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What Was the Last Piece of Makeup You Bought?

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ilia cool palette
Let’s put on some makeup, yes?

Technically, it was a “few pieces,” and they were rewards to myself for getting some tasks done. I picked up a few more things from Ilia, including the Necessary Eyeshadow Palette in Cool Nude (I’m stoked about the shimmery bronzed lavender in the upper right corner), a tube of the Fullest Volumizing Mascara and a tube of the Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm in Runway.

I’m hoping the eyeshadows work for me…so I’ll have an excuse to grab the Warm Nude palette.

What about you? What was the last piece of makeup you bought?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 695

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A few new goodies that I picked up over the weekend. I can’t wait to play!

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 five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?

    1. One of your favorite makeup palettes?

    MAC Nordstrom Naturals, for sure.

    2. A lipstick shade that lights up your face?

    There’s something about Stila Beso. I think it’s just magical, but not only on me. On everyone.

    3. Something you’d like but don’t necessarily need?

    Seriously, I would absolutely LOVE a Concept 2 rower! Or a Volvo SUV. If either arrived on my doorstep, I would not be mad about it. 🙃

    4. Have you ever won any money?

    Small potatoes, but yeah, a surprising number of times while gambling on slot machines. I’ve also happened to be with people who claim to never ever win anything, but they’ve won while I was around. I’ve been told that I’m a lucky charm, but I don’t know!

    Now that I think about it, I should probably be buying lottery tickets.

    5. Quick — name one of the first pieces of makeup you ever fell in love with.

    MAC Spite Lipglass got me through my early twenties. We had a lot of fun together!

    6. French manicure: yes or no?

    On other people, sure, but on me, no. I like my nails super short, and I feel like French manicures look better on longer fingernails.

    7. Sparkling or flat water?

    I like flat water, but lately I’ve been all about sparkling because my stomach has been crazy nervous lately! Bubbly water seems to help calm it down, and I’m deeply addicted to La Croix (once again).

    8. Shy or outgoing?

    Mostly outgoing…but occasionally shy.

    9. Pumpkin pie or apple pie?

    Apple pie, served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream please. This, of course, is assuming that the pie has a bomb-@ss — did I really just hyphenate that? — crust. It has to be flaky, buttery and tender; otherwise, I’ll have absolutely nothing to do with it.

    I’m picky about pie, man. 😁

    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. One of your favorite makeup palettes?
    2. A lipstick shade that lights up your face?
    3. Something you’d like but don’t necessarily need?
    4. Have you ever won any money?
    5. Quick — name one of the first pieces of makeup you ever fell in love with.
    6. French manicure: yes or no?
    7. Sparkling or flat water?
    8. Shy or outgoing?
    9. Pumpkin pie or apple pie?

    P.P.S. Hello, beautiful lady! 🤗 How’s it going? It’s a lovely day, and it’s going to be a great week. I hope joy finds you in whatever you’re up to this week, in everything you do, big and small!

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 677

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Rosie doesn’t want to manage. She’s not like Tabs in that way. She doesn’t want to be the big boss. Sure, she’s a boss lady cat, but she doesn’t want to have to tell everyone what to do. She doesn’t particularly enjoy being in charge, unlike Tabs, who loved calling the shots and making the tough decisions.

Rosie would rather leave the drama to someone else and stay in the lab. She’s all about the science, not the drama.

Going for these morning walks now with Rosie, it’s a very different experience than it was with Tabs. He, for lack of a better word, dominated the circle. He didn’t just walk around it. He owned the asphalt all the way around.

All the other cats in the neighborhood knew Tabs basically owned the road and the sidewalk, and he didn’t just “go for walks.” He strutted. To Tabs, the circle was one giant catwalk.

Rosie

You know Rosie though. She has panache, obvs, but she walks around the circle like she’s conducting an experiment. She studies the plants, measures the distances between the houses, records light levels and air quality in her journal, and she even measures the ambient acoustics to estimate the number of turkeys, quails, dogs and cats. It’s quite extraordinary.

That said, she isn’t always serious. She also knows how to let down her fur. Sometimes she’ll pull me toward a tree and climb up it, or she’ll chase a squirrel, so, I mean, she also has fun sometimes.

And yes, occasionally she’ll also strike a pose. After all, she is the new CFO (Chief Feline Officer) of Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, Sept. 11, 2021

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The view down Lombard Street in San Francisco

Hi, guys. I usually like to start these Saturday Surfing posts on an upbeat note, but I can’t give my usual chipper good morning greetings today without acknowledging the date and what it represents. Today marks 20 years since the September 11th attacks, and while the painful memories and horror I used to feel whenever I thought about that day have more or less subsided, I’ll never forget exactly where I was that morning (I was a 20-something living in San Francisco at the time), down to every minute detail, or the life-changing fear and uncertainty that followed. So much changed in just a few minutes.

If you also remember that day, my hope for you is that you’ve had time and space to process your feelings about it. The word “surreal” gets thrown around a lot about September 11th, but I can’t think of a more apt word. If you remember that day, it was utterly surreal.

Connor doesn’t understand what “September 11” means or represents, thank goodness. She still lives in that glorious childhood bubble, and I want to keep it that way for now. Someday I’ll explain it to her, and I suppose when she’s old enough to understand it, I’ll find the right words. She came home yesterday from kindergarten talking about Patriot Day and said her teachers called it a day to honor those who stood for our country, which I think is fitting.

I’m always grateful to you for visiting me here, but today I feel extra thankful.

Take care of yourself, OK?

This week’s reading


So many kittehs!


Honestly, I love big ’80s hair so much.


Note to self


This looks kinda fun.


For your fall wardrobe refresh

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

This or That: The Fall Beauty Edition!

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nars fall 2018
Fall is just around the corner

How to play

Pick one or the other for each of the questions below, and copy/paste your answers in the comments. Can’t wait to see your picks! Mine are down below.

This or That: The Fall Beauty Edition

  • Full-coverage foundation: yes or no?
  • Dark nail polish: yes or no?
  • Brown lipstick or berry lipstick?
  • Smokey eyes: subtle or bold?
  • Red lipstick: with or without a darker lip liner?
  • False lashes: yes or no?
  • Burgundy lips or brick red lips?
  • Graphic liner or smokey eyes?
  • One bold pop of color or monochromatic lips/cheeks/eyes?
  • Wine or plum lips?
  • Kitten liner or loaded lashes?
  • Smokey winged liner or statement lips?
  • Full-on glam: yes or no?

Full-coverage foundation: yes or no?

Nope! I used to love it, but after wearing barely any base for almost a year, full coverage feels like way too much on my skin.

Dark nail polish: yes or no?

YES!

Brown lipstick or berry lipstick?

Ooh, tough! You know I love a ’90s brown lip, but I’m going to go with berry.

Smokey eyes: subtle or bold?

Subtle for now…but ask me again in a month or two. The answer may change!

Red lipstick: with or without a darker lip liner?

Let’s do it “with,” shall we? I opt for just subtly darker, though. Nothing too contrast-y!

False lashes: yes or no?

Nah! I think I’m done with lashes, at least for now.

Burgundy lips or brick red lips?

Brick red, baby.

Graphic liner or smokey eyes?

Smokey eyes all the way, mostly because they seem to allow for more room for imperfection, and they’re generally easier for me to do. Graphic liner requires too much precision for me now, you know? It’s too much pressure! 😬

One bold pop of color or monochromatic lips/cheeks/lids?

Monochromatic lips/cheeks/lids (with lots of mascara).

Wine or plum lips?

This one’s easy: wine!

Kitten liner or loaded lashes?

Kitten liner.

Smokey winged liner or statement lips?

Smokey wings all the way.

Full-on glam: yes or no?

I’m tempted to say yes because who doesn’t love a diva makeup moment? — but I know myself all too well. So no. If I were able to choose “light touch of glam” or “baby glam,” then maybe! 😁

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Two Things to Try If You Get Stuck While Decluttering Your Makeup

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ilia saie september 2021
Out with the old, in with the new!

Hi, friend. You may or may have been around last week when I mentioned the plateau I’d hit in my ongoing makeup decluttering process.

Quick recap, but I’ve been working on it since early summer, and for reasons I don’t fully understand yet (and perhaps never will), I’ve reached the event horizon of said process. In other words, I’m at the point where it’s become just really hard for me to say goodbye to things I never actually use.

I want to power through it and, quite frankly, I’m tired of looking at the totes piled up in the corner of my dining room! — so I’ve been thinking deeply about next steps.

Last weekend, I stumbled upon a couple of ideas that seemed to help the process along, including 1) physically putting myself into the decluttering process by opening the totes and standing there amongst them, and 2) using good old-fashioned bribery to motivate myself.

These are strategies I’ve employed before to get moving on projects, and I know they work well for me when it comes to projects I don’t necessarily want to do. I’ve found them very useful for powering through plateaus.

Put yourself into the situation (quite literally)

So, with all the old makeup in the totes, what I’ve been doing is unstacking each tote — which isn’t an easy task, mind you, because they’re big and heavy — and opening them all up in the dining room. Then, I stand there amongst them for a few minutes.

Most of the time after standing there twiddling my thumbs for a few minutes, I get down to business. It sounds so simple and basic, but sometimes that passive aggressive push is all it takes to get moving.

I started doing this trick in high school when I was in band. I’d go through phases when I didn’t want to practice whatever instrument du jour I was into at the time. (Side note: I was a massive music nerd and played a bunch of instruments, but in high school band, I mostly played flute. Anywho!)

I never quite learned how to play the drums, though. Also, vintage CoyCoy!

Whenever I’d go through one of those spells, I’d physically put myself into a practice situation by setting up my music stand and my sheet music, and getting all set to go. Then, I’d sit down, open my flute case, put my flute together, and proceed to tell myself that if after sitting for five minutes I still didn’t want to practice, I could put everything away and go do whatever else I wanted.

Most of the time, like 99% of the time, I’d end up practicing because I figured I was already there. Might as well do it at that point since I made the effort to set everything up. 😉

The idea of “physically putting myself into a situation” is also helpful when I feel like bailing on a workout. I’ll sausage myself into my workout clothes and shoes, wrangle my hair into a bun, set out my mat and whatever weights I might need, and fill up my water bottle. Then I’ll stand there, quite literally, until I realize, “What the hell; I’m already here. I might as well get started.”

Try it the next time you need a little motivation.

Good ol’-fashioned bribery

The second motivational strategy I use is one that really helps me — using bribery as a reward!

Years ago I did a half marathon, and at the start of every week, I’d write down how many miles I wanted to train that week and on which days I planned to run those miles. If by the end of the week I hit all my goals, I’d treat myself to a meal at my favorite sushi restaurant or would buy myself a piece of clothing or a new pen and a notebook.

My weakness!

Last weekend, I started telling myself that if I decluttered a certain number of items, I could then purchase one new thing, and I ended up decluttering a ton and rewarded myself with a trip to Sephora and Ulta.

ilia saie september 2021
Time for a reward!

Here’s the key though: writing everything down so you track your progress! (Tip: it helps to use cute steno.)

Every time things go out, I write “# things removed = 1 new piece of makeup.”

Another key to this is to reward yourself as soon as possible after accomplishing your goal. I’ve found that the quicker I reward myself, the easier it is to stay motivated.

Also, um…I do realize the irony in rewarding myself with new makeup for getting rid of old makeup, and I absolutely DO NOT WANT to find myself in a situation where all the totes are just refilled again. I want to be more careful and selective about the makeup I keep in my space and my life from this point forward. I only want to have items I actually use and love.

That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it. 😊

So far, I’m loving the Ilia Color Haze Blush and the Liquid Powder Eye Tint!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Do You Have a System for Tracking How Old Your Makeup Is and How Long You’ve Had It?

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neutral palettes sharpie
Hi, my name is Karen, and I like to hold onto things for way too long.

Question for you — do you have a system for tracking how old your makeup is and how long you’ve had it?

I’ve had this brewing in my mind for the past couple days because I just bought a few new things last weekend from Sephora (more on this in a few!).

So, true confessions, but I’ve never strictly adhered to the expiration guidelines posted on makeup and beauty products, but I want try doing it for a bit. I tend to hang onto things for too long — not just literally with makeup, but in various other aspects of my life as well — and I’m ready to change that.

My hope is that if I actually use those expiration dates as a guide, maybe I’ll be motivated to finish the stuff I already have. (And it would also be an excuse to refresh my makeup bag more often!)

To this end, I started writing dates on eyeshadow palettes a while back.

It’s simple enough to do. I just write the year I added it to my collection on the item with a Sharpie, but now I’m thinking about also writing the expiration date directly on things so I’m continuously reminded (in cases when the date is only on the packaging). For instance, I got an Ilia liquid eye tint last weekend, and it has a six-month symbol on the bottom of the tube, which means that, if I go by the book, it’ll be good until March 2022.

Now, I should characterize this endeavor as a test or an experiment, because I’m not sure how I’ll feel about it when the expiration date passes but I still don’t want to discard something. Will the fact that I’ve written the date right on the item bother me? Time will tell. So this is just an experiment for now.

Also, the part of me that loves lists wants to start a spreadsheet with the following columns:

  • Item name
  • Date purchased
  • Expiration date
  • Similar items currently in my stash

That way I can make sure I’m not just buying the same taupe eyeshadow or coral blush over and over, ya know?

I’m so ready to turn over a new leaf and try new things! 😊

I’d love to hear what your process is. Do you keep track of how old your makeup is and how long you’ve had it? I’m very curious about this!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 694

by 17 Comments

your potential is endless
You can do it!

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 five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?

    1. One of your favorite makeup artists?

    I’ll always and forever be inspired by the late, great Kevyn Aucoin.

    2. A classic makeup look that suits you?

    When I was wearing lots of makeup, I think I was able to pull off smoky eyes and nude lips pretty well, but now as I go through a more streamlined phase of my makeup life, winged liner and bold lips seem to work alright!

    3. If your cat could buy you a present, what would he or she get you?

    OK, Rosie-Pose, I know you’re reading this because you’re a low-key feline genius. 😹 I also know that you already know I’d love to receive a Jo Malone perfume or a Chanel nail polish. 😉However, because you’re a cat, I realize how difficult it is for you to put someone else’s wants before your own, so I’m assuming you’d probably get me a science book, like “A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking, instead. Or, you’d buy “me” — air quotes — an extra large bag of your favorite chicken Temptations cat treats.

    4. Have you ever had to deal with hair loss?

    Yeah, a few months after I gave birth to Coywolf, my hair started falling out. It came out in clumps in the shower, which was absolutely terrifying! I remember standing underneath the water, looking down into the hair trap and being shocked by amount that had falling out.

    Five years have passed since then, and my hair still hasn’t fully recovered to it’s pre-baby thickness. I suspect it never will. I can especially see the change along my hairline by my temples.

    5. Quick, name the first ’80s song that pops into your head.

    “Something happens, and I’m head over heels. I never find out, until I’m head over heels!”

    If you know, you know. 😉

    6. Red lipstick or neutral eyeshadow palette?

    Neutral eyeshadow palette! 🙌

    7. Grunge or glam?

    Grunge today! I’m in the mood to scare some kids on the playground.

    8. Purple lipstick or purple eyeshadow?

    Purple eyeshadow.

    9. Cucumbers or carrots?

    If we’re talking raw, I’ll take some Persian cucumbers please.

    If we’re talking baked into a cake, I’ll take carrots instead, but only if said cake is covered in cream cheese frosting!

    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. One of your favorite makeup artists?
    2. A classic makeup look that suits you?
    3. If your cat could buy you a present, what would he or she get you?
    4. Have you ever had to deal with hair loss?
    5. Quick, name the first ’80s song that pops into your head.
    6. Red lipstick or neutral eyeshadow palette?
    7. Grunge or glam?
    8. Purple lipstick or purple eyeshadow?
    9. Cucumbers or carrots?

    P.P.S. Fresh start to another week, my friend! Happy Labor Day. 😸 If you have the day off, I hope you’re recharging your batteries. If you’re at work, though, I hope you have a great day. We’re all going to have a wonderful week ahead! Be extra kind to yourself, OK?

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