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A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 580

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Keep looking ahead, friend.

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 five ever-changing, more-or-less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since early 2007). I love reading your answers. It helps me get my week off to a good start, and I hope it does the same for you.

    1. What does your hair look like today?

    Well, I got up a little earlier than usual today so I could do my hair and wear it down (same loose waves, purr usual), but I already have it up in a haphazard bun.

    Sigh…

    No matter what I do, my hair ends up in a fun bun!

    2. Would you rock a Towelkini?

    Sure, why not? I’ll take the pink one.

    3. Your favorite thing to buy at Bath and Body Works?

    The three-wick candles, of course! I also love their foaming liquid soaps, but I don’t buy them often because we go through so much hand soap in our house, and it’s just not cost-effective.

    4. Zebra stripes or leopard print?

    Leopard print, because I’m all about that cat lady life.

    5. Your favorite pair of earrings at the moment?

    A pair of dangly gold leaf earrings the coywolf got me for Mother’s Day.

Open spaces

Good morning, sweet girl. ?

One thing I love about living in the Bay Area: If/when you need a break from the bustle, you can drive 30 minutes in pretty much any direction and find yourself in wide open hills somewhere, where you can stretch your legs and recharge your soul. Our local favorite hiking spot is the Indian Valley nature preserve, with its miles and miles of trails.

Whenever I feel like getting outside, it’s a quick 5-minute drive. Because there isn’t much shade on the trails, I think the best time to go is early in the morning right around the crack of dawn. That way you can enjoy the walk without the sun beating down on you, but even if you get there any time before noon in the summer, and you bring lots of water and a hat, it’s still bearable. You’ll just be hella sweaty afterwards, since summers are usually hot in Novato.

We were there yesterday, and I was surprised to still see some green grass and flowers on the ground! Normally by this time of year, everything’s the gorgeous golden color that coats every inch of the hills around here.

How are you on this beautiful Monday? ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to you soon.

1. What does your hair look like today?
2. Would you rock a Towelkini?
3. Your favorite thing to buy at Bath and Body Works?
4. Zebra stripes or leopard print?
5. Your favorite pair of earrings at the moment?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 559

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I saw a tiny tiara at Target the other day and thought about Snowflake. She was Tabs’s longtime…how shall we say this — kitty companion? I remembered the time he took her to Tiffany and said she could pick out anything she wanted, but when she picked out an engagement ring, Tabs looked really nervous. “Oh, um…” he meowed, “anything except a ring.” So Snowflake picked a tiny tiara instead.

Tabs was funny about relationships… He wasn’t a player, but at the same time, he never put a ring on it with Snowflake, even though I thought he should, just because she was such a good cat. Devoted, funny, beautiful, and a stellar kitty model in her own right. They actually worked on several kitty modeling campaigns together, which led the gossip mags to speculate that they’d get married, but they never did.

I asked Tabs about it once, and he said that he had too much going on to be tied down to a conventional relationship, which I think may have been true to a certain degree, but I also think he was just afraid of getting his heart broken.

Snowflake waited patiently for Tabs for several years before eventually moving on. Last time I heard, she had settled down with a cat of royal lineage in Scotland. I think he was a duke or a prince or something. I’m not exactly sure, but he did own a castle. Sometimes I see pics of her in the royal gossip mags across the pond.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, June 22nd, 2019

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Watermelon woes…

Desperately seeking a watermelon whisperer! ?

(You read that right.)

I could easily eat two 20-pound watermelons a week. They’re my favorite summer fruit, but so far this has been the Summer of Junk Watermelon (and yes, that’s “junk” as an adjective, which I think might be a local Hawaii thing), since every one I’ve gotten has been about as flavorful as a dirty Styrofoam cooler.

The one I got from Target last week made me the saddest of sad pandas. 🙁 Not only was it at least 60% rind, but the red fruit part was so overripe that it felt like tapioca pudding.

Blech! It was super gross. I ended up throwing it out (and I absolutely HATE throwing out food).

Is there such a thing as having a bad streak of watermelon luck? I’ve done the research. I try to follow best watermelon-picking practices. I follow the guidelines I saw on a sign at Trader Joe’s…but based on every single melon I’ve gotten so far in 2019, I have a special talent for picking all the wrong ones. LOL!

It’s at the point where I’m only going to buy the small ones until this problem gets worked out. Say it with me: “No more bland or squishy fruit!”

On to this weekend’s reading…


My preferred method


What happens when you melt down every lipstick from the drugstore into one Franken-lipstick


Heavy black liner, shiny red lips and a chorus you won’t be able to stop singing


I totally don’t mind this.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Summer Solstice Look: Hot Summer Nights

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Turn up the heat

Welcome to summer! (It officially starts today for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, in case you didn’t notice.) Although I’m not a fan of sweltering hot days (especially since we don’t have an air conditioner in our place at the moment), one thing I’ve always loved about summer is when the sun sets and everything cools down juuuuuuust enough so you can walk around comfortably in the evening wearing shorts and a tank top or a dress.

This look was inspired by hot summer nights, and by one of my favorite crimson lipstick colors to wear when the weather heats up: matte coral red. This particular shade is MAC Relentlessly Red, which is available in the permanent line.

I usually apply matte coral reds like this one straight from the tube, but this time I decided to try something a little different by lining my lip line with a slightly darker red lip pencil and leaving the edges mostly unblended.

I’ve been into the unblended lip liner Kelly Clarkson usually wears on The Voice, so I wanted to dip a toe into the look! I haven’t worn unblended liner since 1998, so it was fun to try it again, even if the red-on-red combo is subtler than the stark dark plum liner-frosty pale beige lipstick combo I used to wear in college.

Oh, and did ya notice the cooler-toned olive taupe smudged on my lower lash line? I went for a foil to the warm shades on my eyes, cheeks and lips… I like those unexpected contrasts in makeup looks, don’t you?


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First Thoughts on First Aid Beauty

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first aid beauty
It’s FAB

(Psst!) Guess what I heard over by the water cooler? I heard that the First Aid Beauty line is fab for sensitive, moody skin. Spread the word. ?

Initially, I wanted to give the line a go because of what I’ve heard about their Retinol Eye Cream ($44), even though I’m starting to feel like eye creams are one of those useless endeavors. (Sigh) Part of me still wants to believe there IS something out there that works. To that end, retinol is a compound dermatologists cite over and over and over again as one of the most effective skin care ingredients…

I’ve only been using First Aid Beauty’s Retinol Eye Cream for a week so far, but so far? Well, so far I can say that I like that I can use it around the entire eye area, both in the morning and again at night, and I also like how well it layers under makeup.

I haven’t been using it for long yet, but so far…I’m still waiting for an “A-HA!” moment.

I’ve also been using First Aid Beauty’s Face Cleanser ($21). It’s rated for all skin types, foams up into a lush lather, and I like using it after hard workouts because it completely melts away the sweat AND any leftover makeup. After I use it, my face feels squeaky clean.

First Aid Beauty’s $26 Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30 is also quite good, especially for no-makeup days, because the sheer coverage and matte finish make it like a more affordable version of Laura Mercier’s iconic $46 tinted moisturizer. There’s a decent range of 10 shades to choose from, too.

And then there’s the Bendy Avocadeo Concealer ($22), which steers clear of my under-eye lines and doesn’t look obvious or heavy…unlike another product (ahem, I’m talking to you, Tarte Shape Tape).

It’s on the sheerer end of the concealer spectrum, so if you’re a fan of MAC Mineralize Concealer or MAC Select Moisturecover (RIP), I think you’ll like it.
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The Chanel Les Beiges Natural Eyeshadow Palette

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chanel les beiges natural eyeshadow collection

You know when you get something new that you really like but you want to save it for a special occasion, but then Mother’s Day comes and goes, your birthday comes and goes, and you realize that if you keep waiting for a big moment to bust it out, you’ll just end up waiting forever, so one day you just go for it and use it on a random Wednesday?

Well, I’ve been saving this gorgeous neutral eyeshadow palette from Chanel — which is certifiable Karen makeup crack! — for a special occasion because it’s just SO DANG PRETTY. Simply staring at it ignites my lusty makeup passion…

You know the struggle, I’m sure.

So, I finally wore it yesterday, and what was the special occasion, you might ask?

Answer: Wednesday. It was a Wednesday. That is all.

And it was also Connor’s first ballet class of the summer…but the main reason was just that it was Wednesday. 🙂

For once, I was not rolling up to the dance studio in a topknot, black yoga pants and nothing other than mascara, with my usual layer of coffee fuzz on my teeth. Instead, it felt good to really wear some makeup — eyeshadow, liner, blush, lipstick, foundation, and the whole kit and caboodle — like I used to when I’d rock a full face to Target to buy a bag of emergency M&Ms.

Oh, and I rediscovered a Chanel cheek/lip coral combo I used to wear all the time with Malice blush and Creatif liquid lipstick. The corals go well with the warm golden browns from the eye palette (as does the Chanel Mat Taupe liner I wore today).

chanel les beiges natural eyeshadow collection

karen chanel les beiges les indispensables
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Best of the Best: Emily Noel of Beauty Broadcast

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Guess who’s been binge-watching Emily Noel’s Beauty Broadcast YouTube channel?

You guessed it: me!

Among the many reasons I love her stuff — her mad makeup skills, her cute accent, her fervor for the felines, etc., etc. — the biggest reason is how well she explains why she does what she does and likes what she likes.

I love her explanations! She’s sensational at describing exactly why she chooses certain products or prefers particular tools or techniques, and she’s simultaneously succinct and chatty. I always feel like I’m learning something new.

I really noticed how well she describes things in the video at the top: Makeup for People Who Don’t Like Doing Makeup, about which I said, “Damn, she’s good,” the first time I watched it. Emily really breaks it down — why she recommends IT Cosmetics tinted moisturizer (wide shade range, flexible coverage), how to apply it, why she prefers to blend it with a particular e.l.f. brush instead of using her fingers, and why she likes to use another brush to apply the bronzer.

She’s polished, thorough and logical, and yet it never seems like she’s reading from a set of Ikea instructions on how to build some shelves. Or like I’m being talked “at” (like I do with some videos).

Even though this video illustrates how to do a simple look, I still learned so much.

I know she has a broadcasting background, and it really shows. It’s just refreshing to watch someone with real broadcast training discuss a subject I love.

If you haven’t watched her stuff yet, do it ASAP. Even if you’ve been around the makeup block a few times, I’m confident you’ll learn something new. Plus…SHE’S A CAT LADY. Need I say more?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Two Coats of Too Faced Damn Girl Mascara: Before and After

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too faced damn girl mascara 1
EXCLAMATION MARK!

The name of this new $25 mascara seems like a missed opportunity…because if you’re going the cheeky/sassy route, why not go all the way? Just go ahead and call it “DAAAYUM GURL!” rather than “Damn Girl!” However, I do appreciate the Too Faced corporate commitment to proper usage of the English language. 🙂

Damn Girl is the brand’s latest foray into Lash Land, and the brand says it’s for the person who wants extra everything — extra length, extra volume, extra black pigment for that extra va-va-voom.

Take note of the infinity-shaped brush, which they built to load and lengthen lashes to extra levels. The short bristles deposit the fancy whipped formula, while the longer bristles comb it through.

Using the wand is a little awkward at first (give me a traditional fine-tipped brush for detailing the outer corners any day of the week), but it’s still possible to stretch those inner- and outer-lashes with the curved end, assuming I hold my wrist at odd angles…

too faced damn girl mascara 1
Hourglass shape

Two layers looks similar to Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and L’Oreal Lash Paradise, so there’s a noticeable difference in volume and length, which is a plus…but I won’t be pledging my undying devotion to Damn Girl because my outer corner lashes begin to droop after a couple hours when I wear it, and I see smears along my lower lash line by day’s end.

too faced damn girl mascara before after
Two layers of Damn Girl

Bottom line: It’s a functional mascara for volume and length, IMO. Not so much for curl hold.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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