Karen

With the Tocca Crema da Mano Hand Cream Collezioni, Variety Is the Spice of Life

December 11th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

I’m a bonafide hand cream addict. Raise your parched paw if you’re one too. 🙂

With the $32 Tocca holiday Crema de Mano Collezioni, you can moisturize your mitts with a different scented hand cream every workday of the week, because it comes with five fragrant tubes, each one with a slightly more refined, less sweet scent, in my opinion, than many of the other hand creams I’ve tried.

They say that variety is the spice of life, and I think that totally applies to hand cream. With these five, which are all about the scents, you can go with grapefruit and cucumber on Mondays and bergamot and gardenia on Thursday, for instance.

Tocca is known for their floral, feminine, long-lasting fragrances (I love the names they give their perfumes!), and for $32, you get five 1-oz. tubes of Tocca’s bestselling scented hand creams, including vanilla and sandalwood Collete, grapefruit and cucumber Cleopatra (I’m wearing that one today), bergamot and gardenia Florence, watermelon and frangipani Simone and peach and muguet Liliana.

The moderately moisturizing formula, which is almost as moisturizing as Soap & Glory Hand Food or L’Occitane Shea Butter Whipped Hand Cream, is enriched with coconut oil, shea butter and aloe for real-deal hand help.

Even though I don’t think these are the most moisturizing hand creams around, they still feel substantial. I can’t stand it when I put on hand creams that are practically water (so useless). These, on the other hand, pack serious moisture, and sometimes I like using them when I know I’m going to be out of the house for a while, because they leave behind a light residue that feels like a protective barrier against the elements.

Plus, helloooo! — I think they smell lovely.

You can find the Tocca Crema da mano Collezioni now at Sephora, SpaceNK and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.

A Night at the Opera

December 10th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

Greetings from a currently very uncomfortable pregnant lady, yay! 🙂 How’s it going, my friend? I hope you’re having a chill (as in easy) December week.

I’ve been a little distracted lately, but in a good way, because my in-laws drove down from Redding the other day for a visit, and last night we all went to San Francisco to go to the opera.

Instead of giving each other stuff for Christmas, this year we decided to just treat each other to an evening in the city, so we went to see “The Barber of Seville.”

It’s probably been 15 years since the last time I went to an opera, and I feel like I’m into music — like I’m a musical person, or at least I was at one time — and the opera is pretty much exactly the way I remember it… A little confusing and kind of long, but still very enjoyable.

I knew a little bit about this one beforehand because it’s also the basis of one of my favorite Looney Tunes cartoons of all time, The Rabbit of Seville, which is a really funny one with Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny all over a big theater, and the music is the same music the orchestra plays during the prologue in the actual opera.

So when they were playing it, I just kept thinking of Bugs Bunny massaging Elmer J. Fudd’s head!

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There’s Something Big Hidden Among These Laura Mercier Sephora Exclusive Holiday Sets

December 9th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

Can you spot the belly bump hidden in the picture above of Laura Mercier Holiday sets at Sephora?

The Blush & Glow Radiant Face Trio ($58), Daring By Day Eye & Cheek Colour Palette ($48) and the Daring By Night Eye & Cheek Colour Palette ($48) are Sephora exclusives, by the way.

Of these, I’m leaning toward the $48 Daring By Day Eye & Cheek Colour Palette. I like the mix of neutrals, and I REALLY like that pretty purple plum shade…ya know, for variété.

Doesn’t Laura Mercier make beautiful palettes? The colors they choose to put together just always make sense to me, and the formulas are top notch. They use a little more color than Bobbi, but they don’t go over the top.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Shout-Out to the Leachco Snoogle, aka BFF to Sleep-Deprived Pregnant (or Just Plain Tired) Ladies Everywhere

December 9th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

There’s a good reason why you’re looking at a picture of me wearing pizza pajamas while pretending to sleep on my bed hugging this crazy-@ss pillow, and it is because the Leachco Snoogle is the best friend to sleep-deprived ladies everywhere (pregnant or otherwise), I kid you not.

And you don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy the benefits of the Snoogle. You just have to want/need the most awesomest pillow EVER.

El Hub gave it a try the other night, and it blew his mind. “Wow,” he said. “Damn.” His exact words.

I’ve been talking about sleep a lot (for the past eight years, LOL!), but it’s been worse than usual lately. I guess that my tum reached the pregnancy tipping point. I thought the bump was baby cute and small for a long time, but now it’s massive and rapidly gaining ground!

In the few days before the Snoogle, I wasn’t getting any sleep at all. Everything ached, and my improv multi-pillow homemade cocoon, which I called “the pregnancy doughnut,” wasn’t cutting it anymore. My neck, shoulders, back and hips ached. One morning I just hit my limit, so I went to Babies “R” Us and got the Leachco Snoogle.

That night I slept the whole night through, thanks to the magic Snoogle. 🙂

It costs about $60, but after you’ve gone three days without hardly any sleep, $60 seems like a bargain. You can’t put a price tag on a good night’s sleep. BEST $60 I’VE EVER SPENT!

So, what is the Snoogle?

It’s a large curved body pillow shaped kind of like a letter “C,” and it has a removable, washable cover. You sort of sleep on your side with it, but you can also use it and sleep on your back. To sleep on your side, one end goes under your head, the curve supports your back, and the other end goes between your legs.

And you can also flip it around and hug the back end of the “C” if you want.

Normally, I’m not a side sleeper. I’m usually a back sleeper, but sleeping on my back has been too uncomfortable lately.

When I sleep with the Snoogle, I sleep on my side, and everything just seems to align perfectly. I sleep the whole night through and wake up in the morning without any aches or pains. Ah…

The Leachco Snoogle. Man, if you know anyone who’s pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, or is just desperate to get a good night’s sleep and willing to give anything a try, get them a Snoogle. They’ll be lovin’ you for the rest of their life.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Faerie Whispers Collection: First Look

December 8th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

mac faerie whispers collection foiled eyeshadows 1 — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Foiled Shadows from the left: In Your Eyes, Feminine Wiles and Sweet Illusion ($20 each)

What do fairy (or faerie) whispers sound like?

I think it’s safe to assume they aren’t incredibly loud. Because of the whispering. Obvs… And I imagine they’re also high pitched and chipper, kind of like a piccolo.

A well-played piccolo, because a badly played piccolo is… NUH-UH. Trust me, as a former flautist, I know this.

I think that if a MAC Faerie were to flitter along — and this isn’t the first (or second or tenth) time I’ve fantasized about MAC fairies before, LOL! — she’d likely land on your shoulder and softly say into your ear, “Hello! Ooh, I love eyeshadow! Would you like to talk about it?”

Clearly, I spent too much of my childhood in an imaginary world…

Actually, I’ve also spent most of my adulthood in an imaginary world, LOL!

mac faerie whispers collection foiled eyeshadows 2 — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Foiled Shadows in Fairy Land (left) and Enchanted Forest (right), $20 each

mac faerie whispers beauty powder — MAC Faerie Whispers Collection Beauty Powders in Pearl Sunshine (left) and Sparkling Rose (right), $22 each

MAC regularly releases a collection shortly after Christmas each year, and this year, that collection is the very spring-like, glowing, ethereal MAC Faerie Whispers.

Most of the time, their post-Christmas collections lean sort of cool in terms of color temps, but this one has a lot of warm tones in it. It arrives December 23 on the MAC website and flutters into stores and counters December 26, where it remains through February 6 next year.

MAC Faerie Whispers Collection Powder Blushes in Cheek Pollen (left) and Spellbinder (right), $22 each — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Powder Blushes in Cheek Pollen (left) and Spellbinder (right), $22 each

mac faerie whispers lipsticks — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Lipsticks from the left: Lustre Lipstick in Gossamer Wing, Frost Lipstick in A Sprinkle of Magic, Cremesheen Lipstick in Midsummer Night and Cremesheen Lipstick in Among the Fireflies ($17 each)

This is just a quick overview while I continue testing the products, and I’ll have a more detailed review in a few days.

But my first impressions? Shine. Various degrees of it, from subtle sheen to lustrous metallic.

As for the big news, it’s probably the new Foiled Shadows, a completely new formulation. I popped a couple of them on my eyes this morning… Incidentally, I’m wearing two different eye looks right now! One eye is completely purple, and the other one is golden brown, and so today will probably be the day when at least 10 different people knock on my door and I have to answer it this way.

But I digress…

mac faerie whispers cremesheen glass — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Cremesheen Glasses from the left: Softly Lit, Calypso Beat, Just Superb and Enchanter ($20 each)

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The Special Edition Hello Kitty 5″ Sensor Mirror by simplehuman

December 8th, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

You’re never too old for Hello Kitty.

The evidence: this OMG-inducing Hello Kitty 5-inch Sensor makeup mirror by simplehuman.

How adorable is this special edition mirror?!

Straight-up, though, it’s $150, which…I KNOW. But it’s a technological marvel. Plus, HELLO KITTY.

If you haven’t heard of simplehuman before, they make all manner of streamlined, modern-looking products for the home, including waste baskets (I have a small one in my office right now), dish racks, shower caddies — all kinds of practical doodads and gizmos. And they also have a line of fancy makeup mirrors.

This one folds up/down to fit in her very own carrying case with red bow (aw!). There’s even a little Hello Kitty charm on the zipper.

Srsly…? Cute overload. 🙂

A rechargeable LED ring light encircles the mirror providing awesome light, and it’s rechargeable with the included USB cord. Charges last up to five weeks, too, so if you bring the mirror somewhere with you, you probably won’t even need to bring the cord.

The light is also BRIGHT — supposedly twice as bright as the average makeup mirror light — and daylight balanced. A sensor detects as your face approaches the mirror and automatically increases the brightness of the light, so YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO TOUCH ANY BUTTONS.

Welcome to the future.

The tru-lux light system

“At 550 lux, the tru-lux light system is more than twice as bright as the next best. The light from surgical-grade LEDs is dispersed evenly with a unique pattern of micro-reflectors throughout the ring. No light loss or hot spots.

With a color rendering index (CRI) of 90, the tru-lux light system closely simulates natural sunlight and the full color spectrum to show every detail. Looking good in this light means you will look flawless in any setting.”

— simplehuman.com

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What Do You Know About Buxom Bold & Sexy Gel Lipstick? Inquiring Minds Want to Know…

December 8th, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

Bold & Sexy… Sounds like Buxom named their latest lipstick after Tabs. 🙂

Yeah, “bold” and “sexy” are two words that in no way describe me at the moment. It’s more like tired and bloated (LOL!) from hauling Baby Girl around, my li’l basketball, and not getting enough sleep, but maybe if I wear Buxom Bold & Sexy Lipstick ($22), some of its bold and sexy energy will rub off on me.

Maybe…

I bumped into this the other day at Sephora. I went to distract myself/recharge my batteries after having to do some medical test that took three hours and involved three (four?) needle pokes. It was for this thing called a three-hour glucose screening to figure out if you have gestational diabetes, which — WAH! — I hope I don’t have, because I love carbs and sugar SO much.

I’m still waiting on the results…

Anywho, after the test, I needed to erase the needle trauma and go look at makeup, so I headed to Sephora, which was where I spotted these…

Have you used them before? I like the way they sound. They’re gel lipsticks, which in most cases means a super lightweight formula, and these are, indeed, billed as lightweight.

They come in matte and satin finishes and a bunch of really pretty colors. I saw reds, corals, purples, pinks and a few nudes.

I’m so curious! If you’ve used them before, let me know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen