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MAC Makeup

Purple Power! A New Purple Liner Love I Found at Sephora

May 16th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

purple eyeliners
Kindasorta obsessed with purple at the moment. Here’s an assortment of old faves (and a new one!) from the top: MAC Eye Kohl in Prunella ($17), Urban Decay Glide on Eye Pencil in Vice ($20), Sephora Colorful Shadow & Liner in Violet ($14), Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eye Pencil in 1-90 ($21) and MAC Pearlglide Intense in Designer Purple ($17)

It’s both wonderful and terrifying to live so close to a Sephora, because when I get on a makeup whim, I can just hop in my car, and BAM! Five minutes later I’ve got every purple liner in the store swatched on the back of my hand.

Yeah, I’m going through a purple liner phase right meow, big time (in case you haven’t noticed, LOL!). I love the look of a warm brown lid with purple liner on the lash lines. I’ve just been into it lately! Please be patient with me as I work my way through it…

Anyways, Connor convinced me to go to Sephora last Friday (yes, it was all the baby’s doing), so we went looking for a new purple to add to my collection. This latest love is a shade called Violet by Sephora Collection.

sephora violet
Violet!

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There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Make Up For Ever, Makeup, Product Reviews, Sephora, Urban Decay

What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 12: Sparkly Purple Liner, and Fun With Matte and Dewy Finishes

May 10th, 2017 by Karen 23 Comments

mac designer purple velvet teddy 4

I know I’ve asked this before (oh, 10 or 12 times), but do you like to wear colorful eye makeup? Like, lately? I’ve been pretty adventurous with color lately. More than I’ve been in years. At least two or three. I dunno… I went through a loooong period when all I wanted to wear on my eyes was brown shadow, and that was fun in its own way…but I’ve been liking playing with color again. It’s time.

(I’m wondering, does everyone go through a brown shadow phase at least once in their life?? Hmm…).

Anyway, for the last couple of “What I Wore Wednesdays,” I went full-on colorful, but today… Girl, I just wasn’t in the mood to blend very much (it happens), so I kinda cheated a little with a sparkly purple liner on my lash lines and taupe/bronze/brown lids.

mac designer purple velvet teddy

Purple liner, especially bright and sparkly ones like the one I’m wearing (it’s MAC Designer Purple, an amazingly bright and sparkly purple liner that lasts FOREVER on lash lines), gives you a lot of bang for your back in terms of effort. You’ll look like you tried really hard, but ya know, it’s just a purple eyeliner. 🙂

I went “stash shopping” for this look, which is always exciting because it’s like digging for secret beauty booty/pirate treasure for things that haven’t seen the light of day in a while.

I had this picture in my mind of matte lids with sparkly purple liner, dewy skin and matte neutral lips, because I wanted to play with finishes and color, so I grabbed MAC Constructivist Paint Pot (which I used as an eyeshadow base) and the Hourglass Infinity Eyeshadow Palette, which I’ve always considered underrated, and Chanel Malice Blush, because LK and I were talking about it in the comments last week, and I got a hankering to wear it.

Oh, Malice… Reunited and it feels so good!

mac designer purple velvet teddy 2

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There are 23 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Hourglass, MAC Makeup, Marc Jacobs, Stellar

MAC Unsung Heroes: Minted Eye Kohl

May 8th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

mac minted
MAC Minted Eye Kohl on my water lines, $17 and available now in the permanent line

Before I get into why I love MAC Minted Eye Kohl so much, first, a fun fact for my fellow cat ladies. ?

Next time you’re feeling extra feline, have a cup of catnip tea (ideally, in your favorite teacup, which, obvs, is decorated with cats!), and share some of the leaves with your kitty BFF, because catnip is in the mint family.

Hmm… That may or may not have been one of the most cat lady things I’ve ever said, haha!

So, MAC Minted Eye Kohl. This vibrant, luscious leafy green has playful pearly shimmer, and it’s one of the those liners you only have to run across your lash or water lines once or twice because of how potent and pigmented it is.

mac minted swatch final

OK…green liner might sound nuts if you don’t venture out of the neutral zone often (trust me, I know, because there was a time when I would’ve been freaked out about wearing an eyeliner that wasn’t black or brown), but it’s one of those things that you just have to try, and once you do, you might not want to go back.

The thing is, Minted isn’t just any ol’ green liner. It’s got a special sauce. It’s like a Jedi mind trick! It captivates and captures attention (“You will notice me…”), and once it gets you, you’re got.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

This is the time of year I start wearing it more, because this is when blue, green and/or gold eye looks are my BFFS4EVA, and Minted goes well with those shades.

It’s a liner…but it’s also a good eyeshadow base.

Yeah, man! You can sweep the creamy kohl formula around with your brush when it’s on your lids and play with it. I really like to use it as a base for green and blue powder eyeshadows.

Just the other day, I layered it underneath the green/blue palette from MAC Fruity Juicy. Then I tried it with the bright palette from the UD Jean-Michel Basquiat.

It worked so well with both of them and kicked everything up a notch. If you’re thinking about either of those palettes, Minted would be a great extra something to add to the mix.

Ah, and it isn’t only good for gals and guys who love the cray-cray colors. Even if you mostly stick to neutrals, Minted is great for looks like that, too. Seriously!

mac minted
MAC Minted on my lower lash lines

Wear it with any warm browns or golden browns on your lids, like MAC Soft Brown, Saddle or Soba. I love it with all of them.

Here’s what you can do: sweep the neutral shade on your lids, then line your lower lash and water lines with Minted.

You can smudge it out with a pencil brush, or load your brush with the neutral shade you used on your lids (it’ll mellow out the edges of the green a tad). Or, if you want to go full-on ham, layer a shimmery green shadow right on top (I like MAC Steamy for this). Then, when you’re done with your eyes, add a few coats of mascara, and you’ve just had a makeup adventure with something more than basic brown! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 10 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews, Unsung Heroes

Drugstore Needs and Nopes, Vol. 1

May 4th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

I don’t go to regular drugstores as much as I used to, mostly because of Ulta and Target, which is basically a drugstore, only a million times bigger, but ever since I was a kid cruising the makeup aisles at Thrifty (of course, I had to get a Thrifty ice cream cone while I did this), I’ve been a drugstore beauty addict.

And over the past few years, drugstore makeup has gotten MUCH better — like next level sh*t. You can be a woman of color now and find a foundation that actually matches your skin tone, and within those foundation families, you’ve got dewy finishes, matte finishes and satins. Nowadays you can also find good drugstore cream shadows, where once you could only get those at department stores.

As for drugstores colors, you aren’t just limited to a narrow neutral range anymore. Now you can find all sorts of drugstore color craziness. It’s an exciting time for affordable makeup! That’s for sure.

Here are five drugstore products I tried this week, and whether I think they’re “needs” or “nopes.”

1. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Royal Blue

maybelline great lash royal blue
Maybelline Great Lash in Royal Blue

If you were a fan of Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Royal Blue back in the day, it’s back for a limited time exclusively at Walmart for $6.40. It had been discontinued some time ago.

Honestly, I’ve never quite understood the Great Lash Mascara love out there. For me…it’s just OK. Decent lift and separation, but with regard to Royal Blue, I can barely see the blue color on my lashes. I have to pile it on and look in a magnifying mirror.

If you have lighter lashes than I do, I’m sure the blue will pop more.

THE VERDICT: Nope! For me, this is a nope, but I know there are lots of Great Lash fans out there.

maybelline great lash royal blue ingredients
Maybelline Great Lash Royal Blue ingredients

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There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Drugstore Beauty Finds, Eyes, Face, MAC Makeup, Maybelline, NYX, Physicians Formula, Revlon

MAC Unsung Heroes: Take the Plunge Technakohl Liner

May 2nd, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

mac take the plunge liner
MAC Take the Plunge Technakohl Liner on my water lines

I’m sitting here at my ask wearing a tank top and shorts (no, not booty shorts…although I kinda wish they were) for the first time in… I can’t remember, and, of course, to go with my springtime ensemble, I’m also wearing blue and green eyeshadow. Because it’s spring (the sunny part). And fun times shall be had by all. 🙂

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

So, on account of the blue/green action on my lids today, I’m also wearing MAC Technakohl Liner in Take the Plunge.

mac take the plunge swatch
MAC Take the Plunge (you probably already know this because I’ve said it literally hundreds of times over the years, but I’m an NC42 in MAC-speak, for reference)

Intensely pigmented teal Take the Plunge is a knockout on water lines, and if you wear blue, green or, heck, gold or neutral eyeshadows, and you pop Take the Plunge along your water line, your eyes will strike down strangers in their tracks. BOOM! Especially if you have brown eyes.

No, seriously! Take the Plunge would stop somebody dead in their tracks, and they’d be like, “GURL! What’s happening on your water line?!”

OK…so maybe most people wouldn’t do that, but I totally would (and I may have in the past, haha #makeupweirdo).

Take the Plunge is part of the MAC Technakohl Liner fam, which is MAC’s line of twist-up eyeliners. They have a super skinny tip, so you don’t have to use a pencil sharpener to sharpen them.

I mostly wear it along my water line, because I love what it does for my brown eyes. I think they look much more chocolatey. 🙂 But I also think it looks amazing along lash lines, too. Plus, you can really get between your lashes with that tip.

The creamy formula also smudges well, so it’s easy to buff out with a brush, which means that it ALSO works great as a base for powder shadows.

Sometimes I’ll use it as a cream shadow by layering it on top of powder shadows in the outer corner. No matter what I do with it, it lasts all day, too!

And, most importantly, on my eyes, which are prone to freak out, Take the Plunge never makes my water lines water, or feel itchy, dry or otherwise funky.

mac take the plunge liner 1
Backups, babe! (In this look, I’m also wearing the Urban Decay UD Jean-Michel Basquiat Eyeshadow Palette on my lids in Tenant and the Gallery Cheek Palette on my cheeks; on my lips I’m wearing MAC Love at First Bite Lipstick and Cha-Cha-Cha Cremesheen Glass from the Fruity Juicy collection

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There are 20 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews, Unsung Heroes

The MAC Fruity Juicy Collection Is a Fiesta of Fruit for Bronzed Babes

April 27th, 2017 by Karen 23 Comments

mac fruity juicy collection top pic
The MAC Fruity Juicy collection, coming May 28th to MAC counters and online (available through June 29th)

Hey, have you ever noticed that when someone cuts up some fruit ? for you, even if it’s, like, the stringiest, most mediocre mango or the blandest apple ever, it tastes better?

What’s up with that? I don’t even know.

mac fruity juicy packaging
Frooooooot!

Like, if someone walked up right now with a tray of all the fruit on the packaging for the new MAC Fruity Juicy collection and said, “Hey! Here’s some coconut and banana slices for you. And half a nice papaya. Mmm… And we’ve got some tasty pineapple cubes!” I would not be hating life.

It’s a warm-toned color collection

Summer, summer, summertime! I know! It’s almost here. I can hardly contain myself [INSERT CONNOR CLAIRE’S HIP WIGGLY DANCE]. 🙂

That’s one of the things I always look forward to — MAC summer collections. Most of the time they’re warm and colorful to go with whatever summery bronzed bodaciousness you’re wearing, and Fruity Juicy is too.

mac fruity juicy collection open
The yum-inducing MAC Fruity Juicy collection

A focus on face and cheek products

A tropical fruit salad o’ makeup, Fruity Juicy goes all out with face and cheek products, which makes sense to me, seeing as how MAC tends to focus on bronzed, beautiful skin in their summer collections.

There are four bronzers (I’ve tried the two $27 Bronzing Powders but haven’t tried the $33 Studio Sculpt Bronzers yet), two liquid highlighters (Lustre Drops in Sun Rush and Bronze Hero, both $21), a beautiful $33 bronzer/blush/highlighting Pearlmatte Face Powder called Oh My Passion, and a bottle of Prep+Prime Coconut Fix+, which I need to spray on my face RIGHT NOW. *spray*

Ah… That smells so good. We’ll get to that one in a second.

mac fruity juicy boxes
Now I want a smoothie…

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There are 23 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Collections, MAC Makeup, Product Reviews, Top Posts

What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 10: MAC Fruity Juicy

April 26th, 2017 by Karen 18 Comments

mac fruity juicy oh my banana 1
I’m wearing the new MAC Fruity Juicy collection

Fruity fun fact! I live in Northern California, and if I want to get a halfway decent tasting papaya, I gotta catch a flight to Hawaii and cross the Pacific because, for the life of me, I just can’t find a papaya that tastes right within driving distance. I’ve visited so many different grocery stores and farmers’ markets here in the Bay Area looking for one (because when a papaya craving hits, it hits hard, yo!), and yet a yummy papaya still eludes me.

The struggle is SO real.

Er, why am I talking about fruit?! ‘Cause I’m wearing the MAC Fruity Juicy collection today. ??? Fruity Juicy is MAC’s summer collection, and it’ll be landing on counters and online on May 28 (available through June 29).

mac fruity juicy collection open
Froooooot!

mac fruity juicy oh my banana 2

mac fruity juicy oh my banana 3
Girl, I want a papaya!

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There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup

What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 9: Purple Wings and Lips

April 19th, 2017 by Karen 41 Comments

urban decay afterdark

It’s been a minute since I’ve worn this much color! It felt SO good though. I was inspired by a picture I saw of model Ruby Rose on Urban Decay’s website wearing purple winged liner with matching sparkly purple lips.

So I took the idea and ran with it. I’m wearing a lot of Urban Decay in this look, including their Afterdark Eyeshadow Palette.

urban decay afterdark

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There are 41 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup, Sephora, Urban Decay

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