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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 more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Last thing you read?

Ugh, I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I just read an article online about the couples from “Love Is Blind Season 3,” a reality show I binged-watched on Netflix recently. Have you seen it? It’s BANANAS.

2. Cook a meal or order take out?

Depends on how tired I am at the end of the day! Lately, though, I’d much rather cook a quick meal at home because takeout is too salty.

3. What color is your hair right now?

Salt and pepper black and white with random pieces of reddish brown that peek through when the sun hits it.

4. What’s on your nails?

Lately OPI You Sustain Me (a creamy mauve) has been my boo.

5. Something you’ve been craving lately?

Sinigang na baka, which is a type of Filipino beef stew.

6. Do you cut your cuticles?

Nope. My mom used to cut hers back in the day and it just seemed like a lot of work.

7. What was it like growing up as the youngest/oldest/middle or only child?

I’m the oldest of two (it’s me and my brother, who’s six years younger), and for the most part being the oldest was really tedious. My parents were stricter with me, and the the expectations they had for me were soooo different compared to my little brother, who seriously got away with everything. Overall, though, being the oldest was alright. It’s nice not having to deal with an older sibling bossing me around.

8. What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

We’re keeping it mellow this year — just me, El Hub and Rosie will be chillin’ here at home. I might make a seven-layer dip. Or I might not. We’ll see!

9. Something you learned last week?

If it’s an option, buy the travel insurance, especially if you’re traveling with a kid. Also, eating chips makes me feel terrible afterward.

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. Last thing you read?
2. Cook a meal or order take out?
3. What color is your hair right now?
4. What’s on your nails?
5. Something you’ve been craving lately?
6. Do you cut your cuticles?
7. What was it like growing up as the youngest/oldest/middle or only child?
8. What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
9. Something you learned last week?

P.P.S. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, I hope that your Monday is full of sweetness and light! Have a wonderful day and a peaceful Thanksgiving week. STAY HEALTHY! 🤗

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. What emoji do you use most often?

❤️❤️❤️

2. Something you’re currently watching?

“The Crown” on Netflix.

3. If you could hop on a plane today and go anywhere on a trip (with all expenses paid, of course), where would you go?

Kauai, for sure. I could use a chill vacay by the beach.

4. Whom do you live with?

Rosie-Pose the Destroyer (our resident feline), Connor Claire (my daughter) and El Hub (my partner in crime).

5. A favorite snack?

One can never go wrong with honeycrisp apples and brie. YUM!

6. Do you bite your nails?

Nah, never really understood the appeal.

7. How comfortable are you being by yourself?

Very! In fact, I crave time alone, and if I don’t get enough of it, I start to feel a little off.

8. How often do you shampoo and condition your hair?

Up until about a month ago, I would wash and condition every day, but recently I started doing it every other day. It’s been too cold! I’m also hoping that washing less will help with the hair damage and loss I’ve been experiencing in the past year.

9. Write yourself a nice note.

Oh, Karen! I love you so much. You’re doing great, and I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished.

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. What emoji do you use most often?
2. Something you’re currently watching?
3. If you could hop on a plane today and go anywhere on a trip (with all expenses paid, of course), where would you go?
4. Whom do you live with?
5. A favorite snack?
6. Do you bite your nails?
7. How comfortable are you being by yourself?
8. How often do you shampoo and condition your hair?
9. Write yourself a nice note.

P.P.S. Have a joyful and productive day, my friend! Happy, happy Monday. 🤗

Well, hi there Caturday! It’s good to see ya.

Yes, that’s me next to a rug. I finally bought one for the dining room. Please excuse the crazy hair! It felt like I was wrestling an alligator when I was getting it into my car because surprise — rugs are freakin’ heavy! OH MY GOSH. I had no idea. Also, it’s very hard to drive with a rug next to your head for some reason. I don’t know why, but it just is.

In order to prep for the purchase of the rug, of course I had to do another Google Slideshow, LOL!

Did you know there’s all kinds of rules involving selecting the correct rug for your table? Seriously, why don’t they teach people this stuff in school? One day you’re dancing until 3 a.m. at the club and totally carefree, and the next you’re married with a kid, and you have to buy a rug for the dining room and have absolutely know clue.

Anywho! This is the rug I bought. I didn’t want to spend too much on a rug in a high traffic area, and I also wanted to be able to return it easily in case it didn’t work out. I also wanted to touch and smell it first because apparently stinky rugs are totally a thing. Again, who knew? I certainly didn’t.

Enough about my home decorating woes. What are you up to this weekend?

This week’s reading

• Three derms weigh in on products that are allegedly “Botox in a bottle.”
• Which is better — ceramides or hyaluronic acid?
• Why you should care about repairing your skin barrier and how to do it.
• Exosome therapy is a thing.
• So is “gray blending.”
• Designing a perfume bottle that’s just as covetable as the scent inside is important to perfume houses.
• Speaking of fragrance, here are eight books about perfumery.

Side note: I’ve read “The Bear and the Nightingale,” and it is indeed AMAZING.

Talk to me.

My weekend plans include binge-watching the new season.

I’m taking notes!

Miss Jackson if you’re nasty.

Let’s go!

That’s a lot of perfume.

On the weekend playlist.

Have a great rest of your weekend. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

1. Urban Decay Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator

*Chef’s Kiss!* If you love a base that doesn’t feel or look heavy with medium coverage, this is it!

I wore it to lunch with a friend the other day (hey, Shakun!), and she gave me such nice complements on my skin. It applies easily with fingers, looks natural in person and comes in a TON of shades. I wear 51 Medium.

2. Louise Hay’s audiobook, “You Can Heal Your Life”

I just started listening to this book and can already feel a positive shift in my mindset.

One thing I’ve especially found useful is viewing present thoughts as future thoughts, meaning what you think of today also sets you up for tomorrow. For example, if I want to feel confident about writing opportunities coming my way tomorrow, then today, I’m going to set myself up with thoughts reminding myself that a new adventure is on its way.

It might sound cheesy, but it’s really working for me.

3. This under-eye concealer “hack” (air quotes)

I’ve reached that point in life where I can’t deal with a caked-on situation under my eyes, so lately I’ve been applying under-eye concealer last.

Why? Well, when I do it last, I think I can get away with less concealer, which is important to me because I cannot stand the thought of any makeup under my eyes looking thick or heavy.

I do my makeup with all the usual steps — foundation, blush, lipstick, eyeshadow, the whole shebang — and then I dab a little bit of Hourglass Veil underneath my lower lash line and set it with MAC MSF powder. It really seems to help me realize that I don’t need to wear as much concealer as I think I do.

4. 100 Grand Bars

I never really understood the hype behind this chocolate, caramel and crispy rice candy bar until now!

Last week I not-so-secretly raided Connor’s Halloween stash, and I randomly picked out a 100 Grand Bar to snack on and OH EM GEE. It tasted SO MUCH better than usual suspects that I gravitate towards; Snickers, Twix and Milky Way bars that I used to love are now too sweet for me, boo.

If you need a chocolatey caramel fix and like a lil’ bit of crunch, the 100 Grands are perfection. Site note: I went into the Halloween candy bowl this morning to find a bar to take a picture of, but unfortunately I ate them all, HA HA HA!

5. This lil’ writing project

In a few months (February 2023), Makeup and Beauty Blog will turn 15. She’ll officially be a teenager. 🙂

Through all the changes in my life, big and small, MBB has been a constant, which I cherish. I know that even though everything is in always in flux, writing about makeup (and other things, LOL), is one thing I can rely on. I feel like now, especially, I need to thank the universe for this steady aspect of my life more, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

What have you been loving lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Ah, the ’90s…also known as my oily decade! I gotta give props to the face powders that got me through the oil slick years of my teens and early 20s — Cornsilk pressed powder, Coty Airspun Loose, the Clinique Loose Powder — and of course I have major love for the dark brown lipsticks I wore back then, namely Clinique Black Honey (old school!), MAC Paramount, Revlon Toast of New York.

As for face and body stuff, I went though countless bottles of Cetaphil face wash, and soooo many bottles and tins of Nivea Body Lotion and Body Cream…

Gosh, I used to love scooping that first scoop out of that thick body cream they sold in the blue tin! I wonder if that tin is still around? I gotta check next time I go to Target.

Oh! — can’t forget the Body Shop Grapefruit Shower Gel and their old-school Body Butters (back when they were thick and dense).

And for hair products, in college I loved the Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner from the re-branding they did in the mid-’90s, and I also used a lot of Finesse shampoo/conditioner (in the blue bottles).

Remember the tagline? “Nothing less than Finesse.” 🙂

Then, after I started working full time after college, I was all about the salon lines, and I went through my share of Biolage, Rusk, Redken, and Bumble and Bumble.

It’s funny… You’d think that with my tendency to hoard, I’d still have at least a bottle, a tube or a compact of something I used back then, but I don’t. I wish I’d kept at least a few old tubes of lipstick…

Not to use, of course, but to compare the colors with how they are today!

Anywho, what are some of your ’90s beauty faves?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen