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

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 752

by 2 Comments

So, with all the rain we’ve been getting here in “sunny” California, we’re way overdue for some rainbows.

We gotta be getting some good ones soon, which is great, because Rosie is an excellent rainbow tracker, as was her mentor, Tabs.

One of the things Tabs prided himself on was his ability to locate gold at the end of rainbows… He was a real pro at it. 🐱

In fact, we used that gold to fund many of his philanthropic endeavors.

Rosie

Rosie, too, has an aptitude for rainbow tracking, although she’s still working on the gold part.

But I’m sure she’ll figure it out. She’s been studying March meteorological patterns and reading up on Leprechauns this weekend, so I expect her to find a pot of gold soon.

Maybe it’ll happen on St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️

I hope so. You can do it, Rosie! Good luck! 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Dance Competition Day!

by 8 Comments

Two girls wearing NARS Dragon Girl

Hi, friend. Today is the day I like to do Saturday Surfing, but I’m going to have to do a raincheck for now. Connor has her first dance competition today, and I’m in the midst of making snacks and packing all the things.

I was up to my eyebrows with a bunch of deadlines this week (which is why I’ve been MIA) and have yet to tell you that I finally got around to buying a stick of NARS Dragon Girl! HOORAY!

Connor will be wearing it on stage, and I’ll be wearing it in the audience to show my support for her and the dance team.

Have a great rest of your Saturday, and I hope you and yours are feeling rested and happy.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

How Well Do You Do Bangs?

by 9 Comments

Me and my bangs circa 2015ish

I think it depends on the bang style. Like, if I ever did them again, I’d go with curtain bangs or some sort of fringe that could grow out easily without any drama.

Oh, and I would only do them if I could hop in my car and drive somewhere 10 minutes MAX for a bang trim. I’ve learned if it’s challenging in any way to get to the salon, then I might as well forget about upkeep.

new hair february 2021
Lots of layers and curtain bangs in 2021

I don’t think I do blunt bangs particularly well. My hair doesn’t naturally want to be flat in the front; I remember spending a lot of time corralling pieces so they’d go a particular direction. When I had blunt bangs, they ALWAYS wanted to go the opposite way, or fluff up in a manner in which did not please me. LOL!

bob, bangs and pink hair
A bob, bangs and pink hair back in 2012…

Anywho, bangs. They’re on my mind these days because I’ve working on a hair project lately, and I’m also overdue for a haircut. I’m thinking the curtain bangs might need to come back again? I dunno. Decisions, decisions!

How well do you do bangs?

Share your best/worst bang moments in the comments.

Talk to you soon!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Caboodle Grip! | Wander Beauty Sunkissed Getaway Palette | Kitty Cupcakes

by 4 Comments

This is Connor’s birthday Caboodle, and it’s filled with jewelry and makeup. 🙂

Can somebody please explain the hold that Caboodles have on us? Well, at least the hold Caboodles have on me, ha ha ha!

I know technically it’s just a cute plastic box to hold makeup and miscellaneous doo-dads, but for some reason I feel a strong emotional grip whenever one is around. Maybe it’s because my Caboodle was such a big part of my formative years.

Ahh, makeup. I put some on today because I had a video meeting to present a big marketing deck (yup, I wrote it!), and nothing seems to soothe my nerves like a little bit of face paint.

I’m wearing taupe, brown, bronze and peach shades from the Sunkissed Getaway Eye and Face Palette by Wander Beauty. It has a bunch of eyeshadows and cheek powders for breezy bronze looks. If you’re the type of person who likes shadows that don’t make you work too hard, you might like it.

Please note the chocolate brown liner on my water lines, which is Cave gel liner by Hourglass. Pretty, yeah? I like the richness of the pigment, and how it’s not too red. Stays on all day, too. I think I found a new staple!

I have a number of deadlines on Friday, so I gotta get back to it. Before I head out though, these are the cupcakes I made for Connor’s cat-themed birthday party at the Marin Humane society.

The girls kept asking of the cats were edible, LOL! (They totally were, by the way.)

I debated long and hard between frosting them the night before or the morning of the party, which by the way, started at 10:30. Side note, if you have to plan a two hour party for a child, and they give you a choice between a morning or afternoon slot, morning is the way to go IMHO. I prefer taking Connor to morning parties because that way we still have the rest of the day to do other things, and if she’s still hungry after the party, we can go directly to lunch.

Where was I? Oh, frosting. I wasn’t sure when to frost because the frosting was buttercream which I made from scratch, and it contained heavy whipping cream and butter, so I wasn’t sure if I could leave them out overnight.

I asked my buddy Allison from my bakery days what to do, and she suggested frosting them the night before, popping them into the fridge, and then taking them out in the morning first thing so they could come to room temperature before serving, which is what I ended up doing.

Just some cupcake FYI for ya from a professional baker!

Happy Wednesday to you, and I hope the rest of the week treats you kindly.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 771

by 14 Comments

Freesia, one of my favorite spring flowers. Happy 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 more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. A book series you enjoy?

Do two books constitute a series? A few years ago I read a couple of related books by author Martha Hall Kelly, “Lilac Girls” and “Lost Roses,” both which I loved.

More recently I liked “The Winternight Trilogy” series by Katherine Arden. I finished “The Bear and the Nightingale” and “The Girl in the Tower.”

2. Have you ever worked on a farm?

No, I haven’t. I sometimes wonder if I’d like it. I probably would.

3. An all black outfit or an all white outfit – pick one to wear today.

All black everything, girlfriend! You know how we do it!

4. Would you ever do skinny brows again (assuming you lived through it already)?

You know I always like to keep my options open, but in this case, I wouldn’t do it.

Back in the day skinny brows were a big pain in the butt to maintain, and I figure at this point, if I tweezed my eyebrows off again, they might never come back.

5. Pick a color of pastel eyeshadow: pink, yellow, orange, blue or green.

Let’s go with pastel blue, with a matte black liner on top with a tiny flick at the end.

6. Where would you rather get a tattoo: the front of your neck or the back of your hand?

I’m not a tattoo person (too fickle), and I’d rather not subject myself to pain unless it’s absolutely necessary, so both of these are nightmare scenarios for me.

If I had to choose, I guess the back of my hand. UGH. Something very small and kinda cute on the chance it might even grow on me. Actually, I know myself way too well. I’d make an appointment to get it lasered off a day or so after living with it, ha ha ha.

7. Which would you rather wear: a glossy, grunge-y eye or a super dark matte brown lip?

A glossy grunge-y eye sounds fun. Now where’s my oversized plaid shirt and my combat boots?

8. Clear mascara — your thoughts?

It has its uses, although for my lashes these days I’d prefer black mascara. If I had a tube around, I’d use it to tame some cowlicks. They’ve been EXTRA lately!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. A book series you enjoy?
2. Have you ever worked on a farm?
3. All black outfit or an all white outfit – pick one to wear today.
4. Would you ever do skinny brows again (assuming you lived through it already)?
5. Pick a color of pastel eyeshadow: pink, yellow, orange, blue or green.
6. Where would you rather get a tattoo: the front of your neck or the back of your hand?
7. Which would you rather wear: a glossy, grunge-y eye or a super dark matte brown lip?
8. Clear mascara — your thoughts?

P.P.S. Hi there, my beautiful friend. I realized two things this morning! First thing: Daylight savings is on Sunday, so hooray for longer days. Secondly, spring is on March 20. I’m so looking forward to both.

Keep smiling and enjoy the rest of this beautiful day! Sending a big hug your way.

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 751

by 1 Comment

Hi, friend. Happy Sunday to ya. 😊 You know what? I was just sitting here at my desk thinking about what to do for today’s installment of Sundays With Tabs. This is volume, or installment, number 751 (!).

Can you believe it? Wow. Wow! Sometimes it hits me just how many weeks we’ve been meeting here on Sundays like this. Seven hundred and fifty one — that is incredible!

Anywho, for the life of me, I couldn’t recall the very first one, so I looked it up. Apparently, this was it! What follows is a reposting of volume number one of Sundays With Tabs from waaaaay back on August 31, 2008, thousands and thousands of pictures and millions of words ago.

What a long time ago it was…

Sundays With Tabs, Vol. 1

Every morning and night a cat shows up meowing at my door. I’m not sure if he’s my cat because he just sort of showed up one day about a year ago, but I give him love, feed him Friskies, take him to the vet and let him use my makeup. Basically, he calls the shots.

While he’s kind of a diva, he’s also one of the most creative cats I know. He taught me a lot about Photoshop. This morning he insisted that I post a gallery of some of his favorite pictures. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted.

Tabs in his favorite chair (used to be my writing chair)…

Tabs, with some nail polish he stole from me…

Barbie loves Tabs…

[Continue reading…]

Saturday Surfing, March 4, 2023!

by 6 Comments

Happy Caturday, my friend. The last of Connor’s seventh birthday celebrations is happening at the Marin Humane Society t-minus three hours, which means right after Saturday Surfing, I’ll be assembling cat-themed cupcakes.

A funny thing happened with the buttercream frosting, which I made from scratch using this recipe. Somehow it ended up the exact same shade as my sweatshirt…

This week’s reading


Just add plaid shirt.


YES!


I want to try this.


Say what?

I hope that your Saturday is off to an amazing start and that you’re doing something fun this weekend.

Take care and talk to you soon!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Seven Years Old

by 23 Comments

Happy birthday, sweet girl.

My not-so-little bean turned 7 today, and in the grand tradition of growing up, she insisted on doing a silly pic to mark the occasion, LOL!

Goofy face!

This morning, I woke her up by singing “Happy Birthday” to her first thing, and then she opened up her birthday cards and presents while she ate breakfast.

We’ll have her annual birthday lasagna tonight along with cake! Her actual birthday party with her girlfriends, though, will be on the weekend. She wanted a cat-themed fête, and we found the purr-fect place to host it — the Marin Humane Society. MEOW!

When your love language is lasagna.

Time really does fly when you’re having fun!

Big love and happy, happy birthday to all the March babies out there. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Copyright © 2025 Makeup and Beauty Blog. Get in touch.