Palettes

The Caboodle Grip! | Wander Beauty Sunkissed Getaway Palette | Kitty Cupcakes

March 8th, 2023 by Karen 4 Comments

This is Connor’s birthday Caboodle, and it’s filled with jewelry and makeup. 🙂

Can somebody please explain the hold that Caboodles have on us? Well, at least the hold Caboodles have on me, ha ha ha!

I know technically it’s just a cute plastic box to hold makeup and miscellaneous doo-dads, but for some reason I feel a strong emotional grip whenever one is around. Maybe it’s because my Caboodle was such a big part of my formative years.

Ahh, makeup. I put some on today because I had a video meeting to present a big marketing deck (yup, I wrote it!), and nothing seems to soothe my nerves like a little bit of face paint.

I’m wearing taupe, brown, bronze and peach shades from the Sunkissed Getaway Eye and Face Palette by Wander Beauty. It has a bunch of eyeshadows and cheek powders for breezy bronze looks. If you’re the type of person who likes shadows that don’t make you work too hard, you might like it.

Please note the chocolate brown liner on my water lines, which is Cave gel liner by Hourglass. Pretty, yeah? I like the richness of the pigment, and how it’s not too red. Stays on all day, too. I think I found a new staple!

I have a number of deadlines on Friday, so I gotta get back to it. Before I head out though, these are the cupcakes I made for Connor’s cat-themed birthday party at the Marin Humane society.

The girls kept asking of the cats were edible, LOL! (They totally were, by the way.)

I debated long and hard between frosting them the night before or the morning of the party, which by the way, started at 10:30. Side note, if you have to plan a two hour party for a child, and they give you a choice between a morning or afternoon slot, morning is the way to go IMHO. I prefer taking Connor to morning parties because that way we still have the rest of the day to do other things, and if she’s still hungry after the party, we can go directly to lunch.

Where was I? Oh, frosting. I wasn’t sure when to frost because the frosting was buttercream which I made from scratch, and it contained heavy whipping cream and butter, so I wasn’t sure if I could leave them out overnight.

I asked my buddy Allison from my bakery days what to do, and she suggested frosting them the night before, popping them into the fridge, and then taking them out in the morning first thing so they could come to room temperature before serving, which is what I ended up doing.

Just some cupcake FYI for ya from a professional baker!

Happy Wednesday to you, and I hope the rest of the week treats you kindly.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Trader Joe’s Hot Cocoa Snowman, a Sparkling Shadow by Hourglass and Nomad Cosmetics

December 21st, 2021 by Karen 14 Comments

To whoever invented the hot cocoa snowman, thank you from bottom of my heart.❤️ I never knew how weirdly satisfying it is to stick a chocolate snowman into a mug filled with warm milk and watch it disintegrate until now.

The best part of this whole process is when the snowman’s tummy melts and chocolate chips and marshmallows come out of its booty. Trust me, it’s fun.

By the way, I got these guys from Trader Joe’s! If you see them, grab them. They’re super fun. If you find the drink a little too sweet (I did), then just thin it out with a splash of hot water. Works like a charm.

In other holiday news, I’m almost ready to join Team Done With Christmas Shopping. I finished most of my shopping last weekend at Sephora, and shockingly, I actually stuck to my game plan and bought gifts for other people and walked out with absolutely nothing for myself. Not to say I didn’t want to. It would’ve been a totally different story if this champagne colored cream glitter shadow from Hourglass called Ray was in stock.

I saw it, along with a slew of beautiful Hourglass lip and cheek products, in a reel on SpaceNK’s Instagram. The makeup artist, Jacinta Spencer, layers the shadow onto her lids with her fingers, and the result is a perfect mix of glitter and glam.

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My heart broke a little when the sales associate told me Ray wasn’t available because I loved the shimmer — the glitter pieces weren’t too big or too small. Maybe I’ll order it online. Or maybe I’ll just put it on my wish list until my next beauty whim strikes, ha ha ha.

I think, for now, just to get the urge to wear glitter out of my system, I’m going to do something similar to Jacinta’s look with glitter in this palette by Nomad Cosmetics. They’re a vegan and cruelty-free brand that makes travel-themed products.

This palette is Venice-Simplon Express, which is a nod to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a private luxury train service that runs from London to Venice.

How about that red shade? WOW! I haven’t worn red eyeshadow in a minute, but I might just for fun to scare my coworkers on my next video call, ha ha ha!

Speaking of video calls, I’ve got a few lined up this morning, so I should go get ready. Are you working today, too? I hope things are mellow for you this week! Talk soon, ok?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Little Chanel Les 4 Ombres Tissé Vendôme Eyeshadow Quad Love

January 7th, 2021 by Karen 17 Comments

chanel tisse vendome — Chanel Les 4 Ombres Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vendôme ($62)

Quick shout-out to a quad I’ve been loving lately! — Chanel Les 4 Ombres Tissé Vendôme.

I wear the two browns and the beige the most, and the lighter golden taupe-brown has a sheen finish. It’s fantastic for simple, elegant washes of color on the lids.

You can buff the darker brown (which also has a sheen finish) into the corners for depth, but I usually like to keep it simple and wear it as a liner, applied with either a wet or dry angled brush.

The satiny beige comes in handy for soft, subtle highlights on the brow bone and inner corner.

That coral shade is actually pretty handy too! Pair it with coral or peach blush or lipstick. I like to blend it onto the mobile part of my lid (the area that moves when you blink) to highlight that area and bring it out a bit more (helps my eyes look less hooded).

chanel tisse vendome swatch — For reference, I’m an NC4.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Urban Decay Decades Collection Swatches and Impressions

December 10th, 2020 by Karen 10 Comments

urban decay mini eyeshadow palettes — Takin’ a trip through the decades with Urban Decay’s latest

Watch out, Elon Musk! ? Urban Decay just took the lead in the race to develop a time machine, but no, science fiction nerds, I’m not referring to a hot tub time machine (although I secretly wish I was). I’m talking about their $25 LE Decades eyeshadow palettes, which are up on the UD website now.

Each one is themed around a different decade from the ’70s through the early 2000s, and they’re cute! They fit in the palm of your hand with colors and finishes reminiscent of that decade’s style of makeup.

No surprise here, but my favorite is 1993, and not just because of the great plaid packaging. The colors are also wearable. I was really surprised when I put them on the other day by how non-scary my eyes looked, because that did not line up with my first impression when I opened the palette and immediately thought, “Oh, boy…”

“Flattering” wasn’t the first word that came to mind, but then I put them on. ?

When I did my makeup the first time with these shadows, I did my eyes first, and I vividly remember that there wasn’t any fallout. I didn’t have to clean up any eyeshadow on my cheeks afterwards, which was great.

I think the standout’s gotta be Collect Call, a dark brown that looks intimidating in the pan but turns out to be a surprisingly wearable matte brownish purple on my skin. I blended it into my outer corner and was pleasantly surprised. It feathered out quite easily.

Grunge is another surprise. It looks like a baby threw up all over Oscar the Grouch’s fur in the pan, but no! — it’s actually a lovely satiny golden olive.

Overall, the colors in the 1993 palette are totally, and surprisingly, wearable. Who’d a thunk it?

I put the shadows on bare lids and wasn’t wearing any primer with them at all, because that’s how I roll these days, and even after five hours, I didn’t see any creasing. The shades looked just as vibrant as they did when I put them on in the morning.
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Electric Eyes and Urban Decay Wired

February 25th, 2020 by Karen 12 Comments

urban decay wired bright eyes — B-A-N-A-N-A-S

*ring* *ring* ☎️

Hello? Is anyone there? Hellooooo. It’s me, Karen, calling on my fruit phone, because this eye makeup is BANANAS. ???

There’s a lot going on here, I know! Not my usual neutral style at all, but I was inspired by the rainbow eye makeup on the model for the new Wired pressed pigment palette. ?

Plus, I was in the mood to try something new, which I highly recommend doing as often as possible, even if your cat is the only creature around to appreciate it…

Or, maybe not, since I can’t tell if Rosie likes brights! ?

Just in case you’re wondering, the fallout on this isn’t an issue. I hardly had to do any cleanup with a makeup wipe, which was great, but I could have done with more intensity.
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The Urban Decay Wired Palette Gives Color an Electrifying Jolt! (Swatches)

February 20th, 2020 by Karen 3 Comments

A few years ago, Urban Decay released a pressed pigment palettes similar to Wired, their newest neon offering, but Wired will not make your brain short circuit while you’re blending it.

UD identifies which colors can be worn on your eyes and which can’t right on the compact.

Everything is mapped out, and the total package is concise and clear.

The Wired palette is part of a larger limited edition collection of florescent liners and lipglosses, and it’s currently available now.

From the Urban Decay website…

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
A 10-pan palette of pressed pigments in shockingly bright yet ultra-blendable shades for face, eye, and body.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW
Go electric with the Wired Pressed Pigment Palette, a 10-pan lineup of velvety-smooth pigments that deliver insane color payoff while being super blendable and buildable. Experiment with these hyperpigmented shades or dip into Glitch, a pure white hue, to transform bright shades into ultra-modern pastels.

OH, YEAH, IT’S ALSO…
Cruelty-free

Fill Weight: 10 x 1.2 g POIDS NET / NET WT. 10 x 0.04 oz

Urban Decay is 100% cruelty-free.

Side note: I see makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts creatively using palettes with shades labeled “for use on eyes only” on their lids all the time, and I swear the model in the UD promo picks looks like she’s wearing the red from the “Face & Body” side on hers…

There’s a reason why companies choose to mark some shades as “approved” for use on the eyes while others aren’t, and in most cases, it’s due to the use of ingredients that aren’t approved for use on the eyes.

All I can say is what I’ve done and what I’ve seen…so what’s the moral of this makeup tale? Answer: You do you, baby boo!

Sooo, I kinda love all the color blocking on the model’s eyes in the promo pic, and I might try that look just for fun, but generally these colors are a bit cray for me during this season in my makeup life. I do love the idea of doing something wearable by applying one or two of the shades with a wet angled brush as winged liner, and I’ll probably also apply a bit of white underneath one of the brights to punch up the color even more!

And, hey, maybe one day I’ll actually stumble upon an occasion to paint my body and finally sport a lively lime green on my booty or a crazy crimson on my elbows. If, and when, that occasion arrives, it’ll be electrifying. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: Pixi Eye Reflection Shadow Palette in Natural Beauty

January 22nd, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

pixi natural beauty palette review 2 — I’m lovin’ this eye palette by Pixi.

I came to realize the Pixi Natural Beauty palette was money — MO-NAAAY (a.k.a. awesome) – at Costco last weekend when I caught a glimpse of my eye makeup in the store’s harsh overhead lighting and was, like, “Dang! Did Sir John just spend two hours on me? Why do my eyes look so good? What sorcery is happening!?”

Here’s why this palette stands out.

It contains a bevy of cool-toned matte browns for carving out deeper-set eyes, smoking out your lids, filling in your brows, or lining your lash lines. For these tasks and more, this flexible neutral got ‘chu, boo-boo.

The secret sauce is the pigment. There’s not a milligram too little or too much. Coupled with the soft, easily scoot-able formula, and blending becomes beyond easy. You can make a lot of mistakes along the way with this one, and you can correct them very quickly because the colors are easy to sheer, so whatever you end up with, your lids look good.

And they look good all day long, too. Yes, the shadows stay put!

The smattering of shiny golds, beiges and bronzes is an added bonus. Press a shade or two on your lids for a quick hit of glitter, or apply with a wet brush along your lash line to open cramped lids.

I love this palette for days when I want something easy, breezy.

If you like to do simple everyday neutral/nude looks, or if you use and love palettes like Tartlette in Bloom or Estée Lauder Defiant Nude, this palette is in the same wheelhouse.

I do have to point out one thing, though. The eyeshadow powder formula tends to kick up a lot of grains, so just be sure to tap off your brush first. It’s not a big deal for me, but if you’re a stickler for that kind of thing, you might want to pass.

You can find it at Target for $24 or online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Quad Crush! 5 Reasons to Commit to Clinique Going Steady

October 14th, 2019 by Karen 10 Comments

clinique going steady quad — This $32 quad from Clinique is very much loved.

Question: do kids still say, “Will you go with me?” when they want to go steady? I’m asking for a very unhip friend (a.k.a. me).

Hmm… Now that I think about it, I also wonder if this still happens in person. Like, are kids texting to ask if someone wants to be their boyfriend or girlfriend now? Technology is crazy, man!

Anyway, I’m crushing on this $32 taupe eyeshadow palette from Clinique, and here are five reasons why you should be, too.

Fine lines say what? The softly shimmering satin finishes stay outta those fine lines.
A quad for all skin tones. Neither too warm nor too cool (Clinique is REALLY good at this; see their Teddy Quad) means that it works with almost all skin tones.
Taupe is dope. If you’re a MAC Satin Taupe die-hard, you’ll love this, because every shade is like a riff on Satin Taupe.
No panda eyes! Fallout is minimal (but still do your base first).
It’s not going anywhere. Going Steady is part of the Clinique permanent collection, so if it does become a staple, there’s no need to worry about it disappearing anytime soon.

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