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Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 691

January 2nd, 2022 by Karen 3 Comments

Climate change is real, and Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC is doing something about it.

It’s a common misconception that Elon Musk’s SpaceX pioneered VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) rocket technology with the Falcon 9, but it was actually Tabs who came up with the original idea.

We built the prototype right in front of the office here and launched it.

NASA was so impressed they awarded Tabs with an honorary astrophysics PhD.

Rosie

When Rosie took the reigns as the company’s new CFO (Chief Feline Officer) two years ago, she brought a wealth of scientific and engineering know-how with her, as she was an accomplished scientist in her own right.

Her research into climate change pointed her to a startling discovery. Humans and cats aren’t the only ones at risk from climate change. Turkeys are too! — and sooner or later, that will become a big problem for cats.

Rosie knew she had to do something about it, so she built upon Tabs’s rocket technology to design a spacecraft capable of sending large numbers of turkeys to space. This way, even if Earth becomes inhospitable, turkeys will survive on Mars, and therefore hungry cats will still have something to look forward to.

The plan is still being fleshed out, but here’s the gist of it: a group of brave cats led by Rosie will send 500 turkey volunteers to Mars. Once there, they’ll work together to terraform the Martian atmosphere and build a sustainable turkey community.

It’s a bold idea!

Hopefully it works.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Happy New Year!

January 1st, 2022 by Karen 10 Comments

Happy new year, my friend! Along with all the usual wishes for the new year (good luck, good health and all the good things), I hope 2022 treats you with tenderness.

I hope it’s a sweet and gentle year for you, a year full of generosity on all fronts.

I also hope that this year you love yourself unconditionally, and with abandon. You deserve to be lifted up and adored.

On the beauty front, I hope your makeup bag runneth over with pieces that bring smiles to the corners of your eyes. I hope you find a signature scent that encapsulates your soaring spirit. I hope you find a lipstick and blush combo that lights up your sweet face.

You are a good friend, and I so appreciate you.

Happy, happy new year to you!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Beauty Things to Do Before the New Year

December 31st, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

On this last day of 2021, truth be told I’m not feeling the usual sense something ending and something new beginning. In the effort to impart a sense of newness for 2022, today I plan to a few beauty things so I can at least try a little to feel like I’m starting fresh, and yes, of course I have a list!

Beauty things to do before the new year

Wax my upper lip hair.
Pluck and trim my brows.
Put on a mega moisturizing hair mask, and leave it in while I watch the new episode of “And Just Like That.” Man, I know I said I wasn’t going to get sucked in, but at this point I’m already invested and don’t fee like I can get off this train, ya know?
Paint my fingers and toes. I’m thinking OPI’s I’m Not Really a Waitress.
Do a body scrub.
Style my hair! I’ve been throwing it into a messy fun bun all week long. It’s time to actually do stuff to it!

How about you? Do you have any beauty tasks lined up for this last day of 2021?

Oh, thank you so much for all of your ideas for hobbies. I’m still not sure what hobby I’m going to choose, but I did manage to start reading a new book purely for pleasure today (“Klara and the Sun,” a science fiction story by Kazuo Ishiguro, who won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature), which is a start.

Enjoy the last day of this year!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

What Are Your Current Hobbies, and If You Could Start a Hobby in the New Year, What Would It Be?

December 30th, 2021 by Karen 22 Comments

I’ve been thinking about hobbies a lot lately, and doing things just for the sake of doing them because they bring you joy.

I feel like I’ve been adulting hard for so long — just going from one task to the next from the moment my eyes open in the morning until I pass out at night. I’m so used to constantly being in productive mode that relaxing feels foreign to me, and when I try to block off unstructured time to do whatever I want, I get the urge to do laundry or tackle whatever else is next on my seemingly never-ending to-do list.

I still love playing with makeup, of course, but lately I haven’t been wearing as much. Baking and cooking used to be my hobbies, too, but now those things feel like chores since I’m the one in our house who usually feeds everyone. Side note: I can’t remember what it’s like to have food just show up miraculously for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It must’ve been magical!

Anywho, I’d love to find a relaxing hobby that doesn’t feel like work, so I’ve been brainstorming things I might like to try in the new year. So far on my list of potential new hobbies: rock climbing (a new indoor gym just opened up, but with the ongoing state of the world, I’m unsure about taking on something like that right now), refinishing old furniture (I kinda want to do this just so I can start collecting power tools!) and learning a musical instrument.

How about you? If you could start a hobby in the new year, what would it be? I’d also love to hear about any current hobbies you have as well!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Unsung Heroes: Costa Riche Eye Kohl

December 29th, 2021 by Karen 3 Comments

mac costa riche — Wearing $16 MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl on my lower lash lines

I’ll be paying a visit to the MAC Pro Store this week as part of a super-secret spy girl mission tomorrow (stay tuned!), which means that poor El Hub will be left to play outside on his phone while I clear out the store’s inventory of MAC Costa Riche.

How many times have I talked about this Eye Kohl…? Five? Six? Two dozen?

It is well past time for me to give it the Unsung Heroes treatment. 🙂

A warm golden brown Eye Kohl in the MAC permanent line, Costa Riche has been my brown eyeliner bae since late 2013.

Seeing as how I fall in love with new products every other week (sorry, it’s true), you might think that my obsession with it would have waned, but nooo. I still reach for Costa Riche at least three or four times a week because 1) it goes well with so many different eyeshadows, and 2) it feels good on my lash and water lines (when my eyes are irritated and/or watering due to allergies or something else, Costa Riche is one of the few things I can still wear that won’t make things worse).

And it does so much for different eye colors. Brown eyes look more chocolatey, and blue, green, hazel and gray eyes rock it, too. I think it brings out more beauty in all of them and makes your natural eye color stand out.

I’ve never met a person who hates how they look in Costa Riche. It’s the people’s liner!
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A Little Chanel Les 4 Ombres Tissé Vendôme Eyeshadow Quad Love

December 28th, 2021 by Karen 7 Comments

chanel tisse vendome — Chanel Les 4 Ombres Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vendôme ($62)

Quick shout-out to a quad I’ve been loving lately! — Chanel Les 4 Ombres Tissé Vendôme.

I wear the two browns and the beige the most, and the lighter golden taupe-brown has a sheen finish. It’s fantastic for simple, elegant washes of color on the lids.

You can buff the darker brown (which also has a sheen finish) into the corners for depth, but I usually like to keep it simple and wear it as a liner, applied with either a wet or dry angled brush.

The satiny beige comes in handy for soft, subtle highlights on the brow bone and inner corner.

That coral shade is actually pretty handy too! Pair it with coral or peach blush or lipstick. I like to blend it onto the mobile part of my lid (the area that moves when you blink) to highlight that area and bring it out a bit more (helps my eyes look less hooded).

chanel tisse vendome swatch — For reference, I’m an NC42.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 709

December 27th, 2021 by Karen 13 Comments

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. How do you like your coffee?

Smooth and not too bitter, and served with a good amount warm, frothy whole milk or a splash of half and half. Sometimes with a spoonful of sugar, sometimes without.

2. What outfit are you currently wearing?

I’m still in my pajamas! Zella joggers (LOVE THEM) and an old tee with the words “Lake Tahoe” on the front. I also have a black sweatshirt on, too. It’s chilly today!

3. What’s your favorite new year’s tradition?

Opening the front door right at midnight to let all the good luck into the house. It’s a Filipino thang!

4. What are you wishing for in the new year?

Honestly, less stress and less worry. I can’t take much more in either category.

5. A hairstyle that suits you well?

Anything past my shoulders and layered seems to generally work for me. The layers have to be done specifically for wavy hair, though.

6. One of your greatest accomplishments this year?

I got a new writing job! It was always my plan to go back into the professional/corporate world when Connor started kindergarten, and I made it happen in the fall. It’s one thing that I’m very proud of (side note: I’m trying to break the habit of minimizing my accomplishments).

7. Chocolate chip cookies: chewy or crisp?

Oh, girlfriend… Those cookies better be chewy!

8. Something you don’t need but would love?

Umm, new windows? Mine are the original ones that came with the house when it was made in the ’70s. New ones would be great!

9. Peach, pink or plum blush?

Peach with hint of coral, please!

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. How do you like your coffee?
2. What outfit are you currently wearing?
3. What’s your favorite new year’s tradition?
4. What are you wishing for in the new year?
5. A hairstyle that suits you well?
6. One of your greatest accomplishments this year?
7. Chocolate chip cookies: chewy or crisp?
8. Something you don’t need but would love?
9. Peach, pink or plum blush?

P.P.S. Good morning, my friend! It’s the last Monday of 2021, so let’s make it a good one, OK? 🤗

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 690

December 26th, 2021 by Karen 3 Comments

Hi! Hello there (*waves from Novato*). Meow was your Christmas?

Mine was good. We visited my parents in the East Bay, out in Union City. Lots of food and catching up. We watched the Golden State Warriors basketball game. Connor practiced her high diving off the living room couch.

I missed my tabby, of course. I missed him a whole lot. I really miss his big personality around the holidays.

Rosie

Rosie has been a member of our family and the head of Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC for a little more than a year now, and she’s definitely coming out of her shell. She’s plotting her own course and following in Tabs’s footsteps in terms of making a name for herself and achieving greatness.

Like, this month she developed her first signature Christmas fashion product, a biometric cat collar that displays the wearer’s disposition at any given moment.

Incredible!

It’s really cool, but whereas Tabs designed products based on intuition and his uncanny sense of style, Rosie follows the scientific method, relying on focus groups and frequent collaboration.

Her research found that cats respond well to rainbows, so the collar’s OLED screen displays a rainbow when the wearer is happy and purring.

It also monitors your steps, your heart rate to see if you’re getting stressed out, monitors your treat levels to alert you when your treat level gets dangerously low, and it lets you know if you aren’t getting enough sleep, because cats can never get enough sleep.

It even lets you know if your enemies are nearby. That way you can go into combat mode if you need to.

And it also monitors all of the humans around and reminds you to be nice to them.

It’s truly remarkable. I can’t wait to see what Rosie comes up with next. 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen