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Just For Fun

Saturday Surfing

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The Ko Olina Resort & Marina on Oahu, Hawaii

Hey, boo. 🙂 Tabs and I just got back from breakfast in the front yard. There’s this cool kitty salad bar out there that has the freshest cat grass in Novato (they say they’re also getting catnip soon). Seriously, TO DIE!

It’s barely 11 here, and it’s already steamy hot outside. Looks like flip-flops and shorts are in order (and a bucket of sunscreen). My grand plans for the day involve my bum in a deck chair, multiple glasses of homemade iced tea and a stack of magazines, ahh…

I’m curious — what can you tell me about homemade ice cream? Have you ever made it before? My muffin top and I would love to hear some tips.

WHOA! The tide’s coming in fast. Can you catch a few e-waves with me before you jam? Grab your boogie board because surf’s up!

Random acts o’ beauty…

Calgon, take me to Italy!

Been listening to this song all morning…

Have a great day!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Alexander Skarsgard: His Best Hair?

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I almost didn’t become a True Blood fan, but 6’4″ Alexander Skarsgard, aka Vampire Eric, put the glamour on me with his eyes!

How do you feel about the show? The next season premieres this Sunday, and I know a few gals who wouldn’t mind taking their own bite out of Eric (me first!).

Born Alexander Johan Hjalmar SkarsgÃ¥rd in Stockholm, Sweden, on August 25, 1976, Alex was a big star back home long before Bon Temps ever entered the picture, having starred in several Swedish TV series and movies. He’d even served as a member of the Swedish Marines, which might be where he learned his fancy fighting moves!

Which of Alexander's hairstyles do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Random Acts of Beauty: One Girl. 24 Hours.

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San Francisco Union Square

June 9, 11:32 a.m. — El Hub is taking me to lunch in the city. Before we leave the house, I water the houseplants and check the cat grass seeds I planted last week.

I find signs of life. There are tiny sprouts breaking the surface, and I pause to marvel at how Mother Nature does her thang.


Tabs will have his salad soon

June 9, 12:40 p.m. — At the Rotunda, the restaurant on the top floor at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, I order white bean soup and a scallop salad for lunch (El Hub’s birthday gift to me).

The waiter leaves a popover on the table…

…that resembles a Thanksgiving turkey.
[Continue reading…]

Got Any Trips Planned? Try These Travel Beauty Tips and Brainstormers on for Size

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Travel with style

Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂 This morning I’ve got travel on the brain. Specifically, what was your best trip? Was it special because of where you went or what happened while you were there? Or maybe a little bit of both? If you’re hitting the road again this summer, it helps to be prepared in the beauty department. I hope these few posts can help.

Hmm… I use trip planning as an excuse to shop, and I bet I’m not the only one!

The Ecotools Retractable Kabuki Brush ECOTOOLS RETRACTABLE
KABUKI BRUSH

Doesn’t the Ecotools Recycled Retractable Kabuki Brush ($10) look like a secret spy weapon?

LOL! Or is that just me?

Okay, so it’s not a flame thrower or a pocket super computer, but the Retractable Kabuki exudes awesomeness in other ways. It’s built for travel, fitting snugly into my makeup bag.

I like the fat and fluffy brush head, too. It feels kinda like velvet against my skin and applies the perfect amount of powder (not too sheer or heavy!) for touch-ups.

It excels at applying powders or blush, but I bet it would also work as a foundation or creme blush brush. Read more…

3 Simple Travel Beauty Tips3 SIMPLE TRAVEL
BEAUTY TIPS

As I rifled through the bag I’ve been living out of for the past week, I realized I learned quite a few things on this trip, some of them beauty-related. Most were born out of my bad habit of waiting until the last minute to pack.

What have I learned about summer vacations? No. 1 — Wet Ones Travel Packs to clean makeup brushes.

These are convenient no matter what kind of vacation you’re planning. In humid locales, brush heads used with moist products like concealers never completely dry out and become breeding grounds for mold and bacteria. I’m so glad I remembered to toss a few of these travel-sized anti-bacterial wipes into my makeup bag for the trip. The packaging didn’t take up lots of space, and I can clean all of my brushes with a single wipe. Read more…

How Do You Pack Your Makeup When You Travel?PACK YOUR MAKEUP
FOR TRAVEL

If I’m checking in bags, the liquids in breakable bottles and small jars (like foundation) go into a large, clear plastic bag nestled securely (and cushioned by clothes) in the center of my check-in luggage. Sometimes I’ll even protect the bag in bubble wrap secured with extra large rubber bands. My powder products come with me in my carry-on bag.

