Just For Fun

Well, hello there, Caturday! ??

This entire week, I’ve been diligently focusing on appreciating the little things, like that first sip of coffee in the morning… Oh! It gives me life!

Or like the cat weaving between my legs as I stand at the sink washing my face in the morning.

Or like glancing over at my bedside table to see new (to me) nighttime skincare treatments…

Retinol, baby! I have seen the light (thank you, Kate Somerville). I just finished a bottle of her +Retinol Vita C Power Serum Firming + Brightening Treatment, and I fully intend to eventually get it again in the next month or two, but before that, I’m trying out Estée Lauder’s Perfection Pro Rapid Renewal Retinol Treatment.

And I’m also trying EL’s Advanced Night Repair serum, too, because I’ve heard good things (like that it’s great for dry skin).

I think I might be on the road to becoming a full-blown “retinol enthusiast.” I see a shelf weighed down by waaaaay too many tubes and bottles of retinol treatments in my future…

If you like retinols as much as I do, drop me a comment to tell me about your favorite one! ?

I’m convinced now that keeping retinols/nighttime skincare potions on my bed stand is the way to go, because that way I’m less likely to forget to use them, and I can just reach over and apply a layer before I zonk out.

And now for your Saturday Surfing reading…

• Very soon, you’ll be able to try on and test makeup, Sephora-style, at CVS.
• Makeup artists who work on romantic comedy sets reveal the best lipsticks for making out.
• Hello Kitty skincare is launching at Ulta.
• Sunday Riley has settled with the FTC after the company was accused of posting fake reviews of their products on Sephora’s website for two years (!).
• Expert hair removal tips ahead: professional pole dancers reveal everything they do to get smooth, silky skin.
• The exact red lipstick Angelina Jolie wears as Maleficent.
• This Philippine-based beauty brand is making major waves with makeup artists and beauty lovers with their line of lightweight, long-lasting matte lipsticks.
• The language of kitty purrs has yet to be fully decoded, but according to some experts, purring can mean contentment, nervousness, fear and stress.
• The 14 Products a Veteran Beauty Writer Uses (Almost) Every Night
• Taking a trip with your kitty over the holidays? Here’s a list of the best travel gear for cats (and yes, it includes a portable litter box).
• Purr-haps you’d like to surprise your feline friend with a special treat? National Cat Day is just around the corner (October 29), after all. ?
• Because it’s the season of le chat noir, here are 13 black cats to add to your Instagram feed.
• The feline designs on this sidewalk make this walkway the place for cool cats.
• What to do when you suspect your cat is cheating on you…

I’m off to Michaels now to see if I can snag any last-minute Halloween decorations on sale (they get you with those coupons, man), as well as some frosting tips so I can practice decorating cupcakes at home.

What are you up to this weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Any other California peeps wondering if PG&E is going to turn off their power? ⚡

At the pediatrician’s office last week, Connor’s doc said what were perhaps the most accurate words I’ve heard about toddler-hood so far. She said that all preschoolers are either 1) currently sick, 2) recovering from being sick or 3) about to get sick again.

Oh, my goodness! It’s like a viral triathlon… Why doesn’t anybody tell you about this at the baby shower? (Also, why doesn’t anybody mention the weird underwear they give you at the hospital after giving birth? — because *that* was another surprise.)

Cocobaby’s in the thick of the frequent illness phase. She’s already caught a cold, or a cold-like virus, a few times in the past month, ’cause apparently three-year-olds are Petri dishes.

She’s just getting over the last virus, on top of which she also had a sinus infection, so the last few weeks have been very challenging, first, for her tiny virus-fighting body, but also for the rest of us.

It’s been quite scary at times. There was a night a couple weeks ago when we’d gotten dressed and ready to rush her to the emergency room after her fever spiked. Luckily, it quickly started to fall. I’m very thankful for the sound advice and steady guidance of the kind Kaiser advice nurse who helped us that night because my nerves were frayed.

Nobody in our house has been getting much sleep. (This, of course, to Rosie’s delight. She must think she stepped into a family of night people!) It’s been like living the newborn lifestyle all over again, with me and El Hub sleeping beside Connor in shifts. My body feels that same familiar dull ache of exhaustion… Weirdly enough, it was surprisingly easy to get used to again… Like riding a bike.

It’s scary watching a child who can’t really communicate the way they feel yet, and knowing you have very little control over any of it. All you can do is care for them the best you can, take them to the doctor, and try to make informed decisions. You do what you have to, ignoring your throbbing knees and aching back to hold them in your arms as they cry at the witching hour in a dark bathroom filled with steam until they feel a little better and finally fall asleep. You run to Target at obscene times of night in pajamas crusted with snot to pick up more Pedialyte, saltines and tiny Disney Princess toys because you know they make her smile.

Basically, you do what you have to.

Anyway, this is what I’ve been up to for the past few weeks. Just doing the best I can.

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 was the first skincare product you ever bought on your own?

Hmm… It was a long time ago. I can’t remember precisely what it was, because when I got into beauty, I was a tween, and I was all about makeup and hair, so skincare was more of a secondary interest…which, now that I think about it, is kinda weird, because I suffered from pretty bad acne back then.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure it was one of the products teenage girls loved in the early ’90s — Noxema Cleansing Cream, Neutrogena bar soap (the amber one), Ten O Six Toner or Stridex acne pads.

2. If you knew you couldn’t fail at it, what’s one thing you would try?

Honestly? Real estate investing. ?️

I know, that’s a full-on #adulting answer, but it’s true.

3. Yoga pants or jeans?

Tough call, homie. You know I have a serious love affair with my black, high-waisted stretchy pants, yet there’s something about wearing a pair of dark, skinny jeans that makes me feel neat and put together… I’m gonna go with the yoga pants, though, because it’s easier to bust out a quick leg stretch in them whenever I want.

Speaking of that, let me stretch out my hammies for a sec…

4. A perfume (or other scented product) you’ve worn within the last month?

I was just telling a friend last week (hi, Maricar!), that I’ve been all about Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris Feminine Pluriel lately. It’s pricey but nobody else I know wears it, which I love. Plus I like the pink bottle!

5. Something you find fun?

Working out. ?

Feelin’ the energy

Hiya, friend and happy Monday. I’m going to try something this week, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride. It’s nothing super involved or stressful, I promise. It just involves a simple choice — choosing to focus on things that invigorate and inspire me, instead of choosing to invest time/effort/energy into things that drain my spirit (like needlessly worrying, complaining or obsessing over things I can’t change). Will you join me?

As part of this, I’m going to make lists throughout the week of things I’m grateful for, and I’m going to spend more of my time enjoying the people in my life.

My quick gratefulness list for this morning (’cause I love lists):

• I’m grateful for central heating (because when our heater was broken last spring…dayum, life was cold).
• I’m grateful for hearing Pretty Girl Rosie’s purr while she shares my desk chair and keeps my lap warm.
• I’m grateful that I get to be the first face Connor sees every morning.
• I’m grateful for this cup of Trader Joe’s coffee, because it’s so warm and delicious…
• I’m grateful for scrunchies (got one in my hair right now, babe).

Lists.

I love lists.

They’re such a little thing, but I swear, it’s amazing how well they can help you change your point of view.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon!

1. What was the first skin care product you ever bought on your own?
2. If you knew you couldn’t fail at it, what’s one thing you would try?
3. Yoga pants or jeans?
4. A perfume (or other scented product) you’ve worn within the last month?
5. Something you think is fun?

P.P.S. This is *your* week, my friend. You’ve got this! ❤️

Who’s down for a Downton Abbey marathon this weekend? Are you? PLEASE SAY YES. I’ve been re-watching the series all week long (currently on Season 4) in preparation for seeing the movie, and seriously, I’ve watched SO MUCH over the past few days that I may start speaking with a hoity-toity aristocratic English accent.

All of this recent Downton-ing has reaffirmed my belief that the Dowager Countess is the Unofficial Queen of Shade. Her lines are the best!

If also you happen to be a fan of Cousin Violet, FYI, you and I need this sticker and shirt in our lives ASAP.

I think I also need this unofficial Downton Abbey cookbook, too, just so I can cook my way through all the scones recipes in Chapter 8.

On that note, I think I need to swing by the bakery for a scone… While I do that, here’s your reading for the week:

• I’ve officially seen it all, because rage yoga — where pigeon pose includes profanity, and warrior one ? comes with a war cry — is now a thing.
• A brief guide to Asian restaurants, according to my doppelganger, Ali Wong.
• 7 male actors, musicians and models embrace some seriously epic makeup looks.
• According to funeral director Evie Vargas, applying makeup on the deceased is really not that much different than doing it on the living.
• Just in case you have $400k sitting around and you want a makeover from Kim K’s MUA…
• Moani Lee, makeup artist to country music mega stars Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert (among others), talks about the skincare and makeup she relies on flawless skin.
• Katie Jane Hughes shows you how to do winged liner on hooded eyes.
• Photographer Stefan Draschan camps out for days in museums to catch people wearing clothes that match the paintings, and the results are all kinds of fabulous. (The Monet pic is my favorite.)
• Did anybody else schedule their college classes so they could be home in time to watch Days of Our Lives? This writer’s college experience in the ’90s rings so true. (Although I have to disagree about babydoll dresses. I loved ’em then, and still love them now.)
• Alexx Mayo gets to touch Lizzo’s face (he’s her makeup artist)!
• How a Chanel perfume is made…
• Did you know that there’s a niche world of perfumes made by car companies?
• Birkenstock (yes, the shoe company) is launching a skin care line.
• The story behind the music of Downton Abbey.
• Found my next vacation!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saw an article recently in Allure about how mega-influencer Huda Kattan likes to spritz some perfume before she goes to bed.

I’m wondering… Do very many other people do that? Is that a thing here in the United States, or wherever you happen to be in the world? Do you do a spritz before you drift off to slumber?

I do. Wearing perfume to bed has become a habit/tradition I accidentally fell into last summer. It all started with the Great Mosquito Incident of 2019… We had an unusually intense mosquito season ? here in Novato, so every evening when I stepped out of the shower, before I put on my PJs, I doused myself in this Victoria’s Secret body splash because I’d heard it was supposed to be a potent mosquito repellent (I think it worked!).

Because of that, I just kinda got used to smelling nice for bed.

What about you? Do you ever put on perfume before you go to bed? Inquiring minds want to know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen