Karen

I went to Costco a few days ago to buy a few more boxes of my contact lenses, because, in true to Karen fashion, my prescription was about to expire, because I left it to the day before the expiration date to restock…

Anywho, since I was already in the optical department, I decided to try on some frames.

Girl! – when did all of the frames at Costco get fancy embellishments on the sides? Like, you’ve got the front part that goes over your eyes, and then you’ve got the — I don’t know the technical word for them, but I want to call them arms. They’re the part that goes along the sides of your head and behind your ears. The last time I bought a pair of glasses was a looong time ago (coming up on 10 years), and I don’t recall that little area being such a popular location for decorative accouterments.

It seemed like every pair I saw at Costco had at least some sort of brand logo on the side, or weird gems, or a pattern or crazy color.

Am I alone in wanting a pair of glasses that aren’t too fussy? I mean, I get the allure of glasses being jewelry for your face, but I like mine on the simple side. I dunno… I don’t want them to compete with my makeup.

I use my glasses for distance — driving, watching movies at the theater, that kind of thing. I don’t need them for reading (yet).

Speaking of reading, here are some of the stories that caught my eye this week.

• Since we’re on the subject of glasses, this one’s for all my Canadian peeps: apparently, BonLook is the new Canadian Warby Parker.
• Five makeup looks for ladies and gents with hooded lids or monolids to try.
• Ever since I read these words by journalist Lizzie O’Leary about the harassment she experienced during her career, I’ve been thinking (even more than usual) about the things Connor Claire might experience when she enters the working world: “Over the course of my career, I have shrugged off things that horrify me now. I learned to push through the routine humiliation. As an ambitious woman, I often ran an internal calculation about how much ‘trouble’ I was willing to make. Should I fight about the story I want to do or the unwelcome remark about my legs?”
• Meet five women currently running for state and national seats across the country.
• Is Target trying to become the Sephora of drugstore beauty?
• Speaking of Sephora, here are 9 insider hacks from former Sephora employees.
• Estée Lauder shares recently hit a record high.
• Benefit is recalling this bestselling brow product.
• What’s it like to do IPL? (And what is IPL?) My friend Jane tells all about it.
• 6 face masks for oily and acne-prone skin

I want to check out more frames this weekend. I know there’s a Len’s Crafters at the mall, so I might swing by to see if there’s anything cute.

I’ve considered using a service like Warby Parker, but I also like the idea of getting them from someplace local where it’s easy to get them adjusted if there’s an issue, ya know?

If you wear glasses, where do you usually get them? Are you happy with the ones you have now? Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

Have an excellent weekend, my fabulous friend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What’s my go-to bold lip color? Oh, honey, half the time I go with a bright vibrant pink or a coral. That other half I go with a red, usually some incarnation of a matte red, because matte reds are easier for me to maintain that creamy reds.

Basically, though, red lips are classic, and when it comes to go-to bold, they always get the job done.

How about you? What’s your go-to bold lip color?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I utterly cannot believe it’s here again already, but a resounding TGIF!!!!

The Sephora VIB sale starts soon (woo-hoo, 20%!), which means hot little hands will be poised atop keyboards and ready to take the plunge on November 10th. A few of you guys have been asking for some sale recommendations, and I gotta tell you is that my own personal list is always pretty boring. I stock up on the same things that I know I’ll use over and over again throughout the year, like Rita Hazan Root Concealer Touch-Up Spray, Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion, Caudalie Hand Cream and Body Lotion and Clarins Tonic Body Treatment Oil.

Seriously, so boring…

Oh! — I’m also gonna get some Shiseido Facial Cotton, because I recently discovered them, and they’re bomb.

There are a few things I’ve been wanting to try that are on my lust list, like Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter (I heard about this from a few friends. It comes in a bunch of different scents, and I like the ingredient list.), and, of course, Tom Ford’s $85 Nude Dip quad, which I’ve been drooling over FOREVER.

I think the VIB sale (BTW, here’s some info about Sephora’s Beauty Insider program if you’re interested) is a good opportunity to not only spring for things you’ve been wanting to try for a while, but it’s also a great time to stock up on everyday items at a discounted price.

Aaaand speaking of that, here are some things I use all the time and swear by, and they’re all available — yay! — at Sephora.

• Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer
• Benefit 24-HR Brow Setter Shaping & Setting Gel
• NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
• NARS Isolde Duo
• NARS Cordura Duo
• Hourglass Vanish Seamless Foundation Stick
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat
• Hourglass Panoramic Lip Liner in Eden
• NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint Broad Spectrum SPF 30
• Urban Decay Naked Skin One & Done Hybrid Foundation
• Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Burnished Copper and Spice
• Surratt Beauty Relevée Lash Curler
• Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray, Shiseido Ibuki Quick Fix Mist and Make Up For Ever Mist and Fix Setting Sprays
• NARS Powermatte Lip Pigments in American Woman, Walk This Way and Slow Ride

Sephora also sells literally hundreds of fragrances, which I’m sure you already know, and the VIB sale is a great time to buy fragrances, not only for yourself, but as gifts for other people (the holidays are right around the corner).

If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing fragrance with epic appeal across different age groups — mom, mom-in-laws, daughters, friends, coworkers, everyone! — check out Fresh Life by Fresh, Tocca Bianca and Modern Muse by Estée Lauder.

Scent is totally personal, obvs, but those three are eminently gift-able. They’ve never let me down. And if you know anybody who likes masculine scents, try Clean Velvet Flora and Ellis Brooklyn Sci Fi.

If you need more Sephora VIB recommendations, let me know! I’m happy to help.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Don’t forget that if there’s something you want at the sale, but it’s out of stock at the time, Nordstrom does price matching.

I’m just sayin’. 😉

Were you once a low-maintenance lass but now have a more elaborate beauty process? Was there a time when you would never wear lipstick at all but will now rock bright red lips on a typical Tuesday? How has your beauty style changed over the years?

Mine has definitely gone through different phases, like when I was in college in the ’90s, I was all about dark brown lips with simple eye makeup. (Eyeshadow…without any primer, ha! Brows. A little liner and mascara.) That was about it. I never wore concealer or foundation or blush, really, or anything like that. I did occasionally wear powder…

Compared to now, I was pretty low-maintenance, but then in my 20s I started wearing more makeup, mostly because I finally had a “real grownup job” and wanted to look presentable at work, but also because I just liked wearing it.

I’d do a full face with foundation, eyes, brows and cheeks from start to finish. I even used concealer.

At that time I was all about neutral colors, and it was really only when I started MBB in 2007 that I started wearing colorful eyeshadows and liners and blues, greens and purples on the regular. I was still wearing a lot of neutrals, but writing about makeup pushed me to try new things.

It didn’t take long to realize that I also loved wearing color. 🙂 And it pretty much stayed that way until I had Connor. After I had her, I was just like, “OMG, just give me minimalist neutrals.”

I’m still kind of a little stuck in that phase, too, although I’ve been trying to push myself further out when I have time.

At this point in my beauty life, I’m all about minimal face makeup — like minimal foundation and concealer. I try to get away with as little as possible because I don’t have as much time to really perfect my coverage.

I still love doing complicated makeup looks when time permits, but alas, I’ve also discovered that my skin seems to look a little better, my pores don’t look as big, and my fine lines don’t look as prominent when I wear less foundation and concealer.

But yeah, I love that makeup is an art form, and our styles and preferences evolve and change over time. I’m sure mine are ever-changing.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My natural hair texture falls into a couple of different categories. The top layers of my hair have a very loose wavy pattern, and the right side has tighter waves than the left side. This weirdness/uneven curl pattern business made finding a hair stylist a nightmare adventure, and speaking of that, when my friend Alis, who has been doing my hair for years — she lives in Las Vegas now but comes back to the Bay Area every few weeks to do her clients’ hair — finally decides that she’s over traveling and stays in Vegas for good, I’m gonna cry so many glittery tears…

Anyway, what was I saying?

Oh, yeah! — that whole uneven curl pattern business has led to many disastrous haircuts over the years, with the right side ending up shorter than the left. It’s been a verifiable pain in the @ss.

To make matters even more complicated, underneath my top layers my hair is straight, so I have TWO different textures going on, and at this point in my life, I don’t really do anything to fight it. I kind of just go with the flow. At the most, I’ll wash it and let it air dry, then use a large-barrel curling iron to add some waves around my face to kind of get them to curl out and away from my face.

But, girl, you should’ve seen my hair in the the mid-’90s and early-2000s. Basically, I fought the law, and the law won.

No, really, I fought my waves so hard. Straight hair was the thing, and this was way before the era of flat irons, so I had to use a round brush, a hairdryer and lots patience to blow out my hair. I had straight hair from like 1996 to probably about 2006… It took a lot of effort to fight the waves.

Now I just go with it. It’s just so much easier, and my hair is in much better shape.

So, what’s your natural hair texture like, and do you try to go with it, or do you like to change it up? Let me know in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Shoot, I just realized that I didn’t even watch ONE scary movie this Halloween. I usually at least watch the original Halloween (the one with Jamie Lee Curtis).

P.P.S. Well, it looks like Connor Claire finally has her first real cold. She was very uncomfortable all night. That other cold-like thing she had a couple months ago turned out to be teething, I think, but the symptoms were just like a cold, except that they went away overnight. This time, though, really seems like a cold. Poor thing is currently not very happy.

She had tons of fun trick or treating, but then around bed time her nose really started running, and it went downhill from there. Her Uncle Tabby has been very attentive and trying to cheer her up.