Just For Fun

I may or may not need someone to pour a bucket of relaxing lavender-scented lotion on me if/when I watch some of the movies on my summer watch list.

LIKE THIS ONE:

First time I tried, I couldn’t make it through the trailer! I read about it in Entertainment Weekly, and apparently when it was screened at some film festivals this year, people left the theater screaming and crying!

It comes out June 8th — the day before my b-day (GEMINI IN THE HOUSE!).

Yup, my movie wish list is already about a mile long because El Hub and I only go every few months, which is probably just as well since I’m the person who has to take a cat nap now in the middle of a movie. It’s happened in every movie we’ve gone to since Connor was born. Put me in a dark room, and BAM! — I’m asleep. ?

Granted, I don’t think that will happen if we go see Hereditary (don’t you just love Toni Collette?).

It looks scary as FRACK.

I also want to see…

My buddy Suz in the comments mentioned Annihilation the other day, and it looks nice and intense. It stars Natalie Portman, and I see it available on iTunes to rent. I think we’ll watch that this weekend.

And, of course, there’s Crazy Rich Asians…

I mostly want to watch it for Constance Wu because I love her in Fresh Off the Boat. She’s hilarious on that show — totally reminds me of my Asian tiger mom in the ’80s and ’90s. Hopefully I can read the book before seeing the film!

How about you? Have you seen any good movies lately? What’s on your watch list?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I’ve had “mom hair” on my mind lately — pretty much ever since I saw this Saturday Night Live skit a couple weeks ago (thanks for sending it, Jen!).

Haven’t laughed that hard in ages. ?

When I think of “mom hair,” I think of my mom and the moms of my friends in the 80s, many of whom had some iteration of Princess Diana’s short hair style.

Seems like the current version is shorter on the sides, but with smooth, severe bangs and spiky knives in the back.

Even though I don’t think I’ve had a trademark mom hair style yet (at least I can’t remember), because I really like being able to just put my hair up into a ponytail, this skit still totally resonates with me.

Oh, my gosh! — that part when one of the ladies talks about waking up after a fugue state at HomeGoods and finding a rustic sign in her hands that says “HOME” but not knowing how it got there? Or getting the sudden urge to turn your bathroom into the beach?

BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.

I’ve also had mom hair on my mind lately because of this post on Racked about mom haircuts and sexuality.

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GIRL, it took a tube of Icy Hot, two days and four naps for me to recover from going out dancing ? on Saturday night, but it was so worth it. We had a blast.

Mostly, the best fun occurred between 11 – 11:30, which was shortly before we “peaced out,” because the DJ at Public Works in SF’s Mission, which is where we went, saved the ’90s hits we know and love for late in the evening.

The theme of the night was hip-hop hits from 1979-1999, but the DJ was stuck in 1979 from about 9:30 to 11, at which point Black Sheep started playing, and Naaman, Cindy and I (formerly known as “The Triumvirate”) lost our minds. ?

That’s also about when I took the pic at the top, which is why I’m extra dewy in it. (There’s three gallons of sweat rolling down my face.)

Some of the best parts of nights like this are the unintentionally funny ones, ya know? Like, we were dancing right next to a big group of friends, and one of the people in the group was a very tall woman who was wielding a huge black leather bag that was stuffed to the gills with something, and whenever she would dance up behind one of us, the bag would strike. Repeatedly! It turned into a game of round-robin, with a different one of getting trapped by the bag and pummeled for a while before we would switch places. “OK, it’s someone else’s turn to get the crap beaten out of them by this bag for a few minutes, haha!”

The lipstick I’m wearing at the top is MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Personal Statement (which, sadly, appears to have been discontinued, but if you want something similar, try Tailored to Tease), and I knew I made the right choice when Cindy, who isn’t a makeup person, watched me apply it, crinkled her nose and said, “It’s kinda florescent.”

And I was like, “That’s what I was going for. 🙂 ”

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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. What’s something you need help with right now?

If we’re talking big picture, then I really need help decluttering my house. First, I need someone to check me when I’m straightening things out and remind me that I can/should get rid of more stuff, because I’m a pack rat at heart. I’m also 1) sentimental, and 2) I always think I’m going to need “the thing” someday down the road, like one day I’ll just exclaim, “Oh! Where the heck did I put that Saucony shoe box?”

Short term help: breakfast. I wish someone (*ahem* Tabs) would make me a yummy, healthy Memorial Day breakfast.

2. What’s your outlook on lotion and moisturizing in general?

It’s absolutely. Essential.

If I don’t moisturize every inch of my body at least once per day, I will turn into this:

3. What’s your idea of a perfect Tuesday night?

OK, let me take you through it. El Hub gets home early from work, and we go to Taco Tuesday at Mi Pueblo Taqueria.

It’s always a good, easy time. It’s casual, simple, tasty and divine. We grab some tacos, have a couple beers, the baby devours her plate of beans and rice without fussing. Then, afterwards, we drive to Sephora and El Hub watches Connor while I browse for 20 uninterrupted minutes. Lastly, before heading home, we hit up See’s for chocolate.

Ah… That’s my dream Tuesday night. Oh, and hello! — I almost forgot the most important part. We go to bed at 9. 🙂

4. You won a $5,000 shopping spree to the store of your choice! What store and why that one?

Hmm… This is a tough one, because I wanna say Pottery Barn, because I need furniture, but what furniture can you really get from Pottery Barn for $5K?? Maybe two big pieces, if you’re lucky?

So I’ll go with Pier1, because when they have deep discounts on floor models, which is almost all the time, you can get some cute things at pretty good prices. Last time I went I saw a nine-drawer bedroom dresser on sale for $300, marked down from $900!

5. Quick: think of a happy memory. What was it?

Don’t laugh, but I almost cried when I found out that TJ’s had brought back their Rose Oil Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream. ? I felt pure joy, LOL! I really did do a little happy dance in the middle of the store.

Happy Memorial Day

What’s the plan, Stan? When should we come over for the BARBECUE!? 🙂 I’ll bring my corn ? salad, which was a big hit at the family barbecue yesterday.

I’m just sayin’… It’s REALLY good.

Have a great day, whatever you’re up to.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Happy Caturday, fabulous! ? I hope you slept well. If I haven’t thanked you for the encouragement in the pre-pregnancy clothes post a few weeks ago, thank you very much! Your suggestions were very helpful. I really, really needed the push.

I actually *finally* got some bottoms that fit me properly, and I’ve come to the realization that I’m now a better fit for “curvy” pants, not just because of how my body changed since the baby, but also because I’ve been doing lots of squats since last year, so I have more muscle on my booty and thighs. ‘Tis a good — no, a GREAT — thing!

So, I am now the happy owner of a pair of these J. Crew shorts, which just happen to be on killer sale at the moment using promo code GETAWAY.

The High-rise denim short in Brixton wash, originally $79.50, are on sale for $42 through May 28. The denim feels soft and structured, and they’re short-but-not-too short.

I already love ’em. In fact, I’m finally ditching the two pairs of ill-fitting denim booty shorts I’ve worn for the last two summers.

Before the sale ends in a couple days, I also want to grab a pair of these cute 3″ olive shorts with a scalloped hem (cute touch!). They’re $32 with the same GETAWAY code, down from $59.50.

I figure, the olive is neutral, so they should go with most everything.

Thank you again for the encouragement. Now, onward to today’s Saturday Surfing…

• You might notice something a little different now when you go shopping for beauty products at big department stores like Nordstrom and Saks. To lure more shoppers…many of the big stores are phasing out traditional single-brand counters and replacing them with a more Sephora-like open floor plan, with more and more products from under-the-radar brands.

  It’s kinda like if someone were to drop a giant SpaceNK into a Nordies.

• Sephora will soon offer new classes for transgender folks wanting to learn more about makeup. Their 90-minute “Bold Beauty for the Transgender Community” classes start in June and will cover makeup products and application techniques. Cool!

• I really hope that Meghan Markle’s royal wedding makeup will start a trend toward more approachable makeup looks, and this author thinks it’s going to have long-term effects on the scene.

  “Despite the seeming simplicity of Markle’s makeup,” Cheryl Wischhover writes, “it might be poised to have a radical effect on beauty trends. In the world of makeup right now, the two most popular trends fall on opposite and extreme ends of an aesthetic continuum. On one end, you have what is known in Instagram makeup vernacular as ‘glam.’ On the other, there is ‘no-makeup makeup.’ Markle came down clearly on the ‘no-makeup makeup’ side. It’s a big deal that she made such a statement publicly because the beauty world is at a tipping point, with the push and pull of more versus less makeup bubbling up in pop culture.”

• I want to check out all 15 of these makeup brands, all of which are made for deeper skintones *and* owned by women of color.

OK, someone’s coffee needs a refill! ☕☺️ Have a great rest of your day and a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Let me know what you’re up to.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I call these my “non-negotiables,” and I go through them faster than everything else: concealer, mascara, brow pencil/gel, black or brown liner for tightlining, and bronzer.

Lip balm, nude lipsticks and glosses are up there, too, as are face tint, powder, blush and neutral (mostly beige and brown) eyeshadows, to a lesser degree.

OK…from the look of it, I’m using everything in my bag pretty regularly, LOL! 🙂

But I swear, there are things in there that I like to have with me, but I hardly ever touch, like lip liner, liquid liner, gel liner, and deeper lipsticks and glosses (dark browns, purples, burgundies, reds).

I haven’t been wearing highlighter at all lately, but I go through phases with it. Sometimes I’ll go theret… I think it’s fun to transform yourself into a version you don’t see daily, but it’s not one of the first things I’d grab if I were rushing out the door because it isn’t forgiving.

On that note, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been pressed for time and thought, “Sure, I can pull off black liquid liner, no problem.”

In those situations, though, it’s never a good idea, LOL! With liquid liner, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong IMO, so best not chance it when rushing.

So I ask you, of all the beauty products in your makeup bag, which do you use the most, and which do you use the least? Inquiring minds want to know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen