Karen

Comment to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

April 18th, 2015 by Karen 425 Comments

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, MARISA!!!), but check back next Saturday for another Sephora giveaway.

Rise and shine, morning glory. It’s caturday! 🙂

Today’s forecast calls for patchy morning fog, clearing up to sunshine and temps in the low-to-mid 70s by the afternoon. Your nephew is currently perched behind me on the living room windowsill.

Actually, he hasn’t gone outside yet this morning because I’ve only been up for a few minutes, and you know his routine… He’s gotta inspect the hillside first thing every morning before the neighborhood hustle and bustle gets going, so he’s not pleased about this current deviation from his regular schedule.

What did do last night? Did you do anything fun? We just went to a movie down the street. Danny Collins, Starring Al Pacino and Annette Bening? It’s the old aging rocker motif, but I always like those. It’s interesting to see how famous people interact with the world. It seems like a very lonely life sometimes, even with all the perks.

Today I’m just staying around the house, maybe going to Blue Barn to get a salad for lunch, but I have to — or at least I really want to — finish setting up my deck garden. We’re making this the Summer of the Tomato, so we have to clean out the old pots from last year, top off the pots with fresh potting mix, and get some plants started. El Hub brought home seven huge bags of potting mix the other day, so it’s time to get a little dirty. 🙂

Other than that, I don’t know… Maybe planning for one or two trips. We’ve been thinking about going to Tahoe again, and maybe the Big Island. Maybe a quick trip to Portland, too, because we have some friends up there.

Gotta take the time to actually make the plans, though; otherwise, it’ll be October before we know it.

I hope you have a great weekend, my friend. Good luck in the giveaway, and I’ll talk to you soon.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter by leaving a comment below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- Truth or dare?
- Something you enjoy the taste of but not the smell?
- On a scale of 1-10, how are you at bullsh*tting?
- Has a stranger ever helped you out of a bind?
- I’m a very __________ person.
- What’s some of the jargon of your profession?
One entry per person.
You must use a valid email address to win.
The giveaway ends on Monday, April 20, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Nails of the Day/Night: Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist

April 17th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Tonight I’m wearing two coats of Smith & Cult’s Bitter Buddhist ($18), which is officially described as a “celadon green.”

A celadon.

I thought a celadon was a kind of dinosaur? No?

LOL! 🙂 Seriously, though, I thought it was a restaurant before doing this post.

Whatever it is, I like it! It’s a pale, pretty blue.

The shorts, by the way, are the Scallop Lace Riviera Shorts by LOFT, the bag is NARS (limited edition; I don’t think it’s still available), and the bracelet is something I got at Nordies a few years back.

P.S. If you like Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist, you might also like Chanel Horizon Line.

The Bobbi Brown Summer 2015 Sandy Nudes Collection

April 17th, 2015 by Karen 7 Comments

Under normal circumstances, I adhere to a very strict no-nudity policy when it comes to sand.

In other words, I do not like being nude on or around sand; or, conversely, sandy and nude. Because I don’t like spending 20 minutes trying to get all of the sand out of the places where the sun doesn’t/don’t shine.

However, seeing as Bobbi Brown’s new 2015 summer collection, despite being called Sandy Nudes, doesn’t actually have anything to do with being naked or covered in sand, my no-nudity sand policy doesn’t apply. 🙂

Yup, it’s another beach-themed collection from Bobbi, to which this wanna-be surf bum says, “Cowabunga, dude!” As you probably guessed from the name, Sandy Nudes features a lot of nude shades — bronzes, beiges and browns. Not a ton of crazy colors.

The collection contains a limited edition neutral eye palette with 12 powder eyeshadows (not shown here in these pictures). I’m really looking forward to seeing that one because all of the shades are new (YES!). Also, since Bobbi loves bronzers, of course there are two face and body bronzing duos (also limited edition) in the release, as well as two LE nail polishes.

There’s also something called a Face Mist ($32, this one headed to the permanent line). It’s a finishing spray and contains green tea, chamomile and cucumber. I just started using it, and I like it so far. It has a lovely light lavender and geranium scent, and my skin just inhales the moisturizing formula.

Here are some quick pics of the Bronzer/Blush duos and nail polishes…

I’m all about the Bronzer/Blush Compact Duo with Antigua Illuminating Bronzing Powder and Golden Light Bronzing Powder. It’s angling to become my new favorite bronzer/blush combo.

I like how the matte Golden Tan Bronzing Powder warms up my skin tone all nice and toasty (but without any orange, yay!), and it’s delightfully easy to blend.

Peachy pink Blush Antigua looks kinda like a NARS Orgasm with muted golden shimmer. It reminds me a lot of the NARS Laguna and Orgasm duo, but I think it’s much easier to wear (especially if you have pore issues like I do!), because the bronzer’s matte, and the blush isn’t super shimmery.

You can also mix the two together, by the way. I’ve done it, and I think it looks quite natural.
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NARS Enters the False Eyelash Fray With the New NARS Eyelashes False Eyelash Collection

April 17th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

We should totally make False Lash Fridays a thing.

You know, like how people do Flashback Fridays on social media? Like that, but we’ll all wear false lashes, and then go about our regular business.

We could posslby even start with these new NARS Eyelashes ($20 each, and being added to the permanent collection).

Wait — say whaaaat!?

Yup, NARS is jumping into the false eyelash fray with a new line of reusable, natural-looking, natural-fiber lashes coming out next month (available in eight styles). How very Shu Uemura of them, right?

They’re all supposed to look reasonably natural, or natural-ish, so there are no insane glitter styles with rainbow gems at the tips.

They also don’t come with lash glue, just as a heads-up, so you’ll need to already have/procure some. A lot of the department store brands (MAC and Shu come to mind) don’t include lash glue with their falsies, so it’s not uncommon…but sometimes it’s still a little inconvenient.

The new NARS Eyelashes ($20 each)

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Open Thread: The Garlic Fries Edition

April 17th, 2015 by Karen 80 Comments

Garlic fries: my rationale for eating them includes the fact that they are made of vegetables; therefore, eating a large pile of garlic fries is practically the same thing as eating a salad. Also, since I like to smother mine with ketchup (aka “tomatoes”), it’s like I’m topping them with extra vegetables, so I’m being extra healthy. 🙂

OK, I know, this is completely insane logic, but let me have my thing. I think garlic fries should be a bonafide food group.

In case you were wondering…those garlic fries up above were not my breakfast (although I have totally done that)! I took this pic at the ballpark on Wednesday at the Giants game with my friend Marisol.

I barely know anything at all about baseball, so I’m not a hardcore fan like Marisol is, but I still like going to the games because, I mean, the food (obviously), and hanging out with a friend.

And it’s fun to people watch and be outside.

So, here’s an SF Giants fun fact: when a hometown player is up to bat, they have their own theme music! Yeah, they pick out a song before the season starts, I guess, and whenever they’re up to bat, it blasts over the stadium speakers.

This, of course, got me thinking about my own “up-to-bat” song… I’m 95% sure that it would be Cheryl Lynn’s Got To Be Real.

OK, enough rambling. Let’s get on with today’s open thread. 🙂

Whatever you feel like chatting about — makeup, blogging, photography, cats, food, fashion (don’t get me started on my new favorite store, LOFT), shoes or whatever. Or, maybe you’d just like to tell me about your cats in great detail. That would be very cool too. Whatever you’re in the mood for.

See you soon in the comments!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Try These $21 Too Faced Melted Metal Liquified Metallic Lipsticks for an Updated ’90s Metallic Lip

April 16th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

Did somebody accidentally turn on my hot tub time machine? ‘Cause, dude! — these Too Faced Melted Metal Lipsticks are taking me back to 1996…

I was wearing big hoop earrings almost every single day while wearing out my Missy Elliott Supa Dupa Fly CD (I still remember the first time I heard The Rain; boom, mind blown), and I never left the house without metallic violet lipstick on my lips either.

Yes, I wore a dark plum lip liner with ’em. I’d trace around the edges of my lips with the liner, and I NEVER BLENDED IT INTO THE LIPSTICK.

So tragic.

All I have to say is thank goodness selfies weren’t a thing back then. 🙂

These Too Faced Melted Metals ($21 each) are liquid lipsticks with a metallic finish and a wear time of 2-3 hours. They came out earlier this spring in eight shades and are now part of the permanent collection. Just squeeze the tube, and liquid lipstick comes out of the angled sponge tip. Then apply directly to lips.

These actually feel like thin, non-sticky glosses to me, because they’re so lightweight, smooth and “wet.” You know how with some liquid lipsticks, after you’ve been wearing then for a few minutes, they take on sort of a dry finish? Well, these don’t. They stay slick the whole time.

They also taste and smell a little like buttery sugar (or sugary butter), but when I smack my lips together, I also detect faint notes of plastic…

It’s not strong, though, and as long as I don’t overthink it, I don’t mind. Plus, with tastes and scents, one gal’s plastic is another girl’s Dulce de Leche.
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The Fab 5, Vol. 7: Best Brow Products [VIDEO]

April 16th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

I say WOWZA when it comes to brows!

On second thought, maybe I say BROW-ZA. Wowza to brow-za…

Yeah, I don’t know what I’m saying. 🙂 What I’m trying to say, though, apparently very non-eloquently, is that I freaking love eyebrows.

Perhaps a little too much. I love how the smallest tweak to your brows can switch up your entire makeup look, boom — just like that.

No, seriously, we could talk about brows from now till tomorrow morning.

Thankfully, however, this video is not an eight-hour-long monologue of me waxing philosophic about brows (although if you wanted that…). It’s an ode to five brow products I absolutely adore, so kick back, relax, and give your brows a moment to enjoy this episode of The Fab 5: Best Brow Products.

Products mentioned

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Dark Brown/Brunette, $21
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel, $22
Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper & Hair Touch-Up, $24
MAC Eye Shadow in Brun, $16
MAC Chromagraphic Pencils, $16 each

As always, thank you again for watching!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Tom Ford Summer 2015: A Plum and Peach Face of the Day With the New Eye and Cheek Compact in Pink Glow

April 16th, 2015 by Karen 31 Comments

This is probably a little too much glam for the Home Depot trip I had planned to take this afternoon…

Oh, well!

Yeah, I wasn’t thinking about potting mix and tomato plants (gotta get my deck garden situation worked out, ASAP!) when I started this soft plum and peach cut crease with Tom Ford’s new Eye and Cheek Compact in Pink Glow.

I just jumped in with both feet! — and now I’m thinking, “Hmm… Probably not the ideal Home Depot look.” But you know how it is with a cut crease. Once you get past a certain point, there’s no turning back.

The eye and cheek compact I’m wearing today, Pink Glow, is from Tom’s new Summer 2015 Collection.

I still haven’t quite figured out why it’s called Pink Glow…because the overall color palette looks more plum than pink to me, but either way, I like it. It seems very summertime glam, and I like this particular pairing of a shimmery plum eyeshadow with a shimmery plum blush, the subtle golden beige eyeshadow, the bronze glitter, and the peachy pink highlighter. It’s a good combo.

On a mildly educational note, the big lesson I learned today while working with this palette is to “go easy” with it, because the plum and the beige shadows are surprisingly pigmented, and it’s better to build them up slowly and carefully with layers (versus just slapping them on your lids without a care in the world).

Like I usually do, I did my eyes first, thinking that I’d probably have to deal with fallout, but looking back now, I could’ve just as easily started with foundation and concealer, because there was hardly any fallout at all, not even from the glittery eyeshadow.

All I have to say to that is “THANK GOODNESS, YO!” because with a $95 palette, yeah, fallout and other forms of drama should absolutely not be problems. At all.

I also used the peachy face highlighter from the compact on my lids as a shadow, which I think worked well for this (good for a bright, wide-eyed effect), and used Tom Ford’s matte warm brown Terra Bronzer (also from the Summer 2015 Collection) in my crease as a transition shade (yay for multitasking products!).

Because the eyes were so ba-BAM!, I didn’t use the plum blush from the palette (I figured it would REALLY be too much for Home Depot) and went with theBalm’s new Balm Desert Bronzer/Blush for a more subdued bronzy/peach cheek instead.

Um…WOW! This was my first time wearing Balm Desert, and I’m really impressed. I was afraid it would go a little ashy on me because it looks borderline cool-toned in the pan, but some warm peach comes through on the skin. If you’re a fan of Benefit’s Dallas Boxed Blush, you’ll probably also like this. They’re very similar.

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