Daily Beauty

Lombard Street, Painted Ladies and Adventures in San Francisco

July 12th, 2016 by Karen 33 Comments

El Hub and I played hooky to spend the day in San Francisco and celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (10!) last Thursday.

We didn’t go having any plans. We just kind of wanted to wing it and hang out with each other doing something fun, since we haven’t done much of that over the past few months since Connor arrived.

So, um…yeah, we went exploring. 🙂

I wanted to do things that I’d never done in the city before, and I’d never seen the crooked part of Lombard Street with all of the switchbacks and hydrangeas.

[Continue reading…]

What Had Been a Pre-BG Mini Sephora Haul

March 2nd, 2016 by Karen 24 Comments

I wrote this post shortly before Monday’s Cirque du BG got underway, but I still wanted to share it.

They (and by “they” I’m referring to folks on the interwebz) say that walking helps to encourage babies to exit le womb…so I took a nice, long walk around my local Sephora the other day.

LOL! No, seriously, I did laps around the store, going up and down the aisles, to get labor to start, and got friendly words of encouragement from the girls I know who work there.

A few things also somehow mysteriously found their way into my hot little hands. Whoops!

I grabbed…

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Fresh Cut Split End Mender ($24): This treatment is supposed to seal and heal split ends, and I have been seeing a few split ends here and there… It’s probably because it’s been a while since I got a haircut, and since I may or not be getting another one until May, I hope this helps!

Yves Saint Laurent Volupté Tint-In-Oil in Peach Me Love ($32): From the YSL Permanent line. A moisturizing glossy lip color suspended in a moisturizing treatment oil, and OH! — it’s so freaking good. Why did it take me so long to get on this train? I want all of teh colors right meow!

Lancôme Definicils Waterproof High Definition Mascara ($27.50): Bought this because it holds curl and stands up to tears. I like the brush, too, because it’s on the skinny side and easy for me to control.

I also grabbed this L’Occitane Sephora Perk (I think it was VIB 500 points… Or maybe it was 550. I can’t remember.) with minis of their shower oil, makeup cleansing oil, skin oil, one of my favorite hand creams and a cute makeup bag. I just packed it into my hospital bag!

Also, you know what I just realized? I just realized that the next time I go to Sephora, Baby Girl will probably be with me. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My Latest Kate Spade Love: The Grand Street Layton Wristlet

February 23rd, 2016 by Karen 28 Comments

Finally! At long last! (Huzzah!) The great hunt is over…and I’m not referring to the hunt to find the perfect product to tame the out-of-control baby hairs in my bangs, because they have been extra unruly lately (if you happen to have a recommendation, please help a homie out).

No, I’m referring to my hunt for a new wallet/wristlet/smart phone holder thingamabober-doohickey.

I’ve been looking for one big enough (but not too big) to hold my behemoth of an iPhone, credit cards, spare change, keys, cat treats (#ccl) and a tube of lipgloss (very important) because I’m trying to streamline before BG arrives, and I want something that I can just toss into a diaper bag. And when I’m out and about, and she’s in one of those baby carrier contraptions around my middle, with a wristlet, I’ll be able to keep my hands relatively free.

The real challenge has been finding one big enough to fit my phablet iPhone 6+, but the Grand Street Layton by Kate Spade does (originally $228, marked down to $79!). It has 12 small pockets for business and credit cards, four big pockets (including two zippered exterior ones, which are where I keep my keys), a zippered interior compartment for spare change, and the main pocket, which is roomy enough for a big-@ss phone and a full-sized tube of NARS gloss.

The whole thing isn’t exactly petite, because, hello! — it fits a lot of stuff. It’s a little larger than 4×8 inches, which is kinda big for a wristlet, but it’s still small enough to fit in any of my purses. Plus, it’s reasonably thin and not too bulky. Oh, and it’s made of leather with light-colored 14-karat gold-plated hardware.

I grabbed it in black at a Kate Spade online surprise sale a few weeks ago. There were two colors available at the time, the black and a hot pink, and even though every fiber of my being was screaming “KAREN!!! HOT PINK!” I went with the black, because I thought it would go with everything, and it wouldn’t get dirty as easily.

I wish I could find the exact same wallet now online, but the closest one I’m finding is this one called the Primrose Hill Layton, which is kindasorta similar, and I bet also fantastic.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Wristlets: how do you feel about them?

P.P.S. I am so pregnant right now!

The Cargo Venice Enchantment Eye Shadow Palette: Venice, Here I Come!

January 18th, 2016 by Karen 14 Comments

One of the good things about the post-holiday period: the sales! They’re a good reason to wait to make some purchases until after the holiday shopping madness mellows, because sometimes you can find things like holiday makeup palettes marked down.

Like this one from Cargo, the Venice Enchantment Palette. It was originally $34. It comes with 12 powder shadows, a black liner and a dual-ended brush.

The $34 wasn’t too bad to start with, but it’s marked down now to $27 on Cargo’s website.

Even better.

Cargo likes to take a travel angle with their whole philosophy on makeup, and it makes sense.

I mean…they’re called Cargo, after all. 🙂

This palette here was inspired by the rich, romantic opulence of Venice, and I WANT TO GO TO THERE.

The wines, brassy golds, olives and the burgundy shade go a step beyond the usual beiges and browns. They’re like “new neutrals,” and I can see myself wearing a lot of them, especially the olives and the burgundy, with the neutrals in my collection. I also like the amount of shimmer here. It’s juuust right for what I like to wear on my lids.

cargo venice eye shadow palette swatches — Swatches from the left in Canal, Magic, Carnival, Murano, Gondola and Mask

[Continue reading…]

#Pregnantladythangs: Tum, Bum and Bust Maintenance With Clarins

January 12th, 2016 by Karen 14 Comments

In the eight (!) months that Baby Girl has been officially “in da house,” I wager that I’ve spent an average of 30 minutes per day moisturizing my bod.

I know, even I’m rolling my eyes at the moment, ’cause that’s A LOT of time to be spending rubbing lotions and potions on yourself.

It’s true though. And it took a lot less time earlier in the process when I could move around more easily than I can now, because, ya know…I could touch my toes and whatnot, but now I have to do all kinds of creative things and maneuvers to get to the places I can’t reach.

It’s been a moisturizing adventure; that’s for sure!

Anywho, I just finished a bunch of products from the Mustela Maternity Skincare line. I used every last drop of the body oil, the stretch mark cream and the balm, and I liked all three, but, because I have a notoriously short attention span for beauty products…I’ve already started a new routine with Clarins!

You know, just to see. 🙂

I’ve been using Clarins products on my face for years (and their body care products off and on throughout that time), and I’ve always loved them. Sometimes their products are pricy, but they generally always work well with my skin.

Actually, very early on in my pregnancy, during the scary time in the first trimester before El Hub and I broke the news to our families, I bought and ended up finishing an entire tube of their Stretch Mark Minimizer because I knew I’d probably like it, and I did. Finished it down to the last drop.

So now I’m doing a whole five-piece pregnancy beauty system Clarins calls “Beautiful Beginnings,” which has a body scrub, stretch mark cream, body oil, a gel for firming zeh bust, and they also recommend using their cult classic Beauty Flash Balm on your face, which is supposed to help you look better rested, although, I dunno…I feel like that’s going to require three solid weeks of sleep (I’m so not kidding).

The Beautiful Beginnings process is designed to take care of pregnant skin and keep it looking beautiful. It includes…

Beauty Flash Balm ($46), a smoothing, tightening face treatment. Clarins recommends layering it under makeup to help your products last longer.
Smoothing Body Scrub ($37), an everyday body scrub with bamboo powder for all over zeh body. Clarins says that you should concentrate it wherever you expect possible stretch marks, like the tummy and bust.
Stretch Mark Minimizer ($52), an unscented body lotion with olive extracts. It’s designed to reduce that tight skin feeling and prevent stretch marks.
Tonic Body Treatment ($56), a body oil made from 100% plant extracts (oils of rosemary, geranium, mint and hazelnut) to prevent dryness and keep skin hydrated.
Bust Beauty Firming Lotion ($59), a lotion specifically for the breasts; Clarins says it helps to tone and restore firmness.

[Continue reading…]

The Urban Decay UD Gwen Stefani Lipsticks: Swatches!

January 7th, 2016 by Karen 30 Comments

ud gwen stefani lipsticks — The eight lipsticks from the new Urban Decay UD Gwen Stefani Collection ($18 each)

GIRL, you know I had to do it. You cannot put all of those juicy reds in front of a girl like me and NOT expect her to at least try on a couple (OK, all) of them.

Here’s the whole batch, swatches of all eight lipsticks from the new Urban Decay UD Gwen Stefani Collection ($18 each).

I have to say, a few of them have me seriously wowed — Firebird, 714, Rock Steady, Spider and Wonderland (basically, all of the opaque shades). They’re all gloriously intense, although, hello! — note to self: use them with their coordinating UD Gwen Stefani Lip Pencils next time, because getting those edges smooth was harder than herding cats.

The sheer shades (Ex-Girlfriend, Phone Call and Plaid) have a healthy dose of pigment (for sheers), but they end up showing off my lip flakie-flakes more than I’d like, and, yes, I’m still bummed about Ex-Girlfriend breaking in the tube. ?

ud gwen stefani spiderweb lipstick — UD Gwen Stefani Lipstick in Spiderweb

ud gwen stefani firebird lipstick — UD Gwen Stefani Lipstick in Firebird

[Continue reading…]

With the Tocca Crema da Mano Hand Cream Collezioni, Variety Is the Spice of Life

December 11th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

I’m a bonafide hand cream addict. Raise your parched paw if you’re one too. 🙂

With the $32 Tocca holiday Crema de Mano Collezioni, you can moisturize your mitts with a different scented hand cream every workday of the week, because it comes with five fragrant tubes, each one with a slightly more refined, less sweet scent, in my opinion, than many of the other hand creams I’ve tried.

They say that variety is the spice of life, and I think that totally applies to hand cream. With these five, which are all about the scents, you can go with grapefruit and cucumber on Mondays and bergamot and gardenia on Thursday, for instance.

Tocca is known for their floral, feminine, long-lasting fragrances (I love the names they give their perfumes!), and for $32, you get five 1-oz. tubes of Tocca’s bestselling scented hand creams, including vanilla and sandalwood Collete, grapefruit and cucumber Cleopatra (I’m wearing that one today), bergamot and gardenia Florence, watermelon and frangipani Simone and peach and muguet Liliana.

The moderately moisturizing formula, which is almost as moisturizing as Soap & Glory Hand Food or L’Occitane Shea Butter Whipped Hand Cream, is enriched with coconut oil, shea butter and aloe for real-deal hand help.

Even though I don’t think these are the most moisturizing hand creams around, they still feel substantial. I can’t stand it when I put on hand creams that are practically water (so useless). These, on the other hand, pack serious moisture, and sometimes I like using them when I know I’m going to be out of the house for a while, because they leave behind a light residue that feels like a protective barrier against the elements.

Plus, helloooo! — I think they smell lovely.

You can find the Tocca Crema da mano Collezioni now at Sephora, SpaceNK and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.

Ah! A Cut, Fresh Roots, Color and Curls

December 7th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Whenever I leave the salon after my friend Alis cuts and colors my hair, I feel like a new person…who also happens to be covered in magical unicorn glitter and fairy dust.

Alis has some serious hair magic mojo when it comes to haircuts and color.

I saw her this past weekend at Fox + Stone salon in Corte Madera. She touched up my roots and the color I had in my balayage highlights, and trimmed up the ends just to give the layers some movement and life.

Oh! — and she also curled my hair with a large-barrel curler, and how she does those perfect ’40s-style curls, I’ll never know. I’ve tried to do them a bunch of times on my own at home, and I can never get them to sit quite right… I’ll definitely be using Living Proof Dry Shampoo to make this hairstyle last as long as possible.

By the way, say hi to Alis’s dog Koukla, who’s sweeter than sweet. She’s another reason I like to go to Fox + Stone salon. She hangs out in my lap for pets and conversation while Alis does my hair.

Here’s Koukla in her Christmas sweater…

Isn’t she cute?!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen