Archives for 2014

With These Nudes, You’re Fully Covered: The Full-Coverage Illamasqua Glamore Lipsticks in Tease, Cherub and Naked

October 28th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

Illamasqua Glamore Lipstick in Naked — Glamore Lipstick in Naked

When Sephora stopped carrying Illamasqua (bummer), it made the brand a little harder to find here in the U.S. for those of us who don’t happen to live within driving distance of the Kryolan City stores in Chicago or Toronto.

But if you do live within day-trip distance, and/or you don’t mind paying extra for shipping to order online, you might want to check out Glamore, Illamasqua’s line of full-coverage lipsticks released earlier this fall, because talk about pigment up the wazoo!

Illamasqua Glamore Lipsticks from the left: Tease, Naked and Cherub — Illamasqua Glamore Lipsticks from the left in Tease, Naked and Cherub ($30.02 each)

Ilamasqua Glamore Lipstick in Tease — Glamore Lipstick in Tease

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When Halloween Spirits and Team Spirit Collide: The Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Fast Dry Nail Colors in Pumpkin Queen, OMGhost, Night Fright and Scaredy Matte

October 27th, 2014 by Karen 32 Comments

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Colors from the left: Night Fright, Pumpkin Queen, OMGhost and Scaredy Matte, $5 each — The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Colors from the left in Night Fright, Pumpkin Queen, OMGhost and Scaredy Matte ($5 each)

In line at Target last Sunday afternoon…

GIANTS SUPER FAN LADY WEARING HEAD-TO-TOE ORANGE AND BLACK GIANTS GEAR: “I like your Giants nails!”

ME: “Oh! Thanks!”

ME (INSIDE VOICE): I probably shouldn’t tell her that I know nothing about baseball…or that this is actually a Halloween-inspired mani.

GIANTS SUPER FAN: “That offense in game four…”

ME: “…nothing short of amazing.”

ME (INSIDE VOICE): What the hell am I doing?

GIANTS SUPER FAN: “How about that Sandoval?”

ME: “Right!? Amazing!”

ME (INSIDE VOICE): Change the subject, change the subject, change the subject…

GIANTS SUPER FAN: “I hope he gets over that stomach bug soon.”

ME: “Me too. Tummy troubles are the worst!”

Awkward pause…

ME: “You should totally do a Giants mani to match your Giants gear.”

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Color in Pumpkin Queen — Clockwise from my thumb: Night Fright (glossy black), Pumpkin Queen (glossy orange) and Scaredy Matte (matte black)

GIANTS SUPER FAN: “I’d love that! But geez, I don’t have time to paint my nails.”

ME: “These Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Colors would be perfect for you then. They only take five minutes to dry.”
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 344

October 27th, 2014 by Karen 54 Comments

The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll for October 27, 2014

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

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

Do you like being the center of attention?
In casual settings, not really. I leave that up to charming experts like Tabs. 🙂

But in work-related situations, I generally don’t mind it, like if I’m leading a group or giving a presentation…as long as I’m prepared and haven’t had so much coffee that I’m jittery.

The recipe for a perfect Sunday autumn afternoon includes…
A snuggly blanket, a hot cup of herbal tea, an autumnal scented candle (I lighted a new Nest Pumpkin Chai Candle today… So good!) and a big stack of books and magazines.

Under my bed, you’ll find…
Dust bunnies, the packaging for various electronic doodads (El Hub’s doing), random bottles of lotion and pieces of makeup, a machete (again, El Hub’s doing), and about half of my young adult book collection, because you never know when you’ll wake up in the middle of the night with a strong urge to reread The Hunger Games.

I could drink __________ by the pitcher.
Vitamin Water Zero in Glow, which I haven’t been able to find in any stores lately… I hope they haven’t discontinued it.

It has to be cold though; otherwise, what’s the point?
Do you sleep with a nightlight now (or have you ever)?
I did from the time I was a kid all the way up through high school. I felt comforted going to sleep seeing my favorite things, like my books, my desk and all of my knick-knacks, but when I left for college, I lived in the dorms for my first year with a roommate, and she liked to sleep with all of the lights off (understandably).

It was weird for me at first, but our room was near a street lamp, and some of the light would still come in through the closed curtains…so I could still see my room. 🙂

Over time I guess I’ve just gotten used to sleeping in the dark.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. Do you like being the center of attention?
2. The recipe for a perfect Sunday autumn afternoon includes…
3. Under my bed, you’ll find…
4. I could drink __________ by the pitcher.
5. Do you sleep with a nightlight now (or have you ever)?

Of all the crazy Karl Lagerfeld quotes I’ve read, this has to be one of my favorites:

“I’m very severe with myself and sometimes I miss French cheese…”

-Karl Lagerfeld (source: cnn.com)

OK, to put this in context, Karl was talking about his diet in an interview, but the very notion of not eating cheese is just INSANE to me.

Because I. Love. It.

I love cheese.

Even though I’ve slowly weaned myself off of dairy over the past couple years (I swear, less dairy equals clearer skin for me), that does not include cheese…which I know is dairy, but never mind.

I’ve been going through a Babybel cheese phase lately. I like to have one with a sliced apple for my afternoon snack.

Mmm, Babybel cheese and an apple… It’s a legit addiction.

Anyway, this is all to say that I bought a new kitchen contraption yesterday, the Progressive Wedge & Pop, and it has completely rocked my cheese-and-apple-eating world.

It cores and slices in one fell swoop!

In my best infomercial voice, “Why handle dangerous knives when the Progressive Wedge & Pop cuts and slices evenly while removing the core?”

Haha! Just push, flip and pop, and it’s easy to clean too.

I got mine at a HomeGoods store for $6.

On that note, have an apple-solutely awesome Monday! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood apple, beauty and cheese addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 319

October 26th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Crab cakes, tuna tacos and sweet turkey crisps, cat intrigue and politicking, tons of tail twitching and furtive glances — I tell ya, there’s nothing quite like a Tabs the Cat Halloween Masquerade Ball. 🙂

Don’t forget to check your mailbox this week because the invites have gone out, and if this year’s gala is anything like last year’s, it’ll be one of the hottest parties of the year.

As you might recall, last year’s ball was the scene of a foiled plot to push Vladimir Puss ‘N’ Mau off the banister directly on top of Tabs, and the culprit cat was never caught. He fled the scene wearing a teddy bear mask and disappeared into the night…

But that wasn’t the only shocking development. We also found some vandalism in Tabs’ study, the words “CL was here” scratched into an antique desk.

This year, we really beefed up security, though, so we’re hoping that nothing nefarious happens. It would be a shame to have something overshadow the costumes.

Speaking of that, here’s a new Halloween cat makeup tutorial by Tabs… Hope you like. 🙂
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7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

October 25th, 2014 by Karen 304 Comments

I know one thing this morning, my friend. I would not want to mess with John Wick.

Rise and shine, pal o’ mine! HAPPY CATURDAY! 🙂

So, the movie last night, John Wick — not too shabby, tabby. There’s something about Keanu Reeves… He’s gotten such a bad rap over the years for his acting, but I almost always like his movies. (Did you ever see A Walk in the Clouds? I really liked that one.) What more can you ask?

About the movie, though, yeah, violent to the extreme. Just words of warning, if you’re not in the mood for that kind of thing. Be prepared for an action movie a la 1980s Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In other news…I only realized at Trader Joe’s before the movie last night that the Giants are in the World Series, LOL! Goes to show ya how much of a baseball fan I am. I’m more into football.

Oops!

Yeah, the checker was ringing up my groceries when he looked up at me suddenly and asked, “Oh! Do you know the score of the game?” And I was like, “Uh…” Even El Hub didn’t know.

Then the checker said, “Last I checked it was 1-1, but the Giants looked like they were about to score,” to which I replied. “Yeah…I think so. That sounds about right.” 🙂

When I got home I found out they lost. Tabs was upset, of course, because he’s a big Giants fan, but he says the series isn’t over yet.

Have a great weekend, and good luck in the giveaway. I hope you’re doing something fun.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being crazed super fan, how big of a baseball fan are you?
- What would be your idea of a perfect weekend getaway?
- When was the last time you bought shoes?
- Favorite Keanu Reeves movie?
- Best Halloween costume ever by you or someone else?
- And the award for “Cutest Makeup Packaging of the Year” goes to…
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, October 27, 2014 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Last-Minute Halloween Costume Idea: I’m Miss World (or the Live Through This Cover Art)

October 24th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

For better or worse, the ’90s are back.

On the one hand, I’m hoping this does not mean the reincarnation of lumber jack boots (NOOOOO!). On the other, I’ve been having a lot of fun listening to music I haven’t heard in ages.

This last-minute Halloween costume was inspired by an album I had on repeat for months back in the day, Hole’s Live Through This.

The costume came together pretty quickly. Done in less than an hour, and it was easy since there wasn’t a ton of blending. The makeup took about 20 minutes, and the hair about 15.

1. Crazy eyes!

I wanted the eyes to be dramatic like the girl eye’s on the album cover, and I didn’t want to spend a ton of time blending eyeshadow on my lids since the smeared mascara was probably going to overpower the eyeshadow anyway.

So, to start, I grabbed a frosty silver cream shadow and applied that all over my lids and crease. Then I rimmed my water lines with a black kohl pencil and popped on a pair of fierce false lashes.

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I Like Big Buns, and I Cannot Lie: The $5 Mia Beauty Bun Ease Subdues Savage Strands and Sends Scrunchies Scurrying

October 24th, 2014 by Karen 30 Comments

These days, I have about this much patience for my hair…

Seriously, I just can’t freaking deal! Even the curling iron feels like too much work.

So lately I’ve been all about #thatscrunchielife, because it only takes about 10 seconds to either corral my mane into a low side pony…

…or put it up into this haphazard ponytail/bun number I lovingly call my “crazy cat lady hair.”

I have come to the realization, however, that as tempting as it is, woman cannot live on scrunchies alone. Eventually, we have to leave the house, and when we’re out there in the big, bad world, it really does help to look like a responsible citizen. It makes strangers less likely to run away when you say things like, “I’m looking for a velvet king or princess costume for my 20-pound cat.”

In that vein, and to expand my hair style horizons, I’ve started using the $5 Mia Beauty Bun Ease.

I grabbed it primarily because of the instructions on the box, which make using it sound so easy (“Just tuck and roll!”). The six-piece kit comes with everything you need to whip up a large four-inch diameter bun — one bun-holder thingy, a ponytail elastic and four large bobby pins — so you don’t have to buy anything else.

Before using it, my major worries were 1) that it would give me a headache, 2) that it wouldn’t stay in place, and 3) that it would be a chore to use, but since it was only $5 ($6 at Target), I figured that I wasn’t risking too much if it didn’t work out.

I’ve been wearing it pretty much all week long, and I’m happy to report that it’s great! It stays in all day, doesn’t make my head hurt, and it’s a cinch to use.

With it I can knock out a casually messy bun in one or two minutes. I’ll just gather my hair into a ponytail, slip it into the bun contraption, spread the ends of my hair over the edge, and roll the bun down. Then I secure it with the four bobby pins that come with the kit.

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Things Never Go Well When I Start Doing My Makeup Before __________ Happens

October 24th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Oh, where to start??

Things never go well when I start doing my makeup before coffee happens, because hello! — I’m officially not awake until about 10:30…regardless of when I physically get out of bed. 🙂

Seriously, though, clean brushes. That’s my real answer. I’m pretty good about washing my brushes now (almost always daily), but that’s only because I learned the hard way that dirty brushes equals muddy blending. I like to have clean brushes because blending for me is hard enough as it is, and I need all the help I can get.

Let’s see…what else?

Ah! Primer. When I don’t start with primer, it all goes to sh*t. Primer just seems to make everything that comes after it apply more smoothly and makes things easier to blend. It’s a step I never (almost never) skip.

Your turn, babe. How would you finish the following sentence: Things never go well when I start doing my makeup before __________ happens.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!