Karen

On the Bathroom Shelf: Body Lotions by Ahava, Antica Farmacista, Tata Harper and Agraria

July 29th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

My friend Cindy is staunchly anti-beauty, and it’s rare when she wants to talk about makeup or beauty products, so this snippet of a thrilling conversation we recently had was a pleasant surprise. 🙂

CINDY: Do you use body lotion every day?

ME: Well, yeah. Don’t you?

CINDY: Uh uh. I don’t need to. I don’t really have dry skin.

ME: Lucky you!

CINDY: Do you have to use it everywhere? Even on your feet?

ME: Oh, yeah. Especially my feet.

CINDY: What happens if you miss a day?

ME: My skin starts to look like crusty parmesan cheese.

Yeah, it’s not a good look, which is why I’m big into body lotions. Here are the ones currently living on my bathroom shelf…

Ahava Mineral Body Lotion Duo ($37.50 for a 17-oz bottle): One for me, one for my mama! And these bottles are huge.

First, Ahava Mineral Body Lotion is hella moisturizing yet doesn’t leave a greasy residue behind. It comes as a two-pack available now exclusively at Nordstrom for $37.50 ($96 value), and the light powdery scent doesn’t overwhelm my perfume.

Antica Farmacista Peonia, Gardenia & Rosa Body Moisturizer ($25 for a 10-oz. bottle): Rose dominates this moisturizer’s memorable scent, and the fragrance lingers all day long and layers well with my rosy perfumes.

The moisturizing formula is a touch greasier than the Ahava lotion I mentioned earlier, but it contains many moisturizing ingredients that sit well with my alligator skin, like aloe vera, sweet almond oil and shea butter, to name a few.

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Peace, Love & Golden Taupe Rouge Bunny Rouge Rain Dove Long-Lasting Eye Shadow

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Oh, Rain Dove, my eyeshadow love, you make my heart flutter.

When I see your golden taupe shimmering in the inner corners of my eyes, my obsession with Rouge Bunny Rouge shadows soars to new heights.

I will sing songs of your light, feathery formula and your subtle flash of rose gold, and how it evokes memories of a fleeting visit from a hummingbird…

Rouge Bunny Rouge When Birds are Singing Long-lasting Eye Shadow in Rain Dove ($25) is nesting now on Rouge Bunny Rouge counters and online. 🙂

Try the $15 NYX La Fleur Lip Gloss Set for Everyday Pinks and Peaches

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Oui, ma cherie, I could spend all day looking at the NYX 5-Piece La Fleur Lip Gloss Set.

These pinks and peaches are the exact same versions of those shades that I always like to have with me in purse. They’re my perfect everyday colors.

This $15 kit is like a slightly understated, more neutral version of NYX’s The Legends Lip Set, and the two kits have a few things in common. The La Fleur lipglosses also have that same Sour Patch candy taste and scent (The sweet part, like how they taste at first. Not the sour part.) that lasts about two hours on me, and they also apply pretty sheer.

Only thing is…I can’t easily tell them apart on my pigmented pout, so I’ll use them more for layering to tone down bright pink, peach and coral lip products than as standalone glosses.

The $15 La Fleur Lip Gloss set is available now online and wherever NYX is sold.

NYX La Fleur Lip Gloss Set (3) — From the left: Cashmere, Fair Lady, Natural Beauty, Tickle Me Pink and Made You Blush

NYX La Fleur Lip Gloss Set (6) — From the left: Cashmere, Fair Lady, Natural Beauty, Tickle Me Pink and Made You Blush

Looking for a Polished Party Quad? Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien Fits the Bill

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 32 Comments

Fact: Chanel’s new Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien ($61) will not be tardy for the party.

No way. She’ll be right on time.

Chanel Quadra Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien — Tissé Vénitien, from the new Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow Collection

This quad dazzles with shimmering greens — one of which, the metallic light greenish platinum on the left, is the star of the show for me — and a quiet dash of pink.

The greenish platinum sparkles like the desert sky at midnight during a new moon, yet amazingly, it isn’t obnoxious. For a party ready look in mere seconds, I like to use my finger to apply it to the center of my lids.

Tissé Vénitien is one of the new Chanel tweed-inspired quads with the baked formula.

Like the others, it’s supposed to cover all the bases for an eye look from start to finish, but with that, I have to disagree. I feel like you also need at least one matte up in the mix to contour with, and also to contrast with all of the shimmer here; otherwise, it’s sparkle overload.

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Experience Unknown Pleasures (Like Whiter Teeth) When You Wear the New Fall/Winter 2014 Lip Tars From Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 36 Comments

Through some weird illusionary makeup magic/trick of light, blue lip products are supposed to make your teeth look whiter, but I dunno… Do my teeth look whiter in these pics? I’m wearing OCC’s new Lip Tar in Vain.

I seriously cannot tell; all I see are those blue lips.

They’re just so…blue.

OCC explores the boundaries between light and shadow in their fall/winter 2014 Unknown Pleasures collection. Vain is one of the six new $18 Lip Tars in the release.

OCC Unknown Pleasures Collection Lip Tars f rom the left: Covet, Lament, Manhunger, Technopagan, Vain and Pagan — OCC Unknown Pleasures Collection Lip Tars from the left in Covet, Lament, Manhunter, Technopagan, Vain and Pagan

Most of the time when liquid lipsticks dry down, they form an impermeable film on my lips, which is usually long-wearing (yay!), but also very drying (boo!).

Unlike run-of-the-mill liquid lipsticks, which tend to bleed my lips of every milliliter of moisture like Edward Cullen on a bender, the Lip Tars stay wet from start to finish, so they don’t form a drying film.

But the wet texture also leads these to scoot beyond my natural lip line, so it helps to be mindful of rubbing your lips together, especially with the darker shades.

OCC Lip Tar in Lament — Lip Tar in Lament

OCC Lip Tar in Technopagan — Lip Tar in Technopagan

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 331

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 59 Comments

The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll for July 28, 2014 — The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll: July 28, 2014

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past seven years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

What’s one thing about yourself that a lot of people don’t know?
My favorite roller coaster is the Demon at Great America, and whenever we’d go, I’d ride it over and over and over, like, 10 times every trip.

Have you ever been in a commercial, or know someone who’s been in a commercial?
Nope.

Oh, wait! — I change my answer. In elementary school, one of my classmates played a “hip skateboard kid” in a Sony Walkman commercial, I think, and all the kids thought he was so cool because he was on TV.

Do you ever use those roll-on fragrance thing-a-ma-bobbers?
Ya know, I pick one up on occasion from Sephora or Nordstrom because I think they’re really cute and convenient, but I never end up actually using them. They just sit in a drawer all sad and neglected…

I guess I prefer my perfumes in regular ol’ bottles.

And then when I go on trips, I usually bring those little fragrance samples you get for free at a counter, because they’re so tiny and don’t take up much room in my fragrance/lotion/miscellaneous beauty product Ziploc bag.

Great things come from ____.
…getting a good night’s sleep. LOL! Or, alternately, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

Doughnuts or croissants?
I feel that being forced to choose between the two constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

But, if I were literally forced to choose, I’d choose doughnuts.

More variety, ya know? Cake, glazed, jelly, chocolate…

Mmm, doughnuts…

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. What’s one thing about yourself that a lot of people don’t know?
2. Have you ever been in a commercial, or know someone who’s been in a commercial?
3. Do you ever use those roll-on fragrance thing-a-ma-bobbers?
4. Great things come from ____.
5. Doughnuts or croissants?

In productivity news (OK, not really), how do you feel about overthinking things — you know, where you’re thinking about something, like an important date on the calendar, or something you have to do for some reason, and you just keep thinking about it and thinking about it, and because you’re thinking about it so much, nothing ever really gets done?

Yeah, I do that sometimes…

Here’s an interesting article on the subject: How to Stop Overthinking Everything and Find Peace of Mind.

I like the “stop talking about it” idea. I can see that helping because, you know, the power of internal dialogues. Like, when I say that something is a problem for me, and I say it over and over and over, I think it sort of reinforces the problem.

Sometimes, it’s good to just change the convo, you know, even when it’s with yourself.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Have a wonderful week, babe. 🙂 I hope it’s a good one for you.

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 306

July 27th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

This post is sponsored by Purina Pro Plan #proplancatpartner. For information about my posting policy, please see my Disclaimer.

When you hear the words, “international kitty supermodel,” who comes to mind?

Exactly. Tabs.

And for good reason, too. As the face of more than 650 kitty modeling campaigns since the mid 2000s, Tabs has been a dominant force in the kitty modeling business and a role model for millions of ambitious, good-looking cats.

Now, back from graduation with a kitty business degree under his belt, it’s time for his next big endeavor.

Cat Scratch Claw Polish — the largest product rollout of his career. Introducing a new line of feline friendly claw polishes in an assortment of professionally inspired shades.

Enjoy. 🙂

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7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

July 26th, 2014 by Karen 324 Comments

You know when you’re too tired to cook and just want good food to magically appear in front of you? Yeah…that’s exactly how it was last night.

Good morning, glory! I hope you had a good week. Mine wasn’t bad at all, and any week that ends with pizza and a movie ends on a high note (unless either of those is terrible).

That’s what we did. We grabbed slices for dinner and then went to see Lucy, that new sci-fi flick with ScarJo and Morgan Freeman. She plays someone exposed to a new drug who starts being able to use more of her brain power, but it comes with a big catch 22.

Not great, but not bad either. There were some cool parts, and she does kick some @ss.

Today, now, I’m just hanging out. I don’t really have any big plans. Tabs is sleeping in the other room, I just finished watering the plants (TONS of tomatoes ready to pick), and now I’m saying hello to you.

Hello.

What are you up to today? Is it hot out there? It’s, uh, like Death Valley out here… It was about 95 degrees yesterday, and it’s supposed to be almost that hot again today.

Yeah…we don’t have a working air conditioner, and it usually doesn’t matter because it rarely gets that hot here, but this is one of those weeks. Late in the day my office has been like a sauna, and even Tabs leaves the room.

It’s kind of funny, actually. If you could see the shenanigans and hoops I hop through to take face pics without my makeup melting off, you’d laugh. Let’s just say that I get pretty creative with fan placement, cross ventilation, towels and ice…

In other news, you know what time it is, right?

(Here’s a hint: it’s giveaway time.)

I hope you enter. Good luck. 🙂

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).

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- If your pet had a catchphrase or slogan, what would it be?
- Invent a cake you’d like to try. Tell me about it.
- How many cups of coffee and/or tea do you have on a typical day?
- Telekinesis or clairvoyance?
- What are your five current favorite makeup brands?
- Favorite Asian makeup/beauty brand?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, July 28, 2014 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen