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Saturday Surfing, April 20th, 2019

April 20th, 2019 by Karen 1 Comment

So…guess what?

For the first time in forever, I put on heels AND a dress to leave my house.

Yup, BOTH.

I know! I can’t even remember the last time I did that when it didn’t involve some kind of event, but I did it yesterday before going to the dentist, because I was actually feeling kinda feisty and, well…kinda cute, which never happens to me prior to leaving for the dentist.

To make a long story even longer, I did some yoga (a 10-minute flow; that’s the routine down below) before leaving for the appointment, and that just made me feel a little better and less anxious than usual — actually, almost enthusiastic (!) about seeing the dentist.

Anyway, feeling really good about myself, I put on my dress, my heels, got in the car, got on the freeway, and that’s when I realized that my knees and shins were hella dry.

(Don’t ask me why I realized this on the freeway.)

I totally forgot to put on lotion before leaving the house…

I know! When you don’t wear a dress in forever and you’re out of practice, you forget these things.

Then I remembered that I recently tossed the “emergency” lotion I usually keep in my car because it expired, so I didn’t have anything to moisturize myself with other than nude lipsticks and a Clinique Superbalm Lip Balm.

I thought, “Hmm… The Superbalm would be shiny, but it might work,” so when I got to the dentist’s office, I squeezed out a generous amount, and slathered it all over my knees and shins.

(I tried to warm it up first, though, by rubbing it between my fingers and palms.)

Lo and behold, it totally worked! So there’s a beauty hack for ya. Try your lip balm if you’re ever stuck somewhere with dry skin and don’t have any lotion.

On that note, today’s beauty (and otherwise) reading…

Multicolored rainbow/Skittles manicures have been around forever, but since Instagram apparently just discovered them, they’re now a “thing.” LOL!
Sephora and fashion line Moschino are doing a fun collection where the liquid highlighters look like highlighter markers, and the makeup removers look like erasers. There’s also a nail polish in a Wite-Out bottle! — which is what I used to do with *real* Wite-Out when I was a kid.
25 secrets your nail tech wishes you already knew
The Black Opal Aksanti collection helps girls in the Congo.
This woman found a lock of Charlotte Brontë’s braided hair encased in a ring in her attic… All I have in my attic are ghosts 👻 and dust mites!
Because El Hub, Connor Claire and Tabs are all part Irish, here are 10 Irish Good Friday traditions you’ve never heard of.
And because my first-born cat son 🐱 is also hardcore GoT ⚔️🐉 enthusiast, here are some awesome homemade Games of Thrones-inspired pet beds.
Fun fact about Game of Thrones: Jon Snow wears high heels.
Speaking of felines, have you heard about the mysterious wild cats of Britain?
Cats get acne, too.

I adore Hindash’s work and can’t wait to try this!

You know how much I love her, but I love her even more because she says the words, “flute backstory,” in this video.

How to look more amazing up-close and in person

Best Ted Talk I watched this week

I did this workout just the other day! Super challenging, but I felt great at the end of it.

I’ve been doing this 10-minute yoga flow after workouts for my upper back, and it has helped with the wonkiness a lot.

Now I’m off to go take the coywolf to a local Easter egg hunt. Have a great Saturday and a 😃 happy (early) 🐇 Easter.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What’s Your Routine for Washing Your Face?

April 19th, 2019 by Karen 12 Comments

Your morning routine? Your evening routine? Whatever you feel like sharing. What’s your routine for washing your face? Do you use micellar water? Makeup wipes? Do you use a washcloth? I know everybody does it a little differently.

For me, in the morning, I wash my face right after I wake up, and how I do it depends on how my skin feels. I’ve been using a retinol at night (Kate Somerville’s), and I’m trying to ramp up to using it three nights a week (Slowly… It’s taking forever because my skin’s just freaking out left and right), but if my face isn’t feeling too dry or sensitive in the morning, I’ll use Clinique’s creamy cleanser — the one in the green tube (sorry, I’m blanking on the name right now). I’ll massage that on to my dry skin, then take a warm, clean washcloth and use that to wipe it away.

Then, I’ll turn the water so it’s ice cold and splash my face a few times, because that really helps me wake me.

And then on the mornings when my skin feels super dry and tight or otherwise uncomfortable, I’ll splash my face with lukewarm water and gently blot it dry with a towel.

In the evenings, I like to do a double cleanse, so I like to start by removing my makeup with an oil cleanser (DHC and Fresh are my favorites), which I massage on to my face. No water. Just two pumps of the oil, massage it in, and let it break up whatever it can break up. Then I rinse off whatever I can with warm water.

Next, while my face is still wet, I’ll grab a face cleanser (either the same Clinique one I use in the morning, or this gel cleanser by H2O Plus, which I like to use when I’ve been sweating a lot or wearing more makeup than usual because it’s a stronger cleanser than the Clinique one, and my face feels very clean after I use it). Then, I’ll wet another clean wash cloth with warm water and use it to remove whatever remains on my face, before splashing again with water.

We go through a LOT of washcloths in our house, LOL!

Let me know what your routine is for washing your face, girl!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Would You Get Botox in Your Head So Your Blowouts Could Last Longer?

April 19th, 2019 by Karen 9 Comments

Girlfriend, THIS IS TOTALLY A THING. People are getting their scalps injected with Botox to make their scalp perspire less, and therefore help their blowouts last longer.

As someone who used to pride herself on how long she could tolerate going between hair washes — seriously, there was a time in my life when I could gleefully go six days without washing my hair — this may have appealed to me more at one time than it does now.

If nothing else, I would’ve SERIOUSLY considered it, but I don’t think I would have gone through with it because I don’t like needles… They freak me out. Also, knowing me, if I did get a scalp injection, it would probably leave me with a twitchy left eyelid for six months. I would’ve been better off just living with 12 pounds of dry shampoo in my hair, which is what I used to do.

Now, I’m an everyday hair washer… Yeah, I know, but my hair isn’t dyed anymore. I’m transitioning back to my natural color, so I don’t really have to worry about hair color fading, which is one good thing about growing out your grays. I’m also kind of addicted now to that clean scalp feeling. Granted, I don’t shampoo every night. I alternate shampoo every other day with a conditioner wash, which is still more hair washing than I’ve done in years…which just goes to show you: NEVER SAY NEVER.

Anyway, tangent city, HERE WE COME. 😀

Now, back to the question at hand… Would you ever get Botox in your head so your blowouts could last longer? Inquiring minds want to know!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Good Friday. TGIF.

Spellbound by MAC Strip Down: Twig Satin Lipstick

April 18th, 2019 by Karen 15 Comments

Meet some of my favorite MAC nude shades this week from the MAC Strip Down collection.

I’m a bonafide twig expert! — self proclaimed, of course. I have twigs in every pocket of every jacket. Literally.

And there are two reasons for this:

Because I like to wear MAC Twig lipstick
And because Connor has to pick up all of the twigs she finds whenever we leave the house and adds them to her collection of “treasures that we keep by the front door.”

So, yeah, with the power vested in me by the State of California, I declare myself a twig expert. 😊

MAC Twig is such an old-school favorite. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is not the color of most tiny branches. Really, I don’t know why it’s even called “Twig,” unless somebody somewhere had a dream about a pinkish brown tree…?

Yeah, it’s in the realm of brown, but I think it’s more pink than brown, so if you like the idea of a nude lip color that splits the difference between a Barbie pink and a true brown, a la MAC Paramount, take a look at Twig.

Like other MAC nude lip greats, it’s subtlety different from other nude lip colors in ways that a casual bystanders would have absolutely NO CLUE about. Like my husband — he would never be able to tell the difference between Velvet Teddy and Twig, but you and I? We would.

mac twig swatch — The ultimate trifecta of MAC rosy brown nude lippies!

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Budget Beauty for $10 or Less: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Mauve-olous

April 17th, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

sally hansen mauve-olous — After four days, this drugstore mani looks just as fresh as day one.

Hooray for budget beauty! In this new series, we talk about sweet finds you can get for $10 or less.

GAH. I’m getting really antsy to paint my nails with the Chanel Cruise colors. (That purple? It’s just calling my name.) So I’m gonna do that tonight, but before I go there, shout-out to my current nail polish situation, Sally Hansen’s Miracle Gel in Mauve-olous, which is indeed marvelous.

OK, this is… I painted my nails on Friday night after one of those epic bathroom sessions that El Hub makes fun of me for, because I literally can spend almost two hours in the bathroom after I put Connor down to bed. He’s like, “What are you DOING in there? Did you fall in the toilet and get stuck? Now you can’t get out?” (Side note, no, that only happens to my Velvet Teddy Lipstick, ha! 🤣 ) And I’m like, “Dude, I’m just living my best life in here, OK?” I was so happy to have some time to myself, so in celebration of that, I did a hair mask, a face mask, and I also painted my nails. 💅🏽

I did two coats of Mauve-olous on top of bare nails, and then the Miracle Gel Top Coat on top, which is the process Sally Hansen recommends, and look! — after four whole days, there’s only a little bit coming off at the ends of my nails (as to be expected). But really, no big chips. Sure, the shine has dulled, but the polish still more or less looks like fresh paint. I’m betting this could easily go six or seven solid days.

I’ll be wearing it again, for sure.

By the way, Mauve-olous is one of those colors that looks very different in different lighting. Like, I’ll go into the bathroom, and it’ll be peachy pink, but it’s mauve-rose in full sun. I think it’s really beautiful, and it’s affordable, too — about $8 a bottle.

Oh! — and another bonus of the Miracle Gels is that they dry relatively quickly. You don’t have to sit there for 45 minutes while you wait for your nails to dry. For two coats and the top coat, I’d give them 20 minutes to completely dry down.

It’s good stuff!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen