Just For Fun

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 365

September 27th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

TABS: Hey, Chance, what’s up?
CHANCE: Oh, hey, Tabs. How’s it going?

TABS: Good, good… Just finishing my workout. Hey, did you hear about Dillon?
CHANCE: No. What happened to Dillon?
TABS: He got the new Prada campaign.
CHANCE: NO!
TABS: Seriously.
CHANCE: Fo’ reals??

TABS: Fo’ reals. I just heard it from Tuxie. We were training together. He’s stretching right over there…

TABS: Yo, Tuxie! Chance doesn’t believe that Dillon got the Prada campaign.

TUXIE: I know, right!? I couldn’t believe it either, but my agent told me yesterday at lunch. He said that it was down to Dillon and Tabs, but they went with Dillon because they wanted a fresh face, whatever that means.
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Comment to Win a $50 eGift Card From MAC! (Ends Monday)

September 26th, 2015 by Karen 404 Comments

** THE GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED **
This giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted (CONGRATULATIONS, ELIZABETH!!!), but check back next Saturday for another giveaway.

You’re gonna have to be rising and shining for the both of us today, my makeup-loving friend, because this here lipstick lover has a cold.

Yub, by doze id dodally sdubbed ub. 🙁

But Tabs has been a wonderful nurse. He’s been making me soup and keeping me company on the couch (I ended up not going to the symphony, poo). Yesterday I watched so much TV it’s ridiculous. I even watched Dirty Dancing for the one thousandth time, and by the way, nobody puts baby in the corner. I’m serious — nobody. You do NOT even want to try it, haha.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Tabs and I will be over here living vicariously through you.

One (1) MAC eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter by leaving a comment below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- What’s your favorite lipstick formula of all time (among all brands)?
- I can’t stop thinking about __________.
- Have you ever been to a NASCAR race?
- When was the last time you did your nails?
- What’s the hardest thing about your job (or school)?
- What’s your favorite exercise or piece of equipment at the gym?
One entry per person.
You must use a valid email address to win.
The giveaway ends on Monday, September 28, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Have You Ever Poked Your Eye With a Makeup Brush or Liner (or With Any Makeup Accoutrement)?

September 24th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

Don't poke your eye out!! — Don’t poke your eye out!!

No (knock on wood!), I haven’t, but I’ve come dangerously close a few times…

The worst time by far was a couple years ago. I was applying false lashes using a pair of very sharp, pointy tweezers to place them on top of my natural lashes.

I don’t know what happened, but I misjudged the distance between the tweezers and my eyeball, and it was like one of those scary scenes from a movie where you see the shiny drill or the alien probe coming at the person’s eye in slow motion, gah!

I blinked my eye shut right in the nick of time.

Needless to say, I never did that again. Now I just use my fingers or this really handy tool I found at Sephora called the Bulls Eye Lash Applicator. It’s plastic and slightly rounded, so I can place my false lashes without the whole poking-my-eye-out thing. It’s also only $12. I use it all the time. If you wear false lashes often, I highly recommend it!

Which leads me to ask, have you ever poked your eye with a makeup brush or liner (or with any makeup accoutrement)?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Have You Ever Felt Pressured to Buy Something at a Beauty Counter (Something That You Didn’t Want)?

September 24th, 2015 by Karen 32 Comments

Ummm... — When you walk out of the store with something you didn’t really want and you’re like, “Umm…”

Yup, I have, but out here where I live it’s usually a subtle cajoling and not a hard sell. I’m at my most vulnerable when I’m on the fence about something, too, and the salesperson will sense it. Then when they say the magic words, “If you don’t like it, you can just return it!” — sometimes it’ll nudge me into making the purchase.

If it’s something that I really don’t want and can’t ever see myself using, though, I have no problem saying no, and I’ll try to do it politely, like by saying, “It’s a very different color than I usually wear, so I’ll pass for now,” or “It’s not really something I can see myself wearing, so I need some time think about it.”

How about you? Have you ever felt pressured to buy something at a beauty counter (something that you didn’t want)?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What Are the Driest Areas of Your Skin?

September 23rd, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

Driest parts of my skin? Oy! I don’t even know where to start.

On my face, usually my cheeks, and this is consistent all year ’round, even summer. And then around the middle of winter I start getting dry patches around my mouth and my nostrils, and sometimes they’re so dry that they turn red and flaky. Weirdly, however, this wasn’t always the case. Up until my early 30s, I had straight-up oily skin and dryness was never an issue. Sometimes I’d even skip moisturizer, GASP! Now, though, that is no longer an option. When I don’t use lotion on my face, my skin feels really tight. Sometimes it hurts.

Oh, the woes of a dry-cheeked girl…

On my body, the dryness is pretty much spread all over the place. It’s equal opportunity dryness! — although there are places, like my shins, my feet and especially my hands, that do get noticeably drier in the winter.

I literally never leave the house without a tube of hand cream in my purse.

And I’ve definitely noticed that the dryness depends on the climate and the humidity. When I leave the Bay Area, like when I go to Redding to see my in-laws up north, where it’s inland and there’s much lower humidity, the dryness kicks up several notches. Same thing when I go to Las Vegas or Arizona or other parts of the Southwest.

I think if I lived in those areas I’d have to start bathing in heavy-duty cream moisturizer, LOL!
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FYH (For Your Hair): Blunt Ends or Layers?

September 23rd, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

Blunt ends or layers? OK, so, I’ve totally done both at different stages in my hair life, and I’ve learned that if I want something easy and low maintenance, which I almost always do, it’s layers all the way, man.

Blunt ends give me so much grief! When I have long-ish hair with blunt ends and no layering, it doesn’t have any movement, so it lays heavy and flat and looks like a stiff stage curtain. And it FEELS heavy, too, like I’m carrying around five extra pounds of hair.

Oh, and don’t get me started on short blunt cuts. I had shoulder-length hair with blunt ends once when I was about 12, and my hair did that thing where the bottom puffs out into a triangle shape, so basically I walked around looking like the Great Sphinx of Giza.

I really didn’t have any idea what to do with my hair until I was in my early 20s, which was when I finally clicked with a good stylist.

How about you? For your hair, do you prefer blunt ends or layers?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 341

September 21st, 2015 by Karen 30 Comments

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.

Have you ever taken candy from a stranger?
Does gum on an airplane count?? Because those are the only times I can remember — having someone on an airplane offer me a stick of gum, and I took it partly to be polite, because I figured, if I’m gonna be stuck next to the same person for five hours, I want to be cool with them, you know? Plus — and I realize that this is very doomsday of me — if the sh*t ever hits the fan on a plane, you better believe I want an ally.

So, long story short — yes, I have taken candy from strangers.

Sorry, mom! I know you told me never to do that…

Does lining your water line freak you out?
Nah, not really…but I think that’s because I wear contacts, so I’m used to having objects all up in my eyeball grill.

If I didn’t wear contacts though…

An urban legend that scared you as a kid?
Oh, gosh — Bloody Mary scared the crap out of me!

Remember that one, where if you looked into a mirror in a dark room and said “Bloody Mary” three times, the ghost of a woman was supposed to appear next to you in the mirror?

It was all the rage at slumber parties for some reason…but I was always too terrified to try it! And when another girl would do it, I’d run away to a different room in the house and start reciting The Lord’s Prayer over and over, LOL!

Yes, I was that child…

Even after all these years, I still get shivers from this story!
Have you been doing much cooking lately?
Not so much lately because of Baby Girl. I didn’t really feel like it for the first couple months of pregnancy. I pretty much hated all food stuffs except for select breakfast items…but I’m over it and starting to eat more normally again, which means that I’m getting back into cooking (also, one can only eat so many frozen waffles before they hit their limit).

Thank goodness for El Hub. He did his best to keep us both fed while I refused to go anywhere near the kitchen.

Something you realized you had to get over?
I realized that I had to get over perfectionism. It’s usually referred to as if it’s a good thing, but it’s usually not. It has gotten in my way so many times throughout my life and held me back in more ways than I care to admit.

I’ve realized that it’s usually better to just go ahead and finish things on a schedule, by a deadline, even if the work isn’t picture-perfect in your head.

Your turn. 🙂 Just copy and paste the following questions into a comment with your answers. I look forward to reading ’em!

1. Have you ever taken candy from a stranger?
2. Does lining your water line freak you out?
3. An urban legend that scared you as a kid?
4. Have you been doing much cooking lately?
5. Something you realized you had to get over?

Good morning, sweet girl! Hello from the sun-shiny Northern California side of the keyboard. I’ve got a warm cup of green tea (decaf, of course) here and a tabby supervising me from across the room, so it’s been a great morning so far.

I feel amped up, and I think it might have to do with the green smoothie I had a little while ago. It was my first one in months (veggies and I have been mortal enemies since mid-June). Amazing what a little liquified greens can do…

I hope your Monday is going well. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 364

September 20th, 2015 by Karen 6 Comments

Cat purr-sues literacy

DEAR TABBY: I really enjoy it when my assistant reads to me. I find it very soothing, and I would love to be able to read to her and, in the future, to other cats. My assistant has been kind enough to tutor me, but I’m having a hard time picking it up. I used to think that I was a quick study because I’ve learned how to open the cupboards at the office, and I also understand doors, but this whole reading thing is going over my head.

I was wondering if you happened to know of any good reading programs for cats (free or paid), or if you have any tips. — EAGER READER IN REDDING

P.S. My friend Earl helped me write this letter because I couldn’t do it myself. 🙁

DEAR EAGER READER: I admire your stick-to-itiveness. Please know that you’re not the only cat out there who struggles with reading. It’s actually a very common issue — so common that I started an organization to help called Cats for Literacy. We have after-school programs for young kittens and evening programs for adult cats who want to improve their reading skills. Visit the website at catsforliteracy.org to find a program near you.

Once you’re more comfortable with the fundamentals, practice by reading things you enjoy. I highly recommend Cat Fancy for its stunning photography and engaging profiles. And, of course, my column here.

I know that with dedicated study, you’ll be able to read Dear Tabby entirely on your own.

Cat deals with heavy petting

DEAR TABBY: My kitty modeling agency is small compared to yours, but even at my level, I’ve learned that good help is hard to find. My one and only assistant is great in many ways. She’s punctual, energetic when it comes to keeping me entertained with feather toys, and she’s a fantastic cook and gravy preparer, but she’s also the worst masseuse I have ever known. She has absolutely THE WORST petting technique.

She taps my head like I’m a dog and even — I kid you not — literally rubs me the wrong way.

I understand that every assistant has their strengths and weaknesses, and nobody is perfect. I definitely don’t expect perfection, but even if we could just slightly improve her petting abilities, it would be a big improvement.

I hope that my assistant doesn’t read this because I don’t want to hurt her feelings. Overall, I think she’s doing a wonderful job.

Tabby, what do you think I should do? Have you ever had an assistant that was great in so many ways but lacking in one particular area? And have you had much success sending employees to get outside training? — TOO MUCH TAPPING IN TOPEKA

DEAR TOO MUCH TAPPING: Of course I’d never admit this to my assistants because I like to keep them on their toes, but both of them are primo, top-notch at petting. I have, however, experienced a similar issue with one of my employee’s family members. My female employee’s mother does the same exact thing, and it drives me batty.

Here’s what I do: I let her get one or two pets in, but then after the third one I gently nip her on her hand — not to draw blood, but just as a reminder of who’s boss.

She’ll come at me again, of course — they always do — so I’ll repeat the process until she gets the technique right.

If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to escalate the situation, and I recommend dropping gentle hints. Print out a guide to successfully petting your cat. Google it. There are tons of them online. And place that on her desk first thing in the morning with a sticky that says, “FYI.”
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