MAC Makeup

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

April 14th, 2020 by Karen 23 Comments

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! ?

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.

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.

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

Low Key “No-Makeup” Makeup With Creams (MAC Pro Face Palettes)

April 10th, 2020 by Karen 11 Comments

If the day ever comes when an inquisitive young child asks me about the meaning behind Prince’s song, Cream, I’m going to tell her it’s about cream makeup. Cream blush, cream eyeshadow and cream foundation.

CREAM!

Prince loved wearing makeup, so why wouldn’t he write a song about cream products? ?

And should I ever be moved to compose a catchy tune about creams (because I’d have to write a love song about cream, obvs!), I would have to dedicate a verse to how cream eyeshadow and blush look on skin — like you’re wearing makeup, but not the heavy, powdery obvious kind. (The second verse would be dedicated to blending with your fingers, and the chorus would be all about how much creams love dry skin.)

Anyway, that’s my plan and I’m stickin’ to it.

A few items of note about this particular no-makeup makeup look…

Here’s a way to add more dimension with your cream blush. I’m wearing two blushes on my cheeks — a sheer layer of orange all over my cheeks, with a pop of pink on the apples — to create a gradient. I diffused the edges of the pink into the orange by laying the flat side of a foundation brush against my skin and using short strokes. Try this technique sometime using two of your favorite cream blushes (one lighter, one darker) for natural-looking blush with dimension.
The MAC Pro Face Palettes rock. For a low-key look, I’m wearing sheer layers of the Bright Blush Palette on my cheeks and the Contour Palette on my lids (worn as eyeshadow and layered on top of a light wash of MAC Teddy). And if you want more dramatic glam, you can still easily get there by layering the creams for amplified pigment. SO flexible and blend beautifully, too. If you’re a fan of the MAC Cream Colour Bases, you’ll love these.
About that glossy lip. It’s a tinted lip oil — Hourglass Cameo — and it’s a gorgeous warm rose (but it’s redonk expensive at $49!). It’s next level when it comes to moisturizing dry lips, which is mainly why I wear it (mine have been annoyingly dry lately), but I also adore its “your lips but better” effect.

Makeup worn in this look:

Base: MAC Studio Fix Soft Matte Foundation Stick in NC42, Estée Lauder 24HR Concealer in Medium Deep Warm

Eyes: MAC Teddy (on upper and lower waterlines, and buffed on lids as a base), MAC Contour Pro Face Palette (Rolling Stone and Dark Honey as eyeshadows), Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara

Lips: Hourglass Cameo Lip Oil

Cheeks: MAC Bright Blush Palette (Juicy Tangelo and Pink Tulip cheeks), MAC Hush (upper cheekbones)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Good Friday, and TGIF! ?

P.P.S. Click here to read a random post!

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

April 7th, 2020 by Karen 22 Comments

1. Perfume two-a-days

This idea came about during a chat in the comments last week with Pamela (hey, Pamela!). I was feeling a little blue that day, and we were talking about the uncertainty surrounding these crazy current events. Something Pamela said stuck with me…

We are all feeling the same lows in one way, shape or form. Just remember, you cannot control everything around you. But you can control how you respond to it. I respond with a spritz of perfume.

So one thing I’ve been doing, and it has helped me feel like I have a little bit of control over life in general, is wearing my perfumes in what I call “perfume two-a-days.”

First thing in the morning after I rinse off after my workout, I spritz one perfume, and then I spritz a different one in the evening after my shower before I go to bed.

Last night’s scent was TOCCA Graciella, and this morning’s was MAC Velvet Teddy Shadescent.

This evening’s will be Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana, me thinks…

2. Nudestix Cream Lip and Cheek Pencil in Mystic

One positive thing about being stuck at home so much is that I’ve been raiding my stash and rediscovering so many good things I used to love (and still do, apparently!), like Nudestix Mystic. This pinkish brownish semi-matte lipstick has pigment for days, and it doubles as a cream blush.

It’s one of those all-around neutrals that goes with everything.

3. Oatmeal raisin cookies with chocolate chips

I’ve never lost my damn mind over or passed out from sheer ecstasy while eating an oatmeal raisin cookie…UNTIL NOW. I’m normally nonchalant about them because oatmeal isn’t high up on my list of favorite things I eagerly expend my calories on (it’s like they’re too healthy or something).

Anyway, I made some at home, and they turned out BOMB. So, my tune has officially changed.

Turns out that oatmeal raisin cookies can actually be REALLY delicious, especially when you make ’em from scratch and add a sh*t ton of chocolate chips.

The main reason I made them is because I was under baking duress, because there’s been a flour shortage here in the area (people have been hoarding it), and I only have one bag of all-purpose flour left in the cupboard. But I was desperate to #stressbake and didn’t want to use too much of flour, so I gave these cookies a try because the recipe requires less than one cup of flour.

oatmeal choc chip raisin — Who wants a snack?

Crazy about ’em!

4. Watering can outdoor activities for kids (and adults!)

If you know someone who needs to keep busy for a while, take that person outdoors and give them a watering can. Then, let them water anything and everything in your yard. THEY WILL FREAKIN’ LOVE IT. I can’t believe I didn’t figure this out until now, but better late than never I guess.

If you can, give them two different watering cans for variety. I did this with Connor this morning, and she had a good ol’ time.

Added bonus: Now El Hub doesn’t have to water the front yard.

5. This choreography video to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September”

Who are these amazing dancers, and why aren’t you and I (virtually) dancing with them right now?

We should be, really, because it looks like so much fun! Side note: The person in the background wearing the leopard shirt and the cutoff black shorts is my new style guru. ?

What have you been loving lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Mystery of the MAC 217 Brush…

April 3rd, 2020 by Karen 9 Comments

You know you’re a MAC girl for life when, while casually strolling around the neighborhood (six feet away from any neighbors, of course), you spy with your little eye a MAC eyeshadow brush from afar.

See that!?

Yeah, we were just taking a walk and, kid you not, I saw what looked like a makeup brush in the middle of the common area in our circle.

My gut told me it was a MAC brush (note the black handle and the shape of the ferrule). Turns out my gut was right.

I screamed, “Hey! It’s a MAC 217!” (As if El Hub or Connor would know what I was talking about).

El Hub yelled back, “DON’T TOUCH IT!”

Of course, I wondered if it was mine, although I have no idea how this would have been possible. I’ve never done my makeup out there before.

It also crossed my mind whether I could have sleep walked in the middle of the night. Maybe to do a brown smoky eye? First of all, it’s an old-school 217 (the one with natural bristles, which is THE BEST one!), and not the newer 217S (synthetic) version. I’ve got a few of the old 217s in my collection (I’m that dedicated).

Also, this one had bristles of a particular shade of brown, like it had been swished and swirled inside brown pans like the MAC staples I usually wear (Saddle and Soft Brown), so IT TOTALLY LOOKED LIKE ONE OF MY BRUSHES.

Pretty sure it wasn’t one of mine, though… I wonder whose it was and how it got there. Who did it belong to? Whomever it was, he or she must be missing it something terrible.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Feel Good Makeup

April 3rd, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

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

Makeup worn in this look

Base: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter in Tan, Estée Lauder Double Wear Instant Fix Concealer in Medium Deep Warm, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden

Eyes: Tom Ford Spice, MAC Coffee pencil, Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara (SO GOOD), Nudestix Brow Pencil, MAC Brown Set in Clear

Cheeks: Chantecaille Radiance Gel Bronzer, MAC Pro Face Palette Bright Blush

Lips: MAC Cosmo lipstick

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

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Spring Makeup Ideas: Blue Eye Makeup With a Green Top

March 25th, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

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.

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.

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

Spring Makeup Ideas: Sparkly Taupes and Purples With a Soft Hint of Pink

March 19th, 2020 by Karen 31 Comments

wander beauty wanderess k3 — Big hair, big dreams

It’s weird. Even though the world around me feels like it has gone full-on BONKERS, when I go outside for walks with the Coywolf (and we’ve been going for a lot of them), the great outdoors seems unaware of the sitch in the human world.

Spring, in all her glory, keeps coming.

Case in point: One of the showiest trees in the neighborhood is blooming, and she’s absolutely gorgeous.

(Yes, she’s a dainty lady in my eyes.)

Coy-Coy and I went for several walks yesterday, and on one of them we stopped by to visit our favorite tree. As we stood under the canopy of flowers and looked up, tiny pink petals gently floated onto my hair, and I felt a song in my heart.

Thank you, tree, for your inspiration — makeup and otherwise!

For this springtime makeup look, I did shades of taupe and light purple on the lids, with plummy cheeks and soft pink lips.

wander beauty wanderess taupe look swatches — Key items in this springy look

wander beauty wanderess taupe look — Feelin’ springy

Key items worn in this look

EYES: MAC Groundwork Paint Pot (eyeshadow base), Wander Beauty Wanderess Escape Palette (Nude beach and Enchanted in the crease, Flourish on the lids, and Moonlit in the inner corner), MAC Coffee and Cargo Liner (lash and water lines), Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara (lashes)

CHEEKS: NARS Sin (blush)

LIPS: MAC Oak pencil (outer lip edge), MAC Boldly Bare pencil (inner portion of lips), MAC Oyster Girl gloss (all over lips)

BASE: Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream (to prep skin), Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze mixed with MAC Strobe Cream, Estee Lauder 24H Concealer, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Golden Tan

What does spring look like in your neck of the woods?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Shelter in Place / Social Distancing / Homeschooling Activity: Adventures in Makeup Artistry

March 17th, 2020 by Karen 22 Comments

If you’re sheltering in place over the next couple weeks and looking for things to do with someone in the house, let them unleash their inner artist by doing a makeover…ON YOU!

I busted out an old LE Tarte palette I’ve had for ages but haven’t used, a few matching bright eye pencils, a handful of brushes and a bright lipstick (which I let Connor Claire choose…so of course she picked the brightest reddish orange!).

Then we parked ourselves in her room, played some tunes, and I let her have at it.