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

This is the last week of Connor’s first year of preschool.

Wow! I can’t believe it’s already June. It feels like I took a breath, and BAM! — she’s a full-on little kid.

Over the past year, Coywolf has discovered a love for ballet, drawing and counting. Her favorite things are currently Disney princesses, her collection of “treasures” (unusual rocks, coins, dried flowers and sticks), fishing with Dad, and slumber parties with Mom.

She’s also still obsessed with Doc McStuffins and has gone so far as to open her own medical clinic for toys in the living room, where she also occasionally tends to human patients with the help of her magic stethoscope.

Having a doctor on staff sure has come in handy, too. Yesterday she took El Hub’s temperature, and he had a fever of 199 degrees!

Apparently, he had a bad case of Mondayitis, which she promptly added to The Big Book of Boo-Boos.

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 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. Fruit OR vegetables?

Ooh! Tough one… I have a sweet tooth, so I generally prefer the taste fruit, but I always feel so much better, both physically and mentally, after I eat a massive bowl of vegetables…so I’d go with veggies, if I had to choose one.

2. Ulta OR Sephora?

You know I love me some Sephora…but I gotta give it to Ulta because of their variety (I really like that I can get MAC and drugstore stuff there, and I know that some Ulta stores even carry Chanel, which is awesome!), and I also think they have a waaaay better rewards program.

3. Have you ever had a pet who disliked your significant other?

Nope. Also, Tabs loved El Hub to pieces. Anytime El Hub called his name from anywhere inside or outside of the house, Tabs came running.

4. Wearing perfume or cologne while you’re working out in a public place: a do or a don’t?

It’s a do! Go for it! I certainly don’t mind when someone lifting weights next to me smells really good. Just please don’t douse yourself to the point where your Drakkar Noir fills every square inch of the room, thanks.

5. Do you like your water with or without ice?

With ice. Yummy tasting ice. I have zero tolerance for ice that tastes weird (you know what I mean if you’re the same way). I also like ice because I love biting down on it, for some weird reason.

Don’t know why, but it’s very satisfying to me.

Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California

My birthday trip to the coast last weekend was tons of fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Hearst Castle. All my years in California, and I had no idea just how huge and opulent and…huge it is. It’s huge! In fact, the tour we took, referred to as the Grand Rooms tour, is just one of many tours available of different parts of the estate. We didn’t even see the upstairs of the castle!

I highly recommend seeing the castle if you’re ever visiting that part of California. It’s a truly remarkable architectural wonder.

(Oh, yeah, and there are also wild zebras.)

Hiya, friend. Good morning from beautiful Cambria on the Central California coast. I’m here for a few days for a short birthday trip. Hearst Castle is 15 minutes away, and we’re headed there for a tour soon.

I’ve had this quote from Coco Chanel bookmarked for a while, and it’s been on my mind for a couple of days because I’ve been thinking a lot about gratefulness. When I remember to be grateful for everything and everyone in my life, the lighter my soul feels and the fuller my well becomes.

And it’s not just about being grateful for the good things. That’s easy. I think it’s harder to remember that even the challenges in life are chances to learn, so I try to remember to don my gratefulness goggles to learn how to be more empathetic, kinder, patient and graceful.

Speaking of things I’m grateful for today and every day… Thank you for stopping by. I know that you could spend this moment on your weekend reading anything you want, but you chose to stop by MBB, and that’s a precious gift — the gift of someone’s time, and I’m so grateful for it.

• Is it just me, or is Target doing a major push to expand their beauty section? It seems like every week they have a new line I’ve never heard of before. The latest is London-based Makeup Obsession, a brand known for affordable, pigmented products. Their Gloss is about $6, palettes are between $10 and $15, and highlighter is $5.
• These are the best makeup vanities, according to interior designers. Some of them are decently affordable, too.
• In case you were wondering what a memoji is…
• My makeup boo, Sir John, has a new collection collab coming out with a Disney Lion King movie theme.
• 4 makeup artists break down their personal skin care routines
• And because I’m not-so-secretly obsessed, here are 12 of Meghan Markle’s favorite beauty products.
• This is what happens when you empower an AI neural network to name cats.
• The state of New York has banned declawing cats.
• Does one really need sunscreen for their hair?

Oh, and before I leave for a bit, FYI, just in case you didn’t know, if you tell a three-year-old little girl who’s obsessed with Disney princesses that you’re going to “Hearst Castle,” she’s going to repeatedly ask if she’s going to meet Belle, Jasmine and Cinderella. 🙂

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

As I sit here, with sweat pouring down my face, my body feeling worked over, and my legs and arms and legs completely useless — dagnabbit, I feel good.

Actually, more than good. I feel great. Even though my rubbery limbs have been utterly defeated, I think I could still sprint across a football field (IF I had to chase down Keanu). This is what it’s like to do a workout with fitness trainer Sydney Cummings on YouTube. At the end, you’re completely spent, but your spirit is totally energized.

I’ve been doing Sydney’s videos for a couple weeks, and I’m hooked!

Sydney’s a certified personal trainer, a nutrition specialist and a former university high jumper, and her workouts are THE BEST I’ve found on YouTube.

She posts a new workout every day (!), and there are dozens to choose from. Every session is different, which keeps them interesting and always makes them a challenge. She does a combination of HIIT (high-intensity interval training), bodyweight (exercises that use your own weight to provide resistance against gravity), cardio, stretching, and weights workouts, and every one — whether it’s 30, 40 50 or 60 minutes long — leaves me dripping in sweat and feeling strong and accomplished.

The videos — not gonna lie — are definitely challenging, but Sydney often shows modified versions of specific movements for newbies (which I appreciate, because some days I need to take it down a level). She also thoroughly describes how to position your body and what your muscles should feel like as you move through each exercise.

The time flies, too. The workouts are over quickly because you’re working hard at a decent clip, usually with 15-30 seconds of rest every 30-45 second burst of hard effort. I did a 50-minute boot camp style video this morning, and even though it REALLY challenged me (bear crawls!) from start to finish, it was like I blinked, and it was over. I never feel like the classes drag on because they keep you moving.

Most of all, I really appreciate Sydney’s positive, upbeat style. She’s positive, but not, like, in an overly perky faux saccharine sweet way, and she pushes you hard, but it makes you believe you can push through those last few reps, even when your limbs are quivering like salt shakers.

Even though I’m just in my living room when I do the videos, usually at some obscene time in the morning, I feel like Sydney is with me, personally guiding me and encouraging me to push through my limits.