Impressionistic cheeks: Laura Mercier Colour Dots in Sangria and Baked blush Illuminé in Rose I’m typically inspired by art when I get ready in the morning — and not always modern art, à la Andy Warhol or renowned images of Twiggy — but sometimes, like during the deepest and darkest parts of winter, I’ll think of a novel or a particular Renaissance painting and try to recreate the spirit of the work or, if it’s a portrait, the glow surrounding the subject. Sometimes with Laura Mercier I think of impressionist paintings, and it’s not hard to see similarities between some...

Basking in the beignet-fueled afterglow last week after breakfast at cafe Du Monde in new Orleans (there are most likely a thousand beignets as well as two tons of powdered sugar just to my right in this picture) Do I ever wear makeup on vacation? Oh, totally, I do. In fact, I don’t believe I’ve ever not brought makeup with me on vacation, however what I end up using depends upon what I’ll be doing, of course. Like, if it’s a beach trip, I’ll usually just fill in my brows as well as curl my lashes as well as go...

The MAC holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Lip Compact in Coral Lipstick ($25; coming Oct. 18 to the MAC site and Oct. 22 to MAC counters and stores), one of two Lip Compacts in the new holiday collection When you and I finally get around to starting our secret society of makeup lovers who meet and train to become international very spies, I call dibs on codename “Lady Danger!” The place will be like Xavier’s school for gifted Youngsters, except there won’t be an upper age limit…and you won’t need mutant powers. ADVERTISEMENT The coursework will couple intensive training in makeup...

wearing NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Corder on top of NARS Pro-Prime Smudge proof Eyeshadow Base on my eyes, NARS velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon girl on my lips, and NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard, NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna, and NARS blush in Amour on my complexion Yesterday I played the lottery for the first time in my life. And just like I think everyone does when playing the lottery, I started daydreaming about what I would buy if I won €100,000,000… ADVERTISEMENT You know what the first thing that popped into my head was? Nope, it wasn’t...

Bejeweled and fabulous! — because Tabs wouldn’t have it any other way. Please note the sassy front paw action. It’s his new signature move. ADVERTISEMENT The bling is the Kristin Perry Audrey Necklace. ADVERTISEMENT It’s actually produced people, but as you can see, it also looks quite fetching on cats. Your friendly neighborhood appeal addict, Karen

Dear Diary, It has come to my attention that my assistant photobombed one of my selfies and then shared it on Instagram. ADVERTISEMENT While I do look quite dashing in the picture, this is a gross violation of her employment contract, and I might have to write her up… We’ll see how she does with my dinner tonight. If it meets with my satisfaction, I may just let her off with a verbal warning. Oh! This weekend I continued updating my portfolio. I found some old kitty modeling pics on a thumb drive. What do you think of this glamour...