Makeup

A Dashing Duo: Benefit They’re Real Shadow Blender in Easy Smokin’, and the Awkward Double Date With the Vanilla Ice Mullet Brothers

February 7th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

benefit theyre real easy smokin — I’m wearing Benefit’s They’re Real Duo Shadow Blender in Easy Smokin’ ($24) and They’re Real Double the Lip in Criminally Coral ($20)

So, what do I know about double dates? Well, I know that they’re awkward…(but more on this in a sec), and I know that I thought about them a lot today because of the new $24 Benefit They’re Real Duo Shadow Blender in Easy Smokin’ (one of six new duos available now), which has — not one — but TWO eyeshadows geared to give you bigger, sexier eyes.

I feel like Easy Smokin’ is more elegant than Sexy Smokin’, the duo I wore yesterday. It has a warm, dark bronzed brown coupled with a light and warm shimmery peach, and the powders seem more finely milled. Thank goodness, too, because the shimmery light shade in Sexy Smokin’ was giving me a complex (frost is not kind to my fine lines).

By the way, when you mix the two shades in Easy Smokin’ together, it creates a beautiful bronzed peach, which is how I’m wearing it in these pics. I blended them together, and then I also lined my lash lines with warm bronze MAC Teddy liner (I bet MAC Costa Riche would totally work, too).

benefit theyre real easy smokin swatch — Swatches of Benefit They’re Real Duo Shadow Blender in Easy Smokin’ and They’re Real Double the Lip in Criminally Coral

This reminds me of the time my best friend Jen and I went on a double date together with these two boys who were brothers (we met them in marching band). Basically, it was not the most awesome time in the whole world.

I dated the older brother, who had a Vanilla Ice mullet, and Jen dated the younger one…who also had a Vanilla Ice mullet, and the four of us went to a community theater musical presentation of Camelot.

I can’t remember who’s idea it was… What I can remember is that it was four hours long, and I was starving! I can also remember that because it was a musical, we couldn’t really talk to each other, and I got very antsy about halfway through. I wondered why we didn’t just go to Great America or grab a pizza instead, because at least then we would have been able to talk, but I digress… (Plus, I wouldn’t have been starving to death for four hours!)

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Tom Ford Spring 2017: The Shade and Illuminate Cheeks Cream Blushes in Scintillate and Sublimate

February 7th, 2017 by Karen 28 Comments

tom ford shade illuminate cheeks scintillate k — Wearing new Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Cheeks cream blush in Scintillate ($80)

I like to wear shades (as in sunglasses).

Connor Claire also likes to throw shade, which is cute now, but it may not be in 12 years.

Now, neither of these types forms of shade have anything to do with the two new Shade and Illuminate Cheeks cream blushes in the new Tom Ford Spring 2017 color collection, but that’s OK.

They’re lovely (albeit incredibly expensively).

tom ford shade illuminate cheeks scintillate — Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Cheeks cream blush in Scintillate ($80)

The Tom Ford 2017 spring collection is available now, and my gawd! — can we just take a moment to appreciate the drop-dead gorgeousness of this makeup?

tom ford spring 2017 visual — The Tom Ford Spring 2017 visuals are BANANAS!

The collection includes two cream blush duos and six lip duos that are all about shade and illumination, as in highlighting and contouring — playing with lighter shades to catch the light and darker shades for shading. Through strategically using complementary colors to shade and highlight the cheeks and lips, it creates balance.

tom ford shade illuminate cheeks sublimate — Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Cheeks in Sublimate ($80)

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A Dashing Duo: Benefit They’re Real Duo Shadow Blender in Sexy Smokin’, and the Unwritten Rule of Middle School Dancing (Circa 1989)

February 6th, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

benefit theyre real sexy smokin — Wearing the new Benefit They’re Real Duo Shadow Blender in Sexy Smokin’ ($24) on my eyes and They’re Real Double the Lip in Pink Thrills on my lips

Middle school dances were the worst. I don’t know why anybody thought they were fun.

Well…I know that there were some kids who probably had fun, like the kids in the popular clique who planned the dances. I bet they had a good time, but I never did. I always felt awkward sitting there in the bleachers, wringing my hands and tap-tap-tapping my lace-less Keds.

This was before it was OK to dance with a group of your girlfriends out on the dance floor, so you had to wait for someone to ask you, ugh! So painful. Nobody I ever actually wanted to dance with would ask me, which wasn’t a big surprise. I mean, I was beyond shy and awkward and nerdy.

I did get asked a couple times…which leads me to the unwritten rule of middle school dances (circa 1989), which is that two is the magic number.

I’m thinking about this because I’ve been all about “the twos” today. I’m rockin’ a new eyeshadow duo and a new lipstick duo from Benefit — They’re Real Duo Shadow Blender in Sexy Smokin’ ($24) and They’re Real Double the Lip lipstick ($20). They’re part of Benefit’s new spring collection (available now at Benefit stores and counters), which is all about duos.

With the eight neutral powder eyeshadow duos and the eight lipsticks, and they’re basically um… the whole deal is they make your eyes and lips look bigger, instantly.

The shadows have a funky round sponge applicator, which you swipe across the pan (the pan has the two shadows stacked on top of each other horizontally). You swipe the funky sponge across the pan, and then across your eye, with the darker shade closest to your lash line.

The idea is to make your eyes look bigger, brighter and schmexier with just one swipe.

And you do something similar with the lipsticks. They have a teardrop-shaped bullet, with a slighter darker color at the tip, so that when you swipe the tube across your lips, the darker edge makes the lighter part in the center pop.

So your lips look bigger. ?

benefit theyre real duo shadow blender — The eight new They’re Real Duo Shadow Blenders ($24 each)

I plan to do a full review of the whole collection soon, but today was all about Sexy Smokin’. It’s a dark, satiny, cool-toned brownish taupe, and a shiny, silvery taupe shimmer.

I’m all about the darker taupe, and when I wore it with my NARS primer last Saturday, it stayed put all day long.

So, back to the unwritten magical rule of twos… It was one of those things that nobody ever told my me or my friends. Ever.

You know how there were things that your friends never told you, and you had to figure out on your own? Well, one of them was that back in the late ’80s at middle school dances, you couldn’t just move your arms and feet to the beat however it moved you. There were, like, actual dance moves that the kids in my school did, like the snake, the running man, the kid ‘n’ play and the robocop #datingmyselfsohardrightnow. And the unwritten rule was that when you were dancing with somebody, you couldn’t just do one of these dances… You had to do two of them. Two dances.

benefit theyre real sexy smokin pink thrills — Swatches of Benefit They’re Real Duo Shadow Blender in Sexy Smokin’ and They’re Real Double the Lip in Pink Thrills

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5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

February 3rd, 2017 by Karen 26 Comments

aldo stessy k shoe — The Aldo Stessy K shoe ($80)

1. Lip print errrthang

It started with a sweater I got ages ago at Nordstrom by a brand called Halogen that I, um…haven’t worn since I got pregnant with Connor last year.

A photo posted by Karen | Makeup and Beauty Blog (@karenmbb) on Feb 3, 2017 at 8:46am PST

Essentially, the sweater looks like a pair of bedazzled lips on my boobs, LOL!

I think it’s super cool.

I also LOVE this pair of Aldo Stessy K heels.

Aren’t they incredible!? They’re just so… They have… There are lips ALL OVER THEM (even on the soles and inside the shoes!)

And they’re high, too! I’m guessing the heels are 4-5 inches, and I’m so out of practice when it comes to walking in heels… It’s a skill, right? If you don’t use it, you lose it.

I received these as a gift. I also looked for the same shoe in a flat, but I couldn’t find one… There is this really cute purse, though!

2. This $5 cat headband by Etude House

I’ve also been loving this headband by Etude House because — you guys, if you’re a cat lady, why hide it? There’s no shame in that game. I mean, if you’re going to be a CCL, then accessorize like a CCL. Go all the way!

etude house cat headband — All about that CCL life…

It’s bomb-@ss and only $5.20! It also stays put on my head. It never slips off, unlike those headbands that are a little too small or too snug and start to slip off as the day goes on…because why wouldn’t you wear a cat ears headband all day long?

I’ve actually worn it to bed, and it stayed put overnight.

Oh, and it’s really, really, REALLY soft. I wish they also make a black cat version.

3. Old Navy Rockstar Jeans

As I was digging through my closet this morning, I rediscovered a couple of pairs of Old Navy Rockstar jeans that I kindasorta misplaced for a while.

They usually go for between $30-35 a pair and come in a bunch of different rinses and regular, tall and petite lengths. The mid-rise ones I have also tuck in the gut pretty well.

I just saw that they also have high-rise Rockstars, too. I’m gonna go tonight, and try them on.

old navy high rise rockstar jeans — Mind blown! The Old Navy High-Rise Rockstar Jean!

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The MAC Kiesza Collection Is Down With Chocolatey Brown

February 2nd, 2017 by Karen 24 Comments

mac kiesza lipstick dearly beloved — Feeling very ’90s in MAC Dearly Beloved ($17), the one and only matte Lipstick in the MAC Kiesza collection, available Feb. 9th through March 23rd online and at select MAC stores

I feel suddenly compelled to do wind sprints while eating a ? chocolate-chip cookie. Admittedly, I don’t even know if that’s possible…but where there’s a will (and a desire to eat cookies), there’s a way! Thanks, MAC Kiesza collection! 🙂

It just so happens that Kiesza sings one of the songs on my sprinting playlist.

Dude, that song makes me haul @ss!

Her new petite four-piece MAC collaboration comes out next week, and the two standout items are a couple of chocolatey delicious browns. There’s a new Matte Lipstick called Dearly Beloved ($17) and a new Vamplify Lipgloss called Thunder Kiss ($21).

mac kiesza swatches — MAC Kiesza swatches from the top: Matte Lipstick in Dearly Beloved (a warm soft brown), Vamplify Lipgloss in Thunder Kiss (a deep chocolate) and Liquidlast Liner in Point Black (not pictured: Big Brown Pencil in Cork)

There are also two other items in the collection, both of them re-promotes from the permanent line. There’s Big Brow Pencil in Cork ($21) and Liquidlast Liner in Point Black ($21), but eh — you can get those any old time.

Matte Lipstick in Dearly Beloved ($17)

Just when I feel ready to say “I’m Audi 5000” to ’90s-style matte brown lips (hey, I wore them enough to last three lifetimes), MAC comes out with another beautiful one. And it’s beautiful! It’s a warm brown with pink undertones, and it isn’t muddy or patchy looking at all, unlike so many browns.

mac kiesza collection — From the left: MAC Vamplify in Thunder Kiss ($21), Liquidlast Liner in Point Black ($21) and Matte Lipstick in Dearly Beloved ($17)

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MAC Viva Glam by the #numbers With Viva Glam Taraji P. Henson Lipstick and Lipglass

February 2nd, 2017 by Karen 24 Comments

mac viva glam taraji p henson — MAC Viva Glam Taraji P. Henson Lipstick on the left ($17) and Lipglass on the right ($16)

2

The number of Empire stars ⭐⭐ who are now new MAC Viva Glam spokespeople — the fabulous Taraji P. Henson (LOVE HER) and Jussie Smollett.

1,700

The number of pennies it takes to purchase a tube of pretty purplish red matte Viva Glam Taraji P. Henson Lipstick, a fabulously bright fuchsia.

160

The number of dimes it takes to delight your lips with layers of pearly pink fuchsia Viva Glam Taraji P. Henson Lipglass.

0

The number of seconds you’ll have to wait before you can get your paws on these luscious lippies because they’re available right meow online and at MAC counters.

mac viva glam taraji p henson swatches — Swatches of MAC Viva Glam Taraji P. Henson Lipstick (top) and Lipglass (bottom

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The number of seconds it took me to fall in love with this Lipstick and Lipglass, because they’re bold and bright but still totally wearable.

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What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 1: Copper With a Splash of Gold and Natural-Looking Skin

February 1st, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

tarte happy girls shine brighter palette — My Wednesday makeup ensemble

Here’s the makeup I wore today! It was a pretty chill Wednesday overall… I got up, wrote for a bit, took Connor out for a morning walk (yes, our Coywolf is walking now!), worked and went to an appointment to see my therapist (just a regularly scheduled thing I’ve been doing once a month; it’s been very helpful).

And that’s what I did! I didn’t want to wear anything too elaborate or heavy, but I was in the mood for a little spice, which is why the gold glitter liner was up in the mix. 🙂

All about that base: Tarte’s version of MAC Strobe Cream, and a new IT Cosmetics cream foundation

I started with an old fave, Make Up For Ever Face Smoothing Primer (THE BEST!), then patted Tarte Brighter Days Highlighting Moisturizer ($32), a face moisturizer with pink pearl that looks a lot like a slightly thicker MAC Strobe Cream, all over my skin, because I wanted a little bit of glow to show through my foundation.

Then I buffed new $38 IT Cosmetics Confidence in a Compact Solid Serum Foundation in Tan all over my face (it’s a cream foundation).

The compact says that it’s full coverage, which I think is totally possible because it’s pretty opaque, but I sheered it out because I wanted my skin to look as natural as possible. Plus, I wanted the glow from Brighter Days to show through.

Anyway, it’s very lightweight and so, SO creamy, and my skin, which was feeling extra dry today, likes it a lot.

Happy Girls Shine Brighter

I grabbed this cute new $29 Double Duty Beauty palette from Tarte with the most adorable name ever for my eyes and cheeks. It’s called Happy Girls Shine Brighter.

See? Isn’t that sweet!?

tarte happy girls shine brighter — The Tarte Double Duty Beauty Happy Girls Shine Brighter Palette ($29)

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The MAC Colour Rocker Collection Swatches and Tempered Two-Toned Lips

February 1st, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

mac colour rocker carmine rouge breathing fire — Toned-down/tempered lips with the MAC Colour Rocker Collection Lipsticks in Carmine Rouge (my upper lip) and Breathing Fire (bottom lip)

So I was flipping through a magazine last weekend (I think it might’ve been Allure…) and saw a picture of two models wearing two-toned lips.

NEAT!

What are two-toned lips?

It’s where you wear different colors on your top and bottom lip, and if you pick colors that are closely related, it’s an easy way to do subdued, toned-down, but still edgy look.

Here are some examples with shades from the new MAC Colour Rocker Collection of limited edition MAC matte lipsticks that launched last week ($17 each), and there are also some swatches down below.

Two-Toned Lip Tip #1: Choose two shades that are slightly different in intensity and/or color

Here’s the thing: If you want easy, it helps to use two shades that are similar but aren’t exactly the same. If they’re too dissimilar, they go from low-key and edgy to full-on edgy, and then you have to work that into your entire look.

In the pic above I’m wearing MAC Colour Rocker Carmine Rouge (the red shade) with Breathing Fire (the pink), and I think they’re both similarly intense. I mean, if you saw me from across a room, you might not even be able to tell I was wearing two different colors on my lips, but bam! — up close? Whoomp, there it is.

mac colour rocker darling clementine forbidden sunrise — MAC Colour Rocker Lipstick in Darling Clementine (upper lip) and Forbidden Sunrise (bottom lip)

Same thing with Darling Clementine (the darker orange on my top lip) and Forbidden Sunrise (the slightly lighter orange on the bottom). The colors are similar enough to make the whole effect subtle.

Two-Toned Lip Tip #2: Wear the lighter color on the bottom for a plump-looking pout

If you wear the lighter color on the bottom, I think it makes your lips look slightly fuller (don’t ask me why though).

mac colour evening buzz flatter me fierce — MAC Colour Rocker Lipsticks in Evening Buzz (upper lip) and Flatter Me Fierce (bottom lip)

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