Makeup

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Sally Hansen Color Therapy Falling Deep

September 27th, 2018 by Karen 13 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

I recognize that I talk a lot lately about Smith & Cult, but I have reasons! They last, and they’re super saturated, and they also have lots of colors I don’t see anyplace else, like grayish green Bitter Buddhist, an oldie but a goodie that still knocks the cat lady socks off my feet.

Problem is…Smith & Cult is well aware of their fabulousness, and they charge you like they mean it.

$18 a bottle.

But relative to Chanel ($28, wha!?) and Tom Ford ($37, OMG!), that’s a steal…except that it’s not, so what is else is out there?

Here’s something comparable that costs less than half (!) as much: I swear on Jeremy Renner’s makeup brushes that is just as good as Smith & Cult.

There, I said it.

I’ve been wearing one of their new fall shades — a rich, dark reddish brown with bronze microglitter called Falling Deep.

I’ve been wearing it for the past seven days and, quite frankly, I am shocked by how well it held up. It withstood a family plague of three consecutive colds (first El Hub, then Connor and now me), typing 2,000 words in less than 48 hours, and it made it through a moms group get-together that I went to last night in which I awkwardly pretended to be an event photographer (more on this is a second).

“Sally Hansen’s Color Therapy Nail Polish gives you color that cares while you wear! Intensive nourishment for healthy looking nails and up to 10 days fade-proof, chip-resistant Wear. 9 out of 10 women experienced a noticeable improvement in their natural nails.”

—

Falling Deep looks like a Smith & Cult or even a Chanel polish, but it’s only $7.99! And right now at Ulta the entire Color Therapy line is marked down to $4.79, which makes them a steal.

I sandwiched two layers of Falling Deep between the same Smith & Cult base coat and top coat I’ve been using throughout the “Desperately Seeking” series, and after seven days it still looks pretty good.

Day 1

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[The Shower Files] Gel Cream Dreams! The New Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream, Body Balm and Hand Gel

September 27th, 2018 by Karen 19 Comments

A few times… Alright, alright, alright, more than a few times, I’ve stared at the shelf in my bathroom where I keep all of ‘ze body lotions and thought to myself, “K, there’s only so much skin real estate on your person, so you don’t really need another bottle of lotion.” Then I come to my senses and realize that I totally do. Ha ha ha!

I’ve had dry shins for 43 years (had to stop there for a second to remember my age, OY VEY), so it’s not like I’m never NOT going to need to moisturize… It’s exactly like my glam granny always says, “Boys come and go, but dry skin is forever.” (OK, she really didn’t say that, but I bet she would!)

Anyway, Neutrogena launched a new line of pretty good gel cream body lotions, but first…what the heck is a gel cream?

Gel creams are water-based moisturizers with a formula sort of halfway between a watery lotion and a thick cream. Most of the time, they’re slippery, jiggly and translucent, and their main selling point is how quickly they absorb into your skin. You won’t have to spend forever and day working them in. They’re also usually packed with humectants, which are capable of holding many times their own weight in water, like hyaluronic acid in the case of the Hydro Boost line, and silicone, for that signature slippery feeling.

($8.99)

Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream comes with a pump in a scented and a fragrance-free version that both quench thirsty heels and shins equally well (I swear, my legs go “Ahhh!” when I put it on), but I’m all about the scented one, which smells like lemons and freshly folded warm laundry to me. If you’ve worn any of the CLEAN fragrances, you’ll love it, as will anyone who smells you, and I have proof!

The other night after I showered and lotion-ed, I walked downstairs and plopped next to El Hub on the couch to watch the season finale of American Ninja Warrior. As he was falling asleep (at 8 p.m., ha ha ha! He works for a finance company and gets up before the chickens, so it’s a miracle whenever he stays up past 7:30), he sleep-mumbled, “You smell really good.”

This is a moisturizing CHAMP! My skin is dry, dry, dry, and it feels happy, happy, happy when I use it. It should be sufficient for fall and winters here in the Bay Area, and I bet it would even handle more extreme weather. #TeamLizard

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Ingredients, original scent:
Water, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Petrolatum, Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Cetearyl Olivate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbitan Olivate, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxide

Ingredients, fragrance-free version:
Water, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Petrolatum, Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Cetearyl Olivate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbitan Olivate, Fragrance, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Blue 1

($5.99)

Body balms are usually the big guns of the moisturizing world, but this one doesn’t work anyway near as well as the Body Gel Cream does for me.

Weird, I know!

It’s sightly thicker and heavier than the Gel Cream, which I thought would mean more moisture, but the Body Balm never completely sinks into my skin… It just sits on top like a layer of frosting. I’m not the biggest fan, but if you like a thick, silicone-y layer (and I know some people do), it’s worth a try.

❤️❤️ 2 out of 5 hearts.

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The Pumpkin Spice Must Flow! Another Starbucks #PSL Look With Reviews of the New MAC Studio Fix 24-HR Concealer, Patrick Starrr Boy ME Town Kit, and More

September 25th, 2018 by Karen 16 Comments

mat patrick starrr boy about town k — Pumpkin Spice ERRRTHANG

I’m wearing another pumpkin spice latte look today! (More reviews on the key makeup products, all the new things from MAC that are out right now, in just a sec.) But first, my latest Starbucks adventure…

Like I mentioned yesterday, for years I thought the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte was limited to the standard-issue #PSL, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. If you look around, you can find TONS of different versions of the PSL (even healthy-ish ones)! If you’re not into the super sweet OG latte (which, I admit, can be a little much, even for my sweet tooth sometimes), you’ve gotta try this other version from The Macrobarista, which I got earlier today.

A post shared by (@themacrobarista) on Sep 4, 2018 at 9:42pm PDT

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Pumpkin Spice Everything! A Warm Red, Pink and Bronze Eye Look Using the Urban Decay Elements Palette, MAC Studio Fix Sculpt and Shape, MAC The Blonds Lipstick in Davidblond and The Blonds Magic Dust Powder

September 24th, 2018 by Karen 21 Comments

urban decay elements palette k front — Shout-out to Pumpkin Spice!

How do I feel about Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Hmm… Well, you know how much I like pink drinks, right? They’re delish! — but I don’t pump my fist in the air and say YAAASSS when I get one.

But I do when I get a PSL.

Also, even though I went through an intense green tea latte phase last year, ultimately, I could take or leave ’em. But the Pumpkin Spice Latte. THE PSL! It’s my most favorite drink at Starbucks, and it always has been, from even before I started wearing this tank top 24/7.

urban decay elements palette k side 1 — So Karen, tell me how you REALLY feel.

Despite the forecast calling for 80-degree temps here, I’m bubbling over with PSL excitement! I got the fever bad, so I channeled it into this PSL-inspired makeup look. 😊 Then, I went to Starbucks and ordered a special version of the PSL based on this recipe from on Instagram.

He’s a Starbucks barista who makes healthy-ish versions of Starbucks drinks.

He calls this refreshing version the Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte, and it has all the spicy sweetness of the standard PSL, but (according to The Macrobarista) it’s only 90 calories with about 11 grams of sugar.

To make my life easier, I took a screenshot of his “recipe” on my phone and held it up to the cashier at Starbucks so he could type it in. 😉

Now, about the makeup, my friend, this was the first “LEWK” I’ve done in a minute (been doing a lot of one shade of taupe on my lids with mascara, NARS Orgasm lip balm, and nothing on my skin). Needless to say, I felt like I was wearing everything and the kitchen sink.

But it was fun, and in the process I found some new things to love.

urban decay elements palette k looking down — When you feel overdone but then you just go with it…

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5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

September 21st, 2018 by Karen 38 Comments

sally hansen color therapy fall 2018 — New shades of from the left! — Falling Deep, Bronze Reflection, Dusty Plum, Pink and Harmony, Cashmere Calm ($7.99 each)

1. These gorgeous nude nail colors

I can’t decide what to wear for the next installment of Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish! Too many choices… I’m leaning toward dark burgundy Falling Deep, since I wore a pastel cream last week. What do you think?

2.

Busted this out for the first time in months and remembered why I love it so much. This neutral pink with a hint of brown is a lovely everyday lip color, and it looks amazeballs with brown and taupe eyeshadows!

3.

I found the best show on Netflix! In every single episode, there’s at least one moment where I have to hit pause and scream to nobody in particular that “SERIOUSLY, THIS SHOW IS BASICALLY MY LIFE.”

I’m not Korean, and my parents never owned a grocery store (they’re both retired accountants)…and I’ve never lived in Toronto (Bay Area strong!), but the family stuff rings so true growing up Asian with immigrant parents — ESPECIALLY the miscommunication and how the family members express their love for each other. I’ve laughed and cried my way through both of the seasons on Netflix. It’s the most authentic show I’ve ever seen about growing up in an Asian immigrant family, but it’s also just good. Very witty, funny writing IMO.

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