Karen

FYH (For Your Hair): Blunt Ends or Layers?

September 23rd, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

Blunt ends or layers? OK, so, I’ve totally done both at different stages in my hair life, and I’ve learned that if I want something easy and low maintenance, which I almost always do, it’s layers all the way, man.

Blunt ends give me so much grief! When I have long-ish hair with blunt ends and no layering, it doesn’t have any movement, so it lays heavy and flat and looks like a stiff stage curtain. And it FEELS heavy, too, like I’m carrying around five extra pounds of hair.

Oh, and don’t get me started on short blunt cuts. I had shoulder-length hair with blunt ends once when I was about 12, and my hair did that thing where the bottom puffs out into a triangle shape, so basically I walked around looking like the Great Sphinx of Giza.

I really didn’t have any idea what to do with my hair until I was in my early 20s, which was when I finally clicked with a good stylist.

How about you? For your hair, do you prefer blunt ends or layers?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

A Moment of Sexiness…With Tabs

September 23rd, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

I don’t know if words can encapsulate the sexiness that is Tabs. He’s just sexy all the time. This happened today, on a Tuesday morning, at like 9:45. He wasn’t even trying!

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Did You Know? | Sephora Beauty Classes

September 22nd, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

Yes, ma’am, you’ll find me in the front row at a Sephora beauty class, taking notes like the nerd I am. 🙂 I’ll be the girl with the glittery purple notebook and the noisy four-color click pen, click-click-click-click!

I’ve mentioned these classes a few times on the blog since I started going to them this summer, and I’ve gotten quite a few questions. Long story short, they’re free, fun and highly recommended.

Picture a college classroom, except instead of learning about chair versus boat conformations of cyclohexane (which is about the only thing I remember from O-Chem), you learn about skin care and makeup. There’s a long list of different classes available, too (now in all U.S. stores). So far I’ve taken the Correcting and Concealing, Perfectly Paired Lips and Cheeks, and Daytime Smoky Eyes classes, and I learned some good stuff in each one.

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Quick Blush Tip: When You Apply Blush, Angle Your Head to the Side, Instead of Looking Straight Into the Mirror

September 22nd, 2015 by Karen 19 Comments

As the world turns…so turns my head! Now. When I apply blush.

I had a “forehead, meet desk!” moment when this occurred to me, as obvious as it sounds, but up until it did, I was usually looking straight ahead into a mirror when I applied my blush, starting with the brush at the apples of my cheeks and pulling back toward my temples.

For me, this made sense — looking straight ahead into a mirror — because it’s also how I apply my foundation, eye makeup and lip products.

So why wouldn’t it be any different for blush?

Well…when you think about it, how often does someone look at you from directly straight ahead like that? Sometimes, but not always, right? Chances are still good that when Nick Jonas sees you from across that crowded room, he’ll be admiring your blush blending skills from many different angles, and not just the front. He’ll be seeing you from the sides, too. (P.S. I expect an invite to your wedding.)
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Bra Extenders, or “The Best Things Since Pre-Made Cookie Dough”

September 22nd, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

This triple-pack of Bra Strap Extenders by Hollywood Fashion Secrets comes with one black, one white and one beige extender. The beige one is currently missing from this pic because I’m wearing it, and if I wasn’t, I’d probably either be furiously biting my fist, or yelling at the trees outside my window, because none — and I’m talking NONE! — of my bras fit at the moment. Without these bra-boosting doohickeys, I’d be very, very uncomfortable.

Basically, they’re the best things since pre-made cookie dough. Possibly even even better.

You just fasten one of them in the back with the little hooks to your too-tight bra, and that extra few inches of stretchy nylon makes all the difference in the world. These little guys will give you extra breathing room if you’ve put on a little weight lately and feel like you’re hauling around ginormous boulders instead of boobs.

Before these I thought I’d have to spring for a whole new batch of bras, which I really didn’t want to do. I know that I’ll still have to get some new bras eventually as Baby Girl gets bigger, but for now, these work.

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Your Nephew Says Meow

September 22nd, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

He spent the better part of the day yesterday relaxing at the spa (also known as the bathroom sink), and if it weren’t for the irresistible allure of the Feline Greenies bag shaking, he probably would have stayed there all day.

He goes batsh*t cray for those things! If he had his way, he’d eat the whole Value-Size bag in one sitting.

Tabs must have had a case of the kitty Mondays yesterday, because he didn’t do a lot of kitty modeling, but he did find time to strike a pose or two…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Saw a video yesterday and thought you might like it. It stars Tresor, one of the six MAC MACnificent Me collection winners.

One of the things that touched me was when he said, “Don’t let go of your hope because it really is the most powerful thing you have.”

What a wonderful lesson. 🙂 I hope that’s something I can teach Baby Girl someday.

Speaking of MAC and magnificence, the MAC MACnificent Me collection is available now online if you’re interested (here’s my review from a few days ago). Have you tried to chase anything down?

The New Refillable NARS PRO Palettes

September 21st, 2015 by Karen 19 Comments

Whatever you do, if you are prone to procrastination, or if you have a deadline you can’t move or somewhere you have to be at a specific time, under absolutely NO circumstances are you to start playing with the NARS Pro Palette builder tool on narscosmetics.com.

I repeat, DON’T EVEN GO THERE! — because if you do, you will fall down a rabbit hole of endlessly arranging and rearranging your dream palette of eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers and powders, and before you know it, two hours will have passed, and your cat will be giving you the death stare because you haven’t taken him out for his walk yet.

Sure is fun though! 🙂

Earlier this month NARS did something very cool. They introduced two NARS branded empty palettes (a large one and a small one) that are fillable with whatever your makeup-loving heart desires.

Now, the idea of the empty palettes isn’t new. Other ones exist, like the Z palette, which you can get at Ulta for $20 (versus $14 and $18 for these two), but these have the NARS logo, and they’re also joined by a new line of NARS refill pans.

nars pro palettes in hand — The small and large NARS PRO Palettes in my paw…

nars large pro palette — The large NARS PRO Palette with an iPhone 6 Plus for scale

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Quick Makeup Tip: Before You Put on Makeup, Starting With Completely Naked Skin, Spray a Hydrating Mist

September 21st, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

The hilarity that ensues when you're dousing yourself on camera with MAC Fix+... — The hilarity that ensues when you’re dousing yourself on camera with a gallon of MAC Fix+

Right at the very start of your makeup process, before you’ve put anything on, and starting with completely naked skin, try spraying a hydrating mist like MAC Fix+ or Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Rosewater all over your face to open up your pores, because it’ll help your skin absorb any other skin care products, like moisturizers and serums, that you layer on top.

Oh! — and if you already have your hair done and don’t want to get it wet (’cause nothing is about to mess up my blowout!), you can block the spritzes with a bath towel (magazines work great, too). I know it’s kind of MacGyver-ish, but it works! I’ll fold the towel into a square and hold that up next to my face to block the hair behind it, and then I’ll mist with the spray.
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