scrubbing bubbles September 23, 2009

Since I am becoming a big girl out in the “real world” that everyone always talked about, I’ve been making steps towards being a grown up. One of my most superficial changes but a change that actually makes me feel like a grown up is purchasing new beauty products. I really never spent lots of money on make-up, shampoo, brushes, body scrubs, body lotion or skincare products. Thank goodness I have managed to look somewhat good for so long without investing in my own skin. I’ve managed to get by on basic drugstore products. But recently, now that I get a regular paycheck, I’ve given myself a small beauty budget and I’m having fun indulging in it.

My simplest beauty indulgence was choosing a new mascara. I didn’t choose a pricey option because I really like Rimmel products. They’re cheap but they’re not bad and they are endorsed by Kate Moss. I’m pretty low budget on make-up because I don’t really like to cake it on or fool around. That leaves me a nice little chunk for my other beauty indulgences, mainly anything to do with showers.

I LOVE showers and will take one any time of the day therefore any investment in this area is worth it. I’ve been pretty basic for my bath gel, using the coconut lime verbena shower gel from Bath and Body Works for several years. Then two weeks ago I decided it was time for a change. After seeing something in Lucky magazine, I went on philosophy’s website, read through some customer reviews, and picked my new gel. It’s happily called “Falling in Love” and smells a bit floral without being heavy with undertones of squeaky clean. I’m getting used to it but love that it leaves my skin moisturized. I am also a big fan of haircare but have kept my routine confined mostly to Garnier Fructis and Sheer Blonde. They’re both shampoos and conditioners that work well on my hair and I am very picky about my hair. Yet I can’t get stuck in a routine for too long and, after a sample size present that went over well, I recently purchased the Lush shampoo “I Love Juicy.” It smells so delicious and fruity and it’s vegan so I feel all cool and hip. After urging by the salesperson, I picked a small bottle of conditioner to go along with it: “Veganese.” Mostly I picked it because she said it had lemon in it and would make my highlights look even brighter. The jury’s still out on that one but it smells very organic in a good way.

My area of little indulgence but most importance would have to be skincare. I’m a girl who does not like to fuss with my face and thankfully I have been blessed with low maintenance skin. My old routine is using cold cream to take off my make-up and a light slathering to keep it clean and moisturized. That all changed last week after a bargain hunting purchase resulted in my possession of philosophy’s “the great mystery.” It’s a one minute daily facial that I don’t mind taking every day. It smells really good, kind of like eucalyptus with a hint of its sea salts, and you can feel a slight tingle as it does its magic. My skin feels soft and supple and I will definitely be buying it even without the Lucky mag discount I got on it this time. The only thing left is to replace my boring Dove moisturizer with something more fabulous.

Now I can happily look around my bathroom and feel like a big girl with big girl beauty products!

shopping baggage July 28, 2009

Shopping is a problem. Actually, scratch that. Shopping is never a problem for me. I love clothes, accessories, handbags, beauty supplies, and shoes, shoes, shoes. I even have a ball when I go shopping with the old people at work and have to help these finicky shoppers pick something that fits into their budget. But I say it’s a problem only because I too have tastes that fit outside my budget. There is finally more money in my bank account than the $200 I managed to stretch from late April to the end of May. But there still isn’t enough money to justify making all the purchases I have in mind. Case #1 would be a pair of $100 jeans I fell in love with at Anthropologie. In this age of inflated prices, that’s not an unusual price tag. But I turned them down simply because I didn’t feel at that moment I could take the hit of $100 in my bank account. Now I can’t stop thinking about them and how good they made my butt look. Should I have taken the plunge?

I am trying to answer that question as I navigate my way into the world of grown-up spending. I actually have it pretty good since I am living at home so food and rent are pretty much taken care of. I’ve built up a nice little savings for the day my loan payments start in November. And there’s the temptation that I finally, finally have a little bit of cash at my disposal. I am conflicted about taking that plunge on what still seem like big ticket items to me. The jeans were one thing because I knew I didn’t really need them. Now I have my sights set on a nice handbag. I’m tired of the grungy ones I have and of turning to cheap but still cute alternatives. The thing is, am I ready to pull out my credit card for the perfect handbag even if it’s got a big price tag? I believe that as long as I budget for those items, I think I can start purchasing all those things that will make me feel more like I’m out of school and ready to take on the world looking sophisticated and cute.

i see london, i see france June 26, 2009

For the first eleven or twelve years of my life, I wasn’t very concerned with what I put on. This would come as a shock to most people that know me now as the shopaholic who makes sure she looks good on her way to drop off the dvd at the movie store. Seriously, I have an outfit, a cute outfit, for anything. For the past twenty-one years of my life, I have been wholly unconcerned with what I put on under those clothes, even as I obsessed over every piece the public could see. I’m talking about my lingerie, those sometimes forgotten but always present pieces.

I’m a big advocate for comfort. When my girl friends succumbed to thongs with their jeans during that whole craze, I just lifted my eyebrows. A pair of bikinis would work just fine for me. I carried that attitude with me to college. Really if someone actually got my pants off then they were probably more concerned with other things than what style of underwear I was wearing. That’s not to say I was wearing raggedy old granny panties out to college parties but I wasn’t splurging on what I saw during Victoria’s Secret’s annual runway show. But a latent interest in lingerie has recently woken itself up and has me considering my drawer full of boyshorts and bikinis (with an ocassional exciting pair thrown in, I’m not totally boring). I almost forgot about my functional bras with the most exciting being my favorite Calvin Klein front clasp black push-up. That’s about as fancy as I get in that department. And let’s not talk about matching.

I considered my lingerie the other day when I paired one of my black push-up pairs with what can basically be described as Victoria Secret Pink’s version of granny panties, only cuter. During my last relationship, I never felt he was really concerned with what I was wearing when he got my clothes off. We did go lingerie shopping together but he had a whole lot of fun picking out cute cotton bikinis and boyshorts that I was perfectly comfortable with. The bras were never even mentioned because of their insignificance in the whole bedroom scheme. But now I’m considering those silky, sexy pieces that I never thought of before.

I’m not doing it thinking that when I get with some guy the first thing I want him to see is a matching set. It’s for me; I want to know I have cute underthings on because I know that when I do, I’ll feel even more sexy and confident. I want to go from utilitarian to fun and flirty; it’s even more exciting because it’s somewhere most  people don’t even get to see. The best changes you make are ones you make for a better you and this is what updating my lingerie collection will do for me. Now I wish I could buy the beautiful pale pink demi bra I saw at Bendel’s for $90 but that will just have to wait for another, richer, day.