Archives for May 2013

Pencil in Time With Dolce & Gabbana’s Graphite Intense Khol Eye Crayon

May 15th, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Dolce & Gabbana Graphite Swatch — The new Dolce & Gabbana Graphite Intense Khol Eye Crayon, $30

“A storm’s brewin’…”

I always wanted to say that. 🙂 Storms are brewing within Dolce & Gabbana’s new $30 Graphite pencil — a rain cloud of a blackened gray liner for lash and water lines, and my new gunmetal gray liner love.

There’s something almost meteorological about this deep, dark gunmetal… Micro flecks of shimmer dance along its surface like little lightning sparks.

It’s quite the Gothic scene, too, like a sweet lace dress with black leather cuffs and spikes — the perfect marriage of delicate and dangerous. Classic with an edge. Kittens with claws.

Dolce & Gabbana Graphite — Graphite on my water lines

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China Glaze Texture Collection

May 15th, 2013 by Karen 8 Comments

T-Money

May 15th, 2013 by Karen 8 Comments

A Two-Brush Makeup Tutorial: An Easy Look With Golden Brown Eyes, Peach Cheeks and Coral Lips to Wear to Brunch, a Hot Date or the Office

May 14th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

Guess who didn’t realize that she left all of her makeup brushes at home until she was two hours into a three-hour drive to Redding from the Bay Area last weekend?

Go on, guess. Her name starts with “K.”

“Kar…”

Here’s a hint: she was supposed to be going to a fancy schmancy Mother’s Day brunch with her hub’s family.

“Kare…”

Yup! Yours truly. So when we got into town I had El Hub take me to the nearest MAC counter to pick up some emergency supplies, namely a Veluxe Brow Liner in Deep Dark Brunette, a 224 Tapered Brush and a 109 Small Contour Brush.

Seeing as how I usually use at least half a dozen different brushes for most of my real-deal makeup looks, it was actually kind of fun seeing what I could do with just one eye brush and a face brush.

Didn’t turn out half bad! — so I thought I’d write it down. 🙂

A two-brush makeup tutorial for a Mother’s Day brunch-tested look with gold, brown and coral.

If you’re blazing through your makeup without a minute to spare and have to apply multiple products with the same brush…

Begin by applying the lightest products first

Quickly clean the brush head a bit between products, swiping it back and forth across a dry paper towel

Try to stick to products with similar formulas — powders with powders and creams with creams

You most definitely do not have to use these same brushes or products for something like this. If you don’t have anything here, swap it out for a product from your stash.

Two Brush Makeup Tutorial products — Products used in this look, clockwise from the pan in the lower left: Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach (under-eye concealer), Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation in Honey, MAC Face & Body Foundation in C5, MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencil in Rich Glance (gold eye shadow stick), MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencil in Copper Strip (copper eye shadow stick), MAC Veluxe Brow Liner in Deep Dark Brunette, Dolce & Gabbana Smoky Eyeshadow Quad (gold and brown powder eye shadows), Dolce & Gabbana Instense Khol Eye Crayon in Graphite (liner), COVERGIRL Clump Crusher Mascara (black mascara), Guerlain Terra Nerolia Bronzer (matte bronzer), MAC Ripe For Love Blush (peach blush), Giorgio Armani Summer Collect Face & Eye Palette (highlighter), MAC Studio Careblends Pressed Powder in Medium Dark (face powder), MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush (tapered eye brush) and MAC 109 Small Contour Brush (face brush)

Apply your foundation and concealer with your fingers
Apply a base all over your lids with your shimmery copper eye shadow stick
Blend! — with a finger
Highlight the inner corners of your eyes with your shimmery light golden eye shadow stick
Fill in your brows
Load a tapered blending brush with face powder to set your under-eye concealer
Sweep your shimmery golden powder eye shadow all over your lids with the same brush
Blend your shimmery dark brown powder eye shadow into the outer corners of your eyes with the same brush
Line your upper and lower water lines
Coat your upper and lower lashes with mascara
Cut down on the shine by loading your face brush with face powder and applying that to your forehead, nose and chin
Sweep a matte bronzer below your cheekbones and around the edge of your face and jawline with the same brush for contouring
With the same brush, apply a peach blush to the apples of your cheeks
Still with the same brush, dust a peachy bronze highlighter on your upper cheeks
Add a coral lipstick…
Now give yourself a hand because you’re done! 🙂

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9 Things a Fashion-Forward, Makeup-Loving and Somewhat Judgemental Feline Is Thinking When You Wear the New MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencils

May 14th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

9 Things a Fashion-Forward, Makeup-Loving and Somewhat Judgemental Feline Is Thinking When You Wear the New MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencils

Will you PLEASE stop gushing about how these creamy, flexible shadow pencils don’t need a primer, and start gushing about how awesome I am instead??

Are you getting so lazy that you don’t even bother to use eye brushes anymore? I mean, I totally appreciate that you’re doing quick eye looks with these (frees up your time to do more of my bidding), but I really hope that this rampant laziness of yours doesn’t spill over into your pet assisting duties.
Maybe you should take those fingers you’ve been using for blending and utilize them to scratch behind my ears a little more…
I see that your lids are looking shimmery and sparkly. Kudos for that, but it’s distracting people who would otherwise be admiring my shiny coat.
Okay, okay, so I don’t totally hate your makeup. That shimmery brown and black smokey eye you’re wearing does look moderately fierce… Nowhere near as fierce as my naturally smokey eyes, of course, but fierce nevertheless.
It only took you five minutes to do that eye look. That’s fast, but NOT FAST ENOUGH! Now go to the kitchen immediately and fix me some gravy.
I give you permission to wear these gold, copper, charcoal and bronzed brown pencils all summer long…since all of them go well with my fur.
Good thing these pencils stand up to warm weather and perspiration, because when we’re on my private South Pacific island, I’ll need you to look good at all times, in the event that the paparazzi find us.
Ugh! Yes, you may take your vacation in June, pending completion of the necessary paperwork, obviously. And just so you know, even though it’s a terrible inconvenience on my part, I’m still happy to help you with your travel makeup list. In fact, I suggest starting now by packing the MAC Powerchromes. You’re welcome. 🙂

MAC Powerchrome Eye Pencils — From the left: Copper Strip, Life’s Luxury, Polished Jet and Rich Glance

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What Are You Wearing On Your Nails?

May 14th, 2013 by Karen 50 Comments

I’m wearing two coats of Tom’s new semi-opaque shimmery white Vapor Nail Lacquer ($30) from the summer 2013 collection.

The color, I feel just so-so about, but I love the brush, which just lays down the color so smoothly, and the sleek formula.

Not bad wear time, either. I’m on my fourth day so far, and I’m just beginning to notice a couple of tiny cracks forming around the edges, and that’s without a base or top coat.

How about you? What are you wearing on your nails?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Smog

May 13th, 2013 by Karen 39 Comments

Sometime in the not-so-distant future…

“Remember smog?”

“Smog! Of course I remember smog. It was one of my favorite things about the early twenty-first century.”

“Mine too!”

Years from now as you and I share a cheesecake in the middle of the night at our Miami home with the other Golden Girls — dibs on being the Sophia of the group! She’s short, cranky and carries her purse around everywhere, so I feel like I’d be a good fit — we’ll look back on this time as the era of Smog.

No, not the kind that hovers over the San Fernando Valley… I’m referring to Urban Decay’s $19 shimmery masterpiece of golden khaki bronze, the 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Smog.

“Gosh, we wore it with everything!” we’ll say. “We didn’t even touch black liners there for a while.”

It looked so good with summery golds, khakis, bronzes and browns. Even corals, purples and teals.

“Dang,” we’ll say, “that was one flexible liquid liner…”

You’ll roll your eyes as I retell the story (FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME) of how I was wearing waterproof Smog along my lash lines when I bumped into Ryan Gosling that time in Hawaii.

It was early in the morning just after dawn, hardly anyone else in the water, and I was sitting back on my surfboard waiting for the next wave. Smog’s shimmery, shiny finish caught the sunlight, which caught Ryan’s eye and prompted him to paddle over and say, “Hey girl.”

“We surfed, laughed and shared a shave ice that day,” I’ll say, “and Smog lasted from 10-12 hours.”

At some point you’ll remind me of my penchant for telling tall tales, and I’ll tap my plate with my fork, contemplating another slice of cheesecake. 🙂

What else can I say about Smog, babe? I just love it.

It’s waterproof and long-lasting enough to spend the day surfing and complements just about every eye color I’ve ever seen.

I love the way its golden khaki bronze color works with the kinds of colors I like to wear in summer.

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 271

May 13th, 2013 by Karen 39 Comments

The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll for May 13, 2013

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past four years. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

How do you feel about music festivals?
I’ve gotta say…I’ve been to a few, and they’re just not really my thing.

I can never see what’s happening on stage (#shortpeopleproblems), my feet ache from standing so long (again, while unable to see the stage), and porta potties just really, REALLY freak me out.

Most of the time, I’d rather watch pre-recorded performances on TV from the comfort of my living room couch.

Something you used to wear that now makes you cringe whenever you see yourself wearing it in old pictures?
Egad, remember those cheesy plastic choker necklaces from the late ’90s? I’m wearing one (and sometimes two) in almost every one of my “We’re going to da club!” pics from that era.

I had ’em in a bunch of different colors, too, haha!

Last time I went home, I saw one hanging from a hook as a decoration in my parent’s bathroom…

What’s more fun for you — doing your hair, nails or makeup?
Makeup! 🙂

Nails are more of a relaxing thing for me, and my hair tends to be a chore.

Have you ever gone on vacation by yourself?
Nope, but I’ve been thinking about taking a long spa weekend by myself sometime soon.

I love traveling with friends or El Hub, but I also like (okay, LOVE) the idea of being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it.

How did you meet your closest friend(s)?
We went to elementary school together. I met Jen in second grade and Cindy in third, but it wasn’t until high school that we all started hanging out together regularly.

Three things you’re grateful for right now?
The sunshine outside my window, afternoon naps (because I napped yesterday and feel well rested today), and uplifting songs.

What time did you wake up this morning?
At exactly 5:55. I just opened my eyes, too. No tabby or other alarm clocks.

Three things on your desk right now?
A small quartz rock, a purple gel pen (Uniball Vision Elite Micro 0.5…the BEST!) and a bottle of Vitamin Water Zero in Squeezed.

Something you’d like to do this summer?
Swim in a lake.

Did you pick up any new makeup or beauty products last weekend?
I swung by a MAC counter on Saturday to get a new 224 (misplaced mine), a 109 Small Contour Brush and a Veluxe Brow Liner in Deep Dark Brunette

To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le List

1. How do you feel about music festivals?
2. Something you used to wear that now makes you cringe whenever you see yourself wearing it in old pictures?
3. What’s more fun for you — doing your hair, nails or makeup?
4. Have you ever gone on vacation by yourself?
5. How did you meet your closest friend(s)?
6. Three things you’re grateful for right now?
7. What time did you wake up this morning?
8. Three things on your desk right now?
9. Something you’d like to do this summer?
10. Did you pick up any new makeup or beauty products last weekend?

How are you feeling this morning? Do you feel ready for the week?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen