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Product Reviews

Indie Beauty Brand Spotlight: Frank Body

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frank body

Like everything in Aussie beauty line Frank Body, I too am powered by coffee! ☕

In fact, I’m completely non-functional without it (or at least something containing caffeine).

Frank Body has been around since 2013, packing their products with the mighty coffee bean. They’re available all over Australia now, as well as here in the US online. Their products have cheeky names, and they put funny quotes and pics on the packaging (there’s a doodle of a bum on the coffee scrub!). CUTE.

They remind me of Bliss, but with more coffee, and their most popular products are their exfoliating coffee scrubs…

Original Coffee Scrub ($16.95 for a 7.05-oz. bag)

Don’t keep this in the kitchen, because if you wake up extra woozy one morning, you might accidentally put it in the coffee maker! The coffee scent is that strong.

So, for the record, it’s a body scrub, not a stimulating beloved beverage.

frank body coffe scrub

For peeps who like a slightly aggro scrub, but aggressive in a most pleasant way, like doing a tough workout and not, like, getting your @ss beat in an underground fight club, this exfoliating, moisturizing scrub made from coffee grounds, salt, sugar and oils is pretty great (you also get a good amount of it for the price). And man! — if the invigorating scent doesn’t perk you up in the shower, chances are your heart is no longer beating and you’re clinically dead and/or a zombie.

frank body coffee scrub 2

Be warned… I freaked out a little (OK, a lot) when the grounds got all over the sides of the tub and the walls of my shower (I had to stop myself from grabbing rubber gloves and the tub scrubber). It’s hella messy, and I can’t handle it.

(Yes, I’m slowly turning into my mother.)

INGREDIENTS
Coffea Robusta Seed Powder (Coffee), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Water (Aqua), Sodium Chloride (Salt), Sucrose (Brown Sugar), Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Fragrance (Parfum)* * Natural. Includes nuts.

❤️❤️❤️ 3 out of 5 hearts.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Havana

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mac havana extra dimension eye shadow
Havana oh-nah-nah

Girl… One day. One day I’ll sit down, put on my makeup for the day, and NOT do a brown smoky eye.

But today was not that day. 🙂

I had to run errands, and I wasn’t about to spend 45 minutes on my makeup just to buy some Charmin, so I went with something I’m (very) familiar with. I had to go to the pediatrician’s office to get a form for Connor’s pre-school enrollment, and then hit Target to get an industrial-sized case of toilet paper because last night I realized that we only had four rolls left in the house — total — which amplified my anxiety by like a million percent, so out came one of my favorite brown eyeshadows in the world, MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Havana.

I think it deserves more love than it gets.

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.

mac havana swatch
Oh, my gosh! It’s a floating arm!!

Side note: whenever I say “Havana,” I think of that Camila Cabello song.

Havana, oh-nah-nah… La-la-la-la-la-la Havana oh-nah-nah…

That’s about the only part I know, LOL!

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The NARS Orgasm 2018 Collection! (Yes, More Orgasm)

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nars orgasm blush lip balm k
Bare skin (just under-eye concealer), with NARS Orgasm Blush on my cheeks and Afterglow Balm on my lips

NARS Orgasm will forever and ever be the most embarrassing blush to say in front of your grandma. Or your kid! Gee, I wonder how that conversation’s gonna go. (Connor: “Mama, what does orgasm mean? Is it a color?” Me: “Ummm…”)

Chances are you’ve heard about NARS Orgasm… Yeah, I figured. It’s iconic. This golden peachy pink gets written about all the time and described as “universally flattering,” and it’s one of the cornerstones of the NARS color collection. Every year NARS does a few limited edition items with different iterations of the product, and this year there are three pieces in The Orgasm 2018 Collection — an LE oversized Orgasm blush for $38 (if you can’t get enough of it!), a loose highlighting powder ($28) and a darling lip balm in rose gold packaging ($28).

nars orgasm blush swatch

Oversized Orgasm Blush ($38)

My relationship with Orgasm blush runs hot and cold. I’ve worn it, but not much lately. Sometimes I feel like it’s too shimmery for me, like whenever I’m wearing a good amount of base makeup, ’cause then all I see are PORES, PORES, PORES!

But lately, since I’ve been doing the whole minimal base/no base thing, which is what I did over the Memorial Day weekend, I have a greater appreciation for Orgasm. It’s fabulous on bare skin or on top of a minimal base, like a tinted moisturizer.

nars orgasm blush 2018
NARS Orgasm Blush 2018

All weekend long I wore under-eye concealer and really nothing else on the rest of my face to even out my skin, and with this blush, I find that the less you’re wearing under it, the better, because when the shimmer isn’t sitting on top of foundation or concealer or powder, it doesn’t highlight pores as much it does otherwise, so what you mostly see is the peachy pink color, which just looks so fresh and youthful.

It looks exactly like my cheeks after I finish a HIIT workout — flushed and healthy and a little bit dewy — and maybe even 5 years younger? (Keep tellin’ yourself that, Karen, LOL!) And that’s when I totally get the magic of NARS Orgasm. So, yeah, I’m feeling the oversized blush a lot this year — but only on bare skin! If you’re a makeup minimalist, you’ll like it.

By the way, if you have this blush sitting around but don’t wear it often because you feel like it’s too shimmery, try buffing it down like CRAZY with a clean blush brush after you apply it. A powder blush works too, as does a skunk brush. Any big face brush with a fluffy head should work. The buffing disperses most of the golden shimmer, so all that gets left behind is the peachy pink (just be mindful of not buffing away your foundation and concealer, if you’re wearing them).

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Orgasm Illuminating Loose Powder ($28)

The loose highlighter caters to the “more is more makeup crowd” that likes a lot of bling. I’m not into a frosty highlight, so it’s too shimmery for my taste, but you might like it if you love highly reflective cheek bones.

nars orgasm illuminating loose powder
NARS Orgasm Illuminating Loose Powder

And even though I feel like the 0.09-oz. jar is small for $28, on the plus side, you don’t need to use a lot…and the powder grains are very fine.

❤️❤️ 2 out of 5 hearts.

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Indie Beauty Brand Spotlight: Spinster Sisters Co.

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spinster sisters body butter
Out of all of these scents, I like the Lavender one best.

No, the Spinster Sisters are not an ’80s new wave synth pop duo. It’s the name of an indie beauty brand from Colorado that I spotted at a bookstore this afternoon. (Side note: I went looking for Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians, but they didn’t have it, gah! I really want to read it before the movie comes out.)

spinster sisters soap
Ah, so old-timey…

I love their logo! I can picture two spinster sisters in an old-timey apothecary with glass bottles and brass industrial shelves, crushing herbs by hand with a mortar and pestle before brewing up a batch of soap and body butter. I wanna display their soaps and lotions on a decorative shelf in the guest bathroom. 🙂

spinster sisters lilac
This one smells fresh and light like spring.
spinster sisters orange blossom rose petal
This one smells exactly like my orange tree when the flowers are blossoming.

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Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup Is Legit

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estee lauder double wear light 4 flash
Loving this foundation by Estée Lauder

Estée Lauder Double Wear Light ($42) is legit, and I know this because of my hot lunch date today with Connor and El Hub (Tabs would have come, too, but he was booked… BOO!).

It was chilly here today, so we got ramen…

Anywho… I didn’t wear a lot of makeup last weekend, and I was in the mood for a little something-something today, so while I was looking around for inspiration this morning, I found this easy bronze eyeshadow look from a MAC artist I just found on Instagram.

She’s so cute! Her name is Pelin Tutgun, and she’s from Turkey. She posted a video using one of my favorite MAC eyeshadows ever, Bronze (if you don’t have it yet, it’s amazing), a black liner and mascara.

And that’s it!

I love the end result and plan to do this look again soon. It’s kinda glam, but not overly glam, and best of all, it’s simple.

Makeup doesn’t have to be complicated all the time, ya know? I mean, it’s fun to get up in there with everything and the kitchen sink every once in a while, but I there’s something to be said for easy-peasy.

estee lauder double wear light
I’m an NC42 in MAC and wear shade 4.0, but as we get into summer and I pick up a little tan, I’ll switch to 4.5, which is tad darker.

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NUDESTIX Nudies Tinted Blur Sticks Are Perfect for the Playground

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nudestix nudies tinted blur stick
Three of 10 shades

Unwritten Rule of the Playground #327: Adults are to refrain from wearing glam makeup to the playground (of course I’ll have to break this rule eventually, right?). I’ve been wearing these NUDESTIX Nudies Tinted Blur Sticks when I take Connor to the playground lately, and they’ve been great. For the record, they do not violate rule #327.

connor and k at playground
At the playground, ya know?

They’re $30 each and available in 10 shades. The 0.22-oz. twist-up sticks come with a reusable storage tin that also has a mirror.

NUDESTIX Nudies Tinted Blur Sticks ($30)

I’m not a huge fan of products that require me to exert massive amounts of man woman power to achieve no-makeup makeup — like buffing, patting, stippling, setting, spraying. That’s too much work! These cream sticks combine a sheer tint and a blurring face primer to get it done in a few swipes and by quickly blending with my fingers.

They make my pores look a little less…pore-ey, and my skin looks slightly more even-toned. My freckles are definitely still in the house, though, so FYI, these are the kind of base designed to showcase your natural skin as much as possible, so, if you were hoping for a full-coverage product, this ain’t it.

“This natural-looking tint blurs to create the appearance of smooth texture and even skin tone. The lightweight, cream-to-powder finish is suitable for all skin types.

Tinted, light-reflecting minerals soften the appearance of uneven skin tone to provide a youthful, diffused glow. Shade-adjusting pigments blend with your real skin tone coming through to naturally tint your skin. The overall effect is a soft-matte glow that’s never flat or blah.

Mix your stix: Use this easy multitasker for all-over tinted coverage, a blurring primer, a blotting cream, highlight, or contour. Use Nudies Tinted Blur Stix in shades lighter or deeper than your skin tone to highlight, contour, and define your features. Just draw and blend.

Your skin will look and feel like your skin, but better. So let’s go nude and get real.”

— sephora.com

meghan markle inspired
In action! (I was going for “Meghan Markle at the royal wedding.”)

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Skin Care I’ve Been Testing Lately: Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner, Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion WetForce SPF 50+, and Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Botanical Cleansing Oil

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fresh deep hydration rose facial toner

I’ve been so gun-shy about putting new skin care on my face since my breakout in January. I haven’t wanted to upset the apple cart, but you know how it is… You’re going along, doop-da-doo, and your skin is happy ? for a while, but then it starts acting up in a certain way, and you think, Maybe there’s something new out there that I have to try.

This is a pattern I repeat over and over, LOL! My big things at the moment are 1) that my skin’s been super dry, and 2) that I’ve been looking for a new sunscreen.

Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner ($44)

Yup, I’ve been on a rose-scented kick (thank you, Trader Joe)… Can I call this $44 hydrating rose toner life-changing? I’ve only been using it for a couple weeks, so probably not quite yet, but I really dig the scent, which is deliciously rosy but not headache-inducing, and I love seeing the rose petals flit about inside the bottle.

“Tone down pores. Tone up hydration. Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner is a cleansing toner that removes impurities and refines the appearance of pores for a deeply hydrated, healthy-looking, velvety soft complexion. Infused with real rose petals, the gentle formula clears the skin of surface debris, pollution particles, and residual impurities, while leaving it feeling refreshed and prepped for the skincare ritual that follows. It also contains rosewater and rose flower oil to help soothe and nourish the skin, while angelica leaf extract and hyaluronic acid help to retain moisture.”

— sephora.com

Also, I swear that I can hear my cheeks and the corners of my mouth (which have been Sahara-caliber dry as of late) sigh with relief after I use it… Too bad it’s quite expensive.

❤️❤️❤️ 3 out of 5 hearts.

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KARL LAGERFELD + MODELCO Kiss Me Karl Choupette Eyeshadow Palette in Smokey/Burgundy

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karl lagerfeld model co choupette palette
Mrrreeeeow, Choupette!

OK, I realize that this is technically one of the items in Uncle Karl’s latest collab collection, but let’s get real — I’m only here for Choupette. ?

KARL LAGERFELD + MODELCO Kiss Me Karl Choupette Eyeshadow Palette in Smokey/Burgundy (Nordstrom exclusive)

($65, 0.48-oz. palette with 16 powder eyeshadows)

Can you say “no” to a cat-shaped palette?

I DIDN’T THINK SO.

See, that’s why you’re a card-carrying member of Team Cat Lady, and Choupette’s looking extra cute here with her heart-shaped nose and her “K” collar.

Color-wise, I really like the cool-toned browns in this palette, which is one of two palettes in the collection (the other one, Warm/Nude, leans warmer), and the abundance of mattes, and how almost all of the eyeshadows, with the exception of the glittery burgundy, are soft and buttery enough to practically scoop themselves with a brush or finger.

Here’s what I don’t care for: how the mattes handle my fine lines. Mind you, my kitten-hood was many moons ago, but still. I’m not a senior kitty yet.

karl lagerfeld model co choupette palette 2
Cool and warm tones in the Smokey/Burgundy palette

Despite being creamy soft, the powders have large grains that draw mucho attention to my lines.

karl lagerfeld model co choupette palette k
I’m wearing shades from the top top row on my lids

karl lagerfeld model co choupette palette swatches 1

karl lagerfeld model co choupette palette swatches 2

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