Karen

Happy Friday, friend! I feel like a whole new woman because yesterday I got a haircut. I was waaaay overdue for a choppity-chop-chop – the last one was about eight months ago! I was getting headaches and I couldn’t wear my hair up without it tugging at my scalp and feeling painful. It was time.

Anywho, I’m not ready for a big hair change, so a lovely stylist named Shannon Debin, who’s known for her work with wavy and curly hair, cleaned up my layers and took off a little length.

She requested that I come in with my hair looking like how I typically style it. When I got to the salon, she asked me some questions about my hair habits; I told her that I wash it every two or three days, let it air dry, do a few curls with a curling iron and then let it do what it wants to do.

She then cut my hair dry (which just means she didn’t wash it before cutting it), so that she could see how the layers fell. When she got the shape we were aiming for, she then washed and conditioned my hair, and then did some fine tuning.

After blow drying and some curls with a curling iron, I ended up with lovely, bouncy layers and curls.

What I loved about her was that she was so detail oriented. She really got up into my hair, and along the way, she kept encouraging me to run my fingers through the cut, and she asked multiple times how I felt about the shape and the weight.

She asked so many great questions, too, about how much time I have to spend on styling and how my strands respond to different products. It was hands down one of the most comprehensive and detailed haircuts I’ve ever had.

I have a feeling these layers are going to grow out nicely!

OK, yesterday morning, I took a few of my favorite perfumes outside and started spraying them into the air in my front yard. I don’t know why I got it in my head to do this, but now I’m convinced every scent smells different when you experience it spreading out in the great outdoors.

They smell richer and, I dunno, rounder? Fuller. Like I took Chanel Paris-Rivera and Paris-Paris out there, and the top notes were more sparkling and bright compared to when I spray it in my bedroom.

There’s gotta be something about having the scent spread with unlimited room that allows all the individual notes to really come through.

You have to try it with your favorite perfume. And then you have to tell me all about it. LOL!

If there are any fragrances enthusiasts out there who can explain the why behind this phenomenon, I would love to hear about it.

Hope your Friday has been going great so far. Do you have any halloween things planned for the weekend? I’m taking Connor to a trunk-or-treat event at the dance studio on Saturday night.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Introvert or extrovert?

I think I’m somewhere in the middle, like an extroverted introvert. I’m pretty outgoing, so most social situations fill my cup, but I definitely need time alone to process and recharge. If I’m around lots of people for a good amount of time without any time to myself, I start to short circuit.

2. Figs – delicious or disgusting?

Delicious if you have the chance to eat some fresh ones from the tree.

3. Last book you finished?

I just finished “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.” A friend mentioned that the main character has a daughter named Connor, which is why I wanted to read it. 🙂

4. Beauty-related things that you can do pretty well?

Shaping and plucking my brows, waxing my upper lip, painting my nails, easy hairstyles and simple makeup looks.

5. Beauty-related things that you aren’t so great at?

Waxing my brows (I tried it once and took half of one off), coloring my hair, cutting my hair, super complicated eyeshadow placement and contouring.

6. What’s the best day of the week?

I’m partial to Thursdays. It feels like the week is almost over and you’re just about to cross the finish line.

Hello and happy, happy Monday, my friend. So funny… We went to the pumpkin patch last Saturday, and all Connor wanted to do was play in the corn pit, so we spent a good chunk of time hanging out in the kernels. Usually the kernels are dusty and kinda gross and leave a fine film on your skin and clothes, but I think the powers-that-be at the pumpkin patch this year ordered some fancy kernels because the corn were relatively clean and fuzz free! Anyway, that’s neither here nor there. My point is that I’ve been doing laundry all morning, and kernels keep dropping out of everyone’s clothes! I just found a few hiding in the folded hem of a pant leg, ha ha ha!

Anywho, I hope so many good things happen for you this week. Take care of yourself and please remember that you’re a good person. I think you’re beautiful both inside and out.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Introvert or extrovert?
2. Figs – delicious or disgusting?
3. Last book you finished?
4. Beauty-related things that you can do pretty well?
5. Beauty-related things that you aren’t so great at?
6. What’s the best day of the week?

Happy Caturday, my sweet friend.

I saw these black and white planters the other day and couldn’t help but think that whoever’s in charge of the cat lady things at Trader Joe’s needs a promotion. Their kitty planters have been way too tempting lately!

Speaking of cats, I’ve been trying my best to convince my “roommates” here at Casa MBB that we need another feline up in the mix. El Hub and Rosie are not having it, though.

I mean, sure, the last thing I need on my plate right meow is to keep another living thing alive, but my rational brain says, “Peace out, lady,” whenever baby cats are up in the mix. 🤣

This week’s reading

• Just as one would read a tarot card or a star chart, interpreting a kiss mark is very much a thing and is called lip print reading.
• The 7 biggest K-beauty trends of 2023.
• What happens when you ask ChatGPT for skincare advice?
• FDA proposes ban on hair relaxers with formaldehyde.
• To make hair care more accessible, this CEO is using tech.

Because I always enjoy seeing what people love

Loving lately!

Yum

One of my favorite songs, ever

I’ve always loved Poloroids

How’s your day going so far? We’re off to our favorite pumpkin patch in Petaluma for some pre-Halloween fun.

There are several within driving distance from where we live, and in addition to pumpkins, there’s typically a petting zoo, slides, corn maze and a corn kernel pit (it’s totally a thing).

Are pumpkin patches a big deal where you live?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Grossest Halloween candy?

There are so many to choose from, ha ha ha! Smarties, Swedish Fish, Bit o’ Honey, Good & Plenty, Hot Tamales, anything involving licorice… When I was a kid, I’d immediately pick all of those out of my candy stash. So gross!

2. Turtleneck or tights?

I’ll take the tights. I don’t like anything that encloses my neck unless I can immediately take it off! And is it just me, or are turtlenecks always kinda itchy?

3. Do you like trying on paper perfume samples in magazines and catalogs?

You know, even though those samples *never* smell like the perfume in the bottle, I do get a kick out of smelling a sample and trying it on my wrist. Maybe it’s because I grew up reading a ton of magazines, and it always felt like a treat to find a sample between the pages. It still delights me for some reason.

4. A core memory from Halloween from when you were a kid?

I was always going trick or treating with the most random assortment of kids from the neighborhood, and one year, I went with a girl named Peachy. We went to a seemingly regular-looking house with its lights on, knocked on the door and then heard loud, terrifying screams from inside. I remember us running for our lives down the driveway and to the sidewalk. Someone got a kick out of scaring the kids that night, apparently.

5. What are you currently marathoning?

I started the new BBC “Great Expectations”, and it’s super weird! I couldn’t look away, though. Oh, on the weekend, I watched the documentary series on David Beckham on Netflix, too. I don’t know a lick about soccer aka football, yet it was compelling enough to watch the entire thing.

Hello and happy, happy Monday, my friend. This morning when I walked Connor to school, I noticed so many trees in our neighborhood changing their colors, and now, when I go for walks outside, there’s a steady crunching of leaves underneath my feet. There’s something magical about this in-between time. I don’t think I’ve noticed it before, but it just feels so calm and cozy. I really love it.

Take it easy and be kind to yourself today, OK?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Grossest Halloween candy?
2. Turtleneck or tights?
3. Do you like trying on paper perfume samples in magazines and catalogs?
4. What hair styling products do you use the most?
5. What are you currently marathoning?