Makeup & Beauty Blog

So I finally made it out to the new Cat Town Cat Café in Oakland last weekend (2869 Broadway in downtown Oakland, CA), and for starters, it was everything I imagined and more! Coffee, smiling faces, adoptable felines, cupcakes and macaroons. With a business like that, how can you go wrong??

I walked in without a reservation, which you can make by phone or online, so I had to wait a little while for the next available appointment. You can peruse the cafe and sip a tasty beverage while you wait, which is what I did, because they only let a few people into the cat part of the cafe at a time.

When we got there in the early afternoon, the cats were pretty sleepy, and I got the feeling that they probably party all night long. After the humans go home and that play area is nothing but cats, I bet it’s total cat carnage/mayhem.

Knowledgeable volunteers and staff members are available to answer your questions about teh kittehs in the cat area, too, and the cats are all adoptable, so you can actually bring one home if you find your feline match.

I know my employer pretty well…and I didn’t find any new potential employees on this visit, but I’ll be going back.

Highly recommended if you like coffee, cats and you’re ever out this way.

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Running with the big cats!

Naturally, a tabby was the obvious choice to include on the packaging for this new spring palette from Paul & Joe.

Tabs and I approve.

The palette is the Face & Eye Color CS Palette in Les Flamants Rose ($39), one of Paul & Joe’s new spring palettes, and the box is covered in cats.

But what do you expect? It’s Paul & Joe, and their design philosophy falls somewhere along the lines of “MOAR CATS.”

Les Flamants Rose ($39) is part of the new spring Menagerie Collection, an infinitely adorable mix of animals and colors available now with the rest of the launch at Paul & Joe counters and online.

I cannot wait to play with this makeup! The last time I freaked out this hard over a Paul & Joe launch was the cat lady one they did a few years ago.

I hope this one’s just as good. I’m gonna put it through its paces this weekend, woo-hoo!

Paul & Joe Menagerie Spring 2015 Face & Eye Color CS in Les Flamants Roses

Face & Eye Color CS in Les Flamants Roses

Face & Eye Color CS from the left: Elephanteau (096), Les Flamants Roses (094) and Girafe (095), $39 each

I’ve been wanting to do a tutorial for this look forever! It’s one of my fallbacks when I don’t want to think too hard…which is, like, all the time. Often. It’s a timeless classic eye with some cool-toned eyeshadows, and some neutral eyeshadows, and I usually pair it with peachy pink cheeks and nude lips (and sometimes false lashes).

There’s a bit to it, so it’s not a 5-minute look by any means, but it’s not too far out there either. It’ll get easier the more you do it.
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I saw a ChapStick ad this morning before a video on YouTube, and the girl in it said that our skin is thinnest on our lips.

I thought, yeah…maybe that’s why mine hurt so much every winter!

It’s always the same, too, every year. When winter rolls around, so much ouch. My lips get cracked and dry, and it hurts.

It gets worse for a few weeks after we visit my in-laws in Redding, which is a town near the Oregon border.

Weirdly, Oregon gets a ton of rain, but Redding, even though it’s close, does not. I swear, the air there gets drier than the inside of a hot oven.

But time has taught me a few things that help my perpetually parched pout. I hope they help yours too.

1. Scrub-a-dub-dub

Exfoliate. It’s easier when my lips are soft and damp, like right after I get out of the shower.

Every once in a while I’ll mix a spoonful of sugar with a little honey or olive oil, and gently scrub (more like rub) that on my lips with an old toothbrush after I shower.

The Nimbus Microfine Regulars are awesome for this, by the way. Softest toothbrushes I’ve ever used.

They’re kind of hard to track down in stores… I’m not sure why, but here’s a five-pack on Amazon for $14. Highly recommended.

Brush your teeth (and your lips), kids! (And don’t forget to floss.)

If DIY doesn’t sound good, then you can use a regular lip exfoliator instead. Fresh Sugar Lip Polish ($22.50) is an excellent choice, as is Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub.

2. A balm before bed

And keep it right on your nightstand, where it’ll be easy to remember (and reach).

I apply a thick layer of balm after I kiss El Hub and Tabs goodnight. It’s become part of my regular bedtime routine — 1) kiss El Hub, 2) kiss Tabs, 3) insert mouth guard, and 4) smear a thick layer of lip balm on my lips. Zzzz…

Nuxe Reve De Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm ($19) is the one on my nightstand now. It’s almost as thick as a paste and tastes and smells like honey.

The big glass jar isn’t super convenient to carry around during the day, but it’s purrfect for bedtime at night.

3. Guzzle water

For real though! Drink a sh*t-ton throughout the day. I notice a HUGE difference when I fall out of the habit of drinking enough water, and it’s not just that my lips get drier. My skin gets worse and less, I dunno…plump?

The difference is crystal clear, especially in winter. When I don’t drink enough water, my lips get tow up.
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10 Things I Love About Tea (and T)

1. Trader Joe’s Vanilla and Cinnamon Black Tea

The Trader Joe’s brand teas! — especially the seasonal ones that come out around holidays. Every Xmas I hoard and stockpile a few boxes of the Vanilla and Cinnamon Black Tea and Candy Cane Green Tea (YUM!), and then obsessively ration them.

I believe I shall make a cuppa right now (lol, someone’s been watching BBC lately).

2. Tabbies

I got mad love for all teh kittehs, but due to my current employment situation…husky tabby boys are my faves.

Tabs demonstrating the proper way to contour using the Real Techniques Contour Brush…

3. Organic Raspberry Leaf Tea by Traditional Medicinals

Otherwise known as “PMS Tea” around these parts, it improves my mood when my hormones are acting like irrational toddlers behind the wheel of a tractor trailer truck, if ya know what I mean.

4. Cute tea pots and cups

I have a couple of cute, dainty pots and cups but rarely use them because I’m partial to huge mugs.

Since we’re on the subject, though, did you ever have a toy tea set when you were a kid? I did! And I used to love playtime with tea.

Wish I could remember what happened to that thing…

5. Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford African Violet Nail Polish, Purse by Reed Krakoff, and bracelet by Na Hoku

“T” for Tom Ford. Don’t even get me started on Tom.

African Violet Nail Polish, Cognac Sable Eye Quad, Negligee Lipstick, the Unabashed Palette, and oh! — that crazy expensive, utterly epic brow filler I’ve worn down to the nub.

Oh, Tom…
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