beauty
2. UMMMM, how freaking fun is this cute little swing dress?! It comes in 7 colors & I want them all. I pair mine with tights or leggings and some tall riding boots. Adorbz & only $22.99!
A Dreamy Summer Bridal Shower
beauty, eats, Lifestyle, weddingHi Friends,
So many showers lately- amiright?
I bet everyone reading this has been to at least one or two showers within the past few months. It’s wedding season,…baby season,…wait is that a thing!?..probz not…
…Anyway, my lovely aunt and cousins threw us the most gorgeous wedding shower. I am going to take the easy route on this post…and let the pictures do the talkin’ …enjoy!
…Seriously….the day was a dream (I wasn’t lying, pictures = proof!!!).
Friends and family joined us from near and far. It was so humbling to be surrounded by those who love and truly support us. Every single detail was perfection. We cannot believe that our wedding is less than 100 days away!
This post leads me into a wedding mini-series that I have been working on, and will be releasing next week. I have connected with many brides to help write this piece, and am thrilled to share it with you soon. Essentially… it navigates various ‘sticky situations’ that can occur during the wedding planning process, and how to handle them.
…wedding planning… AIN’T. EASY. Y’ALL.…
Whether you are planning a wedding or not…this relatable series is sure to have you giggling,…eye rolling,…and possibly even tearing up, too. Wedding planning brings out alllll types of emotions and behaviors.
Ultimately: no matter what you do,… or how contentious you are of one’s feelings,…. someone is going to get offended by your choices.
…And *spoiler alert* THAT’S OK.
For those of you who have submitted an email sharing your ‘sticky’ wedding situation, thank you! For those of you who haven’t… please do. Your privacy is completely respected, and up to your discretion when sharing your story.
Feel free to email me directly at katiewritesblog@gmail.com if you have a sticky situation to share. Get ready for some serious tea to be spilled, my loves…
Real talk ahead…stay tuned.
I tried it: eyebrow microblading. Everything you need to know.
beautyAs promised, I’maaa be open with you guys. That being said, I wanted to share my most recent beauty endeavor: microbladed eyebrows.
I need to note, this is not a paid ad, nor I am trying to sell you anything. I simply needed my readers to know about a service that has made my life so. much. easier.
First of all, for those of you who may not know what the heck microblading is, you’re not alone. Microblading is a form of semi-permanent tattoo which lasts for about one year. It involves the use of tiny needles (instead of a tattoo gun) that make up a small blade. This helps deposit pigment under the skin, creating natural hair-like strokes.
Woah. Scary sounding, right?! Seriously though, I am an enormous baby and have zero pain tolerance. If I can do it, you can too. And spoiler alert: it wasn’t even that bad.
Why microbladed brows, you ask? Short answer… I was sick and tired of drawing them on like a cartoon character every morning. When it comes to beauty, my goal is to be as lazy as possible. Being able to roll out of bed in the morning, with my browz’ on fleek, was a huge #win. This girl has reallllllly light eyebrows. I’m talking practically nonexistent compared to the dark hair on my head (thank you hair dye). I was desperate for anything that would make my daily makeup routine easier and faster. And ohhhh did it ever.
I’ll walk you through the entire Microblading process from start to finish. I am hopeful that this post will ease the nerves of someone out there, in the blogosphere, who is on the fence about microblading.
At around 9am on a hot June morning, I arrived at my appointment and was kindly greeted by the staff. After a brief wait, I was escorted into a small spa room with a lovely reclining chair. Think… boujee pedicure recliner… meets dentist chair. It was glorious, they even had a cozy blanket and tea waiting for me! A friendly woman named Leila was my microblading esthetician for the process.
The first part of my appointment started with an analysis of my face, and what brow shape/color would look the most natural on me. I loved how precise and timely she was while doing this. Semi-Permanent makeup ON YOUR FACE is a semi-terrifying thought. However, my nerves were totally eased after this part and I was confident they would look perfect. Below you will see my barely-there, shapeless brows before anything had been done to them. Yikes.
Leila worked intently to create the perfect eyebrow shape for me. She used a combo of marker, and pencils to customize the right look. She even used a protractor looking thing to make sure the angles were correct (OK, okkkkkk, I guess you do use math in real life). The white goop is numbing cream, this stuff was fantastic. After applying the gel, I relaxed for about a half hour while it did it’s thang.
Once sufficiently numbed, she took out the tattoo tool (it looked like an exacto knife) and went to work. For those of you who have a tattoo, it did feel a bit like that. It was not painful, just an irritating repetitive scratching sensation. Without the numbing gel it probably would have been uncomfortable. She passed over each brow twice with the tool, and then coated them with a gel pigment. Here is a picture of my brows soaking in the color. She waited about 20 minutes before wiping the dye off. This step just ensures that the skin completely absorbs the color.
Here are my brows after wiping off the pigmented gel. The purple marker dots remained on my skin, but washed off after a few days. You can see my eyebrows look super natural and healthy. I was amazed! I had to return about a month later for one last application. We did the entire process over again. It did go much faster the second time because there was no need to re-draw and measure.
Drumroll……
Here are my final results. I couldn’t be happier.
Microblading is something I wish I would have done years ago. My advice? DO IT. You’ll thank me. I will continue to go back every year, until I die, to have them retouched (no lie). I am amazed at how much time I had wasted trying to get that perfect Kardashian-esque brow. Although I haven’t quite reached that level of brow-glory, I’ll take what I can get.
Thank you for checking this post out! Please don’t hesitate to ask questions, I am always happy to respond.
I had my brows done at the following spa. Mention this post for a discount.
http://allurestudiosalon.com/