Makeup

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

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Loaded

September 30th, 2016 by Karen 8 Comments

urban decay loaded — Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Loaded ($20)

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

Today I’m wearing Loaded from Urban Decay. It’s one of their liners. It’s this really deep green that almost looks black when you put it on your lash lines, and that’s why I love it. It’s perfect for fall.

Fall always makes me think of dark greens and really rich jewel tones on the lash line.

I mean, I don’t even really try with Loaded. I just, like, sharpen it, run it across my upper and lower lash lines a few times, and then maybe I’ll smudge out the edges if I’m feeling ambitious, but that’s it.

I love the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils. They’re just so smooth and silky, and easy, because there’s no fallout drama (not like with the eyeshadows).

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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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MAC Unsung Heroes: Pro Longwear Waterproof Colour Stick in Lilacked

September 29th, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

mac lilacked — MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Colour Stick in Lilacked ($22)

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Honestly, why doesn’t all makeup come in sticks? It would make my life waaaaay easier.

This is my new favorite thing in the whole wide world — even though I’m pretty sure I say that all the time.

Sorry. 🙂

It’s MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Colour Stick in Lilacked, and it’s $22 and part of the permanent line.

The Colour Sticks are stick versions of the MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pots (ones I love: Constructivist, Soft Ochre and Bare Study).

SO MANY brands make their own cream shadows sticks, but MAC’s are some of my favorites, and I like them for a couple of reasons. First, there’s obviously the colors. There’s a wide range, but I don’t have anything else quite like Lilacked in my collection.

It’s a peachy golden lilac, kind of like if MAC Satin Taupe Eye Shadow had a makeup baby with MAC Woodwinked, and then that baby grew up and got together with NARS Lhasa and popped out another makeup baby…

Granted, that’s a lot of makeup babies.

I like the consistency and the way it feels, too, because most cream shadow sticks are either super thick and hard to push around on my lids, or they’re too thin and slippery and hard to control. They just end up all over the place.

The MAC Pro Longwear Sticks, on the other hand, feel just right, and I can put them exactly where I want, which avoids one of my big struggles with eyeshadow, which is when I put something on my lids and it goes all over the place, and before you know it you’ve got, like, shimmery black eyeshadow from your lash lines up to your eyebrows.

They also last. I can put them on in the morning, and they’re still going strong at night.

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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

When a Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words, or How I Really Feel About Hourglass Incandescent Electra Blush

September 28th, 2016 by Karen 31 Comments

It’s expensive, but it’s so good. Even though Hourglass has really expensive products, especially the blushes, the powder products? — oh, my gosh. Basically, my nightmare scenario with blush is that I go outside and I’m wearing two little circles on my cheeks, but with this blush, that never happens. I can put it on with one foot out the door, and it looks great. You could be falling out of a plane while putting on blush, and you’d land, and your cheeks would look legit.

PRICE: $38
AVAILABILITY: Available now in the Hourglass permanent line
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Well, basically my whole life has been a lie. I found out yesterday that NASA says that the sky has essentially shifted, and so all of the zodiac signs are a little different. Plus, there’s a thirteenth zodiac sign now, and apparently I’m no longer a Gemini, at least according to NASA. I’m a Taurus.

I can’t even deal… I just can’t.

With Less, You Are More With New lilah b. Luxury Makeup

September 26th, 2016 by Karen 17 Comments

Full-on glam makeup is all over Instagram — brows so sculpted that they could cut glass, contoured everything, elaborate eye looks with false lashes and winged liner. And I love some of that. I love the artistry, and I appreciate the effort that goes into it, but there’s also a part of me that can’t wait for the tide to turn, ya know? Part of me can’t wait for makeup minimalism to come back in style with a vengeance, and when that day comes, lilah b. cosmetics will be there with bells on.

It’s a new luxury line out of Sausalito, California, which is a quaint, picturesque town just north of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco on 101 (not “the 101,” just “101”). They have a website, and you can also find them at Space NK stores.

Their philosophy has a nice ring to it: “With less, you are more.” Think streamlined creams that double as blushes and lipsticks, sheer powder foundation, creamy concealers and easy-to-wear eyeshadow combos — that kind of thing.

The products are all paraben-, pthalate- and sulfate-free, and they don’t have any synthetic fragrances. Plus, they aren’t tested on animals.

The pieces come in glossy white packaging (I think it’s gorgeous) that feels hefty and valuable. It kinda looks like polished river rocks or shells.

Boy, oh, boy, though — the products are pricey. You probably won’t bat an eyelash if you’re used to Chanel, Hourglass and Guerlain prices, but we’re talking $44 for a concealer, $34 for a lip balm, $48 for a powder foundation, $46 for a lip and cheek cream, and $58 for an eye quad.

The lilah b. look is like a super chill version of Bobbi Brown — dressed down, sheer coverage with a hint of natural-looking color. When I wear the powder foundation, concealer, eyeshadow and lip and cheek cream, I look like I’m wearing a full face, and like I’m polished and totally together, but it doesn’t look like I’m wearing cake frosting.

I wore the eyeshadow and the lip and cheek cream to the beach yesterday, and I felt like it was a perfect amount of color.

lilah b palette perfection eye quad b stunning — Palette Perfection Quad in b. stunning

lilah b divine duo lip cheek b fearless b true — Divine Duo Lip & Cheek in b. fearless (top) and b. true (bottom)

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Makeup I Brought With Me to Tahoe (and What I Did and Didn’t End Up Using)

September 24th, 2016 by Karen 16 Comments

HELLO from back in the Bay Area! 🙂 Baby Love, El Hub and I got back yesterday afternoon.

Before heading out I meant to post a list of the products I was bringing with me, but I didn’t have a chance, so here goes now. Tracy, girl! — I know you also asked, so here’s the makeup I brought to Tahoe and also used for the look I’m wearing in the top pic.

Oh, and wouldn’t ya know it? The weather cleared up just as we were getting ready to leave… Don’tcha hate it when that happens?

Drawn to Lipstick Makeup Bag from Connor Claire — Here’s what I brought on the trip (the pink bag is the Drawn to Lipstick Makeup Bag from connorclaire.com)

Products I brought that I actually used on the trip…

Here are the products I actually ended up using, and I’ve listed them in the order they were used in the makeup I’m wearing in that pic at the top.

Make Up For Ever Step 1 Smoothing Primer — On my cheeks, nose and around my mouth and chin
Urban Decay Naked Skin One & Done Hybrid Complexion Perfector in Medium Dark — Applied all over my face to even out my skin tone (you guys know how much I love this stuff)
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer in R40 — I use this orange-toned concealer as a color-corrector to cancel out the purple under my eyes.
NARS Translucent Crystal Light Reflecting Setting Powder — I use the tiniest bit to set the corrector.
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer Y33 — I apply this on top of the corrector as a concealer and to brighten my under-eye area. Then I use NARS Translucent Crystal again to set it.
Hourglass Vanish Foundation in Beige — I apply a tiny bit to my cheeks, nose and around my mouth.
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden — To set my face makeup
Benefit Ready Set Brow — Applied to bare brows to wrangle them into place and give my brow powder something to hold onto
MAC The Monster’s Bride Palette — I only used Brun, which I used to fill in the spare spots in my brows with a stiff, flat eyeshadow brush.
NARS Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base — An old fave for priming my lids
MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Colour Stick in Lilacked — This wasn’t in the picture I posted of my Tahoe makeup the other day, but OMG! — SO TOTALLY OBSESSED WITH THIS.
It occurred to me on this trip that I need to give this the Unsung Makeup Heroes treatment ASAP, along with my other favorite colors from the MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Colour Stick line.
MAC Nordstrom Naturals Palette — Using a MAC 217 brush, I mixed Woodwinked and Wedge, and then applied that on top of Lilacked Colour Stick, before applying Carbon with a flat eyeshadow brush along my upper lash line.
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in 929 — THE BEST warm, shimmery brown! The Stylo Yeux pencils are pricey, but they never irritate my eyes and stay put all day long.
Urban Decay Cannonball Waterproof Mascara — Holds a curl like WHOA
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette — I’m wearing Incandescent Electra blush, which I applied to the apples of my cheeks.
NARS Apoline Lipstick — My neutral pink jam at the moment

Products I brought that I ended up not using…

I’d planned to do some looks with glitter and shiny liquid liner for going out to dinner, but that didn’t happen because of the rain (we didn’t want to deal).

In no particular order…

The MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Colour Sticks in Cinder Black, Tabby, Tea Leaves and Bitter Clove
Benefit High Brow Glow Pencil
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner in Eros
Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Intense Ebony
MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge
Clinique Liquid Eyelining Pen
The Estée Edit The Edgiest Kohl in Iced
Urban Decay Razor Sharp Long-Wear Liquid Eyeliners in Goldrush and Snakebite
Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons in 03 Naturel-Bruenttes
MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Constructivist
Chanel Illusion D’Ombre in Rouge Brule
Hourglass Panoramic Lip Liner in Eden
Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss in Sesso

By the way, random thing, but did you know that most hotels can send a baby crib up to your room if you ask them?!

The things you learn when you’re a first-time mom…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen