A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Sometimes a girl (or guy!) just wants to treat herself to a trip to Sephora, and while she’s there, maybe find herself something that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Ya feel me?! I think you do. 🙂
I was there earlier today under the guise of “searching for a Father’s Day gift for my dad,” while also looking for an inexpensive treat for…myself. Here are 10 potential beauty treats for less than $10 each, whoop-whoop!
Father’s Day is hours away (it’s this Sunday, ack!), and purr usual, I’m scrambling to find my dad a gift.
Is it just me, or is it surprisingly hard to shop for dudes?
I never know what to get my dad. He has more than enough flashlights, socks, radios and pocket knives, so I think this year I’ll get him something related to men’s grooming.
I guess that I could always fall back on a tech gadget or a case of beer (and there’s always beef jerky). Any of those would make him really happy, too, but he’s always seemed to like getting shave cream or cologne.
I think that most guys — at least the guys in my life — like it when they get grooming gifts because they’re the kinds of things they never buy for themselves.
Honestly, I don’t know… It’s just a theory. 🙂
Anywho! I stopped by Sephora this afternoon to look around. Here are some last-minute Father’s Day beauty-related gift ideas…
Skin care kits and shaving sets are always a good place to start. I think my dad would love The Perfect Shave Kit by Anthony ($65), which comes with a face cleanser, pre-shave oil, shave cream and an after shave balm, and the Jack Black sets ($24-55) look like something most dads would like, too.
Advertorials like this one are brought to you by my sponsors. They’re carefully chosen based on what I think you might like; however, this post was entirely written by the sponsor.
Brought to you by Hada Labo Tokyo.
In need of a little skin reboot? We hear you! While washing your face should be an essential part of your everyday skincare routine, a face wash alone is not powerful enough to clear out unwanted oils and dirt. The main reason for a less-than-stellar-finish is a loss of brightness, which is most often the result of a build-up of dead skin cells, fine lines, dryness, and enlarged pores. The solution? A complexion-boosting routine designed to keep your skin hydrated, glowing, healthy, and refreshed.
Below you will find five skin rejuvenating secrets (and the products that go above and beyond the call of duty). Ready, set, get to work!
Regardless of your skin type, everyone should use a gentile, non-abrasive cleanser. Our go-to formula gives skin a deeper clean than a plain ‘ol hydrating cleanser, washing away dirt, oil, and impurities. The result? Skin that feels refreshed, healthy, and silky-smooth. We especially love that it’s fragrance, alcohol, and sulfate free.
Instead of scrubbing your face with a grainy, rough scrub, opt for one that has acids or brightening ingredients to dissolve the dead skin. Choose an exfoliating product that helps protect skin with anti-aging properties of antioxidants, which reduces free radical damage. This will stimulate circulation and leave skin gorgeous and glowing. What more could you ask for?
An anti-aging masque is the key to a flawless finish. Looking for a one-of-a-kind spa treatment at home? This soft cotton facial masque drenches skin with a full bottle of anti-aging serum to boost hydration, smooth fine lines, and restore firmness and bounce to your skin. Use it once or twice a week for 10 minutes and prepare for seriously hydrating results.
A super-concentrated serum will not only correct discoloration, smooth fine lines, speed cell turnover, and provide necessary moisture, but it will also give you that highly coveted, just-got-back-from-vacation glow. Serums also protect the skin from stress and stimulate collagen production.
Do not even think about leaving the house without applying a SPF-infused moisturizer. Protect your skin against early signs of aging with a lightweight, fast-absorbing formula (we love this one!) that will act as an invisible primer under makeup. Bonus: it’s infused with Super Hyaluronic Acid (don’t let the name scare you – it’s suitable for all skin types) and will leave skin feeling and looking supple and radiant.
Treat your skin right and achieve a more radiant and fresh appearance. Only Hada Labo Tokyo™ products feature Super Hyaluronic Acid™, a powerful, yet skin-friendly combination of 3 types of Hyaluronic Acid, to provide deep, multi-layer, and long lasting hydration that will help you maintain flawless looking skin.
For more information on maintaining beautiful, youthful skin, visit hadalabotokyo.com.
For all intents and purposes, I have been living in this J. Crew Factory Gingham Shirt.
Gingham, like ’90s lips, is having a moment right now (I’ve been seeing it all over the place), but even though I think this shirt seems pretty trendy and “now”, I also think it might last me a few seasons (I hope). Because print-wise, gingham’s also a classic.
But the print isn’t the only thing I love about this shirt. It also breathes, because it’s 100% cotton and feels very comfy. I brought it with me to NOLA last week, and no matter what I was doing or where I happened to be, whether on a frigid air-conditioned plane or slogging along a humid French Quarter street, it felt good and stayed pretty wrinkle-free throughout the day, which is a huge, huge plus.
Wrinkly clothes are the bane of my existence, I swear…
It’s available in a range of sizes, both petite and regular, and different prints, too.
Today I’m wearing it with a pair of coral LOFT Riviera Sailor Shorts I picked up a while back.
DUUUUUUUDE, I love these shorts. The color feels so summery, and I love the button detailing on the front.
FYI: the front doesn’t have pockets. Those buttons are just there for display, which is kind of annoying (because I’m all about pockets, because where else am I gonna keep the cat treats?!), but at least there are a couple of real-deal functional pockets in the back.
The shorts are available in coral, black and a gingham print, and they’re currently 40% off right now online.
I’m just sayin’… 🙂
Seriously, the last thing I ever expected to fall head over heels for was this little tool from Tweezerman. It’s the $18 Tweezerman Pushy and Nail Cleaner, and it’s one of those things that didn’t look like much at first, but it turned out to be really, really handy. Now I use it on the regular.
It’s a dual-ended stainless steel nail tool with a flat spatula-like pusher on one end to push back cuticles, and a small angled scooper on the other end to clean under and around nails. The whole thing is metal and about five inches long.
Sounds simple, right? Well, this particular doodad also does what it does very well. The edges on both ends are smooth, so they don’t scratch your nails, and the shaft is textured in places to make it easy to grip while you’re getting out all the gunk (eww!). It also feels substantial and comfortable in my paw.
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Can we talk fedoras for a minute?
Every summer I try to avoid them, because I’m not Justin Timberlake, and sometimes I feel like he’s the only person who can legitimately pull them off.
But some fedoras are really cute.
Really, really cute.
I spotted this one at a Kate Spade store last May and struggled, unsuccessfully, for weeks to erase it from my Lust List, only to eventually give in after employing every excuse in the book.
- “I need a hat to protect my hair color!”
- “I’m going on vacation!”
- “It’s my birthday month!”
- “There’s a bow on it!”
Honestly, though, this hat is awesome. It’s the pinnacle of summery straw hat fedoras in that it’s not only super cute, but it’s also packable, which means that you can store it flat in your bag or luggage, and then when you unpack it at your destination, it pops back into shape.
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There was a moment last week on Magazine Street in New Orleans when El Hub and I were sitting at a booth in a cafe while sipping iced strawberry lemonades to cool down when I officially realized just how unfathomably hot and muggy summertime New Orleans is/was. I was leaning back in the booth and spacing out, just staring blankly at a ceiling fan and the artwork on the walls when I leaned forward, and I felt the back of my sticky, sweat-soaked dress literally peel away from the vinyl.
Yup, ’twas pretty gross.
I think I sweated through that entire trip, but I also got some extra sweaty hands-on experience getting my makeup to stay put in hot, humid weather.
Gotta love silver linings. 🙂
I could’ve just gone barefaced and not worn anything, but where’s the fun in that?
For me, these are all hot-weather non-negotiables.
In cooler climates, when it comes to makeup improv and leaving things out of my routine, I usually have a more go-with-the-flow attitude, but when faced with extreme heat and humidity, I think it really helps to use these products if you don’t want your makeup to slide off your face.
Starting with primer, I used two last week (the Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing Primer and NARS Pro Prime Smudge-Proof Eyeshadow Base pictured above), one for my face makeup and one for my eyes.
Really, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of different kinds of primers out there, but I look for ones that do these two things to really help my makeup last longer: 1) smooth out the surface of my skin, and 2) latch onto whatever I happen to layer on top of them, be it BB cream, foundation, concealer, powder, what have you.
To apply a face primer, I blot my skin first with a tissue to remove any excess oil or moisture. Then I massage the primer on my oiliest spots — my cheeks, nose, chin and forehead.
After that, I do the same thing with eye primer, blotting first, then applying it to my lids, into my brows (to help my brow products last longer), and under my eyes (to keep my concealer in place).
I give them about five minutes to absorb, then blot one more time with a tissue before applying my foundation, concealer, etc., on top.
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If there were a book titled, “Chicken Soup for the Makeup-Lover’s Soul,” I bet the cover would have a picture of something coral, because a lot of the time when I feel stuck in a rut or just generally blah, I turn to coral.
Like MAC Tropic Tonic Matte Lipstick, my latest coral crush. It’s one of the new $16 Matte lipsticks MAC recently added to their permanent line.
Like a slightly redder Vegas Volt with a flat matte finish instead of MAC’s Amplified finish, it looks particularly fetching (I think) with black winged liner.
Très retro-fabulous.
You can find it now online and at MAC stores and counters.
On the subject of MAC’s Matte Lipsticks, which are your favorite ones? Inquiring minds want to know.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Happy hump day, by the way. 🙂
