Archives for 2014

I’ve Never Been This Excited to Eat an Orange, Ever!

January 17th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

SERIOUSLY. This is the current state of my potted dwarf orange tree. Look at those bad boys! The tree is just about three years old, and last April it bloomed for the first time.

Here’s what it looked like back then…

And now it looks like this!

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten an orange I plucked from a tree myself, so I’m very excited about these.

I might have my first one this weekend. 🙂

Do you have any fruit trees where you live? El Hub always talks about growing up in Hawaii and eating fruit from trees all the time. When he and his friends would be out playing, they’d snack on mangoes, guava, mandarin oranges and other fruit straight from the trees. I bet it was really neat.

Spring Is a Time of Renewal and a Time for Fresh Life Eau de Parfum

January 16th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

#truth: Instead of calling this perfume “Fresh Life,” I like calling it “Thug Life.” No particular reason. It just makes me laugh. 🙂

I’ve been wanting a break from heavier scents after last month, and Fresh Life (“THUG LIFE!!!”) is light, airy and refreshing — kinda like a more citrusy version of Chloe.

According to the two bronze kitty bookends (they whisper to me), the official fragrance notes are sweet cucumber, sparkling moss, morning dew, grapefruit, lilac leaves, transparent magnolia, velvet bergamot, vanilla grass and dreamy cypress.

Fresh Life Eau de Parfum is a fragrance that captures the ultimate Fresh moment, conjuring the freshness of a clear blue sky, sweet morning air, a sparkling sun, and velvety water.
–neimanmarcus.com

A couple spritzes on my wrists and neck lasts all day long.

If it sounds sniff-worthy, it’s available now at Neiman Marcus and neimanmarcus.com.

Ever Since I Started Wearing These Milani Gold Label Nail Lacquers, Spring Fever Has Been Spreading From My Fingers to My Toes

January 16th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

The new $4.69 Milani Gold Label spring 2014 nail polishes

Currently…

I am wearing a tabby t-shirt covered in cat hair (without a sweater for the first time in months)
I have glitter all over my hands
My hair is up in a scrunchie
The windows are open, and there’s a nice breeze blowing through my office

There’s only one thing that could make this moment better… Oh, look at that! There it is. 🙂 The 12 new Milani Gold Label nail polishes.

This all seems too good to be true…

Wait — maybe I’m dreaming. Karen, wake up! Get up, get up, get up!

Nope, I guess not. I guess this is real, and look — it’s even 70-something degrees outside.

Weird…

It’s gotta be these new $4.69 Gold Label polishes (part of a new Milani line). The springy, cheerful colors — six creams and six glitters in playful pinks, purples, greens, blues and corals — must be contagious. Seeing them on my paws, I almost forget it’s still winter and that tomorrow isn’t the day of the big Easter egg hunt.

Like the polishes in Milani’s regular Nail Lacquer line, these new USA-made Gold Label lacquers are DBP-, toluene- and formaldehyde-free.

They also have a mightier brush, or rather, a flatter brush that I think makes them a little easier to use. Maybe that’s why they cost a tad more ($4.69 each versus $4.49).

I’m not sure yet about the formula — if it’s different than Milani’s regular polish formula — because I haven’t had enough time with them yet, but I’ll know more by tomorrow. I’ll let you know what I find out.

They definitely do seem thick (think Essie) and smooth, and the flat brush is great. Makes it easy to paint nice, crisp edges along the bottom of my nails.

I do notice that I have to be careful about unloading the brush before applying to make sure I don’t lay down too much polish. They are quite thick.

Here’s a quick look at the 12 shades coming next month. Oh! In each of these pics, I’m wearing two layers.

Milani Showy Sea-Green 01 — Showy Sea-Green

Milani Splendid Strawberry 03 — Splendid Strawberry

[Continue reading…]

The New Four-Piece Essie Resort 2014 Collection Offers Languid, Beachside Luxury for $8.50 a Bottle

January 16th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

I’ve been trying to put my finger (Get it? Ba-dum-tss!) on what it is I find so intriguing about the new Essie 2014 Resort collection.

I mean, it’s not the symphony of eye-catching brights Resort 2013 was. That one still makes my heart flutter (The mint green! The turquoise!), and yet I’m drawn to 2014 like a sailor to a mermaid’s song.

Yes, sweet siren, sweep me away…

Essie Resort 214 from the left: Resort Fling, Under the Twilight, Find Me an Oasis and Resort Fling — From the left: Resort Fling, Under the Twilight, Find Me an Oasis and Resort Fling

It’s gotta be something. Maybe it’s a combination of the way the mellow shades — the shimmery beige (It has silver sparkles swimming in it. SO CUTE!) and icy blue both contrast and coordinate with the brighter coral and deep plum.

The colors tell a tale of hills and dales, highs and lows, and I love that! This Resort is definitely not a one-note collection.

Typing away today, reading that word over and over again — resort — I find it difficult to stay in the moment. My thoughts keep wandering to other places, never mind that I’m sitting in front of a keyboard consuming large quantities of coffee and gnawing on a hunk of day-old sourdough bread. And forget that I’m wearing a crumb-covered wrinkled pink t-shirt with a picture of a tabby cat wearing glasses.

Resort… 🙂

I’d much rather be sipping cocktails by candlelight at a Ritz Carlton or dipping a painted toe into the salt water lagoon at the Kauai Grand Hyatt (I’ve always wanted to stay there).

No, those images are much better than the real life picture of grubby Karen currently sitting at her computer…

OK, I think I’ve got it! — what makes me like this collection so much. These understated shades are just so true to that resort lifestyle. Their beachside elegance would look right at home peeking out from under a cashmere blanket around a fun bonfire, or with tiny diamond-studded earrings and a bikini next to the hotel pool.

I’m crushing hard on icy blue Find Me An Oasis. It reminds me of the opaque white manicures I was seeing all over the place last summer, only more refreshing and resort-y. I love how smooth it is, too. Zero streaking. I’m wearing two coats in this pic.

Essie Resort Fling — Resort Fling (three coats)

[Continue reading…]

What’s More Important to You — Groomed Brows or Lush Lashes?

January 16th, 2014 by Karen 37 Comments

Ouch! Tough question.

I went back and forth on this one for a while, but my answer: groomed brows. That’s my final answer.

My whole natural lash situation isn’t particularly exciting. I have naturally straight, middling lashes — they’re not particularly exciting at all — so I do like to curl them and use mascara. I think I look brighter and more chipper when they’re done.

Buuut…if push comes to shove, I’m still choosing groomed brows.

Mine are the fullest they’ve been in years! — and when they’re filled in nicely, I think they draw more attention to my eyes. More than lush lashes do, anyway.

So, yeah. Team Groomed Brows. 🙂

How about you? What’s more important to you — groomed brows or lush lashes? (For the purposes of discussion, let’s pretend you can’t have both.)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I’m Resorting to Tropical Distractions With the Four New Essie Resort 2014 Collection Nail Polishes

January 16th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

Essie Resort 2014 from the left: Resort Fling, Under the Twiglight, Find Me An Oasis and Cocktails & Coconuts

The new Essie Resort 2014 collection and I have plans for a swatch date this morning/afternoon.

Perhaps over coffee. 🙂

Mmm…coffee.

And brunch.

Nothin’ like a good cup of coffee while you paint your paws, am I right? (Or a cup of coffee pretty much any time, for that matter. I WISH I were one of those people who could have coffee with dinner, but I can’t… It keeps me up.)

I always look forward to Essie’s resort collections, which come out between their winter and spring releases, even though it seems kind of strange to think of resorts this time of year.

Wait — maybe not. I think the idea is that this is when a lot of folks want to go on a warm vacation (myself included).

Oh, to be an eccentric billionaire…

DUDE, I’d charter a fleet of airliners to fly us off to someplace fabulous and tropical this weekend!!

Essie Cocktails & Coconuts — Cocktails & Coconuts, a shimmering warm sand

Essie Under the Twilight — Under the Twilight, a creamy, smokey plum

I can’t wait to get these on my nails…

Depending on How You Feel About Watermelons, You Might Like These Six New Milani Spring 2014 Color Statement Lipsticks

January 15th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Milani Pink Love 41 Color Statement Lipstick, new for spring 2014 — Pink Love, one of six new spring 2014 shades just added to Milani’s Color Statement Lipstick line

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of juiciness, it was the age of fiber, it was the epoch of watermelon…

It was July 2011.

In one month, I kid you not, I must’ve eaten at least 10 extra large watermelons all by myself.

‘Twas glorious! And I was, um — well, let me just put it this way: the kids were regularly getting dropped off at school, if you know what I mean.

You know, regularly? 🙂

If these new 2014 Milani Color Statement Lipsticks had been around back then (during what I call “The Great Watermelon Caper of 2011”), I may have felt differently about their watermelon flavor and scent than I do now.

Milani Spring 2014 — The six new Milani Color Statment Lipstick spring 2014 shades ($5.49 each)

Milani Spring 2014 Color Statement Lipstick Swatches from the left: Sugar Glaze, Cabaret Blend, Pink Blend, Rose Femme, Pretty Natural and Cinnamon Spice — Swatches from the left: Sugar Glaze, Cabaret Blend, Pink Blend, Rose Femme, Pretty Natural and Cinnamon Spice

Milani Sugar Glaze 39 Color Statement Lipstick, new for spring 2014 — Sugar Glaze

[Continue reading…]

Isn’t Tarte MATTEnificent?

January 15th, 2014 by Karen 35 Comments

Tarte beMATTEnificent Eye & Cheek Palette

OK, I can’t be the only one weirdly obsessed with the new Tarte Be MATTEnificent Amazonian Colored Clay Matte Eye & Cheek Palette ($36).

Right…?

Just look at it!

So purple… So pretty… Like purple driftwood.

Matte magnificence awaits inside this nine-pan palette.

How silky are these powders? Well, very, if you ask Tabs. I scared the heck out of him today while he was napping when I spontaneously blurted, “SMOOTH!” as I was swatching.

Hehe. 🙂

Cool-toned cuties, this one’s for you (she said, pouring some of her Vitamin Water on the ground). It’s a really cool-toned palette.

I’m so jealous, yo! Methinks I’ll have a tough time pulling this off with my warm skin tone, but that won’t stop me from trying. That deep purple? Totally callin’ my name…

It’s available now ($36).

Tarte beMATTEnificent Eye & Cheek Palette Swatches — Swatches of the blush (far left) and the top row of eyeshadows

In other news…

So this has absolutely nothing to do with Tarte Be MATTEnificent, but I was rocking out to this song while I typed this post.

Two words: Debbie Gibson.

Children of the ’80s, throw your hands up!

Ah, the joys of iTunes shuffle… Remember Between the Lines? It’s one of those quintessentially ’80s songs with a saxophone solo and a catchy hook. Very sweet, too. Someone pass the karaoke mic! 🙂