A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
My love for Russian Red knows no bounds…
MAC Russian Red About Town Lipstick, Lipglass and Nail Lacquer from the Fashion Sets collection.
Look at that tum! It will not stop until it takes over the world!
Got a couple new obsessions… 🙂
I caught the first one at Trader Joe’s, and I warn you — their Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant and Garlic is highly infectious/addictive.
Oh, man. So good, and it’s only 15 calories per tablespoon! Tablespoon — those are the big ones.
I’ve been spreading it on almost everything edible, from flour tortilla wraps filled with hummus, avocado, shredded carrots, lettuce and diced tomatoes, to veggies and grilled fish. It also makes a great dip.
And then there are rompers…
No, wait — I don’t mean with the spread. I mean, I’ve also been obsessed with rompers. And the spread. Two different things. 🙂
Okay, why didn’t I start wearing these things years ago? I found this one here on zappos.com, the Becca Jumper by designer Alejandra Sky.
I’d never heard of the line before, but their stuff gets good reviews, and I liked the look of the piece, so I took the plunge.
And I’m so glad I did!
I brought it with me to Kauai and probably wore it more than anything else (except my red camp shirt). Even since I’ve been back, it’s all I’ve wanted to wear.
Ready to romp? If you are, here’s when/where my current romper crush/fashion romp began…
For me and my 5-foot-1-inch frame, it’s neither too long nor short, and I think it’s just loose enough. When I wear it, I don’t feel over-exposed.
Then there’s the print…which has been making me very hungry for pineapple, LOL! I’ve probably eaten five since last month.
As a matter of fact, maybe that’s what happened to the sleeves — I accidentally ate them! 🙂 But seriously, this has been my very first sleeveless romper, and it won’t be my last. Very comfortable, especially this time of year.
With rompers, you take care of your entire outfit with a single piece. I love that. No worrying about coordinating a top with pants.
Oh, and this one even has pockets. Two in the front and two in the back.
Best of all, the drawstring waist has a little bit of stretch to it, giving me breathing room around the middle.
Sometimes, like if there’s a cool breeze wherever I’m going (or strong air conditioning), I’ll wear it with a scarf, but usually not if it’s hot.
running thin
colloquial
1 My patience for eyeshadow looks involving more than two steps.
Okay, so maybe Chanel’s limited edition $42 Ombres Contrastes Duo in Sable-Emouvant from the new Summertime de Chanel collection doesn’t beam with the boundless possibilities of, say, a mega makeup palette packed with 99 shadows in every color of the rainbow.
And maybe it’s not interested in dazzling stargazers with sparkly disco glitter or lighting up lids with summertime teals, greens or golds — heck, it doesn’t even have any extra accoutrements, like a small tube of primer or a tutorial booklet.
But all that aside, it’s still one hell of a great date.
If it asked you to the movies, it would suggest Casablanca over No Strings Attached and Fandango the tickets ahead of time so you could both skip the line. Then, it would get you a big bag of popcorn while you freshened up (no butter, please), and snag perfect seats smack dab in the middle of the theater. No muss, no fuss.
With Sable-Emouvant, Chanel created a duo so elegant and effortless that I instantly forgave the brand for not releasing a summer quad in the collection as soon as I slipped it on my lids.
Just like the Ombres Contrastes Duos first launched in 2010, Sable-Emouvant blends with the grace of a swan. One minute, one brush, and I’m done.
And without a trace of fallout. None.
Despite only containing two shadows, the duo has as much flexibility as a good quad (perhaps more).
The lighter shade looks like a pearly golden peachy beige on my NC42 skin, and it reminds me of a creamier, soft-focus MAC Arena.
The darker shade, a purplish brown sheen, has blackened undertones when applied dry (amazing for smokey eye looks!), but it transforms into a pearly bronzed purplish brown with reddish tones when applied with a wet brush.
And when both shadows are mixed together, the resulting peachy brownish taupe flashes more purple when the light hits it just right. Super sophisticated, understated, and so totally Chanel.
Chanel Sable-Emouvant swatches from the left: lighter shade, darker shade, darker shade applied wet and both shades mixed together
I can never say no to hot pink. 🙂
MAC Girl About Town Lipstick, Lipglass and Nail Lacquer from the Fashion Sets collection.
This post is sponsored by Dove® ClearToneâ„¢ Deodorant — designed to visibly reduce underarm dark marks and even skin tone.
Spring’s in full swing, and I’m lovin’ almost everything about it. Love the gorgeous green hills, the wildflowers springing up everywhere I turn, the sunny skies, sunsets and longer days, but ah! — that’s not all spring brings. It also brings some seasonal — pardon me — ah-choo! — challenges.
Challenges like…
Around this same time every year I develop an inconvenient allergy to nature — pretty much all of it, judging by my watery eyes, itchy throat and incessant sneezing.
Zyrtec usually saves the day, but when it doesn’t, watery eyes often leave me with smudgy eye makeup.
Sure, I could skip wearing eye makeup altogether in spring, but where’s the fun in that? 🙂
When my eyes turn to “Aye!” I turn to these time-tested eye makeup-saving tricks…
First, before I apply my makeup, I prime everything — and I mean everything — to lock it down. I apply primer on my lids, in my brows (helps the brow powder stay put), along my lower lash lines and even beneath my eyes. Then, I follow pretty much my regular makeup routine but using long-wearing and/or waterproof eyeshadows, liner and mascara.
I like these longer days, but the extra sunshine keeps me going from 6 in the morning till 9 at night. My foundation’s gotta last, so again I turn to primer.
Here’s a trick to help your foundation last a little longer: after applying foundation primer, wait 10-15 minutes before blotting with a tissue and applying your foundation.
I’m not exactly sure why, but the extra time seems to help the primer do its thing. My foundation lasts longer before fading, and I find I even use less of it, too.
It’s getting gusty out here in Northern California, and when I wear my shoulder-length hair down, it usually ends up in my gloss. On really windy days, I like headbands, low ponytails and braids.
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El Hub surprised me with some mini cupcakes from Sweet Things, my fave place for cupcakes in Marin.
Of course there’s enough to share! Which one would you like? There’s lemon, red velvet, vanilla and strawberry.
Wearing Sable Beige on my cheeks and Sable Rose as a contouring bronzer
I’m a card-carrying, unabashed, self-styled Chanel nut.
Even El Hub knows it, and it took him three days to notice that I dyed my hair pink. 🙂
Whenever I see those interlocking double Cs, I’m like a doe in headlights. I freeze in my tracks! Spittle dripping down my chin…
Hey, those beautiful black compacts are more than good looking. They’re also good listeners, and they’re always there for me when I’m feeling needy or craving affection.
Poor El Hub just doesn’t understand… When he came home yesterday, I was giving tiny kisses to the two Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders ($60).
“Um, sweetie?” he asked, uncertainty heavy in his voice. “Are you kissing your Chanel…?”
“Mmm…” I answered, “Yes.”
“That’s so weird.”
“Mwah! They get kisses because they’re good! And I love them!”
“Okay, but what’s really strange,” he replied, “is that this is not the first time this has happened.”
“Wanna hear about these new bronzers? They’re pretty rad.”
“Is this a trick question?”
“Oh, fine. Party pooper. I’d rather talk about it with the gals on the blog anyway.”
Sable Beige (left) and Sable Rose (right)
Chanel designed Sable Beige, a golden bronzed beige with whispers of peach, and Sable Rose, a darker golden pinkish bronze, to impart a subtle warmth to the skin. Both are limited edition and part of the new Summertime de Chanel collection available now on counters and from chanel.com.
Sable Beige
See the strips of color up there in the pan? Chanel did something similar last summer with the $50 Soleil Tan de Chanel Moisturizing Bronzing Powder, except that one had four strips of color, and these two have seven.
The strips are pretty narrow, but you can try to apply them separately, or swirl all of the colors together.
That’s what I’ve been doing, swirling and wearing them as both a blush and a bronzer.
Sable Rose
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