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Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 822

July 21st, 2024 by Karen 1 Comment

Rosie, as one of the world’s leading cat scientists, is still hard at work on the development of a new element to add to the Periodic Table. The symbol is expected to be CHKN.

Now, I don’t know how much you know about science, but this is kind of a big deal. Yeah, according to Rosie, CHKN is supposed to be delicious. It’s super tasty, and it’s also very lightweight, so one could, for instance, eat a big bowl of it without gaining an ounce.

The research was going great until about a week ago, and now it’s at a standstill.

Rosie thinks it’s because she needs a better microscope…

Marnie has been trying to help. She also works in the lab. But Rosie is a tough boss, and Marnie just mostly tries to stay out of her way.

Rosie hopes to be able to give CHKN to the world. That’s why she’s working so hard. She doesn’t want the research to go to a big conglomerate like Foster Farms. She wants to make CHKN easy and affordable for everyone.

And if she could gain a little recognition and, frankly, more treats for being a cat who’s able to do nuclear chemistry, that would also be great.

It hasn’t been easy, though. This CHKN is a tough egg to crack.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Nor Cal Beach Day

July 20th, 2024 by Karen 2 Comments

We’re packing up the car and taking Marnie to the beach again to help her with socialization. It’s a good place for her to practice being around new people and dogs.

FYI, this is what going to the beach looks like in Northern California. It’s overcast, a little chilly and you’re wearing layers upon layers upon layers. Sometimes the sun does come out, but it’s usually in the afternoon and only if you’re lucky. LOL!

Gray beach days like this remind me of my childhood, when we’d jump into the water no matter how cold it was. We were just thrilled to be near the ocean.

What are you up to on this lovely summer Saturday?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I took these pictures last week before I cut my hair. I’m finally realizing just how long it was, holy moly!

Big Chop

July 19th, 2024 by Karen 38 Comments

Connor and I are bouncing out the front door in a second, but I just wanted to say hi and let ya know that I did a big ol’ choppity-chop yesterday afternoon. It was kinda premeditated but also unexpected! I thought I was going to get a small trim and non-crisis bangs (you know, the kind of bangs you request when you’re relatively sane and not under duress), but then I remembered that it’s just hair and it grows back. Plus, change can be good!

I hope your Friday is filled with lots of love and joy!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

7 Things Beauty Enthusiasts Love

July 17th, 2024 by Karen 4 Comments

1. When beauty staples go on sale

I especially love it when I can get a deal on the things I tend to use every day, like brow pencil, tinted moisturizer and mascara!

2. When eyeliner matches on the first try

Oh, and those rare moments when the outer flick is perfectly positioned evenly on both sides? GOLD!

3. That moment after blending out your favorite blush

You know the feeling when you step back and you see yourself in the mirror and your face lights up? Love it.

4. Those rare moments when you spritz a scent and know immediately that perfume bottle is coming home with you ASAP

This has happened to me only a handful of times. I gotta say, each scent ended up being magical and playing a pivotal role during key parts of my life.

5. That glorious feeling after applying that first coat of mascara

What a difference lashes make! When I see myself in the mirror with mascara on, the change is so dramatic that sometimes I wanna say to myself, “Oh, there she is!”

6. The satisfaction of soft heels…

… after using that parmesan cheese grater contraption on your feet.

Honestly, I know it’s kinda gross, but I live for it.

7. Removing all that makeup at the end of the day

As much fun as it is to paint one’s face, there’s also something super satisfying about taking it all off at the end of the day too. Go figure!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 839

July 15th, 2024 by Karen 16 Comments

rainier cherries — Life is just a bowl of cherries

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. Laura Mercier or Urban Decay?

Hard choice as I like both for different reasons. Right now I’d lean more towards Laura Mercier.

2. Your top 3 favorite summer fruits?

Rainier cherries, watermelon and white peaches. SO YUMMY!

3. Sparkly eyeliner: yes or no?

Sure, why not?

4. How do you like your bagel?

Lightly toasted with a few dabs of Kerrygold salted butter.

5. How are you feeling today?

I’m feeling a little sleepy but otherwise in good spirits. I’m hoping today will fly by quickly at work because I’ll be back in the office again this week. It was nice working from home for a hot second, le sigh!

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. Laura Mercier or Urban Decay?
2. Your top 3 favorite summer fruits?
3. Sparkly eyeliner: yes or no?
4. How do you like your bagel?
5. How are you feeling today?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 821

July 14th, 2024 by Karen Leave a Comment

So, the back deck has been more happenin’ since Marnie started interning here at the company. You know how it is, though. Interns may mean well, but they’re still learning the ropes, so they tend to make a few…boo boos. In Marnie’s case, she’s made a few interesting gardening decisions. Like, by digging holes. She keeps digging holes in my potted tomato plants, and it’s driving me crazy!

Thank goodness for this awesome DIY irrigation system we put in last summer. It gives the plants a fighting chance while Jr. Assistant Gardener Marnie Madonna hones her green thumb. 🙂

So, while those of us of the bipedal, humanoid variety were in the islands last week, Rosie kept herself busy here at the home office, of course. Not only did she keep the business running smoothly, she also found time to invent a DIY irrigation system to keep our potted plants properly hydrated.

Sure, she could have used the watering hose, but that would have been too easy! 🙂

Here’s the gist of it: Everything’s available from Amazon, and the components are pretty affordable. Everything here can be purchased for about $75 dollars and be reused for many years. It combines a mini submersible water pump like the kind used to circulate water in a small aquarium, with a simple WiFi smart plug. You place the small pump into a bucket or other container of water, run some irrigation tubing from it to each of your potted plants, poke some holes into the tubing where you want the water to spritz your plants, and control everything from your phone with a smart plug app! You can even set an automatic schedule. Like, Rosie set hers to run for 30 minutes every morning.

A large tote like the one Rosie used here holds more than enough water to keep a handful of large potted plants happily hydrated for two to three weeks. When we got back from Hawaii, our tomatoes were going off! The bushes were bursting with bright red deliciousness. 🍅 Thank you, Rosie! 🙂

Note: The wine bottle watering spikes in these pics were from a previous effort to automatically water our plants. Rosie wasn’t too thrilled about how well they worked. They did alright for a couple days, but then they were empty, which is why she developed her WiFi water pump method, which could last a whole lot longer.

Here’s what you need:

The pump Rosie recommends has an automatic shutoff in case the tote or bucket it sits in runs out of water. She said the whole thing is really easy to set up, but give yourself a couple hours to cut the tubing, which you can easily do with a pair of household scissors, and poke the little holes into the tubing with a sewing needle. You can use little pieces of duct tape to cover up any holes in the tubing you decide you don’t want to use.

The Kasa smart plug Rosie used isn’t outdoor rated, so this one works best if it isn’t exposed to rain. Kasa does make a fully outdoor smart plug if you need one.

It’s a good idea to cover the water container you use, especially if it’s going to be left outside, because of, you know, MOSQUITOS. No one wants to come home to a billion hungry bugs.

Small plastic stakes are available that you can use to keep the tubing off the ground, but they really aren’t necessary. You can use a rock or something else to position the tubing and keep it where you want it.

You may, and probably will, also need an extension cord, because the submersible pump only has about a 4 ft. long power cable. Here’s a pretty good one.

At the very end of your tubing, you may want to crimp or fold the last inch or two of tubing and hold it crimped with a rubber band. If you don’t do that, that last plant in the line will probably get a lot more water than everything else — probably a lot more water than it needs. Crimping the end will increase the water pressure and the flow rate to the needle holes you make elsewhere in the tube.

Happy watering! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Cream, Powder, Liquid or Gel: What Makeup Texture Do You Wear the Most?

July 13th, 2024 by Karen 4 Comments

The other day I was playing a game I like to call “fill up the beauty shopping cart” where I put all the things that catch my eye into a virtual cart just for fun. You know what I noticed? Most of the things on my makeup wish list are creams or gels.

These days I’m very particular about how easy things are to 1) apply and 2) blend. If I can dab or swipe it on and smooth the edges with a finger or a fluffy brush, I’m there. Anything that involves precise application is too heavy a lift for me right meow.

It’s different from what I used to like wearing 10 or 15 years ago, when I was all about powder eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers, etc.

Baby Karen back in 2014 would be absolutely shocked that I currently don’t wear face powder. These days I set everything with Urban Decay All Nighter, and I’m fine if and when my makeup shifts and changes throughout the day.

Crazy how things change, right?

What makeup texture (or textures) do you wear the most? Are you a straight up powder kinda girl like I was back in the day, or do you do a mix of this and that?

Oh, and just for funsies, this is what I put in my cart:

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturizer in Wheat: They recently reformulated this product and I’m curious to see if the new version is any good.
Chantecaille Cheek Gelée in Lively: LOVE their gels! I used to love and wear the shade Happy.
Trish McEvoy Instant Eye Lift: I used to wear this years ago and I remember loving it. I’m going to go back to it now that the color corrector that I love from Hourglass appears to be discontinued. I wear shade 2.
Westman Atelier Face Trace in Truffle: I have a couple of Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Sticks and they have incredible wear time. I’m betting that their stick bronzers last just as long too. I mainly want to use the bronzer as an eyeshadow though, so I’m thinking that the mini size will eventually make its way into my makeup bag.

I hope you’re having a joyful and relaxing Saturday so far! The heatwave that’s had a grip on Northern California seems to be subsiding, so I’m going to try to spend some time outdoors today with the fam bam. We’re thinking of taking Marnie to the beach, although now that I think about it, I’m realizing that I’m going to need to do a lot of puppy cleanup when we get home because she’ll probably get sandy and wet. Hmm.

What are you up to today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

7 Things Cat Ladies Try to Avoid

July 10th, 2024 by Karen 4 Comments

bite beauty papaya nars dolce vita — Cat lady life, yo! This is the comfy, cozy, cat hair friendly Cat Love Tee from connorclaire.com

1. Getting that third cat

Because every cat lady knows the third cat is the gateway cat to EVEN MORE CATS.

2. Clothes that don’t match your cat’s fur

Unless you want to carry a lint roller everywhere, go with a color palette that matches your best feline friend’s fur!

3. Being caught out in the wild without any cat treats

How are you supposed to lure those strays home without any treats in your purse?

4. Not knowing the names of all the cats in your neighborhood

Bonafide cat ladies know all the first (and middle and last names) of all the cats in the immediate vicinity because how your cat (or cats) need to know their enemies.

5. Throwing away the tuna juice

Maybe this is just a me thing? Perhaps. All I know is that if I even think about tossing the tuna juice from a can, Rosie would cut me with a quickness.

6. The cataccessories section on Etsy

Honestly, you can end up with one too many jaunty caps for kitties if you’re not too careful. Yes, I speak from experience!

7. Falling asleep without a kitty cuddle

Cat ladies know that they must always offer their feline overlord a cuddle or two or twelve before going to bed, otherwise they will suffer the consequences.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen