Karen

Kauai, Day 1: Purple Potatoes, Potstickers and Pruny Swimming Pool Skin

April 27th, 2012 by Karen 38 Comments

Aloha, and happy Friday. It’s a few minutes after sunrise, and I’m off to get in a quick run before it gets hot. Today we’re thinking about driving up to the North Shore to do some snorkeling. It’s a little early in the year for it up there (winter and early spring are the big wave months), but I’m hoping the water’s nice.

Pool products of the day: Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunblock Spray in SPF30, Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream for Face in SPF 55 PA+++, Neutrogena Moisture Shine Lip Soother Cooling Hydragel SPF20 in Glaze 60

I’ve never tried this particular spray sunscreen before, but I do like sprays. This one? You can spray on wet skin. I haven’t been using it long enough to gauge how well it works, but I like the consistency and the light floral scent (smells just a little bit like sunscreen, but not bad).

Shiseido’s Ultimate Sun Protection Cream for Face is an oldie but a goodie. It’s VERY water resistant, just like it says on the tube, haha! No, really, it is. And it never gives me breakouts. It’s great for dry/oily combo skin like mine.

And the only color product I’ve been wearing so far has been Neutrogena’s super moisturizing Soother Cooling Hydragel SPF20 in Glaze 60. It’s a lightly tinted berry with a light minty flavor that really does feel cooling on my lips.

It’s just a little splash of color for when I pop out of the water.

Cafe Coco on Kauai

“May I show you to your table, miss?”
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Dior 1-Couleur Eye Gloss in Tan

April 27th, 2012 by Karen 4 Comments

Dior 1-Couleur Eye Gloss in Tan, $28. Available now at Dior counters, Sephora and online.

Ahhh…

April 26th, 2012 by Karen 7 Comments

Any day you see the ocean is a good day. 🙂

Greetings from Kauai! We haven’t done much yet, but it isn’t raining, yay! We checked in to the hotel and had lunch at a local place called Cafe Coco (a vegetarian’s dream come true!) while watching chameleons, wild chickens and stray cats frolic in the sun.

Now, a quick dip in the pool before sunset. See you soon!

MAC Unsung Heroes: Breezy Sheertone Shimmer Blush

April 26th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

MAC breezy blush

Oh, MAC Breezy Sheertone Shimmer Blush ($20), you’re just so…breezy.

Breezy. That’s been a very popular word around the beauty-sphere as of late. It’s funny how certain words and phrases ebb and flown, isn’t it? One week it’s glow; then it’s sheer. Or shimmery — that’s a word that never seems to go out of style.

This here Breezy also shimmers, and I can safely say that I don’t have anything else quite like it in my makeup collection.

It looks mad scary in the pan, ma! And it’s also a little easy to over-apply, at least for me, but the MAC Skunk brush hits the sweet spot, delivering a beautiful, multi-faceted flush one step above light.

MAC characterizes it as a plum with pearl, but oh! — it’s so much more than that. It’s almost like a mash-up of all my favorite blush colors in a single, opalescent pan. One minute, Breezy’s a berry, and then a rose, a pink and plum, and the dewy, golden shimmer gives it an ethereal dimension.

Breezy also loves different lip colors and skin tones (oh, and I think redheads can really rock it well). I like to pair it with berries, roses, pinks and almost anything with a hint of golden shimmer, and I think it looks great on NC and NW gals in shades from light to dark.

Lighter lovelies may want to use a light hand to apply it because Breezy is easy to go overboard with (it’s very pigmented).

One of my favorite ways to wear Breezy is to make it the focus of my look. Just like a smokey eye or a bright red lip can be the focal point of a look, Breezy makes a big, bold statement on cheeks.

mac breezy sheertone shimmer blush

mac breezy blush swatch
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Chevron Nails Are Trending Up For Summer, and They’re Easier Than They Look

April 26th, 2012 by Karen 22 Comments

About the Author
This guest post was written by Sammy of The Naulasaurus. You can also find Sammy on Twitter, Facebook and Etsy.

Chevron nails, sometimes called the reverse French mani, are trending up for summer. They’re funky and unusual, and way easier to do yourself than they look. Believe it or not, all a girl needs for these is a little know-how, some nail polish and a bit of scotch tape.

You’ll need…

Scotch tape, and if you don’t have any on hand, you can use masking tape or sellotape instead.
Two Summery colours of your choice. Today I’ve chosen NYC Lexington Yellow and Rimmel Urban Princess.
A clear top coat.

Step 1:

Paint on your base colour, and wait for it to dry completely. You could even use a fast drying top coat like Seche Vite to speed up the process. Make sure this is the lighter colour of the two because we’ll be painting the other colour over the top.

Step 2:

Use your scotch tape to mark off a triangle at the base of your nail. Be warned! If your base coat isn’t 100 percent dry, the tape will definitely ruin the whole mani.

I learned this the hard way when I first started using tape in my manicures. My impatience led to a lot of frustration when I kept pulling off my polish with the tape before it was dry.

You can stick the tape to the back of your hand before you use it on your nails to remove some of the stickiness if you think it will mess with your base colour.

Step 3:

One nail at a time, paint the second colour over the nail and tape, and immediately go to step 4…

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And We’re Off!

April 26th, 2012 by Karen 29 Comments

Wake up, buttercup! It’s bright and early here on the West Coast.

Well, it’s actually still dark here…so I hope you’re asleep. 🙂

Yours truly sure could use a hot cup of tea, or two. I need to caffeinate before heading to the airport. I had to get up with the chickens this morning to catch my 7:20 flight to Kauai, but I wanted to say a quick hi and wish you good morning.

Good morning!

I plan to eat plenty of pie and do lots of sightseeing while I’m on the island, but you know me. I can’t stay away from MBB for long. I haven’t been away from it for more than a few days since 2007, and that’s no joke!

I’m sure I’ll be checking in often.

Before I go, here are a few fun facts about the Garden Isle (could come in handy on Final Jeopardy)…

Fun Facts About Kauai

Kauai is the fourth largest, and northernmost, island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
Kauai is also the oldest of the Hawaiian islands (the Big Island to the south is the youngest), at more than six million years old!
The wettest spot on earth is located in the middle of the island of Kauai atop Mount Wai’ale’ale (“rippling waters”). The spot receives an average of 432 inches of rainfall per year. To put that in perspective, Seattle, Washington, only gets 36.49!
The state’s only navigable rivers are on Kauai (ya know, on account of all that rain).
Kauai has a miniature Grand Canyon! Waimea Canyon is about one mile wide, 3,600 feet deep and 10 miles long.
Over 60 movies have been filmed on Kauai, including Jurassic Park, Outbreak, 6 Days 7 Nights and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Okay, I really gotta go now! Tabs is insisting on one more deep-tissue massage before I leave… Per usual, his pet sitter will be around to cater to his every whim (DIVA!), but he says that I have “the magic touch.” If I don’t do as I’m told, he’ll be hella grumpy when I get home. You know cats. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict (with lots of love),

Karen

P.S. Aloha!