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Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 567

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Tabs wasn’t simply content being a seafood lover. He loved fish so much that he wanted to know everything about it. He wanted to know everything there was to know about fish because he loved it so much.

In fact, among his many careers, he was a sushi chef, a professional bass fisherman and bass fishing lure designer, a marine biologist, and he also starred, of course, in the hit Hollywood superhero movie Aquacat.

While studying for his dual degrees in fashion design and marine biology at the University of Novato, Tabs developed the world’s first SCUBCC (self-contained underwater breathing cat collar), but it hasn’t seen the light of day (yet) because there was some drama with the estate of Jacques Cousteau…

Hopefully we get it worked out one of these days because it’ll revolutionize undersea kitty exploration as we know it. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, August 17th, 2019

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mama cat
Well hello there. (Yes, this is the mama cat I met last week!)

G’morning, sweet girl!

First things first: Welcome to the weekend. ?️? I know you probably want to use it to get stuff done, but don’t forget to take some time to take care of *you* today, even if it’s just 15 minutes sitting in your air-conditioned car listening to music (now THAT’s my idea of “me time”) or going to the mall for a couple hours to do some window shopping.

Short and sweet Saturday Surfing today because I’m on Uber mom duty, driving Connor Claire to her various toddler appointments, which include two play dates — one with another human child and one with a cat.

Even though I can’t stop comparing her to Tabs (this is normal, I’ve been told), that mama cat I met last week at the home of a friend who’s also a kitty foster mom and I have been getting along just fine, I think. Now Connor’s going to meet her today, and I’m hoping they get along, too.

Coywolf will probably make a beeline for the mama cat’s kittens, and will probably beg and plead for one, but the plan is to say that they’re all spoken for… That’s the plan, in theory, at least, ha ha!

On to today’s reading…


You know I’m gonna have to go there, right?


Yes, please.


In case you missed the ’90s…

Tell me something good, cat ladies! ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Sonia Kashuk Demi Lash Curler, and the Quest for Lifted Outer Lashes

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sonia kashuk demi lash curler
The Sonia Kashuk Demi Lash Curler, $9 at Target

First thing I’m going to do after I return this to Target and get my $9 bucks back is go to In-n-Out for a vanilla shake… Then, I’m going to pour a little out on the ground to mourn my lost homies (otherwise known as “the lashes that unexpectedly fell out when I tried using it”).

I’m also going to order a bucket of fries and a cheeseburger to comfort myself, since I can’t get back the minutes I lost this week trying to actually curl my lashes with the thing.

Why was it so hard to figure out how to properly angle the black rubber pad along the outer corner so it nestles the base of my lashes…? And why did it pinch my skin every time I clamped down on the curler?

OUCH!

I eventually figured out that if I squint my eyes and lift my lid with a finger, I can get down to the base and give the curler a good squeeze, but even then, the curler only bends the base of the lashes ever so slightly, and those few curled hairs relax back into their natural straight state within minutes.

Y’all…this thing just doesn’t work.

But I’m not about to let it rob me of my curled lash dreams. My desire to find that elusive tool that’s able to lift that outer fringe, coupled with the spark of hope (and perhaps another double cheeseburger?), will continue to fuel me on this beauty quest.

We will prevail, people!

Until then, extra fries and ketchup for everyone. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.
TGIF!

I Hauled These Two Victoria’s Secret Scents to Keep Mosquitoes Away From Me

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victorias secret amber romance
When your beauty decisions are motivated by insects ravaging you at night…

This may look like your standard-issue “Oh, there’s a two-for-one body splash sale at Victoria’s Secret, so lemme go hook that up” kind of haul.

Totally not.

Instead of being motivated by a good deal (which is my usual motivation for spur-of-the-moment beauty buys), this purchase was brought on by tiny monsters.

Specifically, flying insects.

Specifically, insects that buzz around your house and sink their proboscis into your unsuspecting flesh in the middle of the night. I’ve been getting devoured by what I think are mosquitoes…

THANK GOD. And I say that because for a while there I thought they might be bed bugs. But now I’m pretty sure they’re mosquitoes.

I think it’s because the contractors who replaced our furnace, water heater and AC left the front door open the whole day they were here. Consequently, a gaggle of mosquitoes came into my house, and they’ve been biting me at night.

I’ve got bites around my ankles, on my feet (Fun fact: Mosquitoes love the scent of feet.), on my back, my tummy, on the backs of my shoulders… I’ve been very itchy, and it hasn’t been fun.

A few days ago, I started using a real-deal mosquito repellent containing picaridin at night, and it keeps them away for 14 hours. It’s helped a ton — no new bites! — but in the process of researching how to make yourself less appealing/more disgusting to the little monsters, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of information about two Victoria’s Secret scents that allegedly repel bugs.

People talk about this stuff as if it’s manna from heaven as far as keeping bugs away, and fisherman and deep-sea researchers go on and on about it. It’s Victoria’s Secret Amber Romance, and it’s supposed to be the bee’s knees at keeping gnats, mosquitoes and other flying insects away. Even the dudes on the Louisiana State Baseball team swear by it!
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A Small But Life-Changing Makeup Tip (Hint: It Has to Do With Your Sharpener)

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makeup pencil sharpener

I’ve talked about the misery inflicted by my makeup pencil sharpener before, but I’m no longer livin’ that messy life, because I recently figured out how to make it perform better by — novel idea here — cleaning it!

The solution I stumbled on has two parts. First, I ditched my Make Up For Ever, and UD Grindhouse, sharpeners for the no-frills Sephora sharpener shown at the top. It doesn’t have a built-in enclosure to catch the shavings, but that actually forces me to toss the shavings in the trash after every use.

Those enclosures never seem to stay affixed very well anyway, and they burst open no matter how many rubber bands I wrap around them.

Second, and this part is key, I swipe the blades clean after every use. To facilitate this, I keep baby wipes from Costco around and usually end up using one of those, but makeup wipes, a clean Q-Tip, tissue or a cotton pad (either soaked with a little makeup remover, or just dry on its own) work too.

Doing this ensures that there aren’t any errant makeup particles floating around, and consequently no transfer of color between eyeliners and lip pencils.

Seriously, why did this never occur to me before?! Oh, my gosh…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Adventures in Long-Lasting, Sweat-Proof Makeup (and a Shout-Out to Urban Decay)

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long lasting makeup top
Anatomy of an (easy) long-wearing makeup look!

I wore makeup to the gym for the first time in forever yesterday (There was a reason… More on this in a sec.), and guess what? It led me to develop a list of go-to sweat-proof long-lasting makeup products that I know won’t budge an inch, even after an intense 60-minute HIIT class!

Not that I ever wear a full face when I exercise, but it never hurts to be prepared, right? At least now I know what to grab if Sydney Cummings ever asks me to do a workout video with her.

long lasting makeup products
The go-to gang

I think having a number of sweat-proof, water-proof products on hand is a good idea for people who do performances (dude, those stage lights are HOT), or if you’re going to be a guest at a destination wedding in a tropical locale, or if you’re going to Vegas to sit by the pool — basically, any situation where you know you’ll be sweating and you don’t want your brows/lashes/lips to melt off.

long lasting makeup before
The before pic: Let’s get sweaty!

Anyway, the reason this particular makeup challenge came about was because my HIIT teacher asked me to be the “member of the month” at the gym for September 2019.

Being member of the month entails having your picture taken, which will appear on a big ol’ poster in the middle of the gym (EEK), and answering some exercise-related interview questions.

long lasting makeup after
The after pic: Makeup after a 60-minute HIIT workout

We did the picture part during Monday night’s class, and that included some action shots of me sweating (and hopefully) looking somewhat cute with makeup on, even in that terrible overhead florescent lighting.

Sweating in progress…
long lasting makeup after
Brows still in place, YES!

I used the least amount of product I could get away with because I didn’t want to be wearing layers and layers of heavy makeup. Also, most of the items I used were from Urban Decay, a line with a solid reputation for long-wearing makeup.

BROWS

I’ve noticed that filled-in brows make all the difference in pics, so I used Urban Decay Brow Blade Waterproof Pencil and Ink Stain in Dark Drapes to fill them in (pencil first, then the ink).

By the end of the workout, the drawn-in tail on my right brow had faded ever-so-slightly, which wasn’t surprising, really, with the amount of sweat that was pouring out of me, but both brows remained more or less intact.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 587

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mac lipglass swatches
Big glossy kiss on this Monday!

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. Liquid or powder foundation?

    Oh, liquid. For sure. Ideally, Estée Lauder Double Wear or MAC Studio Fix (which is my fave liquid foundations at the moment), but anything I can mix a little Strobe Cream into will do.

    2. A perfume you loved “way back when”?

    In college (so this was the ’90s), I went through an intense Gap “Grass” phase that lasted a solid six months, and then right after graduation, I was all about Victoria’s Secret Heavenly for I can’t even remember how long (it was a while).

    Lots of other fragrance phases, too, of course…

    3. Lipgloss or liquid lipstick?

    Hmm… That’s tough choice, because there are so many long-lasting, comfy liquid lipsticks available now (Hello! — Honest Beauty), but when it comes down to it…the convenience of gloss — the convenience of being able to slick a lipgloss on my lips wherever and whenever I want to, gives gloss the win for me.

    4. How successfully do you think you could pull off a bowl cut?

    Not at all successfully, HA HA HA! It would be 50 shades of cray up in there, I kid you not. My wavy hair tends to go big if left to its own devices. Plus, the shorter I cut it, the unrulier it becomes.

    Seriously, if I had a bowl cut situation, it would not go well!

    5. If you could appoint anyone in the world to clean your makeup brushes, who you would choose?

    This is a very difficult decision, because how does one choose between Keanu Reeves and Sir John?? ?

    OK, in all seriousness (not), I’d have to go with Sir John, because perhaps he could teach me his wise makeup ways while he swished the dried up foundation from my Real Techniques buffing brush.

The secret to getting stuff done

At long last, I’ve figured out the secret to productivity! It’s…(drum roll please) PUTTING ON A FACE MASK.

(You think I’m joking, but I’m totally not.)

If you absolutely need to sit your booty down to research bathroom paint (satin or semi-gloss?) or to balance your checkbook, but you’d rather be chillin’ in bed looking at cat pics on your phone, here’s what you need to do, in five easy steps:

  1. Wash your face
  2. Exfoliate
  3. Slather on that face mask
  4. Set your timer for 15 minutes
  5. Do the damn thing

Next thing you know, you’ve gotten your project underway, and after you’ve rinsed off your mask, you’re ready to tackle the rest.

I may or may not have just done this, by the way, ha ha ha!

Happy Monday to you, friend. ?

Just a quick reminder, in case you need to hear it today: You’re brave, you’re tough, and you’ve got this.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon!

1. Liquid or powder foundation?
2. A perfume that you worn and loved in the ’90s?
3. Lipgloss or liquid lipstick?
4. How successfully do you think you could pull off a bowl cut?
5. If you could appoint anyone in the world to clean your makeup brushes, who you would choose?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 566

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You know how the notion of balance is big these days? Balance at work, balance at home, work-life balance, balancing life, love, career? Well, Tabs was big into balance way before it was en vogue.

In fact, one of his first jobs was working in the Marin County Circus. It was there he learned to tune out distractions, focus his chi, and achieve the perfect poise and balance that propelled him to the top of the kitty modeling world.

He only left because he wanted more from life than the circus could offer… Mostly he wanted to wear better clothes and have a bigger closet.

So, one day he just packed up and left…

I’m glad he did, because the time he spent traveling and seeing the world shaped him into the great cat he was.
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