Just For Fun

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 239

October 1st, 2012 by Karen 80 Comments

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.

Mood:
Inspired! Funny (sad?) thing is, I think I feel the way I do right now because of a TV show called Friday Night Lights.

I must have watched 10 episodes last weekend, and they’re an hour long each. I’m already on the fifth and final season (tear!). If you’ve never seen it before, it’s about a small West Texas town and their local high school football team.

I keep wishing that I had my own personal Coach Taylor to hover around my desk and motivate me. He’s the head coach for the team, and he would tell me stuff like, “Listen to me. You’re gonna be the best darn pet assistant in Novato, Karen. You hear me? The best darn one. You keep this up, and I promise you — you’re going all the way to state!” LOL!

What’s one of your biggest foundation gripes?
Why is it so hard to find a comfortable, full-coverage foundation with a matte finish that perfectly matches my skin tone? Most ones I find are either too beige or too yellow, yargh!

If you were forced to wear one makeup look every day for a year, what would it be?
Cat eyes, loads of mascara and bright lips, for sure. Classic, easy and it goes with almost everything! 🙂

Name one thing you need to (or should) stop doing?
Staying up late watching Friday Night Lights on TV. My sleep schedule is a mess because of it. It’s been taking me at least an hour to unwind when I finally get to bed around midnight because I’m so fired up from the show.

Fishnet stockings: love ’em or leave ’em?
Love ’em, but only when the mesh pattern squares or diamonds are small, and when they’re worn with things to tone down the sultriness, like a pair of tough girl Doc Martin boots or a long skirt.

It’s snack time! Today we’re having a healthy fruit salad. What’s in yours?
Grapes, blueberries, strawberries and Honeycrisp apples.

Please…PLEASE, no honeydew or cantaloupe melon, blech!

If you could take a two-month class on anything right now, what would it be?
Ooh, that’s tough! I’m kind of a nerd and love taking classes when I can. Right now, I’d take Pilates or a studio lighting class for photography.

What’s one thing in life you should stop waiting for?
For everything to be perfect, because while you’re waiting, you’ll miss all of the good things right in front of your nose.

What’s one key to success?
Repetition. Whatever it is you want to do, just keep doing it, and when you get to the point where you feel like you can do it backwards, upside down and in your sleep, do it some more.

Weekly goals:
First, I need to take care of myself this week. I want to get in at least 30 minutes of cardio daily, get to bed by 11 every night, drink lots of water throughout the day, and be kind and supportive of myself (no negative self-talk whatsoever!).

What’s up, cutie pie? Yup, another Monday, which means we get to hang out again and talk beauty shop.

Here, why don’t you man the keyboard for a minute while I go brew us some tea in the kitchen.

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

Le List

1. Mood:
2. What’s one of your biggest foundation gripes?
3. If you were forced to wear one makeup look every day for a year, what would it be?
4. Name one thing you need to (or should) stop doing?
5. Fishnet stockings: love ’em or leave ’em?
6. It’s snack time! Today we’re having a healthy fruit salad. What’s in yours?
7. If you could take a two-month class on anything right now, what would it be?
8. What’s one thing in life you should stop waiting for?
9. What is one key to success?
10. Weekly goals:

Who knows what great things will happen to you this week? I’m looking forward to finding out. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 211

September 30th, 2012 by Karen 14 Comments

I’m sitting here in the living room eating popcorn and watching the fifth season of Friday Night Lights, and Tabs is nowhere to be found. I think he turned in early, totally tuckered out after the rollicking weekend he had.

He didn’t party in the traditional sense, but he did host a couple of parties — or rather I did, seeing as how I take care of that kind of thing for him as his professional pet assistant/lackey.

Let me just say this: if I never see another catnip cocktail in my entire life, it’ll be too soon.

I’m sure he’ll be down for dinner… Tabs hasn’t missed a dinner in, um, ever. He better hurry, though, because I don’t know how much longer I’ll be awake.

I may try to coax him downstairs with cookie dough… Seriously, it’s the weirdest thing. Whenever I bake cookies and bust out one of those tubes of Toll House cookie dough, Tabs comes runnin’. I don’t know if it’s the crinkling of the packaging or the scent of the dough, but he stands up on his hind legs at the kitchen counters, meows and flashes his sad eyes like he’s saying, “Please, miss, can you spare a cookie? I’m so very hungry.”

Yeah, right! We all know that’s B.S., as evidenced by his No. 1 ranking from the Association of Plus Size Kitty Supermodels, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to lose that ranking anytime soon, not with busy modeling weeks like this one. Here are some of the campaigns he did… 🙂

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Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!

September 29th, 2012 by Karen 506 Comments

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Ester Y! Congratulations, Ester! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Thank goodness for dishwashing machines, ya know? Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to do dishes.

How’s it going this morning? 🙂 What’s the weather like out your way? Looks like it’s gonna be a sunny one here. It’s about 60 degrees or so, lots of leaves on the ground because it’s definitely fall, but at least it isn’t freezing cold yet.

I haven’t figured out my game plan for today, but I hope it involves some relaxing. I’ve got a new episode of Project Runway to catch up on, and I would love to go for a hike. I spent all day yesterday indoors with Tabs because we had a meeting for some potential investors. Even did a PowerPoint presentation, and I think it went pretty well. If you’re interested, here are the slides…

Now, without further adieu, let’s get on with the festivities, shall we?

You know what that means… It’s giveaway time. 🙂

What folks are saying…

“Hi Karen. Oh my goodness! I can’t believe I won! :O Thank you so much! You, Tabs, and your blog are amazing! Thank you for keeping me updated on all things beauty and more importantly, for keeping me entertained! Keep doing your thing! Thank you again.”
-Jacqueline

“Thanks so much, Karen. Just in case you were wondering what I got with it, I decided to go with the Clarisonic Mia–I’ve been wanting it for years now, but have never purchased it because of the price. Your eCard helped me finally buy it! I look forward to using it. Thanks again!”
-Jane

“Shut the front door! OMG Karen, you have made my day. 🙂 I’m sick in bed with the flu and this has just cheered me up immensely!!!!!!!! BTW, I’m the one that sent you that pic of my pug in a wig a few weeks back LOL! Thanks again, honestly, I’m beyond giddy right now.”
-Angel

“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much Karen (and Tabs, of course)! I really appreciate this! I’d been eyeing the Anastasia brow pencil in Strawburn to match my red hair!”
-Chelsea (and Jiji the kitten and Quincy the bunny)

“Never before have I been so pleased to check my email right before bed!!! Thank you so, so much! I truly enjoy your blog and check it almost daily! Thanks again! This made my night!”
-Melissa, Edmond, OK

“Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I’m so excited, I’ve never won anything before. My name is Hana … I just turned 25 (today is my birthday!) Yay! Thank you.”
-Hana

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

There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, have you ever done a PowerPoint presentation? Do you enjoy public speaking? Are you reading any books right now (good ones or bad)? How many times per week do you wash your hair? Do you wear summery makeup colors (like corals) in the fall? Have you found any good drugstore lipglosses lately? — you get the idea.
Second, you can enter by following me on Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/P29TuE

The deadline to enter is Sunday, September 30, 2012 at 11:59PM (PT).
Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.
Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Ester Y! Congratulations, Ester! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

What Are You Wearing On Your Nails?

September 27th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

Tabs went au naturale today. 🙂 While he’s usually on point when it comes to the latest fashion trends, he generally prefers nude, non-fussy claws. “Meow,” he says. [“It’s a street thing.”]

As for my claws, I’ve got two coats of Chanel Le Vernis in Malice on my left and nothing on my right…

But I’m just about to slap on these Trend Tips Real Lacquer Strips nail stickers from Sephora by OPI ($12). This one below is called Pink & Black Lace (Sephora also carries 17 other designs).

Tabs apparently approves. 🙂

How about you? What are you wearing on your nails?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. How’s it going tonight?

Oh! Get this — I was at Safeway earlier and saw that DiGiorno makes half-and-half frozen pizzas now. Half cheese, half pepperoni (the cheese for me and the pepperoni for El Hub).

It’s like someone read my mind, LOL! Got one in the oven right now…

Other than that, I’m gonna watch another episode of Friday Night Lights and go to bed. I’m almost halfway done with the fourth season (of five) and already starting to feel sad because I know it’ll be over soon.

[SNIFFS!] Texas forever, y’all. Texas forever.

Using the New MBB Galleries, Categories and Brands to Find Posts in the Archives

September 25th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

It’s been about two weeks since the blog brought home its new outfit, and things behind the scenes are moving right along (iPhone and Android users, the mobile version should now be working).

Here’s a quick screencast showing some of the new features. I hope you like how things turned out. 🙂 Thanks for all of your great feedback so far.

Slowly but surely, I’m filling out the Brands dropdown menu with posts from the archives. Because it was something we never had before, Tabs and I (haha, okay just me) have been editing each of the 7,200 posts and clicking little checkboxes next to the brands they correspond to. That way, the posts appear when we click the corresponding brand names in the new dropdown menu.

As for the new Galleries (my favorite new feature), it’s thumbnails, thumbnails everywhere! I think the new galleries are fun, look pretty cool, and they’re a good way to discover posts you may have missed back when they were originally published (the MAC gallery goes aaaaaaall the way back to 2007). They’re also a great way to get to know me and Makeup and Beauty Blog if you’re a new visitor.

Thank you as always for visiting. Have fun, click around, make yourself at home, and I’ll see you soon in the comments. 🙂

Finding your way around Makeup and Beauty Blog…

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 238

September 24th, 2012 by Karen 74 Comments

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.

Mood:
Awake! — now that I’ve got two cups of coffee in me, and better now that I’ve done some free writing. I have this exercise where I write about whatever I want, as fast as I can, for 10 minutes. Most of the time it’s complete nonsense or babbling about tiny pumpkins or road rage, but it gets the job done.

I was feeling really anxious and overwhelmed first thing this morning, but I feel about a billion times better now that I’m done. There’s just something therapeutic about getting the crazy thoughts in my head on the monitor/paper.

But some mornings, when even that’s too hard, I’ll just list out all of the things I’m grateful for, and after that I usually feel better.

I set a pretty ambitious schedule for myself today…but the Chanel holiday collection promises to calm my nerves. 🙂

What’s your lazy day/weekend beauty routine?
Depends on how lazy I feel, but normally it’s brows, tinted moisturizer, concealer to cover my dark circles, mascara and a dash of gloss. It only takes about five minutes or so, and I always feel so much better when I’m done.

What’s one thing life has taught you?
That I’m responsible for moving my life forward. If I just kick back and wait for things to happen, chances are, they won’t.

What are your glam go-to’s (beauty or otherwise?)
A bright lipstick like MAC Impassioned, a pretty pair of Michael Kors Braided Chain Platform heels and a couple spritzes of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle perfume… Coco Mademoiselle works miracles, I tell ya! I spritzed some on the other night after my shower, and even though I was wearing my plaid pajamas, I felt like the belle of the ball, LOL!

Ramen: love it or leave it?
I hate to say this because I know that it’s saltier than salt and filled with preservatives…but I love the stuff. LOVE IT! Especially with sliced fish cake and bok choy, NOM!

It’s okay to (FILL IN THE BLANK).
Eat cookies/cake for breakfast, admit that you’re wrong, forgive yourself, and forgive others, (even when they’ve really, really hurt you).

What’s the most isolated place you’ve ever lived?
Um…probably Davis, where I went to school. It’s a small college town about two hours north of the Bay Area out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by farm land.

The last time you sat next to a stranger on a plane, did you chat with them?
I did. I usually try to chat a bit with the people seated next to me on airplanes because I figure, if you’re going to be sharing such cramped quarters with someone for such a long time, might as well try to make it as pleasant as possible. Plus, you never know who’s going to have a good story to tell!

What kind of emails annoy you?
The one-word emails that just say “Thanks” and get cc’d to a big group of people. Really? Was that really necessary to send to EVERYONE?
Weekly goals:
“Never give up! Never surrender!” – Galaxy Quest, 1999

Howdy, sweets! 🙂 I hope you have a little time to stop by and say hello.

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

Le List

1. Mood:
2. What’s your lazy day/weekend beauty routine?
3. Whats one thing life has taught you?
4. What are your glam go-to’s (beauty or otherwise?)
5. Ramen: love it or leave it?
6. It’s okay to (FILL IN THE BLANK).
7. What’s the most isolated place you’ve ever lived?
8. The last time you sat next to a stranger on a plane, did you chat with them?
9. What kind of emails annoy you?
10. Weekly goals:

Gimme a big smile, will ya? 🙂 That’s step one toward us having a great day.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 210

September 23rd, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

Had a pretty great afternoon today, even though I had to work. But it wasn’t really work, per se. Tabs took me to lunch — his excuse to talk about Halloween costume ideas — but at least I got a free meal out of it. We went to this gourmet burger joint called The Counter, and I finally got the veggie burger and fries I’d been wanting all week.

The restaurant had a TV behind the bar, and I glanced up to see the Steelers playing the Raiders. I know that Tabs is a huge football fan, so I took the opportunity to pick his brain. I asked him what it was like playing professional football for the Mill Valley Wildcats before he got into kitty modeling.

He looked off into space for a minute, just sort of stared and smiled… “Meow,” he finally said. [It was one of the toughest jobs I ever had, but I loved every minute.] He went on to describe the camaraderie, the adrenalin rush, the nervousness he felt before every game.

He told me all about some of the technical aspects of the game, like how there are 11 cats on offense, defense and 11 more on special teams. He played on offense, tight end, because he was a little too husky to play wide receiver but not fast enough to be a running back.

After retiring from the game, he briefly considered going into coaching. He’s always liked molding new talent, but he wanted something more stable. As a coach, you lose one big game and you’re out. At least with kitty modeling, when you’re as good looking as Tabs, you can count on a few good years. I have to say, though, he’s a great teacher, and very inspiring. I bet he would have made an excellent coach.

I guess it’s not too late. He could always coach up-and-coming kitty models. 🙂

This was a decent week for his career. He had modeling jobs for a few big beauty brands, and here are some of the pics…

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Two Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora!

September 22nd, 2012 by Karen 458 Comments

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Jamie! Congratulations, Jamie! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂

Tabs and I are watching Project Runway right now, and Tim Gunn seems like such a cool guy. I envy Tabs for being able to work so closely with him. What a tremendous opportunity — having Tim Gunn as your mentor. His insights into feline and human fashion are so simple yet eloquently stated, and he just seems like such a nice person on top of everything else (loved his book).

Tabs gets so many great opportunities like that… I wonder if he fully appreciates how lucky he is. I asked him about it once, how lucky he felt, and he said, “Mrrrow.” [The harder I work, the luckier I get.]

Thanks for stopping by this morning. It’s always nice to see you. 🙂

Have you entered this weekend’s giveaway yet? Just takes a comment, and there’s a Sephora eGift card waiting for a good home.

What folks are saying…

“Hi Karen. Oh my goodness! I can’t believe I won! :O Thank you so much! You, Tabs, and your blog are amazing! Thank you for keeping me updated on all things beauty and more importantly, for keeping me entertained! Keep doing your thing! Thank you again.”
-Jacqueline

“Thanks so much, Karen. Just in case you were wondering what I got with it, I decided to go with the Clarisonic Mia–I’ve been wanting it for years now, but have never purchased it because of the price. Your eCard helped me finally buy it! I look forward to using it. Thanks again!”
-Jane

“Shut the front door! OMG Karen, you have made my day. 🙂 I’m sick in bed with the flu and this has just cheered me up immensely!!!!!!!! BTW, I’m the one that sent you that pic of my pug in a wig a few weeks back LOL! Thanks again, honestly, I’m beyond giddy right now.”
-Angel

“Oh my goodness! Thank you so much Karen (and Tabs, of course)! I really appreciate this! I’d been eyeing the Anastasia brow pencil in Strawburn to match my red hair!”
-Chelsea (and Jiji the kitten and Quincy the bunny)

“Never before have I been so pleased to check my email right before bed!!! Thank you so, so much! I truly enjoy your blog and check it almost daily! Thanks again! This made my night!”
-Melissa, Edmond, OK

“Hi Karen. Thank you so much, I’m so excited, I’ve never won anything before. My name is Hana … I just turned 25 (today is my birthday!) Yay! Thank you.”
-Hana

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

There are two ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win. First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, a comment about anything at all, like, have you ever designed a piece of clothing? Who’s your favorite Project Runway designer? When was the last time you had a meal outside? What’s the coldest it gets where you live? Have you ever been to New York? What’s your favorite black eyeliner? — you get the idea.
Second, you can enter by following me on Twitter @karenmbb and retweeting (RT) the following message:
- Follow @karenmbb and RT to Win a $50 eGift Card from Sephora! http://bit.ly/R7ttUF

The deadline to enter is Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 11:59PM (PT).
Entrants must enter using a valid email address and/or Twitter account to win.
A maximum of two (2) entries per person — one within the comments at the bottom of this post, and a second entry via Twitter addressed to me @karenmbb.
Contest is open to individuals of any country who have reached the age of majority according to their local laws (18 in the United States with these exceptions: Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).
Sephora eGift Certificates can only be redeemed online and are not valid in stores or available for purchase or redemption in Canada. International winners may opt to substitute the Sephora eGift card prize for $50 sent directly to their email address by PayPal instead.
Tabs and I (heretofore referred to as “T-Money and K-Dawg”) will select one (1) winner at random from the entries either left in the comments at the bottom of this blog post or addressed to @karenmbb on Twitter.
The winner will be announced here within 48 hours of the deadline.
Void where prohibited by law.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

WINNER: The giveaway is closed now, and the winner is Jamie! Congratulations, Jamie! If you entered but didn’t win this time around, keep trying, and click here to enter any ongoing giveaways before you jet. 🙂