Karen

1. Mood:

Disheveled but feeling positive. I’m a creature of habit, so not having everything *exactly* where I want it puts me out of sorts. The hard part is finally over, though.

2. Lips and cheeks:

I haven’t unpacked my brushes yet, so nothing for now except zit medicine on my cheeks (LOL!) and Philosophy Kiss Me Lip Balm on my pucker.

3. Breakfast:

Nescafe Classico (it’s like the pimp daddy of instant coffee) and a Lara Bar in my favorite flavor, Apple Pie.

4. In one year I’d like to ______:

Be back in fighting shape, freelance for a beauty mag and become a master of crock pot cooking.

5. Hair:

Messy waves in a low ponytail.

6. I really wish I could ______:

Not be so hard on myself.

7. Body lotion:

Philosophy Field of Flowers.

8. If you could play hooky today and do anything your heart desired what would you do?

I’d stay in bed and watch bad reality TV shows on my laptop!

9. Accessories:

My wedding ring and an ancient rainbow-colored friendship bracelet I found in my Caboodle last week.

10. Weekly goals:

Clean every nook and cranny of the new place; until that happens I won’t feel like this space is really mine. Geez … I really am my mother’s daughter.

A good afternoon to ya, my Carrie Bradshaws.

El hub, Tabs and I finally finished moving yesterday. It was a rough weekend filled with sleep deprivation and stress, but it’s almost over. Things are starting to look up, yay! 🙂

Earlier today as I desperately rifled through boxes looking for coffee, I wondered how you were doing and what you’ve been up to.

Won’t you take a second to check in and let me know? Copy and paste *Le List* below into the comments with your answers, and fill me in with what’s going on with you.

Tabs sends you big, fat kitty kisses!

Le list

1. Mood:
2. Lips and cheeks:
3. Breakfast:
4. In six months I’d like ______:
5. Hair:
6. I really wish I could ______:
7. Body lotion:
8. If you could play hooky today and do anything your heart desired what would you do?
9. Accessories:
10. Weekly goals:

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted. Please check the home page for current giveaways.

Even though there are blue skies outside today I’m feeling a little gray — a little MAC Tone: Grey, that is!

This eyeshadow palette was released last month as part of the Trend F/W ’09 collection, a nine-piece launch created to reflect the backstage trends at Fashion Week.

I’m thinking it’s time for another giveaway …

The prize

One lucky lady will take home MAC’s Tone: Grey, an eyeshadow quad with four limited-edition colors in light and dark gray, white and blue (a $36 value).

How to enter…

Entering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. In it, tell me about the highlight of your weekend so far.

Mine was taking a few moments to play with Chanel’s new Holiday 2009 and Noirs Obscurs collections.

Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT Win to MAC Tone: Grey Eyeshadow Quad http://bit.ly/jdQ8q

Recap…

1. Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
2. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:
   
   RT @karenmbb: RT to Win MAC Tone: Grey Eyeshadow Quad http://bit.ly/jdQ8q

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Monday, October 5.

Jūk néih hóuwahn!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted. Please check the home page for current giveaways.

Rise and shine, morning glories! It’s going to be a beautiful day. 🙂 Grab your warm morning beverage of choice, say “eff it” to all the stresses in your life, and sit back for some frivolous beaute-ronomy with this brief look back in time to October 2008.

Here were some of the things we were talking about then…

• Wedding Palette Auditions: Stila Cover Look No. 2
  “For this go ’round of Wedding Palette Auditions I thought I’d try a gold eye with light cheeks and pink lips using another Stila palette, Cover Look No. 2. Let me know your thoughts.”
• 11 Great Makeup Wipes and Cleansers
  “A few days ago I reviewed L’Oreal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes with BHA. A few of you gals then offered up your fave makeup removing wipes and cleansers in the comments. Here’s a list featuring your recommendations and why you love ’em!”
• How Do You Wear Red Lipstick? Tips and Tricks
  “Like the Ol’ Faithful of lip looks, a red lip is one of the most reliable, fool-proof ways to steal the spotlight. But red and other bright lip shades can be challenging colors to wear. My secret to wearing reds like Lancome’s Absolute Rouge ($29) is to apply them using a MAC 316 Covered Lip Brush ($19).”
• Cargo Blu Ray Pressed Powder: Ready for My Close Up, Mr. Deville
  “Cargo infused Blu Ray with softening agents, like optical blurring and photochromatic pigments, which, according to the company, reduce the look of fine lines, minimize flaws and cover imperfections in a variety of lighting conditions.”
• Get Smudgy with Stila Kajal Eye Liners
  “Mirror, mirror on the wall, which eye liner’s the smoothest of all? Stila’s Kajal Eye Liner ($18) lays smooth smack-down on pencil liners that tug and skip along lash lines. Available in eight shades, it literally glides across the skin, creating solid, intensely colored lines — no muss, no fuss.”
• MAC Adoring Carmine 3 Rose Lips: A Pink Lipstick Double Play
  “The 3 Rose Lips set ($35.50) from the MAC Adoring Carmine holiday collection makes my pink lipstick-obsessed heart flutter. Yeah, you might think the red patent bag looks a bit cheesy — it’s more dominatrix than happy holidays — but if you can overlook that, this lip set is totes worth your attention.”

PROJECT MOVING TO NOVATO: Nothing really exciting to report, just moving load after load of boxes. I have the easy job; I pack stuff up and stack it by the front door. Then, El Hub carries the boxes down 15 stairs, around a brick wall and out to where the truck is parked.

Between us, El Hub’s lookin’ pretty tow’ up this morning. 🙂

I ended up keeping tabs on Tabs here at the apartment one more night. I didn’t feel right leaving him at the new place last night while we stayed here at the old place waiting for the movers this morning. Looks like his first night at the condo will be my first night there, too.

Anyhoo, enjoy your day. I’ll keep in touch through my phone until I hook up my computer at the new Makeup and Beauty Blog HQ this afternoon, LOL!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

• A most excellent mantra for October — Super Kawaii Mama
• Gucci, Versace and Marni, oh my! — Imelda the Despotic Queen of Shoes
• Can you guess the celebrities who have these 5 tattoos? — Bella Sugar
• The Garlic Years: An interactive guide to vampire obsession — Slate
• Artist Yayoi Kusama attribues art with saving her life — Icing
• Is it a cheese or a font? — Cheese or Font
• Ohh, sparkly! China Glaze Loves You Snow Much Holiday 2009 — Scrangie

At least it’s a sunny day out here in Marin, not that I’m outside enjoying it (pooh). I’m guessing whatever you’re doing today is probably a billion times more fun than what I’m doing — packing, moving and cleaning, bluh!

I’m so tired of talking about packing and moving … but they’re practically all I’ve been doing for weeks. We’re down to the wire now, which means disconnecting the computer and moving the kitteh. Then, tomorrow it’s the remaining furniture with the help of movers.

I can’t wait until I can focus on more interesting and important things like this time lapse video of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Whatcha up to?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen