Karen

MAC Work It Out Collection In Extra Dimension Lash Mascaras in Sweaty Betty, Hold For 10, Spin & Twist, Squat It Sugar and Well-Toned

February 23rd, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

mac work it out mascara — Five of 16 MAC Work It Out Collection In Extra Dimension Lash Mascaras from the left in Squat It Sugar, Well-Toned, Hold For 10, Spin & Twist and Sweaty Betty ($19.50 each)

Oh, I wanted to wear one of these colorful In Extra Dimension Lash Mascaras from the new MAC Work It Out collection to my HIIT class yesterday, because why not? It would have been fun to see myself doing split lunges while wearing bright blue lashes. Might as well, right?

But, alas, they aren’t waterproof… 🙁

Darn! I wish they were, because that would take them to the next level.

Bust out your leotards and leg warmers!

For MAC’s new ’80s Jazzercise Collection…

Well, that’s what I want to call it. It’s actually called MAC Work It Out (available at stores, counters and online March 2 – April 13).

Anyway, it doesn’t seem like the 16 In Extra Dimension Lash Mascaras ($19.50 each), six Chromagraphic Pencils ($17 each), six Crystal Glaze Glosses ($22 each), four Lipsticks ($17 each), three Studio Quiktrik Sticks ($34 each) or the three Prep+Prime Fix+/Sized to Gos were made with actual, ya know, sweating in mind.

mac work it out collection — Flashdance flashback!

I think they’re more for looking cute in your leotard and leg warmers while you sip a green juice than they are for actual heavy lifting…which is totally OK. 🙂

Lift those lashes!

Speaking of lifting, I do get a major lash boost from the In Extreme Dimension Lash Mascaras I’ve tried from the collection. They lift my lashes from the roots and keep them lifted, so my eyes look bigger and, dare I say it, brighter.

mac sweaty betty mascara 1 — And that’s just one layer!

Ironically, this formula straightens out the curl from my lash curler, which results in lashes that are lifted at the roots but straighten out toward the tips…

Something like this would normally bug me, but I don’t mind in this case because of the crazy colors and how much thicker the formula makes my lashes look.

When the blues make you happy

I’ve been testing five of the 16 colors this week, and all of them have been exceptionally pigmented.

My faves, though, are the blues… I absolutely LIVE for these blues. When I wear bright teal Sweaty Betty and bright electric blue Hold for 10, my lashes glow like technicolor fringe!

mac sweaty betty mascara — Wearing Sweaty Betty on my upper lashes and Hold for 10 on my lower lashes

[Continue reading…]

What’s a Makeup Mistake You Make Over and Over and Over Again?

February 23rd, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

urban decay studded — These things happen… (At least that’s what I tell myself.)

GIRL. Here’s one: I don’t know why I keep doing this, but I should probably stop putting on my makeup before I’ve had any coffee.

I say this because of the many times I’ve unintentionally applied mascara to my brows, and “many times” is an understatement. I’ve done it at least 10 times over the past few months, and it’s not like my Benefit Ready Set Brow Gel looks just like the NARS Audacious Mascara I keep in my makeup bag.

They don’t look anything alike! The Benefit tube is silver, and the NARS tube is black. Jeez, Karen!

It’s mostly just me not paying attention, but not having any caffeine in my system certainly doesn’t help.

FYI, if you do accidentally put mascara in your brows, grab a Q-tip. Because if you soak a Q-tip in some eye makeup remover, you can do some quick cleanup. Then just let your brow dry (haha), fill it back in again, and you’ll be on your merry way. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Return of Velour Track Suits: Are You Down?

February 23rd, 2017 by Karen 26 Comments

According to US Weekly(so you can take this with a grain of salt, haha!), those matchy-matchy Juicy Couture velour tracksuits made so popular by J. Lo and Britney in the early 2000s?

THEY’RE BAAAAAAACK!

Say what!?

Yeah, and it looks like a lot of fashion brands are getting in on it. I found them at Forever 21, Express and ASOS.

Honestly…I’m secretly thrilled by this, but I dunno… I mean, they were really comfortable! I remember wearing mine all the time. I even bought one for my mom, dude! I think it was an Old Navy two-for-one sale, so I got one for me and one for my mom.

I only had the one track suit, though, and it wasn’t Juicy Couture, which seemed too expensive to me at the time.

The one I got from Old Navy was tan and — wait for it, because it gets even better — the pants were cropped, and I’m pretty sure that the sleeves were cropped too.

It was ridiculous on so many levels… It looked like a too-small flesh-toned velour tracksuit, and I’m 100% sure that it wasn’t flattering at all, but I rocked that thing! Girl, I rocked that thing while cruising the streets of San Francisco’s Sunset District back in the day.

So, my important question for you, dear fiends of fashion, is this: velour tracksuits — would you rock them in this day and age?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Speed Is the Name of the Game With Hourglass Voyeur Waterproof Liquid Liner

February 22nd, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

It’s the Murphy’s Law of makeup. Whatever can go wrong with your winged liner, will go wrong with your winged liner, and that little kitten flick you intended to make morphs into a giant jungle cat of a flick extending from the outer corner to almost all the way behind your ear.

That said, it feels a little strange to talk about new $34 Hourglass Voyeur Waterproof Liquid Liner in the context of speed, and speediness, because, you know, “liquid liner” and “speediness” don’t often go together, but they do in the case of this liner. It makes quick work of liquid liner lines.

So, how does it do what it does? I dunno… It’s some kinda Hourglass hocus pocus.

A new addition to the permanent line, it’s a dark, true black liner with a shiny finish and a waterproof formula, and the color doesn’t have any blue or green undertones.

The tip reminds me of Tom Ford’s liner

The long, thin felt tip looks a lot like the tip of my holy grail Tom Ford liner, which is the main reason I was eager to give this liner a try, but it’s not exactly the same. It’s slightly stiffer (the Hourglass tip) and, because of that, the first few lines I drew with it were jagged, thick and, basically, out of control.

The tip took me a little while to figure out.

Use a light touch

Like, the lightest of light touches — we’re talking butterfly kisses. Once you get that down, it’s easy to quickly draw crisp lines with it in just a minute or two.

SO FAST!

And I think that the intensity of the black color lends to its quickness, along with how readily the liquid dispenses from the pen tip. Even that seems faster than usual for liquid liner.

I mean, it doesn’t gush out like a liquid geyser or anything, but if you press too hard… Not good. Your lines will look thick and jagged.

If, on the other hand, you use a light touch with it, it’s easy to get those perfect, opaque crisp lines.

[Continue reading…]

Brand Spotlight: YUNI Beauty

February 21st, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

YUNI Beauty, a new line of yoga- and fitness-inspired body products available now at Sephora

Oh! This line? — YUNI Beauty — has, like, hot Soul Cycle babe written all over it. If I ever go back to Soul Cycle (why is it so expensive?), I’m definitely bringing a couple things from YUNI along with me. Side note: remind me sometime to tell you about the one and only time I went to Soul Cycle and how I had a full-on emotional meltdown on the bike.

No, seriously, I cried like a freaking baby! It’s kind of funny now that I think about it…

“Mindful beauty for an active life”

YUNI Beauty is a small brand that just recently launched at Sephora with six products, and their mantra is “Mindful beauty for an active life.” They have products for cleaning up after your workout, helping your muscles recover, and they also have a hair treatment that you can use while you’re working out, so everything in the line revolves around the idea of active beauty.

Plant-based products

Their formulations are made with primarily plant-based ingredients, and without parabens, formaldehydes, synthetic colors or fragrances.

I’ve tried four of the six products available now at Sephora, and my favorites are the $25 Hot Head Microveil Hair Treatment and $18 Chillax Recovery Gel.

Hot Head Microveil Hair Treatment ($25)

Hot Head is neat. I haven’t run into anything quite like it before (and I’ve been writing about beauty for 10 years!). Basically, it’s a moisturizing hair treatment with a fresh herbal lavender scent that you spray on your scalp and throughout your hair before you get your sweat on. After working the product through your hair, you put your hair up into a bun or braid — this is key! I’ll tell you why in a second — and, during your workout, your body temperature opens the cuticle of each hair to condition, repair, add shine, hydrate and control frizz and flyaways.

YUNI Beauty Hot Head Microveil Hair Treatment ($25)

You can keep it in your hair after you’re done with your workout, and go about your business, or, you can rinse it out. I like to rinse it out because it feels slightly greasy to me, and I don’t like feeling that in my hair all day long.

Hot Head Microveil Hair Treatment Ingredients
SD Alcohol 40-b, Dimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Isopropyl Palmitate, Argania Spinosa Kernal Oil, Aleurites Moluccana Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Ethyl Macadamiate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance

The greasy feeling is also why I prefer to put my hair up in a bun or braid when I use it. I wore a ponytail once while I was using it, and my greasy ponytail kept hitting me in the face…which was aggravating.

Anyway, my hair likes it. After I rinse it out, then shampoo and condition, my hair looks extra shiny and feels soft and sensational.

Chillax Muscle Recovery Gel ($18)

The Chillax Muscle Recovery Gel is like a beauty girl’s high-end Icy Hot. LOL! With arnica, menthol, peppermint oil and aloe, among other plant-based goodies, it’s supposed to make muscles feel better.

I dunno… I think it works. I rub it on the arches of my feet after I exercise, and my feet aren’t nearly as sore as they usually get the next day when I don’t use it.

[Continue reading…]

(Approximately) How Many Bottles of Nail Polish Do You Have, and How Many of Those Bottles Do You Actually Wear Often?

February 21st, 2017 by Karen 38 Comments

That moment when you realize you wear a lot of baby blue nail polish…

I read somewhere recently that in 1932, Revlon made only one shade of nail polish.

ONE SHADE.

Can you imagine? You roll up to a display that has just one shade in it?? In this age of so many color choices, it’s mind-boggling!

Funny thing is, though, that even though I keep a good amount of nail polish around — 30 or so bottles in a rainbow of different colors and finishes, and that’s *after* a recent beauty purge — I mostly wear the same shade families all the time. I usually rotate between a shade of light blue (I’ve been all about Frieda Kahlo Premium Nail Lacquer in FKNL37), a light yellow and a green.

How many bottles of nail polish do you currently have, and how many do you actually wear all the time?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Happy 10th Birthday, MBB! (And the Monday Poll)

February 20th, 2017 by Karen 63 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. ?

1. Beauty products for which you always have backups/extras around in case you run out?

Two things.

Actually, three things. I always have an extra bottle of Kate Spade… Kate Spade, LOL! I meant Kate Somerville Anti Bac Clearing Lotion to keep the pimples away.

I also keep an extra bottle (or two) of Rita Hazan Root Concealer Touch-Up Spray in Dark Brown/Black around because my roots are all about showing up at the most inopportune times.

Third thing is body lotion. I can’t fathom living in a house where one runs out of body lotion.

2. What are some things you like to buy in bulk?

Toilet paper. I like having obnoxious amounts of toilet paper at home, and I get freaked out by the thought of not having enough toilet paper around… Does anybody ever get one of those little packs with the four rolls and be OK with it? Not me.

3. What are some places, other than where you live now, that you could see yourself living in?

I could see myself living in Southern California, like in San Diego. Ooh! I love San Diego…

And Hawaii, of course.

But both sets of Connor’s grandparents live here in Northern California, so I think we’ll be staying here, but if Connor decides to go to college someday in Hawaii or San Diego or someplace else, maybe El Hub and I will pack up and move there!

4. I think it’s important to…

Get enough sleep! — otherwise, it’s Grumpy Goatville the next day. (I may or may not be referring to myself.)

I also think that it’s important to take the time to think before speaking, because some things can’t be taken back.

And it’s important to moisturize those hands, girl.

5. How often do you leave the house with wet hair?

Oh, like…never. I never do it, not even in the summertime, because my hair isn’t the type that air dries nicely. I end up looking like a rabid poodle.

6. What is your inner voice talking about today?

First, it’s saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MBB! 🙂 Because today is Makeup and Beauty Blog’s 10th birthday. I started the blog on February 20th, 2007.

Second, it’s telling me to “bring it” when I go to HIIT class tonight, because there are lots of, like, hardcore athletes in the night class who don’t mess around.

Happy birthday, MBB!!!!

Wow. 10 years. I never imagined… So many fun times.

[Continue reading…]

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 437

February 19th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

Not even wet paws could keep Inspector Tabby from doing his rounds this morning. He thoroughly inspected every inch of the circle looking for perpetrators and infiltrators, neither of which he found.

He did detect something skulking around one of the houses nearby…

I don’t know what it was, but he perked up, pointed and hissed to show it who was boss.

He checked every nook and cranny this time, too. It was pretty early, like about 6:30, so the birds were chirping like cray, but none of the humans were out.

[Continue reading…]