Karen

MAC Unsung Heroes: Mineralize Foundation/Loose

April 23rd, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

mac mineralize foundation loose medium dark before after — Seriously, what a difference 10-minute makeup can make!

This powder is So. Dang. Good.

I don’t think it’s as overall epic as MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, because that’s just… Well, it ticks off all the boxes, and I’m not gonna go there again because I know I talk about it all the time, so I won’t put you through that again. 🙂 But Mineralize Foundation/Loose provides more coverage than MAC Next to Nothing and MAC Blot, but less than MAC Studio Fix Loose. Basically, it has the same magical “your skin but better” mana that Mineralize Skinfinish Natural has, but with a tad more coverage.

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.

mac mineralize foundation loose — —–> Fantastic for when you need a quick base

Never cake-y, never heavy, never overly shiny or overly matte, it’s phenomenal at controlling oil (although, if you have an oil slick situation, by mid-morning you’ll probably do better if you use something like MAC Blot instead). The main difference between Mineralize Foundation/Loose and MSF Natural is the level of coverage, as the loose version is straight-up medium coverage, and the pressed version is sheerer, but still build-able up to medium.

Technically, it’s a foundation, and you can wear it by itself, which is really handy for quick makeup looks, but I also think it looks lovely on top of a sheer tint or a BB or CC cream.

I would love Mineralize Foundation/Loose even more if it wasn’t only available in seven bizarrely staggered shades. It’s just so wonky… MSF Natural comes in 17 shades, so what’s the deal with only seven shades of Mineralize Foundation/Loose? And the steps between the the shades make absolutely no sense to me. I’m a MAC NC42 and wear Medium Deep, but the next darker shade, Medium Dark, is like three shades darker than that and super orange.

I don’t get it, but I hope you find a match, because if you do, I think you’ll fall in love.

mac mineralize foundation loose medium dark — Wearing the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyehadow Palette, MAC Coffee liner, MAC Gingerly blush, MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Burnt Spice, and MAC Dazzleglass in Tangerine Tropica

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 521

April 23rd, 2018 by Karen 38 Comments

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll… It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been doing every Monday morning for the past 11 (!) years. (It’s like a kick start for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments and getting my week off to a good start, and I hope you do, too.

1. Are you and your siblings a lot alike?

It’s just my younger brother Al and I, and we have the same strange sense of humor and the same, like, zeal for life? On the big things, like politics and religion, I think we’re on a similar page.

But we’re also different in a lot of mostly small ways, too. For instance, I like pop music, and he likes music that’s too experimental and cerebral for me. 🙂

One of the bigger differences between us is how we approach our roles in the family, and this is probably because of birth order. I’m the older one, and I feel like it’s on me a lot of the time to plan things and steer the ship, whereas Al just gets to be a passenger on the ship…

2. When was the last time you spent a whole day in your pajamas?

I think for me the question is more, “When was the last time I didn’t spend the whole day in my pajamas?” Haha! See, the thing is, my pajamas spill over into my workout wear, which spills over into my regular clothes, so, technically, what I can go to sleep in, I could also wear to the grocery store, and then also to my exercise class.

Like the tank top from Old Navy that I wore to bed the other night, I also wore to work out in the following morning, and if I wanted to I could have also run errands in that tank top and nobody would have been the wiser.

3. Among your current circle of friends and family, who wears the most makeup?

In the biggest plot twist of the year… Just kidding, it’s still me. 🙂 I’m still the one who wears the most makeup. It’s always been that way, and I suspect that it’s going to continue being that way until we’re living in Miami as the nouveau Golden Girls. I’m happy with that.

4. Last time you gave a stranger a hug?

Yesterday afternoon at a mom’s luncheon for the mother’s group I belong to. A woman came in, and she was in tears. She had a 7-month-old at home, and I guess she hadn’t gotten out in a while. I just remember that feeling being so raw and so real that I had to get up and give her a hug.

5. What’s the furthest you’ve ever moved?

Mile-wise, I don’t know, but it was about a two-hour drive north of where I grew up in the Bay Area, up to Davis, California, for school, so I’ve really never moved very far.

I still think about picking up and moving someplace cheaper to live than the Bay Area, because it’s so expensive here now, but my parents are here, and they’re getting older; and my brother is here; and El Hub’s job is here; and this is where most of my friends are… It gets harder when you have ties.

“Smile and the whole world smiles with you”

This is something my mom always said to me growing up, and even though I used to think it was kinda cheesy when I was younger I really appreciate it now, especially on Monday mornings. Hopefully you can find a reason to smile this morning, even if it’s a small thing, like the short walk you’re going to take on your break, or your yummy lunch!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy and paste with your answers in a comment:

1. Are you and your siblings a lot alike?
2. When was the last time you spent a whole day in your pajamas?
3. Among your current circle of friends and family, who wears the most makeup?
4. Last time you gave a stranger a hug?
5. What’s the furthest you’ve ever moved?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 498

April 22nd, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

Who’s the suavest, most debonair, most sophisticated security cat in Novato?

Tabs, that’s who. 🙂

He likes to send a message to any would-be cat or canine intruders that there’s a together cat with impeccable style holding down the fort.

Overall, things were uneventful on this morning’s patrol. There were a couple of unruly turkeys and one suspicious cat, but all of them kept their distance when they saw Tabs.

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Saturday Surfing, April 21st, 2018

April 21st, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

saturday surfing tabs escaping front yard — Saturday is Caturday, after all.

I was really hoping to serve some face this morning and show the world a girl who made the effort to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual (for a Saturday) to finish her run before 9…but that girl’s cat figured out how to open the front door this week…

I have no idea how he’s doing it because — bless his heart — Tabs is not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. But somehow he’s opening a closed door!

I dunno… Maybe he’s been saving up all of his kitty brain power for this one historic moment in time. Who knows?

If only I were able harness that same kind of laser-like focus in my life, haha! GO, TABS.

Nevertheless, I still got up early because I’ve been thinking about a concept I saw in a TED Talk recently. Basically, it was about getting out of your own way (linked it down below), and it touched on a concept in chemistry called activation energy, which is the minimum quantity of energy that something must possess in order to undergo a specified reaction.

Anyway, listen to the talk. It’s great, but quick summary: if you want to accomplish something, like if you want to get in shape or change careers, first, you have to take that initial step to create a spark of energy and get the ball rolling.

Whatever it is, it’s not going to just accomplish itself.

Darn. 🙂 Because it would be easier for me to lie in bed and look at kitten pictures on Instagram for 45 minutes, which is what I usually do on Saturday mornings, but today I actually got up when the alarm went off.

Maybe Tabs listened to that Ted Talk, too! He was all about the activation energy, LOL!

Speaking of that, one of these stories down below might spark something in you…

This is how many professional makeup artists wash the hundreds of brushes they use. It’s probably exactly what you’d think… I mean, it’s brush washing, not rocket science. But I thought it was interesting how so many artists prefer to use solid cleansers for synthetic bristles and liquids for natural bristles. I had no idea! And I didn’t know that so many makeup artists prefer Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Dish Soap. Who knew?
Points to this bride for thinking outside the beauty box. Instead of hiring a makeup artist for her wedding in Italy, Laurie Huff, a real estate broker from Jackson, Wyoming, flew out an L.A.-based aesthetician who brought 70 skin care products with her and a bag of “facial tools” so Laurie could walk down the aisle without a stitch of makeup.

Instead of foundation, there were daily facials, oxygen treatments, collagen, placenta, and antioxidants serums and masks.
I see a couple of my go-tos on this list of 13 drugstore beauty products that makeup artists swear by.
Expect to see a new makeup line from shoe savant Jimmy Choo in the next few years.

I wonder if the pieces will be so expensive that I’ll have to take out a second mortgage.
DUDE. SERIOUSLY. Don’t ever buy knockoff makeup, ever. I’m sure you already know this, but just in case you need a reminder, a whole bunch of fake makeup was just seized in L.A., and it had animal poop in it.
In Brazil, blind women are learning the art of makeup application to boost their self-esteem.
As if I needed another reason to lurk at Target, they’re getting a whole slew of new makeup brands for ladies and gents with darker skin tones pretty soon!
Ever wonder what makes gel manis or chrome nails look and work the way they do? My favorite read of the week is this piece on the chemistry behind gel manicures, chrome nails and the latest nail art trends. Polymer snippets and free radical reactions are music ? to my ears.
I wanna try this indie nail polish line because of the cute bottles. Is that so wrong?
Can this robot build an IKEA chair faster than you? In my case, yes it can.

Here’s that TED Talk…

One of my favorite things in this talk for me was the part about throwing the covers off yourself when you wake up and getting out of bed immediately. It sounds silly, but dagnabbit, it sets a great tone and helps me GET STUFF DONE.

I watched a Netflix documentary on pastry chef Christina Tosi this week, and now I wanna make “Crack Pie.”

My current superhero theme…

AWWW! Adorable newborns getting massaged and pampered…

This 28-minute HIIT workout is NO JOKE.

Feeling a little inspired? I hope you do. 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend, babe.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What Are Your Go-To Face/Base Makeup Products Now?

April 20th, 2018 by Karen 35 Comments

mac 190 foundation brush — Let us paint…

Tell me everything! And please also mention your skin type and skin shade.

I’m partially writing this post because I’m trying to talk myself out of ALL. THE. FOUNDATIONS. on my Sephora VIB sale wish list right now. Overall, though, I’m happy with my current base makeup sitch, but you know how it is when you’re a makeup junkie… I’m always hoping to find something new to love right around the corner.

I’m also partially writing this post because I’m hella nosy, haha. 🙂 And this is the closest I can get to actually peeking inside your makeup bag. #truth

Here are my current go-to face/base makeup products. I have combo skin, and my shade in MAC-speak is NC42.

Foundation

MAC Face & Body in C4 and C5 (I mix the two)
NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in St. Moritz and Cuba (mixed)
MAC Studio Fix Fluid (NC42; I usually mix this with a few drops of MAC Strobe Cream)
Neutrogena Hydro Boost (super sheer coverage; I wear Honey 85)
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Foundation Stick (Beige)

Concealer

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NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection: 10-Minute Makeup

April 20th, 2018 by Karen 14 Comments

Is this a 10-minute makeup look because it took me 10 minutes to do…or is it a 10-minute makeup look because I only had it on for 10 minutes?

I don’t know!

Oh, goodness… I’m wearing lots of NARS Erdem Strange Flowers in these pics, and there’s a certain irony to this because I was outside walking among the flowers and the nature for approximately 10 minutes before I had to rush inside and wash everything off. Because my allergies went OFF!

It’s been particularly bad so far this year. My eyes started watering like Trevi Fountain, man. So, yeah. Didn’t get to wear this look all day long, which is what I wanted to do, but at least I had 10 minutes of semi-glamour, and sometimes that’s enough.

Couple things about the NARS Erdem pieces I’m wearing in this look…

I mean, you might recognize most of the “greatest hits” items in this pic because I’ve talked about most of the face products before, but if there’s anything you’re curious about, lemme know.

As for the NARS Erdem pieces, both the Fleur Fatale Eyeshadow Palette and Poison Rose Lip Powder Palette look like they could lean neutral, or maybe even slightly warm, but on my skin (I’m somewhere between NARS St. Moritz and Cuba), both the eye palette and lip palette appear extremely cool-toned, so that’s something to keep in mind if you were considering either of them.

Also — oh, my gosh — the blush? Loves Me? It’s hella bright and SO PIGMENTED. I dabbed a bit on my cheeks and was like, yeah, I should probably take that down a few steps.

I took the foundation brush I used to apply my base makeup (a MAC 187S… It’s a’ight. I used it because it was clean and convenient.) and ran it across the tops of my cheeks to lift some of the blush off and blend it down into the skin a little more.

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The NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection, and Familiar Flowers in My Neighborhood

April 19th, 2018 by Karen 38 Comments

The new NARS Erdem Strange Flowers summer collection is out now (side note: Erdem is a women’s fashion designer, if you’re not in the know… I had to look him up, so you aren’t alone if you had no clue!), so, of course, being the frustrated botanist that I am, I walked all over my neighborhood looking for strange flowers, and that’s when I realized that there aren’t any strange flowers in my neighborhood…

LIKE, NONE.

I don’t think it’s too much to expect to see a Venus Flytrap while you’re taking your cat for a walk.

But I digress…

The NARS Erdem Strange Flowers Collection

Wanna-Be Botanist Karen is like YAAASSS because every piece in this LE release is covered with ??? flowers.

The eyeshadows palettes — Super potent. Just a little dip with the tip of eye brush lays down loads o’ pigment. If I get in there and blend with a fierce purpose, I’m fine. Fun for smoky looks. 🙂

The blushes — Frostier in the arm swatches than they are on cheeks, yay! Good news for those of us with, like, pores.

The lipsticks — Such a twist! They look dark and intimidating, but five of the six are sheer. The only opaque one is red Blood Flower, which I think is OK, but the sheer ones, I LOVE. They’re like super intense lip tints, and I’m all about the pink and purples because they could almost pass for nudes.

The blotting papers — OK.

The stick highlighter — Opalescent purple dewy gorgeousness. Also doubles as an eyeshadow base (I used it in these pics underneath the blue and charcoal from the Night Garden Palette, and it tinted the smoky look with a hint of purple)

The lip palette — I like layering the lip powders on top of the cream lipstick, but they make my lips look and feel a little dry…

Instead of strange flowers, I saw a bunch of familiar ? flowers, and even though I’m bummed about my neighborhood’s lack of exotic horticulture, the familiar flowers always bring me so much joy and fill me with happy memories. 🙂

nars night garden eyeshadow palette — Strange flowers with familiar flowers

Like these white and purple daisies. Oh, my goodness! When my my parents first moved into the house I grew up in, which is the house my parents still live in today, it had this big patch of daisies just underneath the living room window, and when you’d walk in and out of the house, they were the first things you saw in the yard.

nars fleur fatale eyeshadow palette — Fleur Fatale Eyeshadow Palette

My friend Karrie, who lived next door to my childhood home in the East Bay, would hop over the fence, knock on the door, and ask if I could go outside and play. At some point whenever we’d be playing, a few of these daisies would be picked, and they’d end up either in our hair, around our wrists as bracelets, or squashed underneath bicycle tires.

And these California poppies… OH! They take me back, too.