Karen

4 Steps to Clearer Skin With the Neutrogena #LetsSolveIt Campaign

August 28th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Somewhere between trying to squeeze in as much outdoorsy time as possible in the second half of summer, a bunch of stressful side projects, a particularly bad bout of insomnia (I keep waking up around the Witching Hour and then can’t fall back asleep) and the steady stream of ice cream I’ve been eating after dinner (even though I know what happens when I have too much dairy), I’ve started breaking out.

It’s nothing too bad…yet (knocks on wood), definitely not as bad as the huge humdingers I get sometimes along my jawline. These are just little whiteheads on my chin and around the edge of my forehead, and a couple of body breakouts on my chest and booty.

Yes, girl, booty — specifically, my left butt cheek, if you must know.

Is that TMI? Probably, but it’s not like I’m the first person (or the last) to get a painful pimple on their bum.

Anyway! When Neutrogena and Walgreens asked if I was down to switch up my acne-fighting game with their #LetsSolveIt campaign and take the quiz at SolveMyAcne.com, I thought, “Good timing!”

I’ve had great luck with Neutrogena skin care over the years, and I dig Walgreens (I used to go there on my breaks every day when I worked in SF), so I said “sure!”

Getting back into the swing of things at school after summer break is stressful enough. Who needs the ADDED stress of a bad breakout? Get expert skin care recs with the Neutrogena #LetsSolveIt campaign by taking the Acne-Fighting Quiz at SolveMyAcne.com, and feel fabulously confident in clearer skin.

First step: the quiz. And it’s not one of those quizzes that they say is only going to take two minutes but ends up taking 20. It really is just a handful of easy questions.

Like so…

Based on my answers, here are the four products the quiz recommended for me and my combo dry/oily skin:
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Does Your Significant Other Have Any Grooming Habits That You Wish You Could Change?

August 28th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

GURL, you don't even know... — GURL, you don’t even know…

I love El Hub to bits, but “Great Caesar’s ghost!” — I wish I could get that man to trim his toenails.

It drives me absolutely freakin’ crazy! They’re like Wolverine’s claws, and sometimes in bed when our feet cross paths, he’ll actually scratch my legs!

On the one hand/claw, they’ve come in handy for certain things like April Fool’s pranks, but I can’t take it anymore. They’re one of the banes of my existence. I have no idea why this man, who is generally clean for a straight guy who doesn’t really care about grooming, has toenails this long. He says he just forgets to cut them, but how can that be? — because the moment I notice that my toenails have gotten even the slightest bit long, they start to bother me.

So this is my longwinded way of saying that I wish El Hub would just cut his damn toenails already.

How about you? Does your significant other have any grooming habits you wish you could change?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! ?

Snacks From Hawaii

August 27th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

I got the nicest surprise in the mail yesterday — a care package filled with local Hawaii snacks from my friend Fern on Oahu.

She sent quite a few of my favorites, like Passion Orange Drink Mix (YUM), Coconut Pudding Haupia (it’s kind of like coconut Jell-O), Red Coconut Balls and Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts, and some things I’ve never tried before, which I’m super stoked about. Seriously, I can’t wait to get those Hawaiian Sun Pancake Mixes (Lilikoi Passion Fruit, Pineapple Coconut and Chocolate Macadamia Nut) into my tum! I’m going through a breakfast-for-every-meal-of-the-day phase, and these should totally hit the spot.

There are some non-food-related things in there, too, like yummy-smelling soaps and lotions, a sweet card, a magazine, lip balm, and some drops to keep in the potty for those, um…less-than-fragrant moments when you’re on the throne (it happens to us all). 🙂

THANK YOU, FERN! This was very sweet of you. You made my week.

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End of Summer Shimmery Mermaid Makeup Tutorial

August 27th, 2015 by Karen 40 Comments

There is absolutely no freakin’ way that matte-heavy eyeshadow looks are even remotely acceptable among members of the makeup-loving mermaid community, and I know this for a fact.

Actually, I don’t really know that for a fact, since I haven’t kicked it with any of my mermaid friends lately, but if I had, they would DEFINITELY be rollin’ with shimmer.

So…why am I talking about mermaids??

Excellent question.

Well, because it’s late August, and even though I’m excited about fall, I’m still sad to see summer go. *sad tabby face* 🙁

I was thinking about the beach this morning (I haven’t been once this year!), and that led me to think about mermaids, and about mermaid water babies basking on the rocks with their shimmery tails swishing in the crystal clear waters and their subtle blue and green eye makeup sparkling in the sun…

So that’s what I was going for here.

For the record, this look is also appropriate for landlubbers, so you don’t need to have a mermaid tail to wear it, although that would be pretty rad.

I think this is a good look for late summer parties and barbecues, or maybe a back-to-school party where everyone gets kinda dressed up. Or, if you’re heading someplace fabulous that just so happens to have lively nightlife and be located near a warm body of water. Or, if you just want something shimmery to wear while you walk your cat around your neighborhood.

It’s a good look for multiple occasions. 🙂

Now, honey, if you just scrolled down, I know this look might seem impossible based on the number of steps, but you can do it! — even if you’re a straight-up beginner.

If you’ve never attempted anything like this before, though, cut yourself some slack. It’s OK and perfectly normal if it looks like shimmery poo the first few times, and it probably will, unless you’re a makeup wunderkind. But so what? Rome wasn’t built in a day.

OK, enough gabbing… Let’s do this.

1. Apply foundation, concealer and powder

Get yo’ base on that face, because we’re not about to leave the house without a little something-something. For this shimmery mermaid look, I like a full-coverage base because I think it balances out the bold eyes and false lashes.

Go with your fullest coverage foundation, concealer and powder, if you need to. Doing a goofy face while you do this is completely optional but highly encouraged. 🙂
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How Often Do You Wash Your Hair?

August 27th, 2015 by Karen 47 Comments

Back when my hair was dark and my layers were long and I was having a good hair day! (P.S. Um, I'm wearing clothes in the pic, I swear!) — Back when my hair was dark and my layers were long and I was having a good hair day. Incidentally, I am wearing clothes in this pic (I swear!).

About three times a week…or four if I’m feeling EXTRA ambitious.

I can’t remember the last time I went through an entire week washing my hair daily. It may have been…maybe 10 years ago?

Whenever it was, it’s been a while.

But once upon a time, long, long ago, I used to blow dry my hair straight every day, and coupled with daily shampooing, my hair became really, REALLY dry and over-processed. I’m not sure what prompted me to stop washing it with shampoo all the time (and easing up on the heat styling), but somewhere along the way, something did, and it really helped my hair. It also saves time.

If I wash my hair one evening, let it air dry overnight, and then style it the next morning, I can get at least three days out of it before my roots start to feel “janky” and smell funky. Sometimes, I can make it four days if I douse the roots with dry shampoo (no, seriously), then put my hair up in a pony or half pony, although EEK! — that’s so gross, but so true. 🙂

About half the time, I’ll wash it with conditioner alone, and the other half the time with conditioner and shampoo.

I don’t know why this topic fascinates me, but it does, and weirdly enough, it comes up in conversation all the time. I was chatting with a friend a while back, and she said that she washes her hair daily. Another friend said she does it only once a week (!). How about you? How often do you wash your hair?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

When You’re Applying Liquid Foundation, Always Give It Enough Time to Set Before Applying Powder

August 27th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

Here’s something that helps when I apply liquid foundation: ya gotta give it time. Always give it enough time to set before you jump in with powder, so like four or five minutes, because if your foundation is still wet when you apply your powder, all sorts of terrible, horrible, frightening things happen…

OK, not really. But sort of. 🙂 The powder won’t apply evenly, because the wet areas will collect more of it, and that’s not great.

Another happy side effect of waiting until your foundation sets is that it’s easier to gauge your coverage. If I just layer all willy-nilly, and just keep building my foundation up in layers while each layer is still kind of wet, I can’t gauge how much coverage I actually have, and I end up in Cake Face Town.

Because nine times out of 10 I like to wear as little foundation as possible, I’ll apply my first layer, and then wait for it to set. Then it’s easy to tell if (and where) I need to add more.

Just another hopefully heartache-saving tip I learned the hard way.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. North & South! Where the heck was I when this show came out? I’m marathoning it on Netflix tonight. Episode 3 is about to start. 🙂

So. Much. Drama! I love it, but those 19th century British dudes didn’t have a lot of game. How would you feel if someone rolled up to you and said, “Marry me, miss,” seemingly out of the blue? You do one little thing like push your hair behind your ear, and they think you want to marry them.

For Better Blending, Try Holding Your Brush at the End

August 26th, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

Instead of holding your blending brush like a pen or pencil on the ferrule (the metal part on the end with the brush head), try holding it waaay back on the other end instead.

Just to try it.

You might find yourself naturally applying less pressure on the brush head and making nice, soft circles with the bristles.

Sometimes when I hold the brush up near the ferrule, aka the standard way, I press really hard without even realizing it, like, I dunno…I’m trying to literally force the eyeshadow particles into my skin. Holding the brush from the other end, though, encourages lighter pressure, which makes for nicely diffused eyeshadows and gorgeous gradients.

It’s one of those tips I picked up somewhere along the way but promptly forgot about (whoops!), but I’ve started doing it again, and now (again!) blending is a completely different world. I feel like the brush is doing the work now, instead of my fingers and wrist, if that makes any sense. Try it sometime! And let me know how it goes. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

For More Precise Eyeshadow Placement, Try Applying Your Crease Color With a Flat Brush

August 26th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Oh, my gosh! So helpful. Give this a try one of these days when you’re doing your eye makeup: use a flat brush, instead of a domed or fluffy tapered brush, to apply your crease color.

I’m serious, MIND BLOWN. I watched a makeup artist do this recently, and to put it mildly, it was a freakin’ revelation, like with the clouds parting and the choir of chubby cherubs singing in five-part harmony, aaaaaah!

It’s just a tool thing, but it’s been incredibly helpful, and I think it could really help with your application if you have limited lid real estate on which to work, and/or you have a shallow crease (I have both of these issues).

It seems like most people apply their crease colors with fluffy tapered brushes or domed brushes, and that’s what I always did, too, because…well, it’s pretty much what most people do, ya know?

Whenever I’d see someone doing their makeup, fluffy tapered brushes and domed brushes were standard operating procedure for crease work.

And they still are.

But whenever I use a fluffy brush to do my crease makeup, I almost always end up getting color where I don’t want it. The fluffy brushes work great for generally placing color in the crease and quickly diffusing edges, but I have a hard time using them when I want to be precise. Whenever I use one, I end up taking my shadow too high up into the crease or too far into the outer corner.
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