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Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 678

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Man! I cannot believe summer is over. What the!? And we didn’t even get many hot days this year. It’s weird out here in the Bay Area because we get some of our warmest weather in early fall, but still. I wanted more pool days by now.

Tabs would have done a big summer send-off this weekend with a full-scale kitty modeling show. He always liked to end the seasons with a huge event of some kind, and then follow it up with a party to ring in the next season. To him, everything was a good reason to celebrate his fabulousness.

Rosie

Rosie loves fall just as much as she loves summer, so she’s perfectly fine with the seasons changing. She’s all about the science of seasons, and botany is one of her many interests, so it’s all just so fascinating that she looks forward to every season changing. She sees the wonder everywhere she looks in the natural world.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, September 18, 2021!

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clean makeup brushes
Ah… I love the smell of clean makeup brushes.

Good morning, sweet girl! Happy Caturday. 😺 Guess what I’m doing today? Here’s a hint: it involves lots and lots of makeup brushes that need TLC, because I’ve been putting off washing my brushes for weeks.

OK, OK, it’s been a couple months. YIKES! I know.

What’s changed? Well, I’m starting a new job on Monday. Yup, I’ll be working as a copywriter with a local Bay Area beauty brand, and I anticipate Zoom meetings, so now I’ll have an excuse to apply some face paint on the regular.

I imagine I could probably hop on most calls without any makeup, but whenever I see myself bare faced on camera, especially in a professional setting, I don’t feel as put-together as I do when I’m wearing makeup.

Anyway, I’m excited, both to start something new and to have an excuse to actually wear makeup again! 🤗


Love this.


In case you care about the Met Gala.


I’m down for some chill music.

I’m on my way to HomeGoods in a few to get some organizational accoutrements for my office, along with a hopefully really tall lamp. Side note: why is it so hard to find lamps that are more than 5 feet tall these days?

What are you up to today? Whatever it is, I hope you’re having fun.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Ilia The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette in Cool Nude

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ilia the necessary eyeshadow palette cool nude
The Ilia Necessary Eyeshadow Palette in Cool Nude

I wonder… At what point in history did the word “cool” turn into a way to say that you liked something?

“Keanu Reeves asked you to marry him? That’s cool.”

“Wait, you adopted a fifth cat? SO COOL!”

“How cool is that Ilia eyeshadow palette?”

Cue segue into today’s review! 😂

The Ilia Cool Nudes palette is pretty cool — both in terms of color temp and how cool it is to use — and it’s all about easygoing eyes.

It comes with six moderately pigmented powder shadows. You get:

  • A matte nude beige
  • A shimmering bronze-taupe
  • A matte lavender gray
  • A matte cool brown
  • A matte burgundy
  • A shimmery dark golden violet

Ilia wrapped everything up in a very sleek but simple, modern-looking white case with a mirror.

ilia cool palette swatches
The Ilia Necessary Eyeshadow Palette in Cool Nude swatched on my skin (I’m an NC42 in MAC)

First, these shadows blend like they mean it! No harsh lines here. I do a few swishes with a tapered blending brush, and I’m good to go.

Next, there’s barely any fallout from them, and the wear time is quite good. After a long day, I’ll see only slight creasing on my lids. My lids are dry, by the way, so I usually skip primer.

It’s a more natural look and perfectly in line with Ilia’s laid-back aesthetic. I’m guessing that Ilia purposefully designed the pigments to be only moderately punchy, which I appreciate when I only want a little something on my lids, and I don’t plan on taking pics (more on this in a second).

If you enjoy wearing color but prefer eye looks that define and highlight your lids without screaming “I’m obvious,” you’ll probably like it too. I think fans of the Clinique quads — which have a very similar vibe — will be into it. It’s a total errands-work-everyday piece.

With all that said, however, I’m not a fan of the way this palette photographs. The shadows simply don’t pop in pics like Honest Beauty’s Get It Together Palette does (my current go-to).

I took a few pictures of the eyeshadows the other day, and while I could see them in real life, I looked like I was barely wearing any eye makeup at all in the pics. On their own, the shadows mustn’t be vibrant enough to handle flash photography on my skin unless I do trickery to amplify the pigments, like by layering a base primer underneath them and using a wet eyeshadow brush.

Bottom line? I like it. This palette is lovely for casual makeup and everyday eye looks, but IMHO it’s not really for special occasions. Mind you, I think it’s purposefully designed that way, so I say go for it if wearable, everyday eyeshadow is your thing.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Unsung Heroes: Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

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mac mineralize skinfinish natural
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Tan and a Chanel travel0size face brush

I’ve been wearing the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powders for years, and hands down, they’re one of my favorite things about the line.

MAC has a looot of face powders, and I think many of them are rock solid performers (see: MAC Blot and Careblends Pressed), but if you and I were at a counter at this very moment, and you asked me, “What’s your favorite, best-of-the-best, most natural-looking, comfortable MAC face powder available now?” I’d say one thing: the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Naturals.

mac mineralize skinfinish natural
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Tan ($32)

Depending on which color you choose, you can use the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural line of baked pressed mineral powders for a number of different things, like cutting down on shine, evening out your skin tone, blurring pores, bronzing, and setting your foundation and/or concealer.

They have a semi-matte finish and a moderate amount of pigment, but they can be sheered down. They’re available in the permanent line in 15 shades for $32 each.

In MAC parlance, I’m an NC42, and I have combination skin that ventures between oily and dry. I wear the color Medium Tan as my face setting powder daily, and I also use Give Me Sun sometimes as a bronzer.

mac mineralize skinfinish medium tan
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Tan on my NC42 skin

I love so many things about this powder! — but I’m going to try to keep this short (yeah right, Karen), because otherwise we’d be here ’til next Tuesday. 🙂

The gist of it is this: in powder-land, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural is my current favorite powder across the board — not just from MAC — for casual, dewy, natural-looking skin.

mac mineralize skinfinish natural
Wearing MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Tan with Dior Diorskin Nude Air Serum

I’ve worn it for everyday makeup looks, big events, pictures, HD video, daytime work meetings, dinner dates and taking Rosie out for her walks, and I think it looks just as good on camera as it does in real life. Unlike many pressed powder formulas, the Mineralize Skinfinish Naturals look more like loose powders than pressed powders when they’re sitting on the skin.

After having taken a zillion pictures over the years, I think that loose powders generally look better than pressed powders in person and in pics — softer, I guess. Less like makeup and more like real skin. But MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural bucks that trend. When I wear it, my skin looks even toned, smooth, and it doesn’t look shiny (nor does it look severely matte). The powder also doesn’t look super obvious.

The effect reminds me of Chanel’s Loose Powder, which is absolutely beautiful, but Chanel’s powder is also 1) much more expensive ($52 vs. $32 for this), 2) available in fewer shades.

mac mineralize skinfinish natural
Love this powder!

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What Was the Last Piece of Makeup You Bought?

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ilia cool palette
Let’s put on some makeup, yes?

Technically, it was a “few pieces,” and they were rewards to myself for getting some tasks done. I picked up a few more things from Ilia, including the Necessary Eyeshadow Palette in Cool Nude (I’m stoked about the shimmery bronzed lavender in the upper right corner), a tube of the Fullest Volumizing Mascara and a tube of the Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm in Runway.

I’m hoping the eyeshadows work for me…so I’ll have an excuse to grab the Warm Nude palette.

What about you? What was the last piece of makeup you bought?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Another Way to Work Your Favorite Nude Lipstick

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Your recipe for new nude lips

Check this out. I do it often. It’s one of my favorite lip tricks of all time!

Even when you regularly roll with eight nude lippies at any given moment, sometimes you still want to shake things up, which is where a sheer berry gloss comes in handy.

“Sheer” is the key word here, i.e., something to add a tantalizing touch of berry tint to tease and tempt without taking over.

  1. Start with a layer of your nude lippie du jour.
  2. Blot (if you want), but I usually skip it because…laziness, TBH. But it’s helpful if you’ll be taking pics because it keeps your lip color from looking thick and gooey.
  3. Apply a layer of gloss directly on top, but WAIT! — don’t stick that wand back in the tube quite yet. Wipe off any lipstick with a tissue first so the lipstick doesn’t mix with your gloss and change the color. Optionally, instead of using the doe foot directly on your lips, you can swipe it on the back of your hand, then pick up the gloss from there, and apply it to your lips with a finger.
chanel jumbo matte lip crayon 257
Chanel Jumbo Matte Lip Crayon in 257 Discretion

chanel jumbo matte lip crayon 257 k

chanel rouge coco gloss 764
Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in 764 Confusion
chanel jumbo matte lip crayon 257 chanel rouge coco gloss 764
Just a hint of berry

You can also do this trick with reds, purples, browns — any sheer gloss you like.

Good morning, BTW. Happy Tuesday. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 695

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A few new goodies that I picked up over the weekend. I can’t wait to play!

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?

    1. One of your favorite makeup palettes?

    MAC Nordstrom Naturals, for sure.

    2. A lipstick shade that lights up your face?

    There’s something about Stila Beso. I think it’s just magical, but not only on me. On everyone.

    3. Something you’d like but don’t necessarily need?

    Seriously, I would absolutely LOVE a Concept 2 rower! Or a Volvo SUV. If either arrived on my doorstep, I would not be mad about it. 🙃

    4. Have you ever won any money?

    Small potatoes, but yeah, a surprising number of times while gambling on slot machines. I’ve also happened to be with people who claim to never ever win anything, but they’ve won while I was around. I’ve been told that I’m a lucky charm, but I don’t know!

    Now that I think about it, I should probably be buying lottery tickets.

    5. Quick — name one of the first pieces of makeup you ever fell in love with.

    MAC Spite Lipglass got me through my early twenties. We had a lot of fun together!

    6. French manicure: yes or no?

    On other people, sure, but on me, no. I like my nails super short, and I feel like French manicures look better on longer fingernails.

    7. Sparkling or flat water?

    I like flat water, but lately I’ve been all about sparkling because my stomach has been crazy nervous lately! Bubbly water seems to help calm it down, and I’m deeply addicted to La Croix (once again).

    8. Shy or outgoing?

    Mostly outgoing…but occasionally shy.

    9. Pumpkin pie or apple pie?

    Apple pie, served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream please. This, of course, is assuming that the pie has a bomb-@ss — did I really just hyphenate that? — crust. It has to be flaky, buttery and tender; otherwise, I’ll have absolutely nothing to do with it.

    I’m picky about pie, man. 😁

    Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

    Karen

    P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

    1. One of your favorite makeup palettes?
    2. A lipstick shade that lights up your face?
    3. Something you’d like but don’t necessarily need?
    4. Have you ever won any money?
    5. Quick — name one of the first pieces of makeup you ever fell in love with.
    6. French manicure: yes or no?
    7. Sparkling or flat water?
    8. Shy or outgoing?
    9. Pumpkin pie or apple pie?

    P.P.S. Hello, beautiful lady! 🤗 How’s it going? It’s a lovely day, and it’s going to be a great week. I hope joy finds you in whatever you’re up to this week, in everything you do, big and small!

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 677

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Rosie doesn’t want to manage. She’s not like Tabs in that way. She doesn’t want to be the big boss. Sure, she’s a boss lady cat, but she doesn’t want to have to tell everyone what to do. She doesn’t particularly enjoy being in charge, unlike Tabs, who loved calling the shots and making the tough decisions.

Rosie would rather leave the drama to someone else and stay in the lab. She’s all about the science, not the drama.

Going for these morning walks now with Rosie, it’s a very different experience than it was with Tabs. He, for lack of a better word, dominated the circle. He didn’t just walk around it. He owned the asphalt all the way around.

All the other cats in the neighborhood knew Tabs basically owned the road and the sidewalk, and he didn’t just “go for walks.” He strutted. To Tabs, the circle was one giant catwalk.

Rosie

You know Rosie though. She has panache, obvs, but she walks around the circle like she’s conducting an experiment. She studies the plants, measures the distances between the houses, records light levels and air quality in her journal, and she even measures the ambient acoustics to estimate the number of turkeys, quails, dogs and cats. It’s quite extraordinary.

That said, she isn’t always serious. She also knows how to let down her fur. Sometimes she’ll pull me toward a tree and climb up it, or she’ll chase a squirrel, so, I mean, she also has fun sometimes.

And yes, occasionally she’ll also strike a pose. After all, she is the new CFO (Chief Feline Officer) of Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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