Rose Inc

Beauty Thoughts, May 26, 2023

May 26th, 2023 by Karen 7 Comments

Sheer base life

I’ve been using Rose Inc Skin Enhance Luminous Tinted Serum for the last two weeks and have been getting lots of nice compliments on my base!

It’s sheer and moisturizing with barely there coverage and a slight pore smoothing effect, and when I set it with just the teeniest bit of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder, in real life it looks natural and beautiful, even in full sun.

If you’re into minimal foundation like I am, give it a go.

FYI, you do need to mix the pigment spheres in your palms or the back of your hand before applying it, so there’s a small extra step involved, but it’s so easy that I don’t mind it at all. I’ve been using it lately for my quick go-to makeup.

Speaking of go-to looks, what’s yours right now?

Here’s mine! It takes less than 10 minutes, which I’m all about these days.

Base: Rose Inc Skin Enhance set with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural and Hourglass Retouching Fluid in Sand
Cheeks: NARS Deep Throat Powder Blush
EYES: Hourglass Cave Eyeliner, Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Strapless, Tower 28 Mascara (it’s just OK), Anastasia Brow Pencil
LIPS: Whatever non-neutral lippie is around. Lately it’s been NARS Dolce Vita Velvet Matte Lip Pencil.

Building a pre-packed beauty bag

Memorial Day is right around the corner, which means summer trips, yay!

I was wondering, when you go on a trip, do you pack your skin care and beauty essentials beforehand, or do you keep a separate travel bag on standby?

I’ve always packed my beauty bag right before a trip, and ugh, I *really* don’t want to do that anymore. It just makes packing too stressful! Side note: I tend to overpack and overthink what I bring because I’m always worried about forgetting something. Half the time I end up bringing too much, and I no longer want it to be that way.

Anywho, all this to say I saw a video recently about keeping a travel bag of beauty products stocked and ready, and it really spoke to me!

We’re going on a few short trips this summer, so I’d like to build travel beauty bags — one for me, and one for Connor, since I usually pack her toiletries — before we go on our trips.

I’d like to fully stock it (skin care, makeup, hair products, all the things), so that when I’m done, I can photograph everything inside and write everything down into a list. Ideally I’d like to format it into an easily accessible checklist, so I can take stock of what needs to be replaced and not have to reinvent the wheel every single time.

WISH ME LUCK because I’m gonna need it, LOL!

Happy Friday to you

Hope your week has been peaceful and joyful! If you feel like sharing any good things that’ve happened to you lately, I’d love to hear about them.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Rose Inc Skin Enhance Luminous Tinted Serum: A Summery Staple

July 8th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

This is my partner in crime! Side note: I’m a law-abiding citizen, and the only crime I’m guilty of is loving a base with barely-there coverage.

Rose Inc Skin Enhance ($49) is designed purposefully to add a little something-something to your skin. If you’ve ever tried any of the OG sheer bases (Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer, IT Cosmetics CC, NARS TM, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Tinted Moisturizer, etc.) and felt like you were wearing too much makeup, this is the base for you.

It caters to a very specific makeup person. Someone who wants…

Skin to look like real skin;
A finish that has subtle pearly shine without glitter;
Freckles and variations of texture and pigment to still peek through; and
A base that feels and looks lightweight.

It’s fresh, summery skin at its finest. This style of makeup speaks volumes to me at the moment, and I’m really into it!

My skin is combo oily and dry, and I wear the shade 080. Two pumps subtly blurs my pores and adds a hint of tint to even everything out. On super hot days I set it with the least amount of MAC MSF powder I can get away with, and then I douse my face in UD setting spray to keep it place. Otherwise, it will slide right off my face.

I’m wearing Rose Inc Skin Enhance in 080.

FYI, when I reapply sunscreen on top of it in the afternoon, I have to take care to pat the sunscreen on gently. If I’m too aggressive, then I end up just rubbing it off.

This is one of those products that you’re either going to love or loathe. Just in case you fall in the latter camp, I’d suggest buying it at Sephora and saving your receipt. If it’s not enough coverage for you and/or you feel like it just doesn’t stay on, then I’d gently steer you towards Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, which is a beast (in the best possible makeup way).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Red Hot Summer Lips!

June 28th, 2022 by Karen 18 Comments

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

Bronzed and Glowing Makeup With Rose Inc and Laura Mercier

June 22nd, 2022 by Karen 14 Comments

Hi, friend! I had to put on makeup today because I had a short video presentation to give to everyone at work today. Was I a little nervous? Yeah. Makeup always helps me feel more confident, though. 🙂

I’m really on a non-powdery makeup kick, so I picked up some new-to-me things from Rose Inc and Laura Mercier.

Rose Inc Skin Enhancer Luminous Tinted Serum is a sheer, lightweight skin tint with a glowing finish. You pump a little bit on the back of your hand, mix the pigment spheres into the serum with a finger or a brush, and then blend the product onto your face. Kinda fun! A 1-ounce bottle is $49 at Sephora, however if you don’t mind waiting for shipping, Rose Inc currently is hosting a 25% off site-wide sale on everything, including this skin tint.

By the way, it’s available in 14 shades, and mine is 80, in case you’re wondering.

If this formula looks similar to something you’ve seen before — good eye! Chanel makes something similar both in the form of Les Beiges Water Fresh Complexion Touch ($65) and Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint (also $65). I’ve worn the Chanel Water Fresh Tint before, and the Rose Inc version seems to have less pearl.

Anywho, this is my first time taking it for a spin, and so far I like it! I need to wear it for a few more days to figure out if it’s something I can enthusiastically recommend, so I’ll get back to ya.

Also new to me in this look are the Tinted Moisturizer Blushes by Laura Mercier ($28 each). I picked up Corsica, a sparkling peach, and Coastline, a warm bronzy brown. I’m wearing Corisca in the pic at the top.

It temperature hit the low 90s today and Corsica has so far managed to stay on my cheeks! In a magnifying mirror, I can see a little bit of patchiness (I have to look *really close*), but considering how sweaty I’ve been all day and the mask that I wore at Trader Joe’s, I think it still held up well.

I’m going to try it next on bare skin to see how it holds up!

What makeup did you wear today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen