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

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 366

March 30th, 2015 by Karen 32 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.

Where were you in 1999, and what were you doing?
Gurl, I think I was living at home again. I’d just finished college and moved back home with my parents, partially because I missed them, and partially because I wanted to save some money while I looked for a job.

Ugh! — it was a rough transition, but we worked it out. Essentially, I went from living on my own for four or five years to living under my parents’ rules and roof.

That’s not usually easy.

Have you ever ridden a Razor scooter?
The funny thing is, I can totally picture myself on one of those things (and falling off, of course), but I’ve never ridden one before.

Do you rock climb?
Again, I can see myself doing it, but I never got around to learning.

I guess it’s never too late to give it a try.

What’s on your keychain?
I have my house keys, my car keys, and a fun little toy camera charm that I got from a museum store. When you press the little shutter button, it makes a “CLICK!” sound, and you can see the flash. 🙂

What’s your biggest nail polish pet peeve?
Oh, boy. Well, most of the time I do my own fingers and toes, but every once in a while I’ll actually spend the money to go get a pedicure, and when I do, inevitably, I’ll do something weird to mess up the polish literally, like, seconds after I leave the salon.

This has happened on many occasions… You’d think that it would teach me a lesson to not get pedicures at all, or maybe I should call somebody to pick me up and just carry me home or something, but nooo.

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

1. Where were you in 1999, and what were you doing?
2. Have you ever ridden a Razor scooter?
3. Do you rock climb?
4. What’s on your keychain?
5. What’s your biggest nail polish pet peeve?

Happy Monday, my friend! 🙂 I hope your week got off to a great start. I’m just chugging along out here in Novato…

I have some catching up to do this week. I didn’t do any housecleaning last week whatsoever, or any, like, basic life necessity chores.

You know how it is sometimes…

In tastier news, though, I’m very excited because last night between dinner and The Walking Dead finale (OMG! One of my fave episodes EVER!), I prepped some noms for the week to make me less likely to eat junk food. I made cauliflower soup and crispy quinoa cakes (better than high-sodium processed food). I also made a pitcher of fruit-infused water, because I notice that when I have one in the fridge, I drink more agua.

How are things going with you?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 340

March 29th, 2015 by Karen 6 Comments

Dear fans,

Kitty hugs and a million thankful meows for the awesome questions you left for me with my assistant this afternoon on my social media channels. Your interest in my extravagant lifestyle warms my gravy-fueled heart.

I hope your interactions with cats this week are fruitful, fabulous and eventful.

Much love, always,

Tabs

The MAC Is Beauty Collection: Salon-Style Indulgence and Super Glamorous Makeup to Bring Out Your Inner Glamazon

March 29th, 2015 by Karen 45 Comments

mac is beauty review — Lustre Lipstick in Highlights

If you’ve ever spent half the day at the salon — which, incidentally, I totally have — chances are good you’ll either like or love the MAC Is Beauty collection (available starting Monday, March 30, 2015).

Where many MAC collections embrace an edgier, almost anti-establishment/counter-culture vibe, this collection hangs out in the salon on the completely opposite end of that spectrum. It says, “Yeah, it’s cool to get your glam on.” For me it’s all about putting your hair up in curlers (yay!), indulging in a little pampering and hanging out with your girlfriends.

And, for the record, I’m on board with that. 🙂

A big chunk of the release is devoted to liners, with some Kohls, a Penultimate Liquid Eye Liner and 16 Pro Longwear Fluidlines.

Many of them are re-promotes, it’s true, but whether they’re encores or new, there are some beautiful shades here, like Siahi, Blue Peep and Brassy…which is downright effing gorgeous.

There’s also Shade, which I actually had a conversation about at the salon the other day. I was getting my bangs trimmed by my friend Alis, who’s both a hairdresser and a MAC-loving makeup artist, and we were talking about Fluidlines when she mentioned a shade that she loved. It was Shade! — and it’s actually in this release!

It’s a deep, beautiful dark green — like a mysterious green that almost looks black. Alis, who’s a redhead, said it’s a ride-or-die shade for redheads, but my brown eyes and I lurve it too.

Regarding the Eye Shadows in the collection…I really wanted to freak out (in a good way) about them, but I haven’t. Not as much as I hoped/thought.

I’ve tried three of the four so far, and they just seem sort of OK to me. One of them, chalky pale pink matte Yogurt, is a little sheerer and harder than I’d like, and another, Veluxe Pearl Bouffant, takes a little too much elbow grease to show up well on my NC 42 skin.

But I digress… Enough talk. More pics. 🙂

MAC Is Beauty: The Eye Shadows

mac bouffant — MAC Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow in Bouffant, $16

mac yogurt — Matte Eye Shadow in Yogurt, $16

mac wow factor — MAC Satin Eye Shadow in Wow Factor, $16

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Comment to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

March 28th, 2015 by Karen 424 Comments

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, HELEN!!!), but check back next Saturday for another Sephora giveaway.

Rise and shine, morning glory! Happy caturday. 🙂 I hope you don’t mind, but I’m keeping this short. I desperately need to get some food and tea in my system, STAT.

That movie we rented last night, Top Five? Good movie. I thought Rosario Dawson and Chris Rock were great. The pacing reminds me a little of Hitch, like that kind of dating movie in a big city, but it has more layers. There’s more going on with the characters. More backstory, and more of character journey, so it’s not quite as slap-sticky. It’s still funny, though. But serious too. Tabs also liked it.

I hope you have something fun lined up this weekend. I have no idea what I’m doing today. Honestly, I haven’t gotten that far. I’m still all about that food and tea.

Good luck in the giveaway, and I’ll talk to you soon…after I’m fully caffeinated.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter by leaving a comment below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- What’s your favorite thing about your city or town?
- What are you doing this weekend?
- Last piece of makeup you purchased online?
- Would you rock Rosario Dawson’s half-shave?
- What’s been the highlight of your week so far?
- Do you have any vices?
One entry per person.
You must use a valid email address to win.
The giveaway ends on Monday, March 30, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Poppy for Your Thoughts

March 27th, 2015 by Karen 11 Comments

There’s an outdoor path that takes you through a small wooded area and a park right outside the salon where I got my bangs trimmed today, and the flowers were too pretty to pass up, allergies be damned.

I missed what I think were either gladiolas or daffodils (all that were left were the leaves), but the poppies (they’re our state flower) were in full force. Man, they were putting on a show!

So much bright orange… I also managed to capture a bee doing his/her bee thang in one of ’em.

I love this time of year, even if my itchy nose doesn’t. Did I ever tell you about the time I went to an allergist to find out what I was allergic to and the doc did a skin test that left my arm completely lit up like a Christmas tree? Because apparently I’m allergic to every kind of tree, plant and grass.

When it’s sunny and beautiful like this, though, I don’t really care. I’ll deal with the allergies. It’s worth it.

Are there any flowers blooming yet in your neck of the woods?

P.S. Happy Friday night, my friend. I have the best view right now. It’s of a huge bowl of microwave popcorn (mixed with TJ’s caramel popcorn), which I’m about to devour while watching Top Five.

Devouring starts in 3-2-1… 🙂

Salon Adventures! Smocks, Garret Markenson REVERIE and Oribe Airbrush Root Touch-Up Spray

March 27th, 2015 by Karen 7 Comments

OK, so…you know those smocks that you put on before you get your hair cut at a salon? Well, at the place where I get my hair done (Fox + Stone in Corte Madera, California), they hang them in a tiny private changing room, so that when you walk in, you take off your jacket (or your shirt, if you’re feeling so inclined), and put on your smock before you sit in the chair.

They’re just the regular ol’, basic smocks. You slip into them like a jacket and tie the front.

Anyway, when I walked into the salon today to get my bangs trimmed, I went into the little room, put on my smock, and then walked back out into the sitting area and sat down.

I was playing with my phone when I got that prickly feeling… You know the one, when you feel like somebody is intensely staring at you?

I looked up and there was this dude sitting in the corner looking at me, but he wasn’t, like, checking me out or anything. He was just staring and looked really, REALLY confused.

So, of course I had to stare back at him with my confrontational “What the heck are YOU staring at, homie?!” eyes. Then he said, quite loudly, “OHHHHH!” and stood up abruptly.

Turns out he’d put on his smock backwards, like a hospital gown! He realized it when he saw mine. 🙂

We both cracked up laughing. “Oh, don’t feel bad,” I told him. “You learn something new every day.”

In other news…I ran into some interesting products while I was there at the salon today, like this hair serum and leave-in treatment by Garret Markenson REVERIE.

Have you heard of this line?

They’re a niche luxury haircare brand based out of Cali. CAKE ($72, OMG) is their anti-aging growth serum, and MILK ($42) is a moisturizing, anti-frizz treatment. If you’re ever out here in the area, they sell the line at Fox + Stone (it’s also available from beautyhabit.com).

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Current Foundation Love: Diorskin Nude Air Serum Foundation [VIDEO]

March 27th, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

Gurl, I can’t even… This foundation!? It is SO good that I haven’t even touched my previous holy grail, Laura Mercier Flawless Fluide in Chai, in weeks.

And before finding this, I was all about that Chai. I’m talking months of Karen + Chai. We were inseparable.

Aww! Now I’m actually starting to feel a little bad about it. Poor Chai, all neglected and lonely, abandoned like an old toy. 🙁

LOL! But I do kind of feel like we’ve broken up, and that I should do the things that broken up couples do, like go to over to Chai’s house to get my CDs, clothes and pizza pie pans.

We’re just on a break though. I still ❤ Chai.

Anywho…

Dior. Foundation. Amazing-ness. I go into it more in this video, but here are the main points: finish, formula and pores. Nude Air has a velvety finish and medium coverage, but you can build it up to just shy of full. It’s not a flat matte, and I’m loving that about it, because these days my primary objective is obtaining natural-looking, radiant skin.

Available in eight shades (I wear the one called Honey Beige)

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This MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot Really Is a Genuine Treasure: MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Genuine Treasure From the MAC Philip Treacy Collection

March 27th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

mac genuine treasure — Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Genuine Treasure from the new MAC Philip Treacy collection on my lids

Like Vanessa Williams in 1991, I saved the best for last. 🙂 This Paint Pot really is a genuine MAC Philip Treacy treasure.

Like, if you were chasing a rainbow astride a teal pegasus pony with a rainbow mane high up in the pretty blue sky surrounded by pink clouds, at the end of the rainbow, you’d find Genuine Treasure…instead of a black cauldron filled with gold, although that would also be extremely convenient and nice.

Really, though, this Paint Pot is more like a glitter top coat, and I call it that because pigment-wise, it’s actually pretty sheer.

I built it up in the swatch below so you could get a better feel for the color, but when you apply it to skin, what you get is mostly glitter.

You can wear it on top of other eye products, or wear it on bare lids, which is what I did last Sunday (because who doesn’t like to wear a little glitter on a Sunday sometimes?). I applied it on my bare lids, added a couple coats of mascara, and then went furniture shopping and beignet eating. It was fun.

Genuine Treasure is handy if you need/want to get party ready, and you don’t have a ton of time between work and the shindig.

As a Paint Pot, which are among the longest-wearing things in the MAC eye makeup stable, it has a cream formula. You just twist off the little top and apply with either an eyeshadow brush or fingers (for this one, I recommend fingers).

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