makeup tutorial

Subtle Spring Sparkle: Golden Bronze Halo Eyes for HomeGoods With the Urban Decay Beached Summer Collection

May 3rd, 2018 by Karen 21 Comments

urban decay beached eyeshadow k — Subtle spring sparkle for a trip to HomeGoods

Most of the times when I go to HomeGoods, I’m dressed caj with minimal (or negligible) makeup, but sometimes I like to go gladiator style and do my hair and makeup and get a little more dressed up so I can enter the store like I’m entering an arena.

YES, HOMEGOODS IS A MOTHER-TRUCKIN’ ARENA.

Granted, there are no predatory animals, javelins, swords or armored warhorses galloping at you while you admire a delicately painted lemon bowl (handmade in Italy!), but if I see you pushing your cart toward the last farmhouse-inspired botanical print, trust that I will body check your @ss into the stratosphere. 🙂

I don’t play around at HomeGoods!

The Coywolf and I were there today to look for herb pots for the Lady Sanctuary, and I wore this golden bronze halo eye.

urban decay beached paletted hg1 — I would LOVE a $5,000 shopping spree to this store.

This was a toned-down halo eye, and the highlight in the center of my lids wasn’t as strong as it is in a classic halo.

This was the middle of the day, so I took it down a notch by keeping the golden highlight relatively close in tone to the surrounding bronze shadow, but I didn’t want it to be too subtle, so I layered it on top of a shimmery gold pencil liner and did a swish of teal on the lower lash line.

urban decay beached paletted hg2 — Still looks shimmery from a few feet away! Side note: iPhone case is the Attention Lipsticks iPhone Case from my store, connorclaire.com.

Urban Decay Beached Summer Collection

To keep the focus on my lids, I kept my skin, lips and brows super chill, but I did wear some things from the new Urban Decay Beached Summer Collection, namely the palette, a bronzer and a gold eyeliner.

urban decay beached palette — New for summer

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10-Minute Travel Makeup: Berry Cheeks and Lips, and Glowing Skin on the Go

May 2nd, 2018 by Karen 23 Comments

1 wander beauty travel makeup-top-pic — Travel makeup you can do in 10 minutes…in a moving car

All who wander are not lost, but if El Hub is at the helm, and we’re in our Mazda, chances are… 🙂 Haha! Kidding, babe! Sort of…

That man… OK, he was was born and raised on an island, so when he gets lost while driving, he instinctively seeks out the ocean and then hugs the coast. Now, if you do that on a small island, you’ll eventually get closer to where you need to go. (Granted, this technique works better on a small island like Oahu than it does when you’re driving in the middle of a huge state like California.)

And will he ever pull over and ask for directions? NOPE. Thank goodness for smart phones… Apple Maps has saved our marriage more than once!

Anyway, I’ve learned a thing or two about putting on makeup in cars, because, girl, I’m always putting on makeup in the car. (If I had a nickel for every time I nearly poked my eye out with a mascara brush on 880…)

Over the years and years and miles and miles, I’ve figured out a few helpful tricks that make the process easier and more efficient, and those tricks came in handy last weekend on our three-hour drive up to Redding.

wander beauty travel makeup clouds on point — Fluffy cloud game on point

wander beauty travel makeup yellow wildflowers — The yellow wildflowers are out and working it.

These things are really helpful when you’re doing makeup in the car (or on a train, bus or plane, for that matter):

Skip the brushes if you can. They just complicate things. Plus, you know that crack between the seat and the center console in the car? It’s a freaking black hole when it comes to makeup brushes. If you drop one in there on accident, kiss it goodbye. You’re not going to get it out until humanity learns how to fold space and time.

Creams are key. You can apply creams with your fingers, so without brushes, and you don’t have to worry so much about spillage. On that note, try avoiding makeup that comes in jars or sifters because they’re messy. Makeup in pressed pans is OK, but there’s always a chance you’ll drop the pan and shatter it, and you’ll have to use a brush to apply.

Choose products that have something attached to both ends. For example, a lip duo with a lipstick on one end and a lip liner on the other (like the berry lipstick/liner duo I use below from Wander Beauty). They’ll save a little space in your makeup bag and lighten your load a little.

wander beauty travel makeup view of the bay — A quick glimpse of the North Bay from Highway 37 (which takes you into Napa)

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Spring Sparkle With Gleaming, Glowing Skin for a Trip to Old Navy

April 25th, 2018 by Karen 27 Comments

mac show gold spring sparkle tutorial — There isn’t a rule that says you can’t shimmer and go to Old Navy in the middle of the week, and MAC Show Gold is perfect for that.

“Because Old Navy” is as good a reason as any to sport sparkly skin on a typical spring Tuesday. Or Wednesday. ?

I mean, I really just want to get out of my pajamas before noon and feel cute again on the regular, truth be told. If there’s a maximum number of days a person should spend in sleepwear per year, I’ve definitely exceeded that limit!

Like the subtle spring sparkle look I did for last weekend’s luncheon, this one also took about 10 minutes. The spring sparkle comes courtesy of glossy coral lips, khaki lids and lash lines with subtle shimmer, and glowing skin.

All of the primary face products I used — the tint, powder, bronzer, highlighter and even the setting spray — have subtle shimmer and create a dewy, glowing look that’s perfect for a sunny spring day.

spring sparkle 2 car — Ubiquitous car selfie!

I hadn’t been to Old Navy in a while, and guuurl, sometimes when I go in there the store looks like the ninth wrinkled polyester circle of hell, but yesterday, not so much.

Ugh, SO MUCH CUTENESS! They’ve got this retro tropical vibe happening, and it speaks to my soul. Hibiscus, parrots, palm trees left and right. Good thing I had Connor with me and she was getting antsy for lunch because I would’ve been tempted to stay a lot longer and try everything on.

old navy tropical leggings — If these leggings had side pockets for a phone, I’d be all over them. SO CUTE!

old navy tropical print romper — Love this print!

old navy tropical print shorts — It comes in shorts, too.

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Subtle Spring Sparkle When You Don’t Want to “Go Big” With Glitter

April 24th, 2018 by Karen 32 Comments

mac oh so gilty dazzleshadow — MAC Oh So Gilty Dazzleshadow

Am I in my 40s? Yes. Do I still love wearing glitter? Yes… Is there a way to reconcile both of these things without 1) trying too hard or 2) looking like I’m trying too hard?

Let’s find out, haha! 🙂

Last weekend I went to a Sunday lunch at a fancy brunch place in town with the new members of the moms group I belong to, and I was really excited to go because when do I ever dress up anymore and enjoy a meal that doesn’t involve me getting food on myself as I feed or pet a little animal?

Answer: hardly ever.

I wanted to do something that felt a little glamorous and special, but, you know, for lunch, so I still wanted it to be somewhat reserved.

This look took 10 minutes, and I can confirm that it only took 10 minutes because that’s exactly how much time I had to put on makeup before I had to leave the house.

I’m finding it so hard to connect with new people in real life as I get older, but I’m really trying to put myself out there.

new member luncheon — The veggie frittata was pretty good.

Of course, the original plan was to take my time and enjoy the process, leisurely get ready (that’s half the fun of going out, right?), but as usual, even though I woke up super early and had a detailed checklist, everything came down to the wire.

I had to be out of the house by 11:15. At 10:45, I still hadn’t gotten dressed (which is another story, oy!) or done my makeup and hair.

view fromm hilltop — The view from Hilltop 1892 in Novato (I also went there for Easter brunch one year and for my birthday one year.)

new member lunch moms — You don’t even know how excited I was to talk to other adults in person.

So, yes, this look DOES come together really quickly, in case you were thinking, “Eh, I don’t have time for that!”

For the subtle shimmer, I used two of my current faves from the MAC Dazzleshadow line, which I patted on my lids with a finger. A few flecks fell onto my cheeks, but overall the fallout with these shadows is so minimal, and I usually just incorporate it into the look. 🙂