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Face of the Day (FOTD)

10 Minutes With MAC Selena La Reina, and the Revival of the Lady Sanctuary

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lady sanctuary with coycoy reading
The spot to be

Hey, my friend. How’s it going? ?❤️ Check this out…

lady sanctuary corner 2020
Welcome to our cozy corner.

This is called the “Lady Sanctuary” — a.k.a. the deck off my bedroom. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s quiet, soothing, has some plants, and it’s protected in the shade of a tall, old oak tree.

It’s a good place to have a cup of coffee or tea and read a book. It’s one of my favorite spots right now, and I’m happy to share it with you.

coycoy reading in lady sanctuary
Grab a book and get cozy.

Even though it’s technically only for the ladies (hence the name), if you’re a makeup-and/or-cat-loving dude, you’re still welcome (I’m talking to you, Efrain!).

lady sanctuary gerbera daisy
Raise your paw if you love gerberas!
Trying something new this year — a strawberry plant!

Connor and I were out there this morning. She read a stack of Disney princess books, and I willed myself into putting on 10-minute makeup.

mac selena k down
I’m wearing mostly MAC, with products from the new Selena La Reina collection.

Question for ya… Have you been wearing makeup regularly? If so, are you sticking to your pre-Corona makeup routine? It’s been touch-and-go for me. I’ll go for stretches where I’ll happily wear a full face, but then — BAM! No makeup for a week.

I’m cool with going bare-faced, but I definitely feel more mentally “on” when I wear at least mascara or gloss, which is why I put on some makeup today. I’ve been feeling kinda lonely this week, so I told myself, “Self, you have 10 minutes. That’s it. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Just do a little.”

I think this helps. —-> Give yourself permission to skip things, like today I didn’t want to fill in my brows (just used a clear brow gel), and I didn’t do pencil eyeliner. But I still had it in me to apply some eyeshadow, mascara, a little sheer foundation and a lipstick (which I also used as a cream blush).

Definitely felt more like myself when I finished. ? I even put on earrings and a necklace, too, and spritzed a body splash.

mac selena la reina k side
A little glitter never hurts.

[Continue reading…]

Peachy Golden Brown Cheeks and Eyes With a ’90s-Style Lip #throwbackthursday

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mac amber lights
#throwbackthursday to this ’90s lip look

A pic popped up in my feed a few days ago of a friend wearing a classic ’90s lip with an unblended dark outer edge, a light lipstick, and lots and lots of gloss in the center.

I was moved!

I wore the heck out of this lip look when I was in college, and apparently you can trust muscle memory to kick in when you attempt to do old favorite makeup looks, because it all came back to me like *that*.

mac amber lights

What you’ll need

To do this type of ’90s lip look, grab the following…

  • A dark matte lip liner (I’m wearing two shades of brown).
  • An opaque matte lipstick significantly lighter than your lip liner, because you’re going for contrast here. I chose a matte beige.
  • A very shiny gloss, either clear, or in a shade that compliments your lipstick.

Step-by-step: the ’90s girl unblended lip look!

  1. Apply a layer or two of your lipstick first. I just did it directly from the tube.
  2. Line the outermost portion of your lips with the liner. Be sure to sharpen the tip beforehand for a crisp edge.
  3. Dot the gloss on the center of your bottom lip. I like to swipe a little first on the back of my hand, and then I dab the gloss on with a finger to avoid touching the doe-foot applicator directly to the lipstick. That way I can keep the lipstick from mixing into the gloss and changing the color.
  4. DO NOT rub your lips together or blend the liner with a lip brush, or do anything that will reduce the definition of the edge. This is totes key!

mac amber lights

If you do a beige-brown lip like the one I’m wearing here, peachy golden brown colors work well on the cheeks and eyes.

mac amber lights

Makeup worn in this look

Social media is weird, man.

Have you seen the thing going ’round social media where people post their senior high school pic to support the seniors graduating in 2020? Now, how is posting one’s own senior portrait supposed to cheer up a senior in high school who’s missing prom and graduation? I dunno. That said, I’ve been enjoying seeing everyone’s throwbacks, especially all the makeup and hair. It’s great for inspiration!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Warm Browns With a Matte Bright Blue and Shimmery Teal

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urban decay chaos electric eyeliner

Banged out these bright eyes during the golden hour, otherwise known as “afternoon rest time,” otherwise known as “the two hour break when Connor takes a nap and I get to put on a li’l makeup.”

Lower lash line surprise

I’m wearing warm brown eyeshadows with a bright matte blue on the upper lash line and a shimmery, glittery teal on the lower lash line…but look closely! You’ll also see a thin line of the same matte bright blue I’m wearing on my upper lash line hugging the roots of my lower lash line for an unexpected makeup surprise.

Sharpen those weapons

You could totally do this look with other accent combos. For the bright accent here (in this case blue), I think the key is to combine a darker matte finish with a lighter shimmer. I think that’s what makes it work.

urban decay chaos electric swatch

Whichever colors you choose, have your favorite eye pencil sharpener handy, because the sharper your liner, the more control you have over the width of your lines. I used to overlook this and would line my lash lines with dull tips until I found an eyeliner tutorial by The Goddess Her Makeup Majesty Charlotte Tilbury (GOODNESS GRACIOUS, I LOVE HER). She emphasized, over and over, the importance of a sharp tip whenever you’re working with pencil. Lo and behold, when I started religiously sharpening, lining got much easier and less messy.

Big ups to Char for forever changing my life. ?

Spirit makeup animal shout-out

I also gotta give it up to another one of my favorite makeup artists, Brittany Sullivan, for inspiring this look and for temporarily lifting me out of my bronze/brown/neutrals rut routine. Follow her if you aren’t already because her hair and makeup style (how she perfects the base without it looking overdone = AMAZING) is the stuff of effortlessly casual dreams. Serious #foundationgoals.

urban decay chaos electric eyeliner

urban decay chaos electric eyeliner

urban decay chaos electric eyeliner

Makeup worn in this look

Base: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream (to prep skin), MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation Stick in NC42 (cheeks, nose, around mouth) and Estée Lauder 24HR Concealer in Medium Warm Deep (just a single dot underneath each eye)

Eyes: MAC Soft Brown and Saddle (lids and crease), Urban Decay Chaos liner (upper lash line, and very thinly along lower lash line), Urban Decay Electric (lower lash line), MAC Hush (inner corner and brow bone), Hourglass Arch Brow Gel in Dark Brunette, Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara

Cheeks: Nudestix Lip & Cheek Pencils in Blush and Purity (cheeks) and MAC Hush (upper cheekbones)

Lips: Nudestix Lip & Cheek Pencils in Purity (lip liner) and Blush (lipstick)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Coral, Bronze and Plum Makeup With a Natural-Looking Base for Outdoor Adventures

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mac sable eyeshadow

This is what “fancy dress” is for me these days: a semi-wrinkled striped sweater, pants with paint spots on them (I wore them to paint Connor’s room a few months ago, and dagnabbit if they aren’t my most comfortable jeans I own!), and my “good” pair of Nike Winflos.

Oh, and a little makeup of course! ?

mac sable eyeshadow

Targeted coverage

To chase PGR around the house and the Coywolf around the block yesterday, I wore bronze and plum on my eyes and cheeks with a sheer coral lip. And I paired it with what I like to call “a semi-sheer base,” which is all-over barely-there coverage with a tinted moisturizer, as well as a few targeted areas with slightly more opaque coverage. I did this by blending a sheer layer of stick foundation on my cheeks and around my mouth, and then buffing a tiny amount of liquid concealer underneath my eyes.

mac sable eyeshadow

I didn’t set it with a powder because I wanted my skin to look as skin-like as possible, but you totally could… Just be sure to not go too heavy with it if you want to maintain the skin-like effect.

I really like this type of targeted coverage, especially how it looks in outdoor light, which can be notoriously unforgiving. Highly recommended. Try it on your next picnic.

Unearthed MAC gems

In other news…I’m weeding my way through my makeup collection right now, and I keep unearthing old gems. I wore two of my recent finds yesterday — Cheeky Bronze Mineralize Skinfinish and MAC Liquidlast Liner in Coco Bar.

Cheeky Bronze is a soft, shimmery golden coral face powder. Technically, it’s a highlighter, but you can also use it all over your cheeks as an all-in-one bronzer/blush/highlighter, which is what I have on my cheeks in these pics.

If you’re feeling creative, you can also use it as an eyeshadow. I wet a MAC 217 brush, flicked it across the pan a few times to load it up, then buffed it onto the inner part of my lids to go with the bronzed plum shadow I was wearing on the outer half (MAC Sable, in case you’re curious).

Coco Bar is a dark neutral brown MAC Liquidlast liner, and it will not move for nothing! It’s like a liquid version of MAC Coffee pencil liner, which is why I love it. I drew a line directly along my upper and lower lash lines, then smudged the edge with a flat eyeshadow brush. If you’re looking for a soft, diffused chocolate liner that stays put, you gotta give it a go, ASAP.

mac sable eyeshadow

Makeup worn in this look

Base: MAC Peachlite Strobe Cream (to prep skin), First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Tinted Moisturizer in Tan (all over face), MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation in NC42 (cheeks, around base of nostrils and mouth), Estée Lauder 24H Concealer in Medium Warm

Eyes: MAC Teddy eyeliner (buffed all over lids as an eyeshadow base, then applied as liner on waterlines), MAC Sable eyeshadow (outer half of lids), MAC Cheeky Bronze (inner half, applied wet), MAC Hush (inner corner), MAC Liquidlast in Coco Bar (smudged along upper and lower lash lines), Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Mascara

Cheeks: MAC Cheeky Bronze

Lips: MAC Ravishing Lipglass (a sheer coral that appears to be, sadly, discontinued. BOO!)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Shelter-In-Place Face of the Day: Soft Peach, Rose and Buttery Brown Tones

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Ya know, seeing as how I spend every waking moment right now at home or somewhere within close proximity outside, and I can technically wear any kind of makeup I want, since my boss (the coywolf) is easygoing regarding the corporate dress code, you’d think I’d be all over runway-ready glossy red lids and lips and ’80s-style striped blush on my cheekbones…

My makeup situation is nowhere near this exciting at the moment…

But, alas, absolutely nothing exciting has been happening ’round these parts.

To be honest, I haven’t felt like wearing much makeup, and when I have worn makeup, I’ve only been able to muster enough to energy to do the yooj barely-there base and watercolor neutrals — a.k.a. my makeup safe place.

soft peach tones

For now, I’m not gonna fight it. I’m just going to go with the shelter-in-place flow, and keep wearing what makes me feel good until I feel like pushing the envelope. So, today I wore peach and rose tones on my lids, lips and cheeks, with a Duchess of Sussex-caliber barely there base.

soft peach tones

soft peach tones

Are you still wearing makeup (or dressing up, doing your hair, etc.) at home? Inquiring bored beauty-loving minds want to know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Feel Good Makeup

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tom ford spice

Good morning, friend. If you’re struggling right now, I’m right there with you.

Nothing personally devastating happened this week (knocks on wood), but the realness of the new world order is sinking in, and it’s manifesting itself in an ever-present tightness in my body.

Like many people around the world right now, I feel the weight of an uncertain future, and it’s heavy. ?

I keep replaying a memory of something I did with Connor a month ago… Wow, it was only a month ago! We were walking down the aisles at Trader Joe’s singing David Bowie while looking for Jojo the stuffed horse (a fun thing they do for kids) and touching everything in sight without a care in the world.

THERE WAS SO MUCH PASTA. And rice! And flour! The frozen food section was gloriously bursting at the seems with bags of frozen broccoli and peas. Nothing was out of stock!

Connor found Jojo the stuffed horse that day, and we walked straight up to one of the sales associates (barely two feet away). He congratulated us and handed Connor her reward — a red lollipop — which she promptly opened and quickly devoured without a second thought.

This was back when Connor still had school to go to and was allowed to physically touch her friends. I also had the bakery… Life was sweeter than I realized at the time.

Today’s makeup was supposed to be inspired by pastel Easter eggs, but for the life me…I just couldn’t get into it. I tried a few times, swiping and playing with purples, pinks and blues, but I couldn’t make it work.

Sooooo, instead of bulldozing my way through it (which is what pre-pandemic Karen would’ve done), I stopped, took a few deep breaths and did what I knew would make me feel good.

Bronze eyes and neutral lips are the makeup equivalent of comfort food for me, so out came the bronze big guns! — Tom Ford Spice eyeshadow (THE BEST CREAM BRONZE), Charlotte Tilbury foundation and MAC lipstick and blush, of course.

I know, I know… How many variations on bronze lids and neutral lips can one girl possibly wear?! (Apparently, it’s a lot!)

But I really, really *needed* this today. I needed to feel normal, even though we all know life is nothing close to normal now and probably won’t be anytime soon.

tom ford spice
My feel good makeup products

tom ford spice

Makeup worn in this look

You hang in there, OK? Sending a warm virtual hug. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Spring Makeup Ideas: Shimmering Shades of Green

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urban decay mildew

I call this “the look that almost never was.” Like “the land that time forgot.” LOL. It happened on accident last week while CoyCoy was napping in her fort.

You know how wet leaves seem to look greener and lusher and shinier than usual under a gray spring sky? (Or is that just to me?) I swear, it’s like the color transitions are more obvious. Even in a blade of grass, it’s easy to see where the moss green fades into a dark forest green.

I wanted a similar vibe of wet, green gradients on my lids, so I took out some NARS neutrals, along with a healthy handful of Urban Decay green shadows (they do the most technicolor greens; so does Make Up For Ever), with the intention of doing just my left eye with green, and then a completely different look on the other eye just for fun. Side note: Do you ever do this, too?

urban decay mildew

Look breakdown

Anyway, I liked it enough to keep going, and then this happy makeup accident happened.

urban decay mildew

I’m wearing golden brown and beige mattes in my crease with a sweep of olive green in the lower portion of my crease. On my lids, I’m wearing metallic moss green in the center for a slight “halo” effect, with a darker forest green on the outer corner… That’s also reflected on the lower lash line (see the lighter section in the middle there?). The inner corner has a bright kelly green spotlight/highlight for a purposeful clash of color!

Weirdly enough, sometimes adding more product makes it easier

I’m wearing a lot of different eyeshadows in this look, which is far from the streamlined makeup I’ve mostly been wearing the past few months.

spring green products
There’s a lot, I know.
urban decay mildew
Follow the trail of greens!

You know what I realized, though? If I’m going for a look that’s gradient intensive, it’s actually easier for me to throw everything and the kitchen sink in (a.k.a. more eyeshadows), rather than trying to make it work with, like, just two shades.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive (and maybe it is), but when I’m going for lots of shifts from light areas to dark points, it’s easier for me to make everything look seamless when there are more shades involved.

Think about what you can nix

That does not mean that, just because you do a complicated eye, everything else has to be complicated as well.

Of course you can go wild with everything if you want to, but I think that when you have bright, elaborate eye, it helps to pull back somewhere else on your makeup.

Like here, I’m not wearing anything as a base — no concealer, no foundation, no powder. I’m wearing Elta MD Sunscreen, and that’s it! And it’s exactly how I would wear the skin with eye makeup like this in real life.

I also tried skipping brow pencil and just using a clear brow gel, but it felt like there was something missing…like I needed something to frame the big lashes and the dramatic lower lash line. So, I filled in my brows a little, and it fell into place.
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Spring Makeup Ideas: Blue Eye Makeup With a Green Top

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blue meghan markle look

Unsolicited life tip: When you unknowingly grow a Machiavellian mustache on your upper lip, it’s probably time to put some makeup on again.

So here we go!

OK, raise your hand ?‍♀️ (which I’m assuming has been vigorously washed with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds) if you tend to go matchy-matchy with your clothes when you wear colorful makeup. BECAUSE I TOTALLY DO. You know that girl wearing orange eyeshadow and orange lipstick and an orange shirt? Yup. So me!

A surprisingly springy combination

I would never think to wear this blue eye makeup with a green shirt (am I the only one?), but when I saw the blue shadow and green outfit on Meghan Markle recently, I was like, “YES. Rock those jewel tones together, Meg!”

I think the blue shadow and green clothing pairing is surprisingly springy, especially if you wear it on a rainy day, which I did. When it’s wet and cold and everything outside is stone cold gray, the blue-green combo stands out even more.

blue meghan markle look

Also, yeah, I know there’s a lot of eyeshadow swatches up in the mix. While I’m usually one for keeping eye makeup streamlined, especially for the past few months with the new job at the bakery and all, this time around I went ham on mixing and blending ALL THE EYESHADOWS. Try your hand at custom mixing your own shades sometime. Mixing and matching is so, so fun.

blue meghan markle look

blue meghan markle look

Key makeup worn in this look

EYES: It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palette (a mix of cool and warm browns in the crease, and the navy shade on the lid), Kevyn Aucoin ElectroPop Palette (blue/green shades on lid), Maybelline Tattoo Studio Gel Liner in Striking Navy and MAC Coffee liner (waterline and lower waterline), Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Mascara (lashes)

Cheeks: NARS Amour (blush), Hourglass Radiant Bronze Light (bronzer)

Lips: Nudestix Cheek/Lip Pencil in Mystic, MAC Boldly Bare lip liner, MAC Beaux Lipglass

Base: Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze mixed with MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklight, Estée Lauder 24HR Concealer in Medium Deep Warm

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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