf to school or toddler ballet class.

The colorful looks here are my speed because, even though there’s a bright focal point in every one, there are still subtle-ish elements, like the foundation.

Something Sam said in that ’90s makeup video I mentioned the other day resonated with me. To paraphrase, she said that it’s not the things you pile on that make a look look cool. It’s what you leave out, so I basically went super minimal on the base in all of these colorful looks.

I’ve also been VERY inspired by Katie Jane Hughes lately. She’s a makeup artist I follow on Instagram, and she is JUST SO DAMN GOOD. She’ll paint a delicate swish of sparkly green shadow or sketch a skinny slice of neon yellow liner, so you can tell she loves wearing color, but she also likes to go minimal with the base.

I’m a little obsessed with her at the moment!

LOOK 1: PINK SUMMER SUNSET

Eyes: Bolt, Girls and Atomic eyeshadow from the LORAC Neon Brights Palette, Chanel Dimensions de Chanel Mascara, Maybelline Bold Brown Tattoo Studio Liner, IT Cosmetics Brow Power Micro in Universal Taupe, Urban Decay Yeyo liner (as a base)

Base: MAC Next to Nothing Foundation in Medium Deep (all over, applied with fingers) and Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze (patted with fingers on cheeks, nose, around the lips, and under the eyes)

Lips: MAC Stripdown Lip Pencil and MAC Open Presence Lipstick

LOOK 2: BLUE NOTE

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7 Makeup Tips and Techniques I Learned From Nerding Out to This ’90s Makeup Tutorial By Sam of Pixiwoo

June 28th, 2019 by Karen 8 Comments

Nerd alert!

(Of course I mean that in the best possible way because makeup nerds ROCK.)

I nerded out big time to this ’90s makeup how-to video by Sam of Pixiwoo, and after watching it, all I wanted to do was grab my brushes (they’re clean, hallelujah!), sit down with a pile o’ makeup and a mirror, blast some Prince, and just play for hours.

Sam shows step-by-step how to do a classic, full-on ’90s matte eye similar to what Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston (two of my favorite ’90s divas) wore back in the day. Then she pairs it with a ’90s-style Pamela Anderson lip (complete with the overdrawn, un-blended lip liner…BUT DAMN IT LOOKS HELLA GOOD!).

Sam updates the look though, so it’s not straight outta the ’90s, and she does this by pairing the dramatic eyes and lips with a sheer, barely-there base. I think the final result is totally wearable but not boring, not too difficult to do, and modern looking. I would totally do this look for a dinner, or drinks with the girls, or to Trader Joe’s to buy some whole wheat bread… HA HA HA!

The tips are moderate-advanced, which I appreciate — because how many times do we have to hear the phrase “move in a windshield wiper motion” on YouTube? — and almost all of them are techniques I’ve never heard before.

1. Use a domed blending brush and a thin tapered brush to precisely apply crease color.

For detailed crease work, Sam recommends keeping these two brushes on hand so you can place your darkest crease color exactly where you want it. She starts with a domed brush to place the darkest brown shade on the outer corner, then swaps it for for a thin, tapered brush.

She loads eyeshadow only on the very tip of the brush, then removes most of it before carefully sketching a thin line in her inner crease. This allows her to place the color exactly where she wants with maximum control. GENIUS!

2. Pay close attention to where you put your fingers on your brush relative to the ferrule.

Where you wrap your fingers around the brush determines how much control you’ll have over it. If you want more control, like when you’re drawing a pinpoint thin line in your inner crease, then hold closer to the ferrule, but if you’re going for a more blended, diffused look, hold your fingers father away from the ferrule.

3. Brace your hand against your cheek so you can steady your body before drawing fine lines.

To draw fine, perfect lines, Sam likes to steady her hand by anchoring it against her cheek; then, when it’s time to sketch out the line, she uses her fingers to move the brush. Moving just your fingers minimize any jerky movements.

She does this whenever she uses liquid liner or lip liner or anything that requires precision.
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