Just For Fun

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 listed below. ?

This or That: The Beauty Grab Bag Edition

• Foundation, BB cream or CC cream?
• Set with powder or set with a setting spray?
• High beam highlights or a contour that could cut glass?
• Color corrector — green, purple, blue or orange?
• Touch-up time — do you use blotting paper or pressed powder?
• Eyelash serum or eyebrow serum?
• Neutral eyeshadow palette: Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Palette or Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Palette?
• Liquid liner — flexible felt tip or stiff felt tip?
• Brows — natural and defined OR full and bold?
• Fragrance — floral or fresh?
• More fragrance — warm and spicy OR earthy and woody?

Foundation, BB cream or CC cream?

BB cream, because it’s the sheerest option.

Set with powder or set with a setting spray?

Setting spray, please! I really love the one by Urban Decay.

High beam highlights or a contour that could cut glass?

Honestly, neither. But if forced to choose…I’d go with the highlights.

Color corrector — green, purple, blue, orange or peach?

Peach, please! I’d use just a touch on the inner corner of my eyes and on my upper lip.

Touch-up time — do you use blotting paper or pressed powder?

Blotting paper for the win. Shiseido makes a great one that I used to use back in the day!

Eyelash serum or eyebrow serum?

Eyelash serum, please and thank you.

Neutral eyeshadow palette — Urban Decay Naked2 Basics Palette or Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Palette?

I love both, but I like having the variety of finishes in the Tarte palette. A girl’s gotta have choices, ya know? ?

Liquid liner — flexible felt tip or stiff felt tip?

Flexible felt tip. It’s just so much easier for me to control.

Brows — natural and defined OR full and bold?

Natural and defined all the way!

Fragrance — floral or fresh?

I could use a floral right now, got any recs?

More fragrance — warm and spicy OR earthy and woody?

Earthy and woody; however, I don’t want to smell like dirt, LOL! Give me some mossy notes any day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Tuesday! ?

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. Brow pencil or brow gel?

Pencil, please.

2. Something you’d like to learn?

I really want to learn how to golf! There are a few gals from the mother’s club in town who are taking group lessons this summer, and I think I’m going to join them. Well…if I can find a set of used or cheap golf clubs, that is. I had NO IDEA clubs were so expensive. OMG.

I figured it would be a good way to exercise ye olde social skills (it’s been a while, and I’m sorely out of practice). Plus, I would get to be outside!

3. One thing you look for in hair products?

The scent, for sure. And I’m getting pickier! I really have to like how something smells, and it has to get the intensity of the fragrance juuuust right for me to like it now. I like a scent to be present, so you know it’s there, but it can’t pervade my every thought, if you know what I mean.

4. What’s the best thing you can do for your skin, IYHO?

Reapply that sunscreen, girlfriend! Do it every single day, and don’t be chintzy with it either. I do my first coat in the morning, then reapply at lunch. and then again in the late afternoon. When I’m good about it, I don’t tan — not one single bit (and I pick up color really easily). It took me years to figure this out. YEARS.

Wish I had started doing it sooner!

5. I’ve never met a (FILL IN THE BLANK) I didn’t like.

I’ve never met a chonky tabby cat I didn’t like.

I love me a tubby tabby!

6. A nail polish you’d recommend to a friend?

I recently picked up a mint green shade by Olive & June called KMC, and I like it a lot. Definitely give it a go!

7. A special treat you only have every once in a while?

Halo-halo, which is like the Filipino version of Hawaiian shave ice, but with many more ingredients and accoutrements up in the mix. It’s not the easiest thing to throw together at home because there are so many items involved, so I only get it every once in a blue moon when I visit my parents in the East Bay.

I do love it, though, especially on hot days. It totally takes me back to my childhood!

8. What’s the earliest you can wake up and still feel good?

Under normal circumstances — that is, if I’m not waking up to catch an early flight to someplace awesome and tropical — assuming I went to bed at a decent time, then 6:30 a.m. is a good time for me.

Technically, I can do 5:30 if I went to bed early the night before, but my body DOES NOT like to do that naturally.

9. Have you ever gone on a cruise?

Nah. I get seasick easily, so I’m not really into being on boats!

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. Brow pencil or brow gel?
2. Something you’d like to learn?
3. One thing you look for in hair products?
4. What’s the best thing you can do for your skin, IYHO?
5. I’ve never met a (FILL IN THE BLANK) I didn’t like.
6. A nail polish you’d recommend to a friend?
7. A special treat you only have every once in a while?
8. What’s the earliest you can wake up and still feel good?
9. Have you ever gone on a cruise?

P.P.S. Hello, my beautiful friend. ? Because one can never say it enough to their gal pals, I think you’re the bee’s knees. Keep doing what you’re doing!

Hiya, happy Caturday from me and my freshly painted paws. ? Turns out that Olive & June Nail Polish in KMC is more of a mint green than a jade green, but I’m not mad at it, because I did this mani without wearing my glasses, so I was as blind as a bat (living on the edge!), and it still turned out OK. Good on you, Olive & June!

You can see the polish again in this pic, along with what will forever be known as “the baguette that crushed my cool French girl dreams…”

Case in point:

Yesterday I went to a local Sonoma spot called Baker & Cook and ordered a baguette, a lemon bar and a banana muffin. This loaf was in my possession for three whole minutes before I greedily gobbled down the exposed end.

IT WAS SO SOFT!

And so, so fresh… I couldn’t help myself.

It was then that I realized I would never be a chic French gal riding around on a bike with a baguette tucked neatly under her arm, because I would eat the bread before even getting on the damn bike, ha ha ha.

I hope you have some really delicious fresh bread this weekend, because let me tell ya, good bread is a revelation.

This week’s reading

• Dig, if you will, a picture of a Prince-themed makeup collection by Urban Decay. All I have to say is that there better be something in it called Raspberry Beret!
• Fast-fashion retailer Zara just launched a makeup line.
• Speaking of makeup collaborations, here’s a new one with the movie Clueless. AS IF!
• It’s been a minute, but I’m still fan-girling over Daniel Martin’s work on Meghan Markle for the royal wedding.
• In case you wanna look like Cruella…
• 11 mineral sunscreen options!
• Allegedly, these mineral sunscreens don’t leave a white cast.
• Oh, and if you’ve got a deeper skin tone, you might want to check these sunscreens out.
• Here’s how to tell if your sunscreen’s expired.
• An introduction to cat @sshole behaviors.
• In case you were wondering if any male celebs have launched nail polish lines lately, the answer is yes.
• Fun fact: Penelope Cruz likes to cut hair.
• Keep an eye out for this new vegan, Black-owned nail polish line at Nordstrom.
• Tips and tricks to dry any type of hair.

What’s the plan for the rest of the weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

1. Prive Revaux Eyewear Reading Glasses

Got these at THE RACK because I’m tired of staring at my phone and having everything be hella blurry! Usually, these reading glasses are $40 at full price, but I found this lightweight pink pair for $13! I saw lots of blue-light blocking glasses in lots of cute frames, too.

2. Old Navy Eva Slides in the Big Leopard Print

Leopard print is a neutral! I saw one of Connor’s teachers wearing these cute leopard slides, and so when she told me to run-don’t-walk to Old Navy, I promptly heeded her advice. These are cute, and the arch support is decent, although I wouldn’t go walking around Disneyland all day in them or anything… They’re fine for errands and camping.

I suspect they’re only built to last one summer, though, because some of the print along the edges of the slides has already started peeling off. I’m not crabby about it, but I think I’ll eventually try to find a similar one that’s more durable.

3. The beauty section at the Old Navy cash wrap

Speaking of Old Navy, the beauty section located near the cash wrap is LIT. They don’t have a ton of brands, but the ones that are there (in the store in my town, at least) are stocked. I saw quite a few things from Pacifica, e.l.f., Burt’s Bees and a perfume brand that’s new to me called Kindred Goods.

4. Shirts with sun protection UPF50

Apparently, I’ve somehow ended up on a mission to have absolutely no rays of sun touch my skin over the next few months, LOL! I’ve been browsing and bookmarking long-sleeve shirts with UPF50 sun protection. I’m on the hunt for affordable, lightweight and cute shirts.

I like that these breezy, comfy-looking Under Armor shirts are only $35. It gets really hot where I live in Northern Marin County, and the sweat-wicking material would be helpful.

The curved hem and thumbholes in the Athleta Uptempto top are nice touches. Lots of colors to choose from, too.

They’re $69 each, which is out of my budget, but if I can find one on sale, I’ll pounce!

5. The Jetsetters, by Amanda Eyre Ward

Last night I started this book and had to force myself to put it down, so I could go to sleep! This fiction novel is about a woman in her 70s, Charlotte, and her three estranged adult children; Charlotte enters an essay contest and wins an international trip as a prize. She then invites her kids to join her, and shenanigans ensue.

What’ve you been loving lately?

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 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. What are your favorite summer foods?

Oh! — I love all the summer fruit, especially watermelon and strawberries! I look forward to the fruit that shows up in stores around this time all year long.

This I will also gobble down most anything found at an outdoor BBQ, with emphasis on all the sides — corn (with lots of butter and salt, of course), potato salad, chips and dip, what have you.

2. Does your family take seasonal trips?

Well…prior to 2020, we tried to take at least one or two trips out to Oahu to see El Hub’s family. Hopefully, we’ll be able to start doing that again soon! I know we technically can go out there, but we’re not quite there yet in terms of our family’s readiness. There are still too many family members who haven’t gotten their vaccine shot.

Last summer we started going car camping, and I hope we can continue doing that for as many summers as Connor will tolerate hanging out with us, LOL.

3. One of your current short-term personal goals?

Honestly, it’s to get through May in one piece with my sanity intact. We’ve got a lot of things going on in terms of home repairs and stuff.

4. What’s your OOTD today?

My Prince tee and a pair of denim shorts.

5. Best and worst thing about traveling?

Best thing? Exploring new places and feeding my brain with new memories and experiences. Worst thing — bathrooms. Enough said.

6. How often do you accidentally butt-dial people with your phone?

I really don’t do this! I don’t understand how it happens. (El Hub said “You’re kidding!? It happens to me all the time!” when I mentioned this to him.)

7. What do you think about reality TV?

It’s not my favorite way to pass time because I’d rather watch a scripted drama or comedy, but if I’m tapped out mentally and need to just sit and let my brain turn into mush, I’ll look for old MTV reality shows like Laguna Beach and The Hills.

8. What are some things in beauty that excite you at the moment?

I’m really into all things skin care at the moment, but especially sunscreen. Is that weird? I’m also excited about a couple of hair care lines, Pattern (at Ulta) and Function of Beauty.

9. Last emoji you texted to someone?

? ? ? The thumbs-up sign my catch-all symbol. It’s short for “will do,” “got it,” “great idea,” and “let’s do it,” for starters.

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. What are your favorite summer foods?
2. Does your family take seasonal trips?
3. One of your current short-term personal goals?
4. What’s your OOTD today?
5. Best and worst thing about traveling?
6. How often do you accidentally butt-dial people with your phone?
7. What do you think about reality TV?
8. What are some things in beauty that excite you at the moment?
9. Last emoji you texted to someone?

P.P.S. Hiya and hello, Monday! How are things on your end, beautiful girl? I’m feeling happy and excited about the week ahead. Here’s to this week being a great one for us all.