Karen

Blue Monday, Take 2: A Face of the Day With the Tom Ford Unabashed Eye and Cheek Compact

May 5th, 2014 by Karen 22 Comments

In its former life, this ratty blue wig was part of a last-minute Halloween homage to Katy Perry. It has since evolved into one of Tabs’ favorite toys.

He stalks it, swats it and basically beats-it-the-eff-up whenever he’s “supervising” me in my office.

I should probably retire it already, seeing as how it’s clearly on its last legs, but I keep it around to startle my neighbors (a favorite pastime of mine) and take crazy-@ss pictures when the mood strikes.

‘K. Now, how about the same makeup look, but with a little less crazy? 🙂

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The New Zoya Tickled Summer 2014 Collection, and a Quick Fashion Tip

May 5th, 2014 by Karen 21 Comments

Zoya Tickled Collection, Summer 2014 — Wearing the new Zoya Tickled summer 2014 collection with my favorite scarf…

Giddy-up, little darlin’! We’re living in the Wild West of the nail polish frontier, where anything goes when it comes to tips and toes.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, when the lacquer landscape was tamer territory, most gals stuck to one shade of polish at a time, and if you felt like pushing the envelope, maybe you’d get a French manicure or a small dangly charm for your pinky.

These days, we’re way more adventurous than that! Whether it’s nail art in your team’s colors, Skittles manis, accent nails, glitter gradients, bumpy textures or ombre effects, anything it goes.

You can even match your nails to your accessories, which is what I’m doing now with the new Zoya Tickled collection ($9 per bottle).

With the six-piece summer release of creamy shades, it kind of seem like Zoya’s channeling Essie (in a very good way). Here my multicolored mani matches my favorite scarf, which I picked up on sale at Anthropologie last summer. 🙂

Zoya Tickled Collection on my nails clockwise from my thumb: Rooney, Tilda, Ling, Rocha and Wendy; nail polish bottles clockwise from the blue bottle: Ling, Rooney and Wendy — On my nails clockwise from my thumb: Rooney, Tilda, Ling, Rocha and Wendy; nail polish bottles clockwise from the blue bottle: Ling, Rooney and Wendy

Zoya Tickled Collection, on my nails clockwise from my pinky: Kitridge, Tilda, Rooney, Wendy and Link — On my nails clockwise from my pinky: Kitridge, Tilda, Rooney, Wendy and Ling (two coats each); bottles clockwise from the green shade: Tilda, Rocha and Kitridge

I’m wearing two coats of each creamy, pigmented shade with Guerlain Le Gel topcoat (two words: shiny, sturdy) on top.

The smooth colors are packed with pigment (no streaks, BTW, not even with Kitridge, the pale pink polish), but a word of caution…

I’m just wearing them with a topcoat here (lazy girl says what now?), but you may want to go all out with these and also wear a base coat.

Then, in addition to that, you’ll probably also want Siri to remind you to reapply your top coat every other day.

Since I skipped the base coat this time around, I started seeing small chips around the edges of four fingernails by the end of the second day…

Wearing a multicolored mani with a matching scarf is one of the quickest fashion tips/conversation starters I know, and an easy way to gussy up a basic outfit like jeans and a tee, or a simple black dress (I do it all the time).

With multicolored manis, I get out of glancing down at my nails as I’m typing. Highly recommended if you spend a lot of time at a computer. 🙂
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 321

May 5th, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

Happy Cinco de Mayo! — The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll for May 5, 2014

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

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

The secret to a really good _____ is _____.
The secret to a really good workout is coffee!

Do you have any shoes or bags with funky patterns on them (florals, plaids, animal prints, etc.)?
Um, yeah! 🙂 My ASPCA Vans shoes with the collage o’ cats.

I also have some printed makeup bags, like a nylon MAC one with graffiti art on it, and a cute Kate Spade bag with red piping and black-and-white hand-drawn illustrations of lipsticks and compacts and other little pieces of makeup.

Oh, and I also have a pair of leopard-print heels, but I never wear them because they hurt my feet…

Most memorable summer job?
Working as a coordinator at the Foreign Language Lab on my last summer at Davis. I opened the lab in the morning, checked out language materials to the foreign language students and helped them with their English conversation skills.

Pick one — layered jewelry or accent nails (if you had to pick).
Layered jewelry. Preferably dainty layered necklaces.

What would you put into your perfect fruit salad?
All kinds of crazy-@ss schtuff!

Watermelon (of course), strawberries, grapefruit, peaches, green grapes (halved), raspberries, blueberries, dragon fruit, lychee and honeycrisp apples (for crunch), all drizzled with warm honey on top. 🙂

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

1. The secret to a really good _____ is _____.
2. Do you have any shoes or bags with funky patterns on them (florals, plaids, animal prints, etc.)?
3. Most memorable summer job?
4. Pick one — layered jewelry or accent nails (if you had to pick).
5. What would you put into your perfect fruit salad?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like we get stuck in a rut when it comes to eating out. We go to the same places a lot because they’re good and reliable, and we know what to expect, but sometimes you get lucky when you try something new.

Like, you find a place that serves house-made mini donuts. 🙂

The secret to eternal happiness just might be a basket of mini donuts… (They’re a lot smaller than they look.)

On Saturday morning for breakfast we drove up to the Boon Fly Café in Napa off Sonoma Highway, right next to The Carneros Inn.

I ordered the veggie omelet (so tasty!), which had asparagus, squash, purple cauliflower and jack cheese and came with crispy hash browns and fresh baked wheat toast. El Hub had the standard bacon and eggs with sourdough toast.

YUM! Everything was flat-out delicious, and that’s not even the best part. The Carneros Inn next door has stunning wine country gardens and rose- and fig tree-lined walking paths; it’s worth a trip just for the walk after breakfast.

You never know what you’re gonna get, ya know, when you try something new, but sometimes you get really lucky.

Have a great day today. Happy Cinco de Mayo, my friend. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 294

May 4th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

Hey kitty cats,

Ah, the trials and tribulations of being a husky tabby! I’ve been searching high and low for a window perch able to support my luxurious frame for what feels like an eternity. Most of them claim to be designed for cats of all sizes but turn out to be of such dubious construction that I doubt they would support kittens half my weight.

As luck would have it, my assistant mentioned that she found one claiming to support felines up to 35 pounds on a recent trip to Petco.

Purr-fect, as I am currently pushing 20 pounds (I had to bulk up for an upcoming action movie role with Channing Tatum), so I gave the girl my American Express black card and said, “mrow!” Bring one back, and make it snappy!

She returned with the $29.95 Cat Napper, and we assembled it together today.

Actually, she assembled it while I supervised; these paws weren’t made for manual labor.

The perch has a hammock style design with a polyester cover and a sturdy plastic frame. Two large Velcro stickers, one which goes on the frame and the other on the window, secure the perch in place. Or, you can use the included wood screws to make the install more permanent.

We opted for the Velcro, as I do not trust my assistant with power tools…

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

May 3rd, 2014 by Karen 329 Comments

Good morning, glory. 🙂 I hope you slept well. Did you do anything interesting or fun last night?

El Hub and I drove down to Blue Barn in Corte Madera, and I got that salad I like (with the grilled shrimp and avocado). Then we just tooled around the mall until closing.

It was such a comfortable night outside, all warm with a beautiful coral and pink sunset, so it was nice to just walk around.

There’s an REI down there, so we walked in to look at bikes, and I found a cute blue one with flowers painted on it and tassels on the handlebars and a basket on the front that would have been perfect for kittens, but it was like $700!

Seriously, when did cute bicycles get so expensive?

In other news, this was a big week for my addiction to makeup. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed the MAC Maleficent and Alluring Aquatic coverage. I had a total blast doing those posts.

Good luck in this weekend’s Sephora giveaway. Talk to you soon.

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:
- Do you have a bicycle? If so what does it look like?
- Do you know how to waterski?
- Favorite false lashes?
- Complete this sentence: when it comes to taking pictures…
- What’s your favorite two-shadow eye look at the moment?
- When was the last time you wore your hair up?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, May 5, 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

Hourglass Welcomes Four New Shades to Their Panoramic Lip Pencil Line in Raven, Muse, Empress and Eden

May 2nd, 2014 by Karen 22 Comments

The new Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencils, $28 each

More lip love coming at’cha from Hourglass Cosmetics.

The luxury makeup line (which I lurve) recently added four new shades to their Panoramic Long Wear Lip Pencil line — orangey red Raven, coral-red Muse, deep aubergine Empress and true nude Eden.

These smooth, creamy pencils glide along my lips like makeup figure skaters and remind me a lot of MAC’s Pro Longwear Lip Pencils.

No tugging at all, and they don’t dry out my lips, either.

They last for me from 4-5 hours.

What Hourglass says about ’em…

The creamy formula glides on smoothly and resists smudging and feathering.

Polymers adhere to the skin and have water-resistant qualities.

Intense color payoff delivers continuous all-day wear.

Equipped with a blending brush to perfect and evenly distribute product.

Free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates and gluten. Not tested on animals.

Note the caps on both ends down below… The pencils come with a blending brush to buff and distribute the liner after applying.

Sweet. 🙂

They’re available now in the Hourglass permanent collection at Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman and Sephora stores, and also online at hourglasscosmetics.com for $28 each.

Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencils from the left: Muse, Empress, Eden and Raven — Panoramic Lip Pencils from the left in Muse, Empress, Eden and Raven

Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencil 5 — The blending brush

Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencil Swatches clockwise from the lower left corner: Empress, Nude, Muse and Raven — Swatches, with love, clockwise from the lower left corner in Empress, Eden, Muse and Raven

Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencil in Nude Swatch — Eden

Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencil in Muse Swatch — Muse

Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencil in Raven Swatch — Raven

Hourglass Panoramic Lip Pencil in Empress Swatch — Empress

I feel like Hourglass is totally having a well-deserved moment right now.

30 Days of NARS: Priscilla Lip Gloss, Day 21

May 2nd, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Smokin’!

Hands down, shocking hot pink Priscilla is one of my top five favorite shades in the recently reformulated 30-piece NARS Lip Gloss line ($26 each).

With the way she fades from a bodacious and bright opaque color to a deep pink stain over a couple hours, it’s almost like getting two lip products for the price of one.

Watch Priscilla strut her stuff at NARS counters and online right meow. 🙂

The 30 Days of NARS series features a different NARS Lip Gloss every day

I’m Inspired by Muse: The New Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Muse

May 2nd, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

Oh, happy day!

Hourglass Cosmetics recently added three new shades to their Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss line — coral Muse, dusty rose Canvas and vibrant pink Ballet. Muse in its lipstick form has been one of my favorite Hourglass products for a while, so yay! Happy dance. 🙂

I’ve been deeply enamored with the Extreme Sheens and their bomb-dot-com, hella moisturizing formula. Not only do they shine like diamonds, but they also smell like cupcakes!

That’s like a triple rainbow all the way across the sky.

Pink guava Origami and warm coral Nectar have been my go-to purse gloss jams this spring, but now they face serious competition from Muse…

A potently pigmented coral, Muse is essentially the glossy version of the brand’s Femme Rouge Lipstick and Opaque Liquid Lipstick of the same name.

BAM! — it jumps right out at you.

Muse in Extreme Sheen Lip Gloss form begins bright and bold, slowly fading to a matte reddish pink stain over the course of 2-3 hours.

Very pretty. 🙂

Because Muse packs a lot of pigment, keeping it inside my natural lip line can be a challenge when applying, especially if I’m rushing, so I like to prep my pout first with a lip liner to keep it corralled.

With a steady hand and some patience, though, you could probably skip the liner. Just know that it’ll take some time to apply, because the color’s REALLY INTENSE.

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