MAC Cosmetics

Vintage Vibes with a Reddish Orange Lip | A Movie Recommendation

December 7th, 2023 by Karen 14 Comments

Some mornings, you wake up and think to yourself, “I’m gonna wear a bright reddish orange lip just like Judy Garland did in the days of yore.”

Hey man, it totally happens! 🙂

I just watched “Meet Me in St. Louis” for the first time, and I’m so impressed that the makeup from this film from 1944 doesn’t look dated. The reddish orange lip that pops up in many of Judy’s scenes is so beautifully classic.

I remembered after I put on my lipstick this morning that in the movie Judy’s often had a touch of shine to it, but I couldn’t deal with that today, LOL! I can’t be the only person who wears a shiny red lipstick and makes a massive mess. It’s like my secret super power to get it all over my face, my teeth, my clothes — I gotta say, when it comes to bright lips, matte finishes are so much easier for me to wear, especially if I pair a matte liner like I did here (Urban Decay Bang) layered with a matte liquid lipstick (MAC Resort Season).

I like musicals and prefer shows and movies that aren’t too scary, and I thoroughly enjoyed “Meet Me in St. Louis.” It’s very sweet and easy to watch, and there’s quite a few songs that I recognized from just hearing in pop culture. Watch it if you get the chance! I found it on MAX.

Now I wanna ride a trolley

You probably know this one

Another thing I love about Judy’s makeup is how the makeup artist from the movie, Dottie Ponedel, goes all the way Judy’s blush. I wish I could wear that much in real life because I looooove blush, but these days, I feel like if I put too much on I look bananas. If I could pull it off, though, I’d swipe as much as I could on, every day, all day, ha ha ha.

Have you watched any good movies lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. If you’ve got a moment, please send some good vibes this way. I’m waiting to find out if I got a job or not, and I could use the good thoughts. I’ll send you some too, if you want ’em.

Lip of the Day: MAC Quite the Standout | Some Good News

December 6th, 2023 by Karen 29 Comments

Do you ever find seemingly random piles of items from nature near your door? At our house, there’s always a pile of something. LOL! Rocks or sticks or pinecones or acorns — this morning it was a stack of fallen leaves, all the size of one’s head or bigger.

Connor’s always gathering and collecting treasures from the great outdoors. 🍂🍁

Anywho, I needed to wear something fun and joyful today because I got some good news from the doctor’s office this morning. Long story short, the health issue I’ve been concerned with for months doesn’t appear to be THE BIG SCARY THING that I feared.

It’s been a couple of draining weeks on my end taking tests and waiting for results. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to wear a colorful red lipstick to celebrate (hopefully) making it to grandma status someday in the very, very far distant future.

The warm orangey red I’m wearing today is MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Quite the Standout. I feel like it has a vintage vibe to it.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day. And as cheesy as it sounds, if you get the chance, take a moment to please tell your body “thank you” for everything it does for you, especially if you’re reasonably healthy.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: Chocolate Epiphanies, Too Faced Better Than Chocolate Palette, Second Interviews and Shiseido

November 29th, 2023 by Karen 3 Comments

I don’t know when it happened, but sometime within the last few months, I switched from being on Team Milk Chocolate to Team Dark Chocolate, which is crazy to me because for years now, I’ve said to anyone and everyone who’ll listen that dark chocolate tastes like punishment, LOL!

They say that your sense of taste changes as you get wiser, so this isn’t a big surprise, but still.

It’s kinda weird to be at the checkout counter at Trader Joe’s and reach for impulse chocolate and buy dark instead of milk. Side note, who am I kidding? It’s not impulse chocolate when you buy it all the time. LOL!

Anywho, while we’re on the subject of chocolate, it’s been a minute since I’ve worn a Too Faced palette. I tried out their new Better Than Chocolate palette recently just for funsies to see if I still was feeling it…

It’s like a mashup between their Better Than Sex and Chocolate Bar themes.

Sigh, I dunno. Their first Chocolate Bar palette came out a decade ago (!), and I can’t believe they’re still recycling the same idea. One would think that in 10 years they could whip up something new, but I guess they really like to stick close to what they know.

Blending and pigment were fine, but I felt like the warm browns pulled very red on my skin (I’m an NC 42 in MAC, by the way). It’s a very distinct type of look, and I’m not always a fan of it on my skin tone because I feel like it makes me look like I’ve been crying, so I probably won’t be adding this palette into my regular rotation anytime soon.

Oh goodness, speaking of regular rotations, apparently now I’m on the “second interview” merry-go-round. I had one on Monday via video and a second one in person yesterday.

I defaulted to my usual MAC neutral lipstick, Velvet Teddy, to keep things “profesh” (air quotes), but after I saw myself in pics, I kinda wish I wore a brighter lip.
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A Lil’ Fall Makeup Edit: Playing with Plum

November 16th, 2023 by Karen Leave a Comment

You know those days when you just cannot deal with your hair? Yeah, I’m having one of those right meow. LOL!

Alright, so remember the lip liner and lip balm trick from yesterday’s post? I did the same thing today but with a plummy lip with MAC Plum Lip Liner and Laneige Lip Glowy Balm in Gummy Bear.

Side note, if you’re gonna go the lip liner route, it helps to have a pencil sharpener dedicated solely to your lip products. That way, you don’t ever have to deal with black or brown eyeliner bits getting all up in your soft pinks and whatnot. I use and like the one by NARS.

So I tried something a little different today; I started with the plum lip and then put on the rest of my makeup afterwards. I recently saw in a video about dark lips about how putting them on first helps you gauge how much makeup to wear with the rest of the look.

I think in my case, it totally helps because I’m always trying to see how little makeup I can get away with (it’s my jam these days).

Try it the next time you feel like wearing darker lipstick and tell me how it goes.

As for the rest of the look, to echo the plum vibe, I swept NARS Sin blush on my cheeks and Chanel Rouge Noir (one of their eyeshadow-liner-kohl sticks) on my upper lash line.

Before you jet, I just had to share this chicken enchilada recipe with you! I made it yesterday for the first time with some rotisserie chicken from Costco and it was SO GOOD.

You’ll have to excuse the pic with the half-eaten pan of enchiladas, LOL! We were really hungry. I served it with a salad and cut apple pears for dessert. Yum!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Lil’ Fall Favorite Makeup Edit with NARS and MAC

November 15th, 2023 by Karen 3 Comments

I’m on a mission to wear fall looks that are simple, elegant and easy. I gotta say, I feel pretty put together together in this one, which features a few of my favorites — NARS Kalahari II eyeshadow, NARS Amour blush and MAC Half Red Lip Pencil.

A lifted liner tip

For this makeup, I tried a new-to-me eyeliner technique from a makeup artist that Jane from Daly Beauty introduced me to recently, Erica Taylor! She’s been doing makeup for over 20 years and posts a lot of tips for beauties who are 40 and up.

She suggests applying liner strategically on the outer corner to make your lids appear more lifted.

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A post shared by Erica Taylor (@ericataylor2347)

I’m really happy with how it turned out; I definitely think my hooded bits look a little less hooded! Plus, it’s really easy to do.

Also, lip liner is so your friend

Oh, and shout-out to the Wet Seal sales associate back in 1996 who taught me about the power of lip liner, LOL! She was the one who convinced me to try lining and filling my lips in with a lip pencil, and then topping it off with lip balm.

I did that in here with MAC Half Red Lip Liner and Biossance Lip Balm. 🙂 Try it sometime with your favorite lip liner.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Trying on Lipsticks Just for Fun

October 5th, 2023 by Karen 7 Comments

A few months after Connor was born, I went to a lunch mixer with a local mother’s club, and as we were all going around introducing ourselves, one of the ladies said she recently had a baby, and that day was the first day in weeks she actually got dressed and combed her hair. She then said, “I even put on earrings,” and then she started crying, and oh my gosh, I totally understood what she felt at that moment in every cell of my body.

Sometimes it’s a heavy lift just to put on earrings. Or mascara. Or pants that are acceptable to wear in public, if I’m totally being honest.

But you do it, and you keep on keepin’ on.

Anywho, I thought about that woman today as I got ready for a video meeting. I ironed a shirt, did my hair and put on makeup for the first time in, oh, I don’t know how long.

I even put on earrings…

Is it a *lewk*? Nope. Is it edgy or particularly noteworthy? Um, probably not. But I did it. And it make me feel great during my video call.

After it was over, just for fun, I tried on a few lipsticks because it’s been ages.

When you put dark lipstick on for the first time in ages

Sending good thoughts your way. Happy Thursday to you!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Summery Raspberry Lips and a Lil’ Liquid Liner Flick

August 9th, 2023 by Karen 6 Comments

To flick, or not to flick: that is the question.

Is it just me who automatically assumes that wearing black liquid liner involves a flick at the outer corner? I’ve been wearing Rare Beauty black liquid liner lately and for some reason, that little flick just feels right!

By the way, I did manage to exchange the leaky pen for a new one at Sephora last week, but get this! The nice salesperson who helped me said her clients have had issues with it not because of the leaking problem but because it dries out quickly. Sigh. We’ll see. I’ve used it a few times, and so far it’s been alright.

I wore it with a flick yesterday and paired it with raspberry lips – MAC Beet Lip Pencil topped with Biossance Lip Balm. I’ve been thinking non-stop about this cute look and wanted to give it a try.

Anywho, I’ve been going through a “pass on the powders” phase lately, so it’s been ages since I’ve worn powder blush.

Yesterday I took out MAC Blushbaby (an oldie but goodie) thinking that it would pair nicely with the raspberry lips, and even though I blended a couple thin layers on my cheeks, I still felt like I was wearing too much. I ended up buffing it down right before taking these pics.

I think eventually I’ll do powder blush again because it’s one of my favorite things. It’ll probably be in the fall (!), though, when the weather gets crisp again and wearing a layer or two of face paint feels right.

You know what, though? I’m going to focus on the fact that I wore makeup all day long, and for two whole days in a row, LOL! My neighbor stopped by yesterday after dinner and she commented on how she liked my eye makeup. I actually forgot that I had liner on until that moment. It was a nice compliment and it made me excited to wear makeup again.

Speaking of exciting things, I caught a glimpse of the new Chantecaille fall collection yestesrday, and my heart went thump-thump-thump when I saw the dark brown eyeshadow.

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A post shared by Chantecaille (@chantecaille)

So pretty, right?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Coral, Bronze and Plum Makeup With a Natural-Looking Base for Outdoor Adventures

June 30th, 2023 by Karen 1 Comment

A quick Friday hello

Hiya! Today’s post is a repost of and oldie but goodie. I still love this look, and LOL, these pants (which I bought from Target like five years ago) are still hanging on! They’re still my “it’s time to play with Connor outside” pants. Side note: When I see pics of me wearing nice makeup outside to just hang out, I kindasorta want to get back on that train. Anywho, have a very happy Friday, and if you’re somewhere hot like in Northern California, stay cool!

Color, Bronze and Plum Makeup

This is what “fancy dress” is for me these days: a semi-wrinkled striped sweater, pants with paint spots on them (I wore them to paint Connor’s room a few months ago, and dagnabbit if they aren’t my most comfortable jeans I own!), and my “good” pair of Nike Winflos.

Oh, and a little makeup of course!

Targeted coverage

To chase PGR around the house and the Coywolf around the block yesterday, I wore bronze and plum on my eyes and cheeks with a sheer coral lip. And I paired it with what I like to call “a semi-sheer base,” which is all-over barely-there coverage with a tinted moisturizer, as well as a few targeted areas with slightly more opaque coverage. I did this by blending a sheer layer of stick foundation on my cheeks and around my mouth, and then buffing a tiny amount of liquid concealer underneath my eyes.

I didn’t set it with a powder because I wanted my skin to look as skin-like as possible, but you totally could… Just be sure to not go too heavy with it if you want to maintain the skin-like effect.

I really like this type of targeted coverage, especially how it looks in outdoor light, which can be notoriously unforgiving. Highly recommended. Try it on your next picnic.

Unearthed MAC gems

In other news…I’m weeding my way through my makeup collection right now, and I keep unearthing old gems. I wore two of my recent finds yesterday — Cheeky Bronze Mineralize Skinfinish and MAC Liquidlast Liner in Coco Bar.

Cheeky Bronze is a soft, shimmery golden coral face powder. Technically, it’s a highlighter, but you can also use it all over your cheeks as an all-in-one bronzer/blush/highlighter, which is what I have on my cheeks in these pics.

If you’re feeling creative, you can also use it as an eyeshadow. I wet a MAC 217 brush, flicked it across the pan a few times to load it up, then buffed it onto the inner part of my lids to go with the bronzed plum shadow I was wearing on the outer half (MAC Sable, in case you’re curious).

Coco Bar is a dark neutral brown MAC Liquidlast liner, and it will not move for nothing! It’s like a liquid version of MAC Coffee pencil liner, which is why I love it. I drew a line directly along my upper and lower lash lines, then smudged the edge with a flat eyeshadow brush. If you’re looking for a soft, diffused chocolate liner that stays put, you gotta give it a go, ASAP.

Makeup worn in this look

Base: MAC Peachlite Strobe Cream (to prep skin), First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Tinted Moisturizer in Tan (all over face), MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation in NC42 (cheeks, around base of nostrils and mouth), Estée Lauder 24H Concealer in Medium Warm

Eyes: MAC Teddy eyeliner (buffed all over lids as an eyeshadow base, then applied as liner on waterlines), MAC Sable eyeshadow (outer half of lids), MAC Cheeky Bronze (inner half, applied wet), MAC Hush (inner corner), MAC Liquidlast in Coco Bar (smudged along upper and lower lash lines), Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Mascara

Cheeks: MAC Cheeky Bronze

Lips: MAC Ravishing Lipglass (a sheer coral that appears to be, sadly, discontinued. BOO!)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen