Makeup

Makeup Makes Me Feel Better, Period.

April 19th, 2022 by Karen 11 Comments

The title pretty much says it all. Makeup often gets talked about for the visual transformation; I think there’s so much more to it, though. I know that when I’m not feeling all that great (like I was when I woke up this morning…been a long few weeks!), putting a little bit of color on makes all the difference with my attitude.

When you need a lift, MAC classics always help.

I’m wearing what’s basically my makeup equivalent of comfort food in this look, which means lots of MAC.

How are you doing today? Now that I feel and look put together, I feel like I can finally get some stuff done.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Feel the Ecstasy With Charlotte Tilbury: Cheek to Chic Swish & Pop Blusher in Ecstasy

April 6th, 2022 by Karen 5 Comments

Just in case you need some Sephora sale inspo! Ecstasy Blusher is one of my favorites by Charlotte Tilbury.

I can’t wear Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy blush without thinking of mid-90s club banger Set U Free.

The way the lead singer breathlessly enunciates the word, “ecstasy,” about a billion times…

Welcome to the decade of my formative years.

Anywho…while I like how long this satiny, peachy pink blush stays on my cheeks, the main thing I love about $40 Ecstasy blush is that I can get it on my cheeks in three minutes, which is about how much time I typically have while Coy-Coy uses the potty, so I can walk out the front door looking like I actually slept eight hours and stretched my hamstrings in the morning. (In other words, with a spring in my step!)

Charlotte recommends doing your blush last to best gauge how little or how much you need, and I agree.

So, here’s my Ecstasy three-minute makeup routine:

Dot Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter all over your face with the wand, and blend it in with fingers.
Curl lashes and coat them with a layer of Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes Mascara.
Draw a thin line of black liquid liner with Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick on the upper lash line.
Dust Film Star Bronze & Glow Bronzer into the crease.
Coat lips with CT Pillow Talk Lipstick.
And finally, sweep Ecstasy on those cheekbones!

Don’t you love easy makeup? ? And don’t you also love it when Charlotte refers to blush as “blusher”?! (Or am I the only one?)

Charlotte designed Ecstasy (and this goes for all of her blushes) to be used as part of a two-step process. First, you swish the outer ring on your cheekbones to sculpt and shape, and then blend the brighter center shade on the apples of your cheeks for some color.

Of course…I usually end up swirling both colors together with a blush brush, and that works just fine for me.

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Makeup of the Day With Chantecaille Favorites

March 31st, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

chantecaille willow lip chic before after — I’m wearing the new Chantecaille Lip Chic in Willow!

I’m on a Chantecaille kick at the moment. Do you have any favorites from the line? I could use your recommendations, because during my next beauty haul, I plan on getting a couple things — a powder blush, for sure, and maybe a foundation?

Anywho, I’m wearing a few staple favorites in this look: Mermaid Eye Mattes in Sylvie (love this all over my lids) and Bee (fabulous for smoking out the outer corners or lining lash lines), and the Cheek Gelee Hydrating Gel-Cream Blush in Happy.

Chantecaille products clockwise from the lipstick: Lip Chic in Willow, Mermaid Eye Matte in Bee, Mermaid Eye Matte in Sylvie and Cream Blush in Happy

I’m also wearing the new Lip Chic shade in Willow. It’s a lightweight, glossy cool pink. The formula has hyaluronic acid for extra moisture.

Love it! It’s elegant but not fussy, which totally suits my makeup vibe right now.

See the beautiful giraffe illustration on the cap? The website and the packaging say the Chantecaille supports the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, although it’s a little unclear if a portion of the proceeds from the product gets donated to the Foundation.

Friday’s just around the corner. Hang in there!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Epic Hourglass Retouching Fluid | More on Hobbies | Stuff I’ve Cooked

March 4th, 2022 by Karen 12 Comments

hourglass veil retouching fluid sand — Love it.

This is one of those face products that you have to be in a certain phase and mindset to appreciate. With that said, if full coverage is your jam, keep on walkin’ Miss Lady. However, if you’re searching for a concealer that doesn’t look heavy and stays out of fine lines, add Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid to your wishlist ASAP!

For skin that looks like skin

It’s a semi-sheer liquid concealer with a doe foot applicator, and it’s available in six shades in the Hourglass permanent collection. Since it’s Hourglass (which means pricey), it’s not exactly budget, so a tube is $36. You do get a formula that’s free of a lot of things, including…

Parabens
Fragrance
Gluten
Sulfates
Nanoparticles
Phthalates
Synthetic Dyes
GMOs
Animal testing

I’m trying to reduce the amount of products with phthalates in my makeup collection (here’s why), which is one of the main reasons why I use it. I also love how it’s a beast at covering stuff while still looking natural.

I wear the shade Sand underneath my eyes, around my nose and at the corners of my mouth (I’m an NC42 in MAC, by the way). Sometimes I set it with a little MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder, and sometimes I don’t. Either way, my skin looks like real skin, which is my aesthetic nowadays since I have very little tolerance for anything opaque or heavy.

Have you ever tried YSL’s famous Touche Eclat? This product is similar, but so much easier to blend, and I think it looks more natural. It’s worth your time to swatch during your next Hourglass counter visit. I usually restock at Sephora, but Ulta carries the line, too.

Some more thoughts on hobbies

Well, we’re three months into 2022, and I’m still in pursuit of new hobbies.

I’ve kept up reading solely for pleasure, and wow! It’s amazing how reading just a few minutes for fun can change how you feel. I find myself craving books now. Like, I physically feel off if I skip my reading-for-fun time. It makes me happy, so I’m going to keep it up.

Oh! I tried something new last week. I picked up a puzzle at a local bookstore in town, Copperfield’s, and enjoyed it so much. There’s something very meditative about searching for pieces. Connor helped me when she was in the mood, too.

I can’t wait to do another one, although I do wish there was some sort of library-like service with puzzles. I can see myself getting into it, but the last thing I need is more stuff in my house, ya know?

Last thing. I’ve been cooking my way through a cookbook!

A little backstory: I used to like baking and cooking, but last year, it bummed me out.

For most of 2021, I hated — like full-on despised — making food. I was stoked at first to be at home and cook when everything shut down in 2020, but after a while I started feeling like I took on a full-time kitchen job without realizing it. Last year, I was completely over it, and I’d get angry every time I had to cook, especially at dinner (I call it “dinner rage”).

Anyway, I recently started cooking new dishes, and it’s helped me to feel less rage-y. LOL. Here’s a couple things I made from “The Easy Filipino Cookbook” by Roline Casper.

Beef Picadillo (Giniliang Na Baka) with ground beef, tomato sauce and raisins

Easy Sauteed Shrimp (Ginisang Hipon) with shrimp, bok choy and seasame oil.

Happy Friday to you, and I hope you had a great week!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Warm Golden Lids With Bronzed Liner Breakdown | Prioritizing Rest | Eyeshadow Tips

February 4th, 2022 by Karen 9 Comments

Heya! Happy Friday. How’s your day going?

Mine has been pretty good so far. Today I have the day off, my first in ages, and I have a few hours to myself while Connor is in school, and I almost don’t know what do. I’ve been working on the weekends for the past few weeks, and while I usually don’t mind keeping busy, I’ve decided that this is the year I’m going to fully embrace rest, so today I’m going to do my best to just relax.

All I’m allowed to do are things that help refill the well, so to speak, both mentally and physically. Good luck to me, LOL! There’s always something to do around here, and I’m already ticking off all the things I could accomplish with the extra time, like cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, going grocery shopping, prepping meals for the weekend, getting ahead on writing for work, etc. etc. BUT, NOPE. Not gonna do it. Rest is the priority today.

I’m going to curb the need to be productive and just do fun things for me today. I’m going to watch a period piece (I’m thinking “Remains of the Day” or “The Age of Innocence”), order a Blue Barn salad, start a new book and maybe paint my nails if I’m feeling ambitious. Oh, I’m going to drink decaf Nespressos all day long, hahaha. I may even take a nap, GASP!

Ate my favorite salad in the world, the Tostada salad with grilled shrimp and avocado from Blue Barn Marin

Love me a period piece

Let’s do this

Are you good about being proactive about your periods of rest? I’m so not. I’m trying to get better about it, though.

Anywho, so this note is marginally related to makeup, Kathleen said this in the comments last Friday on the two-toned liner makeup post:

Teach me your ways! I can handle the cool liner situation. But can you walk me through the eyeshadow, please? Is the Honey Lust on the lid and the Woodwinked on the inner corner? And Saddle underneath both as a base? I never wear shadow, so I appreciate your tips – Thanks!

Hey, Kathleen! Thank you for your question. Here’s a breakdown of where I put each shadow on my lid; hope this helps.

Some general tips:

Practice, practice, practice. With eyeshadow, I think it’s always a good idea to just keep practicing. Place your shadows on your lids, blend as much as you can (use a light touch), and repeat until you get the hang of it. Eventually you’ll figure out what placement works best for your eye shape.
Keep it simple. I would keep it relatively simple. Do one, two shades at the most. Oh, and simplify by skipping the primer if you want (or don’t). I usually opt out and just do shadow, no primer.
Smooth it out. That said, if you’re having trouble smoothing out your gradients, try dusting a light layer of powder on top of your lids first. And just keep practicing!

Alright, I’m off to go and do absolutely nothing.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

A Friday Face of the Day | Two-Tone Eyeliner

January 28th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

mac teddy woodwinked saddle — Happy Friday, friend!

Even though I didn’t have any video meetings for work today, I painted my face anyway! I’ve been trying to do more things just for me that make me feel good, and this warm, glowing look with a few MAC classics (Woodwinked, Saddle and Honey Lust Eyeshadows, along with Teddy liner, of course), did just that.

It made staring at the same spreadsheet for six hours a little more bearable. Really!

By the way, I’ve started doing this thing lately where I wear a darker liner on my water lines (in this case, MAC Teddy) with a coordinating liner in a lighter tone on my lash lines (Urban Decay Scorch). I like how it creates a subtle gradient! Try it sometime with a couple of your favorite liners.

I hope you’re having a wonderful Friday so far!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Glowing Taupe-Bronze Lids With MAC Classics | 10-Minute Everyday Makeup

January 27th, 2022 by Karen 8 Comments

mac teddy satin taupe — Glowing lids today!

Hi, friend! Whew, it’s been kind of a crazy week here; I have sooooooo many deadlines looming in the near future for work. You know what always makes it easier, though? Consistently taking breaks (I’m a huge fan of the Pomodoro technique), coffee (still obsessed with my Nespresso) and wearing makeup, of course.

Today I did a quick 10-minute look with two MAC eye classics: Teddy liner and Satin Taupe eyeshadow.

I’m wearing Teddy on my lash lines and water lines (both upper and lower), and on my lids as an eyeshadow base. Satin Taupe’s blended on top. Oh, I’m also wearing MAC Glow Play Blush in Cheer Up and Laura Mercier Nu Prefere Lipstick.

I really like this color palette, so note to self, wear this again!

How are things going on your end? Oh, and are you wearing quickie makeup like I am today, or did you go all out?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

4-Step Lavender Lids

January 21st, 2022 by Karen 2 Comments

laura mercier orchid ilia cool nude palette — It takes just four steps to get this lavender lid look

Easy eye makeup? YES, PLEASE. This four-step lavender lid has been my go-to all week long.

It involves a layering technique, which I think is fun and easy. You start with a shimmery cream shadow base, and then layer and blend a matte powder shadow on top. The result? A shimmery base that peeks through the matte for a soft, subtle shine.

To get a similar look, you’ll need…

A shimmery cream eyeshadow, like Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Orchid. I like this one because I can blend it easily with my fingers.
A matte lavender powder eyeshadow. This one’s from the Ilia Cool Nude Eyeshadow Palette.
A black liquid liner. I used my favorite Clinique Easy Liner in Black. The flexible felt tip makes it easy to control the width of my lines.
A shimmery dark purple powder eyeshadow. This one is also from the Ilia Cool Nude Eyeshadow palette.

Four steps to lavender lids

Apply your cream shadow as a base, and blend the edges with a brush or finger.
Layer the matte lavender eyeshadow directly on top, then blend.
Line with the black liquid liner.
Layer the shimmery dark purple eyeshadow on top of the liquid liner with an angled brush; blend the edges.

Add your favorite brow product and mascara, if you’d like, then get ready to shine!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!