Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Saturday Surfing, April 3, 2021

April 3rd, 2021 by Karen 1 Comment

hello saturday easter 2021 — Welcome to the weekend!

Hi, guys! Happy Easter weekend. ?? Good morning. First things first; I have a question for you. Does the pic at the top make you want to paint your paws? Because it did for me! Now I need creamy yellow, pink and blue claws ASAP. ?

This week’s reading

Allegedly, these are the 21 best makeup organizers of 2021!
YouTuber Violette_FR just launched her own makeup line, so now we can all master French girl chic.
Byredo’s new spring makeup collection includes an eyeliner called “Practical Brown,” a name that speaks volumes to my current makeup aesthetic.
If you have psoriasis, here’s what a doc suggests doing to make your beauty routine more manageable.
Does your skin care routine need an oil cleanser?
This is what the experts recommend doing if you want your nail polish to dry faster.
These three fourth graders started a rescue organization for stray, homeless and abandoned felines in their community.
14 orange lipsticks that are supposed to look good on everybody.
Meet China’s “Lipstick King,” Austin Li Jiaqi.

D-R-Y

Grace Kelly’s style

Love me some Mally Roncal

Yum

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Final Word on the Urban Decay Naked Wild West Palette | A Pretty Pink Cheek and Lip Combo With Jane Iredale Clearly Pink Blush and Origins Dusky Rose Lipstick

April 2nd, 2021 by Karen 5 Comments

urban decay wild west april 2021 — I say YAY to Urban Decay Naked Wild West!

After spending a month with the new Urban Decay Naked Wild West palette, I’m happy to say that I can totally recommend it. I enjoy its mix of practical neutrals (a mélange of matte brown, beige, taupe and gray) with colorful teals, bronzes and golds, and if you’re like me and love a wearable, easy eye look, you can get that look quite easily.

Here’s what you do: 1) mix one or two of your favorite mattes with a blending brush, and sweep that onto your lids. Then, 2) wet an angled eye brush, load it up with any of the shades from the palette, and use it to line your upper lash line.

I like to think of this palette as a neutral matte palette with a bunch of fun liner shades. ? And when you use Naked Wild West in this way, you’ll have an endless (and easy) array of wearable combinations to choose from!

One item of note for my ladies with hooded lids — Laredo, the matte gray taupe, is totally key! Since most of the Naked Wild West mattes are warm-toned browns, I like to mix in the cooler-toned Laredo to create the illusion of a deeper crease.

urban decay wild west laredo — Laredo is the key!

urban decay wild west april 2021 closeup — The teal here looks so effortless, methinks.

OH! — I stumbled on a new wearable pink lip and cheek combo I like with Jane Iredale PurePressed Blush in Clearly Pink and Origins Dusky Rose Lipstick.

jane iredale clearly pink blush origins dusky rose lipstick — A pretty pink lip and cheek combo!

Jane Iredale Clearly Pink is a powdered pinky beige blush that leans slightly cool, and it totally looks like something Chanel would do! I love how it looks like a matte pink when you sweep it on your cheeks, but you can see the tiniest little flecks of silvery glitter peek when you look closely. It’s sophisticated, and a little goes a long way.

If you like Chanel Pink Explosion or Clinique Cupid, you’ll probably be into Clearly pink.

As for Origins Dusky Rose Lipstick, like the blush, it packs a pigmented wallop. It’s a brownish rose with a cream finish… Have you ever worn MAC Cosmo Lipstick? Because if you have and you liked it, I’m betting Dusky Rose will work for you!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! ???

Fresh, Fun Spring Trends to Try

April 1st, 2021 by Karen 12 Comments

Which of these spring trends would you like to try?

Peach and plum layered blush

This trend combines two of my favorite shades of blush — peach and plum!

Start by sweeping a satin or matte peach blush on your cheekbones; then, dab a touch of a satin or matte plum just on the apples of your cheeks.

Gently blend the colors with a blush brush for fresh, glowing cheeks. ?

Matching or complementary pastel nails and liner

This is an easy way to add some fun color to your look during these mask-wearing times.

First, if you want foolproof, choose a matching nail polish and liner. If, instead, you’re in the mood to play, then pair pastels together. Here I’m wearing a creamy pastel purple polish (Chanel Purple Ray; it isn’t available nowadays, but Chanel Mirage is similar) and shimmery pink liner on my upper lash lines.

The hottest trend in liquid liner

Introduce an unexpected element into your makeup with some unique, organic shapes. To make the most of this up-and-coming spring trend, I suggest incorporating your mask in some way.

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SkinCeuticals Vitamin C Serums and National Vitamin C Day, REN Clean Screen Mineral SPF 30 (and SHOTS!)

March 31st, 2021 by Karen 13 Comments

If lipstick can have a national day all to its won, then why can’t Vitamin C? Shoot, we’re living in crazy times; we need to celebrate everything!

Sooooo, in case you haven’t marked it on your calendar yet, April 4 is National Vitamin C Day. ? I plan to celebrate by eating a bunch of mandarin oranges (but only the kind with the leaves attached!) and contemplating one of my favorite skincare ingredients.

(Vitamin C)

My favorite Vitamin C serum for the longest time has been SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic. If you want a serum that does everything — helps with fine lines, firmness and dark patches — this is the stuff! When I use it consistently along with sunscreen, my face (especially my cheeks, which is where I have most of my hyperpigmentation), looks noticeably smoother and more even-toned.

Unfortunately…it’s hella crazy expensive at $166 for a 0.50-oz. bottle.

(Yes, OMG!)

But it really works well for me.

SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic isn’t the only Vitamin C serum in the SkinCeuticals line though. There’s also Phloretin CF, which is for helping to fade post-acne marks, and their new Silymarin CF, which is an oil-free version for blemish-prone skin.

Here’s a handy-dandy chart to help figure out which one should be best for you…

If you’re looking for a Vitamin C serum at a lower price point, Vichy’s is also good IMO, and it’s $28.50 for 0.34-oz. I went through two bottles and saw a subtle improvement on the uneven areas on my cheeks. It doesn’t pack the same punch as Skinceuticals CE Ferulic, but it still works (albeit more slowly), and — added bonus — you can find it at drugstores. I got mine on sale at Walgreens.

vichy liftactiv — Gimme all the vitamin C.

While we’re on the subject of skin schtuff, here’s a heads-up for my oily-skinned friends about a sunscreen I tried from REN. REN Clean Screen Mineral SPF 30 is a face sunscreen made with 22% zinc oxide SPF and a very flat, uber-matte finish.

Right now my skin is dry, so it’s not the best fit for me, but if I had super oily skin like I did in my teens and early 20s, I’d be totally into it. It cuts down ALL OF THE SHINE and then some.

FYI, zinc sunscreens typically leave a white cast, and this one does too, but it’s very subtle. I’d say that if you’re lighter than I am (I’m a MAC NC42), you’ll be fine, but if you’re darker, it could leave a purplish-gray tint behind.

Other than sunscreen, the only makeup I’m wearing in this pic is JOY (seriously, where are my eyebrows, haha). I took this pic right after I got my first COVID vaccine shot yesterday!

I got weirdly emotional right after it happened… It was a mix of relief and happiness. I kept thinking of this exact time last year, when I thought that “all of this” would only last two weeks.

Yeah, I was a bit off with my estimate there. ? It’s been a LONG year, am I right?

Anyway, I practically danced on the way out, and I kept thinking of that song where all the people yell, “Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, SHOTS!”

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Latest Trader Joe’s Finds: Grapefruit Body Butter, Croissant Bread, Gluten-Free Treats and More

March 30th, 2021 by Karen 6 Comments

trader joes grapefruit body butter — YES

Girlfriend, I had to do it. Grapefruit. Body butter. FOUR NINETY-NINE! I no longer even pretend to have any self-restraint when it comes to a new Trader Joe’s body butter. Sampling their myriad of “flavors” over the past few years has taught me that TJ’s Body Butters generally do me right, and this new Grapefruit one is one of my favorites to date.

Coincidentally, I’ve been having grapefruit with my breakfast every morning lately, and this cream smells legit. It’s light and fresh and lingers for a few hours before fading away, so it’s not all up in my nostrils into the evening.

Like the other TJ’s Body Butters I’ve tried, this one’s thick and creamy, like an actual stick of room-temperature Salted Kerrygold (THE BEST); you can cut it with a butter knife, so it’s more balm-y and less fluffy whipped cream, and it’s moisturizing enough to get crusty heels to bow down.

FYI, it contains coconut oil and shea butter, so if your skin likes both or either of those, you have that to look forward to!

Also, I really like that the lid flips up because the jar is easy to open and close with slippery fingers.

I’m currently wearing Grapefruit underneath Chanel Paris-Riviera (otherwise known as “orange explosion!”), and I smell pretty darned good, if I do say so myself.

Warning: the following Trader Joe’s photos should’ve been taken, ya know…before I went to town on all the food, but hey, this is real life, and apparently we’re REALLY HUNGRY at my house.

Part of me really wants to not tell you about the following bread because I want more for me, because my addiction to it is that serious, but we’re friends, and friends don’t let friends sleep on hella good baked delights!

Grab thee a Joe’s Cinnamon Croissant Loaf ASAP. This hybrid of sliced cinnamon bread and flaky croissant is heavenly. I eat it every morning with the big ol’ grapefruit.

Here’s the deal: you need to toast it first in order for it to be all it can be. Warming it up seems to make the layers of croissant even more delicate and melty, and enhances the cinnamon flavor.

You could put some butter on it, I suppose, but I just keep it plain so I can shove it into my mouth with coffee that much faster.

Also, in gluten-free news, El Hub has celiac, and he LOVES the Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Muffins. He usually thinks that most store-bought gluten-free baked goods are either too grainy or crumbly or oily, but he says these are fan-friggin-tastic.

They’re made with sour cream, which I suspect is the magic ingredient responsible for their tender crumb. He says they taste exactly like a regular coffee cake. Highly recommended from the resident GF person in our house!

Connor and I have been snacking on the Mini Orange Cranberry Tea Scones. These are lovely when you need a little something to tide you over with your afternoon beverage…

Apparently, the theme for today day is CARBS. Ha!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 671

March 29th, 2021 by Karen 23 Comments

I hope beautiful things cross your path this week!

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. Last time you waxed?

I can’t even remember… It must’ve been at least six months ago. I was using the bad-@ss Bliss blue wax, but I finally ran out and have yet to replace it… It hasn’t exactly been the world’s highest priority though. Tweezers have been my best friend these days!

2. What’s your Fitzpatrick skin type?

I’m a Skin Type IV!

3. Do you limit your screen time?

Yeah, I have to. If I don’t, nobody else will, LOL! If I let myself go unchecked, I end up doomscrolling late at night, and then I can’t turn my brain off.

4. How often do you stretch?

I try to stretch every day, and throughout the day with little one-minute stretches here and there. (Hold up, give me a second to hit my hammies! Ah, much better.) And then in the evening before I go to bed, I stretch on my yoga mat in front of the TV for about 10 minutes, and that really helps me sleep better.

5. Silence is (fill in the blank).

Beautiful, underrated and sometimes incredibly necessary.

6. A beauty brand (or brands) you’d like to try?

Ooh, there are so many! Right now I’ve got my eye on some things by Ere Perez and Typology. I’d also love to try a tinted mineral sunscreen from Colorscience.

7. Midi or maxi?

Midi has been stressing me out, man… I can’t seem to figure it out! So please, fashion gods, give me a maxi!

8. Have you ever had a turtle for a pet?

I have not, but I knew someone in the ’90s who had pet turtles, and caring for those turtles was like a second job for them. I just remember the turtles requiring a lot of care and habitat maintenance.

9. Have you ever broken a window?

I have not, knock on wood!

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. Last time you waxed?
2. What’s your Fitzpatrick skin type?
3. Do you limit your screen time?
4. How often do you stretch?
5. Silence is (fill in the blank).
6. A beauty brand (or brands) you’d like to try?
7. Midi or maxi?
8. Have you ever had a turtle for a pet?
9. Have you ever broken a window?

P.P.S. Hello there, my friend! It’s a new week and a fresh start. A little reminder that you can handle whatever comes your way today, you hear me? You’re capable, strong and smart. Whatever it is you need to conquer, big or small, YOU CAN DO IT. ?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 652

March 28th, 2021 by Karen 3 Comments

Great horned owl, Tabs was a such a birder! He would sit for hours in his window nook watching the birds on the hill outside, cacking and chirping to himself. He was definitely all about the birds.

I’m sure I mentioned this before, but he actually managed to catch birds while on his leash — not once, but at least two times, and it was always a shock for me. He would just leap or dart into a shrub or up a tree and fly through the air, capturing his prey. I always tried to stop him, but sometimes I couldn’t move fast enough. He was that good at being a birder.

He just loved birds…

Rosie

Rosie likes birds too, but not entirely in the same way. I think she’s interested in them…but it’s perhaps out of scientific curiosity. As a scientist torbie, she appreciates their facility for flight. The physics is fascinating, after all.

In fact, she’s so intrigued by it that she upgraded her new spring collar this week to include a yellow and pink robin.

She’s quite proud of it. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, March 27, 2021

March 27th, 2021 by Karen 11 Comments

saturday mandarin oranges books tea — Just a little meow time!

Hiya, friend! Good morning to you! In random-but-pertinent-to-this-blog news…everyone at our house is currently obsessed with mandarin oranges, but only the kind with the leaves attached.

Yes, this is truly breaking news.

I don’t know why, but I think the ones with the leaves attached to them are juicier and sweeter than the ones without. I can’t get enough of ’em! Today I have grand plans to sit around, snack on mandarins, read books and drink tea. I like to call this “high-intensity relaxation.”

Today’s reading

If you happen to know someone who wants to smell like their favorite pub, now you know what scent to buy them for their next birthday.
Fuchsia is currently having a moment.
Here’s a dermatologist’s walkthrough of the spring skin care swaps you need to do right meow.
7 trendy ways to reinvent your hair this summer (side note: I love the square bob cut.)
Here’s your chance to own a lock of George Washington’s hair.
How to keep your active cat out of trouble!

10-minute makeup!

Well, now I want to drink tea!

Today’s vibe

A beautiful cover of one of my favorite songs

I love everything about this house, especially the floors!

It’s going to be 70-something degrees today, and I’m so excited about it! I can’t even! It’s shaping up to be the warmest weekend of the year so far. I’m thinking either a picnic, a hike, Marin French Cheese, or maybe Bon Tempe Lake.

What are you up to? Is the weather nice there? I hope it’s nice enough to go outside for a bit!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen