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

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 582

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Have you ever been to a Duke’s before in Hawaii? Well, you may not know this, but that chain of restaurants started out as D & T’s, for Duke and Tabs, back when Tabs was doing a lot of kitty modeling work in the islands, and he partnered with a local surf guru/restauranteur.

Everyone in the islands knew Tabs primarily because of his surfing ability, but he also had a successful line of custom kitty surfboards. Basically, if you were a pro kitty surfer in Hawaii between 2007-2019, you rode a Big Kitty Kahuna surfboard by Tabs.

MAC Alluring Aquatic Collection Wallpaper Starring Tabs the Cat
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Saturday Surfing, Nov. 30th, 2019

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Well, who would’ve thunk it? An edition of Saturday Surfing at a time during which there’s a slim chance this girl could actually go surfing?

Mind you, it’s a slim chance…because I’m at a season in life when I only want to do ocean activities that involve a beach umbrella, a book and a comfortable lounge chair.

But there’s a chance!

For now, how about we surf some calm digital waves with this week’s beauty stories instead?

Did you do any Black Friday shopping yesterday? I saw a few local deals in the tourist shops I popped into yesterday when El Hub and I were in Kailua, Which is a beach town on the eastern side of the island, so I picked up a few small Christmas gifts for people (a mermaid watch for Cocobaby; so cute!). Nothing really for myself, though, since I’m saving for my next pair of Athleta tights.

The famous Lanikai beach

We also stopped by one of my favorite beaches, Lanikai, which has postcard perfect clear, turquoise blue water, soft sand and gentle waves.

It’s not the easiest beach to get to since there isn’t a parking lot (you have to drive around the neighborhood for street parking, which took us about 20 minutes), and there’s no official entrance sign or marker (you’ll have to find one of the many paths to the shore and walk between the ocean-front houses), but once you’re there you’ll get why Lanikai gets props as one of the best beaches on Oahu.

A tip for sticky sand

Some folks don’t like the sand at Lanikai because it’s so fine that it sticks to your skin, and it can be hard to remove, but I don’t mind it at all. Just bring a small bottle of baby powder with you. If you rub a little on yourself when you’re done at the beach, before you get into your car, the sand will slide right off ya.

My friend Liz the lifeguard taught me this trick back in high school, and it works!

Have a great rest of your Saturday, my friend!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Product Spotlight: Hawaii Edition

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A few things (aloha and TGIF, BTW):

1. Running in 85-degree weather with 67% humidity is like hauling your limbs slow-motion through corn chowder.

Wait — now that I think about it, merely existing in humid weather is like that. I am SWEAT-TAY in Hawaii, man.

2. If you’re staying with your in-laws in their one-bedroom condo with one bathroom and your child is a toddler, it’s probably a good idea to lock the bathroom door while you’re in there; otherwise, said child *will* open up that door, and she’ll only do it when your booty is hanging out for all your relations to see. #truth

3. Here are a few beauty products I’ve been using and loving on this trip.

1. Honua Hawaiian Skin Care Aloha Youth Serum

This lightweight skin serum contains a mix of plant oils and extracts that ancient Hawaiians used to protect their skin from the sun and environment, like the noni plant, which contains vitamin C and antioxidants. I’ve been using it for over a month now for brightening and moisture and have definitely noticed an improvement in my skin tone. I didn’t hesitate for a second to include it in my carry-on quart of liquid items. I’m that hooked. A 1-oz. glass bottle with a dropper is $58.

2. Gillette Simply Venus Disposable Razors

I’ve used disposable razors before, and they’re almost always never as good at getting as close to your skin as razors with refillable cartridges are, but this is the exception. The slight curve in the handle easily allows me to maneuver it into all of the nooks and crannies I’d like to de-fuzz, and when I’m done, I’m smoother than smooooove. It’s a drugstore gem! ? $6.99 for a pack of four razors.

3. EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Specture SPF 46

OH, MAN… SO GOOD. This is the best face sunscreen around, hands down. It’s a physical sunscreen, so it’s great for acne-prone and sensitive skin, but it’s levels above the rest of ‘em because it truly is invisible on skin. Absolutely no white cast whatsoever. To top it all off, it’s lightweight and absorbs easily (so you aren’t sitting there for ages rubbing it in), layers well underneath makeup, and it packs plenty of skin-loving punch, with bells and whistles like lactic acid and sodium hyaluronate. $35 for a 1.7-oz. bottle with a pump.

4. Aveeno Baby Sensitive Skin Continuous Protection SPF 50 Sunscreen Stick

Because it’s a solid, there’s no danger of spilling, and because it’s compact, I can haul it around with me easily, along with the rest of the crap toddlers need in my “mom purse” (you know, the purse with a sh*t-ton of pockets and a leash for your keys). I can quickly run the smooth stick across Connor’s skin with minimal protesting, and I also use this as a touch-up sunscreen throughout the day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving, sweet friend! I hope your pants are stretchy enough to accommodate an extra helping (or two) of pie and that someone important to you is within cuddling reach.

If you look closely, you’ll see me and Connor waving hi from the middle of the Pacific (aloha!). We’re spending the holiday with El Hub’s side of the family on East Oahu with a beach quite literally down the street. It’s kind of crazy to me that you can swing by the ocean here and see views like this on your way home from going to Safeway to buy gluten-free hamburger buns, LOL!

I’m grateful for so many things today and always, including today feeling the ocean breeze on my skin… Do you have a place that makes your soul feel alive? For me, that’s anyplace near the water. ?

As much as I love to cook (oh, and props to you if you’re running the kitchen; good luck and god speed!), I’m kind of relieved to not be hosting this year. I’m excited about just showing up to eat, ha ha ha!

I’m especially excited about dessert, which leads me to this delightful bakery my friend Fern (hiya, Fern!) introduced me to last time I was on the island: Pipeline Bakeshop & Creamery.

They’re known for their mini bunt cakes, a.k.a. their Cake Bombs, that they make from scratch. I stopped by yesterday and picked up two of their most popular flavors, lemon and strawberry guava (melt in your mouth!), along with a lemon bar-inspired treat called a lilikoi cream cheese bar, which has a shortbread base, cream cheese middle layer and a tart layer of passionfruit on top. If you’re ever passing through Kaimuki on a trip to Honolulu and your sweet tooth is aching, you’ve gotta stop by.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, my friend. Sending you light and love today. AND PIE. ?

So much pie!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes With Brown Sugar Pecans and Cream Cheese Frosting 🧁

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Let’s discuss the struggle.

The eternal Thanksgiving struggle.

You see, it’s real, it’s totally legit, and it’s deadly serious.

It typically manifests toward the end of the meal (when your shirt is covering the top of your jeans because you’ve just unbuttoned them), and you’re sitting there wondering, “Hmm…do I conclude this carbfest with a slice of pumpkin pie, or do I go with the pecan?”

Truly, it is one of life’s most difficult decisions…

If you, too, have faced this challenging predicament, then this cupcake recipe is for you. ? It’s a Frankenstein of fall flavors that combines the beautifully balanced spiciness of a perfect pumpkin pie, with the glorious greatness of brown sugar pecans — toasted first, then incorporated into the batter.

And as if that weren’t tantalizing enough, a cream cheese frosting tops it all off!

Also, as a full-time employee in the Crazy Cat Lady Department, I decorated mine with sprinkles and cute kitty fondant cutouts, but you could sub the cats for leaves or turkey shapes (that should also work).

In the cupcake world, there are two major categories of cupcake batter — oil-based and butter-based. Butter-based batters tend to be a little more complicated and finicky (mainly with regard to how far you’ve melted your butter) than oil-based batters. Basically, with oil-based batters, you just dump and mix! Also, oil makes it easy to end up with a melt-in-your mouth texture. No dry cake here! So, this recipe uses an oil-based batter.

You don’t need any special equipment either. Just a couple of mixing bowls and a whisk, and heck, if you don’t have a whisk, you can use a fork.

If you want to bake Thanksgiving cupcakes but don’t want something too complicated, this is the recipe for you.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes With Brown Sugar Pecans

DESCRIPTION
This melt-in-your mouth pumpkin cupcake has a subtle kick of spice for a festive addition to your Thanksgiving table! Studded with brown sugared pecans and finished with a cream cheese frosting.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours
  • Yield: 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the brown sugar pecans:

  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar

Dry ingredients for the batter:

  • 1 cup (125g) cake flour (spoon & leveled)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Wet ingredients for the batter:

  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) grapeseed oil (any neutral tasting oil, like canola or vegetable oil, works too)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup (225g) canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the frosting:

  • 8 ounces (224g) full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar (you may need to add a 1/4 cup if you prefer a stiffer frosting)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the decorations:

  • Fall-colored sprinkles (I got mine at Micahels)
  • Orange or other fall-colored fondant (I bought premade fondant at Michaels)
  • Cat shaped cookie cutter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Steps to prep
Preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C). Line 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners, and set aside. Roll out your orange fondant, and then cut out 12 cat shapes with your cookie cutter. Allow to air dry for at least 30 minutes, or take a blow dryer and dry them using the cool setting until they harden; set aside for later.

2. Toast the pecans
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Chop pecans into small pieces. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar and chopped pecans. Toss to coat. Spread the pecans evenly on the cookie sheet, and bake for about 7 minutes, or until they’re toasted. Set aside to cool.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 602

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Keep looking up (because at a certain point, it’s scarier to look down, LOL! That rope was high!)

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 five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start.

    1. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

    Oh, easy question. All of them? I could happily nosh exclusively on the fixin’s and straight-up skip the turkey.

    But if I have to pick one…it’s mashed potatoes.

    Buttery, creamy, silky mashed potatoes with an obnoxious amount of gravy!

    2. What time did you wake up this morning?

    According to my unholy jack@ss of an alarm clock, it was 5:45, but PGR (Pretty Girl Rosie) thought it would be fun to climb onto my head and turn on her purr machine at 5, so I’ve been up since 5.

    Does anyone else live with a furry friend who gets up at obnoxious hours?

    3. Choose a lipstick color: orange or brown?

    Brown! — but not too brown. A pinkish brown would be ideal.

    4. Something you need to finish by the end of the day?

    YARGH, I need to pack for a trip. We’re heading to Hawaii tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving week with El Hub’s side of the family.

    Purr usual, I’ve left the packing up to the last day, but I’m determined to have everything done by noon… That way I’m not stressed out and throwing random crap into my luggage at the last minute.

    5. Who’s the best cook in your family?

    In my extended family, hmm… Well, probably my godmother. She lives in the Philippines, and homegirl can throw down in the kitchen. Her oxtail soup moves me to tears, no joke! In my immediate family, probably me and my brother. We can both follow a recipe, and we both have a general understanding of the timing and ingredients in a dish.

San Francisco Spartan adventures

The Spartan race in SF on Saturday was BONKERS, and I mean that in the best possible way. It was really fun, challenging, and I might just do one again.

I recommend it 100% if you ever get a chance and the urge. The one I did was in Oracle Park stadium in SF, but they have them in neat locations all over the country.

In case you have no idea what I’m taking about, Spartans are group running races with additional obstacles peppered along the course. The one I did was a “Stadion Sprint,” which was three miles interspersed with 20 obstacles, and because it was in a stadium, there was lots of going up and down stairs, which I’m OK with (I don’t mind doing stairs), but there were numerous dicey moments when I was really high up in the nosebleed seats, and I remember thinking to myself, “Karen, please don’t fall. It’s a LONG way down.”

The most challenging parts for me were the obstacles involving heights. I’m not afraid of heights per se…but the obstacles with a height element were very much off the ground. Like the rope climb, OMG! I made it to the top and rang the cowbell, but as I was inching my way up, I remember looking down and thinking, “Geez, I’m further from the ground than I am from the top, so I should probably just keep going up before something horrible happens.”

I think it was 12 feet up? Whatever it was, IT WAS HIGH.

Also, hoisting myself up and over the obstacles with high wooden walls was challenging. I think the highest one was eight feet off the ground.

I think those walls are why I keep finding these weird bruises on my arms…

Oh, and that pyramid thingy with the ropes! That was also surprisingly nerve-wracking, again because of the height element.

Overall, it was a fun day, and if you ever have the chance and any inkling of desire, I would highly recommend it, especially if you can do one with a team. I did it with a bunch of people from the gym, and we all cheered each other on.

Have a great rest of your day!

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’s your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?
2. What time did you wake up this morning?
3. Choose a lipstick color: orange or brown.
4. Something you need to finish by the end of the day?
5. Who’s the best cook in your family?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 581

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It has been called the greatest inter-species partnership in kitty modeling history — the friendship between Tabs and Gerard, the award-winning Parisian turkey model.

It all started when Tabs was recovering from the career-ending tail injury he suffered during the 2006 feline football season when he played for the Mill Valley Wildcats. One day during his rehabilitation, Tabs received a letter from a fan in France who had been following his feline football career. That fan turned out to be Gerard the turkey — yes, the same Gerard who led the PPL (Parisian Poultry League) in goals from 2002-2005.

The two of them became fast friends and pen pals, and Gerard was there for Tabs through some very dark times. Tabs came to discover that Gerard also suffered a career-ending athletic injury (turf talon), and that he didn’t lose hope after his injury. No, Gerard used it as his motivation to transition into poultry modeling.

When Tabs was well enough, he flew to Paris to meet Gerard. That’s where Tabs first got his start in kitty modeling. You see, it was Gerard who introduced Tabs to his first feline modeling agent. ?

Over the next six months, Tabs and Gerard worked together on more than two dozen cat-turkey modeling gigs.

They broke barriers and shocked the world!

A lot of people think it was Miss J. Alexander who showed Tabs how to strut down a catwalk and navigate the kitty modeling world, but no, it was actually a Parisian turkey named Gerard. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, Nov. 23rd, 2019

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spartan san francisco 2019
Let’s. Do. This.

Chances are, as you read this, I’m running up or down the stadium stairs in San Francisco at Oracle Park. Or, I’m passed out on the ground from doing one too many burpees.

?

The Spartan race I signed up for a while back is happening today, so I’ll be getting my sweat on with my HIIT buddies from the gym.

But before I go do that, let’s do this. It’s Saturday Surfing time. ?


This is what I’m doing today!

Here’s to hoping I make it back home in one piece, aghhhh!

So nervous…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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