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’90s-Style Lip Liner, Cool-Toned Smokey Lids, and Halloween at the Pronzini Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma

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mac honeylove lipstick 90s lip k3

When I said I was on a ’90s lip liner kick last week, I WAS NOT KITTEN!

Way back in 1994, Baby Karen would have probably laughed at me for doing this matte lip because of how involved it is. It’s a rosy beige matte lip, but I used two different lip liners with the lipstick (MAC Whirl and Cork liners, because I was going for a slight gradient effect with MAC Honey Love Lipstick ), and I carefully and subtly overdrew the half of my lip that’s slightly thinner by bracing my elbow on a table.

I also cleaned up the edges with a lip brush loaded with concealer. Back in the day, I used to be able to draw lips just like this while riding on a bumpy bus and balancing a bag filled with chemistry texts on my lap. Pretty sure I was half asleep while doing it, too, HAHAHA! Ah, youth… You so crazy!

mac honeylove lipstick 90s lip k3

Anywho, I automatically associate ’90s lips with classic MAC lipsticks and liner, so (naturally) I rolled with old-school MAC matte shades for the smokey eyes — Wedge, Omega, Carbon and Brun eyeshadows — and, of course, Smolder eyeliner, an old standby.

mac honeylove lipstick 90s lip k3

Ten years ago I used to feel like this type of makeup was so dated because of the unblended liner and the lack of shimmer, but now I kinda love it! I think there’s something timeless and elegant about it.

Did you have a go-to MAC lip liner and lipstick combo back in the day?

A different kind of Halloween, and Coycoy’s first horse adventure

It was definitely a Halloween for the books. Oh, 2020, you continue to surprise me!

We spent the bulk of our Halloween day at the Pronzini Farms Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma, which, by the way, highly recommended. We’re going back next year for sure.

There were so many things to do, not just for kids of all ages, but for all types of kids. There were the traditional items for play you’d expect at a pumpkin patch, like hay pyramids, mazes and pedal cars, but there were also things like bingo, a train ride and a scavenger hunt for kids who preferred less physical activities.

Connor spent most of her time at the petting zoo connecting with a gentle brown horse named “Boogie,” and she surprised both me and El Hub by asking if she could go on a pony ride with him.

Over the past few months we’ve noticed that it takes her a while to warm up to doing something different and new, so I was thrilled to see her happily jump into the saddle to take a few turns with him. When she finished her ride I asked her how it went, and she said, “Mama, my heart was so happy when I was riding my horse.” I almost turned into a blubbering mess right then and there.

coycoy pronzini farms

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

An Autumnal FOTD With Orange, Warm Brown, Red and Copper (Mostly MAC Makeup)

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mac marrakesh lipstick

If you require makeup inspiration, might I suggest looking at your doorway?

Wait — hear me out. That’s where I’ve been finding “inspo” for looks all week long. First, Samantha the ghost bride was my muse. Now it’s the fall leaf garland that hangs on my doorway.

Back when Coywolf was a tiny toddler with teeny pig tails!

I wore this subtle smokey eye with a warm orangey reddish brown lip to preschool pickup yesterday (I took the lipstick off before I put on my mask though) because I was feelin’ fall. The leaves are starting to fall in my neighborhood, and although it’s been climbing into the 70s for a few days, there’s a chill in the air first thing in the morning.

mac marrakesh lipstick

Been thinking a lot about ’90s makeup and so I went with a subtle version of a ’90s-style unblended lip liner in this by pairing a dark burgundy liner with matte orangey reddish brown lipstick. I wanted the liner to be present but not overly obvious… You can kinda see it from some angles more than others, but it’s there!

mac marrakesh swatches

mac marrakesh lipstick eye closeup

By the way, this lipstick, MAC Marrakesh, is one of those orangey reddish brown that deserves more love! It’s a matte lippie in the permanent collection, and it’s loaded with vibrant, lush pigment. If you like MAC Chili (which is similar, but redder) or MAC Paramount (also similar, but browner and redder), then I think you’ll like Marrakesh too.

You can wear it with any and all of your warm brown eyeshadows, like MAC Saddle or Soft Brown; it also pairs well with peachy browns like Amber Lights and bronzy browns like Antiqued. For matching eyeliners, try MAC Teddy or Costa Riche (which is what I’m wearing here)!

Makeup Worn in this look

  • EYES: MAC Costa Riche liner (buffed all over lids and applied to lash and water lines); MAC Eyeshadows in Brown Down (outer v and upper lash line as eyeliner), Havana (outer lid) and Sweet Heat (inner lid), Urban Decay Brow Beater Pencil in Neutral Brown, Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara
  • CHEEKS: MAC Gingerly Blush, MAC Give Me Sun Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
  • LIPS: MAC Burgundy Lip Liner, MAC Marrakesh Lipstick
  • BASE: Lancome Skin Feels Good Hydrating Skin Tint in Tan

School pics!

Coywolf started preschool just in time to take school pics this year.

If you look closely, you might be able to see her painted nails!

In other news, do you have any plans this weekend? Happy early Halloween to you. We’re taking Connor to a pumpkin patch tomorrow (she’s dressing up as Rapunzel), and then on Sunday I’m going to bake all the pies for Pie Quest 2020. Thank you for your baking tips for the crust, by the way (you can find them in the comments here, if you’re interested). If all goes well with the pumpkin pie, then the next pie I’m going to tackle is pecan pie, and then apple pie, because LOOK!

Did you know that such a gadget existed?! I had no idea.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

A Ghost Bride Vibe: Sooty Smokey Lids With Matte Black Lips

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mac caviar retro matte liquid lipstick samantha

Is this look wearable? I guess it depends on who you’re talking to. If you’re chatting with El Hub, he’d probably say, “Um, not really,” and he would encourage you to *not* wear this sooty smokey purplish blue smokey eye to pick up a small child at her preschool.

(Side note: I seriously considered it, but then I chickened out at the last minute, and now I deeply regret not cementing my legacy as the crazy-@ss mom who showed up at pickup in black lipstick.)

If you ask Samantha, though — she’s the Halloween ghost who haunts my doorway — she would first say, “B*tch stole me look!” LOL. Then she’d she’d say, “One hundred percent, YES, channel your inner goth Billy Idol White Wedding bride.”

mac caviar retro matte liquid lipstick

mac caviar retro matte liquid lipstick

This is my “take two” at Samantha-inspired makeup! I wanted to push it a little further this time and tried to go more “edgy,” as opposed to wearable, but ultimately I think it ended up looking kinda casual cool, and yes, totally wearable. If we were back in the ’90s when I went through my (very brief) baby goth phase, I would’ve legit worn these lips and eyes everywhere.

Layering is the key

I really, really enjoyed putting this face on, and part of the reason was because it happened so quickly. I didn’t really think about it. I just started layering and mixing and blending and 20 minutes later there it was. With this type of smokey editorial/edgy eye makeup, I think the following things really help:

  1. Embrace the imperfection. This is the type of smokey eye makeup that, I think, almost looks better the messier it gets. Let your brushes and your imagination push past what you’d normally do, and take your products higher up the lid and further down the lash line than you’d usually go. It might look weird to you at first (it always does for me because I’m not used to seeing that type of placement), but do it anyway.
  2. Layers, layers, layers. Really, this is key. If you want the effect of a puff of smoke around the lids, where that super-blended gradient leads one color easily into the next, bust out ALL THE THINGS. At the minimum, you’ll need your favorite smudgy eye pencil, a cream shadow or two, and some powder eyeshadows that you also like that work with your color palette.
  3. Blend that sh*t. When your fingers are about to fall off, you’re probably close to done.

mac caviar retro matte liquid lipstick

mac caviar retro matte liquid lipstick

Oh, and about that black lip…I applied a matte liquid lipstick first (MAC Caviar), then defined the edges with a super sharp matte black pencil liner. Yes, girl. Black eyeliner as lip liner! My friends and I used to use it both as liner and lipstick back in the ’90s when we wanted to wear matte black lips.

Makeup worn in this look

A couple weird things

I was craving an egg over easy yesterday for lunch and look what happened when I cracked my egg open…

I dunno, maybe I’m fully in superstitious Halloween mode, but I was kinda freaked out! I couldn’t help but wonder if it’s part of a scary Filipino old wives tale, and even though it (irrationally) scared me a little, I still ate most of it…although toward the last few bites I ended up psyching myself out.

On a (somewhat) related weird note, look what I found this morning in the middle of my bed!

I’m guessing Rosie Posie got hold of it during the wee hours of the morning, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Moody Makeup Time! Smokey Blue Lids and Matte Berry Lips (and a Trip to Gabriel Farm)

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mac burning love maybelline ace front
When your hair and makeup evoke Disney Villain vibes

You know you’re a makeup lover when your penchant for puffs of sooty blue drives your Halloween decor decisions.

samantha the ghost closeup
OF COURSE I would want the ghost wearing makeup.

Behold the floaty ghost bride currently welcoming visitors to our humble abode. Despite being undead, she’s very proud of her dark lip and blue smokey eyes.

Oh, and her dark burgundy nails.

This is Samantha, and she hangs out in my doorway. I haven’t asked her yet, but I’m kinda wondering what her wedding theme was and whether Billy Idol was the groom.

Inquiring minds want to know…


This video scared the living crap out of me when I was a kid!

Samantha was the one who inspired this look I’m wearing, and if we were to hold a “Who wore it better?” battle, she would definitely have won this round because I could’ve/should’ve pushed it further.

mac burning love maybelline ace with samantha
Just the girls

I was going for a wearable version of her look, but I’m feeling like, with these blue lids — which, by the way, I did with an awesome new product from Maybelline called Color Strike (they call it “a cream-to-powder shadow pen”) — I should’ve just taken the shadow all the way up into the brows and maybe even further down the lower lash line. Oh, and what if I’d layered the blue shadow with a black or dark purple pencil and switched out the berry lip for a straight-up black? That could have been even cooler.

Hmm… I think I just figured out tomorrow’s FOTD!

mac burning love maybelline ace closeup

mac burning love maybelline ace smile

samantha the ghost
Samantha?!

By the way, if you’re admiring Samantha’s mani, I highly recommend Smith & Cult’s Dark Like Me. 🙂

samantha smith cult dark like me

Makeup Worn in this look

Fall adventures at the farm

Connor had last Friday off from preschool, so she and I met up with her bestie (and her BFF’s mom) for a fun day at Gabriel Farm in Sebastapol.

It’s an organic family-run farm that offers a yearly seasonal membership valid from June through November. A family membership is $40, and when you join you get a HUGE box of delicious, sweet and crunchy Asian pears. You also have access to the farm during those months and can visit as often as you like to pick and pay for whichever fruit and flowers are in season that month (fruit is charged by the pound). They grow berries, tomatoes, apples, Asian pears, persimmon, pineapple guava and flowers.

There’s also a cute picnic area tucked away in a gorgeous grove of persimmon trees, so when you’re done picking your goodies you can relax in the shade with your bounty.

The girls had fun picking berries and exploring the farm, and then played for hours under the trees. If you have a little person to entertain, or if you’ve got a hankering to spend some time outside, I highly recommend it.

persimmon grove gabriel farm

There were multiple hand-washing stations around the property, and masks and social distancing were required. Connor and I went as guests of our friends this time, but next year I’m definitely signing up for a membership!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare

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it cosmetics your skin but better foundation skin care 1
Well this is a gem!

This is GREAT stuff! I haven’t been this excited about a base product in eons. If you’re into a natural matte look and want a foundation that covers juuust enough, It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare is so on the money.

OK, I get it. Everyone’s masked up, we’re in a pandemic, hardly anyone’s been wanting to wear makeup, myself included, but I’ve been falling back into my face painting groove lately, and part of the reason is because of this new foundation from It Cosmetics.

It handles basically every lighting and photography situation I’ve throw it. It makes my skin look dayum good, if I do say so myself, AND IT FEELS LIKE NOTHING ON MY FACE!

Here’s Tan Warm 42.5 in natural daytime light, without any powder or primer, with a 10-minute makeup look. The eyeshadow is the Urban Decay Born to Run Palette; the blush is Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy; and the lipstick is NUDESTIX Mystic, in case you’re wondering.

Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare is a medium-coverage liquid foundation with a very natural looking matte finish. If you want enough coverage to even out areas of pigmentation and redness, along with some minor pore blurring, but you don’t need to hide everything and the kitchen sink, it’s perfect.

Lazy ladies who still lurve wearing makeup now, this one’s for you, because there’s no trickery required to get it to look nice. I do one pump, and then use my fingers to rub and work it in. Then I quickly blend with a skunk brush, and that’s it. You don’t need a primer underneath it or a powder to set it, either. Use it all by itself, and it stays put all day long (yup, even with a mask on).

For reference, I have combo skin. It’s dry on my cheeks and around my mouth, and oily on my forehead and my nose, and this foundation handles all of the various areas well.

I think it also looks good where I have “experience lines.”

it cosmetics your skin but better foundation skin care natural light blues
Here it is in indoor natural light.
it cosmetics your skin but better foundation skin care natural light green look
Here’s the foundation in outdoor natural light.

I will say that if you’re extremely oily, you’ll probably want to set it with a light dusting of powder. I wouldn’t go too heavy with it though because this foundation’s ability to look like real skin is its superpower, and using a whole mess of powder will just undermine that magic anyway.

Also, it’s super lightweight, which I probably should’ve said right at the beginning, LOL! The formula is on the thinner side, much like Dior Nudeskin Air, so it’s featherweight and feels like nothing, which is actually the reason I started wearing it. After months of barely wearing any base, I have absolutely no tolerance for face products that feel heavy, and this one feels like nothing at all.

It’s available now at Ulta in 40 colors (hello, Fenty effect) for $39.50 each for a 1-oz. glass bottle with a pump. Oh, and speaking of colors, I wear it in Tan Warm 42.5 (but will switch to Tan Warm 41 once my toasty summer tan disappears in month or two), and this is the first time I’ve ever been able to wear an It Cosmetics foundation without having to mix it with something else. Seems like they FINALLY figured out that not every “tan” or “medium” shade has to have a sh*t-ton of peach undertones, and both Tan Warm 42.5 and 41 are pretty good matches for warm skin with yellow undertones.
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Product Spotlight: $10 Honest Beauty Liquid EyeLiner

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honest beauty liquid eyeliner
Long lasting, intensely pigmented and easy to apply

Dude, this long-lasting black liquid liner is SO GOOD, and it’s only 10 bucks at honest.com!

How do I love thee, Honest Beauty Liquid Eyeliner? Let me count the ways…

1. Concentrated

Despite the fact that it only comes in a single matte black shade, it’s deep and dark like the most gorgeous black cat coat, and it doesn’t have any blue undertones at all.

2. Durable

It isn’t quite waterproof, but it’s very water resistant and long lasting (also doesn’t transfer). I’ve been wearing it all summer long.

3. Flawless

It comes in a tube with a wand that has a long, flexible felt tip that’s absolutely foolproof to use. The wand is just the right length to perfectly cradle in my paw, and the dainty felt tip draws crisp thick and thin lines equally well. Normally, I wouldn’t even think of drawing with liquid liner when I’m rushing through a fast face, but I can do it with this one.

honest beauty liquid eyeliner swatch
A matte deep black

4. Flexible

Thin lines, thick lines, dainty flicks, big ol’ bat wings — it can do it all.

And if you love diffused edges like I do (no harsh lines, baby!), the formula is easy to smudge, too. Just be sure to do your smudging before it sets, which takes about 30 seconds for skinny lines and a minute for thick ones.

INGREDIENTS:
Water (Aqua), Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Pullulan, Disodium Coco-Glucoside Citrate, Hectorite, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide (CI 77510).

5. Swift

Also, as if it needed even more going for it, the fast-setting formula won’t creep up into your crease when you blink!

What a gem for only $10! I’m going to wish upon a star for Honest Beauty to add a few more colors, as I would LOVE a dark brown option (a liquid version of MAC Coffee would be my Disney princess dream come true) — ooh! — and a gray for everyday looks.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

FOTD: Fall Vibes With Plum Lids and Berry Lips

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mac prunella got a callback
Fall is a berry good time to wear dark berry lips!

Hiya! On this stop on our tour of MAC Eyeliner Greatest Hits is Prunella! AHHH!

In my opinion, it is one of the very best things in the entire MAC world.

Boom. There, I said.

In a nutshell, it’s a purple eyeliner…but not just any purple liner. It’s a deep blackened plum with a hint of shine to softly define your lash and water lines in ways a basic black liner just can’t do.

I’m wearing Prunella here as a one-and-done lid and lash line color. It’s a little smoked out and a little smudgy, which is my favorite way to wear it.

Prunella is a perfect perennial product, but I think it kicks major rear in fall when it’s paired with berry lipsticks, and it turns out that there are two great new berry shades in the MAC Powderkiss Liquid Lipcolour fam. Here I’m wearing Got a Callback, a mid-toned berry mauve; and Burning Love, a straight-up berry. Both have a soft matte finish that complements Prunella’s soft shine well.

mac prunella got a callback
MAC Got a Callback
mac prunella burning love
MAC Burning Love
mac got a callback burning love swatches
Fall vibes: MAC Powderkiss Liquid Lipsticks in Burning Love (a berry) and Got a Callback (a mid-toned mauve berry)

And because I can’t resist wearing pink lips with everything (!), I threw on a pink lip to see how it would look with these eyes… Definitely skews the makeup to a springier vibe.

If you’re into the pink, FYI, it’s Charlotte Tilbury’s iconic Pillow Talk lip liner and lipstick topped with Hourglass Fever lipgloss.

Speaking of Charlotte Tilbury, if you’re in a “bougie blush mood” (because they happen, LOL!), I highly suggest checking out her Ecstasy blush. It’s the one with a peachy outer ring and a pink inner ring. When you blend the two together, you get this perfect balance of a neutral pink with a slightly warm peach. It’s not too warm or cool, and it goes surprisingly well with most looks — especially plummy and purple lids and lips like this.

mac prunella eyes down
Just Prunella on my lids, babe!
mac prunella eyes
Pink lips! Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk (lip liner and lipstick) topped with Hourglass Fever Gloss

mac prunella swatch

Makeup worn in this look

BASE

  • Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Hydrating
  • Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid in Sand
  • Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in 4.0

CHEEKS

  • Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chick in Ecstasy

EYES

  • Chanel Eyeshadow Base
  • MAC Prunella Liner
  • Urban Decay Brow Beater in Neutral Brown
  • Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara
  • MAC Clear Brow Set

LIPS

  • Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lip Cheat Lip Liner
  • Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lipstick
  • Hourglass Unreal Gloss in Fever
  • MAC Burning Love
  • MAC Got a Callback

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Brand Spotlight: Bossy Cosmetics

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bossy cosmetics sexy
Feeling Bossy! I’m wearing Bossy Cosmetics Liquid Matte Lipstick in Sexy

Bossy Cosmetics is a new cruelty-free Black-owned indie makeup line of lip products that caters to all skin tones. I’m a fan, especially of the lipgloss!

Do you know the Kelis tune, “I’m Bossy?” It’s practically my theme song, ha ha ha!

If you’ve ever been called bossy by your friends and family, you’ll probably get a kick out of this.

Hues for bossy gals of all shades

Bossy Cosmetics cruelty-free, vegan line of lip products launched in 2019, so they’re pretty new. The founder, Aisha, is a mom of three and a self-proclaimed “lipstick junkie” who worked in investment banking before starting the brand with the intent to 1) help women feel beautiful, and 2) pay it forward, as part of the proceeds go toward charities that support women and girls.

Inclusivity is one of their main pillars, so you’ll find colors for all skin tones and ethnicities.

Prices range from $16.99 for a liquid lipstick, to $13.99 for a lip liner, to $14.99 for a gloss and $18.99 for a lip/eye/cheek glitter, so they’re pricier than Revlon or Neutrogena, but slightly less than MAC.

bossy cosmetics
Sexy Liquid Lipstick, Shiraz Gloss and Rush Lip Pencil

Take me back to the ’90s, please

I’ve tried a few of their items, including a lipgloss, liquid lipstick and a lip pencil, and I’m impressed! IMO the makeup is on par with MAC.

  • Liquid Matte Lipstick in Sexy: This O.G. ’90s-style flat matte brown takes me back to my college days! It’s warm with a slight hint of red (but the red isn’t as present as MAC Paramount or Revlon Rum Raisin). The texture’s a light-as-air mousse, so you can lead it to the corners of your Cupid’s bow exactly where you want it to go… Smells a little like cocoa butter at first, and I kind of want to eat it, LOL! (Don’t do that, though.) Very faint sugar cookie flavor. A little goes a long way, and the product completely coats my lips without settling into horizontal lip lines.
  • Hydra Gloss in Shiraz: This semi-sheer pearly mauve-pink feels like one of the revamped MAC Lipglasses. It’s thick, so it’s THERE and you know it. It’s not sticky, though, and it’s pretty moisturizing too. I get a faint sugar cookie flavor, but it’s not all up in your grill. If you’re like me and nude, glossy and lips are your thing, Shiraz is a color you’ll reach for all the time.
  • Lip Pencil in Rush: A high-pigment matte rosy pink that glides across lips without tugging. Contains shea butter for moisture!

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