Sunday, February 8, 2009

Key Learnings, Sephora temptation and Oscar movies

I hate to say it, but I love global warming. After a painfully long January and cool February start, Saturday was by far the best day in awhile. Temps in the 50s? In February? In Chicago?

Whatever is causing it, I'll take it. I love opening up the windows to air out my apartment. I also sleep a lot better with fresh air too. And now the weather is more mild this week? Holy cow, I'm not complaining. I love it! 

So now let's close the weekend with some key learnings.

Key Learnings:
  • Quitting drinking during the week is tougher than starting to drink during the week
  • Before going on a wild goose hunt, always call stores ahead of time to make sure they stock the item you're searching for
  • Man furs, especially man fur vests, will always draw looks from a crowd (and giggles)
  • Just because it's 50, doesn't mean you should be out in shorts and leggings with T-shirts. Let's not get too crazy
  • A real gentleman will carry your obnoxiously large Crate & Barrel bags for you while walking through a crowd
  • Low-key Friday and Saturday nights are a nice change of pace once in awhile
  • Couches have a magical healing power to help you relax and feel better if you're sick
  • Scalp massages always feel nice when getting your hair done
  • All salons should provide wine to customers. It makes paying much easier
  • The best mimosa's are 10 percent OJ and 90 percent champagne
  • It's okay to be afraid of pigeons. They do get uncomfortably close in the city
Sephora love
Although I'm watching my spending, I decided to budget a little money for a treat and headed to Sephora on Saturday. My goal was get something practical and economical, not crazy. Trust me, I would love to roll around in eyeshadow and blush shades, but I need to keep it real too. Sephora is a girl's playground. Rows of make-up with a generous return policy, it's a win-win.

My only complaint is that there is never enough staff around to help. I end up having to track people down or wait for them to finish helping another customer, which ends up taking forever. Saturday, I had to answer my own questions, which left me with two hands full of foundation and concealer tests. I now have makeup all of my jacket too thanks to the tests.

In the end, I left with two items: Smashbox Under Eye Brightener and Clinique "All About Eyes" concealer. The only one I'm not 100 percent sure about is the concealer but I look forward to playing with both!


The Oscars
The Oscars are about two weeks away and I'm back to my one-movie-every-weekend routine. This weekend, a friend and I saw Gran Torino. It was shut out from the Oscars, but it was still good. I don't know if I'll get to see the Reader or Benjamin Button before the big show, but I don't think that will change up my pool too much.

How was everyone else's weekend? What movies do you still need to see before the Oscars? Or what one do you refuse to see until it's on DVD/Netflix?

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really need to make a Sephora trip too. I agree that it's always hard to find someone to help you!

I am hoping to go see the Reader next weekend. We just didn't get to it this weekend.

jlc said...

Sephora is the best!!! Ouuu and I just got some Clinique concealer too!

Love it! Glad you found some goodies. :)

Heidi Renée said...

Wearing fur is never cool, but men wearing fur look incredibly stupid.

LBluca77 said...

I don't think I have seen any of the movies nominated or even the movies that some of the nominees are in. Most movies I see i get on my netflix. But I am very excited for the oscars.

Katie said...

I saw so many people in shirts and shorts in NY today! The high was about 55 but in the afternoon it was cold and windy.

Clinique is the best! And if you get Sephora's 'Beauty Insider' card, you can earn gifts for every $100 you spend. Maybe it tempts you to spend more, or maybe you spend more anyway and it turns out to be a treat! ha ha

Niki said...

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a major fan of global warming. It's nice not having to trudge through 5 feet of snow on a daily basis. It makes driving a lot nicer too.

I have the undereye brightner you just bought and I love it so you made a good choice.

Benjamin Button was incredibly btw, I definetly reccomend it.

Living Dees Life said...

i love the fact that its warm and i can go outside without freezing. however, the yard is flooded and nasty from the few feet of melted snow... arg!

there are quite a few movies i want to go see but we're on a money crunch at the moment for a few things we're saving for so i doubt i'll be going out to the movies as often as we use to.

we even slashed our food budget by more than half eliminating frivolous items and living off barebone essentials which also means less meat because that's most expensive.

Anonymous said...

I've used clinique concealer forever. I know its kind of old lady makeup, but they know concealer. If you don't like that, try out their airbrush concealer....great stuff. Also Laura Mercier tinted moistrizer is godsend.

Anonymous said...

I've used clinique concealer forever. I know its kind of old lady makeup, but they know concealer. If you don't like that, try out their airbrush concealer....great stuff. Also Laura Mercier tinted moistrizer is godsend.

Kyla Bea said...

lol Your first key learning is awesome.

I haven't tried either of those concealers, I'm slowly changing over everything in my kit to MAC but if they're great I could stray... let me know!

CAVFC said...

i second the laura mercier tinted moisturizer plug - that stuff works wonders!

of the best picture nominees, i saw milk, benjamin button, and slumdog millionaire. i thought they were all great, but slumdog should definitely go home with top honors! everything about that movie was beautiful.

Mandy said...

Man fur should be outlawed. Its just wrong. LOL. Low key weekends are awesome. Its gotten warmer here too and I love it!!

My love for Sephora is endless. I've never tried the Smashbox Under Eye Brightener. Please let me know how it works! I am always looking for under eye type stuff, its a problem area.

I cannot wait for the Oscars.

Pam said...

I like the idea of Sephora, I just don't like the actual Sephora. The salespeople are scarce and never very friendly or helpful.

Your comment about pigeons is hilarious. I HATE pigeons and I try my hardest to avoid them. They do get way too close. I often find myself stepping off sidewalks or hugging up to buildings to get away from those dirty little flying germballs.

Maki said...

Honestly, Sephora is my addiction.. "Hi, My name is Maki. I'm addicted to Sephora..." I can't live without it. Big Sigh.

Oh BTW, my salon provides free wine to our clients. They love it!!!

Anonymous said...

the reader is good. see it.

sometimes i want to just go to the salon for a shampoo/scalp massage.

Anonymous said...

Did you go to CB this weekend? I think we have this strange shopping connection where we end up at the same stores on the same day. First Banana, now Crate & Barrel.

Maxie said...

I just ordered a ton of stuff from sephora. I could spend thousands there!

CIP said...

I love low key nights!

andrea said...

I loved Gran Torino and Benjamin Button, both great movies. I love Sephora too and I always end up spending wayyyy to much $ in there!

Anonymous said...

I think you must have sent the cold weather over to Europe! I'm pretty done with it, but there's no sign of it letting up yet.

erin - heart in ireland said...

Man fur?!! wow, I would have loved to see that!

And I love low-key nights, so much better than crazy ones sometimes and no hangover!

Ray said...

Wasn't this weekend such a breath of fresh air?

I have so many oscar-worthy movies to see, I feel like I'll never see them all!

thatShortchick said...

AMEN to that champagne ratio!

laura marie said...

I heard Paul Blart: Mall Cop is pretty bad. So you don't need to go see that. Does that count?
no? ok.

You should do a photo test with one eye wearing the new stuff you bought and one eye not and see how it looks. and then maybe another one where one eye has your 'old' routine done up and, again, compare.

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

The last time I went to a movie theater was last summer to see Wall-E followed by Mama Mia at the drive-in. I don't get to the movie theater much. And I can't say we're much better with Netflix.

EP said...

Those ARE the best mimosas. I've had my fair share of those, and just one has knocked me on my ass. They're awesome.

And I took a trip to Sephora last week, too! That store is wonderful! How are you liking your purchase?

Anonymous said...

Did you know the gentleman who carried your bags? And if not, did you get his number?

Katelin said...

i really need to step up my movie viewing before next weekend, but it's just so hard when it's gloomy out and every movie is so depressing, i just want a fun comedy every once and a while! :)

Lauren said...

Regarding the Oscars, i've seen everything but Gran Torino, The Reader and Revolutionary Road. I'm glad you enjoyed the former. I'll hopefully get to them all eventually.

Vanessa said...

Your line about quitting drinking reminds me of a comedian that said "It's easier to stop smoking than it is to START flossing!" So true, so true.

Anonymous said...

I really do want to see Benjamin Button because I've heard it's so good. I am interested in Revolutionary Road, but I doubt I'll see either before the Oscars.

laurwilk said...

I am always tempted to buy things as long as the word 'brightener' is there. Unfortunately, it doesn't always do the trick!

Wow - I really haven't seen ANY movies lately. I'll watch the Oscars for the dresses!

alexa @clevelandsaplum said...

i'm terrified of pigeons - birds in general actually.

and that's my exact same mimosa recipe.

Jen said...

Sephora is my favorite store! If yor ever looking for sales or promotion codes for Sephora, you shpuld check out my blog, http://www.beautyandfashionaddict.blogspot.com I have lots of Sephora sales and codes on there, as well as sales, product reviews, and promotions from other beauty stores.

Ashley // Our Little Apartment said...

How do you like the under eye brightener? I have little tube and am not totally sold on it, yet. :)

Sephora is awesome. Expensive and overwhelming, but awesome.