Archives for 2014

Nike Women’s Half Marathon Race-Day Essentials

October 17th, 2014 by Karen 43 Comments

Two more days.

TWO MORE DAYS! Roughly 39 hours (give or take) until I hit the ground running, literally, for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco with Team Neutrogena on Sunday.

I’ve been training for the past six weeks, and I’m actually feeling really good about this. By no means am I a hardcore athlete, but I tried to do everything I could to help myself make it through race day.

That’s in stark contrast to the last time I ran a half marathon about 10 years ago, when I did everything wrong. I was in tears when I crossed the finish line of that race because I was in so much pain (one word: chafing). Plus, I think I was just mentally unprepared for it.

This time, I feel ready! I was careful not to overtrain, which is something else that bit me in the @ss last time. Plus, I added cross-training (pushups and Jillian Michaels DVDs) and ate the food I was supposed to eat when I was supposed to eat it. I also took my rest and recovery days seriously.

So, yeah. I’m excited about Sunday, and not just because there will be San Francisco firemen in tuxedos handing out Tiffany necklaces at the finish line. 🙂

I’ve also been preparing/vetting all of my race-day essentials, which, of course include beauty products, because you know I couldn’t go 13.1 miles without doing a little something-something.

1. Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes

Also known as “my improv shower.” I’m putting a couple of these in a plastic bag and bringing them with me so I can wipe off some of the sweat immediately after the race. I’m also keeping a pack in the car for the drive home, just in case I still feel sticky. $8.99 for a reusable case with a pack of 25 towelettes. Available now at drugstores, Ulta and online.

2. Cle de Peau Perfect Lash Mascara

UGH! — so expensive, but so, so good… If there’s any mascara that can handle 13.1 miles and buckets of sweat, it’s this one. Waterproof, smudge-proof, budge-proof, and it delivers mad crazy length and separation. $50, and available now at Neiman Marcus and neimanmarcus.com.

3. Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso

Technically, Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso is not a waterproof product, but it may as well be. I’ve worn it in 105-degree heat, and it didn’t move, so I expect it to withstand the mileage. $44, available now at Tom Ford counters and online.

4. NARS Mini Satin Lip Pencil in Yu

I may live to regret this…but life is short! So what the hell! 🙂 I got it into my head to wear hot pink lipstick during the race because 1) it really does make everything better, and 2) because it matches my CW-X Bra.

Call me crazy.

NARS Mini Satin Lip Pencil in Yu is one of five lip pencils in the $49 NARS Digital World set, coming November 1 to Sephora and sephora.com.

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A Makeup MacGyver Moment, But Without the Mullet: Make an Improv Beauty Blender Sponge

October 17th, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

Just something I figured out the other day when (surprise, surprise!) I couldn’t find my Beauty Blender. I swear, one of these days I have to finally, FOR GOOD, straighten out my office.

Sigh…

So I’d just finished applying Laura Mercier Flawless Fluide Foundation and needed to blend it out, but no Beauty Blender…so I MacGyver-ed (yes, I just turned that into a verb) an improv Beauty Blender with a kabuki brush and some MAC Fix+.

Here’s what ya do

Take a kabuki brush — and I’m using the Too Faced Retractable Teddy Bear Hair Kabuki Brush here — and spray it three or four times with MAC Fix+.

When I do this, I hold the bottle of Fix+ about eight inches away from the brush so the spray envelops the brush head evenly, and you want to just dampen the bristles, not make them dripping, soaking wet. Next, gently buff and blend your foundation and concealer on the skin using the dampened brush head and a circular motion.
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Here’s a Tip for Working With the New MAC Objects of Affection Pigments and Glitter Sets

October 16th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

MAC Objects of Affection Pigments and Glitter Set in Gold and Beige — Butterfingers tested and approved!

The mini jars of MAC Pigment and Glitter in the new MAC Objects of Affection holiday sets are so small (0.09 ounces) that I can barely fit a brush into them. They’re tiny! Butterfingers that I am, I feel like the Abominable Snowman trying to hug Bugs Bunny when I hold these jars, so when I use them, to keep accidental drops and messes to a minimum, I have a little workflow I follow…

First, I place a paper towel down on my work surface. Then, I pour a small amount of whichever product I’m using on the towel, and pick up the product directly from there with my brushes.

Much less mess, and it’s easier to load just the right amount of product on the brushes. 🙂

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The New NARS Nail Polishes in Barents Sea and Algonquin From the Laced With Edge Holiday Collection

October 16th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

NARS Nail Polishes in Barents Sea (left) and Algonquin (right)

Oh, the life of the easily amused… I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I get a weird kick out of knowing that underneath my socks and boots I’m wearing two different shades of nail polish.

I couldn’t decide between royal blue Barents Sea and violet Algonquin (both from the NARS Laced with Edge Holiday collection), so I stopped trying to decide and went with both. 🙂 I also wanted to see how long it would take El Hub to notice that I was wearing different colors on each foot…

That man is full of surprises, I tell ya! I thought it would take him at least three days, but he said something within 45 minutes. This from the same person who took two weeks to notice the time I dyed my hair pink!

Smooth and pigmented Barents Sea and Algonquin are limited edition shades from the NARS holiday collection, available now at NARS counters and online for $20 each.

I’m wearing two layers in the pic above, but I could’ve gotten away with one.

I feel like I’ve seen these colors before over at OPI, but I still like ’em. Those limited edition bottles speak to the hardcore collector in me.

About those boots…

The boots! I had a $20-off coupon to DSW burning a hole in my pocket, so I picked up these Crown Vintage Tuff Booties last Saturday.

Tabs appears to like them.

The New NARS Modern Future Set Has a Cinematic Past

October 16th, 2014 by Karen 31 Comments

It seemed like the right thing to do.

Yesterday afternoon I watched Roman Holiday (for, oh, I dunno, the ninth or tenth time) while painting my nails with NARS Roman Holiday Nail Polish from the new $49 Modern Future set.

I was also wearing Roman Holiday Blush and Roman Holiday Lipstick (also from the same set) on my cheeks and lips.

It just made sense. I mean, I could have watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Sabrina instead, but that would have been totally weird… Watching Roman Holiday seemed like the right thing to do. 🙂

Which reminds me, please, PLEASE tell me you’ve seen this movie. Breakfast at Tiffany’s seems to get more love, but Roman Holiday gets my vote for best Audrey Hepburn movie, ever. She even earned a Best Actress Academy Award for it.

If you haven’t seen it, do it! Audrey plays a princess who goes rogue by taking an unsanctioned, impromptu vacation from her life as a royal public figure. During her adventure she hangs out with an American newspaper reporter, played by Gregory Peck. The sets, the clothes, the dialogue, the ending — SO GOOD. Just watch it already!

And if you can, watch it while you’re wearing NARS Roman Holiday Blush, Lipstick and Nail Polish. It’s, like, extra poetic that way.

NARS Roman Holiday Lipstick — Roman Holiday Lipstick

NARS Roman Holiday Nail Polish — Roman Holiday Nail Polish

Roman Holiday is a cool pastel pink with slight purple undertones…but don’t let that description scare you! — because it’s actually really pretty and wearable.

Originally, the color only came as a lipstick, but NARS turned it into a blush and a nail polish for this LE holiday set.

Roman Holiday Lipstick

When I’m in the mood for a smooth, easy-to-wear cool-toned pink that doesn’t shimmer and isn’t too shiny, Roman Holiday Lipstick’s sheer pink wash rules. I can literally (well…) throw it on without having to use a mirror. I also like that it’s a build-able sheer, so you can intensify it by adding another layer. I also think it looks super pretty with NARS Angelika or Easy Lover Lipgloss on top.

The set includes a full-size 0.12-oz. tube.

NARS Roman Holiday Lipstick and Blush — Wearing Roman Holiday Lipstick and Blush

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What’s Something You Do With Your Makeup When You Want It to Look Like You Put Serious Effort Into It?

October 15th, 2014 by Karen 51 Comments

Just add lashes! (BTW, that’s the Dolce & Gabbana Desert Quad on my eyes)

False lashes, definitely.

A pair of falsies turns everything else up a notch. In the time it takes to stick a pair of false lashes on your eyes, you can turn the most ho-hum makeup into faux fancy.

In my case, I think because I have naturally really uninspired lashes that are thin and not very long, when I wear falsies, the difference is pretty dramatic. It’s like, “Oh! At least she tried.”

But, you know, sometimes I’m just not in the mood to deal with all the glue and the lashes and the trimming them down to size, so I’ll bust out my tube of Cle de Peau Perfect Lash Mascara, which creates crazy good length. Unfortunately, it’s also crazy expensive. $50.

I swear, though, it makes my lashes look about nine miles long. The only problem is that it takes forever and a day to remove. The formula is freakishly waterproof, which might actually be a good thing for me today because it just started raining. 🙁

What’s something you do with your makeup when you want it to look like you put serious effort into it?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Fall Is Here…

October 14th, 2014 by Karen 26 Comments

Wow. Overnight, we went from 80-something degrees, t-shirts and shorts to me noticing the leaves changing colors on the oak trees outside. How’d that happen?

I miss summer already. When it’s over, I always feel like I didn’t do enough outside while it was hot, like I didn’t take enough advantage of it, but I did… I’m just sad to see it go.

At least we have boots…fall boots and fall makeup and fall sweaters and fall snacks. I’m definitely gonna be going to DSW more often.

Tabs is none too pleased about the changing seasons either. His little deck garden is on its last legs. There’s just not enough sun to keep the plants happy. The cat grass and zinnia, which are probably his two favorite things to snack on whenever he goes outside, are withering and starting to yellow, and now he nibbles on them disdainfully, as if he’s forcing down a bad salad because he thinks it’s healthy, but it’s all he has.

It’s so weird, but two days ago, this is how it looked in San Francisco. El Hub and I took the ferry in from Larkspur to watch the Blue Angels, and it was hot! I was walking around holding a bottle of water, and now it’s 20 degrees cooler, cloudy and smells like rain. Go figure.

Time to shift gears to Halloween and Thanksgiving. To get myself in the right mindset, I like to look back through my folder of kitty modeling ad campaigns that Tabs worked on in previous falls… 🙂

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New AERIN Waterlily Sun and Iris Meadow Eau de Parfum: File These Two Fragrances Under “BFF Holiday Gift Ideas”

October 14th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

I like both of these new Eau De Parfums by AERIN because neither one smells like it should have sparkly hot pink glitter floating around inside the bottle or like it would be part of a three-piece set that includes a My Little Pony and a sheet of rainbow stickers.

Iris Meadow and Waterlily Sun do not smell like something Britney Spears might’ve sprayed on the backs of her knees while running around barefoot at a gas station in 2007. (Still lovin’ ya Brit-Brit! Keep on keepin’ on, girl.)

Basically, if you like scents that smell like something someone who totally has her sh*t together and always remembers to change the cat litter would wear (scents that don’t evoke notes of cupcakes or unicorns), give these two new scents a sniff. Both have “best friend holiday gift potential” written all over ’em.

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