Search Results for: chanel

Checking In: TGIF | Leche Flan Adventures | A Most Excellent Foundation by Chanel

January 27th, 2023 by Karen 16 Comments

Connor made this note, which is supposed to say, “When you’re feeling sad and blue, find a friend to help you through.”

Hi, friend! Thank goodness it’s Friday. No seriously. TGIF! Been a long week.

I just finished a video interview with a beauty brand which I use and love… I think it went OK! I should be finding out more next Monday, so until then, please keep your fingers and toes crossed for me.

Anywho, all this preparation for video calls lately has reminded me of just how stellar Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation truly is.

Most days I typically wear a sheer tinted moisturizer (Urban Decay Hydromaniac), but if I’m going to be on camera, then Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua is it!

Not only can I barely feel it on, ’cause lightweight is totally key, but it smoothes out my pores and evens out patchy-looking parts without appearing obvious. I’m wearing 50 Beige in this pic, which I set with a light dusting of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden. A *chef’s kiss* worthy combo!

I think I mentioned earlier in the week that I’m learning how to make a Filipino dessert called leche flan. It’s like a creme brulee, but without the crunchy top, and it’s typically served at Filipino parties and celebrations.

Leche flan has two parts. First, you make a caramel on the stovetop.

Don’t ask me why, but for some reason, this part is completely terrifying to me! I think it’s the fact that you don’t have a lot of wiggle room with making caramel, so you have to heavily rely on your instincts to know when it’s time to take it off the heat. Otherwise it’ll burn, baby, burn.

Plus, that ish gets hella hot! I can see myself burning a hand or a wrist quite easily in a caramel-related incident.

OK, so the caramel goes into the bottom of your ramekin. Ideally neater than I did here.

The second part involves making custard out of egg yolks, evaporated milk, condensed milk and a little vanilla. Then you strain it at least two times…

The custard goes into the ramekins, and then you steam them on the stove or in an oven. When a knife goes into the middle and comes out clean, they’re done.

After cooling down, you loosen the edges and then flip the ramekin onto a plate. You’ve gotta get all the juicy bits, too!

The result is a creamy, silky caramel custard. YUM.

Let’s see, what else has been going on? One of my New Year’s resolutions was to learn how to cook a few vegan dishes, and this was one I made for lunch early on in the week.

It’s garlic fried rice with stir fried potatoes, zucchini and edamame in a homemade teriyaki sauce — which is just equal parts sugar, soy sauce and water, sprinkled with ground ginger powder. It was pretty good, but next time I make it, I’m going to add cashews to bump up the protein.

I’m finally calming down from the excitement of my earlier interview and now ready to get the weekend started, like, right meow. LOL!

What are your plans? Doing anything fun?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Malice

October 19th, 2022 by Karen 15 Comments

Throwing it waaaaay back today with an oldie but goodie, Chanel Malice Blush. I first wrote about it in 2014! This peachy pink blush is still a classic, and I wear it all the time. Oh, and the ~~good~~ great news? Chanel still carries it in their permanent collection. Shockingly, unlike other brands that have raised their prices steadily over the last few years, Malice’s $45 price tag is still the same as it was in 2014. If there was a handful of makeup from Chanel that I’d recommend as must-haves products, Malice would certainly be on that list.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why this blush is called Malice because it doesn’t have a malicious bone in its sweet, blushy body. There’s nothing malicious, cagey or wicked about it at all…unless you count how wicked cute you look with yo’ fresh cheeks when you wear it.

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Malice, $45

Peachy pink Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Malice ($45) has been not-so-maliciously sweetening my makeup bag for about two weeks, and in that time I’ve literally not wanted to wear anything else. I think it just might be the most flattering blush in Chanel’s entire permanent line, and it’s all about versatility.

Vehemently versatile

Malice is like NARS Orgasm…only not. Like, if glittery golden NARS Orgasm was a wild child sent to finishing school for a year, she’d come back wearing pearls instead of a leather jacket and be calling herself Malice.

Malice and Orgasm have a similar peachy pink vibe, but Malice’s shimmer, which is more like a barely-there, soft-focus sheen, is much less outrageous and flamboyant.

And it’s that finish that makes Malice one of the greats for me.

I thought it was a matte the first time I swatched it, but then I saw the light reflecting on my skin, almost like the dreamy haze of candlelight, and I realized its greatness.

Effortless and flattering, it just always seems to look natural and good — never like clown cheeks — whether I wear it sheer, or layered to increase its intensity.

It should really sing on a wide range skin tones, and because its sheen is so forgiving (unlike many glittery and/or shiny blushes), that includes the skin of more mature makeup lovers.

On top of everything, it’s just as easy to dress up as it is to dress down. I wore it to run some errands yesterday with the LORAC Pro Palette 2…

OK, I went to Anthropologie to look around, LOL! (Not my fault. There was a sale!)

So anyway, I wore it to run “errands,” also known as “go to the mall.”

Anthropologie white and yellow striped top — Um…does this top make me look crazy?

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Chanel Makeup: Your Tried and True Staples?

September 15th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

I’ve been wearing a lot of Chanel lately, and for the first time in a while, I’m feeling inspired to wear makeup again!

What are your tried and true staples from the brand?

Here are mine at the moment.

Malice Powder Blush: Oldie but goody! May the makeup gods never discontinue this beauty.
Les Beiges Eyeshadow Palettes: I wear Medium and Deep all the time. Side note: Both are still available in the permanent line.
Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation: This foundation is absolutely gorgeous and foolproof. Looks great on camera and in real life, and bonus, it doesn’t move in hot weather. My shade is 50 Beige (although I could go up to 60 beige in the summer).
Les Beiges Healthy Sheer Colour Stick Blushes: I wear these a TON. The bronzer, No.20, is my favorite.
Road Movie Eyeshadow Quad: This was an LE release from a few years back which they added to the permanent collection. The blue and teal are both surprisingly wearable.
Stylo Yeux Eyeliner in Espresso: Honestly, this is the best brown liner for tightlining. Doesn’t irritate my eyes and stays on all day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: The Gift of Vegetables, Cabbage Rolls and Chanel Tweed!

September 1st, 2022 by Karen 16 Comments

The bounty of produce being gifted to me by my neighbors continues! Check out these beans…

What does one do with purple beans? I’m thinking of roasting them, but I dunno. A heat wave is coming in, and I don’t fancy turning my oven on when it’s boiling outside.

Oh, remember that massive head of cabbage my other neighbor gave me last weekend? I ended up making cabbage rolls with ground beef, rice and parsley.

This was my first time, and they turned out OK!

I found the recipe on the Jenny Jones cooking blog. Remember Jenny Jones, the talk show host from the 90s? A few years ago she was active on YouTube and did a whole bunch of cooking videos, and they’re fun to watch. It’s been years since she’s posted, though.

Jenny Jones fun fact: before she rose to fame, she owned her own catering business.

I’ve tried two recipes from her site so far, the cabbage rolls and a 20-minute meal called spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, both of which were light, easy and excellent.

Back to the cabbage rolls. Jenny says they’re great as leftovers the next day and suggests frying them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. That’s what I’m gonna have for lunch today. YUM!

On a beauty note, the tweed quads are up on the Chanel website. The one with browns, taupes and rosy shades, Brun et Rose, looks really lovely.

There’s also new nude nail polishes that look good, too. I don’t know what it is about Chanel, but they do such a good job of hitting all the right notes when it comes to neutrals and basics. UGH, WANT.

What else is going on, hmmm? Oh, forgive me for living underneath a rock, but I’ve only recently discovered the singer Harry Styles.

I’ve been listening to a random assortment of his music, and these are the two songs I’ve had on repeat.

Sometimes he reminds me of Prince and sometimes he sounds like the band Phoenix; it’s hard to pin his genre down. If you get a moment give his songs a listen.

Alright, I’m off to start my day. I hope you’ve had a wonderful week so far! Did you wake up this morning just as surprised as I was to find out that it was Thursday? Yes? No? Whatever you’re up to today, I hope you find a way to find joy in your tasks — even the mundane ones.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

15 Things I’ve Learned (and Relearned) Recently, and a Tuesday FOTD with Chanel and Laura Mercier

August 2nd, 2022 by Karen 6 Comments

Learn new communication skills. It’s always a good thing.
You don’t have to respond right away. It’s fine to pause and take a few deep breaths while you think about your next step.
As much as you want and wish for other people in your life to change, if they’re not ready or if they’re unwilling, then you have to let it go.
Speaking of changes, personal change doesn’t always have to always be big, sweeping and dramatic. It can mean small tweaks along the way. Any progress is forward progress.
It’s OK if your interests evolve. You’re growing, so what you find interesting will evolve, too.
Fashion-related item: A puffed shoulder is cute, but sometimes, if the puff is even just a touch too puffy, it can veer into pirate territory.

You don’t have to have all the answers.
Even though it might feel like it was your fault, chances are it wasn’t, and you had no real control in how things played out.
A poker face comes in REALLY handy at work.
Side note to my inner child: You don’t have to do it all by yourself. You can and should ask for help from others.
If you’re feeling stuck, flip the script in some way. Try something different. It might just spark something.
If things are pretty good, then cherish those times. Each season is so fleeting, and there will be a time when you look back at that time with awe and wonder.
Even though I always feel like I have so much to learn about writing, sharing what I know about it with other people is fun.
Lists are also fun! Oh, and they don’t have to be too complicated or wordy.
It’s a good thing to sit down and write a list about things you’ve learned recently. It’s surprisingly eye opening.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: Chanel Faves, Birthday Gifts to Myself and GO Dub Nation!

June 17th, 2022 by Karen 5 Comments

Hey, friend. TGIF and happy FRI-YAY!

No joke, I could crawl into bed right now and sleep for three days straight. My deadlines haven’t been playin’ lately! I’m so glad we made it to the end of the week.

Last week I mentioned last week I was going to buy myself a gift for my b-day. I ended up with a Kelty Cabana shade tent, a 100% spur-of-the-moment purchase from our local sporting goods store, Sports Basement.

I can safely say this is the first time I’ve bought outdoor equipment for myself on my birthday, LOL! You know what, though? I’ve always wanted a shade tent for the beach and for camping, and I’m so glad I finally did it. This one is relatively simple to assemble and pack, too. I think with practice, I can easily do it myself.

As you can see, Connor loves it! I can’t wait to take it on all our outdoor adventures this summer.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday without a few beauty products. I’m still on a big hair kick, so to maximize volume and add moisture to my mane, I bought Bumble and Bumble’s Invisible Oil Shampoo and Conditioner for dry hair. Both contain six lightweight oils to hydrate, detangle and reduce frizz (among other things). I also grabbed a bottle of Alterna Caviar Foam Conditioner to use as a co-wash.

I’m currently on a Chanel kick, which seems to happen a few times a year, especially in the summer, go figure.

In these pics, I’m wearing the go-to Chanel makeup “uniform” I’ve been rocking all week: Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation (SO GOOD) on my skin; Les Beiges Cream Blushes in No. 22 and No. 20 layered together on my cheeks; and Electric Brown Eyeshadow-Liner-Khol topped with Liquid Eyeshadow in Desert Wind on my eyes. I’ll try to take more pictures soon to give you a better idea of the colors and textures, however I can safely say these pieces look great in-life and in phone selfies! Super easy to use, too.

And, oh my gosh, last but not certainly not least, I’ve gotta give a shout-out to the Warriors, aka the 2022 NBA Champions.

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Did you watch the game last night? I had absolutely NO CHILL until the last two minutes, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: A Chanel Blush Brush Haunting, and a Jewel-Toned FOTD With Purple Lids!

June 14th, 2022 by Karen 12 Comments

This blush brush is still one of my favorite tools. I used it this morning to apply a wash of bronzer. Then, I promptly hid it from Rosie-Pose before she could get a hold of it. 🙂

I will totally get to these purple lids in a second (BECAUSE PURPLE), but first, can we pleeeeease talk about the latest mystery to unfold on this end of the keyboard — a mystery also known as “The Haunting of Casa MBB”?

Don’t worry, there’s nothing terribly sinister afoot (I’m not splashing buckets of holy water on things left and right, in case you’re wondering!).

I’ve been gently “haunted” for the past few weeks by my favorite Chanel blush brush, which has been disappearing and reappearing all over the house in the most random places. I’ve found it on my bed, in the hallway, on the middle of the stairs, on the kitchen floor.

Last week I found it smack dab in the middle of living room, just sitting there on the carpet right in front of the couch.

Hmm… ?

I just assumed that Connor had grabbed it and played with it and forgot to put it back, but when I asked her about it later she said, “No, mama, I have my own brushes.” (Hahaha! She totally does!)

Now, this brush just so happens to be one of my favorite blush brushes because it’s super soft, and the brush head fits perfectly on top of the apples of my cheeks and underneath the hollow of my cheekbones, so I can use it for blush and bronzer. The bristles are also perfectly floofy, so it blends like a dream.

I thought, if an otherworldly entity/spirit has been obsessing over it, I completely understand.

But it ended up not being due to a makeup brush-loving ghost. The disappearances were in fact due to a cat.

YUP! Look who I just found outside my office doing her “hunter’s mewl.” It’s this cute little growl/grumble Rosie Posie does whenever she stalks and hunts one of her soft toy balls and she wants to show off the riches of her spoils.

I went into the hallway to investigate and give her the usual attention she likes after she catches her prey (“Oh, good job, Rosie-Pose! You’re such a good mouser. Look how well you stalked your toy!”), and that’s when I caught her red-handed (red-pawed?) with my Chanel brush in her mouth.

Mystery solved!

I guess from this point forward, this brush will have a special hiding place…inside a drawer!

(QUICK UPDATE: Later in the day, I also caught her dragging my NARS blush brush around, so she appears to be expanding her hunting horizons.)

Jewel-toned purple lids

OK, so let’s talk purple lids. Now, this might look a little familiar to ya because I’ve been doing variations of this look using the same neutral colors in the crease, inner corner and lash lines, but with different jewel tones on the lids. First, green, and then blue, and now purple!

Find your core

This totally wearable look relies on finding a core group of matte brown and beige eyeshadows for your crease colors. Once you find ones you like, then you can just keep them on standby, and then quickly swap out the jewel tone on your lids with other colors to create different looks!

I’ve been using the same set of warm browns and beiges in this series…

Beige matte shadow base: NARS Tinted Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base in Light
Beige shadow: MAC Mylar
Light warm matte brown shadow: MAC Soft Brown
Mid-toned warm matte brown shadow: MAC Saddle
Dark mate brown shadow: MAC Brun
Bronze pencil: MAC Teddy

For the purples, I’m wearing a shimmery purple called Guilt Trip, a dark purple called Drift (both are from the Urban Decay Born to Run Palette) and a dark purple UD pencil called Empire.

The foundation, powder blush/bronzer and lipstick are the same products I recently used in a 10-minute makeup look in this It Cosmetics Foundation review (which I’m also wearing in this pic, by the way).

As you can see, I’m pretty stoked about this look, and I’m excited to wear makeup again! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Summer Makeup Shout Out! Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Sunscreen Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 15

June 10th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

chanel summery bold bright lipsticks — That’s Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in the middle AKA perfection!

Happy Friday, friend! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes and sweet notes. You made me feel very special.

So, I gotta call out my new favorite base as of late, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. It’s a sheer liquid foundation that’s lightweight and effortless with just a touch of pore blurring. It offers a little more coverage than a tinted moisturizer or a skin tint, but less than a full-on foundation, so skin still looks like skin.

From chanel.com:

Product
With a soft, water-light texture and light-to-medium coverage, the tiniest drop of this hybrid fluid foundation creates a natural-looking glow. Skin looks refined and feels refreshed, for an exquisite makeup experience.

Composition
“High Definition Light” pigments help ensure the complexion looks even, natural and radiant. Hyaluronic Acid maintains moisture and SPF 15 provides UVB protection.

How to Apply
Shake before use. Gently pat, dab or stipple with brush onto entire face — or key areas— and blend from the center of the face outward.

Best part? It’s super easy to apply. I blend a few drops on bare skin with my fingers, and I’m done! If I want a little more coverage on my cheeks and around my mouth, I’ll wait a minute or so for that first layer to dry, and then I’ll apply a second layer.

It’s Chanel, so it has a floral scent, which I like, however if you’re not into scented makeup, know that it fades pretty quickly.

By the way, I’m usually an NC42 in MAC, and my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua shade is 50 Dore.

What summertime makeup bases do you like? I’m happy with this one and Laura Mercier, but ya know… It’s good to have options.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen