Holy wow, I am exhausted. Second catering event ever tonight and my legs are feeling seriously jello-like. I didn't even work a whole shift and I'm dead. I think it's one of those things where, when you are going non stop you don't even realize it. It's only when you stop and sit down for a while that it hits you.
But before I crash for the night, I wanted to finish up this post!
I have a confession to make....I may or may not have turned "No-Buy July" into a "Buy-Less-Than-Usual July". There were a few limited time deals that were just too good for me to pass up.
Sigh.
I slashed my monthly spending by hundreds of dollars and have been generally adhering really well to my budget. Honestly, most of my overspending was on food (eating out, drinks, purchasing not entirely necessary goodies at the grocery store), but clothes and makeup and such definitely didn't help. With the extra birthday money that I had from the beginning of the month I ended up caving and getting myself a few more things.
This was also the worst month to try and break myself of my retail therapy habit with how stressful work has been. So, I'll at least say that under the circumstances I've been doing pretty well, and I'm going to cut myself some slack.
So, the first thing (which I'm super excited about) that I want to share with you is a Summer Look bag from Hautelook. It was only $20 for all of this!
I'll have to do a full review of everything in the bag once I get a chance to try it all. There's a great selection of sample and full sized products.
Aside from the general awesomeness that this bag contains, the biggest motivation to break my no-buy was the full sized Mirenesse Lip Bomb (which is valued at $39.00). There were a few possible colors that you could receive. I got #22 - a beautiful iridescent berry color. It matched perfectly with the Urban Decay 24/7 Lipliner sample that also came in the bag.
I actually have had this bag since Tuesday, but haven't had the time this week to really play with it. Since I knew I was catering tonight, I knew I needed to come up with something pretty, polished, but not over the top for my makeup. I figured this would be the perfect time to do a little new product experimentation. I used both of these products in my look along with the (also full-sized, valued at $23) LORAC Special Effects Mascara and some other staples from my stash.
How to get this look:
Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
Cover FX Matte Setting Powder
Benefit Stay Don't Stray
Urban Decay Naked Palette (Sin, Naked & Toasted)
Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Amazonian Clay Liner in Black
LORAC Special Effects Mascara
Bare Minerals Brow Powder in Brunette
Urban Decay 24/7 Lipliner in Naked
Mirenesse Lip Bomb in #22
Let me tell you, that Lip Bomb did not disappoint. The color is richly pigmented and the texture is super creamy. It's got a hint of a minty scent, but nothing overwhelming. It also has amazing lasting power (I applied once this morning, and touched up before I left for catering in the late afternoon). The particular color I got is a little bit dark for summertime, but it'll look gorgeous in the fall. I know $40 is a lot to spend on a lip product, but this stuff is really worthy of the high end pricing.
Since I'm fading fast, I'm going to skip the step by step tutorial on how to achieve this look. But please feel free to ask questions if there's anything you want to know! I will say that my makeup still looked pretty fabulous when I got home tonight, so I have faith in these products' abilities to stay put without smudging, budging, or fading.
On another note, I finally got to wash my hair for the first time since having a cyst removed from my scalp on Thursday. I've got to use Vaseline or Aquaphor over the area where my stitches are, which has been making that particular spot on my head and surrounding hair extra super greasy (it also is very difficult to wash out of your hair!). I decided that a braided bun would be perfect to compensate for my less than fresh looking tresses. I also need to have my hair pulled back for catering, so I figured it was a win-win.
I tried out the waterfall braiding technique that has been all the rage lately. I started with damp hair and spritzed in some leave-in conditioner/detangling spray to make combing and sectioning easier. I worked the braid about halfway around my head, and then finished the braid normally and secured with a small elastic. I then gathered all of my hair, twisted it together with the braid, and pinned it into a bun.
Voila! Not too shabby, I think.
Sooo yeah! I've got one other purchase on its way. Birchbox announced a set of limited edition boxes for the CEW awards, and I couldn't resist ordering them (I know, I'm a terrible person). So, I will definitely update when they come in.
Well lovelies, that's all for tonight. I'm SO ready for a good night's sleep.
Stay gorgeous,
Lauren
