Just For Fun

You know when you’re having a good brow day? The right thing to do is to take a pic, so when your favorite Anastasia brow pencil suddenly and mysteriously disappears, you have a reminder of how your brows looked before your world was suddenly turned upside down. LOL! 🤣

I’m not sure what happened to my pencil, but I think Rosie may have found it and swatted it into same black hole where all my hair ties go.

I’ve gone to two full days of back-to-back meetings with ghost brows because I haven’t had the chance to swing by Ulta to grab another one. It’s definitely on my list of things to do today!

Happy Saturday to ya. 🙂

This week’s reading

• Is makeup messing up your sunscreen?
• Sigh. I CANNOT with TikTok trends.
• The fragrances in the solar family evoked sun-drenched days spend outside.
• CVS Pharmacy has a new skin care shopping experience called The Skin Care Center.
• 7 skin care ingredient duos that are better together.
• Plasma skin resurfacing is a thing.
• Willie Morrow, Black hair care pioneer, has died.
• Well, this lipstick organizer looks pretty cool!
• Scientists from my alma mater are looking for U.S. volunteers who are owned by a cat!
• Speaking of cats, Pedalpalooza Cat Ride in Portland looks like fun, although I’m pretty sure Rosie would hate it. LOL!

Talk to me!

I need this.

Someone please make this for me!

*THE* Trader Joe’s sunscreen!!!

Interesting.

Gorgeous!

I hope your day off to a good start. What are you up to this weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Have you noticed the abundance of celebrity skin care lines popping up lately? J. Lo, Millie Bobby Brown, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams, Kim K., Hailey Bieber… The list just keeps going and going!

I’m undecided about celeb skin care for one’s face. I’m more open to body products, though. Case in point: I recently bought a big jar of body cream from the skin care line by Alicia Keys, and it’s really good! I’m also very curious about the body sunscreen from Eleven by Venus Williams (it’s supposed to be excellent).

If it’s something with active ingredients for one’s visage, I’m more likely to skip it. I think maybe if I was in my teens or early 20s I’d be more open, but at this stage in my beauty life I feel like my mug needs serious “Real Housewives”-caliber potion that melts your face off, LOL! I’d rather spend $$$ on skin care you’d find at a dermatologist’s office, like Skinceuticals or SkinMedica.

All this to say, that for me, celebrity skin care lines are mostly a leave it situation.

How about you? What are your thoughts on celebrity skin care? Love it or leave it?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Colors that make you happy?

Mint green, pale yellow, light lavender – pastels bring me so much joy!

2. Last beauty product you received as a gift?

My friend Kelly gave me a tube of Saint Jane Lip Gloss that I’m pretty stoked about.

3. Summer or fall makeup?

This is hard for me. I love summer makeup because it’s so easy and breezy, but I appreciate the artistry of a full-on fall face beat. Hmm. Let’s go with summer makeup because it’s basically the style I’ve been wearing for the last two years.

4. Grapefruit juice: yum or yuck?

YUM!

5. Sweatshirt or cardigan?

An extra soft sweatshirt with a hood and pockets, please. I’m all about cozy comfort these days!

6. Worst car you’ve ever driven?

El Hub and I once got talked into renting a Ford Mustang convertible when we visited Hawaii years ago. It was the most uncomfortable car I’ve ever been in, both as a passenger and as a driver. This was in the early 2000s, so I have no idea how the car is now, but back then, I couldn’t make sense of the console because everything felt like it was in the wrong place. The seats were uncomfortable, and riding around with the wind in my hair wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be; it was noisy and messed up my mane!

7. Classic or trendy?

Trendy back in the day, more classic now.

8. Whatcha doing today?

Well, it’s the Fourth of July so I feel like I should be doing something eventful, but El Hub is working and the weather’s overcast and cool. If it clears up later, Connor and I will probably go for a short hike, and then I’ll play with her in the front yard for a bit. It hit me recently that she won’t be a little kid for much longer, and so I have to get in as much time doing simple things together, like sidewalk chalk, as much as I can.

9. Something you want to accomplish this week?

I need to research window blinds and drapes. Honestly, like most things I’m finding that are related to home furnishings, blinds and drapes are surprisingly complicated. I never thought I’d fall into a rabbit hole related to blinds, but here we are, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Colors that make you happy?
2. Last beauty product you received as a gift?
3. Summer or fall makeup?
4. Grapefruit juice: yum or yuck?
5. Sweatshirt or cardigan?
6. Worst car you’ve ever driven?
7. Classic or trendy?
8. Whatcha doing today?
9. Something you want to accomplish this week?

P.P.S. Good morning, friend. It’s a long weekend here in the U.S. because of the Fourth of July. I hope you get the chance to do something relaxing and fun today. 🤗

Well, hey there, friend. Happy Caturday to you! Look what I found at Cost Plus a few weeks ago. Did you ever have this candy when you were a kid? I used to eat it all the time. We’d ride our bikes down to what all the neighborhood kids called “The Chinese Store” in the old part of town, park our wheels in the front (without having to lock them up!), and we’d go inside to buy popsicles, Lemonheads and Boton Rice Candy. Gotta love those summertime core memories!

What would you and the kid crew on your street do back in the day during the summer?

This week’s reading

• If I lived in New York, I’d stop by this art-meets-scent exhibition called “Religious Vegetables,” which pushes the boundaries of perfume.
• Here’s a breakdown of the different levels of perfume, from eau de cologne to pure perfume.
• Take a trip down memory lane with these old school Bath & Body Works scents. Juniper Breeze, anyone?
• Put Henry Jacques on your fragrance bucket list for the next time you visit Paris, ooh la la!
• Dermatologists recommend these products for acne-prone skin. Side note: my chin and I are listening.
• If you have a Costco membership, FYI, there are a few Cetaphil workhorses currently on sale.
• 5 quick and easy hair changes that instantly transform your look.
• Despite being buried for over 30,000 years, a baby mammoth found in Canada’s Yukon territory still had hair, skin and tusks intact.
• Thermochromic hair dye is a temporary hair color product that changes hue with even a subtle shift in temperature.
• According the pros, these are the 15 best hair growth products.

I was really hoping he’d do “Yeah!”

Interesting!

OK, does Chili not age? Where is her fountain of youth?

This looks like good fun.

Love this song!

Another old fave from back in the day.

Have a great rest of your weekend. I’ll be spending mine cleaning and organizing the house! I also have to stop by Macy’s to look at furniture.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

1. CFX Resistance Bands

I got these to replace the plastic resistance bands I’ve been using for years (I ended up tearing the medium and heavy bands, LOL). These are so much better! They don’t fall down your legs, are easy to remove, and the resistance is actually very substantial, so your muscles are forced to really feel the burn. I bought my set of light, medium and heavy bands on Amazon, and I used them today during this leg workout!

2. T3 Bodywaver

This is a large barrel curling iron that works great for curling hair into loose, big curls. It gets really, really hot, so I never go beyond the second setting to avoid burning my hair.

Anywho, I bought it years ago and kinda forgot about it, but I’ve been using it a ton lately to get my hair bouncy, big and smooooooove. It’s especially useful for ironing out my wild, wayward grays. With this tool, it takes about five minutes total to sort my hair out.

3. Green Tea Mochi at Trader Joe’s

Oh em gee, so good. My whole family is straight up addicted to these little pockets of green tea ice cream wrapped up in a sweet, chewy, rice dough wrapper. I have a sweet tooth and need a little something-something after dinner, and after one or two of these, I’m good.

4. Basketball movies

I’ve watched a couple good ones lately: “Hustle” on Netflix and “Rise” on Disney Plus. Both are family friendly and thoroughly enjoyable.

I may have cried a little watching this

I cried a TON watching this one

5. The word of the day screensaver

I have my screensaver set to “word of the day” on my computer (here’s how to do it). I freakin’ love it because it’s an easy way to bump up your vocabulary! Today’s word was a good one, by the way.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Sequins or rhinestones?

Sequins because they’re not as heavy as rhinestones, so you can wear more of them. LOL!

2. Do you usually wear matte red lipstick during the summer?

Sure, why not? I would keep the rest of the makeup pretty minimal with contrasting textures to balance the formality of the matte lip. Sheer, slightly glowing base on skin, cream blush (I almost typed “cream cheese blush,” hahaha), maybe a swish of pearly highlighter and lots of mascara. Then, brows filled in with the lightest touch of pencil. Hmmm, maybe I’ll wear this look today!

3. How often do you wear wigs?

Rarely, although I do admire the ladies who have an extensive collection and can change their look at the drop of a hat!

4. How are your hairstyling skills?

Alright if I have enough time. If I’m feeling rushed, forget about it. We’re doing a funbun or a low pony, 100%. If I have time to really work at it, then I can do more complicated things, like heat styling, braids, etc.

5. Black or white nail polish?

White opaque nail polish on short fingernails, please. It feels very fresh and summery!

6. Are bangs a good idea?

Depends. If your hair naturally wants to fall in a way that supports bangs, then go for it. If you have to fight your hair to get the bangs to look decent, then let it go. Yes, I learned this lesson the hard way.

7. Your thoughts on chunky highlights?

I wore them back in the day and LOVED them. They were fun and fabulous, and dare I say, low key tacky on me. I still rocked them, though! I probably wouldn’t do them at this stage in my hair life, since I’m stuck on having things look as natural as possible at the moment.

8. What’s for lunch today?

I’m not sure yet, but I’m thinking about a yummy tomato and cucumber salad with balsamic glaze dressing with some kind of protein from the Whole Foods deli. Maybe salmon or chicken? Sigh. I am forever looking for ways to sneak more protein into my meals. It’s a part-time job.

9. Which would you rather set your summer makeup with: makeup setting spray or powder?

This one’s hard. I think a sheer layer of powder is a good thing for setting strategically placed foundation and concealer because it does a better job of locking makeup down; however, I also think makeup setting sprays look more natural on skin than powder when it’s hot and sunny outside, since powder can be obvious in bright sunlight. If I had to pick just one, then makeup setting spray, I guess.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Sequins or rhinestones?
2. Do you usually wear matte red lipstick during the summer?
3. How often do you wear wigs?
4. How are your hairstyling skills?
5. Black or white nail polish?
6. Are bangs a good idea?
7. Your thoughts on chunky highlights?
8. What’s for lunch today?
9. Which would you rather set your summer makeup with: makeup setting spray or powder?

P.P.S. Good morning, friend. Happy Monday to you. A quick reminder just in case you need it: even the seemingly smallest victories are still victories. Keep chugging along! You’ve got this! 🤗