Just For Fun

1. Lilly Pulitzer on sale at Pottery Barn

Lilly Pulitzer is an American apparel and textile brand that does BOLD, prints, and even though I can see how royal blue and hot pink decor can come across as tween/teenybopper…I don’t care. 🙂 Where does it say you have to give up teal just because you’re an adult?

But I digress…

Lilly Pulitzer collaborated with Pottery Barn last summer, and now almost everything they created together is on sale.

I snagged this cute quilt. It was originally $250, but on sale now for $50!

2. Bliss Poetic Waxing Hair Removal Kit

I’ve talked about this product before (most recently after a minor nail polish debacle that involved looking into the mirror and seeing my brother with a blue mustache in my reflection).

Man, I gotta say this again: This wax is really, REALLY good. Doesn’t matter if you’ve got a downy layer of peach fuzz on your upper lip, or a mustache to rival a circus ringmaster’s, Bliss wax zips off everything, and it does so without drama.

I usually de-fuzz in the morning right after breakfast. I warm up the mug, which is filled with wax, in the microwave (it takes about 5 minutes because my microwave, like Taylor Swift, was born in 1989), smear on a thin layer, wait a minute or two for it to dry, then zip! Smooth as a Sphinx.

3. My morning citrus concoction

I’ve been drinking this every morning for a couple weeks. It’s comprised of a Super Orange Emergen-C in a huge cup with a splash of Trader Joe’s tangerine juice.

It’s sweet but not too sweet, and I get a good dose of vitamins.

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So…what is the Monday Poll?

Good question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll. 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 gazillion years (more than 10!). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a great start. ?

1. A makeup brush you use every day?

I almost always use some kind of domed eyeshadow brush like the MAC 217, usually to apply or blend eyeshadow (yup, both powder and cream shadows!), but sometimes I’ll get it up in the mix to mellow out whatever’s underneath my eyes. Yesterday it was Benefit Boing Hydrating Concealer, which, by the way, if you don’t know, NOW YOU KNOW (review coming soon).

2. If you could have any gallon-sized bottle of any bath/shower product for free (like a shampoo, conditioner, body wash, or whatever you can think of), what would choose?

Oh, definitely one of the Oribe conditioners (probably Gold Lust), because homegirl’s gonna get her $$$’s worth! First of all, a liter of Gold Lust Conditioner is (wait for it) $182, and a gallon has almost 4 liters. So do the math. Secondly, I go through conditioner faster than I do shampoo, so I always need more of it, and I know I could finish every last drop of Gold Lust happily. 🙂

3. Are you allergic to anything?

Does drama count?

4. Best/worst Halloween candy?

Best are Mini Snickers (obvi), worst is licorice, BLECH.

5. Something you miss from the good old days?

This is probably gonna sound funny coming from someone who spent the bulk of the last decade online, but I miss life before the Internet. Even though it was so much harder to get information, life seemed more innocent to me and people felt less isolated.

I’m also deeply grateful that I was able to make my mistakes back then without them all being documented on some form of social media forever.

Oh, and totally unrelated, but I also miss the old Oreo cookies. I had one recently, and it just didn’t taste the same.

In case you were wondering how it feels to pick pumpkins straight off the vine…

FYI, it hurts! I found this out yesterday at a pumpkin patch in Petaluma called McClelland’s, where you can pick your pumpkin off the vine. I don’t know why, but it’s so cool to me to be able to have a freshly picked pumpkin, but sheesh! It’s not easy. The stems are covered in spiky bits, and they poke you when you’re removing the pumpkin from the vine.

McClelland’s also had a bunch of other things for kids and families to do, like a petting zoo, a hay ride, a huge pit of corn kernels that was like a sandbox, but with corn! (It felt a little like getting a foot massage when you put your bare feet into it… WEIRD). There was also a hay maze, which for the record was just as terrible as I imagined it to be… Did I mention that I’m slightly claustrophobic? Never you mind that the maze walls were about elbow height, LOL! I almost jumped out of there, for real!

Some pics…

Have you ever been to a pumpkin patch before?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to you soon.

1. A makeup brush you use every day?
2. If you could have any gallon-sized bottle of any bath/shower product for free (like a shampoo, conditioner, body wash, or whatever you can think of), what would choose?
3. Are you allergic to anything?
4. Best/worst Halloween candy?
5. Something you miss from “the good old days”?

“The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.”

Remember those commercials? I always laugh at that jingle because the best part of waking up for me has always been falling back asleep, ha ha ha! ?

Good morning to ya, and happy Caturday. ❤️? Who needs another cup of coffee? I’m not drinking my standard-issue Folger’s today (Team Simply-Smooth-4-Life!) because another blend wooed me away. It’s called Royal Kona Vanilla Macadamia Nut 10% Kona Coffee Blend, and I found a bag stashed away in the back of my cupboard last month (I’m on a mission to finish all of the random bags of coffee in my life before I buy a new bag). Now it’s my favorite! It’s smooth and rich and has a subtle nutty vanilla flavor.

MAN, it’s SO good! I usually have it with either milk or Vanilla Premier Protein, because black coffee tastes like punishment…

And the best thing about it? It doesn’t give me the shakes. I can drink cup after cup after cup and not feel jittery.

Try it! ☕

OK, now while I get down with my coffee, you can get down with this’ week’s weekly reading.

• Anyone want to come with me to Amsterdam to visit this houseboat of cats? Anyone…?
• Shiny, pretty things are on deck for the holidays over at MAC.
• Speaking of Make-Up Art Cosmetics, this is how Ruby Woo Lipstick looks on 16 different skin tones.
• Lots of eyeshadow palettes on sale at Ulta right now, and some are up to 50% off.
• There’s a cute new K-beauty line at Sephora called Kaja.
• 5 ways to show your cat(s) you love them.
• I’m really interested in the Obagi Nu-Derm System ($428!!!). It’s a 7-step skincare collection that uses prescription-strength hydroquinone to treat hyperpigmentation.
• Since we’re on the subject o’ skin care, here’s a dermatologist’s take on the main acids to know about when you’re considering skin care products and in-office peels.
• Deborah Lippmann’s fave dark nail polishes for fall.
• According to Vogue, you’re nailing it (ha ha ha) if you’re painting your paws with coppery metallic polish this season.
• I blogged about the Frida Kahlo makeup line at CVS back when it first launched, and the collection is still intriguing people.
• This $44 repair kit helps you put your broken pans back together.

I just wanna go back to 1999, too.

Somebody please make this for me ASAP.

I’m a ghd curler gal, but nevertheless I’m kinda intrigued by this new Dyson doohickey.

FACT: Tabby boys are lover boys.

Later today we’re going to a BBQ at Connor’s preschool, so I’m excited about that. I hope you’re doing something fun today. Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Do you? I had a friend who did this every time she sat down for a meal (or even before she had a cup of coffee), and as much as I can appreciate the “why” behind it, I just can’t be bothered… Granted, sometimes I wonder know how much MAC Russian Red I’ve consumed along with all those spoonfuls of Nutella…but still, old habits are hard to break.

How about you? Do you take your lipstick off before you eat?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.

1. Like, was there ever supposed to be an apostrophe on this sign?

I wonder… Because some companies with names that end in ‘s’ have or had at one time apostrophes in their name. Sometimes they go through a re-branding somewhere along the way and lose the apostrophe.

Hmm…

2. Will Tabs attempt to fight this Halloween black cat if I put it in the front yard? (Probably.) Perhaps the pumpkin would seem less confrontational? Cats are weird, man…

3. Wait — is this place a secret safe haven for cat ladies, just like HomeGoods? OHEMGEE, I THINK IT IS!

4. Must touch all the yarns…

5. Um…didn’t I already walk down this aisle? I swear, I just saw these pens a minute ago.

6. Why do I want all of these shabby chic signs for my kitchen? — because my kitchen doesn’t look anything like a pumpkin patch or a farmers’ market. Also, I don’t own any antiques, so why do I want an oversized sign that says “ANTIQUES” on it?

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The way the phrase is commonly used in the beauty world, “self-care” usually refers to outward beauty maintenance — things like doing a face mask or taking a bubble bath or getting your hair done, i.e. “meow time,” and I totally get that, because how many times have I found respite at the salon or in painting my paws or in playing with makeup on my bedroom floor? Too many times to count.

But these days self-care also means something else to me. It means taking care of my inside voice and my mental and emotional health by doing the things that I know help me feel functional during the day, like getting enough sleep at night, and staying hydrated, and doing my hair in the morning (instead of just putting in up in a messy bun), and changing out of my pajamas into “real clothes” before 10. (Side note: I work from home, so there’s always the temptation to not fix my hair and stay in my robe all day, but when I do this I always feel like crap.)

Also, stretching, since it helps with my back pain, and sweating for at least 30 minutes a day, or however often I can swing it. Making my bed first thing in the morning is another thing that helps, as does eating raw fruits and veg… I also try to care for myself by reminding myself throughout the day that the little things that IRRITATE ME won’t matter in 10 years.

Probably the most important thing, and this took me a long time to figure out, is to do everything I can possibly do to proactively keep myself from slipping down into that space where I feel perpetually blue, and when I start to feel it coming, I tell El Hub, for one. I also reach out to my friends and family and make plans to do things with them (this one is hard for me because I naturally want to retreat inward and be left alone when I start feeling blue).

I also try to work out a little more, because exercise really helps keep my mood even, and I make myself do at least one thing from the Post-It list of “activities that spark joy” that I keep on my computer.

All of this really helps me care for myself.

What does self-care mean to you? 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen