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Buying Beauty Backups: Do I Really Need to Have Extras Sitting Around?

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trader joes rose oil ultra moisturizing hand cream backups
I know they’re around here somewhere…

OK, now…I’m going to start doing something that may sound kinda cray to my fellow lovers of lotions and other beauty products, a.k.a. MY PEOPLE, but I don’t think I’m going to keep beauty backups around anymore.

Wait, wait! — I mean, I’ll have to make a few exceptions, like for the skin care I’ve used daily since the last Ice Age, like Kate Somerville Anti-Bac and my Clarins cream, but I don’t really think I need to keep that many other extras in the house. Most of them just sit around taking up wasted space and money.

Granted, it feels good to always be prepared in the event of a skin care or makeup emergency (they happen), especially for products I trust and love, but one thing I’ve learned about beauty products is that there’s always usually something comparable out there that’s probably as good as if not better. Newer technology, new colors, new formulas — there’s almost always an alternative out there somewhere, and I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me sooner (it probably did, but I forgot), but my preferences are also constantly changing. What I love today, I might not love (or need) tomorrow.

My skin is also changing, my style is changing, my life is changing, my budget is changing, and some of the things I used to swear by a few years ago just don’t suit me anymore.

BTW, this revelation happened on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s.

Freakin’ TJ’s, man! I noticed that their rose hand cream is back in stock.

trader joes rose cream 2019
It’s baaaaaack.

You may remember this, but when it launched last year, I lost my damn mind for it and bought five tubes, no joke!

Standing in the store this week and looking at that shelf filled with more boxes of the same hand cream, I thought — holy crap! — I still have most of the spare tubes I got last year, and they’re still unopened. I’ve only used two of them, and that’s because TJ’s released a ginger-scented hand cream a few months later, which I consequently fell in love with as well, so I got distracted. Then, of course, there were other hand creams and lotions from other brands that I wanted to try…

Basically, I didn’t have to hoard five tubes last year.

makeup backups
Backups I found in just one drawer…

When I got home from the store, I checked the drawer where I keep my makeup and beauty product backups, and for the first time in years I really took stock of what was in there. I found three tubes of Make Up For Ever HD Concealer, which I used to love but no longer use because I rarely wear full-coverage these days. I also found an old Smashbox Photofinish Primer, BECCA Backlight Primer and an Hourglass Veil Primer.

Like, no kidding, there were so many things in there that have been there for years and haven’t been touched. I’ve wasted a lot of money on backups of things I no longer use that are now probably expired, and I’m not going to do that anymore.

My makeup style has changed so much over the past decade (I’ve been wearing less makeup because I’m tired and have time constraints), and I’m also at the point where I know that if something I love is going to get discontinued or changed in any meaningful way, life will go on, and I will be able to find something else to replace it.

Karen five years ago would be shocked, I’m sure, but I don’t want to keep backups around anymore unless I’m sure it’s for something I’ll use before too long. That’s my plan and I’m stickin’ to it!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Bay Area Beauty Love: H2O+ Beauty

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Yay for the Bay! In this series, for the month of February 2019, I’ll be featuring products from and around my stomping grounds, the San Francisco Bay Area.

Why, yes, it amuses me to no end that whenever I need a tropical ?? scent fix, the brand I usually turn to (H2O Plus) isn’t located someplace tropical. Instead, it’s based in San Francisco.

I have no idea why this is so funny to me. ? I’m way too easily amused!

H2O+ Beauty has been a fave of mine for ages. I actually started using them back when I lived in SF in the early Aughts (back when I was all about the Milk lotion). Now I turn to them mainly for body products, like shower gels and lotions, but they also have a few really great skin care products too, like their $20 hydrating gel Elements Keep It Fresh Face Cleanser for normal to dry skin. I love using it after I work out because it totally takes care of the sedimentary layers of sweat without drying out my cheeks, which is no easy feat!

But my “go-to” items from the brand, by far, are the Coconut Verbena Body Wash ($18) and Body Butter ($22). I get them whenever I see them on BOGO at Ulta (which is often, and right now there’s a buy-one-get-one at 40% online). The scent is my favorite tropical scent whenever I’m going through Hawaii withdrawals like I am now.

It’s beachy without the standard sunscreen, piña colada or sweet pineapple notes. It has a strong bright lemon verbena tone that lifts it up and gives it a citrus-y vibe that’s very refreshing, but there’s also a plumeria note, so you aren’t walking around just smelling like lemons, LOL! The coconut is perfection, too, because it smells like freshly cracked coconut as opposed to that artificially sweet coconut candy.

Between the pair of them, my alligator limbs stand absolutely no chance. I am mois-tur-ized!

Chunky braid saves the day

I’m back from the party! I ended up going with a messy, chunky braid, and it turns out that it was the perfect thing for making the grays look purposeful. I did a deep side part to show off my silver highlights. ?
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Product Spotlight: It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara

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it cosmetics superhero
The bomb dot com (but there’s a trick to it)

There’s a new superheroine in town (THIS girl) thanks to this mascara’s crazy insane curl hold. I’ve been wearing It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara for the better part of the past two months because the curl hold is simply out of this world, and even though the formula isn’t technically waterproof, it might as well be in at least one way because the hold is just as good as any waterproof mascara I’ve tried.

I’m talking long, luscious black lashes with wide-eyed, locked-down CURLS. FOR. DAYS. Boom! — instantaneously dramatic lashes.

I wore it to coffee with a girlfriend a couple weeks ago (hey, Fern!) and cried about, oh…five times during the conversation. (It was one of those emo visits. You know how it goes sometimes.) When I looked in a mirror afterward, I expected to see something completely different, but this mascara hadn’t budged or smudged at all.

In Hawaii I also wore it to the pool and beach a few times, and it lasted surprisingly well there, too, despite it not being classified as waterproof, which is something I’ve been trying to avoid lately, because I’m convinced that wearing full-on waterproof makes my lashes fall out more easily.

it cosmetics superhero
That’s two layers of Superhero on the lashes on the left eye (my right) and bare lashes on the eye on the right.

Here’s where things get a little complicated, though: To get this mascara to do the wonderful things it can do, you’ll have to work with it a while, because the already-thick-to-start formula thickens up even more over time, and once it has, you won’t be able to just swipe two coats on your lashes and ride off into the sunset with Keanu Reeves.

Now, after having used mine for about two months, whenever I draw the wand out of the tube, the brush loads up with an obscene amount of mascara. Like, I’m not kidding, enough mascara to coat five sets of lashes!

So you gotta take the time to remove the excess if you want to unlock this mascara’s riches. I’ll either run the brush across a paper towel, or I’ll unload the excess on the edge of the tube. If you don’t, brace yourself for a clumpy mess.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Growing Out My Grays: Chapter 2

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karen gray hair four months
FYI, Salt-N-Pepa’s here.

It has been four months since the last time I dyed my hair, and I believe that I’ve reached the point when almost everyone who grows out their grays says that they want to attack something. Or someone. In other words, the point when it gets really hard.

Last week I came *this* close to booking a last-minute color appointment. Multiple times.

The biggest challenge has been figuring out what to do about my hairline, because I have a lot of gray there, and the hairs are ever-so-slightly coarser, and therefore more unruly, than the darker hairs.

Back when I was dying my hair and would find an errant gray shooting for the stars and striking out on its own, I’d just pluck it…but now I’m like, “What’s the point? It’s just gonna grow back anyway.”

Now, though, those errant hairs are also FOUR INCHES LONG. Honestly, it’s just so comical. I spend half the time laughing at myself and the other half wrangling the grays into place (a.k.a. getting my hair to look like I’m not being electrocuted). I wonder if I’m ever gonna feel good about my hair again…

Oh, and last night I barely averted hair disaster after watching a couple YouTube tutorials on how to cut your own bangs. I was standing in my bathroom with the scissors against my bangs, all set to CHOP-CHOP-CHOP. It was all happening in slow motion, too. Thankfully, I had just enough sense left to stop before it was too late. Slowly, I set down the scissors and backed away from the mirror.

MAH HAIR. IT’S DRIVING ME CRAZY.

On the bright side, I really like not having to dye my hair anymore. That part is liberating, but the growing out part is mostly just a pain in the @ass.

karen gray hair four months
They have a mind of their own!

Here’s something weird: Depending on which way I part the front of my hair, I either see a ton of gray or very little. Like, if I pull my hair back into a ponytail, I can really see the salt and pepper coming through. Same if I do a deep side part. But if I part my hair down the middle, or just slightly off center, I barely see any.
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When It Comes to Makeup, Do You Believe You Get What You Pay For?

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Does budget imply poor quality?

I think there’s just so much good makeup out there, so there isn’t a hard and fast rule to assessing quality at different price levels. I also definitely don’t feel that expensive automatically means better (see this affordable drugstore cream shadow and this $8 eyeliner). Whichever the case, drugstore or high end, I think you’ve gotta dig to find the gems.

But oh! — there’s LOTS of treasure out there, and I like uncovering makeup gems at any price point…although I do have to admit that I cringe at the thought of paying $$$$ for a mascara nowadays, even if it’s bomb.

(Skin care, though? That’s another story… ?)

I know that some folks eschew drugstore makeup for different reasons, like having been burned before by budget products that didn’t live up to the hype. I have a friend who only wears MAC because everything she’s ever tried from a drugstore makes her break out. Everyone is different, and everyone has different needs, likes, budgets and different access, depending on where they live and their closest makeup counters.

What about you? Do you think you get what you pay for when it comes to makeup? And do you think there’s a difference between “cheap” and budget?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. RIP, Uncle Karl. Tabs has lost a mentor and the world has lost an icon.

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 564

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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. What’s your go-to Bath & Body Works scent?

At this exact moment in time, I don’t have one right now, but I was ALL ABOUT Juniper Breeze back in the day.

2. Cold hands or cold feet?

During the daytime? Cold hands. Always. My hands are always cold during the day, but then they warm up at night, and it’s my feet that get cold.

Weird.

3. Would you rather hitchhike alone or jump from a moving vehicle? (Assuming, for some strange reason, that you have to pick one.)

Huh. Well…I wouldn’t hitchhike voluntarily, because I’ve seen way too many horror movies on the open road, and I just bet that even if the most gentle-looking older woman stopped to offer me a ride, she’d probably try taking me home to bake me in her human-sized oven.

I’d rather jump from a moving vehicle and risk breaking multiple bones!

4. Have you ever bought yourself flowers?

Heck yeah, girl! Of course I have. Don’t wait for someone else to get you a bouquet ? when you need one. Get those Trader Joe’s peonies for your damn self!

5. Last thing you got on sale?

I got myself a pair of Quicksilver slippers (also known as flip-flops) in Hawaii, and the nice cashier hooked me up with the kama’aina 10% off discount.

Happy Monday (and Presidents’ Day here in the U.S.)

That book up there at the top ☝️ was my bedtime reading last night. I got it from the library a couple weeks ago to read to Connor, and now I have commandeered it for myself. ?

Technically, it was written for girls eights years old and up (so I qualify!). I feel like it was written for me, though. There’s a section called “making the first move” that talks about how hard it is to relax when you don’t really know a new person, which basically describes me at EVERY MOMS CLUB EVENT I’VE EVER GONE TO.

I feel like this book should be required reading for every person who wants to make new friends, whether they’re kids or adults.

Wherever you are and whatever you’re up to, my friend, have a good one today! ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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

1. What’s your go-to Bath & Body Works scent?
2. Cold hands or cold feet?
3. Would you rather hitchhike alone or jump from a moving vehicle? (Assuming, for some strange reason, that you have to pick one.)
4. Have you ever bought yourself flowers?
5. Last thing you got on sale?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 541

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Once upon a time, there lived a handsome tabby supermodel in a village called Novato. One day, the tabby asked his assistant if he could visit his agent who lived in a village on the other side of the forest, and his assistant said, “Of course, Tabs. You have a non-exclusive contract and can visit your agent any time you want, but please be careful, and don’t dilly-dally, because the forest can be a dangerous place. Go straight there, and text me when you arrive so I know you’re alright.”

“Sure, sure,” said the tabby. “Peace out.”

But when the tabby noticed a bird’s nest high up in a tree, he forgot his promise to his assistant. He watched the birds flit about, listened to some chirping and even attempted, unsuccessfully, to climb the tree.

The tabby was enjoying the day so much that he wandered off the trail and became lost.

He tried retracing his steps, but that only led him in a circle. “Man, this sucks,” said the tabby, “and I can’t even get a signal on my phone!”


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Saturday Surfing, February 16, 2019

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Hey, hey, Caturday! Good morning. ? I’m reporting live from my bathroom today because I am out of eye cream…and it’s very distressing to me, because this appears to have happened suddenly, out of nowhere.

After hearing people rave about it for months, I bought a bottle of what I thought was a relatively large amount of Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream back in November, and I feel like I’ve only been using it for two seconds, but it’s gone. IT’S COMPLETELY GONE.

So I’m officially out of eye cream [SHUDDERS].

Like, how did this even happen?? I’ve been conservative with the C-Tango, too. I don’t even do a whole pump. I use half a pump!

Agh!

And that’s only part of the issue. What really bugs me is that this came out of nowhere. I usually keep a backup of mission critical items (like eye cream) on hand just in case, but I couldn’t tell how much of this one was left. There’s no way to tell from the bottle.

I mean, I like it as an eye cream well enough, but I’m not a fan of the packaging.

OH EM GEE.

Wait — I’m having a revelation. If I MacGyver this situation…

YES! I just popped off the top using brute force, and there’s a tiny bit left on the cap that I can grab with a Q-tip. ?

But now I’m REALLY sad because it’s officially gone.

While I go mourn the loss of my last eye cream, please enjoy the following links…


I really want to try that L’Oréal foundation.


My girl!!


This looks like fun, and I love her tropical pink pants.

I might go back to the Fresh Black Tea eye cream now… I remember using it and liking it…and it lasting A LOT longer than this Drunk Elephant one did.

If you have an eye cream recommendation, BTW, please do tell! I desperately need one. ?

On that note, have a great rest of your weekend. Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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