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Saturday Surfing, October 26th, 2019

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estee lauder perfectionist pro
When you find retinol thrilling…

Well, hello there, Caturday! ??

This entire week, I’ve been diligently focusing on appreciating the little things, like that first sip of coffee in the morning… Oh! It gives me life!

Or like the cat weaving between my legs as I stand at the sink washing my face in the morning.

Or like glancing over at my bedside table to see new (to me) nighttime skincare treatments…

Retinol, baby! I have seen the light (thank you, Kate Somerville). I just finished a bottle of her +Retinol Vita C Power Serum Firming + Brightening Treatment, and I fully intend to eventually get it again in the next month or two, but before that, I’m trying out Estée Lauder’s Perfection Pro Rapid Renewal Retinol Treatment.

And I’m also trying EL’s Advanced Night Repair serum, too, because I’ve heard good things (like that it’s great for dry skin).

I think I might be on the road to becoming a full-blown “retinol enthusiast.” I see a shelf weighed down by waaaaay too many tubes and bottles of retinol treatments in my future…

If you like retinols as much as I do, drop me a comment to tell me about your favorite one! ?

I’m convinced now that keeping retinols/nighttime skincare potions on my bed stand is the way to go, because that way I’m less likely to forget to use them, and I can just reach over and apply a layer before I zonk out.

And now for your Saturday Surfing reading…


I have to wear my hair up and off my face when I work at the bakery, so I’ve been all about scarf tutorials lately.


More hair ideas!


Doing this today. Who’s with me?

I’m off to Michaels now to see if I can snag any last-minute Halloween decorations on sale (they get you with those coupons, man), as well as some frosting tips so I can practice decorating cupcakes at home.

What are you up to this weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Any other California peeps wondering if PG&E is going to turn off their power? ⚡

Long Lasting Makeup for Hot Kitchens (A 15-Minute Look)

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What’s baking?

No, I am not trying to tease your sweet tooth…but yes, you are staring at cupcakes for a reason. ??

That reason would be this: I started a new job this week! At a bakery!

I know, it’s out of my lane, but with Connor going to preschool five days a week now, and me having been working at home for eons, I’ve been going a little stir crazy. Then one day a couple weeks ago, an opportunity arose to bake for a local bakery, and I took it.

If you’ve followed MBB for a while, then you probably know that I love to bake at home, and I’d love to get better at it. I want to learn to make all teh things! And I want to be surrounded by sugar and gluten and chocolate and frosting ALL. DAY. LONG.

k baking
Look who’s baking now.

I’ll try to temper/limit the amount of baking-related pics and info I share on MBB (unless you REALLY want to see more, in which case lemme know), but I’ve been doing MBB for almost 13 (!) years now. I love it too much to stop, but mama needs some other interests too. Way I see it, I’ll still be wearing makeup to work at the bakery, so I’ll still have plenty of makeup and skincare to test and talk about. So…you won’t be getting rid of me yet. LOL!

The new new gig is “back of the house,” which means that my primary responsibilities will be the actual baking…of all the delicious things.

Mmm…

First thing I noticed this week in the kitchen for training was that it gets REALLY hot when the ovens are cranking, and even HOTTER when it’s also hot outside, like it has been the past few days.

I wore the littlest amount of stick foundation on my first day (and I also happened to skip powder), so my base had all but slid off my face by the end of my shift.

So, for my second day at work, I busted out the long-wearing guns…

urban decay highway queen palette
When you’ve only got 15 minutes…

Base

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation (my shade is Honey Bronze) and Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer (I wear Golden). Both of these base products last a long while, and neither one looks or feels heavy. I set them with a light dusting of Chanel loose powder, which has a lovely natural finish.

Eyes

A liquid bronze eyeshadow base (Wander Beauty Amber Wave! Layer it under your bronze eyeshadows for added intensity and staying power) with a dusting of a shimmery warm bronze from the new Urban Decay On the Run Mini Palette in Highway Queen. I also went with a long-wearing purple liner on the upper lash line (UD Ether, which pairs well with bronze shades and doesn’t look *too* obviously purple. Unfortunately, it’s discontinued.). Next, I used a long-lasting curling mascara on my lashes (MAC Extended Play Perm Me Up Lashes).

Eyebrows

I was blown away by how well my brows made it through the second day, because — no joke — it was hot ? in the kitchen. I’d assumed they would disappear, BUT THEY DIDN’T! Anyway, I wore NARS Komo brow pencil and MAC Clear Brow Set.

Note to self: this combo frickin’ lasts.

Cheeks and lips

Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy blush on my cheeks, along with a couple of shades from the Wander Beauty Cloud9 Mini Lipstick Kit (the lipsticks are super creamy, so they don’t really last more than two hours) mixed together.

urban decay highway k closeup
My hair is crazy, I know.
urban decay highway k closeup
Isn’t that purple liner all kinds of amazing?

It took me 15 minutes to do this look, which I put on at 6:45 in the morning.

I’m writing this post a full 12 hours later, and after five hours in a hot kitchen, all of the makeup I used in the morning still looks pretty good, if I do say so myself…with the exception of the creamy lipstick.

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, I don’t eat cupcakes all day long now, HA HA HA!

I certainly want to though. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Feel the Ecstasy With Charlotte Tilbury: Cheek to Chic Swish & Pop Blusher in Ecstasy

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charlotte tilbury ecstasy
Next stop: Ecstasy…

I can’t wear Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy blush without thinking of mid-90s club banger Set U Free.

The way the lead singer breathlessly enunciates the word, “ecstasy,” about a billion times…

Welcome to the decade of my formative years.

Anywho…while I like how long this satiny, peachy pink blush stays on my cheeks, the main thing I love about $40 Ecstasy blush is that I can get it on my cheeks in three minutes, which is about how much time I typically have while Coy-Coy uses the potty, so I can walk out the front door looking like I actually slept eight hours and stretched my hamstrings in the morning. (In other words, with a spring in my step!)

charlotte tilbury ecstasy
Wearing both the shades mixed together

Charlotte recommends doing your blush last to best gauge how little or how much you need, and I agree.

So, here’s my Ecstasy three-minute makeup routine:

Don’t you love easy makeup? ? And don’t you also love it when Charlotte refers to blush as “blusher”?! (Or am I the only one?)

Charlotte designed Ecstasy (and this goes for all of her blushes) to be used as part of a two-step process. First, you swish the outer ring on your cheekbones to sculpt and shape, and then blend the brighter center shade on the apples of your cheeks for some color.

Of course…I usually end up swirling both colors together with a blush brush, and that works just fine for me.

charlotte tilbury ecstasy
Say what, Karen? You’re an NC42?

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5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

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three fall scents
Lovin’ these perfumes

1. These fall fragrances

Mind you, I don’t know if these three should be officially considered “fall scents,” but it is fall here now…and I have been rotating among these scents and lovin’ ’em.

  • Maison Francis Kurkdijian Femin Pluriel: A chypre floral with notes of iris, violet, rose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, orange blossom, vetiver and Indonesian patchouli leaf.

    I like this one, and it doesn’t hurt that nobody else I know wears it.

  • MAC Shadescent in Creme d’Nude: This soft, clean amber musk is spiked with caramel, and it smells like clean, schmexy skin.
  • Chanel Coco Mademoiselle: An oriental floral with notes of mandarin orange, orange blossom, bergamot, jasmine, Turkish rose, ylang-ylang, vanilla, vetiver and white musk. This one’s a classic feminine “sweater weather” scent.

2. This funk version of Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You by Scary Pockets

Those runs are so crisp! Plus, how could you not love that name: “Scary Pockets?” LOL!

3. Vegetables

My sweet tooth GOES HARD, so 99% of the time I’m more likely to crave fruit than vegetables, but lately I’ve been all about the veggies. Literally, I’ve been eating plates and plates of them for lunch and dinner (not so much for breakfast though). My faves du jour right meow are the little bags of organic snap peas from Trader Joe’s.

Park me in a corner with a side of Bolthouse Salsa Ranch Yogurt Dressing, and I’M A HAPPY GIRL. ?

bolthouse farm salsa ranch
So yummy… So healthy…

4. 1920’s-era dresses

Must be all the Downton Abbey I’ve been watching, LOL! I love the drop waists and how loose and comfortable everything looks. I also like the beading and the fringe (even if the fringe doesn’t look cat lady-friendly).

5. Having a cat place demands on me again

Every day, Pretty Girl Rosie opens up a little more and lets us get to know her better. This week we learned she’s quite feisty! Like, if she wants lurvies, and she wants them now, you’re GOING TO GIVE THEM TO HER. Or, there will be consequences…

She’s already claimed my desk and windowsill…

What’ve you been loving lately? ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Three States of Being

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cocobaby rosie napping on couch
Just the girls taking a nap (please note the sparkly heart ring on her finger)

At the pediatrician’s office last week, Connor’s doc said what were perhaps the most accurate words I’ve heard about toddler-hood so far. She said that all preschoolers are either 1) currently sick, 2) recovering from being sick or 3) about to get sick again.

Oh, my goodness! It’s like a viral triathlon… Why doesn’t anybody tell you about this at the baby shower? (Also, why doesn’t anybody mention the weird underwear they give you at the hospital after giving birth? — because *that* was another surprise.)

Cocobaby’s in the thick of the frequent illness phase. She’s already caught a cold, or a cold-like virus, a few times in the past month, ’cause apparently three-year-olds are Petri dishes.

She’s just getting over the last virus, on top of which she also had a sinus infection, so the last few weeks have been very challenging, first, for her tiny virus-fighting body, but also for the rest of us.

It’s been quite scary at times. There was a night a couple weeks ago when we’d gotten dressed and ready to rush her to the emergency room after her fever spiked. Luckily, it quickly started to fall. I’m very thankful for the sound advice and steady guidance of the kind Kaiser advice nurse who helped us that night because my nerves were frayed.

mama cocobaby
Somebody needs a cuddle.

Nobody in our house has been getting much sleep. (This, of course, to Rosie’s delight. She must think she stepped into a family of night people!) It’s been like living the newborn lifestyle all over again, with me and El Hub sleeping beside Connor in shifts. My body feels that same familiar dull ache of exhaustion… Weirdly enough, it was surprisingly easy to get used to again… Like riding a bike.

It’s scary watching a child who can’t really communicate the way they feel yet, and knowing you have very little control over any of it. All you can do is care for them the best you can, take them to the doctor, and try to make informed decisions. You do what you have to, ignoring your throbbing knees and aching back to hold them in your arms as they cry at the witching hour in a dark bathroom filled with steam until they feel a little better and finally fall asleep. You run to Target at obscene times of night in pajamas crusted with snot to pick up more Pedialyte, saltines and tiny Disney Princess toys because you know they make her smile.

Basically, you do what you have to.

tiny disney princesses
All the tiny princesses

Anyway, this is what I’ve been up to for the past few weeks. Just doing the best I can.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

You’ll Wonder Where Your Experience Lines Go When You Wear Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow

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charlotte tilbury filmstar bronze and glow fair medium
When Charlotte Tilbury makes you feel like a fancy lady…

OK, my fair friends, many of my makeup-loving pale pals say that it’s very challenging to find a bronzer that suits lighter skin tones. If this is the case for you, I believe I may have found a solution to your woes, and her name is Charlotte Tilbury. She’s got a bronzer/highlighter duo called Filmstar Bronze & Glow ($68, so start saving your lunch money), and there are two versions — Fair-Medium, pictured here, and Medium-Dark. Fair-Medium could be purrfect for lighter lasses.

If your makeup style is more “Sir John” than “Insta-glam”, I think you’ll love it.

The bronzer in Fair-Medium is a gorgeous peachy tan (no glitter in sight) without any weird or obnoxious orange undertones, so, what you get is a natural-looking, toasty almond tone when you sweep the finely-milled powder across your cheeks.

charlotte tilbury filmstar bronze and glow fair medium swatches
Livin’ that NC42 life

The highlighter is equally beautiful. It’s a peachy gold with dainty shimmer, and, like the bronzer, it’s more on the natural-looking side. If you prefer highlights with a delicate touch, you’ll love it.

Because the powder grains in both products in the duos are so incredibly fine, they soften the look of fine lines and pores impressively well. No tell-tale caked-on makeup here.

charlotte tilbury filmstar bronze and glow fair medium
Little bit of bronze, and a little bit of glow

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Will Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream Cast a Spell on You?

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charlotte tilbury magic cream final
Nothing can stand in our way…

Brace yourself: if you happen to see this jar sitting atop your dressing table, it means that any second now, your lady’s maid will magically materialize to dress you, gently brush every lock of hair into place, and pin a diamond tiara on your head.

(Side note: I have watched an obscene amount of Downton Abbey over the past few days.)

Only Charlotte Tilbury could turn a standard-issue makeup artist’s trick — applying a layer of rich moisturizer on your face before putting on your face paint — and turn it into a bonafide F.L.L. (that’s “Fancy Lady Lifestyle,” dahhhling), with one of her line’s most renowned products: Magic Cream.

Lots of people swear by this rich, thick cream, which is made for all skin types and designed to be applied right before going in with your makeup.

Devotees of the Cult o’ Magic Cream claim that it potently plumps the skin, and it does contain heavy-hitting hydrators like hyaluronic acid, shea butter and aloe vera (to name a few), but I’d characterize the plumping effect as subtle.

The idea is that it’s supposed to smooth your canvas, so to speak, before you layer your foundation, concealer, powder, etc. on top. So, basically, it’s a rose-scented moisturizer/primer combo in a very pretty jar.

One thing about it? It smells fancy and expensive, and my skin absorbs the rich cream right away. Immediately after applying my base makeup on top of it — my foundation, powder, concealer, etc. — my base products look a little richer, more vibrant and slightly smoother. Everything looks a little more…natural and less like “makeup.”

If you’re a seasoned makeup person, you’ll see a subtle difference, but I dare say that most people won’t.

Here’s the thing: you can get a similar effect with any moisturizer, and doing a quick hit of moisturizer before base makeup is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Be that as it may, this cream’s ability to actually adhere to whatever you layer on top is its super power. In that way, it’s far better than a run-of-the-mill moisturizer. A lot of similarly rich creams will make your makeup slip right off, but this doesn’t. So, as a primer, it’s very effective.

I like it. A lot. But I don’t like the price. AT ALL.

INGREDIENTS

This product is gluten free.

AQUA/WATER/EAU, C12-15 ALKYL BENZOATE, GLYCERYL STEARATE SE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, GLYCERIN, OLUS OIL/VEGETABLE OIL/HUILE VÉGÉTALE, ISONONYL ISONONANOATE, CETYL ALCOHOL, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, DIMETHICONE, POLYESTER-7, PHENOXYETHANOL, NEOPENTYL GLYCOL DIHEPTANOATE, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, STEARETH-21, AVENA SATIVA (OAT) KERNEL EXTRACT, CARBOMER, DIMETHICONOL, POTASSIUM CETYL PHOSPHATE, CHLORPHENESIN, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, XANTHAN GUM, HYDROLYZED VIOLA TRICOLOR EXTRACT, ALLANTOIN, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE, DISODIUM EDTA, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, CAMELLIA OLEIFERA SEED OIL, ROSA CANINA FRUIT OIL, ROSA DAMASCENA EXTRACT, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, MICHELIA ALBA LEAF OIL, SODIUM LACTATE, COCO-GLUCOSIDE, PEG-8, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SODIUM HYALURONATE, TOCOPHEROL, PALMITOYL TETRAPEPTIDE-7, PALMITOYL TRIPEPTIDE-1, ASCORBYL PALMITATE, PLUMERIA RUBRA FLOWER EXTRACT, ASCORBIC ACID, CITRIC ACID, NICOTIANA SYLVESTRIS LEAF CELL CULTURE, LINALOOL, CITRONELLOL, GERANIOL.

The 30-ml. jar at top is $64, a 50-ml. jar is $100, and a 150-ml. jar is $225. (Wow!) Sephora also sells a tiny 0.5-ml. mini jar for $29. Every size it comes in is crazy pricey!

If you aren’t too keen on dropping your beauty budget on a product that’s basically invisible, not to worry; you have other options. Head over to MAC, and give Prep + Primer Natural Radiance a try (it’s an underrated rock star, IMHO).

While it isn’t anywhere near as luxurious as Charlotte’s Magic Cream, it does basically the same thing, and it’s about 50% less pricey at $42 for a 50-ml. size.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 597

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you are sunshine
You light up the world, my sweet friend!

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 was the first skincare product you ever bought on your own?

    Hmm… It was a long time ago. I can’t remember precisely what it was, because when I got into beauty, I was a tween, and I was all about makeup and hair, so skincare was more of a secondary interest…which, now that I think about it, is kinda weird, because I suffered from pretty bad acne back then.

    Anyway, I’m pretty sure it was one of the products teenage girls loved in the early ’90s — Noxema Cleansing Cream, Neutrogena bar soap (the amber one), Ten O Six Toner or Stridex acne pads.

    2. If you knew you couldn’t fail at it, what’s one thing you would try?

    Honestly? Real estate investing. ?️

    I know, that’s a full-on #adulting answer, but it’s true.

    3. Yoga pants or jeans?

    Tough call, homie. You know I have a serious love affair with my black, high-waisted stretchy pants, yet there’s something about wearing a pair of dark, skinny jeans that makes me feel neat and put together… I’m gonna go with the yoga pants, though, because it’s easier to bust out a quick leg stretch in them whenever I want.

    Speaking of that, let me stretch out my hammies for a sec…

    4. A perfume (or other scented product) you’ve worn within the last month?

    I was just telling a friend last week (hi, Maricar!), that I’ve been all about Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris Feminine Pluriel lately. It’s pricey but nobody else I know wears it, which I love. Plus I like the pink bottle!

    5. Something you find fun?

    Working out. ?

Feelin’ the energy

Hiya, friend and happy Monday. I’m going to try something this week, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride. It’s nothing super involved or stressful, I promise. It just involves a simple choice — choosing to focus on things that invigorate and inspire me, instead of choosing to invest time/effort/energy into things that drain my spirit (like needlessly worrying, complaining or obsessing over things I can’t change). Will you join me?

As part of this, I’m going to make lists throughout the week of things I’m grateful for, and I’m going to spend more of my time enjoying the people in my life.

My quick gratefulness list for this morning (’cause I love lists):

  • I’m grateful for central heating (because when our heater was broken last spring…dayum, life was cold).
  • I’m grateful for hearing Pretty Girl Rosie’s purr while she shares my desk chair and keeps my lap warm.
  • I’m grateful that I get to be the first face Connor sees every morning.
  • I’m grateful for this cup of Trader Joe’s coffee, because it’s so warm and delicious…
  • I’m grateful for scrunchies (got one in my hair right now, babe).

Lists.

I love lists.

They’re such a little thing, but I swear, it’s amazing how well they can help you change your point of view.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon!

1. What was the first skin care product you ever bought on your own?
2. If you knew you couldn’t fail at it, what’s one thing you would try?
3. Yoga pants or jeans?
4. A perfume (or other scented product) you’ve worn within the last month?
5. Something you think is fun?

P.P.S. This is *your* week, my friend. You’ve got this! ❤️

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