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

Product Spotlight: Pixi Eye Reflection Shadow Palette in Natural Beauty

January 22nd, 2020 by Karen 4 Comments

pixi natural beauty palette review 2 — I’m lovin’ this eye palette by Pixi.

I came to realize the Pixi Natural Beauty palette was money — MO-NAAAY (a.k.a. awesome) – at Costco last weekend when I caught a glimpse of my eye makeup in the store’s harsh overhead lighting and was, like, “Dang! Did Sir John just spend two hours on me? Why do my eyes look so good? What sorcery is happening!?”

Here’s why this palette stands out.

It contains a bevy of cool-toned matte browns for carving out deeper-set eyes, smoking out your lids, filling in your brows, or lining your lash lines. For these tasks and more, this flexible neutral got ‘chu, boo-boo.

The secret sauce is the pigment. There’s not a milligram too little or too much. Coupled with the soft, easily scoot-able formula, and blending becomes beyond easy. You can make a lot of mistakes along the way with this one, and you can correct them very quickly because the colors are easy to sheer, so whatever you end up with, your lids look good.

And they look good all day long, too. Yes, the shadows stay put!

The smattering of shiny golds, beiges and bronzes is an added bonus. Press a shade or two on your lids for a quick hit of glitter, or apply with a wet brush along your lash line to open cramped lids.

I love this palette for days when I want something easy, breezy.

If you like to do simple everyday neutral/nude looks, or if you use and love palettes like Tartlette in Bloom or Estée Lauder Defiant Nude, this palette is in the same wheelhouse.

I do have to point out one thing, though. The eyeshadow powder formula tends to kick up a lot of grains, so just be sure to tap off your brush first. It’s not a big deal for me, but if you’re a stickler for that kind of thing, you might want to pass.

You can find it at Target for $24 or online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Lip of the Day: MAC So Me

January 21st, 2020 by Karen 13 Comments

I’ve been trying to take my own advice and break free from my usual color comfort zone, and $22 matte gray-plum MAC Retro Matte in So Me adeptly qualifies. It’s waaaaay outta my usual wheelhouse. It may be called “So Me,” but I call it “So Not Me.” 🙂 Ha ha ha!

Back in high school algebra class, I sat next to a very sweet girl who I realize now as I look back… I’m pretty sure she was high up the totem pole in a neighborhood gang with a rough reputation.

I didn’t think about it at the time… I just knew her as the nice girl in my math class.

Anyway, I do have a point here, and it’s that she wore a lipstick in this exact same color, and it looked beautiful on her. So Me has a very ’90s tough-but-sweet vibe, so if you’re looking for a retro early ’90s lippie, this is it.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the MAC liquid lipsticks are so, so good. They’re one of very few formulas out there that my eternally dry lips can handle, and you can pop one on in the morning and not think about it for the rest of your day, which is what I did when I wore this to work. I applied it just before going into a five-our shift, and when I picked up Connor at preschool that afternoon, she said, “Are you wearing lipstick? IS IT BROWN?” LOL. In a nutshell, this stuff lasts!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 610

January 20th, 2020 by Karen 22 Comments

rosie cat dress — Have a fashionable 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. What’s something you say a lot?

I’m 100% guilty of overusing the word “seriously,” both in print and in person, and when I’m mom-ing pretty hard, I also say, “Make good choices,” and, “Please use your listening ears,” a lot.

2. How tall are you?

I tower over my minions at a staunch 5 feet one inches.

Pretty sure I’m shrinking, too.

3. What are you marathoning right now?

Anne with an E on Netflix. When it first came out, I didn’t want anything to do with it because I have such fond memories of the Anne of Green Gables series from the ’80s, but I’m glad I gave it a chance. Even though it’s darker than the old series (it *really* spells out all the bad things), it still has a sweetness about it.

4. Which would you rather live without — mascara or eyeliner? (Side note: In this scenario, you have to choose one or the other. “Neither” is not an option!)

UGH, this is hard, man… I guess if I had to give one up, it would be eyeliner.

5. What makes you happy?

Coffee with milk and honey first thing in the morning
Light, melt-in-your mouth cakes and cupcakes
Having a cat on my lap
Feeling warm and safe in my house
Clean floors

Just in case you haven’t seen a cat in a dress in a while…

Here ya go!

This little number belonged to Coywolf back in the day, but she graciously decided to share it with her kitty cat baby sister. ?

It’s a holiday here in the U.S. today (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), and many people have the day off from work. Whatever you’re up to, I hope it’s going well.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I ended up sleeping in this morning and got a grand total of nine hours (!) of sleep, but honestly, I felt really sluggish when I got up, like I could have slept at least three hours more.

Interesting factoid, but did you know that oversleeping can make you feel even more tired? I had no idea!

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

1. What’s something you say a lot?
2. How tall are you?
3. What are you marathoning right now?
4. Which would you rather live without — mascara or eyeliner? (Side note: In this scenario, you have to choose one or the other. “Neither” is not an option!)
5. What makes you happy? ?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 589

January 19th, 2020 by Karen 6 Comments

Are you ready for some football!? The Niners game is about to start. I bet Tabs is watching from the Rainbow Bridge because, as you know, he was a big fan, and the Niners were his team.

Well, his heart was always with the Mill Valley Wildcats, because that’s the team he played for, but as a Bay Area native, he cheered for San Francisco.

If the Niners win tonight, they head to the Super Bowl.

So exciting!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, January 18th, 2020

January 18th, 2020 by Karen 12 Comments

essie angora cardi — Angora Cardi by Essie. I love this polish!

Hello and happy Saturday, my friend! ? Before we get goin’ and do this, I just want to say thank you for visiting me this morning. It’s still early, but I already have a list *this long* of things I’d like to do before the weekend ends. At the very top, paint my nails!

I NEED PAW PAINT. DESPERATELY. We have to have bare nails when we work at the bakery to eliminate the chance of nail polish getting into the food (makes sense, right?), and although I’m completely cool with naked nails, I miss having some color on my fingertips. I just feel more like “me” when my nails are painted, ya know?

I think it’s an Essie Angora Cardi day. ? It’s one of my go-tos.

While I go bring my nails back to life, here’s your weekly dose of surfing…

#hashtag relatable. The founder of Kosas Cosmetics, Sheena Yaitanes says, “I’m not a bold glam girl, but I love makeup.”
The residents of a remote island in Ireland ☘️ are searching for two people to manage a coffee shop. Who’s going with me?!
IMPORTANT BREAKING NEWS: Britney Spears loves shopping at Target (but really, who doesn’t love shopping at Tar-ghay?).
Brazilian photographer Angélica Dass travels the globe with her camera to capture every skin tone in Pantone.
Under the right circumstances, your cat would eat your corpse, says science.
Gucci Westman’s new $85 Lip Suede compact looks like a blush palette, but it’s for lips. The four ribbons of “Les Rouges” inside (fuchsia, dark red, classic red and a neutral rose) are vegan and made without silicones, parabens or phthalates.
The beauty resale market — where previously used items like lipstick, skin makeup and perfumes are resold on platforms like Glambot, Poshmark and Ebay — is growing.

I love, love, LOVE this workout, and I’m not normally a Pilates person, but this workout is simultaneously challenging (I’m dripping in sweat by the end of it) and yet easy on ye olde joints. It’s great for days when you want to exercise but don’t feel like doing tons of jumping.

Try this sometime. I promise you’ll feel a little better about everything afterwards.

I’m all ears, Alexa Chung.

Trying this ASAP…although I think it’s gonna take me more than 5 minutes! LOL.

I hope the rest of your weekend is just as wonderful as you are! ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hooray for Dansko Clogs!

January 17th, 2020 by Karen 28 Comments

dansko clogs review — Oh, hi there, happy feet!

Thanks, gals, for recommending Dansko work clogs. I found a basic brown leather pair (nothing fancy) at DSW in their sale section on deeeeeeep discount — fifty bucks! They’re usually $109 at DSW and online, but for some reason this pair was the only pair I could find in the store at that price. Weird!

Anyway, I wasn’t sure about them at first because when I tried them on in the store, they looked a little high, the arch support felt almost uncomfortably stiff, and because the section that hugs the heel doesn’t come up as high as my tennis shoes do, I was afraid I’d fall out of them, but since they were over half off, I just went for it.

I’ve been wearing them for almost two weeks now, and my goodness, I love ’em! Every day my feet, back and my hips just feel better and better.

From the side, they look pretty high, but when you slip them on, they feel like flats. I was nervous about this at first, but I guess that substantial arch area is there for a reason, because my arches feel *extremely* secure and supported. I don’t feel like I’m being tipped forward like I do in heels.

The girls at the bakery recommended breaking them in for a few hours at a time, and then ramping up to a full day’s wear. They told me to bring my tennis shoes in and switch into them when my feet need a break, which I’ve been doing.

One last added bonus: The clogs are much easier to clean than mesh/fabric tennies. When flour or frosting ends up on my toes (which inevitably always happens), all I have to do is wipe it right off!

I can see why people who are on their feet all day long recommend these with such passion. They really do work!

My feet (and whole body, really) thank you again for suggesting them.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I saw this at work yesterday, and it cracked me up! Just in case you were looking for spare parts for your unicorn…

P.P.S.

Throwback Thursdays: Bright Blue Inner Corners and Ice Skating!

January 16th, 2020 by Karen 9 Comments

I got all the nostalgic feels with this late ’90s-inspired look with bright blue inner corners (thanks, MAC Tilt). Was anybody else obsessed with blazingly bright inner corner highlights way back when? I most certainly was. I usually rocked MAC Vex around the tear ducts. (Side note: normally accompanied by a frosty brow bone and HELLA SKINNY brows, OMG!)

I felt like revisiting old-school inner corner highlights with this look because I saw a character wearing something similar on a show I just started watching on Netflix called Spinning Out.

It’s a drama about some Olympic hopeful ice skaters (January Jones of Mad Men fame is in it), and if you start watching it, just FYI, 1) there’s more drama than actual skating, and 2) you won’t be able to look away, because something over-the-top happens to the characters every five minutes. It’s not Melrose Place in the ’90s caliber bat-sh*t cray, but it’s pretty close.

Anywho…like I was saying, one of the main characters wore a similar look with a shimmery blue inner corner highlight to a skating competition. I, on the other hand, wore it around the house to do laundry. 🙂 I did keep it on when I left to pick up Connor at preschool, but I buffed down the blue quite a bit to make it more wearable and less in-your-face.

The pencil brush is your friend.

It had been a while since I wore such a bold statement inner corner, and doing so reminded me that a pencil brush is your friend, especially when you’re placing shadow in a tight space like the inner corner.

Sure, you could easily press some shadow there with your finger — and that’s something I do all the time with shimmery peaches, beiges and pinks for a soft highlight — but if you want concentrated, intense color, grab a pencil brush.

I like to start by applying the shadow around the inner corner with the pencil brush. Then I wet the brush head with a setting spray, dip it back into the same eyeshadow (don’t forget to tap off the excess), and apply the just around the tear duct to intensify the color and shimmer and create a subtle gradient.

Then, I take another pencil brush and soften out the edges.

I think this effect looks super cool with many different colors — blue, green, light purple, even pink!
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Lip of the Day: MAC Fashion Legacy

January 15th, 2020 by Karen 6 Comments

MAC Fashion Legacy is a real heavy lifter, and by that I mean that you can wear it with minimal makeup on the rest of your face and have a full finished look in less than five minutes. Bright red lips: spiriting makeup lovers to work on time, one tube at a time!

I wore this to the bakery yesterday and didn’t feel the need to touch up at all during my shift, which included making a delicious sheet of pecan chewy bars (here’s a recipe in case you’ve never heard of them).

Fashion Legacy is an opaque, fire truck red, and it’s one of the MAC Retro Matte liquid lipsticks. I like the Retro Mattes because they stay glued to your lips, so they don’t scoot, but the formula is still a little flexible, so your lips don’t look like a cracked, gross mess as the day wears on. I can eat and drink with them on my lips, and my lips still look presentable afterward, so they’re great for parties (or long days at work).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen