Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

1. Embracing the straw visor

OK, I know, I know. A week ago I was solidly against the oversized packable straw visor, mostly because it reminded me of my glamorous grandma and all of her homies back in the day, but then I watched this favorites video by Dr. Dray (she’s a dermatologist, and she is all about sun protection). She mentions how much she loves her packable straw visor because she can put her hair up in a bun on the top of her head while she wears it! YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW MIND BLOWING THIS WAS TO ME.

Since my hair is past my shoulders, it’s always a struggle to figure out where to put my bun or ponytail when I’ve got a hat on. I end up wearing buns/ponytails low on the back of my head, but I don’t really love that because then my hair sits against the back of my neck, and I get really hot. Anyway, I ended up going back to Nordstrom rack and grabbing the visor for $15, and I LOVE IT. I wore it today to go hiking, and my hair was off my neck, and it felt really good.

2. Finding Rosie in the weirdest places

She’s been getting creative lately with her napping spots. Here’s her new favorite hiding place: Connor’s old play mat, where she keeps some of her stuffed animals (Connor, not Rosie).

3. The radio station Q-102.1

I try not to get too attached to any radio station here in the SF Bay area because the ones I love just seem to always disappear mysteriously! Seriously, one day you get in your car, turn up your favorite ’90s hip-hop throwback station expecting to hear Lil’ Kim, but then you hear the screech of guitars from a speed metal band instead.

Anyway, I was flipping through the channels in my car the other day, and this station is one of a handful I can actually tolerate. In the span of 10 minutes, I heard Wham’s Careless Whisper, Mariah’s Emotions and 2Pac’s California Love. GLORIOUS!

4. TJ’s Traditional French Brie with sliced Opal apples

THIS COMBO, OMG! After you try it, you’ll love me and hate me at the same time. Eating apples with brie is really nothing new, but the TJ’s Traditional French Brie will take your breath away. It’s what I like to call “a funkier brie,” so it’s got that pungent, smelly toes aspect to it (which I love), and it’s just so, so soft and creamy. When you eat it with sliced yellow Opal apples, goodness gracious, it’s a heavenly experience.

5. Keeping a small army of sunscreens on hand

I’m earnestly trying very hard to be diligently wearing sunscreen (that’s a lot of adverbs!). I’ve read that it helps to keep a variety of formulas and types on hand, and that’s what I’ve been doing lately.

I think it’s working for me! Previously, I would only keep one or two bottles around the house, but now that I have a bunch of them on hand, it’s been easier to remember to wear sunscreen, especially when I have different options available (spray, lotion, even stick sunscreen) to suit how lazy I’m feeling at any particular moment. Also, now I know I’ll always have some on hand! I used to always wait until I finished a bottle before getting a new one, but now I just always have sunscreen around. It’s kinda cool!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day. ?

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 five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?

1. Would you rather be a ninja or a pirate?

Ninja! They wear all black (a good color for me) and usually aren’t on a boat (I get seasick easily). And, generally, they seem to be less stinky than pirates?! I dunno if any of this is true, but in my mind it is. LOL!

2. Camping or glamping?

Camping if someone else sets up and breaks down the campsite. Glamping if I have to be the adult and do it, ha!

3. What lipstick were you really into when you first started wearing makeup?

My first “fancy lady” lipstick was a very light creamy magenta by Clinique — very late ’80s! I loooovede seeing that silver case in my hand when it was time to touch up. I was also really into Revlon lipsticks back then too.

4. How often do you stay up past 3 a.m.?

I’m often up during the witching hour, but it’s never on purpose. Anybody want some insomnia? I’ll give it to you for free!

5. A silly fear you have?

I’m irrationally afraid of earthworms. Especially the long ones.

6. What’s the best room in the house?

I love my living room in the afternoon; it’s comfortable and has the best light.

7. What part of doing makeup are you best at?

I think I’m pretty good at getting base makeup to look like skin. Also, once upon a time, smokey eyes used to be my jam!

8. What cartoons did you watch when you were a kid?

Scooby Doo was always on at the babysitter’s house. I also remember He-Man and She-Ra being a big deal.

9. Do you text or call more?

I text more, even though I’m the world’s slowest texter!

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. Would you rather be a ninja or a pirate?
2. Camping or glamping?
3. What lipstick were you really into when you first started wearing makeup?
4. How often do you stay up past 3 a.m.?
5. A silly fear you have?
6. What’s the best room in the house?
7. What part of doing makeup are you best at?
8. What cartoons did you watch when you were a kid?
9. Do you text or call more?

P.P.S. Hello and happy Monday, my beautiful friend! How goes it on your end? I’m doing alright today. The sun’s out, I’m drinking coffee right now… Overall, I’m feeling optimistic about the week ahead.

I’m shocked to hear myself say this out loud, but yesterday I *did something* over the weekend. I know, what even is going out anymore?

Our fam-bam went to SF to see the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit. Have you heard of it?

It’s kind of like a Van Gogh painting brought to life. You stand in this huge room (in socially distanced circles that are projected on the floor) as some of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings are projected onto the walls with music playing in the background. As you’re looking at the paintings, parts of them actually move and flow with the music, so you feel like you’re standing in the middle of a living, breathing work of art. IT WAS SO COOL. My favorite part was the famous Irises painting; it started with what looked like dirt being projected on the walls, then we saw roots elongating and growing, then leaves shooting upwards and out of the roots, and then the flowers eventually budding and blooming. It was an explosion of color! I even got a little teary because I was so overwhelmed with how beautiful it was.

If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it.

What’s going on, friend? I can’t even right now! I am SO GLAD it’s the weekend. Oh, man… I’m really looking forward to relaxing and hanging out with the girls this weekend (Connor and Rosie).

Connor had her school pictures yesterday, and this was her #OOTD! You probably won’t be surprised to hear that I was the mom who said, “Please have her wear the denim jacket,” to her teacher. “It’s part of the look.” ?

Coywolf starts kindergarten in the fall, so this was her last picture day as a preschooler, believe it or not. She fought me a little on the pigtails…but I assured her that this was the last time she had to do it. (She wore pigtails in all of her other preschool pics, and I just wanted to maintain the tradition this last time.) Next year, when she’s a “big kid,” she can wear her hair down for her pics if she wants to.

As usual after these mini-milestone moments, I’m happy, but it feels a little bittersweet…

Let’s see…what else have I been doing this week? Well, one thing I’ve been pondering is how easily I get caught up in the everyday rhythm of life. I mean, where does the time go? I always have a list of big picture tasks I want to get done, bigger things like home improvement projects, career projects. You know — the things that move us forward. But do you ever feel like you’re just doing the bare minimum it takes to keep going (especially during these particular times)? I can’t be the only person who feels like they’re just treading water.

I really don’t want to merely survive during my time on this earth. I desperately want to thrive! I want to keep growing! I want to be the creative, fun, interesting person I believe I am…but I’m just so damn tired all the time… LOL! ? I know you know what I mean. It’s just annoying sometimes, but I digress.

In the meantime, some reading…

• 6 Ways To Stop Going Through The Motions And Start Living Your Life
• Are You Always Exhausted, Mindlessly Going Through The Motions At Work? Here’s How To Make A Change
• 30 Ways to Come Alive, and Not Just Exist

I’m going to follow some advice I heard on one of my favorite YouTube style channels, Busbee Style, to take a class or a course. That way you feel like you’re learning and growing, which I NEED.

So, I’ve also been researching websites that offer online classes, as well as looking at classes at the community college (there’s a campus less than 10 minutes away for College of Marin).

• The 10 Best Free Online Classes for Adults in 2021
• The 21 best online classes for mastering any new skill in 2021
• Fun Online Classes You Can Do From The Comfort Of Your Home
• The 8 best places to take classes online — whether you’re looking for free hobby classes or flexible degree programs

One site that looks promising is Skill Share. They have lots of creative classes. I would love to take classes on interior design, and it’s also been a while since I’ve taken a photography class, so that might be fun too. Have you heard of Skill Share or taken any of their classes?

So, that’s been what’s mostly been on my mind this week, along with getting the home renovations going that we’ve been putting off for…years? So long. We’ve been wanting to replace our carpet with luxury plank vinyl and also redo our downstairs powder room, but I put the whole endeavor on the backburner, you know, before all this started, and now I feel like I have to re-learn everything about flooring and not getting burned by shady contractors again.

• Designing a Small Powder Room: The Do’s and Don’ts
• The Most Inviting Living Room Layouts to Try
• The Golden Rules of Living Room Design

And because beauty and cats bring us together, here are a few stories that also caught my eye this week…

• Valentino Is Launching a Gorgeous, Inclusive Makeup Collection
• Skincare for Darker Skin Tones Is a Beauty Market Yet to Be Explored
• Maison Francis Kurkdjian Launches Three New Perfumes (side note: I cannot wait to sniff these!)
• Fancy Feast Wants You to Eat Like Your Cat
• Does Your Cat’s Butthole Touch Everything It Sits On? One Middle-Schooler Devised an Experiment to Find Out
• How to Travel with a Cat

Have a great rest of your weekend, and please take some time to do something fun! Life is short. I deeply believe that’s OK to not be productive sometimes.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I swear I’m underneath this hat somewhere!

Yesterday I went to the dentist for a regularly scheduled teeth cleaning, and even though I love my dentist to bits (she’s so good at soothing ‘fraidy cat patients like, ahem, yours truly), I still get big feeeeelings whenever I have to go in. Seriously, childhood dental trauma… That sh*t stays with you for a long time!

My self-soothing habit is to stop by a store right after any and every dental appointment to browse, and so yesterday I headed to “The Rack” (otherwise known as Nordstrom Rack) to see what was up.

I went in looking for a specific thing, a sun hat, because I figure if I’m going all in with the sun protection, I gotta go all the way, but you know…homegirl got distracted in the beauty section (more on this in a second).

So, hats. I found quite a few, and the most promising one was this wide-brimmed hat by San Diego Hat Company. I think it’s pretty cute, and I like how the brim covers my face so my cheeks are completely shaded. You can also adjust it to make it more or less snug on your head.

It was the only hat with a UPF 50 rating, too.

I didn’t get it, though, because it’s not packable, and I really want one I can fold down and take with me when we go camping. Plus, it doesn’t have a chin cord, and I can just see it flying off my head into the great unknown on a very windy day.

I still might go back for it if 1) I’m still thinking about it in a week, and 2) if it’s still there.

Oh, and another note about this hat — it was the only one with a wide brim that didn’t block my vision! The other hats I tried on had these very jaunty dips in the brim, which were cute…but completely useless, because I could only see when I lifted my head up at the right angle.

(I’m thinking I might have just talked myself into getting it.)

Speaking of packable hats…I thought this display near the hats was some kind of household decoration (like a candle holder or maybe a liquid scent diffuser?) at first, but alas, no! It’s a HUGE visor that wraps up!

My grandma (and all of the older Filipino ladies I knew) used to rock big visors like this back in the day, ha ha ha. Although I can appreciate how travel-friendly this hat is, I’m not quite ready to embrace my inner granny just yet.

It didn’t take long for me to wander into the beauty section because it’s adjacent to the hats, and even though the shelves appeared as though scavengers had picked over the last gristly bits of bone, there were enough things to induce a few beauty flashback moments, starting with this cute mini-size Caboodle…

While it’s not very useful in terms of actual portability and practicality (I would just throw my stuff in a makeup bag, ma), it sure is adorable.

Speaking of minis, there were also a handful of mini makeup items from Laura Mercier and MAC…

I had throwback memories of beauty in the early Aughts when I saw these industrial-sized bottles of DevaCurl products, Philosophy (Purity Made Simple, my ride-or-die back in the day) and Neutrogena.

Remember how something by Mario Badescu was in, like, every other magazine back then? You couldn’t open Allure or Glamour or Real Simple for that matter without a Mario Badescu shout-out.

Not beauty-related, but I saw these cute pieces of jewelry with flowers that looked like mini art! If I wasn’t in the midst of purging clothes and accessories, I would’ve picked up a necklace.

Right after that I saw my favorite DKNY bra in the lingerie section, in several colors and sizes. I’m now kicking myself for not grabbing at least the nude and the black one and having the patience to stand in the line (and there’s ALWAYS a line).

I seem to have a maximum time limit on how long I can tolerate standing inside The Rack… It’s the chaos — at a certain point my (bra) cup runneth over and I gotta get out of there, so I bolted.

Anywho, that’s what’s been going on here on this end. ?

What’s new with you?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! ?

How to play

Pick one or the other for each of the questions below, and copy/paste your answers in the comments. Can’t wait to see your picks! Mine are listed below. ?

This or That: The Liquid, Cream or Powder Edition

• Concealer: liquid or cream?
• Foundation: liquid, cream or powder?
• Lipstick: liquid or cream?
• Blush: liquid, cream or powder?
• Bronzer: liquid, cream or powder?
• Eyeshadow: cream or powder?
• More eyeshadow: liquid or cream?
• Eyeliner: liquid or cream?
• Highlighter: liquid, cream or powder?

Concealer: liquid or cream?

I have what I’ve taken to calling “experience lines,” and they respectfully advocate for liquid concealer. ?

Foundation: liquid, cream or powder?

Liquid foundation. Something lightweight and on the thinner side, like It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare.

Lipstick: liquid or cream?

Dang! I’m finding this one surprisingly difficult to answer! I’m not normally a liquid lipstick girl, but they’ve grown on me more in the pandemic because I like that the matte ones stay put and don’t transfer to my masks.

Still though, there’s something about cream lipstick in a good old-fashioned bullet… So I gotta go with the cream!

Blush: liquid, cream or powder?

If my dry cheeks were answering, they’d scream “CREAM ALL THE WAY.” But, ultimately, powder always seems to be a little bit easier to apply, so I’ll go that route.

Bronzer: liquid, cream or powder?

Powder.

Eyeshadow: cream or powder?

I’ve been attached at the hip to my NARS eyeshadow palette lately, so I’m going with powder (although I do love luscious cream shadows to bits).

More eyeshadow: liquid or cream?

CREAM!

Eyeliner: liquid or cream?

Liquid, in a pen with a flexible point tip. Thank you!

Highlighter: liquid, cream or powder?

Cream.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Thursday! ?

1. These pink trees

I wish I knew what kind of trees these are because they’re blooming all over Marin County right now. Only thing is…I think I might be wildly allergic to the flowers, because every time I stand next to one I start sneezing and get a stuffy nose.

Aren’t they beautiful though?! I wish I had one in my front yard.

2. Trader Joe’s Almond Butter-Filled Pretzel Nuggets

Pretzels nuggets stuffed with almond butter might sound basic, but gosh, these are wildly addicting. Salty and sweet, and that pretzel crunch is so satisfying. It’s almost too easy to eat the entire bag in one sitting.

3. Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Super Extender

WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE?

This cleaning gadget is a long pole that extends to six feet long; on the ends are two heavy duty Swiffer Dusters, which are these awesome fluffy disposable dusting mitts that grab each and every piece of dirt within striking distance.

I’ve been using my Heavy Duty Extender to clean and dust everything — walls, ceilings, blades on the ceiling fans, windows, light fixtures on the ceiling, shelves, even the very tops of the door frames and doors. It’s also great for quickly dusting baseboards because you don’t have to bend down or get on your knees.

Make sure you get the one that extends to six feet, though, because there’s also a shorter version, which works too, but having that extra length sure helps! I think the longer one takes it to the next level.

4.All the body creams (especially the exfoliating ones)

Give me rich creams! Especially the exfoliating ones with all the AHAs and BHAs. I wanna shed those layers of skin, quite literally!

Of course, the former English major in me is interpreting this to symbolically mean that I’m yearning to leave behind all of the crusty metaphorical layers of the last year, ha!

I’m currently rotating among First Aid Beauty KP Smoothing Body Lotion With 10% AHA, Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion with AHA, Bloom Effects Tulip Nectar Skin Repair Body Balm and Pixi Glycolic Body Lotion.

5. My NARS Pro Palette with all of the classic eye colors

I made this eye palette back in 2015 (!), and yes, I still love and use it.

Side note: I’m not entirely convinced that one needs to replace their powder shadows as often as brands and beauty mags claim we do. All of the powder products in my palette still work great and don’t smell funky or seem “off,” so I’m going to keep using them, but you know, you do you, boo.

Anyway, I have all of the classic, old-school NARS colors in it, and of all the NARS palettes I’ve ever used, this is the only one I still wear often.

I’m thinking that from this point onward, eye palettes that allow me to hand pick my own colors are the way to go. That way there’s no dead weight!

What have you been loving lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen