Chanel Peche Cuivre Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil from the Summertime de Chanel collection. Available now at Chanel counters and online.
Chanel Peche Cuivre Le Crayon Khol Intense Eye Pencil
Fish Tacos and Horchata
It’s what I’ve been craving lately.
What Makeup “Rules” Do You Like to Break?
The new Lancome Le Curler, $23, available June 2012
Well…sometimes I use my lash curler before and after applying mascara.
I know! I’m bad. 🙂 It’s a big no-no among many makeup artists who say that curling lashes coated with mascara leads to broken lashes.
I don’t do it all the time. Only when my lashes straighten out right after away I finish applying my mascara, and I’m always very careful to exert just the slightest pressure on the curler before ever-so-gently easing my lashes out of them so they don’t stick to the pads and break off.
Yup, I’m a rule breaker, but you know what they say about rules (they’re meant to be broken).
Oh, and sometimes I like to wear my darkest, moodiest lipsticks in the middle of spring and summer. So what if it’s 90 degrees out? If the mood to wear an opaque matte plum to the pool strikes in the middle of August, I don’t even hesitate.
Why not, right? It’s fun to mix things up.
How about you? What makeup “rules” do you like to break?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
No Crease? No Problem. In-Crease Your Eye Makeup Skills With These 5 Monolid Makeup Tips
About the Author
The following guest post was written by Sunny of Mostly Sunny blog. You can also find Sunny on Twitter and Facebook.
Despite the fact that it’s impossible to generalize “Asian eyes” in a single word, monolids seem to be one of the traits most commonly associated with them. Monolids are characterized by the lack of a prominent crease, and monolidded eyes are usually more almond shaped than round.
I remember thinking how unfair it was as a child that I ended up with my father’s monolidded eyes, while my mother and one of my brothers have a prominent crease. It took me years to see how both were beautiful in their own way, and now my monolids aren’t something I try to work around, but something I enjoy working with!
Sure, round eyes with pronounced creases are beautiful, but so are almond-shaped eyes without a crease. 🙂
My naked eye
Now, I know that it’s also impossible to generalize even among people with monolids, as there are different shapes and techniques, and people will sometimes prefer one method over another. Ultimately, it all comes down to what you like and feel comfortable with.
Nowadays, there are even eyelid tapes and glues available to create a crease, if you think it helps you apply makeup, and some even find that applying false lashes gives their eyelids a fold.
In general, I don’t believe in hard and fast rules when it comes to makeup, and I think you should do whatever you’re most comfortable with. The following tips are just some things that have worked well for me.
I know that many readers who come across this post might not have monolids themselves, but why not keep these tips in mind for a friend who does?
The MAC 217 Blending Brush
Tip 1: Blend, blend, blend!
As important as blending is when it comes to eyeshadow application, I think it’s even more important for those of us with monolids, because we lack a natural demarcation between our eyes and brow bones, so if we apply a patch of color right on top of our eyes without blending, it can look a bit unnatural.
Unblended eyeshadow
In the picture below, I’m wearing Urban Decay Verve on the inner half of my eye and Busted on the outer. Personally, I think that once the eyeshadows have been blended, they appear more natural, and add more dimension to the look than a simple patch of color.
Blended eyeshadow
Tip 2: (Don’t) work it into your crease
If you don’t have one, why fight it? I know that dramatic cut-crease looks are gorgeous on our double-lidded counterparts, but if we’re not careful, they can easily look overdone, and dare I say it, a little fake.
While it’s not impossible to emphasize the outer v and bring a bit of the color into our (imaginary) crease, I try to do it with an easily blendable color using a blending brush instead of a pencil brush; otherwise, it can take a looong time to blend the harsh line out afterwards!
Defined outer v
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Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!
- WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Alyse! Congratulations, Alyse! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
Yesterday, I was digging through some old CDs at home when I came across an oldie but a goodie. Remember Version 2.0 by Garbage?
I remember buying it on a whim one day right after it came out. It must have been around 1998. I was in my last quarter in college, and I’d listen to it every day while I did my homework.
Brings back memories… That was a very exciting time filled with promise, but also some nervous uncertainty. I was almost finished with school and itching to move back to the Bay Area from Davis, but I was getting ready to leave something familiar (school) to enter the next phase of my life — or what my parents referred to as “the real world.”
The last time I listened to this CD was probably 10 years ago, and man! — it’s still great. Yesterday when Temptation Waits and Push It kicked in, I couldn’t believe I still remembered all of the words.
Did anyone else secretly want to be Shirley Manson? She seems like such an @ss kicker. An @ss kicker in red lipstick and smokey eyes!
Speaking of makeup, it’s Saturday! Which means it’s time for you know what.
What folks are saying…
“Thanks so much, Karen. Just in case you were wondering what I got with it, I decided to go with the Clarisonic Mia–I’ve been wanting it for years now, but have never purchased it because of the price. Your eCard helped me finally buy it! I look forward to using it 🙂 Thanks again!”
-Jane“Shut the front door! OMG Karen, you have made my day. 🙂 I’m sick in bed with the flu and this has just cheered me up immensely!!!!!!!! BTW, I’m the one that sent you that pic of my pug in a wig a few weeks back LOL! Thanks again, honestly, I’m beyond giddy right now.”
-Angel“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much Karen (and Tabs, of course)! I really appreciate this! I’d been eyeing the Anastasia brow pencil in Strawburn to match my red hair!”
-Chelsea (and Jiji the kitten and Quincy the bunny)“Never before have I been so pleased to check my email right before bed!!! Thank you so, so much! I truly enjoy your blog and check it almost daily! Thanks again! This made my night!”
-Melissa, Edmond, OK“Hi Karen. Oh my goodness! I can’t believe I won! :O Thank you so much! You, Tabs, and your blog are amazing! Thank you for keeping me updated on all things beauty and more importantly, for keeping me entertained! Keep doing your thing! 🙂 Thank you again.”
-Jacqueline“Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I’m so excited, I’ve never won anything before. My name is Hana … I just turned 25 (today is my birthday!) Yay! Thank you.”
-Hana
- One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).
- There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, do you do bold red lips and smokey eyes? Could you see yourself as the lead singer in a rock band? What’s an album that reminds you of school? What’s your favorite red lipstick of all time? Have you ever had red hair? — you get the idea.
- Second, you can enter by following me on
Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/J7s1R9
- The deadline to enter is Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 11:59PM (PT).
- Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
- A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
- Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
- Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.
- Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
- The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
- Void where prohibited by law.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
- WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Alyse! Congratulations, Alyse! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂
MAC Fashion Sets: Snob
How do you feel about MAC Snob?
MAC Snob Lipstick, Lipglass and Nail Lacquer from the Fashion Sets collection.
First Watermelon of the Season
Oh, sweet, sweet watermelon. How I’ve missed you!
To pick a good watermelon…
- Look it over: Look for a firm, symmetrical watermelon free from bruises, cuts or dents.
- Lift it up: The watermelon should be heavy for its size. Watermelon is 92% water.
- Turn it over: The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow patch from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.
Brushes, Be Gone! Dior’s New 1-Couleur Eye Glosses Have Application Covered
Behold! I’m a makeup magician, and my trademark trick involves making my eye brushes disappear, poof!
One minute they’re there, behaving on the bathroom sink. Next minute…
Have you seen my MAC 217? It was right here a minute ago…
Magic like this is unpredictable, and brushes disappear all the time, sometimes to reappear later in the unlikeliest of places, like the back seats of cars or the pockets of camp shirts.
My 224 was the latest to pull a disappearing act. It must have been swallowed up by the same insatiable accessories eater that consumed my Shu Uemura Lash Curler…
Thankfully, my magic can finally rest. With the new limited edition Dior 1-Couleur Eye Glosses, I may never need to reach for another eyeshadow brush again! — or at least not until fall.
The doe-foot applicator affixed to both of these two $28 sparkling gel shadows (like creamy eye glosses), which start out like a fluffy mousse but dry down to a powder, does wizardly work, precisely guiding the product where I want it on my lids. I just swipe, say “abracadabra!” and blend out the edges with a finger.
Done. 🙂
Um…just be sure to prime first, or you risk jaw-dropping creasing within an hour. With NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (the best!) layered beneath them, I get between 6-8 hours of wear.
Oh, and you might want to avoid applying too many layers. These shadows tingle on my lids (it’s supposed to be refreshing). One or two layers seem fine, but many more than that, and they start to sting a little, ouch!
The 1-Couleur Eye Glosses in 750 Sunset (top) on the left and 560 Tan (bottom)
560 Tan on the left and 750 Sunset on the right
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