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So…what is the Monday Poll?

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past 11 (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. You get the chance to play either the hero or the villain in a major motion picture. Which role do you choose?

Ooh! Villains usually have better hair and makeup and costumes. And snappier one-liners. But I’d go with the hero because I’m going to go ahead and assume that the movie is gonna be a blockbuster hit, and I’d prefer to not have strangers who can’t distinguish between me and the character yell at me in public for no good reason.

Deep down in my heart, though, I’d always wonder what it would have been like to play the ? villain, because that would have been the role I REALLY wanted…

2. What’s the last beauty-related thing you did?

I just trimmed my fingernails with a nail clipper, and I don’t have the words to accurately describe the sheer magnitude of my relief right now. I cannot STAND it when my nails are even a micrometer too long. Short, short, short is the only way I can make it through life.

3. Would you rather eat nothing but raw celery for a week, or plain, cold tofu? (And you have to pick one. You can’t choose “neither.”) Note: Keep in mind that you can’t dress up your food, either. No accouterments like peanut butter, cream cheese, sauces, salt, pepper, spices, and no blending it into oblivion in a Vitamix. Nothing. Just plain old celery or cold-@ss tofu.

Eeegh. OK…I’d go with the tofu. I think I’d still be hungry all the time, but I’d probably be less hungry than I would be eating nothing but celery.

4. If you could choose to do anyone’s makeup in the world, whose makeup would you do?

Hmm… It’s still early, and I haven’t had enough coffee yet, so I don’t feel particularly profound or philosophical right now, but I’ll say…Pat McGrath? The one time I met her, she seemed pretty nice, so I’m thinking that she could tell me all the stuff I was doing wrong (or right), so it would be a good learning opportunity.

5. Would you rather walk around all day long wearing uncomfortable underwear (to clarify, this would apply to both your bra and your undies), OR with a really annoying pebble inside your shoe?

Blergh, the underwear I guess… I can deal with ill-fitting bras and underwear, but a pebble in my shoe? OH, HELL NO. I can’t do it!

Happy Monday

Well, looks like I’m busting out the waterproof mascara because it’s raining here in Nor Cal (this one by MAC is my fave, by the way).

You have a good day today, ‘k?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy and paste with your answers in a comment:

1. You get the chance to play either the hero or the villain in a major motion picture. Which role do you choose?
2. What’s the last beauty-related thing you did?
3. Would you rather eat nothing but raw celery for a week, or plain, cold tofu?
4. If you could choose to do anyone’s makeup in the world, whose makeup would you do?
5. Would you rather walk around all day long wearing uncomfortable underwear (to clarify, this would apply to both your bra and your undies), OR with a really annoying pebble inside your shoe?

Yay, spring! ? It’s almost here, and the signs are showing. ?? Granted, it really didn’t feel like spring at all this week because I had to mummify myself in multiple layers every time I stepped outside, but the world is starting to wake up after its slumber.

Buds are starting to bloom, and the cherry blossoms ? are gearing up for their spring debut. Pretty soon their branches will be lush, bold and bright.

I hope the weather is nice enough to spend a little time outside there today. I’d love to go for a walk with you. I love going for walks on the weekends. Or maybe we could just sit on a park bench in the sun for a few minutes and read.

Which reminds me…

• Girl, if you haven’t seen Black Panther yet, go see it. Hands down, my favorite comic book movie ever, but I don’t just think it’s good for a comic book movie. If you like action-packed stories and strong women, stunning sets and costumes, complex character arcs and authentic dialogue and villains that don’t just hate everything because “they’re evil,” go see it (and I’m usually not even a fan of Marvel movies). I spent half the movie marveling (haha) over the makeup, and this in-depth look at the lighting and makeup on the set was my favorite article this week.

  “Over the past decade, post-production CGI technology has given editors seemingly unlimited power to tweak scenes that have already been shot. No such luck for lighting and makeup: if a scene is dark when it goes into post-production, or someone’s makeup isn’t perfectly suited to their skin tone, software can only do so much. Even worse, because today’s cameras are so insanely accurate, even the tiniest makeup slip shows up on screen. ‘Some of this stuff you wouldn’t see with the naked eye can be spotted by the camera,’ says Siân Richards, who was Chadwick Boseman’s personal makeup artist on the film.”

• While we’re on the topic of Black Panther, this is how Oscar-winning makeup designer Joel Harlow (he won for 2009’s Star Trek) created the scars on big baddie Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan.

  It started with a body cast and good old-fashioned red pencil!

• (Last Black Panther story, I promise.) Michael B. Jordan’s hairstyle in the movie is currently trending.
• Speaking of hair, does it really keep growing after you die? Is it healthier to skip shampooing? This hair scientist tackles six common hair myths.
• Someone found some of George Washington’s hair in an 18th century almanac. Yup, we have some of the fab Founding Father’s luxurious mane. Which leads me to wonder, “Um, why?!”

  Apparently, keeping a lock of hair from someone you admired, like a president, wasn’t creepy back in the day. It was cool. In the 18th and 19th centuries, locks of hair were kept as keepsakes to give to friends, romantic partners and the relatives in charge of your family’s hair wreath (yes, this was also a thing).

• It’s happening… A matte version of MAC Fix+ will be hitting shelves soon. Boom.
• These 11 mascaras get mad love from reviewers on Amazon. I wanna try the one called “It’s So Big.” (Side note: get your mind out of the gutter.)

OK, I’m off to go get a drink of water now because I’ve turned into a person who sets alarms on her phone to remind herself to chug H2O every hour.

Basically, the air’s been crisper and drier than usual lately, and it’s kicking my skin’s butt.

On that note, don’t forget to hydrate! And don’t forget to smile. ? It’s Caturday, after all.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen