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

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 319

April 21st, 2014 by Karen 31 Comments

The Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll for April 21, 2014

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

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

Ponytails — high or low?
Low ponies (LOL! Sounds like a bummed-out horse) because they don’t give me headaches as much as high ponies, although I do like the look of a high pony. I think they’re very elegant and chic.

So both, I guess. High and low ponies. 🙂

List all of your leopard-print shoes, clothes, mugs, bags, scarves, furniture, cat collars, etc.
Hmm… Surprisingly, I don’t actually have as much leopard print as I’d like. I have a…
- Pair of high heels, which are a tad too high for me, so I don’t really wear them… I just like to look at them.
- A scarf from Target that my mom got me for Christmas
- A pink vinyl leopard-print makeup bag
- A baggy leopard-print sweater from Target…with the face of an actual leopard on it
Wow, that’s it… Not as much as I thought. I think this is something I must rectify ASAP.

Do you do music festivals like Coachella?
Not really. When I watch a concert, I like to be sitting on the couch with the Tivo remote so that I can pause for bathroom and snack breaks and don’t have to wait for two hours standing up for the headliner to start.

LOL! I’m so grumpy.

Have you ever had a rain-related hair or makeup mishap?
I’ve definitely had hair mishaps, like the time I’d just gotten my hair blown out stick straight in the city, and it started raining like crazy. Of course, I didn’t have an umbrella…

Which of the following do you use: hair dryer, curling iron, flat iron, waving iron, hot rollers?
D., all of the above.

The hair dryer and curling iron most often.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. Ponytails — high or low?
2. List all of your leopard-print shoes, clothes, mugs, bags, scarves, furniture, cat collars, etc.
3. Do you do music festivals like Coachella?
4. Have you ever had a rain-related hair or makeup mishap?
5. Which of the following do you use: hair dryer, curling iron, flat iron, waving iron, hot rollers?

Last weekend hanging out with my family over Easter I really thought a lot about counting my blessings. Life is very short, and everything is temporary, and I see that much more clearly as I get older.

I think it helps to take a moment from time to time when you feel stressed out to close your eyes and think about some of the things you’re grateful for. It helps prevent any potential meltdowns/orange alert incidents.

Have a good week, my friend.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Easter Noms, Crazy Hair

April 20th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Seriously. I have been eating all day long!

First, a yummy Easter brunch with my in-laws at Hilltop 1892.

I had the veggie egg scramble with asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, with home fries and fruit on the side…

Then, with my tum sufficiently primed, it was off to the East Bay to have Easter Lunch at my parents’ house.

Lumpia, which is a kind of Filipino (vegetarian in this case) egg roll

Observe the crazy hair…

It’s El Hub’s fault.

Sort of.

See, whenever we have somewhere to be by a specific time, El Hub, knowing that I often run a few minutes late getting ready, says that we have to leave the house about 15 minutes before when we actually have to leave…to compensate for me running late.

Only thing is, he made the mistake recently of actually telling me that he does this. So, now when he says, “Sweetie, we have to be out of the house by 9:45,” I automatically give myself 15 extra minutes to get ready, haha!

Except that this morning he didn’t do that, and when he said that we had to leave the house by 9:45, and I secretly thought the real time was 10, it wasn’t. It really was 9:45, so when 9:45 rolled around and he said, “OK, babe, it’s 9:45. We have to go,” I was like, “Ummmm… I thought I had 15 more minutes?”

So, yeah. I had to rush through my hair and makeup this morning.

Hence the crazy hair.

To make a short story long, LOL!

Everything worked out fine, though. It was a great day. I hope yours was too. 🙂

30 Days of NARS: Super Orgasm Lip Gloss, Day 11

April 20th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

Nicely done, NARS. Bravo.

I really like this new incarnation of Super Orgasm Lip Gloss. It seems much more pigmented to me than the O.G. version, so yay/yea to that!

This one’s number 11 of the 30 shades in the recently revamped NARS Lip Gloss line (available now).

The 30 Days of NARS series features a different NARS Lip Gloss every day

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 292

April 20th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Happy Easter, my friend. 🙂

I’ve always liked Easter because it’s spring and there’s this sense of renewal, and the world has come alive again. And I like that it’s a day of family, and you gather together to spend time with each other and share a meal or two.

Tabs likes Easter, too. He even commissioned this fancy desktop wallpaper, which you can put on all of your computers and gadgets — you know, to celebrate his awesomeness and his side job working as an Easter bunny (except in his case he hides makeup instead of painted eggs).

Do you have any plans for brunch or anything? El Hub and I are going to brunch with his parents and then driving out to the East Bay to spend some time with my folks. I’m looking forward to doing LOTS of eating.

Have a great day today, whatever you’re up to.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Who is Tabs the Cat?
About seven years ago I befriended a stray, flea-bitten tabby cat with a bad case of worms. I could see he’d fallen on hard times, but his profound knowledge of high fashion and department store cosmetics led me to believe that he was more than meets the eye. We became fast friends, and now he’s actually my boss (and a successful kitty model).

Desktop

iPad

iPhone

Resolutions

Saturday Sightseeing in San Francisco’s Chinatown

April 19th, 2014 by Karen 7 Comments

My in-laws are visiting us this weekend and wanted to visit Chinatown, so we all drove across the bridge into the city, parked at Union Square and walked down Grant Street, which is the main street in Chinatown.

When we got hungry, I Yelped a place called Hong Kong Clay Pot Restaurant (OMG, the walnut prawns… To die for! I also inhaled an entire plate of their Chinese broccoli with garlic.), which was really, really good and affordable.

From there we walked back to Union Square, which is a few city blocks away. I thought it might be fun to take my mother-in-law to the MAC Pro Store at 45 Powell Street and treat her to a lipstick.

She ended up falling in love with the new Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Fearless, a sheer, soft pink.

Of course, I couldn’t leave empty-handed, so I picked up Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Staunchly Stylish, a pinkish beige that works great with pink and peach lip colors. 🙂

A view of the Transamerica Pyramid, one of the iconic buildings in the SF skyline

I love the color and designs on these bracelets. Wouldn’t they make a great lipstick?

30 Days of NARS: Striptease Lip Gloss, Day 10

April 19th, 2014 by Karen 7 Comments

Striptease, baby!

I use NARS Striptease ($26), a classic milky, peachy nude gloss, more as a layering lipgloss, because on bare lips, like I’m wearing in these pics, it likes to shimmy down into my lip lines…

Still pretty, though, and I love that subtle glitter. 🙂

It’s available now with the rest of the recently revamped and reformulated NARS Lip Gloss line.

The 30 Days of NARS series features a different NARS Lip Gloss every day

7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

April 19th, 2014 by Karen 334 Comments

Rise and shine, pal o’ mine! It’s going to be a beautiful day. 🙂

Happy caturday to ya. I hope you slept well and did a little recuperating from the week. Did you have any good dreams that you remember? Or any weird dreams?

I can’t recall if I did… I hope so.

Oh! — get this: your nephew tabby was unusually affectionate this morning. Before I got out of bed, he was all up in my grill, giving me headbutts galore with slow blinks and purring loudly.

Yes, it was a nice way to start the day.

In other news, dinner with my in-laws last night. We had a good time. If you’re ever out this way and craving Italian food, I can’t recommend Fabrizio’s enough (aren’t those food pics on the website gorgeous?). It’s a family-run place right downtown near lots of little shops and cafes along the boulevard.

Well worth a trip across the bridge if you live in San Francisco, and after dinner you could walk a block down the street and catch a movie at the Lark.

I think Larkspur is an underrated gem out here in Marin County. Sausalito gets tons of attention, but people sometimes forget about Larkspur.

Good luck in this weekend’s giveaway, and if I don’t catch you again before tomorrow, have a very happy Easter. 🙂

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- Do you live on a farm?
- Do you ever play card games or board games? Which are your favorite ones?
- How many pets do you have, and what are their names?
- Do you watch TV or listen to music while you exercise?
- Quick! — what’s the first lipstick that comes to mind?
- What’s your favorite makeup bag?
- Are you a gal who’s handy around the house? Do you ever use power tools?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, April 21, 2014 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.