Tabs loves sleeping on El Hub’s shirts. The stinkier they are, the more he wants to cuddle with ’em.
The Stinkier the Better

by Karen 6 Comments

Tabs loves sleeping on El Hub’s shirts. The stinkier they are, the more he wants to cuddle with ’em.
by Karen 13 Comments

The culmination of a new LORAC/NASA collaboration, the brush attached to the cap of LORAC’s new Pro Cream Eyeliner + Brush will be sending Earth’s next unmanned spacecraft to Mars!
Just kidding. NASA had nothing to do with this product…but I still think the brush is pretty dope. 🙂
Unscrewing the end of the cap reveals the tiny brush tucked away inside. Hello, convenience.
I usually reach for gels or pencils to line my eyes, but I’ve been enjoying these long-wearing cream liners lately, which come in Dark Brown, Plum, Navy and Black ($19 each). Pretty great for softly lined eye looks and/or smudgy eyes.


by Karen 15 Comments

Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Excesses Glassy Gloss in 078 Rhubarb Custard
You know what always cheers me up?
Hugs. And dessert. 🙂
And makeup. Most of the time. Right now, though, I’d really like a hug…
Can Tabs and I get a hug?

Thank you, and thank you for your nice words in the comments earlier today. You’re the Blanche, Rose and Dorothy to my Sophia (Golden Girls 4 life!).
Okay, lock it down, K. No more tears today…
So, I mentioned dessert (and my mouth is watering, of course) — you know what would really hit the spot right now? Something sweet, like these new sweet treat-themed Rouge Glassy Glosses from Rouge Bunny Rouge.

From the left: 078 Rhubarb Custard, 079 Rahat Lokum, 080 Raspberry Meringue, 081 Cherry Clafoutis and 082 Mousse Fandango
The five sheer, new shades are part of RBR’s Summer 2012 Mistral Collection. If you like super sheer (almost transparent), non-sticky, lightly tinted glosses with a mirror-like shine, you might get a kick out of these.
While technically part of a summer release, they’re destined to be worn with a pair of smokey eyes this fall.
Looking at them and seeing their names, I keep craving pink hard candies…but maybe that’s just me.


From the left: 078 Rhubarb Custard, 079 Rahat Lokum, 080 Raspberry Meringue, 081 Cherry Clafoutis and 082 Mousse Fandango
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by Karen 87 Comments

The new LORAC Pro Blushes, $20 each; available now at Sephora
I sat down this morning intending to dish about the new LORAC Pro Powder Cheek Stains (5-second overview: fan-frickin’-tastic! Super pigmented, and yet easy to blend and surprisingly natural looking for something with an 8-hour wear time), but I just haven’t been able to concentrate…

All five of the new LORAC Pro Powder Cheek Stains clockwise from the lower left: Coral Crush, Petal Pink, Plum Passion, Rosy Glow and Ruby Rouge

Coral Crush, Petal Pink, Plum Passion, Rosy Glow and Ruby Rouge
My mind keeps wandering thousands of miles away…to my mom. She and my dad are visiting family in the Philippines right now, and I haven’t seen them in more than two months.
I’ve always lived within driving distance of them, so it’s weird being this far away for so long.

Me and my mom on Mother’s Day last May
Late last night Mom emailed to tell me that her mom, my grandmother, passed away over the weekend…
I posted a picture of her earlier this year. She was one of my glam grannies, the one who went to fashion school.

I didn’t know her very well because I was still a baby when my parents and I left the Philippines.
There were some letters and cards over the years, but my only clear memory of her was from the one time we met as adults. It was on a trip that my mom and I took to the Philippines in 2000.
Wow…I can’t believe that was 12 years ago.
I remember us driving out to the countryside, or “the province,” as my mom would say, and spending the afternoon with her family.
They prepared a huge lunch for us, and while we ate and chatted as best we could, with me not understanding the dialect spoken by my mom’s side of the family very well, my grandmother told us stories about my mom as a kid.
My granny was a tiny woman, small but tough, with a smile that lit up the room. When I met her, even though her face was lined with wrinkles, she was such a beauty.

A sticker on a bottle of spray cleaner in my kitchen. I dunno, it just makes me laugh.
by Karen 6 Comments

by Karen 17 Comments

Laura Mercier Crème Smooth Lip Colour in Spiced Rose
Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away…
Okay, so it wasn’t that long ago. More like last year. But nevertheless, last year at this place I’m talking about there lived a lipstick lover who, despite her best efforts, couldn’t find a long-wearing, moisturizing lipstick to save her life.
Every time she came close, she would fall into despair, with the contender leaving her parched pout just as dry and cracked as before.
Not one to give up easily, our lipstick lover looked and looked for the elusive creature, only to come up empty handed. Disappointed, she began to doubt that such a creature existed at all, and then one fall (this fall, actually), a field of moisturizing lip products sprouted up on shelves!
She saw Make Up For Ever’s glossy new Aqua Rouge Liquid Lip Colors and the Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipsticks from Hourglass, which covered her matte bases, but she still needed something in between…
Her heart longed for a shiny, long-wearing lipstick — but not too shiny — packed with pigment and comfortable to wear.
Just then, something caught her eye over at the Laura Mercier counter…

From the left: Crème Coral (a tawny peach), Rosewood (a warm dusty rose) and Spiced Rose (a rose beige)
It was Laura’s new $26 Crème Smooth Lip Colours, available in 18 shades.
I’ve been getting to know a few of them this week — tawny peach Crème Coral, warm Rosewood and rosy beige Spiced Rose — and they make a pretty good first impression.
Effortlessly lightweight, natural-looking and oh-so-moisturizing, they also have a semi-luminous finish with a light shine.
One rich layer of the unscented, unflavored formula, which Laura loaded with olive oil and vitamin E, completely covers my lips with color and eradicates any flakes.

From the left: Crème Coral (a tawny peach), Rosewood (a warm dusty rose) and Spiced Rose (a rosy beige)

Crème Coral
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by Karen 23 Comments

I don’t know… Today I feel very indifferent about my makeup, very noncommittal, like I don’t really have a strong opinion one way or another.
There’s a word for it, the way I’m feeling, but dang if I can’t recall what it is.
Neuter? No — that’s not it.
(Whoops, sorry Tabs! It had to be done.)
I think it has something to do with Switzerland in World War II?
Oh, shoot. It’s on the tip of my tongue…
LOL!
Neutral! The word is neutral. 🙂
Today I thought I’d share one of my favorite everyday eye looks, a brown, bronze and black neutral eye that I wear sometimes when I want to look polished and put-together.
Like many of my favorite looks, it’s an easy one that doesn’t require a lot of blending, and we should be able to knock it out in less than 15 minutes.
I’ll be using a mix products from MAC and L’Oréal, but you know how we roll here — feel free to use any other brands and similar colors you happen to have around.

From the left: MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood, MAC Eyeshadow in Saddle, MAC Eyeshadow in Mulch, MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked, MAC Eyeshadow in Print and L’Oreal Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black
What’s that you say? You noticed my watch, and now you’d like to ask me what time it is? Well…

Let’s start by applying a base for our powder eyeshadows. How about creamy bronze MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood? We’ll apply that all over our lids with a finger and buff it out with a fluffy domed brush like the MAC 217.
That should really intensify the colors of the powder eyeshadows we’re about to layer on top.
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