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Just For Fun

Sundays with Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 69

January 3rd, 2010 by Karen 46 Comments

5 Things You Should Know about Tabs
5 Things You Should Know about Tabs - 1
5 Things You Should Know about Tabs - 2
5 Things You Should Know about Tabs - 3
5 Things You Should Know about Tabs - 4
5 Things You Should Know about Tabs - 5

Side note, but have you ever tried walking a cat on a leash? Scratch that. I mean, have you ever tried to put a leash on a cat? Today, feeling guilty about taking away his freedom by making him an indoor cat, I tried to put a kitty harness on Tabs to get him some sun out on the deck. Yeah… he wasn’t into it.

What are you doing tonight? Anything good on TV?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 46 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun Keywords: tabs

Jessica Alba: Her Best Hair?

January 2nd, 2010 by Karen 9 Comments

jessica-alba-hair-poll

Hark, a Dark Angel cometh, and she’s got bitchin’ hot hair!

Okay, so I just walked in the door from seeing Avatar (the 2D version… I KNOW! The theater was closer to home), and, yeah, I loved every minute of its FernGully-ish, eyeball-kissing spectacle. 🙂 That Jimmy James Cameron (Aliens, Terminators 1 and 2, The Abyss, True Lies, Titanic) sure has some science fiction film making chops, right?

Makes me wonder if Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981; NOTE: She doesn’t star in Avatar), when she learned back in 2000 that she’d been picked to star in Cameron’s short-lived Dark Angel TV series, thought, “OMG! I’m going to be taking orders from James Cameron!? How cool is this?”

I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that Jessica’s bad girl looks and lascivious locks had something to do with her getting the part. And yet she’s managed to maintain a strict no-nudity clause in her acting contracts throughout her career, once saying, “I don’t do nudity. I just don’t. Maybe that makes me a bad actress. Maybe I won’t get hired in some things. But I have too much anxiety.”

It didn’t stop her from taking the No. 1 spot on Maxim’s Hot 100 list in 2001, or AskMen.com’s list of the 99 Most Desirable Women of 2006.

I don’t know about any of that, but daaaayam, girl has some foine hair.

Which of Jessica's hairstyles do you like best?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hair, Just For Fun

Saturday Surfing

January 2nd, 2010 by Karen 20 Comments

010210-saturday-surfing
Diamond Head, overlooking Waikiki Beach on Oahu, HI

Oh, you guys. 🙂 I just finished reading all of your comments and feel like a new woman. I guess I’m just gonna keep on keepin’ on. For better or worse, that’s all we can do.

This afternoon I fired up the old tea pot and spent a long, lazy hour sipping tea and surfing the web.

What follows are the highlights of my tea-fueled e-adventure…

  • What can a $2 toner really do for your complexion? The answer surprised me — BellaSugar
  • WOWZA! This bright makeup look plum makes me feel like dancing — Temptalia
  • Would you ever host a brush cleaning bash? — Sephora’s Beauty and the Blog
  • These aren’t your average silver hoop earrings — Masaom’s Etsy Shop
  • Vinyl wall decals? I’d like to try the swirly ones — Holly’s Etsy Shop
  • A site that’s always good for a laugh 🙂 (Geoff and his Pokemon = awesomeness!) — Sexy People
  • Imagine building the Guggenheim out of tiny lil’ blocks — Miss Jane
  • I’m totes digging this blog’s mish-mash of fashion, home decorating and accessory (SHOES!) pics — Simply Seductive
  • The definitive guide to sticking to your New Year’s resolutions — Zen Habits
  • Coming back from the holidays: How to get back to work — Freelance Switch
  • 8 ways to tell if your loved ones plan to eat you — The Oatmeal

I’ve been a fan of Basement Jaxx for years; check out the voguing bears!

I’ve been meaning to ask if you’ve seen Avatar. Is it as amazing as I’ve heard? I’m going to try to force myself to the movies tonight (gotta get out of the house). What did you think of the 3D?

Have you seen any other movies you could recommend? I have some movie catching up to do.

Talk to you soon. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 20 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

It’s Been a While…

January 2nd, 2010 by Karen 78 Comments

010210-checking-in

Hi, ladies. How are you? 🙂 I hope everything on your end’s going well and that you had a fun New Year’s.

I know I’ve been MIA for a few days, which is totally unusual. For going on three years now (since Feb. ’07), we’ve chatted at least once a day, so I’m sorry.

Suffice it to say, I’m not quite feeling like my usual self. I haven’t wanted to burden you with it, though, and so I’ve kept quiet.

But I figure that sharing is probably better than just holding it all in, so here goes…

Grief

The death of my friend’s dad hit me hard. It’s a deep and profound sadness, one I’ve never felt before. My heart’s flooded with a sorrow that I’ve so far been unable to handle.

Part of it’s the pain I feel for my friend. We’ve been close since childhood, being there for one another, and because she’s hurting, I am too.

The other part has been the realization that one day I will also mourn the loss of my father.

I keep seeing the image of my friend at the funeral, walking behind the coffin that held her dad, sobbing in her brother’s arms. I keep hearing the sound of her voice as she struggled to sing one last song for him (The Rainbow Connection) at his grave site because he loved the sound of her voice so much.

It’s all weighing down my heart like an anchor…

And the hits keep coming!

Adding to my general malaise, the cough I picked up last week (which I didn’t think worth mentioning) officially turned into a “thing” my doctor calls “reactive airway disease.”

But thanks to two oh-so-sexy inhalers (looking for a cute wristlet in which to carry them), I’m finally getting better.

I pictured animated birds like from Disney’s Cinderella

I woke up to the soothing sound of a light rain outside my window. I listened to it for a while, and then it stopped. Then a brief silence, and then a symphony of birds chirping and singing, “Rise and shine, Karen! It’s time to get up! Come on, let’s go. Get up, get up, get up!”

And so I did. 🙂

Thank you

I’m suddenly reminded of everything good in the world, like you — a kind and generous person who takes time out of your busy day to spend it daydreaming with me about makeup or dinner plans or school or work or life.

Yes, I know this sounds corny, but I want to thank you for being you. Through everything, the good stuff and the bad, you’ve been there for me.

I can feel my joy rising to the surface again… bobbing up and down in a sea of makeup and beauty.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 78 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

A Makeup and Beauty Blog Salute to 2009: A Rainbow of Eyeshadow Colors

December 31st, 2009 by Karen 19 Comments

2009's rainbow of eyeshadow colors
Red eyeshadow
Orange eyeshadow
Yellow eyeshadow
Green eyeshadow
Blue eyeshadow
Indigo eyeshadow
Violet eyeshadow

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yay! Hip-hip-hooray! We made it, ladies. 🙂 For our last post of 2009, a farewell to some of my favorite bright eyeshadow looks and tutorials from the past year (the image sections are clickable links).

How do you feel about 2009 now that it’s behind us? Was it a good year for you? Truth be told, I’m glad it’s history. I feel ready for 2010!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Beauty Do-Over: Makeup and Beauty Tips for DMV License Pictures

December 30th, 2009 by Karen 24 Comments

  • Hi there, ladies. Sorry I’ve been incommunicado lately. I’ve been running ragged since early this morning. While I was in Hawaii last week, a dear friend of mine, someone I’ve known most of my life, lost her father to cancer. This morning was the funeral, and while it was a nice ceremony and a fitting sendoff (music played a big part as it was one of his greatest loves), it was still an emotional day for us all.

    Then, after the funeral, I swung by my parents’ house in the East Bay for a low-key birthday celebration for my mom.

    I’m pretty spent right now but have so much I want to share… I think it’ll have to wait, though, until I’ve gotten some sleep.

    How was your day? What was the highlight?

    Tonight, I went digging through the blog archives and found this post from almost three years ago. I’m due for a new DMV picture soon, and this post came to mind.

    I double dare you to email a scan/photograph of your DMV picture to me (karen@makeupandbeautyblog.com ). 🙂 Pretty please? And if you’ll let me, I’d like to post it on the blog.

    Nighty night…

    Your sleepy neighborhood friendly addict,

    Zzzzzz…

dmv-guide-to-picture-taking

My mission today is possibly one of the biggest of all of beauty challenges: I have to go to the DMV to take a new license picture and somehow make it look cute.

The nasty florescent lighting, the institutional blue paper background … there are many elements that point toward certain disaster. Plus, I think the picture-taking dude that works at the nearby DMV REALLY HATES his job. He purposely waits for your eyes to be crossed, or for you to look like you’re confused before he snaps away, thus preserving your startled doe-in-the-headlights look for all eternity.

The only decent license picture I ever took was when I was 21 and weighed 20 pounds less … needless to say, I need a little bit more help now, since the fresh blush of youth and innocence has left (I’m not bitter!).[Continue reading…]

There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Makeup Tips/How To

Which 2010 Beauty Trend Is Most Likely to Succeed?

December 30th, 2009 by Karen 14 Comments

2010 beauty trends?

We hear ’em every year — wait, no, every season! — a new batch of makeup and beauty trends. Which ones will go mainstream, and which ones won’t? Everyone loves playing prognosticator every once in a while, right? Err, at least I sure do. 🙂

Oh, if I missed a trend that you expect us to see a lot next year, do tell. Let me know in the comments.

Which 2010 beauty trend is most likely to succeed?

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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 14 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Ten Days of Giveaways: Two Ways to Win Benefit’s Celebutante Set

December 29th, 2009 by Karen 427 Comments

  • UPDATE: Dec. 31, 2009. The giveaway is now closed, and the winner will be contacted soon. Good luck! 🙂

10 benefit-celebutante-1

Brrr! It’s so cold up in here, girls. I’m back home in frigid Novato, Caly-for-nigh-ay — home of the Mighty Marin Raccoons, yee haw! Tabs hasn’t stopped meowing since I walked in the door, and that was a half an hour ago. Lawd, he doth protest!

It’s awfully late here, but it’s not too late for today’s giveaway, yes? 🙂

The prize

One lucky lady will win the Benefit Celebutante set (a $34 value), with eight Benefit bestsellers including…

  • High Beam: a shimmery pink highlighter for the face and body (for swatches and a how-to, click here)
  • Benetint: a liquid, rose-colored cheek and lip tint (check out some swatches here)
  • Dallas: a shimmery peach blush (review and swatches)
  • Lip Gloss in I’m With The Band: a sheer, shimmery golden pink (review and swatches, also here)
  • Full-Finish lipstick in Lady’s Choice: a warm dusty rose/pink (here for swatches)
  • Full-Finish lipstick in No Competition: a deep plum (see some swatches)
  • Velvet Eyeshadow in Leggy: a shimmery light pink (swatches here)
  • Velvet Eyeshadow in Dandy Brandy: a shimmery golden brown (some swatches here)

10 benefit celebutante 2

10 benefit celebutante 3

How to enter…

2ways2enterEntering is easy. There are two different ways, 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 post about anything at all.

OOH! Speaking of Benefit, I love their Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit. It’s a shimmery golden beige cream eyeshadow that totally lights up my eyes.

Follow me
Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to win Benefit’s Celebutante Set (a $34 value) http://bit.ly/6WHCeb

Recap…

  1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
  2. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

    RT @karenmbb: RT to win Benefit’s Celebutante Set (a $34 value) http://bit.ly/6WHCeb

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Wednesday, December 30.

Alles van die beste!!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

  • UPDATE: Dec. 31, 2009. The giveaway is now closed, and the winner will be contacted soon. Good luck! 🙂
There are 427 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

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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.

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