Giveaways

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

Greetings from the seaside! I’m literally a hop, skip and a jump away from the Monterey Bay right now. I woke up this morning to the song sound of screeching seagulls outside my window because El Hub and I decided to take one lash hurrah trip before Baby Girl comes, so we drove down to Monterey a few hours south of us and left Tabs to man the office with his team of pet sitters.

I hope your 2016 got off to a good start. Oh! — some housekeeping things. First of all, you wanna enter this giveaway, because it’s the first one of the year, and you know what they say about that: “The first one is always the luckiest.”

Actually…I don’t know if that’s something they say…but I still haven’t picked a winner for this week’s mega super $250 mystery makeup giveaway yet, so the winner could still be you. Stay tuned. When I get back from my trip, I’ll assist Tabs with that.

OK, the smell of decaf is calling me, so I’m gonna go get ready for the aquarium. I’ll tell the otters you said, “Hey, girl, haaaaay!” Talk to you soon.

• 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:
  
  • Still or sparkling water?
  • When was the last time you rocked a scrunchie?
  • What’s the most unusual pet you’ve ever had?
  • Lipgloss or liquid lipstick?
  • How old were you when you got your ears pierced?
  • Do you have any birthmarks?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, January 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, STEPHANIE!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Good morning, glory! Happy day after Christmas! How’s it going? What have you been up to? More importantly, what have you been eating!? Tell me about all of it. With this whole gestational diabetes thing, I LITERALLY have to live vicariously through you, so please do the right thing, and share with me what you’ve been eating.

And please make it good. I want to be able to close my eyes and practically taste the noms from your descriptions, LOL!

Kidding…sort of.

But seriously, please do it. 🙂

Haha!

I hope you’re having a fabulous holiday weekend so far. I’ve been doing lots of the regular — fun with family, eating food (although very few carbs), Christmas lights, watching countless Christmas movies and some basketball on TV (go Warriors!) and hardcore relaxing (I even took a nap!).

This week for the giveaway we’re going to do something a little different. Instead of the usual $50 Sephora or MAC gift card, I’m giving away a beautiful gift box filled with mystery makeup and beauty products (mostly makeup) handpicked by me, and I promise you…the prize will be great (minimum $250 value).

The giveaway ends on Thursday, December 31, 2015 at 11:59 PM PST.

Same rules as always to enter, and it’s open to U.S. and international. Just leave a comment about anything down below.

• One (1) Fancy gift box filled with a mysterious bounty of beauty products (mostly makeup) handpicked by me (with help from Tabs). Estimated value: AT LEAST $250. And the giveaway is open to U.S. AND international readers.

• 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:
  
  • So how was Christmas!? What did you do?
  • What’s your favorite fashion website?
  • Best holiday decorations you saw this year?
  • Have you ever cried watching a YouTube video?
  • What’s your favorite blanket?
  • What’s the optimal number of shadows for an eyeshadow palette?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Thursday, December 31, 2015 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, SHERRY!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Star Wars.

Just gettin’ that out there. 🙂 I felt like I should start this with those words because — my gosh! — it’s Star Wars erryting right now. El Hub is so excited. The new movie is all he’s been talking about for days. He’s like a little kid. We have tickets to see it this afternoon, and I have to admit…I’m pretty excited about it too! I don’t really follow the whole Star Wars mythos, but I have watched all of the movies. I hope this one’s good.

Other that that, shopping. I still have a few things to get, so I’m heading to the mall in a little while this morning.

Tabs says “meow,” by the way. He just went outside for his morning walk, and it rained here last night, so he got to investigate some very interesting puddles, as well as wet grass, which made his tum damp, and he’s not sure how to feel about that… He’s still on the fence about it, but he’s leaning toward “not good.”

How are you doing, my friend? Good, I hope. Will you be getting any days off for the holiday? I’ve had to work on a few Christmases before. It can be a bummer, but I hope you have some people working with you for the camaraderie.

I hope you have a great weekend, whatever you’re doing. Thank you for stopping by…and may the force be with you (I couldn’t resist). 🙂

• 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:
  
  • How would you like to spend your day today if you had no chores, deadlines or responsibilities?
  • Do you snore?
  • Is there a bar of soap in your shower, or is everything in a bottle?
  • Shh! You didn’t hear it from me, but __________.
  • What’s your favorite brown eyeshadow?
  • Which would you rather have: a bathroom remodel or a kitchen remodel?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, December 21, 2015 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, FRAN!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Rise and shine, pal o’ mine! What an eventful week… I know I’ve been kind of incomunicado, but I wanted to spend some holiday time with my in-laws, and then yesterday was my first day using my new gestational diabetes gizmo/blood testing thingamabob.

In other words, it was a busy week!

Yup, I was diagnosed with that gestational diabetes stuff. 🙁 It’s pretty common and hopefully temporary. Most of the time it goes away after delivery, but for now I have to prick a finger, test a little drop of blood and log the results in my doctor diary four times per day — once in the morning after getting up, and then once again after each meal.

I mean…it’s not my idea of a party, and I still get anxiety when I have to poke myself with the needle, but you gotta do what you gotta do, ya know? High blood sugar can cause complications later, so if I have to test my blood, watch what I eat even more closely (What!? No more TJ’s dark chocolate stars this year! THE HORROR!) and exercise a little more, it’s done.

In other news…well, I don’t really have any other news. 🙂 Tabs is doing well. He’s almost finished with his Christmas shopping, and he’s been loving life lately because El Hub has been taking him for early morning walks outside while it’s still dark, so he gets to use his cool cat eyes…

Other than that, we’re just chugging along. I hope you are too.

Oh! So much new MAC-ness to talk about, especially new lip products. I’ve been a lip product testing machine! Stay tuned for deets next week.

• 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 era of makeup?
  • Would you say you’re old fashioned?
  • Do you have any new year’s resolutions?
  • Something you wish lasted longer?
  • Make up a word — any word — and tell me what it means.
  • Something you wouldn’t do in a million years?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, December 14, 2015 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, TIFFANIE!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Christmas is three weeks away!? Is it just me, or did it come out of nowhere? And purr usual, guess what? Guess who hasn’t even started her Christmas shopping. I’ll give you one guess. 🙂

Oh, well! Every year, I try to finish my shopping early, but this is usually how it plays out. In my defense, though, this year I have other things on my mind, like Baby Girl’s debut this March and pregnancy aches and pains (I finally had to get a Snoogle). I’m officially six months along now.

How are you doing this week? Have you gotten into the holiday spirit yet? I feel like I’m running WAY behind. I think maybe we’ll get a tree this weekend, just a small one for the pine scent, and maybe also take a trip to the mall (ugh!).

Let me know how you’re doing, and give yourself a big hug from me, OK? 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:
  
  • Do you shave or otherwise de-fur during fall and winter?
  • If you have a Christmas tree up, how is it decorated?
  • Brownies: with or without nuts?
  • How do you feel about strangers touching your feet?
  • Have you ever tooted (aka “passed gas”) in public?
  • Did you, or do you now, wear braces?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, December 7, 2015 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 O!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

OK, best Thanksgiving dish this year — what was it? I’m gonna have to go with the turkey, even though I’m usually all about the sides, which were also delish, but this year the turkey was fab. (Props to the Nugget market in Novato! You guys are rad!).

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I really needed not having to hit the road and being able to just spend time (eating) and relaxing here at home.

My brother made it up from the city and spent the night, which was nice. My parents and El Hub’s were out of town, so it was just us kids, and we don’t get to see each other that often. You know how it is… Everyone’s so busy doing their own thing.

We didn’t do much, really, other than eat. A TON. 🙂 We did make it to a late afternoon movie after all of us awoke from our food comas. We went to see Creed, the new Rocky boxing one with Michael B. Jordan?

We joked about going to see a boxing movie on Thanksgiving, but it was great. I’m really starting to appreciate the athleticism and skill involved in boxing.

The movie wasn’t cheesy at all like the zillion Rocky sequels that came out in the ’80s and ’90s (remember the one with Mr. T?), but it still ties into the legacy. Apollo Creed was Rocky’s adversary/friend in the original movies, and Michael B. Jordan plays his son. The Rocky character is his boxing trainer…and there’s a lot more stuff that goes on. Highly recommended, especially if you liked Rocky.

I didn’t really do any fun Black Friday shopping. The only thing I got was a daybed for when family visits after Baby Girl is born. I found one on sale at Sears. So, yup… Gotta be all practical and sh*t now. LOL!

OK, time to enter 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:
  
  • Did you jump on any of the Black Friday sales?
  • How do you feel about onions?
  • How was Thanksgiving?
  • Who wears the pants in your family?
  • Someone who handles her (or his) makeup really well at work?
  • How has your skin been lately?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, November 30, 2015 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, BONNIE CLYNE!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Good morning, glory! Rise and shine. 🙂 I hope you slept well. I must admit…I tossed and turned a lot last night, and I’m not sure why. It was probably one part Baby Girl doing her Baby Girl things, and one part Jessica Jones, which I marathon’d on Netflix last night.

It’s that new Marvel comics series starring Krysten Ritter and Carrie-Ann Moss who, coincidence of all coincidences, I bumped into buying cheese in Vancouver, British Columbia, a few years ago.

Yup, El Hub and I were there just visiting for one of my birthdays, and there she was, Carrie-Ann, Trinity herself from the Matrix movies, ordering cheese at a big deli and toting around two babies in strollers.

I didn’t want to interrupt her, so I didn’t say anything, but now I wish I had said “hi!” (Just like that — like a crazy person.)

I like the show so far, but it’s kind of intense… I mean, you know me with sci-fi and comic book stuff, so I like it, but watching it before bed was probably NOT one of my all-time best overall lifetime ideas, haha.

How are things out your way? What are you up to this weekend? Doing anything fun?

• 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 gone on a retreat with your coworkers? How was it?
  • A makeup rule that you think should NOT be broken?
  • Snowboard or surfboard?
  • What time did you get up this morning?
  • Who’s the most optimistic person you know?
  • Do you have any current skincare dilemmas?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, November 23, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen