Beauty product reviews, makeup tips and news from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict.
October 14th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Just For Fun
OMG! Okay, this isn’t exactly a beauty or a blogging trick, but it still blows me away.
Have you heard of Skype? It’s a free chat platform, among other things. People use it to audio/text/video chat with each other across time and space, LOL!
As if that’s not cool enough already, there’s a powerful feature sort of buried in the preferences that changes it from a chat program into a home surveillance tool/pet monitor!
It requires Skype (of course) and two different free accounts. They’re easy to create, just requiring a different email address for each one.
You’ll need two computers/laptops, each one with a webcam, speakers and a microphone (some webcams include mics).
Before leaving home for your trip, open the Skype program and log in with one of the two Skype accounts you created.
Check the boxes in the Skype preferences beside “Automatically receive video from” and “Start my video automatically.”
Leave your computer powered on while you’re gone (it needs to be turned on so you can connect to it remotely). You may also have to disable the power management settings on your computer to prevent it from shutting down after a period of inactivity (saves power but means you can’t connect to it while you’re away).
Now, from the road, you just log into Skype with your Account B, place a call to your Account A, and KAPOW! — instant pet monitor. Skype at home answers the call automatically.
I just checked on Tabs from Las Vegas using this trick, and it worked like a charm! With the computer speakers turned on, he heard my voice and meowed his reply. I feel better knowing what he’s up to while I’m gone… You never know with that cat. 
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
September 26th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Skin Care
“Ahh-CHEW!”
[sniffle, sniffle]
How do you feel about jasmine? I love it. It’s one of my very favorite scents, but the International Fragrance Association is limiting the amount of it allowed in perfumes and other aromatic beauty products (some do tend to have a lot) to reduce the number of products causing rashes and other bad reactions.
It’s not that jasmine’s particularly hard to tolerate — no more than most plant-based ingredients — but according to the FDA, almost all cosmetics and beauty products are apt to cause reactions in at least a small percentage of the population. We’re all different, as the story goes, and one girl’s soothing scent may be another girl’s poison ivy!
In one FDA survey, 25% of people reported a skin reaction to one or more beauty products.
It’s perhaps ironic, then, that the FDA has very limited authority over cosmetics. Unfortunately, the beauty biz is still very buyer beware.
Most reactions are mild — what’s commonly referred to as irritant contact dermatitis. Typically it’s a burning, stinging or itching sensation accompanied by redness right where the product’s been applied. Dry or injured skin can react worse, too, having lost some of its natural barrier against irritants.
As bad as irritant dermatitis sounds, some of us have a worse variety termed allergic contact dermatitis — true allergies to specific ingredients. Symptoms can include severe redness, swelling, itching or even blisters on the skin, yikes! The worst culprits? Usually fragrances and preservatives. source
TIP: Some products will say “unscented” on the label when they really aren’t. It’s not uncommon for products to contain fragrance cocktails to mask unappealing or artificial scents. Straight up, if you’re on the market for something that’s really unscented, look for the words, “fragrance-free” or “without perfume.”
While almost any ingredient can cause an allergic reaction in at least some people, many of the worst offenders are preservatives.
They slow the growth of bacteria and crop up in most beauty products that contain water, but parabens, imidazolidinyl urea, Quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, phenoxyethanol, methylchloroisothiazolinone and formaldehyde have also been linked to skin allergies.
So what’s a girl to do?
September 15th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Just For Fun
“You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.” — Anonymous
I can’t remember the first time I heard that, but it makes more and more sense to me every day.
I read it to mean that we all have our limits. There are only so many projects and commitments people (and cats) can tackle at the same time, and only so much pressure we can take before we crack! 
TIP: Whenever I feel like I’m drowning under a torrent of tasks, I’ll set aside my long to-do list and grab a blank Post It note instead. On it, I’ll write my three most important tasks — the things my gut tells me I should do — ignoring all the rest.
If that means the carpet doesn’t get vacuumed or the laundry doesn’t get done for another day or two or three, so be it, because…
When I look back on my worst days (I’ve had some doozies!), I think about all of the good days that followed them.
TIP: When times are tough, I try to remember that this too shall pass. Sometimes it really helps me to look ahead to a time after the obstacle I’m facing — after the deadline, the virus, the exam, the uncomfortable business meeting — a day, week or month down the road.
There’s a world of roses out there just waiting to be sniffed!
TIP: Whenever I see (or hear, smell, taste or feel) something beautiful, I STOP — maybe not in the middle of traffic — to take them in. Try to make time in your life for beautiful things.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
September 4th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Makeup Tips/How To
Ew, what’s that smell?
Oh, it’s just my makeup…
How do you know when that tube o’ lipgloss or pan of eyeshadow has expired? Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to tell. Most beauty products lack expiration dates, and some may not visibly change when they’ve given up the ghost.
Still, even when it’s obvious that a product has gone bad, some of us refuse to let go. This summer the market researchers at Mintel found that just one in four British women discard their makeup, shampoo or shower gel after it starts to smell strange or look discolored. source
Why? Because, the researchers found, many of the women surveyed weren’t aware the products could expire.
Just like food items, beauty products — even natural and organic ones — are breeding grounds for bacteria, and natural products that contain fewer (or no) preservatives often have the shortest shelf lives of all. The risk of using products high in bacteria is INFECTION.
Lawd knows I’m guilty of keeping beauty products around far longer than I should … but sometimes it’s just so hard to say goodbye!
Beyond these rough guidelines, it helps to enlist the help of your nose in checking beauty booty. If something smells a little off, maybe it is.
More things to watch out for? 1) Store products away from direct sunlight and heat, which can destroy preservatives and accelerate the growth of bacteria; 2) refrigerate products (some take better to cold temps than others do) to slow the growth of bacteria; 3) don’t use eye products when you have an eye infection; 4) be careful when you mix products because you could be spreading bacteria around; and 5) be aware that using shared department store testers is a primo A#1 way to catch something SCARY!
For even more on telling if your makeup has expired…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. How was your afternoon? Anything cool happen today? I managed to sneak away for a few minutes up to Sephora and left with Lancome’s new Hypnose Drama mascara… Can’t wait to give it a try!
Other than that, I rented Confessions of a Shopaholic to watch tonight. Tabs is a big Isla Fisher fan.
September 4th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, News
This morning while I was admiring swatching the shimmery new Zoya Truth Collection of nail polishes for fall ($36 for a set of six), something kinda funkaaay happened.
I met a troublemaker, aka a rebellious nail polish brush.
See that funky piece jutting out to the side? It looks like it’s trying to do its own thang, but this ain’t Sesame Street, buddy. Get back in formation!
What do you do when a nail polish brush goes against the grain?
Brushes with straight, smooth fibers work best. When bristles stick out at odd angles like Penny (a shimmery copper) is here, it can mess with my application. Hello, streaks!
Thankfully, whipping a bellicose brush back into shape is a breeze. Here’s what I do to reshape a wonky nail polish brush:
First, I set the brush head on a clean paper towel.
Next, I fold a section of the towel over and on top of the brush head and press down with my fingers. Still applying pressure, I slowly pull the brush head out through the towel with the other hand.
A few times will usually reshape the bristles and remove most kinks, restoring order to the world, LOL!
Allowing the brush to air dry for about 10 minutes should lock the corrected shape in place. That’s it — then it’s back in the bottle for you.
Why aren’t all of life’s problems so easy to solve, le sigh…
Funky brush action aside, I love all six of the warm, vibrant colors in the Truth Collection.
It seems like Zoya dipped their paint brushes into Mother Nature’s fall inkwell. These shimmery copper, orange, red, pink and magenta polishes remind me of autumn leaves crackling beneath my feet, fiery fall sunsets and the rich, buttery light of late afternoons.
Of the six shades, Anaka, the shimmery magenta, makes my heart beat the fastest.
Do any of these get you fired up for fall?
Anaka
Drew
Salma
Penny
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