Girl, seriously…this is a thing
OK, feline ladies, I requirement to understand exactly how far you’d go in your purrsuit of feline lady-ness. would you go so far as to lick your cat? ?

[INSERT uncomfortable PAUSE/PAWS HERE]

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This thing is insane! It’s the LICKI Brush, as well as essentially it’s a big silicone tongue-shaped clean with pointy nubs on it that you utilize to…lick your cat.

Uh…

I don’t understand if this is the coolest thing ever or one of the most disturbing things ever. I believe it’s expected to be a type of bonding experience?

So my concern for you, dear fellow members of the crazy feline woman Tribe, is this: would you do this?!

Yes or no? would YOU LICK YOUR CAT? ?

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I’m on the fence, however I’m leaning toward yes…or at least secretly providing it a try, LOLZ!

Your friendly community charm addict,

Karen

RED! NARS Rita Lipstick in limited edition red
Yeah, I got pretty thrilled too when I saw this because for a second there I thought, “Is NARS gonna do special colors for each of their Audacious Lipsticks??” and then I thought, “What will Anita look like? will it be PINK!?” because — hoh! — I would love to have a pink lipstick like that in my bag…

But no. Not the case.

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This rockin’ red is limited edition NARS Rita. good ol’ re-promoted Rita. It’s $32 and available now at Sephora stores and online.

Ooh, red!
Wearing NARS Rita on my lips and the Laura Mercier Master class palette on my cheeks and eyes
Warm-toned red Rita is part of the long-lasting NARS Audacious Lipstick fam, which I love, and she’s opaque and awesome. like the other Audacious shades, it has a slightly shiny finish and lasts FOR HOURS.

Speaking of audacious reds…

I was rifling through my closet yesterday, searching for a pair of jeans that I could actually fit into because I still have a bit of baby weight I’d like to lose, when I saw a red dress I have not yet worn.

It’s the petite scuba Flounce Dress, and I got it from loft best before I found out that I was pregnant with Connor. It’s made out of a thick scuba-like material and has a flouncy ruffled hem.

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“One of these days,” she said, staring at the bag of Snickers out of the corner of her eye, “I will get into that dress!”

Your friendly neighborhood charm addict,

Karen

So, I have been wanting to try Zoeva makeup brushes and cosmetics for the longest time.  I’ve seen so lots of bloggers and YouTubers rave about them — the pigmented eyeshadows and stunning brushes — and the day has finally come. I’m finally trying Zoeva!

I wanted to share my excitement with you guys, so I filmed my first impressions in this video:

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I also have photos and swatches of everything I talk about in the video (down below), so that hopefully you people can get a good idea of what Zoeva has to offer.

ZOEVA History

“ZOEVA is a German brand, founded in 2008 by Zoe Boikou. The brand name ZOEVA is composed of ZOE, the Greek word for ‘life’ and EVA, the very first woman. From a basic range of only 10 makeup brushes, ZOEVA now uses a professional portfolio of over 50 makeup tools and 100 colors for a full face makeup routine. Our products are created to make a real difference in the way women experience their appeal rituals.”

— www.zoeva-shop.de

Zoeva warm Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette

Zoeva warm Spectrum Eyeshadow palette swatches from top to bottom:

L to R: WR 130, WR 100, WR 070, WR 040 and WR 010
L to R: WR 140, WR 110, WR 080, WR 050 and WR 020
L to R: WR 150, WR 120, WR 090, WR 050 and WR 030

“ZOEVA is dedicated to the self-esteem and special appeal of all women. Every ZOEVA product is made with love and created with conviction and passion for makeup. Our utmost goal is to offer luxurious, high quality products. helping every woman to discover her individual appeal is our highest ambition. ZOEVA indicates celebrating yourself and being aware of your individual beauty.”

— www.zoeva-shop.de

Zoeva Luxe color Blushes in Burning Up and He loves Me, Maybe

For size comparison, here are the Zoeva blushes compared to NARS and MAC blushes:

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Zoeva Luxe color Blushes in Burning Up and He loves Me, maybe swatches:

L: He loves Me, maybe and R: Burning Up
Both of these blushes are exceptionally pigmented, smooth and easy to blend.  I can’t wait to try these!

“Women in need have a special place in our hearts. We feel responsible for women suffering from domestic abuse or have lost their hair due to chemotherapy. It is our highest ambition to strengthen their self-esteem and to give them a lot more self-esteem and awareness of their own individual beauty. In women we trust. From the bottom of our hearts.”

— www.zoeva-shop.de

Zoeva nude Spectrum blush Palette

Zoeva nude Spectrum blush palette swatches:

Clockwise from the top left: ND 030, ND 020, ND 040 and ND 030
As you can see, these are pretty close to my skin tone, but I think the first and third colors could still be pretty blushes.  On lighter skin tones, this could be an incredible neutral blush palette!

Zoeva Luxe cream Lipsticks in Cross My Heart and One Wish

Zoeva Luxe cream Lipsticks in Cross My Heart and One wish swatches:

L: One wish and R: cross My Heart
These lipsticks are so smooth and pigmented! I got this incredible color from just one swipe.  I’m incredibly pleased with the formula so far.

Zoeva makeup Brushes

Here’s what’s included in what they call the complete Set, which comes with the following 15 brushes:

Face:

101 Luxe face Definer: Contour and apply powder

102 Silk Finish: apply foundation evenly

105 Luxe Highlight: apply highlighter

126 Luxe Cheek Finish: apply and blend blush, bronzer and highlighter

142 Concealer Buffer: apply and blend concealer

Eyes:

221 Luxe Soft Crease: Blending eyeshadow to perfection

224 Luxe defined Crease: blend transitions perfectly

227 Luxe Soft Definer: Softly blend and smooth eyeshadow

228 Luxe Crease: Blending and shading eyeshadow in the crease

230 Luxe Pencil: exact shading and smoothing edges

231 Luxe Petit Crease: Accentuating and blending in the crease

234 Luxe Smoky Shader: shading and blennding with smoky effect

315 fine Liner: create delicate eyeliner strokes

317 Wing Liner: in-depth eyeliner strokes and a best wing

322 Brow Line: eyebrow brush for powder and cream products

I’ll absolutely be sharing an thorough review soon of the brushes after I’ve spent some time using them.  I have to admit…I nearly don’t want to because they’re so excellent and clean now!

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And I’ll also have thorough reviews of the eyeshadows and blushes, coming up soon. let me know if you have any certain questions about anything here. I’ll be happy to answer them for you!

Here are prices for everything shown here. It’s all available online now from Zoeva (they offer worldwide shipping).

Zoeva warm Spectrum Eye shadow palette — $38

Zoeva Luxe color Blushes in Burning Up (matte peach) and He loves Me, Maybe (matte coral) — $11.80 each

Zoeva nude Spectrum blush palette — $18.80

Zoeva Luxe cream Lipsticks in One wish (dark violet) and cross My Heart (dark white wine red) — $11.80 each

Zoeva Luxe completeset (15 brushes in black makeup bag) — $132

Have you tried tried anything from Zoeva?  If you have any recommendations, let me know what else is good, because I’m really liking everything so far!

1. Pears

Mmm… sweet green, juicy pears. I love them so much ideal meow! I got a substantial bag of organic pears at Trader Joe’s last Sunday, and a lot of of them have already managed to find their way into my tum. I might be on the verge of a full-on pear obsession.

I get that way often about certain foods, where I ravenously crave them every day, over and over for weeks or months, and it’s starting to happen with pears.

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I still haven’t succumbed to the temptation to “borrow” any from the substantial pear tree I pass each day on my walk, but today may be the day… We’ll know by around 7 o’clock tonight.

2. Tocca scents

I keep a bunch of perfumes on this cake stand display on top of my dresser, but the only one I’ve been wearing lately is Byredo Gypsy Water, and I’ve been wearing it for months.

Hmm… This might be a good time to try a different scent each day with a scent of the day series on Instagram! That might be fun.

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In the process of sniffing some of these today I discovered that a couple of them had gone sour. The ancient bottle of Estée Lauder private Collection perfume I’ve had forever smelled like moonshine, OMG!

It broke my heart to ditch it because it was a gift, but in the process of test sniffing these, I rediscovered some old faves, like, basically, everything from Tocca.

Why did I ever stop wearing Tocca?? Their scents, while delicate, still have such presence, and whenever I wear one I just feel…chipper and glad. And, hello! — they last all day long too.

Today I’m wearing Violette, which I really like (but I like Bianca and Graciella even more).

3. Aveda Clove color Conditioner

I have caramel highlights in my hair from about the mid-shaft to the ends, and I’ve been using and LOVING this Aveda Clove color Conditioner ($21) to keep ’em looking lively and fresh.

All I do is wash my hair, then use Clove instead of my regular conditioner, and I leave it in for a few minutes before rinsing it out. I think it makes my highlights much richer (Clove in place of my regular conditioner once a week is enough to keep the highlights poppin’), and it has a fresh, very Aveda-esque herbal scent that I like. The only thing is…it’s kind of pain to keep the shower stall clean when you use it because it’s pigmented, so it’ll leave a stain in the tub if you’re not careful.

That’s why I bring a scrub brush with me into the shower, and after I rinse my hair, I’ll swiftly scrub the shower walls to remove any spots or smears.

4. Rita Hazan root Concealer in Dark Brown/Black

Rita Hazan root Concealer in Dark Brown/Black
Dude, I am SO over my roots…

My next hair appointment isn’t until the end of the month, and the only thing currently saving me from walking around with a raspberry beret 24/7 is this root Concealer by Rita Hazan ($25). It’s a pigmented spray to conceal gray hairs and/or roots, and it washes out with shampoo. So generally it’s like concealer for your hair, and it comes in a bunch of different colors (I have it in Dark Brown/Black).

It conceals everything, and I’m talking EVERYTHING, and doesn’t make my scalp itchy, dry or uncomfortable. The pigment also stays where it belongs (on your head), so there isn’t any transferring onto pillows or clothing. All that, plus, it’s easy to wash out and doesn’t have a funky scent either.

It’s terrific stuff. I love it so much that I actually got a bottle for my dad, LOL!

5. messy buns and/or ponytails for fourth-day hair

Rockin’ a classic ponytail last year while walking Sir Tabs
I am currently on fourth-day hair today, so it’s up in a ponytail, and ponytails (and/or buns) are the best when I just can’t take it anymore, but I’m still not quite ready to deal with washing my hair and styling it.

It’s times like these that I spray a bunch of Klorane dry Shampoo on my scalp to take away the funk and absorb excess oil. then I run a brush through my hair, and put it up into a pony or bun.

So it looks like this list turned into “The Hair Edition,” haha!

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What are some things you’ve been loving lately?

Your friendly neighborhood appeal addict,

Karen

It’s gonna be a long, hot summer
Happy Caturday, my darling! I hope you’re having a terrific morning so far, as well as I hope you’re feeling refreshed as well as prepared for a fun weekend.

It’s a charming day right here in northern California. nothing however blue sky from rolling hills to rolling hills. It appears like it’s gonna be a hot one, too, which is why I have my hair in a Dutch braid.

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GURL, I’ve been all about the Dutch braid lately.

It’s generally an inverted French braid, where instead of pulling the hairs over when you braid, you pull them under so the braid type of pops out, as well as you can make it, like, all poofy-looking as well as larger than life if you chill out the hairs after you tie the end, which has the added benefit of not providing me a throbbing headache like some securely braided styles can.

5-minute untidy Dutch braid
I like the whole untidy braid trend… I rue the day if/when they go out of style, since this right here took me less than five minutes, as well as I was able to do it without having to look in a mirror!

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WHAT?! Yes.

I likewise rue the day when big, bushy eyebrows go out of style since it took me permanently as well as a day to grow mine out. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time…

Wow, it’s already getting hot here, as well as it’s not even 8:30. I assumption it’s proper that I’m using the $45 restricted edition NARS long hot summertime Eyeshadow Palette.

The NARS long hot summertime Palette
Isn’t it a cutie pie? six powder eyeshadows — a beige, a taupe, two coppers, a deep brown as well as a lovely light gray — as well as it fits in the palm of my hand. The top row has some cooler-toned neutrals, as well as the bottom row has warmer tones.

Wearing the complying with from the NARS long hot summertime Collection: long hot summertime Eyeshadow Palette, Laguna/Casino Bronzer, Deep Throat blush as well as Salamanca Lipgloss
I’ve been using the combination all week long, as well as it gets additional points for not taking up much area in my already overloaded makeup bag. It must be a excellent travel buddy if I take any type of trips this summer.

Speaking of trips, I gotta get on that. I’m thinking, though, that it may be as well difficult to travel with a baby. I dunno… Moms, provide me your thoughts on that.

I likewise like that the combination has a great mix of great as well as warm tones, since you understand exactly how it opts for some neutral palettes. You either get warm or great tones. You don’t always get both.

These shadows likewise begin off all punchy as well as pigmented however fade in a lovely method throughout the day. In the situation of the shimmery shades, they glisten a lot more toward the end of the day, getting to where you look like you’ve been dancing in the front row at a music celebration for three directly hours.

It’s quite cool.

In other news, as well as I can’t believe I’m stating this, however I’m incredibly consumed with this freakin’ Justin Bieber video for his tune Sorry.

OK, did I just state that out loud? Admittedly, I’m not the greatest JB fan, however I’m not very familiar with his work, as well as I understand that he’s gotten into difficulty a few times.

But whatever. I heard this tune on the radio as well as had to look it up online. The choreography is so much fun! There’s so much booty shaking as well as hip persuading — I freakin’ like it! Oh, my gosh, I haven’t taken a dance class in years, however it’s making me want to dance again.

Plus, there are a number of women in the video using those ’90s contruction boots that I rocked back in the day.

I question whatever occurred to those boots… I believe I provided them away? I used them everyday for like two years. I keep in mind that my feet were always hella hot in them, as well as my arches hurt like a mother, LOL!

Oh, keep in mind exactly how I went on as well as on last week about exactly how delighted I was to be getting back into painting my nails? Well, I painted them again! Yes! little victories. I’m using long-lasting Smith & Cult Faunteleroy ($18), a light, creamy lilac. You can see it right here in this random photo with my Mrs. Meyer’s Lilac meal Soap.

Smith & Cult’s Fauntleroy nail Polish
Let’s see… I painted my nails with it on Sunday night, as well as now it’s Saturday morning, so that’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… That’s five full days with barely a chip! For me, not poor at all.

Smith & Cult is a bit on the expensive side ($18 a bottle), however I believe they’re worth tracking down. great wear time, as well as they dry quite swiftly in 10-15 minutes, which is excellent since with the infant needing a great deal of attention, the last thing I requirement is to wait30 minutes for my nails to dry.

Before I forget, that Mrs. Meyers Lilac meal Soap ($3.99), by the way, smells like a walk with bare feet with a elegant manicured garden at the fracture of dawn while surrounded by blooming lilacs.

Just in situation you were wondering.

SO GOOD. It’s restricted edition. If you’re interested, I identified it on the end cap in the meal soap aisle at Target.

Before I go, right here are a few stories I ran across this week that I believed you may like…

Shiseido just gotten Laura Mercier as well as the skin care brand Revive. It’ll be fascinating to see how/if they broaden LM over the next few years.

It’s coming: the “Sephorization of appeal aisles.” great deals of appeal stores as well as appeal departments are going the Sephora path with, like, all their testers out on screen so clients have simple gain access to to them. What do you believe about that?

Lastly, this video has been around for nearly a year, however I just discovered it (always late to the party). It’s about MAC as well as features Frank Tonkson, one of the founders, speaking about the origins of the brand.

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OK, cutie-patootie, I’m off! Connor Claire as well as I are going for a walk around the community before it gets as well hot. have a terrific weekend, as well as take a plunge in the pool for me, will ya?

Your friendly community appeal addict,

Karen

using candy Cane Lipstick from the MAC Nutcracker wonderful Red Lip Bag
It’s difficult to talk about something that’s isn’t rather inspiring, however likewise isn’t junk.

I mean, I’ve been sitting right here for gosh understands exactly how long trying to state that I like the Red Lip Bag a lot more than the nude Lip Bag, however I believe they’re both great deals.

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These two bags are from the MAC Nutcracker wonderful holiday collection, as well as in the plus column, they include three full-size MAC products — a Vamplify gloss (LOVE the Vamplifies), a pro Longwear Lip Pencil as well as a Lipstick — for $39.50, however I desire they likewise came with a MAC sharpener, since I have a lot of pro Longwear Lip Pencils, as well as I’ve tried sharpening them with other pencil sharpeners, like the Chanel one as well as the metropolitan Decay one, however the only sharpeners that work well with them (for me) are from MAC.

When I sharpen the pro Longwears with other sharpeners, the ideas get stubby as well as quickly break. as well as the actual pencil part doesn’t sharpen properly either. It’s weird. I ended up getting a MAC sharpener particularly to sharpen my pro Longwears, so if you do get one of these bags (or one of the MAC pro Longwears), seriously, get yourself a sharpener too. It’ll help.

As for the two bags themselves, honestly, perhaps a bit snooze-worthy…but everything depends upon whether you already have the goodies. For $39.50, you get products worth $58, which might be a fantastic deal.

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M∙A∙C Nutcracker Sweet
Available on the internet October 20, 2016
Available in stores on October 27, 2016 with December 8, 2016
#MACNutcrackerSweet

Both bags include a Vamplify lipgloss, which is a major selling point, since I believe the MAC Vamplifies are fantastic. Intensely pigmented like a lipstick, they feel great like a Cremesheen, as well as they’re simple to utilize since of the angled doe-foot. You can get truly into the corners with it.

The MAC Nutcracker wonderful Red Lip Bag ($39.50)
Vamplify in Suggestive, an intense bluish red (permanent collection, routinely $20)
Lipstick in candy Cane, an intense blue-red (LE, $17 value)
Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in depend on In Red, a bright awesome reddish cream (permanent collection, $21 value)
All three are full size

The MAC Nutcracker wonderful nude Lip Bag ($39.50)
Vamplify in Tuned In, a mid-tone rosy nude (permanent collection, $20 value)
Lipstick in Magic Spell (LE, $17 value)
Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in In Control, a brown mauve (permanent collection, $21 value)
All three are full size

From the Red Lip Bag: pro Longwear Lip Pencil in depend on in Red, Lipstick in candy Cane as well as Vamplify in Suggestive
From the nude Lip Bag: pro Longwear Lip Pencil in In Control, Lipstick in Magic Spell as well as Vamplify in Tuned In
The Lip Bag as well as the box that it is available in with an iphone 6S plus for scale

From the Red Lip Bag: pro Longwear Lip Pencil in depend on in Red, Lipstick in candy Cane as well as Vamplify in Suggestive
From the nude Lip Bag: pro Longwear Lip Pencil in In Control, Lipstick in Magic Spell as well as Vamplify in Tuned In
Vamplify in Suggestive from the Red Lip Bag
Vamplify in Tuned in from the nude Lip Bag
Lipstick in Magic Spell from the nude Lip Bag

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As far as kits go, if you don’t already have the products, or if you’re trying to find gift ideas, these bags are great. Individually, I believe the formulas as well as colors are fantastic.

Your friendly community appeal addict,

Karen