Eyes

The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils: A Love Letter

July 13th, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

urban decay stash — Urban Decay Stash on my lash lines

Dear Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils,

I love you.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I don’t tell you that enough, so…I LOVE YOU.

I apologize if I hurt your feelings sometimes. When I haphazardly toss you into my makeup bag, it’s not because I don’t care. It’s not because I don’t want to spend more time with you. It’s because I’m so excited for us to get on about our day. I love spending entire days with you, which I know we’ll be able to do, since your luscious long-wearing formula hugs my lash lines and doesn’t let go.

The other day, shortly before I rimmed my lids with Mushroom, my favorite metallic taupe on account of the way it illuminates my brown eyes without hardly even trying (and that flash of blue from certain angles? GORGEOUS!), I was haphazardly grinding the tip in a pencil sharpener and zoning out like I’m apt to do while I’m putting on makeup that I know I can depend on, I thought, “Easy, Karen. Take it easy. Just because this is a quickie look doesn’t mean you have to hack away like a lumberjack without any muscle control.”

Oh, my gorgeous Glide-Ons, you’re always there for me, even when I treat you like ? poop. You deserve to be handled with kid gloves.

urban decay glide on eye pencil swatches — Current crushes

So, let me tell you why I ❤️ you so…

First, just when I’m ready to go all sad panda because I glance at the clock and realize that I don’t have any time left in my morning for eye makeup, your colors dance across my lids and lash lines like beams of light across the sky. These days, your neutral colors are my go-tos — basically, anything taupe, olive, gunmetal gold or bronze.

When I draw a swish on my upper and lower lash lines, followed by plenty of mascara, I actually don’t mind skipping eyeshadow. Ever since my semi-hooded lids situation started evolving into a full-on hooded lid sitch (such is life), complicated eyeshadow looks have become something of a pain, and it’s refreshing to not have to deal with precise placement and blending and making sure that everything looks even so I don’t walk outta the house with lids that look like garage doors…

Thanks to you, I just do a little liner, then peace out.

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The 5 Out of 5 Hearts Club: Mallywood Smoky Mama! Mascara

July 9th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

The “5 Out of 5 Hearts Club” ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ is a new series where you’ll find out about limited edition beauty products that are all that and a bag of baked Cheetos! — a.k.a. perfection in every single way.

No shame moment: I’m one of those creepers who walks around unabashedly staring at strangers’ lashes without any qualms whatsoever. At times, it’s been so intense that people have stopped me to ask, “Do I know you?” and I’m like, “Nah, I’m just admiring your lashes like a weirdo. Don’t mind me!”

If I saw someone wearing this mascara, I’d pull them aside (after popping my eyes back into their sockets) and inquire about the magic happening on their fringe, because it’s good — like, “Gee, where did this dark horse come from, and why isn’t it a cult favorite yet?” good.

“Apply on the top lashline as usual (you can define every lash with this wand!). Then it gets fun! As you apply to your bottom lashes, gently press the wand softly from side to side and barely touch the skin beneath them! Voila! No walk of shame necessary!”

— mallybeauty.com

My lashes refuse to hold a lash curl (they’re rebellious that way, I guess), and they’re short, and I have a big ol’ gap in my right eye from an incident involving the overzealous removal of a pair of falsies, but with two coats of this mascara, I look like I’m wearing lash extensions.

mally smoky mama k — And that’s after just one coat!

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Some Thoughts on Eye Cream, Fillers, and a Tip for Preventing Your Concealer From Sliding Off

July 6th, 2018 by Karen 31 Comments

Eye cream. Otherwise known as “hope in a jar.” 🙂 It’s been on my mind lately because every time I look in the mirror I wonder if I’ve always looked this tired? Because, duuuude! — I can’t remember the last time I saw my reflection and thought, “Wow, I look like I slept well.”

Hence the current eye cream obsession.

Looking for a new eye cream

I’d been using Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate since last fall, but I recently ran out. It was doing a pretty good job…but it wasn’t rocking my world. And that’s what I want! I want something that’s going to totally rock my world.

Story of our lives, right?

If I try and fail, I figure I can always go back to Clarins…

(BTW, if there’s one you swear by, hook a cat lady up! The very dry skin around my eyes preemptively thanks you.)

To help me on this search, I also asked on Instagram, and here were the suggestions I saw the most:

OLEHENRIKSEN Banana Bright Eye Crème ($38)
This one looks promising, and I like the price! It has vitamin C, which I’ve had great results with in eye creams before.

I’m not sure about the jar, though… I’ve read that vitamin C-containing products are most effective when they come in packages that seal out air and light.
ESTÉE LAUDER Advanced Night Repair Eye Concentrate Matrix ($69)
A few people cited this one, including my friend Jessica, who swears by it, so I’m keen to try it, like, now. She says it layers well under concealer and hits plenty of the anti-aging bells and whistles (which I want!!!).
KIEHL’S SINCE 1851 Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado ($29)
Lots of dry-skinned ladies love this one and call it their “go to.” Looks worth a try, and the price is right, but I wish it contained more stuff for fine lines, though.

I’m leaning toward the Banana Bright one…but I wanna hear what you like before I commit.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Mat Taupe Is Dope! Chanel STYLO YEUX WATERPROOF Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Mat Taupe

June 27th, 2018 by Karen 24 Comments

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.

Who am I? What have you done with Karen? What’s happening to me? I don’t know why — whether some otherworldly entity has commandeered my body — but I’m having a majorly transformational moment with eyeliner right now, specifically brown eyeliner.

Actually, I do know why… Lately, whenever I look in a mirror, I feel like my eyes look even more exhausted than usual, and black liner makes it worse. Ironically, I used to almost exclusively wear black liner, and I LOVED it.

Then I discovered dark brown MAC Coffee.

MIND BLOWN.

It filled the same need that black liners filled — creating a thicker lash base, bigger-looking lids, defining the shape of my eyes — but didn’t look as harsh.

So…I just figured out that even lighter shades than brown, like taupe, can work like this too. And taupe. Is. Dope.

I’m super in love with this $33 liner from the Chanel Le Stylo Yeux line called Mat Taupe, which is — surprise! — a matte taupe. Like MAC Coffee, it doesn’t have red undertones, but it’s slightly lighter and less gray.

When I wear it to tight line and along my lash lines, it does ALL THE GOOD STUFF — defines my eyes, makes my lashes look thicker, etc. — but it’s even less harsh than dark brown.

For years, I pooh-poohed the idea of wearing brown liner because I thought it was boring (“Why wear brown when you could wear black?”), but now I get it. Now I know.

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Have You Tried Clinique Beyond Perfecting Super Concealer Camouflage + 24-Hour Wear?

June 15th, 2018 by Karen 6 Comments

clinique beyond perfecting super concealer review — uh…24-hour wear time = wishful thinking

Once upon a time, after seeing a picture of myself in cropped, flared capris with a camo print, I made a pact with myself to stay far, far away from camouflage.

“Karen,” I said to myself, “no. Stop. Don’t do it, unless you wanna look like a sassy Filipino Oompa Loompa.”

I did not.

So I stopped. (Clinique Beyond Perfecting Super Concealer Camouflage + 24-Hour Wear doesn’t count because it’s a concealer, so it’s exempt from this pact.)

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Super Concealer Camouflage + 24-Hour Wear ($19.50, 0.26-oz. tube)

It’s a highly pigmented liquid concealer available in 18 shades (including a color-correcting Apricot one), and I really like a few things about it, like the fact that it hides everything, it doesn’t settle into the lines under my eyes (although the matte finish might emphasize severely dry spots), it’s easy to blend, and it doesn’t look cake-y or obvious. Even when I get all up in my scary magnifying mirror, I can’t tell it’s there.

At least in those ways, it’s like Make Up For Ever’s amazing Ultra HD Concealer, which I love beyond reason.

“Cover up without touching up for 24 life-proof hours. Instantly and easily blends into skin to flawlessly conceal imperfections. Transfer-resistant formula stays put—even through sweat and humidity. Provides immediate hydration to keep eye-area skin feeling comfortable, looking fresh and natural. 18 shades in total—including a must-have apricot-colored corrector shade to help tackle dark circles and discolorations.”

— clinique.com

clinique beyond perfecting super concealer — I’m wearing a mix of Medium 18 (which is yellowish) and Medium 22 (which is peachy) under my eyes. Because it’s very matte, I skipped setting powder… I’m still in awe of how you can’t see it at all in this pic.

clinique beyond perfecting super concealer review swatches medium — Medium 18, Medium 20 and Medium 22

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The Urban Decay Born to Run Eyeshadow Palette

June 14th, 2018 by Karen 16 Comments

Hello, Born to Run! Have we run into each other before…?

No, I think I’m just confusing you with another UD palette (Naked on the Run)…or maybe it’s because I’ve seen your same (or very similar) colors in other Urban Decay palettes before.

Urban Decay Born to Run Eyeshadow Palette ($49, 21 shades, full-size mirror)

According to UD, 17 of the 21 eyeshadows in the Born to Run palette are new, but I swear, the orange-y and reddish browns look like they teleported straight outta Naked Heat and the Petite version.

And the metallic magenta, green and purple could’ve been pulled out of the Distortion or Trouble Maker palettes. The peach and golden look familar, too…like a few shades from Daydream.

It’s as if UD went fishing for shadows from their other recent palettes and baked them into a wearable “everything” palette — good for anyone, any time, any place.

Makeup in my current corner of the world is usually pretty casual and conducive to writing at home, chasing Tabs around the house, running errands and taking Connor to toddler things, so I’m all about the shadows in top row, which are the most job/errand/everyday-friendly ones.

For the most part here at the headquarters of Tabs the Cat Industries LLC, the employees (haha, it’s just me) don’t like to wear makeup that looks too overdone (it’s a rare day when I don falsies or do dramatic liquid liner), so I like wearing matte beige Weekender with matte golden brown Riff in the crease, and shimmery pale rose gold Stranded on my lids with a teeny bit of satiny dark emerald Radio on my upper lash lines as a liner.

urban decay born to run natural light 2 — Don’t mind me… Just smiling to myself on this bridge, la-la-laaaaa! ?

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Wearing the New MAC Aaliyah Collection (VIDEO REVIEW)

June 7th, 2018 by Karen 14 Comments

You know what I just realized? I just realized that I can tie different eras from my teens and 20s to Aaliyah’s music. Like, Jen, Cindy and I played Back and Forth so much in the summer before I left for college, and then in the spring of my senior year at Davis, Are You That Somebody was almost constantly on the radio whenever Eleanor, Mary Anne, Christine and I drove anywhere (In-N-Out after class, to the city late at night to go clubbing, house parties, the library, to go rollerblading all over town, to the gym).

And then around the time El Hub and I met, Rock the Boat was THE JAM.

Aaliyah’s legacy lives on through her music, and her fans lobbied hard for a MAC collection.

I wore my first look with it today (I plan to do at least one more with a lip), and here are pics, swatches (NC42) and some thoughts (in the video). First impression: holy shimmer!

Mini reviews of a few pieces from the @maccosmetics Aaliyah collection (swipe to see the second vid): Age Ain’t Nothing Eye Shadow X 9, Baby Girl Bronzer and Li Li’s Motor City Lipglass. Coming to maccosmetics.com June 20 and to select counters June 21. #maccosmetics #aaliyahformac #makeupreview #igmakeup #instamakeup

A post shared by Karen | Makeup and Beauty Blog (@karenmbb) on Jun 7, 2018 at 4:24pm PDT

mac aaliyah age aint nothing eye shadow x 9 — Eye Shadow X 9 in Age Ain’t Nothing ($32)

mac aaliyah bronzing powder — Bronzing Powder in Baby Girl ($27)

mac aaliyah lipglass — Brooklyn Born, Li Li’s Motor City, At Your Best You Are, 1 in a Million ($17 each)

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MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Havana

May 31st, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

mac havana extra dimension eye shadow — Havana oh-nah-nah

Girl… One day. One day I’ll sit down, put on my makeup for the day, and NOT do a brown smoky eye.

But today was not that day. 🙂

I had to run errands, and I wasn’t about to spend 45 minutes on my makeup just to buy some Charmin, so I went with something I’m (very) familiar with. I had to go to the pediatrician’s office to get a form for Connor’s pre-school enrollment, and then hit Target to get an industrial-sized case of toilet paper because last night I realized that we only had four rolls left in the house — total — which amplified my anxiety by like a million percent, so out came one of my favorite brown eyeshadows in the world, MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Havana.

I think it deserves more love than it gets.

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.

mac havana swatch — Oh, my gosh! It’s a floating arm!!

Side note: whenever I say “Havana,” I think of that Camila Cabello song.

Havana, oh-nah-nah… La-la-la-la-la-la Havana oh-nah-nah…

That’s about the only part I know, LOL!

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