The robins come and go here all winter long. They seem to appear in spurts. During December, they came, ate every berry on my Foster Holly, and then took off. I doubt if they went far - probably just far enough to find the next Foster Holly, apparently a delicacy for robins. When they stick around every day, I know that spring is close at hand. It makes me happy that I've seen robins every day this week. They loved yesterday's rain.I'm writing this Friday Forum early in the morning. Today, I will go back into my office for the first time since late December. I have been working almost full time, with time out for PT, but I've been working from home. Today, I'm going back to "real life." Think I'll pick up a lottery ticket while I'm out today.
This was another fun week of beauty deliveries! I hope we enjoy some sunshine this weekend so I can get some good swatch photos for you. I've got many nice things to tell you about, including new Shiseido and Josie Maran. I also have more pretty Lancôme palettes I haven't shown you. The latest batch is beautiful. I'm hoping for another box or two when I get home from work today. Those deliveries are exciting.
I didn't get much comment when I showed you the new Revlon CustomEyes palettes this week. I would like to know if you want me to continue to cover drugstore products now and then. Please comment if you like posts on less expensive options.
For those of you who have been keeping up with my post-surgery progress, my surgeon was pleased with his work when I saw him Wednesday. He told me I don't need to return for another visit, and I really don't need to wear the splint anymore. I graduated! We have reduced my physical therapy visits from three to two per week. My therapist thinks I should wear the splint for a period each day, and since he's a smart guy, I will wear it during the evening when I'm sitting still.
Savannah had a rough night. She's epileptic and had a very long seizure last night. It started at 12:30 am, and she's still rocking and rolling a bit. I had her in her car crate "to recover," and I let her out at 4:30 am. She ran off toward the first floor, where I'm sure she's trying to clean up (from post-seizure drooling). I'm hoping she will come back upstairs to eat soon and sleep it off. I feel terribly guilty about going to work today, with her in a post-seizure period, but I have no choice. There's a 99.9% chance she will be fine, though. She has seizures no more than once/month - sometimes much less - because I medicate her twice/day. It's still traumatic for her (and me too!).
What's new in your life? It's time for The Friday Forum. We use the forum to share information and chat. Did you find any deals you couldn't resist this week? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By Monday, most readers have moved on.
Don't forget that Ambre Blends has a great giveaway contest that ends here tomorrow. You can enter to win the fabulous Ambre Blends Invoke Gift Set at this link. Invoke is a gorgeous scent, a unique warm floral that will be different from all of your other fragrances. Just leave a comment at the contest feature to enter!
Thanks for reading Best Things in Beauty! Got anything you want to talk about?
Photo courtesy of thedailygreen.com
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24 comments:
ooh , big hugs to Savannah !
And you for graduating !
I enjoyed the Revlon posts , it's always nice to see less pricey options . Usually those brands have to color pay off , good to know this does !
Enjoy your day out in the world ...we have had crazy hundreds of Robins foraging around too . They are on the move !
I meant to say NO COLOR PAYOFF , sorry...
* drinks more coffee *
Waow! Congratulations on being so good and graduating! I am so happy for you, it is such a relief to have progress, big hugs to you! And bon courage for going back to work but I guess you were looking for it!
I am sorry to hear about poor Savannah, she must be miserable..I presume that after such an awful night she'll sleep the day off and you'll find her recovered when you return home....
A shy attempt of Spring here so far, but still vey cold!
We don't find Revlon very easily everywhere in France, so I can't give you my opinion... so whatever your faithful American readers prefer I am always happy to read your articles!
Melvita is really wonderful, you can buy anything from that brand "eyes shut" (as we say in French)!
A great week-end to everyone:-)
Congratulations! Splint off, back to work, goody boxes to open--sounds like you're regaining your life :-) Your improvement will now start increasing exponentially until you reach full recovery. That's great news, Charlestongirl!
Poor Savannah. Poor little kitty. She's so lucky to have you for a mom. Hopefully, she'll just sleep most of the day and, when you get home, she'll be fine again if still a bit fragile. How does Charlie handle the situation? Does he worry about her or does he keep a distance?
Personally, I gave up drugstore cosmetics a long time ago. I know that there are some great cosmetics to be found in drugstores and that they offer great value--for the money. They don't begin to compare; however, to the higher end products in overall quality. You know how in magazines they'll show a model wearing high end cosmetics; then on the adjoining page they'll show the same model wearing drugstore brands and they ask if you can tell the difference? I can always tell! As I'm sure anyone who is a make-up devotee can.
Since there's already a slew of good blogs out there that routinely review drugstore brands, I'm always happy to find blogs such as yours, Sabrina's, Amy's, and Gaia's because you do cover primarily department and boutique brands.
By the way, I remembered the name of the uber charming and talented MA who gave me some excellent tips when I was at the Lancôme event last weekend. His name is Darius. I found his blog. It's called Morning MakeUp Call. He does a lot of celebrity stuff, but the funnest part of his blog is where he has short video clips of some of the ladies he's worked on who have come to the department store for a Lancôme event.
Happy weekend everyone!
Oops! My bad! As soon as I hit send, I realized I has spelled his name incorrectly. It's Darais; not Darius.
Yay for being able to get back to the office. I hope Savannah is feeling better by the time you get home.
I liked the Revlon posts, mainly because since you're familiar with the higher end lines, if you think the Revlon (for example) was decent and worthwhile, it must be.
Hi Carol!
Thank you. I just got home, and I haven't seen Savannah yet. Hope she's feeling much better. I think she's hiding out, which would be normal.
Thanks for weighing in on the drugstore posts!
Hi Clarisse!
Thank you so much. It's very interesting to me that MELVITA is well-known in France. I should have suspected that, but one never knows.
I need to go look under the guest room bed for Savannah.
Thanks also for the Revlon comment. I didn't realize that it wasn't easy to find in France.
Happy weekend to you - and everyone!
Hi Eileen,
Good to know. I like to get feedback on what y'all want to read!
I have to go check out Morning MakeUp Call. I have heard his name, but have never met him.
Charlie gets alarmed and keeps his distance when she has a seizure. He gives her a lot of space. He often hears a seizure start before I do. Smart cat!
Happy weekend!
Thanks for the feedback, Victoria. I don't write about drugstore brands often, but I always want to know if people read the features.
Now, I am going to find little Miss Savannah.
Although I love high end, I do like drug store options as well. Thanks for asking!
I am happy to hear you made such a full recovery and great progress.
My kitty has asthma, it is tough for him and me, but I understand how worse are seizures- glad that poor little girl has you to take care of her.
I lived in Paris for a long time and it is easy to find Revlon, I do not know how easy is to find in the other cities though (probably not so easy from Clarisse's note). I like to hear good news about drugstore make up, we all know how good HE is, why not hear about cheaper end when it;s worth? Personally, I read all your posts and enjoy them :) thanks for asking.
Tanya, thank you so much for the feedback!
Hi Liliana!
Poor kitty. Asthma must be frightening. I had a cat once who had breathing problems, and they never diagnosed them. I wonder...
Glad to know about Revlon in France! And thanks for much for the feedback. Happy weekend!
Glad to know that you are progressing well after the surgery. And sorry about the kitty; she truly is lucky to have someone so caring to look after her!
I enjoy drugstore makeup reviews. While I have some splurges here and there, most of my make-up is from Walgreens and I really don't mind. Yes, drugstore make-up is often hit and miss but so is high end make-up. At least I won't feel so guilty buying 5 dollar shadow versus 30 dollar shadow if it does not work well.
I just bought a Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in Fire. My first bright red gloss! Considering how scared I am of colorful lips, I will probably not wear it too often. Still, I am pleasantly surprised with packaging, color, moisturizing factor and the price ($3.99 after coupons). I am thinking of buying a few of Revlon's lipsticks now too, probably in a more neutral color.
Hi Anna, and thanks for the feedback!
I have always felt the same way about makeup from the drugstore. If it doesn't work, well, it's a throwaway, without a big loss. I know CVS will take returns, but I hate to do that.
Do the latest Revlon lipsticks and glosses have fragrance?
Everyone, Savannah came out for dinner, and she ate. She looks like someone threw her in a bathtub, but she will get fluffy again fast. That was a rough seizure. I don't know what they are called, but the after-shocks went on for hours.
Thank you for the update on Savannah. I'm so glad she's on the mend. My mother was an RN, but she used to always say that when she retired, she wanted to volunteer at a veterinary clinic. She used to carry this hymn around in her wallet:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
There's a delightful series of books by James Harriot filled with humorous, compassionate, and sometimes sad stories about his experiences as a small town vet in rural Yorkshire. Each book takes its title from one of the lines of the hymn. They're a wonderful read for anyone who loves animals.
Oh my, Eileen, I have read every one of his books. I'll bet most animal lovers have. To anyone who is reading this and hasn't: there are happy parts and sad parts, but they are must-reads.
I decided I wanted to be a vet after I got my Ph.D. My parents thought it was high time I got a job. :) So, I got a job. Still wondering if I made the right choice, although it can be heartbreaking work.
i went an a mini drugstore shopping spree in light of our discussion :) i bought a bunch of ELF brushes and an All Over Color Stick that is supposed to be similar to Multiples by NARS. I will have to test it tomorrow :)
And I bought a Colorburst Revlon lipstick in Soft Nude, in addition to that lipgloss. To answer your question, I had to double-check because scent usually does not bother me. The gloss seems to have a slight plastic smell ( I almost thought it was the packaging smell and not the gloss). I have yet to wear the lipstick but the swatch on my hand does not have a scent, and sniffing test does not reveal anything. I am guessing even if there is a scent, it's minimal. I will try it on my lips tomorrow and update you if there is a scent.
Thanks, Anna! One more question...who made the all-over color stick?
so the update after wearing Revlon lippie is- no scent :) there are quite a few new Colorburst shades I am wanting to try in addition to Soft Nude, so I may wait for a BOGO sale on Revlon products.
ELF makes the All Over Color Stick and I got the Golden Peach shade at Target for $1. I tried it today, using a foundation brush and it looks like a pretty highlighter (not much color payoff, but i did use just a tiny bit). I am wanting to try other shades now. But I must warn you, the stick has a synthetic lemon-y scent. I cannot smell it on myself at all but the product itself is not scent-free.
Anna, you are turning into a pro tester! I need to send you more stuff!!!
Thanks for the news. Too bad about the ELF goodie having a scent. It would be intriguing to me without one.
My CVS has a buy one, get one 50% off sale that started today on Revlon.
looks like Walgreens has 40% off Revlon products as well, so I will be shopping for more lippies :)
By the way, ELF also has a Blushed/Bronzed duo that dupes Nars Orgasm/Laguna duo (they even copied Nars' signature packaging). I own it and it is very pretty (scentless too ;). I read Elf offers powder highlighter that dupes Albatross by Nars but I have yet to find it at Target.
Hi Anna,
Thanks for the great info! I need to shop. Haven't been to Target since early December.
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