Karen

I’d Trek Across a Burning Desert for the Chanel Dans La Lumiere De L’Ete Summer 2016 Makeup Collection

April 28th, 2016 by Karen 26 Comments

chanel dans la lumiere de lete k1 — Wearing the new Chanel Dans La Lumiere De L’Ete Summer 2016 collection on my eyes, cheeks and lips

If you were stranded in the desert…

Would you rather have a machete so that you could whack off some cactus to get some water, or would you rather have the Aqua Glosses from the Chanel Summer 2016 collection?

Would you rather experience a mirage of Ryan Gosling slowly walking shirtless toward you across the glittering hot sand, or would you rather experience a mirage of the Empreinte Du Desert eyeshadow quad from the Chanel Summer 2016 collection glittering in front of you with its four shimmery shades?

I think you know what I’d choose. 🙂

Chanel, baby girl. Chanel. ALL. THE. WAY.

chanel summer 2016 — 10 of 17 pieces from the Chanel Dans La Lumiere De L’Ete Summer 2016 makeup collection

By the way, drinking water from a cactus? — not such a good idea. Thank goodness for the internet, because if I’d actually been stranded in the desert, I just may have tried that. I mean, it always worked in my old Saturday morning cartoons…

Oh, well! Knowledge is power, yo.

Anywho, summer. Chanel. 2016. We’ve got 17 pieces (one quad, two cheek duos, two liners, a mascara, six lip glosses and five nail polishes) with lots o’ warm colors — cheerful corals (YUM), awesome oranges, burnished bronzes and browns, gilded golds and tantalizing tans, sprinkled with a handful of lush, lovely greens.

I look forward to Chanel summer all year long and go absolutely goo-goo-ga-ga (to quote my daughter, who is now an expert baby babbler) for it. Thus, I LIVE for these colors.

Gimme warm bronze, tan, gold and green any day of the week, babe. If you have a tan, these shades should look amaze-balls on ya.

But it’s not just their warmth that draws me to the pieces in this collection. The finishes are also totally on point.

I think Chanel is really good at getting all the way up to the edge with certain finishes, and then pulling back just a little.

Does that sound weird?

I think it might…but it’s the best way I can describe their brilliance.

chanel summer 2016 empreinte du desert — Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Empreinte Du Desert

Take the quad, for example. The four shades in it — a bronze, tan, brown and green — all have a good amount of shimmer in them, but Chanel dialed it back just a little so the finish doesn’t go full-on frosty. Even though these are powder eyeshadows, they almost look glossy on the lids.

It’s neat, and kind of a dream come true, now that I think about it! It’s not always easy to wear high-shine shadows like these because they tend to emphasize the fine lines on my lids.

Oh, and side note, the wear time on these shadows is totally boss lady. I can pop them on early in the morning, and they’re good until late at night.

Now, getting back to the interesting finishes…

The two Les Beiges Duos are also beautifully nuanced. They’re not quite matte, not quite satin; they’re somewhere in between. I only need the faintest kitten kiss for lots of rich cheek color.

chanel summer 2016 les beiges duo no 2 — Les Beiges Duo No. 02

I wear the two duos a little differently. When I want warm peachy bronze cheeks (which go well with bronzy gold eyes like I’m wearing in these pics), I mix the two shades in Les Beiges Duo No. 02 together to wear as a blush, but you can also wear the two shades separately, and use one as a blush and one as a bronzer.

chanel summer 2016 les beiges duo no 1 — Les Beiges Duo No. 01

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My Mom, My Angel: Finding the Perfect Mother’s Day Card #sponsored

April 28th, 2016 by Karen 35 Comments

As a participant in the Hallmark at Walgreens Signature Mother’s Day campaign, I received compensation in exchange for writing this review. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own. @walgreens #HallmarkAtWalgreens #CareWithACard #sponsored

If you happened to be cruising the Walgreens on Third Street in San Rafael, California a few days ago (among all the places in the world!) and saw a teary lady standing by the Hallmark Mother’s Day cards…yes, that was me, in all my sniffly glory, LOL!

Oh, didn’t you know? I cry in all public places now, and I’m especially susceptible to it when a holiday like Mother’s Day is involved, because I get all the feels, man!

I was there picking out a Mother’s Day Hallmark card for my mom, and as I stood there looking through the cards and reading them, I started thinking about my baby girl standing there in an aisle someday looking at Mother’s Day cards for me… Next thing you know, the tears are pooling up, and I’m on the next nonstop train to Emo Station.

That’s one thing having a baby has done (other than make me cry at the drop of a hat in public spaces). I have a whole new appreciation for my mom and how strong she’s always been.

She was born in a village in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. with my dad in the ’70s. She was in her mid-20s at the time, and I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to move halfway around the world to a place where she didn’t have any family or friends, and where the customs and culture were so different from where she came from.

My mom and Dad in the '70s — My mom and dad in the ’70s

This was when keeping in touch with people was much harder than it is now. You couldn’t just jump online to find the answer to any question, or Skype your family when you felt homesick, or wanted advice on babies, or job searching, or fitting in.

When I think about how it must’ve been to live and work here and raise two kids without help from any family, while also holding down a full-time job, it hits me — really hits me — how hard it must’ve been, and just how strong she is.

But yet, whenever my mom came home from work, even when she was tired after a long day, she was usually in a good mood and happy to see me and my brother, which brings me to another thing that I think of when I picture my mom — kindness.

She’s always there when I need a caring word, or a little bit of sympathy, or some encouragement. She has a sweet and tender nature about her, and she’s always there with a hug if you need it.

And even though I joke with her sometimes about how she loves to pinch pennies (she’s a retired accountant, after all!), I have to give my mom mega props for being so darned practical when it comes to finance-related things, especially when it comes to planning for the future. It’s one of her many superhero talents!

Just one example: my mom wanted me to go to college, and she didn’t want me to worry about having to take out loans or be in debt after I finished, so she planned and saved enough money while I was growing up to put me through school. My education is a gift from her that I don’t ever take for granted.

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3 Fun Facts About Connor Claire

April 27th, 2016 by Karen 58 Comments

Fun fact #1: Although she likes wearing fancy dresses, sometimes she enjoys dressing casual, too (the jeggings and the top in these pics were a gift from her Uncle Al, who’s in one of the pics below).

Fun fact #2: Her nickname is Coywolf.

I know, completely ridiculous… The backstory: Connor likes to make these coy expressions where she purses her lips and looks mysterious, and so I say to her all the time, “You’re cute and you’re coy!” El Hub kept hearing me say it over and over, so one day he dubbed her “The Coywolf.”

Yes, I know. Ridiculous! 🙂

Fun fact #3: Her favorite lullabies are “I Just Called to Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 420

April 25th, 2016 by Karen 37 Comments

monday poll 042516 — Have a peaceful Monday

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

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 eight (!) 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.

Can’t stop/won’t stop! What beauty products are you guilty of hoarding?
GURL, you know I love me some foundation. I’ve got a drawer full of them because I fall in love with a new one every five minutes, LOL! (It’s so true, though.) I also stockpile lipsticks, nail polishes, body lotion and perfume.

What’s your favorite thing to do on Sunday morning?
Sleep in as late as I want, and then have a leisurely breakfast (ideally, made by someone else!) and sit on the couch and watch TV or read in my jammies for a couple of hours.

Mind you, right now with the baby it feels like this is never, ever going to happen again, but I’m holding out hope…

What are three makeup-related things you need/want?
Mostly, I need errrday basics…
1. A new pan of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural face powder in Medium Tan (I’m just about done with mine)
2. A stick of Urban Decay Brow Beater (I can’t find mine, and it’s breaking my heart into a million little pieces, WAH!)
3. A lengthening mascara with killer curl hold, but I’m not sure which one… Ever since I gave birth, the lash situation has been dire, man. I don’t know what happened, but my lashes are even shorter now and absolutely will not hold a curl! If you have a recommendation, please let me know.
Who always calls at the most innopportune moments?
My mom! I always love hearing from her, but she has an uncanny ability to call right as I’m about to fall asleep, or when I’m in the shower, or when I’m cleaning the bathroom, or when I’m almost to the front of the checkout line at Trader Joe’s, or when the baby’s feeding and my phone is somewhere on the other side of the house.

When was the last time you felt on top of the world?
This morning when Connor opened her eyes, smiled from ear to ear and made cooing noises when I picked her up and held her in my arms. It made my heart sing!

I know, I’m such a cheeseball! But it was a great feeling.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. Can’t stop/won’t stop! What beauty products are you guilty of hoarding?
2. What’s your favorite thing to do on Sunday morning?
3. What are three makeup-related things you want?
4. Who always calls at the most innopportune moments?
5. When was the last time you felt on top of the world?

Hi, friend. How are you doing this morning? What’s going on?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 395

April 24th, 2016 by Karen 9 Comments

Dear Diary,

You’ll never guess what happened! I was going through one of my boxes of kitty modeling mementos when I found a treasure trove of modeling pictures from some of the old editorial and print campaigns I worked on. I totally forgot about these!

I’m going through and picking out my favorites to add to my portfolio.

I call this one “Interested Stair…” Get it? Because I’m standing by some stairs? Haha.

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Bookstore Babe

April 22nd, 2016 by Karen 47 Comments

Baby's first visit to the bookstore — Baby’s first visit to a bookstore!

So, where do two book-loving parents take a little explorer on her very first “out-in-the-world” excursion?

A bookstore, of course!

Now that Connor Claire has passed the six-week mark, she’s eager to get out there and start exploring the outside world, beginning with literature.

Checking out Mom's favorite area -- the YA books! — Checking out the YA section (Mom’s favorite)…

El Hub and I headed to the brand new Novato branch of Copperfield’s Books, an independent bookseller here in the Bay Area.

I slipped Connor into her Moby baby carrier, and we browsed for books for about 30 minutes. Granted, she was sleeping most of the time, but I still think she enjoyed being surrounded by so many books.

Why yes, I'd love some temporary cattoos — Why yes! — I’d love a temporary “cattoo”

We ended up getting her a souvenir to commemorate the occasion, her very own copy of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh to add to her growing book collection.

Another addition to Connor Claire's book collection — Another addition to Connor Claire’s book collection

Yesterday was a day of firsts for Connor Claire. Other than her first visit to a bookstore, it was also the day she listened to her very first Prince song…

This song was always one of my favorites, but now with Connor Claire, it’s taken on new meaning.

RIP, Prince… I’m still in shock about his passing. His creativity has always inspired me, and it makes my heart heavy to think that the world has lost such a rare gift.

Oh, and did you know that Prince also wrote songs for other musicians? I found this story, “15 Great Prince Songs That Were Hits for Other Artists,” in Rolling Stone really interesting.

Today I plan to have my favorite Prince songs on heavy rotation while I play with Chanel’s Summer 2016 collection (I’m wearing it in these pics, by the way) — Raspberry Beret, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Little Red Corvette and I Would Die 4 U.

What’s your favorite Prince song? I think it’s impossible to pick just one.

In other, less sad news, today is also Earth Day, so happy Earth Day to you, my friend. I think Connor and I will celebrate by taking out the recycling.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Leave a Comment for a Chance to Win a $50 Sephora E-GIFT CARD! (Ends Monday)

I’d Trek Across a Burning Desert for the Chanel Dans La Lumiere De L’Ete Summer 2016 Makeup Collection

My Mom, My Angel: Finding the Perfect Mother’s Day Card #sponsored

3 Fun Facts About Connor Claire

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 420

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 395

Leave a Comment for a Chance to Win a $50 Sephora E-GIFT CARD! (Ends Monday)

Bookstore Babe