Archives for September 2017

Stila Stay All Day Cover Powder Finish Foundation & Cream Concealer

September 26th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

stila stay all day cover powder finish foundation concealer honey 8 packaging — Matte AND full coverage!

If James Bond’s tech team also made beauty gadgets, one would look like this. To the untrained eye, this doohickey may appear like a run-o-the-mill stick foundation, but flick the top and voila! — a hidden concealer. 🙂

Stila Stay All Day Cover Powder Finish Foundation & Cream Concealer ($36 and available now at Stila and Ulta) is for girls and guy who are committed to a full-coverage glam face beat, and it’s like getting three products in one, because the creamy, matte stick foundation dries to a matte powder finish, so you’re kinda-sorta also getting a setting powder.

Both the foundation and its peachy partner-in-crime satin-finish under-eye concealer cover everything, including post-pimple pigmentation, freckles, sunspots and under-eye circles. It comes in 16 shades, too.

Now, being a 40-something-year-old gal who loves natural-looking coverage and is brutally picky about concealers and face powders (I don’t like cake-y face makeup), I was skeptical about this at first, but turns out I like it a lot.

It lasts a solid eight hours and makes my skin look super smooth. I won’t wear it every day, though, because it feels heavier than the face makeup I normally wear, but if you like full coverage and don’t want your foundation to move, Stila’s got’chu covered.

stila stay all day cover powder finish foundation concealer honey 8 open — Sadly, a chunk got stuck to the cap when I opened it. 🙁 But see the secret concealer in the cap?

stila stay all day cover powder finish foundation concealer honey 8 before after — Before and after Honey 8, which looked like it would be a tad too light for me, but these oxidize a step. It looks a little light, yeah? But shortly after I took this pic, the foundation had oxidized about half a step, so it ended up being darker than it is in this pic.

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The Awesome Hourglass Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette

September 26th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

When I finally enter Valhalla after my Viking funeral, I wanna be wearing rose gold Lucent Strobe Light from the Hourglass Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette ($62 and available meow) on my cheeks. My plan is to roll up to the afterlife lookin’ like Pat McGrath herself glowed my @ss up.

hourglass ambient metallic strobe lighting palette 2 — From the pan on the left: shimmery pink Absolute Strobe Light, shimmery gold Pure Strobe Light and shimmery rose gold Lucent Strobe Light

I could pat-pat-pat and blend-blend-blend these highlighting powders on my face-face-face all day-day-day, and I know that’s weird to say because, as you know, I’m not the biggest fan of metallic highlighter that wolf whistles and catcalls as you’re strutting down the street, but the metallics in this palette are magical. Yeah, they’re shiny, and yes, they’re bright, but the powder grains are almost imperceptible. They’re even finer than the particles in the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Powder Highlighters, and that results in a high beam glow that looks creamy and expensive. And that’s a rare find, my friend!

hourglass ambient metallic strobe lighting palette k2 — The lip is MAC Lipglass in N-U-D-E, and the eyes are courtesy of the Kevyn Aucoin making Faces Beauty Book.

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Take Some Time to Rest Soon

September 26th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

Sometimes you’ve gotta press pause/paws.

This is partially a reminder for you, but mostly a reminder for me, that sometimes — my goodness — you gotta press pause, because rest is so vital!

I know I’ve said this before, so I’m momentarily reverting to Karen’s Broken Record Mode, but I’m always forgetting these important things, ya know? Something erases important life lessons from my mind, but then I remember them — like how important it is to reserve blocks of time for yourself to recharge your body, your spirit and your mind.

Especially when you know you’re going to have a hard week, or if you have a lot of deadlines coming up, sneak in some time to rest when you can, or to do a little something that rejuvenates you, even if it’s just to make a plan to do something relaxing a week from now.

Yes, I know it’s easier said than done, but life is short. You deserve to enjoy it.

Like on Sunday, El Hub and I took the baby out for a long walk (we got lost). When we got home, I was dog tired, but I unconsciously started being productive again as soon as the door closed. Then El Hub stopped me and said, “Why don’t you just take some time to lay on the couch and watch Amelie? Maybe go get a frozen yogurt and take a nap.”

For some reason, that sounded really, really great. So I did it. I went to the fro-yo shop, got my favorite flavor (taro), put a boat load of berries on top and came home.

Classic!

El Hub took over baby duty for a few hours, and I just chilled and watched Amelie, ate my frozen yogurt and fell asleep on the couch during the part when Amelie’s love interest realizes that the guy who takes pictures of himself at all of the train station photo booths is the repair guy and not someone lost in an existential crisis.

I felt like a completely new person afterward, so yeah, in case no one has reminded you lately, try to schedule some time to rest soon. It’ll do your spirit a world of good.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Stila One Step Primer Preps, Primes, Conditions and Smooths Skin

September 25th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

Is there a more science-y looking primer than Stila One Step? Seriously, I don’t think so. It’s got that double helix-looking DNA thing swirling around in the bottle, which is kind of cool.

Stila’s moisturizing primer

So, Stila has a bunch of different face primers. I know there’s one for illuminating and one for color correcting, but One Step is their moisturizing, smoothing water-based primer.

The clear liquid surrounding the helix is a combination of water and other moisturizing ingredients. The primer contains a mix of vitamins and 15 botanicals, buuuuuut the plant extracts are mostly all down near the bottom of the ingredient list, which is just something to keep in mind.

I’m not completely sold on this primer’s hydrating power… I have combination skin, and I don’t really feel like this primer does much for my dry spots. (Side note: If you want straight-up hydration, check out MAC Natural Radiance.)

Stila One Step Primer: Ingredients
Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Carbomer, Dimethicone, Aluminum Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Sodium Chloride, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Disodium EDTA, Phytantriol, Hexylene Glycol, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Dextrin Palmitate, Palmitic Acid, Octyldodecanol, Stearic Acid, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopherol, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Retinyl Palmitate, Zinc Oxide (CI 77947), Lysine, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Magnesium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Chloride, Potassium Sorbate, Montmorillonite, Illite, Kaolin

In case you don’t know primers from pancakes

Primers are applied after your skin care but before your foundation, and a lot of brands carry a number of different primers designed to help address different skin issues.

Generally, though, they all smooth the skin by filling in your pores and fine lines to make the products that you apply on top of them appear smoother and last longer. Many primers, like this one from Stila, use silicones to fill the dips and valleys on the surface of the skin.

TECHNIQUE TIP: After I apply primer, I give it a couple minutes to completely dry before I layer anything else on top, because when there are wet spots, my foundation or concealer won’t adhere very well to those areas.

I don’t wear primer every day, because I don’t think I need it if I’m just going out to buy a loaf of bread, but when I’m going to be meeting someone for lunch, or taking certain kinds of pics for MBB, then yeah, I’ll make the effort, because primer makes a night-and-day difference in terms of smoothness and wear time, especially on my cheeks.

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 494

September 25th, 2017 by Karen 35 Comments

all the skin care — When all you wanna do is TRY ALL THE SKIN CARE! Clockwise from the bottom left corner: Giorgio Armani Supreme Renewing Mask, Algenist POWER Recharging Night Pressed Serum, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Serum, Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream, Clarins Extra Firming Mask, Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Rich Cream – Very Dry Skin, Starskin 7-Second Morning Mask, Neutrogena Hydroboost Exfoliating Cleanser, Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum, Clarins Double Serum and Algenist Splash Hydrating Setting Mist

So…what is the Monday Poll?

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 10 (!) 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.

1. Do you like trying new skin care products, or do you tend to stick to the same routine?

You know, it really depends on how my skin is doing. If I’m breaking out like I was last month — shout-out to Julian the pimple! — then I’ll go back to the routine that I know works to clear up my skin, and I’ll religiously stick to it. But when my skin is pretty clear and well behaved, you might think I’d stick to whatever it is I’m using, but no, I still get the itch to try new things, because I looooove trying new skin care.

It just really depends on how fussy my skin’s acting at any given time.

2. When was the last time you had a cat on you?

Girl. When do I not have a cat on me? Or, for that matter, when do I not have a little animal clinging to me in some form or fashion? There’s always a little animal on my lap, on my hip… That’s just where I am in life right now, LOL!

By the way, when Tabs was on me a little while ago, he was on my head, FYI. Picture that for a second.

3. Carrots or cucumbers?

Uh…pizza?!

But seriously, I guess I’ll go with carrots, because when you eat them with peanut butter, it’s a revelation. Try it sometime. Your mind will be SO blown.

4. How are you with keeping plants alive?

Depends on the plant! I’m pretty good if the plants are anything other than orchids and cacti, which is weird because they’re supposed to be some of the most low-maintenance plants around. Don’t ask me why I can’t keep them alive…

Everything else, though, I’m cool with!

5. Does it feel like fall right now where you live?

Yes, it does! It’s getting colder at night, and there’s a chill in the air in the mornings. The oak trees are also starting to drop their leaves.

I overheard some ladies at baby story time last week say that it’s supposed to get hot again this week, which I’m NOT looking forward to, but we’ll see.

I’m so over the heat, though… Gimme boots and scarves.

Have a good one, my friend. 🙂 Happy Monday, and have a wonderful week.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 468

September 24th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

When we lived in that rickety old second-floor apartment in Mill Valley and Tabs was just a friendly neighborhood kitty who stopped by from time to time for canned tuna and deep-tissue kitty massage sessions on my lap (this would have been around 2008), there were lots of other outdoor cats in the neighborhood, like Thug, the husky long-haired calico who Tabs always had cat standoffs with on the back stairs; and Snowflake; and Orangey, and a bunch of other outdoor kitties, many of which looked a little rough around the edges, but they mostly seemed happy, and it was a great area for cats, because the apartment complex backed up against an overgrown hill with fallen logs and thick underbrush and vines to hide and skulk around in. Who knows what those cats got up to at night, but there were a LOT of them in all shapes, colors and sizes.

We would hear them deliberating late at night in their cat town hall meetings…

Sometimes I wonder if cats ever bump into each other later in life after they move away with their people, and if they do, I wonder how those reunions go.

Tabs has always been a very standoffish kitty when it comes to other cats. I think that times were tough for him when he was a young cat on the mean streets of Mill Valley. Maybe food was hard to come by, or maybe he had to compete for human affection, because he’s always been crazy territorial, ever since I met him. If he catches sight or sound of another cat, his haunches go up, tail poofs out, and he makes a deep, guttural growl that doesn’t sound anything like his regular kitty meow.

I never hear that growl from him any other time…

Anyway, I wonder if Tabs has ever bumped into any of the cats he used to hang out with in Mill Valley. I mean, people run into each other sometimes after moving out of town. Maybe they see each other at the mall or buying lemons at Safeway. You never know, right? We’re only about 20 miles from Mill Valley.

Stranger things have happened.

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Saturday Surfing: September 23rd, 2017

September 23rd, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

I really freaking love doing skin.

Is that boring?

It might be, but it’s true. I think my greatest makeup/beauty passions right now are foundation and concealer, which I’ve gotten VERY passionate about, and it’s mostly gotten to this point over the past two years, because for the longest time, foundation was more like an afterthought for me. Just something I did after doing the real work on my eyes, cheeks and lips, a.k.a. the color.

Now I’m obsessed with finding ALL. THE. WAYS. to get perfect-looking skin that don’t involve using 300 pounds of makeup.

It’s challenging, dude!

Maybe it happened after I had Connor at 41, but I swear to gawd, that first year of mom life was like a dog year. It felt like seven years passing over the course of 12 months. I’m not kidding!

But yeah, I’m really, REALLY passionate about foundation now, and this realization occurred to me the other day after someone asked me what my favorite foundation is, and I couldn’t give a one-word answer. Clackin’ away at the keyboard, I kept thinking, “I could talk about this for weeks.”

I want to learn everything there is to know about foundation. Like, if I had unlimited resources ($), girl, you know what I’d do? I’d review every single foundation in the world just to be able to try them. Then I’d arrange for personal makeup lessons with Sir John, Charlotte Tilbury and Pat McGrath. I think that would be so much fun!

Or am I just crazy? Does anyone else think that would be awesome?

Stew on that for a second, and if you have a moment between sips of coffee that I hope is hot and delicious, here are some articles that sparked my interest this week. I hope you find something interesting. 🙂

After seeing this sweet photo series of things that preschoolers stash in their pockets, I wish I could go back in time and see what I used to keep in mine.
The designs and creative nail art at Nailympia, one of the most prestigious nail competitions in the world, are BANANAS. It’s regarded as one of the fairest nail competitions because of its strict impartial judging guidelines.
Tim Gunn (who, in my mind, is my mentor/style godfather) calls out the fashion industry and asks for designers to produce clothes that work for all body shapes and sizes, and not just extremely tall, thin women.
What 10 people wore to their interviews with Anna Wintour (P.S. I would probably wear high-waisted stretch pants)
Ever wonder why beauty brands do gift-with-purchases, but nobody else really does? Here’s why.
Affordable drugstore skin care brand Simple has new hydrating cleansers for super dry skin.
The story of Patrick Ta is what happens when It Girls discover you on Instagram and blow up your makeup career.
A dad built an OTT two-story playhouse for his kid in the backyard, and all I have to say is, “Can I move in already?” That thing looks like a mini-mansion!
Revlon has a funky new hair dryer that looks like something from The Fifth Element.
A definitive timeline of Donatella Versace’s beauty evolution
Allegedly, this is the work bag professional women everywhere have been looking for.
Get to know one of West Africa’s most daring designers, Amaka Osakwe.

A post shared by Sephora (@sephora) on Sep 22, 2017 at 7:31am PDT

The Fenty Beauty Holiday (via Sephora’s Instagram) looks BOSS.

Sam Fine is a legend in the makeup world.

I’m headed out! Going to the East Bay to visit my family and some friends I haven’t seen in a while. Have a great rest of your day and a wonderful weekend. 🙂 Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

R+Co Control Flexible Paste for Styles That Hold Tight But Never Feel Stiff

September 22nd, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

r and co control review — R+Co CONTROL Flexible Paste, taming unruly baby hairs one strand at a time

Why are those tiny little hairs along the edge of your hairline called baby hairs? Is it because they’re cute and cuddly and adorable? Naaaaaw, girl. I think they’re called baby hairs because they’re unruly. OK? You can’t control them, they’re unpredictable, and, at any given moment, riiight when you think you have the situation under control, BAM! — they go bananas. HAHA! At least my baby hairs (and my baby) do.

I have a mega crop of baby hairs where my bangs part in the front, and I don’t know about yours, but mine are all uneven and at weird lengths, and — yay, lucky me! — they stick up and out at jarring angles, so I walk around lookin’ like I’ve just been electrocuted.

Girl, if there’s no product in them, I look CRAY, but this new hair styling product by R+Co called Control ($27) really helps. I’ve been using it for a week, and now I’m like ROUGE BABY NO LONGER RUN SH*T HERE.

Control is a soft, waxy styling paste with a semi-matte finish, and it grabs, holds and keeps flyaway hairs in place. It’s strong, but it’s not ’80s-style hairbear stiff, so my bangs can still move and don’t look heavy and greasy.

These days, my numero uno #hairgoal is for my mop to look casual, like IDGAF. Sure, I might’ve fussed over this hair, but nobody needs to know, LOL! In other words, I want the antithesis of prom/beauty pageant hair. Nothing overly lacquered or styled.

r and control before — Baby hairs say WASSSSSUP

r and control after — What baby hairs? Um, please excuse the rand-o white hairs… I’m between coloring appointments and apparently couldn’t be bothered to use Rita Hazan Root Concealer.

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