I went for a short hike today in the Marin Headlands. This is the view of the Pacific from the trail that leads up to Hawk Hill. Note the hikers in the background pretending to ignore the crazy jumping girl in front of them, haha.
Up in the Air
Archives for April 2012
Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 186
Dear Diary,
I’m really getting tired of the menu selection here and how it totally lacks any kind of seasonal variety. Like today, you’d think my assistant would have prepared something special for Easter brunch — maybe an array of tasty springtime gravy appetizers — but noooo.
I recently saw an episode of Must Love Cats where these kitties in the Hamptons actually had personal chefs who prepared their meals from scratch.
FROM SCRATCH!
I’m thinking about sending my assistant to culinary school just to get her thinking more creatively about the menu. Seriously, it would be like the gift that keeps on giving.
Spa update
Things are starting to come together for that upscale kitty spa I told you about. You remember how I met with a life coach at the start of the year? We talked about expanding my kitty beauty empire?
Well, we haven’t nailed down a name yet (I’m partial to “A Purr-fect Place to Relax”), but we have the basic details worked out.
It’ll be a high-end establishment catering to kitty supermodels. Not your run-of-the-mill kitty daycare scene. Think solace and relief. We’ll offer services like deep-tissue kitty massage, fur facials, catnip aroma therapy rooms, manis/pedis — the works!
I mean, it’s so hard for cats to balance work and a personal life these days. I know that in my case, I have to fight for my me time, and I just feel that if it’s that way for me, it must be that way for other kitties, too.
[Continue reading…]
What’s One Makeup or Beauty Lesson You Recently Learned?
I recently learned a valuable lesson about my bangs. I have naturally wavy hair, and if I don’t straighten my longish side-swept bangs every day, they curl up and stick out in all kinds of crazy directions.
Thanks to a tip from the gal who does my hair (thank you, Alis!), I learned that I get much straighter, flatter bangs if I straighten them with a flat paddle brush than I’m able to get with a round brush, which creates more of an arced shape.
So, after I step out of the shower, I draw as much moisture from my hair as I can with an Acquis hair towel, and then spray my bangs with Living Proof Straight Spray.
Then, with the paddle brush (here’s one for $6 from Goody) and my T3 hairdryer, I straighten! Five minutes of work, and my bangs lay flat and straight all day long. 🙂
Now how about you?
What’s one makeup or beauty lesson you recently learned?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed
It’s Easter, everyone! And I hope wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you’re having a wonderful day. 🙂
First thing this morning, while I was still asleep, El Hub sneaked out of the house on a quest to find hot doughnuts and coffee. Not an easy task at 7 on Easter morning (even Starbucks is closed), but he somehow succeeded! He must have found the only open doughnut shop in the county, LOL!
Yup, fresh doughnuts and coffee are a pretty good way to start a lazy day.
In other news, no makeup monster sightings today, but I’m sure they’ll be back soon… I bet they’re just busy with their families today.
If you feel like saying hi, I’d love to hear from you. Please drop me a line in the comments.
A few beauty posts that caught my eye…
- Happy Malteaster! — The Nailasaurus
- The Feline Force is strong with this one — vostre on YouTube
- T3’s video hair styling tips rule! — T3Micro on YouTube
- A nice step-by-step tutorial using MUFE Ultraviolet — Makeup Your Jangsara
- 3 lessons learned from one blogger’s second month of blogging (and here’s Part 1) — Linh’s Kitchen
- Do Sigma Beauty’s eye makeup brushes live up to the hype? — Jenn Staz
- Summer’s looking bronzy over at YSL — Glitter Geek
- How to create a lady-like Mad Men makeup look — JennySue Makeup
- Coral nail polishes for spring and summer — The Beauty Look Book
- Sephora + Pantone Color of the Year Tangerine Tango Creme Lipstick — My Weekend Ramblings
MAC Modesty Cremesheen Lipstick
The MAC Reel Sexy Collection Lipsticks
The New CK One Color Makeup Line
The Becca Balearic Line and Define Pencil in Cabrera
For Cheeks That Turn Heads: MAC Très Cheek
This Cheeky Monkey Is Having a Blast With Nails
MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow
MAC Extra Dimension Mineralize Skinfinish
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Zoya Rory
Zoya Rory, a warm pink with metallic micro glitter, $8.
About to Bloom
An orchid plant in my front yard.
Roses Are Red Before They’re Pink With Becca Sheer Tint Lip Colour in Valentina
Quite frankly, Becca Sheer Tint Lip Colour in Valentina ($24), the sole lip product in the new Balearic Love collection, surprised the heck out of me when I saw it in person for the first time. From the look of it on the model in the Balearic Love campaign, I expected a lighter pink, but on me, it begins as an intense rose.
What I love most about this lipstick is how it changes on my lips over time. What starts as an almost opaque rosy red (at least on my lips), slowly fades and wears down to a softer rosy pink. One layer provides medium coverage that then fades to a quiet pink stain.
The basics…
- Flavor and scent: Both are like faint brown sugar
- Wear time: About three hours on me
- Formula: It’s pretty moisturizing, but in the dead of winter I would probably wear it on top of an even more moisturizing lip balm
- Finish: A soft shine that fades to a matte pink stain
Dry Cheeks and Knitters Wool Love Physicians Formula Cashmere Blush
Now is one of those times I wish I belonged to a kick-@ss stitch-and-bitch group.
See the pattern on that pan of Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Blush ($12.95)? Totally makes me want to knit and purl… Yeah, I’m a closet knitter. Not a very good one, but I can make scarves (and that’s about it).
I love so many things about knitting. I love picking out yarn (does anyone else like to smell the skeins, or is that just me?), love the satisfaction I feel after completing a knitting project, love how a well-balanced bamboo needle feels in my hands…
Shoot, I’m still cursing the day I lost my favorite pair of needles. It was at a Bebe sample sale in South San Francisco a few years back.
I knew it was going to be crowded, so I brought along a scarf to work on while I waited in line to get in. When it was my turn, and I finally got inside to shop, somewhere between the jeans and embroidered jackets, my bamboo needles must have fallen out of my tote bag and forever disappeared.
Sucks, too, because I could have used them to defend myself against a couple of the girls who straight-up grabbed things out of my hands. Those sample shoppers are NO JOKE! They’re like UFC fighters about clothes.
I would not be surprised if the textile pattern on pans of Cashmere blush caused some of them to see red.
Physicians Formula refers to Cashmere, a new product recently released for spring, as “the ultimate in attainable luxury,” and I gotta say — it just might be that. It’s available in two shades, Natural and Rose. I’ve been road testing Natural, a fairly sheer warm pink (I have use two layers to clearly see it on my skin) with light silver shimmer.
The formula supposedly contains 100 percent pure cashmere extract, which the company says helps create skin that looks smoother and line-free. Soft focus pearls in the powder also help further diffuse the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
It’s fragrance-, oil- and paraben-free; hypo allergenic; and designed for all skin types, although it sounds like dry skin might benefit from it the most, since the formula is quite moisturizing, and it was designed to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles (more on that in a minute).
As for the packaging, isn’t it nice? Especially for a drugstore blush? It almost looks like a present. What a great-looking gift. I love the bookish tassel on the front and how the back side opens to reveal a mirror and a brush.
I’m not really a fan of the brush … but it could come in handy for impromptu touch-ups.
Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush in Natural, $12.95; also available in Rose
