Chanel

3 Recent Revelations, and Ilia Rococco Lipstick

September 27th, 2022 by Karen 12 Comments

ilia roccoco hourglass ray — Key products: Ilia Rococco Lipstick, Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eyeshadow in Ray and Chanel Malice Blush

1. Re: buying blinds for your house

We finally caved in and went to a store that specializes in blinds because all the options and colors have just gotten too overwhelming.

We had someone come out yesterday to measure and walk us through the process, and the biggest takeaway I got was that continuity is key when you’re buying blinds.

For example, when all the shades or blinds are down and you’re looking at your house from the outside, it’s really nice to see all the window treatments matching.

If you don’t want to do that, and say, you have a two-story house, you can match all of the blinds on the first floor, and then have a different type of matching treatment on the top floor.

My point is, you ideally want to have some sort of continuity with your window treatments! Who knew?

2. Ilia Rococco Lipstick is lovely, but…

I got this a while back but haven’t worn it in a bit. It’s a beautiful warm rosy pink lipstick that’s loaded with pigment, but be mindful of it transferring onto your teeth. That’s why I’m smiling with my lips closed in the top pic, LOL!

ilia tahiti rococco — Fun with Ilia lip products!

3. You can wear a bodysuit unsnapped

Holy crap, this has been one of those weirdly surprising game changers for me. I love having the longer length of a bodysuit because I don’t like it when tucked-in shirts ride up, but sometimes I just can’t deal with snapping and unsnapping the crotch part. I recently read that if you’re not in the mood to snap, you can just skip it and wear the bodysuit loose. That’s what I’ve been doing lately, and it’s been glorious.

Here’s the thing, though: You have to make sure that the bottom of your bodysuit doesn’t escape. It’s easier to keep track of the front, but the back it can be tricky. I get around this by wearing pants with a high rise and/or a long blazer.

Have you had any revelations (beauty related or otherwise) lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Makeup: Your Tried and True Staples?

September 15th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

I’ve been wearing a lot of Chanel lately, and for the first time in a while, I’m feeling inspired to wear makeup again!

What are your tried and true staples from the brand?

Here are mine at the moment.

Malice Powder Blush: Oldie but goody! May the makeup gods never discontinue this beauty.
Les Beiges Eyeshadow Palettes: I wear Medium and Deep all the time. Side note: Both are still available in the permanent line.
Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation: This foundation is absolutely gorgeous and foolproof. Looks great on camera and in real life, and bonus, it doesn’t move in hot weather. My shade is 50 Beige (although I could go up to 60 beige in the summer).
Les Beiges Healthy Sheer Colour Stick Blushes: I wear these a TON. The bronzer, No.20, is my favorite.
Road Movie Eyeshadow Quad: This was an LE release from a few years back which they added to the permanent collection. The blue and teal are both surprisingly wearable.
Stylo Yeux Eyeliner in Espresso: Honestly, this is the best brown liner for tightlining. Doesn’t irritate my eyes and stays on all day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: The Gift of Vegetables, Cabbage Rolls and Chanel Tweed!

September 1st, 2022 by Karen 16 Comments

The bounty of produce being gifted to me by my neighbors continues! Check out these beans…

What does one do with purple beans? I’m thinking of roasting them, but I dunno. A heat wave is coming in, and I don’t fancy turning my oven on when it’s boiling outside.

Oh, remember that massive head of cabbage my other neighbor gave me last weekend? I ended up making cabbage rolls with ground beef, rice and parsley.

This was my first time, and they turned out OK!

I found the recipe on the Jenny Jones cooking blog. Remember Jenny Jones, the talk show host from the 90s? A few years ago she was active on YouTube and did a whole bunch of cooking videos, and they’re fun to watch. It’s been years since she’s posted, though.

Jenny Jones fun fact: before she rose to fame, she owned her own catering business.

I’ve tried two recipes from her site so far, the cabbage rolls and a 20-minute meal called spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, both of which were light, easy and excellent.

Back to the cabbage rolls. Jenny says they’re great as leftovers the next day and suggests frying them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. That’s what I’m gonna have for lunch today. YUM!

On a beauty note, the tweed quads are up on the Chanel website. The one with browns, taupes and rosy shades, Brun et Rose, looks really lovely.

There’s also new nude nail polishes that look good, too. I don’t know what it is about Chanel, but they do such a good job of hitting all the right notes when it comes to neutrals and basics. UGH, WANT.

What else is going on, hmmm? Oh, forgive me for living underneath a rock, but I’ve only recently discovered the singer Harry Styles.

I’ve been listening to a random assortment of his music, and these are the two songs I’ve had on repeat.

Sometimes he reminds me of Prince and sometimes he sounds like the band Phoenix; it’s hard to pin his genre down. If you get a moment give his songs a listen.

Alright, I’m off to start my day. I hope you’ve had a wonderful week so far! Did you wake up this morning just as surprised as I was to find out that it was Thursday? Yes? No? Whatever you’re up to today, I hope you find a way to find joy in your tasks — even the mundane ones.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What Type of Makeup Looks Are You Liking Right Meow?

August 24th, 2022 by Karen 8 Comments

Rosie says hi. I’m obsessed with her ear tips, OMG!

1. A softly shimmering lid.

For a while I was all about mattes because I like how they create an illusion of a deeper crease, but now I love softly shining lids. I think it’s casually chic, which is the vibe I go for these days. By the way, Chanel’s quads are great for this type of shimmering lid look! Today I’m wearing an old school fave, Codes Subtils, which unfortunately is no longer available (boo), but you can get a similar look with any of Chanel’s shimmery quads, like Tisse Rivoli.

2. Blurred lines.

Give me all the smudgy, please. No crisp edges here — too harsh! A cat eye with a blurry edge and a flick that softly fades into its end point? That’s all I want at the moment. Anywho, lately I’ve been getting this by wetting a flat eyeliner brush with setting spray, then loading it with a dark brown, navy, plum or khaki eyeshadow.

Today’s Makeup: Chanel Codes Subtils quad, MAC Glow Play Blush in No Shame and MAC Sugar Sweet Cameo Lipstick

3. As much natural skin peeking through as possible.

A dollop of Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer (Wheat) applied all over works wonders. Then, I dab Hourglass Retouching Fluid Concealer (Sand) underneath my eyes, around my mouth and on my cheeks, and then I blend-blend-blend. I set both with the sheerest amount of MAC MSF Powder (Medium Golden). If I wear too much base it just looks heavy and fake, so I try to get away with as little as possible these days!

4. A soft, semi-sheer matte lip color in a bright pink or coral.

Just like the shimmering lid, I feel like this lip look is casually chic. I also like how the matte finish contrasts with the shimmery lid and the natural, glowing skin.

5. Leaving the lower lash line alone!

Dang, girl! I can’t believe there was a time when I’d pile on all the things along my lower lash line. Now I just leave it alone because the more I wear, the more it seems to draw attention to how tired I look and feel. LOL! For me, less has been best for the last year or so.

I think it’s really interesting to see one’s makeup taste evolve and change, don’t you? What type of makeup looks are you liking right now? Please let me know in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

15 Things I’ve Learned (and Relearned) Recently, and a Tuesday FOTD with Chanel and Laura Mercier

August 2nd, 2022 by Karen 6 Comments

Learn new communication skills. It’s always a good thing.
You don’t have to respond right away. It’s fine to pause and take a few deep breaths while you think about your next step.
As much as you want and wish for other people in your life to change, if they’re not ready or if they’re unwilling, then you have to let it go.
Speaking of changes, personal change doesn’t always have to always be big, sweeping and dramatic. It can mean small tweaks along the way. Any progress is forward progress.
It’s OK if your interests evolve. You’re growing, so what you find interesting will evolve, too.
Fashion-related item: A puffed shoulder is cute, but sometimes, if the puff is even just a touch too puffy, it can veer into pirate territory.

You don’t have to have all the answers.
Even though it might feel like it was your fault, chances are it wasn’t, and you had no real control in how things played out.
A poker face comes in REALLY handy at work.
Side note to my inner child: You don’t have to do it all by yourself. You can and should ask for help from others.
If you’re feeling stuck, flip the script in some way. Try something different. It might just spark something.
If things are pretty good, then cherish those times. Each season is so fleeting, and there will be a time when you look back at that time with awe and wonder.
Even though I always feel like I have so much to learn about writing, sharing what I know about it with other people is fun.
Lists are also fun! Oh, and they don’t have to be too complicated or wordy.
It’s a good thing to sit down and write a list about things you’ve learned recently. It’s surprisingly eye opening.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Summery Taupe Smoke

June 29th, 2022 by Karen 12 Comments

Oh, smokey eyes, I’ve missed you!

I wore shimmery, summery, taupe-y smokey eyes to take Connor to gymnastics camp and swimming lessons yesterday. I can say with 100% certainty I was the only person in both instances wearing smokey eyes, which kinda bums me out. Think of how visually interesting it would be if you could stand in a gymnastics camp line at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday and stare at a variety of smoked out lids. I may be alone in wanting this to be a thing, but whatevs!

The star of this summery smoke show is a liquid shadow by Chanel called Vastness. It’s a warm, bronzy taupe with a deliciously subtle shimmer. It used to be part of Chanel’s permanent collection but appears to be missing in action on the Chanel website, which is a bummer, because it’s SO GOOD. It’s easy to blend, has a perfect level of pigment and you don’t need much at all. I did some digging and found it on the Macy’s website, but it’s low stock, so grab it while you can!

I’m wearing Vastness with Espresso liner, a Chanel workhorse. I lined my eyes, then applied the shadow using this technique to smoke it out.

For my lips and cheeks, I went with a bright, juicy pink, Honest Beauty Liquid Lipstick in Goddess. I swiped a layer on my lips, blended it with a finger, then used the same finger to tap the lipstick onto the apples of my cheeks as blush. Then, I dabbed Ilia Lip Tint in Tahiti on my lips for a touch of shine.

The glowing base is Rose Inc Skin Enhance Tinted Serum (I wear shade 80)! It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites for sheer coverage. More on this in a few.

Hope your week is going great so far and that life is treating you well. Has anything good happened to you lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Red Hot Summer Lips!

June 28th, 2022 by Karen 18 Comments

I’m not a fan of Red Hot candies (too spicy), but I do love me some matte red lipstick!

Yesterday’s Monday Poll question about matte red lipstick inspired this makeup look with glowing skin, softly defined brows, lush lashes, pearly lids and a matte orangey red lip.

It’s amazing how much heavy lifting a red lip can do, and equally amazing how I seem to forget this lesson time and time again, LOL! When I put this red lipstick on yesterday (it’s MAC Quite the Standout, by the way), once again I realized how red lips can carry most of the makeup since it’s such a strong focal point. One really doesn’t need much to round out the look.

To contrast with the opaque matte lip, I went with a sheer, glowing base with low-level pearl (Rose Inc Skin Enhance in 80), with just a touch of concealer (Hourglass Retouching Fluid in Sand) on the parts where I wanted more coverage — underneath my eyes and on my upper lip, and oh, side note, damn that pigment mustache.

I set the areas with concealer with a tiny touch of powder by loading a small face brush with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden. I tapped most of the powder off before lightly dabbing the brush head on my face.

I also wanted to play with texture, so I blended a cream blush (Chanel Les Beiges No. 25) on my cheeks, and dabbed a pearly liquid highlighter (MAC Strobe Cream) on my cheekbones and lids.

To round out the look, I went with softly filled in brows and separated, long, lush lashes to keep it fresh and summary.

I think this look could also be lovely with a glossy coral lipgloss or lip tint, too!

Do you have a red lipstick that you adore? Drop your go-to shade in the comments; I want to hear all about it.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Fresh and Summery Makeup With a Tiny Bit o’ Sparkle

June 23rd, 2022 by Karen 6 Comments

Hiya! Is it hot enough for ya? We’re barely into summer and I’m already ready for fall. LOL!

This is the makeup look I’ve been wearing lately; you might’ve read about it last week in the post about the birthday shade tent. Here it is in much better lighting. The Chanel foundation, cream stick blushes and gloss are *chef’s kiss.* Holla at me if you have any questions about anything…

Summer music list

I’ve decided that it’s been too long since I’ve made a summer playlist. I’m thinking the theme will be booty shaking dance music. LOL! I just started and so far have the following two songs, and I would love your suggestions if you have any.

IYKYK

Get it, B!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen