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

Sephora VIB Sale Recommendation: Tower 28 Pistachio AKA the BEST Purse Gloss | Fancy Lady Tea at Crown & Crumpet

April 12th, 2023 by Karen 12 Comments

I’m wearing Tower 28 Milky Lip Jelly in Pistachio

Hiya! Happy Wednesday. The Sephora Savings Event is coming soon (see here for details). If you’re looking for an easy gloss to wear that you can just toss in your purse, consider adding Tower 28 Shine On Milky Lip Jelly in Pistachio ($16) to your wishlist.

It’s a moisturizing, semi-sheer nude pink gloss that’s I’ve been been wearing steadily since February. It doesn’t dry out my lips and is just sticky enough to stay on! I like the formula so much that I’m going to grab a couple other shades — Seasame (a semi-sheer mauve) and XOXO (a sheer pink).

I wore it yesterday to a “fancy lady tea” with Connor at a tea house in Marin called Crown & Crumpet. She’s home for spring break this week, so we’re hanging out and doing all the fun things.

Connor ordered an herbal peach tea with her kids’ tea service, and our sweet and attentive waitress thoughtfully brought out a cup of ice so that we could cool the tea down in her cup immediately. I love nice touches like that, don’t you?

Anywho, I ordered a regular tea service with all the fixings and a big pot of darjeeling (YUM), which I drank joyfully with plenty of milk and sugar!

You know what I realized while I was there? I’m not a fan of crumpets. The one I had was a little chewy, and I felt like I was eating bread-flavored gum. LOL! I did love the scone and all the tiny sandwiches, though.

If you happen to visit with littles, FYI, right down the street is an awesome playground with a huge rope climbing structure. It’s a great place to get some wiggles out.

OH! If you visit the playground and need to use the lavatory afterwards, you can walk right around the corner back to Crown & Crumpet to use the loo. That’s what I did because DANG, that tea goes right through ya.

Anywho, we had a great time! Highly recommend it if you’re ever in the neighborhood.

I’ve really been enjoying my time with her this week. It’s really starting to hit me just how big she’s getting and how short the window I have for her wanting to hang out with me truly is.

Hope everything is going well with you!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Do you have any Sephora recommendations for me?

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 776

April 10th, 2023 by Karen 22 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 more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. One thing you like to do to relax?

I like to read a book or a magazine to unwind before bed.

2. S’mores or Rice Krispy Treats?

I like both, but today let’s go with the Rice Krispy Treats!

3. Charlotte Tilbury or Chanel?

Chanel, please. (But I won’t say no to Charlotte, dah-ling!)

4. One of your talents?

I can easily and happily organize a daunting amount of information into a spreadsheet or a slide presentation.

5. Something that happened yesterday?

I took Connor to three Easter Egg hunts!

6. Something you realized recently?

Honestly, for most of my life I had no idea most Easter Egg hunts 1) occurred outside, 2) involved plastic eggs with toys or candy, and 3) could involve groups of children. When I was a kid, egg hunts meant hard boiled eggs hidden indoors the same designated places. I had no idea outdoor egg hunts with other children were even a thing until I had Connor!

7. Something you do well?

Apparently I’m very good at “telling it like it is.” Four people I worked with at my last gig made this comment recently, and I would like to assume it’s a compliment, LOL!

8. Things that make you happy?

Sunshine. Possibility. Understand myself and the people around me better. Baskin Robbins ice cream in a sugar cone. Sleep. People who really listen.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. One thing you like to do to relax?
2. S’mores or Rice Krispy Treats?
3. Charlotte Tilbury or Chanel?
4. One of your talents?
5. Something that happened yesterday?
6. Something you realized recently?
7. Something you do well?
8. Things that make you happy?

P.P.S. Good morning and happy Monday, friend. I hope people are being kind to you today. We’re going to have a great week, OK?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 756

April 9th, 2023 by Karen 1 Comment

Tabs

Even though, technically, Tabs wasn’t allowed to have any Easter candy, I think he reveled in all the other creatures in his orbit receiving special treats on Easter.

Well, except for Peeps. He did not approve of Peeps…

He told me that he caught a glimpse of the Easter Bunny early on Easter morning a few times, and for many years I’d just say, “Sure, buddy,” and just go with it, until one morning there was a knock on the door just before sunrise. When I opened the door there was a basket on the welcome mat filled with a treasure trove of Cadbury mini eggs.

I looked up and caught a glimpse of a white cotton tail disappearing around the corner. The card next to the basket said, “Thinking of you, Tabs. Love, EB.”

He certainly charmed everyone, didn’t he? 😊

Rosie

Last night I asked Rosie if she had any plans for the holiday, and she said that she was going to check on her various experiments around the neighborhood. For instance, she’s working on this whole elaborate research project on pollinators and California wildflowers.

I invited her to participate in today’s Easter egg hunt with Connor this morning, and she seemed ambivalent at first, but when I mentioned that she could take a scientific angle and perhaps use the data to discover the median time it took the various children in the neighborhood to locate the eggs, her ear tufts perked up.

She hung out with us for a little bit today but then disappeared around an oak tree with a pencil in her mouth and that look of concentration in her eyes…

Hope you had a hoppy Easter. 🐰🐣❤️

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What Skin Care Devices Do You Use?

April 8th, 2023 by Karen 15 Comments

show yourself love monday poll top pic — Take care of yourself, my friend.

Hi, friend! Happy Saturday. Doing a different Saturday post today because truth be told, this girl needs a little TLC. I’m going to give myself the gift of time to do a hair mask, a face mask and an at-home mani-pedi. Oh, and the time to rest!

If there’s anything that I’ve learned so far that hard way, it’s that if your body is telling you to rest, you absolutely have to listen. So that’s what I’m gonna do. 🙂

Before I get started with some much-needed self-care, though, I wanted to ask you a quick question about skin care devices.

I’ve been thinking a lot about skin lately! It’s partly because I’m currently writing for a Korean skin care brand (fun); it’s also because as I’m getting closer to leaving my 40s, I feel like my skin is rapidly changing, and my skin care needs are changing, too.

I read a story recently about handy skin care devices to have around when you don’t have time to book a facial, and I’m thinking that I’d like to start using some gadgets and gizmos in my routine.

Do you happen to use any skin care tools/devices that you like? What do you like, and what don’t you like? I would love to get some input as the last device I used was a Clarisonic brush in my 30s!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I hope your weekend is off to a peaceful start.

MAC Unsung Heroes: Texture Eyeshadow

April 7th, 2023 by Karen 2 Comments

mac texture — Get into thy crease, stat.

MAC Texture is still one of my favorite neutrals to pop in the crease! Happy Friday!

Today, on the MAC Greatest Brown Crease Color Hits Tour (Geez, that would be a very specific tour, wouldn’t it?! Hahaha! Never mind me as I crack myself up in the corner.), we visit MAC Texture Eye Shadow.

Ooh, Texture! We’ve talked about/drooled over several of my all-time favorite MAC brown crease colors over the last couple weeks, like Swiss Chocolate and Saddle.

Yum!

And I couldn’t forget about Texture. 🙂

It’s also a peachy brown, but it’s lighter and less orange than Saddle and darker than Soft Brown, and if you really, really wanted to get technical, you could do Soft Brown as your first crease color, then Texture as your second color, and then Saddle as your third.

But that’s only if you’re in the mood to complicate things and carefully do all of the steps in your gradients.

mac texture swatch — An essential MAC brown

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Texture isn’t only for peeps who want to spend two hours on their eye makeup, though. In fact, if you can’t blend for sh*t and just want something easy, you need Texture in your life as a crease color/transition shade, because although it usually looks matte, it’s technically a shimmer and has these tiny flecks of micro-glitter in the pan. Most of the time, those flecks are imperceptible, but they help to make Texture very easy to blend.

mac texture crease — Texture doing it’s thing in my crease

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What’s the Last Great Thing You Bought?

April 6th, 2023 by Karen 12 Comments

It can be anything! A beauty product, a piece of clothing, a piece of pie, a non-stick pan (side note, I’m looking for one), a rug. Whatever it is, I want to know why you love it and what makes it great.

Last great thing I bought was this Mini Lemon Sheet Cake from Trader Joe’s. It’s low-key addictive, which is kinda surprising to me because I originally felt a little “meh” about the frosting. The more cake I had, though, the better it tasted! I’ve been enjoying a tiny little sliver after lunch along with my afternoon coffee, YUM! It’s just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

How about you? What’s the last great thing you bought?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

New Bangs | Trader Joe’s Lemon Cake | Mineralist Warmth Palette by bareMinerals

April 4th, 2023 by Karen 15 Comments

I promise these new bangs aren’t a cry for help! Just needed a change.

I went with the longer length because I didn’t want the commitment of having to grow out a set of shorter bangs; if you’ve been through this, you know the struggle is so real, LOL!

Oh, I’m also hoping pushing the bangs forward will help with taming the wild pokey strands at my hairline. They refuse to do my bidding, and I’m determined to stop the madness.

(We’ll see if this actually works, ha.)

Oh! I learned something new from the stylist who cut my hair. For bangs, she suggested applying a flexible styling cream before blowing them out. That way, you get enough hold for the hair to stay pushed forward while retaining some moment. No crispy bangs, please! Let’s leave that behind in the ’80s.

So won’t been going on besides bangs?

Well, on this end of the keyboard, I’ve been typing non-stop for what feels like weeks. I’ve been lost in a fog of deadlines, and they’re only now starting to lift, but wouldn’t ya know it! Because the universe got hella jokes, I have an unexpected project to push through by next Tuesday. Lots going on here, but so grateful for the opportunity to work.

Totally not related, have you heard about the new Mini Lemon Sheet Cake from Trader Joe’s? Word on the street (aka the online mom’s group in which I lurk) is that it’s the best thing ever to grace TJ’s dessert shelves. It’s lemon cake topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting and lemon zest. Yes, it’s very lemony.

I like lemon cake and think it tastes good, but I probably would not drive out to TJs at night in my pajamas. I’m really picky about frosting and this one’s a smidge too sweet. If it wasn’t, though, girl… It would be so on! Try it if you see it on the shelf and let me know whatcha think.

Also in the realm of new things is this palette of warm neutral eyeshadows by bareMinerals.

Would you wear this? I tried it out today and like the softness of all the powders except for the beige shade — it felt hard a rock!

Anywho, let me know what you’ve been up to. I hope you’ve been doing great.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 775

April 3rd, 2023 by Karen 29 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 more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Gel cream or face oil?

I’ll take the face oil, please! Pack it with antioxidants and please make it layer nicely under makeup.

2. Curly, coily or wavy?

My hair has natural waves, but I don’t really go out of my way to maximize their shape.

3. Blue, black or brown winged liner?

I would love a beautiful navy blue today.

4. Something you plan on doing this week?

It’s supposed to not rain this week, so I’d like to go for a few short 10-minute walks throughout the day. I find that when I spend time outside during my breaks, I feel so much better mentally and physically. I’m trying to get more consistent about it.

5. Who does the best beauty gifts with purchase?

Honestly, no clue at the moment. It’s not a motivating factor for me, but if you happen to know any good ones, I’d love the info.

6. Micellar water: yes or no?

Eh, if I have a bottle around, sure, I’ll say yes. But it’s not like I freak out or anything when I run out.

7. Something small you’d like to buy next time you go beauty shopping?

I need to get some scrunchies. All mine have disappeared. I wear them to get at night (I pile my hair on the top of my head and loosely secure them with the scrunchie), and they’ve all but disappeared. I think they fall out in the middle of the night, then Rosie takes them and hides them somewhere in the house.

8. Something nice you can do for yourself this week?

I’m going to treat myself to some “me time” with a nice lunch at a place I like in town, Blue Barn!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Gel cream or face oil?
2. Curly, coily or wavy?
3. Blue, black or brown winged liner?
4. Something you plan on doing this week?
5. Who does the best beauty gifts with purchase?
6. Micellar water: yes or no?
7. Something small you’d like to buy next time you go beauty shopping?
8. Something nice you can do for yourself this week?

P.P.S. Happy Monday, my friend. I hope this day is going great for you so far. Be kind to yourself to day, and please remember, you’re exactly where you need to be. Take care!