Makeup

Makeup and Beauty Blog’s Holiday Beauty Gift Guide

December 14th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

Beauty gifts for everyone on your list, including yo’ self. That’s the Clarins Tonic Candle ($75), by the way, which will make your home smell like a spa.

I think the best holiday gifts are the ones you’re tempted to buy for yourself, so if you happen to “accidentally” keep a few things that were originally meant to be gifts for peeps on your list, well, far be it from me to deny you some fabulous holiday beauty booty. 🙂

From stocking stuffers to full-on luxury treats, I’ve rounded up my faves below for friends, family, frenemies and, let’s get real — yourself.

MAC Mini Pigments, $10 — Technically, these aren’t under $10, but they’re close. Has anyone in the history of all MAC-kind ever finished an entire jar of MAC Pigment, ever? These minis should last ~~you~~ your gift recipient a long time, and they don’t cost an arm and a leg. Try Blue-Brown or Tan!
Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks, $9 — These long-lasting, pigmented liquid lippies are usually $18 each but are 50% off right now.
Topshop Bunny Veil Headband, $9.99 — For your glam friend who’s all about the extras and/or doesn’t leave the house without some form of animal accessory on her person. I’d actually love this for myself, even though I have no idea where I’d wear it.
OPI Love OPI XOXO Nail Lacquer Duo w/ Cosmetic Bag, $9 — This set’s marked down from $18. What a steal for two full-sized bottles and a bag. OPI has one of the longest lasting lacquer formulas around, and that red and deep plum would look good all year long.
MAC Mini Lipglass Kit, $10 — This adorable stocking stuffer comes with three minis.
Ardell Mini Faves Lash Lookbook + Duo, $10 — Ardell does bad-@ss budget lashes that look luxurious and feel comfy, too! This kit has three pairs.

mac pigments — Mini MAC Pigments, $10 each

OPI Love OPI XOXO 4 Pc Mini Set, $7.35 — OK, so, sometimes I have trubs painting my paws with mini polishes, but I could make it work for this price. Originally $14.50, this set comes with a red, black, dark purple and charcoal in OPI’s signature long-wearing formula.
3 Pack of EOS Hand Lotion, $5.97 — These cute and non-greasy EOS hand lotions easily fit into a purse or pocket. I know because I went through a phase where I was stashing them everywhere.
Soap & Glory Hand & Foot Gift Set, $7.99 — I almost just wrote “Hoof & Foot Gift Set…” 🙂 But don’t worry, this hydrating set for hands and feet is for people. Not horses.
Kristin Ess Signature Shampoo + Signature Hair Conditioner Set, $10 — Yo. So this lady cuts L.C.’s (as in Lauren Conrad’s) hair, and her aesthetic is on point. I haven’t tried these products yet, but I REALLY, REALLY WANT to based on the chic packaging alone. If someone gifted this to me, I’d assume it was from Nordstrom or SpaceNK.
Kristin Ess Reconstructive Moisture Mask + Leave-In Conditioner Set, $10 — Another snazzy looking Kristin Ess hair set.

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L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise: A Drugstore Wunderkind for Wonderful Length

December 14th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

loreal voluminous lash paradise — All this lash drama for less than $10. Thanks, L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise!

“I’d like two tickets to Lash Paradise, please! — one for me, and one for my awesomely affordable pink tube of mascara. Actually…make that three tickets, because I’m gonna need a separate seat for the added length. Yeah, because my lashes, which normally disappear into the background of my face, even after I curl them, look so incredibly long when I wear it that you’d think I was one of those genetically #blessed people.”

loreal voluminous lash paradise before after — Before, and after a single coat

I heard about Voluminous Lash Paradise, a new-ish addition to L’Oréal’s mascara family, from my friend Vanessa, who does makeup for weddings and celebs down in L.A. She was like, This is going to rock your world. I can’t live without it. I use it, and I use it on my clients, and…just GET THEE A TUBE ASAP. (In so many words.)

V, you weren’t playing!

I know it’s trite, but it’s like wearing falsies. The look is similar to Tom Ford’s awesome, but very expensive, $45 FullScreen Mascara (they even have similar wavy brushes), but creates a little less volume.

There are so many different versions, too, including waterproof and non-waterproof, all in different tones of black. I have the Waterproof one in Blackest Black, which looks dramatic even after a single pitch black layer (and it gets even better with two).

The length? It’s crazy. Plus, it creates fine-toothed separation and a tight curl with a major volume boost, although I’m hella greedy when it comes to volume and always want a little more, since I’m all about that fatty YSL Faux Cils/Chanel le Volume lash life.

Lash Paradise’s volume is still good, though.

loreal voluminous lash paradise k — That curl is no joke.

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Full-Coverage Foundation: Love It or Leave It?

December 14th, 2017 by Karen 69 Comments

Do you love it and wear it all the time? Or do you never, ever wear it? Or is it somewhere in the middle?

More is more full-on “cake face” with all the bells and primer/foundation/concealer/contour/highlight/powder for baking whistles is very popular right now, especially if you use social media as a guide.

Full coverage is definitely in right now. It has been for a few years, and I like it on occasion… I think it can look amazing in pics, and full coverage loves lots of studio lighting, but it’s getting harder for me to pull off completely full coverage as I get older, especially in broad daylight if I don’t have the patience to really work at it, and I need to work at it more to keep full coverage from looking heavy or harsh around my “experience lines.”

Basically, it takes time, man. For events or parties when I know I’ll be wearing makeup for hours, and everyone’s gonnna have their iPhone out (because, take a pic or it didn’t happen!), sure, I’ll still go the full-coverage route, but if we’re just talking about taking Connor to baby story time at the library on a Wednesday, nah. I’ll either go bare faced or go minimal with a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, and that’s it. Most days I wear either sheer or medium coverage.

It wasn’t always this way, though, of course. My last major full-coverage phase lasted from 2011-2015, and I wore all the things. With foundation, the fuller the coverage, the more I was into it.

I think if you’re young and have porcelain smooth skin, hell yeah. You can pack it on (I know I did, LOL!), and it’ll still look good.

Anyway, how about you? Full-coverage foundation… Love it or leave it?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Maybelline Total Temptation Brow Definer: Get Bushy Brows for Less That Last

December 13th, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

As has been documented on the interwebz, I have a brow situation, but here it is again, with feeling, in case you missed it the first 1,465 times: my right brow is shorter, and my left brow has a bald spot (Raul says “WASSUP!”).

It’s an uneven situation all around, so I fill in my brows daily because big brows make me feel like superhero Karen.

I usually skip the process, though, when I work out, because I’m just going to sweat it all off anyway, but new Maybelline Total Temptation Brow Definer ($7.99) has me rethinking that world view.

maybelline total temptation brow definer before after — Before and after

GIRL. Technically, this stuff isn’t waterproof or sweat-proof, but it might as well be because it hangs on even better than pricier pencils by MAC, Urban Decay and Tom Ford.

I wore it to HIIT class Monday night, which I almost didn’t even go to because I was really dragging my feet. I came *this close* to bailing, so I needed — yes, needed! — brows to help get me through it.

Don’t ask me why, but looking semi-cute during exercise class helps me push harder. *shoulder shrugs*

maybelline total temptation brow definer swatches — Blonde, Soft Brown, Medium Brown and Deep Brown

Deep Brown, the shade closest to my dark blackish brown hair, stayed put on my skin and between my brow hairs to keep my fuzzy little caterpillars looking fluffy and full throughout countless burpies (burpees?) and switch lunges. Every time I caught a glimpse of my gansta face in the mirror and mumbled “Karen, you can do this!” under my breath, I felt and looked LEGIT.

maybelline total temptation brow definer k — 2 legit 2 quit… Er, something like that. I’m wearing Deep Brown.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Bite Beauty Multistick in Honeywheat

December 13th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

bite beauty honeywheat — Bite Beauty Multistick in Honeywheat, the unsung hero of all your warm brown palettes. ALL OF THEM!

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.

I’ve had *three* conversations over the last few days about warm brown eyeshadow palettes.

Have you noticed when you walk into a Sephora, an Ulta or a drugstore that those six-pan palettes with orange browns and reddish browns are everywhere? It’s like, Oh, there’s Urban Decay Naked Heat, and there’s NARS Wanted, and there’s Anastasia Modern Renaissance.

They’re all over the place!

I’m a fan. I think they’re fun. My heart’s all, “Blow out those warm orange-y and red smoky eyes until your wrist falls off, K!” but my mind’s like, “Realistically, you have 15 minutes to do your makeup today, so look for shortcuts.”

Shortcuts: I’m all about them.

I’ve been starting my smoky looks lately by layering two cream shadows together, one lighter and one darker, to jump start the smoky gradient effect.

I might not always have the time to layer and blend with the care that smoky eyes usually need (but who does, really?), but this trick at least gets me halfway there.

This warm matte chocolate brown is Bite Beauty Multistick in Honeywheat ($24), and it’s the lighter shade I’ve been using in most of my smoky eye looks lately. I think it’s the best base shade for those orange-y and reddish brown palettes (or pretty much any nude/neutral palette in your stash).

It’s a multipurpose cream stick for lids, lips and cheeks with a pliable consistency that you can easily push around with your brush. It’s not oily or greasy, though, so it actually stays where it belongs once it sets, which takes about five minutes.

Other creams blend into it easily, too, and powder shadows glide across it without sticking to any spots.

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Espresso and Chocolate, Two Budget-Friendly Beautiful Brown Shades From the Revlon ColorStay Crème Eye Shadow Line

December 12th, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

revlon colorstay creme eye shadow chocolate espresso — Wearing Revlon ColorStay Crème Eye Shadows in Chocolate and Espresso on my lids and lash lines.

Why are so many beautiful brown shadows named after something delicious, like Espresso and Chocolate? I call foul. It’s unfair.

For the O.M.R. (Official Makeup Record), you can’t eat this Espresso or this Chocolate, two beautiful matte browns in the Revlon ColorStay Crème Eye Shadow line, but since they’re on sale at Target right now for $5.99 each (regularly $7.99), you can use the extra change in your pocket to get an actual espresso or something chocolate.

GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE. I go buck wild for brown eyeshadows (probably more than the average bear, but what are you gonna do?). These two creams are on the cool-toned side, and they’re shades that you could totally use, like, everyday if you’re into natural-looking or no-makeup makeup, which I am.

Chocolate is a medium taupe-ish brown, and Espresso is a grayish chocolate brown. Both look equally delicious.

I reviewed some of the shimmer cream shadows from this line last spring, and I love them because they’re like sheer versions of the MAC Paint Pots. They’re long lasting, easy to blend, and they don’t look dry or heavy on my finely lined lids.

The matte versions are similar, I’m happy to report.

revlon colorstay eyeshadow chocolate espresso swatches — Chocolate and Espresso

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A MAC Jade Jagger Face of the Day With Golden Shine Mineralize Eye Shadow X 4

December 11th, 2017 by Karen 27 Comments

mac jade jagger golden shine — When Target is your runway…

I vote that we all wear soft glam makeup for Target runs from this day forward.

It has been decided!

If nothing else, I think it would make the world a more interesting place, LOL!

But seriously, I’m usually barefaced when I go to Target because #momlife, unless I’m feeling ambitious, in which case I might curl my lashes — might — but I just had to go there with MAC Jade Jagger. It’s so beautiful! I haven’t been this excited about a MAC collection in a long time.

Gimme easy glam any day of the week.

mac jade jagger collection all — I’m wearing the blush in the upper right, the red lipstick right next it, the quad on the left, and the bronzer in the lower left.

The collection is LE and coming to select MAC counters and the MAC website December 14th.

This was actually my face of the day last Friday, but I just got around to posting the pics. It’s a warm, satiny bronzed brown smoky eye with pink cheeks and soft red lip.

mac jade jagger golden shine k2 — I used the rose gold shimmer in Satin Shimmer Mineralize Skinfinish to highlight my cheekbones and my nose.

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#FancyLadyThings: Tom Ford FullScreen Lash Mascara

December 11th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

At the intersection of Fancy Lady Lane and Tom Ford Beauty Boulevard, you’ll find me — hello! — standing at the crossroads waving a tube of the new FullScreen Lash Mascara, which is — clutch your pearls — $45.

Fullscreen is one of three new mascaras in the eyes-only Eyes of Tom Ford makeup collection (the others are Spike and Shutter), and when you say that, you have to whisper it all sexy-time because it’s the right thing to do.

And FullScreen is the one you want if you want natural-looking drama…which, admittedly, seems like a contradiction in terms, but picture your favorite set of natural-looking falsies that noticeably thicken and lengthen your lashes, and even hold a kick-@ss curl for a night-and-day difference, but still manage to look like lashes that a real human being could have been born with.

That’s FullScreen, except without the glue and cries of “Mother trucker! I just smudged my winged liner! Now I need to start over AGAIN!”

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