Tag Archives: pampering

Dec26

December Finishes

Posted on by
Standard
December Finishes

Hello everyone and a very happy Monday to all! I hope that those who celebrated Christmas yesterday had a fantastic day and that everyone is enjoying the holiday season. This is my last post about my monthly empties for 2016 and it is kind of a blah one because all of the products are from The Body Shop! This month was about sticking with what I know and using up some of my favorite products from my go to bath and body and skin care shopping spot. So take a look and let’s discuss:

dec1.jpeg

Would I Use Again?

  • The Body Shop Strawberry Body Scrub: YES
  • The Body Shop Vitamin E Moisturizer: YES
  • The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Body Butter: YES
  • The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost: YES

Why/Why Not?

Strawberry Scrub: The scrubs from TBS are a must for me when I am shaving, as they exfoliate, moisturize, and lift the hair from their follicles which results in a smoother shave. I love both the strawberry and satsuma scrub and was lucky enough to find both at TJMaxx for five dollars apiece. Score! The best thing about this scrub is how well it lathers – a small quarter sized squeeze can easily cover your entire leg! A little goes such a long way with this product which is why I finally finished it after the better part of five months. I essentially paid a dollar a month to use my scrub and I can totally get down with that!

Moisturizer: I have wrote about my beloved Vitamin E Moisturizer many a times and my love for it grows with every use. This cream is perfectly in between a heavy and light consistency which leaves your skin feeling like peaches and cream every time. Your skin will look and feel so smooth, soft, and dreamy creamy. Thankfully, I got another jar for Christmas since I’m all out! It took me about a month and a half to finish this moisturizer.

Cocoa Butter: The cocoa butter is easily my favorite body butter that the store has to offer. It smells deliciously rich and chocolate-y in the most subtle way and you can feel it nourishing you as soon as it makes contact with your skin. This was the scent that I always recommended when I worked at The Body Shop because I feel like everyone who uses it loves it just the same. The nice thing about cocoa butter is that it is not as heavy as the Shea butter for those who like something lighter, like myself. Make sure you ask the employees at the store about which butters have a cocoa or Shea butter base next time you shop to get the consistency that you like! It took me about a month to finish this body butter which I scored for six bucks at TJs!

Vitamin C Boost: I am sure that all of you guys know by now about my undying love for the Vitamin C Skin Boost. I have been using this stuff since I was a teenager and I honestly don’t think that I will ever stop. I really feel like my skin looks brighter and more radiant thanks to consistent use of this product and I am so thankful for it! Nothing is better to me than luminescent skin so to achieve that with two pumps of the skin boost per day seems like a no brainer! It took me three months to finish this product.

It was such a treat to use up some of my favorite goodies from The Body Shop this month. It left me feeling perfectly pampered and incredibly happy that I was able to take care of my body with some of the products that I feel are the very best. Here’s to many more skin, beauty, and body care must haves in 2017!

So there you have it, my December Finishes! Please stay tuned this week for some of my favorite new items in my holiday haul! What was your favorite beauty product of 2016? Did anyone score any new makeup or beauty items for the holidays? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec23

New Hot Pink & Black Nails

Posted on by
Standard
New Hot Pink & Black Nails

Hiii everyone and TGIF! Yesterday, I had a little pampering party to get myself perfect for the holiday weekend. I got my nails filled in the morning and then spent the evening dyeing my hair to get it nice and bright red for Christmas. As always, my nail tech, Vinny, did an amazing job shaping and sharpening my nails. I opted for a color for the accent nail that I rarely pick but am actually loving right now. Hot pink! It is far from your classic, run of the mill highlighter hot pink but more like a bright fuchsia and I think it is so fun! Take a look:

nails3.jpeg

The color looks admittedly red in this picture because poor camera quality but you get the point! Normally, when I am picking an accent nail color, I go with red or shades like grey, beige, or white. This new accent nail color is definitely out of my comfort zone considering I don’t own one pink item in my wardrobe but I’m glad that I went for it! Small changes to your daily routine are always fun and the little things like a new nail polish color or lipstick can really set yourself up for having an amazing day. Make sure that you find time to TREAT YOSELF this holiday season!

treatyoself_main01

I hope everyone has a fab Friday and a great Christmas Eve Eve! What accent color should I pick next time I get my nails filled? What is your go to shade of nail polish? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec11

Pedi Party

Posted on by
Standard
Pedi Party

Hey everyone and happy Sunday! So yesterday I had myself a little Pedi Party with one of my favorite high school teachers and it was such fun. I had never gotten a pedicure before and was treated to it as a college graduation present. And guess what?! I didn’t even let my ticklishness get the best of me – which I unfortunately can’t say for the one and only massage that I have ever gotten!

As you guys know, I am a devout fan of my acrylic nails so you would think that I would have gotten a pedicure by now. Not the case, guys. Not the case. I guess I really just have never cared about my toes enough to pamper them. 1) They’re not pretty to look at. 2) I barely have nails worthy of painting on my tootsies. And 3) My pinkie corn chip toe is an embarrassment to mankind!

Despite the litany of ugliness that I just described, my nail tech did an amazing job of salvaging some dignity out of my toesies and left them looking so pretty! Take a look, and if you have a foot phobia: SORRY but if you have a foot fetish: YOU’RE WELCOME!

pedi

Obviously, I went with black to match my talons! :*)

All in all, the pedicure was fabulous and I had a great time spending the afternoon with my dear friend. However, I do feel like kind of an asshole because my legs were SO. HAIRY. I guess I didn’t really think to myself “Hey, Sarah – your legs are hairier than most guys right now. Maybe you should clean yourself up”. I mean obviously I didn’t because when the poor nail tech was scrubbing up my legs he was fighting against a forest of prickles! What can I say, WINTER IS MY HIBERNATION TIME and don’t think for one minute that I didn’t apologize profusely for him having to rub on woolly mammoth fur. 😉

With my tail hung between my (hairy) legs, I tamed the beast last night and now have legs as smooth and pretty as my little black seashell toenails. GREAT SUCCESS! Thank you to my wonderful friend for such a treat of an afternoon yesterday and thank you to my nail tech for putting up with me! 🙂

I hope everyone is having a fabulous day and my final questions for you are:

  • Would you rather not shave your legs for a year or not wear makeup for six months?
  • Would you rather get a hot stone massage or a mani/pedi combo?

I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec5

Pampering Party (Wahhh!)

Posted on by
Standard
Pampering Party (Wahhh!)

Hi everyone and happy Monday! This past week has been not the best at Chez Red because I have literally been sick for seven days straight. I have had an absolutely miserable cold complete with cough, body aches, headaches, sore throat, the chills, and night sweats. On top of feeling like DEATH, it is now finals week at school which is super stressful which seems to just make me sicker!

I am feeling very bitter about this bug because it completely ruined the pampering that happened last week which I was so looking forward to. I was scheduled to dye my hair, get my nails filled, and get a haircut. These are all things that I freaking love to do and unfortunately, I felt miserable to the point that I couldn’t enjoy any of it during each pampering activity.

My hair dying sesh resulted in a bloody nose and massive chills. Thanks to frequent nose blowing and an accidental stab from my talon acrylics, I was left with a bloody nose worthy of sticking a tampon in. Then, the cold water shower which was a necessity to washing out the dye and maintaining a lustrous shade of red left me in shivers in my skivvies for days. In hindsight, dying my hair and doing a cold water hair wash while sick was just plain asinine but damnit, my hair needed it real bad!!!

Later on in the week, I needed to get my nails filled so that they could be perfect for my graduation ceremony next week. Probably not the best idea either. The strong nail polish smells at the salon went straight to my head and not even my beloved nail tech, Vinny, could help me feel better. The worst, though, was when my nails were put in front of a fan to start the drying process. I instantly began to sweat and get clammy and I like to think of myself as a not sweaty person. I left the salon a big blubbering ball of phlegm and damp clothing but my nails looked fabulous, darling.

And finally, this weekend it was time for a haircut. I was so looking forward to getting my hair styled for my big day and wanted nothing more than to sit comfortably in the chair and let my stylist work her magic. Naturally, this didn’t happen. My week long nightmare left me feeling so achy and irritable that everything made me want to scream, or cry, or BOTH. So best believe when those little bitty microscopic hairs got snipped from my head and wound up down my shirt I was about to have an emotional breakdown. I’m telling you guys, it’s hard out there for a pimp.

Now that I am feeling about eighty percent better, I can finally fully admire the work that was done on me. My hair looks gorgeous and my nails are fierce. But at the time, nothing made me feel happy or attractive which is surprising considering I tried to surround myself with all things pretty! A Pampering Party did happen but it was not fun or relaxing in the slightest. I can only hope that the next time I need to throw some paint on the old barn that I am feeling in tip top physical condition!

Who is suffering from a winter cold or flu right now? What are your go to remedies for easing the yucks and aches? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov11

They’re Baaaack

Posted on by
Standard
They’re Baaaack

Hi everyone and TGIF! Okay, so this week’s Monday Update involved me freaking out because I broke one of my natural nails that I have been trying so freaking hard to grow out in lieu of getting acrylics. Well, two days after that, another nail broke so I said “fuck it” and went to get my claw babies back on Thursday. After about a year of being talon-free, it felt so good being back in the trusted and true hands of my beloved nail tech, Vinny.

As I mentioned before, asides from dying my hair, getting my nails done is my absolute favorite way to pamper myself. I love being able to sit back, relax, and let Vinny work his magic and make my nails look pretty. One of the things that I love the most about long nails is how they make my hands look. Naturally, my hands are quite small and stumpy but lengthy nails make my hands look elongated and beautiful. When I had to cut my natural nails after two of them broke, I was so sad to see my hands shrink down to their bitty size right before my eyes. But now, everything is as it should be and having janky nails is one less thing for me to worry about. Take a look:

nails

The other main reason that I wanted to get my nails done was for my graduation which is coming up on December 15th. I told myself that if I can’t get my natural nails how I like them, then I would treat myself to my acrylics and I am so glad that I did! I do wish that they were a little bit longer but they will do for now and Vinny said he’ll take care of it when I get them filled – he’s such a gem! :*)

Now my graduation ceremony beauty check list for looking fab as I strut across the stage looks something like this:

  • Get nails filled.
  • Dye hair.
  • Get a hair cut.
  • Put together a graduation ceremony worthy outfit!

I am so happy to have my nails back but it has been a doozey of a twenty-four hours while I get used to living my life with talons again! So far, everything is going just fine minus a small scare with my car door. Other than that things are A-okay – especially now that I can put my babies to work on my laptop keyboard again! LOVE IT! ❤

I hope everyone has a super fun and relaxing weekend! What kind of outfit do you think I should wear for graduation? Who else has a passion for long nails? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul31

It Was A Good Day

Posted on by
Standard
It Was A Good Day

Heyyy everyone and TGIF! Sorry that I was MIA yesterday – Lil Red was a busy gal! Despite the somewhat stressful parts that occurred, I gotta say it was a good day. Let’s discuss:

My day began with running errands until mid morning or so when I had a lovely hang out with my old skating coach, Sarah, and her precious little girls, Charlotte and Brooklyn. It was a surprisingly hot day in Ohio, so we walked over to the local park so Charlotte could play in the wading pool while Sarah and I caught up on all of each others latest news. I always enjoy the times that I get to see Sarah and her darling family. I love all of their company and it’s so fun seeing how much both of the girls grow each time I see them!

Once I got home from the park, I had to finish my last exam for my summer classes…the dreaded math final. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. All afternoon I checked and rechecked my final until I was satisfied and prepared my scanner at home to send it over to my professor. All summer my scanner worked perfectly and I never had a problem with it, so naturally it would stop working the day I needed to send my final in. For an hour I tried to fix the scanner on my own with the ancient 90’s technique of turning it off and turning it back on as well as unplugging and replugging it. Unfortunately, none of my efforts worked and at that point I was completely freaking out. My exam had to be turned in by the 31st and I refused to use the lame excuse of “my scanner broke” to my professor. I’m sure that an email complaining of technical problems would be answered with “nice try” anyways. -_____-

After lots of deep breaths, I decided to call tech support for the scanner and thankfully after an hour we were able to work together and fix the problem. My final got sent in with plenty of time to spare and I could finally stop having a stress induced heart attack. I think I did pretty well on my math test and I know for a fact that I did great on both my Sociology and Social Psychology class – I got a perfect one hundred on my Sociology final! HOLLA!

After my disastrous afternoon of technical difficulties, I had a wonderful hang out with my sweet friend, Cat, to look forward to. Cat was one of my sales associates at PacSun and she also happened to be one of my favorites! We had a fabulous evening of manicures and martinis at my bar of choice, the Cashmere Cricket. Thursday night is ladies night, so their delicious martinis are only five dolla holla and you can’t beat that! Our night consisted of pampering, girly drinks, and lots of laughs – it was seriously perfect. I’m so glad that Cat and I have remained friends outside of work because I just adore her. You know that you have a good friend when the first thing you say to your mom when you walk in the door is how much fun you had/how much you love your drinking partner! ❤

friendssss

Yesterday was the best kind of busy and for the most part I enjoyed every minute of it! I hope all of you guys had as great of a day as I did! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul21

Pampering Party!

Posted on by
Standard
Pampering Party!

Helloooo my loves and happy Tuesday! I had a lovely weekend of head to toe pampering starting with dying my hair with my beloved Vidal Sassoon Runway Red dye from their London Luxe collection. My brother is getting married this weekend so best believe that my hair has to be nice and fresh. I’ve been coloring my hair with Runway Red for close to a year now and it has saved me a buttload of money because the color perfectly mimics what I was paying a lot of cash to get done at the salon. While I was waiting for the dye to set I had a half hour of TV time so I figured a selfie was definitely in order! Take a look:

heat

^^^ Lol, I always joke that I feel like Heatmiser from the Christmas cartoons when I dye my hair so it was absolutely necessary to do a side by side PicStitch! My color turned out beautiful as usual and on Sunday I got my angular haircut shaped up for the wedding so it looks sharp and sleek. I plan on curling my hair and pinning it for the big day so if any of you have some hair styling tips, please let me know!

To keep my red at its brightest at all times, I only wash my hair about two times a month. I’ve been blessed with locks that don’t get greasy or oily so all I need is a dash of dry shampoo to keep it feeling clean. I usually use Batiste or Dove dry shampoo but my mom brought home a can of Herbal Essence’s “Color Me Happy” dry shampoo and I just had to try it. Let me tell you, I’m so glad I did because I absolutely LOVE it! For one, it smells awesome. For two, it makes my hair feel infinitely cleaner than Batiste or Dove. With just a quick spritz of this new product my hair goes from a weeks worth of not washing it to freshly scrubbed in a matter of seconds. If you’re a dry shampoo girl like myself then I can’t recommend this product enough! So fabulous.

shapoo

If you recall from an earlier post “Lil Red Shopping Tips: Freebie Edition” then you’ll remember my recent steals from Bath & Body Works. At least once a month I get a free lotion coupon from them in the mail and every time I redeem it I go with my favorite scent called “Beautiful Day”. My go to fragrance is anything apple-y and “Beautiful Day” is the perfect combination of both floral and fruity. Not only does it don my must have scent of apples but the name of the lotion is also the name of my all time favorite song “Be,autiful Day” by U2. You can’t beat that! Every night before bed I lather myself up with my freebie lotion and it’s such a fun treat. The sweet smelling moisturizer goes in so smoothly – you can’t even feel that you have lotion on. That’s a big plus for me because I hate when I wear lotion and it feels greasy. If you’re looking for a new perfume spray or lotion to try, definitely consider “Beautiful Day” from Bath & Body Works!!

beautiful

If there’s one thing that Lil Red can never recommend enough, it’s TREATING YOSELF! Nothing makes me feel better than taking some extra time to pamper and love myself. Whether that be a deep conditioning hair treatment or a spritz of a new perfume, I think it’s so important to take the time to make yourself feel good. With small pick me ups throughout the week like a rub down with a new lotion or a stylish new hair cut you’re in for a better mood and an even more fabulous appearance. So to all of my lovely readers: Take ten minutes out of your day and TREAT YOSELF!!!

treatyoself_main01

So there you have it, my Pampering Party post! I hope all of you are having a great day so far! Does anyone have any tips for curling hair? What’s your favorite Bath & Body Works scent? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun26

Princess Manicure Day!

Posted on by
Standard
Princess Manicure Day!

Helloooo everyone and TGIF! I had a fabulous afternoon yesterday with my beloved nail tech, Vinny!! He crafted my talons to perfection, we ate food, drank Patron, and had a gay old time! Before I went to the salon I went to Starbucks and got Vinny’s usual 4/4 White Lightening for him – it’s the least I can do considering all he does for me. I then headed over to Empress Nails for some princess style pampering! My sweet Vinny spent close to two hours filling, sharpening, and shaping my claws and here’s the end result:

talons

^^^ So in love!!! As usual we did all black with a blue accent nail on each hand. The blue was Vinny’s idea because the last time we hung out “Blue On Black” was playing on the radio and Vinny was amazed that I knew the song and was able to sing along with him! My new thing when I get my nails done is getting a cross airbrushed on both of my middle fingers, which I’m sure is not everyone’s cup of tea – but hey, I like it!

While Vinny was working his magic on my acrylics I asked him if he wanted to go visit my sister, Kristen, with me at the restaurant she works at once he was done at the salon. To my surprise, he said that we can go after he finished my nails! So after my talons were nice and dry we piled into the Vinny Mobile and spent the entire afternoon playing hooky from our responsibilities! We spent the next few hours at Kristen’s restaurant where we hung out with her and the other employees, ate lunch, ate ice cream, drank some Patron, and enjoyed each others company. While we were talking with Kristen, she mentioned how badly she wanted Subway – so once we got back into the Vinny Mobile, Vinny decided that we should get her some Subway and bring it back to her. He’s seriously the sweetest guy with the biggest heart in the whole wide world. We found the nearest Subway and I ordered for Kristen since we both pretty much get the exact same veggie sub from there and then we backtracked to the restaurant to bring it back to her. Kristen was so gracious and so was I because we both have the best friend in the history of EVER!

After we brought Kristen her food, we headed back to the salon so I could collect the Little Red Love Machine and Vinny could work for a bit more. It was a beautiful afternoon and I’m so happy that I got to spend it with my best friend! ❤

^^^ Vinny told me that “Blue On Black” is his favorite song so this goes out to you! I LOVE YOU!!! #teamvinny

I hope all of you are having a great Friday so far! What is everyone up to this weekend? Do any of you have a special friendship with one of your hair stylists or nail techs? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah