Just For Fun

Because every gal needs an endless supply of my-lips-but-better shades! I say we pool our collective knowledge today to build a list of great go-to nude lip possibilities.

You gotta wear something with smokey eyes this season, right? 🙂

Here are the nude lip colors I’ve reached for most this fall…

• Tom Ford Sable Smoke: It’s pricey, as all of Tom’s products are, but whoa, baby! It could be the world’s most perfect peachy nude beige. Also very pretty on pigmented lips.
• Too Faced Spice Spice Baby: A dark, moisturizing pink nude that also works well with pigmented lips. I reach for it when my lips are extra dry…which lately has been pretty much all the time, thanks to the heater being on again.
• MAC Big Baby: No exaggeration, but I’ve probably gone through three tubes of this fantastically flexible pink nude gloss over the past year. I think it goes great with warm- and cool-toned eye looks.

How about you? What are your go-to nude lip products these days?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!!!

Mine are still p@ssed off at me about the ’90s, LOL!

I ran into a makeup buddy at Sephora last week, and what did we end up talking about?

Brows. 🙂 Of course, hers looked perfect — all lush, full and meticulously trimmed.

I asked her about them, and she said it took her “a whole month” to grow them out.

Cat lady says what now…?

A whole month? Gee, I’ve been growing mine out since May, as in five months ago, and I still feel like they could be even fuller. Sure, Raul, the notorious bald spot on my left brow (curse you, Raul!) isn’t as obvious as he was last spring, but it ain’t exactly like Brooke Shields up in there, if you know what I mean.

I blame it on the ’90s, otherwise known as the decade when I almost plucked my brows into oblivion. I look back on it now as one those unfortunate beauty lessons I guess I had to learn the hard way.

Yup, big sigh…

How about you? Are you happy with your brows right now? Are you growing them out or doing anything else with them? Or are they already thick, wild and jungly, and in desperate need of a thread/wax/trim? Inquiring minds want to know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. If you and your brows are looking for ideas, there were some fantastic tips in the comments on this post earlier this month: What Are Some of Your Best Brow Tips?

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past six years. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. What makeup brand has the prettiest packaging?
   I really like Hourglass. I just think they’re sleek and modern. I love the shape of their compacts and glosses, and the lipstick cases — the design of the lipstick cases. Oh, I also love their logo.

   I like Burberry, too, for similar reasons.

   I also have to throw in one more — Benefit. They’re always so quirky and fun, and you just never know what they’ll come up with.

2. Do you ever travel for business?
   I do. They’re usually whirlwind trips, though, like fly in, fly out. Not a lot of time to play.
3. What accessories are you wearing (jewelry, hats, scarves, belts, anything else)?
   My wedding ring, my engagement ring, a dainty pair of diamond-stud earrings that I got for my birthday, and a silver plumeria pendant necklace.
4. What’s the wackiest piece of clothing you own?
   Oh, boy! I have this crazy black and white faux fur crop-top jacket from bebe that I got back in 2001, I think, and I can’t bring myself to get rid of it.

   It’s freaking nuts! When I wear it, I look like a missing member of the Village People, but I absolutely love it.

5. How often do you do eye looks involving more than one eyeshadow?
   Pretty often. I’d say 4-5 times a week.
6. Is there any kind of nail polish you won’t wear (textured, glitter, matte, other)?
   Well, with my fingernails, it’s basically a free-for-all, but I don’t like textured polishes on my toes. It freaks me out for some reason.
7. Who’s your favorite artist (visual, music or other)?
   I don’t know if I can answer this one in less than 200 words, but rattled off the top of my head, The Beatles, Madonna, Bonnie Raitt, Matisse, Monet, Renoir.

   I could go on…

8. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
   Leaving home for college was pretty tough because I didn’t have any friends with me — any close friends — and I lived a very sheltered life through childhood and my teenage years. I didn’t have my support structure.
9. Have you ever done an ombre lip?
   Yup, all the time. I like ’em subtle. I do them a lot with darker berries into reds.
10. On a scale of 1-10, what’s your personal makeup style (1 being no-makeup makeup, 10 being full-on divalicious drag queen)?
    7.75 🙂

Now it’s your turn. Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em! 🙂

1. What makeup brand has the prettiest packaging?
2. Do you ever travel for business?
3. What accessories are you wearing (jewelry, hats, scarves, belts, anything else)?
4. What’s the wackiest piece of clothing you own?
5. How often do you do eye looks involving more than one eyeshadow?
6. Is there any kind of nail polish you won’t wear (textured, glitter, matte, other)?
7. Who’s your favorite artist (visual, music or other)?
8. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
9. Have you ever done an ombre lip?
10. On a scale of 1-10, what’s your personal makeup style (1 being no-makeup makeup, 10 being full-on divalicious drag queen)?

Rise and shine, morning glory! It’s gonna be a wonderful day.

I got to relax a little on Saturday, which was glorious. Watched some TV, Tivo’d a bunch of Million Dollar Listing L.A. episodes on Bravo, went to the mall and met my friend Courtney, who works as a makeup artist for YSL, and got my makeup done. She did a sparkly gold, brown and khaki smoky eye (of course, I forgot to take a picture) and picked up a foundation from YSL I’ve been meaning to try, Le Teint Touche Éclat.

I’ve heard good things about it, and I liked how it felt on my skin. Actually, it didn’t really feel like anything at all, which is good.

We’ll see… I’ll keep you posted. Fingers crossed that it works as well as I’ve heard.

In other news, have a good one today. Let me know how you’re doing in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Did you watch The Walking Dead?? What’d you think?

Ah, the burning questions that keep me up at night…

After much tossing and turning, I’ve decided that it would definitely be harder to give up makeup.

I mean, I am absolutely, positively nuts about having my toenails polished. In fact, I don’t think I’ve left the house with unpainted toes since high school (’cause when my long toes are naked, I look like I have monkey feet!), so that would not be an easy habit to break…but giving up concealer, brow filler and gloss would be even tougher.

What about you? Which would be harder to give up — makeup or nail polish?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I’ve been on a drugstore makeup tear lately, and I’m curious — what budget makeup products do you absolutely swear by? Is there a line of drugstore foundation you love? A particular brand/shade of lipstick you’ll always go out of your way for? An eyeshadow, waterproof mascara or liquid liner?

Let me know. Spill the beans in the comments. What are your most reliable, gotta-get-it drugstore makeup products?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. How’s it going? 🙂

P.P.S. Not drugstore related, but if you’re an MBB reader in NYC, Illamasqua’s Creative Director, Alex Box, will be at the 59th Street Bloomingdale’s today from 6:30-8:00 p.m. to celebrate the launch of the brand at the store. She’ll be doing live beauty demonstrations, so it’ll be a great opportunity to watch her work some serious makeup magic. How cool is that?! Wish I could be there, but Tabs wouldn’t give me the time off…

Quick, don’t over-think it! List three things you absolutely, positively love about makeup.

Here’s mine…

1. I love how the littlest things — like a lipstick or gloss, or painting my nails — can totally improve my mood. When I’m having a cranky morning, I know that if I wash my face, do my hair and put on minimal makeup (maybe brows, mascara, concealer and blush), I’ll feel about a million times better. It’s almost guaranteed.
2. Unlike that pair of size 0 jeans I wore when I was 19 but can no longer squeeze into, makeup always fits. I might be bloated on any given day, but it doesn’t mean a thing to that tube of MAC Russian Red. GAWD, I love that!
3. Makeup brings people together. Corny? Yes! But it’s true! I’ve made and met so many friends at Sephora stores and makeup counters — friendships started over conversations about something as mundane as blush. Regular life is complicated enough as it is… Thank goodness for simple pleasures like blush. 🙂

What about you? What do you absolutely, positively love about makeup?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen