Karen

Lofty Goals, and a Few Holiday Gift Ideas From Anthropologie

September 27th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

I have a friend who always, always finishes her holiday shopping in October.

Um…wow?

On the one hand, I think that’s cray. On the other, I wish I had her discipline because seriously, I’m an infamous last-minute shopper. Most years I’m at the mall on Christmas Eve!

This year — oh, here we go — I swear I’m going to get most of my holiday shopping done by Halloween.

A lofty goal, I know, but I figure, Tabs was able to beat all odds to become the world’s greatest plus-size kitty supermodel, so I ought to be able to at least finish my holiday shopping by the end of October.

The other day I did some early recon at my local Anthropologie and found a few interesting gift ideas…

Man, I love that store. They take tchotchkes to the next level.

Paws & Claws Stackable Candle, $40 — Paws & Claws Stackable Candle ($40 each). When you’re done with these candles, you can use the trays as cat food dishes.

Ranch Organics Goat Milk Soaps, $6 — Ranch Organics Goat Milk Soaps ($6 each). I thought the light and fresh green grassy scent was just lovely.

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A Face of the Day With a Dramatic Plummy Black Lip, and an Old Lip Trick From My College Days

September 27th, 2013 by Karen 27 Comments

MAC Strong Willed — Yeah, I’d walk my cat lookin’ like this…

True story: It was 1994. I was in my second year of college at Davis, and I’d become full-on obsessed with the idea of wearing a dark, almost black, matte red lipstick, but I couldn’t find the color at any of the drugstores in town.

It didn’t help that Davis was a small town out in the middle of nowhere. No, seriously, it’s pretty built up now (they have a Gap!), but back then it was just farms and cows as far as the eye could see.

Cutting-edge makeup (for the time) was not easy to track down.

Eventually, I realized that I probably wasn’t going to find what I wanted on a shelf. I was about to give up when, one day, inspiration struck!

With a black eyeliner, I lined and filled in my lips, and then layered my darkest red lipstick on top.

Eureka!!

I ended up rockin’ that look so hard to chem class, you don’t even know.

Today that same trick with eyeliner on my lips came in handy again while I was getting ready.

So, I’ve been wanting to try something like that Goth-ish look from Lorde’s Tennis Court video. In the video she wears a striking look with eyeshadow in a cat eye shape, with white liner on her lower water line and a dark, dramatically delicious purplish black lip.

Since there isn’t a lot of color on her eyes and cheeks, it puts the focus firmly on her lips.

Gah! I love it.

The eyes? Super easy. I used a few MAC neutral eyeshadow staples (Bamboo, Soba and Cork) to create the lifted, cat eye shape.

Wouldn’t you know it, though? The ONE TIME I needed the white eyeliner that I hardly ever use, I couldn’t find it, so I used a pale beige eyeliner on my water lines instead (Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude).

I didn’t do much with my cheeks. Just some light contouring (using MAC Give Me Sun Bronzer) and highlighting (Becca Opal).

Last, but not least — the lips!

I really wanted them to look dark, almost black, so I ended up using — yup, you guessed it — an eyeliner, MAC’s Pro Longwear Eyeliner in Strong Willed ($19.50), a matte plummy black.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly

September 27th, 2013 by Karen 18 Comments

Please pardon my less-than-pristine pot of MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly. We’ve done a lot of lovin’ together over the past few years.

Painterly, a clean, classic nude beige with a matte finish, is one of my favorite cream eyeshadows in the MAC Paint Pot line. Mostly, I use it as an eyeshadow base or to even out my lid color by buffing a single layer of it on with a MAC 217 before some cat eyeliner and mascara.

I absolutely lurve the way it enhances other shadow colors when it’s worn as a base. It keeps other colors true to the way they look in their pans, which is a nifty trick. Products are also easy to blend on top of it, so when I’m doing a look with multiple colors and gradients, Painterly is almost always the base I grab.

MAC Painterly on NC42 skin — Painterly on my NC42 skin

On my (now, this time of year) slightly dry lids, Painterly lasts all day long without creasing, but if you have uber-oily lids, you might want to give it a hand by applying it atop a layer of NARS Pro-Prime or Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

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Try $22 Benefit Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fiber Gel for Fuller-Looking Brows

September 26th, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium — Wearing Benefit’s Gimme Brow in Light/Medium in my brows

Gimme brows.

Gimme brows, I said!

That’s like a beauty lover’s battle cry… “Gimme brows, dagnabbit!” 🙂

Mine have grown out quite a bit since last spring, which is when I decided to leave them to their natural tendencies.

Well, mostly natural. I still tweeze a stray hair every now and then, just to keep myself from looking like a tiny Sasquatch, but for the most part, I let them go wild.

I want my brows so lush, full and bold that passersby do double-takes and say to themselves, “Damn! That girl’s got BROWS!”

Benefit’s new Gimme Brow Brow-Volumizing Fiber Gel ($22) got my attention because of that word, “Volumizing”

I actually don’t know if volumizing is a real word outside of haircare and mascara circles, but it sounds good, doesn’t it?

Vol-yume-eye-zing.

Cute little tube too, yeah? And that mini brush? It’s designed to be very precise.

The brush-on waterproof gel formula adheres to both hair and skin and comes in two build-able, natural-looking shades — Light/Medium and Medium/Deep — and you can apply them in multiple layers to strengthen the look.

With brow fillers, I typically go a few shades lighter than my natural brow color because I think that looks less stark and obvious. That’s why I thought Light/Medium would be better for my fuzzy little caterpillars…

Unfortunately, I think it turned out to be a tad too light for me, but I still found a lot to like.

Benefit Gimme Brow swatch in Light/Medium — Swatch of Light/Medium…

The gel formula is highly pigmented and really adheres to hair and skin with firm hold. In fact, I think if I wanted to, I could build a bold brow with just this alone, and it would last all day.

None of that funky crunchiness, either, that accompanies some brow gels. This formula holds firm but doesn’t get crunchy.

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Dolce & Gabbana PassionEyes Duo Mascara: Lash Passion Now Comes in Blue, Brown and Black

September 26th, 2013 by Karen 6 Comments

Dolce Gabbana Passioneyes Mascara — Dolce & Gabbana PassionEyes Duo Mascara ($32)

Brown mascara, wha!?

Ain’t nobody got time for that!

That’s the first thing I thought when I saw Dolce & Gabbana’s new PassionEyes Duo Mascara ($32).

It comes in three shades — black, blue (referred to as Blue Indigo online, but it’s called Blu Indaco on the tube) and brown — the least exciting of which, for me, is the brown, mostly ’cause the tint is almost indistinguishable on my dark lashes.

A brown mascara could come in handy if you’re very fair, or if you don’t want your lashes to look too dark or stark, so if that sounds like a good fit for you, haaaaay! — now you’ve got a PassionEyes option.

Dolce Gabbana Passioneyes Mascara wands from the left: Nero, Terra and Blue Indaco — Wands from the left: Nero, Terra and Blue Indigo

According to D&G, PassionEyes gives a double boost to lashes, amplifying lash length and curl, which is why they bill it as a “Duo Mascara.” Tapioca polymers lock lashes into place, while beeswax enhances flexibility and glycerin conditions.

The look? How about feminine and curvy (they say they were inspired by a classic Dolce & Gabbana dress)?

Today I tested Nero, the black shade, and Blue Indigo, the blue one, and they reminded me of mellower versions of YSL Faux Cils because most of the volume-enhancement occurs at the roots and slowly tapers toward the tips.

Both colors have a gorgeous glossy finish — very shiny and smooth — without any bumps or clumps.

Dolce Gabbana Passioneyes Mascara swatches from the left: Nero (black), Terra (brown) and Blue Indigo (blue) — Swatches from the left: Nero (black), Terra (brown) and Blu Indigo (blue)

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Possible Nail Art Inspiration: Beaded Belts (and Craft Stores in General)

September 26th, 2013 by Karen 6 Comments

Saw these beaded belts at Anthropologie the other day and thought they’d make a good jumping off point for some nail art.

Maybe with a matte (or glossy) black base and a similar pattern on top with metallic gold and bronze dots in different sizes?

Craft store says what? (What!) 🙂

I think that would look really cool.

Have you experimented with any nail art lately? Sadly, I’ve been neglecting my paws, so my answer is no, but hopefully that’ll change this weekend.

Have You Made Any Beauty Changes So Far This Fall?

September 26th, 2013 by Karen 36 Comments

Like have you…

Switched from lightweight to heavy-duty lotions or moisturizers (or vice versa)?
Incorporated any new cold weather balms or products?
Swapped out the bright lipsticks in your purse for deeper, darker hues?
Changed your hair style or color?
Picked up a new fragrance for fall?

So far — mind you, we’re early in the season — my biggest change has been to my hair, which is now a dark chocolate brown with reddish streaks.

I’ve also started wearing heavier scents, like EstÃ©e Lauder’s Modern Muse, and more dramatic eyes and lips, which Tabs affectionately refers to as my “vampire makeup.”

Hey, if I could look like Pam from True Blood, I’d totally be okay with that.

How about you? Have you made any seasonal beauty changes so far? Do you plan to if you haven’t yet? Like perhaps different products in your skincare routine? Or a new color theme to your makeup? Spill the beans.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Post-Dental Beauty Bribery Featuring Yves Saint Laurent and Bobbi Brown Fall 2013 Swatches

September 25th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

K in the mirror — Who’s that cat lady at the mall?!

Okay, so I know I always hem and haw whenever I have to go to the dentist (I can’t help it. I’m a crybaby.), but I had some seriously traumatic dental experiences as a child.

I’m way better now, though. Now I only slightly freak out before my appointments. 🙂

Today my plan of attack was pretty simple: just don’t cry. So I took a ton of deep breaths, tried not to clench my fists in the chair, said comforting things to myself like, “You’re doing great. Everything’s going to be fine. This isn’t bad at all.” And, of course, I exercised beauty bribery.

I gotta admit, that stuff really works. I told myself that if I didn’t cry at the dentist’s office today, I could pop by the mall on my way home, and wouldn’t ya know it? I didn’t shed a tear, which goes to show ya — that’s the healing power of shopping centers right there.

Of course, the mall doesn’t get all the credit. It also helped that the gal who did my cleaning, Kim, happened to be a beauty junkie and fellow MAC fan (Hey, Kim!), so we had a lot to talk about.

When Kim finished and I left the office with my new toothbrush, some floss, a freshly cleaned night mouth guard (SEXY) and one of those pointy rubber thing-a-ma-bobbers to clean my gums, I made a b-line for Nordstrom’s Yves Saint Laurent and Bobbi Brown counters.

Sigh… I could’ve stayed there all night long, but then I thought, Who would do my tubby tabby’s bidding?

Must hurry up and get swatches.

YSL Fall Look 2013 Swatches

Starting with the four swatches in the top row from the left: the City Drive Classy Palette ($55)
Top row, three swatches on the right: the Top Secrets BB Cream Skintone Perfector in Light, Medium and Dark ($50 each)
Middle row: the City Drive Arty Palette ($55)
Bottom row, the two swatches on the left: Blush Radiance in 09 and 10 ($45 each)
Bottom row, the three swatches on the right: Rouge Pur Couture Lip Color in 1, 51 and 54 ($34 each)

Bobbi Brown Katie Palette, $68 — The Bobbi Brown Katie Palette ($68)

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