Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
After my last-minute, semi-emergency trip to the dentist last Saturday (turns out I have an incomplete fracture in a molar, which may or may not have been caused by grinding my teeth), I stopped by the Marin Country Mart where there was a farmers’ market, and by the time I left, I was 1) ravenous for salad and 2) inspired to try some new makeup color combinations.
Vegetables and bunches of flowers do it to me every time. Now I’m weirdly fired up to wear something radish-colored.
I want to hang out with you! Come say hi at the SpaceNK Larkspur store on Saturday, May 6th (Larkspur Landing, 2011 Larkspur Landing Cir, Larkspur, CA 94939). I’ll be there in a “semi-official” capacity from noon until 2 p.m. (More details to follow, but it’ll be free and fun.)
We need to get together and talk about makeup. And cats. IRL. FINALLY! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
No, seriously, this is what beauty shopping feels like for me: I float outside of my body, when I’m, like, at Sephora (or any beauty store really), and next thing I know, I’ve got a bag filled with beauty booty in my hand, and I’m walking out the door, and I have no idea what just happened! It’s like I go into a fugue state or something.
So yeah. That’s more or less what went down when I grabbed a few beauty bits and bobs last weekend, including some things from the Sephora VIB sale.
It started with the Viseart Neutral Matte Eyeshadow Palette, OMG!
I’ve been lusting after this thing for FOREVER. It was sold out online but the store had several palettes on the shelf, which I took as a fortuitous sign from the beauty gods.
I grabbed one, walked around with it for 45 minutes, and then next thing ya know, BAM. I’m strolling out of Sephora to get frozen yogurt with my friend Marisol, and the palette’s in my hot little hand.
I also grabbed a couple lash curlers. After reading all the comments in last week’s Lust List, I couldn’t decide between the Shiseido or the Surratt, so I got them both. I figure if there’s one that I don’t love as much as the other, I can keep it around as a backup. #makeuphoarderissues
Until I can figure out how to successfully dye my own hair without completely mucking it up, I’ll always and forever keep a supply of Rita Hazan Root-Touch Up Concealer on hand.
I couldn’t find it on the shelf at first and panicked, but then I asked one of the associates to please look in the little drawer underneath the display, and inside there were a few extras tucked away. Never hurts to ask, right?
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. ?
Cherries, especially Ranier, YUM!
R&B
Skydiving
Park
Short, short, short!
Side
If I were at my pre-baby size, tight and short; these days, however, flowing and floor-length.
BREAKFAST!
Crazy. Or crazy cool, LOL!
Color
Pen
Sweets, you know what I’ve decided? I’m not going to be afraid to say “yes” to new experiences and to new opportunities. That’s my theme for this week (and maybe even for the upcoming month of May). Say yes. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste.
1. Cherries or strawberries?
2. Electronic, R&B or funk?
3. Swimming with sharks, or skydiving?
4. Park or museum?
5. Long or short nails?
6. Side or center part?
7. Flowing and floor-length, or tight and short?
8. Breakfast, lunch or dinner?
9. Cool or crazy?
10. Black and white, or color?
BONUS: Pen or pencil
Folks ’round these parts see some strange things… They talk of a magical creature known as the tabby-corn that lives near the edge of the forest.
It chases butterflies ? all day long, and some say it makes the flowers ? bloom.
Sometimes it gets up right close to a person, close enough that you can hear its magical purr, and if’n it’s feelin’ benevolent, because sometimes the tabby-corn can be a mischievous ragamuffin, it’ll conjure two fresh cod on a log and give ’em to you as a gift, especially if you give the tabby-corn chin scritches first.
If you’re ever out near the edge of the forest and you hear a purring sound, call out, “Here, tabby, tabby-corn! Here, tabby, tabby-corn!” And maybe — just maybe! — he’ll come out and play with you. 🙂
Not sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve kind of started a cookbook collection? I don’t have a ton of them yet, but I have a few, mostly from Williams-Sonoma (I LOVE their food photography).
This is probably gonna sound weird…but I like to read them before I go to sleep and sort of drift off into a blissful food dream state. The one I’m reading now is called Salad of the Day, and it has 365 salad recipes (!), one for every day of the year.
The one for my birthday on June 9th is a Chipotle Beef and Corn Salad.
Connor’s on March 2nd is Pan Seared Salmon with Pea Shoots and Watercress (YUM!).
Hoh! Look at that picture. Gosh that looks good…
If you tell me your birthday in the comments, I’ll look up yours and let you know, LOL!
I tried my best to draw it out, because I didn’t want it to end, but I finally finished Big Little Lies last week.
It was so good!
I immediately started to go through withdrawals, so I’m binge-watching the HBO show now with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, and ya know…I like the book much more.
I like the show too, but it’s sooo different from the book. For starters, it takes place in Monterey, California, instead of Australia, and then there’s tons of story differences too.
It’s pretty suspenseful, but I think I would’ve liked the show more if I hadn’t read the book first.
I started a new, totally different genre book last night called The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis. Dear El Hub got it for me, and gee, I wonder what made him think I’d like it. Could it be because it’s a post-apocalyptic young adult novel with a strong female lead?
Yeah. Good guess. 🙂
I’ve just started, but it’s pretty intense so far.
I had to visit the dentist again (yup, on a Saturday) because of an ache in a tooth, but I’m going to stop by the Space NK store at Larkspur Landing after that to check out a few things, which reminds me…if you live in the Bay Area, I’ll be hosting a meet and greet there at the same store on Saturday, May 6th, and I would very much to meet you.
I know, it’s only been…how many years since I’ve done a Bay Area meetup? A zillion??
Anyway, it’s been too many.
I’ll be there from noon-2 on May 6th. Come say hi if you can make it. I really would love to meet you and show you all 10 million pictures of Tabs on my phone, IN PERSON. And to be fair, I expect to see 10 million pictures of your cat/s too. 🙂
I took this picture of her the other day, and it occurred to me that this is pretty much an accurate representation of how I feel when I wake up in the morning.
This child! Her face is so expressive.
My parents came over to visit this week and brought a whole bunch of rand-o produce. Now I’ve got all of these carrots, Granny Smith apples, weirdly shaped lemons, potatoes and pears…
Maybe I should look through the Salad of the Day cookbook for something requiring those ingredients… There should be one in there, right? I mean, there are 365 salads!
I hope your weekend got off to a great start. Anything exciting happening on your end?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
This new Revlon angled eyeliner pencil could totally pass for a brow pencil, amiright?
Observe the angled tip. If I hadn’t been paying attention (which happens sometimes often when I’m applying makeup early in the morning), I would’ve put the shade I’m wearing here (Fig) in my brows.
Purple brows. Hmm… Thinking about it now, that would’ve been kind of cool.
These Revlon ColorStay 2 in 1 Angled Kajal Eyeliners are so bomb! They’re smooth, pigmented, and the angled tip hugs my lid curves. The waterproof formula fabulously flows along my lash and water lines, too. Drawing neat lines is a snap.
Oh, and it absolutely does not move!
Yeah, you could line your lash lines with a basic black or brown liner and call it a day, but it’s Fri-YAY! Let’s wear two different colors. Two fun colors, woo-hoo! ?
I mean, you don’t have to go as crazy as I did here with, like, teal and purple, but I’m not going to discourage you if you’re in the mood to go bold.
So, let’s talk about ombre eyeliner, which is what I call it when one shade of liner merges into another shade to create an ombre effect.
I usually like to do the inner part of my lash lines in a lighter color than the outer part because I think it makes the most visual sense to me, but it’s just a preference. Anything goes.
For this look here, I’m doing my lighter liner on the inner part, and a darker liner on the outer part.
I think this is the hardest step — picking two colors that go well together, and also go well with your overall look.
Think about what you’re wearing on your lids, a.k.a. everything about your lash line and below the crease. I’m wearing a teal shade on my lids, so I went with a darker green shade for my inner liner, and a dark purple for the outer liner (the purple also echoes my purple lips, but I might try this again and use a dark blue).
Side note: when I do this kind of look with neutrals (you know I love me some browns!), I like to use gold, bronze or rose gold for the inner liner, and then, say, a dark plum, dark navy or a forest green for the outer section.
