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FOTD: Another Single-Product Eye Look With a MAC Classic

September 24th, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

mac powersurge swatch

If you want to be truly terrified, don’t fire up a horror movie on Netflix. Instead, put on your makeup in full sunlight. HAHAHA! Dude. It’s kinda scary seeing a lot of product on your skin in such unforgiving light. Or maybe that’s just me because I haven’t been doing a lot of full-on makeup over the past few months (#pandemiclife).

So, I did this look yesterday morning because I made a promise to myself to put on some makeup. (I realize that my mask covers almost everything, but still, sometimes putting on makeup still makes me feel better.)

Connor had an outdoor playdate with a friend, and we were going to be outside for most of the afternoon, so in the morning I decided to use the natural sunlight streaming in through my window to help guide me through this one-product eye look with MAC Powersurge pencil.

I used it as an eyeshadow and a liner all on my lids!

mac powersurge swatch

Connor’s playdate was for outdoor “cake painting,” an idea I got from Busy Toddler on Instagram.

I taped a bunch of big boxes together to look like an oversized cake, and Connor and her buddy painted the layers with washable tempura paint.

I guess the most frightening thing about doing your makeup in the unforgiving light of the full sun is seeing just exactly how products behave according to the texture of your skin. GOODNESS GRACIOUS. It really forced me to blend my base and buff down all of the excess areas where there was a little too much lying there. I’m making this sound frightening, I know, but I think you gotta do it once just for fun because it really is eye opening!

I might do it again today because I guess I’m a masochist like that, LOL!

Like my makeup the other day, there’s also a bunch of O.G. MAC faves up in this makeup mix, like Powersurge on my lids, Blushbaby on my cheeks, and Whirl lipstick mixed with a little bit of Honeylove on my lips. (I wanted it to look like fall makeup, but I didn’t want it to go too brown.)

mac powersurge swatch

Initially, I went with a rosy brown matte lip because I was going for a fall look, but I also tried it with a brighter pinkish rose matte lippie…

I had an inkling that the eye/cheek combo would go really well a brighter pinkish rose lipstick…

This is Model Off Duty, one of the new MAC Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolours. I think it looks really beautiful with this eye/cheek combo, and the next time I wear it I think I might do this lip color instead.

mac powersurge fotd

One more thing about Powersurge before I go — when you do these one-and-done looks with liner, the beauty of them is that they don’t have to be super perfect on your lids, because if you’re just wearing one color, if there are areas on your lids that are more elegantly blended than others, then don’t worry about it because as long as you have a relatively smooth transition of color that fades up toward your brows, you’re going to be fine.

As with any lid action, for instance darkness on the outer third, or when you deepen the outer v, you can do that for more dimension here too, but if you try and it doesn’t get where you want it to go, buff it a little more, don’t mess with it, and move on with your day.

mac powersurge swatch

I think these are great because they really don’t emphasize mistakes too much, and that’s a wonderful thing!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup

This or That: All About That Base

September 23rd, 2020 by Karen 19 Comments

foundation drawer
Alllll about that base today!

There’s something intriguing about the hunt for the perfect combination of base products for flawless (or almost flawless) skin, even if my favorite foundations and concealers aren’t getting much action these days because of #masklife. I still (and will always) enjoy the challenge of applying my base products.

On that note, it’s time for this newest edition of This or That! Today is all about foundation and concealer…

How to play

Pick one or the other for each of the questions below, and copy/paste your answers in the comments. Can’t wait to see your picks! Mine are listed below. ?

Copy and paste

  • Foundation or tinted moisturizer?
  • Would you rather have a foundation that perfectly matches your skin tone but isn’t all that great at smoothing pores and fine lies, OR a foundation that perfectly smoothes out the texture (so your skin’s as pore-less as a baby’s!) but is juuuust a smidgen off in terms of color?
  • Cream or liquid concealer?
  • Sheer or pigmented concealer?
  • Stick foundation or powder foundation?
  • Sheer-, medium- or full-coverage foundation?
  • Matte or dewy finish?
  • Would you rather blend your base with a sponge or a brush?
  • Drugstore or department store foundation?

Foundation or tinted moisturizer?

I’m having a real makeup Sophie’s choice with this one, because, on one hand, I love the flexibility of a foundation (you can easily sheer it out by adding a few drops of MAC Strobe Cream), but, on the other hand, the ease of a tinted moisturizer can’t be beat.

GAHHH. I guess for this moment in time, I’d go with the tinted moisturizer, since it’s easier and would be the one I’d be most likely to grab first.

Would you rather have a foundation that perfectly matches your skin tone but shows a little bit of texture, OR a foundation that perfectly smoothes out the texture (so it appears pore-less) but is a smidgen off in color?

Foundation that matches my skin perfectly, please. Again…easier to handle. I don’t want to deal with color correcting! Just the thought of it is wearing me down. LOL!

Cream or liquid concealer?

Liquid.

Sheer or pigmented concealer?

Sheer for the under-eye area, pigmented for my cheeks.

Stick foundation or powder foundation?

Stick foundation, 100%.

Sheer-, medium- or full-coverage foundation?

Sheer, please.

Matte or dewy finish?

Dewy.

Would you rather blend your base with a sponge or a brush?

Brush.

Drugstore or department store foundation?

Either is fine, but I’m going to go with department store foundations because, generally, I like how weightless they feel on my face.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen ?

There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Checking In: The Hask Mask in a Tub, New (Old) MAC Eyeliners, and Baking a Sprinkle Cake

September 22nd, 2020 by Karen 25 Comments

baked sprinkle cake final
I baked a cake!

Hey, guys. Happy Tuesday! Has the universe ever sent you a gentle reminder that perhaps you should probably get back to doing what you love? I got one of those nudges to start baking again (it’s been months) because I made this kick-butt cake a few days ago… Granted it was from a mix, but still!

Of course I had to share it with you… ?

It’s the Sprinkle Party Snack Cake Mix With Frosting by a brand called Baked. I picked it up randomly at Cost Plus World Market a few weeks ago because it was on sale and…I liked how the box looked!

baked sprinkle cake
The box comes with the frosting and the dry ingredients for the cake.
baked sprinkle cake
Notice the beautiful sprinkles…
connor stirring the batter
My sous chef

baked sprinkle cake

baked sprinkle cake
Love the colors

baked sprinkle cake

I could whip up a cake from scratch, but eh, baking requires attention, precision and, well…heart. I haven’t had much leftover soul to invest in baking sweets lately, but then I found this cake mix. Not only did it make things easy, but the cake actually tastes homemade. Highly recommended!

The mix includes a packet of dry ingredients for a butter-based vanilla cake with rainbow sprinkles, and another packet for plain with vanilla frosting. The instructions are pretty detailed, too, which makes it easy to not mess up.

baked sprinkle cake
Here’s the batter…

THIS CAKE IS SO GOOD. It’s light-as-air and melts in your mouth, and it doesn’t have that obvious taste of your typical boxed cake. Hard to explain, but to me boxed cakes all taste the same — kinda oily and heavy, without much flavor. Anyway, this one’s really, really good, and so is the frosting.

If you happen to live near a World Market, I suggest grabbing a box!

Anywho, that lovely cake opened up a metaphorical baking door, so I’ve made even more goodies since then, including brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and marbled cookies, which are half chocolate chip and half dark chocolate.

cookies and brownies
Chocolate chip cookies and brownies, YUM!
chocolate chip cookies september 2020
The most beautiful thing I ever did see…
marbeled cookies
Marbled cookies

I’m thinking of making a pie next, because rumor has it that Trader Joe’s has a pre-made gluten-free pie crust. Or, maybe I’ll make some savory scones, or perhaps I’ll finally try my hand at croissants?!

Sorry, I’m getting distracted. Before I lose my train of thought, I have one more World Market thing to show you — this box of dark chocolate sprinkles!

It’s from Holland and from a brand called DeRuijter (“masters of bread toppings”), and the picture on the front looks like a loaf of French bread cut in half with the dark chocolate sprinkles on top.

chocolate bread sprinkles
OK, so how does this work, exactly?

Can somebody please explain what’s going on here? Do you eat the bread with just the sprinkles on top, or do you toast the bread in an oven to melt the sprinkles? Or, are the sprinkles attached to the bread with Nutella or peanut butter or something? Or, do you just eat it plain like a dark chocolate sprinkle sandwich?

If someone from Holland could please explain just exactly how this works, please fill me in, because I don’t know what’s going on here, and I would love to, LOL!

Now, to ensure that this post is marginally related to beauty, I finished the packets of Hask Hair Masks I got a while back, so I popped into Ulta to grab some more and found out that they sell the Argan Oil version in a jar for six bucks!
[Continue reading…]

There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Food, Hair, Hask, Just For Fun, MAC Makeup, Makeup

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 644

September 21st, 2020 by Karen 25 Comments

oh happy day mug
You’re going to have a great day, beautiful girl!

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. What are you most excited about at this current moment?

    LOL, don’t laugh, but I can’t wait to go out to eat at an actual restaurant again and not have to wear a hazmat suit. Who knows when it’ll be, but I’m so looking forward to it.

    Ooh! — I hope it’ll be sushi. The flavors are totally out of my everyday wheelhouse.

    2. What beauty item are you most excited about right now?

    The old-school MAC eyeliners. I’ve been having a moment with Teddy, Prunella, Powersurge and Costa Riche. I think I’m going to use them all in single eyeshadow looks this week… Got the wheels in my mind a-turning…

    3. Where do you feel most at home?

    Our current home here in Novato. Mind you, it took a while to feel this way. For a couple years after we moved here, whenever I’d drive by my old exit on Highway 101 in Mill Valley, I’d always feel like, “Oh, that’s where I live. That’s where my home is,” but now Novato feels like my home.

    4. What’s the best part about the place you live?

    How friendly the people are. It really does have a small town feel to it, for the most part, and people are genuinely friendly. For instance, when you’re walking into a store at the mall, the person in front of you will smile and hold the door open for you, and the cashiers will smile and make small talk. Strangers you pass on the sidewalk make eye contact and say “Good morning,” and things like that.

    I mean, there’s always crabby people wherever you go, right? But for the most part, the people you run into here will look at you and smile (even underneath their mask!). ?

    5. What’s the worst part about the place you live?

    Right now? Wildfire season. Being on alert and constantly prepared to evacuate or have the power go out for days at a time every summer and fall is…getting old. I also wish Novato had more diversity. There were more people from different backgrounds and cultures where I grew up in the East Bay, and I do miss that.

    6. A beauty item you recommend to everyone?

    A lash curler, girlfriend! I’m a big an of the Surratt one.

    7. If there’s one instrument you could listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be?

    I’ll tell you this much, it’s not going to be the tuba. It does absolutely nothing for my soul! Sorry, tuba players. ?‍♀️

    I would pick the piano. ? You’ve got the treble clef and the bass clef, and you can easily play a variety of musical genres with it.

    8. What was the last emoji you remember using?

    ✨ The three stars! ✨ I’ve been going a little crazy with it lately. ✨

    9. San Francisco or Los Angeles?

    SF for sure.

    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. What are you most excited about at this current moment?
    2. What beauty item are you most excited about right now?
    3. Where do you feel most at home?
    4. What’s the best part about the place you live?
    5. What’s the worst part about the place you live?
    6. A beauty item you recommend to everyone?
    7. If there’s one instrument you could listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be?
    8. What was the last emoji you remember using?
    9. San Francisco or Los Angeles?

    P.P.S. I hope your Monday is full of love and laughter, sweet girl. Have a wonderful day! ?

There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 625

September 21st, 2020 by Karen 12 Comments

Once upon a time, our Rosie pose was sweet as pie. Then came that fateful day when I took her for a walk outside…

Now I live with a beast!

I’m not surprised. Back when Tabs was my main squeeze, and he was the most refined and elegant of all the kitties I’ve known, the act of taking him outside also unleashed something primitive in him.

His tail would whip a little faster; his tum would sway a little more aggressively; and, was it just me, or did his teeth look a little bit sharper too?

Something about going outside fires up the felines, and Rosie isn’t immune to it…

Rosie: Birth of a Monster

Ever since I started taking her outside for walks in the morning, she’s been feistier, more demanding and, dare I say it, diva-esque?


[Continue reading…]

There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Tabs

Saturday Surfing, Sep. 19, 2020

September 19th, 2020 by Karen 12 Comments

Rise and shine, morning glory. Good morning. If there’s one huge lesson I’ve learned from 2020 so far, it’s to not take the little things for granted, because those little things — like stepping outside your door and taking a few deep breaths of clean, fresh air — those are the big things, which is why you’re going to have to put up with me posting pictures of the sky for a bit…

It’s been three weeks since I’ve been able to enjoy simply going outside, taking a walk and breathing. Finally, the smoke has cleared over the Bay Area. The sky is no longer Martian orange, and we’ve had healthy air quality for three days in a row (!).

A couple days ago we even woke up to fog.

FOG! Wonderful, wet, glorious fog!

I’m loving the gray tones in this pic, by the way. I feel like somewhere in there is a nail polish shade we all need in our lives ASAP.

Overall, this has been that kind of year, hasn’t it? Challenging, and we have to take the good things wherever we can find them.

On that note, more gardening in the front yard today. We’re planting our Muskogee Crape Myrtle tree, and to quote Ri-Ri, I need to “work, work, work, work, work, work.”

While I go put some weed mesh down, here’s your Saturday reading…

  • RIP, RBG. ❤️ Thank you for everything you did for us. ?‍⚖️
  • This is what it’s like to take a theater makeup class for college drama students right now.
  • Vera Steimberg, a makeup artist in Hollywood who’s been working in the industry for two decades, talks about diversity, representation, and the things she’s been doing to encourage women who want to get into the business.
  • This makeup artist transforms herself into celebs, and the transformation is shockingly accurate.
  • Fragrances are everywhere, including remote places like mountaintop glaciers!
  • In case you’ve got an extra $$$$ sitting around for perfume, Avon is releasing a new scent that costs $1,200.
  • And in this week’s edition of “nothing really shocks me anymore,” TikTokers are now using nail files to shave their teeth.
  • What happens when dudes add cats to their dating profile pic?


I’ve been craving boba for months.


Who’s going to make this for me?!


I’m down for easy glam.


Love this look

Talk to you soon, my friend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

FOTD: An Eye Look With a Single Product! (Hint: It’s a MAC Classic)

September 18th, 2020 by Karen 9 Comments

mac teddy eyeliner look
Before you scroll down, try to guess which MAC classic eye makeup item I used on my lids!

The only thing that would be easier than this eye look I did here with just one MAC product would be putting on a pair of pajama pants and falling asleep on my couch right now, hahaha! This look is so simple, and I don’t even know why I don’t wear it more often (note to self: WEAR IT MORE OFTEN). And if you haven’t guessed what I used already, I’ll give you one more try…

mac teddy eyeliner look
Have ya figured it out yet?

OK, ya got it?

It’s MAC Teddy eyeliner. Yup. Just eyeliner. On my waterlines, on my lash lines and on my lids. That’s it! I mean, of course, I have stuff in my brows — I didn’t use Teddy in my brows (although I have heard of somebody using Powersurge in their brows before). I’m wearing Brow Blade by Urban Decay in my brows and Laura Mercier mascara on my lashes, of course, but everything else on my eyes is just Teddy.

I put some on my water and lash lines, then sloppily sketched out a shape on my lids with the pencil, a half moon shape on my mobile lid (the part of the lid that moves when you blink), and then on the outer corners I sort of drew a soft winged shape because I like a bit of lift there because the outer corners of my eyes slope downward.

Then I used a brush, a MAC 725S, which is an angled fluffy brush, and I used that to diffuse the edges, blur out any sort of harsh lines, and I layered more Teddy wherever I wanted more depth, like the outer corners, then blended a little bit more.

I briefly thought about using MAC Coffee eyeliner to draw a thin line along my upper lash line, but I only have a smudge of it left, and it’s so precious right now because I seriously can’t seem to find Coffee anywhere! So I decided to just nix that idea and keep it simple.

Yeah. Just Teddy liner. All over! And it was lovely and fast.

Teddy isn’t the only thing from the “MAC greatest hits” list I’m wearing in this look. I’m also wearing Face and Body in C5 (which is O.G. MBB right there!) and MAC Velvet Teddy on my lips.

The blush, by the way, is Hourglass Brilliant Nude, and if you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go if you can. First time I saw it in the pan I thought, “Eh, what’s that going to do for me?” but then I got it on my cheeks, and I loved how glowing and natural it looked. So. Good.
[Continue reading…]

There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup

Product Spotlight: MAC More the Mehr-ier Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolour

September 17th, 2020 by Karen 14 Comments

mac more the mehr ier
I found a new must-have nude lipstick for your MAC collection!

In a current beauty world where color is seemingly dominated by warm reddish and orangey brown tones, it’s refreshing to see a cool-toned lippie every once in a while, don’t you think?

Enter More the Mehr-ier, from the new MAC Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolour collection!

MAC was very cheeky with the name — Mehr-ier, for “merrier.” It’s a reference to one of their most iconic nude lipsticks, Mehr, which, fun fact, first appeared in the 2010 MAC Mickey Contractor collection. It’s since become a member of MAC’s permanent lipstick collection, and is now here in the new Powder Kiss Liquid Lipstick formula.

mac more the mehr ier
The eyeshadow I’m wearing, in case you’re wondering, is Urban Decay’s Stoned Vibes palette.

The color is very similar to the original Mehr, just a tinge darker. It’s a nude mauve, and this is going to sound weird, but it’s the same color as my gums (LOL!). For that reason, it reads like a nude lipstick on my NC42 skin, which is why I love it. I’ve also seen the original Mehr lipstick on lighter and darker skin tones (fast forward to 2:11 in the video), and it’s a bestseller because it really does work well on everyone.

mac more the mehrier swatch mirror
More the Mehr-ier!

The original Mehr comes in the MAC Matte lipstick formula, which some people find challenging to wear, especially if they have lip lines and/or flakes. I think the Powder Kiss Liquid Lipstick formula is a little easier to wear because the fluffy liquid formula kinda floats on top of your lips, so it doesn’t have that same tightly gripping feeling, and it’s less drying and more forgiving than the Matte.
[Continue reading…]

There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Lips, MAC Makeup, Makeup

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

Makeup and Beauty Blog features daily product reviews, makeup tips and beauty news — like an interactive version of a monthly print magazine, except with occasional pictures of my cat.

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