Archives for January 2015

7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

January 31st, 2015 by Karen 370 Comments

It’s a beautiful day out Novato way! The sun is shining, and I don’t see a cloud in the sky. Does this mean I’ll be doing something outdoors today? Time will tell…

I hope you did something fun last night. We did end up seeing that movie, A Most Violent Year, and boy! — it makes New York look pretty rough in the ’70s and ’80s. Good movie. Jessica Chastain rocks.

In other news, are you ready for the Super Bowl tomorrow?? El Hub is handling our meal plan, which he’s EXTREMELY excited about, involving something he calls “a burger dog.”

I don’t know if anyone else calls them that, but it’s basically — and his eyes light up when he describes it — a hamburger in the shape of a hot dog, served on a hot dog bun.

I’m like, OK…but mine will be a veggie burger dog. 🙂 And we’ll have it with potato salad and chips.

Super Bowl! Katy Perry is doing the halftime show (along with Missy Elliott!), so that should be fun. Your nephew cat is also excited. From what I understand, he’s rooting for the Mill Valley Wildcats… Stay tuned for his pre-game analysis tomorrow.

Good luck in the giveaway, and have a great weekend. Do 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 average, how long does it take you to do your makeup during the week?
- Best blanket?
- Do you have a fireplace or wood stove at home?
- Fruit or vegetables?
- Sunrises or sunsets?
- Your favorite pair of pants that aren’t jeans?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, February 2, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Latest Shoe Obsession: These Leopard-Print Flats From DSW

January 30th, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

There’s nothing like a new pair of shoes to make you feel like you conquered the world, and these are my newest pair. And I love them, love them, love them! They’re my reward for making it to the end of the week in one piece.

Hey, sometimes you just gotta reward yourself for crossing the finish line. 🙂

What are you up to tonight? If it’s high energy fun, I will be with you in spirit, but me — I’m kind of tired today, so I’m gonna take it easy and grab some dinner.

I may or may not be going back to Super Duper again because I’m craving that veggie burger hardcore… Maybe this time I’ll actually snap a picture of it before I inhale it. After that, the movies to see A Most Violent Year.

Have a great night, whatever you’re doin’.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The New Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Glow Winter Collection: A Perfect Fit for Your Favorite Suit of Fancy Armor

January 30th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Wearing the new Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Glow the Winter Palette collection on my eyes, cheeks and lips — Wearing the new Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Glow winter collection on my eyes, cheeks and lips

Chain mail chic.

Picture ScarJo riding a white warhorse while hoisting Dolce & Gabbana’s banner and rocking a custom-tailored suit of chain mail.

LOL! And looking hot, because I can’t imagine her ever looking awkward in armor, but anyways! That’s the feeling I get from the seven-piece Shimmer Glow winter collection, which was, fittingly, inspired by armor (or armour, depending on your POV).

Cool-toned chain mail grays and gunmetals feature prominently, as do varying levels of shimmer and shine, but because this is Dolce & Gabbana, the total package still seems seductive, sultry and gloriously wearable.

The collection’s crazy gray lipstick (Moon 69) perfectly embodies the idea.

I mean just look at it — there are 50 shades of cray in that tube! Expect advanced future human-robot babe hybrids to be carrying something like it to da club in the year 2115.

Interestingly, even though it looks cool and cold and tough in the tube, it’s shockingly wearable. Yes, it starts a little gray and nuts, obviously, but because it is quite sheer (it’s mostly sparkle, actually, with very little gray pigment), it mellows out on your lips, eventually becoming something you could comfortably wear to your grandma’s house without her looking at you disapprovingly and muttering, “Kids today!”

Similarly, the Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Smokey Eyes Dust 103 ($60) also exudes chain mail (it houses a light shimmery, silvery bluish gray; a medium matte gray; a dark blackish gray; and a single cool-toned shimmery, lemony beige). The two shimmers bring high-fashion glow and shine, while the mattes keep the quad grounded.

The seven-piece Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Glow the Winter Palette collection — The seven-piece Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Glow winter collection

Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Smokey Eyes Dust 103 — Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Smokey Eyes Dust 103

Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer Powder — Shimmer Powder

I usually prefer warm color temps to cool, but I don’t shy away from grays (see: the Hourglass Visionnaire Duo in Prism).

These particular shades, though, I feel are a tad too cool for my skin… I think they’ll work better on Knights of the Cool-Toned Table.

That said, the powders themselves are lovely. Dolce & Gabbana’s eyeshadows blend so well that they’re almost too easy to blend. If you, like me, tend to over-blend sometimes, I feel ya dawg. Refrain; otherwise, you’ll end up with muddy lids.

As for the new Shimmer Powder, it’s almost exactly like Chanel Illusion D’Ombre in Fantasme. Same spongy texture, same fine flecks of glitter, same raison d’être (use it as a highlighter, or like a glittery topcoat for your eyeshadow). Just pat it directly on your skin with fingers.

In the pot, the two look almost identical, but on skin, Dolce & Gabbana’s Shimmer Powder conveys more of its straight-up silvery white glitter than Fantasme, which also has pieces of pink and green micro glitter.

I like both…but I think I prefer Fantasme. It just looks a tad warmer (due to the pink) and works a bit better for me.

Dolce & Gabbana Shine Lipstick in Moon 69 — Shine Lipstick in Moon 69

Dolce & Gabbana Shine Lipstick in Angel Rose 167 — Shine Lipstick in Angel Rose 167

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The New Mr. Write (Now) Eyeliner Pencils by theBalm: This Mr. Right Is Not a Commitment-Phobe

January 30th, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

theBalm Mr. Write (Now) in Brian B. Beige, Jac B. Bronze, Bill B. Mocha, Wayne B. Olive, Raj B. Navy, Vince B. Charcoal, Dean B. Onyx and Scott B. Bordeaux — The new Mr. Write (Now) Eyeliner Pencils by theBalm ($17 each)

Mr. Write (Now) is not the kind of guy to hit it and quit it.

Um…can I say that on the blog?? I dunno, that might be kind of rude.

Let me try again…

Will you ever meet Mr. Right? Absolutely! In fact, Mr. Write is ready to meet you right now.

OK, that was better. 🙂

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself wanting to commit to this new line of twist-up eyeliner pencils by theBalm. Make a note in your diary to meet one of these guys next time you’re near a counter. They’re available in eight $17 shades, with some of them mattes and some of them shimmers (incidentally, they have a built-in sharpener hidden in the bottom of each pencil).

I was surprised my eyes didn’t freak out when I wore Jac. B Bronze on my water lines this week, because they can usually only tolerate MAC Eye Kohls this time of year. My skin gets very sensitive when the air is cold and dry.

Now, as one might expect of an eyeliner pencil called Mr. Write (Now), these guys will not sneak off without buying you breakfast. They want to stick around (nine+ hours). None of them, and that includes Jac B. Bronze, who I’m wearing on my lower lash lines in these pics, are commitment-phobes.

In fact, these long-lasting twist-up liners are so heavy-duty that I have to use an oil-based makeup remover with them. The formula also dries very quickly, so if you plan to do any smudging, don’t dilly-dally.

theBalm Mr. Write (Now) Swatches clockwise from the upper left: Brian B. Beige, Jac B. Bronze, Bill B. Mocha, Wayne B. Olive, Raj B. Navy, Vince B. Charcoal, Dean B. Onyx and Scott B. Bordeaux — Clockwise from the upper left: Brian B. Beige, Jac B. Bronze, Bill B. Mocha, Wayne B. Olive, Raj B. Navy, Vince B. Charcoal, Dean B. Onyx and Scott B. Bordeaux

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An Elegant, Everyday Makeup Look With Coral Lips, Golden Brown Eyes and Lots of Chanel

January 29th, 2015 by Karen 29 Comments

Chanel Rouge Allure in 152 Insaisissable — That’s Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick in 152 Insaisissable on my lips…

Gotta buy cat food? Need to get some French fries? Always take advantage of any opportunity to wear Chanel.

Even if it involves tracking down (at your employer’s request) a can of special cat food that just so happens to be the most impossible wet food to find in the U.S. because it’s imported all the way from New Zealand.

I’m sorry, what was I saying…? Oh, yeah! — any opportunity to wear Chanel. 🙂

I derive great joy from wearing Chanel to run everyday errands. It makes otherwise uninspiring activities immensely more bearable.

Here’s one of my everyday makeup looks, this time featuring Chanel spring 2015 goodness. Soft coral lips with warm golden tones on the eyes, and lots of liner and lashes. No false lashes, though, or sparkling glitter, so it’s not too cra-zay-zy or outlandish, and there aren’t a ton of eyeshadows up in my sauce. It’s pretty simple, and I feel elegant when I wear it.

You could also skip the lashes and liner to make it even more casual, and I do that sometimes.

That’s Chanel Tisse Vendome (so my jam these days) on my lids and the Jardin de Chanel Blush Camelia Rose from the spring collection on my cheeks.

Other products I’m wearing from the Chanel spring collection…

Vibrant creamy reddish coral Rouge Allure Lipstick in 152 Insaisissable, a permanent collection shade currently being re-promoted with the spring launch.

I actually started snapping the pics in this post wearing Insaisissable but eventually swapped it for Rouge Coco Shine in 97 Desinvolte (another permanent shade currently being re-promoted in the spring launch) because my lips were feeling a little dry.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 97 Desinvolte — Rouge Coco Shine in 97 Desinvolte

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The Oakland Cat Town Café and Adoption Center: The Nation’s First Cat Café

January 29th, 2015 by Karen 46 Comments

So I finally made it out to the new Cat Town Cat Café in Oakland last weekend (2869 Broadway in downtown Oakland, CA), and for starters, it was everything I imagined and more! 🙂 Coffee, smiling faces, adoptable felines, cupcakes and macaroons. With a business like that, how can you go wrong??

I walked in without a reservation, which you can make by phone or online, so I had to wait a little while for the next available appointment. You can peruse the cafe and sip a tasty beverage while you wait, which is what I did, because they only let a few people into the cat part of the cafe at a time.

When we got there in the early afternoon, the cats were pretty sleepy, and I got the feeling that they probably party all night long. After the humans go home and that play area is nothing but cats, I bet it’s total cat carnage/mayhem.

Knowledgeable volunteers and staff members are available to answer your questions about teh kittehs in the cat area, too, and the cats are all adoptable, so you can actually bring one home if you find your feline match.

I know my employer pretty well…and I didn’t find any new potential employees on this visit, but I’ll be going back.

Highly recommended if you like coffee, cats and you’re ever out this way.

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Fierce Felines Festoon This Palette From the New Paul & Joe Menagerie Collection for Spring 2015, Mrow!

January 29th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

Paul & Joe Menagerie Spring 2015 Face & Eye Color CS in Les Flamants Roses

Naturally, a tabby was the obvious choice to include on the packaging for this new spring palette from Paul & Joe.

Tabs and I approve. 🙂

The palette is the Face & Eye Color CS Palette in Les Flamants Rose ($39), one of Paul & Joe’s new spring palettes, and the box is covered in cats.

But what do you expect? It’s Paul & Joe, and their design philosophy falls somewhere along the lines of “MOAR CATS.”

Les Flamants Rose ($39) is part of the new spring Menagerie Collection, an infinitely adorable mix of animals and colors available now with the rest of the launch at Paul & Joe counters and online.

I cannot wait to play with this makeup! The last time I freaked out this hard over a Paul & Joe launch was the cat lady one they did a few years ago.

I hope this one’s just as good. I’m gonna put it through its paces this weekend, woo-hoo!

Paul & Joe Menagerie Spring 2015 collection Face & Eye Color CS from the left: Elephanteau (096), Les Flamants Roses (094) and Girafe (095), $39 each — Face & Eye Color CS from the left: Elephanteau (096), Les Flamants Roses (094) and Girafe (095), $39 each

A Classic Neutral Makeup Tutorial With Cool-Toned Eyes and Nude Lips

January 28th, 2015 by Karen 44 Comments

I’ve been wanting to do a tutorial for this look forever! It’s one of my fallbacks when I don’t want to think too hard…which is, like, all the time. Often. 🙂 It’s a timeless classic eye with some cool-toned eyeshadows, and some neutral eyeshadows, and I usually pair it with peachy pink cheeks and nude lips (and sometimes false lashes).

There’s a bit to it, so it’s not a 5-minute look by any means, but it’s not too far out there either. It’ll get easier the more you do it.
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