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A Monochromatic Multitasking Makeup Look

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chanel amoureaux k
Lots of products doing double duty today

I’m playing with monochromatic multitasking makeup on this chilly Tuesday, partially because I like the alliteration in that phrase… 🙂 And partially because it totally fits with my current makeup motif, which currently involves me seeing what I can get away with given 10 minutes of prep time.

This one was unabashedly inspired by a recent monochromatic makeup post I saw on Instagram by my current makeup muse, Katie Jane Hughes, in which she uses a Chanel lippie on her lids as an eyeshadow, on her cheeks as a blush, and on her lips as a — GASP! — lipstick.

Mind you, I fully acknowledge that wearing lipstick on your lids is one of those things that isn’t everyone’s cup of hot cocoa, but my eyes have been fine whenever I’ve done it, so I’m OK with it.

Like KJH, I’m wearing Chanel in these pics — a Rouge Allure Ink in matte pinkish brown Amoureaux. It has a hint of coral in it.

The Chanel Rouge Allure Inks are more liquid than cream, so they’re runnier than a cream and have a thinner consistency. Consequently, when I used this one as a shadow here, I pressed it on my lids with a flat eyeshadow brush, in order to have more control over the placement. Then, I waited for it to dry before adding another layer.

When using it as a blush, I like to start with a little on the back of my hand first, which I then tap on the apples of my cheeks with a finger. I do this immediately after applying base, by the way, because it blends better when the base product is still wet and hasn’t set.

The base I’m wearing is also a multitasking monster — Maybelline’s awesome Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer. It also works great as a full-coverage foundation!

To sheer it out, just buff it down with a synthetic skunk brush spritzed with a makeup setting spray. I used Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist to mellow out Instant Rewind’s matte finish (you know me and dewy skin, LOL).

chanel amoureaux
That may or may not be Connor’s bedroom wall behind me, ha ha ha.
charlotte tilbury filmstar bronze glow flatlay
Streamlined, baby

Makeup worn in this look

Eyes: Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in Amoreaux (lids) Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow (bronzer worn in the crease, highlighter in the inner corner and on brow bone), MAC Brun (liner and brows), IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara (lashes)

Cheeks: Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in Amoreaux (as a blush blush), Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow

Lips: Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in Amoreaux

Base: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Golden (worn as concealer and foundation)

And there we have it. 🙂

What are you up to today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 605

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chalk rainbow
We make our own rainbows

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 the first few things you do when you get home after a long day?

    First, I say hi to Rosie, because she meets me at the door. Next, I take off what I call my “outer shell” (shoes, jacket, purse and whatever accoutrements I’ve got on my person) and head to the kitchen, where I set everything down (Connor’s lunchbox, my water bottle, half-eaten Luna bars, etc.) and wash my hands because the world is GROSS. LOL.

    At this point, if Rosie the cat is still milling about and hasn’t resumed completing the tasks on her very busy, very packed kitty schedule, I’ll give her some treats and love.

    2. In your estimation, what’s the most impressive dish you make?

    I gotta say…I’ve been told that my lasagna’s pretty epic.

    3. What color are your socks on this fine day?

    Today, my footsies are all about dark gray and neon green, because I’m wearing a pair of random, obnoxious below-the-ankle workout socks I grabbed in the dark this morning.

    They came in a pack of six, and they’re dominating my sock drawer right now. They also don’t match the black pants and pink sweatshirt I’m wearing today. At all. LOL.

    4. What are five beauty products you normally scrimp on?

    Hmm… Well, the answer to this question changes a lot, but lately it’s been 1) body wash, 2) hairspray, 3) razors, 4) body lotion and 5) nail polish remover.

    5. And what are five beauty products you normally splurge on?

    1) Foundation, 2) face powder, 3) perfume, 4) mascara and 5) pimple cream!

What the world needs now…

Is more chalk art! 🙂

Seriously.

If you haven’t created a work of personally meaningful chalk art on a street or sidewalk yet this decade, it’s not too late to do one now! I highly recommend it. It’s surprisingly relaxing and significantly cheaper than a massage at a fancy spa.

Connor and I did these yesterday afternoon (Rosie supervised)…

Also, this is pretty much how winter has looked in our neck of the woods, except for the full-on rainy days. For the most part, it’s been sunny, crisp and cool, with daytime highs in the low-50s, and lots of leaves on the ground.

Sending you a little sunshine on this beautiful Monday, my friend! 🙂

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 the first three things you do when you get home after a long day?
2. Most impressive dish you make?
3. What color are your socks today?
4. What beauty products do you normally scrimp on?
5. What beauty products do you normally splurge on?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 584

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“The show must go on.” And it did, despite questionable fur. When Tabs performed his Tony Award-winning one-cat rendition of The Nutcracker in 2015, he did it without the help of his favorite fur stylist.

It all went down on opening night, two hours before the show, when we got a last-minute call from celebrity hair/fur stylist Jen Atkin. She had gotten the flu, and she wasn’t going to be able to do Tabs’s fur backstage for the performance.

Everyone was shocked. Slowly, Tabs put down his phone and said, “Meow…”

I’d never heard him say it that way before, and it sent shivers down my spine.

Since there wasn’t enough time to find another stylist of Jen’s caliber, and there was no way Tabs was going to entrust his magnificent fur to someone new, he did the next most logical thing. He styled his mane himself.

Boom.

Needless to say, Tabs gave a masterful performance. Anyone who was there that night will tell you there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, Dec. 14, 2019

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The $2.99 Trader Joe’s 1-2-3 Mystery Bag Gift Set

Sometimes I feel like a lone wolf weirdo prancing my way through life…

But I know, deep down inside, that I cannot be the only person who gets cheap thrills out of things like the $3 Trader Joe’s Mystery Bags.

(Good mornin’, by the way.)

How cool are these?! They’re supposedly available at all Trader Joe’s stores in the US. For $2.99, you get a collection of three randomized reusable TJ’s shopping bags that are only available during the holidays. The designs are regionally specific, so you just never know if you’re going to get the bags from New York or Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Las Vegas — YOU JUST DON’T KNOW.

I hope I get ones from far flung locales…like Key West!

I wonder — are there TJ’s stores in Key West? Inquiring minds want to know. I’m going to try to hold off until Christmas to open mine, but history has shown that I don’t have that type of restraint, ha ha ha.

On that note, I’m off to wrap some presents. Here’s your reading for the week.


I just discovered Kati’s videos and have learned so much.


Stuck on replay


This made me laugh so hard.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How Has Your Life (and Your Makeup!) Changed in 2019?

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makeup bag august 2019
Things change, but my love for neutrals always stays the same. ?

I say this every December, but where did the year go?? Has it really been a year? I worked as a legal assistant at a law firm in my 20s, and one of the lawyers said something I still remember. He said that time moves faster as you get older, and I didn’t understand it at the time, but I totally get it now. Nowadays, it feels like I go from task to task to task until I pass out. Then I wake up and do it all over again. Then I look up and it’s December, and another year has passed!

Anyway, my life (and my makeup) changed in quite a few ways this year…

The biggest change happened in the spring, when my sweet boy Tabs crossed over to the rainbow bridge.

I’ve finally gotten to where I can think about him without feeling a sharp pain in my heart… There’s still sadness, but it’s somewhat easier to bear. I really, really miss that thug, and I still have days when I really wish I could hold him and smell the fur on his “delicious belly meat” just one more time, but it’s getting better.

We took out our Christmas decorations last weekend, and I found his Christmas stocking and got a little teary… I’m going to hang it up and put in a can gravy for Christmas so his spirit will know that his people still love him and think about him during the holidays. 🙂

(That may be the craziest cat lady thing I’ve ever written.)

I hope he’s OK with Pretty Girl Rosie — who moved in with us in October — sharing our space. She’s a sweet, dainty torbie girl who unexpectedly pranced into our lives last October. It’s a different type of love than I had for Tabs, for sure, yet it makes my heart feel a little fuller knowing that our home is a safe place for another abandoned kitty that would’ve otherwise stayed a stray.

Another big change that also happened recently — I started working part time as a baker at a bakery. It’s a weird pivot for someone who’s been writing about makeup steadily every day for the last 13 years (!), I know, but when the opportunity opened up, I got the same tingly feeling that I had when I started MBB. It’s a move, my gut tells me, that will lead to many good things (both figuratively and literally).

This fall Connor also started going to preschool five days a week, from Monday through Friday (she’s going to be four in March; can you believe it?). I miss her like crazy — some days it’s so intense that I physically ache, which probably sounds nutty, but it’s true — but she’s flourishing in school, and it felt like the right time for the both of us to start learning, little by little, how to spread our wings on our own.

So this has been the most time I’ve had to myself in five years, and it’s been a (welcome) shock to the system.

OK, makeup wise, I still love me some neutrals. That hasn’t changed, ha ha! And it probably won’t, either. What has changed, though, is that I’ve pretty much stopped wearing false lashes (thanks, Lash Boost!). I also rarely do looks that involve complicated blending these days. I mean, I’ll still go full glam on occasion, like once every other full moon, but most days I’m doing a more pared-down style, which takes me 10 minutes. 15 max. And I’m fine with that.

That’s where I am in this season of life, but who knows? Maybe someday I’ll get back to doing daily super intense looks with shading and lashes and all the steps. I do still love the artistry of it all. 🙂

How about you? How has your life and your makeup changed in 2019?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Channel Your Inner Paddington Bear, and Stay Dry During a Deluge in the Eddie Bauer Charly Jacket

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eddie bauer charly marigold
Autumnal camouflage

Question for you: who wore this yellow coat better — me or Paddington Bear? ?

OK, so, the fact that I‘d be able to channel Paddington’s vibe wasn’t the only reason I got this bright yellow waterproof raincoat from Eddie Bauer! (It was one of the main reasons, though. Ha ha ha!). It was also (and still is) marked down 50%, from $189 to $89.50.

It’s been pouring off and on for a few days here, and this coat has kept me dry, even without an umbrella. The rain practically rolls off the material (it’s 62% cotton and 38% nylon), which is warm, but sill breathable enough to be comfortable, and it moves just enough to feel structured but not stiff.

The hood is wide and has a subtle brim — apparently, this is *totally key*!

The brim prevents raindrops from hitting my face and my glasses so much more effectively than the raincoat I bought at Target a couple years back. I still love that coat, but last winter I got caught in a few downpours and was soaked through, which is why I wanted a new one.

This coat, though, won’t let water in for nothing!

Other reasons I love it…

  1. Zippered pockets! Oh, gosh, there are so many zippered pockets, and it’s glorious — two on the sides of the front pockets and one on the inner lining. I carry my phone with me everywhere, and the zippers on the pockets give me a little extra peace of mind.
  2. Subtle branding. It’s there, but it’s not splashed across the chest like on a lot of Eddie Bauer coats. There’s a small logo embroidered on the wrists of both sleeves, but you can’t really see it unless you look closely.
  3. So many sizes available. The coats come in your standard-issue XS, S, M, L and XL, and in a bunch of height options including Regular, Petite, Tall and Plus. I ended up getting a Regular in XS. It fits, but it does run a little big, so it’s roomy on me. I don’t mind, though, because I can layer a sweater or a thick sweatshirt underneath.
  4. It’s cute! I like the J. Crew-ishness of this coat. Plus, the yellow color is so fun.
eddie bauer charly marigold
So many pockets!
eddie bauer charly marigold
Covers yo’ booty!

It also comes in beige, a dark brown and navy (which is super cute too), if the Paddington Bear stoplight yellow color is too bright for you.

I’m into it… Now all I need is a red hat to go with my coat. 🙂

Bring on the rain and the rainbows!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Glittery Green Gradient Wings: A Quick and Easy Holiday Makeup Look

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urban decay stage dive mainline

Current dilemmas du jour?

  1. What to do with the five pounds of lemons Rosie’s former foster mom gave me (she has a tree in her yard that produces a RIDICULOUS amount of lemons).
  2. What’s some festive and colorful holiday makeup that won’t take me till Valentine’s Day to finish? (I’m only half-kidding.)

As of yet, I still have no clue what to do with the lemons (ugh, lemon bars and lemonade? Maybe some kind of lemon marinade?), I figured out a trick to flying through different colorful looks.

And here it is…

Play with your winged liner. THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS!

Like with this look here with glittery green gradient wings. It was surprisingly quick and easy to do.

The step-by-step

  1. Start by drawing your winged liner with a dark green matte liner as the base (I used Urban Decay Mainline). Be as subtle or dramatic as you like.
  2. Then, for a bright shimmer POP, layer a bright green glitter in the center (I’m wearing Urban Decay Stage Dive) on your lash line.
  3. Lastly, to create a color gradient, dip an angled brush into a black eyeshadow (MAC Carbon for life!), and pat that on top of the outer portion of your wing.

Green goes well with warm browns and peaches, which is what I’m wearing on my lids, lips on these cheeks in this look. If you want to be more adventurous, however, pink would be a playful complementary color… I’m just sayin’. 🙂

urban decay mainline side

urban decay stage dive front

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

When In Doubt, Red Lip It Out

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stila beso 121019 current uniform
Standard-issue #OOTD

Big kisses to you, Stila Beso, for always being there for us makeup lovers who apply lipstick at the last minute in the car using the rearview mirror before dashing into work. You make it easy to look like we, ya know…actually had our act together. LOL.

Friend, I predict that this could be your new default matte red lip color (if it isn’t one of your faves already), because Beso is opaque. Beso is smooth. Beso has a lovely liquid-y texture, and it starts off creamy and slick. It eases along lips and around edges, so you definitely don’t need a lip liner.

Basically, it’s completely devoid of the bad kind of drama.

I had three massive cups of coffee before putting this on yesterday, in the car (we’re working longer hours at the bakery this month because of the annual holiday cupcake rush), and even though my hands were vibrating at a high frequency due to all the caffeine, I was still easily able to paint this lip in under a minute.

Say what?!

Yes, you get a bright red matte lip that moves as you smile and laugh through your day (I hope). This particular lip lasted through the making of 600 sugar cookies.

stila beso 121019
MWAH, Stila Beso!

And if you’re prone to lip flakes like I am, fear not, because this lippie also won’t dry out your lips.

You can pretty much wear anything on your eyes with Beso, too. It’s a very cooperative color. I whipped up this matte taupe lid with the Viseart Neutral Palette without much thought and just went with it.

stila beso 121019 eyes
When you do your eye makeup in a blur…

I usually wear Beso with some type of neutral eyeshadow, but it also works well with colorful lids.

In fact, we have a holiday sprinkle mix at the bakery that we’ve been using on glazed sugar cookies… It’s a mix of bright red, green, purple and teal sprinkles, and I think the color palette would totally work for a makeup look — teal, blue and purple on the lids with a red lip.

holiday sprinkles
Makeup inspiration?

I’m not 100% sure I could pull it off in a wearable way (can totes see it going unintentionally crazy), but hey, you never know till you try. 🙂

Other (somewhat) important items of note

Since I was the first one at the bakery yesterday in the back of the house, I got to choose the music…so we bumped ’80s hits all day long (we’re also catering an ’80s party, so I felt it was appropriate).

I heard so many songs I hadn’t heard in ages!

I don’t know why, but I’m consistently shocked by how much I’m moved by Phil Collins songs…


Who the heck is Billy, anyway?


Even after all these years, I still have NO idea what this song is about…

If you can break down Sussudio for me, I would really appreciate it… He’s talking about a woman with an unusual name that he has a crush on, right??

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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