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The UD Prince Collection Swatches, First Impressions and a Face of the Day

May 26th, 2021 by Karen 15 Comments

ud prince u got the look palette fotd — I wonder what The Purple One would think…

The closest I ever got to Prince — I mean, beyond this new Urban Decay collection — is the selfie I took with the lead singer of a Prince cover band during a raging New Year’s Eve party, and the following “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” moment…

See, I met a driver who chauffeured The Purple One around the Bay Area years back, and they both breathed the same air! Anywho, the driver took Prince to a bunch of secret shows where he played under a pseudonym, and, according to the driver, Prince was kind of a weird dude, which I’m inclined to believe. There just had to be a certain degree of crazy to his genius, ya know?

I wonder if Prince would have dug having his own makeup collection with Urban Decay… I can imagine him being either mildly irritated but secretly thrilled about it, or just being hella cranky about the whole thing.

The new seven-piece UD Prince LE collection drops on May 27, and there are eyeshadow palettes (side note: are we tired of eyeshadow palettes yet?), two eye pencils, a brush, a toasty tan liquid highlighter and a waterproof pressed powder. There is also, of course, lots and lots of purple.

ud prince u got the look lets go crazy eyeshadow palette — From the top: U Got the Look Eyeshadow Palette ($55), Kajal Eye Pencil in So Dark ($28), Let’s Go Crazy Eyeshadow Plaette ($55) and Kajal Eye Pencil in When Doves Cry ($28)

Let’s start with the purple-est of them all, the Let’s Go Crazy Palette ($55), because how could one have a Prince-themed makeup collection without featuring his signature color? Granted, most of the purple shadows in this palette look very much alike on my skin, so I’m having a hard time “going crazy” (ha-ha-ha) over them.

By the way, there’s a shadow in this palette named after one of my all-time favorite Prince jams, Raspberry Beret. The color is more of a reddish bronze than the bright and juicy raspberry I was hoping for, but I’ll take it, since it’s the most exciting thing in the palette IMO.

The other surprise is the glittery dark blue on the lower right called Disco Nights. It’s unusually soft… I accidentally made a significant dent in it with my finger while swatching, whoops! So be gentle with it. All of the other pans feel like standard-issue Urban Decay and are soft and pliable.

About the palette, my initial reaction was…eh, it’s OK. I think I was hoping for punchier jewel-toned purples that’d be visible from a mile away.

ud prince liquid highlighter all nighter powder — Clockwise from the upper left: Liquid Highlighter ($32), Multitasker Brush ($28), All Nighter Waterproof Setting Powder ($34)

The palette I’m more into is the one with the black cover, U Got the Look ($55), because, WHOA, PIGMENT! Yes, UD is known for their intense color, but the shadows in this palette seem more intense than usual…almost like stage makeup! I can actually picture The Purple One being really into it.

Perhaps before one of his secret shows, he’d sketch out a dark plummy wing before buffing some golden shimmer on the inner corner, then top it off with a messy smudge of black on his lower lash line, but I digress… I’m wearing this palette today, and I’m a little shocked by how wearable it is. I cannot WAIT to push it further.

ur prince eyeshadow palettes — U Got the Look and Let’s Go Crazy Eyeshadow Palettes, $55 each

If you’re a MAC Strobe Cream girl, then the Liquid Highlighter ($32) might be worth a closer look. It’s a toasty tan with a subtle pearly finish, and I mixed it into my liquid foundation for these pics. I’m wearing Clinique Even Better Clinical in Toasted Wheat, and together they added a soft glow to my skin. I like it!

I topped it off with the All Nighter Waterproof Setting Powder ($34), which also surprised me in a good way because it’s so tan. If you’re an NC42 or up, I think you could totally rock it, no problem. Might be a little dark, though, if you’re on the lighter end of the spectrum.

Last, but not least, the pencils… They’re soft and smudgy, and I like the black one because it grabs my waterlines and smokes out quite nicely on my lower lash line.

ud prince u got the look swatches — U Got the Look Eyeshadow Palette ($55)

ud prince lets go crazy swatches — Let’s Go Crazy Eyeshadow Palette ($55)

ud prince swatches pencils — From the top: Kajal Eye Pencil in When Doves Cry ($28), Kajal Eye Pencil in So Dark ($28), All Nighter Waterproof Setting Powder ($34), Liquid Highlighter ($32)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. BTW, here are my favorite Prince songs! What are yours?

For the record, I’d wear that cloud suit in a heartbeat.

Note the eyeliner

The brows, the hair, the all around fabulousness

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.

Easily in my top three

I always thought this was an underrated gem and very ahead of its time.

I sooooo wanted be Wendy & Lisa.

Another hidden gem

Disney X House of Sillage

April 15th, 2021 by Karen 7 Comments

disney house of sillage — For Disney fans who love luxury: the new Disney X House of Sillage collection

Disneyland or bust, March 2022! I’m going to say it over and over again so I can manifest the sh*t out of that plan, LOL! For her next birthday, we’re going to take Connor to Disneyland and she’s going to have a super-mega-ultra princess blowout.

We’re going to eat HELLA churros while I’m there, but not so many that we spoil our lunch at Blue Bayou (I’ve always wanted to eat there!), and we’re going to meet ALL THE PRINCESSES. Oh, and we’ll have to meet Mickey and Minnie, of course. What’s Disneyland without visiting the ultimate power mouse duo?

Over the last few years, Disney has done quite a few makeup collabs, and one of the newest ones on the high end is a collection that just launched with House of Sillage.

A trip down memory lane with these Disney makeup collections…

The MAC Maleficent Collection Conjures Crimson Kisses and Chiseled Cheeks

The MAC Cinderella Collection: Light, Airy Formulas Combine With Glossy Finishes to Create Beauty Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

MAC Venomous Villains: 101 Things You Didn’t Know

MAC Aladdin Collection Swatches

Paul and Joe for Disney: American Debut Coming Soon!

Pixi Turned Target Into a Magic Kingdom With the New Disney Pixi PixiGlow Collection

Urban Decay Followed the Yellow Brick Road All the Way to Two New Limited Edition Palettes Inspired by Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful

They’re a luxury beauty brand out of Newport Beach in Southern California known for their perfumes, and now they’re venturing into color cosmetics. The limited edition Disney X House of Sillage is their first makeup collection.

For a launch based on cartoon characters, it feels surprisingly elegant. The black, silver and red packaging on the outside look like collector’s items you’d find in a Disney fanatic’s vault of precious items, and the wearable plums, bronzes, pinks, beiges and red shades inside look like something you’d find at Chantecaille or Cle de Peau.

I remember years ago chatting with someone in the makeup industry about how all the best powders are produced in Italy, and that’s where this collection’s made. There’s an eyeshadow palette ($68), a highlighter and blush duo ($58), two lipsticks ($58 each) and a Lipgloss ($36). There’s also a chic boxed set with all the items and a makeup bag for $240.

Super pricey, but that’s in line with the House of Sillage vibe. A typical bottle of their perfume is $360, so ya know, it’s #fancylady stuff.

A few quick thoughts on the items I’ve worn:

Eyeshadow Quint: The shades lean warm, and the finishes are shimmery like fine (Disney) fairy dust. Powder texture is on the softer, fluffier side and borderline delicate; I loaded a wet angled eye liner brush with the shimmery mid-toned bronze and gasped when I saw the big dent I left behind. They range from medium to full pigment. My lids are dry, and after a day’s wear on bare skin, I saw minimal creasing. I think they’re even prettier as the day goes on; the shimmer settles in nicely, and my eyes had a luminescent glow. So expensive at $68, but perhaps worth it if warm pinks and bronzes are your thing and your heart beats for the high-end schtuff.
Diamond Powder Lipstick in Playful Nude: Feels like a Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick (smooth, silky and comfortable) and tastes and smells like a MAC lipstick (vanilla). Impressively high pigment load. I think this would be a very generous gift for the Disney lover in your life who has everything. She (or he) would FREAK OUT. If there were one thing I’d get from the launch, it would either be this lippie or the eyeshadow quint.
Complexion Duo Blush & Highlighter: Cute mouse ears on the peach blush! The blush blends out beautifully, and the highlighter has a fine shimmer (always a plus); however, I wanted a little more pigment for the price. I like this, but I think you could find something similar for less.
Lip Gloss Luminizer in Something Sweet: Lightweight, not sticky, smells and tastes like vanilla. Sheer. I feel like I really need to dig in deep to get enough product on the wand?! Cute, but more like nice extra if you’ve got some extra lunch money.

I just might wear this collection with my Minnie Mouse ears when I finally make it back to Disneyland! ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hanging With the Chanel Les Fleurs de Chanel Spring-Summer 2021 Collection

December 30th, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

Maaan, I gotta hand it to Chanel. They have a knack for releasing righteous reds that are preternaturally easy to apply.

How do they do it?!

I didn’t even need a lip liner or lip brush for Pivoine Noire, the matte berry red I’m wearing in this look. It’s an LE shade in the new Les Fleurs de Chanel Spring-Summer 2021 collection, and yes, I can’t get over the fact that we’re talking about a spring/summer release.

I applied it freehand without much thought, straight from the tube.

chanel pivoine noire — Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme in 136 Pivoine Noire, a dusty berry red

Now I’m wondering if I could apply it while driving a car like Jessica Chastaine’s character does in Ava in the opening scene. She’s a soldier-turned-assassin, and with one hand she opens a tube of what I’m pretty sure is a Chanel lipstick and proceeds to flawlessly apply a layer of dark burgundy while racing down the freeway.

It’s impressive!

chanel movie lipstick — A novel way of opening a Chanel lipstick while prepping for a nefarious deed…

I wonder if I could do that… Survey says, “probably not!” LOL!

This new collection is inspired by spring blooms and warm pink, red, rose and coppery brown hues, and it lands on counters and the Chanel website next month (which starts this week!). There are lots of finishes — matte, metallic and satin — in various levels of coverage.

Here are some notes on the items I’m wearing…

The powder blush/highlighter duo

The coral-pink blush lays down a sheer flush of luminous color, so if you like blushes that don’t scream “Look at me! I’m obvious!” you might like it. I also love the finish on the peach highlighter. It’s a soft eggshell shine similar to the Hourglass Ambients. No bling-bling highlighter here.

The matte red lipstick

On the opposite end of the coverage spectrum is this gorgeously opaque matte berry red. Chanel’s Velvet Extreme formula applies flawlessly and glides along the skin without tugging, but it’s not too slick to easily control. Basically, it’s suuuper smooth, and it smells and tastes like rose hard candy.

The metallic mascara

The coppery bronze color actually shows up on dark lashes, which is super cool (colorful mascaras rarely show up on my lashes), and the Le Volume de Chanel formula delivers the thick, dramatic lash look the line is famous for. If you’ve got lighter lashes, the effect will probably be more dramatic and flattering than it is on me. On me, I think the color tends to make my eyes look smaller and more hooded than a standard-issue black mascara…

chanel metal terracotta mascara — My black lashes actually look terra cotta!

The Chanel Les Fleurs de Chanel Spring-Summer 2021 collection includes…

FLEURS DE PRINTEMPS Blush and Highlighter Duo
An Exclusive Creation powder duo with a satiny peach highlighter and luminous pink coral blush. Embossed
with a floral motif. Use the included brush to sweep the blush onto cheeks and the highlighter onto center of
forehead, tops of cheekbones, brow bones and Cupid’s bow. Limited edition. $70.00

LE VOLUME DE CHANEL Mascara
Now in a limited-edition rose-copper shade, the innovative mascara adds a colourful touch to lashes. The
CHANEL-exclusive brush and volumizing formula help achieve greater length and thickness in a single stroke.
$32.00

ROUGE ALLURE VELVET EXTRÊME Intense Matte Lip Colour
Introducing limited-edition berry red and warm coral shades of the extreme matte lipstick. The intense
longwearing formula glides on smoothly and doesn’t dry out lips. $40.00

ROUGE ALLURE LAQUE Ultrawear Shine Liquid Lip Colour
The new ultra-intense, ultra-longwearing satin shine liquid lipstick in a limited-edition metallic aubergine shade.
The creamy, fluid texture applies easily and wears comfortably, while the special doe-foot applicator ensures precise,
even results. $40.00

LE VERNIS Longwear Nail Colour
The high-shine nail colour features carefully selected pigments for even application and lasting wear. Available in 3
new shades: a soft peach, a light raspberry red and a metallic red. $28.00

AVAILABLE ON CHANEL.COM AND AT CHANEL BOUTIQUES: JANUARY 2021

AVAILABLE AT DEPARTMENT AND SPECIALTY STORES: FEBRUARY 2021

Adventures in bread making

So, I made my first 1-1/2 pound loaf of French bread in my new Cuisinart bread maker yesterday!

Isn’t the loaf cute? It was a test loaf. It’s pretty small, enough for about four sandwiches.
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A 10-Minute Glittery Neutral Makeup Look With the MAC Frosted Firework Holiday Collection, Swatches on NC42 Skin, AND HORSES!

December 1st, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

My new motto for the next few weeks, months and possibly years is to “wear glitter, and wear it everywhere, because you never know when the world will unexpectedly grind to a halt because of a pandemic.”

(Hmm, that probably won’t translate well onto a bumper sticker…)

One of the coolest things about the new MAC Frosted Firework holiday collection IMO is the oh-so-sparkly Extra Dimension Foil Eye Shadows ($21).

I’m wearing a few things from the LE launch in this — peachy nude glimmer Sparktacular, along with a highlighter used as a crease color, a dual-ended pencil liner, and a lipstick and lipgloss.

I think you’ll like it if you’re into the shiny stuff. Sparktacular and the other Foils have a soft powder base that feels almost like a cream, and they’re packed with small- and medium-sized pieces of glitter. I think the easiest and best way to apply them is to load a clean finger, then pat or gently swipe it across your lids (this minimizes the fallout, and the pressure from your figure intensifies the glossiness). The result is the wet, shiny, glossy effect I have here on my eyes.

Some might say it’s a tad too dramatic for dropping off and picking up a four-year-old from preschool, but heck, it’s 2020. If we can wear pajamas everywhere, we can do whatever we want with glitter.

Crazy for horses

Ever since Connor rode a horse for the first time last month, we’ve all been a little horse crazy ’round here.

Over the holiday break, we went hiking at the Indian Valley Preserve, one of our favorite spots in town, in the hopes that we’d spot a horse on a trail, and we did!

Say hi to Jiminy…

We also said hello to a few of the horses who live at the stable down the street.

The gold horse was a little obsessed with CoyCoy and kept staring at her like he knew her! My guess is that he knows a special little girl, and Connor reminded him of her.
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MAC Bronzer Collection Swatches on NC42 Skin!

July 8th, 2020 by Karen 3 Comments

mac bronzer collection summer 2020 top pic — Bronzed and beautiful ?

Things that say, “Summer has officially arrived…”

The sun setting at 9 p.m.
Barbecuing on a random Wednesday night just because you can
Challenging someone to a sword fight with a pool noodle
Sweating buckets every time you walk from any air conditioning building to your car
The MAC summer makeup collection (of course!)

This summer’s MAC Bronzer Face and Body collection is all about bronzed shades for tanned skin, but there’s also a twist… It includes a plethora of shades designed for warm *and* cool skin tones.

Hot and cool

Sure, MAC stocked it with the kind of warm summery coral, gold, bronze and peach tones you might expect from a MAC summer launch, but this year’s collection also sports some surprising cooler-toned shades of taupe, pink and pale lavender in the Foiled Shadows (apply with a wet brush for a slick, foiled finish) and the Strobe Face Glazes (*very cool* gel-like highlighters you can wear over foundation or bare skin).

mac bronzer collection summer 2020 — Love the limited edition packaging!

mac bronzer collection summer 2020 foiled shadow — MAC Bronzer Foiled Shadows, $26 each

Silky, satiny bronzers

As for the bronzing powders in the Bronzer collection — be careful! — the velvety Radiant Matte Bronzing Powders will shock your fingertip if you swatch them (ME: “Why is this powder SO SOFT?!”), and there are absolutely no orange undertones in sight.

Totally Taupe, the darker of the two options, is brown with yellow undertones, and Beige-ing Beauty is a light yellowish brown (I’m an NC42, and I could probably wear it as a face powder).

Technically, they’re matte with a slight sheen, which keeps them from looking too flat on your face.

mac bronzer collection summer 2020 strobe face glze — 143SES Medium Face Face Brush ($38.50), Strobe Face Glaze ($28 each), Prep+Prime Fix+ in Bronzelite ($30) Strobe Body Lotion ($35)

mac bronzer collection summer 2020 radiant matte bronzing powder — Radiant Matte Bronzing Powder, $32

A refreshing take on highlights

If you’re totally over the trend of shimmery, frosty highlighters that are visible from space, then the dewy, shiny Strobe Face Glazes might be worth checking out. They’re dewy and shiny but not blindingly glossy. There’s just a little something-something there… I think it’s super cool.

They feel slightly sticky, like a typical face gloss, but don’t worry — your high pony won’t stick to your cheekbones once you pat and blend them in because they aren’t thick. On minimal makeup days, I’ll do a swipe of Bronzejour on my lids with waterproof mascara (waterproof is a must, since whatever the Glazes touch will break down and smudge eventually) and use Let’s Make Waves as an upper cheekbone highlighter.

Like most face glosses, Face Glaze isn’t built for longevity, so expect it to move a bit when it’s on your skin, and anticipate having to touch up every four hours or so.

mac bronzer collection summer 2020 lipsticks — MAC Bronzer Lipsticks, $20 each

mac bronzer collection summer 2020 lipglasses — Lipglass, $18.50 each

mac bronzer collection swatches lipglasses — Lipglasses

mac bronzer collection swatches foiled shadow lipsticks — Lipsticks

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MAC Selena La Reina Collection Swatches (NC42 Skin)

April 21st, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

Your first Selena fun fact of the day: One rainy spring day during my senior year in college, I sat, bawling my eyes out, while parked in my red Honda Civic listening to Selena sing I Could Fall in Love on the radio. LIKE, FULL-ON EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN IN MY VEHICLE.

Don’t mind me! I’m just crying in my car! ?

Your second Selena fun fact of the day: The new MAC Selena La Reina collection is available now on the MAC website, and it’s a follow-up to the MAC Selena collection released in 2016. (Wow, it’s been four years already?)

The new collection is BIGGER! — and unlike the 2016 release, it leans toward lip products, with three liquid lipsticks, four lipsticks, three glosses and two lip pencils. (There is also an eyeshadow palette, a very Chanel-esque highlighter and a bejeweled bag.)

Plenty to make your heart sing. ???‍?

mac selena la reina paletta — The highlighter and eye palette both come with this pic inside of Selena wearing a cute jeweled bra (which I would wear in a hot second!).

mac selena la reina packaging — The design on the outer packaging of the highlighter and palette look like Selena’s jeweled bra top.

mac selena la reina highlighter — Yup, that red is eye-safe.

mac selena la reina lipsticks — Love the rose detail on the lipstick bullets.

mac selena la reina liquid lipsticks — The Retro Matte Lip Colours

mac selena la reina lipglass — Lipglasses

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MAC Loud and Clear Lipsticks: Yash, Baroque the Internet, Fleur D’Coral, Sugar Sweet Cameo and Sugar Dada

February 18th, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

mac sugar sweet cameo — Matte Lipstick in Sugar Sweet Cameo, a midtone coral pink

I keep vacillating over which of the five lipsticks in the new MAC Loud and Clear collection is the most “noteworthy.” One the one hand, there’s warm nude pink Baroque the Internet, and mid-toned coral-pink Sugar Sweet Cameo, both of which have more than enough oomph and color to compliment smokey eyes, wings and just about every eyeshadow look imaginable.

mac baroque the internet — Matte Lipstick in Baroque the Internet, a warm nude pink

But then there’s also deep natural matte Yash, which is nowhere near as flashy, but you can throw it on with almost anything, so it’s also super flexible.

mac yash — Matte Lipstick in Yash, a deep neutral

Four of the five lipsticks are in MAC’s classic Matte formula, so expect soaring pigment, a nearly flat finish, and longevity for days (OK, more like 4-5 hours).

The odd woman out is Fleur D’Coral, a sheer light peach MAC Lustre with the faintest hint of a sheen.

mac fleur d coral — Lustre Lipstick in Fleur D’Coral, a light peach

And oh: If you like your makeup early-’90s style (I’m guilty of this from time to time), you’ll be sweet on Sugar Dada, a warm brownish orange matte. I, along with half the population of my former high school, rocked a similar shade circa 1992.

mac sugar dada — Matte Lipstick in Sugar Dada, a warm brownish orange

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Monochromatic Makeup With the MAC Loud and Clear Collection and Glow Play Blush: Coral Lids, Lips and Cheeks

February 11th, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

I’m a fervent fan / enthusiastic adherent of monochromatic makeup, and that’s because I only have so many brain cells, and I like not having to expend them all thinking too deeply about matching my lids, lips and cheeks.

I’d rather conserve a little more of my life force for other things, ya know? And I need every single drop of life force I can spare to just make it through the day, ha ha ha!

Monochromatic madness!

Fast and Flirty Valentine’s Day Makeup Tutorial: A Romantic Monochromatic Soft Peach Look for All Skill Levels

A Monochromatic Multitasking Makeup Look

Monochromatic Makeup: Playful Pinks, and a Play on Cat Eyeliner

Today’s (7-Minute) Makeup: Monochromatic Lids, Cheeks and Lips

The key players in this monochromatic coral look are blush, eyeshadow, lipstick and gloss from the new Loud and Clear collection and the Glow Play Blush collection by MAC, both of which are on counters now.

The eyeliner is an old MAC standby called Teddy… I love me some Teddy! It’s an pearly reddish brown pencil liner and a workhorse staple if you like wearing warm orange browns, reddish browns, orange, or coral shades on your eyes.

I’m wearing Teddy here with matte orange coral Painted by Umber eyeshadow, and I like the contrast between Teddy’s pearly finish and the matte eyeshadow. That’s a minor detail, but I think it elevates the look a little.

I wore this look to the bakery the other day, and it was a day when sugar cookie dough, otherwise known as “the bane of my existence,” was killing me softly… You see, I had to roll out 60 heart-shaped Valentine’s Day cookies, and the temperature in the kitchen was warmer than usual (we’ve had a couple of warm, spring-like days in the low-60s lately).

A toasty outside temp means that everything inside the bakery warms up faster than usual, and that means MISERY if you’re handling sugar cookie dough.

Basically, you wanna keep your sugar cookie dough as cold as possible, because when it’s cold, it “listens” to you and does exactly what you need it to do. It stays thick and retains its shape as you roll it, and it continues to do so as you stamp out your shapes with a cookie cutter and move them to a baking sheet. Yup, when it’s cold, it is very, very good dough.

However, as the dough warms, like it does in an unseasonably hot kitchen, it embraces its inner rebel and becomes progressively ill-tempered and misbehaved. Your sweet, previously kind-hearted sugar cookie dough transforms into @sshole dough. 🙁 It picks up dents and fingerprints, stretches out where you don’t want it to stretch out, and becomes nearly impossible to transfer from the counter to a baking sheet.

WARM SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH HATES YOU.
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