Karen

MAC X Nicki Minaj Collection: 9 Nude Lip Combos to Try

October 3rd, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

mac nicki minaj lip combos — Nude. Lip. Love.

Of the multitude of ways to refer to a booty/buttocks/bum/butt, derrière is my fave.

Derrière, daaaaahling! DAIRY AIR.

That’s classy.

There’s a lipstick in the MAC X Nicki Minaj collection called Derrière, which I take to be a celebration of Nicki’s famous backside, and why not celebrate it?! I think it deserves a parade.

BOOTY ALERT!!! For reals, my HIIT instructor plays this song in class sometimes, and it always cracks me up!

Nicki’s new booty-rockin’ limited edition collection of nude lipsticks, lip pencils and Lipglasses is available now with lots of love for #TEAMNUDELIPS.

There are SO MANY ways to work nude lips into cool combos, and here are nine ideas.

Note: If you happen to not be a member of #TEAMNUDELIPS, oh! Please come here. I have to try to convince you, but where do I start?? There are warm pink nudes, neutral pinks, peachy pinks, beige-pinks, AND THOSE ARE JUST THE PINKS. There are also peachy nudes, nude browns and… So many possibilities! The pics below just barely scratch the surface of the nude lip iceberg, but I hope they give you one or two impulses. 🙂

1. Boldly Bare Lip Pencil + Japanese Maple Lipstick + N-U-D-E Lipglass

6 mac nicki minaj boldly bare japanese maple nude — Boldly Bare Lip Pencil, Japanese Maple Lipstick and N-U-D-E Lipglass

2. Cork Lip Pencil + Derrière Lipstick + Beaux Lipglass

5 mac nicki minaj cork derrier beaux — Cork Lip Pencil, Derriere Lipstick and Beaux Lipglass

3. Edge to Edge Lip Pencil + Playing Koi Lipstick + Please Me Lipglass

4 mac nicki minaj edge to edge playing koi please me — Edge to Edge Lip Pencil, Playing Koi Lipstick and Please Me Lipglass

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Unsung Heroes: MAC In Extra Dimension Waterproof Mascara

October 3rd, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

mac in extra mascara review — THE BEST mascara in the entire MAC fam IMO is this one here.

MAC has megatons of mascara. There must be millions of them! You know this. They aren’t one of those brands that only does, like, one mascara and calls it quit. No.

I think quite a few of MAC’s mascaras are good, too, like Extended Play. I’ve gone through a number of tubes of that one, among others, but there’s one MAC mascara I’ve been using more than the others for months, and I think it’s leagues above the rest. It’s In Extra Dimension Waterproof Mascara, the one in the curvy black tube with the teal MAC logos all over it.

Now, Karen is someone who finds fault with pretty much every mascara she tries. (Karen is also apparently someone who refers to herself in the third person!). But this one’s The. Best. in the entire MAC mascara family IMO. And, girl, I’ve tried them all!

You get so much bang for your buck with it, and the look is almost as dramatic as falsies, and that’s with just one or two coats.

I mean, it’s a mascara…so it’s not gonna make you look like you’ve grown Snuffalufagus fringe overnight, but if you want it all — thickness, length, curl separation and, most importantly, THE DRAMA — In Extra Dimension Waterproof brings it.

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 in extra dimension waterproof before after — Before and after! I’m also wearing MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC 42 mixed with MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite topped with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden (foundation and powder), Hourglass Radiant Bronze Light (blush), MAC Brow Sculpt Pencil in Spiked and Benefit clear Brow Gel (brows) and MAC Lipstick in MMMMM (from the new Nicki Minaj nude lipstick collection

There is one other thing I feel you need to know up front before you fall in love with it, and here it is: this mascara is truly waterproof. You’ll need an oil-based eye makeup remover and/or an eye-friendly cleansing balm to thoroughly take it off; otherwise, you’ll be stuck rubbing at your lashes for days and could even accidentally break them off (NOOOO!), which happened to me a couple times before I “wised up.”

Now when I wear this and go to remove my makeup at the end of the day, I soak a Shiseido Facial Cotton with a few drops of Klorane Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover with Soothing Cornflower (you can get it at Sephora), then gently press the pad on top of my lashes. When I hold it there for a few seconds, this mascara slides right off.

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Victoria Beckham X Estée Lauder 2017

October 3rd, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

estee lauder victoria beckaham 2017 blonde mink cheek creme top pic — Becks is baaaaaaack.

The following sentences must be sung to the tune of Wannabe by the Spice Girls:

So tell me what you want, what you really, really want.

Yo, I’ll tell you want I want, what I really, really want.

I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I really, really, really want Victoria Beckham to do her own makeup line.

LOL! 🙂

But until then, she’s back! Victoria Beckham, previously known as Posh Spice, is back for round two with Estée Lauder, which means YAY for all of us who loved the heck out of the first collection she did with them last fall.

estee lauder victoria beckham 2017 eye kajal saphir vanille — From the left: Cheek Creme in Blonde Mink, Eye Kajal in Saphir Vanille and Skin Perfecting Powder

The new Victoria Beckham X Estée Lauder is available now on counters and online, and it carries over some of the elements that made last year’s launch a hit with me, like the gold and black packaging (the outer part has a different pattern, though) and the overall luxe, weighty, good-heirloom-jewelry-like vibe.

The pieces look expensive…and they are expensive, so brace yourself for the sticker shock of an $85 pressed powder (!), a $60 cream blush and a $38 eyeliner, which would STILL be crazy town even if I won Super Lotto.

Obvs, Becks is going for the Tom Ford and Chanel customer.

I’m aggressively playing with three of the new pieces, and MAN! — that cream blush? But before we get to that, FYI, VB brought back some things from last year, like the Bitter Clove eyeshadow and Modern Mercury highlighter, which I loved then and still love now, so if you missed out on them last year or have an empty to replace, now’s yo’ chance.

estee lauder victoria beckham 2017 swatches — Swatches from the top: Skin Perfecting Powder, Cheek Creme in Blonde Mink, Eye Kajal in Saphir and Vanille

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Product Shout-Out: Sweat Cosmetics Skin-Balancing Cleansing Towelettes

October 2nd, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

These wonderful wipes are like a portable, post-workout shower, and they’re sensationally soft. They come in packs of 10 for $7 and 30 for $18 from Sweat Cosmetics.

The thing I notice about most specialized post-workout wipes, especially the ones that say they’re for face *and* body, is that they’re usually great at one thing but not great at another, like they’ll be fine for quickly cleaning my neck and down, but when I try using them to clean my face, they’ll sting or make my cheeks feel tight afterward. Or, they’ll leave a film that pills up when I put on sunscreen or BB cream.

Most of them aren’t great at both — face and body — but these are, so even even though you can use baby wipes or regular old makeup wipes to clean up after your workout, these are just better, heftier and softer than usual, like a really good cotton washcloth that smells like lavender and green tea.

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 495

October 2nd, 2017 by Karen 22 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 putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past 10 (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

Just waking up this morning… I was still in bed when El Hub whispered to me on his way to work about the shooting in Las Vegas. We stayed in that same hotel a few years ago for Photoshop World… I remember tubing down the hotel’s lazy river.

I have no words for the sadness and what it must have been like for the people who were there last night. 🙁 No words. I’m so sorry.

I wrote today’s Monday Poll last night… I don’t think I would have felt up for it had I tried to write it this morning, and if you don’t feel like answering the questions and would rather talk about something else, I understand.

1. Which ’90s super model are you? — Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Stephanie Seymore, Christy Turlington or Tyra Banks?

I deeply, deeply want to be Naomi Campbell because she’s a phone-throwing diva and nobody messes with her…but I’m probably closer to Christy Turlington? I dunno… She always seemed like she was pretty normal, or as normal as you can be while being preternaturally gorgeous and famous.

2. Doughnuts or doughnut holes?

GIRL. Forget the doughnut holes. I don’t want any of that nonsense. Gimme a doughnut, please. The doughnut holes are just more effort. You gotta keep picking them up, putting them in your mouth… With the regular doughnut, on the other hand, you get all that fried goodness in a single handful. To me, that is VERY appealing.

3. Where do you usually get your nails done?

Casa de Karen!

Once or twice a year I’ll go to a nail shop called NJ Nails in the shopping center by my house, but the only services I’ve gotten there are basic manicures and pedicures, so I don’t know what it’s like to get gels or acrylics there.

I’ve had good experiences the few times I’ve gone. The place is clean, they’re always busy, and they’re pretty affordable.

4. A beauty product you recently tried but wouldn’t recommend to a friend?

Oh, speaking nails! I bought a bottle of this topcoat by OPI called Rapidry at Nordstrom Rack, and ugh — it was so not good. It was thick, goopy and took forever to dry, and THEN my nail polish chipped within a day!

I usually love OPI, but this particular top coat wasn’t my fave.

5. What was the last social event you attended?

For someone who doesn’t get out much these days, I’ve been to two social events over the last week. TWO. That’s a lot for me lately.

I went to a SoulCycle group spin class hosted by Sweat Cosmetics on Saturday and a mixer with a mom’s group here in town a few days before that.

Here are the questions to copy and paste

1. Which ’90s super model are you? — Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Stephanie Seymore, Christy Turlington or Tyra Banks?
2. Doughnuts or doughnut holes?
3. Where do you usually get your nails done?
4. A beauty product you recently tried but wouldn’t recommend to a friend?
5. What was the last social event you attended?

Hello, Monday

Hi, friend. I hope you had a nice weekend. About that SoulCycle event on Saturday with Sweat Cosmetics (I’ve talked about them before. You can find them at Sephora now.), they do mineral makeup for gals who like to wear a little something-something when they work out. The brand was founded by a group of professional athletes, including a few Olympic soccer players…so I got to spin at SoulCycle with Olympians (!). It was kind of surreal, and not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.

The event was at SoulCycle in Los Gatos, which is about 90 minutes south of Novato. After I got my sweat on, they handed out these sweet swag bags with their Illuminator, a pair of running socks from Lululemon (which I totally needed, yay!), and some yummy healthful snacks I promptly ate on my drive home.

The best thing was this juice from Juice Co LG, a shop right across the street from the studio.

A few goodies from the swag bag (I ate and drank some of the things already, whoops!)

Watermelon, lime, strawberries and chia seeds

I usually prefer to make smoothies and juices at home (more cost effective, and I can be picky about what goes into my drink), and it’s rare when I go out and buy a juice, but this was such a nice treat. It had watermelon, strawberries, lime, chia seeds… MMM! Very good and refreshing.

Anyway, I had fun, and I learned some new things about some Sweat Cosmetics products. Apparently, they have this transparent loose powder with broad-spectrum SPF 30 that comes with the same travel twist brush applicator that their loose powder foundations, bronzer and illuminator have, and you can easily use it on kids — like during sporting events, or any time you’re out in the sun — and lazy hubbies (or wives) who are usually too lazy to put on liquid sunscreens. But it’s easy with the brush.

I use their loose powder in 300 with my weekend makeup. When I’m running errands, I dust a little on my face, curl my lashes, and apply a coat of MAC In Extra Dimension Waterproof Mascara, fill in my brows with MAC Brow Sculpt Pencil, and slick on some lip balm.

Anyway, check ’em out if you haven’t already. The brand is relatively new, and they’re here in the Bay Area, which I think is awesome.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 469

October 1st, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

Whiskers, ear tufts, tums, tails and haunches always get the cat lady love, but I think toe beans deserve more attention.

If you’re already wearing your official crazy cat lady cap, welcome! You’ll probably know what I’m talking about, but if you aren’t/don’t, allow me to extend a warm welcome to The Land of CCLs! 🙂

Second of all, you know how cat paws have those soft pads, right? With the fat pad in the center, surrounded by the four little pads under their claws? Well, in casual CCL convo, those are referred to as “toe beans,” and methinks they’re lovely.

There’s a subset of the crazy cat lady community that’s kind of obsessed with them (from my working knowledge!), and I can see why, because toe beans are THE BEST.

Now that Tabs is, you know, in the mature stage of his kitty life, his toe beans have… Well, I won’t call them wrinkles. I’ll call them “experience lines.” His toe beans have more experience lines than they used to, and his toe beans aren’t as shiny as they once were. But I still ? them. They’re dainty and sweet, and whenever I touch them, Tabs throws me shade, as if to say, “Lady, it’s not healthy to be so into my paws. Get a life!”

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Saturday Surfing: September 30th, 2017

September 30th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

What are these? Persimmatoes? Mini-pumpkins?

Another day, another Trader Joe’s shout-out.

What-what!

Whatever, dude. I’m there a lot… What can I say?

Aren’t these petite pumpkins cuuuute? My first thought was, “Can I eat these bad boys??” But I don’t think so. I think they’re just for display.

My second thought was, “Ooh! Good colors for a makeup look.” 🙂 Maybe a creamy, satiny reddish orange lip with thick winged liner in a blackened greenish brown with a hint of greenish gold. Or maybe an ombre liner that goes from greenish gold in the inner corner to blackened greenish brown toward the outer wing?

And what about the cheeks? Maybe an orange blush? But that might be orange overkill… I don’t know. I’d have to see the lips and liner first.

Hmm, giving myself ideas…

orange lipsticks — From the left: MAC Nifty Neon, Morange, Neon Orange and So Chaud; NARS Geraldine

The light orange on the left isn’t rich enough, obvs, but I could probably figure out a way to work it in. Maybe as a cream blush?

What do you think I should do for the lips? MAC Chili? Tom Ford Flame, Cristiano, Wild Ginger? NARS Lana?

While you ponder that, here are some of the beauty stories that got me thinkin’ this week.

My favorite part of this story about cult face cream La Mer is when Max Huber, the guy who invented it, puts the cream in his eye.
Not on his eyelid, but, like IN HIS EYE.
Stock photography supplier Getty Images bans pictures that have been Photoshopped to make the models look thinner or better endowed, but really, they only go halfway, because they *still* accept pics with digital changes to hair color, skin (like with blemishes and wrinkles removed) and facial shape (like nose slimming, for example).
How to decode a beauty/skin care product label
I was moved by this blog post on change and have been thinking about this quote all week long: “The change today means a goodbye, but it also means a hello…”
The global skin-lightening biz is booming…and that bums me out, man.
What does hypoallergenic really mean?
More evidence that Estée Lauder is basically running sh*t in the cosmetics industry: shares of the company have surged 27.4% in the last six months.
This article is kinda dry and technical, but I think it’s well worth a read for the info on the Personal Care Products Safety Act and the Cosmetic Modernization Amendments of 2017, which could impact beauty product safety in the United States.
The tech that went into the NYX app.
A mom uses her kids as lookouts while she steals makeup…
Wise words from Rose-Marie Swift, the founder of RMS Beauty: “My one advice is to not live in your ego. When you think you know everything you already have lost. I have been in the industry for over 30 some years if not more and I still am learning things every day. Never close off your thinking to new ideas, techniques and opportunities that may be given to you.”

OK, who’s ready to go to Starbucks with me? 🙂

I can also swing by Peet’s too. But I refuse to go to Blue Bottle. It’s so good, but the one time I went, I was up for three days.

Have a great weekend, my friend. Try to get in some rest if you can.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hack a Trader Joe’s Southwest Salad, and Turn It Into the Easiest, Yummiest Taco Salad Ever

September 29th, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

Introducing the new Karen Especial Taco Ensalada! — now with more homemade!

Ish. Homemade-ish. 😉

Who doesn’t like the taste of a good homemade dish? I love homemade, but I don’t necessarily always love to make it.

Sorry! It’s true though… I got a kid, I’m 42, and I’m tired.

Well, even before I had the kid I was tired, but one thing I do like to do and always have is take something pre-made, especially something from Trader Joe’s, and put my own homemade, fine-tuning spin on it. I like making pre-made meals taste the way I want them to, and it’s kinda fun to make something your own.

I got the idea for this DELISH salad from an Instagram post by vlogger Stephanie Nicole. She posted a taco salad, and the picture made me weak in the knees. I wanted that salad immediately, but I didn’t wanna do a bunch of chopping…

So it was time to hack that ish!

It all starts with a Trader Joe’s Southwest Salad. Then I make my own dressing (I also got the recipe from Stephanie Nicole), add some extra flair, mix it all up, and devour.

I’ve had it for lunch twice this week. I would say that it serves two…but, you know, I can happily eat all of it by myself. 🙂

If this sounds intriguingly delicious to you, here’s what you do!

First, open the Trader Joe’s Southwest Salad. There’s a whole bunch of tasty treats in it, like diced peppers, cheese and whatnot… I usually toss the sliced onion, though, because I’m not a fan of raw onions in my salad.

I usually also ditch the dressing that comes with it, because it’s not my fave, and I like to make my own.

Then, plop the salad into a big bowl.

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