Orly

Good morning, my friend. I’m raising my cup of coffee to you in a *toast.* Here’s to another beautiful day (it’s a sunny one here in Marin county this morning), and to being tender and gentle with yourself.

I’ve been needing TLC, so last Sunday, I took a Mother’s Day self-care trip to Ulta.

My brows and lashes have been driving me crazy, so I decided to restock some old school favorites in the hopes they’d help.

For my brows, I grabbed the OG of brow fillers, Anastasia Brow Wiz (my shade is Medium Brown) and Clear Brow Gel.

As for mascara, I turned to an old friend, MAC Extended Play Gigablack, which I’ve been wearing on and off since 2013 (!). If you want curl hold, length and separation, this mascara is great.

I’m trying to get back into the habit of painting my nails! Right now I’m using the three-step OPI Infinite Shine system, which combines lacquer and gel technology. I already have a couple of colors and the top coat, so during this trip I bought the base coat and a nude pale pink, Bubble Bath.

Oh, and since Connor was with me, I let her pick out a polish. She close Turn It Up by Orly, a glittery beauty!

My hair… I can’t even. It desperately needs some TLC! I’m scheduled for a cut next Tuesday, thank goodness. I just gotta make it to next week without chopping it all off in the middle of the night.

To tide me over until then, I thought it might be nice to try some new things: a claw clip by Kitsch (I’ve loved everything I’ve tried from them so far), a minty scalp conditioner by Not Your Mother’s Naturals (I’m hoping it will make a good co-wash) and a leave-in by Verb (ended up returning it because the scent was too strong).

You know what? I’ve decided to fully embrace the fact that I’m a lady who loves fancy body lotion. With that in mind, I bought this gorgeous, heavy glass jar of Body Cream by KEYS Soulcare, which is the skin care line by Alicia Keys (yup, the singer).

It’s a shea and cocoa butter body cream, so it’s rich and thick, and it’s scented with a gorgeous warm, herbal mix that smells like sandalwood and sage to my nose. The scent is present enough to notice, but it doesn’t overwhelm my senses. I really love it.

Oh, and random, while I was reading the copy on the box, I noticed that e.l.f. is mentioned as the distributer. Neat!

Last but not least, I bought some cotton pads and a nail polish remover. All in all, a very satisfying self-care trip.

Building those happiness muscles, day two

For the next fourteen days, I’m noting a couple things that I’m grateful for. If you care to join me, please share in the comments.

Anywho, today it’s sliced fruit in my water (strawberries are especially yummy) and mechanical pencils. Both are simple pleasures which make my life so much better.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen