A yellow rose from my neighbor’s garden.
A Rose By Any Other Name
Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Aug. 17
- Mood:
- How many times have you been in love?
- Do you prefer cream or powder blush?
- Are/were you a good student?
- Eyes/lips/cheeks:
- How do you feel about camping?
- Are you happy?
- Do long distance relationships work?
- Outfit:
- Weekly goals:
A little sleepy (waiting for the caffeine to kick in) but feeling optimistic about the day.
Three.
I love both! I go through phases where I’ll wear one more than the other, and right now I’m all about powder blush.
Yup, total nerd.
I was going through storage drawers last weekend and found some long lost Stila Front Cover Look Palettes I haven’t worn in forever, so they’re going into makeup rotation this week. Today I went with Palette No. 4‘s neutral shades. Eyes: Icon eyeshadow (a shimmery pinkish peach) over the entire lid and Twig eyeshadow (a shimmery rich chocolate) as a liner. Lips: Inviting lip gloss (a shimmery peach). Cheeks: Heat powder blush (a peachy tan matte).
I can deal if there’s a cabin with electricity, internet access and indoor plumbing, LOL! If I have to sleep in a tent, put quarters in a shower to get hot water or hunt wild pigs, I’ll pass. 🙂
At this very second, yes. Overall, mostly. I’ve been working a lot lately, and it’s starting to wear me down. Plus, the condo/house hunt has been emotionally exhausting and isn’t settled yet. I’m doing my best to stay positive.
I’ve never had one so I don’t really know, but I’m leaning toward no.
Light blue wide-leg Gap jeans, white button-down shirt with red, black and blue stripes.
Try to look at old problems in new ways, bust out some old MAC (Smoke Signals, baby!) and Stila palettes to try some new looks, set up a lunch date with friends.
Hola, my SWV’s (LOL, remember that band?). I’m guzzling my second cup of tea and praying it kicks in *very* soon. I hope you’re feeling more awake than I am.
I bet your to-do list is waiting patiently for you to tackle it, but before you dig in, can we catch up? Just copy the empty list, and paste it with your answers in the comments. 🙂
Le list
1. Mood:
2. How many times have you been in love?
3. Do you prefer cream or powder blush?
4. Are/were you a good student?
5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:
6. How do you feel about camping?
7. Are you happy?
8. Do long distance relationships work?
9. Outfit:
10. Weekly goals:
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. What’s SWV?
Behold!
Don’t Miss These Summertime Drugstore Gems
I’ve been on a drugstore beauty kick lately, and here are some of my favorite gems of the summer so far.
- A Brown Girl’s Guide to Self-Tanning
“As someone with a built-in tan, I’ve never had a reason to venture into the world of self-tanners … until now. I’d like to smooth out my skin tone and make everything a similar shade, so I put together some research to aid my cause.” - Vaseline Aloe Fresh Protecting Lotion with SPF 15 and Sunny Tiburon Afternoons
“It definitely feels moisturizing (not sticky or greasy) without leaving a film, and I love the fact that it doesn’t smell like sunscreen; instead, I think it smells just like it should (like fresh cut aloe Vera). On top of everything else, it’s priced right, costing a third less than Aveeno ($8 vs. $12).” - CoverGirl Exact Eyelights Eye Brightening Liner Keeps Going and Going…
“I’ve been wearing Exact Eyelights all weekend long, and if you don’t throw one in your basket on your next trip to Walgreens, I may have to come over to wherever you are and shake you silly. :)” - Do $8 Sonia Kashuk Velvety Shine Lip Crayons Give the $22 Bobbi Brown Lip Crayons a Run for Their Money?
“I’m totally in love with Pale Pink; it’s almost twins with Bobbi Brown’s Posey, which I wore a few days ago in my look for Ivy League. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A-to-the-PLUS!” - Are the New Sonia Kashuk Ultra Shine Sheer Lip Glosses Dupes for Chanel Aqualumiere Glossimers?
“If somebody blindfolded me, slicked the new Sonia Kashuk Ultra Shine Sheer Formula Lip Gloss ($9) on my pucker and then asked me to guess which gloss I was wearing, I would guess an expensive Glossimer from Chanel.” - Mad Moisture Meets Sun Protection: Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Lotion with Sunscreen
“…Active Naturals feels much more moisturizing to me than usual for a drugstore lotion with SPF. With most of them my skin starts looking scaly and feeling tight within a few hours, but when I apply it in the morning before work, Active Naturals keeps my skin soft well into the evening.” - Diamond 12-Hour Lip Treatment: Drugstore Lipgloss Therapy
“These glosses are like non-stick, vanilla-scented (but no taste) drugstore versions of MAC Lipglass. Each tube packs may-jah color and shine, delivering added moisture as well, and they last for hours on my lips without budging one bit.”
I’m a little bummed the weekend’s almost over, girls. They never seem long enough, ya know?
Did you do anything fun? I had a pretty good day. I went to dance class early this morning, spent a couple hours working and then went to see The Time Traveler’s Wife.
I loved the book and wanted to see the film even though it got kinda panned by critics (Rottentomatoes 36%). I’m glad I did, too, because I think it absolutely does justice to the book — both sad and happy at the same time.
Enjoy the last few hours of the weekend. Have a great night (are you watching True Blood?). 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Sundays with Tabs the Cat: How It All Began
About three years ago I started to notice a chubby tabby cat skulking around my apartment building. I’d see him every few months or so, sneaking around the cars in the parking lot, but whenever I’d try to get his attention, he’d just flash me a dirty look and walk away.
Then, one day I opened the apartment door and there he was, sitting in the hallway in front of me. He meowed and walked over, so I bent down and scratched his chin. When I stood up again, he walked passed me into the apartment like he owned the place.
So began our dysfunctional friendship. 🙂
Over the next few months I’d see him just once or twice a week. He’d scratch at my door or meow, so I’d feed him a spoonful of tuna and give him a kitty massage. I felt used, but loved.
Around this time last year he started to visit more often — eventually every day — and began to feel more like a member of our family.
I was starting to get attached, but he was so outgoing and sweet that I figured he must have lived with people at some point. I never saw him wear a collar, though, and he was always starved and covered in fleas. Maybe he’d just gone astray.
The time came to get him checked by a vet. I braced myself for potentially bad news — that he might be sick or microchipped and belong to someone else. Nope. It turned out he was perfectly healthy (except for worms) and didn’t have a microchip. My heart leapt! Tabs had officially become my cat.
I’ve known other cats, but none like Tabs. He still plays like a kitten, shows tons of affection and isn’t afraid of people at all. Sometimes, I feel like a proud stage mom when he’s complimented on his looks, LOL!
Yes, I fully embrace sounding like a crazy cat lady. Ain’t no shame in that game. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Get Ready for the Red Carpet
Crushing HARD on Lorac’s Red Carpet Reveal Palette ($35).
The City at Dusk
Deep down inside I’m a city girl.
What Were Your Best and Worst Beauty Experiences of the Week?
MY BEST:
Stumbling across a trick to get crisp lines in cat eye looks. Who knew how well a makeup wedge sponge wet with eye makeup remover and run along the edges of liner could work? I had some of my sharpest, best defined lines evah. WHOLE new eyelining world. 🙂
MY WORST:
Discovering a new batch of white hairs in my bangs. How do those suckers develop so quickly? I swear they appear overnight, like beauty crop circles or poison mushrooms. Le sigh…
What were your best and worst beauty experiences of the week? Please share yours in the comments.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Jennifer Aniston: Her Best Hair?
If it weren’t for that fateful audition in 1994, Hollywood may have only known Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) as the girl who starred in Leprechaun and the short-lived Ferris Bueller TV show.
But Friends changed everything for Jen, who played Rachel from 1994 until the show ended in 2004. It garnered her an Emmy, a Golden Globe and numerous People’s Choice Awards. It also established her as one of America’s favorite actresses.
Now Jen favors a lot of longer looks (compared to the shorter hairstyles she wore a lot in Friends), but she’ll still switch things up by moving her part or adding curls.
Loading ...Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen