Karen

Product Spotlight: It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara

February 20th, 2019 by Karen 8 Comments

There’s a new superheroine in town (THIS girl) thanks to this mascara’s crazy insane curl hold. I’ve been wearing It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara for the better part of the past two months because the curl hold is simply out of this world, and even though the formula isn’t technically waterproof, it might as well be in at least one way because the hold is just as good as any waterproof mascara I’ve tried.

I’m talking long, luscious black lashes with wide-eyed, locked-down CURLS. FOR. DAYS. Boom! — instantaneously dramatic lashes.

I wore it to coffee with a girlfriend a couple weeks ago (hey, Fern!) and cried about, oh…five times during the conversation. (It was one of those emo visits. You know how it goes sometimes.) When I looked in a mirror afterward, I expected to see something completely different, but this mascara hadn’t budged or smudged at all.

In Hawaii I also wore it to the pool and beach a few times, and it lasted surprisingly well there, too, despite it not being classified as waterproof, which is something I’ve been trying to avoid lately, because I’m convinced that wearing full-on waterproof makes my lashes fall out more easily.

Here’s where things get a little complicated, though: To get this mascara to do the wonderful things it can do, you’ll have to work with it a while, because the already-thick-to-start formula thickens up even more over time, and once it has, you won’t be able to just swipe two coats on your lashes and ride off into the sunset with Keanu Reeves.

Now, after having used mine for about two months, whenever I draw the wand out of the tube, the brush loads up with an obscene amount of mascara. Like, I’m not kidding, enough mascara to coat five sets of lashes!

So you gotta take the time to remove the excess if you want to unlock this mascara’s riches. I’ll either run the brush across a paper towel, or I’ll unload the excess on the edge of the tube. If you don’t, brace yourself for a clumpy mess.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Growing Out My Grays: Chapter 2

February 19th, 2019 by Karen 29 Comments

karen gray hair four months — FYI, Salt-N-Pepa’s here.

It has been four months since the last time I dyed my hair, and I believe that I’ve reached the point when almost everyone who grows out their grays says that they want to attack something. Or someone. In other words, the point when it gets really hard.

Last week I came *this* close to booking a last-minute color appointment. Multiple times.

The biggest challenge has been figuring out what to do about my hairline, because I have a lot of gray there, and the hairs are ever-so-slightly coarser, and therefore more unruly, than the darker hairs.

Back when I was dying my hair and would find an errant gray shooting for the stars and striking out on its own, I’d just pluck it…but now I’m like, “What’s the point? It’s just gonna grow back anyway.”

Now, though, those errant hairs are also FOUR INCHES LONG. Honestly, it’s just so comical. I spend half the time laughing at myself and the other half wrangling the grays into place (a.k.a. getting my hair to look like I’m not being electrocuted). I wonder if I’m ever gonna feel good about my hair again…

Oh, and last night I barely averted hair disaster after watching a couple YouTube tutorials on how to cut your own bangs. I was standing in my bathroom with the scissors against my bangs, all set to CHOP-CHOP-CHOP. It was all happening in slow motion, too. Thankfully, I had just enough sense left to stop before it was too late. Slowly, I set down the scissors and backed away from the mirror.

MAH HAIR. IT’S DRIVING ME CRAZY.

On the bright side, I really like not having to dye my hair anymore. That part is liberating, but the growing out part is mostly just a pain in the @ass.

Here’s something weird: Depending on which way I part the front of my hair, I either see a ton of gray or very little. Like, if I pull my hair back into a ponytail, I can really see the salt and pepper coming through. Same if I do a deep side part. But if I part my hair down the middle, or just slightly off center, I barely see any.
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When It Comes to Makeup, Do You Believe You Get What You Pay For?

February 19th, 2019 by Karen 23 Comments

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.

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 564

February 18th, 2019 by Karen 15 Comments

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?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 541

February 17th, 2019 by Karen 13 Comments

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.