Happy Caturday, my darling! I hope you’re having a wonderful morning so far, and I hope you’re feeling refreshed and ready for a fun weekend.
It’s a lovely day here in Northern California. Nothing but blue sky from rolling hills to rolling hills. It looks like it’s gonna be a hot one, too, which is why I have my hair in a Dutch braid.
GURL, I’ve been all about the Dutch braid lately.
It’s basically an inverted French braid, where instead of pulling the hairs over when you braid, you pull them under so the braid kind of pops out, and you can make it, like, all poofy-looking and larger than life if you loosen up the hairs after you tie the end, which has the added benefit of not giving me a throbbing headache like some tightly braided styles can.
I love the whole messy braid trend… I rue the day if/when they go out of style, because this one here took me less than five minutes, and I was able to do it without having to look in a mirror!
WHAT?! Yes.
I also rue the day when big, bushy eyebrows go out of style because it took me forever and a day to grow mine out. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time…
Wow, it’s already getting hot here, and it’s not even 8:30. I guess it’s appropriate that I’m wearing the $45 limited edition NARS Long Hot Summer Eyeshadow Palette.
Isn’t it a cutie pie? Six powder eyeshadows — a beige, a taupe, two coppers, a deep brown and a beautiful light gray — and it fits in the palm of my hand. The top row has some cooler-toned neutrals, and the bottom row has warmer tones.
I’ve been wearing the palette all week long, and it gets extra points for not taking up much space in my already overloaded makeup bag. It should be a great travel companion if I take any trips this summer.
Speaking of trips, I gotta get on that. I’m thinking, though, that it might be too hard to travel with a baby. I dunno… Moms, give me your thoughts on that.
I also like that the palette has a nice mix of cool and warm tones, because you know how it goes with some neutral palettes. You either get warm or cool tones. You don’t always get both.
These shadows also start off all punchy and pigmented but fade in a beautiful way throughout the day. In the case of the shimmery shades, they glisten more toward the end of the day, getting to where you look like you’ve been dancing in the front row at a music festival for three straight hours.
It’s pretty cool.
In other news, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m super obsessed with this freakin’ Justin Bieber video for his song Sorry.
OK, did I just say that out loud? Admittedly, I’m not the biggest JB fan, but I’m not extremely familiar with his work, and I know that he’s gotten into trouble a few times.
But whatever. I heard this song on the radio and had to look it up online. The choreography is so much fun! There’s so much booty shaking and hip swaying — I freakin’ love it! Oh, my gosh, I haven’t taken a dance class in years, but it’s making me want to dance again.
Plus, there are several girls in the video wearing those ’90s contruction boots that I rocked back in the day.
I wonder whatever happened to those boots… I think I gave them away? I wore them every day for like two years. I remember that my feet were always hella hot in them, and my arches hurt like a mother, LOL!
Oh, remember how I went on and on last week about how happy I was to be getting back into painting my nails? Well, I painted them again! Yes! Small victories. 🙂 I’m wearing long-lasting Smith & Cult Faunteleroy ($18), a light, creamy lilac. You can see it here in this random picture with my Mrs. Meyer’s Lilac Dish Soap.
Let’s see… I painted my nails with it on Sunday night, and now it’s Saturday morning, so that’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… That’s five full days with barely a chip! For me, not bad at all.
Smith & Cult is a little on the pricey side ($18 a bottle), but I think they’re worth tracking down. Good wear time, and they dry pretty quickly in 10-15 minutes, which is great because with the baby needing a lot of attention, the last thing I need is to wait 30 minutes for my nails to dry.
Before I forget, that Mrs. Meyers Lilac Dish Soap ($3.99), by the way, smells like a walk with bare feet through a fancy manicured garden at the crack of dawn while surrounded by blooming lilacs.
Just in case you were wondering. 🙂
SO GOOD. It’s limited edition. If you’re interested, I spotted it on the end cap in the dish soap aisle at Target.
Before I go, here are a few stories I ran across this week that I thought you might like…
- Shiseido just bought Laura Mercier and the skin care brand Revive. It’ll be interesting to see how/if they expand LM over the next few years.
- It’s coming: the “Sephorization of beauty aisles.” Lots of beauty stores and beauty departments are going the Sephora route with, like, all their testers out on display so customers have easy access to them. What do you think about that?
- Lastly, this video has been around for almost a year, but I just found it (always late to the party). It’s about MAC and features Frank Tonkson, one of the founders, talking about the origins of the brand.
OK, cutie-patootie, I’m off! Connor Claire and I are going for a walk around the neighborhood before it gets too hot. Have a wonderful weekend, and take a plunge in the pool for me, will ya? 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Love your braid! You’re looking good. That NARS palette is pretty.
Thanks, Rachel. Messy braids 4 life, LOL!
I hope that you’re having a nice Saturday so far. What are you up to this weekend? Today we’re going out to lunch with the baby. Wish us luck; it’s our first time, yikes!
I hope lunch out with the baby went well. It’s amazing how much stuff you have to take with you to go anywhere with a baby.
Nothing exciting going on this weekend. It’s in the low 100’s F here, so mostly we’re just trying to stay cool. Hubby and I went for a country drive yesterday before it got too unbearably hot.
The hair! The eyeshadow! That eyeliner! *tries to copy paste it all off you* *fails*
LOL! Have a great weekend!
That braid looks beautiful, I would have no idea how to do one though (and my hair is probably too short anyways). That nail polish is beautiful. I am currently wearing a peachy shade from OPI called “I am getting a tan-gerine” from the Retro Summer Collection.
Enjoy your weekend and your walk!
You can do it! There’s quite a few tutorials on youtube. Maybe do a small Dutch braid around your bang area? That could be cute.
What are you and your boyfriend up to this weekend? Doing anything fun?
1) You look great and I love your necklace!
2) I am for testers. I mostly shop at Sephora for makeup for this very reason. It just saves so much time/money/trips to the store. I only buy drugstore makeup when it’s on sale and I mostly only buy what I have seen swatched online because it feels like a giant waste of money to buy unswatched products at full price.
Testers make everything so easy! The only thing I don’t like is when the testers are dirty. I’ve been to a couple of high-traffic Sephora stores and gross testers freak me out.
U don’t look a day over 20 with this makeup look and hairstyle. .!!
You’re so sweet! TY!
I second this!! Motherhood agrees with you, Karen!
U should see tutorials by bebexo and luxy hair on youtube.. i never thought that i could braid my super long hair till then.. i’m loving the french or lace braiding my bangs.. it frames my round face well..
Thanks for the recs, Anusha! I’ll look them up. 🙂
I wish I could braid! I just cut off my past waist length hair though and it’s a lob length so braiding is a bit hard!
You can still do small braids! Those are super cute.
Love the braid! I love braids but have really slippery hair, so I usually have to use some product. I’m also growing out bangs right now, which is a pain.
The Nars palette I’d really cute! Great colors.
Oy, bangs are such a pain to grow out! I feel your pain, sister! You know what you could do? Put a little bit of dry shampoo in ’em and braid that bad boy.
How did your photo shoot go, by the way? Did you end up going with the coral lip/nail combo?
Dry shampoo is the best for braids! I just got a mini one with my last Sephora order I’m excited to try.
So the photo shoot didn’t happen! The photographer / aerialist doing it for us was very sick, so it’s been postponed to July 3rd! More time to decide!
Love the braid. I’ve had my eye on this eye palette. I think I may break down and get it. Stay cool this weekend. I already missed my window to go for a run down here on the peninsula before it got too hot.
Traveling with a baby is possible. My child was born while we were living in Europe. We took lots of driving trips while we were there. We moved back to the states when she was 3 1/2 months old. We bought a seat for her and just seat belted her carrier into the airline seat. I couldn’t imagine holding her for a ten hour flight. We found that for any trip we planned we needed 50% more time to allow for diaper changes, feedings, calming fussiness, etc. It forced us to do things at a more leisurely pace, instead of just rushing from point A to point B. Always bring a change of clothing (spit ups, accidents and in my child’s case falling into fountains everywhere), a few more diapers than you think you will need and extra powdered formula in a zip lock bag and/or a little extra food, just incase of delays.
Hi Tatiana,
The heat has turned me into a morning exerciser, too. If I don’t get it done early then it’s too darn hot to do anything! I hope you’re able to get in a run tomorrow morning. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it (she said as she reached for another chocolate chip cookie).
Thank you for all these great travel tips! Today we took a small trip out to lunch. LOL! Small steps, right? It went really well. We fed her just before leaving the house so she was super chill while we ate, and we left at 11 to avoid the lunch rush. I think as we take her out on longer outings we’ll get more confident about traveling with her.
What are you doing this weekend? Anything fun?
Oh, I forgot to mention planning, too. (But also being spontaneous and flexible when things don’t go according to plan.) It was a good idea to avoid the lunch rush.
No plans. Dear Husband is working (new job, lots of catching up to do). Might do some Nordstrom returns of stuff bought on-line. Chillin’ with black cat Nora. She’s had stomach issues all her life and I fear she’s not going to be around as long as I would like.
Love your look today, and I love those teensy NARS palettes. I swear by the one I have, And God Created Woman. love the nail polish! I saw it on Tynan Buck and have wanted it ever since. He does fantastic nail looks, check out his Insta or posts on the XOJane site.
Travelling with baby is a big YES! It seems overwhelming, but tbh, the older they get, the more complicated it gets. I remember early trips and later trips with my kids and when they were teeny was way easier. The plane will always be the toughest part, with hostile ppl giving you looks and being rude, but other than that, it is a breeze and so freeing! Also, babies tend to reach milestones when you go on a trip. IDK why. maybe the extra brain stimulation? it just seems to happen that way.
If you like that Bieber song, I would go for a dance class that features Reggaeton. It is very hip shaking music, I agree!
Shiseido bought Laura M???? omg I hope they don’t revamp the line and make a ton of changes. I am worried. LM has been my sweet spot, for eyeshadows and a lot of products like primers. uh oh.
and the Sephorization of Macys has me irritated already. They got rid of counters that are too “old” like my Chanel and Dior ones, in favor of squeezing as much UD and Benefit and OPI nail products as they can into a tiny space. Everything is all about selling to young people, and as a mature woman who loves makeup and skincare, it is very alienating. I guess they think the Estee Lauder, Lancome and Shiseido counter is all we older ladies could want. I really hope Nordstrom doesn’t follow that model anytime soon!
Hi Lorraine,
I remember that NARS palette! It’s a good one. 🙂
Question for you about traveling on a plane with your kids. Where did do their diaper changes?
Oh, and re: Nordstrom. My nearby Nordies revamped their beauty section to the Sephora style, and they kept Chanel, Dior, etc., which was nice to see!
What kind/shape of brush on the nail polish? It’s a deal breaker for me to not have a large Dior/YSL type brush.
Thanks
Hi Leigh,
The Smith & Cult polishes have a regular nail polish brush. HTH, and let me know if you have any other questions!
Traveling with a baby is much easier than traveling with a toddler, so go for it. I flew the first time with Little Bean when she was around six months old and then we took her to a two months road trip to New Zealand when she was 11 months.
That’s what I’ve heard from friends! I really want to go on a trip soon.
Can you imagine taking both your little ones on a trip? What an adventure that would be.
I hope that you’re doing OK. How are things with both you and the new baby?
I will take them to France in the summer, but no big road trip this time. We have bought a house, we don’t really have the money to go road tripping around the world at the moment.
We are doing great, thank you for asking. Of course I could do with more sleep, and an energetic (and very loud) toddler doesn’t really help to calm his afternoon fuzziness, but I love both of them to pieces.
Traveling with babies:
I had the opportunity to do this once with a child under 1:
1. As long as they’re still in the eat, sleep, poop, ‘oooh shiny keys!’ phase. It’s not so bad. Yes changes can be hard, but if you pay attention to that schedule, you can minimize the fuss.
2. Don’t be afraid to dose with tylenol for a flight. I know it sounds terrible, but it’ll be less stress on EVERYONE. Look at it this way: Crying for 3 hours straight is not preferable to one dose of baby tylenol. (At least, that’s the choice some parents make).
3. Take stock of your diaper bag. Be very strict with what you need. If you’re gonna do a LOT of traveling, look into a few travel friendly items. Like bottle warmers that work off car charging plugs, etc. BRING YOUR OWN WATER if you’re mixing formula, water changes can cause baby tummy problems and while that’s not too bad to deal with at your destination, during travel you want to avoid that.
Hi Ami,
Thank you for the traveling advice! I never thought to get a portable charger.
Also, thanks for all the great mom advice you’ve left for me here in the comments. I really appreciate it. 🙂
How many kids do you have, by the way?
I don’t know how you pull that messy braid off- when I try it, it’s more ‘hot mess’-y braid.
Ah, construction boots, how I loved them. But why, why, why do girls these days think duck lips in pictures are attractive? You don’t look like Angelina Jolie or Kat Dennings, ladies, you look like you need an epi-pen ASAP.
I understand the heat situation- here, it was 99.1 degrees yesterday with 97% humidity.
LOL, Suzanne C! You should see the braid at the end of the day. It’s closer to hot mess-y than messy. 🙂 I let it do what it wants to do and accept the mess!
Ugh, the humidity is killer. It’s not always very humid where I live but when it is it feels like I can’t breathe, especially when it’s hot.
What are you up to this weekend? Whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re having fun.
Love your braid! Hope it’s not too hot for you and Connor Claire!
Whenever I see braids, I want my ling hairmback. But short works with my lifestyle nowadays, so little upkeep needed. Argh choices….
Looking good Karen! Such a cute hairstyle! I’m wearing two plaits each wrapped around the side and bobby pinned on back. I have bangs , my signature look,lol. I really want to learn how to braid. Connor will adjust to hanging out in no time. Like others have already mentioned bring baby items she may need. I’m so happy my niece is pregnant!!! We are hoping for a sweet little girl in the family. We already have 2 little guys. Girls clothes rock!!
Ah, you and your babe are glowing, Karen! Thank you, and much admiration to you and the ladies of MBB.
I’m really loving this whole effortlessly chic look that everyone seems to be wearing lately abut the braid makes it even better. I wish I could braid my own hair especially now the warm weather seems like it’s here to stay. I had never heard of Dutch braids before this past weekend when I rocked a Dutch braid faux haux for a concert. That NARS palette is so pretty. I may need to check it out.
The palette is an absolute cutie pie! I received mine and am going to use it now 🙂