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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. Your thoughts on colorful eyeliner?

Love it. Love wearing it. I do tend to gravitate toward darker jewel tones like green, navy, purple and the occasional burgundy, rather than more adventurous “out there” colors like true red, lime green or neon yellow… Way back in my yonder days, I used to love a shot of bright teal on my upper lash line, but the last few times I tried it (and this might all be in my head), I felt like it looked…like I was trying too hard.

2. Warm reds or cool reds?

Cool reds please! The ones that border on fuchsia.

3. Are you able to now (or have you ever been able to) do a backflip?

Oh, hell no.

4. Is face powder/setting powder a non-negotiable for you?

It was for me in my 20s, a.k.a. back in my oily skin days, but I try to skip it when I can now. If you can get away without it, I say skip it or use the absolute least amount.

One less thing to do…

5. Something you recently learned that you like?

I don’t mind kale chips…as long as someone else makes them. When I make them at home, though? Two words: soggy leaves.

Colorful liner week?

Hi, friend. ? Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

OK, can we talk hair for a sec? — because I’m looking at myself in the mirror now, and all I see are half a dozen scraggly gray hairs sticking straight up at crazy angles, and I think I need some help getting through this part of the growing-out-the-gray process…

I’ve heard that everyone who grows out their grays hits a point when they think their hair looks completely ? bananas for a while, and I’m officially at that point.

Ugh…

I’ve reached the multiple ??? bananas point… I cried about it half the day yesterday.

I know, I know, it’s just hair, but this is a big change for me, and I’m struggling with it, because right now when I look in the mirror, I don’t feel like I’m seeing myself.

Lying awake in bed last night, I kept reminding myself that it’s just a phase. How can I can get through it gracefully? Then it occurred to me… How about bright pops of color? Some gals who grow out their gray tweak their makeup to go with their new hair, so maybe a colorful liner instead of the neutrals I’ve been wearing the past few months might help? Maybe a green or blue cat liner would distract me from staring at those white hairs.

So that’s my makeup plan. Anyone down to embrace colorful liner with me this week?

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. Your thoughts on colorful eyeliner?
2. Warm reds or cool reds?
3. Are you able to now (or have you ever been able to) do a backflip?
4. Is face powder/setting powder a non-negotiable for you?
5. Something you recently learned that you like?

Morning, friend.

So…movies. I’m at the point in life where it takes me three days to finish watching a movie at home. I’ll watch them in bite-sized chunks on my couch, a few minutes here and there between loads of laundry and making dinner.

Last night I finished a good one called Eighth Grade, and it only took me two days! Could this be progress?? Maybe by summer I’ll be back to actually finishing a movie in a day, ha ha!

But I digress…

I liked this one a lot. It’s fictional, but it’s very true to what I remember being an eighth grader was like. The main character, Kayla, perfectly captures the awkwardness and hopefulness I remember feeling throughout middle school.

Those years were rough, man! And can I just say bravo to the filmmakers for featuring a main character with acne and eighth graders who actually look and act like eighth graders? Even though the movie is set in 2017, it still captures how I remember feeling back then. All the memories came flooding back! — the feeling of being on the edge of something, not quite a child but not yet a teenager either.

Give it a shot if you have some time this weekend. I found it on Amazon Prime.

But before you press ‘play,’ your weekend reading…

• See, this is why I never accept drinks from strangers, even at fancy spas. You could walk out with a $22k bill, OMG!
• Fave read of the week: Washington DC-based makeup artist Carl Ray does makeup for some of the most influential women in politics.
• How Hollywood artists transformed the hair and makeup for some of the stars (including Christian Bale) of the biggest movies last year.
• The history of leggings…
• And how they became the most controversial members of the pants family.
• Speaking of leggings, these black leggings allegedly rock, AND they’re supposed to look like real pants. Um…sign me up?
• How the 10-step Korean skin care routine changed American skin care.
• The Fenty effect is a real thing, and now it’s happening in skin care.
• Peep these skin care innovations of tomorrow, including a wand that supposedly removes dark spots right before your eyes.

What happens when you Konmari a massive makeup collection…

Because I’m listening to Lizzo 24/7 right now

And because I still secretly believe Keanu and I will be married someday

Yes, THAT Keanu.

Oh, yeah, one more thing about that movie (Eighth Grade)… I’m no longer allowed to use young people slang, because I had to google “Why do kids say Gucci?” HA HA! I’m officially one step closer to retreating to the tomb in my pyramid with all of my cats and worldly belongings.

Have a good one!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen