Conversations with my cat, January 19, 2012
Tabs: It’s cold and yucky outside today, Mom.
Karen: I know, Tabby.
Tabs: I miss the sunshine.
Karen: Me too, lovebug.
Tabs: When it’s warm again, will we go outside?
Karen: Of course. We’ll put your leash on and walk down the hill and explore. Maybe we’ll even see turkeys.
Tabs: Those birds are big, but I could take ‘em.
Karen: You sure could. It’s one of the pros of being a big-boned boy.
Tabs: Will we ever see blue sky again?
Karen: I know it feels like we won’t right now, but be patient. It’s like this every year. It gets cold and gray for a little bit, but then the sun comes back again.
Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we take out the new Clarins eyeshadow quad from the spring 2012 collection? It’s called Colour Breeze Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Blue Sky ($40), and the colors look exactly like the sky on a sunny day.
Tabs: Okay. Maybe I can sit on your desk and look outside for a bit while you do your makeup?
Karen: That sounds good. Since the shadows are so easy to blend, it’ll take less than 10 minutes to do a bright, glowy blue eye look. I will have to do a little layering, but not too much.
Oh, see that light blue in the upper left of the pan? How it flashes gold at certain angles? So pretty. It reminds me of the ocean in Hawaii when I go surfing. And the dark gray in the lower left has flecks of silver glitter in it that –
Tabs: Match my coat! It should look really pretty as a liner. You should blend it softly along your upper and lower lash lines…
Karen: See, I can tell you’re feeling better already.
Tabs: Maybe we should take a few pictures of it to show our friends on MBB.
Karen: Good idea!
Tabs: Mom, are you gonna take this quad with you the next time you and Dad take a trip?
Karen: Hmm… Maybe. It does have a lot of nice things going for it, and it’s not every day that we come across a palette this wearable with blue eyeshadows in it. Clarins gave the colors a soft, glowy shimmer that really helps them work, but they do display some fallout…
Tabs: Hate fallout!
Karen: Yeah, but it’s not like the Style Files fallout. Just a tiny bit.
Hey, why are you asking about trips? You better not be thinking about throwing another rager the next time Dad and I head out of town. 
PRICE: $40
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Clarins counters and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Look in This Forest and What do You See? Gold, Khaki and Taupe! The New Clarins Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Forest 
Clarins Colour Breeze Collection for Spring 2012 Pics and Swatches 
A Blue, Pink and Silver Eye with Clarins So Sublime Quartet 
Voted Most Likely To Steal Your Heart This Summer: The Gold, Chocolate Brown and Plum Shades in the Clarins Splendours Colour Quartet & Eye Liner Palette 
Karen, you are a cat lady after my own heart!
My tabby and I often have conversations. Mostly me telling Ella “leave your big sister alone!, come play with me and this string instead” (Big sister is a rather surly and slightly tubby calico named Layla).
Ella also likes makeup. Swatting it off the vanity is her favorite pass time. *sigh*
P.s. That blue is super pretty! I always bypass the clarins counter on my way to MAC but I might have to start taking a better look.
Hi Franny,
Oh boy! Ella sounds like she has personality plus.
Be grateful that she doesn’t hide your makeup! I still can’t find the Shu Uemura lash curler that went MIA… TABS I KNOW IT WAS YOU!
Clarins is reeling me in with this quad!
So it turns out that Annabel is a voracious eater! She’s even stealing from Rocky and Jazz! LOL. I took her to the vet today, and everyone loved her. She’s such a beauty. <3
Awww, you’re so lucky! I would love to add another member to our fur fam, but Tabs isn’t having it.
Are all the kitties getting along?
Kinda. They’re establishing a hierarchy: Rocky is the alpha female, then Annabel, then Jazz. Poor Jazz: the solitary boy always gets left out!
Aww, Jazzy! Maybe he needs some extra snuggles and treats today.
This shade of blue looks gorgeous on you! Its a real robin’s egg blue/clear sky blue! from the picture, is that so? Either way you rock it but I can see Tab’s reasoning when it comes to fall out
Who ever invented the word fall out in terms of make up? I see it as two things, something utterly horendous and then a little glitter on the cheeks; and trust me, I hate the glitter on the cheeks!
Hi Ithfifi,
Yes, it is. The lighter shade is so beautiful when it flashes to gold. Anywho, how awesome would it be eyeshadows never fell out? I’d save a lot of time cleaning up, that’s for sure.
Very pretty colors. Definitely brightens the mood on a rainy, gloomy day.
At least Tabs isn’t holding you PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RAIN like a certain cat is doing around these parts with me…….
Haha! And that’s why I love Missy… she is a true diva to the core.
How is your new job going? I hope you like it!
Actually, the job didn’t work out. It required way too much multi-tasking and juggling ten things at once and it was just too physically demanding, which doesn’t work at all with my disability. It was their decision to let me go, but it’s a decision I would have reached in a couple of weeks anyway.
I’m disappointed, of course, because I’m so desperately needing money right now, but it’s for the best. At least I got to find out what kind of job doesn’t work for me! I need to find something that’s more focused and specific. The supervisor said that if something came up that was more along the lines of a receptionist position he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend me. So, the search continues.
I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out, but that’s great that the supervisor left the door open for a future position. You must’ve made a good impression.
That shade of blue is so pretty on you! I am so jealous! I love the colour, but it does not love my face.
Also, Tabs is so handsome and awwwww. My kitties also love makeup, but less helpfully. Gatsby thinks lipsticks and eyeliners are great fun to bat around, and Cinnamon thinks my favourite blush smells good enough to eat when I’m wearing it. (Headbutts are cute. Nuzzles are adorable. Having blush licked off is neither.)
Hi Becca,
For the longest time I didn’t think I could wear blue, either. Keep trying! You never know when you’ll find a blue that will work with your coloring.
That’s adorable how your kitties love makeup just as much as you do. Have they tried messing with your brushes yet? WATCH OUT!
Haha cute convo! My kitty also dislikes rain, but he LOVES going out for a walk in the snow!
That’s so crazypants! Do you put a sweater on him? Or does he go au naturale?
It was 13 degrees here today in Southeast Michigan! (And it’s supposed to get down near 0, eek!) I was going to go and get things done, since it was my day off, but my kitty Jiji convinced me that I had to stay in bed and snuggle with him, because the roads were probably slippery.
Hi Chelsea,
I can’t even begin to imagine it being that cold. I am a California girl through and through!
Anywho, I’m glad you decided to stay home. Sometimes you just need to spend a day relaxing and hanging with your kitty, you know? How long have you and Jiji been roommates?
Jiji came into my life the end of June 2011! I was in Cannes for a conference, and my fiance adopted him while I was gone (I suppose he got lonely…)
Jiji loves our pet bunny too. They’re a pretty cute pair.
I’ve heard bunnies and cats can get along famously. I’ve contemplated getting a bunny companion for Tabs, but I think his prey drive might be too strong. I’m afraid he’ll terrorize it.
That’s so sweet how your fiancee adopted Jiji (I dream of the day when I come home from a trip to find that El Hub’s adopted a second cat!). When is the wedding?
BTW, I have Cannes on my bucket list. Would love to go there for the film festival.
I love this post – and I am a huge fan of Clarins. I also have a big-boned tabby, Toby, and he loves your writing/blog as well.
Thanks for providing such great info!
Hi Christina,
Yay, a fellow Clarins lover! What are your staples? I can’t live without HydraQuench.
How long have you lived with your big-boned tabby boy?
Your kitty conversations are so cute <3
Thanks, Haley.
What do you think of the quad? Are you a Clarins fan?
You should check out the Lise Watier Equinoxe quad eyeshadow palette. You will love it. The color scheme is somewhat similar, but much better edited (and the quality is awesome).
Thanks for the rec, Lenita! Lise Watier’s a Canadian brand, right?
I wonder if I could wear colors like that. I’m also very scared to wear blue eyeshadow!
Hi Katrina,
It can be shocking at first if you’re not used to it, but give it a try. What I’m wearing above is a lot of look… you could always tone it down by applying one of the blue shades to your lids, and then lining with the dark gray. Simple, easy and fresh!
I loved this :). Since I act as Bradford’s assistant, he often returns the favor by being a listening ear. I tell him my current troubles, and interpret his meows & his either compassionate or disdainful looks as advice :P.
How long have you been Brandford’s assistant?
I’m going on five years now… Tabs needs to reward me with a watch or something.
You and Tabs are too cute
My kitty was being a cutie pie today too. Daphne tried to get me to stay in bed this morning and skip work, lol. Whenever I’d sit down on the bed, she’d jump up and real quick curl up next to me and look up at me with this look that said “scuse me Momma, it’s chilly and you should stay home and keep me warm and feed me every hour on the hour, thankyouverymuch”
Sometimes it’s good to be a cat lady
Yes it is! Life is better when you have a fur friend around, isn’t it? Tabs and I have been roommates since 2007, and it’s hard to imagine what it was like without him.
Aww so super cute! I’ve always been wondering how you actually walk Tabs. I used to take Tango out for a little stroll (say a block or two) at night, but of course he wouldn’t really walk — I had to hold him while he looked around in amazement.
This quad looks CUTE! I have honestly never seen blues that could work for my warm undertone. You really rock it!
I hope the weather is getting better for you guys. We’re having a mild winter in Belgium, but since the weather is almost never fantastically sunny or anything it’s still pretty blah.
We use a harness. It took a little bit of work, but eventually he got used to it and now he loves it. Here’s a pic:
http://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/daily-photo/hark-who-goes-there/
So cute ! I have a cat here called Organza, wo often talk to one another too LOL. This palette looks gorgeous on you, I never buy make-up from Clarins ( yes, yes I know and yes I live in France ), I’ll go and see the collection at Sephora’s.
Kind regards.
What a pretty name! What does Organza look like?
Thank you. She is a ” Golden Shaded Persian ” soon aged 14 but still very childish in her ways and face. Organza is a perfume from Givenchy and in 1998 pets had to have a name beginning with a O letter. She’s very cute and sweet !
This is such a cute post! I can just hear Tabs saying “Mom, I miss the sunshine”, lol. Nice eyeshadows too.
♥
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Sometimes he can be a sweet boy.
Have a great Friday!
Hi Karen & Tabs — LOL wants to say that he wants to hang out and take a walk w/ Tabs soon! he misses blue skies and sunshine too.
I bed they’d have a grand time together! Tabs would love to play hide and seek with LOL!
omg can you imagine? two tabbies together would be insane!
They would rule the neighborhood! Maybe The Cross-Eyed Kitty could join the gang, too. She could be their mascot.
totally! and yep, she can be their mascot/muse, for sure!
They’d probably make her take minutes at their official club meetings, haha!
I haven’t seen her in a few days… I’m sure she’s hanging at home with her family. Whatever, it’s only a matter of time before she falls in love with me and decides to stay for an extended “stay-cation.”
My own petite tabby, Patches, loves the sunshine as well, but she doesn’t do outdoors – she’s strictly a “find the patch of sunshine near the window and fall asleep in it” cat. And we haven’t even had much of that recently… so she’s taken to stealing my chair for naps instead.
I have never tried blue shadow – I did experiment with navy liner, but didn’t get far with it. I think I’m a little too indoctrinated in the old “don’t wear blue on blue eyes” makeup “rule.”
Hi BeckBeck,
Patches sounds like a dainty princess. If I met her I’m sure I’d fall in love!
Anywho, you can totally do blue! I was terrified of it once, too. Do you still have your liner? Maybe start by wearing it around the house, just so you can get used to it. That’s how I start out with colors that are shocking to my system!
Love how you’re the assistant and hubs is “Dad”! I would have never thought that a blue shadow could looks so modern, but this one does. I think the shape and application is just lovely!
I know, right? He’s definitely dad’s favorite.
Have a great Friday!
They look like amazing eyeshadows. They remind me a little of my Milani Runway collection in blue. Since I have had problems with any shadow creasing (no matter what the claim, unless they are UD cream shadows), I always have my UD primer potion. With shadows I do love that have fallout, I do my eyes before I do any other makeup (a tip I read somewhere – that way your makeup wipe is not taking off makeup you just took the time to put on).
By the way, it’s pretty chilly here. Supposed to get a nice wintry mix tomorrow (here in Maryland, Frederick area).
Hi Katherine,
I do eyes first too. Great minds think alike!
I heard on the Today show this morning that you guys are bracing for a storm on the east coast. Snow too, right?
This post is so cute, I just want to give Tabs a good squeeze!
Want to know something funny? When you squeeze Tabs, he squeaks! It’s the cutest thing.
Happy Friday!
Los colores se ven muy lindos en el estuche y estoy segura que deben ser hermosos en persona, pero en mi opinion, estos colores no tienen nada que ver contigo….
such a cute combo! hehe, i can imagine it
you look good in it 
<3 cutie tabs
i really love blue
I must say you’re carrying the shades well. I’m NC 40 and I find lighter blues very diffucult to pull off! I really the darkest shade though, it would make a gorgeous smokey eye!
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Don’t tell Tabs I said this, but he’s looking a little well fed lately:) Not quiet as big as my 26 pound tabby monstrosity, but still, quite an armful!
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