Makeup

NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection: 10-Minute Makeup

April 20th, 2018 by Karen 14 Comments

Is this a 10-minute makeup look because it took me 10 minutes to do…or is it a 10-minute makeup look because I only had it on for 10 minutes?

I don’t know!

Oh, goodness… I’m wearing lots of NARS Erdem Strange Flowers in these pics, and there’s a certain irony to this because I was outside walking among the flowers and the nature for approximately 10 minutes before I had to rush inside and wash everything off. Because my allergies went OFF!

It’s been particularly bad so far this year. My eyes started watering like Trevi Fountain, man. So, yeah. Didn’t get to wear this look all day long, which is what I wanted to do, but at least I had 10 minutes of semi-glamour, and sometimes that’s enough.

Couple things about the NARS Erdem pieces I’m wearing in this look…

I mean, you might recognize most of the “greatest hits” items in this pic because I’ve talked about most of the face products before, but if there’s anything you’re curious about, lemme know.

As for the NARS Erdem pieces, both the Fleur Fatale Eyeshadow Palette and Poison Rose Lip Powder Palette look like they could lean neutral, or maybe even slightly warm, but on my skin (I’m somewhere between NARS St. Moritz and Cuba), both the eye palette and lip palette appear extremely cool-toned, so that’s something to keep in mind if you were considering either of them.

Also — oh, my gosh — the blush? Loves Me? It’s hella bright and SO PIGMENTED. I dabbed a bit on my cheeks and was like, yeah, I should probably take that down a few steps.

I took the foundation brush I used to apply my base makeup (a MAC 187S… It’s a’ight. I used it because it was clean and convenient.) and ran it across the tops of my cheeks to lift some of the blush off and blend it down into the skin a little more.

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The NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection, and Familiar Flowers in My Neighborhood

April 19th, 2018 by Karen 38 Comments

The new NARS Erdem Strange Flowers summer collection is out now (side note: Erdem is a women’s fashion designer, if you’re not in the know… I had to look him up, so you aren’t alone if you had no clue!), so, of course, being the frustrated botanist that I am, I walked all over my neighborhood looking for strange flowers, and that’s when I realized that there aren’t any strange flowers in my neighborhood…

LIKE, NONE.

I don’t think it’s too much to expect to see a Venus Flytrap while you’re taking your cat for a walk.

But I digress…

The NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection

Wanna-Be Botanist Karen is like YAAASSS because every piece in this LE release is covered with ??? flowers.

The eyeshadows palettes — Super potent. Just a little dip with the tip of eye brush lays down loads o’ pigment. If I get in there and blend with a fierce purpose, I’m fine. Fun for smoky looks. 🙂

The blushes — Frostier in the arm swatches than they are on cheeks, yay! Good news for those of us with, like, pores.

The lipsticks — Such a twist! They look dark and intimidating, but five of the six are sheer. The only opaque one is red Blood Flower, which I think is OK, but the sheer ones, I LOVE. They’re like super intense lip tints, and I’m all about the pink and purples because they could almost pass for nudes.

The blotting papers — OK.

The stick highlighter — Opalescent purple dewy gorgeousness. Also doubles as an eyeshadow base (I used it in these pics underneath the blue and charcoal from the Night Garden Palette, and it tinted the smoky look with a hint of purple)

The lip palette — I like layering the lip powders on top of the cream lipstick, but they make my lips look and feel a little dry…

Instead of strange flowers, I saw a bunch of familiar ? flowers, and even though I’m bummed about my neighborhood’s lack of exotic horticulture, the familiar flowers always bring me so much joy and fill me with happy memories. 🙂

nars night garden eyeshadow palette — Strange flowers with familiar flowers

Like these white and purple daisies. Oh, my goodness! When my my parents first moved into the house I grew up in, which is the house my parents still live in today, it had this big patch of daisies just underneath the living room window, and when you’d walk in and out of the house, they were the first things you saw in the yard.

nars fleur fatale eyeshadow palette — Fleur Fatale Eyeshadow Palette

My friend Karrie, who lived next door to my childhood home in the East Bay, would hop over the fence, knock on the door, and ask if I could go outside and play. At some point whenever we’d be playing, a few of these daisies would be picked, and they’d end up either in our hair, around our wrists as bracelets, or squashed underneath bicycle tires.

And these California poppies… OH! They take me back, too.

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10 Things About Makeup and Beauty That Make You Go Hmmm…

April 18th, 2018 by Karen 41 Comments

things that make you go hmmm — Deep thoughts?!

How did baby poop-colored nail polish 1) come to be so frighteningly accurate, and 2) so coveted by the masses?
Why are dudes who have no clue/don’t care always blessed with the longest, curliest, lushest eyelashes?
Why do tweens with porcelain skin and no dark circles wear enough foundation to cover a rump roast and go to Target in full-beat glam?
Why are Instagram brow tails SO sharp?
Why do I remember to bring that 14th tube of pinkish nude lipstick but forget my phone at home?
Why do I feel the need to keep three sticks of half-used MAC Teddy Eye Kohl in my makeup bag?
Why does one feel compelled to buy — not one, not two — but FIVE (*rolls eyes*) ? different bougie foundations/face tints at the Sephora VIB sale, even though one knows they will just end up wearing MAC Face & Body half the time anyway?
Why do the makeup powers that be do lame sh*t like discontinue the world’s best brown pencil liner (I’m talking to you, person who took MAC Coffee away from me!)?
Has the “influencer”/brand collaboration trend hit its peak?
Is there anything out there like liquid SPANX for under-eye bags, and if there is, where can I get it, and do they ship overnight?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day, babe! ?

MAC Pink Hearts Glitter | Better Than Photoshop

April 17th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

The other day I covered up what the beauty/fashion world calls my “imperfections” — the freckles on my cheekbones, acne scars on my cheeks, the chicken pox souvenir in the center of my forehead that I got when I was three — with big ol’ heart-shaped glitter from MAC, and you know what occurred to me?

WE SHOULD BE DOING THIS, LIKE, ALL THE TIME. Screw Face Tune and Photoshop. This is much so cooler.

Weirdly enough, these glitter hearts, which are even more epic in person, do a bang-up job of sticking to my skin. I wore them all day long without any glue (just on top of my usual foundation and powder), and only two hearts fell off.

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My Favorite Nude Lipstick at the Moment Is Naked

April 17th, 2018 by Karen 14 Comments

urban decay naked lipstick attention lipstick iphone case final — Attention Lipsticks ? iPhone Case, available now from my store, ConnorClaire.com.

I’ve been wearing creamy nude pink Naked from the Urban Decay Vice Lipstick line almost on the daily lately because it magically matches almost every eye product, palette and blush color in my collection. It’s $18 but feels like a $60 Guerlain lippie!

What’s your current favorite nude lipstick? Inquiring minds want to know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sephora VIB Recommendations: It’s Time!

April 16th, 2018 by Karen 34 Comments

Good luck to you (and good luck to me) exercising self-restraint at the Sephora VIB sale, which we’re in the midst of now. If you’re in the mood to treat yo’self, here are some skin care, makeup and hair products I love and can wholeheartedly recommend.

Sephora’s Spring Bonus sale starts on April 13 for members of its Beauty Insider rewards program.

VIB Rouge members will get 15% off their entire purchase on April 13 – April 16 and April 20 – April 23.

VIB members will get 15% off on April 20 – April 23, when Insiders will get 10% as well.

Gift sets are a great way to get the most bang for your buck during the sale, since they are already good value before they are discounted.

Customers are limited to one Dyson product and three Drunk Elephant products per purchase; products from the online-exclusive brand The Ordinary are not available as part of the sale.

Skin care

Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes & Lips — takes E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G off
Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion — LOVE ? OF MY LIFE
Caudalie Vine Body Butter and Caudalie Hand & Nail Cream — for the driest of the dry skinned
AMOREPACIFIC Treatment Enzyme Peel — helped clear up a bad breakout a few years back
All the stuff from Clarins that I love — the Toning Lotion with Chamomile, Cleansing Milk with Alpine Herbs, Instant Eye Makeup Remover and Tonic Body Treatment Oil

Makeup

Urban Decay Cannonball Waterproof Mascara — I’ve been wearing this off and on for six years (!) and still love it for the length, separation and curl
Awesome neutral palettes — Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Palette and Viseart Neutral Palette
Hourglass Arch Brow — all that and a bag of salt and vinegar chips!
Hourglass Brilliant Nude Blush — natural-looking cheeks
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Concealer — fantastic for covering dark circles and skin imperfections, and the coverage looks legit natural
Make Up For Ever Mist + Fix — an underrated, IMO, and awesome setting spray
NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder –set the MUFE concealer with this
Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Color Paint Shadow in L-54 — gorgeous on its own for 10-minute makeup, but it also layers really well with Tartelette In Bloom and the Viseart Neutral Palette
Sephora Collection Colorful Shadow & Liner in Violet — an unsung hero of the purple liner world
NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base — best of the best!
Liquid liner loves — Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen and Clinique Pretty Easy Pen

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MAC NICOPANDA | Can You Guess Which of These 5 Looks Was Done By a Child?

April 13th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

Can you guess which of these looks was done by a real, live human child? And by “child,” I don’t mean my inner child. ? I mean the other child who also resides at this address. (The two-year-old one.) HAHAHA!

Is it look one, two, three, four or five? I know, it’s quite a mystery…

I was inspired by the visuals for the MAC NICOPANDA collection (which is available meow, BTW). There’s something very “Matisse meets Jem and the Holograms” about it…

It’s cray but I love ❤️ it.

mac nicopanda visuals — Not to be confused with Kung Fu Panda…

The colors are mostly pastels, mint green, pink and violet interspersed with darker shades like navy blue, gray and a dark plum, which I like because those are colors I wear all the time, although normally with browns.

I get a cool, edgy, artsy-fartsy theatrical performance vibe, like this is makeup that androgynous club kids who are tight with the bouncer and never wait in line might wear.

So, the theme isn’t exactly my gig right now (my scene is Club Toddler in My Living Room), but I’m feenin’ hard for the packaging, because the second-grade me who loved all things Hello Kitty is going bananas ? over the panda heads.

I would’ve traded all of my hologram AND scratch-and-sniff stickers to get hold of one of the lipsticks or glosses, and, funnily enough, those are my favorite things from the collection.

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MAC Fix+ Pinklite and Fix+ Goldlite | Irrational Robot Bling Fears

April 13th, 2018 by Karen 8 Comments

mac fix plus pinklite goldlite final — When you’re hoping people don’t notice your jacked up mani

What am I missing? Am I not shaking these bottles enough? Did I not put enough on? Because I swear to hot dogs, I must have spritzed both Pinklite and Goldlite on my face 20 times, and, I mean, it feels really good. It always does when I spray regular MAC Fix+ on my face, and I expected these shimmery versions would to at least slightly dazzle, but I’m not seeing the dazzle.

Let me do it one more time…

mac fix plus pinklite — SHOW ME THE SHIMMER!

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