Makeup

Late Summer Sephora Haul!

August 24th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

My No. 1 rule when I shop at Sephora is to never, EVER walk around the store with a basket, because if I do, I’ll just keep dropping more and more things into it until eventually — whoops! — there goes all my fun money for the next few months.

I tell myself that I can only leave the store with what I can physically carry in my hands, but that doesn’t always work… You’d be amazed at how much stuff a short Filipino girl can carry, haha! 🙂

On my last trip I grabbed a few things — some re-stocks, some new things I’ve been wanting to try and at least one doodad (maybe two).

As always, my friend, thank you for watching.

Products mentioned

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

5 Magnificent Magenta Lipsticks That’ll Make You Yearn for Fall

August 24th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

Maybe it’s all this talk about El Niño, or maybe it’s just my burning desire to bust out the scarves, and boots, but I’m ready to say “peace out!” to bright, summery pinks and “ciao” to corals for the season. Yup, I’m starting to enter fall mode.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been reaching for darker nail polishes (I’ve got Essie’s In the Lobby on my paws today!) and transitioning to deeper lip shades, but I’m not quite ready yet for full-on fall lip colors like dark browns, wines and purples. After all, it’s still only August. 🙂

But I have been into what I like to call my summer-to-fall transition shade, the always lovely magenta.

MAGENTA! I love wearing colors in the magenta family around this time of year because they seem just as comfortable with scarves and boots as they are with daisy dukes and flip-flops.

So here are five of my current magenta lipstick faves that have been in heavy rotation lately…

1. NARS Audacious Lipstick in Janet ($32)

2. Tom Ford Lip Color in Violet Fatale ($52)

tom ford beauty violet fatale — Tom Ford Beauty Violet Fatale

tom ford beauty violet fatale swatch — Tom Ford Beauty Violet Fatale

3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Venom ($22)

Urban Decay Venom Revolution Lipstick 2 — Urban Decay Venom

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The Fab 5, Vol. 8: Chanel

August 13th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

Those double Cs, man! They get me every time.

I’ve drooled over and chased after Chanel for… I don’t even know how long! Years and years. It’s one of my favorite beauty brands (and fashion and accessories, etc.) of all time.

Makeup-wise, their permanent collection is huge and daunting. At their counters, there’s a LOT of great stuff to play with and look at, and between the lipsticks, glosses, eyeshadows, blushes and more it can be overwhelming.

So where do you start? Hopefully this episode of The Fab Five gives you some ideas. It might even spark a lifelong love affair with Chanel, oui, oui! 🙂

I wear these five pieces almost daily. They’re the products I find myself grabbing over and over again.

The Fab 5, Vol. 8: Chanel (probably part one of two, haha)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Clinique Travel Boxes: Fall 2015

August 12th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris!

Yes, please. 🙂 I can be ready to go by tomorrow, whee!

Each of these four Clinique travel sets, which are available now at select airports worldwide (prices vary and depend on location, but they’re usually around $45-60 in the U.S.), has a different color theme with coordinating makeup for eyes, cheeks and lips.

All of the individual products are full sized, so you get a lot in each box. They’re also re-promotes from the current line, so the main advantage of these boxes and other travel exclusive sets is that you should get a bit of a price break. They should be slightly cheaper than regular price. And also, if you don’t have a knack for putting colors together, you get everything you need to do each themed look all encapsulated in each box.

I like the New York one the best because, well, there’s a lot of neutrals in it…

Obviously, that’s the one I’d like.

It has a blush called Ginger Pop, which is one of my favorite Clinique blushes of all time. It’s from the Cheek Pop Blush family, and I think they’re among the best things Clinique makes. Just very natural and easy to use. In Ginger Pop’s case, the color lays down easily and doesn’t catch onto any dry/flaky bits.

Its edges are also easy to sheer out, so it doesn’t look like you have two little circles of dolly bright blush on your cheeks.

Oh! — my purple eyes in this video are from the graphic cat eye I did last week with the Buxom Eyeshadow Bar.

clinique travel boxes new york — Clinique Travel Box New York

clinique travel boxes london — Clinique Travel Box London

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5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

August 11th, 2015 by Karen 35 Comments

1. Lime-flavored ANYTHING

Forget about lemons. Limes are where it’s at, man.

So sour… So good! I was into key lime pie a few weeks ago (haha, I know, I shift gears often), but now I’m all about lime candies and — OOH! — limeade!

It’s like lemonade but made with limes (obvs). There’s a place in town called Rustic Bakery that makes a GREAT limeade that’s nice and tart with a good bite to it, and sometimes I’ll get one there with lunch.

In fact, I’m drinking one right now. 🙂

Well…I was drinking one, but I just finished it! *slurp*

2. Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger Pop

Current favorite blush right hurr. This pop is a real gem. It’s a $22 peachy brown nude in Clinique’s permanent line, and it buffs out beautifully on cheeks.

Lasts all day, too.

I guess I forgot about it for a while, but I recently re-discovered it while “shopping” in a drawer.

3. Hourglass Femme Rouge Lipstick in Vintage

Another beauty I hadn’t worn in a hot minute, but I’m making up for that now!

Doesn’t this pinkish brown have kind of a ’90s vibe to it? (I wore it in yesterday’s winged liner tutorial). I love how this neutral/nude works with darker skin tones, especially (if you’re a lighter lass, check out Hourglass Grace).
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Estée Lauder Fall 2015 Collection: A Quick Look

August 11th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

I see you making grabby hands at these new liquid lipsticks!

Girl, I did the same thing. 🙂 Gimme those brights!

I know, when did Estée Lauder start doing such — how shall I put this? — hip stuff? I used to think of them as a fragrance brand mostly (I wore Pleasures and Private Collection for years!) or, like, the makeup that my aunties wore (it’s true), but they’ve been doing some interesting things lately, especially in the realm of color.

Their fall 2015 collection is huge, with lots of new things, including these liquid lipsticks, a new line eyeshadow singles, shadow sticks and a contouring kit for yo’ eyes.

Press play for a look at a few pieces from the launch. The collection is available right meow online and at Estée Lauder counters.

Products mentioned:

Estée Lauder Dimension Shape + Sculpt Eye Kit ($40)
Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion ($30 each)
Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Eye Defining Singles ($25 each)
Estée Lauder Magic Smoky Powder Shadow Sticks ($22)

estee aluder pure color envy liquid lip potion — Pure Color Envy Liquid Lip Potion ($30 each)

estee lauder pure color envy eye defining singles — Pure Color Envy Eye Defining Singles ($25 each)

estee lauder eye defining singles — Pure Color Envy Eye Defining Singles ($25 each)

estee lauder smoky powder shadow sticks — Estee Lauder Magic Smoky Powder Shadow Sticks ($22 each)

estee lauder smoky powder shadow sticks 2 — Estee Lauder Magic Smoky Powder Shadow Sticks ($22 each)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Easy Winged Eyeliner for Beginners

August 10th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

OK, straight up, by “easy winged eyeliner,” I mean easy in reference to being able to successfully draw the shape and angle you want, and not easy in terms of being able to do the whole thing in 30 seconds (it will probably take longer than that). This method here involves four steps, but they really are easy, and at the end of them you’ll have perfectly placed wings.

Now, we all know someone who can perfectly apply winged eyeliner in a single glorious swoop, but I’m totally not that girl. To get my winged liner the way I like it, I have to apply it in layers and steps.

It’s all about the layers. 😉

If you’ve ever struggled to draw your wings just right, or if you can only do it with an obscene amount of Herculean effort and concentration, this method of layering will help you place your lines and wings exactly where you want ’em. Pretty soon you’ll have winged liner like a BOSS!

What you’ll need…

A black pencil eyeliner
An angled eyeshadow brush
A black powder eyeshadow
A gel or liquid eyeliner
Q-tips

1. Line your upper lash line (you can also do your water line, but it’s optional)

I tightlined my eyes first, because I always tightline, but it’s completely optional. What we’re gonna do now is line our upper lash line, so grab a black pencil eyeliner with a sharp tip (or sharpen a dull one), and line the upper lash line on one of your eyes with it. The sharp tip just makes it easier to be precise than a dull or blunt tip does.

Try to keep your line as thin and as close to your lash line as possible. Don’t worry at this stage if your line isn’t as thick and voluminous as you’d like, or if the edge is a little wonky or jagged, because we’ll rectify that sitch in a second. Repeat on your other eye.

2. Smooth the edge of the line and start building the shape of your wing

To smooth the edge of the line and start building the shape of your wing, take a clean angled eyeshadow brush, and run it gently along the edge of the line you drew in step one (note: I do each step on each eye along the way to keep them symmetrical). Start at the inner corner and move out. When you get to the outer corner, drag the brush out a bit to create a faint outline of a wing using the remaining product on your brush.

To get both eyes symmetrical, it helps me to look straight into a mirror with both eyes open while I’m working.

If you find that your wings aren’t even, don’t panic! Use a Q-tip to tweak and adjust them.

As for the angle of your wings, it’s up to you, but I think it helps to visualize an invisible line that extends up and out from the outer corner of your lower lash line. Just follow the angle of your lower lash line up and out.

Totally optional and up to your own personal preference, though. I usually like to flatten my wings out a bit (so not as steep), because it appears to elongate the eye, and I like that effect. Play around a bit until you find an angle that works for you.

3. Thicken the line and wing

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How to Tightline Your Eyes

August 10th, 2015 by Karen 30 Comments

Tightlining, or “tight-lining,” despite its action-packed name, is not a new extreme sport. It doesn’t have anything to do with bungee cords, ratchet straps or zip-lining, but along with filling in my brows and curling my lashes, it’s an essential part of my everyday makeup routine.

In tightlining, you line the base of your upper lash line from below, getting down in there between the roots, and I do it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Even when I’m under a severe time crunch and have to start making “tough” decisions on which and what parts of my routine I have to skip, I’ll skip bronzer, highlighter, and if I have to, I’ll even skip blush…as long as I still have time to tightline.

So how does tightlining differ from the typical ways of applying eyeliner? Well, I usually apply eyeliner from above, where I get the tip of the liner down between the roots of my lashes and along the lash line, and in tightlining, it’s the same basic process, but I come at the base of the line from beneath it, where I can really get the liner down in there between each and every lash, and it makes the lash line look nice and thick, and that makes the eyes look bigger.

Before tightlining (left) and after (right) — Before tightlining my upper water line (left) and after (right)

For tightlining, of all the different eyeliner formulas — gels, powders, kohls, liquid liners, etc. — I like black waterproof twist-up pencil liners the best, and I choose the twist-ups because the tips are usually super thin, which makes it easier to get down in between each of the lashes at the roots. I also like waterproof formulas because they last (and I LOVE Chanel’s Waterproof Eye Liner in 88 Noir Intense for this reason).

Of course, if you feel like black liners are too stark for you, you can always use another shade. Deep blackish gray, brownish black, medium-toned gray, navy or brown all work, too. Whatever darkens your lash lines and floats your boat.

Step 1: Sharpen your pencil

To start, the first thing I do is sharpen my pencil.

I know that sounds kind of “Duh, Karen!” but using a sharp tip really helps. It makes it much easier to get between those lashes at the roots.

Step 2: Placing the pencil at the base

Next, I place the tip of the pencil just beneath my lash line, pointing at an upward angle, and close the eye I’m working on so that the tip of the liner presses up against the base of the lashes.

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