Product Reviews

The Pumpkin Spice Must Flow! Another Starbucks #PSL Look With Reviews of the New MAC Studio Fix 24-HR Concealer, Patrick Starrr Boy About Town Kit, and More

September 25th, 2018 by Karen 16 Comments

mat patrick starrr boy about town k — Pumpkin Spice ERRRTHANG

I’m wearing another pumpkin spice latte look today! (More reviews on the key makeup products, all the new things from MAC that are out right now, in just a sec.) But first, my latest Starbucks adventure…

Like I mentioned yesterday, for years I thought the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte was limited to the standard-issue #PSL, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. If you look around, you can find TONS of different versions of the PSL (even healthy-ish ones)! If you’re not into the super sweet OG latte (which, I admit, can be a little much, even for my sweet tooth sometimes), you’ve gotta try this other version from The Macrobarista, which I got earlier today.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte???‍♀️ ~~~~~Approximate Macros~~~~~ Protein: 1.5g/ Carbs: 13g/ Fat: 3g ‼️90 Calories‼️ *with no whip* SUGAR: 10g Fiber: 1g Caffeine: 160mg • Here it is! The oh so awaited HOT pumpkin spice latte! • Don’t be afraid when looking at the ordering instructions! If the store isn’t slammed and you’re polite when ordering, the barista should have no problem fixing up your macro friendly drink! My best advice, show them the picture of the order screen I provide and briefly say why you’re ordering it that way. Or, just use the mobile order screen I’ve provided. • OR, if you’re too intimidated by the instructions.. use my modifications but order this as a latte, keep in mind you’ll double the calories from almond milk. • ◾️◼️The breakdown◼️◾️ Pumpkin Sauce: .5g P/ 10g C Almond Milk: 1g P/ 4g C/ 3g F SF Vanilla: <1g C ( this comes from maltodextrin which the body treats like glucose, so keep that in mind) • ✅HOW TO ORDER✅ 1️⃣Ask for a TALL BLONDE Americano 2️⃣Ask for it in a GRANDE CUP 3️⃣Ask for ONE (1)pump of pumpkin sauce 4️⃣Ask for THREE (3)pumps of sugar free vanilla 5️⃣Ask for STEAMED ALMOND MILK 7️⃣Ask for EXXXXTRA pumpkin spice topping PS.. I only included the whip for the picture! • The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the second best time to plant a tree is today. -Alex☕️

A post shared by Alex Moe (@themacrobarista) on Sep 4, 2018 at 9:42pm PDT

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Pumpkin Spice Everything! A Warm Red, Pink and Bronze Eye Look Using the Urban Decay Elements Palette, MAC Studio Fix Sculpt and Shape, MAC The Blonds Lipstick in Davidblond and The Blonds Magic Dust Powder

September 24th, 2018 by Karen 21 Comments

urban decay elements palette k front — Shout-out to Pumpkin Spice!

How do I feel about Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Hmm… Well, you know how much I like pink drinks, right? They’re delish! — but I don’t pump my fist in the air and say YAAASSS when I get one.

But I do when I get a PSL.

Also, even though I went through an intense green tea latte phase last year, ultimately, I could take or leave ’em. But the Pumpkin Spice Latte. THE PSL! It’s my most favorite drink at Starbucks, and it always has been, from even before I started wearing this tank top 24/7.

urban decay elements palette k side 1 — So Karen, tell me how you REALLY feel.

Despite the forecast calling for 80-degree temps here, I’m bubbling over with PSL excitement! I got the fever bad, so I channeled it into this PSL-inspired makeup look. ? Then, I went to Starbucks and ordered a special version of the PSL based on this recipe from The Macrobarista on Instagram.

He’s a Starbucks barista who makes healthy-ish versions of Starbucks drinks.

He calls this refreshing version the Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte, and it has all the spicy sweetness of the standard PSL, but (according to The Macrobarista) it’s only 90 calories with about 11 grams of sugar.

To make my life easier, I took a screenshot of his “recipe” on my phone and held it up to the cashier at Starbucks so he could type it in. ?

Now, about the makeup, my friend, this was the first “LEWK” I’ve done in a minute (been doing a lot of one shade of taupe on my lids with mascara, NARS Orgasm lip balm, and nothing on my skin). Needless to say, I felt like I was wearing everything and the kitchen sink.

But it was fun, and in the process I found some new things to love.

urban decay elements palette k looking down — When you feel overdone but then you just go with it…

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Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Dermelect Tribeca

September 17th, 2018 by Karen 14 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

As you know, I’m still nursing my slashed Freddy Krueger fingernails from The Great Gel Debacle of 2018 back to health, which is why I’m feeling Dermelect. They’re a line of polishes designed to help heavily damaged, brittle nails.

I haven’t seen or heard a lot about them… I feel like they’ve been on the down-low, but you can find them at Ulta.

Their formula is infused with keratin to strengthen nails, and after spending a week with this gorgeous, foggy lilac gray cream called Tribeca ($14), dare I say that my paws are looking the best they’ve looked in weeks? — especially the tips of my nails. They’re looking much healthier and stronger.

I usually avoid pastel creams because they chip like crazy on my nails (like, seriously, I’ll usually see big chunks missing at the base within a day). Plus — ugh — I’m not into layering the three or sometimes four coats it takes to boost creams up to full opacity. I’d rather spend those precious minutes of my life doing more important and pressing things…like watching people taking baths with their cats and rapping about it.

Tribeca only chipped a bit, and I only needed two coats!

I’m surprised how well it held up over the course of seven days. For the record, I used the same base and top coat I’ve been using throughout the 7 Days series.

It held up even better than my Smith & Cult rose gold glitter mani a few weeks ago, which had been the best performer in the series so far.

Tribeca is a “do” for me. Give it a whirl if you feel like a foggy, moody pastel.

Day 1

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Latest Drugstore Loves! —> Neutrogena Deep Clean Purifying Micellar Cleansing Water and Micellar Cleansing Towelettes

September 14th, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

If you’ve ever donned a smoky eye to go get Baked Cheetos at 10 in the morning, or if you’ve ever “needed” to bust out three tubes of mascara to simply continue living your life, you already know that whatever makeup goes on, must come off, and that’s when micellar cleansers like these two new ones from Neutrogena are handy.

For the uninitiated, micellar cleansers are a type of liquid makeup remover comprised of tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules suspended in soft water, and they’re designed to remove makeup, grit, grime — basically everything, even the hard-to-remove stuff like waterproof mascara. Also key: they work without heavy scrubbing, so they’re gentle.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Purifying Micellar Cleansing Towelettes ($6.99) and Micellar Cleansing Water ($11.99)

Neutrogena’s micellar cleansers work quickly and well. I can completely remove a full face of makeup with one swipe, and I’m talking about a look with all teh things — multiple layers of mascara, highlighter, bronzer, foundation, concealer — and they don’t irritate my skin or my eyes.

They’re so much better than the last drugstore micellar wipes I tried (*ahem* Garnier).

“Neutrogena Deep Clean Purifying Micellar Cleansing Towelettes effectively remove makeup while gently cleansing and purifying skin. These gentle, ultra-soft face wipes provide a deep clean by targeting 100% of impurities, leaving skin feeling soft and refreshed. The pre-moistened cleansing towelettes purify and revitalize skin. The formula is powered by Triple Micellar Technology which combines three gentle cleansers that work together to help remove even the toughest makeup, effectively cleanse, and purify skin without being harsh. Neutrogena Deep Clean Purifying Micellar Cleansing Towelettes require no rinsing and are non-comedogenic and oil- and alcohol-free.”

— neutrogena.com

Although…I’d still exercise caution if you’re thinking about removing the eyeliner on your water line with one of the wipes because IMO they’re kinda scratchy for such a delicate area. Instead, I soak a soft cotton pad (I highly recommend the ones from Shiseido) with the Micellar Water, which removes my eye makeup just as well (even waterproof mascara, liquid and gel liners, and other long-lasting stuff).

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Chanel La Base Ombre À Paupière Longwear Eyeshadow Primer Is the Ace of Base

September 12th, 2018 by Karen 7 Comments

chanel longwear eyeshadow primer — Before, and after eight hours, wearing Chanel Longwear Eyeshadow Primer as a base. (BTW, that’s the PYT Beauty “No BS” palette on my lids.)

Let me begin this by saying that I’ve been skipping eyeshadow primer for months.

I just haven’t been using it.

It was just another step, ya know? And I felt like I could forgo it because it was incompatible with my quest for extreme makeup minimalism (as defined by a person who carries at least five nude lipsticks in her purse at all times).

Basically, it wasn’t like I needed my eye makeup to impress anyone for hella hours anyway. It’s not like Tabs and Connor point out when my crease color is fading into oblivion (thankfully), but with the Coywolf in preschool now, I want to start doing different things with my makeup again.

Mostly, I wanna wear brown smoky eyes and red lips again. 🙂 But I refuse to subject you to patchy lids, so I’d like an eye primer, but I want one that has all the bells and whistles.

Like this one from Chanel.

$32 Chanel La Base Ombre À Paupière Longwear Eyeshadow Primer

This untinted eyeshadow primer swept me off my ~~feet~~ cat Vans!

Granted, it’s not like applying eye primer is difficult, but it’s definitely easier than usual with this one because of its smooth consistency.

La Base is “wetter” than primers from NARS and Urban Decay, but it lasts just as long. Using it is like applying an eye cream, and I think it’s just easier and faster for me to use than other primers from the big dawgs.

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Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With OPI Chills Are Multiplying!

September 10th, 2018 by Karen 18 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

Life lesson learned last week: the greatest threat to your manicure isn’t washing dishes, or lifting heavy weights at the gym, or pounding at the keyboard like you’ve just inhaled 12 cups of coffee. The greatest threat to your manicure — the threat that spells almost certain doom — is being distracted while waxing your upper lip at home.

From this, there is almost no going back.

A minor moment of shock

Because, friend, as I smoothed some Bliss blue wax onto the forest that is my upper lip, then stared at myself in the mirror in shock and thought, “Holy sh*t, I look exactly like my brother with a blue mustache,” I momentarily misplaced that little plastic waxing wand thingamabob you use to spread the wax on your skin and accidentally sprinkled big, hot blobs of wax onto the nails on my left hand.

WHOOPS!

Just a few chunks…

But not all was lost. After recovering from the initial shock (I’ve been waxing for years and never had this happen before. Distracted waxing is dangerous, people!), I waited for the wax to dry, massaged some of the oil that comes with the kit on my nails to loosen the wax up, and carefully peeled it off.

Unfortunately, a few chunks of my polish peeled off, too…

Frankly, I’m surprised any of the polish remained because that wax removes *everything*.

Du-ra-ble!

To make a long story even longer, all of this happened on day five of this dark blue OPI manicure. Through then, it was chugging along remarkably well. Better than average, for sure! A lot of people say that OPI lasts a really long time. Well, they aren’t joking.

Like I’ve done in my last couple of “7 Days” nail polish experiments, I used Smith & Cult’s base coat and top coat, along with two layers of polish, in this case OPI Chills Are Multiplying ($10.50).

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Lipglossing Like It’s 1999

September 7th, 2018 by Karen 4 Comments

It’s funny to me when all ’90s makeup gets lumped together into a single category. Like, for lips it’s the ’90s matte lip look, and trust your homegirl when she says that everyone did not wear matte lips throughout the entire decade of the ’90s.

(Well, a lot of people did, but not everyone.)

You also had different sub-eras, like the late ’90s — circa 1997-1998 — when everybody (at least everybody I knew who wore makeup) wore dark, unblended lip liner, frosty silver lipstick and clear lipgloss.

Then you had 1999, 2000 and 2001, when it was all about glossy, frosty lips, which reminds me…remember when everyone and their mother was carrying a tube MAC Oystergirl?

Yeah, you know what’s up. 😉

I’m getting that ’99 vibe so hard from these non-sticky MAC Grand Illusion Glossy Liquid Lip Colour lipglosses, which are $21 each and hella pigmented.

mac goldieloxxed — Goldieloxxed (this shade reminds me an amped up MAC Nymphette)

Ah, they’re taking me back…especially It’s Just Candy! It reminds me of my early 20s when I rocked MAC Lychee Luxe to da club.

Da club… Oh, my gosh, I feel so ridiculous saying that. Like, when do you get to that point where you just sound silly using slang? It doesn’t happen overnight… It’s a slow burn kinda thing, ha ha ha.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Makeup Heroes: NARS Dolce Vita Blush

September 6th, 2018 by Karen 13 Comments

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Anyone who’s ever rocked a fall berry or red lip *and meant it* should own NARS Dolce Vita Blush. I started wearing it years ago to go with Dolce Vita Lipstick (that classic NARS reddish brown pink), but along the way I found out that it also ROCKS the heck out of other opaque, intense fall lipsticks, especially berries and brownish reds (but also chocolate browns and plums, too).

One swipe — literally, just one! — across the pan, and then buffed gently on my cheeks, and I look MUCH more awake. It also perfectly balances with whatever matte or satiny fall color I have on my lips without competing with whatever I have on the rest of my face (yup, even smoky eyes).

Plus, you can skip highlighter with it if you want, since Dolce Vita has a touch of sheen. Just a touch, though, so tell your pores to chill. They’ll be alright. 😉

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen