Icon of the Week: Karen O

are we all in agreement that karen o is amazing?

yes?

good.


my girl crush on her stems from years (i'd say at least 4, if you want a number) of being a total yeah yeah yeah's fangirl, but her sartorial choices are equally worthy of a liftetime of devotion. amidst a sea of unconventional clothes and bright, daring eye makeup, her signature bangs and red lips remind us that she is, as always, 100% karen.

get the look!!
necessities-

1. Red Lipstick
my personal favorite is M.A.C. Russian Red, however there are many other options out there. find the one that works best with your skin tone! i've found that reds with blue undertones work best with most skin tones.
and remember! when dealing with such vivid pigmentation, prep your lips with balm and lipliner before you apply.

2. Black Eyeliner
karen's eye makeup when not performing is usually something along the lines of kitten liner (think majorly toned-down amy winehouse).
have you ever tried to do kitten liner with a pencil? i did. it didn't work. unless you are much more talented than i (and if you are, do share your wisdom), black liquid eyeliner with a few coats of mascara works best. i like Lancome Artliner in Blackest Black


3. Sleek Hair
to go off on a meaningless personal anecdote, i had my hair just like hers up until about last year.
there, i'm done.
if you're like me and you're really bad at blow drying your own hair, the flatiron is your friend!! as is smoothening serum. i love Biosilk and John Frieda Frizz-Ease.

by keeping her hair and makeup fairly simple, karen's glorious fashion choices are given that much more visual impact. i hope you find as much inspiration in her as i do :)

School Things

High school may be the absolute peak of your suffering, but it's also a period of great freedom when it comes to hair and makeup. I mean, no one's going to turn you down for a job because your cat eyes and choppy layers are just too fierce! Save the professionalism for grown women. Now is your time to sparkle! (or glitter, or shimmer, or whatever other finish you like

NYX Glitter Cream Palette

i picked this up at Urban Outfitters the other day (for pretty cheap!) and wore the gold shade to a party. i really love the dark purple too! with primer and a corresponding shade of eyeshadow underneath, it adds a bold, girly pop of color to your evening makeup.

my eyelashes are naturally pretty thick, so i usually only wear falsies when they're colorful, like these. they're great for parties or fun evening events, where it'll probably be dark and you want to draw attention to your eyes. there's this tiny little discount beauty store i go to that has them in every color and style imaginable, but since you probably don't live where i do, you can buy almost any kind you like here.

Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Carthage

excuse me while i state the obvious, but it's sooo PINK!! the color is just beautiful, and Nars always makes such quality makeup. i've found that when you're buying lipstick with such strong pigmentation, it's best to buy higher quality brands. it'll stay as strong as when you first applied it, and it's not as likely to bleed all over the place. hot pink looks great with a black cat eye and a few swipes of mascara for a subtle way to draw attention to your lips and your eyes without overpowering your face with too much color.

youth is a wonderful thing to embrace! have fun with it!!

life moves pretty fast. if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.