Beauty Tips

Ask MBB: Gel or Liquid Outlines for Cat Eyeliner?

March 7th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Still clawing and scratching for a way to work more MRRRROW into your huntress cat eyeliner looks? Today might meow your day. 🙂

This is the first installment in a new video series I’m starting called Ask MBB. If you have a question you’d like to see answered in an upcoming installment (of course, Tabs will help), drop it down below in the comments here or on YouTube.

Today’s installment tackles a question about cat liner technique and when to use a gel or liquid to build out your look.

Products mentioned…

I hope you find it useful. Thank you for watching!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Spice Up Your Side Braids With This Easy 5-Minute Hair How-To

February 21st, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

Kristin Perry Daisy Flower Braid In — Flower power!

Not gonna lie — the Katniss side braid has been saving my @ss the past few months. Whenever I’m too lazy to really do anything substantial with my hair, a casual side braid werks.

But ya know, even tried-and-true hairstyles can benefit from new twists.

When I stumbled across the Daisy Flower Braid in by Kristin Perry Accessories ($14), I thought, yes! This’ll spice up ye olde side braid quite nicely without adding any time to the process.

It’s a long suede cord with embroidered daisies and golden leaf detailing at the ends. You work it into braids for extra texture and to add some color to your hair.

To use it, I start by gathering my hair into a low side ponytail, which I secure with an elastic. Then I wrap the cord around the base of the ponytail several times to conceal the elastic.

Once done with that, I tie a loose knot, then double up the cord. Then I section the hair in the ponytail into two parts, leaving me with the three components of the braid — the first section of hair, the second section and the doubled-up cord.

Next part’s easy. Just braid the three components together. When I get to the bottom, I grab another elastic to secure the end of the braid, wrap the cord around it several times to conceal said elastic, and tie the ends of the cord in a knot.

[Continue reading…]

How To Use the New MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct Line: Tips From MAC Senior Artist Victor Cembellin

February 14th, 2014 by Karen 21 Comments

The new MAC Prep Prime CC Colour Correct collection — The new MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct line, available now

GUUUURL, don’t even get me started about brighting products ’cause we’ll be here for days.

DAYS, I tell ya. Possibly even years.

I’m actually never not looking for something — anything — to give me an extra brightening lift. It’s one of my ongoing personal makeup missions. 🙂

When MAC’s new Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct line came out last week, I was intrigued! — but admittedly confused.

I wasn’t sure where to start… I mean, lavender powder? Yellow face lotion?

What gives? And what are they for?

I asked MAC Senior Artist Victor Cembellin, who I’ve known for a few years, about the new products, what they do, and the best ways to use ’em.

Hi, Victor! What can you tell me about these new Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct products? Should I be intrigued?

OK, so, essentially, what’s kind of awesome about these is that products like this have been on the market for many years, but what I like is that we’ve sort of re-worked them into something entirely new.

MAC Prep + Prime Colour Correcting SPF 30 — Prep + Prime Colour Correcting SPF 30, $30 each

Obviously, these are for adjusting skin tones. The CC is for “color correct,” but what’s exciting about them is that whereas in the past, there was this sort of mentality from the consumer of, like, if I grab this green cream and put it on top my red cheeks, everything’s going to be gone and Photoshopped and all that.

MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correcting Products in Adjust — Adjust, a sheer apricot

I think what’s exciting about these particular products is how delicately we used the technology to our advantage to make them really workable, user friendly, and into something that actually does what it claims to do, which is to color correct the actual tones and the idiosyncrasies of the skin.

MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correcting Products in Recharge — Recharge, a sheer apricot

[Continue reading…]

Good Stuff on Gloss Daily, the Ladies’ Home Journal Beauty Blog

February 4th, 2014 by Karen 17 Comments

Up Your Eye Makeup Game — 5 tips to up your eye makeup game

Would you like to thwart those dastardly dark circles, take your best driver’s license picture ever, look like you spent $40 on a lipstick when you only spent $4, up your eye makeup game, and add more meow to your cat liner looks? Check out Gloss Daily, the Ladies’ Home Journal beauty blog.

I’ve been contributing articles to them every other week since last winter (it was kind of a dream come true being affiliated with LHJ), and I like everyone I’ve been working with over there.

It’s a pretty good blog, and there are a bunch of blogger contributors. Swing by when you get a chance, and please leave a comment over there if you find something you like (thank you).

Here’s kind of a random sampling of the posts I’ve done…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

An Easy 5-Minute Hairstyle To Try: The Textured, Braided Bun

February 3rd, 2014 by Karen 22 Comments

You know when your hair reaches that maddening length — that hellacious hair point of no return — when trying to wrangle it into place becomes about as easy as trying to ride a bucking bronco?

I’m at that point.

I probably should’ve gotten a haircut about a month ago, but eh. You know how it goes…

The side braid has been totally saving my butt lately. It’s cute and easy (and I feel like Katniss Everdeen when I rock it), but I still like to switch things up.

Enter the messy braided bun! 🙂 It’s just as easy and only takes five minutes.

I got the idea from L’Oreal Consulting Celebrity Hairstylist Mara Roszak, who works her hair magic on glam red carpet gals like Emma Stone, Olivia Wilde and Mila Kunis, in an online webinar. I asked Mara for an easy, trendy hairstyle I could do in five minutes, and she suggested a textured bun.

Importantly, it’s easy. Just start by putting your hair into a ponytail. Then, braid the pony (haha, I just wanted to write, “braid the pony”), and secure the ends with an elastic.

That’s the Unicorn Sliver Amethyst Necklace by Crystal Cactus…

[Continue reading…]

How to Look Great During Childbirth

February 2nd, 2014 by Karen 64 Comments

This post was written by Kate
Is it possible to birth a baby and still look cute? Kate thinks so, and she shares how in today’s guest post.

When I found out that my due date was May 1st, my first thoughts weren’t of baby blankets and onesies. All I could think about was, how am I going to avoid looking like a wet dish towel in one of those post delivery photos? — the ones that someone always manages to snap at the exact moment when you’re the most sweaty, the most tired, and the least ready to have a remotely flattering picture taken. I’m talking about that moment when after 12 hours of intense labor, the cameras start clicking like crazy!

I never really thought of myself as a particularly vain person, and I know that when the time comes, it’s supposed to be all about the baby, but I was determined to hang on to some shred of my former makeup loving self, and come out of the whole experience glowing, despite the stretch marks and imminent hemorrhoids.

About a month before my due date, I became the lone pregnant lady haunting the aisles of my local Sephora. I rarely took a friend on these occasions, mainly because I could not have any distractions from what I saw as my personal mission. I was determined to put together a look that could withstand whatever curveball Mother Nature decided to throw my way, be it C-section or 24 hours of labor. Whatever happened to be going on below my neck, I was hellbent on keeping what was above it well controlled and looking its best. I needed the makeup equivalent of an Earthquake Prevention Kit.

I decided that my best course of action was to treat my baby’s delivery like a really long and painful spinning class. I knew to expect a lot of huffing and puffing, and most of all, a lot of sweat. That meant that I needed a face that was waterproof and sweatproof. I wanted to strike a balance between no makeup and being a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. To me, that meant glowy and flushed, not sculpted and painted. Even if I spent whole days in oatmeal splattered pajama pants and my husband’s wife beater remembering the days when I could count on a morning shower, I would feel secure in the knowledge that I didn’t go down without a fight.
[Continue reading…]

Ask MBB: Fall Lipsticks for Lighter Lovelies

September 25th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

Hi Karen!

I’m a huge fan of your blog, sooo I hoped you could help me out. I’m a pale gal (NC 15) with dark brown hair, and the lipsticks I own are mostly in variations of pale pink.

But I think these aren’t very appropriate for fall, so I hoped you maybe had some recommendations for me? The only good fall colours I own are MAC Red, Viva Glam V and my newest one, MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Lush Life, but a girl needs more than three options, right?

Much love from Germany,

Julia

P.S. I LOVE your new hairstyle.

Hi Julia,

Much love right back at ya from Novato, California (about 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, to be exact). 🙂

I’m so glad you asked this question because I’ve been watching this video by Lorde…

…and I just can’t stop thinking about the dark lip look she’s wearing and how striking and lovely it looks against her pale skin.

KILLER! — and so epic for fall.

I’m feelin’ it, but I realize that it might be a little artsy-fartsy for some people…

For something a little more wearable, how about Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Shame? It’s what I’m wearing in that pic at the top.

Smooth with a creamy finish, deep berry Shame looks amaze-balls on light skin.

Scratch that — all skin tones, really. I’ve never seen Shame look anything other than great, and it’s probably my overall favorite fall berry lipstick right now.

But if Shame seems too intense for you, you could opt for a less opaque plum/berry. That way, you still get the same vibe, but in less dramatic fashion.

If that sounds good, MAC released a really beautiful sheer glossy plum lipstick with the Indulge collection called Sweet Succulence ($15).

Might be something to consider if you can track it down… It’s limited edition, and it sold out pretty quickly on the U.S. MAC website. I’m not sure if it’s available out there, but I think it’s worth trying to track down. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

MAC Sweet Succulence on the left and Urban Decay Shame on the right

[Continue reading…]

5 Things I’ve Been Lovely Lately, Starring Songs, Pencils, Books, Scrubs and Scents

September 23rd, 2013 by Karen 42 Comments

5 Things I'm Loving Right Now — Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion

1. The song called Royals, by Lorde

So there I was, in the car, zipping down to my hair appointment the other day, when it starts raining.

It’s the first rain of the season, and I’m not overjoyed about it, but then a song comes on the radio (I think I’m physically incapable of driving without listening to music, especially in the rain, for some reason) that completely steals my attention.

It’s by 16-year-old singer/songwriter Lorde, from New Zealand, and I loved it from the first bar.

I have to warn you, though — it’ll get stuck in your head. Guaranteed.

You have been warned…

Oh, Lorde’s eye makeup in the video? KILLER.

2. The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion

Not sure why, but my water lines have been super sensitive lately, and they only thing they’ll tolerate is UD’s $19 Eye Pencil in Perversion.

It’s just fantastic. Super black, without any green or blue undertones, and it lasts all day long.

It’ll keep you on your toes, too, because it sets quickly, so you have to blaze through your work if you want to do any smudging along your lash lines.

And then there’s the name — Perversion — which just makes me laugh.

Every time I see it, I say something like, “Ooh, I love Perversion,” or “I’m so totally into Perversion.”

Try it sometimes. It’s fun. 🙂

3. Parallel, a novel by Lauren Miller

Do you ever get a book based solely on the cover?

I used to do it all the time. Now I try to read reviews and go with recommendations (keep ’em coming!), but sometimes I still just grab a cool cover. 🙂

Like Parallel, by Lauren Miller — I love that type on the cover. It’s so clean and elegant. And the shape of that R? LOVE IT.

Rs (Arrrs!) are one of those deal-breaker letters, ya know? If the R is funky, no can do…

I started reading it in bed last night and could not put it down. I would’ve stayed up all night, but then I would have paid for it today.

It’s about a young woman who thinks she might be experiencing life in two parallel worlds.

Cra-zaaaay!

The writing is crisp, sharp, and the story moves like a sprint. All day I kept trying to sneak in a few pages, but Tabs was watching me like a hawk (no young adult reading on company time).

[Continue reading…]