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

The Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 Collection: For Ladies (and Lords) Who Love Luminous Looks

February 8th, 2016 by Karen 20 Comments

You know what? Eff it! Let’s play hooky this afternoon. Whatdya say?

COME ON! Let’s do it. 🙂 The sun’s out; we could drive into the city, go to the Japanese Tea Gardens, walk around, check out the cherry blossoms, have a cup of tea and watch the pink petals glide in the wind… Doesn’t that sound nice?

I would love that, actually, and by the way, I’ll be wearing the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection, because this collection is all about that laid-back spring lifestyle.

No, not like you’re hiking up a mountain or, like, parasailing or doing X games. More like just enjoying a sunny day outside at the park, or kicking it in the city with your girlfriends.

guerlain spring glow 2016 packaging — Highlights from the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection…

guerlain spring glow 2016 — A few pieces from the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 360

February 8th, 2016 by Karen 22 Comments

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

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 seven 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.

What’s the key to getting “brows on fleek”?
Brow gel, because it does a little of everything! I use it to wrangle brow hairs into place, plump up the sparse spots and to map out the places I need to fill. And, depending on what color the brow gel is, you can use it for different things. Like, I’ll use a tinted brow gel to quickly add volume, color and shape to my brows, or I’ll use an untinted one to soften how things look after I use a pencil or brow powder — you know, to help everything up there look more natural.

My career advice is to…
Follow your passion, because if you have to spend the bulk of your waking hours doing something to pay the bills, it might as well be something you actually enjoy and believe in.

That’s not to say, “Never take a job just for the paycheck!” because you gotta do what you gotta do. I’ve had many jobs that bored me to tears, that I absolutely didn’t enjoy and wasn’t invested in, but I do think that if you’re unhappy in your career, you owe it to yourself to keep looking.

My favorite album is __________ because _________.
Madonna’s Immaculate Collection, because I can listen to it over and over again; I never get tired of that album… Plus, I know all the words to every song!

Also, it’s good road trip music.

What goes into making “The Ultimate Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich”?
For me, it’s Jiff or Skippy brand creamy peanut butter (because I ain’t got time for that crunchy business), marmalade (or, alternately, raspberry jam) and two pieces of soft, fresh honey whole wheat bread from Rustic Bakery in Novato.

What makeup do you have in your purse right now?
Let’s see… Dumping out my purse to check…

Apparently, I feel compelled to carry 10 nude lipsticks and glosses with me. WHY?!

I see NARS Lipgloss in Instant Crash, Buxom Lipgloss in Ava, Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss in Liar, NARS Lipgloss in Chihuahua, Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Medium Dark, Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lipstick in Pinky Groove, MAC Eli Goulding Lipstick in Only You, Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lip Pencil in Ex-Girlfriend and Urban Decay Brow Pencil in Neutral Brown.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. What’s the key to getting “brows on fleek”?
2. My career advice is to…
3. My favorite album is __________ because _________.
4. What goes into making “The Ultimate Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich”?
5. What makeup do you have in your purse right now?

In other news, THE SUPER BOWL! Did you watch? Understandably, because of the kitty connection, Tabs was pulling for the Panthers, but he was also happy to see Denver and Mr. Peyton Manning win.

He and Peyton train together sometimes during the off season. As one of the game’s all-time best tabby tight ends, Tabs has very good paws. He can catch just about anything thrown his way… 🙂

How ’bout the Kitten Bowl? I recorded it on Tivo, and I’m gonna watch it at lunch. No spoilers please! Don’t tell me who wins.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 384

February 7th, 2016 by Karen 6 Comments

Dear Diary,

As I sit here polishing my 2007 Super Bowl championship ring, I can’t help but feel a little bit nostalgic… As you know, I used to play professional ball for the Mill Valley Wildcats, and sometimes it surprises me that people don’t realize this. Yeah, my career, although it was short, taught me so much and prepared me for this life of fame and luxury.

Football taught me discipline, toughness, and it taught me how to basically stand up and be fierce. And if you can handle the pressure of the Super Bowl, basically, you can handle anything, even Karl Lagerfeld on a bad day.

So I’m walking down memory lane today. I mean, without that opportunity, without playing tight end for the Wildcats, I don’t know what would have become of me. I was just a cat on the mean streets of Mill Valley when that scout discovered me and said that I had the right physique and temperament to be a star in the NFL.

Unfortunately, my football career ended suddenly with a tail injury, but it gave me the confidence to transition over to kitty modeling. The rest is history.

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The Day in Beauty, Vol. 9: A Good Hair Day, Aveda Color Conserve, Low-Maintenance Hair, and Guerlain Spring 2016

February 5th, 2016 by Karen 31 Comments

Slowly, she pulled herself up atop the rocky plateau, then stood tall and gazed out across the vast horizon. It seemed like all of eternity stretched out before her. She could see for hundreds of miles in every direction, the mountains, the rivers, the valleys and forests, the endless sky and the distant sea. There were towns and cities far below that looked like little dots. Suddenly, with every fiber of her being, she roared into the great beyond: “I DID MY HAIR TODAY!!!”

Honestly, I just needed to feel a little bit more like myself, ya know? — because I’ve had it up in a messy bun all week long. Seriously, I haven’t even bothered to run a brush through it. That’s how tired I’ve been, but when I woke up this morning, I was like, “Karen, do your damned hair.”

So I did. I did my damned hair. 🙂

Here’s a great hair tutorial on using the T3 Bodywaver to get BIG curls

I was randomly cruising “the YouTube” last night and looking for different ways to use my T3 Bodywaver curling iron when and came upon this short video by one of T3’s head stylists (head as in top, haha). It shows this technique where you slowly unwrap each section of hair from the barrel in such a way that the curls retain more of a wavy pattern at the ends.

I tried it this morning, and yay! Pretty good results.

So it’s all about the small victories. 🙂

Time to stock up on Aveda

I also wanted to do my hair today because I washed it last night (and I’m so happy about that!) partly because I wanted to try some things from Aveda. I’ve been stocking up on color preserving shampoos and conditioners because, ya know…I’m getting my hair done and colored tomorrow, and I figure that since I don’t know how long it’ll be before my next trip to the salon (kinda revolves around BG’s schedule), I want to get as many color preserving products up in the mix now as I can.

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For Plumper Brows, Apply a Bit of Foundation and Setting Powder to Them First

February 5th, 2016 by Karen 16 Comments

If you aren’t #blessed with naturally big, bushy brows, first, I feel ya. Second, you need to know about this secret squirrel way to thicken and volumize (is that even a real word??) your eyebrows.

Apply a bit of foundation and setting powder to your brows first, while they’re still bare (just let it run over your brows), before you go in with your brow pencils and brow gels, brow powders, etc.

So I stumbled on this trick by accident. It was one of those “Once upon a time…” things. One day, while I was doing my makeup, I was applying my foundation and setting powder and accidentally got quite a bit up in my brows, but instead of removing it by brushing through my brows with a brow comb or using a Q-tip soaked in makeup remover, I left it be. (I think I was just feeling lazy.)

After that, I went about my normal brow routine but noticed that my brows looked particularly thick, plump and bangin’ later that day.

So, next time you’re going about your merry makeup way, try plopping a little bit of your foundation and setting powder on your brows (just the smallest, almost accidental amount), and then do your brows like you normally would afterward.

I think you’ll notice a difference. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood (naturally brow-less) beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Day in Beauty, Vol. 8: A Cute Cat Clutch, Misa Jewelry, and a NARS Spring 2016 Makeup Tutorial

February 4th, 2016 by Karen 34 Comments

Um…will you be my Valentime?

Yes, girl, I said “Valentime.”

V-Day hints and Misa Jewelry

Not to drop hints or anything…but OK, I’m dropping mad hints right now, to whom it may concern. 🙂

(Ahem! That’s probably going to be you, El Hub.)

To make it easier for him (El Hubster) — you know, just for ideas — I sent him some links this morning, like, “Hint, hint! Valentime’s Day is right around the corner!” and one of the links was to Misa Jewelry.

I found out about them from my friend Erika at Makeup Bag (she just started posting on her blog again, BTW, which I’m very excited about!). Check out her recent lifestyle posts about gold tableware lust and the craziness that is ironing your bedding.

Anyway, the jewelry. It’s got a beachy-ish, Hawaii vibe and these neat organic shapes.

I’m all about that branch series… I just think the pieces are so dainty and different.

It’s fine jewelry, so it’s kinda expensive, but some of the items (I spotted a few in the branch series) are a relatively doable splurge. I’ve got my eye on the Roots Vine Necklace ($175 for the sterling silver version) and the Twig Ear Pin ($165).

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What’s Your General Makeup Removal Process?

February 4th, 2016 by Karen 41 Comments

Let's get ready to moisturize and prime! — Bare skin, yo!

Nothing fancy. I start with an oil-based cleanser like DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, which is basically great and pretty much removes everything, including my eye makeup (but I also like this one by Dolce & Gabbana, mostly because of the rosy scent…but it’s $50!), and then followup with something like Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser Foaming Formula for deeper cleansing and to take care of anything that the oil-based cleanser missed.

How about you?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen