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Just For Fun

What’s One Product That Dramatically Improved Your Skin?

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kate somerville skin care
Kate’s got that magic. ?‍♀️

Oh, this one’s easy. I rave about it all the time. Definitely Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion! It totally changed my skin…and my life. I’m prone to breakouts, and when I don’t use this potent, preternatural pimple cream, the zits return, and they return in full force.

Anti-Bac contains 5% benzoyl peroxide, which really isn’t that cutting edge in terms of acne fighting ingredient, but the devil’s in the details I guess, because there’s something wonderful about this particular formulation that my skin loves. The effect is almost immediate. It goes to work clearing up any existing pimples I have and prevents new breakouts entirely. Seriously, like within a few days! Nothing else I’ve found works quite like it, and I’ve tried everything.

I have to remember to use enough of it though. I massage two pumps all over my face (everywhere except my eyes, of course!), once in the morning, and once again at night. That’s my sweet spot for clear, happy skin. Anything less than two pumps, and I break out.

Other things I love about this product? 1) It doesn’t have a strong BP smell, and 2) it layers well under moisturizer, sunscreen and makeup. It’s also pretty easy to find and available at Sephora and Nordstrom, among other places.

How about you? What’s one product that dramatically improved your skin?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 635

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love and some blush

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. ?

The Drugstore Beauty Edition!

    1. Let’s go back in the day… What drugstore makeup (or makeup products) did you love and wear all the time?

    My favorite brands were Revlon and Wet ‘n’ Wild, and I got A LOT of lipstick, nail polish, lip liner and eyeliner from both brands when I was in high school.

    I also went through many, MANY Corn Silk Pressed Powder compacts. Remember those? I used to think the tortoiseshell packaging was the height of sophistication! ?

    Oh, and totally gross confession ahead, but I rarely washed the pressed powder puff applicator that came with them… That thing was janky!

    2. Your current favorite drugstore makeup brands?

    I still love Revlon because of their variety and color range (their cream shadows, eyeliners and lipsticks are fantastic), and I also love Maybelline for their concealers and twist-up eye pencils; Covergirl for their tinted brow gel; Neutrogena for their foundations, tinted moisturizers and blush.

    Not sure if Honest Beauty fully counts as a drugstore brand, since they’re at Target, but they make *the best* liquid lipsticks and liquid eyeliner.

    3. Drugstore skin care products you’ve purchased over and over again?

    I’m going to have to go with Neutrogena here. Their Ultra Gentle Face Wash and Sheer Sunscreens are always in rotation!

    4. Last piece of makeup you bought from a drugstore?

    Hmm… I might be forgetting something, but I don’t think so. The only place that carries makeup that I’ve shopped in person since March is Target, sooooo…the last things I bought were a lip liner and lipstick from The Lip Bar.

    5. Something from the drugstore beauty world that just doesn’t work for you?

    I’ve tried so many drugstore benzoyl peroxide acne creams, and I’ve never been happy with any of ’em.

    6. Have you ever bought perfume from the drugstore?

    Hell, yes, girl! My first “grownup” scent was YSL Paris from Thrifty. I remember going there with my parents when I was in high school and buying it from the special locked cabinet in the beauty section. LOL! I also purchased (and received) quite a few bottles of Cover Girl Old Navy as well.

    7. Best drugstore essentials in the following categories: body wash, bar soap, shampoo/conditioner and body lotion?

    • Body Wash — Anything by Aveeno.
    • Bar Soap — I’m a Dove girl.
    • Shampoo/Conditioner — Pantene Rosewater is the bomb dot com.
    • Body Lotion — Gonna go with Aveeno again.

    8. Who’s your drugstore shopping buddy?

    CoyCoy, of course!

    9. Which beauty item would you rather buy today from a drugstore — nail polish, foundation, mascara or eyeliner?

    Right now I would love some nail polishes!

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 drugstore makeup (or makeup products) did you love and wear all the time back in the day?
2. Your current favorite drugstore makeup brands?
3. Drugstore skin care items you’ve purchased over and over again?
4. Last piece of makeup you bought from a drugstore?
5. Something from the drugstore beauty world that just doesn’t work for you?
6. Have you ever bought perfume from a drugstore?
7. Best drugstore essentials in the following categories: body wash (or soap), shampoo/conditioner and body lotion?
8. Who’s your drugstore shopping buddy?
9. Which beauty item would you rather buy today from a drugstore — nail polish, foundation, mascara or eyeliner?

P.P.S. Happy Monday! Hope you’re having a nice day so far. ?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 616

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One day a few years ago Tabs was working on some new fashion sketches for his latest cat collar in a sunny patch of sidewalk in front of the house.

He was deep in the creative zone when, out of nowhere, Harris the neighborhood cat bully appeared. Before Tabs could react, Harris leaped on Tabs’s sketchbook, and in a frenzy of fierce claws, ripped a bunch of pages out and ran off with them! He sped away around a corner of the garage and out of sight.

Tabs was speechless. “What the? No! Why!?” He sat there trying to process the horror that had just happened. Tabs had just finished a new sketch for a sunflower summer collar he was sure would take the feline fashion world by storm, but now it was…gone! Harris took it for no reason, totally unprovoked. It was the rudest, meanest, rottenest thing Tabs had seen in a long time, and he was shocked — shocked! — that any cat would do it.

“Hey!” he shouted, “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

No answer.

Tabs was completely aghast. In his estimation, he had just created the design for a collar so fabulous and so revolutionary that it would end the city-country cat wars and bring peace to all felinekind. How could any cat be so selfish and short sighted that they would jeopardize world peace like that?

“This is about more than fashion!” he yelled and shook his paw.

Still no answer.

Despite Harris’s brazen daylight attack, Tabs went on to recreate his design and finish it the following year. It went on to become his magnum opus, his masterpiece, selling a record 300 million collars. ?

In other news…Van Helsing. The show on Syfy? Do you watch it? We started watching it on Netflix last week, and it’s surprisingly good! — if you like post-apocalyptic vampire shows, which I do. It stars a cat who looks just like Tabs…

Kidding. ?

For real, it’s good though.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, July 18, 2020

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Hi there and happy Saturday! Look what I found on my desk this morning — a surprise work of art by the Coywolf.

There’s nothing like starting off the weekend with a bright burst of bold colors, right? ?

We’re tilling the dry, rocky California dirt, grading with big heavy rakes and moving big honkin’ rocks around the front “yard” today (IS IT EVER GOING TO END?), and tomorrow we’re heading to my parents’ house in Union City to have a socially distanced picnic in their backyard. We’re going to bring our camp-style 5-gallon bucket porta-potty thingy (yay…), camp chairs and camp table, and bring some chips and drinks. I’m looking forward to the drive. Actually, I’m just looking forward to doing anything at this point.

How about you? Whatcha up to this weekend?


I love this look.


Things you can do with your hair to appear more youthful; who knew?


Because I obviously need to add more things to my TJ’s wish list.


Why does this look so good to me?!


I never was able to see these pics.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Faux Freckles: Yea or Nay?

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What say you about faux freckles? They’ve been en vogue for a while now, but I hadn’t tried drawing any on myself until recently because I already have a smattering of real freckles…which I’ve gone to great lengths to disguise on occasion, so I’ve always thought, “Eh, what’s the point? They’re already there.”

However, I recently gave ’em a go as part of “Operation Trying New Things” (gotta get out of my rut). Surprisingly, I kinda liked them! So I’m giving this trend a “yes.”

How about you? Have you tried it on yourself? Do you think it’s worth the effort, or do you think they just look like someone drew a bunch of random dots on their face?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

At What Age Did You Start Having a Skin Care Routine?

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High school, 1993, when I was an avid Clinique 3-stepper

It wasn’t really anything I thought about when I was younger. I would just wash my face with whatever soap was around, and then I’d remove all the suds with a washcloth… Pretty standard stuff for an elementary and middle school-aged girl. I don’t think I even used face lotion (GASP). And sunscreen? What the heck was that?

But when I was 12, I started breaking out, and that’s when I started a skin care routine.

Granted, it wasn’t great! I remember going to the dermatologist and the doctor giving me a really drying benzoyl peroxide soap called PanOxyl bar, which was so stinky and drying, and it bleached all of my t-shirts and towels… That was pretty much the extent of my first skin care routine. ?

My routine finally got “official” in high school when I started doing the Clinique 3-step process.

Do you remember the light green plastic soap case that came with the bar soap? I remember taking that thing everywhere — on band trips, to sleepovers. That soap was my jam back in the day. I wonder if it still comes with the soap. Hmm…

Anyway, I continued that routine through college, which was when I *finally* started using a sunscreen. It was one by Oil of Olay. I used it because that’s what my mom used, and it was affordable for my student budget.

How about you? At what age did you start having a skin care routine?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Checking In: Camping at Clear Lake, a New Book, and a Shrimp Pesto Salad Recipe

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Major snack action while camping at Clear Lake

It’s been about a week since we got home from camping at Clear Lake, and I think I’ve *finally* recovered. HA HA HA HA! I know. You would think that sitting outside, like, making s’mores, playing Go Fish, parking your butt in a chair and reading for two hours straight (DREAMY) would be totally relaxing, but…no, not really. I learned a lot from this trip, including that camping can be kind of exhausting, especially if you have to plan the trip and parent a young person at the same time. I mommed SO HARD, you don’t even know!

Why is eating a hot dog outside so fun?!
The path to the swimming area at Clear Lake
Relaxing after a couple hours at the beach

Camping as a parent is waaaaay harder

Honestly, I did not realize how tiring parenting while camping was until now. Most of my previous experiences with camping were trips where I just showed up with a sleeping bag and a box of Frosted Flakes, because every summer in high school, my best friend Jen’s extended family would pack up all the gear and the kids and the food and drive out to a lake somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where we’d spend a few days camping. I didn’t appreciate all of the work involved in the planning and the food prep and the packing.

I was crazy exhausted when we got home, but happy because we left with lots of good memories that I hope get tucked away into Connor’s memories like those trips with Jen’s family are tucked away in mine (like the time my friend Cindy and I unknowingly pitched our tent on a slight downhill grade, so we spent the entire night slowly sliding down the hill in our sleeping bags, HA HA HA!).

Yes, I’m on a cot.

Thumbs up to Clear Lake

By the way, Clear Lake State Park is lovely. 100% recommended. It’s about two hours north of Marin County, and it’s a beautiful place to camp because there’s a lot of trees and life surrounding the like, so there’s lots of animals and plants and places to hike, fish and swim.

There are three campgrounds within the park, and we stayed at the Kelsey Creek one in site 88, which was perfect for us because it was a little further from the main strip of campsites and consequently quieter. It also had lots of trees for shade. The only downside was that it’s a bit far from the swimming and fishing areas, about a 15-20 minute walk, so if you have little ones, you might want to ride bikes or drive your car out to those places. Yes, you can totally walk there (and there are beautiful, easy trails), but it takes some time.

The creek next to our campsite
Fishing in a tutu, because that’s the way to do it
Baby’s first camp s’mores!

Now, how clear was Clear Lake? Well, it was a little murky, to be honest! In the swimming area, the lake itself is nice and warm for swimming, which was nice, but there were a ton of plants floating on the surface near the water’s edge, so you won’t be able to look down and see your feet like you can in Lake Tahoe. Connor was a little bothered by the plants at first, but after I told her that they were “mermaid jewelry” and made some lake grass into bracelets, she got into it.

Also, there’s an outdoor shower close to the swimming area, so you can easily rinse off before returning to your camp.

A view of the lake!

A new book!

When we weren’t swimming, sitting around or snacking (THERE WERE A LOT OF SNACKS), I was reading. I started a book I’ve had on Audible for ages, The Silent Patient, a New York Times Best Seller.

Super scary, man

It’s a fictional thriller about a woman who allegedly murders her husband and then refuses to speak. She gets a new therapist who starts playing detective to get to the root of the murder, and chaos ensues. It’s suspenseful and scary, so I wouldn’t call it relaxing, but if you like a story that doesn’t let up, you’ll probably enjoy it. I am so far.

Speaking of reading, don’t laugh, but I just added Mariah Carey’s memoir to my reading list. Her book is coming out in September, and I think I’m going to pre-order it as I love me some Mimi.

I hope she talks about the making of her Butterfly album, which is my favorite MC album because it has a lot of her best songs, most of which are underrated, IMHO — The Roof and Breakdown (with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony) are easily in my top 5.


Mimi’s makeup!


Yet another eternal source of ’90s makeup inspiration

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 634

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Have a sweet week, my friend!

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. ?

The Perfume Edition!

    1. Scent (or scents) you’ve been wearing the longest?

    MAC Turquatic (13 years!), Clinique Happy (almost 20), Chanel Mademoiselle (10), Byredo Gypsy Water (6 years)

    2. A perfume or scent you associate with fond memories?

    All the scents from The Body Shop remind me of my early 20s, the phase in my life when I had just graduated from college and moved back to the Bay Area. It full of lots of highs and lows — big adjustments and lot of bumps in the road, but at the same time, I had so much fun. I wore pretty much anything you could find at The Body Shop, but my favorites were Moonflower, Dewberry, Ananya and Indian Gardenia. I wish I kept those old bottles, just so I could smell them again!

    3. A scent that reminds you of summer?

    Bobby Brown Beach or Coppertone Waterbabies Sunscreen (they pretty much have the same scent notes, ha!)

    4. What does your youth smell like?

    The Body Shop Moonflower, YSL Paris, Gucci Envy, Gucci Rush, CK One (I didn’t wear this, but everyone around me did), Dior J’Adore ?

    5. Did you ever go through a body splash phase?

    For sure! I wore a lot of Bath & Body Works Green Clover and Aloe back in the day.

    6. A perfume you like (or liked) that suddenly everyone seemed to be wearing?

    Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue ❤️

    7. A scent you’ve been wearing a lot lately?

    Victoria’s Secret Amber Romance…mostly because it’s alleged to also work as a mosquito repellent! And ya know what…? All of those old fishermen are right. It totally works! ?

    8. Your old-school Bath & Body Works signature scent?

    Oh! Lots and lots of Green Clover and Aloe, and before that it was Juniper Breeze. I wasn’t really into the fruity fragrances, although everyone else around me seemed to LOVE them. Every girl I knew in college wore Country Apple. ?

    9. Have you ever unexpectedly received perfume as a gift, and did you like the scent?

    I have! My friend Elizabeth gave me a bottle of J’Adore, and I wore it off and on for about a year.

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. Scent (or scents) you’ve been wearing the longest?
2. A perfume or scent you associate with fond memories?
3. A scent that reminds you of summer?
4. What does your youth smell like?
5. Did you ever go through a body splash phase?
6. A perfume you like (or liked) that suddenly everyone seemed to be wearing?
7. A scent you’ve been wearing a lot lately?
8. Your old-school Bath & Body Works signature scent?
9. Have you ever unexpectedly received perfume as a gift, and did you like the scent?

P.P.S. Hope you’re having a nice day so far. ?

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