I *always* carry my powder products — compacts and palettes — on the plane, storing them in a slim, rectangular-shaped makeup bag like this silver Trina Turk bag from a Clinique GWP. The shape works well for travel and even fits into a standard school backpack. Read more…

Your favorite travel beauty tools? YOUR FAVORITE
TRAVEL BEAUTY TOOL

I never go anywhere without my MAC 266. It keeps me from venturing into The Land of Funky Brows. And then there’s my beloved Shu Uemura lash curler, but you probably know all about that, ha ha!

You guys left some great suggestions and idea starters in the comments on this post, like Jane’s idea about using Starbucks napkins as blotting papers: “brown napkins — like the ones from starbucks. absorbs the oil off my face better than those facial sheets. and their free and always plentiful!” Read more…

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot CremeBURT’S BEES
COCONUT FOOT CREME

To all my ladies with naturally smooth, gorgeous feet, this post is NOT for you. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got mad love (and envy) for your photogenic tootsies, but the rest of us living in cracked heel hell, well, we’re the ones who need help.

After spending the winter ignoring everything around my ankles, I’ve ended up with two very cracked heels and a few square feet of scaly skin. My feet, as my eighth-grade self might describe them, look “hella gross,” and it’s time for action. I’ve started testing Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme ($9 for a 4.34 oz. tube). I sure hope it helps me turn my tootsies around in time for sandal season. Read more…

YOU MUST CHOOSE!YOU MUST CHOOSE
THE TRAVEL EDITION

You win a completely free vacation to the tropical location of your choice. Airfare, hotel, food, even souvenir spending money is covered (sweet!). There’s just one catch. When you travel to and from your destination, you have to wear a “special outfit” on the plane ride.

Your choices are…

Las Vegas show girl (complete with large feathered headdress), or full Scuba gear (with mask and flippers). YOU MUST CHOOSE! Read more…

MAC Trip available online nowMAC TRIP
AVAILABLE ONLINE

Hey, MAC-aholics. Remember MAC Trip from last year, and how frickin’ hard it was to track down? MAC released the collection of palettes, lip sets and brush kits as travel exclusives, and you could only find them at various airports and travel hubs around the world, not at MAC counters or stores.

It was pretty hit-or-miss, too, and I’m guessing more than a handful of MAC fiends nearly missed flights trying to hunt these babies down!

If you’ve been wanting to get your paws on MAC Trip, grab your credit card and do a little happy dance because MAC just launched the collection online. Read more…

Thursday already?

WOW! It’s like this week’s been on fast forward. The first half went by in a

What’s on your plate today? I’m heading into the city for an hour or so this morning (on my way out the door right now) to a NARS preview event, where I hope to hear about their upcoming products and collections. I’m bringing my notepad and camera, of course, but you never know about pictures at these things. Sometimes they won’t allow photography, so if you see my next post is from jail, you’ll know I tried to take pictures somewhere I shouldn’t have, ha!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Highlights from Last Weekend’s Tabby Cat Comic Challenge

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Do you remember Choose Your Own Adventure books? I loved those blasted things so much… I’d always exhaust every conceivable permutation of every single one!

The books are kinda what I had in mind with last weekend’s Sundays with Tabs when I posted this comic template with blank speech bubbles. I think the idea could still use some refinement (I’ll keep working on it), but here are your reader generated results.

Rinnie, the man-panties line? SO FUNNY!
[Continue reading…]

5 Fantastic Concealers for Dark Circles

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5 Fantastic Concealers for Dark Circles

Oh, the scourge of dark circles… They plague me! No matter how much sleep I get, I just can’t seem to get rid of ’em.

And it turns out I’m not the only one (who knew?). Last week I put out a call for your favorite concealers to hide dark circles, and almost a hundred of you answered! Tabs tallied the votes, and here are the top five.

1. The Balm Time Balm

This creamy concealer has been my absolute personal favorite for a while, and the votes showed it’s one of your favorites, too. Able to (almost) completely cover my dark circles, it’s also able to work that magic without looking heavy or obvious, and it lasts throughout the day with nary a crease. $18, available in six shades. [Grab it…]

2. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat

A friend of mine over at YSL once told me they sell a tube of this cult classic highlighter every six seconds. SIX SECONDS! That’s 14,400 per day… Not surprisingly, the product’s earned beauty awards up the wazoo. $40, available in four shades. [Grab it…]

3. Bobbi Brown Corrector

Bobbi Brown Corrector is actually supposed to be layered beneath other concealers for a little extra oomph. It’s a helper product designed to treat uber-dark circles by adding extra coverage. $22, available in 12 colors. [Grab it…]

4. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage

This concealer duo comes with two shades you can custom blend for best results. Fans love how well it blends, how smooth it feels and that it doesn’t settle into fine lines. $28, available in five shades. [Grab it…]

5. Benefit Erase Paste

A creamy, all-in-one concealer AND brightener, Benefit Erase Paste is a peachy pink-toned concealer with a touch of shimmer. I’ve tried it before and didn’t feel like it had enough coverage for me, but die-hards absolutely swear by it. $26, available in three shades. [Grab it…]

Have you tried any or many of these top five? If you have a favorite that didn’t make the list, let me know in the comments.

Now it’s time to cast a vote for the best of the best. Which will take the dark circle-eliminating crown?

What's the best concealer for dark circles?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, June 7

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The entrance to Castello di Amorosa Winery in Calistoga, California

  1. Mood:

    2. Organized and ready to handle some bidness! I spent yesterday afternoon straightening out my workspace because clutter kills!

  2. What’s been the most inspirational makeup collection for you?

    3. I’d been using the same brown, pink and taupe palette for most of my life until the Barbie Loves MAC release a few years ago. That collection was like the match that lit my makeup fire! It was a gateway drug to a full-blown beauty addiction.

  3. What are your favorite three cities in the world?

    4. Honolulu, New York City and Please-Don’t-Call-It-Frisco

  4. Describe your sense of beauty and style.

    5. Classic with a pinch of eclectic (code word for strange), edgier colors thrown in for good measure.

  5. If you wrote a memoir, what would it be titled?

    6. The Life and Times of a Cat Lady, or maybe Karen: The Girl Who Couldn’t Spell Freedom, LOL!

  6. What’s the last “coolest” thing you’ve bought?

    7. A pair of dangly shell chandelier earrings from H&M; they were hella cheap and go with everything. I don’t expect to have them long, though, because I’m bad about losing jewelry.

  7. The most played song on your iPod?

    8. I have no idea how it happened, but I’ve played Sheryl Crow’s Always On Your Side 851 times.

  8. Where do you go to get your staple makeup/beauty items?

    9. Mostly MAC counters and MAC Pro stores, Target and Sephora.

  9. Outfit:

    10. A gray sundress and flip flops. It’s supposed to be in the ’80s here today, so, yay/yea, summer!

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. To not let all of the time I spent organizing my workspace go to waste, to do more stretching, to run at least three times, to plan another fun day out with my girlfriends for some time in July and to go shopping for some new treats and toys for Tabs (he likes scratching posts and Pounce! treats).

Hello, and happy manic Monday, friends!

Here’s a seemingly random question, but if you have pets, do they go through phases where they’re more lovey than usual? After ignoring me for days like a petulant teenager, Tabs has again deemed me worthy of his affections.

While I slept on my side last night, he balanced precariously on my hip, adoring me with his eyes (kinda awkward when said cat’s 15 pounds and clumsy). And then this morning before I got out of bed he plopped down on my chest and blew stinky gravy breath in my face.

I know his newfound adoration won’t last long, so I plan to enjoy it while it lasts.

How’s your Monday coming along? Hope things got off to a fab start. Do you have a minute for the Monday Poll?

If you do, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le list

1. Mood:
2. What’s been the most inspirational makeup collection for you?
3. What are your favorite three cities in the world?
4. Describe your sense of beauty and style:
5. If you wrote a memoir, what would it be titled?
6. What’s the last “coolest” thing you’ve bought?
7. The most played song on your iPod?
8. Where do you go to get your staple makeup/beauty items?
9. Outfit:
10. Your weekly goals:

I’m looking forward to a fun-tastic week for us all!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 90

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Sundays with Tabs

I don’t know if he mentioned it, but Tabs had a pretty exciting weekend. Yesterday while I was in Napa he spent the day helping El Hub with some chores around the house. Because they’re both so busy nowadays they don’t get to hang out as much as they used to, Tabs because of travel (he was in Prague for a shoot week before last) and El Hub because of his day job (international man of mystery).

So yesterday they both just spent quality time together, replacing garbage disposals, planting catnip and watching Legend of the Seeker on Hulu — you know, typical cat/man things.

Complete the comic

Okay, are you ready to fly your crazy cat lady flag with me? 🙂 It’s easy. Just complete the dialogue for the above comic by leaving eight (8) captions in your comment. Then, Tabs will choose his favorites and turn them into the real thing.

Here’s an example:

PANEL #1: Tabs didn’t know what time it was when he hit Casino Royale, but he knew it was well after midnight. That meant he only had a few hours left to win back the money he’d lost to Ben Affleck earlier that night.
PANEL #2: Mrow… (stand)
PANEL #3: How zuz ist feel, heir Tabby, to vatch a veal gat pleh?
PANEL #4: I’m staring at you like this because it’s ironic…
PANEL #5: …and because there’s something you don’t know about me, doctor.
PANEL #6: Oh, was ist das?
PANEL #7: Not only am I immune to pressure, but I’m good friends with the dealer.
PANEL #8: BOOM! Haha! Read ’em and weep, dude!

Okay, I know you can do better than that, LOL! Help me out here.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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