Eyes

A Little Bit of MAC Club

December 4th, 2024 by Karen 4 Comments

I’m hesitant to say that I’ve got my makeup mojo back because I feel like the moment that I say that I’ll revert to just wearing brow pencil and tinted sunscreen for three years, as one does, but I’m gonna go ahead and risk it and say that it all started with a little bit of Club.

You know, MAC Club eyeshadow? Of course you do. It’s a classic.

Last week, out of nowhere, I thought to myself, “I really need to wear Club.” It’s been years since I’ve wanted to deal with complicated eye makeup, but I got the urge, so I went with it.

My makeup collection is pretty barren compared to the thick of MBB’s beauty blogging days, but I’ve held on to this ancient Monster’s Bride palette from —I don’t even wanna say the year. LOL! I’ve always loved the shadows, especially Club.

I took a little bit of Club, popped it on my lids and smoothed out the edges with a fluffy brush dipped in face powder.

Oh, and this is when I figured out that you can leave behind the urge to blend eight different eyeshadows on your lids, but you cannot leave behind the urge to smooth out your eyeshadow edges into a nice gradient, ha ha ha!

Anyway, like I said, Club. It will forever be etched into my heart as the eyeshadow that helped me get at least a little bit of my makeup mojo back. Since that day last week, I’ve felt like putting at least one shade on my lids. I figure that it’s not too hard, right? I can do that. Plus, I want to do it.

So yeah, lately I’ve been wearing one shade of eyeshadow from my lash line up until my mid crease area, and you know what? It makes me so, so happy.

And that’s all I really want for makeup, you know? I just want it to make me feel happy when I wear it.

I want to feel good when I have it on, and for right now a little bit of MAC eyeshadow feels really good.

Wish me lots of makeup luck, and I’ll send lots your way, too because why not? ‘Tis the season to wear a little eyeshadow!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

NARS Kalahari Love

November 30th, 2023 by Karen 2 Comments

Hi there! I’m in and out of the home office today because I’ve got various medical appointments. FUN — not really, LOL! I’m happy to report that I just got back from the dentist, though, without any cavities. I also didn’t cry while I was there, which for me is a Christmas miracle. Anywho. Re: this post. I did it a while back, and it features one of my favorite eyeshadows, NARS Kalahari. I love this duo and wear it a ton. If you get the chance to pick it up, grab it! Have a great rest of your Thursday and see ya soon.

They say, if you love something, set it free, which I guess makes sense if you love butterflies or toucans, but in the case of makeup, if you love something, I say you should talk about it ALL THE TIME, which is why I’ve been raving about NARS Kalahari for years!

Kalahari eyeshadow duo is perfect for lightly defining your lids. One side is a shimmery rosy bronze, and the other side is a shimmery taupe — two colors, granted, that you can find in almost any line, but here’s the kicker: NARS found a way to avoid all of the typically problematic side effects that befall so many shimmery shadows.

For instance, Kalahari is reflective, but it isn’t frosty, so fine lines aren’t even a thing. When you sweep and swirl it on your skin, a sweet, bronzed glow remains. It’s very “J. Lo running errands in her velour track suit.” Casual, but still noticeable. (This is a good thing in my book.)

Here’s one of my favorite ways to wear it:
Mix the two shades together with a domed shadow brush, then apply from lash line to crease (or just above the crease if your eyes are hooded like mine). Build it up if you want more color intensity, but don’t worry — this is eyeshadow that won’t look heavy, since the powder is very delicate and fine.

Next, wet that same brush, and apply more of the mix on the mobile part of your lid, which is the part of your eye that “blinks.” Leave it a few minutes to dry, and work on the rest of your face. Once you’ve almost gotten to the end — I usually wait until I’m done with almost everything, including blush and lipstick — take a clean tapered blending brush, and gently rock it back and forth in your crease and along the outer corners to blend.

If you want, you can also rim your lash or water lines with chocolate brown eyeliner, which I did for these pics. I also smudged a cooler taupe liner (Urban Decay’s Mushroom) on the bottom lash line ’cause I like the subtle contrast of tones.

Makeup worn in this look

Eyes: Nars Kalahari (lids), MAC Coffee (water line, upper lash line, smudged between lashes and layered beneath Kalahari), Urban Decay Mushroom (lower lash line smudged with the darker side of Kalahari), It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara (lashes)

Blush: MAC Glow Play Blush in No Shame

Lips: BECCA Lush Lip Colour Balm in Almond Fraise (on sale now!) topped with BECCA Glow Gloss in Snap Dragon

Base: Estee Lauder in Honey Bronze, Estee Lauder 24H Hydra Prep concealer, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Golden Tan

[Continue reading…]

A Lil’ Fall Favorite Makeup Edit with NARS and MAC

November 15th, 2023 by Karen 3 Comments

I’m on a mission to wear fall looks that are simple, elegant and easy. I gotta say, I feel pretty put together together in this one, which features a few of my favorites — NARS Kalahari II eyeshadow, NARS Amour blush and MAC Half Red Lip Pencil.

A lifted liner tip

For this makeup, I tried a new-to-me eyeliner technique from a makeup artist that Jane from Daly Beauty introduced me to recently, Erica Taylor! She’s been doing makeup for over 20 years and posts a lot of tips for beauties who are 40 and up.

She suggests applying liner strategically on the outer corner to make your lids appear more lifted.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Erica Taylor (@ericataylor2347)

I’m really happy with how it turned out; I definitely think my hooded bits look a little less hooded! Plus, it’s really easy to do.

Also, lip liner is so your friend

Oh, and shout-out to the Wet Seal sales associate back in 1996 who taught me about the power of lip liner, LOL! She was the one who convinced me to try lining and filling my lips in with a lip pencil, and then topping it off with lip balm.

I did that in here with MAC Half Red Lip Liner and Biossance Lip Balm. 🙂 Try it sometime with your favorite lip liner.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Lumière Graphique and Duo Lumière, and the Inner Corner Highlight Moment

November 2nd, 2023 by Karen 3 Comments

Sometimes that inner corner highlight hits just right! I put a little bit of the new Chanel Duo Lumière highlighter on after doing a swish of the khaki taupe shade from the Lumière Graphique eyeshadow palette on my lids, and it was exactly what I needed today.

Both are from the new holiday collection, by the way.

I feel so out of practice with eyeshadow, but you know what? I’m gonna give myself plenty of grace and go with the flow. 🙂

I’m wearing Chanel Lumière Graphique Eyeshadow Palette and Duo Lumière Illuminating Powder Duo on my eyes

Chanel Lumière Graphique Eyeshadow Palette and Duo Lumière Illuminating Powder Duo

Blush is Ilia Color Haze Pigment in Temptation and Lipsitick is MAC Crossfade

How’s your Thursday going so far? I think I’ve finally recovered from all the Halloween festivities, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Luminous Taupe Lids with Chanel Les 4 Ombres Byzance in Parure Cristal

October 12th, 2023 by Karen 3 Comments

I watched a video recently with makeup artist Mia Connor talking about how she likes to do one single block of color across the lids on hooded eyes.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🤍 M I A C O N N O R 🤍 (@miaconnor)

Simple, effective, easy. Of course it totally spoke to me!

I took her advice about wearing one color this morning when I put on shadow from the Chanel Les 4 Ombres Byzance Quad in Parure Cristal.

This limited edition beauty is one of four quads inspired by precious stones and Chanel jewelry. Designed to be dressed up or down, each quad offers four coordinating shades with glowing finishes.

Parure Cristal. Yup, I’m still an NC42 in MAC.

I mixed the two darkest shades (the taupe and the rosy quartz) on the back of my hand to create a customized color, which I then buffed across my lids. Then I applied the taupe as a liner with an angled brush.

Oh my cheeks and lips I’m wearing NARS Dolce Vita

When you put makeup on just for fun and have no idea where it’s gonna go

I gotta admit, I still feel like I’m wearing a lot of makeup. I do like how it turned out, though. It feels polished but not overly done, and it didn’t require a ton of work.

I think I’m going to stick to Mia’s formula for a bit and see where it takes me on my makeup journey.

Happy Thursday to you, my friend! Keep on keepin’ on.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup of the Day Featuring a New Loose Eyeshadow from Chanel Fall 2023

August 10th, 2023 by Karen 10 Comments

Wearing (and loving!) Sycomore, a new loose eyeshadow from Chanel Fall/Winter 2023

I feel really good in this eye makeup, and the best part about it is it took very little time and effort to pull it together.

Apparetly that’s my makeup mantra now, ha!

I’m wearing a couple tried-and-true workhorses (a brown long-lasting gel liner from Hourglass and a plum shadow stick from Laura Mercier) and a new loose eyeshadow from Chanel, Ombre Premiere Libre in 402 Sycomore, a pearly warm golden beige.

It’s one of six loose eyeshadows launching this month in the Chanel Fall/Winter 2023 collection, and it’s just so lovely!

From Chanel PR:

OMBRE PREMIÈRE LIBRE Loose Eyeshadow Intense, Longwearing Colour

A longwearing shadow that delivers intense effects in a single swipe. Each of the 6 shades recalls the raw tones of nature, illuminated by sunlight. The creamy ultra-fine powder texture makes it easy to apply — just dab or press onto lids with the flexible sponge applicator. $40.00

If “swipe-and-go” is your style, I think you’ll like it.

Chanel Sycomore on my lids, Laura Mercier Rose Thorn on the outer corner and smudged on my upper lash line, and Hourglass Cave eyeliner on my waterlines

It comes in a small tube with a stubby sponge applicator which deposits the perfect amount of loose shadow. I pat and swipe the sponge onto my lids exactly where I want the color; it’s very easy to precisely go where you need to, which I love. Then, I use a tapered blending brush and my fingers to diffuse the edges.

It’s similar to a MAC Loose Pigment in that you get a lot of color intensity with a small amount of product, so you don’t have to sit there and build a bunch of layers.

However, I think what kicks the Chanel version up a notch is that the powder isn’t as messy as a MAC Pigment; the Chanel version is loose enough to easily blend, but it’s not so loose that it lands on your cheekbones, your white shirt, your cat’s fur and everything else in sight.

Cheeks are Laura Mercier Chai powder blush mixed with MAC Strobelite cream (I mixed the powder into the lotion on teh back of my hands and applied with fingers); lips are Ilia Color Haze PIgment in Temptation with a little bit of Biossance lip balm on top

I wore Sycomore yesterday without any eye primer and it stayed on all day. If you’re looking for feel-good eye makeup that’s long-lasting, polished and elegant, I think Sycomore is it!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Summer Beauty Buddies: Supergoop! Shimmershade Illuminating Cream Eyeshadow SPF 30 in Sunset

August 1st, 2023 by Karen 5 Comments

Obvs this can’t be the only sunscreen on your lids. Think of it more as a beautiful, bronze bonus layer of protection!

I bought Sunset totally on a whim; I road tested it in Hawaii because I like the idea of extra sun protection on my face by any means necessary. Plus, it was so, so pretty — totally reminds me of Tom Ford Spice!

On my tan skin, it’s a warm copper with the tiniest flecks of amber. It doesn’t look heavy or cake-y, and it adds just enough color to my lids.

On its own with a smidge of liner and mascara, it’s just the thing for makeup lovers who don’t want a heavy lift with their eye makeup but still like a little something-something.

Do take care to make sure your lids are completely free of anything slippery before you apply it, though.

I’ve noticed when I layer it on top of mineral sunscreen that hasn’t completely dried down, the eyeshadow disappears before the end of the day.

When I apply it on my lids without anything slippery, though, it stays on, even through humidity and sweat.

There three other shades and after reading several comments about glitter on the Sephora website, it appears as though the shimmer varies in each. I haven’t tried any of the shadows, but Sunset’s shimmer is soft, subtle and elegant. It looks more expensive than it is.

It was love at first swipe with this one. Check it meow-t next time you’re perusing Supergoop!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Unsung Heroes: Texture Eyeshadow

April 7th, 2023 by Karen 2 Comments

mac texture — Get into thy crease, stat.

MAC Texture is still one of my favorite neutrals to pop in the crease! Happy Friday!

Today, on the MAC Greatest Brown Crease Color Hits Tour (Geez, that would be a very specific tour, wouldn’t it?! Hahaha! Never mind me as I crack myself up in the corner.), we visit MAC Texture Eye Shadow.

Ooh, Texture! We’ve talked about/drooled over several of my all-time favorite MAC brown crease colors over the last couple weeks, like Swiss Chocolate and Saddle.

Yum!

And I couldn’t forget about Texture. 🙂

It’s also a peachy brown, but it’s lighter and less orange than Saddle and darker than Soft Brown, and if you really, really wanted to get technical, you could do Soft Brown as your first crease color, then Texture as your second color, and then Saddle as your third.

But that’s only if you’re in the mood to complicate things and carefully do all of the steps in your gradients.

mac texture swatch — An essential MAC brown

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.

Texture isn’t only for peeps who want to spend two hours on their eye makeup, though. In fact, if you can’t blend for sh*t and just want something easy, you need Texture in your life as a crease color/transition shade, because although it usually looks matte, it’s technically a shimmer and has these tiny flecks of micro-glitter in the pan. Most of the time, those flecks are imperceptible, but they help to make Texture very easy to blend.

mac texture crease — Texture doing it’s thing in my crease

[Continue reading…]