• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To MakeupMakeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
    • Advertising & Media
  • Categories
    • Product Reviews
    • Makeup
    • Skincare & Fragrance
    • Style & Fashion
    • Hair
    • Nails
    • Tips & Tutorials
    • Just for Fun
  • Brands
  • Store

Just For Fun

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 358

January 25th, 2016 by Karen 36 Comments

012516-sunflowers-monday-poll

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past seven years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

  1. Assuming you had to choose one (“neither” is not an option), would you rather wear a pink business suit or a leopard-print business suit to the office?
    Alright, I’ll play your playfully twisted game, Ms. Karen. 🙂 I’ll go with the pink business suit if I can get it cut well and tailored to fit my eight-month pregnant self, HAHA! — ideally, in either a soft blush or rich, warm hot pink…

    The leopard print is also tempting…but I’m thinking that Cookie Lyon from Empire is the only person who could successfully pull that off and make it look legit.

  2. My heart melts when I see ______.
    1. Kittens awkwardly padding around with their fluffy feet, aww! (Side note: I wish I’d known Tabs when he was a tiny baby cat. He must have been the cutest kitten.)
    2. Dads holding sleeping babies.
    3. Pictures of me and my brother together, and pics of me and my friends when we were kids.
  3. Have you ever worn safety pins as a fashion accessory?
    No, I was never cool enough to pull it off. I do have a cousin Beverly, though, who rocked the look and rocked it well. She’d line the sides of her jeans with big silver safety pins, and it looked really cool.
  4. Doughnuts or cake?
    Abstolutely. Yes. All you can spare. 🙂

    But if I have to pick one or the other…cake, with lots of layers and yummy frosting, because I’m not into frosting that doesn’t have any flavor.

    Mmm… And if I happen to be having this cake while I’m not pregs, I would very much like to wash it down with champagne please.

  5. What are some of your nicknames?
    K-dawg, Sweetie, Karonie and Katie.

Le List

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. Assuming you had to choose one (“neither” is not an option), would you rather wear a pink business suit or a leopard-print business suit to work?
2. My heart melts when I see ______.
3. Have you ever worn safety pins as a fashion accessory?
4. Doughnuts or cake?
5. What are some of your nicknames?

Good morning, glory! You know what word I like, even though it’s a word for something that isn’t great? “Inclement,” like inclement weather, which a lot of the U.S. is having. I hope it’s not too bad where you are…

Oh, here’s something you might like: a SoundCloud playlist called Focused Work. Give this one a listen next time you have to concentrate on something.

Happy Monday, my friend. Stay warm, and have a good one.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 36 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 382

January 24th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

tabs-waikiki-plumeria

Dear Diary,

I’m baaack! Guess who returned from the islands feeling refreshed and renewed? This cat right here.

I’m still going through some vacation withdrawals, so bear with me if I occassionally lapse into a Hawaiian chant or get up to do the hula.

Actually, I’m more of a Tahitian dancer myself… I’m all about the hips.

I had grand plans to spend last Friday recovering from my vacation, haha, but alas, I was thwarted. My two assistants (damn them) conspired against me.

OK, I’m being dramatic. (What? Me, dramatic?) It was time for my annual checkup and, purr usual, it was a whole Jason Bourne-caliber situation to get me there because my two assistants know that as much as I love taking care of this body, I hate taking it to the vet. So, they deceived me under the guise of “going to Nordstrom.” I happily entered my cat carrier thinking that I was going to be able to pick up some Burberry or Prada, but then we pulled up to the Mill Valley Cat Clinic instead…

tabs-mill-valley-cat-clinic-vet-lobby
[Continue reading…]

There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Tabs

Leave a Comment for a Chance to Win a $50 Sephora E-GIFT CARD! (Ends Monday)

January 23rd, 2016 by Karen 478 Comments

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **

This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, INDIA!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

Sephora giveaway!

shark-pincher-clawSee, now, I knew I should have gotten that toy shark pincer claw thingy when I saw it at the Monterey Bay Aquarium a couple weeks ago because I could really use longer arms right now. I move around like a seal out of water! Turning over in bed takes me 10 minutes (only slightly exaggerating), and this is all to say that I can barely move right now, and reaching for things, like the light switch beside my bed, takes superhuman effort.

Good times…

How’s it going this morning, my friend? If it’s still snowing where you are, I sure hope it stops soon. Sending you warm vibes…

BTW, your tabby nephew has been very unsympathetic to the whole pregnancy plight situation, and I think he needs a “talking to.” Every night he repeatedly tries to climb Mt. Karen, even though Mt. Karen does not want to be climbed, so I politely scoot him off, but then he just tries again…

You really can’t change that tabby’s mind when once it gets fixated on something.

Whatever you’re doing today, I hope it isn’t under 10 feet of snow! Have a great weekend, and good luck in the giveaway. Reader Bonnie Clyne won one last month. I wonder what she ended up getting…

@karenmbb TY for the Sephora GC! With your humor, the way you write, and including Tabs, it's like hanging with a friend vs. reading a blog!

— Bonnie Clyne (@BonnieClyne) December 18, 2015

sephora-giveaway-prize-2015

  • One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

sephora-gift-card-small-2015

sephora-giveaway-rules-2015

  • Enter by leaving a comment below.
  • Open to U.S. and international readers.
  • You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
  • Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
    sephora-giveaway-heart-2015

    • Have you ever seen the Aurora Borealis?
    • Have you ever made a snow angel?
    • Do you ever wear white eyeshadow or eyeliner?
    • A product (makeup or otherwise) that you’re always breaking?
    • Have you ever had an allergic reaction to a piece of makeup or skincare?
    • What’s your current favorite primer?
  • One entry per person.
  • You must use a valid email address to win.
  • The giveaway ends on Monday, January 25, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 478 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Giveaways, Just For Fun

Neutrals or Brights? (Assuming That You Have To Pick One or the Other)

January 20th, 2016 by Karen 42 Comments

neutrals or brights
Neutrals or brights?

Quick! Just go with your gut… Don’t overthink it, because, ya know, with hard-hitting makeup questions like this one (totally kidding), your first reaction is usually the truest, best one.

Anyway, SURPRISE! — I’m gonna have to go with neutrals, only partly because I’ve been wearing them so much lately, but that’s just a phase. I do also wear brights, just not as often lately.

I have to be in the mood and the right mindset for brights, but I do like a jolt of bright color, especially when it’s set against neutrals, like a bright teal liner or a hot pink lip in combo with beiges and browns elsewhere.

What about you? Neutrals or brights? (Assuming that you have to pick one or the other.)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

mbb-maternity-help-buttonP.S. OK, WOW! Your applications for the MBB Maternity Leave/Blog Internship? There have been more than 100 applicants so far (!!!). Friday (Jan. 22nd) is the last day for submissions, and then I’ll start going over all of them closely with Tabs, which will probably take me about a week.

I’m doing this whole thing because I’ll need your help during my first few months with Baby Girl, but I’m also committed to helping you, however I can, in your blogging/vlogging endeavors, whether that means helping you come up with topics for your blog, photography tips, how to come up with post titles, discussing secret (not that they’re secrets) blogging tips, helping you maximize your blogging income, answering technical questions for you, or just being a second opinion — someone off of which to bounce ideas.

My time will be limited early on, but we’ll make it work, if you’re interested, and I hope you are. I’m sorry if you’ve asked me a question by email regarding your application and I haven’t replied, but I’ll try to soon. If for any reason there’s been a problem with your resume/application packet, like an attachment not getting through my email, don’t worry. We’ll work it out.

There are 42 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

What’s Your Favorite Blush Formula and Why?

January 19th, 2016 by Karen 44 Comments

k-applying-blush

There’s a Saturn-sized world of blushes out there (says the girl with a messy drawer of pink blushes that needs to be organized), and a galactic gaggle of blush formulas — powder, cream, liquid, mousse and more — but do you find yourself gravitating toward one blush formula more than others?

I totally do. For me it’s mostly powder blushes, with the occasional excursion into the Land of Cream Blushes, and the main reasons are ease and convenience.

Powder blushes are just easier for me to apply than the others. I can swirl them on my cheeks, blend the edges and be done, and the same goes for creams — a pat here, a blend there, and voila! All done.

I also like how easy powders and creams are to layer with my other face products (especially compared to liquid blushes). For the most part, I don’t have to worry about powder and cream blushes breaking up my foundation or face powder, but that is NOT always the case with liquid and mousse blushes (at least not for me).

So, my blush-loving friend, what’s your favorite blush formula and why? It’s Tuesday; let’s tackle this very important question. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 44 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 357

January 18th, 2016 by Karen 25 Comments

have a sparkly monday

You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past seven years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

  1. Have you ever sent someone a lock of hair (or have you ever received one)?
    No on both counts because, um…it seems kind of weird to me. Strangely enough, though, I’d be totally fine with Tabs sending me a lock of his fur through the mail, LOL!

    Yeah, let’s just go ahead and file that under “Weird Things Crazy Cat Ladies Say.” 🙂

  2. How old were you when you started using email?
    Dude, I was in COLLEGE. Maybe a sophomore or a junior? And it had something to do with a statistics class I was taking…

    Speaking of “the good old days,” sometimes I do miss the privacy and general simplicity of life before email and social media. There were fewer distractions everywhere, but I don’t miss other things about it, like having to deal with car trouble. That happened to me a few times pre-Internet and cellphone — cars stalling — and it always took, like, half the day (or sometimes ALL of your day) to deal with. Catching the bus or finding a ride, getting a tow, having to walk literally miles to the nearest pay phone. Now it only takes 15 minutes to get a tow truck and hail an Uber. Amazing!

    It blows my mind that Baby Girl is gonna grow up not knowing what it was like to live without email or the Internet, or the feeling of constantly being connected to the entire world. It’s just weird to me…

  3. Do you do vests?
    Not since the ’90s! I remember having a cropped denim vest from The Gap, and I thought I was hot sh*t in it at the time, but now when I see old pics of myself wearing it? Hmm… I looked pretty silly. I don’t know what I was thinking!
  4. How do you like your chocolate-chip cookies?
    1) Soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges, or 2) thick and moist.

    I don’t have time to mess with that thin, crunchy business, because they’re gone in like two bites. I like it when my cookies make me work a little…

  5. Is your wallet neat or messy?
    Surprisingly neat. I can tolerate a certain degree of messy chaos in some aspects of my life, but I just can’t do it with my wallet, and my biggest pet peeve is when there are eight million receipts up in there. So, I try to go through it every week and file away my receipts. Then I put the spare change in a basket in the living room that we call “The Genie Jar,” and re-stock my business cards.

Le List

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. Have you ever sent someone a lock of hair (or have you ever received one)?
2. How old were you when you started using email?
3. Do you do vests?
4. How do you like your chocolate-chip cookies?
5. Is your wallet neat or messy?

It’s a holiday here today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and a lot of people have the day off from school and work. I have a few things I wanted to get to — chores and baby arrival prep-type things — but it should be a pretty lazy day.

I hope you’re having a good one. Talk to you soon. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 381

January 17th, 2016 by Karen 11 Comments

tabs-waikiki-hawaii-surfing

Dear Diary,

Pack your swim trunks, rash guard and your puka shells because we’re heading to Hawaii! YES!!!

Sometimes I affectionately refer to Hawaii as “the motherland” because my male assistant is from there, and because I go there so much. I might as well be part Hawaiian!

This one is mostly a work trip — like, I have to check on several possible beach shoot venues for my upcoming kitty swimsuit calendar, and I also want to stop by and visit the kitty models that I manage on Kauai. They’re part of the Hawaii branch of my modeling agency, which I’m very proud of, and the team there has made some big strides over the past few years.

tabs-swimsuit-calendar

But I’ll also be going for play, so of course I have to meet up with some of my surf buddies, like Kelly Slater (not to drop names or anything) — you know, to do some surfing and hanging out, just enjoying the islands.
[Continue reading…]

There are 11 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Tabs

Leave a Comment for a Chance to Win a $50 Sephora E-GIFT CARD! (Ends Monday)

January 16th, 2016 by Karen Monterichard 450 Comments

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **

This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, MARISSA!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

sephora-giveaway-01-15-16

OK, is it raining there as much as it’s raining here? — because I swear, we haven’t gone more than three days without rain in, like…I don’t even know how long. This El Niño character is awfully insistent about his rain.

Rise and shine, morning glory! 🙂 Rain or shine, it’s Caturday!

Poor Tabs… He hasn’t gone outside for a walk in days, and he has some tabby depression about it. He hates the rain. Well…he’s confused by it, because the sound and the movement of the water fires him up, but then when he goes outside in it, he realizes that it’s all wet and cold and annoying, and he wants nothing to do with it.

I also think he blames me for the weather, like it’s all my fault and I’m dropping the ball as his professional pet assistant. “What!? What the hell is this WET stuff!? It’s EVERYWHERE! Girl, you are doing a terrible job managing my wants and needs!”

In other news, I have a fun-filled weekend of baby growing and grocery shopping lined up. Yup, the excitement never stops at Casa de MBB. It’s a thrill a minute, LOL! I hope you’re doing something fun.

Good luck in the giveaway! Meg here won earlier this month. I wonder what she’s gonna get…

I'm super excited because I never win anything, but I won a $50 Sephora gift card from @karenmbb… https://t.co/GsP67BKDq1

— Meg (@sullenxriot182) January 14, 2016

sephora-giveaway-prize-2015

  • One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

sephora-gift-card-small-2015

sephora-giveaway-rules-2015

  • Enter by leaving a comment below.
  • Open to U.S. and international readers.
  • You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
  • Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
    sephora-giveaway-heart-2015

    • Have you ever walked on a frozen lake?
    • Do you believe in the notion of “the good old days”?
    • How do you dress to impress?
    • Who’s a good trendsetter in your estimation?
    • What was your best makeup purchase of 2015?
    • __________ totally needs to do a makeup collaboration with __________!
  • One entry per person.
  • You must use a valid email address to win.
  • The giveaway ends on Monday, January 18, 2016 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 450 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Giveaways, Just For Fun

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 311
  • Go to page 312
  • Go to page 313
  • Go to page 314
  • Go to page 315
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 651
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

Makeup and Beauty Blog features daily product reviews, makeup tips and beauty news — like an interactive version of a monthly print magazine, except with occasional pictures of my cat.

Recent Posts

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 878

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 894

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 893

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 892

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 891

/* real people should not fill this in and expect good things – do not remove this or risk form bot signups */

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Featured Posts

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 771

Lady Unicorn

Weird Things I Like to Do

brows fill out beforehand

Before You Pluck or Wax Your Brows, You Must Do This

current bare skin status

What’s One Thing That Drastically Changed Your Skin for the Better?

Copyright © 2025 Makeup and Beauty Blog. Get in touch.