Giveaways

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, MARIA!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

I actually have to wash my makeup brushes today because I haven’t washed them since before I left for the hospital seven weeks ago.

[WOW!]

Yeah! But I haven’t been wearing a lot of makeup, and it’s weird — when you don’t wear a lot, you kind of get used to it. I mean, the other day I did full-on makeup, like foundation, concealer, brows, eyes, cheeks, lips — the whole kit and caboodle — and when I looked in the mirror, I was just like, “Who is this girl?”

Maybe I’m just used to seeing myself looking really tired…

Today I wanted to try another look with the Chanel Summer 2016 collection I mentioned yesterday. I’ve used all of the products so far, but there’s a green eyeshadow in the eyeshadow quad I really want to play with.

Also, in baby-related stuff, because a baby runs my life these days, I need to figure out how to collapse her stroller so I can get it in and out of my Mazda. And unlike my dad and my husband, I will actually read the instruction booklet instead of standing there for two hours grumbling, “I can’t figure this thing out!”

I do also plan to do some weekend-y stuff, like maybe rent a movie and leave the house at some point… Whatever you’re doing, I hope it’s fun. Good luck in the giveaway. 🙂

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • Can you touch type (type without looking at the keys)?
  • Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider: yes or no?
  • Have you ever used a virtual makeover app?
  • Have you ever worn theater or stage makeup for a performance?
  • Do you ever use color correcting concealers?
  • Favorite Prince song?
  • Do you know anyone who eats with a fork and a spoon at the same time?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, April 25, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, SUSAN!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Man…sometimes the weeks blur together, don’t they? I swear it was just April Fool’s Day, and now it’s already the middle of the month!

Weird.

Rise and shine, morning glory! 🙂 Would you mind filling in for me and preparing my feline employer’s morning gravy while I take a quick shower? Everything you need is in the kitchen. Just use the ceramic blue and white polka-dotted serving bowl (it’s his favorite).

How’s everything going this morning? What are you doing today…other than entering the giveaway right now?

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • What’s your favorite makeup line that isn’t widely carried in your home country?
  • What’s the most beautiful pattern or design you’ve ever seen on an eyeshadow pan?
  • Have you ever seen anybody steal something before?
  • Who is the funniest person in your family?
  • Are you more stubborn, or easygoing?
  • About when was the last time you rocked a smokey eye?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, April 18, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, KATHLEEN!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

So. Much. Baby jail right meow.

I hope you’ve done some exciting things this week that you’d be so kind as to graciously share with me because I’m serious — the highlight of my days usually involves a quick shower OR a quick 30-minute emergency sneak away trip to Pier 1, See’s Candies (I’ve eaten about two pounds of chocolate this month), Marshalls, Old Navy or Target, during which time El Hub will watch the baby, because those stores are close to home.

Those little daily jaunts, plus the MBB interns and Netflix, have been my only breaks, as of late, when I’m not attending to Connor Claire.

It just gets a tad monotonous is all, and by “tad,” I mean ridiculously monotonous, LOL!

Thank goodness for the MBB interns. Those ladies are incredibly talented, aren’t they? Have you been following their posts? These have been some of my faves…

• 8 Pink Lipsticks for Spring: A Roundup of My Latest Lip Loves
• With the MAC Versicolour Stain Collection for Spring 2016, It’s About Popsicle Pouts!
• Beauty and Mental Health: A Quick Look at How the Two Intertwine
• 6 Makeup Rules That May Not Work for You
• The Urban Decay Summer 2016 Beached Bronzers and Highlighters Are All That and a Bag of Banana Chips
• The Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 28 in Purple Blue: The Guiltiest Pleasure!
• An Easy, Beautiful Golden Bronze Eye Makeup Look Using the $5.49 Essence All About Bronze Eyeshadow Palette

Their styles and perspectives are all so different, too. It’s refreshing.

In other news…it’s giveaway time. 🙂

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • Do you know anyone who writes in ALL-CAPS all the time?
  • Are you a good storyteller?
  • Dumbest makeup gimmick?
  • Last time you stuck your foot in your mouth?
  • When you think of big, fancy store signs, what’s the first one that comes to mind?
  • Do you ever change your makeup during the day because of your mood?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, April 11, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, CHRISTINE!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Every day is a new adventure around here. Just when I think I’ve figured something out, like a good routine to get Connor Claire fed and soothed to sleep for a couple of hours at a time, nope! — something new happens.

She was so fussy last night. Not even Uncle Tabby’s amazing nanny services could soothe her. She was incorrigible… Now watch her sleep all day long today, LOL!

Rise and shine, morning glory! Happy Caturday!

That reminds me… I bet you probably realize by now that yesterday was April Fool’s Day. Sadly, this means that the grand opening of the new Novato Cat Cafe & Cosmetics has been delayed. 🙂

In other news, I got out of the cave/house for two whole hours yesterday, and it was glorious! My parents visited and offered to watch Connor, so El Hub and I sneaked away to the mall. We got coffee, See’s candy and window shopped like real grownup people! It was the most exciting thing I’ve done in a month.

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • What’s a product you have in a bunch of colors?
  • What are two products you really like to mix together?
  • A piece of popular beauty advice you don’t agree with?
  • Have you ever thumb wrestled anyone?
  • Favorite boy band?
  • Amazonian clay: yes or no?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, April 4, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, KRISTEN!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

I cannot believe it’s Easter weekend! I swear, I remember driving around to look at Christmas lights. Seems like that was just a couple weeks ago…

Rise and shine, morning glory! Despite my unreadiness for it, it is almost Easter. Are you going to church? Brunch? Are there mimosas in your future? Inquiring minds want to know.

Since this is Excitement Central over here, I’ll be spending Easter with a baby and a breast pump and my butt glued in a Pier One floral-printed chair (which Tabs mistakenly claims as his own) while re-watching Dawson’s Creek on Hulu.

Yup, it’s a thrill a minute!

Have a wonderful holiday, my friend. Good luck in the Easter egg hunt, and please save me a few jellybeans. 🙂

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • Have you ever been to an art exhibit?
  • Do you know if you have any royalty in your family?
  • When you think of the word “carefree,” what makeup comes to mind?
  • How do you feel about destination weddings?
  • Have you ever shattered a blush palette?
  • What’s at the top of your list of “Things to Do This Spring”?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, March 28, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, NICOLE!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

“Mrow!”

“Yes, buddy. I’ll make your food.”

“Mrrrrrrrrow!!”

“OK, buddy. Hang in there. Mommy just needs to finish feeding Connor.”

“MEEEEEOWWW!!!”

“Buddy. Please, you have to be patient. Connor needs food too.”

Suddenly Tabs takes off like a rocket down the hall and straight down the stairs at top speed, his tabby claws digging noisily into the carpet. No longer able to see him, I can still hear him tearing sh*t up as he runs circuits around the living room, leaping off of the furniture in a hunger-fueled rage.

“Tabs, what are you doing!?” I shout. “Why are you being so crazy right now?”

*Sigh!* This is how my mornings are right now, LOL! Tabs is very patient around Connor as long as it doesn’t interfere with his schedule for lurvies or gravy. 🙂

Rise and shine, morning glory. Happy Caturday. How was your night?

My nights sort of blur into my days right now. That’s the phase we’re in over here. Connor Claire is now just about two weeks old, and she’s doing her baby thing. Every once in a while she’ll sleep a block of four hours at a time, but it’s usually between two and three hours at a time, so either El Hub or I will get up to feed her, burp her, probably also change her, and then try to get her to go back to sleep, which is sometimes easier said than done.

It’s an adventure, LOL!

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • What’s a product you love mostly because of how long it lasts?
  • Do you have a lucky charm?
  • What makeup was popular when you graduated from high school?
  • Are you afraid of heights?
  • What’s the last thing you cooked?
  • Which do you prefer, limited edition or permanent products?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, March 21, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, KIM!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! Rise and shine, pal o’ mine. Happy Caturday!

Question for you: when will it stop raining? That’s what I’d like to know. We’ve gotten so much rain this week that the neighborhood is greener than I’ve seen it in years. There’s stuff blooming out there that doesn’t usually bloom here, like, get this: about a month ago I was about to throw out a few potatoes that had started to sprout in their bag in the kitchen, but El Hub said, “No! I want to plant them outside…”

And, you know, that was weird, but boys will be boys, so I said “Um…OK?”

Anyway, he took them outside and buried them somewhere…

I come to find out yesterday that they’re growing huge! So now we have potatoes growing in our front yard. If this had been another year, like last year, I don’t think that would have happened, because I can’t remember it raining once all through last February or March.

In other news, Happy St. Patrick’s Day week! 🙂 Will you be having green beer? If you are, please have a sip for Connor Claire, who happens to be one eighth Irish.

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • Have you ever played with a yo-yo?
  • Which do you do more in your job, sit or stand?
  • Do you like pineapple?
  • Are your brows symmetrical?
  • Do you like to be the center of attention?
  • What’s a beauty related task you absolutely have to do every day?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, March 14, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, MICHELLE!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

This place needs a Sephora. That would totally take the Kaiser SF hospital to the next level. Picture it: Sephoras inside the maternity ward — mini Sephoras, like the small ones inside JCPenney stores, but, like, a Sephora in the maternity ward at the hospital.

I think I’m on to something. 🙂

Good morning, beautiful! I just woke up from a rollicking four hours of sleep, which sounds lame, but in this brave new world of being Connor’s mom, four hours is awesome.

I should be going home today, and I’m really excited about it. Introducing Connor and Tabs will be like a meeting of world superpowers. I just hope the two of them can reach a détente.

It’s Saturday, right? I’m pretty sure it’s Saturday… I’m starting to lose track of the days, but assuming it’s Saturday, let’s get on with the giveaway. I hope your weekend is filled with delicious brunch goodies, lots of hugs, a cat or two and good coffee. Talk to you soon, my friend.

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  
  • Were you born with hair or without?
  • What’s the best makeup brush cleanser?
  • Would you rather wear earrings, a necklace or a bracelet?
  • What’s the last beauty product you enthusiastically recommended to someone?
  • How many piercings do you have?
  • What’s the last piece of makeup you bought?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen