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Murad Transforming Powder Dual-Action Cleanser and Exfoliator

September 23rd, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

Murad Transforming Powder Dual-Action Cleanser and Exfoliator

There’s something so dang satisfying about exfoliating, especially in the morning. I’m all, “Hey, pores! Take that!”

Sometimes I play as if all of the dead skin cells are being Swiffered away…

I wonder if I am alone in this. 🙂

Lately I’ve been using this new exfoliating product with salicylic acid (which my skin lurves) by Murad called Transforming Powder Dual-Action Cleanser & Exfoliator ($30 for a 0.5-oz. bottle). It’s made for acne-prone skin like mine.

You dispense a small amount of the powder (yup, powder) into your palm, add water, work that into a lather, and then massage it all over your face and neck.

The bottle has a special stopper at the top to regulate how much comes out, so no worries about accidentally pouring out half of the bottle at one time (something I would otherwise almost certainly have done).

According to Murad, water activates bio-enzymes in the powder that digest oil, dirt and dead skin cells, while dissolving beads then smooth and soften the skin.

Wait — did she just say that it digests oil, dirt and dead skin cells?

Yes, she did.

Eww…

But it works!

The exfoliation is slightly more aggressive than the AmorePacific Treatment Enzyme Peel I usually use, but I wouldn’t call it scratchy or irritating, by any means. It’s still pretty gentle.

A couple of rand-o pimples popped up near my hairline last week, and Dual-Action Cleanser & Exfoliator seems to be helping.

It’s available now for $30 online, and at Sephora and Ulta.

I’d Like to Make a Toast to Topshop’s $10 Deep Bordeaux Lip Bullet in Wine Gum

September 22nd, 2014 by Karen 17 Comments

AAAH! Finally. A matte lipstick that doesn’t leave my lips feeling like I just finished the Iron Man Triathlon. I’ve been looking for an affordable deep bordeaux shade with a matte finish to wear with my button-up plaid shirts and vintage plastic choker necklaces from the ’90s (you know I’m kidding about the necklaces, right?!), and Topshop’s $10 Lip Bullet in Wine Gum is filling my heart-shaped box to the brim.

Three things: one, I like this product’s name. Wine Gum. That’s just neat to me. 🙂

Second, I like the way Wine Gum feels and works. The moisturizing, super pigmented formula (unscented and unflavored) starts off with a hint of shine, then dries down to a flat matte before eventually transitioning into a matte stain.

Third, I like the price. It’s only $10.

Oh, and I also think the crayon packaging is hella cute.

If you aren’t able to find Wine Gum online, check Topshop or Nordstrom, if you’re so inclined. Topshop also has these Lip Bullets in other colors, too, like fun oranges and reds, and I have spotted those shades available online at nordstrom.com for $10.

How Kohl! It’s Topshop Kohl Pencil in Sable

September 19th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

Because sometimes you just need a soft, smokey brown kohl to wear on your lash and water lines, you know? — one that isn’t too red or gray and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Kohl Pencil in Sable by Topshop is just $8! It’s a kohl, so it’s not that long lasting. I do have to reapply every 4-5 hours or so, but it’s gloriously smooth and smudgy.

It’s available now online and at Topshop and Nordstrom stores.

Play Up Your Cheekbones With Topshop Glow Stick in Play Up

September 18th, 2014 by Karen 6 Comments

There’s a delicate quality to Topshop’s Glow Stick in Play Up ($15) that speaks to the part of me that loves a soft, subtle highlight.

Then there’s another part of me that instantly pictures a sea of sweaty people with glow sticks bouncing up and down in rhythm to a heavy bass beat in a secluded warehouse, but I digress…

Play Up might be too nuanced for you if you like your shimmer to shout from the rooftops (if that’s the case, might I suggest Aura over at Urban Decay?), but I’m digging its golden champagne sheen, which reminds me a little of Hourglass Ambient Powder in Luminous Light.

If you’d like to play up your upper cheekbones with Play Up, make a play date to visit your nearby Topshop store, Nordstrom, or check it out online.

Never Forget You Are Loved

September 17th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

Just a gentle reminder in case you needed one. 🙂

I saw this piece of canvas wall art for $14.99 at TJ Maxx last weekend and couldn’t resist. I’m going to hang it in my kitchen so El Hub and Tabs (and any other poor soul who’s subject to my questionable cooking) can see it when they pass through.

I feel like the kitchen is the center, the heart of our house, so it belongs there.

My Latest Red Lip Love: Covergirl Outlast All-Day Lipcolor in Blushing Berry With LipPerfection Lip Liner in Passion

September 16th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

I’ve been jonesin’ for a new red lip look, and this new combo by Covergirl hits the spot.

First, I line and fill in my lips with neutral red LipPerfection Lip Liner in Passion ($6.74). Next, I add a layer of metallic reddish berry Outlast All-Day Lip Color in Beaming Berry ($9.99) directly on top. Then, for extra shine, I top it all off with the clear topcoat that comes with Outlast All-Day.

Feels very Christmassy, doesn’t it? I’m gonna keep this one in the mental makeup Rolodex for the holidays.

From the left: Passion, Beaming Berry, Clear Topcoat

When You Walk Into Ulta for One Thing…

September 15th, 2014 by Karen 28 Comments

…and you walk out with a bag full of things you have deemed “necessities.”

The plan was to run in, grab cotton swabs, and run out.

I actually go through these things pretty fast. I use them to blend the edges of my eye makeup (especially liner on my bottom lash line), to apply lash glue to false lashes (I break them in half and use one of the broken ends without the cotton swab), to fix the edges of my lipstick…so many things.

Since I was already there at Ulta, I figured I might as well pick up a few other things I was also running low on…

And then came the other “Ah, might as well!” purchases, like a 1-inch barrel curling iron, which I’ve wanted for a while to do tighter curls…

And these false lashes by Eyelure, which were buy one, get one 50% off…

And one NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk (I like these as a base for bright eyeshadow).

Yup, I’ll be right in and out! Just gotta grab one thing. That’s what I always say…

NARCISO Eau de Parfum by Narciso Rodriguez

September 12th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

NARCISO Eau de Parfum by Narciso Rodriguez

For reasons I don’t understand but am not totally surprised by, I keep calling this new fragrance by designer Narciso Rodriguez, “NAR-SISCO,” as in the Thong Song Sisqo.

Don’t know why…since it’s about a million degrees of separation from shaking butts in booty floss, but sometimes things happen that we aren’t meant to understand. 🙂

I’ve been wearing it all week long (the eau de parfum, not the booty floss), even though its cedar, amber and musk notes make it seem a little warm for the late summer heat wave we’ve been having, and the gardenia and Bulgarian rose notes give it another level of creaminess that would probably make the scent better suited for chunky knit sweaters and knee-high boots. A splash of vetiver keeps it from being too hot and heavy, though, which is nice.

You can find NARCISO Eau de Parfum ($95 for a 1.6-oz. bottle and $112 for a 3-oz. bottle), Scented Body Lotion ($54 for a 6.7-oz. bottle) and Musc Oil Parfum ($155 for 1.6-oz.) now exclusively at Bloomingdale’s stores and online.