Just For Fun

So, I’m reading a book about sourdough.

It’s fiction, and no, the main character isn’t a loaf of bread (in case you were wondering). Bread does, however, play a silent but omnipresent supporting role as a very tasty cast member, ha ha!

The book’s called Sourdough, by Robin Sloan, and it’s about a young woman who moonlights as a sourdough bread baker by night, while she works as a programmer for a robotics company in San Francisco by day.

No, really, I’m serious! You can’t make this stuff up!

Well, I mean, you can…

Anyway, the glutinous puns are glorious! — although I recognize that it might be a Karen thing to enjoy passages about feeding live yeast starters and building backyard brick ovens this much. I stayed up late reading it last night and dreamed about rising dough and proofing baskets into the early morning.

Oh, and check this out…

Don’t you love books that have maps in them?? I do. This one has a map from right around here because it takes place in the Bay Area. As we speak, I’m typing this from Novato, which is slightly northwest of the little drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the town I grew up in, Union City, is just south of Alameda.

If you need me today, I’ll be reading this. I’ll have my nose between the pages, and if it’s warm enough, I may even read a chapter by the pool.

Ah… ??️

Jumping into the weekend like… ☀️? #pooltime #fridaymood

A post shared by Karen | Makeup and Beauty Blog (@karenmbb) on Jul 13, 2018 at 4:04pm PDT

For a little light reading, here are some of the stories from around the Interwebs that caught my eye this week…

• The only Kylie I keep up with is Kylie Minogue, but kudos to Kylie Jenner for making it onto the cover of Forbes. Her makeup line is worth an estimated $800 million, and she’s only 20 (!).
• Have you seen these in your Facebook feed yet?? Because I haven’t. Using Augmented Reality (AR), you can virtually try on clothes and makeup before you buy. It looks a lot like a Snapchat or Instagram filter, so it’s not like going into a dressing room and trying something on, but still… Kinda cool. Makes me wonder how kids today will be shopping when they’re my age.
• I can’t be the only person who’s always looking for more makeup artists to low-key stalk, so here’s a list of the 2018 Emmy nominees in the makeup and hairstyling categories. See anyone you know? I’m happy to see Glow on the list!

• GO, JACKIE, GO! I’ve been a huge fan of vlogger Jackie Aina for years now, and I’ve been happy to see her beautiful face all over the beauty world lately, even recently teaming up with Too Faced to formulate darker shades for the Born This Way Foundation line.

Here are a few of her favorite beauty products for women of color.

• These six gadgets are supposed to contour and sculpt your face without makeup.
• Why are some scents more expensive than others? This very detailed piece walks through the differences between pure perfumes, eau fraiche, and everything in between.
• Fave read of the week.
• Is Lady Gaga launching her own beauty brand a la Fenty? She’s quietly working on a new beauty startup, and it already has Silicon Valley investors.

• As someone with a kid who occasionally appears on Instagram doing (what I think are) cute things, and as someone who loves seeing other people’s kids on the ‘gram doing cute things, I have mixed feelings about “spawn con,” also known as sponsored content featuring children.

  On the one hand, kids born today can’t escape technology, and it ain’t cheap to raise a child, or maybe build a college fund.

  But on the other hand…would it be better to wait until a kid is old enough to make his/her own decisions? With cameras, and wearable devices and the Internet everywhere, does it even matter?? Will anyone be able to avoid having their pictures online 10 years from now? I don’t know.

• Go, science! And goooooooo women in plant science! Alice Tangerini is the first and only botanical illustrator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where she has been making her mark for 46 years.

I feel totally weird if I don’t read enough during the week. For me, it’s like working out, and the more I read, the better I feel.

Which reminds me…Saturday HIIT class. Soon. (Like in 15 minutes, whoops!)

You wanna go do some burpies with me? NO!?

Alright, alright. You have fun reading, then. 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your day, OK?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

In case you were wondering if HomeGoods has been slacking on their affinity for the cat ladies (otherwise known as “my people”), I’m happy to report that they’re not. I was just at the one near my house, and even on a Sunday night (by which time everything has been picked over, and pretty much all that’s left are the dregs), there were plenty of things for feline enthusiasts.

I’m trying to chill on new cat lady purchases, because I’m borderline #hoarderstatus right meow, but I deeply regret not getting the “Are You Kitten Me?” mug (she has lashes!) and kitty tea towels…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Humpday!!!!!

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Good question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll. 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 gazillion years (more than 10!). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a great start. ?

1. A drugstore beauty product you swear by?

Cetaphil, baby! It’s totally old school, I know, but it’s always worked for me, and I’ve been using it off and on for…gosh, almost 20 years now? It’s one of the longest relationships I’ve ever had!

2. When did you start shaving your legs?

Middle school. Seventh grade. So, 12. I was wearing my favorite olive green plaid shorts with a matching green vest, and the girl who had the locker below mine said, “Did you forget to shave today?”

I looked down at my shins and was suddenly and painfully aware that I had leg hair.

How did I never notice it before??

When I saw my mom that evening I asked if I could borrow a razor, and she said, “Why do you need to shave your legs? I don’t need to shave mine.” I’m pretty sure my response involved a very heavy and loud sigh…

Anyway, I sneaked one of my dad’s disposables, and shaved my legs for the first time in the shower that night.

3. Last beauty product you recommended to someone in person?

Biologique Recherche P50 1970!

4. Last time you washed your makeup brushes?

Um… A month ago? No, really, you don’t want to know… I have a whole box full of them that need to be deep-cleaned!

5. Something you have to do today?

Ugh, make an appointment with the dentist to get my teeth cleaned.

Best mug ever!

Please note that the mug I’m holding in the pic at the top says this:

HA HA HA HA HA!

If my cupboards weren’t bursting with cat lady mugs, I would’ve picked it up in a heartbeat.

Speaking o’ mugs, I’m going to refill mine right now with coffee made from my new coffee maker! Did I forget to tell you about the coffee maker incident from last week?! DUDE. I had a work call at the crack of dawn last Monday (or was it Tuesday? Anyway, it was REALLY early!), and when I went into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee from the machine I’d programmed the night before to brew at 5:45, the coffee maker was KAPUT. Dead. Totally deceased!

It just so happens that we had an extra 2-cup coffee maker my in-laws gave to us before they moved back to Hawaii, which I ended up using that morning, so crisis averted, but it’s one of those mini ones that you get at hotels, and it doesn’t really work well.

Long story short, I got a new one, and I’m very excited about it, because, apparently it makes some excellent coffee! — as evidenced by my rambling in print. ☕?

Hope your caffeine has also kicked in!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions for you to copy and paste with your answers in a comment:

1. A drugstore beauty product you swear by?
2. When did you start shaving your legs?
3. Last beauty product you recommended to someone in person?
4. Last time you washed your makeup brushes?
5. Something you have to do today?

Me, last night.

Well…more like me yesterday afternoon at approximately 5 p.m., give or take, because that’s when people in Toddler Town have dinner.?‍♀️ And while other people in the restaurant were enjoying their sushi dressed like actual adults, I was sporting my (Connor’s) stethoscope and pink sprinkle doughnut glasses, but I digress…

It being Caturday and all, I hope you’re relaxing right meow. If you feel so inclined, here’s some light reading for you…

• When I was a child, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which was on the air from 1968 to 2001, was one of my favorite shows, and there’s a new documentary out about Mr. Rogers’ life called Won’t You Be My Neighbor, with fun factoids like…until her death, his mom knitted all of his zip-up sweaters. Also, Mr. Rogers had a thing for the number 143, and he maintained a weight of exactly 143 pounds throughout the last 30 years of his life.

• This article was an eye-opener: It discusses the consequences of farming (like deforestation and water pollution) and sourcing some of the ingredients that are commonly used in beauty products. According to the article, child labor is often used to farm and process cocoa, mica and shea butter.

• My favorite read this week was this piece about how one young woman used to think her mother’s devotion to outward beauty was oppressive, but the woman changed her mind when she reached adulthood. From the article…

  “In South Korea’s ultra-competitive, image-obsessed society, beauty was a physical marker of one’s commitment to success. Beauty was a weapon that could be deployed to fight patriarchy, a source of power for getting ahead despite patriarchal constraints that limited options for women. As the head nurse of an operating room in South Korea, my mother went from having nothing to living her best life. She commissioned custom-designed outfits for her curvy figure, ensuring she always looked impeccable. For my mother, beauty meant empowerment and independence. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1976 and losing her career and independence, beauty was one thing my mother could maintain. No matter how hard things became, she got out of bed every morning and performed her beauty regimen with precision and allegiance.”

• I would LOVE to see this exhibit at the V&A Museum in London called Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, just to see her makeup. She wore Revlon, Coty and Talika!

  If you go, you’ll be able to see her bright pink Revlon blush, her favorite lipstick (called “Everything’s Rosy”), and a nail polish in “Raven Red.”

• British makeup brand Jecca is new to me, but I’ll be on the lookout for it, and apparently it’s on L’Oreal’s radar, too.

  It was started in 2015 by makeup artist Jessica Blacke, who began offering makeover sessions to the transgender women in her hometown of Cardiff, Wales, after hearing some of her clients talk about how they felt overlooked by the big beauty brands. In response, she launched her own online store with products that cater to specific needs, like covering “beard shadow,” which is when facial hair growth is visible under the skin.

Thanks for the ear worm, Jennifer!

How to wear one foundation three different ways

So, who’s gonna bake these with me?!

I’m #sorrynotsorry about posting that chocolate chip cookie recipe, by the way, because it would be absolutely wrong of me to have to make it alone. Be a friend and bake a batch with me. 🙂 Please? COME ON!

In other news, today’s my and El Hub’s 12th (!) anniversary, so we’re heading to the East Bay to have lunch and catch a movie. Whatever you’re up to, have a spectacular rest of your day and a wonderful weekend. Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen