Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
FYI, pet parents/accessories addicts! Betsey Johnson’s Bow-nanza Infinity Scarf makes quite a stylish sleeping bag for your furry, fashion-forward feline overlord.
Yeah, it took about five seconds for Tabs to claim my new scarf as his own… Now he’s obsessed with the thing (he sleeps under it for hours).
I think it’s the leopard print and sequins. He has weaknesses for both. 🙂
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 six years. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
Oh, well. At least I saw lots of cute dogs in adorable Christmas outfits. 🙂
As for my other BFFs, El Hub, I met through a friend (we started emailing together, and he had a great sense of humor in print…and really excellent grammar), and Tabs was a friendly neighborhood stray who strolled into my apartment one afternoon, approved of my petting and immediately claimed me as his official gravy provider/servant.
SO TASTY!
Also, cooking.
Except for the cold aspect.
Now it’s your turn. Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em! 🙂
1. Did you do any holiday shopping last weekend?
2. How did you meet your best friend?
3. What do you miss most about the ’90s?
4. What’s your typical take on smokey eyes?
5. What color describes your mood today?
6. Do you have a mentor?
7. What’s the first thing you did when you woke up this morning?
8. Has your life ever flashed before your eyes?
9. What’s something you aren’t very good at but enjoy doing anyway?
10. Have you ever had a snowy Christmas?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Who is Tabs the Cat? About six years ago I befriended a stray, flea-bitten tabby cat with a bad case of worms. I could see he’d fallen on hard times, but his profound knowledge of high fashion and department store cosmetics led me to believe that he was more than meets the eye. We became fast friends, and now he’s actually my boss (and a successful kitty model). 🙂
Dear friends and feline aficionados,
Just a quick entry tonight. I’ve spent the better part of the past two days contending with the Christmas crowds, and my paws are killing me.
I started at the mall, and heavens! — it was a madhouse. So. Many. Cats, dogs and humans.
The dogs were everywhere, running this way and that. Most of them stayed out of my way, though, which was nice.
The children were…generally less polite, yelling and reaching out with their sticky grabby hands. One of them grabbed my tail but had the good sense to let go when I hissed. Another one exhibited perfect technique with her petting, so I advised her to consider a career in professional pet assisting after she finished her schooling.
When my tummy rumbled, I stopped by Boudin’s for a small cup of their delicious clam chowder and then stopped by Pier One to look for festive feline decorations.
Unfortunately, the cat-themed selection was lacking, but the elephants and penguins were represented well. They must shop at that store a lot…
As for my kitty modeling, I had a few fun jobs early this week, but things are starting to slow down now with Christmas approaching. I’m sure they’ll pick up again after the first.
Per our regular arrangement, I’m reposting my kitty modeling campaign pictures here in my online portfolio for your evaluation. I hope you enjoy. 🙂
Your loving furry friend, always,
Tabs
NOTE TO SELF: Typing is kind of hard when you’re wearing gloves…even if they’re fingerless and have an extremely cute snow leopard-print pattern.
My inner cat lady mistakenly assumed that kitty-print gloves would be more conducive to typing.
Yup, we live and learn…
I broke down and got those Betsey Johnson black and gray leopard-print knit gloves we talked about earlier this week. You remember — I was tempted the first time I saw them, but I forgot the gift card I wanted to use at home.
At the time I figured that if the universe wanted me to have fingerless leopard gloves in my life, the gloves would still be at Nordstrom on my next visit, and lo-and-behold, they were! 🙂
Now, you might be wondering why I’m wearing them inside the house to type. Well…why not? I’m in the kitchen, which is the coldest room in the house, and it’s particularly chilly this morning (I’m wearing a parka and gloves to make coffee and type).
But that’s not even the funniest part. Get this: the thermostat is set for 65 degrees…so on the global scheme of things, it really ain’t that cold in here, haha! I’m just not designed for cold.
So what’s on your plate today? Other than staying warm, I have a few chores to do (Blergh! Although I do love having a clean bathroom…) and some Christmas shopping, and hopefully I’ll have time to film one or two new videos. I’ve really been enjoying the video thing so far and want to keep exploring.
Before you get going, don’t forget to enter this week’s Sephora giveaway, even if it’s just one entry by logging into the widget and leaving a comment. You never know — this could be your week.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The hunt is finally over.
It only took repeated trips to three different counters and stalking the MAC website for weeks. Heck, I couldn’t even find it at the MAC Pro Store in SF, but now, finally, Costa Riche is mine, and it’s glorious!
Oh, sure, it might be a little weird to get this jazzed about a brown liner (so boring, right?), but this one is — oh, boy — really beautiful. It’s a little like a less shimmery MAC Teddy Eye Kohl, and more golden brown than reddish bronzy brown.
Natural with a karate kick!
After scouring every MAC counter in my area to no avail, I was finally able to order it from a counter at the Nordstrom in Corte Madera. The associates offered to have it shipped to the store, yay! 🙂
If you feel that most black eyeliners are too harsh for you, you might love Costa Riche.
My water lines have been extra sensitive lately (no idea why), and the only things I’ve been able to wear on them have been the MAC Eye Kohls.
I’m so glad I found Costa Riche (I fell in love with it after swatching it at a counter, but they didn’t have it in stock), and now I just hope it doesn’t get discontinued.
Like a cola-flavored Icee, this new red Lip Tint by Lush is super chill…
Chill, as in relaxed. It’s not cold or anything, although I think it does taste and smell kinda like a cold Coca-Cola Icee, probably on account of the cola flavoring derived from cherry and date extracts.
I think of Santa Baby less as a lip tint and more as a sheer matte lipstick in pot packaging. Like a matte lipstick, the finish is flat, and there’s a good amount of pigment in it, ensuring that you can actually (hopefully) see the red color on your lips. I can, and I can still also see my natural lip color peeking through.
It’s all very casually cool…like a sweet pair of distressed jeans or a broken-in leather jacket.
I apply it with my fingers and skip the lip liner, and then have to reapply about every 3-4 hours after that.
In an emergency (uh…a makeup emergency?), it’ll even double as a cream blush.
And the lightweight, non-sticky formula feels like next-to-nothing on my lips, which I like.
Name: Jerrod Blandino
Location: Irvine, California
Day job/current gig: Co-Founder and Creative Director of Too Faced Cosmetics
Hangouts online: Twitter, Facebook and toofaced.com.
Beauty inspirations: First and foremost, it’s the women in my life. My sister growing up. Kind of the idea of being little and seeing my really feminine, fabulous sister, but she was also super kick-@ss. Fashion. Interiors. Wallpapers. Car paint. Cupcakes. Pastries. California. Of course, the beach. It’s such a big part part of who I am. You know, it literally comes from everywhere. I become very obsessed with things. I love anything retro glam, classic. Ya know, I love trends and I love the ’80s and I’m obsessed with, you know, just accessories and fashion. I love stationary and wedding cakes and chocolate and clovers and chihuahuas. I love horses. I don’t know, I’m obsessed with horses all of a sudden…
One word that best describes your outlook on beauty: Joyful!
I cannot live without and will never live without my Bulletproof Brows, which is my new product that’s coming out. People will be ADDICTED to it. It will change your life.
My bronzers, my bronzing wardrobe. I have a different bronzer for every different outfit. Every different time of year, every moment. It depends on where I’m going, what I’m doing. I’ve built a bronzing wardrobe that I’m absolutely addicted to and will never give up.
And I love my Amazing Face Powder Foundation. It’s the quickest way to look like you’ve been completely taking care of your skin and have been getting eight hours of sleep and drinking all the water that you should be drinking.
So, those are my obsessive products that I use every day.
Well, that’s kind of funny that you asked that because it’s kind of weird. I was always an artist growing up. I was that little kid who won art shows and was always drawing, and I was obsessed with The Muppets! I went to art school and actually became an art teacher and taught kids art.
Ya know… Well, really in high school, I remember my friend, Bernadette was amazing, and she would spend three hours in the mirror doing her makeup. It was the late ’80s and early ’90s, and I remember thinking that this was just like another form of art. I clicked into that, and I remember the moment it clicked. I was sitting in her bathroom watching her. She was putting on, like, eight different lipsticks to create whatever look she was doing.
And so, then I went to art school. I went to animation school for Disney and Warner Brothers. It was a sort of school where they’d find talent and furrow them in [and it was there] I discovered makeup on accident. I got a job at Estee Lauder behind the counter at Saks Fifth Avenue — it was all totally an accident, freakishly — and on my very first day behind the counter, it all made sense. My art background, my creative background, my dreaming — the way I looked at the world was very cartoonish, always, growing up. I was always ready for, you know, the stuffed animal to come alive and talk to you. I was that kid. I would wait for the rainbow to come into my background so I could climb it and go into the clouds. That was me.
And when I got my first client in the chair, I saw that this was just a different type of art medium, but it was an art medium that would transform people. It would embed self-esteem into women. I saw the transformation that occurred when I was doing my art on people, not on paper. And I was hooked.
My best beauty time-saving trick? Okay! Alright, so this is what you’re going to do. You’ve going to wake up, and wash your face. You’re going to apply my tinted BB Creme, my BB Balm, because it’s got every amazing skincare serum that I’ve ever tried in my life embedded into that formula. It’s full of moisture, full of anti-oxidants, full of anti-aging, decongesting, wonderful ingredients but it also gives great coverage. So, instantly, boom — we’ve got your skin covered.
We’re going to take my Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer that’s full of antioxidants and moisturizing ingredients, and we’re going to spread that around the perimeter around your face, closest to the hairline, around the jaw, and through your cheekbones. Boom! We’ve got you sculpted and you’re ready go.
You’ve got to put on my Better Than Sex Mascara, because it’s so rich, and so thick, and the powered peptides in that thing make it so black that you don’t need eyeliner. So you’re going to wiggle that right along your lash line. After that, a little bit of my Lip Injection Plumping Lip Gloss will get your lips full, pink and luscious, and you’re out the door. You’re ready to go to work, you’re ready to go on a date, you’re ready to meet your kid’s future husband, you’re ready to have sex, whatever you want.
Easy. It’s my Teddy Bear Hair Retractable Kabuki Brush. It’s great for bronzers, it’s great for blushes, it’s great for powders. It’s retractable and twists up and down.
If you keep the head twisted down almost so it’s really tight, and you just get a mound, and the bristles are tight, you get a lot of coverage. You could even use it as a quick eyeshadow brush if you wanted. You could use it as a sculptor. When you twist it up all the way and it gets to its fluffiest self, it’s the perfect bronzer, loose powder, powder foundation applicator. And because it’s synthetic hair, you could even apply your liquid foundations with it. So it does everything!
You’ve gotta smile. You’ve got to feel it. You’ve got to love your life, you have to feel it from the inside. Because you can do anything you want in the world to the outside, and it’s not going to make any difference. The most beautiful people in the world are the people who are happy, who are self-confident, and who love to be alive. Who are joyful, who are kind and full of love. You know?
Oh sh*t, do you really want to get into that? Honey, we’ll be on this call for eight hours.
[KAREN: Okay…so give me the abbreviated version]
Ooooooh, HONEY. Obsessed with skincare! I have lots of great friends in the industry. No, I’m lucky enough to meet and call friends like Dr. Brandt one of them. I’ve been given too much information so… (Laughs.) But because of that, because I know of this, I’ll tell you what I do. A lot of the things I use and love and depend on are in my makeup. Because I’ve realized how important it is, and how important it is to preserve and take good care of your skin. And with science, nowadays, I can incorporate that into my cosmetics.
I’m going to abbreviate it for you because it gets scary! I use DermaQuest Peptide Mobilizer, and then I use Stem Cell Day Serum, and then I use a skin growth gel, it’s Bio-Serum, it makes your skin grow thicker and stay healthy. I do that. Then, I use an eye serum. And I fluctuate back and forth.
I thought this was going to be an easy question to answer, but then I got down to the nitty-gritty details and WHAT!? I mean, seriously, how could I ever NOT wear bronzer?
No. No way.
But, I guess if through some cruel twist of galactic fate, I absolutely couldn’t use more than five products to do my morning makeup…here’s what I’d choose.
Obvs. To cover up those dreaded dark circles.
Something like MAC Brun, which I’d use to fill in my brows and could also use as an eyeliner in a pinch — with this cruel scenario being one such pinch.
To thicken my lashes and help me create more of a wide-awake look. Even a single coat makes a big difference for my eyes.
