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Face of the Day (FOTD)

Coral, Bronze and Gold: A Natural, Summery Face of the Day With Tom Ford Summer 2015, NARS Eyelashes, RMS Beauty, Paul & Joe and More

April 21st, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

tom ford naked bronze
A Face of the Day with some products from Tom Ford Summer 2015, NARS Eyelashes, RMS Beauty and more

My father-in-law does this thing where he answers every “when” question with the word, “Tuesday,” like, “When did you guys go to that dinner?”

And he says, “Tuesday.”

Or, “When was that storm you mentioned?”

To which he says, “Tuesday.”

And he giggles every time like it’s the funniest joke in the world.

Big sigh…

Buuut, I’m borrowing the joke today! 🙂 Basically, I was in the mood to wear something natural-ish, summery and spiced up with sparkling garnish because, dude! — as my father-in-law might say, it’s Tuesday, and Tuesdays are the best days to wear glitter.

I used quite a few new products, too (some of them from Tom Ford Summer 2015!), along with some older faves like Diorskin Air Nude Serum for this bronzed brown and gold eye with pink cheeks and coral lips.

A trick for mornings when you wake up with puffy eyes…

I had majorly puffy eyes this morning thanks to my spring allergies, so to offset that puffiness I deepened my crease with a matte brown. Instead of using an eyeshadow, though, I grabbed Tom Ford’s Terra Bronzer.

Yup! I used it as a transition shade, which I like it for, as it isn’t orangey. It’s more of a golden tan warm matte brown, and I think it layers and blends beautifully.

I really didn’t want to accentuate my puffy lids, so I kept all of the shimmers/glitters on my “mobile lid.”

Yup, mobile lid. It’s the part of the lid that moves when you blink. You can see it when you look straight into a mirror and blink. That part that moves is your mobile lid.

tom ford naked bronze

Anyway! For this look, I did a matte in the crease and kept the shimmer confined to the mobile lid. The combination of shimmer on the lid and matte in the crease appears to deepen and define the crease.

Or at least that’s the idea.

IMO, the best thing from Tom Ford Summer 2015

For the shimmer, I used Tom Ford’s Cream and Powder Eye Color in Naked Bronze. I dabbed the cream bronze shadow on my lids with a finger, let it dry, then went back in and patted the glitter eyeshadow in the center of my lid to create a focal point.

I really like Naked Bronze, by the way. It’s annoyingly expensive ($60), but it’s so pigmented that I don’t have to use much, and both the cream and the glitter layer and blend sans drama. Even if you did use a ton, it would probably still look effortless.

I think Tom Ford’s cream shadows are among the best products in the line, and if I were to choose one thing from the Summer 2015 Collection, it would be one of the Cream and Powder Eye Colors.

Cream blushes: a makeup tip

For cheeks, I also turned to Tom. I dabbed golden pink Cream Cheek Color in Pink Sand on the apples of my cheeks for a soft, subtle sheen and some natural pink color.

My favorite way to apply cream blush is to do it right after foundation. That way the foundation is still a little wet and the cream blush blends into it more easily. If, on the other hand, I wait until my foundation is dry, the blush seems to sit up on top of my skin where it looks more obvious.

For this look, I stippled the blush with a Real Techniques Multi Task Brush.
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There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), NARS, Paul & Joe, RMS Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Summer 2015: A Plum and Peach Face of the Day With the New Eye and Cheek Compact in Pink Glow

April 16th, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

tom ford summer 2015
A Tom Ford Summer 2015 face of the day

This is probably a little too much glam for the Home Depot trip I had planned to take this afternoon…

Oh, well!

Yeah, I wasn’t thinking about potting mix and tomato plants (gotta get my deck garden situation worked out, ASAP!) when I started this soft plum and peach cut crease with Tom Ford’s new Eye and Cheek Compact in Pink Glow.

I just jumped in with both feet! — and now I’m thinking, “Hmm… Probably not the ideal Home Depot look.” But you know how it is with a cut crease. Once you get past a certain point, there’s no turning back.

The eye and cheek compact I’m wearing today, Pink Glow, is from Tom’s new Summer 2015 Collection.

I still haven’t quite figured out why it’s called Pink Glow…because the overall color palette looks more plum than pink to me, but either way, I like it. It seems very summertime glam, and I like this particular pairing of a shimmery plum eyeshadow with a shimmery plum blush, the subtle golden beige eyeshadow, the bronze glitter, and the peachy pink highlighter. It’s a good combo.

tom ford summer 2015

On a mildly educational note, the big lesson I learned today while working with this palette is to “go easy” with it, because the plum and the beige shadows are surprisingly pigmented, and it’s better to build them up slowly and carefully with layers (versus just slapping them on your lids without a care in the world).

Like I usually do, I did my eyes first, thinking that I’d probably have to deal with fallout, but looking back now, I could’ve just as easily started with foundation and concealer, because there was hardly any fallout at all, not even from the glittery eyeshadow.

All I have to say to that is “THANK GOODNESS, YO!” because with a $95 palette, yeah, fallout and other forms of drama should absolutely not be problems. At all.

I also used the peachy face highlighter from the compact on my lids as a shadow, which I think worked well for this (good for a bright, wide-eyed effect), and used Tom Ford’s matte warm brown Terra Bronzer (also from the Summer 2015 Collection) in my crease as a transition shade (yay for multitasking products!).

Because the eyes were so ba-BAM!, I didn’t use the plum blush from the palette (I figured it would REALLY be too much for Home Depot) and went with theBalm’s new Balm Desert Bronzer/Blush for a more subdued bronzy/peach cheek instead.

Um…WOW! This was my first time wearing Balm Desert, and I’m really impressed. I was afraid it would go a little ashy on me because it looks borderline cool-toned in the pan, but some warm peach comes through on the skin. If you’re a fan of Benefit’s Dallas Boxed Blush, you’ll probably also like this. They’re very similar.

tom ford summer 2015
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There are 31 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Tom Ford Beauty

A Candy Coral, Flamingo-Fueled Face of the Day With the New Too Faced Sugar Pop Palette

April 1st, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

too-faced-sugar-pop
Wearing the new $36 Sugar Pop Palette by Too Faced Cosmetics on mah eyes

This look may or may not have been inspired by my new favorite animal, the flamingo.

(It was.)

Yeah, I’ve been on a flamingo kick lately. Dang birds are just so blasted bright and springy.

Speaking of that, my makeup today! I’m wearing a soft coral and warm bronze cut-crease eye look paired with hot pink lips.

Sort of flamingo-esque, don’t you think? Especially with the head tilt? 🙂

Got a lotta Too Faced products up in the mix today…

too-faced-sugar-pop
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There are 31 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Too Faced

Fresh Pink Cheeks and Bright, Bold Lips: A Quick Makeup Breakdown

March 3rd, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

Messy reverse french braid

Sometimes it’s the simplest looks that turn out best. Most of the time, that old saying “less is more” drives me crazy (because less is, ya know, actually less), but there is a morsel of truth in there. 🙂

This look — I threw it on the other day in, I think it was 15 minutes, just so I could take pictures for the reverse french braids post, and I was surprised to get so much nice feedback and a few requests for a breakdown, because it wasn’t complicated or involved at all.

Come to think of it, even my next door neighbor said something sweet about it when I ran into her (“Your makeup looks like you’re going someplace fancy!”).

(Note: I wasn’t.)

I gotta remember to do this cheek/lip combo again, because apparently it’s working.

Who knew?

So here we go, from start to finish…

Key products worn in this look: Sephora Sublime, Rimmer Sun Bronze, NARS Panic, MAC Impassioned, Benefit Roller Lash
Key products worn in this look from the upper left: Sephora MicroSmooth in Sublime, Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze, NARS Dual Intensity Blush in Panci, MAC Impassioned Lipstick, Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

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There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD)

Springy and Smokey! Smokey Brown and Purple Cat Eyes and a Bright Coral Lip With New Makeup From Benefit, Dior and Smashbox

March 3rd, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

Smashbox Double Exposure Palette

The sun’s out, I’m not wearing socks (FOOT FREEDOM!), I am wearing coral lipstick, and the eye look I tried this morning did not result in a complete disaster…

Yeah, it’s been a terrific Tuesday so far. 🙂

Today I felt springy and, I dunno, kinda smokey, so this purply brown smokey eye with soft cat eye liner happened.

Note to self: do this liner more often! It’s fairly easy — just black eye pencil with a dark shimmery purple shadow blended on top with a pencil brush — and it takes about half the time as a super crisp black cat liner, otherwise known as “the time-suck of my makeup existence.”

As a side, am I the only person who regularly attempts black cat liner when there’s, like, absolutely no time to get ready, and then inevitably ends up with their two tiny kitten flicks morphing into huge, unsymmetrical bat wings that don’t match?

Yargh.

Siri, remind me to wear soft cat eyeliner like this the next time I need to be saved from myself.

Oh! — this look was also an excuse to try a few new products from Benefit, Dior and Smashbox.

Some quick notes…

  • Benefit’s new Roller Lash curling mascara — This stuff is black, and glossy, and it lifts and curls lashes, but you absolutely, positively must comb out your lashes while they’re wet; otherwise, they’ll stick together like mean girls in the cafeteria.
  • Dior’s Nude Air Serum Foundation — This lightweight, medium-coverage hybrid skin care serum/foundation looks amazing on the skin. My homegirl at Sephora hooked me up (‘sup Nini!) with a fatty-bo-batty sample in shade 040, and when I finish it…I’m probably gonna throw down 53 large ($53) for a full-size replacement.

    Yeah, that good.

  • Smashbox Double Exposure Palette — Yep, these gorgeous, mostly cool-toned shades are a dream to blend.

Smashbox Double Exposure Palette

products I used for this look
Key products I used for this look

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There are 27 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Benefit, Chanel, Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, NARS, Rimmel, Rouge Bunny Rouge, Smashbox

‘Cause One Can Never Wear Enough Neutrals: A Face of the Day With the Nude Dude Volume 2 Eye Palette By theBalm

February 27th, 2015 by Karen 38 Comments

A Face of the Day with thebalm Nude Dude Volume 2

I feel like every girl (and every boy who loves makeup; yes, I know you’re out there, and I love you!!!) has a default makeup look they turn to whenever they need to feel just straight-up pretty…and that’s definitely what I needed this morning because I woke up tired today, dude!

For real, I got like two seconds of sleep last night. The wind was crazy loud and howled all night long (“Awooooo!”), which fired up Tabs, who consequently spent the entire evening running circuits around the bedroom, knocking stuff off the dressers, climbing all over my boobs and generally doing naughty tabby things.

That darned cat! If he wasn’t so adorably squishy, I’d be raging mad at him right now. 🙂

I LOVE THIS FOOL

Needless to say, I needed a pick-me-up this morning, so I figured, heck, why not do something makeup-wise that I really like to wear, so I ended up doing my favorite look to wear in the whole wide world — brown smokey eyes, pink cheeks, pink lips.

Yep, mah standby. 🙂

Key products worn in this look, including thebalm Nude Dude Volume 2
Key products I’m wearing in this look

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There are 38 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Ardency Inn, Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, NARS, Rimmel, Sephora, theBalm

Blueberry Truffle Me: A Chocolate-Inspired Makeup Look With the New Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Eye Palette

February 3rd, 2015 by Karen 30 Comments

Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette
A makeup look inspired by blueberry truffles!

Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar PaletteBlueberry truffles: health food of the future?

I wish. But seriously, I’m coming down with a cold right now, and I’m pretty sure there are antioxidants in both blueberries AND chocolate, soooo…I should probably be eating way more blueberry truffles.

Here’s a look inspired by one of my sweetest loves, blueberry truffles, and I used the deliciously named Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette.

I got the idea for this blue and chocolate brown eye look while doing Valentine’s chocolate-themed makeup “research” at See’s Candies (read: biting into the Blueberry Truffle sample the nice lady at See’s gave me).

Incidentally, I live dangerously close to the Novato Vintage Oaks See’s Candies, and if I hit all the green lights, I can get there in three minutes.

I’m just sayin’.

I was in the early stages of choco-ecstasy (it’s a real thing!) when I saw this look clearly in my endorphin-flooded mind — shimmery blue lids, a warm matte brown crease, blue smudged along the lower lash lines, lashes loaded with mascara, and everything surrounded by a soft, smokey haze.

Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette
I’m wearing Too Faced La Creme Lipstick in Nude Beach topped with NARS Turkish Delight Lipgloss on my lips.

The first palette I thought of was the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar ($49), the brand’s new chocolate-scented spring eyeshadow palette.

Excuse me a moment while I open it and take a sniff.

Ah… 🙂
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There are 30 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Too Faced

An Elegant, Everyday Makeup Look With Coral Lips, Golden Brown Eyes and Lots of Chanel

January 29th, 2015 by Karen 29 Comments

Chanel Rouge Allure in 152 Insaisissable
That’s Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick in 152 Insaisissable on my lips…

Gotta buy cat food? Need to get some French fries? Always take advantage of any opportunity to wear Chanel.

Even if it involves tracking down (at your employer’s request) a can of special cat food that just so happens to be the most impossible wet food to find in the U.S. because it’s imported all the way from New Zealand.

I’m sorry, what was I saying…? Oh, yeah! — any opportunity to wear Chanel. 🙂

I derive great joy from wearing Chanel to run everyday errands. It makes otherwise uninspiring activities immensely more bearable.

Here’s one of my everyday makeup looks, this time featuring Chanel spring 2015 goodness. Soft coral lips with warm golden tones on the eyes, and lots of liner and lashes. No false lashes, though, or sparkling glitter, so it’s not too cra-zay-zy or outlandish, and there aren’t a ton of eyeshadows up in my sauce. It’s pretty simple, and I feel elegant when I wear it.

You could also skip the lashes and liner to make it even more casual, and I do that sometimes.

Chanel Rouge Allure in 152 Insaisissable
Tisse Vendome on my lids, Chanel Jade on my tips and Chanel Insaisissable on my lips!

That’s Chanel Tisse Vendome (so my jam these days) on my lids and the Jardin de Chanel Blush Camelia Rose from the spring collection on my cheeks.

Chanel Rouge Allure in 152 Insaisissable
Rouge Allure in 152 Insaisissable

Other products I’m wearing from the Chanel spring collection…

Vibrant creamy reddish coral Rouge Allure Lipstick in 152 Insaisissable, a permanent collection shade currently being re-promoted with the spring launch.

I actually started snapping the pics in this post wearing Insaisissable but eventually swapped it for Rouge Coco Shine in 97 Desinvolte (another permanent shade currently being re-promoted in the spring launch) because my lips were feeling a little dry.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 97 Desinvolte
Rouge Coco Shine in 97 Desinvolte

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There are 29 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Face of the Day (FOTD)

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