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Front Row Fabulous With the Giorgio Armani Front Row Collection

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giorgio armani front row collection
The Lip Maestro (one of one, $38), Ecstasy Lacquers (five of six, $38 each) and the Rouge D’Armani Sheers (six of six, $37 each) from the Giorgio Armani Front Row Collection, available now

If I someone told me that I was going to sit in the front row at Paris Fashion Week for the Chanel show, my first reaction would be, are you for real!? I would LOVE that, but then…what would I wear? A designer closet, I do not have, and I don’t know if I could get away with high-waisted black Zellas.

Hmm…

The Giorgio Armani Front Row Collection: A new launch of LE lipsticks and gloss-like liquid lipsticks

These are nudes with ‘tude. There are six nude lipsticks ($38 each), six nude lip glosses/liquid lipsticks ($37 each) and a long-wearing nude liquid lipstick ($38) in the release, but before you grab a cup of Sleepytime Tea and peel off your pants (a.k.a. your trousers, for those of us from the UK) to take a nap, these are not snooze-worthy nudes. This is an Armani-style magnum opus of nude with pink, coral and beige works of art.

But let’s be real here — you can find these color families for less. That’s true, but Armani’s lipstick, liquid lipstick and lip gloss formulas (these are all unscented and unflavored) are different in the best possible way. While I was swatching these, I kept thinking, “Why aren’t more brands ripping off Armani??”

Lip Maestro (liquid lipstick): Front Row Collection

Lovely Lip Maestro in 514 ($38) is the solitary liquid lipstick in the launch. An opaque neutral pink, it has a half-matte, half-satin finish, which is something you don’t see every day.

giorgio armani lip maestro 514
Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in 514 ($38)

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 469

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Making music wherever we go…

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past 10 (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine. ?

1. A food that reminds you of your childhood?

I haven’t had one in years, but here it is: a butter and sugar sandwich!

Yes, I know. Terrible. But it was my favorite snack in the whole wide world.

You take an almost obscene amount of sugar, and book-end it between two pieces of soft Wonder Bread and a thick layer of butter. I’d have one every afternoon at the babysitters when I got home from elementary school (again, I know, I know).

2. What’s something you’re pretty good at?

I think I’m pretty good at writing lists, particularly lists that make me laugh.

And if they make other people laugh sometimes, then hey, bonus!

3. What’s the best damned mascara you’ve ever tried?

Well, crap, this is really hard. I’m feeling stage fright all of a sudden! So many choices… I’ve used some GREAT mascaras over the years from Chanel, Guerlain, MAC, Urban Decay…but I think I’ll go with something recent. I love Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Mascara. It separates, thickens, lengthens, holds the curl, and hello! — it has dinosaurs on the tube.

4. What’s one of your dreams?

Honestly, I’m thinking short term today. I’d just like to feel satisfied with my creative work at the end of the day. I feel like I need to mix things up, but I haven’t figured out what that means yet.

5. When was the last time you got to really veg out for an entire day, like do some serious, hardcore loafing?

I’ve gotten a few hours here and there, but I’m trying to remember the last time I had an entire day to veg out.

I think there was one day a few weeks ago. I hung out on the couch and watched a bunch of cheesy movies. The Craft is on Netflix now BTW (you’re welcome).

6. BONUS: Say something nice to the person above you in the comments.

Since there’s no one above me, I’d like to say something nice to all of you.

I love your smile. 🙂

Happy Monday!

So, I’ve been doing this thing where I mix real coffee with decaf coffee in the mornings (mostly decaf), but the ratio of real to decaf has been steadily increasing, and now if I don’t have my decaf/coffee hybrid drink my head starts to throb.

BWHAAA! Oh, coffee…I love and loathe you at the same time.

Hello, friend! I’m going to take a page from my daughter’s book today, and smile in response to whatever happens. Baby throws a tantrum? Smile. Can’t get anyone on the phone? Smile. Late for exercise class? Smile.

We’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping it goes well.

I hope you have light heart today, and smile brightly. Sending you a big hug on this lovely Monday! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are this week’s questions to copy and paste:
1. A food that reminds you of your childhood?
2. What’s something you’re pretty good at?
3. What’s the best damned mascara you’ve ever tried?
4. What’s one of your dreams?
5. When was the last time you got to really veg out for an entire day, like do some serious, hardcore loafing?
6. BONUS: Say something nice to the person above you in the comments.

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 443

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My darlings and divas,

Greetings and love to you all! I’m feeling exceptionally well rested and relaxed today, which is unusual considering my recent trip to Japan. I expected to still be jet-lagged.

I was there on a whirlwind week of work because my agent booked me on a speaking tour across Japan’s famed cat islands, so I shared my years of business experience with the local cats there, discussing personal branding, managing Internet fame, and forecasting upcoming fashion trends for summer/fall/winter 2017.

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Saturday Surfing: April 1, 2017

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karen and connor march 2017
Fell in love with a girl

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

– Robert Brault

This was one of those weeks where I blinked on Monday, and it was Friday when I opened my eyes. Like boom! — the week was over. What the what!?

I guess I was busier than I thought. Isn’t it weird how time really does seem to go by quicker when you’re busy? I wonder why that is…

I remember how a week seemed to stretch on forever when I was a kid. My, how things change.

I’ve had that quote up there at the top on my mind. I know that when I get busy doing day-to-day stuff, time flies, and you can’t get these moments back. Gotta always remember to cherish things because the only constant in life is that everything is temporary.

OK! On that note (LOL!), I still found time to surf the Interwebz a little this week, and here are some things that crossed my path.

And some videos


I swear, if Tabs learned how to do this, I’d be hearing bells ALL DAMN DAY.


One of my favorite people on YouTube, Dani from CoffeeBreakwithDani, shares her monthly faves from March.


MAC Senior Artist Keri Blair shows us how she uses the new MAC Next to Nothing Face Colour foundation.


In case you were wondering, glitter tears are a thing.

Hello, friend! Happy April 1st. 🙂 Today I’m doing some much-needed spring cleaning around the house (even though I REALLY don’t want to), and tomorrow I hope to take Connor to the park, if the weather’s nice, because there’s going to be a free Kindermusik class. And yes, I think I’m more excited than she is at the prospect of singing and dancing around outside.

What are you doing today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Latest From the Deck of Scarlet Palette Subscription Service: Edition No. 01

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deck of scarlet 01
There’s something kinda 50 Shades about this, amiright?

I feel like this lady on the Deck of Scarlet No. 01 Edition palette is about to 50 Shades me…like her sole mission in life is to punish you and pleasure you at the same time. *cracks whip* ?

This is the latest palette from upstart beauty brand/makeup palette subscription service Deck of Scarlet. You pay $29.95 per month every other month, and get a different limited edition eye, cheek and lip palette with some pencils on the side, and if the combo for a particular month doesn’t do it for you, you can skip that one without having to pay for it.

Deck of Scarlet

The products are cruelty free, made in the USA, and you can only get them online.

The big twist, other than the whole palette subscription angle, is that every new palette is a different collaboration with a different popular vlogger.

This is their third one (ironically called No. 01), and it’s a collab with YouTuber Evon Wahab.

I really don’t know anything about her, but I looked her up on YouTube and saw the front of her channel page, and she’s really pretty.

The palette has three powder eyeshadows, a contouring powder, a highlighting powder, two lipsticks, a lip liner and an eye liner.

Honestly, I’m not into lipsticks that come in palettes, but I like the coral one here, Kiss the Coral. It’s a warm, satiny coral that feels fab.

I do like that the palettes have separate covers to keep the powders from mingling with the lip products, especially considering that the powder products like to scoot around, particularly the eyeshadows. I have to remember to tap off my brush, or I end up with lots of fallout.

The shadows remind me of NYX. They’re soft, pigmented and look intense in swatches, but they sheer out pretty quickly on lids. I think they’re good for blown-out smoky looks because they blend easily, but if I’m working quickly, the colors tend to all blend together. So they’re easy to over-blend.

deck of scarlet 01 swatches

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15-Minute Makeup: Colorful Springy Green and Purple Eyes With the Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints in Mighty Moss and Portly Plum

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clinique mighty moss

I looked outside my window this morning and noticed that the oak trees on my street have their leaves again! When you look up, all you see is green. It’s gorgeous!

So, I wanted to wear green today.

It is possible to wear color and still finish your makeup in 15 minutes or less

You know, I also wanted to attempt a 15-minute look that wasn’t 100% neutrals.

It’s easier to do quickie makeup with smoky browns and beige (which you know I love), but sometimes I like to challenge myself (but not too much), so I paired a green lid with a purple lower lash line, pink cheeks and pink lips today.

It reminds me that you CAN wear color while doing speedy makeup. It IS possible. You just have to be careful how you go about it, and I think that it also helps to focus on either your eyes or your lips.

Pick one — eyes or lips

If you go with bright lips, you get a lot of bang for your buck. With a bright red, coral, purple, pink or something else, you can dial back everything else, and don’t have to try as hard with your eyes and your skin, etc.

And when you’re in a major rush, bright lips are usually easier to do than bright eyes. There’s more room for error, and you don’t have to worry as much about perfect symmetry.

I mean, do you want to be moving like a makeup maniac at 100 miles per hour for your 15 minutes, or would you rather take a leisurely lip stroll?

I’m just sayin’.

clinique mighty moss 2
Wearing Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Radiant Magenta on my cheeks and Bite Beauty Lip Liner in 008 topped with MAC Fulfilled Plushglass on my lips

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What’s Your Skin Story?

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no makeup
Oh, hello there, bare skin!

You can start anywhere you want, but I think I’ll start at the beginning, because that’s usually a good place to start, to borrow a sentiment from The Sound of Music.

I was lucky. I didn’t have any skin issues when I was very young, but I did started breaking out when I reached the sixth grade. I’d get these little pimples on my forehead, and I remember my mom taking me to a dermatologist, who gave me something called a PanOxyl Bar, which was a soap that smelled awful and bleached all my t-shirts, and a tube of super strong benzoyl peroxide.

They made my skin feel raw, but they kinda helped. Basically, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t incorporate any moisturizing products. My mom, who has perfect skin, really didn’t know how to help me either.

I pretty much continued to break out through high school, but the breakouts were minor. Just a few small pimples here and there. I used the benzoyl peroxide consistently, and it did help.

But things got more complicated in college. In my second year, I went through some sort of hormonal shift (my acne has always been tied to my hormones), and the few small pimples I’d been dealing with turned into big, painful pimples on my cheeks.

I started taking Accutane, and it was the only thing that really helped. It’s still controversial, and it was even more controversial back then, but it helped me a lot. It cleared up my skin, which remained clear until I hit my mid-30s.

I think that’s when I went through another hormonal shift. I started getting chin acne (but you already know about that).

I’m in my early-40s now with drier skin (which used to be super oily) that’s still acne-prone. I use benzoyl peroxide daily (Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion), both in the morning and at night.

Now I’m more concerned about evening out my skin tone and dealing with fine lines than I am about preventing and treating breakouts.

I do have some fine lines under my eyes and around my mouth, but I like to attribute them to smiling. 🙂 I guess I smile a lot, because I’ve got the wrinkles to show it, LOL!

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MAC Next to Nothing Collection Face Colours, Pressed Powders and Fan Brushes

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mac next to nothing foundation
The new MAC Next to Nothing Foundations, coming to MAC counters and online April 6

Next to nothing sounds like my approach to cat naps.

Hey, man! When I want to take a nap, it’s pants off, window cracked open, and then I peace out! Like, instantly.

Connor Claire does it too. She’ll pull off her pants in her pack ‘n’ play, and bam! — she’s asleep in 5 seconds.

Seriously, try it sometime. De-pants, then nap. It’s totally a thing. 🙂

A new sheer foundation from MAC

Next to Nothing is also the name of MAC’s new sheer liquid foundation, which really does feel like you’re wearing next to nothing. It’s a barely-there whisper of opalescence in a 1.2-oz. glass bottle with a pump, and it’s $31. Nine shades are coming to the permanent line, along with a line of Next to Nothing Pressed Powders and two synthetic fan brushes, starting April 6th.

mac to nothing swatches light final
From the top: Light and Light Plus

I think of Next to Nothing as almost like a liquid CC or a BB cream. It blurs my pores and covers juuust enough of my freckles to have a place in my arsenal.

Along the MAC family spectrum of sheer foundations, it sits about halfway between Face and Body (which is sheerer and doesn’t blur my pores as well) and MAC Studio Waterweight (which has fuller coverage and a matte-er (more matte?) finish.

If you like Face and Body but wish it was better at blurring pores, you should totes give Next to Nothing a try.

mac next to nothing swatches medium final
Medium, Medium Plus, Medium Dark and Medium Deep

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