I haven’t been sleeping through the night lately, and by “lately” I mean for the past two weeks, which was approximately when Tabs started his new workout regimen where he does wind sprints up and down the stairs beginning at the witching hour, and Connor started having dreams that wake her up in the middle of the night. (Last night she woke up saying, “Mama, NO! Those are my bubbles. MY BUBBLES!”)
The routine has gone something like this: After I’ve comforted all of the little animals, I crawl back into bed and lie there for an hour or two with my gumbo stew of thoughts.
Among last night’s ponderings…
- Is it possible to make a gluten-free roux for a white sauce?
- If all of your teeth were pointy, could you still eat Popsicles?
- When was the last time I wore winged liner?
I have a pretty good memory for makeup-related tidbits, like what lip liner I wore with Clinique Black Honey circa 1994 (it was Wet ‘n’ Wild 666, which is still around!), so to NOT remember when I wore winged liner last is a minor tragedy in my book, which is why I busted them out today with a mix of products, old and new…
PYT No BS Eyeshadow Palette ($28)
Ooh, can’t say enough about this cool-toned palette with its eight neutral powder eyeshadows. Whether you’ve taken a two-year hiatus from serious blending (LIKE ME), or you’ve just started experimenting with making windshield wiper motions, these buttery powders will make your crease work look like you can blend in your sleep. The shadows combine the fineness of NARS eyeshadows with the softness and smoothness of Dior, and they feel much higher end than $28 to me.
For my wings today, first I lined my upper lash line with a black pencil liner to sketch out the wings, and then I dipped an angled brush into the matte dark brown and layered directly on top to set the pencil and soften the color just a touch.
I like this layering technique of dark brown eyeshadow on top of black liner for daytime winged liner because I think it’s approachable and not as high drama as, like, a shiny, super sharp black liquid wing.
Louise Young LY38B Tapered Shadow Brush (£15.00, or about $20 US)
This is a must if you have hooded lids, or if you can’t find your crease no matter how hard you try. It’s a soft, super skinny tapered crease brush — the thinnest one I have (it’s even thinner than the epic MAC 221) — so it precisely places crease color.
Granted, you could also use a dense pencil brush, but I find that pencil brush tips deposit too much shadow, and it’s really hard to blend the edges when you’ve got a bunch of excess dark black or brown shadow hanging out on your lids. I prefer fluffy, thin brushes like LY38B because you get the same precision, but since they’re fluffy, they don’t apply as much eyeshadow, so it’s so much easier to buff out the edges.
Currently, this brush is a little hard to find in the US, but it’s on the Louise Young website, which ships internationally if you’re interested.
TIP: Do your winged liner first, and then apply your crease color with the LY38B, because it’s easier to figure out where to place your crease color when you already know how far out and up your wings are going.
Q-tips Cotton Swabs Precision Tips ($3)
OK, so maybe I’m way too easily amused, but I love that moment when I take one of these pointed tips (which I soak in makeup remover first) and run it along the bottom edge of my wing to sharpen it. This is the easiest way to correct wonky wings!
Makeup worn in the rest of this look
- Base: Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup in Honey Bronze, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Golden, Estée Lauder Double Wear Custom Coverage Correcting Duo, NARS Dolce Vita Blush
- Lips: Chanel Jumbo Longwear Matte Lip Crayon in 257 Discretion, Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in 764
- Eyes: NARS Brow Perfector in Atacama, Chanel Longwear Eyeshadow Primer, Cargo black pencil liner, Covergirl Flourish Mascara, NYX Faux Whites Inner Eye Brightener in Honey Dew
Tell me your 3 a.m. thoughts, babe.
I hope they involve either winged liner, Idris Elba or, heck, a combination of both!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I was just looking up Gluten Free Roux too! I found a few recipes on Pinterest a few ready made on Amazon!
Also that palette is legit. I need it.
Ooh, thanks for the tip on Amazon. I’ll look there.
Girl, gorgeous as always. My 3 am thought is what I’ve gotta ask you (and your friendly readers!), have you tried The Anastasia Norvina palette? Debating between that or Naked 3. I live in Maine so trying to figure out which is the most fun and wearable one since our trendy style here is just a lot of flannels. I also have UD Backtalk so I’m trying to factor that in too!
I’m also pretty sure my kitties do the zoomies or laps at 4 am because I always wake up to more toys around my bed than when I went to bed. Super fun when they’re furry and it’s dark and you step on it going to the bathroom and think you just broke your fur baby!
Hi Jade,
I haven’t tried the Norvina palette however I have worn Naked 3. I like Naked 3, but don’t reach for it nearly as much as Naked Basics (which I use even more than the original Naked). Norvina looks pretty though. The purples look fun! If anyone else can weigh in on this that would be lovely. 🙂
How many kitties do you have? And do they do the zoomies on your bed on top of your head like Tabs did last night (OMG!)?
Thanks Karen! I do love my Naked Basics, but wanted something more fun but still wearable.
I’ve got two kitties, and they don’t typically start and end laps on the bed but occasionally they drop their toys up on the bed like heyyyyy if you’re bored. The good thing about two is they play together!
Oh, totally. I mean… I’m kinda wanting the Norvina palette now, LOL! If you like Urban Decay there’s a new one coming out in early Sept:
Aww, that’s so cute that your kitties play together! I sometimes wish that Tabs had a kitty friend to bond with but he’s just too much of a thug, LOL!
That looks fun too! So many palettes!!! There’s just something about the Norvina one.
I wish they were more like those cats you see on Instagram that cuddle together but they just play occasionally. Definitely don’t sleep together ever, and they’re siblings. Oh well, still love them?
That’s cool that you were able to keep litter mates together, though. How old are they? I wish I could’ve met Tabs’ momma kitty or his litter mates!
They’re 2. They’re assuming they’re siblings because they were found in a drainage ditch together, but one of them is 16 lbs and the other is 8, but I still say they’re sublings ?
I do wish mine were as well adjusted as Tabs is though, they’re pretty skittish around other people.
Tabs is still pretty chill — the most chill cat I know! I got lucky in that way (he’s my once-in-a-lifetime cat, I already know). He’s great with humans but a thug around other kitties. For a long time I wished that he could have a cat companion but now he has a little sister and for the most part she’s kinda like a cat? LOL!
That’s a HUGE difference in size with your kitties, oh my gosh! What are their names?
Pointy tip cotton swabs the real MVP! Such a lifesaver.
I love that that eyeshadow palette has the base shades HUGE.
They’re a serious unsung hero. I use one at least every day! 😀
2:44 AM
“whispers to self while browsing Sephora site
What to buy, what to buy?!
LOL, Shelpen! That’s the eternal dilemma …
I’m sorry to hear about your sleep deprivation. I have a terrible time functioning if I don’t get enough sleep. Thankfully, I only had trouble sleeping for one short period (aside from when the kids were babies) and that was about a year ago.
I make this GF gravy for our turkey dinner gatherings (the cornstarch method). Tabs would approve. Also, King Arthur is near us so the flour is available for roux. I’ve never tried it, though.
https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/gluten-free-gravy
PS I personally feel you could eat popsicles with NO teeth, so pointy would be no problem. HAHA!
Thank you for the gluten-free gravy recipe. 🙂 I really want to make that roux (got an itch for a chicken casserole) so I’ll look for it today, yay!
Good luck – I hope it’s a success!!!
Have you tried the pointed q-tips that they sell in Sephora? They’re a little bit of a thinner pointier tip. Does that even make sense?? 🙂 Anyway, they are my favorites for cleaning up the wing and any mascara that gets on my lids.
I do have the Norvina palette and it is gorgeous. I honestly didn’t need it but the colors were calling to me on a personal level, ha ha!
Hi Barb,
I haven’t, maybe I’ll pick some up during the sale! 😀
LOVING the winged liner. Your wings are sharp enough to cut the souls of your enemies… just like they should be lol
You’re giving me beauty goals!! I will be trying to recreate this look tomorrow morning for work, and probably the rest of the week.
#karenisabossbabe
Aww, Lacy, thank you! I wish they were sharp enough to do that, ha ha ha! If you feel like it take a pic of your look and send it to me (or if you’re on Instagram, tag me @karenmbb) so I can see it. 🙂
I would have love to send you a shot but alas, I got rid of all social media over 2 years ago 🙂
If anyone knows how to get my paws on this palette DownUnder please let me know!!! No fair that you post such a lovely looking product as such a good price and I can’t get it…waaaahhhhh!!!!!
Hi Debbie,
This brand is new, so you’ll want to contact them to find out if they ship internationally. Here’s the link:
https://www.pytbeauty.com/contact/
Ooops @ such a good price…
Thanks Karen, I’ve sent them an email. I did ask on Insta, but unfortunately no reply (which I absolutely hate!).
Fingers crossed.
I don’t use makeup remover on a q-tip because it will remove my concealer too, and leave an ‘oily’ residue (but, whatever works). But a tip I learned is to use primer on a q-tip 🙂 Or I just use my concealer brush to sharpen my eyeshadow edge 🙂 Just thought I’d share.
Oh speaking of Q-tips. OMG you would not realize how hard it is to clean up a mess of Q-tips! Like daaaayum. My daughter found my Q-tips and dumped them out on the floor. OMG what a pain. Picking up EVERY. LAST. ONE.