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

Electric Eyes and Urban Decay Wired

February 25th, 2020 by Karen 12 Comments

urban decay wired bright eyes — B-A-N-A-N-A-S

*ring* *ring* ☎️

Hello? Is anyone there? Hellooooo. It’s me, Karen, calling on my fruit phone, because this eye makeup is BANANAS. ???

There’s a lot going on here, I know! Not my usual neutral style at all, but I was inspired by the rainbow eye makeup on the model for the new Wired pressed pigment palette. ?

Plus, I was in the mood to try something new, which I highly recommend doing as often as possible, even if your cat is the only creature around to appreciate it…

Or, maybe not, since I can’t tell if Rosie likes brights! ?

Just in case you’re wondering, the fallout on this isn’t an issue. I hardly had to do any cleanup with a makeup wipe, which was great, but I could have done with more intensity.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 615

February 24th, 2020 by Karen 23 Comments

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 lipstick you wore?

Deep neutral MAC Yash. Somebody should probably take it away from me before it becomes permanently attached to my body.

2. If aliens were to land on earth, my first thought would be…

TOLD YA SO! ???

3. Your bed size?

A California king, which we’ve had since before we were married and purchased because El Hub dances the rhumba in his sleep, meaning that he tosses and turns like a salad! I swear, sleeping next to that man is like riding in a car with no shocks on a road riddled with potholes (sorry, babe!).

I wanted the biggest bed we could find, so a Cal king it was (plus, I remember it was on sale at Walmart).

If I could turn back time, I would have gotten a regular king bed instead, though, because it can be tough to find sheets and accoutrements for Cal king beds.

4. Who taught you how to manage your finances?

Well, I’m not an expert by any means, but mostly Google, which is kind of ironic considering that both my parents were accountants. *shrugs*

5. I can’t even tell you how much I love (FILL IN THE BLANK).

The smell of babies ?
Sleeping in
Clean floors!
This song by David Bowie, which I heard at Trader Joe’s when I was shopping last Friday and have consequently listened to about 237 times since.

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 lipstick you wore?
2. If aliens were to land on earth, my first thought would be…
3. Your bed size?
4. Who taught you how to manage your finances?
5. I can’t even tell you how much I love (FILL IN THE BLANK).

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 595

February 23rd, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

Did I ever tell you about the time Tabs caught a bird…on his leash!? Maybe I have, but I don’t think I told you all the sordid details. You see, we were just wrapping up our morning walk. It was a good day. The sun was out. It was clear and warm. Tabs was feeling friskier and more playful than usual. He even climbed one of the oak trees about 10 feet up before plopping back down.

As we were walking back to the front door, Tabs was leading me like usual on his leash until suddenly I saw was a flash of movement in front of me. I look over to my right, and there’s Tabs about 10 feet away with something fluttering IN HIS MOUTH!

By the time it registers with me that it’s a bird in his mouth, and I say “Tabs, no! Stop!” and rush over to him, it’s too late. He darts behind me with it still in his mouth, trying to keep it away from me, but the wings are no longer flapping. It’s just hanging there limply. I think it was a baby sparrow because it was that time of year when we find a lot of nests and hear the baby birds chirping.

I pull the slack from his leash, and Tabs reluctantly sets the small bird down on the concrete. He looks almost as freaked out as I do, like he couldn’t believed what just happened either, like “Whoa! I can’t believe I just caught a bird! Did you see that? Wow, I did not expect that to happen today!”

Of course, the bird was no longer with us, but at least it met its end quickly.

There were other times, too, when Tabs almost caught birds on his leash. One time he leaped so high, the leash pulled straight out of my hand, and he swiped a bird so forcefully that he knocked it out of the sky. Thankfully, it bounced a few times like someone skipping a rock and made it back into the air and got away.

We always joked that Tabs was a natural born birder — a veritable ninja tabby. Rodents were definitely not his forte… Remind me to tell you about the time we had a rat in the kitchen (!), and Tabs wouldn’t get anywhere near it, but he would chirp and chatter at birds for hours and hours at the window.

Perhaps appropriately, some of his favorite kitty modeling ad campaigns were bird themed… 🙂

This was where the baby bird met its untimely end…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, February 22nd, 2020

February 22nd, 2020 by Karen 3 Comments

good morning saturday surfing 022220 — Welcome to the weekend

As sunlight ? streams through my window this morning, a sparrow ? outside is cheeping, one of my neighbors is hammering away at something in their garage, and cartoons are playing in the background… I’ve been doing this thing lately where I focus on one of my senses — like hearing! — to stay present and “in the moment,” and I gotta say, the Saturday symphony ? is music to my ears.

How’s your day going, friend? If you haven’t had a hot beverage yet, may I suggest a Honey Citrus Mint Tea from Starbucks? My friend Marisol gave one to me the other day, and it was life-changing! Apparently, it was created by a customer and ended up being so popular that Starbucks added it to the menu.

It tastes like mint, honey, green tea and lemonade, and it’s absolutely DELICIOUS piping hot. Thanks, Marisol, for introducing this blessed elixir into my life!

Now, on to today’s reading…

Makeup artist Scott Barnes is busy! He’s known for crafting Jennifer Lopez’s signature glow and has worked with her on several major projects, including doing her makeup for Hustlers and her recent Super Bowl halftime performance.
Just in case you were unaware, meow is the purrfect time to bust out that Riesling you’ve been saving for a special occasion, since it’s National Drink Wine With Your Cat ?? Week! (Apparently, one day wasn’t enough.)
Speaking of cats and wine, here are some feline-friendly vino options. I’m thinking Rosie might want to try a “meow-lot,” ha ha ha!
Growing up, we ate Filipino food every day. I love all kinds of food, but we always followed my dad’s lead, and all he ever wanted to eat was Filipino food. (I didn’t even try Thai or Japanese until I was 18 and had left home for college!) Anyway, there really wasn’t such a thing as “Filipino restaurants” back then, but now they’re all over the country. Here’s a list of the best 25 Filipino restaurants in the United States.
If you happen to be in Washington D.C., you might want to check out this museum dedicated entirely to language and words.
There’s a company called Frida that makes postpartum recovery products for moms, and this ad — which for me was a 100% accurate depiction of what it was like after birthing a baby — was rejected by the Oscars for being “too graphic.”

Note to self…

This looks like so much fun.

In college I listened to a lot of Cheryl Crow.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Target Dolls With Instagram Brows

February 21st, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

Seemingly random question: Have you visited the toy section at Target lately? — because HOLY SPICY GUACAMOLE. Times have changed.

I was at the store with Connor the other day because she’s been home from school this week for mid-winter break, and well, apparently, dolls as a general toy category have become Instagrammed out!

Yup, did you know that there are dolls with color-blocked eyeshadow, bladed brows that could cut glass, and smudged-out smokey lower lash lines?

Is it just me, or do these dolls look like they received lip injections?

Instagram baddie winged liner is also alive and well (in case you were wondering).

It’s interesting to see how social media beauty standards have influenced so much! — including dolls in the toy aisle!

I guess that’s a good thing? Hmm…

One welcome change, though, is the variety of skin tones that are available for dolls now. It’s a much more inclusive world! There are so many more skin tones and hair types than there were when I was a kid.

Now, there are even male dolls with fabulous, fluffy hair, and guess what? They’re wearing makeup too.

I thought they were girls with short hair wearing suits at first, and my immediate response was, “That’s cool!”

I’ve since been informed by my friend Cindy that this trio of dudes is the Korean boy band, BTS.

Please note their Cara Delevingne bushy brows… 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

The Urban Decay Wired Palette Gives Color an Electrifying Jolt! (Swatches)

February 20th, 2020 by Karen 3 Comments

A few years ago, Urban Decay released a pressed pigment palettes similar to Wired, their newest neon offering, but Wired will not make your brain short circuit while you’re blending it.

UD identifies which colors can be worn on your eyes and which can’t right on the compact.

Everything is mapped out, and the total package is concise and clear.

The Wired palette is part of a larger limited edition collection of florescent liners and lipglosses, and it’s currently available now.

From the Urban Decay website…

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
A 10-pan palette of pressed pigments in shockingly bright yet ultra-blendable shades for face, eye, and body.

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW
Go electric with the Wired Pressed Pigment Palette, a 10-pan lineup of velvety-smooth pigments that deliver insane color payoff while being super blendable and buildable. Experiment with these hyperpigmented shades or dip into Glitch, a pure white hue, to transform bright shades into ultra-modern pastels.

OH, YEAH, IT’S ALSO…
Cruelty-free

Fill Weight: 10 x 1.2 g POIDS NET / NET WT. 10 x 0.04 oz

Urban Decay is 100% cruelty-free.

Side note: I see makeup artists and beauty enthusiasts creatively using palettes with shades labeled “for use on eyes only” on their lids all the time, and I swear the model in the UD promo picks looks like she’s wearing the red from the “Face & Body” side on hers…

There’s a reason why companies choose to mark some shades as “approved” for use on the eyes while others aren’t, and in most cases, it’s due to the use of ingredients that aren’t approved for use on the eyes.

All I can say is what I’ve done and what I’ve seen…so what’s the moral of this makeup tale? Answer: You do you, baby boo!

Sooo, I kinda love all the color blocking on the model’s eyes in the promo pic, and I might try that look just for fun, but generally these colors are a bit cray for me during this season in my makeup life. I do love the idea of doing something wearable by applying one or two of the shades with a wet angled brush as winged liner, and I’ll probably also apply a bit of white underneath one of the brights to punch up the color even more!

And, hey, maybe one day I’ll actually stumble upon an occasion to paint my body and finally sport a lively lime green on my booty or a crazy crimson on my elbows. If, and when, that occasion arrives, it’ll be electrifying. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: MAC Glow Play Blush in Grand

February 19th, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

mac grand glow play blush swatch — 30 seconds to blush

FOR THE LOVE OF CHICKEN STRIPS (this is indicative of my colorful language these days, since Connor’s been repeating everything she hears), I’ve been pushing my luck hard in the mornings to get what I need to get done before heading to the bakery for work.

When it comes time for makeup, I fly up the stairs, grab my most reliable products and tools, and set my timer for three minutes.

One of the reliable products I know I can turn to now is peachy pink MAC Grand Blush ($30), because even in full sunlight (which, you know, takes no prisoners), it absolutely does not make me look crazy. ?

It feels like a finely-packed powder wearing a soft, bouncy cream, and as I smooth it on my cheeks, no particles pool in my pores. Also, hard edges?? What are those?

There’s a comfort in knowing that even though I rushed the makeup (seriously, it’s a miracle I haven’t poked my eye out with a mascara wand), I can dance into my day without looking like a rogue clown who terrifies children in nightmares. ?

(It’s the little things.)

Blush is that often-overlooked connective step that ties many makeup looks together, and so even when I’m doing very simple makeup looks — mascara, tinted moisturizer and a nude (or a bold) lip — I try to make time for blush.

The exceptional ones, like MAC Grand, take a mere 30 seconds to use, and they’re worth it.

mac grand blush before after — I’m wearing Grand on my cheeks. (The lipstick is MAC Baroque the Internet, in case you’re wondering.)

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MAC Loud and Clear Lipsticks: Yash, Baroque the Internet, Fleur D’Coral, Sugar Sweet Cameo and Sugar Dada

February 18th, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

mac sugar sweet cameo — Matte Lipstick in Sugar Sweet Cameo, a midtone coral pink

I keep vacillating over which of the five lipsticks in the new MAC Loud and Clear collection is the most “noteworthy.” One the one hand, there’s warm nude pink Baroque the Internet, and mid-toned coral-pink Sugar Sweet Cameo, both of which have more than enough oomph and color to compliment smokey eyes, wings and just about every eyeshadow look imaginable.

mac baroque the internet — Matte Lipstick in Baroque the Internet, a warm nude pink

But then there’s also deep natural matte Yash, which is nowhere near as flashy, but you can throw it on with almost anything, so it’s also super flexible.

mac yash — Matte Lipstick in Yash, a deep neutral

Four of the five lipsticks are in MAC’s classic Matte formula, so expect soaring pigment, a nearly flat finish, and longevity for days (OK, more like 4-5 hours).

The odd woman out is Fleur D’Coral, a sheer light peach MAC Lustre with the faintest hint of a sheen.

mac fleur d coral — Lustre Lipstick in Fleur D’Coral, a light peach

And oh: If you like your makeup early-’90s style (I’m guilty of this from time to time), you’ll be sweet on Sugar Dada, a warm brownish orange matte. I, along with half the population of my former high school, rocked a similar shade circa 1992.

mac sugar dada — Matte Lipstick in Sugar Dada, a warm brownish orange

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