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

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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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 587

August 12th, 2019 by Karen 33 Comments

mac lipglass swatches — Big glossy kiss on this Monday!

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start.

1. Liquid or powder foundation?

Oh, liquid. For sure. Ideally, Estée Lauder Double Wear or MAC Studio Fix (which is my fave liquid foundations at the moment), but anything I can mix a little Strobe Cream into will do.

2. A perfume you loved “way back when”?

In college (so this was the ’90s), I went through an intense Gap “Grass” phase that lasted a solid six months, and then right after graduation, I was all about Victoria’s Secret Heavenly for I can’t even remember how long (it was a while).

Lots of other fragrance phases, too, of course…

3. Lipgloss or liquid lipstick?

Hmm… That’s tough choice, because there are so many long-lasting, comfy liquid lipsticks available now (Hello! — Honest Beauty), but when it comes down to it…the convenience of gloss — the convenience of being able to slick a lipgloss on my lips wherever and whenever I want to, gives gloss the win for me.

4. How successfully do you think you could pull off a bowl cut?

Not at all successfully, HA HA HA! It would be 50 shades of cray up in there, I kid you not. My wavy hair tends to go big if left to its own devices. Plus, the shorter I cut it, the unrulier it becomes.

Seriously, if I had a bowl cut situation, it would not go well!

5. If you could appoint anyone in the world to clean your makeup brushes, who you would choose?

This is a very difficult decision, because how does one choose between Keanu Reeves and Sir John?? 🤣

OK, in all seriousness (not), I’d have to go with Sir John, because perhaps he could teach me his wise makeup ways while he swished the dried up foundation from my Real Techniques buffing brush.

The secret to getting stuff done

At long last, I’ve figured out the secret to productivity! It’s…(drum roll please) PUTTING ON A FACE MASK.

(You think I’m joking, but I’m totally not.)

If you absolutely need to sit your booty down to research bathroom paint (satin or semi-gloss?) or to balance your checkbook, but you’d rather be chillin’ in bed looking at cat pics on your phone, here’s what you need to do, in five easy steps:

Wash your face
Exfoliate
Slather on that face mask
Set your timer for 15 minutes
Do the damn thing

Next thing you know, you’ve gotten your project underway, and after you’ve rinsed off your mask, you’re ready to tackle the rest.

I may or may not have just done this, by the way, ha ha ha!

Happy Monday to you, friend. 😊

Just a quick reminder, in case you need to hear it today: You’re brave, you’re tough, and you’ve got this.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon!

1. Liquid or powder foundation?
2. A perfume that you worn and loved in the ’90s?
3. Lipgloss or liquid lipstick?
4. How successfully do you think you could pull off a bowl cut?
5. If you could appoint anyone in the world to clean your makeup brushes, who you would choose?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 566

August 11th, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

You know how the notion of balance is big these days? Balance at work, balance at home, work-life balance, balancing life, love, career? Well, Tabs was big into balance way before it was en vogue.

In fact, one of his first jobs was working in the Marin County Circus. It was there he learned to tune out distractions, focus his chi, and achieve the perfect poise and balance that propelled him to the top of the kitty modeling world.

He only left because he wanted more from life than the circus could offer… Mostly he wanted to wear better clothes and have a bigger closet.

So, one day he just packed up and left…

I’m glad he did, because the time he spent traveling and seeing the world shaped him into the great cat he was.
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Saturday Surfing, August 10th, 2019

August 10th, 2019 by Karen 8 Comments

Aaaaand this is the type of thing El Hub and I talk about these days, LOL! Yeah, I have a playdate…WITH. A. CAT. She’s a tortie/tabby mix, and her foster mom (a cat lady friend of mine who I exercise with) says that if she didn’t already have a house full of animals, she’d keep her in a heartbeat.

Dunno if I’m ever going to feel ready for another cat, or if I’ll ever *not* compare every single cat I meet to Tabs, but I’m gonna keep it low-key and go into the visit with an open heart and mind.

El Hub has also warned me — multiple times — about resisting the urge to bring home a family of felines on a whim (“Sweetie, you can’t just bring home five cats”), and yeah, even I can see that happening from a mile away, HA HA HA!

On that note, your beauty (and otherwise) reading for the week…

The next generation of biotech beauty startups are looking at viruses and bacteria as they build out their product lines.
Babies are the newest target consumer in the luxury skin care market.
Here’s what to look for if you’re searching for products that are truly non-comedogenic.
Hair bows have held multiple meanings throughout history. Bows have communicated whether the wearer was single (and ready to mingle!), whether they supported or resisted a particular regime, and have been symbols for resistance movements, among other things.
A brief history of black hair, politics and discrimination
Ah, the eternal question… Does your skin care need to sting in order to, like, actually work?
Could this be the evolutionary reason why cats love to chomp on grass?
These runway cats from the Algonquin Annual Cat Fashion Show are super meow-dles!
This family took their two senior kitties along with them on a beach vacay.
A closer look at what it’s like to get one of Lancôme’s bespoke foundations made just for you

Classical music for brain power because I need all the help I can get (PLUS, A CUTE CAT!)

Pop-Tarts but make it bougie

Another week, another Sir John video because I’m obsessed

Happy weekend to ya. Doing anything involving cats today or tomorrow? (Please say yes.)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Crimpin’ Ain’t Easy

August 9th, 2019 by Karen 20 Comments

The neighborhood naked ladies say “Hello!”

Don’t worry; nobody’s roaming the streets with their booty cheeks hanging out. These naked ladies are of the floral variety, and they pop up every August around here… I’ve also heard them referred to as “pink ladies,” but I like calling them “naked ladies” instead because it sounds so scandalous! 😁

In other news…as a consequence of my using Rodan + Fields Lash Boost every night for a while and having long lashes for the first time ever, I recently added this to my list of First World makeup problems: I can’t curl the outer corners of my lashes.

I can kinda get to them if I hold my Shiseido curler at an odd angle…but the curler pinches my skin and crimps the middle lashes into an odd shape when I do it.

I need something that can get waaaaaay down to the base of those outer corner lashes, which is why I’m debating getting one of these half lash curlers from Sonia Kashuk ($9), MAC ($22) or Tweezerman ($19).

Half lash curlers are about a quarter the width of regular lash curlers (so why aren’t they called quarter lash curlers??), and they’re designed for small areas of your lash line, like the outer corner.

Have you tried any of these before? I just put the Sonia Kashuk one in my Target cart, and now it’s sitting there taunting me…

And while we’re on the subject of Tar-ghay, their Universal Thread jeans are on sale right meow!!! I have two pairs of the high-rise stretch jeans, and I really like them because they loosen up a little bit throughout the day (but not to where they’re falling around your ankles).

They’ve held up well after vigorous washing and drying, too (I wear them every week).

Bonus: They also come in regular, short, and tall sizing, so you probably won’t have to hem them.

I’m gonna grab the khaki pair next!

Also, last night, for the first time in the history of Karen’s life, I fell asleep thinking about bathroom tile, of all things…

We’re redoing the downstairs powder room in the next couple months, and it’s the one room I’ll be able to gut and redo from the bottom up, so I’m excited about the project.

I’m going for a classic/traditional bathroom, similar to the Pottery Barn style… My main goal is to put together something that will hopefully age well and won’t look too dated in 5-10 years.

*crosses fingers*

So, floor tile. I’ve narrowed it down to hexagonal tile — either in a matte white…

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