
You just have to keep your eyes wide open so you can find it.
by Karen 9 Comments





You just have to keep your eyes wide open so you can find it.
by Karen 46 Comments

Sure, you’ve got your beauty bases covered for life’s big events — cocktail parties, baby showers, weddings, the zombie apocalypse — but what about those once-in-a-while mornings when you wake up feeling “meh”?
Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Maybe you woke up with hella greasy hair that smelled like Ritz Crackers. Maybe you just wanted — no, needed a jolt of color to summon your inner foxiness forward.
It’s mornings like those that were made for 413BLKR. 🙂
NARS recently released 413BLKR Duo Eyeshadow ($34) and 413BLKR Velvet Matte Lip Pencil ($24), the two newest numerically-named members of Team 413BLKR (a collection named after the company’s flagship NY store), to celebrate Fashion’s Night Out, a big New York Fashion Week festivity.
You know…I never would have thought to pair these two products together, and that’s one of the reasons why I love NARS. They have a knack for introducing unexpected pairings that just plain work.
Wearing these pieces, I feel like shouting “halleluja!” up to the heavens. “Mama’s still got it!” They make me want to blast Bad Girls by Donna Summer and twirl around in my living room with my arms raised up!


by Karen 30 Comments

TABS: Woman. Woooo-man. WOMAN!
KAREN: Um, yes, Tabs?
TABS: I need you to stop whatever you’re doing because I have an urgent task for you.
KAREN: Well, I’m in the middle of alphabetizing your cans of gravy right now, which earlier today you called the “highest priority” in the office, and if I stop now to do something else, I’ll be here all night long.
TABS: And…?

KAREN: [Sigh] What is it?
TABS: Listen, I’m gonna need you to try on these two new pieces from the MAC Carine Roitfeld collection — the Full Face Kit in Jungle Camouflage and the Lipstick in Tropical Mist.
KAREN: Sure, but does it have to be now? Can’t it wait ’til tomorrow?
TABS: Oh, I’m sorry. Did the terms of your employment suddenly change? — because I don’t remember paying you to ask questions.
KAREN: It’s funny you should mention that, because I don’t remember you paying me at all.
TABS: Well excuuuuuse me, miss thing! If you don’t want the job, I can get someone else. I know at least 50 girls who would jump at the chance to assist me.
KAREN: Okay, okay. Don’t get your tail in a knot. Is there a particular look you want me to try?
TABS: That’s better. Yes, how about something smokey? You know I lurves me some smokey eyes.



by Karen 31 Comments

Um…like I really needed another excuse to randomly bust out in song today.
Sun’s up? That’s a good reason. Cup of coffee? That’s a good reason. Tabs hasn’t scratched my ankles yet? That’s a good reason. Waiting in line at Trader Joe’s, taking Tabs for a walk, indoor plumbing, having ice cream for dinner, sitting in front of the computer like I am right now? All good enough reasons.
But lately, I’ve been singing aloud with even more gusto than usual, like I’m stuck in an a very special episode of Glee (guest starring Tabs the Cat and Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog), and I MUST EMOTE! 🙂
I wonder if it has something to do with Anastasia…
I’ve been wearing the new glosses in her latest set a lot this week, and not just because they shine like my tubby tabby’s eyes.
Most of the glosses in the limited edition $30 holiday Kisses on My List Volume 2 Hydrafull Gloss Set of six full-size tubes are named after a different old-school jam.
There’s Lola, a shimmery, cool pink that changes to a deeper hue after a few minutes on the lips (Anastasia calls these Hypercolor glosses); Maggie May, a sheer and creamy nude; Jolene, a shimmery rose (another one of the Hypercolors); Roxanne, a shimmery gold (also a Hypercolor); and Sharona, a sheer and shimmery peach.
The only one I don’t recognize from a song is Moi, a sheer and creamy pink (got any ideas about the name?).
The other day I took out Roxanne and applied a single layer.
No, it did not sting. 🙂 Nor did the police arrive (ba-dum bum!).
But I did feel inspired to pretend the tube was a microphone and belted out, “Rrrrrox-anne! You don’t have to put on the red light!” in the middle of my living room.


You might be thinking, “K, you so crazy! I love good glosses too, but there’s no way one would make me sing in public or my living room.”
You never know, my friend. Even if you’re the silent type, this set is one heck of a deal. In the set, the glosses work out to just $5 per tube, versus the $18 they usually sell for individually.

by Karen 5 Comments





Wear fuchsia. The password to get it in “Velvet Matte.” Will I see you there?
by Karen 20 Comments



Coconut cupcakes from my nephew’s birthday party last Saturday. And yes, they were just as yummy as they look. 🙂
Wish I could have one for breakfast right now!
by Karen 36 Comments

“Almost done! Be down in five minutes!”
I wonder if boys are born knowing that that phrase up their actually means that they’re gonna be waiting at least another 30 minutes, or if it’s knowledge they acquire over the years.
Poor El Hub… Sometimes I think I can actually hear his eyes rolling when I yell to him from upstairs, “Almost done! Be down in five minutes!”
It’s all the little bits, ya know? Those are the things that can really add up to take so much time — the things like shading, contouring, highlighting and texturizing we do to give our makeup extra bamf!
You know how it goes… Like J. Renner told Ellen, you start with the basics. “Brows, lashes, lips — frame the face!” (at about 3:34 in the video). But then somewhere along the way, the makeup train derails. Next thing you know, you’re holding five brushes in one hand and two palettes in the other, and the sink is covered in fallout.
Possessed! That’s how you look, but you feel like the queen of the world! 🙂
If those little beauty bits — the things like sculpting, defining and adding texture to your skin — light your fire like they light mine, don’t miss the new MAC Face and Body collection, a 27-piece release.
It includes 13 travel-sized bottles of MAC Face and Body Foundation (1.7 ounces for $27 each, versus $35 for the regular 4-ounce bottles), six Pro Scultping Creams ($20 each), six shimmery Pressed Pigments ($21 each) and two brushes ($25 for the MAC 215, and $35 for the MAC 163).
Here’s a quick look at four pieces from the collection and a few first impressions…

Peachy beige Pro Sculpting Cream in Accentuate

Deep, dirty cool brown Pro Sculpting Cream in Coffee Walnut
[Continue reading…]
by Karen 11 Comments






We’ve got fun and games — and a Full Face Kit ($44) and a Lipstick ($16.50) from the limited edition MAC Carine Roitfled collection.
That’s Jungle Camouflage on the left and Tropical Mist on the right. Both are available now at MAC counters, stores and maccosmetics.com.

Can’t wait to get my neutrals on with this one. 🙂 What do you think of the colors?
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