• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

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

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
    • Advertising & Media
  • Categories
    • Product Reviews
    • Makeup
    • Skincare & Fragrance
    • Style & Fashion
    • Hair
    • Nails
    • Tips & Tutorials
    • Just for Fun
  • Brands
  • Store

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 604

December 9th, 2019 by Karen 9 Comments

butterfly
Float like a butterfly…

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 morning grooming routine as of late?

    First things first: totally late Monday Poll today, I know! It’s been one of those days!

    So, I splash hella cold water on my face, and yes, it’s a little uncomfortable, to say the least, but it immediately wakes me up (and I need all the help I can get).

    Then comes the usual slew of face potions, followed by body lotion on my limbs.

    Next, after I finish about an hour of morning maintenance tasks, blogging, writing, etc., I’ll do my makeup, and then my hair last.

    Oh — and kinda-sorta off topic, but I’ve been doing 5-minute makeup a lot lately, and Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter has been my workhorse! I’m thinking of getting another bottle at the Sephora holiday sale happening now (along with a few other CT things… She’s been my EVERYTHING lately).

    2. Candy canes or hot chocolate?

    Hot chocolate with milk. Ideally, not *too* sweet, either.

    3. What shoes are you usually wearing on a typical weekday?

    Some version of the Nike Winflo Zoom… Peep these hot pink ones I want to treat myself to!

    4. What kind of bed do you prefer?

    I like my beds firm with a slightly squishy mattress, a few down pillows that conform to the shape of my head (but not so many pillows that they cover the entire bed), and sheets and blankets that feel cool and soft on my skin.

    I also like to make the bed first thing in the morning… It doesn’t have to have hospital corners or anything, but I if I don’t do the bed right away in the morning, I feel disheveled whenever I walk into the room.

    5. Favorite reindeer?

    Rudolph, obvs, because I love stories about outsiders who triumph against all odds in the end!

Feeling all the big feelings

The big news around our house this weekend (’cause I live with a toddler!) was that we went to see Frozen 2 for the second time in two weeks…and ya know what? I liked it even more than I did the first time around.

I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s one of those animated movies you can totally watch and appreciate as an adult. It has those layers.

Themes include self-discovery, learning from mistakes, making difficult choices that involve sacrifice, dealing with grief and heartache, and DUDE — I left the theater feeling all the big feels.

Watch it if you haven’t already! I’m pretty sure you’ll love it.

Happy Monday. 🙂 Did you day get off to a good start?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. What’s your morning grooming routine?
2. Candy canes or hot chocolate?
3. What shoe are you usually wearing?
4. What kind of bed do you prefer?
5. Favorite reindeer?

There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 583

December 8th, 2019 by Karen 13 Comments

Tabs Christmas swagger

A lot of people just starting their careers as professional pet assistants ask me, “What was Tabs really like? What was it like working for such an iconic figure in the feline fashion industry?” and I usually tell them about Christmas 2016.

Tabs was at the pinnacle of his kitty modeling career. I was juggling working full time as a pet assistant with being a new mom to Connor Claire, who was born in March of that year.

I won’t lie; it was tough. It was a crazy busy time.

Tabs was booked for modeling jobs every day through December, and I normally would have been in charge of managing his schedule — you know, preparing his gravy, booking his favorite photographers for gigs, and making sure he always had a daily appointment with a masseuse in every city for his deep-tissue kitty massage — but I was burning the candle at both ends. Connor was eight months old, and I really wanted a few days off around Christmas.

I asked Tabs for a few days off, knowing full well how busy we were.

Without hesitating, he gave me a week off for Christmas.

Because THAT’s the kind of cat he was. He wasn’t just the greatest kitty supermodel of all time. He was also the best employer I’ve ever had.

Somehow, Tabs still managed to keep every one of his kitty modeling appointments that December. He reached out to his vast network of friends, including his mentor, fashion consultant and television personality Tim Gunn, who helped Tabs complete his iconic look for Christmas 2016…

The unforgettable “Rainbow Sparkle.” 😊😺

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 13 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Tabs

Saturday Surfing, Dec. 7th, 2019

December 7th, 2019 by Karen 3 Comments

Spotted at the ABC Store in Waikiki a couple days ago: tanned Hello Kitties

What skin tone do you suppose this bronzed Hello Kitty charm is according to MAC? I want to say she looks like an NC42, but I’m kind of biased that way. 😉

Happy Caturday, señorita!

Wow, it just occurred to me that the Christmas countdown is officially ON. It’s getting close! El Hub and I mentioned getting our tree this weekend, so I think we’re going to do that.

This will be Rosie’s first Christmas with us, and I’m not sure how she’ll react to having a conifer smack dab in the middle of the living room. Will she attack it from afar and climb the trunk? Will she stealthily tip it over while my back is turned? I guess we’ll find out!

You know how it is with cats… It’s always an adventure. 😼

On that note…

  • May the fierce be with you, because Pat McGrath’s releasing a new Star Wars-themed LE makeup collection. 😃
  • These squishy kitty paw makeup brushes are purr-fect for cat ladies who love ‘ze face paint.
  • Did you know that there are two classifications of wrinkles — static and dynamic?
  • In case you’re also kind of obsessed with Keanu Reeves (’cause I am), here’s why his beautiful silver-haired girlfriend, artist Alexandra Grant, doesn’t dye her hair.
  • Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2020 is…Classic Blue!
  • Essie just launched a line of (cleverly-named) quick-dry polishes called Expressie.
  • Speaking of new nail releases…Sally Hansen has a new vegan nail polish line. 🌱
  • Only a lucky chosen few “cat whisperers” can decipher the code of feline facial expressions. 😾
  • When I win the lottery and build my not-for-profit kitty sanctuary for strays, you better believe the first thing I’m putting in the design plans are these kitty ladders.
  • How Nordstrom uses robots and shelves inspired by ants to deliver lipstick faster…


*tears*


YUM!


This liner is purr-fection.

How are you doing this weekend? What are you up to?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 3 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun

Monochromatic Makeup: Playful Pinks, and a Play on Cat Eyeliner

December 6th, 2019 by Karen 18 Comments

mac steady going lipstick k smile
Inspired by this pink sweater!

I was inspired to do this monochromatic pink look by this quilted sweatshirt I found at the Eddie Bauer outlet store for 50% off (!).

I can’t remember the last time I walked into an Eddie Bauer store, but there’s one of their outlet stores at Vintage Oaks in Novato, and El Hub wanted to check it out one day to look for a jacket, which he found…and I found this. It’s incredibly soft, and I love the color.

I almost didn’t use any brushes for this look. I used my fingers to press the pink glitter eyeshadow on my lids and to pat the pink cream blush on my cheeks. Really, the only brush I used was an angled eyeshadow brush, which I dipped in a dark brown shadow to diffuse the edge of the liquid black cat eye liner (Tom Ford, baby!).

Speaking of the liner, next time you want to flip the script on your cat eyeliner game, try this: after you finish your cat eye flicks, line the inner corner of your eyes with the thinnest, skinniest line you can get away with.

urban decay glitterrock

Then line the outer portion of your lower lash line with your liquid liner, and connect the inner and outer sections by smudging the most infinitesimal amount of a coordinating eyeshadow color.

If you like to geek out over makeup, this is a fun way to do something a little different with your liner.

mac glitter rock
[Continue reading…]

There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, Face of the Day (FOTD), Lips, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Urban Decay

Back in the Bay, and I’m Thinkin’ About Brows…

December 5th, 2019 by Karen 3 Comments

Thinkin’ really hard about brows…

Ah… It’s good to be back home. 🙂 Of course, it would be awesome-er if it weren’t 40-something degrees here meow, but I’m happy to be back home with Rosie girl and my comfy bed.

Oh! — this next thing may seem incredibly obvious, but it isn’t always obvious to me: if you’re filling in your brows one day and they’re being particularly unruly/wonky, and you’re filling them in and filling them in and they still just don’t look right, quickly trim a little off the top or clean up under the arch. I know this sounds obvious, but if you’re anything like me and you live with your brows day after day after day, sometimes you just start filling them in without remembering to clean them up from time to time. Once you’ve cleaned them up, I bet they’ll start cooperating again.

I know, it seems obvious, but quickly cleaning up the stray hairs with tweezers and trimming any extra long hairs with a pair of round-tipped scissors (don’t poke your eye out!) will do wonders.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 3 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup Tips/How To

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • …
  • Page 2668
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

About Makeup and Beauty Blog

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my three-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my kitty supermodel cat (Tabs).

SHOP THE STORE

Recent Posts

Saturday Surfing, Dec. 14, 2019

makeup bag august 2019

How Has Your Life (and Your Makeup!) Changed in 2019?

eddie bauer charly marigold

Channel Your Inner Paddington Bear, and Stay Dry During a Deluge in the Eddie Bauer Charly Jacket

urban decay stage dive mainline

Glittery Green Gradient Wings: A Quick and Easy Holiday Makeup Look

stila beso 121019

When In Doubt, Red Lip It Out

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Featured Posts

Lady Unicorn

Weird Things I Like to Do

brows fill out beforehand

Before You Pluck or Wax Your Brows, You Must Do This

current bare skin status

What’s One Thing That Drastically Changed Your Skin for the Better?

red brown smokey eyes tutorial top pic 2

A Glamorously Grungy Makeup Tutorial: Smoky Reddish Brown Eyes and Vampy Matte Lips [MODERATE SKILL LEVEL]

Copyright © 2019 Makeup and Beauty Blog. Get in touch.