OPI

Checking In: OPI You Sustain Me, Fighting the Yuck, the Window Covering Saga, Lounge Pants and More!

November 16th, 2022 by Karen 9 Comments

Hiya! Is it Wednesday already? I haven’t left the house in three days. Before we get into the why behind that statement, so that this is marginally related to beauty, this week’s self-care mani is OPI’s Infinite Shine in You Sustain Me.

Cute, yeah? I’ve had a thing for creamy mauves lately.

We’ve been hunkered down because Connor’s been really sick. 🙁 She finally caught the respiratory virus that’s been surging in our neck of the woods over the last few months, and it’s been rough on her little body.

Long story short, because of the pandemic, kids her age haven’t had the chance to go through the usual waves of viruses that happen to them while they’re young. Now everyone’s catching up and getting sick left and right.

Today she’s feeling a little better; I think she’s made it past the hardest part and is finally on the mend. Fingers crossed.

Painting

In addition to dealing with what we’ve been calling “fighting the yuck,” it’s been noisy as all heck outside. The exterior of our house is currently being painted (the home owners association forces everyone in our neighborhood to do it every few years), and for some reason these particular painters are very loud. There’s banging, drilling and all kinds of nonsense happening outside. My nerves are shot!

On the bright side, though, I can draw the curtains (YAY) and close all the blinds and roller shades so they don’t have to see us wearing pajamas 24/7 while we’re inside.

Windows and blinds and roller shades, oh my!

It only took months, but we finally have all our window treatments done. And now I know enough about the whole process to do it again if I had to.

All I have to say is Hunter Douglas all the way! If you’re plagued with indecision when it comes to home decor (story of my life), you can’t really go wrong if you go the Hunter Douglas route. I’m really happy with how ours turned out.

The window covering saga of 2022, aka what we finally ended up getting

Blinds: Hunter Douglas Everwood in Avalanche

Roller shades: Hunter Douglas Roller Shades in Crawley 101 Wedding Dress

Curtain hardware: Pottery Barn Antique Bronze Rod Wall Bracket in 1.25” Diameter

Curtains: Pottery Barn Broadway Curtains in Oatmeal (living room and bedroom) and Ivory (dining room)

By the way, all these play well with the shade of paint we picked, Benjamin Moore Simply White.

OK, what else is going on?

Movie to add to your list

I watched the movie “Where the Crawdads Sing” on Netflix the other day, which I really enjoyed.

The best lounge pants

I bought a pair of these joggers from Target for 20 bucks, and they are chef’s kiss! SO SOFT. And they have pockets! I want another pair or two or twelve. Haha.

California to Hawaii?

El Hub is actively campaigning for us to move to Hawaii. I mean… Homeboy’s been working this angle since the day I met him (local boys always want to go back, it seems), but lately it’s kicked into overdrive. I have mixed feelings about it.

Advice for teeth staining

I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned last week, and the dental hygienist told me that in order to prevent staining from coffee and what not, the best time to brush your teeth is actually *before* you drink your beverage – not immediately after.

She told me if you brush immediately after drinking coffee, it just pushes the liquids into your teeth and stains them even more. According to her, it’s better to brush beforehand to remove all the plaque so that coffee/tea/whatever you’re drinking has less to stick to.

Anywho. That’s what’s been going on over here. How are things your end?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Fall Nails with OPI Malaga Wine, and Neighborhood Cat Politics

October 11th, 2022 by Karen 9 Comments

Well, hello reading glasses. I recently realized that in order to paint my nails successfully, I need to wear a pair in order to see what I’m doing. Yup, that train has arrived! And I am officially on it.

This beautiful shade by OPI is called Malaga Wine, and no joke, for the longest time I thought that it was called “Malaga Wino” because of OPI’s penchant for cheeky names. Maybe I should’ve looked at the name while wearing my reading glasses, ha ha ha!

It’s a gorgeous creamy reddish wine and very much a fall shade, and while Essie Angora Cardi will forever be my number one fall color, this is a close second. The version I have is from their Infinite Shine gel polish line, by the way, and I picked it up at Ulta. If you prefer a more traditional nail polish formulation, FYI, OPI also carries it in their regular nail polish line.

This is going to sound gross, but I kind of like how it looks like dried blood… I feel like it sends a subtle message to people not to mess with me. Side note: I wish somebody sat me down in high school to warn me that most of one’s work day is devoted to keeping a neutral face and voice while you silently rage inside.

Oh, and cat lady note, guess who stopped by this morning! My neighbor’s orange and white kitty Milo decided that he lives at our house, too. I’ve caught him rubbing the post right next to our door, an act we affectionately call “booping.”

Anyway, he left a whole bunch of boops at the front door this morning, and then he tried to actually go into our house. I was like, “Listen buddy, I love you, and you’re adorable, but Rosie-Pose will eff you up.”

I realize it’s a very cat lady thing to keep tabs on neighborhood cat politics, LOL!

Happy Tuesday to ya, and oh, before you go, let me know if you’re wearing fall-inspired nails today.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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

May 12th, 2022 by Karen 7 Comments

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

Beauty Products I’m Excited About: The Jan Marini Skin Care Management System, OPI and a Target Gem!

May 19th, 2021 by Karen 11 Comments

We’ve been back home in Novato since Sunday night, and even though I’m OH, SO HAPPY to be back in my own bed, I like a lot about the town of Sonoma, like there being so many animals around! We saw wildlife and ranch animals every single day. It’s rural up there with miles and miles of farms, and I’ve never lived anywhere with so many sheep! Or cows! Or horses! Or goats! It was cool to just turn my head and see animals at any given moment.

I’ve only lived in the suburbs and once in a big city (San Francisco) in my life, so to look out my car window and see gangs of goats roaming the hillsides to the left and right of me as I drove down the road was…shocking, in a good way.

Anyway, nerd moment, but every time I see a goat now I simultaneously think of the acronym ‘GOAT’ — greatest of all time, HAHAHA! ? Oh, I make myself laugh…

Being home again, I’m back on my regularly scheduled beauty jam, and these are what I’m excited about right meow…

jan marini skin care management system — The Jan Marini Skin Care Management System Starter Kit for Normal/Combination Skin

For months now I’ve been chomping at the bit to try Jan Marini skin care, as you know. I guess the beauty gods intervened to align ye olde planets and stars, because El Hub actually *paid attention* (GASP) and hooked this mama up with the Jan Marini Starter Skin Care Management System for Mother’s Day.

It comes with five items designed to be used in the following order…

Step 1: Bioglycolic Facial Cleanser

A creamy cleanser with exfoliating glycolic acid for dry, combo and oily skin. It’s also supposed to eliminate the need for a post-cleansing toner.

jan marini bioglycolic face cleanser step 1 — Step 1, Bioglycolic Face Cleanser

Step 2: C-Esta Face Serum

This is Jan Marini’s Vitamin C antixoidant serum, and the two key ingredients are DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol, which is supposed to help with fine lines and wrinkles), and ascorbyl palmitate, which is one form of Vitamin C (there are several).

jan marin c esta face serum step 2 — Step 2, C-Esta Face Serum

FYI, if you’re a SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic fan like I am, C-Esta’s Vitamin C is different than the variety used in CE Ferulic. CE Ferulic has L-ascorbic acid, which is considered in many skin care circles as the gold standard for Vitamin C. It seems like ascorbyl palmitate is often pooh-poohed as being inferior to L-ascorbic acid, but we shall see.

Step 3: Bioclear Face Lotion

EXFOLIATE ME, PLEASE! This lotion has three types of acids — glycolic, salicylic and azelaic. I love me some salicylic and azelaic acids, so I’m very excited about this, which is made for normal, combo and oily skin types.

jan marini bioclear face lotion step 3 — Step 3, Bioclear Face Lotion

Step 4: Transformation Face Cream

A hydrating cream with peptides, hyaluronic acid and an ingredient exclusive to Jan Marini called Thymosin beta 4.

jan marini transformation face cream step 4 — Step 4, Jan Marini Transformation Face Cream

Step 5: Antioxidant Daily Face Protectant SPF33

A water-resistant (up to 80 minutes) chemical sunscreen.

jan marini antioxidant daily face protectant spf 33 step 5 — Step 5, Antioxidant Daily Face Protectant

The kit also comes with a card to walk you through the order the products should be used and whether they’re for mornings or evenings or both.

jan marini skin care management system card — Step-by-step, ooh baby!

I’ve read that the full-size skin care management system is supposed to last about eight weeks, which, truth be told, doesn’t seem very long to me, but I get the sense I can stretch the products out to four or five weeks if I use them sparingly — with the exception of the sunscreen, of course, because homegirl is not shy about applying and reapplying sunscreen!

jan marini skin care management system back — Ingredients

I’m really excited to use it, but I think I’m going to wait until after we go camping to start. We’re heading up to Casini Ranch on the Russian River for a few days so Rosie can have quality time with her favorite pet sitter (LOL!).

When we went camping last summer, the most I could handle while we lived in the tent was to use a face wash and sunscreen… Five steps would probably be a few too many steps for me out in the woods, but if you are the girl who camps with a multi-step skincare regimen, I salute you. You are officially my hero!

On the nail front, I haven’t worn OPI in years (ya know, I’m more of an Essie Gel Couture kind of girl), but I’m very excited about this purple glitter called Leonardo’s Model Color because it was a Mother’s Day gift from Connor.

opi leonardos model color — Two layers of OPI Leonardo’s Model Color

El Hub took her to Ulta, gave her a basket, and let her pick out whatever she wanted to get for mama (within reason). Apparently, the sales associates asked her on several occasions if she needed any help after seeing her linger in the fragrance section for a really long time, LOL! She told everyone “no thank you” because she had it under control, and she choose this polish, along with some sparkly butterfly clips and a pink travel laundry bag.

It’s purple and sparkly, and I will forever keep it in my polish collection from now until the end of time because she gave it to me. 🙂

One last thing before I head on out for now, I randomly picked up this box of Advanced Nail Polish Remover Pads last week from Tar-ghay, and they don’t play! So, so good.

A single pad removes even the most stubborn glitter mani or pedi, and it works fast! It works in less time than it takes you to convince yourself to buy another creamy pastel mint green polish, ha ha ha! If you want an easy, quick no-drama nail polish remover, grab thee a box ASAP.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With OPI Chills Are Multiplying!

September 10th, 2018 by Karen 18 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

Life lesson learned last week: the greatest threat to your manicure isn’t washing dishes, or lifting heavy weights at the gym, or pounding at the keyboard like you’ve just inhaled 12 cups of coffee. The greatest threat to your manicure — the threat that spells almost certain doom — is being distracted while waxing your upper lip at home.

From this, there is almost no going back.

A minor moment of shock

Because, friend, as I smoothed some Bliss blue wax onto the forest that is my upper lip, then stared at myself in the mirror in shock and thought, “Holy sh*t, I look exactly like my brother with a blue mustache,” I momentarily misplaced that little plastic waxing wand thingamabob you use to spread the wax on your skin and accidentally sprinkled big, hot blobs of wax onto the nails on my left hand.

WHOOPS!

Just a few chunks…

But not all was lost. After recovering from the initial shock (I’ve been waxing for years and never had this happen before. Distracted waxing is dangerous, people!), I waited for the wax to dry, massaged some of the oil that comes with the kit on my nails to loosen the wax up, and carefully peeled it off.

Unfortunately, a few chunks of my polish peeled off, too…

Frankly, I’m surprised any of the polish remained because that wax removes *everything*.

Du-ra-ble!

To make a long story even longer, all of this happened on day five of this dark blue OPI manicure. Through then, it was chugging along remarkably well. Better than average, for sure! A lot of people say that OPI lasts a really long time. Well, they aren’t joking.

Like I’ve done in my last couple of “7 Days” nail polish experiments, I used Smith & Cult’s base coat and top coat, along with two layers of polish, in this case OPI Chills Are Multiplying ($10.50).

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5 Nail Polishes That Are Perfect for Summer Adventures

June 21st, 2016 by Carolina Braina 17 Comments

Summer Nail polish — Hugging some of my favorite summer nail polishes. Yes, we’re very much in love! 😉

As you know if you visit me on my blog at Carol in a Page, nail polish and I have had a rollercoaster romance, but right now we’re going strong!

After some recent purchases and some clearing out, I’ve decided on the five nail lacquers that will see me through summer 2016 and whatever adventures it brings.

Wanna know what inspired these picks?

1. The Nautical Style: Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kings & Thieves ($18)

Smith & Cult Kings & Thieves Swatches — I really like pairing deep blue Kings & Thieves with nude sandals

When it comes to the color blue in summer, I can’t help but think of one thing: nautical style.

But since I don’t have a yacht (or a striped dress, for that matter), the way I’ve been getting that nautical vibe is by painting my toes with Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer in Kings & Thieves, an indescribably beautiful inky blue.

2. An African Safari: Zoya Professional Lacquer in Charli ($10)

Zoya Professional Lacquer Charli Swatches — Zoya Professional Lacquer in Charli reminds me of safari clothing

Some may argue that olive is more of an autumnal shade, but in my mind it evokes safari clothes and glimpses of an endless African savanna.

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Hello Kitty and Hello Spring: The Hello Kitty by OPI Spring Collection

March 8th, 2016 by Anna Oh 20 Comments

opi hello kitty spring 2016 — OPI Hello Kitty Spring 2016 Collection

That’s right, everyone, it’s time for spring…nails! Never mind that I am writing this in my fleece slippers while catching up on a particularly gruesome season of The Walking Dead, LOL. I’ve managed to ignore the show for several seasons, but my inner fangirl loves a good binge. My inner fangirl is also super satisfied by this super cute collection by OPI. The new Hello Kitty by OPI Spring 2016 Nail Lacquer ($10 each) collection features 12 amazingly bright and eclectic colors for those ready to kick back in flip-flops.

I have 5 shades from the collection, and in usual OPI style, all of the colors, except for maybe the yellow one, are incredibly opaque and smooth. Spoken from the Heart and Super Cute in Pink, in particular, are what I call “1-coat wonders” and were a dream to apply.

I had a little difficulty with My Twin Mimmy, the yellow cream shade, but, honestly, I’ve never come across a stellar yellow, and after 3 coats it’ll do the job.

Last, but never least, are the surprisingly complex glitters. I get a groovy Austin Powers feel from Kitty White — a super fine icy silver shimmer. This shade was a surprise favorite for me!

Starry-Eyed for Daniel — such an awesome name btw — is an amazing multi-dimensional hot pink glitter. It’s very glittery and very kawaii… I think it’ll be a popular one.

opi hello kitty spring 2016 nail swatches — Nail swatches of the Spring 2016 OPI Hello Kitty Nail Collection

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Pre-Fall Ulta Haul!

September 16th, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

What the world needs now is 1) love, sweet love; 2) free pumpkin spice lattes (I finally had my first one of the season yesterday, and it was so good that I felt myself float out of my body and fly toward the sun, OMG!); and 3) more lady-dates.

MOAR LADY-DATES.

You know what a lady-date is, right? It’s when you go out with a friend — ideally, someone who likes makeup as much as you do — for coffee, snacks or what have you, and then, ya know, if you happen to wander into someplace where lipsticks and eyeshadows are available for perusal…so be it. 🙂

I went on one a couple weekends ago with my friend Marisol. We had acai bowls, then paid homage to our homeland, also known as Ulta.

Here are the things that came home with me that day.

It was mostly a nail-centric visit, because my nails have been very crabby lately (they’ve been splitting, boo), with a sprinkling of skin care and body care, and a dash of makeup for good measure.

PRODUCTS MENTIONED

As always, thank you again for watching.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen