Makeup & Beauty Blog

I was recently tapped by a local blogger to offer my expertise on topics outside the fields of fashion and beauty.

Since my fans have been clamoring for lifestyle advice, and I’ve been trying to build my digital empire, I’ve decided to embark upon a series of how-to guides for cats.

Now, these are not just your average “For Dummies” guides. I’ll be delving into the details and covering crucial cat knowledge acquired over a lifetime of kitty modeling, and today we’ll be starting with one of the most important challenges facing cats: defending against the enemy.

I’d be remiss right now if I did not start this guide with my favorite component of territorial defense: the accessories.

Get the gear

What’s that saying: “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”? In order to keep my assistants (plural) busy, I commissioned my male assistant/masseuse/personal trainer to fashion a custom couture harness for me, so that I could patrol the neighborhood in comfort and style.

This particular harness was constructed with my husky frame in mind using nylon webbing, hook & loop Velcro-style tape strips and a craft glue gun, but I’ve also seen some exceptional pre-made gear at Petco, etc.

Look for long sight lines

One of the most important aspects of defending your space is the ability to see the enemy coming from afar. While patrolling, I always choose places with long sight lines that allow me to see other cats and intruders far away. This gives me time to formulate a strategic plan in the event of an encounter.

(read more…)

Win a $50 Sephora e-card from Makeup and Beauty Blog

Bonjour! It’s caturday! And don’t you wish there were such a thing as tiny baby kittens that fluttered on gossamer fairy wings?

If you’ve stopped by before, have a cup of tea, and welcome back! You know the drill. It’s the Saturday giveaway, so we’ve got all that good stuff going on, but can we talk for a moment first about the phenomenon that is SoulCycle?

I’ve never been myself, but I’ve heard from friends in New York and friends here that once you do it, you totally get into it. Honestly, I hope not…because the classes are kind of expensive. I mean $30 for one spin class? I can put on my tennis shoes and run and up and down the street for free.

Buuut they have an introductory $20 promo price, so I’m going today for the first time with my friend Mary, and we’re going to the 60-minute class, so hopefully I get my money’s worth. I just pray to the makeup gods that my butt will not be numb by the end of it.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you in the giveaway.

• One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

• Enter by leaving a comment below.
• Open to U.S. and international readers.
• You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
• Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
  • Best store to get free samples from?
  • Who makes the best veggie burger?
  • If you’re a natural brunette, have you ever gone blonde? Or the other way around if you’re a natural blonde?
  • My Little Pony, or Care Bears?
  • What are your five personal must-have hair products and/or tools?
  • What’s your favorite kind of eyeliner (kohl pencil, gel pencil, brush-tip liquid liner, felt-tip pen, gel pot or shadow liner)?
• One entry per person.
• You must use a valid email address to win.
• The giveaway ends on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

YO. I literally cannot escape my manager. He’s on my @ss 24/7, watching me, looking over my shoulder, micromanaging every. Single. Thing.

Even when he’s allegedly “taking a break,” he keeps one eye open, so he can monitor my activities.

It’s a Devil Wears Prada situation to the Nth degree. MY BOSS IS A BEAST!

I feel like every girl (and every boy who loves makeup; yes, I know you’re out there, and I love you!!!) has a default makeup look they turn to whenever they need to feel just straight-up pretty…and that’s definitely what I needed this morning because I woke up tired today, dude!

For real, I got like two seconds of sleep last night. The wind was crazy loud and howled all night long (“Awooooo!”), which fired up Tabs, who consequently spent the entire evening running circuits around the bedroom, knocking stuff off the dressers, climbing all over my boobs and generally doing naughty tabby things.

That darned cat! If he wasn’t so adorably squishy, I’d be raging mad at him right now.

I LOVE THIS FOOL

Needless to say, I needed a pick-me-up this morning, so I figured, heck, why not do something makeup-wise that I really like to wear, so I ended up doing my favorite look to wear in the whole wide world — brown smokey eyes, pink cheeks, pink lips.

Yep, mah standby.

Key products I’m wearing in this look

The new Guerlain Baby Glow Light-Revealing Sheer Foundations, $54 each

Guerlain Baby Glow, Guerlain Baby Glow, Guerlain Baby Glow… Now try to say that three times really fast without thinking of tiny glow-in-the-dark infants.

It’s almost impossible, isn’t it?? THOSE DAMNED GLOWING BABIES.

I’ve always wanted to look like an incandescent infant.

OK, not really. But I like the idea behind Baby Glow. It’s a sheer foundation that’s supposed to make you look less stressed and flat-out exhausted by appearing to plump your skin (only aesthetically; it doesn’t actually plump it) and make it look more luminous.

The new product line recently launched with the spring collection in just three shades ($54 each) — 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore.

Swatches from the left: 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore

I’m closest to 04 Dore, the deepest shade (incidentally, I’m an NC42 in MAC-speak), a medium-toned peachy golden tan, although I think it’s still a tad too light for me to wear on its own, so I warm it up with some bronzer or mix it with a darker foundation.

Before applying Guerlain Baby Glow in 04 Dore

And after! I’m wearing Guerlain Baby Glow in 04 Dore all by itself