wearing the new Smashbox Softbox II photo Op Eye shadow palette ($39) on my eyes
There I stood, surrounded by piles of jeans, my feet planted shoulder-width apart, as I looked at myself in the three-way mirror of my tiny dressing room doing squats, while the stylist helping me enjoyed from the doorway.

Two, three, four…

អត្ថបតផសាយ

I paused, noting 1) the status of my muffin top in the pair of stretchy skinnies I’d just shimmied into, and 2) how the neutrals from new Smashbox Softbox II photo Op Eye shadow palette were holding up (I’d already been wearing them for six hours, and still no signs of creasing or fading, yay!).

“I dunno…” I said, thinking about the jeans. “I feel a lot of muffin going on.”

“Keep going,” the stylist replied, referring to the squats. “Trust me. These start really tight, but they’ll stretch. They’ll be best in 10 minutes.”

អត្ថបតផសាយ

ឆ្មានិងគ្រឿងតុបតែងមុខរបស់ឆ្មា ??

42 ដុល្លារ

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Five, six, seven…

“The squats speed things along.”

Halfway through my eighth rep, I silently thanked the makeup gods for creating the photo Op Palette.

Looking for a new pair of jeans is not one of my favorite tasks in the world. I’ll go so far as to say that it’s nearly as stressful as shopping for a new swimsuit (first world problems, I know), but it’s always much easier when I’m wearing eye makeup that helps me feel pretty.

Smashbox photo Op Eye shadow palette Softbox II
Smashbox photo Op Eye shadow palette Softbox II
Which this palette does.

Smashbox Softbox II photo Op Eye shadow palette swatches from the left: Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstone and Sumatra

Smashbox photo Op Eye shadow palette Softbox II
I know, I know — not another neutral palette! but this one’s nearly foolproof (only takes a few swipes to blend), and it must look great on a lot of skin tones, considering that the plum, taupe, brown, gold and beige shades aren’t too warm nor cool.

Just be sure to tap off your brush first, as the fluffy powder grains like to fly every which way…

For a daytime look with photo Op, I like to keep things simple. maybe a lighter shade on my lids, a mid-toned color in the outer third, and the dark brown matte along my lash lines.

PRICE: $39 for a six-pan palette; total net weight 0.16 ounces
AVAILABILITY: available now at Smashbox counters and smashbox.com
ការតុបតែងមុខនិងការវាយតំលៃប្លក់បណ្តឹងឧទ្ធរណ៍: ខ +

As for the jeans…

After trying on 15 pairs and getting in quite a good workout on my quads from all the squats (seriously, my thighs are still burning), I finally found the pair — the Legging ankle Jean in gray by AG.

I knew they were the ones when I slipped ’em on and thought, “Dang! ខ្ញុំ​ខ្ពស់!”

Not an easy feat when you’re only 5’1″.

អត្ថបតផសាយ

And they’re so, so soft! nearly as soft as sweatpants.

អ្នកញៀនស្វ័យខ្លាចជិតខាងរបស់អ្នក

Karen