Karen

7 Ways to Win a $50 eGift Card From Sephora! (Ends Monday)

May 17th, 2014 by Karen 322 Comments

Good morning, glory! How did you sleep? Help yourself to a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

So, Godzilla last night… El Hub and I went.

Now, let me just start by saying that I sort of missed the whole Godzilla thing growing up. El Hub, on the other hand, appears to have seen dozens of Godzilla movies over the past zillion years, maybe because he grew up in Hawaii or something, and they must have been really popular over there. I don’t know.

At any rate, I went into the theater only expecting this: GIANT MONSTER DESTROYS CITIES! (With the all-caps like that because I expected a lot of it.)

And, uh, that’s pretty much what I got. 🙂 But you know me, I love sci-fi, and it was sci-fi-ish, so I liked it well enough.

Still, I can’t believe there are dozens of Godzilla movies out there. I wonder what the other ones are about…

LOL!

In other news, have you ever noticed how long cats drink when they drink water? It’s a freakishly long time, right? Tabs will sit at his water bowl lapping water for like three minutes!

Sorry, random thought…

Good luck in this weekend’s giveaway. Hope you have a fun weekend lined up.

One (1) Sephora eGift card containing $50 sent to the winner by email (international readers, you may opt to receive $50 sent by PayPal instead).

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Open to U.S. and international readers.
You must be 18 or older to enter (or otherwise an adult based on your local laws).
Your comment can be about anything at all, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- How do you feel about school?
- What kind of bird are you?
- Why do you like _______?
- My favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon is _______.
- Do you know anyone with a photographic memory?
- What’s your current favorite makeup look?
You can enter in up to seven ways to boost your chances of winning.
The giveaway ends on Monday, May 19, 2014 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
Full terms and conditions are available in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I Call This Piece “Box o’ Husky Tabby”

May 16th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

I have no idea why I keep buying your nephew cat toys because it seems like all he ever wants to do is play with boxes.

The second he saw this one he walked right in like it was a table in a restaurant.

I can picture his little kitty brain thinking, “Mine.”

Cats!

Go Big With Kerastase Mousse Bouffante

May 16th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

First question I have: what’s a bouffante?

I looked it up. 🙂

According to wikipedia, it’s from the present participle of bouffer: “to puff, puff out.”

It’s where we also get the word, “bouffant.”

Second question I have: why bother with a hairdryer when Mother Nature’s hairdryer, also known as the heatwave we’re having pretty much throughout California right now, works perfectly fine, and also happens to be completely free?

After showering this morning I worked Kerastase Mousse Bouffante into my damp, wavy hair, starting at the ends and making my way down to the roots.

Compared to other Kerastase hair styling products I’ve tried, this one smells pretty tame, which I like. There’s just a faint jasmine scent.

Designed to embiggen hair (I know that’s not a real word… I just really wanted to use it. 🙂 ) and provide structure without weight, so it gives me the volume I crave. I’m using it buy myself time before my next haircut in about three weeks (my mop has been pretty heavy and kind of flat).

I apply it to my hair when it’s damp, and you can either blow dry or air dry. Since it’s been — to quote Nelly — hot in hurr, I’ve been air drying lately. I usually sit in my oven… I meant “office” upstairs, and wait.

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New Favorite Accessory: Gamma Ray Computer Glasses!

May 16th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

If you can, marry a man who’ll buy you a pair of glasses to reduce eye strain.

I’m so not kidding!

Without even asking him to, El Hub got me these Gamma Ray Glasses ($30) from amazon.com last week, and they have straight-up changed my life.

Thank you, El Hub. 🙂

They’re great if you stare at a computer screen all day long, like yours truly. Something about filtering out the blue light, which is tough on your eyes, or something like that…

I’m not exactly sure how they work, but they do! My eyes seriously feel better at the end of the day, and my head doesn’t hurt (I get these headaches behind my eyes after I’ve been staring at the screen for 12 hours).

Because of the whole tinted lenses thing, though, I don’t use them when I’m working on pics. Mostly just writing.

It’s weird… When I wear them, I can actually feel the muscles on my face and eyes relaxing, and I don’t squint as much. By late afternoon when the glare on the screen in my office is at its worst, these help a lot.

Placebo effect?

Maybe… I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think they really work.

I’ve got the ones with the tortoiseshell frames, but they also come in black.

Performing Tonight: Benefit’s New Sheer Rose Gold Rockateur, an Ultra Plush Lip Gloss Rock Star

May 16th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Listen, I’m probably the furthest thing in this zip code from rock ‘n’ roll. All of the presets on the radio in my car are to easy listening stations (“KOIT… Light rock, less talk”), and if I ever actually tried to head-bang, I would probably pull a muscle in my neck.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, because you do not have to be a rock ‘n’ roller to like Benefit’s new $16 Rockateur Ultra Plush Lip Gloss, the latest addition to the Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss fam.

Smooth, sheer, non-sticky and unfathomably comfortable (wear time is about 2-3 hours), the Ultra Plushes are part of Benefit’s permanent line.

Not only are they all that and a bag of Cheetos, they also have corresponding blushes — you know, in case you want to get all matchy-matchy on that @ss.

A fairly sheer rose gold, Rockateur is one of those glosses I think of when I think of weekend glosses.

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Why Do You Think Makeup Matters?

May 16th, 2014 by Karen 26 Comments

Absolutely, makeup matters. It definitely matters to me for many reasons.

First, it has the ability to completely transform how I feel. When I’m having a bad day, something as insignificant as filing in my brows, curling my lashes and applying a little gloss can totally change my outlook and turn things around. Those few easy things can get me out of my own head and focussed on having a good day.

Of course, I know that in the grand scheme of things, eyeliner isn’t as paramount as, say, stopping global warming, but that doesn’t make me love it any less. Through makeup, we’re able to express ourselves creatively and try new things — like by putting your own personal stamp on the world with a signature cat eye or lip look — which are very important, especially for adults, as we sometimes get bogged down by pressure and responsibilities.

cat eyes with a twist 3 — Double winged cat eyes FTW!

I also love its accessibility. Tom Ford isn’t the only brand out there. There are great drugstore brands, too.

Men (yes, men!), women, teens, seniors — people of all backgrounds and ages. There aren’t very many things in this world like that.

It’s not like I can wake up one morning and suddenly decide to join a polo team. I mean, I wouldn’t even know how to do that, LOL! I’ve never even ridden a horse.

But, on the other hand, if I want to wear a dark purple gloss, I can run downtown to Rite Aid and pick one up. It’s a lot easier than finding a horse. 🙂

Makeup also brings people together. It’s very bonding.

I vividly remember getting ready for Jen’s wedding with my friends, and more recently, last Sunday, when I sat down at the kitchen table at home with my mom to give her a quick eye makeup lesson.

Without makeup, you and I would probably have never even met (that’s crazy talk!).

Something like that definitely has meaning. It absolutely matters.

What do you think, friend? Why do you think makeup matters?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!

To the Dark Plum in Clinique’s Eyes To Go Palette Travel Exclusive, Take Me With You!

May 15th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

That dark purple, though!

The colors in Clinique’s new travel exclusive Eyes To Go Palette (available now at select airports worldwide) are shades I’d normally dismiss as way too cool for my warm skin tone (I’m a MAC NC42), but that dark plum in the center is the business. It’s just too beautiful to resist.

So rich! So plummy! I bet it would look amaze-balls on the lids with a shimmery warm copper in the crease and a sparkly gold or bronze in the inner corner.

Keep an eye out for the Eyes To Go palette next time you’re at an airport and spot a Clinique display, store or counter. The price will vary depending on what country you’re in, but these travel exclusive palettes usually go for $45-60.

30 Days of NARS: Eternal Red Lip Gloss, Day 30

May 15th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

DAY 30!

Time flies when you’re having fun, and I’ve certainly enjoyed getting to know the 30 Lip Glosses in the newly reformulated NARS Lip Gloss line.

We’re wrapping things up with warm-toned Eternal Red ($26), a timeless orangey red that looks gorgeous all year round but begs to be taken out in the summer.

I think shades like this one look fantabulous with a tan. 🙂

Eternal Red is one of the seven completely new shades NARS added to the 30-piece line when they revamped it, so if you’re all about the new schtuff, check it out on one of your next visits to a NARS counter, or on one of your next online window shopping sessions.

Karen

The 30 Days of NARS series features a different NARS Lip Gloss every day