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A Friday Face of the Day and a Fun Blush Layering Trick to Try

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Happy Friday!

You know it’s going to be a great Friday when you’re having a good makeup day!

The hair is another story, LOL! I swear it doesn’t look this wild in real life.

A blush layering trick to try

If you’ve got a cream blush you like around, you’ve got to try this technique I’ve been doing lately for the most natural looking cheeks.

After you do your base, blend a cream blush on your cheeks, and then pat your favorite powder on top to set.

Your blush will peek through the powder for a hint of flush, and the overall look is so natural!

I’ve been doing this all week with Urban Decay Hydromaniac for the base, Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Blush in Coastline for the blush and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural for the powder, and I love how it looks both in real life and in pictures.

Key products worn in this look

  • Honest Beauty Eyeshadow Palette – It’s a workhorse! You could easily do almost an entire eye look (brows, liner, shadow) with this palette.
  • Urban Decay HydroManiac Tinted Glow Hydrator – Feels lightweight and has medium coverage.
  • Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Blush in Coastline – Super concentrated color. You only need a few drops!
  • MAC Powder Kiss Liquid Lipstick in Model Off Duty – I’m so bummed this shade isn’t available anymore. You could try the shade More the Mehr-ier in the Powder Kiss line for a similar vibe.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week and that something good happened to you. Yesterday I was feeling really tired and exhausted, so I actually listened to my body (!) and let myself rest. It’s amazing how much good a little quiet time will do for ya. I highly recommend it!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Layered Eye Looks: Forest Green Liner with Champagne Eyeshadow

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I jokingly texted a friend to tell her that I finally put on a full face of makeup because I no longer wanted to look like I just crawled out of a pit of doom! LOL. And even though I’m 100% comfortable now rollin’ around town bare faced with just sunscreen, there’s still something really nice about going to the grocery store to buy cara cara oranges and have the checker call me “miss” instead of “ma’am.”

I’ve been inspired by simple, layered eye makeup lately. In this one, I layered a glittery champagne cream shadow (Hourglass Ray) on top of a shimmery forest green liner (Urban Decay Mildew). It’s easy, peasy, lemon squeeze-y, and I feel like I get a lot of look for very little effort.

What I also really like about this look is how the glitter isn’t too flashy. It sparkles in the light, but it’s not, like, too much for a weekday midday run to Tar-ghay.

Key products worn in this look

Here’s what I used for eyes, cheeks and lips. If you want to know more about the base or brows, let me know in the comments. 🙂

Officially a dance mom!

Connor joined the junior dance team at her studio this year, and last weekend was her first official performance. I think she was more excited to wear the clip-on earrings, LOL!

I’ve had my ears pierced since the day I was born; no really, back in the day in the Philippines, you could get your baby’s ears pierced at the hospital!

Anywho, all this to say we found out that clip-on earrings are a whole different beast. Connor was so looking forward to wearing them, but when she tried them on for the first time, one of the earrings was too tight and hurt her little ear.

I did a little googling and found a trick to loosening them. All you have to do is move the part of the clip-on that looks like a “U” around. You need widen it to relieve the pressure on your ears! It really helps. Just goes to show you, you learn something new every day.

Have a peaceful and joyful Tuesday.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Summery Coral Lips and Cheeks, and What Adulting Equals

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Coral Lips: MAC Crossfade. Coral cheeks: Laura Mercier Corsica.

Adulting equals…

  1. Saying things like “wood rot” and “gum recession” and “deployment calendar” and “reparenting yourself.”
  2. Packing emergency go-bags for fire season.
  3. Being tormented by aggressive hyphenation.
  4. Flossing, and liking it.
  5. Tracking your protein portions.
  6. Listening to easy listening (96.5 KOIT, you know what’s up) while you chop vegetables for dinner.
  7. Knowing you need rest in order to keep functioning, and then (GASP) taking that rest.
  8. Forever drinking water.
  9. Keeping a stash of two-minute makeup specifically for video work calls on your desk.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Red Hot Summer Lips!

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I’m not a fan of Red Hot candies (too spicy), but I do love me some matte red lipstick!

Yesterday’s Monday Poll question about matte red lipstick inspired this makeup look with glowing skin, softly defined brows, lush lashes, pearly lids and a matte orangey red lip.

It’s amazing how much heavy lifting a red lip can do, and equally amazing how I seem to forget this lesson time and time again, LOL! When I put this red lipstick on yesterday (it’s MAC Quite the Standout, by the way), once again I realized how red lips can carry most of the makeup since it’s such a strong focal point. One really doesn’t need much to round out the look.

To contrast with the opaque matte lip, I went with a sheer, glowing base with low-level pearl (Rose Inc Skin Enhance in 80), with just a touch of concealer (Hourglass Retouching Fluid in Sand) on the parts where I wanted more coverage — underneath my eyes and on my upper lip, and oh, side note, damn that pigment mustache.

I set the areas with concealer with a tiny touch of powder by loading a small face brush with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden. I tapped most of the powder off before lightly dabbing the brush head on my face.

I also wanted to play with texture, so I blended a cream blush (Chanel Les Beiges No. 25) on my cheeks, and dabbed a pearly liquid highlighter (MAC Strobe Cream) on my cheekbones and lids.

To round out the look, I went with softly filled in brows and separated, long, lush lashes to keep it fresh and summary.

I think this look could also be lovely with a glossy coral lipgloss or lip tint, too!

Do you have a red lipstick that you adore? Drop your go-to shade in the comments; I want to hear all about it.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Quick Makeup Tip: Let Your Liner Do All the Heavy Lifting

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urban decay light liner
Clockwise from the white on the upper left: Urban Decay Yeyo, Urban Decay Scorch, Urban Decay Goldmine, Urban Decay Heartless, Esum Rose and Urban Decay Cuff

When you’re pressed for time, use your eyeliner as your shadow! Pencil liner usually works best; I like pencils with a little bit of slip, but not too much, like the MAC liners — Powersurge and Teddy are two of my favorites.

I’m wearing Powersurge all over my lids in the pic below…

mac powersurge swatch

Oh, and try not to overthink it! Just sketch a rough shape on your lids with your pencil, then smudge and blend with either a finger or a fluffy domed shadow brush.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Quick Makeup Tip: Bronzer Unifies Your Look

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mac give me sun
Well hi there, MAC Give Me Sun!

Your makeup can be as complicated — or as simple — as you’d like. If you’re in the mood to streamline, then grab your bronzer, and apply it strategically to multiple places. This not only simplifies your routine but also unifies your look. Sweep it on cheeks as a blush-slash-contour, around the edge of your face to add warmth, and in the crease for depth. The result? Easy monochromatic makeup.

Today I’m wearing an old favorite, MAC Give Me Sun Mineralize Skinfinish. It’s a warm medium golden brown with a slight sheen and a finish that looks natural on skin. I’m wearing it on my lids (just in the crease), on my cheeks, across my nose and around the edge of my face.

mac give me sun

This natural, fresh look with warm browns and neutrals was easy peasy and took me 15 minutes! The other items I used…

  • Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Wheat
  • Kevyn Aucoin Super Natural Conceaeler in Medium EC05
  • Hourglass Retouching Fluid in Sand
  • MAC Costa Riche Liner
  • MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash
  • Anastasia Beverly Hills in Medium Brown
  • MAC Boldly Bare Lip Liner with MAC Spite Lipglass

Building those happiness muscles, day nine

Hiya! It’s time to build those happiness muscles.

Anywho, the two things I’m grateful for today are 1) listening to music first thing in the morning (it always does so much to get my mind right for the day), and 2) stretch videos on YouTube.

Feel free to join me in the comments, if you want.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Mother’s Day Shopping Trip: Self-Care at Ulta

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Good morning, my friend. I’m raising my cup of coffee to you in a *toast.* Here’s to another beautiful day (it’s a sunny one here in Marin county this morning), and to being tender and gentle with yourself.

I’ve been needing TLC, so last Sunday, I took a Mother’s Day self-care trip to Ulta.

My brows and lashes have been driving me crazy, so I decided to restock some old school favorites in the hopes they’d help.

For my brows, I grabbed the OG of brow fillers, Anastasia Brow Wiz (my shade is Medium Brown) and Clear Brow Gel.

As for mascara, I turned to an old friend, MAC Extended Play Gigablack, which I’ve been wearing on and off since 2013 (!). If you want curl hold, length and separation, this mascara is great.

I’m trying to get back into the habit of painting my nails! Right now I’m using the three-step OPI Infinite Shine system, which combines lacquer and gel technology. I already have a couple of colors and the top coat, so during this trip I bought the base coat and a nude pale pink, Bubble Bath.

Oh, and since Connor was with me, I let her pick out a polish. She close Turn It Up by Orly, a glittery beauty!

My hair… I can’t even. It desperately needs some TLC! I’m scheduled for a cut next Tuesday, thank goodness. I just gotta make it to next week without chopping it all off in the middle of the night.

To tide me over until then, I thought it might be nice to try some new things: a claw clip by Kitsch (I’ve loved everything I’ve tried from them so far), a minty scalp conditioner by Not Your Mother’s Naturals (I’m hoping it will make a good co-wash) and a leave-in by Verb (ended up returning it because the scent was too strong).

You know what? I’ve decided to fully embrace the fact that I’m a lady who loves fancy body lotion. With that in mind, I bought this gorgeous, heavy glass jar of Body Cream by KEYS Soulcare, which is the skin care line by Alicia Keys (yup, the singer).

It’s a shea and cocoa butter body cream, so it’s rich and thick, and it’s scented with a gorgeous warm, herbal mix that smells like sandalwood and sage to my nose. The scent is present enough to notice, but it doesn’t overwhelm my senses. I really love it.

Oh, and random, while I was reading the copy on the box, I noticed that e.l.f. is mentioned as the distributer. Neat!

Last but not least, I bought some cotton pads and a nail polish remover. All in all, a very satisfying self-care trip.

Building those happiness muscles, day two

For the next fourteen days, I’m noting a couple things that I’m grateful for. If you care to join me, please share in the comments.

Anywho, today it’s sliced fruit in my water (strawberries are especially yummy) and mechanical pencils. Both are simple pleasures which make my life so much better.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Quick Makeup Tip: The Best Brush for Effortless Powder Blush or Bronzer

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Feeling rushed? This blush and bronzer brush is your new BFF.

You can’t go wrong with a duo fibre synthetic brush when applying powder blush or bronzer. This type of brush lays down a sheer layer of product, so matter how rushed you’re feeling, you’ll always apply just enough color — but not too much! When I have a very narrow window of time to apply makeup, it’s the brush I reach for when I do my cheeks.

I used it today for a 10-minute makeup look that I did before a video work call. I layered Laura Mercier Ginger Blush and MAC Give Me Sun MSF Powder for a sheer, warm flush on my cheeks.

You might hear this blush referred to sometimes as “skunk brush.” Lots of brands make them; I have one by MAC (the 188) which I’ve used and loved for ages. It’s in the pic above! What I like about it is that width of the brush head. It’s on the smaller side, so it’s easier to control exactly where the color goes.

Makeup worn in this look

Here’s everything I’m wearing in the 10-minute look above, in the order in which I applied the products.

  1. MAC Omega Eyeshadow – In my brows.
  2. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Wheat – Dotted all over and blended with fingers.
  3. Ilia Dusk Gel Liner – Waterlines and lash roots.
  4. Hourglass Veil Retouching Fluid in Sand – Under my eyes and round my mouth.
  5. MAC Medium Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Golden – I applied the sheerest layer to my under eyes, cheek, between my brows and around my mouth
  6. Ilia Cool Nude Eyeshadow Palette – Just the taupe shade, Infinity, applied with a finger and blended out with a tapered brush.
  7. Ilia Fullest Volumizing Mascara – Upper lashes, but to be honest I’ll be ditching this soon. It’s thick and hard to control.
  8. Lilah B Lip Oil in Be Remarkable – Lips, applied with the wand and then blended in with a finger.
  9. Laura Mercier Ginger Blush – Did this first for a light flush of color.
  10. MAC Give Me Sun Mineralize Skinifinish – Layer this on for instant warmth. Also works fab as a crease color!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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