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

I think there’s just so much good makeup out there, so there isn’t a hard and fast rule to assessing quality at different price levels. I also definitely don’t feel that expensive automatically means better (see this affordable drugstore cream shadow and this $8 eyeliner). Whichever the case, drugstore or high end, I think you’ve gotta dig to find the gems.

But oh! — there’s LOTS of treasure out there, and I like uncovering makeup gems at any price point…although I do have to admit that I cringe at the thought of paying $$$$ for a mascara nowadays, even if it’s bomb.

(Skin care, though? That’s another story… 😭)

I know that some folks eschew drugstore makeup for different reasons, like having been burned before by budget products that didn’t live up to the hype. I have a friend who only wears MAC because everything she’s ever tried from a drugstore makes her break out. Everyone is different, and everyone has different needs, likes, budgets and different access, depending on where they live and their closest makeup counters.

What about you? Do you think you get what you pay for when it comes to makeup? And do you think there’s a difference between “cheap” and budget?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. RIP, Uncle Karl. Tabs has lost a mentor and the world has lost an icon.

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 five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?

1. What’s your go-to Bath & Body Works scent?

At this exact moment in time, I don’t have one right now, but I was ALL ABOUT Juniper Breeze back in the day.

2. Cold hands or cold feet?

During the daytime? Cold hands. Always. My hands are always cold during the day, but then they warm up at night, and it’s my feet that get cold.

Weird.

3. Would you rather hitchhike alone or jump from a moving vehicle? (Assuming, for some strange reason, that you have to pick one.)

Huh. Well…I wouldn’t hitchhike voluntarily, because I’ve seen way too many horror movies on the open road, and I just bet that even if the most gentle-looking older woman stopped to offer me a ride, she’d probably try taking me home to bake me in her human-sized oven.

I’d rather jump from a moving vehicle and risk breaking multiple bones!

4. Have you ever bought yourself flowers?

Heck yeah, girl! Of course I have. Don’t wait for someone else to get you a bouquet 💐 when you need one. Get those Trader Joe’s peonies for your damn self!

5. Last thing you got on sale?

I got myself a pair of Quicksilver slippers (also known as flip-flops) in Hawaii, and the nice cashier hooked me up with the kama’aina 10% off discount.

Happy Monday (and Presidents’ Day here in the U.S.)

That book up there at the top ☝️ was my bedtime reading last night. I got it from the library a couple weeks ago to read to Connor, and now I have commandeered it for myself. 😀

Technically, it was written for girls eights years old and up (so I qualify!). I feel like it was written for me, though. There’s a section called “making the first move” that talks about how hard it is to relax when you don’t really know a new person, which basically describes me at EVERY MOMS CLUB EVENT I’VE EVER GONE TO.

I feel like this book should be required reading for every person who wants to make new friends, whether they’re kids or adults.

Wherever you are and whatever you’re up to, my friend, have a good one today! 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to you soon.

1. What’s your go-to Bath & Body Works scent?
2. Cold hands or cold feet?
3. Would you rather hitchhike alone or jump from a moving vehicle? (Assuming, for some strange reason, that you have to pick one.)
4. Have you ever bought yourself flowers?
5. Last thing you got on sale?

Once upon a time, there lived a handsome tabby supermodel in a village called Novato. One day, the tabby asked his assistant if he could visit his agent who lived in a village on the other side of the forest, and his assistant said, “Of course, Tabs. You have a non-exclusive contract and can visit your agent any time you want, but please be careful, and don’t dilly-dally, because the forest can be a dangerous place. Go straight there, and text me when you arrive so I know you’re alright.”

“Sure, sure,” said the tabby. “Peace out.”

But when the tabby noticed a bird’s nest high up in a tree, he forgot his promise to his assistant. He watched the birds flit about, listened to some chirping and even attempted, unsuccessfully, to climb the tree.

The tabby was enjoying the day so much that he wandered off the trail and became lost.

He tried retracing his steps, but that only led him in a circle. “Man, this sucks,” said the tabby, “and I can’t even get a signal on my phone!”

[Continue reading…]

Hey, hey, Caturday! Good morning. 😊 I’m reporting live from my bathroom today because I am out of eye cream…and it’s very distressing to me, because this appears to have happened suddenly, out of nowhere.

After hearing people rave about it for months, I bought a bottle of what I thought was a relatively large amount of Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream back in November, and I feel like I’ve only been using it for two seconds, but it’s gone. IT’S COMPLETELY GONE.

So I’m officially out of eye cream [SHUDDERS].

Like, how did this even happen?? I’ve been conservative with the C-Tango, too. I don’t even do a whole pump. I use half a pump!

Agh!

And that’s only part of the issue. What really bugs me is that this came out of nowhere. I usually keep a backup of mission critical items (like eye cream) on hand just in case, but I couldn’t tell how much of this one was left. There’s no way to tell from the bottle.

I mean, I like it as an eye cream well enough, but I’m not a fan of the packaging.

OH EM GEE.

Wait — I’m having a revelation. If I MacGyver this situation…

YES! I just popped off the top using brute force, and there’s a tiny bit left on the cap that I can grab with a Q-tip. 🤗

But now I’m REALLY sad because it’s officially gone.

While I go mourn the loss of my last eye cream, please enjoy the following links…

• Even with the recent beauty biz changes and the “Fenty effect,” according to Hollywood makeup artist Tym Buacharern (he’s worked with Jennifer Hudson, among many other stars), brands still have a long way to go when it comes to giving women of color more makeup options.
• I learned this micro-concealing technique from Lisa Eldridge (my fave!) years ago, and it’s one of my “go-to” techniques for skin that looks even-toned but not cake-y.
• How cool is this? —> Thirteen-year-old Tilly uses her 3D-printed bionic arms when she does makeup tutorials.
• Yes, Ryan Reynolds has a skin care routine. (Side note: Could he please text it to El Hub?)
• This skin care line was founded by MIT grads, and everything in it is less than $30.
• Could somebody please get me this triple chicken perfume bottle from the 1700s?!

I really want to try that L’Oréal foundation.

My girl!!

This looks like fun, and I love her tropical pink pants.

I might go back to the Fresh Black Tea eye cream now… I remember using it and liking it…and it lasting A LOT longer than this Drunk Elephant one did.

If you have an eye cream recommendation, BTW, please do tell! I desperately need one. 😬

On that note, have a great rest of your weekend. Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen