Karen

Hi, friend! Happy Tuesday. I hope your coffee is pipin’ hot and your lashes are extra fanned and extra flirty today. I just wanted to say a quick hi and break the radio silence. Yesterday I needed a mental health day, or as I like to call it, a “meow time” day. Everything’s totally fine on this end; I was just really tired from the weekend and needed downtime. We had family visiting all weekend long so I didn’t really get any time to relax (you know how it is when you host).

Anyway, my body was craving rest so I took a bunch of naps, read on the couch for a few hours, made some Tollhouse cookies, and now I feel 100% better.

One thing that’s taken me a long time to learn is that knowing when to rest is important, just as important as knowing when to push yourself. To be able to recognize that need and to listen to your body cues… it’s an important skill. One that took me, oh, forty or so odd years to learn. But better late than never, right?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Did you catch the eclipse yesterday? The cloud cover was heavy here in the North Bay so this was my view of the sky at the eclipse peak at 10:15. I didn’t even get to use my homemade cereal box eclipse viewer! Oh, well. At least I’ll be prepared for the next one.

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past 10 (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.

1. Describe your outfit!

Girl, OK. I feel like I’m on repeating Groundhog Day loop, because right now I’m in stinky, sweaty post-workout clothes…and it feels like I am ALWAYS in stinky, sweaty post-workout clothes, LOL!

This could be due to the fact that I just finished a short run on the treadmill. Before I sit down to write, especially in the mornings, I like to get my wiggles out, and the easiest way to do that is with a quick HIIT class on YouTube or a mile or two on the treadmill.

Sweating also helps me wake up and clears my head…

Anyway! That was my long-winded way of saying that I’m all Senita’d out today. Thank you, Abbey in the comments, for introducing me to the line. Their clothes are SO cute and affordable. I’m wearing the Sarah Bra in the Bahamas Print, the matching Bahamas Swift Shorts and the black Boyfriend Tank.

2. Do you know who you are?

WOW! — that’s a serious question for a Monday eclipse morning, but yes, I feel like I know who I am. But I also feel like I’m still growing and changing as a person.

I know the girl deep, down inside, and I love her, but sometimes she drives me crazy!

3. How long did it take you to truly figure out who you are?

I don’t think we’re ever done fully figuring ourselves out, because life and the things that happen along the way change things, but for me, really, I started to feel like I was finally becoming the person I was meant to be in my late 30s, so it took a while.

I admire those people who know themselves from the get-go. El Hub is like that. But it wasn’t that way for me. I’ve changed so much over the years, which reminds me — I’m so thankful that I didn’t grow up in the era of social media and online personas, because social media can be a perception trap.

I dunno… What are your thoughts on this?

4. What do you do when you don’t know what to do about something?

I freakin’ stall! Seriously, I stall as long as I can, and I use the time to calm down and clear my head.

When I react to something right away, I’m more likely to make unwise decisions… It took me a long time to figure that one out. Anyway, I stall for as long as I can, and in that process I take several deep breaths. If I have the time, I’ll also call El Hub and my parents, or one of my friends, and ask for advice.

5. Should you stay or should you go now?

So, of course I have to sing that song now. 🙂 “Should I stay or should I go now?”

While I think there’s value in sitting still, you should just GO! Go out and see the world. See everything.

I gotta get out of these clothes now, man! Although I do have to say that they dry pretty quickly. The sweat just wicks away into the ether.

Before I jump in the shower, can I just say that I think you’re great? 🙂 YOU ARE GREAT!

Be careful watching the eclipse today. Have a wonderful week.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. The questions to copy/paste.

1. Describe your outfit!
2. Do you know who you are?
3. How long did it take you to truly figure out who you are?
4. What do you do when you don’t know what to do about something?
5. Should you stay or should you go now?

Have you ever noticed how eerily similar brown cream shadow and chocolate pudding are? Or dulce de leche?

Mind you, I just finished vacuuming the house, which was quite a workout, and I’m freaking hungry, so maybe I should eat something and then reevaluate, LOL!

By the way, this shadow is Tom Ford Spice, a total lazy girl staple. Most of the time I just pat it on my lids with my fingers and blend out the edges without even bothering to use a separate primer, which pretty much throws precision out the window, but when I’m going for easy, I’m going ALL. THE. WAY. So as long as my shadow looks even-ish, I’m happy. 🙂

OK, I better go make something to eat now because this pan is REALLY starting to look dangerously like food… While I go raid the fridge, here are some stories that caught my eye this week.

• For some new moms in Taiwan, the postpartum period is like a luxury vacation at a five-star hotel, or, in this case, a “postpartum center” — lavish maternity facilities where staff members pamper mom and baby for a month (for a cool $430 a night!).
• BUYER BEWARE! The beauty black market is rife with counterfeit products, some of which are literally dangerous. Brands like MAC and Anastasia Beverly Hills — which are counterfeited left and right! — have gone as far as conducting their own investigations and have found fakes containing highly toxic chemicals like lead, arsenic and mercury.
• I knew I should’ve saved my favorite pair of high-waisted pants from high school! Z Cavaricci is making a comeback.
• Top drugstore foundations that are just as good as (if not better than) their more expensive counterparts
• Allure magazine will no longer be using the term “anti-aging” in text, and all I have to say is HELL, YES.
• Prepare yourself for your daily dose of “awww,” because these seniors recently tied the knot. She’s 98, he’s 94, and they met at the gym. DO YOUR SQUATS, people, because it just might lead to true love.
• Ulta has a cute NARS exclusive set of Velvet Lip Glides.
• I’m getting ready to save all y’all! Why Gen X might be our last, best hope.
• Obsessively focusing on “clean eating” can cause a big mess in your body.
• How to find the right dry shampoo
• Hilarious, and creepy, things happen when tragic and romantic titles of ’70s and ’80s songs get transformed into Stephen King book covers.
• Is that fern eavesdropping on your conversations? Scientists find that plants might really and truly be capable of listening.

How hand-carved Russian candles are made… This is so cool!

Grease’s “You’re the One That I Want” gets an R&B makeover

OK, baby cakes, it’s Caturday, an (un)official day of rest. May your workload be light and your smile be bright.

A poet, I am not, but at least my booty’s hot, because I do my squats, while my hair’s in knots.

Alright I’ll stop, haha! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen