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FOTD: Elegant Rose Quartz Gemstone Lids With a Smokey Bronze Lower Lash Line

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urban decay stoned palette wander beauty

I wore this look to drop Connor off at her dance class (she’s taking outdoor classes two days a week now, and yay for seeing other kids her age!), and then to go to Trader Joe’s, because doing that kind of regular everyday stuff is the adult equivalent of going to your high school senior prom now. (Dance studio drop-off IS AN EVENT. Ya gotta do it up!)

I took the new Urban Decay Stoned Vibes Palette for a spin for the first time in this look. It’s a new palette with 12 powder eyeshadows, the majority of them with this chonky-looking glitter formula that has a bit of squish to it. They look like they could potentially look like you’re wearing big flakes of glitter on your skin, but there was hardly any floof, fallout or flakes when I got Tiger’s Eye on my lids. The formula applies smoother than I expected it to, but you get WHOA, WHOA, WHOOOOOA levels of shimmer.

So…Urban Decay isn’t shy about their 420 references, but in this case I think “Stoned Vibes” actually refers to, ya know…gemstones, although Tiger’s Eye looks nothing like a stone on my eyelids. It’s a lovely pinkish bronze (heavy on the pink!), which is why I paired it with rose cheeks and lips.

OH! — I gotta point out the lower lash line. I’m wearing MAC Teddy, yet again, because apparently this fall is going to be my greatest hits tour of Teddy smoked along the lower lash line. I just kinda forgot how great it is when worn that way?! It’s fantastic.

I think I’m going to do a look with the purples in this palette (it’s $54, BTW) next because they remind me of my birth month gemstone, Alexandrite…which leads me to a question for you!

What’s your birth month gem? Drop it in the comments, along with any Qs you might have about the palette or this look, if you have ’em. As usual, the full breakdown of products is down below.

urban decay stoned palette wander beauty

urban decay stoned palette wander beauty
Hey, that arm’s an NC42!
urban decay stoned palette wander beauty
Key products worn in this look

urban decay stoned palette wander beauty

Makeup worn in this look

EYES

  • NARS Tinted Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base in Medium — all over the lids as a base
  • Urban Decay Stoned Palette Eyeshadows — Good Karma (brow bone), Antidote (crease), Hexed (outer crease), Third eye (outer v), Tiger’s Eye (lids, applied with finger)
  • MAC Whisper of Gilt — inner corner highlight
  • Urban Decay Brow Blade in Dark Drapes and MAC Clear Brow Set — brows
  • MAC Teddy — lower lash line
  • Honest Beauty Liquid Liner — winged liner
  • Laura Mercier Caviar Mascara — lashes

CHEEKS

  • Laura Mercier Soleil 1 — bronzer
  • Laura Mercier Rose — blush

LIPS

  • Wander Beauty B.B. and Riviera Dual Lipstick — mixed together

BASE

  • Wander Beauty Glow Ahead Face Oil — prep
  • Laura Mercier Foundation primer — prep
  • Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter in Tan — foundation, all over face
  • Kevyn Aucoin Supernatural Concealer in Medium 05 and 06 — under eyes, cheeks and around mouth
  • Laura Mercier Translucent Honey Loose Powder — forehead, down the sides of nose, around mouth and along the jawline

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: MAC Powder Kiss Eye Shadow

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mac powder kiss eye shadow swatches
These are fantastic!

MAC should just make these Powder Kiss Matte Eyeshadows permanent already. Come on, MAC! Dooo it! Make our lives a little easier. ?

If you like ultra-blended, blurred and blown-out eyeshadow as much as I do, the Powder Kisses will get you there without drama. They’re highly pigmented, for one thing. Two, they apply in the thinnest, smoothest layers imaginable, so they look and feel featherweight on your lids. At the same time, they’re super saturated, which is kinda crazy!

Even though you don’t have to use very much, if you do, they still won’t look chunky. It’s FASCINATING. MAC must’ve assigned the “A” team to these when they cooked them up in the lab.

mac powder kiss eye shadow swatches
NC42 in MAC

Many matte powder shadows look thick and cakey on my lids (got some fine line action!), especially when I build up layers, but not these. The Powder Kisses definitely don’t emphasize my fine lines.

There are some crazy colors, of course, because it’s MAC, after all, but as far as everyday workhorse colors, I’ve been loving What Clout, a matte mid-toned warm brown that looks like a cross between Soft Brown and Soba with maybe a hint of Kid. I also dig Warm beige Best of Me. I think it’s a lovely lid shade, or along the brow bone as a subtle highlight. Also, Dark chocolate brown Give A Glam is a little bit like Brun.

As for other notable shades, don’t be terrified of Devoted to Chili (I was!) because it looks so reddish and orangey brown. Keep an open mind about it because it’s surprisingly wearable on lids.

mac devoted to chili swatch

mac devoted to chili eyeshadow mask
I’m wearing Devoted to Chili!

MAC is selling them in packaging for $20 each, and as bare pans sans the packaging for nine bucks(!).

MAC doesn’t normally offer both options for every LE eyeshadow launch, so “Cosmetics Conspiracy Theory Karen” is thinking, “That’s gotta be a sign they’re coming to the permanent line!”

I hope so because the neutrals, in particular, are fan-frickin’-tastic, especially if you’re a fan of matte eyeshadows, which you know I am.

Fingers and toes crossed they go permanent. Hey, if it can happen to the Paint Pots (remember them from Fafi, OLD SCHOOL?!) and the In Extra Dimensions from Alluring Aquatic, I think it can happen for these bad gals.

Let us will it into being and manifest that right now! ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 643

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take it easy mug

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 show you binged and loved?

    Ted Lasso on Apple TV. It stars Jason Sudeikis, who — fun fact — is a solid basketball player in his own right. The show is about an acclaimed collegiate American football coach who moves to England when he’s given the chance to coach a professional football (as in soccer!) team there. It’s got a lot of what we like to call in our house “potty talk,” a.k.a. “lazy language,” a.k.a. “four-letter words,” but I really like the characters, and I love the overall optimistic feel of the show. The main characters, shockingly (for a show in this day and age), continuously choose to be kind. It’s very refreshing.

    2. Last thing you drank?

    I just took a sip of Nestle Pure Life Protect in Blackberry, which I got as a sample with my usual monthly water bottle delivery. It has zinc and is supposed to maintain a normal functioning immune system? I dunno… It tastes alright. Actually, it tastes terrible. Like water with a semi-rotten blackberry in it. LOL! I’m not loving it, but it’s here, it’s open, it’s cold, and I’m drinking it.

    3. A snapshot of an ordinary moment in your life that brings you real joy?

    One was when Connor Claire was about two or three. I had just put her down for the night, and she was there in her crib underneath the covers, looking up at me very sweetly. She has lullabies that play in her room every night, and she started singing one of the lullabies while it was playing… She just lay there, looking up at me, singing. ?

    4. A concert you’ll never forget?

    Oh! — easily, Janet Jackson at the Shoreline Amphitheater in 1994 with my friend Jen. It was outdoors, and we had decent seats. We danced and screamed the whole time. SO. FUN.

    5. Something that people often get wrong about you?

    LOL… My age? I don’t know if it still happens as much as it used to, but back in the day people would always assume I was younger than I really am. When I worked as a legal secretary in my 20s, I would often be asked if I was one of the college interns, hahaha. If I’d only known how fleeting *that* season in my life would be, hahaha!

    6. A favorite movie?

    There are so many, but I really do love Clueless.

    7. What are you deeply grateful for right now?

    My education, because I was just telling Connor that there are countries where many girls aren’t even allowed to attend school, and I’m deeply grateful to have had the chance to finish high school and go on to college.

    8. Something happens, and you’re called upon to be brave, but all you feel is fear. What’s the first thing you do?

    Put my hand on my belly, and take a few big, deep breaths. Then I repeat to myself, either out loud or in my head, “I know I can do this.” And I say it over and over again.

    9. What shoes are you wearing today?

    My white Nikes, baby! El Hub calls them my “nursing shoes,” but whatever. I wear them all the time because they go with everything!

    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 show you binged and loved?
    2. Last thing you drank?
    3. A snapshot of an ordinary moment in your life that brings you real joy?
    4. A concert you’ll never forget?
    5. Something that people often get wrong about you?
    6. A favorite movie?
    7. What are you deeply grateful for right now?
    8. You’re called upon to be brave, but all you feel is fear. What’s the first thing you do?
    9. What shoes are you wearing today?

    P.P.S. Have a great Monday, my friend. I hope your heart and soul feel light today! ?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 624

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Even though our old front yard was a bit of a mess, overgrown and very “lived in,” Tabs loved it more than anyone. To him, it was a gateway to adventure. So many sassy birds, lively lizards, interesting insects and fragrant flowers to smell. It was also the tapestry of his feline fashion designs. It’s where he got many of his best ideas.

But with Tabs living his best afterlife now over the Rainbow Bridge, the time has come for a front yard revamp. It’s not quite done, but it’s getting there, and I feel like Tabs would approve of the design decisions. It’s sort of Mediterranean with a touch of Southern Belle…just like Tabs.

Rosie’s landscape influence

It also reflects Rosie’s more minimalist design aesthetic, with more negative space than there was before. She’s just beginning to get comfortable going for walks on her leash and exploring the neighborhood.

She’s learning fast!


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Saturday Surfing, Sep. 12, 2020

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Hi, friend, happy Caturday. Short and sweet “hello” this morning because I promised this tiny dancer we would paint our nails ASAP! ?

I’m thinking of wearing fall colors to coax some rainy vibes to my neck of the woods to aid the firefighting efforts.

It’s been a couple months since I painted my nails… I know, who am I? 2020 has certainly thrown my usual beauty habits for a loop.

On that note, your reading for the week…


Vintage beauty advice


Why do I want to try this now?


Just added to my bucket list: learn this dance


I kind of love this.


Girl, I had to.


Note to self…


Iconic

What do you have lined up today? If the air quality isn’t too bad, I also want to plant our new Sweet Bay tree in the front yard. ?

Whatever you’re up to, have a great day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How Has the Pandemic Changed Your Beauty Shopping Habits?

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caraa mask
Smile with your eyes

Obvs, most people aren’t going to department stores to swatch things on their arms or the backs of their hands anymore!

Do you find that you’re spending more or less on makeup now than you were before March?

I’m still buying and wearing makeup, but I’m purchasing and wearing more drugstore products for sure — hair, body and makeup. I still have the itch to try new things, but it’s less of an itch to drop $$$ on high-end stuff by mail order, you know? So I’m spending less.

As stressful as it can be to go to Thunderdome Target sometimes, depending on how aggressive and dismissive some shoppers have been with masks and social distancing when I’ve been there, at least I know I can pop into Target to get something or process a quick return if need be (they even have a separate, usually shorter, line for returns).

I’ve also tried perfumes without smelling them…which I never would’ve thought to do before (I’m looking at you, Demeter Kitten Fur!).

How about you? How has the pandemic changed your beauty shopping habits?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! ?

Checking In: A CRAZY Orange Sky, Maine Coon Cats and Kitten Fur Perfume

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orange sky september 2020
Welcome to the next level of Jumanji!

You guys. When I said that every day lately has been like a new level of Jumanji, I was not kidding. When I woke up yesterday morning, the sky was a terrifying shade of orange.

Yeah, and it was SO DARK outside that the street lights, which are light activated, stayed on till 10, despite the fact that sunrise allegedly occured at 6:40(!).

It was dark. I’m talking pitch black until almost 8, and then it only got dusky dark after that.

There are still a bunch of wildfires in California right now, and the sky over the Bay Area is currently this shade of orangey red.

Oh, yeah, and ash is also falling from the sky like post-apocalyptic snow… It’s all over the cars.

Next stop: vampires! ?‍♀️

Is this freaking me out? Totally. Because, of course, being the science fiction enthusiast that I am, I’m thinking, “This is how all post-apocalyptic novels start.” The sun goes away. Then all the plants die, and shortly thereafter, everything goes to sh*t. This is the beginning of the vampire uprising. By the end of next week, we’ll all be bloodsuckers. (See: 30 Days of Night. See also: the Van Helsing TV series.)

I really want to be wrong on this theory, and yes, I know I probably am, HAHAHA! Let’s face it, I do have a penchant for the dramatic. ? But, just in case we are on the verge of a vampiric uprising, we had a good run. It’s been a thrill.

Yeah…as if it hasn’t already been said enough, 2020 has been so freaking cray!

Agro exfoliation

Looking at the glass as half full in all this, I’m grateful that my house is currently — knock on wood — intact, and that I have a roof over my head. I’m also thankful that I still feel like laughing at myself (can’t take this for granted, for real). Also glad to have the mental space to contemplate not-so-serious things, like starting a skincare program for dealing with dark spots right MEOW, instead of waiting for the first rains like I had originally planned (because, seriously, I don’t even know when we’re going to see a sunny day again.)

So, yeah, I had this whole plan for aggressive exfoliation and was going to start with some products I’ve been wanting to try that target discoloration and uneven skin tone.

algenist blue algae

The first: Blue Algae Vitamin C Dark Spot Correcting Peel by Algenist. It’s pricey at $85, but it’s supposed to be good at resurfacing and exfoliating skin to reveal a smoother and more even-toned complexion. I dunno why, but I have this vision of it peeling away all the layers of dead skin on my face to reveal smooth skin on the face of a very crabby, cranky baby. LOL!

(I. WISH.)

I also have the Discoloration Correcting Serum from Good Molecules on deck. They’re kind of like The Ordinary because they have no-frills, stripped-down packaging, and everything is very affordable. This serum is $12, and the primary active ingredient is niacinamide.

Because kittehs make everything better

Since I’ve been low-key anxious over the past few days, I’ve been doing things to sooth the savage beast, and one of these things I’ve been doing lately is watching videos of a Maine Coon cat exploring the wilderness.

The channel is called The Explorer Cat, and it stars a very fluffy, round-faced Main Coon kitty with white, orange and black fur. I really love the video of kitty testing the waters and swimming! Yes, this cat swims. Kind of amazing.

Highly recommended if you need to calm-the-eff down!

Purr-fume!

On that cat-related note, out of sheer curiosity, I had to smell this perfume after reading about it a few weeks ago: Demeter Fragrance Library Kitten Fur.

rosie kitten fur

Of course, the million-dollar question is, “Does it actually smell like a kitten’s fur?” Well, I can tell you what my tubby Tabby’s fur smelled like — like a yeasty rustic bread loaf! — and this perfume smells nothing like that. Rosie’s fur smells like Temptations, and the last real, live kittens I actually smelled, Rosie’s babies, smelled like cat food, laundry and litter, HAHAHA!
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Target Hair Haul! Help for Dry, Thirsty Hair With Hask Argan Oil Hair Mask and Shampoo, Pantene Damage Repair Nourishing Overnight Restoring Serum, Odele Leave-In Conditioner and Air Dry Styler

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odele pantene hask
Just a few affordable hair goodies from Target!

Hi, guys! ? Got dry hair? GIRL. I feel you. ?? I went to Target last week because my ends have been feeling bone dry lately, and here’s what I picked up. I think you might like these things, too!

Lately when I get up in the morning, my first thought is, “What’s gonna happen today in this level of Jumanji?” Because seriously, life right now could pass for a crazy dangerous video game. Smoke-filled air from wildfires, ash falling from the sky, dusky twilight at 10am, economic crisis, a pandemic… If I stepped outside and saw a herd (flock?) of angry ostriches stampeding toward me, honestly, I would not be shocked.

Weird and unexpected things are happening almost daily, on both a large and small scale. In the category of “not a big deal in the larger scheme of things but still mildly concerning in my immediate world” is the current state of my hair.

It’s wicked dry!

Has your hair ever gone from pretty decent to crazy wicked dry in a matter of weeks? Something verrrry mysterious has sucked the moisture out of the ends of my mane, which has gone from relatively healthy (for someone who hasn’t cut it in over a year) to drier than horse hay.

My best Scooby Doo detective agency guess is that it has something to do with the smoke in the air, coupled with the stress from the wildfires and the virus the past few weeks. I’m also long overdue for a cut, and that’s not helping, either.

Anywho, I recently went to Target and picked up a few things that have helped with the dryness. If you have dry, thirsty hair, they might help you, too.

Two goodies by Hask

This first one is an old love, Hask Argan Oil Hair Mask ($2.49). When I reviewed this workhorse for dry hair last year, I said:

My hair feels silky soft, but not in the way that feels like your hair is coated in sedimentary layers of silicone… The tangles and knots are gone, and the obnoxious white ramen noodle flyaways in my hairline — which normally stick up at every unfortunate angle you can imagine — are relatively tame and smooth and lying in one direction (SAY WHAT?!).

Ya know what? It’s as fabulous as ever. Just as great as the $$$ masks at high-end lines like Kerastase.

hask argan oil mask shampoo
Hask Argan Oil Repairing Shampoo and Hask Argan Oil Repairing Deep Conditioner

I stretch one package out to use it twice. Depending on how thick your hair is, you should be able to get anywhere from 2-5 treatments, I think.

I also grabbed a bottle of the Argan Oil Repair shampoo by Hask ($5.99), although I’ve yet to try it. I’m hoping it’ll be just as good as the mask. It’s sulfate- and paraben- free.

A lightweight but rich hair serum with volume for days…

Now, onto Pantene, which is currently one of my favorite drugstore hair brands and has been ever since Rosewater Shampoo and Conditioner from the Nutrient Blends line came into my life. If you have unruly or dry hair that needs TLC, the Rosewater line is a gamechanger.

This time around, I grabbed a bottle of their Fortifying Damage Repair Overnight Repair Serum ($7.99), a rich, moisturizing serum for dry hair that doesn’t weigh it down (and therefore preserves your volume).

pantene fortifying
Pantene Fortifying Damage Repair With Castor Oil Overnight Restoring Serum

It feels like a thin, runny lotion, so it’s easy to work through your strands. Massage it through your mane, starting from the ends and working up, after you shampoo and condition, and let it air dry.

I’ve used it a few times so far, and I’m already in love because my ends are definitely a lot softer and smoother and less crunchy overall. I also love how bouncy my hair looks. I’ve been embracing my natural volume lately, and this definitely does not weigh it down.

It’s pronounced “oh-dell.”

Their Leave-In Conditioner ($11.99) and Air Dry Styler by the Odele ($11.99), which is a vegan cruelty free line only available at Target, are also new to me.

Confession time: I bought these two because I liked the font. LOL!

odele leave in conditioner hair styler
The Odele Leave-in Conditioner for Deep Moisture, Detangling + Frizz Control, and the Air Dry Styler
odele closeup
That lower case “e” though! ?

Speaking of fonts, I’m pretty sure that seeing Papyrus on the Hask Argan Oil Shampoo is slowly going to chip away at my soul every time I see it in the shower! ?

Gosh, I’m all over the place today… OK, technically, Odele is pronounced “oh-dell” (which is a phonetic translation of Norwegian for “to share”), but I keep wanting to call it “oh-dah-lay,” as in “Órale” in Spanish.
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