Just For Fun

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 Skin Care Edition!

1. What’s your skin type?

Combo. Dry on my cheeks and around my mouth, and oily on my nose and forehead. Acne prone errrrrrrywhere (UGH), but especially around my mouth and chin, and on my forehead.

2. Your latest skin care love?

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. It’s moisturizing, layers beautifully on top of other products and underneath makeup. SO GOOD!

3. Something skin care related that’s currently on your wish list?

A bottle of Biologique Recherche P50 1970 Toner. I used it a while back, and when I look at pics of my skin from that time, I think it was more even-toned. Anywho, I have a pigmentation blob on my cheek that I think is getting darker, so I’m saving up for a big ol’ bottle.

4. When did you have the best skin of your life?

Hmm… Honestly, when I was a kid! Sh*t hit the fan when I hit 10, and I started breaking out.

5. What skin care products have you been using the longest?

Wow, I just did the math, and I realized that I’ve been using Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion for nearly seven years!

6. What’s your skin tone?

I’m a medium tan, and my undertones lean warm, although they’re *not* overly warm, if that makes any sense. I’m definitely not neutral or cool, but I’ve noticed in some instances warm shades look jarring and cooler tones look better. I think it also depends on what season it is. During the fall and winter my skin seems to be less warm.

7. What brings out the worst in your skin?

When my skin starts acting fussy it’s usually one, or a combo, of the following: lack of sleep, not drinking enough water, or stress. Also, I’ve definitely noticed that there’s a sweet spot with the Kate Somerville Anti Bac. If I use anything less than two pumps, my skin breaks out.

8. What things bring out the best in your skin?

Obvs, lots of sleep and drinking enough water, lower stress levels, and benzoyl peroxide, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve also noticed that what I eat plays a big role, too. When I eat more vegetables and unprocessed foods, I swear my pores look less intense, my overall skin texture is smoother, and it it just seems overall more glowy and healthy. I do try to eat as much healthy stuff as I can, but ya know…I’m not crazy strict about it or anything. Sometimes you just really gotta have a chocolate chip cookie!

9. An expensive skin care procedure you’d be willing to try if you didn’t have to pay for it?

Soooo, I currently don’t do fillers or anything (as evidenced by my deepening smile lines!), but I haven’t ruled it out for the future. If someone offered the future version of me a way to do filler that wasn’t overly obvious, I *might* give it a go.

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’s your skin type?
2. Your latest skin care love?
3. Something skin care related that’s currently on your wish list?
4. When did you have the best skin of your life?
5. What skin care products have you been using the longest?
6. What’s your skin tone?
7. What brings out the worst in your skin?
8. What things bring out the best in your skin?
9. An expensive skin care procedure you’d be willing to try if you didn’t have to pay for it?

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

Happy Saturday, my friend! If you need me, I’ll be here in my corner greedily scarfing down lychees before anyone else gets their paws on ’em.

Kidding! I’m always happy to share. 🙂 You’ll have to peel your own, though.

If Cookie Monster gets to be the monster of all cookies, I would like to be the monster of all lychees. Consequently, henceforth, from this day forward, you may refer to me by my Sesame name…”Lychee Monster,” since I can and will eat an obscene amount of lychees.

Question for you — how do you pronounce “lychee”? Do you say “LEE-chee” or “LIE-chee”? Inquiring minds want to know.

Anywho, lychees aren’t common in this part of Northern California, so whenever I see them in a store I grab as many as I can.

A buddy of mine on Instagram mentioned that when she was a kid, her mom would buy lychees in season and freeze them for later, which I think is GENIUS. I think I’ll freeze a few, but our fire season is just around the corner, which means that our power company (PG&E) will probably shut off the power in our county for a few days (possibly weeks) as part of wildfire prevention efforts, and we might lose the food in our freezer and fridge…so I think I should eat as many fresh lychees as humanly possible right now while I can. LOL.

On that note, lychees for EVERYONE!

• Pandemic isolation’s got beauty girls saying things like “I haven’t worn makeup in months, and I don’t see myself wanting to again.”
• Career advice from Burberry’s Global Beauty Director, Isamaya Ffrench: “Don’t expect anyone to call you up and be like, ‘We’re ready for you now.’ Just do it yourself.”
• Here are the products that skin care guru Caroline Hirons says you *don’t* need on your skin care shelf.
• ALL KINDS OF TONERS!
• How to do your makeup so it doesn’t rub off on your face mask.
• On why people are wearing perfumes even though nobody’s around to smell them: “A scent’s power to evoke the aura of beloved people, places, and things that we can’t interact with while sequestered at home may also explain why fragrance sales have held steady despite widespread job loss and financial insecurity amid a global pandemic.”
• Saving this list for the day I can casually walk into Bath & Body Works and leisurely smell all the candles.
• Retro niche perfumes are coming back into fashion.
• These are the bestselling skin care items at Whole Paycheck Foods.
• 5 types of hair damage and what you can do about it.

Perfect air-dried hair? YES, PLEASE.

I’m very curious about this brand out of Australia, Ere Perez.

Note to self…

What’s on deck for this weekend? What are you up to? Sending you virtual hugs.

Feels like we’re all needing a little (OK, a lot) of TLC these days.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Because it’s so easy to fire up a video makeup tutorial, sometimes I forget about good ol’-fashioned makeup books. I have quite a few and look through them often (but not as much as I used to before YouTube was a thing).

A couple that I think are super helpful are by makeup artist Robert Jones.

• Makeup Makeovers in 5, 10, 15, and 20 Minutes: Expert Secrets for Stunning Transformations: The step-by-step tutorials in this book are easy to follow, and the looks are classic, timeless and totally wearable. I like that the makeup is shown on different skin tones and face shapes, too.
• Makeup Masterclass: A Complete Course in Makeup For All Levels, Beginner to Advanced: Although very advanced makeup peeps might find this book basic, I still think it’s useful for beauty lovers of all levels since Robert does a great job of breaking down the “why” behind his techniques. The chapter that covers shadow placement for various eye shapes (hello, hooded eyes!), is especially helpful.

How about you? Do you read makeup books? What are your favorites?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

Hiya! How’s your week been so far? This is probably TMI (so of course I’m going to go there, hahaha), but I’m at that point “in the month” where I’m in currently experiencing varying states of HALT throughout the day. HALT, by the way, stands for “Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.” I can usually tell when I’m about to HALT, so when I feel it coming on, I try my best to manage my mood, and one thing I’ve noticed *really* helps is varying my usual routine in some small way.

Yesterday that was with a quick picnic lunch in a park with the fam-bam.

El Hub, Coywolf and I headed to a nearby park for some mellow midday fun in the sun underneath a big, shady tree.

By the way, this is how I roll now. In addition to all of the other “mom preparedness items” I usually lug around (snacks, hand sanitizer, face wipes, small trash bags for impromptu projectile barf — you know, the usual), I never leave home without 1) a bottle of Dial hand soap, and 2) toilet paper.

Because you never know when you’ll have to use the loo while you’re out of the house, and there’s absolutely NO WAY I’m going to enthusiastically touch anything in a public bathroom right now unless it’s a last, last resort. Honestly, my first choice would be to pop a squat behind a tree because 1) you’re not in a building, and 2) you don’t have to touch any surfaces, but if there are no girth-y pines or redwoods around…that’s when carrying your own personal array of bathroom supplies truly comes in handy.

Talk about TMI, LOL!

This little black backpack IS THE STUFF. It’s the Recruit by Timbuk 2, an SF-based bag brand, and it’s the replacement for the little black backpack from Target that was my go-to for a while (I had to retire it after the zipper, which was problematic from the get-go, broke).

Even though this new bag is a touch bigger, it’s still small enough to not feel like a full-sized camping bag or student backpack. The padded straps rest comfortably on my shoulders (and don’t cut into my skin), and the copious pockets ensure that I always have places to store my keys, phone and sunglasses. There’s ample room for all of the “just in case” things, too.

The regular price of the bag is $119, but it’s currently on sale for $59 (!) on the Timbuk 2 website. I’ve got the black one, but that khaki one sure is cute, too!

Speaking of things that are *the stuff*, I’m low-key addicted to this hella stupid show on Netflix called Floor Is Lava.

It’s a game show where teams of three compete for a $10,000 prize by climbing, catapulting and creeping their way across an obstacle course surrounded by bubbling, bursting (wait for it) lava!

(Fake lava, of course.)

THIS SHOW IS MY LIFE. Do you know how many times I hear “Don’t fall in the lava, mama!” throughout the day? Coy-Coy and I pretend that the floor is lava all day, everyday, inside the house and outside.

I really feel like I could do the damn thing! Anybody want to start a team with me? I’m totally serious.
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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. Oversized sweatpants or an oversized shirt?

Oversized shirt

2. Blue or orange eyeshadow?

ORANGE

3. One thing you can do this week to show yourself some self-love?

I’m going to stop mindlessly scrolling through social media at night (it’s such a time vortex), and go to bed earlier. Amazing what a full night’s sleep will do for your energy levels, mood, mental acuity… Yeah, sleep is good!

4. Best beauty advice you’ve ever gotten from your hair stylist?

Don’t overdo it with your hair dryer or curling iron…or heat stylers in general.

5. Concealer or foundation?

Hmm… Well, I like both, but I’ll go with foundation here, since I’m not a big fan of that feeling of concealer sitting on my face.

6. The O.G. Urban Decay Naked Palette or NARS Orgasm Blush?

O.G. Naked Palette

I like Orgasm well enough, but it’s too sparkly. Give me NARS Deep Throat any day of the week!

7. Spray tan or blowout?

Blowout, but only if I don’t have to do it myself. LOL.

8. How many palettes are too many palettes for a single eye look? Your max amount of palettes for a single eye look?

Two! Anything more than two is too complicated.

9. Leopard print or zebra print?

Leopard

10. Mascara on your lower lashes: yes or no?

Sure, why not?

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. Oversized sweatpants or an oversized shirt?
2. Blue or orange eyeshadow?
3. One thing you can do this week to show yourself some self-love?
4. Best beauty advice you’ve ever gotten from your hair stylist?
5. Concealer or foundation?
6. The O.G. Urban Decay Naked Palette or NARS Orgasm Blush?
7. Spray tan or blowout?
8. How many palettes are too many palettes for a single eye look? Your max amount of palettes for a single eye look?
9. Leopard print or zebra print?
10. Mascara on your lower lashes: yes or no?

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

Heya, friend. ? Good morning and welcome to summer! It’s officially summertime in the Northern Hemisphere. On a normal year, Connor and I would be spending lazy days at the pool…

Our homeowners association pool just opened for the season, and I’ve seen a few of my neighbors lounging about, but I’m still deciding whether to brave the water. There’s a big sign on the front gate with all of the new COVID guidelines, and I’m a little nervous about running into, well…people. I joke all the time about how the lockdown has turned me into a bit of a recluse. I’m pretty outgoing under normal circumstances, but not so much now. ?

Am I the only one?

• In this week’s edition of “Food-Related Collaborations,” Morphe’s launching a new limited edition makeup collection with Coca-Cola.
• Quick question — would you buy makeup and skincare products by Kanye West?
• Apparently, the pandemic has ushered in an era of false lashes and Crocs (as in the shoes).
• Ah, to be wed during a pandemic… Here’s how brides who celebrated with socially distanced weddings prepared for their big day.
• Makeup artists answer seven burning beauty questions.
• A short history on the origins of perfume.
• Creative ways beauty pros are facing the pandemic.
• A pregnant dermatologist breaks down her pregnancy skincare routine.
• A woman charged with burning police cars is tracked down because of her (wait for it) eyebrows.
• Why do cats like hanging out in boxes so much?
• The best bronzers for black skin.

Just in case it’s hotter than hades there and you need to feel like you’re next to a body of water…

Why don’t you come over, Valerie?

This is so fun. ?

She does justice to my favorite Soundgarden song.

Another throwback fave…

I like doing this 5-minute workout to warm up my body.

Connor walked into my office while I was watching this and started cracking up! (“Mommy, *WHAT* are you watching?”)

I really wanted to bake today, but it’s supposed to be 80 degrees here, so I’m not sure I want to turn on the oven… Yes, I’m a weather wimp.

What are you up to this weekend? Doing anything for Father’s Day? We’re taking El Hub out to Marin French Cheese (it’s open again!) for a picnic. It’ll be nice to do something we haven’t done in a while.

Hope you’re doing something fun. Have a nice weekend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen