LORAC

Neon Lights: 3 Colorful Looks

July 1st, 2019 by Karen 18 Comments

The three colorful looks in this post have a couple things in common.

I wore them all to preschool drop-off in the last few days (the pink look at the top was from this morning!).
I did all of them using the $29 LORAC Neon Lights palette.

In the Neon Lights palette, that yellow is more of a goldenrod, which I’m kind of disappointed by because I wish the palette had a lemon yellow… The goldenrood just isn’t yellow enough for me.

Wow, that’s something I never thought I’d ever say!

Say “what,” Karen? You’re not wearing a sh*t-ton of browns for once? LOL. Neutrals are normally my wheelhouse, it’s true. I usually default to them because they fit my my lowest energy state, ha ha ha! Plus, you can’t really muck up neutrals.

Still, I’ve been itching to wear more color. I’ve just been trying to think of ways to feel comfortable doing it, because as fun as bright, intense glittery looks are, I feel a little crazy wearing that kind of makeup when all I’m doing is bringing coywolf to school or toddler ballet class.

The colorful looks here are my speed because, even though there’s a bright focal point in every one, there are still subtle-ish elements, like the foundation.

Something Sam said in that ’90s makeup video I mentioned the other day resonated with me. To paraphrase, she said that it’s not the things you pile on that make a look look cool. It’s what you leave out, so I basically went super minimal on the base in all of these colorful looks.

I’ve also been VERY inspired by Katie Jane Hughes lately. She’s a makeup artist I follow on Instagram, and she is JUST SO DAMN GOOD. She’ll paint a delicate swish of sparkly green shadow or sketch a skinny slice of neon yellow liner, so you can tell she loves wearing color, but she also likes to go minimal with the base.

I’m a little obsessed with her at the moment!

LOOK 1: PINK SUMMER SUNSET

Eyes: Bolt, Girls and Atomic eyeshadow from the LORAC Neon Brights Palette, Chanel Dimensions de Chanel Mascara, Maybelline Bold Brown Tattoo Studio Liner, IT Cosmetics Brow Power Micro in Universal Taupe, Urban Decay Yeyo liner (as a base)

Base: MAC Next to Nothing Foundation in Medium Deep (all over, applied with fingers) and Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze (patted with fingers on cheeks, nose, around the lips, and under the eyes)

Lips: MAC Stripdown Lip Pencil and MAC Open Presence Lipstick

LOOK 2: BLUE NOTE

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15-Minute Makeup: Channeling Debbie Harry With Shimmery Eyes and Shiny Red Lips Using the LORAC Mega Pro Palette 3, Hourglass Radiant Magenta and Estée Lauder Controversial

October 3rd, 2016 by Karen 15 Comments

estee lauder vinyl controversial — Inspired by Debbie Harry from the Heart of Glass video

Believe it or not, this was 15-minute makeup. Ain’t got time for anything else, girl.

I think it was a few weeks ago, Pat McGrath posted a picture of Debbie Harry from the Heart of Glass video, and in the picture Debbie has these super shiny red lips, this shimmery eye makeup and a bright pink cheek with highlighter like whoa! — and I just couldn’t get that picture out of my head, so I did my best to channel it.

I don’t know if I was successful… It’s always kind of questionable when it comes to 15-minute makeup, but I did my best. I figured that as long as I get the lips, obviously; the super bright cheek with the highlight; and, well, the shimmery lid and liner, it would somewhat resemble Debbie’s look, and I kinda cheated on everything else.

But you have to make compromises with 15-minute makeup… You know how it is.

The lip is the secret. As long as you’ve got the shiny lip, you’re cool. Then you can power through the skin, brows and mascara.

I didn’t even use primer. I just used Urban Decay Naked Skin One and Done all over, and then Sephora’s Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer on the spots where I wanted more coverage. I placed it right on top of the One and Done and buffed that all together with an Hourglass foundation brush.

lorac mega pro palette 3 cava olive — Wearing the All The Cats Tee from connorclaire.com

Products I’m wearing…

EYES: MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Bare Study, LORAC Mega Pro Palette 3 (Cava mixed with Snow, Olive, and DK Navy mixed with Jet Black), Clinique Quickliner in Intense Ebony, theBalm Mad Lash Mascara

FACE: Urban Decay Naked Skin One and Done in Medium Dark, Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden, Hourglass Radiant Magenta Blush, NARS Albatross Blush

LIPS: Estée Lauder Vinyl LipColor in Controversial

In other news

It actually rained here today! Fall is in full effect now. I don’t know if this is related to the weather…but I have a strong urge to fire up my oven and bake something.

Weird.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

15-Minute Makeup: ’90s Fall Vibes With the LORAC Mega Pro Palette 3, Urban Decay Loaded, Tarte Brownie and Tarte Seduce

September 30th, 2016 by Karen 26 Comments

Seriously, I did this makeup in 15 minutes, ’cause I just can’t handle much more than that right now. I just can’t.

I was feeling kinda ’90s today, hence the matte cheeks and lips. And all the brown.

ALL THE BROWN!

But I needed to have a little bit of color up in the mix, so I also threw some green liner on my lash lines.

I used some of the matte browns from the LORAC Mega Pro Palette 3 and did the matte cheeks and lips with Tarte.

I was going for a tonal thing. Brown on the eyes, cheeks and lips, and also matte everything. That way the green liner, which has a little shimmer, would stand out.

At least that’s what I was going for…

I mean, whatever. It’s 15-minute makeup. Not all of it’s gonna be perfect, but I figure, unless someone is staring at me intensely from across a room, no one is really going to notice that perhaps this line is thicker than that line, or maybe my shadows aren’t blended perfectly. I’m cool with it. 🙂

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LORAC Mega Pro Palette 3: An Emoji Review ?

September 28th, 2016 by Karen 25 Comments

lorac-mega pro 3 palette swatches — Wearing the new LORAC Mega Pro 3 Palette on my lids

Who was the genius who decided that this needed to be white?

I mean, I had it open for about two seconds before there was eyeshadow all over the packaging, all over the inside of it, the outside of it, all over me. I don’t even know. It was a mess!

I really like it, though. There are so many colors, and it has this rose gold theme, which feels kinda 2013, but eh — I’ll go with it. I think the best things, by far, are the first two rows. They’re all mattes! (All matte errrthing.) And these mattes are just so freaking juicy, soft and super easy to blend.

This whole grunge thing happening on my lids? (Well, I’m also wearing a couple shimmers. Let me just throw that out there.) I did it in like 10 minutes.

Maybe instead of writing the rest of this review, I’ll just use emojis, since that’s where we’re headed anyway. Why even bother with the English language? Just use emojis. That’s how Connor will probably communicate with me in the future anyway. Might as well get a jump on it. 🙂

Eyeshadow texture: ?
Pigment: ?
Fallout: ?
Shade selection: ?
Blending: ?
Mattes: ?
Shimmers:?
Packaging: ?

PRICE: $59
AVAILABILITY: Limited edition and available now at LORAC counters and Ulta
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The 20-Piece $75 LORAC 20th Anniversary Collection Is a Cyber Monday Steal

November 17th, 2015 by Karen 39 Comments

There should be a video in this post, but if you can’t see it, you can click here to watch it on YouTube.

lorac 20th anniversary collection — The 20-piece $75 LORAC 20th Anniversary Collection set

It takes a doozy of a bodacious Black Friday deal to lure me away from leftover Thanksgiving pie.

Dude, seriously, nine times out of 10, I’d rather stay home in the comfort of my living room in a pair of flannel jammies than contend with the Black Friday shopping crowds.

You feel me?

Join me, and let’s stand together! — or, rather, lie horizontally — in our pajama-clad solidarity.

That said, if we choose to stay home cocooned on our couches on Black Friday this year, it doesn’t mean we still can’t take advantage of great beauty deals, like this one here. It’s one of the best Black Friday-ish deals I’ve ever seen in my life.

Black Friday-ish because it’s actually a Cyber Monday deal. It’s the 20-piece $75 LORAC 20th Anniversary Collection set, and it’ll only be available online, starting Cyber Monday, November 30, at loraccosmetics.com while supplies last.

This is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon kind of things, and it literally made my jaw drop.

It comes with a staggering 20 full-size LORAC lippies for what works out to $3.75 each (!), which is INCREDIBLE for LORAC. There are 10 Alter Ego Lipsticks (which usually go for $16 each) and 10 Alter Ego Lip Glosses (which sell for $15). Considering the quality you get with LORAC, that’s a steal.

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Try the LORAC Mega Pro Palette 2 for Pigmented, Hyper-Blended Eye Looks

October 13th, 2015 by Karen 11 Comments

WARNING: Try not to think too hard about the name of the new LORAC Mega Pro 2 Palette, because it could leave your head spinning, as it has mine.

“Mega” usually means significant or major, so does that mean that you have to be a major pro to use it? And what kind of pro are we talking about? Because I’m a major pro at hoarding eyeshadow palettes. I’m also a mega pro when it comes to obsessing over the neighborhood cats. 🙂 And losing socks. I wonder… Do any of those talents apply to LORAC Mega Pro 2?

Feel free to not consider the above; otherwise, we could be here for days, and mama needs her Starbucks.

Basically, the $59 LORAC Mega Pro 2 Palette, which is available now exclusively at Ulta, could very well fool the world into thinking that you’re a world-class, “mega pro” makeup artist, even if your blending skills are mediocre.

If you like pigmented, hyper-blended eye looks, you’ll probably have a great time with it.

But there’s a catch (and it’s a big one). Before we get to it, though, first, some background…

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End of Summer Shimmery Mermaid Makeup Tutorial

August 27th, 2015 by Karen 40 Comments

There is absolutely no freakin’ way that matte-heavy eyeshadow looks are even remotely acceptable among members of the makeup-loving mermaid community, and I know this for a fact.

Actually, I don’t really know that for a fact, since I haven’t kicked it with any of my mermaid friends lately, but if I had, they would DEFINITELY be rollin’ with shimmer.

So…why am I talking about mermaids??

Excellent question.

Well, because it’s late August, and even though I’m excited about fall, I’m still sad to see summer go. *sad tabby face* 🙁

I was thinking about the beach this morning (I haven’t been once this year!), and that led me to think about mermaids, and about mermaid water babies basking on the rocks with their shimmery tails swishing in the crystal clear waters and their subtle blue and green eye makeup sparkling in the sun…

So that’s what I was going for here.

For the record, this look is also appropriate for landlubbers, so you don’t need to have a mermaid tail to wear it, although that would be pretty rad.

I think this is a good look for late summer parties and barbecues, or maybe a back-to-school party where everyone gets kinda dressed up. Or, if you’re heading someplace fabulous that just so happens to have lively nightlife and be located near a warm body of water. Or, if you just want something shimmery to wear while you walk your cat around your neighborhood.

It’s a good look for multiple occasions. 🙂

Now, honey, if you just scrolled down, I know this look might seem impossible based on the number of steps, but you can do it! — even if you’re a straight-up beginner.

If you’ve never attempted anything like this before, though, cut yourself some slack. It’s OK and perfectly normal if it looks like shimmery poo the first few times, and it probably will, unless you’re a makeup wunderkind. But so what? Rome wasn’t built in a day.

OK, enough gabbing… Let’s do this.

1. Apply foundation, concealer and powder

Get yo’ base on that face, because we’re not about to leave the house without a little something-something. For this shimmery mermaid look, I like a full-coverage base because I think it balances out the bold eyes and false lashes.

Go with your fullest coverage foundation, concealer and powder, if you need to. Doing a goofy face while you do this is completely optional but highly encouraged. 🙂
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Fans of Frost and Bright Color Will Break Hearts Wearing the LORAC Alter Ego Eye Shadow Palette in Heartbreaker

June 19th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

lorac alter ego heartbreaker — LORAC Alter Ego Eye Shadow Palette: Heartbreaker ($24)

I wonder if Sasha Fierce (Beyonce’s not-so-secret alter ego/identity) would like LORAC’s new Alter Ego Eye Shadow Palette in Heartbreaker ($24).

I’m guessing she would…and it wouldn’t surprise me to also find out that she insists that every item in her makeup bag have the exact same hot pink packaging.

Heck, that’s what I’d do if I were Sasha! 🙂

This limited edition summer season palette of 10 powder shadows is available now exclusively from Ulta.

Within the hot pink packaging (LOVE IT) you’ll find a surprising number of colorful eyeshadows…

A satiny tan
A satiny peach
A shimmery reddish plum
A shimmery bronze
A satiny warm beige
A shimmery bright blue
A frosty gray
A frosty light blue
A shimmery deep purplish brown
A frosty light blue

I’d probably wear one or two of the colorful shades together, and then ground them by working in a combination of the tan, peach, beige and/or bronze.

I think you could totally incorporate more than two of these colorful shades in the same look, of course, but for me, between the shimmer and the frost, and with the intensity of the pigments, it could easily turn into a whole lotta look, you know? If you like wearing a lot of color on your eyes and you’re completely comfortable with high-shine frosts and shimmers, you could do it up with this palette and go shimmer/color crazy!

Considering the amount of shine here, the shadows are easy to work with, and they range from moderately to highly pigmented. I haven’t noticed any problems with fallout, either.

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