Makeup

Try Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder for a Non-Powdery Powdered Face

May 21st, 2018 by Karen 19 Comments

Because I don’t particularly enjoy having my foundation and concealer move around my face like a team of synchronized Solid Gold Dancers, I wear powder. That said, I don’t like my face to look too powdered, if you know what I mean.

Apparently, I’m not the only one out there who likes a non-powdery face, because this new loose powder from Hourglass has already sold out a couple times on their website since it launched earlier this spring.

Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder ($46 for a 0.36-oz. jar of loose powder)

I really like it. I’ve had it in rotation for a few weeks with different bases and concealers on my combo skin, but I’d slow ya’ roll if you’re ultra oily, because it breaks up the foundation between my eyebrows, which is the oiliest area on my face, by the end of the day.

“The magic of Veil transformed into an ultra-refined loose powder designed to give skin a naturally flawless finish. This finely-milled, weightless powder is formulated with soft-focus light-reflecting particles to instantly blur imperfections and minimize the appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkles for effortlessly smooth skin. The translucent formula can be used on all skin tones for an invisible, natural skin finish.”

— hourglass.com

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The “New” MAC 224 Synthetic Tapered Blending Brush…

May 18th, 2018 by Karen 20 Comments

Hey, can I borrow your hot tub/DeLorean time machine for an hour? Pretty please?

I need to get back to 2017 or, really, any time before MAC revamped their brush line and changed so many of their classic brushes. Like this one: the 224.

If you say “yes,” I’ll babysit your cat or bake you brownies. What do ya say? Deal? 🙂

MAC 224S Synthetic Tapered Blending Brush ($34)

I wish I could stock up those old 224s because — HELLO, CRANKY PANTS — this new version is scratchy and stiff, several of the bristles have fallen out, and the ferrule is already loose.

Such a bummer, too, because the old-school 224s are beasts. I have two that are more than five years old and still going strong, but they’ll have to be replaced sooner or later.

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Will Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid Be Your Concealer’s New Best Friend?

May 17th, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

**BEEP** **BEEP** **BEEP**

We interrupt this blog post to bring you this very important announcement: Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid is NOT a full-on concealer. It may look like one, but it’s not. If you apply it by itself on top of dark circles, those bad boys won’t disappear. They’ll be like, “What’s up, lady? HOW YOU DOIN’?” ?

Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid ($32)

But, if you apply it on top of another concealer you already happen to be wearing — in other words, you retouch — you should see a slight difference…

“Meet your concealer’s new best friend. Veil Retouching Fluid is a multitasking complexion enhancer that you won’t want to leave your house without. This weightless, oil-free fluid adds just the right amount of brightness, coverage, and hydration that your skin needs during the day. It’s like your morning cup of coffee, your 3pm piece of chocolate, and your post-workout glow all rolled into one.”

– sephora.com

When I dab and blend it on top of Make Up For Ever Ultra HD, which has been my under-eye concealer du jour lately, and by “lately,” I mean the past couple years, my dark circles look a little brighter.

Bonus: it doesn’t get cake-y or break up the concealer, either.

It would be pretty innovative if you didn’t know about Trish McEvoy’s Instant Eye Lift, which has been around a hot minute.

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EYESHADOW/EYELINER/EYE PRIMER: What Are Your Current Fave Products?

May 16th, 2018 by Karen 52 Comments

***ALERT*** Nosy noodle over here. I love hearing about what other people are into…’cause I’m a nosy noodle like that! Here are my current favorite eyeshadow, eyeliner and eye primer. What are yours?

—> Eyeshadow

Whenever I wear the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette in Medium, which I’ve been doing a lot lately, I get compliments, which is kinda weird to me because it isn’t a flashy palette at all, but hey, I’ll take it!

It’s a pared down nude eyeshadow palette in their permanent line, and it has a couple of matte cool-toned browns, a shimmery beige and shimmery gold, and a matte off-black (there are also two other recently added versions in Light and Dark).

I love how uncomplicated it is and that I can just put it on my lids and go (browns in the crease, black to line, and beige to highlight). Even though it doesn’t look revolutionary or unique, it’s gorgeous and uniquely great. The powders are sensationally soft, and blending them isn’t even a thing.

—> Eyeliner

MAC Coffee! Thank you, Tatiana, for letting me know that Coffee mysteriously reappeared on the MAC website sometime in the past few weeks. I may or may not have pulled the trigger on a stick or two…or five. LOL. Seriously, it’s the BEST brown liner known to womankind. It’s not too red or orange or too anything, really, and it lasts on the water line without making my eyes water.

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REVIEW! MAC Mirage Noir Slow As You Go Eye Shadow and Mother o’ Pearl Pearlmatte Face Powder

May 15th, 2018 by Karen 19 Comments

I went for ’80s today… Don’t know if I quite got there, but it’s all good. 🙂 I still like how this look turned out.

So, plums and purples today. And I found this top that I’ve had forever. It’s by Halogen, and I got it at Nordstrom a zillion years ago.

I wanted my makeup to complement the top, which is something I don’t do very often — coordinate my makeup with my clothes — especially lately. Lately my clothes have basically been an afterthought (although I’m working diligently to change that), but today I thought I’d coordinate. Plus, big hair. I was going for ’80s hair…or a modified version, but I’ll get to that in a sec.

First, the two key ingredients in this look… LOL! Ingredients. 🙂 What, are we making brownies? OK, the two key “elements” are a purple eyeshadow called Slow As You Go, and a plummy golden bronzed cheek/face powder called Mother o’ Pearl.

Both are from the new MAC Mirage Noir summer collection available now.

MAC Slow as You Go Eye Shadow ($17)

You’re gonna dig this if you’re a fan of MAC Trax. Slow as You Go is similar, but I actually think I like it more than Trax because it’s shinier (in a good way) and more richer. Like Trax two point oh. It’s also silky soft and blends like a dream. And — this is important — it doesn’t make my eyes water like so many other purples do.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Did you know? Golden purples like Slow as You Go pair very well with MAC Powersurge and MAC Prunella eyeliners. 😉

mac mirage noir mother o pearl slow as you go — Makin’ mah heart flutter!

MAC Mother o’ Pearl Pearlmatte Powder ($34)

This plummy gold has a slightly warm bronze undercurrent. It’s like a combo bronzer, blush and highlighter. Normally I just mix it all together and sweep that on my cheeks and blend.

Technically, it’s a powder, but it feels almost like a cream, and the opalescent finish is pure purr-fection.

It’s like a bronzier MAC Plum Foolery, but not as shiny.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Did you know? You can also use Mother o’ Pearl as an eyeshadow. Yup, it’s also approved for lids.

mac mirage noir other o pearl k — CHEEKS!

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Shout-Out to the MAC Cream Colour Bases!

May 15th, 2018 by Karen 8 Comments

Old-school MAC right hurr! It’s been a minute since I’ve talked about the Cream Colour Bases, but I’ve been wearing Improper Copper and Vintage Rose as cream blushes lately and just remembered what makes them so, so good.

mac cream colour base swatches — Hello, my pretties!

mac cream colour base insert — Not all of the shades are eye, cheek and lip safe.

These multitasking creams moonwalk across the skin and stay put on my lids, lips and cheeks. You can easily blur the edges with your finger, too, even if you consider yourself blending-challenged.

I wear Shell and Hush as eyeshadow bases and highlighters all the time, and I give them ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5 hearts for being awesome.

Do you have a fave? Which one, and how do you use it? Inquiring minds want to know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette in Deep (Take One)

May 14th, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

And now for something completely different (not), if I had a nickel for every time I watched a YouTube makeup video and thought, “Oh, I can handle that. That’s gonna be easy.” And then I tried it and was like, “What the hell just happened?” — I’d be a rich girl.

Yeesh, I’m so out of practice with eyeshadow… It is definitely a perishable skill, at least for me. It’s not like riding a bike, where you can take years off, then hop back on and be like, “Lalala! So easy! This is great!”

As you know, I’ve been wanting to do a little more with my makeup lately — not necessarily to put more makeup on, but to, ya know, do something more ambitious than one or two lid shades and some tightlining, so I’ve been watching a lot of videos, like this one by Sephora for hooded lids, which was actually VERY helpful for explaining proper placement (a.k.a “where to put the lighter and darker colors”).

If you have a hooded lid situation, definitely check it out.

Thing is…it assumes you have rudimentary blending skills down pat, which I thought I had, but I guess they were tucked away somewhere because… Well, it’s not that I’m unhappy with how this eye look turned out, but I can see a few things I could have done better.

I like it from straight on, and from the side, with my eyes open. I think it’s pretty decently blended in the crease, and I like the way the gradient is feathering, but when I look at the pics of myself with my eyes closed…WHOA.

And this could just be me being hyper-critical of myself, because I do that, but I can see that one eye is darker than the other, and they aren’t perfectly symmetrical, and I know that I do these things because I’ve made these same mistakes 1,342,521 times before.

I also know that my eyes aren’t identical. They’re naturally asymmetrical. One is slightly larger than the other, and my smaller eye is set a little deeper the the other. Also, I’m right-handed, and I tend to press harder when I’m applying shadow on my right lid than I do on my left, making that eye’s makeup look darker if I don’t pay close attention.

Basically, these are just lessons I have to re-learn from time to time… While not rocket science, makeup is definitely a perishable skill. If you don’t use it, you freakin’ lose it.

Anywho, today’s makeup gave me a chance to get to know the new Chanel Les Beiges Deep eyeshadow palette, and girl, the browns are beautiful! They are SO pretty.

Like the wide buttery golden pan at the top? No, it isn’t MAC Soba, but it is Chanel’s version. If I just stopped trying new makeup and wore this satiny mid-toned brown daily for the rest of my life, I’d be a happy camper.

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Do You Now (or Have You Ever) Work in a Place Where Folks Wear Lots of Makeup?

May 11th, 2018 by Karen 30 Comments

k and connor cats shirt — The official Tabs the Cat Industries LLC / Makeup and Beauty Blog company uniform — a tee shirt and black stretchy pants

Not per se, and right now I’m still thoroughly entrenched in that stretchy pants life, but I wish I had spent some time working someplace where people dressed to the nines and went all out with their hair and makeup.

Even when I worked in the city at PG&E, most of my coworkers did the bare minimum, but part of that is California style. Workplaces here are usually super casual, like business casual+casual.

I like looking “put together” and getting dressed up, though, as you can quite clearly tell by my propensity for black stretchy pants, haha… 🙂

This question occurred to me the other day as I was talking to a gal who’d recently moved from NYC to Novato, which is a BIG change, because this is a sleepy little town compared to metropolis. She described how she recently went to an orientation meeting for her new job here and was the only person wearing a suit and full makeup, and was like, “You don’t understand, everyone I knew in New York dressed up. Full makeup, everything. And there were people in that meeting wearing jeans and messy buns!”

Haha! Welcome to the Bay Area, where “Casual Friday” is every day of the week.

How about you? Have you ever worked someplace where people went all out with their hair, clothes and makeup? And related question: have you ever worked someplace where you had to wear a uniform?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. T-G-I-F. SO not kidding either.