
So…what is the Monday Poll?
Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. 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 quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
Not my entire head of hair, no, but I did go through a phase when I had chunky, bright red highlights. They were an obnoxious shade of red, too, like the color of a stop sign. It was in the late ’90s, and I rocked it with a short bob that had the ends flipped out… I thought I was the sh*t, but now I cringe a little on the inside when I think about it, LOL!
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
Liquid concealer, all day, every day. It’s just easier to blend and control for me, and if I need to sheer it out, all I have to do is add a drop of Fresh Seaberry Oil.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
Girl, I could totally do it, even upside down with my eyes closed!
I can’t believe there was a time when it took me more than 20 minutes to work on my base, because nowadays even 10 minutes is a luxury. Shoot, give me 5 minutes, and I’ll make miracles happen!
4. What did you have for breakfast?
A Trader Joe’s Non-Fat Vanilla Yogurt with a handful of blackberries and a HUGE mug of coffee.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.)
Um…both options sound terrible to me. I haven’t had a perm since elementary school (Translation: It was a hella long time ago, and I looked like a poodle.), and I’m not fond of anything permanent on my face.
That said, I’d go with the microblading, but I would meticulously search for someone who specialized in natural-looking microblading, and I’d only do a few hairs at a time over the course of many, many months.
Audiobooks?
Hiya! Happy Monday, fellow adventurer!
Dude…thank goodness for coffee, because, well, it’s coffee, and it tastes SO good. Also, because I stayed up late “reading” last night, with “reading” in air quotes because I’ve been listening to an Audible audiobook of Where’d You Go, Bernadette.
MAN! It’s taking FOR-EV-ER to finish it, but I do like having someone else do the reading sometimes. I mean, I read pretty fast, so I probably could’ve finished this one twice already if I’d had it in my hands, but audiobooks force me to slooooow down, which is good in that I can get lost in a book for much longer. On the one hand, that’s great because I get to savor the story longer, but on the other hand, I get antsy, and I’ve been tempted more than once to Google the ending.
I still haven’t (yet), so props to me and my self restraint, woo-hoo! ?

OK, I’m off to pour myself another cup of Royal Kona Vanilla Macadamia Nut. Holla if you’d like one.
Have a great rest of your day!
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. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
4. What did you have for breakfast?
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.)

1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
Not red specifically, but dyed my hair back in college and in the sun it had reddish highlights in the sun.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
Liquid! Much easier for me to blend.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
I think I could do pretty well! I’ve gotten better over the years.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
I skipped breakfast, but I had some leftover french fries for lunch. I’ll balance it out with some fruit later. 🙂
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.)
Microblading. I would love to not have to worry about filling in my brows. My mom never let me get a perm back in the day and now I’m glad for it!
Happy Monday! We had snow over the weekend, but luckily it is sunny today. Hope your day is off to a good start!
Hi Ruchita,
Happy Monday to you too. Did any of the kitties go play out in the snow?
Today’s been OK so far. I’m doing lots of organizing and sneaking in a few minutes of my book here and there.
P.S. Skinny french fries or the chunky french fries? I’m a fan of the skinny fries.
Louis is a nature boy just like Mingus used to be! He doesn’t mind rain or snow.
I prefer the thicker cut fries, but I’m not gonna turn down the skinny ones! Especially when they are freshly made. 🙂
Aww, Louis! (And RIP, Mingy.)
Hot skinny fries are my favorite, ahhh! Especially when they have a lot of salt.
I met a cat while I was on a walk yesterday, by the way, and thought of you because she was a three-year old black cat named “Truffle.” She was the cutest little thing! Her mom and her big dog sis were going out for a walk, and Truffle wanted to go with them so she followed them out (apparently this is what she does, according to her mom). Anyway, Connor saw her from across the street and immediately started calling, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” and making kissy noises. 🙂 You would’ve been proud of our little cat lady.
Aww, that is so cute! I love that Connor is a cat lady in training. I didn’t grow up with pets, and I think it’s something special to experience the bond you can create with an animal. She sounds so sweet and gentle!
She was so determined to be Truffle’s friend, LOL! She just kept trying and trying. We have some chill neighborhood cats, like Harris, and they’ve been great practice for her developing cat lady skills!
That is so adorable! The shelter where I volunteer allows kids to come in and read to kitties on the adoption floor. Maybe that is something she could try when she is older.
I think she would LOVE that. I’ll have to see if any of the shelters nearby have a similar program.
What type of volunteer work are you doing for them these days?
I usually volunteer once a week after work and there’s a standard list of things that need to be done each time. It’s scooping a LOT of litter boxes, laundry and general cleaning. The majority of the shelter is cage free, so the cats are able to roam freely. There are separate rooms with cages for kittens and cats that are sick and I will help clean those and provide fresh food and water. There is always time to pet and play with the kitties too. It’s only a couple of hours a week, but I’m glad I have the time/ability to help out and spend time with kitties. 🙂
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? I was born with red hair; now I pay my hairdresser $$$ to make sure it stays red 🙂
2. Liquid or cream concealer? Cream
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? I can do it! Flying fingers!
4. What did you have for breakfast? TJ’s high fiber cereal with their macadamia/cashew/almost “milk” and one of their veggie patties.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.) Brows – they need it!
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? – I went brownish red before. It didn’t last long though.
2. Liquid or cream concealer? – Liquid.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? – It would look decent.
4. What did you have for breakfast? – An omelet with broccoli, cheese, bacon and mushrooms. Oh and coffee!
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.) – Definitely the brows. Like you though, I’d do a crap ton of research and make sure they’re natural looking.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? I died it a Quebec burgundy in college that looks reddish in the sun. I’m not sure people who don’t live near QC know what color I mean, but anyone who was around here in the 80s/90s will know right away. 🙂 Also had some fire red highlights a few years ago – but very thin and subtle.
2. Liquid or cream concealer? Liquid.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? No prob – only takes about half that time since it’s BB cream with fingers.
4. What did you have for breakfast? Mini Kind bar.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.) Microbladed. My brows could use the help but, like you, it would need to be natural looking – not like instagram eyebrows. Plus, it fades in a year or so, right? 😉
I had the exact same hair back in the day! Stop sign red chunks, short bob with flipped out ends! Lol
Hi Carla,
Hair twinsies! I wonder if we got the hair from watching a show or from an actress? All I know is that my stripes were straight up STRIPES. There was nothing subtle or natural about them, OMG!
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? Sure did! From 16-19, I was red. Bright box red. Loved it.
2. Liquid or cream concealer? I use a cream concealer but only very rarely.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? I’d do fairly well, I use mineral foundation, and I think I could get it all on in a minute.
4. What did you have for breakfast? Two eggs, two slices of bacon, and four cups of coffee. I really like coffee.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.) I love the idea of having eyebrows done, but microbladed brows are way too Instagram for me. So I’d go for a perm. I had Baby Houseman from Dirty Dancing hair in the early 90’s and I loved it! I could do that again.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
Many times – in fact, the first ever time I coloured my hair was with a red colour. I always wanted to have red hair like Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables, and since I have fair skin & freckles I can pull it off pretty well.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
Liquid, it’s just quicker to use.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
Probably ok, I don’t wear foundation often so I might need several minutes to blend.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
Apricot jam on toast and a cup of Melbourne Breakfast tea from a local tea place. Its black tea with vanilla in.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.)
Brows 100% – my hair is already curly, and since I’m blonde my brows are fair and sparse. I’ve actually looked to see if anyone in my area does microblading before.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
I mean I’m already a redhead but I did a gloss to make it brighter once, which I regretted.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
Liquid for undereyes or redness, cream for blemishes.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
I’d do well! Dots all over and a damp sponge.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
Half of a Dave’s Killer Bread cinnamon raisin bagel and a BMore Skyr Protein strawberry smoothie
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed?
Eeeee microblading i guess.
1. No. Well, not on purpose? I dyed my hair one Christmas to get rid of the greys so I would look my holiday best. My hair is dark brown but this particular color had a red undertone to it. So in the sunlight you can see the red. however a hairstylist friend of mine told me if I washed my hair with blue shampoo it would tone down the red. Totally worked!
2. They aren’t the same thing? ? I don’t use concealer so I’m not sure!
3. I think I’d do ok! I also have small children so being quick is imperative. ? I’d finger blend a few dots of primer on my cheeks, nose and forehead. Then quickly blend a couple of drops of liquid foundation on my cheeks, nose and forehead. Done!
4. 2 eggs scrambled with mushrooms, toast with honey. Cup of hot tea. ☕
5. Perm! I’d love to have a loose wave. Is that achievable as a perm? Haha
Haha, so you know how it is! Having the little ones around forces you to be fast!
Back in the day us Hippies used Henna . I have some reds highlights and henna intensified it but what a mess !
I have every possible concealer but settled on eye cream pre makeup .
I can do my make up in one note in any moving vehicle.
I had two eggs , toast and coffee ☕️
My brows are microbladed so that would be my choice .
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
Not full-on fire truck red, but my hair is naturally reddish brown. So every color job involves red of some sort.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
I don’t really use concealer. I think the last one I had was cream and I don’t remember liking it too much.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
I could totally do that. I spend less than five minutes on foundation most of the time anyway, so I could do a decent job in one.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
I woke up too late for breakfast, so I grabbed a burger on the way to the eye doctor. It was a terrible weekend. I needed sleep more than breakfast.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed?
I only have the vaguest idea of what microblading is, but I’ll have to go with that, provided the person knows what they’re doing. Because I know all too well how a perm looks on me.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
No, I just started dyeing my hair my usually black brown to cover greys! Before that I was too lazy/chicken.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
I started out with cream using Bobbi Brown’s corrector and concealer. Now I use mostly liquid for the ease but still busy out my Benefit Boing corrector when I have time. But less is more under my eyes these days!
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? Great! My go to is a cc cream I can apply with fingers or mineral powder foundation.
4. What did you have for breakfast? Black coffee!
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? I can prob go for both. I’ve had a very loose perm before in the pursuit of waves without the curling iron hassle. It was so loose that it lasted about 1 week before it straightened again. I like the idea of micro blading but I have okay eyebrows and can walk out of the house without doing them in a pinch. Just like perms, I’ve seen some bad ones, though.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? Yes, I was a redhead for probably 25 years of my adult life. Everything from bright copper red to deep auburn to chestnut.
2. Liquid or cream concealer? Liquid. At least all my concealers at the moment are liquidy-ish.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? I’m not sure it’s ever taken me more than a minute to slap on foundation, so I guess I’d do ok.
4. What did you have for breakfast? Coffee
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.) Hair permed. I’d probably get a soft one. Didn’t know anyone did perms anymore. I have the bushiest brows, so not sure microblading would show up. Besides, scratching my face? Uh no thank you.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? No, but I think deep auburn hair is glorious.
2. Liquid or cream concealer? Confession: I get Botox in the glabella (between the eyebrows) every 4 months. Very occasionally I’ll get a tiny bruise at one of the injection sites. When that happens, I reach for a cream concealer to do a bit of spot concealing. Other than that, I never use concealer.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? No problem. One small pump of my CdP Radiant Fluid blended out with my fingers and I’m done.
4. What did you have for breakfast? Two slices of toasted sour dough bread with strawberry preserves and a cup of lightly sweetened Golden Monkey tea.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.) I’d go with microblading but only after doing a lot of research and gathering of referrals. Once I found the right person, I’d only have the small bald spot in my one brow done. I have fairly thick, black eyebrows to begin with.
Hi Eileen,
I have to admit that I’m mildly curious about Botox. Does the injection hurt?
No, it doesn’t. The area is iced first to constrict the blood vessels which prevents bruising. I sit there in one of those reclining office chairs with an ice pack on for about 10 minutes (listening to soothing music) before my wonderful Dermatologist comes in to inject the area. By the time she gets to me, I’m relaxed and the area is numb. The glabella requires 5 injections concentrated in the area between the eyebrows but all I feel is a little sting. It’s nothing! After injecting the area, the ice pack goes back on for about 5 minutes. It’s such a simple procedure. At home care consists of treating the area gently for a few days until the Botox kicks in. That’s it. I’ve been doing my glabella for about 12 years now and have never had a bad reaction or result. My biggest piece of advice is to go to a dermatologist who has a well-established practice and who does a lot of cosmetic procedures. You want to work with the same highly qualified person and know that they’ll be there to assist you should any problem develop. There’s a reason it is such a popular procedure. It’s safe, simple, fast, and relatively painless,
Thanks for the info, Eileen. I can’t see myself doing it any time soon but I’m keeping myself open to the idea as I move into my mid- and late- 40s.
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
Yes, bright rose red in high school. I have no idea what I was thinking because I had this short boyish cut and man, it was baaaaaad.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
Cream.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
Okay I think since I just use powder.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
Eh, Thin Mints. (Don’t judge me. I haven’t had a box in years.)
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.)
Microbladed because honestly, I have three tattoos and I’d love to just wake up and not have to worry about my brows, especially those sparse areas I have from overplucking due to my trich.
No judgement! I do cake for breakfast sometimes so why not cookies? 🙂
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
For years! When I was in college, even though I have naturally strawberry-blonde hair, I decided I wasn’t going to be a stereotypical OC blonde and started dying it every shade of box red. After about 3 years I decided to phase back to my natural color and finally went to a professional. 🙂 So much easier to be natural, on my wallet and time!
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
Liquid under my eyes, cream on any breakouts or discoloration.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
Pretty good I think! Having the baby has definitely made me quicker. 😉 Especially with a sponge, it is so dang easy.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
Chocolate protein shake, and some of the baby’s English muffin with butter and jelly. 🙂
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed?
If I had to choose, I’d go with brows. I get them tinted and waxed every 8 weeks and have considered microblading, but I’m a hairy Viking woman and need to get the hair tamed anyway so might as well stick with what works.
Hi Trude,
Wait ’til the baby wants to sit on your lap while you’re putting on your makeup. Then the fun *really* starts!
LOL I bet! Luckily most days I do it at the kitchen counter sitting on a barstool while she plays in the living room. As soon as she started grabbing for things I had to rethink my routine, and I’m sure I’ll have to do that again soon! 😉
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? Yes, many shades from auburn to the bright magenta/red I have currently.
2. Liquid or cream concealer? Liquid
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? Powder foundation, no problem. Otherwise, I need a primer, so I’m not sure whether I could pull it off. Maybe? I’m pretty fast with my fingers.
4. What did you have for breakfast? Nothing
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? Hair permed, if it actually worked on my hair. (Most don’t take; my hair is extremely curl resistent.)
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red? In college I did a dark auburn but when it turned orange I put on a hat and headed out to buy some dark brown dye and that was the last I dyed it
2. Liquid or cream concealer? Liquid
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation? Ok – just perfected my buffing technique
4. What did you have for breakfast?bagel & iced tea
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option) no on the perm – did that in college and never again. I have so much hair and now I think we’d be looking at a Sideshow Bob situation if I went down that road
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
-I’ve had natural looking red lowlights in my hair. I had them when I was a teen but I really enjoyed them.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
-I could probably do both but the past year or so I’ve only been using liquid. Cream is better for covering acne I find.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
-I guess reasonably well. I just use powder foundation and a sponge. Quick, easy. But putting on my moisturizer and primer base takes much longer (to sink in properly)
4. What did you have for breakfast?
– nothing. I’m having cheese and crackers on my break right now.
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed? (BTW, in this scenario, “neither” is not a valid option.)
– I guess I’d have to go with micro blading but in the same way you said. I strongly dislike that mega harsh brow look that micro blading has…
1. Have you ever dyed your hair red?
When I was younger I dyed my hair with cherry kool-aid.
2. Liquid or cream concealer?
Both. It depends on the weather.
3. How well would you do if you only had one minute to apply your foundation?
Horribly. My blending would be terrible and blotchy.
4. What did you have for breakfast?
Teeccino
5. Would you rather get your hair permed or your brows microbladed?
Microblading