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Urban Adventures

July 5th, 2019 by Karen 14 Comments

urban decay soul love glitter 3
B-A-N-A-N-A-S

In the interest of full disclosure, the only place I went wearing this glittery makeup (Urban Decay, obvs!) was downstairs…and then upstairs…and then downstairs at home because I felt absolutely bonkers wearing it, so perhaps the title of this post should be “Suburban Adventures”?

But you know how it is… Sometimes, you gotta just play with glitter, even if it takes you to crazytown.

There are some big-@ss flecks of glitter in this look, and yes, they’re HUGE. I used two UD glitter gels, including Distortion, which has iridescent hexagonal glitter pieces (they look white in pics taken with a flash, but more purple and pink in real life); and Soul Love, the dark, dainty teal. Both are safe to use on eyes.

urban decay soul love glitter 3

By the way, I stumbled upon a tip while I was working out this look! If you’re layering tons of glitter on your lids (because you never know when the occasion will arise), wait for each layer to completely dry before applying the next one, because if you pat more glitter on your lids while they’re still wet, you might disrupt the previous layer.

Which is just…not good.

urban decay soul love glitter 3

I also stumbled upon a lovely, easy way to do a natural-looking base: full-coverage liquid matte concealer (dotted wherever you want coverage) sheered out with a face brush and dampened with a makeup setting spray.

Ideally, use a face brush with synthetic fibers because synthetic bristles won’t absorb as much liquid product as natural bristles will, which leaves more on your face.

urban decay summer solstice
All about that (sheer) base

[Continue reading…]

There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Makeup, Urban Decay

Fireworks!!!!!

July 4th, 2019 by Karen 12 Comments

mac ruby woo

Your Fourth of July fun fact! — aerial fireworks go by several different names, many of which are botanically themed…like peony, dahlia and chrysanthemum.

Coincidentally, I was thinking about vibrant, dynamic peonies when I did this eye look.

As each boom radiates outward, the circumference of each colorful circle has a defined shape, but as it expands, each individual point of light trails off ever so slightly until it disappears.

For the eye, I tried to convey the radiating roundness with the half-moon shape, and then spread the bronze and ruby red glitters outward.

urban decay stonewall 1

urban decay stonewall 2

For the lips, I experimented with two different styles — one, an opaque, editorial (a.k.a. “artsy-fartsy”) matte red; and the other a sheer raspberry, which I think is slightly more wearable.

Um…is red glitter ever wearable, though? DISCUSS. ?
[Continue reading…]

There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Benefit, Eyes, Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup, Urban Decay

Get Gorgeous Doughnut Lips with NARS Oil-Infused Lip Tint

July 3rd, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

nars oil infused lip tint
NARS Oil-Infused Lip Tint ($26 each)

When your lips gleam like a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, you’re doing it right! ?

The new NARS Oil-Infused Lip Tints blaze bright neon in their tubes, but they look almost clear on lips. There’s just a wink of coy color, and thanks to the bevy of fruity moisturizing factors they contain, my dry lip flake situation is currently MIA.

The formula feels like a cross between a gloss and a balm, and these somehow manage to not glide around the outline of my lips, which, as a chronic lip-rubber, I appreciate.

One swipe across my lower lip, and another swipe across my upper lip, and then a quick smack-smack-smack, and my lips have that healthy, shiny sheen normally reserved for teenagers just getting outta bed.

I particularly like how sheer the brights are (the rose is a little too shy on my pigmented lips), and I think their delicateness makes them work well with a wider array of looks than a full-tilt, high-pigment gloss.

INGREDIENTS:
HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE · DIISOSTEARYL MALATE · BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER · ETHYLENE/PROPYLENE/STYRENE COPOLYMER · SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE · SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL · RUBUSIDAEUS (RASPBERRY) SEED OIL · PUNICA GRANATUM FLOWER EXTRACT · GLYCERIN · TOCOPHEROL · HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL · ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS (ROSEMARY) LEAF EXTRACT · POLYETHYLENE · MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX/CERA MICROCRISTALLINA/CIRE MICROCRISTALLINE · POLYGLYCERYL-10 PENTAOLEATE · BUTYLENE/ETHYLENE/STYRENE COPOLYMER · FLAVOR (AROMA) · SILICA · GLYCERYL DIISOSTEARATE · TRIISOSTEARIN · TRIMETHYLOLPROPANE TRIETHYLHEXANOATE · TIN OXIDE · ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE · POLYSILICONE-2 · BHT · PHENOXYETHANOL · [+/- (MAY CONTAIN): MICA · TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891) · IRON OXIDES (CI 77491) · RED 27 (CI 45410) · RED 33 (CI 17200) · RED 28 (CI 45410) · CARMINE (CI 75470)]

They’re $26 each, limited edition, and you can find ’em at Sephora.

nars disco infernal
Disco Infernal (by the way, I’m wearing the NARS Wanted Mini Eyeshadow Palette on my eyes).
nars high security
High Security
nars primal instinct
Primal Instinct

What’s bumping in my headphones at the moment?

Sometimes when I get home from the gym I like to sit in my car in the garage for a few minutes and listen to music, because, I dunno…I’m alone, nobody’s asking me any questions, and I can just chair dance in complete and total privacy simmer with my thoughts.

Last night, I was listening to a local hip-hop station (106.1 KMEL, which I’ve been listening to since I was in middle school, OMG!) when this song started playing.

I had a moment, man! For approximately four minutes, my Mazda temporarily transformed into Club Karen, complete with booty shaking and arm waving — the whole kit and caboodle.

Of course, this song played in the middle of a mix, so I had to reverse engineer it to find the artist (Ari Lennox). I found her by Googling a phrase from the song: “break me off gitchy gitchy ya ya.”

Seriously, the Internets are amazing!


[Continue reading…]

There are 7 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Lips, Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

July 3rd, 2019 by Karen 17 Comments

1. Mrs. Casual on Instagram

WARNING: Do not — I repeat — DO NOT visit Jenn’s (otherwise known as “Mrs. Casual’s”) feed if you’re trying to curb your Target habit. She has a knack for finding the cutest clothes, and she pieces together inexpensive finds into outfits that look like you spent some serious $$$ on them.

View this post on Instagram

Sale Alert!! Friday favorites on the blog today and this chambray maxi was one of the most popular items ?? it’s also on sale for $25!! PS also found some Tory Burch Miller’s on sale ?? All details through the link in my profile http://liketk.it/2CVVF #LTKsalealert #LTKshoecrush #LTKstyletip #LTKunder50 #targetstyle #mrscasual

A post shared by Jenn | Mrs Casual (@mrscasual) on Jun 28, 2019 at 4:49am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Anyone go to Target not needing anything at all ? THATS when it’s dangerous ? but if this chambray tank is what comes out of it I’m 100% ok with that ?? All details through the link in my profile http://liketk.it/2CpRf #LTKsalealert #LTKshoecrush #LTKunder50 #mrscasual

A post shared by Jenn | Mrs Casual (@mrscasual) on Jun 8, 2019 at 5:42pm PDT

2. Going up and down the ladder

We’ve been doing a lot of ascending and descending endurance training in that HIIT class I go to on Monday and Wednesday nights, and for the record…they’re both wonderful and terrible at the same time.

This was BRUTAL.

In the plus column, I feel like Wonder Woman when I’m done. On the not-so-plus column, they feel like low-key torture when you’re in the middle of them. Last night we went “down the ladder” by starting with 20 burpees (with a push-up!), followed by four approximately 200-meter laps around the gym parking lot.

Then we did 15 more burpees and three more laps, then 10 more burpees and two more laps, until finally five more burpees and one more lap to completely finish us off, and we only had seven minutes to do the whole thing… I finished just after the seven minutes expired.

I like the portability of a workout like this because you can do it basically anywhere. All you need is a timer, a sidewalk or some other flat surface where you can drop and do your burpees, and a parking lot or a cul-de-sac to do the running.

3. Having long lashes again

I quit using this stuff in May, right around the time Tabs crossed over the Rainbow Bridge (at the time, I could barely remember to brush my teeth, so a lash growth serum was not happening), and my lashes fell out and broke off from crying so much.

I’ve finally gotten it together enough to start using Lash Boost again on a nightly basis, and once again, I have long, luscious lashes… This stuff is gold.

4. Pantry organizers from Amazon

I’m currently convinced that one of the keys to life is having an organized pantry, so I’ve been purging and organizing mine because when left unchecked it becomes a kitchen-based black hole where bag clips, spice jars and everything else disappears. Case in point: I found a can of Trader Joe’s beans in there that had expired…in 2007!

If you want something to disappear into the abyss — your ex, credit card debt, mental baggage — stick it in your pantry, man!
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There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Bigs and Littles

July 2nd, 2019 by Karen 8 Comments

biolage matrix equisite oil
Big things and little things

Sometimes you need a little…and sometimes you need a lot, which is why I grabbed two liter-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner last weekend, along with a gaggle of cute skin care minis.

Ulta is having a liter-sized sale right now on select brands of big shampoos and conditioners. I popped over there yesterday and grabbed these GINORMOUS bottles of Matrix Biolage ExquisiteOil Micro-Oil Shampoo and Conditioner…

The shampoo usually sells for $28, and the conditioner for $33, but I got them for $15.99 apiece.

What a steal!

I’ve never tried them before, so I realize that this could have been risky, but Ulta has a generous return policy. Both the shampoo and conditioner are silicone-free, which my hair usually likes. Plus, back in college I used Biolage all the time.

I took both for a spin last night, and this morning I woke up to soft, bouncy hair! Paws up! ?

The Drunk Elephant face cleanser and moisturizer came in a Sephora VIB birthday gift set. I actually went in last Friday to restock a bottle of Kate Somerville Anti-Bac for the gazillionth time, and the MAC minis are limited edition scented versions of the classic Fix+.

mac fix plus setting spray cucumber
Tiny!

Fits in your fingertips

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There are 8 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Drunk Elephant, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Matrix Bioloage, Skin Care

Neon Lights: 3 Colorful Looks

July 1st, 2019 by Karen 18 Comments

The three colorful looks in this post have a couple things in common.

  1. I wore them all to preschool drop-off in the last few days (the pink look at the top was from this morning!).
  2. I did all of them using the $29 LORAC Neon Lights palette.

In the Neon Lights palette, that yellow is more of a goldenrod, which I’m kind of disappointed by because I wish the palette had a lemon yellow… The goldenrood just isn’t yellow enough for me.

Wow, that’s something I never thought I’d ever say!

lorac neon lights
Fun colors

Say “what,” Karen? You’re not wearing a sh*t-ton of browns for once? LOL. Neutrals are normally my wheelhouse, it’s true. I usually default to them because they fit my my lowest energy state, ha ha ha! Plus, you can’t really muck up neutrals.

Still, I’ve been itching to wear more color. I’ve just been trying to think of ways to feel comfortable doing it, because as fun as bright, intense glittery looks are, I feel a little crazy wearing that kind of makeup when all I’m doing is bringing coywolf to school or toddler ballet class.

The colorful looks here are my speed because, even though there’s a bright focal point in every one, there are still subtle-ish elements, like the foundation.

Something Sam said in that ’90s makeup video I mentioned the other day resonated with me. To paraphrase, she said that it’s not the things you pile on that make a look look cool. It’s what you leave out, so I basically went super minimal on the base in all of these colorful looks.

I’ve also been VERY inspired by Katie Jane Hughes lately. She’s a makeup artist I follow on Instagram, and she is JUST SO DAMN GOOD. She’ll paint a delicate swish of sparkly green shadow or sketch a skinny slice of neon yellow liner, so you can tell she loves wearing color, but she also likes to go minimal with the base.

I’m a little obsessed with her at the moment!

LOOK 1: PINK SUMMER SUNSET

lorac neon lights 1

lorac neon lights 1 side down

  • Eyes: Bolt, Girls and Atomic eyeshadow from the LORAC Neon Brights Palette, Chanel Dimensions de Chanel Mascara, Maybelline Bold Brown Tattoo Studio Liner, IT Cosmetics Brow Power Micro in Universal Taupe, Urban Decay Yeyo liner (as a base)
  • Base: MAC Next to Nothing Foundation in Medium Deep (all over, applied with fingers) and Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze (patted with fingers on cheeks, nose, around the lips, and under the eyes)
  • Lips: MAC Stripdown Lip Pencil and MAC Open Presence Lipstick

lorac neon lights 1 closeup 1

lorac neon lights 1 1

LOOK 2: BLUE NOTE

lorac neon lights down

lorac neon lights 2 closeup

lorac neon lights 2 side
[Continue reading…]

There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Estee Lauder, Eyes, LORAC, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Palettes, Tom Ford Beauty

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 581

July 1st, 2019 by Karen 41 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. Fictional character you’d like to hang with?

    The former English major in me feels like I should write down any number of British literature heroines…but honestly, all I wanna do is hang with Elle Woods. We could go to the nail salon, do the bend and snap, talk about the election in 2020. It would be a hoot! I’d look forward to her advice on whether I should keep growing out my grays. I feel like she’d give me an honest answer.

    2. How much is your significant other into skin care?

    I’m pretty sure he washes his face with Herbal Essences Shampoo, SO YOU TELL ME.

    3. What’s on your lips right now?

    Hahaha, nothing but Bliss wax, since I’m de-fuzzing the ‘stash.

    4. Your favorite Disney princess?

    I guess Belle from Beauty and the Beast, because she loves to read. Sometimes, though, I wonder if she had Stockholm syndrome…

    5. Describe your dream jeans.

    Dark wash, high-wasted, with just a little stretch to allow for cake, but not so much stretch that I’m pulling up my pants every time I stand up or sit down. The length would hit just above the ankle, and I wouldn’t have to hem them, because — hello, dream jeans!

The “Purr-maid”

When cats and mermaids collide…

Drawing on the sidewalk with chalk is tons of fun! — especially when you receive a special request from a three-year old to draw a “kitty cat mermaid,” otherwise known as a Purr-maid.

There’s poetry in the fleeting beauty of chalk drawing, methinks…

Anyway, that’s not even the biggest cat-related news I have. Yesterday while Connor and I were drawing outside, we were visited by a gorgeous orange and white boy name of Milo.

Milo kindly supervised the art direction of our drawings, and then when he was done with that, he invited himself inside and patrolled our kitchen.

I ran into my neighbor later in the day, and she mentioned that Milo hung out at her house, too. Apparently, he’s a cat about town!

Hope you have a wonderful Monday and a fantastic week. Do you have any plans for July 4th?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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

1. Fictional character you’d like to hang with?
2. How much is your significant other into skin care?
3. What’s on your lips right now?
4. Your favorite Disney princess?
5. Describe your dream jeans.

There are 41 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 560

June 30th, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

“First time I saw Tabs in that Dior Jet Ski ad, I knew he’d be an action star. I tried to sign him when we were casting for Transformers, but we couldn’t get the schedules to line up. Really, Shia was available, and Tabs wasn’t. And the rest, as they say, is history. Would have been cool to see what Tabs would have done with the role, though.” — Michael Bay, Producer, Director

“Look at that paw placement and how he angles his tum. I can’t even tell you how many models I’ve tried to teach those specific body placements to, but Tabs just knew how to do it naturally.” – Miss J. Alexander, Model, Runway Coach

“You know, I was inspired to take up dancing because of Tabs. I had a poster of that famous Dior Cat Shades ad on my bedroom wall when I was a little girl, and that picture was my inspiration for ballet. I never would have become the dancer I am if it weren’t for Tabs.” — Misty Copeland, Ballet Dancer, American Ballet Theatre

“At the museum, we keep the tiara and feather boa in a climate-controlled vault to protect them for future generations.” — Jean-Luc Martinez, President-Director, Musée du Louvre


[Continue reading…]

There are 7 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Tabs

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

Makeup and Beauty Blog features daily product reviews, makeup tips and beauty news — like an interactive version of a monthly print magazine, except with occasional pictures of my cat.

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