Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Search Results for: estee lauder double wear

Coral, Bronze and Plum Makeup With a Natural-Looking Base for Outdoor Adventures

by 23 Comments

mac sable eyeshadow

This is what “fancy dress” is for me these days: a semi-wrinkled striped sweater, pants with paint spots on them (I wore them to paint Connor’s room a few months ago, and dagnabbit if they aren’t my most comfortable jeans I own!), and my “good” pair of Nike Winflos.

Oh, and a little makeup of course! 😁

mac sable eyeshadow

Targeted coverage

To chase PGR around the house and the Coywolf around the block yesterday, I wore bronze and plum on my eyes and cheeks with a sheer coral lip. And I paired it with what I like to call “a semi-sheer base,” which is all-over barely-there coverage with a tinted moisturizer, as well as a few targeted areas with slightly more opaque coverage. I did this by blending a sheer layer of stick foundation on my cheeks and around my mouth, and then buffing a tiny amount of liquid concealer underneath my eyes.

mac sable eyeshadow

I didn’t set it with a powder because I wanted my skin to look as skin-like as possible, but you totally could… Just be sure to not go too heavy with it if you want to maintain the skin-like effect.

I really like this type of targeted coverage, especially how it looks in outdoor light, which can be notoriously unforgiving. Highly recommended. Try it on your next picnic.

Unearthed MAC gems

In other news…I’m weeding my way through my makeup collection right now, and I keep unearthing old gems. I wore two of my recent finds yesterday — Cheeky Bronze Mineralize Skinfinish and MAC Liquidlast Liner in Coco Bar.

Cheeky Bronze is a soft, shimmery golden coral face powder. Technically, it’s a highlighter, but you can also use it all over your cheeks as an all-in-one bronzer/blush/highlighter, which is what I have on my cheeks in these pics.

If you’re feeling creative, you can also use it as an eyeshadow. I wet a MAC 217 brush, flicked it across the pan a few times to load it up, then buffed it onto the inner part of my lids to go with the bronzed plum shadow I was wearing on the outer half (MAC Sable, in case you’re curious).

Coco Bar is a dark neutral brown MAC Liquidlast liner, and it will not move for nothing! It’s like a liquid version of MAC Coffee pencil liner, which is why I love it. I drew a line directly along my upper and lower lash lines, then smudged the edge with a flat eyeshadow brush. If you’re looking for a soft, diffused chocolate liner that stays put, you gotta give it a go, ASAP.

mac sable eyeshadow

Makeup worn in this look

Base: MAC Peachlite Strobe Cream (to prep skin), First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Tinted Moisturizer in Tan (all over face), MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation in NC42 (cheeks, around base of nostrils and mouth), Estée Lauder 24H Concealer in Medium Warm

Eyes: MAC Teddy eyeliner (buffed all over lids as an eyeshadow base, then applied as liner on waterlines), MAC Sable eyeshadow (outer half of lids), MAC Cheeky Bronze (inner half, applied wet), MAC Hush (inner corner), MAC Liquidlast in Coco Bar (smudged along upper and lower lash lines), Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Mascara

Cheeks: MAC Cheeky Bronze

Lips: MAC Ravishing Lipglass (a sheer coral that appears to be, sadly, discontinued. BOO!)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Low Key “No-Makeup” Makeup With Creams (MAC Pro Face Palettes)

by 11 Comments

mac face palette fotd

If the day ever comes when an inquisitive young child asks me about the meaning behind Prince’s song, Cream, I’m going to tell her it’s about cream makeup. Cream blush, cream eyeshadow and cream foundation.

CREAM! creampurple_guitar

Prince loved wearing makeup, so why wouldn’t he write a song about cream products? 😁 the_symbol

And should I ever be moved to compose a catchy tune about creams (because I’d have to write a love song about cream, obvs!), I would have to dedicate a verse to how cream eyeshadow and blush look on skin — like you’re wearing makeup, but not the heavy, powdery obvious kind. (The second verse would be dedicated to blending with your fingers, and the chorus would be all about how much creams love dry skin.)

Anyway, that’s my plan and I’m stickin’ to it.

A few items of note about this particular no-makeup makeup look…

  • Here’s a way to add more dimension with your cream blush. I’m wearing two blushes on my cheeks — a sheer layer of orange all over my cheeks, with a pop of pink on the apples — to create a gradient. I diffused the edges of the pink into the orange by laying the flat side of a foundation brush against my skin and using short strokes. Try this technique sometime using two of your favorite cream blushes (one lighter, one darker) for natural-looking blush with dimension.
  • The MAC Pro Face Palettes rock. For a low-key look, I’m wearing sheer layers of the Bright Blush Palette on my cheeks and the Contour Palette on my lids (worn as eyeshadow and layered on top of a light wash of MAC Teddy). And if you want more dramatic glam, you can still easily get there by layering the creams for amplified pigment. SO flexible and blend beautifully, too. If you’re a fan of the MAC Cream Colour Bases, you’ll love these.
  • About that glossy lip. It’s a tinted lip oil — Hourglass Cameo — and it’s a gorgeous warm rose (but it’s redonk expensive at $49!). It’s next level when it comes to moisturizing dry lips, which is mainly why I wear it (mine have been annoyingly dry lately), but I also adore its “your lips but better” effect.

    • mac pro palette fotd swatches

    mac face palette fotd

    mac face palette fotd

    Makeup worn in this look:

    Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

    Karen

    P.S. Happy Good Friday, and TGIF! 💜

    P.P.S. Click here to read a random post!

A Springy Purple and Orange Makeup Look Inspired By Purple Rain

by 19 Comments

prince purple rain
When the Purple One inspires your look

The first time I saw Purple Rain I was eight, and it was at my friend Peachy’s slumber party.

Peachy’s mom let us pick out whatever movie we wanted at the video store (this was right after she took us to Chuck E. Cheese, of course, where I killed it at ski ball), and I’m 100% positive she had no idea what the movie was about when she rented it.

Even though none of us understood what was going on when we watched it, we knew that Prince was in it, and that’s all we really needed to know. To this day, the soundtrack from the movie is one of my favorite albums of all time.


I don’t care pretty baby, just take me with you.

To take it a step further, the colors on my Purple Rain tee (thanks, Target) inspired this orange and purple makeup look…

One of my favorite tees

[Continue reading…]

NARS Kalahari Love

by 10 Comments

nars kalahari
Love ya, NARS Kalahari!

They say, if you love something, set it free, which I guess makes sense if you love butterflies or toucans, but in the case of makeup, if you love something, I say you should talk about it ALL THE TIME, which is why I’ve been raving about NARS Kalahari for years!

Kalahari eyeshadow duo is perfect for lightly defining your lids. One side is a shimmery rosy bronze, and the other side is a shimmery taupe — two colors, granted, that you can find in almost any line, but here’s the kicker: NARS found a way to avoid all of the typically problematic side effects that befall so many shimmery shadows.

For instance, Kalahari is reflective, but it isn’t frosty, so fine lines aren’t even a thing. When you sweep and swirl it on your skin, a sweet, bronzed glow remains. It’s very “J. Lo running errands in her velour track suit.” Casual, but still noticeable. (This is a good thing in my book.)

Here’s one of my favorite ways to wear it:
Mix the two shades together with a domed shadow brush, then apply from lash line to crease (or just above the crease if your eyes are hooded like mine). Build it up if you want more color intensity, but don’t worry — this is eyeshadow that won’t look heavy, since the powder is very delicate and fine.

Next, wet that same brush, and apply more of the mix on the mobile part of your lid, which is the part of your eye that “blinks.” Leave it a few minutes to dry, and work on the rest of your face. Once you’ve almost gotten to the end — I usually wait until I’m done with almost everything, including blush and lipstick — take a clean tapered blending brush, and gently rock it back and forth in your crease and along the outer corners to blend.

nars kalahari

If you want, you can also rim your lash or water lines with chocolate brown eyeliner, which I did for these pics. I also smudged a cooler taupe liner (Urban Decay’s Mushroom) on the bottom lash line ’cause I like the subtle contrast of tones.

Makeup worn in this look

[Continue reading…]

Saturday Surfing, October 26th, 2019

by 6 Comments

estee lauder perfectionist pro
When you find retinol thrilling…

Well, hello there, Caturday! 😊😺

This entire week, I’ve been diligently focusing on appreciating the little things, like that first sip of coffee in the morning… Oh! It gives me life!

Or like the cat weaving between my legs as I stand at the sink washing my face in the morning.

Or like glancing over at my bedside table to see new (to me) nighttime skincare treatments…

Retinol, baby! I have seen the light (thank you, Kate Somerville). I just finished a bottle of her +Retinol Vita C Power Serum Firming + Brightening Treatment, and I fully intend to eventually get it again in the next month or two, but before that, I’m trying out Estée Lauder’s Perfection Pro Rapid Renewal Retinol Treatment.

And I’m also trying EL’s Advanced Night Repair serum, too, because I’ve heard good things (like that it’s great for dry skin).

I think I might be on the road to becoming a full-blown “retinol enthusiast.” I see a shelf weighed down by waaaaay too many tubes and bottles of retinol treatments in my future…

If you like retinols as much as I do, drop me a comment to tell me about your favorite one! 😁

I’m convinced now that keeping retinols/nighttime skincare potions on my bed stand is the way to go, because that way I’m less likely to forget to use them, and I can just reach over and apply a layer before I zonk out.

And now for your Saturday Surfing reading…


I have to wear my hair up and off my face when I work at the bakery, so I’ve been all about scarf tutorials lately.


More hair ideas!


Doing this today. Who’s with me?

I’m off to Michaels now to see if I can snag any last-minute Halloween decorations on sale (they get you with those coupons, man), as well as some frosting tips so I can practice decorating cupcakes at home.

What are you up to this weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Any other California peeps wondering if PG&E is going to turn off their power? ⚡

Copyright © 2020 Makeup and Beauty Blog. Get in touch.