Face of the Day (FOTD)

Look Book: Save Time With Big Lashes and Bold Lips

December 23rd, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick in Melted StrawberryToo Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick in Melted Strawberry — When you’re trying to look cute but your hair is crazytown

Big lashes + bold lips = a purr-fect pairing! The combo is one of the fastest ways to get a dramatic makeup look without using a ton of different products.

There are times when “I’ll be done with my makeup in 20 minutes” really has to mean 20 minutes…and not 45, and in order to prevent El Hub from yelling things like, “You said you’d be done in 20 minutes an hour ago!” I’ll pop on the biggest, fluffiest, most dramatic pair of false lashes I can find (I keep a few pairs around because you just never know) and a bold lip color — usually a fiery red, hot pink or colorful coral (basically, if it’s a color that could stop traffic, it’s a contender).

I love doing this look because it’s so much quicker than looks with intense and complicated blending on the lids or dramatic winged liner, and I can play up both my lips and eyes with minimal effort.

Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes and Too Face Melted Liquified Lipstick in Strawberry — Katy Perry Color Pop Lashes ($10) and Too Face Melted Liquified Lipstick in Strawberry ($21)

Melted Liquified Lipstick in Melted Strawberry is one of several new Melted Lipstick shades available now at Too Faced counters and online for $21 each. Melted Strawberry’s a smooth, lightweight full-coverage creamy red. When I use it, I prep my lips first with a lip balm because these lipsticks can be kind of drying, and then I apply it with a lip brush to get a nice crisp edge.

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10 Reasons to Rock Smokey Purple Eyes (and Pics of the New Purple MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Leap From the MAC Lightness of Being Collection)

December 19th, 2014 by Karen 24 Comments

10 reasons to rock smokey purple eyes…

Because you’re on day three of “third day hair,” and your roots feel hella janky, and you really need to feel glamorous despite this.
Any excuse to bust out MAC Sketch. Any. Excuse.
Because purple smokey eyes are a temporary distraction from the chaos that is happening around your eyebrows. Note to self: schedule time for some TLC with those fussy, fuzzy little caterpillars.
Purple is the color of royalty, and what better way to stake your claim as Queen of the Crazy Cat Ladies?
Because, hello! — rainy days and Prince songs. *Cues Purple Rain*
Because it’s long past time to pay homage to one of the greatest MAC trifectas of purple power — Bamboo, Saddle and Shroom.
Because it’s been a minute since you’ve done black cat liner, which is a perishable skill. Use it or lose it, yo!
Because scientific studies prove that the best eye makeup to wear while gorging on Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Stars is smokey purple eyes… OK, not really, but in my mind this is true.
Because heaven forbid you go to HomeGoods for the fourth time this week without at least a little makeup on.
Because you never know when the urge to go dancing will hit! Preparedness is key! 🙂

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A Friday Face of the Day With the MAC Lightness of Being Collection: Brown Eyes, Peach Cheeks and Peach Lips

December 19th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

A million thank yous, MAC Lightness of Being, for lightening my metaphorical makeup load and reminding me that I don’t actually need six separate pans of eyeshadow up in the mix to have fun.

Look for the 29-piece MAC Lightness of Being collection online at maccosmetics.com starting Dec. 23, 2014, and in stores Dec. 26, 2014, through Feb. 6, 2015.

GIRL, you know how it goes. Sometimes I just get so caught up in the process (Why, yes! That third transition shade in the crease is a perfectly sane idea!) that I forget that uncomplicated makeup can be just as much fun.

The more I play with this collection (also got some swatches here), the more I see the point of these pastel shades.

Since the values don’t vary that much from each other, I find that I’m not having to spend forever and a day blending them together.

And to quote the great Tony the Tiger, that’s grrrrrreat!

The shimmery finishes have also been pretty agreeable. The frosts and pearls haven’t needed as much blending and babying as mattes often do.

For this look here, I’m only using two shadows, one of them, shimmery brown Mineralize Eye Shadow in Force of Nature, from the collection, and the other a permanent collection fave.

MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Force of Nature — Mineralize Eye Shadow in Force of Nature, a shimmery brown with a half pearl/half frost finish ($22)

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Satiny Lids, Red Lips and Soft Black Cat Liner: A Friday Face of the Day With the NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette

December 12th, 2014 by Karen 37 Comments

The sun is out there…

Somewhere…

It’s out there somewhere behind the oppressive soup of (now) light gray clouds over our little hill here in Novato, but at least it isn’t raining! 🙂 By no means am I hanging out on the deck in a pair of booty shorts and drinking a margarita or anything, but it looks like Stormageddon 2014 has at least temporarily paused.

Compared to yesterday’s monsoon, the current minor gloom is welcome. I also tried to inject a little more brightness into the vicinity with my makeup, a glowing neutral lid with soft black cat eyeliner and a bright red lip.

I started this look with the new NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette ($79, coming to NARS Boutiques and the NARS website January 1, 2015; on counters February 1)…and I apologize in advance if I blabber and ramble when I talk about it because it drives me wild (I’m also thinking that the lines on the pans are hypnotic).

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Red Lids and Lips on a Tuesday Afternoon: A MAC Red, Red, Red Collection Face of the Day

December 9th, 2014 by Karen 28 Comments

MAC Red Red Red collection on my lids and lips — Wearing the new MAC Red, Red, Red Collection on my lids and lips

Holy kitty cats, Batman! That’s a lot of red.

I suppose I could’ve toned it down, but after vexing over the pan of matte red eyeshadow in the new MAC Red, Red, Red Collection (complete with furrowed brows) and trying to think of a way to make it seem less…terrifying? All I could come up with is “YOLO!”

So I went for it.

I’m wearing three things from the collection today, which, by the way, is available now online (got some swatches right here) — Strike While Haute (the matte red eyeshadow), 5-Alarm Fire (the soft orangey red lipstick) and Night is Young (the bright red creamy gloss).

MAC Matte Eye Shadow in Strike While Haute ($16)

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A MAC Red, Red, Red Collection Cardinal Concoction of Cosmetological Creativity (aka Face of the Day)

December 5th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

Like the hulking, crazy-eyed dog next door that barks and pulls at its leash when it crosses your path, or the mean girl bully in second grade who corners you in the girl’s bathroom at recess, red eyeshadow can sense your fear…

Today I fully intended to put MAC’s Strike While Haute matte red eyeshadow from the Red Red Red collection to good use, but then I chickened out…

It’s just so dang red, homie!

Eventually, I think I’ll be able to psych myself up to try it. I just need a couple more days to build up the courage. I keep hearing that it can look amazing on lids when done right…

Of course, it’s that last part — “when done right” — that has me a little nervous, LOL!

Instead, for my makeup today, I ended up using some other pieces from MAC’s new crimson collection — pearlescent pink champagne Lustre Eye Shadow in Give Me Fire (watch out for the fallout with this one ’cause it’s kinda fluffy) and reddish copper Red Alert (beautifully pigmented and looks great with warmer browns like MAC Texture). Then, I added a flashy pair of falsies with longer lashes at the outer corners for extra lift. Eyelure’s No. 121s.

For cheeks and lips, I went with soft pink tones — soft rose Casual Color in Red Obsessed, which I stippled on the apples of my cheeks with a skunk brush, and grapefruit pink Lustre Lipstick in See Sheer, topped with Cremesheen Glass in Meteoric. Both are also from the Red Red Red collection, which is available now in-stores and online (through January 15).

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Lids, Liner, Lashes, Lips: A Face of the Day With the New Tom Ford Holiday 2014 Collection

November 5th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

The holidays are coming! — and like the Terminator, they can’t be stopped. Or bargained with. Like a festive freight train, they’re a-comin’, ready or not!

With so much to do and fewer daylight hours during the day, every minute is precious. Right now I’m in a phase where the idea of blending three different eyeshadows into my crease (normally a totally sane thing to do) seems impractical, like I’m just burning daylight.

I suppose I could top putting on makeup entirely…

Yeah, right! Haha! Had you going there for a minute, didn’t I? 🙂

But seriously, I have been focussing on quicker looks lately, like this one, which I call “Lids, Liner, Lashes, Lips.”

It’s pretty simple — a single shimmery cream eyeshadow on my lids, black eyeliner, mascara, a bold matte lipstick and a hint of blush and highlighter on my cheeks.

Not too involved, but I think it still makes an impact.

The two focal points are the eyes and lips.

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Gold and Brown Cat Eyes With a Pop of Pink Eyeshadow: My Face of the Day With the New Shupette By Karl Lagerfeld Shu Uemura Holiday Collection

October 21st, 2014 by Karen 24 Comments

Hey, man, if you’re going to hobble around your condo at or near the speed of molasses, you may as well do it in style, and by style, I mean wearing a brown cat eye with a berry lip. 🙂

A funny thing happened in the half marathon the other day. Going up and down those San Francisco hills, my quads went completely ham.

Now I can’t go down the stairs!

Well, I can…but it takes me forever, and I almost fall every time. I can go up the stairs just fine, which is weird, but going down is a struggle.

So when the FedEx guy, who on an unrelated note is a dead-ringer for Paul Giamatti, rang the doorbell earlier today and I tried to make it downstairs, I almost didn’t.

All I could think as I desperately clung to the railing was, “Please! If I fall right now, let Paul Giamatti hear my cries and come to my aid, and if he does, please don’t have him judge me because I have chocolate in my teeth and I’m not wearing any makeup.”

Thankfully, I didn’t tumble (knocks on wood!), and I’ve figured out that if I slowly descend the stairs going backwards, I can make it to the bottom in one piece.

So, yeah. If you need me, I’ll probably be on the stairs walking backwards hella slowly. 🙂

After Paul left I actually did finish my makeup for the day… I’m wearing products from the new Shupette (SHU-PETTE!) collection in a brown cat eye liner look with gold and pink eyeshadow on my lids, pink cheeks and berry lips.

Now, I know that pink eyeshadow can be a little scary if you’re not used to it, because it can make you look like you’ve been crying and/or have just been bitten by something supernatural (vampire, werewolf, zombie, take your pick), but it can be very flattering and almost function like a neutral if you pick a middle-of-the-road pink that isn’t too pastel or bright, like the shimmery, mid-toned pink I’m wearing here, and you “frame it” (a term I just made up in my head) with neutrals.

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