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A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, my friend. Hope you’re having a good one. The bears, Tabs, El Hub, Connor Claire and I are gonna be celebrating this year at home.
There are probably fish and chips on the horizon…
No green beer, though.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
You might be wondering, “So what in tarnation is this Monday Poll thing anyway!?”
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 seven 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.
It’s this, like, non-sticky, super moisturizing light lip oil/tint, and it smells like yummy apples.
I feel like I’m getting to that stage in life where if I try too hard to use the current slang, I’m like that aunt who’s trying to be hip, but is, like, so not hip.
There are some words I can’t stop using, like “hella” and “stoked” and “guuuurl” that I’ve been using for years, but I haven’t been able to smoothly incorporate words like “bae” and “slay…”
And I totally didn’t mean to make those rhyme, haha.
So, yeah…I use a little slang, but not a lot.
Now, this for me? I have stick straight lashes, and the idea of being able to skip my lash curler is super appealing. Plus, something happened when I got pregnant, and I don’t know if it has quite gone away yet, but my lashes got really hard to curl for some reason. They’re stiffer and perfectly straight, so I like the sound of this service.
I think I’m a pretty empathetic person, and I’m drawn to people like that. I also like people with a similar sense of humor.
I don’t know, but I think that would be really cool, and I love tropical places and places with warm, clear water.
Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!
1. What’s your current favorite lip product?
2. Do you use a lot of slang?
3. What’s a beauty-related service or treatment you’d like to try?
4. Do you change your hairstyle often, or do you tend to stay with the style you have now?
5. What’s a trait you greatly value in your friends?
6. A place you haven’t been but would like to go?
Hello, my friend. I hope you’re having a great Monday so far. I’m holding down the fort here in temporary baby jail, trying to sneak in a nap and a shower every once in a while. Overall, I’m basically unbearably tired…but I think things are going pretty well. I think. This is week two.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Dear Diary,
Jiminy Cricket, Diary, I’m exhausted! I’m not kidding. The new hire has been putting in a ton of overtime, and it’s digging into my precious nap time. She’s always at the office. I mean, I like working the night shift, but she really likes working the night shift.
I’ve tried to tell her to clock out and go home, but we’re having communication issues. It’s like we’re speaking different languages.
Even when I can sneak away for a nap, I can’t sleep long because there’s just so much noise in the office.
I thought a new mattress would help, but it really hasn’t…
I’ve also tried warm milk.
And I read once that a good way to get sleepy for bed is to read something boring, so I tried that, but now all I want to do is upgrade my tabby command center. I’m thinking about adding a rooftop catnip garden…
** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, KIM!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! Rise and shine, pal o’ mine. Happy Caturday!
Question for you: when will it stop raining? That’s what I’d like to know. We’ve gotten so much rain this week that the neighborhood is greener than I’ve seen it in years. There’s stuff blooming out there that doesn’t usually bloom here, like, get this: about a month ago I was about to throw out a few potatoes that had started to sprout in their bag in the kitchen, but El Hub said, “No! I want to plant them outside…”
And, you know, that was weird, but boys will be boys, so I said “Um…OK?”
Anyway, he took them outside and buried them somewhere…
I come to find out yesterday that they’re growing huge! So now we have potatoes growing in our front yard. If this had been another year, like last year, I don’t think that would have happened, because I can’t remember it raining once all through last February or March.
In other news, Happy St. Patrick’s Day week! 🙂 Will you be having green beer? If you are, please have a sip for Connor Claire, who happens to be one eighth Irish.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Last year I wrote a brief essay on what it feels like when “budget beauty” starts to actually hurt your bank account. In short, I explored why I thought it was no longer fruitful for me to have seven of the same lipsticks in varying shades of red that were all dupes for a higher priced lipstick when for the total of all seven, I probably could have bought the higher priced thing by now.
A lot of my opinions in that essay still ring true. I do believe that investing in yourself is worth the time and waiting if you can’t afford it at this very moment, but as a person who grew up in the far reaches of the Adirondacks with little money, I can’t say that I will ever necessarily feel good about spending money on anything, especially myself, or my beauty products.
When I look at my makeup collection, the highest priced item on it at the moment is my Clinique Even Better Makeup. I purchased it on the recommendation of a Sephora employee, and I do love it as far as liquid makeup goes. I was looking for something that wouldn’t clog my pores, and that would cover up my acne and redness. At $27, it’s not that expensive compared to some items I’ve seen, but it’s more than I had been used to spending.
When my skin began revolting due to adult acne, I started rethinking my skincare routine. I knew that I would have to spend more money on creams, ointments, and moisturizers because my skin demanded quality and care. But this was the only area on which I relented. I still tried to find the best deals, the cheapest brands for the best quality (which, don’t we all, at times?)
Currently, my skincare prices look something like this:
Total: $76 (Give or take a few dollars.)
Not bad, considering my prescriptions last me almost 6 months, and the giant bottle of Neutrogena Cleanser I bought a few months ago is still going strong. These are prices I can deal with, because I feel that investing in my skincare is almost a part of my health. I’m very cautious when it comes to sun care and putting on SPF. As a super pale girl, I slather on as much as I can, even when it’s cloudy out.
What gets me, however, are the items that I don’t have to spend money on, and the pressures that I’m bombarded with daily when I even think about buying any kind of beauty item. That’s why I was sucked into the dupes for so long. Why buy the quality when you can find a cheaper version? (And that’s not to say some drugstore brands aren’t becoming better quality.) But as someone who grew up with a strict budget and started buying most things for herself very early, learning how to budget for things I needed versus things I wanted was one of the lousiest lessons to learn, because it makes you feel awful.
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I swear to you, I did not plan on Connor Claire and I matching today. It just so happened that her mint green swaddle blanket matched my pineapple sweatshirt. 🙂
These swaddle blankets, by the way, are awesome, but they’re not just swaddle blankets. You can also use them to catch spit-up or poop, both of which I’ve become intimately familiar with over the past few days, along with any other sorts of things that come out of babies when they’re newborns.
The blankets are from the aiden by aiden + anais swaddleplus 4-pack ($34.99). I got one as a gift for my baby shower, and I liked it so much that I got another pack from Target this week.
On the beauty front, I don’t know if there’s really anything out there capable of fully combating the dark circles I have right now — any kind of concealer or cream or magical potion capable of making one look well rested after not getting any sleep at all for like a week — but I wish there was, because then I’d look less tired.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the posts by Adia, Anna, Carolina, Jen, Marcella and (soon) Nicole as much as I have. I think they’re doing a great job, and I love their different perspectives and makeup styles. Also, now I really, really, REALLY want to visit Bologna, Italy, haha.
This week we have another gorgeous gal joining the fun, and her name is Jessica.
Jessica is a Project Manager by day and a mommy, soon to be wife, avid reader and makeup lover in the in-between times that really count. You may remember her from her former beauty blog, Getting Cheeky. Jessica is stepping out of beauty blogging “retirement” as a creative outlet and is eager to write about makeup and once again bring her signature cultural, literary and historical twist to the table. See what she’s been up to these days, with and without makeup, on Instagram.
Please give her a warm MBB welcome. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Italy has two very different souls, which coincide with its geographical extremes — the north (where I live) and the south.
For example, think about Milanese Giorgio Armani and Sicilian Dolce & Gabbana, Italy’s most influential designers… Could they be any more different?
Giorgio Armani perfectly embodies the soul of Milan, Italy’s financial center, located in the north. He is famous for designing everyday clothing for the career woman, and his signature piece is the white-collar uniform par excellence: the suit.
In 2009, he “invented” the always-appropriate greige color, a mix of grey and beige, which has since gained huge popularity in the beauty world as well (hello, Chanel Particulière nail polish!).
And after the ever-impeccable Cate Blanchett became the face of the Sì fragrance in 2013, “King Giorgio” stated that she perfectly represents the woman he designs for. This, in my opinion, says a lot about his style, which I’d personally describe in two words: elegant, understated.
Stefano Dolce and Domenico Gabbana are from Italy’s southernmost region, Sicily, and their creations strongly exude Sicilian passion and tradition. Their most iconic piece is the bustier dress, and Sicilian black lace is their most used fabric. While Armani invented greige, Dolce & Gabbana made leopard print their signature.
Unsurprisingly, the celebrity who had the biggest role in establishing their worldwide popularity was Madonna. The Sicilian duo and the queen of pop share the same provocative, innovative style, a style both sexy and loud.
I think the differences between these designers really do reflect the actual differences between northern and southern Italy.
The north is more heavily industrialized than the south, and there’s more of a feeling that time is money. For instance, in the south, it’s considered rude, when randomly meeting someone you know, to not stop to talk to them extensively, while in the north, doing that is sometimes seen as impolite, because you might be keeping the other person from things they need to do.
The north is more modern, while the South is deeply attached to traditions and religion (I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but Dolce & Gabbana’s jewelry collection features lots of cross-shaped earrings and pendants).
People from the south tend to have a flashier style than northerners, who are usually more low-key.
Southerners are often loud and flamboyant, while northerners are more reticent to show their feelings and emotions. Screaming through the window at your friend who lives in the opposite building is perfectly normal in the south, while in the north it’s seen as terrible manners.
Something that you can’t see by just looking at Armani and Dolce & Gabbana is that many southerners are often very hospitable. If you’re ever invited to have dinner at a southern Italian’s, expect it to last five hours, and expect yourself to eat at least half your own body weight in one meal. And if you ever meet someone from the south, rest assured that they are going to invite you to dinner — and there will be no way you’ll be able to decline.
Also, expect acts of gratuitous kindness in southern Italy. A few years ago I went on vacation to Salento (the southernmost part of Italy’s heel) with two friends, and I remember being completely astonished that a gas station attendant had cleaned our dirty windshield for free, without us even asking. Things like that don’t really happen often (read: never) here in the north because, as I said, time is money!
I have truly amazing memories from that vacation in Salento. The beaches were gorgeous, the people were kind and the food was delicious…
