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Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 283

February 16th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Tabs is still salty about the Niners losing in the playoffs this month. He thinks they totally should have made it to the Super Bowl, and if they had, he thinks they would have won.

But that’s the nature of sports, right? You can’t win ’em all.

Now he’s all about baseball! He says the Giants are going to win it all, and he even got a new outfit to show his team spirit. Here’s a clip of him modeling it this afternoon… 🙂

Who is Tabs the Cat? About six 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).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addicts,

Karen and Tabs

P.S. Thank you for stopping by. Tabs appreciates it and sends his warmest kitty hugs. Hope you had a nice, relaxing weekend.

Oh, question for you: have you tried any products from the new Terrifically Tabs furcare line?? Inquiring minds want to know… 🙂

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

February 15th, 2014 by Karen 428 Comments

I just want you to know that my hands are numb right now… That’s how cold it is in my house this morning.

Buuuut, I’m also a California weather wuss, so there’s that. The thermostat, which isn’t working because our gas is offline, says 63 degrees.

And I’m freezing. 🙂

See!? I’m a wuss. I don’t even pretend not to be.

Rise and shine, morning glory! Happy caturday! I hope you had good sleeps. I slept pretty well, actually. I’m all bundled up in layers now to keep warm, and I’m trying to figure out what to make for breakfast.

About Last Night…which is the name of the movie El Hub and I saw last night, LOL! We thought it was great. Pretty raunchy at times (it’s Rated R), but it was one of the better rom-coms I’ve seen in a while. All of the characters are well written, and I cracked up laughing a few times. That Kevin Hart guy is a hoot.

Nothing on my agenda for today other than tracking down a better space heater. The one we picked up from Target last night just ain’t gettin’ it done.

While I go put on another sweater and get a cup of coffee, why don’t you enter this weekend’s giveaway? Talk to you soon. Hopefully. If I don’t freeze first, LOL!

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:
- What’s your favorite flavor of Pop-Tarts?
- What’s your favorite romantic comedy of all time?
- Do you like big or light breakfasts?
- How often do you wash your hair (because I haven’t washed mine since Tuesday!)?
- Do you like chandelier earrings or studs?
- Do you ever wear false lashes on your bottom lashes?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, February 17, 2014 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

My Valentine’s Day Face of the…Night With NARS

February 14th, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

NARSissist Palette — Tonight I’m wearing the NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette to the movies

It’s just me and the boys tonight, El Hub and Tabs, per usual.

We were all supposed to go to a movie (About Last Night), but Tabs totally ditched us (no explanation, either), so it’s just gonna be El Hub and moi.

Cats are so rude, aren’t they? After I Fandango’d the tickets this afternoon, I walked out of my office and saw a pile of Louis Vuitton bags by the front door.

I guess Tabs is going somewhere? I kept getting mysterious texts today, too, like one from his car service saying that his “flight is on time.”

Whatev!

I hope the movie’s good… It has a 75% on rottentomatoes. That’s a good sign.

Other than that — and this sounds a little weird — we have to run to Target to get a space heater tonight because our gas line is off. Yup, the contractors who’ve been fixing our siding for the past couple weeks discovered a problem with the gas line, and so we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to stay warm and shower…

Most romantic-al Valentine’s Day ever!

Needless to say, necessity will be the mother of invention tonight. I think we’re going to try to improvise something with a 5-gallon bucket filled with hot water from the stove or an empty 5-gallon spring water bottle.

I feel like this is the kind of situation where chocolate can help… And maybe also caramel.

About my makeup, I didn’t feel too ambitious tonight, so I just went with my default going-out eye look — a brown smokey cat eye with a bright lip.

It’s called lazy girl makeup, yo! 🙂

Thank goodness for the NARSissist Palette. It made getting ready easy, since I didn’t have to go searching high and low for different shadows.

BAM! — it was all right there.

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Welcome to Tenoverten! Home of the Tenoverten Nail Polish Spring Collection

February 14th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Tenoverten.

Doesn’t that sound like the name of a fairytale town?

Tenoverten — where kisses are currency and everyone smiles! 🙂

These are just a few more things I’ll be testing this weekend, these new spring nail polishes by Tenoverten, a brand I’ve never tried.

Aren’t they cute?

The line’s based out of New York, and the polishes are available now at Sephora stores and online at sephora.com for $18 each.

The polishes are 5-free, meaning they don’t contain toluene, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin or campor, and they’re supposed to last and resist chips a good, long while.

We’ll see about that… You’ll be the first to know (after me and Tabs). I’ll be putting them through extensive gravy can-opening tests over the next few days.

Tenoverten Spring — Spring, a pink salmon

Tenoverten Prince — Prince, a pale lilac

Available Now: Forever 21 Premium Cosmetics

February 14th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Next time you find yourself in front of a Forever 21 and think, “Oh, look! There’s a Forever 21,” guess what. Now they have their own makeup.

It’s called Forever 21 Premium Cosmetics, and the full collection encompasses 23 products at some pretty decent prices from $7.80 to $17.80 each.

Here’s a few things I’ll be putting through their paces this weekend…

I think that bronzer looks promising… Got my fingers crossed. 🙂

How To Use the New MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct Line: Tips From MAC Senior Artist Victor Cembellin

February 14th, 2014 by Karen 21 Comments

The new MAC Prep Prime CC Colour Correct collection — The new MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct line, available now

GUUUURL, don’t even get me started about brighting products ’cause we’ll be here for days.

DAYS, I tell ya. Possibly even years.

I’m actually never not looking for something — anything — to give me an extra brightening lift. It’s one of my ongoing personal makeup missions. 🙂

When MAC’s new Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct line came out last week, I was intrigued! — but admittedly confused.

I wasn’t sure where to start… I mean, lavender powder? Yellow face lotion?

What gives? And what are they for?

I asked MAC Senior Artist Victor Cembellin, who I’ve known for a few years, about the new products, what they do, and the best ways to use ’em.

Hi, Victor! What can you tell me about these new Prep + Prime CC Colour Correct products? Should I be intrigued?

OK, so, essentially, what’s kind of awesome about these is that products like this have been on the market for many years, but what I like is that we’ve sort of re-worked them into something entirely new.

MAC Prep + Prime Colour Correcting SPF 30 — Prep + Prime Colour Correcting SPF 30, $30 each

Obviously, these are for adjusting skin tones. The CC is for “color correct,” but what’s exciting about them is that whereas in the past, there was this sort of mentality from the consumer of, like, if I grab this green cream and put it on top my red cheeks, everything’s going to be gone and Photoshopped and all that.

MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correcting Products in Adjust — Adjust, a sheer apricot

I think what’s exciting about these particular products is how delicately we used the technology to our advantage to make them really workable, user friendly, and into something that actually does what it claims to do, which is to color correct the actual tones and the idiosyncrasies of the skin.

MAC Prep + Prime CC Colour Correcting Products in Recharge — Recharge, a sheer apricot

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What Was the Last Skincare Product You Finished All the Way Down to the Last Drop?

February 14th, 2014 by Karen 57 Comments

Hmm…Good question. It was this lovely bottle of Amore Pacific Treatment Enzyme Peel (lens flare added for dramatic effect).

It’s the gentle exfoliating face wash ($60, unfortunately) I’ve been using in the mornings off and on for about a year, alternating it with Neutrogena’s much less expensive All-in-1 Acne Control Daily Scrub, and I really like them together as a combo.

I finished my bottle of the peel a couple weeks ago, and I think my skin misses it…

I first found out about it from one of the gals at Sephora who recommended it to help with my chin acne, which was acting up at the time. She said it was something that many of her clients with problem skin raved about, so I picked up a bottle right then and there.

From the get-go, I loved it. Loved the floral scent, loved the way it didn’t leave my skin feeling scratchy or tight after I washed with it in the morning, but didn’t really love the price. Because it was also pretty expensive, I almost gave up on it.

My skin slowly improved over the next few months using this with Neutrogena’s All-in-1 scrub, Kate Somerville’s Anti Bac Clearing Lotion, Skinceuticals C E Ferulic and Sunday Riley Good Gene Treatment. I’d also made some adjustments to my diet, which I think helped.

But this — this is my favorite gentle exfoliating face wash.

Note to self: restock this bad boy, ASAP!