Makeup

Black Friday Beauty Deals!

November 21st, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

Beauty steals and deals for Black Friday!

You could spend Black Friday, a.k.a. the day after Thanksgiving, sprawled out on your couch recovering from your turkey- and carb-induced food coma, OR you could spend the day putting a whole bunch of discounted beauty products into your cart and debating whether or not to pull the trigger.

Or you could do both?! That’s what I’ll be doing. 🙂

Here are the best of the best I’ve seen so far. If I find anything else worthy of note before Fri-yay, I’ll be sure to add it to the bottom of the post in the “Noteworthy” section.

The deal: Buy one, get one half off. Exclusions apply (holiday collections, Diptyque and Vintner’s Daughter don’t apply). Promotion starts in stores on Wednesday, November 22, 2017, and online Friday, November 24, 2017 through Monday, November 27.

— R+Co High Dive is a ride-or-die-caliber leave-in conditioner for all hair types. I just finished my second bottle and plan to stock up on at least two more; it’s *THAT* good. (Here’s my review.)

— More R+Co must haves: Analog Cleansing Foam Conditioner (review), Sail Soft Wave Spray (review), Control Flexible Paste (review), Death Valley Dry Shampoo (review) and Trophy Shine + Texture Spray (review).

— I wear at least one thing by Hourglass Cosmetics almost every day. Some classic workhorse products that you can wear all year long include the Ambient Lighting Blush (shade Diffused Heat on me), Vanish Seamless Foundation Stick (review), Girl Lip Stylo (I wear Explorer, Dreamer and Peacemaker all the time) and Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Radiant Bronze.

horuglass radiant bronze light bronzer — Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Radient Bronze on my cheeks

— The Surratt Curler is life. Best one out there right meow IMO (review).

— Skin care to consider — Kat Burki PH+ Enzyme Essence, Sunday Riley Good Genes, Sunday Riley C.E.O.

— Byredo Gypsy Water — I could happily wear this scent every day for the rest of my life (review). I’m also a fan of Mojave Ghost.

The deal: 25% off everything! — no exclusions now until Tuesday, November 28. They have an extended “no quibbles” return policy through the holidays, too, so orders placed between November 20, 2017 and January 10th, 2018 may be returned through January 31, 2018 (you’ll need the original box containing all of the original product packaging and accessories, though).

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Marshalls Loves Cat Ladies (Also, New Concealers and a Palette From Urban Decay)

November 18th, 2017 by Karen 41 Comments

Morning, babes. No Saturday Surfing today, but if you needed more evidence that Marshalls adores cat ladies, I present, for the O.M.R. (the Official Makeup Record), the following pieces of evidence…

Exhibit A: Marshalls is down with the cat ladies

That adorable cat dish/tray at the top, complete with a kitty wearing eyeglasses (because all the cool cats wear glasses)…

And this catnip jar — because only crazy cat ladies need a dedicated jar for bulk catnip.

And this holiday kitty cat mug with its own knitted cozy!

Also, this set of purr-fect cat mugs…

Trays in every room

Yes, I did get that tray at the top, because, hello — cat lady here. Target market. 🙂

Um…actually, I have little trays in every room of the house because I’m always having to take off my watch and my rings for different reasons.

Like, for instance, when Connor gets her hands down a poopy diaper and decides to do some finger painting with said poop all over her crib bedding, stuffed animals and her blanket (true story).

I tend to take off my jewelry before tackling tasks like that, hence the trays.

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Look Book: Glittery Demi-Cut Crease Cat Eyes, Levels of Glitter, and More MAC Snow Ball

November 16th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

mac snow ball pigment glitter kit pink k pink lips — Wearing the MAC Snow Ball Pigment and Glitter Kit in Pink on my lids.

Look Book is a new MBB series, but I think of it as “a makeup playground.” It’s a place to try new looks, talk about techniques and products, and hopefully — hopefully — get inspired to try new things. 🙂

I have plans, my friend — makeup plans for the future — and they involve me continuing to wear glitter on my lids through my 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. 🙂

Why?

Because I don’t believe that glittery makeup has to be relegated to just one or two decades along your makeup journey. I 100% believe that there are always ways to work a little sparkle into your step.

I think it helps to think of glitter as, not just something you completely splash all over your lids, but as an accent that you can incorporate into your look in levels, which is what I did in this glittery demi-cut crease with glittery cat eye liner and a glittery dot accent in the inner corner.

By the way, before we get into it, I just want let you know that I used some limited edition makeup kits (the Pigment and Glitter Kit in Pink, Lip Gloss Kit in Rose, and the Mascara Kit) from the MAC Snow Ball collection, which is out now.

I also used all three of the Snow Ball brush kits (Basic, Advanced and Mini).

In addition to those, I also sprinkled in some MAC permanent products, of course, and everything is listed at the bottom of the post. If you have any questions about anything — the kits, the permanent things, why I did something a certain way, whatever — holler at me in the comments, and I’ll drop my two cents.

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Chanel Holiday 2017: Rouge Allure and Rouge Allure Velvet Lipsticks From the LIBRE 2017 NUMÉROS ROUGES Holiday Collection

November 15th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

chanel collection libre numeros rouges no-2 — Enrapturing raspberry red! Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick No. 2 from the Chanel Holiday 2017 Collection Libre Numéros Rouges

Girl, if you invited me over to your house to look at your makeup collection (because — hi, isn’t that a normal thing? In my mind it is…), and you opened up a drawer with just, like, red lipsticks, and all of them looked more or less the same, I’d be like, “Hello! Hallelujah! We’re high-fiving a million little angles right now, because you’re doing it right!” OK? Because when you’re a red lipstick lover, none of them are the same, and you appreciate all of the nuances.

That’s the first thing I’d say. The second thing I’d say is “Let’s go to Chanel right now, because you will freak out over the lipsticks in the Chanel holiday collection.”

chanel collection libre 2017 numeros rouges 1 2 3 — Crimson cravings… From the left: No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.

There are four of them, and the swooning starts as soon as you see the packaging. They’re all Rouge Allures, $37 each, with the same signature featherweight formula (couple different finishes, though), and they come in gorgeous gold limited edition tubes with red lacquered caps (yes, they have that classic and very satisfying Rouge Allure *click* when you press them).

chanel collection libre 2017 numeros rouges caps — Click!

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Chanel Holiday 2017: Trait de Caractère Eyeshadow Palette

November 14th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

chanel trait de caractere k2 — Lids: Chanel Trait de Caractère Eyeshadow Palette ($70)

I keep waiting for that moment, that pang in my gut that so often happens with Chanel LE palettes, especially the holiday ones. It’s that moment when I realize that — OMG — this palette is worthy of worship, and I can’t live without it. I keep waiting for it to kick in with the new $70 Trait de Caractère holiday palette.

And waiting, and waiting, and waiting…

chanel trait de caractere — Trait de Caractère, the new $70 Eyeshadow Palette from the Chanel Holiday Collection (available now)

Trait de Caractère is on counters now, along with the rest of Chanel’s Holiday 2017 Collection, and I’ve worn it several times over the past few weeks, most recently to brunch with my parents (I mixed the matte brown with the shimmery taupe, blended it on my lids, then lined the lash lines with the dark green), and ya know… It’s a’ight.

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Look Book: Rose Gold Glistening Glow With a Pop of Purple and MAC Snowball

November 13th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

mac snow ball glitter pigment gold — The MAC Snow Ball Pigments and Glitter kit in Gold on my lids

Back with the second post in a new series called Look Book! — which is a little different from the Face of the Day series. I like to think of the Look Book as an experimental space for makeup looks, for sure, but also a place to talk about technique, products and basically anything that strikes my (or your) fancy. If we discover some new ways to approach our makeup, find new things to try and figure out new ways to feel inspired along the way, mission accomplished.
🙂

The original theme for this look was “rose gold glistening glow,” but I think I ended up with more “rose gold sweaty glow,” since it turned out shinier than I anticipated… LOL! Oh, well. That’s OK, though, these things happen when you’re experimenting with makeup. The big upside of this is that I found a new way to wear lipstick! (More on this in a second.)

mac snow ball collectkon look k — When you look kinda sweaty but you’re still into it…

Wearing a few kits from the MAC Snowball holiday collection

All of the makeup I’m wearing in this is listed down below. I used a bunch of the LE holiday kits from the MAC Snow Ball collection that are on counters now, including the Snow Ball Pigment and Glitter Kit in Gold ($29.50), two of the Lip Bag kits ($39.50 each) — initially, I put on the Lip Bag Kit in Nude, but then for fun I swapped the nude lips for matte red lips using the Lip Bag Kit in Nude Red.

I also used the Snow Ball Mascara kit ($29.50), and the Basic ($49.50), Advanced ($49.50) and Mini ($29.50) brush kits from Snow Ball.

mac snow ball pigments glitter kit nude red lip kits — MAC Snow Ball Pigments and Glitter Kit in Gold, the Lip Bags in Nude and Red, and the Mascara Kit

mac snow ball brush kit — MAC Snow Ball Brush Kit in Basic, MAC Snow Ball Brush Kit in Advanced, and MAC Snow Ball Brush Kit in Mini

But the star of the show for me, by far, is Holiday Crush, the rose gold lipstick from the Snow Ball makeup collection, which I actually used as an eyeshadow base.

SAY WHAT?!

Lipstick as an eyeshadow base

Yeah, lipstick lids. Just when I thought I knew everything about lippies, BAM! — I see a makeup artist using a lipstick as an eyeshadow base. So I gave it a try too.

mac snow ball glitter pigment gold 2 — Surprise! The eyeshadow base is actually a lipstick — MAC Snow Ball Lipstick (from the Snow Ball makeup collection) in Holiday Crush, a metallic rose gold.

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Chanel Holiday 2017: 857 LEGENDARY GREEN Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner

November 9th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

chanel legendary green — Chanel 857 Legendary Green (LIMITED EDITION)

Can we just make it standard operating procedure from this day forward that every brown-eyed girl — actually, every girl and makeup-loving dude, period — has to wear green eyeliner every day? Because Chanel’s Legendary Green Stylo Yeux liner has me convinced that this should be one of those die-hard makeup rules, and heck…I’m not even one to follow rules (I prefer breaking them).

I’ve been lining my eyes with this deep, rich forest green lately — both my lash and water lines, because it feels just as good and lasts just as long on both — and now every other liner I try falls flat on my brown eyes. This particular green goes buck wild on lash lines.

chanel legendary green closeup — Get a little closer… Don’t be shy.

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Chanel Holiday 2017: 822 SILVER SCREEN/SATINÉ Cream Eyeshadow From the LIBRE 2017 NUMÉROS ROUGES Holiday Collection

November 8th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

chanel collection libre silver-screen-k2 — Lids: Chanel OMBRE PREMIÈRE
Longwear Cream Eyeshadow in 822 SILVER SCREEN/SATINÉ from the LIBRE 2017 NUMÉROS ROUGES holiday collection

I’m not surprised anymore to see red and gold in a holiday makeup collection, because it’s typical, or, as the cool kids like to say these days, “#basic.”

I mean, how many times have we seen red and gold holiday makeup collections!? I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I lost count. So I think it was pretty unusual, in a welcome way, to see Chanel go with red and platinum for the new LIBRE 2017 NUMÉROS ROUGES collection.

And we’re not talking about a basic platinum either.

chanel collection libre silver-screen — 822 Silver Screen

It’s called 822 Silver Screen, and it’s a warm-toned platinum OMBRE PREMIÈRE, one of Chanel’s Longwear Cream Eyeshadows.

If you look closely, you should see a hint of khaki…

chanel collection libre silver screen swatch — Swatch: 822 SILVER SCREEN/SATINÉ

The khaki took me a little while to see. I had to stare at the swatch on my skin, but as I meditated on it (wait — doesn’t everybody do that with their eyeshadow??), I spotted an essence of khaki green.

Then the mental makeup gears started turning… “Ooh! I’ll do green liner with this eyeshadow. It’ll be magical.”

chanel collection libre silver-screen-k — I’m also wearing Chanel Malice Blush on my cheeks and Hourglass Day Dream on my lips

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