Daily Beauty

Restocking Old MAC Faves: MAC Groundwork and Soft Ochre Paints Pots, and Select Cover-Up

May 19th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Oh! These cuties — oldies but goodies — came home with me last Sunday after a trip to the mall with El Hub.

It was part of Operation Get My Sh*t Together, otherwise known as The Great Office Purge of 2015. My mission: to stop by the MAC counter and make some long-overdue replacements.

The night before the mission, I found an old stash of MAC Paint Pots at home that desperately needed to be tossed and replaced. Two of my ride or dies, Soft Ochre and Groundwork, were effectively deceased, and since I can’t function without them, I had to restock. ASAP.

LOL! I made myself laugh. 🙂

Anyway, Soft Ochre and Groundwork are both cream shadows, but they have a matte finish. I like using them as eyeshadow bases, or sometimes just on their own.

MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot ($21)

I think matte warm beige Soft Ochre looks really pretty under warm neutrals like Soft Brown, Saddle, Ricepaper and Swiss Chocolate. I use it sometimes to sort of blank out the natural color of my lids (similar to how you might use concealer on your lips to blank them out).

Like, if I have a palette with shades that are slightly lighter than my skin tone — like pale taupes, tans or beiges, which wouldn’t normally show up well on my NC42 skin — I’ll start by buffing a thin layer of Soft Ochre on my lids with a MAC 217, then apply the shadows on top. Soft Ochre acts kind of like a buffer between my skin color and the shadows, and makes the shadows more closely resemble the way they look in their pans. It also intensifies whatever I layer on top.

LOVE this color. It’s a must-have MAC staple of mine.

MAC Groundwork Paint Pot ($21)

Oh, MAC Groundwork… How I heart thee.

Groundwork is a neutral mid-toned taupe-ish brown with a matte finish, and I love it for everyday looks. I use it as a base for neutral brown and taupe eyeshadows, and I also think it’s just really pretty on its own.

When I’m in a rush — you know, like every day of my life — I like to do a layer all over my lids, and then apply some quick cat eye liner.

MAC Select Cover-Up in NC42 ($19)

Select Cover-Up, the last thing I grabbed at the counter, is something I used a lot waaaaay back in the day when I first started wearing MAC face products.

Let’s see… When was that? 2001? 2002?

It might’ve been 2000.

Yowza.

Needless to say, it’s been around a while.
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Curves Make The Body Shop Matte Kajals in White and Black Comfy in Your Claws

May 15th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Never underestimate the power of muscle memory.

I’m so used to lining my eyes with regular pencil liners that I was afraid I’d poke my eye out with the Black Matte and White Matte Kajals from The Body Shop ($15 each).

See that long, pointy tip in the pic? Coo’, right?

BUT SO SCARY.

Something about it screams, “Yer gonna poke yer eye out, kid!”

I haven’t yet (poked my eye out, that is), which is good, but the night is young, haha!

Here’s something else that’s good: these liners feel great in my paws. The part you hold is sort of ergonomically curved, and it makes them comfy to hold and pretty easy to control, even with that gigantic, super long tip.

Formula-wise, these matte liners are smooth and creamy and made for smudging. You just line your lash lines with them, and then run a brush or a Q-tip along the edges to feather it out. You have about 10 minutes of playtime before the product sets.
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Ulta Haul! Products From L’Oreal, Bliss and Rita Hazan

May 15th, 2015 by Karen 28 Comments

“Girlfriend, good luck getting out of there with just one thing.”

I say this to myself all the time when I visit Ulta…because I’m usually going to get just one thing.

On my last trip it was Rita Hazan’s Root Concealer in Dark Brown/Black, because I desperately need to get my roots done, and I wanted to try something new/less expensive than this stuff.

Thirty minutes later I’m walking out with this…

L’Oreal La Palette Nude 1, $19.99
Rita Hazan Root Concealer in Dark Brown/Black, $25
L’Oreal Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray, $16.99
Bliss Fuzz Off Facial Hair Removal Cream, $24
Ulta Premium Square Cotton Pads, $3.49

Lots more products to test. I hope there’s at least one gem among ’em. It would be great if the L’Oreal palette works out to be a near-dupe for the UD Naked Palette. It looks like it has that potential.

Have you picked up anything good lately from Ulta or elsewhere?

loreal la palette nude 1 — L’Oreal La Palette Nude 1

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Clarins Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour in Sweet Rose

May 15th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

clarins blush prodige illuminating cheek colour

Who’s that weirdo girl at the makeup counter with her nose in the blushes?

That would be me. 🙂

In case you were wondering (because I totally was), this Clarins Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour in Sweet Rose does not smell like a sweet rose.

It smells like Axl Rose when I watch him in old Guns N’ Roses videos on YouTube…which means that it doesn’t really smell like anything because you can’t smell a YouTube video (yet).

Sweet in name and looks only, it’s a powder blush from the Clarins spring collection that has been out for a while. There are four different rosy pink blushes in the pan, all flush up against each other, two mattes and two shimmers.

You know the drill — mix ’em together or wear them apart, although the thin strips of blush on the left side are fairly narrow, which makes applying them on your cheeks using the included mini brush somewhat challenging. I recommend using a tapered eye brush instead and having some patience.

I end up just swirling all of the shades together with a blush brush 1) because it’s easier that way, and 2) I actually prefer the combined rosy pink color. Looks very natural.

Obvs, there are a ton of pink blushes out there, but this one, when you wear the colors mixed together, has a sweet whisper of warm peach. The color is just a little different than usual. It makes you look like you just got back from a bike ride or a brisk walk, and it’s available now ($31 for a 0.2-oz. pan) online and at Clarins counters.

P.S.

In Case You Were Wondering If Your…

May 13th, 2015 by Karen 37 Comments

…immaculate new bottle of Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray will stay fresh to def forever, it won’t. LOL! I hate to dash your hopes, but things are going to get dirrrty.

Case in point: the pic above. I didn’t realize just how dirty those white bottles get until I opened a new one and placed it next to an old one.

OK, first of all, I have no idea what nebulous wormhole the left bottle’s original purple cap disappeared into, but I think the ill-fitting cap on there now is from a rand-o bottle of hairspray.

Second, how did I not notice this poor state of affairs until now? I grab this bottle literally every day (which is probably why it’s covered in makeup, ha!). I’ll usually wash the dirt off a bar of soap, so my blatant disregard for this poor bottle’s sorry condition is weird to me.

Anyway! If you haven’t tried this makeup setting spray before (it’s a total unsung makeup hero), you must! I’ve lost count of how many bottles of it I’ve gone through over the years. Maybe five or six? I even bring a travel-sized one with me on trips. It’s that hardcore, man.

Nails of the Day: Salon Perfect Nail Lacquer in Mermade of Money

May 13th, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

I was sitting in my car at a stoplight yesterday when I saw a kid skateboard across the street…WHILE TEXTING ON HIS PHONE.

How is that even possible? I can barely text sitting down. Shoot, I’m the person who has to literally stop in the middle of the sidewalk to send a text that takes her five minutes to type and says, “b right there” when she’s only 30 seconds from the destination!

If there were an Olympic event for Slowest, Lamest Texter Ever, I would take home the gold. 🙂

Since I frequently force the people around me to witness my lame attempts at texting, I might as well give them something interesting to look at.

That was the idea behind these nails, which I applied yesterday morning. This is Salon Perfect Nail Lacquer in Mermade of Money, from their new summer collection, Neon Pop.

I probably could’ve gotten away with wearing two layers, but I wanted complete and total opacity, so I went in for a third. I applied it with a base and top coat, but I still saw my first chip less than 24 hours later. Yup, a gnarly chip on my right hand.

Granted, I’m hard on my nails, but less than 24 hours? That’s kind of crazy-pants.

This was my first time wearing a Salon Perfect Nail Lacquer. They’re only $4 each, so I’ll give ’em another try… But the next one better last longer.

They’re available now online and at Walmart stores.

P.S. Happy hump day, by the way. 🙂

Last Call! The Special Edition $48 Tarte Beauty in the Basics Set Is Available For a Few More Hours Today Only on QVC.com

May 11th, 2015 by Karen 10 Comments

The (final) countdown is on!

The new $47.64 Tarte Beauty in The Basics set is available for just nine more hours today (as of 2:30 p.m. PT) on the QVC website.

Yup, if this thing piques your interest, run — not meander or scoot — run to your nearest computer…which would probably the one you’re using right now, and check it out. For $47.64, today only, you get six of Tarte’s most popular products, including…

(1) 0.31-oz. pan of their Amazonian Clay Smoothing Balm in choice of Fair, Light, Light-Medium, Medium, Tan or Deep (your choice) — This stuff is a medium-to-full-coverage cream foundation with a satiny finish. I’ve used it in Medium and barely have to use any of it at all to even out my skin tone. It’s that pigmented.
(1) 0.24-fl oz. tube of Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara in Black — Old school! I like Lights, Camera, Lashes for volume, separation and curl hold (but it’s not my favorite mascara for lengthening). It’s an oldie but a goodie.
(1) 0.10-oz. tube of LipSurgence Lip Creme in Vintage — Vintage has a minty flavor and scent, a lightweight formula and a moderate amount of honeysuckle pink pigment. Me likey.
(1) 0.24-oz. Special Edition Colored Clay Eyeshadow Palette with 0.06-oz. pans of ivory Classic Cream, taupe Simple Slate, Tantalizing Tan and Breathtaking Brown — I have’t worn these soft, moderately pigmented shadows yet, but they feel very much like other Tarte shadows I have used, so I expect similar performance. I like Tarte’s shadows in general, especially how easily they blend (but sometimes they do leave a lot of fallout).
(1) 0.03-oz. stick of Amazonian Clay Tightlining Eyeliner in Black Brown — This wonderful little stick is surprisingly great! It’s my favorite thing in the entire set, largely because of the thin tip, which makes it really easy to get deep, down there in between the roots of my lashes, and because it lasts all day long, too.
(1) Tarte Smoothing Balm Brush — This fluffy, full brush deftly diffuses the cream foundation that comes with this set and, of course, other cream products.

The $32 Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes: Three Shades, Three Jobs, One Coordinated Mission

May 6th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Like Kevin Federline circa 2005, highlighting and contouring are having a moment. You literally cannot escape them. They’re the Alcatraz of the makeup world right now.

The new Sculptionary Cheek Contouring palettes by Clinique have that highlighting/contouring trend in mind. Three shades, three jobs, one coordinated mission — to sculpt and shape yo’ cherub cheeks! They’re $32 each and available now in six oil-free shades at Clinique counters and online.

Use one of the mid-tone shades as blush for your cheeks, the deeper shades for contouring, and the lighter shade for highlighting. Or, mix them however you’d like to create a custom blush color for the apples of your cheeks.

I think these are really fun to mix, especially if you use them as blushes and highlighters…

I love me a customized cheek color! 🙂

Here I’m wearing the Defining Nectars palette. I mixed the mid-toned and darkest shades together by tapping my brush back and forth between the powders. Then I swirled the powder on the open lid to mix them together (you can also do this on the back of your hand or in your palm) and applied the combined color to my cheeks as a blush. Then I cleaned off my brush, loaded it with the lightest shade and swept that on my cheekbones to highlight.

If you’re going to be mixing these, I think it’s important to use a small face brush because the individual pans are pretty petite (the entire palette fits in the palm of my hand). I like the Contour Brush by Real Techniques; it’s small enough to pick up the colors separately.

As for contouring, I probably won’t be using these palettes to do a true contour as all of the darkest shades have shimmer, which really doesn’t do a lot in terms of chiseling my cheeks. Plus, I’m kind of afraid of things looking a little too ’80s with the colorful contour.

Totally go there if it’s your thing, though. You do you! That’s one of the things I love about makeup. 🙂 There’s an endless number of ways to interpret a look.

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