Tag Archives: beauty

Feeling Refreshed (or Looking Good While Babysitting)

Posted on June 3, 2015 | Comments Off on Feeling Refreshed (or Looking Good While Babysitting)

With so much going on lately, some of my regular “maintenance” things have been forgotten. I usually get my hair done pretty regularly but with everything keeping me busy I just kept putting off doing it. I’ve had some people make some comments about my hair not looking its best, so I realized that I needed to stop procrastinating and finally get my hair done.

I finally made an appointment with my friend who does my hair this past weekend and since I would be over there anyway I agreed to babysit as well. I’ve been watching her kids for forever so they are usually pretty good for me. And since it was going to pretty much just dinner, watch a movie, and then put the kids to bed; I knew it would be a pretty easy evening.

But before babysitting, I got my hair cut and colored. I’ve been getting it dyed red for a very long time now. I’d like to switch it up a little bit, but that also means getting new headshots. So we have to keep my hair in pretty much the same color family. But my friend was able to make it a bit more copper than it has been in the past, so while it’s still similar it’s a nice subtle change for me.

Fresh Hair

I love when my hair is freshly dyed and looking so nice! If I could afford to get my hair dyed as soon as my roots are starting to show, I would do so. But for now, I’m usually getting it done every 3 months (I’m hoping to change that to every other month soon).

I always think it’s pretty funny that when I have my hair looking the best that I usually spend that night babysitting. But that’s how it goes when you babysit your hairstylist’s kids.

The babysitting job was relatively easy. Since the kids know me so well they sometimes try to pull an attitude with me, but nothing that bad (nothing compared to some families whose kids have hit me). Plus, when they pull an attitude with me my friend trusts me enough to handle it and call them out. So I don’t feel like I have to put up with her kids lying to me and arguing with me about things (usually about dumb things like how they claim they are allowed 4 different desserts).

But besides the kids trying to trick me into extra desserts, they were super well-behaved and went to bed without too much fighting. And once the kids were asleep, I spent the rest of the time there reading my book.

While I love being super social and busy, it’s also super nice to take care of myself and have time to read (and in an air-conditioned house!). While I didn’t get to take advantage of my awesome looking hair that night, it was fine with me.

At least I finally got my hair done and my roots and split ends taken care of and nobody will say that my hair is looking a little scraggly!

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Default ThumbnailGetting A New Look (or Two Attempts To Dye My Hair) Default ThumbnailCoconut Oil Hair Mask (or Trying A Simple DIY Beauty Trick) Default ThumbnailBabysitting=New Vacuum (or I’ve Got $0.49 To Spare) Default ThumbnailDoing Some Beautification (or Feeling Better From The Outside In) Default ThumbnailComedy in Babysitting (or Surviving An Afternoon With A Crying 2 Year Old) Default ThumbnailLoving Air Conditioning (or A Bonus To Babysitting And Working)

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Pre-Thanksgiving Pampering (or Trying To Get Everything Done)

Posted on November 21, 2014 | Comments Off on Pre-Thanksgiving Pampering (or Trying To Get Everything Done)

Thanksgiving is pretty much here already. That’s insane! I’ll be heading to San Diego this year to join my family, and before I go I have so much stuff to get done!

I have some of my usual craziness, but for some reason this upcoming weekend is one of the most packed weekends of the year for me. And besides getting things packed before I drive, I have some food and crafts to finish up (I’ll post about those during Thanksgiving week).

But yesterday after work, I realized that if I wanted to get any of the beauty things done that I wanted to do, it was my last chance before I drive down.

So as soon as work was done for me at 3pm, I hopped in my car and drove to Brentwood where the Benefit store is that I get my eyebrows done at. Fortunately, you make appointments online so I knew that I would get in when I needed to.

Getting my brows done pretty much feels like maintenance to me. I’ve been getting them done since I was 14. And when I don’t get them done, I have a pretty bad unibrow. But at least at Benefit they try to make it fun. They always do a little makeup for you before you leave and while you are waiting there is a ton of makeup to look at and play with.

I actually needed to purchase a few things, and I found that they had a holiday gift pack that was cheaper than the 2 things I needed. So I got what I needed plus a little extra (some of which I will be giving to my mom).

After my brows were done, I got back into my car and drove about 20 blocks to the nail salon. I had also made an appointment for my pedicure (I don’t like doing walk ins anymore because you never know if they can get you in or not). I hadn’t had a pedicure since before my birthday and the blister on my foot is healing very nicely. So I figured I was due and wanted cute toes for Thanksgiving (although I’ve realized since that all the shoes I will be packing are closed toe).

When it’s wintertime and I get a pedicure, I try to go for some out there colors. I’ve done yellow and various neons before, but this time I found a really cute icy blue that seemed perfect for winter.

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Now that I feel beautiful and girly again (it’s funny how getting your eyebrows done and a pedicure can make you feel like you got a total makeover), I’m superficially ready for Thanksgiving. This weekend will be some shopping trips and getting things prepared for my drive as soon as I’m done with work on Tuesday.

The countdown to the major family event of the year is on!

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Posted in Beauty, Family, Fun Stuff, Travel

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Birthday Beauty Discounts (or Making My Birthday Last The Entire Month)

Posted on August 8, 2014 | 2 comments

I’ve talked about birthday deals in the past and there are some that I enjoy every single year. And I’m learning to start asking stores that I frequent if they have any birthday deals.

And this year, even though my birthday isn’t until tomorrow, I’ve already enjoyed 2 birthday deals related to beauty!

The only birthday beauty deal I knew about in the past was at Sephora where you get something for free on your birthday (I haven’t gotten my postcard yet so I don’t know what I can get for free this year). I do take advantage of the Sephora deal, but I try not to spend too much on other things while I’m there (and I know that’s the reason for the freebie!).

Something that is a total freebie is at Benefit’s Brow Bars. I go to the one near Santa Monica to get my eyebrows done. It’s more expensive than the cheapie nail salon that I used to go to, but I think they do a way better job at waxing and shaping my brows and you even get a free makeup touch-up when they are done!

Around your birthday (I’m not sure if it has to be your birthday week or month), you get a free brow wax! And since I go there anyway, of course I scheduled a wax over the weekend to take advantage of that!

The brow wax is usually $20 (the cheapie nail salon was $10), so when I get my free wax, I am able to leave a big tip since I’m saving so much! This time, I left a $15 tip (I usually do $5).

Not only did a get a free brow wax, my eyebrows are going to look amazing for my birthday party (which is tonight!).

Another beauty birthday discount is at Queen Bee Salon and Spa. Sorry for my readers who aren’t in LA, but this is a salon that has one location in Culver City and another in Brentwood (I go to the Culver City one). I go here for bikini waxes and have been going for a little over a year now. Bikini waxes are never fun and they aren’t painless, but Queen Bee makes them more bearable. Plus, the waxer I go to, Jenn V., is super awesome and friendly. So we are normally chatting and gossiping while she works and it helps to distract me from the pain (taking a painkiller about an hour before I go helps too).

When I went in for my bikini wax last month I realized that my next wax would be around my birthday. So I asked if they had any birthday deals even though I had never heard of one there before. It turns out, they just created a birthday discount! If you get a service done either 4 days before or 4 days after your birthday you get 10% off!

So I scheduled my wax to be yesterday and I got a nice little discount on something that I would have done anyway!

I am going to DryBar today to get my hair done before my party, but when I looked at their deals, only people with memberships to DryBar get free blowouts on their birthdays. I definitely don’t get enough blowouts to make a membership worth it (nor do I have the money for something like that).

I’d love to find some more beauty birthday deals while it’s my birthday month! Those are so much better for my weight loss goals than all the food freebies (although I will be going to at least one of my free meals this month).

If anyone knows of a pedicure birthday deal, you would become one of my favorite people ever!

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Default ThumbnailContinuing The Birthday Fun (or Pie and Makeup) Default ThumbnailGoing Back To Normal (or An Early End To My Birthday Adventures) Default ThumbnailYet Another Birthday Outing (or Enjoying Benihana!) Default ThumbnailBeing An Eyebrow Wax Model (or An Adventure At Queen Bee) Default ThumbnailA Birthday Month Challenge (or Education And Celebration) Default ThumbnailAlmost Free Birthday Dinner (or Spending My Birthday With My Birthday Twin)

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Posted in Beauty, Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Saving

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Coconut Oil Hair Mask (or Trying A Simple DIY Beauty Trick)

Posted on June 2, 2014 | 1 comment

I bought a jar of coconut oil at Trader Joes a while ago. I’ve been using it on my skin as a moisturizer and to help heal little cuts that I get (it seems to help with scars). But I had been seeing online about using it as a hair mask, so I figured I’d give it a try.

It’s really simple. All you need is some coconut oil, a hair clip if your hair is long, and a shower cap.

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My hair was dirty when I did this. I only wash my hair 2 or 3 times a week (helps keep my red hair from fading), but I made sure that my hair was brushed through and free of any tangles.

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Please ignore my greasy roots (and how badly my roots need to be dyed!). Coconut oil melts at a very low temperature (about 76 degrees and it was warmer than that in my house this particular day) so the coconut oil in the jar was actually pretty liquified when I used it.

I poured some oil into my hands and started to saturate my hair starting at the ends. I used most of it on the ends but I did put a little on my roots as well. I didn’t measure how much I used, but it was probably about 2 tablespoons.

After getting the oil in my hair (and making myself smell like a coconut cookie), I clipped my hair back into a bun and covered it with a shower cap.

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I read online on several sites that you should heat up your hair while the oil is in it. Many sites recommend using a blowdryer for this. But I’m lazy so I figured by covering my hair with the shower cap it would get warm in there and be good enough.

I left it in for about 30 minutes before I went to wash my hair. Since my hair is thin, I washed my hair twice to make sure that I got all of the oil out of it. Just a warning, washing the oil out of your hair will make the floor of your shower slippery. Be careful! Even though I have an anti-slip bathmat in my tub, I still was slipping.

I dried and styled my hair as usual and this is what I looked like when I was done.

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It wasn’t bad, but my hair didn’t feel clean. It felt more like the day after I shampoo. The curls held a lot more than they normally do when my hair is clean. And I felt like my hair was a little flat as well.

The next day, my hair looked much better.

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It was nice and shiny and felt a lot smoother than it usually does. And after washing it another time, it still felt really good.

I’m probably going to keep using this basic hair mask but only do it once a month or so. And I’m not going to expect my hair to look fabulous on the day I do it. But I think that it helped to make my hair seem healthier and shinier (and maybe a bit less frizzy). And since I’ve got a giant thing of coconut oil (and using it on my skin barely uses any of it), I might as well keep doing it!

If you have any other DIY hair masks I’d love to hear about them!

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Pamper Me Fabulous (or At Least The View Was Pretty)

Posted on November 12, 2012 | Comments Off on Pamper Me Fabulous (or At Least The View Was Pretty)

A few weeks ago, I saw that tickets for Pamper Me Fabulous were on Living Social for half price. I remembered that some blogger friends of mine had gone to the event earlier this year, so I thought I’d check it out. Plus, since I had a credit on Living Social from the laser hair removal place that refused to honor my deal, technically the event was free for me.

So yesterday, I headed down to Palos Verdes Peninsula to Terranea Resort. As soon as I pulled into the property, there was a huge line of cars trying to park. So I enjoyed the view while I wasn’t moving.

After finally parking my car, I got into the line to check in for the event. The line was long, but it moved quickly, and I was inside the event.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this event was not it. It was so crowded and had a trade show vibe to me. Everywhere I turned, people were selling something. The event had promoted online that there were free and cheap spa treatments available. The mini-facials that were available were $39 (the same price I pay for a real facial). A manicure was $18 (at the nail salon I go to, it’s only $10). And even if I wanted to get something, the appointments were filled up until almost 5pm.

The only “treatment” I got was at a booth that was trying to sell curling and flat irons. I’m actually in the market for a clamp-less curling iron, but I didn’t want to spend $150 on it. The sales woman did do my hair and teach me some tricks.

After an hour of trying to get around all the people in the event, I decided to go outside, and some lunch, and then call it a day. The lunch was nice, but the view was spectacular.

The last thing I did there was pick up my gift bag. This gift bag was supposedly highly coveted and worth more than the cost of my ticket. It was filled with some pretty great (and full-sized) products.

Overall, I didn’t have a great experience at Pamper Me Fabulous. It was beyond crowded in there. Maybe by putting tickets on Living Social they got more attendees than they expected. And maybe I would have had more fun if I had gone with some friends. I’m not sure if I’ll check it out again in the future. Maybe if it’s a bit closer I will, but I don’t think that it was worth the hour drive each way.

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Dealing with Living Social (or I Thought I Bought a Good Deal)

Posted on September 10, 2012 | 3 comments

As someone who is trying to bring down their credit card debit, I love good deals! But I still enjoy fun things in my life. I try to do spa stuff during Spa Week (which is coming up in mid-October). I look out for sales on clothes and shoes. And I love Living Social deals!

Or at least I did love those deals.

About 3 weeks ago, I bought a deal for 6 laser hair removal treatments for $99. It was at a place in Beverly Hills and the reviews on Yelp were all 4 and 5 stars. I was excited because this would be a great way to see if I could handle the pain of laser hair removal and would want to do it on other parts of my body.

I finally got through to someone on the phone this past Saturday. He was extremely rude on the phone to me. No greeting when he answered the phone. And as soon as I said I had a Living Social deal, all he said was “we can’t see you until October”. I said that was fine as long as I could use all 6 of my treatments (the deal had a promotional value expiration date of December 17th). The guy said that they would only let me use treatments until December 17th, therefore I would only be able to get 1 or 2 of my 6 treatments done.

I think that this is crap. I pretty much said that to the guy on the phone, who claimed to be the manager. If you are too busy to see me for over a month, you should let me complete all my treatments as long as I start them before the expiration date.

So on Sunday, I called Living Social. I explained the situation and said I wanted a refund. They weren’t able to offer me a refund, but they did credit the amount I paid to my account. And then the guy on the phone told me that they were having a lot of complaints about this vendor not honoring the deal they offered.

I’m glad I got my money credited to my account. Even if the laser hair removal place apologized to me, I wouldn’t want them to have my money. I’m a little sad because I was excited to try laser hair removal. I guess I’ll have to wait until another good deal comes along.

Oh, and all those 4 and 5 star reviews on Yelp? I think they are fake. Now when you look, it’s a lot of 1 and 2 star reviews (including my 1 star review on how they treated me).

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