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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, April 11

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  • You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”
    Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past three years, which I guess makes this somewhere around Vol. 165. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
  1. Mood:

    2. Excited! I have a feeling this is going to be a great week. 🙂

  2. Food you’re craving *right now*?

    3. (Even though it’s morning) Spinach lasagna, garlic bread and a green salad. I’ve been running a lot and my body’s craving carbs like crazy!

  3. Favorite eye cream and why?

    4. Korres Quercetin and Oak Eye Cream. I started using it last summer and am already on my third bottle. It absorbs quickly, keeps my hella dry skin hydrated, and layers well beneath makeup. I can’t really tell if it’s helped the fine line situation, but I don’t think they look any worse.

  4. Ballet flats: yea or nay?

    5. Nay way. They hurt and make me feel even shorter (I need at least a two-inch heel to feel comfy).

  5. Which of your makeup brushes do you use least often?

    6. The MAC 219 Pencil Brush. Originally, I got it to apply and smudge shadows along my lower my lash lines, but it’s kinda scratchy and tends to over-apply product. The only thing I ever really use it for now is to add a little shadow at the inner corners of my eyes.

  6. What’s your favorite eyeliner and why?

    7. MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl is MY JAM! When I’m running behind and need to get out the door in a hurry, I add a little Powersurge along my upper and lower lashes. It gives my look a little something without me looking like I’m trying too hard.

  7. Would you rather spend your Friday night alone or with others?

    8. It depends on what kind if week I’ve had. When I’m really, really beat, I prefer to be alone.

  8. What colors would I see most if I looked in your closet?

    9. Different shades of blue, some green, a little bit of pink, orange and A LOT of black. LOL! I just realized the colors I wear resemble a bruise…

  9. Can you ride a bike while wearing a dress?

    10. Oh, hell no. That’s a recipe for certain doom!

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Just one this week. Enjoy the process.

Okay, so this is totally weird and I hope you can forgive me for it, but last night, for the first time, I had a nightmare about pimple popping. I dreamt I had a pimple on my cheek, and when I popped it, a frickin’ rubber ducky emerged from the pore. It was a small one, but still… Yes, I believe I should stop eating right before bedtime.

I hope you’re feeling rested and ready to start the week. If you have a moment, come say hi in the Monday poll.

  • To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.



1. Mood:
2. Food you’re craving *right now*?
3. Favorite eye cream and why?
4. Ballet flats – yea or nay?
5. Which of your makeup brushes do you use least often?
6. What’s favorite eyeliner and why?
7. Would you rather spend your Friday night alone or with others?
8. What colors would I see if I looked in your closet?
9. Can you ride a bike while wearing a dress?
10. Weekly goals:

You and I are going to have a great week, young lady. I can feel it in my bones!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 134

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Tabs was inspired by my recent Nordstrom Personal Stylist visit and demanded asked that I pull some outfits for his upcoming trip to Paris.

He wants to freshen his spring wardrobe with some new accessories and described the look he’s going for as “elegant and edgy” (his words).

I dug around and came up with a few possibilities, but I’m having trouble narrowing them down. Because this is Tabs we’re talking about here (one word: diva), I only want to suggest the cream of the crop. Which of these ensembles do you think suits Tabs the best?

Who is Tabs the Cat? About three years ago I befriended a stray, flea-bitten tabby cat with a bad case of worms. I could see he’d fallen on hard times, but his profound knowledge of high fashion and department store cosmetics led me to believe that he was more than meets the eye. We became fast friends, and now he’s actually my boss (and a successful kitty model). 🙂

1. Shark Cat Sweater

$34, available now online at the YouthDiaspora Etsy shop.

2. Strawberry Beret and White Round Collar with Bow Tie

$20 for the beret and $17 for the bow tie, available now online at the CatAtelier Etsy shop.

3. Devil Hat

$30, available now online at the xmoonbloom Etsy shop.

4. Skulls ‘n’ Roses Tie

$9, available now online at the SnoopCattyCatt Etsy shop.


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The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

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The Makeup and Beauty Blog Weekly Roundup

Why do they call it a cold front when it’s the back of my legs that always feel the coldest?

Rise and shine, young lady. 🙂 Brrrr! It’s cold in here. There must be some Toros…or, yup, I forgot to turn up the heater before bed.

Did you do anything fun last night? El Hub and I went to see Hanna. Stylistically, I loved it — loved the camerawork, the settings (parts of North Africa, Spain, Eastern Europe, the Arctic), techno-ish music and the characters/caricatures — but the story kinda meandered for me around the middle, like the writers couldn’t decide where they wanted it to go. I still enjoyed it, though. A little like My Girl meets The Bourne Identity with a strong European flair. I love the super spy genre almost no matter what, and it didn’t disappoint.

As for the worlds of makeup and beauty, what did you think about this week? Did any new products or discoveries rock your world? I was probably moved more by accessories, services (Nordstrom personal stylist) and beauty tools (Becca Professional Brush Soap) than by makeup, which happens from time to time.

The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed

Benefit ChaChaTint Lip and Cheek Tint BENEFIT CHACHATINT
THERE’S A NEW TINT IN TOWN

Benefit’s Benetint and Posietint are getting a sassy little sister! ChaChaTint ($29), the newest kid on the Benefit lip and cheek stain block, doesn’t dance across counters until June 1, but here’s a sneak peek at this coral cutie.

ChaChaTint looks quite bold unblended, but rubbed into my cheeks it delivers a light mango flush with just a hint of shine (less than a shimmer).

On the lips, it’s a different story, one worthy of CAPS and exclamations!! When I paint a layer on my pucker and just leave it there to dry, the color totally POPS! love I think I might try adding a layer of Benefit Ultra Shine Spiked Punch Lip Gloss or perhaps a little MAC Viva Glam Cyndi on top (just for fun). Read more…

Step Up Your Style Game with a Nordstrom Personal Stylist STEP UP YOUR STYLE GAME
WITH A NORDSTROM PERSONAL STYLIST

Oh! I wanted to tell you how my appointment with the Nordstrom personal stylist went yesterday. Before I met with Rob, the stylist at my nearby Nordstrom in Corte Madera, California, I told him over the phone what I hoped to achieve. Among other style suggestions, I wanted a cute, fashion-forward, age-appropriate spring dress to hide my tum and minimize my bum.

The whole personal stylist experience was very cool, kinda like being on one of those makeover shows, except you don’t bring home the clothes for free (dang!).

Rob usually asks clients to start the styling process by getting fitted for a bra, so when I arrived at the store I headed over to Rachel in the lingerie department. She took care of the fitting for me and also introduced me to the preternatural power of Spanx (OMG! Review coming soon!). Read more…

Jouer Creme Eyeshadow in Organza JOUER CREME EYESHADOW IN ORGANZA
TAKES YOU STRAIGHT TO THE TAUPE

Did you feel that?? That little shiver in your loins when you laid eyes on Jouer Creme Eyeshadow in Organza? That, my friend, is what I like to call a taupe-gasm. It’s not an official word (yet), and you won’t find it in Webster’s, but it’s only a matter of time before the verbal powers-that-be enter it officially…like they did with ginormous.

They occur when when taupes hit you with a BANG! — which is exactly what went down the first time I put this creamy, $20 lavender taupe shadow on my eyes.

When I have it on I feel like my peepers shine in a way that says, “Booyah, b*tches, I got eight solid hours of sleep last night!” I think it’s the subtle sheen in the pigmented formula that does the trick. It adds just the right touch of glow without looking too glittery or frosty. Read more…

Burberry Beauty Spring Summer 2011 Blushes BURBERRY BEAUTY SPRING / SUMMER 2011
EASY ELEGANCE THAT GOES WELL WITH ALMOST ANYTHING

To say one merely “walks down the street” in her signature Burberry trench coat doesn’t do justice to the coat. Walk? Nay. Ladies strut in Burberry. Both in their coats and in beauty products from the Burberry Beauty brand. Like Burberry’s coats, pieces in the makeup line exude elegance with a timeless ease that wears well with pretty much anything.

Despite not having been on the makeup scene long (less than a year!), with only a couple of seasonal collections under their check pattern belt, the company has done a good job bringing their luxuriously unfussy sensibility to the products I’ve seen.

With their Spring/Summer 2011 release, an 11-piece collection of limited edition and repromoted products for eyes, lips and cheeks, Burberry sought to channel the same effortless look they like to send down the Burberry runway. Sculpted cheeks softly glow in pink, rose and tangerine; rosy nude lips blow kisses; and eyes, softly defined with powder shadows in beige, rose and brown, charm unsuspecting passersby. Read more…

Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette ROLLING WITH THE HOT PINK FROM THE
NEW URBAN DECAY ROLLERGIRL PALETTE

The year was 1985. Doc Brown and Marty McFly had just gone Back to the Future (for the first time)! I was just a wee lass then, spinning her wheels every Saturday afternoon at the roller rink, which was THE place to go in my small suburban town. One of the moms would drive us in something called a “station wagon,” a kind of prehistoric car forced into extinction by the much larger and faster minivan.

At the rink, we’d spend hours skating in circles to Madonna and Huey Lewis tunes beneath multi-colored disco lights in our stinky, rented skates…

Yup, there are some things I wish I could forget about the ’80s (hello, high bangs and side wings!), but the roller rink is not one of them.

I always felt bad for the one kid clinging for dear life to the side rails. I couldn’t do any fancy tricks, and never quite mastered the art of breaking/stopping (my method involved running into a wall), but I was fast. I’d fly around the rink, zipping between the taller skaters, only sometimes body checking the slower moving targets. Read more…

Becca Professional Brush Soap BECCA PROFESSIONAL BRUSH SOAP
IS THE BEST MAKEUP BRUSH CLEANSER I’VE EVER USED — BAR NONE

When it comes to some tasks, time ceases to exist in a measurable way. For all intents and purposes, these tasks have neither a beginning nor an end. They simply last forever…

Brushing cat hair from my clothes (Tabs sheds like cray-cray!), scraping the last bits of Nutella from a mostly (but never entirely) empty jar, groping around the house for misplaced eyeglasses, washing makeup brushes…

That last one, in particular, is the bane of my existence. Because I paint my mug a lot, and sometimes a few times a day, I leave dozens of dirty brushes in my wake.

I was going through a $12 bottle of MAC Brush Cleanser every couple of months until the day I tried Aussie Opposites Attract. It worked as well as the MAC cleaner yet cost just $3.

I love saving scrilla (who doesn’t?), but Becca’s $15 Professional Brush Soap has me reconsidering that. After using it for the past two weeks, dayum! — makeup cleansing greatness. Read more…

Suave Touchable Finish Hairspray SOFT, TOUCHABLE VOLUME WITH
$3 SUAVE TOUCHABLE FINISH HAIRSPRAY

Can I just say that I’ve been having a serious Suave moment lately? I tried their Dry Shampoo a couple weeks ago and was blown away by how well it worked — and not just because it’s $3.

Turns out their new Touchable Finish Hairspray is another $3 gem. An aerosol hairspray designed to add light hold without weighing hair down, it’s designed to compete with Sebastian Zero Gravity Hairspray, which costs about $10 more.

I’ve never tried Sebastian’s version before, but now that I’ve found this one, I may not have to.

When I apply Touchable Finish before and after using my curling iron to style my hair, I’m shocked by how soft, bouncy and voluminous my curls look.

I like the light citrus scent and the fact that it dries so quickly (takes about a minute). Suave says the product’s anhydrous formula (which means it doesn’t contain water) accelerates drying time. Read more…

Urban Decay Baked Bronzers for Face and Body PICKING THE PERFECT
URBAN DECAY BAKED BRONZER

Urban Decay’s three new Baked Bronzers for Face and Body ($26 each) probably won’t satisfy the Oompa-Loompas or Snookies of the world. Able to be worn wet or dry on the face, eyes, lips and body, the faux tan these powder bronzers bring doesn’t look as orange that.

But if you’re interested yet unsure which Baked Bronzer to snag, Urban Decay International Makeup Artist Eric Jimenez suggests following these steps:

1. Decide on a level of color and coverage. These Baked Bronzers come in three different levels of color. The lightest is Gilded, Baked is the medium, and Toasted is the darkest shade. Each also varies in terms of coverage, with Gilded offering the least, and Toasted delivering more of a full-coverage look.

2. Do you want to shimmer or matte? If you plan to wear them on your face, Eric suggests going with the finish that best suits the condition of your skin. If you have great, practically flawless skin, consider either Gilded, which has a shimmery golden finish, or Baked, which has a shimmery silver finish. (NOTE: The “veins” of shimmer in these new Baked Bronzers are not spray overlays; they penetrate all the way through the entire pan). Read more…

Too Faced Bronzed and the Beautiful French Riviera Kit GET GUILT-FREE CHOCOLATE WITH THE
NEW TOO FACED THE BRONZED & THE BEAUTIFUL FRENCH RIVIERA KIT

Yes, that would be me standing in the middle of Sephora sniffing the new Too Faced The Bronzed & The Beautiful French Riviera Edition Kit ($38) like a weirdo.

The new limited edition summer set comes with a bevy of bronzing treats to get your skin tanned and highlighted just right. You get three bestselling Too Faced powder bronzers, an exclusive golden highlighter, a face primer and three step-by-step bronzing tutorial cards.

Just thinking about the pan of Chocolate Soleil bronzer, by far my favorite thing in the kit, makes my tummy rumble… IT SMELLS LIKE CHOCOLATE TOO! Chocolate Rice Krispies, to be precise. A smooth, matte pure brown without orange undertones, it’s a combination that can be hard to find. It’s so brown, in fact, that if I’m not careful and go overboard with it, it can look muddy on me. Read more…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!

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  • WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Grace! Congratulations, Grace! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Win a $50 Sephora eGift card from Makeup and Beauty Blog

Hello, my fair lady! I hope you slept well last night. For once I got a great night’s sleep (it’s a Christmas miracle), so I’m feeling pretty good. Actually, I was sleeping so well, in fact, that I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of bed if it weren’t for one husky tabby cat.

Don’t let those sweet eyes fool you. Every morning, Tabs is hell bent on two things: 1) lurvies and 2) gravy. If I don’t provide both within a narrow time frame, he punishes me by using my bladder, which is usually filled to the brim first thing in the morning (sorry, TMI, I know!), as a springboard. Repeatedly.

Speaking of launching things…let’s kick off the weekend with a giveaway. 🙂

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Giveaway!

Win a $50 eGift card from Sephora

  • One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (or $50 sent by PayPal instead).

  • There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, what lip products do you have in your purse right now? Do your pets have any weird quirks? Who makes your favorite jeans? Do you play any instruments? — you get the idea.
  • Second, you can enter by following me on twitter Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
    • Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/ff7eHy

  • The deadline to enter is Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 11:59PM (PT).
  • Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
  • A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
  • Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
  • Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. The winner may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal.
  • Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
  • The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
  • Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

  • WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Grace! Congratulations, Grace! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Dimpleplasty: Now You Can Get Dimples Installed (No, I’m Not Making This Up)

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Dimpleplasty. Yes, dimpleplasty (or dimple-plasty). Apparently, some folks covet the dimpled Mario Lopez look so much that they’re paying good money to have them installed.

Have you heard about this? I had absolutely no idea!

According to Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel, “The procedure is surprisingly easy!” The Boston, Mass. plastic surgeon typically performs the $2,000-$5000 procedure right in the office. Small incisions are made inside the patient’s cheeks after they’ve been numbed. Sutures are then used to stitch the desired dimple into place, and the dimpled area softens and looks more and more natural over time. The actual procedure typically takes about an hour to perform.

Um…I can’t even handle going to the dentist and seeing those dental hooks out of the corner of my eye, so the thought of cutting and stitching my cheeks gives me the heebie-jeebies!

I guess if you really, REALLY want dimples…

“Patients have experienced some minor bruising and swelling after the procedure,” says Spiegel, but they typically subside within 48 hours. It’s also normal for the cheek area to feel tight following the procedure, he adds, but the feeling subsides over the 2-3 weeks following surgery.
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Tuesday Beauty Tips: Step Up Your Style Game with a Nordstrom Personal Stylist

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Oh! I wanted to tell you how my appointment with the Nordstrom personal stylist went yesterday. Before I met with Rob, the stylist at my nearby Nordstrom in Corte Madera, California, I told him over the phone what I hoped to achieve. Among other style suggestions, I wanted a cute, fashion-forward, age-appropriate spring dress to hide my tum and minimize my bum.

The whole personal stylist experience was very cool, kinda like being on one of those makeover shows, except you don’t bring home the clothes for free (dang!).

To schedule an appointment with a Nordstrom personal stylist, call (877) 283-4048, or shoot them an email here. The appointments themselves are free, but you should have a budget in mind for any clothes or accessories you decide to buy.

Rob usually asks clients to start the styling process by getting fitted for a bra, so when I arrived at the store I headed over to Rachel in the lingerie department. She took care of the fitting for me and also introduced me to the preternatural power of Spanx (OMG! Review coming soon!).

After my fitting, Rob took me to a dressing room filled with dresses, shoes and accessories he pulled beforehand and then left me to start trying on clothes. Every 15 minutes or so, he’d check in and bring over some new things for me to try. Throughout the process, we gave each other feedback on what was and wasn’t working, both trying to get to the same place.

If you’re shy when it comes to discussing your appearance with strangers, you might want to mentally prepare yourself beforehand. Giving and taking feedback helps the stylist get you where you’re trying to go with a look or an outfit, but it can be difficult if you’re not used to it.

It helps to keep an open mind. Rob urged me to try on this purple dress by Amanda Uprichard, even though I wasn’t feeling the ruffles at first. I didn’t think it would look good on me, but after I tried it on and Rob explained how I could work the dress in different ways, I fell in love.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, April 4

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  • You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”
    Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past three years, which I guess makes this somewhere around Vol. 164. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
  1. Mood:

    2. Not bad at all. 🙂

  2. Hair accessories you couldn’t live without (or wouldn’t want to)?

    3. Goody Spin Pins for buns and Goody Ouchless Hair Elastics for ponytails. They keep my long hair out of my face without breaking the bank (or too many strands).

  3. Which lipstick makes you feel your best?

    4. I’m guilty of having fleeting lipstick crushes, so my answer to this one changes often, but I find myself coming back to dusty rose NARS Dolce Vita time and time again. I love its flexibility. The tube is always there for me when I need a jolt of glam.

  4. Ruffles on clothing?

    5. In extreme moderation, thank you very much. Ruffles are like red pepper flakes — a little goes a long way. Go overboard with them and they’re all you can taste.

  5. Which blush do you reach for most often?

    6. I’ve been super enamored with the Benefit boxed blushes lately, especially Dallas, Sugarbomb and Bella Bamba.

  6. Do you enjoy going to museums?

    7. I do! And I love to bring my camera with me because museum lighting is usually phenomenal. I do sometimes suffer from museum overload, though, so whenever I go I like to take breaks throughout the visit. I’ll grab a snack at the over-priced museum cafe, where it’s so much fun to people watch, and try to get outside at least once for some fresh air.

  7. Something you’re looking forward to this summer?

    8. Swimming at our condo complex’s pool. It was under construction last summer (they did a bunch of stuff to make it more eco-friendly), but it should be opening for the season soon. Yup, I’m such a water baby at heart. Swimming is one of my favorite things.

  8. Are you a speedy texter?

    9. Hell, naw! I can’t text for crap. Every other word has a typo. I’m a pretty quick keyboard typist, but I don’t do the touchscreen keyboards on phones. I’m always back spacing and retyping. Maybe it’s the long nails…

  9. I wish ______.

    10. I wish everyone in the world could have a good week, and if that’s too much to ask, then at least a good day.

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Find a fashion inspiration (if you have any sites to recommend, I’d LOVE to hear about them; I’d describe my style as ’40s vintage with a little hip-hop/urban edge), run at least four times before Saturday, read for an hour every day, brush Tabs no matter how much he resists, find some new music to listen to (again, if you have any recs…) and to HAVE FUN!

What’s up, buttercup? Happy Monday to ya. 🙂 Before you slurp down that next cup of coffee or tea, can you spare a minute to let me know how you’re doing in the Monday Poll?

  • To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.



1. Mood:
2. Hair accessories you couldn’t live without (or wouldn’t want to)?
3. Which lipstick makes you feel your best?
4. Ruffles on clothing?
5. Which blush do you reach for most often?
6. Do you enjoy going to museums?
7. Something you’re looking forward to this summer?
8. Are you a speedy texter?
9. I wish ______.
10. Weekly goals:

Here’s to hoping for great things this week! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 133

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Tabs for MAC Quite Cat

Tabs spent the better part of the day today soaking up some rays outside because he has a big shoot coming up next week in Seattle for Lululemon and wanted to get his tan on before he goes.

Being a top international kitty model, he’s always paying attention to things like that. If you ask him, it’s that attention to detail that keeps the phone ringing with new offers. He says the photographers know he takes his job seriously, and they respect him for it. Overcast in Seattle? No problem. Tabs got a tan before the shoot.

He was pretty busy again this week doing modeling jobs with MAC, Urban Decay, China Glaze, Jemma Kidd and Bumble & Bumble. Here are the latest pics from his portfolio…

Who is Tabs the Cat? About three years ago I befriended a stray, flea-bitten tabby cat with a bad case of worms. I could see he’d fallen on hard times, but his profound knowledge of high fashion and department store cosmetics led me to believe that he was more than meets the eye. We became fast friends, and now he’s actually my boss (and a successful kitty model). 🙂

Tabs for Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Contacts in Rose

Tabs for Urban Decay Rollercat Nail Polish
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