Face of the Day (FOTD)

Rainbow Nails and Bright Lips, Funfetti Cake, and the MAC Makeup in “Promising Young Woman”

March 23rd, 2021 by Karen 16 Comments

skittles mani mac all fired up — It’s a rainbow of color

For the record, it’s very, very awkward to take a picture of yourself that has your hands in it and have it look natural! Why do I feel like my paws look bigger than my head here? ?

I haven’t worn rainbow nails in a minute, but I absolutely HAD TO after we rented Promising Young Woman last weekend. It’s a thriller starring Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a young 30-something woman who experiences something traumatic that leads her to drop out of medical school, move back in with her parent and…pursue other ends. I don’t want to give away too much, but it involves some revenge.

Cassie wears a pastel rainbow manicure throughout the movie, and it’s front and center at a few key moments.

I’ve been reading about the styling for the film, and it turns out that the manicure was writer/director Emerald Fennell’s idea, and fun fact for ya — she’s the lady who plays Camilla Parker-Bowles in The Crown!

Symbolically, Cassie’s nails and makeup represent both her armor and a weapon. Her sweet girlishness at times conceals her anger.

I just wanted to wear rainbows on my hands to have a little fun, but I definitely appreciate using makeup as armor.

Pink: Smith & Cult Plastic Beach
Orange: Chanel Orange Fizz (no longer available, try Chanel Cruise)
Yellow: Sally Hansen Lemon Heaven
Mint Green: Sally Hansen Prince Char-Mint
Baby Blue: Essie First View

Near the end of the film, there’s a scene with Cassie in a candy-colored wig putting on a bright lipstick, and dagnabbit, even without my glasses on, and consequently being half-blind, I knew it was MAC. The movie’s makeup artist, Angie Wells, used MAC All Fired Up Retro Matte Lipstick.

I’m wearing it here with MAC Beet Lip Pencil.

Speaking of bright and colorful things…I got a gluten-free sprinkle boxed cake mix and a matching sprinkle cake frosting (both by Pillsbury) at Target a few weeks ago to make a cake, and you know what? It was pretty darned delicious. Both the boxed Funfetti cake and the frosting were surprisingly tasty and flavorful (I could really taste the vanilla). The cake was also light and fluffy, and the frosting spread easily.

Everything was so good that I went back to the store and got more for the next time I have to bake something last-minute!

You know that I’m totally 100% down to bake a cake and make frosting from scratch, but sometimes it’s sooooo nice to have something easy around for when you get a hankerin’ for cake.

While we’re on the topic of baking, look what I found at Michaels…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Elegant Brick Brown Lids and Charcoal Wings (and a Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cake Recipe!)

March 18th, 2021 by Karen 15 Comments

I feel like I’m wearing a lot of makeup here, but I’m not…comparatively speaking. Compared to what I used to rock on the daily five or six years ago! ? ? I swear, if I just do a little concealer and foundation these days, and maybe a light dusting of powder, bam! — I feel ready for a black-tie ball from The Great Gatsby.

chanel arthur urban decay naked wild west down swatches — Swatches

Funny thing is…I was trying for an “everyday look” here with UD’s Naked Wild West Palette, which is why I used the matte, neutral workhorse shades — gray, a reddish brick brown, a taupe and a beige. I dunno though… I also couldn’t resist adding a little glitter in the inner corner!

Truth be told, my threshold for “dressing up” is very low now. Basically, whenever I put on a T-shirt and jeans that, ya know…fit, I feel dressed to the nines!

The Naked Wild West workhorse shadows blend beautifully with very little fallout, and I also like how smooth they look on my lids. They don’t look heavily creased or dry.

To go with the warm red brick tones on the lids, I added a warm reddish blush (Hourglass Diffused Heat, an old standby that goes really well with so many different shades of red lipstick) and sheer warm red Chanel Rouge Coco in Arthur on my lips.

DUDE, I am on a total Chanel Rouge Coco kick right now! It’s fancy yet approachable, with just the right amount of shine and opacity (or rather, semi-sheerness). The shade on my lips here is called Arthur, which I applied by dabbing the tube lightly on my lips. Then I pressed it in with a finger to create a warm reddish stain.

Makeup worn in this look

BASE: Chanel Ultra Le Tint Ultrawear All Day Comfort Flawless Finish Foundation in BD51, bareMinerals Original Liquid Mineral Concealer in Medium/Tan 3.5 C, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden

EYES: Urban Decay Naked Wild West Palette (Standoff as a base, Laredo and Ghost Town on lids, Pony Up as eyeliner, Cowboy Rick as an inner corner highlight), Lancome Lash Idole Mascara, IT Cosmetics Brow Power in Universal Taupe, Neutrogena Smokey Grey Eyeliner

CHEEKS: Hourglass Diffused Heat Blush

LIPS: Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in Arthur

And now…

Chocolate chip applesauce cake

Quite a few gals requested this recipe, so here it is, from my tummy to yours! I originally billed this as a “one-bowl baking job,” but I was overzealous there. You will need two. I hope that doesn’t stop you from trying it because the batter comes together really quickly, and the cake bakes in about 30 minutes.

When you’re done, listen for the sound of angels singing (AAAAAHHHHH!!!!), as you’ll be rewarded with the most shockingly delicious, otherworldly, melt-in-your-mouth cake!

If you’re looking to cut down on the simple carbs, feel free to dial back the granulated and brown sugar, or, you could leave out the topping entirely. Or, you can just make it as is!

Since it’s a good amount of cake for just me, El Hub and my sous chef, I usually divvy up the cake and pass on the sugary goodness to my neighbors. You could also try cutting the slices and freezing them, although I haven’t done that yet.

INGREDIENTS

For the batter, wet ingredients:

2 cups no-sugar added applesauce
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) lightly packed brown sugar

For the batter, dry ingredients:

2 cups (10 ounces) gluten-free flour, or all-purpose flour, either one works great
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips, I like Guittard Semi-Sweet because that’s the brand we used in the bakery

For the topping:

2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. If you’re using a glass pan like I did, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients — the applesauce, melted butter, vanilla, eggs, granulated and brown sugar.
In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients — flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chips. You’ll want to coat the chocolate chips with the dry ingredients to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake while it bakes.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until just combined. Whatever you do, please don’t overmix!
Spread the batter evenly in your prepared pan, then sprinkle the brown sugar and chocolate chip topping evenly across the top.
Bake for 28-30 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (a little bit of melted chocolate is just fine). If you’re using a glass pan, you may need to bake a little bit longer… My cake ended up taking about 38 minutes total.
Store well-covered at room temperature, and it should keep for several days!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Warm Tones With Chanel Cream Eyeshadow Sticks and Rouge Coco Lipsticks, and a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ?

March 17th, 2021 by Karen 15 Comments

chanel warm tones coco lipstick — Swatches!

Wouldn’t it be just grand if every decision were only as complex as what lipstick to wear for the day!? Adulting is hard, man! Oh, well…

This week I’ve been working on the flooring project I talked about, which means trying to figure out when to start it, what material to use, whom to hire, how to test our existing tiles for asbestos since the home was built in the 1970s, figuring out how to remove the old carpet, whether we can coordinate the project to coincide with some repairs we have to do, which may or may not require us all to temporarily live someplace else with our cat while the work is done, which has been…challenging, but at least I figured out what lipstick to wear for the day! 🙂 That was easy, peasy, lemon squeezy compared to asbestos testing (OMG).

chanel rouge coco lipstick coco adrienne — I couldn’t decide between these two, so I tried both!

Yesterday I had the best time trying to figure out which of these Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks to wear… I mean, the orangey red shade is obviously fun and fierce and shiny. It sings “Spring is here!” Unsurprisingly, I also love the nude beige pink, which looks so elegant and sophisticated! They both have their own cool vibe.

chanel warm tones coco lipstick smile — Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 416 Coco

chanel rouge coco adrienne — Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick in 402 Adrienne

Ultimately, I went with the orangey red because I needed some “lipstick armor” to get through the day, but which one do you prefer?

Oh! — I’m wearing cream shadow in this look because these ones from Chanel are awesome. I’ve also been on a cream shadow kick. These double as shadows and liners, and, in case you’re wondering, yes, they’re comfortable on the waterline. Not drying at all! I’m wearing a matte light brown called Contour Clair on my lids and matte dark brown Rouge Noir on my lash and water lines.

chanel warm tones eyes down — I’m wearing Chanel Blush No. 20 cream blush on my cheeks with Chanel Malice powder blush on top.

chanel ombre et contour — From the left: Chanel Stylo Ombre Et Contour Eyeshadow-Liner-Khol in 12 Contour Clair, 04 Electric Brown, 08 Rouge Noir

I blended out the edges of the lighter brown with what I *thought* was a clean blending brush, so I was surprised when — whoops! — orangey brown appeared in my crease. Turns out I forgot I had used this particular brush with the UD Naked Wild West Palette, and it had some leftover matte brown in the bristles. I actually ended up liking how it turned out though!

Don’t ya just love fortuitous makeup accidents?

By the way, happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️? Connor Claire and I painted our nails green this morning to celebrate. She’s part Irish on El Hub’s side.

expressie express to impress swatch — Two layers of Expressive Express to Impress

I was going to make corned beef and cabbage in the Instant Pot, but eh…I might just make a Whole Food’s Frozen Cheese Pizza with some green broccoli on it instead! ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Soft Teal Wings With the Urban Decay Naked Wild West, a New Tea From Trader Joe’s, and Chocolate Chip Cake!

March 16th, 2021 by Karen 39 Comments

I was chatting with someone IRL a couple weeks ago, and she told me that sometimes she puts on her makeup in the morning before sitting down to work because it makes her feel more productive, and I was like, “YES! You are my people!” ? That’s totally what happened in this look here. I was researching luxury vinyl flooring, so these soft teal wings happened…

Side note: over the years, our carpet has become completely thrashed thanks to the cats, so now I’m learning all about laminate versus vinyl plank flooring versus hardwoods… If you have any flooring knowledge bombs to drop on me, I’m all ears!

I’m wearing the new Urban Decay Naked Wild West Palette here. Just a couple of the brown matte shades on my lids (Spur and Nudie) and the shimmery teal (Bud) on my lash lines.

I’m still on the fence about this palette and haven’t quite figured out if I think it’s must-have… This is my third time using it, and although I do like the mix of brown, taupe and gray mattes, coupled with the fun blues and golds, I don’t know if it’s that practical. I’m gonna give it a couple more tries, then check back in with you…

By the way, I’m also testing a new concealer from bareMinerals called The bareMinerals Original Liquid Mineral Concealer. It’s a medium-coverage brightening liquid concealer you can build up in layers to full (specifically for the under-eye area). It’s comes in 17 shades, and it’s available on qvc.com for $25 a tube now.

This was my first time using it (I’m wearing Medium/Tan 3.5 C!). So far, I think it’s alright… It’s a little more coverage than I’ve been wearing lately, so it’s kind of shocking to see real-deal concealer on my skin again.

To its credit, it doesn’t pool up in my fine lines or anything, so it’s not super obvious, but I do have to blend out the edges quite a bit because the pigment is very concentrated. I think it should be fine on its own, but it might be a tad too heavy if you like to set your concealer with powder.

In non-makeup related news, I found a delicious new herbal tea at Trader Joe’s called Blood Orange Rooibos, and it’s naturally very sweet to my taste buds (I don’t even add sugar). It has just a touch of citrusy tang too.

I’ve been drinking less Earl Grey tea lately because I read somewhere that cutting down on the caffeine might help with my migraines, which, ugh, have been terrible lately.

I mean, I love me some tea and coffee, but I’ll try anything at this point.

Anywho, if you see this one TJ’s, grab a box. Then grab an extra one for me, hahah! Kidding. It’s super good though, especially with dessert.

I had a cup last night with a slice of gluten-free chocolate chip cake that Connor and I made last weekend.

Not only is this cake easy and delicious, but it’s light and moist, and it just melts in your mouth (the secret ingredient is unsweetened applesauce). If you decide to make it, you could have it in your tummy in less than one hour.

The fact that the star ingredient is applesauce almost makes me feel like it’s healthy… 🙂 Yeah, maybe that’s a stretch! It’s still good though, and it’s one of those cakes that’s nice to have around in case company stops by (for when the pandemic’s over).

If you came over, I’d cajole you into having a cup of tea and a slice, for sure!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Warm Reddish Brown Smokey Eyes With Teal Lids and Liner | Day 2 With the Urban Decay Naked Wild West Palette

March 5th, 2021 by Karen 2 Comments

Don’t ask me why this never occurred to me before, because you know I love streamlining, but today I wore the same shade of eyeshadow as a lid color and a liner color, and WHOOP-WHOOP! — my world is forever changed.

Do you ever do this? Because if you do, you’re officially a genius.

There’s a dark matte teal in the new Urban Decay Naked Wild West palette, and that’s what inspired me to try it.

I wanted some contrast between the lid color and liner, so I started by applying the lid shadow with a flat eyeshadow brush. Next, I buffed out the edges with a clean domed shadow brush, then blended a couple of warm matte browns into my crease to soften the edges.

After that, to amplify the intensity of the liner, I wet an angled brush with MAC Fix+, loaded it with the teal shadow, and lined my upper upper and lower lash lines. I kept the upper lash line crisp and buffed out the lower lash line for just a whisper of color…

I really like the harmony between the lid and liner colors, and there’s also a slight gradient affect!

I’m going to try it again in the near future, but not with this exact same shade of teal because it’s a little patchy…

It’s been a minute since I’ve worn colorful smokey eyes, and I figured out one of the reasons for this while I was doing this makeup — the shape of my eyes has changed so much in the last year, and that’s made doing looks like this a little more challenging to do.

Ya know…it’s just time doing its thang. Plus, the stress of the pandemic. *shrugs*

So what do we do? We adjust, right?

I feel like colorful shadow generally looks better on me when I keep the color lower on my lids and don’t go too far out in the outer corners… Took me a while to figure this one out, but eh, better late than never!

Gosh, I wish makeup magazines talked about this more — how the shape of your face changes as you get older. It feels like I’m relearning everything and starting from scratch. I mean, I knew this was coming, but I don’t feel like I was given an adequate heads-up, LOL!

Makeup worn in this look

BASE: Urban Decay Stay Naked Hydromaniac Tinted Moisturizer in 50 mixed with Lancome Skin Feels Good in Tan set with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden

EYES: Urban Decay Naked Wild West shadows in Standoff (base), Nude and Ghost Town (crease), Whiskey (outer third), Tex (lids and lash lines)

CHEEKS: Chanel No. 22 cream blush

LIPS: Origins Coral Daisy sheer lipstick

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! 🙂

Bronze and Gray Lids With the Urban Decay Naked Wild West Palette

March 4th, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

urban decay naked wild west swatches — Yup, more naked. ?

Seriously, how many more of these are they gonna do?!

The newest incarnation of ze Naked palette calls itself Naked Wild West (no relation to Kanye), and it’s inspired by the California desert.

No, not dessert. DESert. ?

I patted Rustler, the shimmery bronze shade, on my lids and was surprised to see taupe-y grey undertones when I blended out the edges.

Kinda cool…both literally and figuratively, hahaha. To complement the gray, I lined my upper lash line with an angled brush that I’d dipped into Pony Up, the matte dark gray.

I did remember to tap my brushes to unload any excess powder before applying but still ended up with a little bit of fallout on my cheeks. Not a lot though…

I hadn’t done my base yet (a 50/50 mix of Urban Decay 24-Hour Hydration in 50 Medium, and Lancôme Skin Feels Good in Tan, set with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural) so I just wiped it off. No biggie.

For my cheeks, I swept a low-key hero from the UD permanent line, the Stay Naked Threesome trio in Naked, onto my cheeks (the bronzer and the blush).

Incidentally, I’m still on an Origins sheer lipstick kick, so I layered two shades on my lips — Honey Blush and Fuchsia Fields — to finish the look.

Just for fun, I tried the makeup with a brighter lip using Honest Beauty Passion.

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A post shared by Karen | Makeup and Beauty Blog (@karenmbb)

It’s nice to have options, ya know?

In other news…I’m all “mommed out” from the birthday excitement of the past few days, and I’m super tried right now! I skipped exercising yesterday, so I told myself this morning that I had to work out today…but right now all I want to do is take a nap.

Ugh, I know I’ll feel better when I’m done with it though. I just have to remind myself that I don’t have to give it 100%… 50% today will do!

You already know this, but Target has some weird stuff.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Smudged Cat Eye | Day 4 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 26th, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

honest beauty smudged cat eye side — Today’s smudged cat eyes; I really love this!

Leave it to the cat lady to love a smudged cat eye, hahaha! This is yet another look — I’ll say “inspired by” the tutorial card that comes with the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette.

honest beauty smudged cat eye swatches — Just four eyeshadows

The tutorial suggests using the beige shade all over the lid as a base, but I thought that might look a little weird on me, so I buffed the matte brown shade (Soft Bronze) on top of the beige to define my crease.

Gosh, these shadows blend so well! But that’s just one of the great things about this palette.

Can we talk about lips for a second, because I need to know if anyone else out there has been into tinted lip balms lately? They’re SO MY JAM, which is kinda funny because until recently I’ve been solidly Team Liquid Lipstick for the last few months. My previous lip logic was that if I’m going to wear something on my pout during the pandemic…it had to last long enough under my mask to ensure that I wouldn’t have to keep removing my mask to reapply it.

I know, interesting logic. ?

Turns out tinted balms are a great no-drama/low-effort option, since I can 1) easily apply one without a mirror (doing it right now, as a matter of fact), and 2) remove it just as quickly with a tissue when I’m about to mask up. Plus, hello moisture! (Side note: my lips have been dry lately.)

This sheer plum tinted balm by Origins is called Night Bloom, and it’s low-key epic in terms of moisture. I get old-school Clinique Black Honey vibes from the color because it looks crazy dark in the tube, but it’s just a sheer plummy tint when it’s applied.

Night Bloom pairs really well with mauves, taupes, browns and bronzes, a.k.a. all of the colors in the Honest Beauty Get It Together Palette. It’s also sheer enough to wear with just bare skin and mascara.

In case you’re wondering, it smells and tastes a little minty, but it’s not overwhelming.

origins night bloom — Moisturizing, sheer and just lovely

Another thing I’ve been into: the look of barely-there blush. MAC Warm Soul is great for this!

honest beauty eye palette mac warm soul — Love ya, MAC Warm Soul!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! ?

Classic Smokey Eyes | Day 3 With the Honest Beauty Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette

February 25th, 2021 by Karen 5 Comments

The Honest Beauty eyeshadow palette comes with a card with four looks you can do with the palette. I followed the one called “Classic Smoky Eye” for this post, although with one tweak. I started by buffing the matte beige shade (Vanilla’d Velvet) all over my lids as a base so the subsequent colors would pop a little more.

I was a wee bit nervous about using the shimmery gold all over my lids and the shimmery dark purple on the outer corner because…I’m in my 40s now, and shine doesn’t always play well with my 40-something skin, particularly in the crease. Some may even say that I’m “overly picky about shimmery finishes,” *ahem*. Can you blame me though? One false move and you see every fine line!

Buuuut, I decided to go for it anyway, hoping that the matte beige underneath would tone down the shine, and it did!

As I was blending, I realized another reason to love this palette. The more you buff and swirl these shadows, the less intensely they shine, until they have more of a satiny finish. The finish ends up as a soft, pearly glow, which makes this classic smokey eye very workable for daytime wear! When I dropped Connor off at school this morning, I didn’t feel like I was wearing “too much.”

Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you — I found the most beautiful cream blush by Chanel! It’s Les Beiges Blush No. 20, a stick blush, $45 (!), but dang, lady! It’s so good. It’s a bronzy, peachy tan with the finest flecks of pearly gold, and it adds a hint of natural-looking color to cheeks. I love how easy it is to blend and that I can’t see it sitting on top of my skin or in my pores.

If you’re a real stickler for blush that doesn’t heavy on your cheeks, then you might want to consider it because it’s so natural-looking on skin.

FYI, if you’re lighter than I am, No. 20 will probably function more as a straight-up bronzer on your skin, and if you’re darker, then you might better off with one of Chanel’s brighter cream blushes like No. 21 or No. 22, since I’m betting No. 20 won’t show up as readily on darker skin.

Other things I’ve been into lately: mixing two shades of Honest Beauty liquid lipstick, namely Passion and Off Duty, to create the purrfect mid-toned coral pink; and wearing an old-school standby base combination with MAC Face and Body (I mix C4 and C5), set with the tiniest smidgen of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder (my shade is Medium Golden).

Seriously, why did I ever take a break from wearing Face and Body? IT’S SO GOOD, especially for no-makeup makeup. I’ve talked about it ad nauseam on MBB for years, so if you’re relatively new here and want to know more about why it’s the stuff, hit me up in the comments and I will repeat myself once again, LOL! LOVE IT.

Oh, my gosh, one last thing before I leave you — have you seen the Britney Spears documentary on Hulu? I kept hearing about it, and I told myself, “OK, I’ll give this 10 minutes of my life, and that’s it,” but then I started watching it and I COULD. NOT. LOOK. AWAY.

The one-hour documentary by The New York Times charts Britney’s rise to fame, her very public issues in the press in the early 2000s, and the conservatorship that was placed on her in 2008, which some people believe was against her will. Some conspiracy theorists go so far as to think that her Instagram is an entire series of coded cries for help.

As you might know, I’m solidly on #TeamBritney, and so watching the doc left me with the hope that one day she’ll surprise us all (in the best possible, emotionally healthy way).

To Britney and all my ladies out there currently holding on, make that delicious lemonade out of those lemons, mama. You hang in there!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen