Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

You know I hate to say “never,” because you just never (ha, ha!) know. You never know when you’ll find a $100 bill in a grocery store parking lot, just like you’ll never know what you’ll be into next week, next month or next year, but if I were to choose a color of lipstick that I don’t think I should ever wear again…I’d have to go with blue.

It’s been “on trend” over the past few years to wear cray-cray Hunger Games lip colors, and blue, while I think it can look cool in pictures, looks ridiculous on me.

I’m not hip enough for blue.

I cringe just thinking about it…

Also, there was the frosty purplish gray lipstick I used to wear circa 1997. It was SO terrible! I wore it with dark plum — almost black — lip liner, which, of course, was unblended.

And we can’t forget the dab of clear gloss in the middle of the bottom lip.

OMG! It was fashionable at the time, but now I realize that it looked pretty terrible. I hope it never comes back in style, but if it does, I may try it just for kicks…

Nah. Nuh-uh. NOPE. Never again.

How about you? Do you have a “never again” lipstick color? Is it a dark brown from the ’90s? A bright Barbie pink? A pastel matte beige? Please do tell.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Last week during spring break, one the most fun things we did was tide pooling at Duxbury Reef in Bolinas.

It took about an hour to get there from our hometown of Novato, but it was worth the drive!

I always feel better when I see the ocean. There’s something about the sound of the waves lapping the shore, the scent of salty water in the air and sand underneath my feet that feels so right. And the colors in this place, WOW! So many shades of tan, green, purple, dusty pink and deep rich brown.

Basically what you do is walk down to the beach during low tide and check out whatever happens to be hanging out on the shore. It sounds like it would be boring, but it’s totally fun and exciting to find different plants and animals amongst the rocks.

One of the coolest things we stumbled upon was this abalone shell, which was the size of a large dinner plate. I haven’t seen one at a beach since I was a kid!

Don’t you love the mix of green, blue, pink and purple? Totally reminds me of fancy jewelery.

We also saw hermit crabs, mussels, seaweed, sea urchin, sea anemones and chiton.

A few tide pool tips

• Check the low tide time online beforeheand, then try to arrive at least one hour before the tide is fully out.
• Try to go on a day when the tide is a negative low tide if you can!
• Bring layers. It was really sunny but cold and windy when we were there.
• You may want to wear waterproof shoes with good traction, too.

Oh, and if you ever get the chance to visit, be sure to stop by the tiny town of Bolinas afterwards to grab the avocado toast or the acai bowl at the BoVida!

It was exactly what we needed after a trip to the beach. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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 more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007).

1. Wild or sleek hair today?

Sleek, please. It’s windy in my neighborhood today, and windy weather plus wild hair equals mayhem.

2. Which would you rather: more steps in your skin care or less?

My skin seems to do better the less I fuss with it, so less steps – like 3 or 4, max.

3. Something nice that happened to you recently?

I spent all day yesterday reading! It was glorious.

4. Last time you were on crutches?

Back in eighth grade — approximately one million years ago. LOL! I sprained my ankle doing sprints in track and hobbled around for a month.

5. A tea you like?

Darjeeling, with cream and a little sugar.

6. A place you like to go when you need a reset?

The beach. There’s something about the steady sound of waves lapping the shore and the feeling of sand between my toes that just feels right.

7. What would you rather have: a personal chef or house cleaning team?

I’d go with the personal chef because I find cooking tedious. (Baking is another story.) I’ve also hired house cleaners a couple times, and while it was very helpful, I’m picky about how things are done. I’d just rather do it myself.

8. Board games or video games?

Board games.

9. Do you have a dermatologist?

No, but I would love one!

10. Something you’d like to do but keep putting off?

Um, finding a dermatologist?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Wild or sleek hair today?
2. Which would you rather: more steps in your skin care or less?
3. Something nice that happened to you recently?
4. Last time you were on crutches?
5. A tea you like?
6. A place you like to go when you need a reset?
7. What would you rather have: a personal chef or house cleaning team?
8. Board games or video games?
9. Do you have a dermatologist?
10. Something you’d like to do but keep putting off?

P.P.S. Happy Monday, sweet friend. I hope your Monday has been smooth sailing so far.

I’ve been thinking a lot about taking small steps lately. I easily get overwhelmed by big projects, and sometimes when I see all the parts and steps that need to get done, I kinda short circuit and end up not doing anything.

I have to constantly remind myself that even a small step is still a step. 🙂

It’s a good reminder, right? I tell myself this when I feel like there’s too many things and not enough me to go around.

Take care of yourself today and have a most excellent week ahead!

Happy Saturday! My friend, I don’t know why I have to keep learning this lesson over and over again, but dang, rest is your BFF. Even just a little goes a long way. It truly is the best medicine.

A little backstory. I’ve been working non-stop since I started a new job a while back (including evenings and weekends), and between that gig and a few other writing projects, I’ve been spending a lot of time staring at my screen. I’m happy to be busy, but it’s wearing me down a little.

To help me recover, I took the week off to spend spring break with Connor, and oh gosh, it was just what I needed.

We really didn’t do anything too fancy or elaborate but we still had fun! She just turned seven, so it’s easy to keep her occupied and happy at this age. She had a couple playdates, we went to tea, enjoyed a ladies’ lunch with her Auntie Marisol and visited the beach. Oh, we also got her first library card, which was very exciting, indeed.

I let check out as many books as she wanted, and I checked out a few things for myself, too, including a Downton Abbey cookbook which I picked up on a whim. It’s one of my favorite shows! While I have no plans to make steak and kidney pudding or deviled kidneys, I think it’s fun to look at the pictures and read the backstory behind the recipes.

The library had a lot of new fiction on the shelf, so I grabbed a couple books by new-to-me authors. I just started “Black Candle Women” by Diane Marie Brown and am so far enjoying it. It’s about a family of women who practice voodoo and are dealing with a curse.

This week’s beauty reading

• These sunscreens are supposed to play well with makeup!
• Psst, Mother’s Day is next month.
• Here are 15 new scents for spring, and side note, there’s an iris scent from The Body Shop which I really want to sniff.
• Eyeshadow palettes for hazel eyes.
• There’s a new collaboration between Milk Makeup and Reebok.
• “Skip care” is now a thing.
• Ectoin is a skin care ingredient that’s suddenly everywhere.
• “Why does my neck look so much older than my face?”
• Debunking myths about eating collagen.
• Now your nails can match your smoothie! Jamba Juice has a nail polish collection.

Who else is excited to watch a sunscreen recommendation video?

This is SO colorful and beautiful!

Food for thought.

I kind of love this!

Let me know if you’re gonna do this with me!

I’m feeling lots of light and love in my heart today, and I’m hoping joy comes your way, too.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen