Just For Fun

Do you wear more makeup now or less? Has your skincare regimen gotten more complicated than it used to be? How about your hair situation? Do you fuss with your mane more these days than you did 10 years ago, or have you learned to let it be?

I’m curious. How have your beauty routines changed over the past decade?

Let’s see… Ten years ago I was a wee lass o’ 28. My beauty routines have definitely changed a lot since then.

I’d say the biggest changes have been with how I do my hair. On a daily basis, I don’t mess with it as much as I used to. It took a long time to love my naturally wavy hair as much as I do now. Ten years ago I was straightening it almost daily, which took 20-30 minutes and was the most time consuming part of getting ready in the mornings for me.

Now I just let it do whatever it wants…and unsurprisingly that takes a lot less time! I’m usually done in five minutes. Fifteen at the most if I take a curling iron to it.

Of course, I use up that extra time with my skincare routine, which has gotten more complicated. It used to be pretty minimal — cleanser, toner, benzoyl peroxide (for le zits), moisturizer and sunscreen.

I didn’t even use an eye cream back then! Now, I do. I use way more products than I used to, including anti-aging goodies (like this and this).

As for makeup, I think I’m less fearful of trying new things and brighter colors than I was then. At 28, I mostly stuck to conservative colors — browns and beiges on my eyes, MAC Blushbaby on my cheeks and a slew of pinkish golden glosses (hello, MAC Nymphette).

My idea of pushing the envelope back then was a small amount of teal liner softly smudged along my upper lash line, and I would have never even considered wearing bright coral or hot pink lips.

Shoot, now I’ll try anything! 🙂

Let’s hop in the Wayback Machine… Ten years ago, what was your beauty routine like? And how has it changed over the past decade?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! Here’s to a loooong weekend (*raises coffee mug*).

I hope you slept well last night. I actually slept in this morning…to 6:40, woo-hoo! That’s a lot later than usual lately. Between the Finch Family and the Tabby alarm clock, 6:40 feels alright. 😀

What’s the plan for today? You know what I’m doin’. I’m hitting the pool, and then maybe, hopefully, the mall later today.

Trains, planes, automobiles? Rowboats, rickshaws, dogsleds, airport terminals? The bathroom at da cloob?

Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever applied your makeup?

Most of my doozies involve travel or deadlines. Or travel and frenetic rushing.

One time I applied NARS Amour blush in a bathroom on a ferryboat crossing the San Francisco Bay…which you might think could be kind of cool and poetic (“She braved the sea aboard a great ship to meet her love, sweeping NARS Amour across her cheeks as waves lapped against the hull…”), except that it wasn’t.

It actually really sucked. It was like trying to apply blush in a sardine can being shaken by a giant… Haha! I barely had enough room to raise my arm high enough to reach my face, and it was also dark in there, so I couldn’t see sh*t!

Oh, the boat was also rocking back and forth, too, which made me seasick.

And then there’s BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit, the Bay Area’s subway system). Yes, I was one of those women applying her makeup at the crack of dawn on the train. And my car (as a passenger, I might add). And various airport restrooms (usually difficult because the lighting often sucks).

I can’t be the only one with stories like these (please tell me I’m not). Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever applied your makeup?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy 4th of July! What are you up to today?

Do you have the day off from work? Are there any cool fireworks displays in your area? El Hub always talks about popping firecrackers when he was growing up in Hawaii. Everything was legal there back then, even firecrackers and bottle rockets. Firecrackers are banned here, but there are some big fireworks displays, like a big one in San Rafael at the Marin County Fair. I really want to bring my camera and try my luck at fireworks photography.

Things are a little chill here today at Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC. Tabs is between modeling jobs, so he gave me the afternoon off.

After playing with makeup for a spell, I think I’ll sneak out to the pool.

Whatever you’re up to, have a great day, and remember that…

P.S. EDIT: Okay, I’ve been reading your comments, and uh…!? I thought my ferry one was weird, but apparently not. 🙂 Rachel, gurl, yours made me laugh out loud!

I’ve lost loads of makeup and had plenty of individual pieces go MIA over the years. I’m sure Tabs has something to do with it some of the time, because he likes to bat things around into nooks and crannies under dressers, beds and into the hidden corners of closets, but as far as losing an entire makeup bag, not yet (*knocks on wood*).

Not sure if this counts, but once a long time ago a makeup order I made online arrived looking like someone somewhere between where it started its journey and got to me went through the entire package picking out their favorites! BOO!

I have heard nightmare stories from friends who’ve had their makeup bags stolen. I ran into a buddy at Sephora a while back who was there buying makeup because her car had been broken into while she was out hiking, and the crook took her fully stocked makeup bag.

She was like, “I can understand why they wanted the wallet, but used blush and lipstick? That’s just cold.”

Have you ever lost your makeup bag or had it stolen?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy hump day. 🙂

Is it nails? Waxing? Getting your hair did?

Me, I tend to neglect shaving, but only in the winter. If nobody’s going to see my shins or my ‘pits, I figure I might as well use the extra fur to keep warm, haha!

In the summer, different story. I’m on it like abs on Ryan Phillippe. I’m like a Terminator when it comes to hair removal, and I absolutely, positively WILL NOT STOP until I’m de-fuzzed.

Um…let’s see. What else?

Toe paint. Yes, I’m guilty of letting pedicures go a week or two (or three) past their prime. In fact, I have a pretty chippy one right now that needs some tending, le sigh…

I’m also not always great about getting my hair cut on a regularly basis.

It’s weird. When I had it short (chin-length) back in the early 2000s, I got it cut at least once a month, because the moment I felt it creeping at the back of my neck, I’d go crazy!

But now that it’s longer, I can easily let it go a month or sometimes two. I just throw it in a ponytail or a low bun and forget about it. For me, having long hair is lower maintenance than having it short.

Gimme the deets, sweets. Tell me a bit about your beauty routines. What beauty maintenance do you tend to neglect?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”

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

1. Flip-flops or Crocs?
   Slippahs, brah! And not just any ol’ flip-flops, because I only wear Reefs. They’re super squishy and mold to your feet after you’ve worn them for a bit. Like walking on fluffy clouds, ahhh! My friend Cindy introduced me to them years ago, and now I can’t wear anything else.
2. Do you like to drive fast?
   No. No. Wave “hi” to me as you zip by me in the slow lane driving like a granny. I have no desire to break speed limits. It doesn’t do anything for me.
3. Have you ever broken your nose?
   Nope (*knocks on wood*).
4. Can you remember the last time you slept outside?
   Gosh, it’s been a long time. Last time was over 10 years ago, I think, when I visited a friend in Montana. Big surprise, I’m not really a “let’s sleep in the wilderness for fun!” kinda person. I lurve mattresses and climate control and indoor plumbing. Plus, whenever I do go camping or sleep outside, somehow I always manage to pick a spot that has lots of little rocks that I don’t feel until I’m trying to fall asleep.
5. Peplum tops?
   Yeah, I think they can be really cute with skinny jeans or shorts. I don’t have one yet, but I want one.
6. Are you a pink kinda gal/guy?
   Sure am! I like all shades of pink, but hot pink is probably my favorite for makeup, clothing and accessories.
7. I would be the world’s worst ____.
   Bus driver. I mean, I can barely drive my Mazda! Plus, I can’t imagine having to be responsible for a huge vehicle that can’t do u-turns, has no side visibility and is filled with people who aren’t wearing seat belts. Oh, and driving that thing in the rain? No thanks.

   I’m also pretty sure I’d be the world’s worst cop. “But I didn’t do anything, officer!” My answer: “Ok, I believe you.”

8. How’s your summer going so far?
   
   It’s been really good. June flew by, didn’t it? I’m looking forward to a few trips this month and August. I’m going to La Jolla in San Diego for a surf trip with Cindy (the gal I mentioned earlier who introduced me to Reefs), up to Redding to visit El Hub’s family, and then to Kauai in August.
9. A discontinued makeup or beauty product that you still pine for?
   Chanel Candy Glow Aqualumiere — the perfect pinkish peach gloss.
10. Afternoon Starbucks run! What can I get you?
    I’ll take a Venti iced green tea, extra sweet, please.

To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.

Le List

1. Flip-flops or Crocs?
2. Do you like to drive fast?
3. Have you ever broken your nose?
4. Can you remember the last time you slept outside?
5. Peplum tops?
6. Are you a pink kinda gal/guy?
7. I would be the world’s worst ____.
8. How’s your summer going so far?
9. A discontinued makeup or beauty product that you still pine for?
10. Afternoon Starbucks run! What can I get you?

July already, my love! I can’t believe it. I have high hopes for both you and me this month. I think we’re going to do great things and have a blast while we’re at it. This will be a summer to remember. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Barely 9 a.m. here on the West Coast, and already I’m thinking about the weekend! 😀

In a parallel universe, I would apply false lashes first thing every Saturday morning before I did anything else. And cat liner. And glitter. And a robotic hovering wind machine would follow me around everywhere, blowing my hair back so that I looked like this all day long…

There may even be a feather boa and/or tiara in the mix.

It all depends on my schedule for the day… One thing’s for sure — I’d be all glam, all weekend, every weekend. For reals.

But in this universe, because I like to take it easy on the weekends, my weekend makeup’s super chill, or at least it has been lately.

My usual weekend wear (not necessarily all at the same time)

• Foundation: MAC Face & Body, which I’m obsessed with, again. Let me know if you need me to talk you into it, holla!
• Concealer: Bobbi Brown Peach Color Corrector
• Mascara: Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Mascara Waterproof, a CHAMPION OF pools and beaches
• Brow Pencil: MAC Veluxe Brow Liner
• Waterproof eye liner: (Chanel Santal and Beryl
• Blush: Lately, Dolce & Gabbana Peach or Too Faced Who’s Your Poppy
• Bronzer: (Guerlain Terra Nerolia
• Powder: MAC Blot or Careblends Pressed
• Nude lip liner: MAC Subculture
• Nude gloss: Clarins Instant Light, MAC Big Baby, Chanel Candy Glow

And when I have plans to go out to a special dinner or do something with El Hub, then I might do more with my eye makeup, or apply a bright lip like MAC Impassioned or NARS Yu.

So, babe, tell me about your weekend makeup. What do you usually wear? Do you try to keep it minimalist and mellow? Or do you like to break free from your oppressive weekday routine by going all-out glam? Spill the legumes! Let me know how you usually wear your makeup on the weekends. If you feel like it, list the items you use. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S.