Lash extensions: 30-day update

It's already been over a month since I got my eyelash extensions! If you missed my original post, you can check it out here. I've gotta say - I just absolutely love them. They're such a game changer for me and how I look. They instantly glam up my face and I really don't know how I ever survived without them! Simply put, I'm obsessed. Like whoa.

Now that I've seen a few of them fall out - I have to correct one of my statements from that original post. I had said the extensions were glued NEXT TO my real lashes, which is not the case. They are actually applied TO my real lashes. I had assumed it was similar to how fake lash clusters are applied to your eyelids, mainly because it seemed so tedious and impossible to apply them to each individual lash! But, I was wrong. Since they're attached to your real lashes, they simply fall out as your regular lashes would do on their own.

Top: Day 1 without and with makeup | Bottom left: 1st set of lashes at day 30 | Bottom right: After my first fill

Sorry for the extreme closeups, but I just wanted to show you how they looked at day 30. There were a couple of places where I noticed bare spots, but for the most part, they stayed on pretty well. Since I got my original set in California, that unfortunately meant that I had to get my fills from a different salon, and I wondered how this would look. Luckily, everything seemed to work out well - here's what went down:

1. She taped down my bottom lashes so they stayed out of the way. They did this during my initial appointment as well, I just didn't realize that's what they were doing! 

2. She went through my lashes removing the extensions that were growing out, leaning sideways, or about to fall out.

3. She ended up using a little bit thinner of a lash than what was used for my initial set. However, she applied TWO of these thinner lashes to one of my real lashes vs. just one on one. She said the double lash application will help the extensions last closer to 6 weeks vs. 4. And she also said it will create more of a voluminous effect, making me look like I have even more lashes, not just longer lashes. She also used lashes with a B curl and said my previous lashes looked to be a C curl. The new lashes don't seem to hit my sunnies or my eyeglasses the way the old lashes did, and I assume it's because of this curl. 

4. The appointment took right around an hour, and she charged me $45 for the fill.

5. She suggested that I make another appointment in about two weeks, which should allow the remainder of the initial lashes to fall out, and she can complete the fill using all the same type of lashes. I personally can't tell that I have two different types of lashes on, but I'm interested to see how it will look when they are all uniform.

Lash Extensions by Salon Whimz

Mascara (bottom lashes only): Clinique | Eyeliner (bottom lashes only): Physicians Formula | Foundation: Tarte | Blush: MAC Peachtwist | Lips: Cherry Carmex

I just can't speak highly enough about them. I realize this is quite an investment, but I am more than willing to take this out of my shopping budget because I feel like I was born with the double A cup of lashes! I honestly haven't worn eyeshadow since Christmas. That's not to say I won't ever wear eyeshadow again, because I will. I just don't think it's worth the effort just to go into the office every morning. The lashes are such a showstopper in and of themselves. People actually compliment my lashes now and seem genuinely surprised when I say they are extensions. No one has ever noticed my lashes before, regardless of what kind of mascara I used! They just make me feel pretty. Simply put.

If any of you decide to take the plunge, I trust that you will report back to me asap! 

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Weekend randoms

Tarte lip stain in "Fiery" | Smashbox gloss in "Endless" | Clinique mascara in "Black Onyx" | Shadow brush | Plaid/leopard scarf | Coral scarf | Cobalt scarf | White skinnies | Distressed skinnies

If you read my post from Friday, you'll see that I was supposed to be headed to San Antonio this weekend. Welp, apparently that was not meant to be. You see, I had started getting a sore throat Tuesday evening. I did my usual routine at the first signs of soreness - gargle warm salt water, take Vitamin C, take cold meds. Wednesday it was a full on breakout. I ended up staying home since it was a snow day and figured I could rest. I certainly did not want to be sick when I traveled. Thursday it didn't feel better, but it didn't feel worse. I made it to work since it would be my last day at work until Tuesday and I needed to get things done. I took the entire day off on Friday to prepare for my trip, but the pain was excruciating. I decided to go to the doctor, and sure enough, tested positive for strep. I ended up canceling my trip - I was contagious at least until Sunday and I didn't want anyone else to get what I had.

I spent the rest of Friday predominantly sleeping and laying around. I did end up watching 3 movies that were on TV: He's just not that into you, Freaky Friday, and Grandma's Boy. Oh, and two episodes of What Not to Wear I had recorded. I caught up on my blog comments a bit, played online some, and now I feel compelled to write a new post.

I feel like I haven't done a "Things I Buy" post in awhile, and sure enough, the last I looked, it was right after the new year. I think the main reason is because I honestly have been trying to curb my shopping a bit. Especially since I really do not need to be buying any more winter pieces, unless it's merely to save it for next year. (I'm hopeful that winter is truly on its way out!!) But, I have been buying random things here and there. Mainly workout stuff, which I featured in a previous post, and these miscellaneous pieces above!

1. I'm obsessed with lip color lately. It's just an easy way to make your face pop! I saw this Tarte lip stain on Chelsey and had to have it! It's pretty amazing! 

2. The Clinique mascara is my holy grail, and I was running low, so I reordered. And I hadn't been happy with my shadow brush and was in the market for a new one. This Sephora brush is great so far! Just what I wanted!

3. Yes, I have both a leopard and a scarf obsession. I blame Gina for making me believe I NEEDED all colors of the leopard infinity scarf. Ok, so they're amazing and I can't really complain. But still! #enabler

4. White skinnies is just something I am constantly hunting. When I was writing my Tuesday post for you, and looking for a dupe of my red skinnies on Delia's site, I noticed they had a white version. Delia's is so random, but for whatever reason, their jeans fit me great. And for buy one get one free, I figured it'd be silly not to pick a second pair. If they had any other color, I would have bought them instead, but settled on this distressed pair. (Since I'm also obsessed with distressed skinnies…)

But wait. That's only 4 random purchases? What is the 5th, you ask? Well, remember when I said I was sick? Meaning, there's lots of time on my hands? Well, someone on my shopping forum started a thread about bra fittings, and someone posted this video.

It's 16 minutes long, so if you don't have time to watch it, I'll give you the CliffsNotes version.

A. If your straps fall, your band is too big.

B. If your band rides up in the back, it's too big. Doesn't make sense at first, but basically, since the band is big, you overcompensate for it by tightening the straps, hence why it rises.

C. Your band should be tight. You really shouldn't have much give at all by pulling on it.

D. That little upside-down triangle at the front centerpiece of the bra that connects the two cups is called the gore. The gore should lay completely flat and tight against your body, and should not move when you raise your hands in the air (and wave 'em round like you just don't care!)

E. You should buy a bra so that it fits on the last set of hooks. This will allow you to tighten it as the bra naturally stretches over time.
F. The proper way to measure yourself is as follows:

1. For best results, remove your top and bra. Take a measuring tape right below your boobs (lifting them if required). Wrap the tape around your body, making sure it stays on the same below-the-boob level, parallel to the floor. Make sure the tape is tight, and write down this measurement. This is your band size.

2. Now bend over so that your boobs and all associated side and back "fluff" are in the fullest position facing forward towards the floor. Take the measurement around  your body passing over the centerline of your boobs - the measuring tape should remain somewhat loose.

3. Take the difference between the measurements in 1 and 2 and now look at the conversion chart here to determine your cup size.

I went from a 34B to a 30DD, which sounds completely ridiculous to me. I told the husband and he said - I love you, but you are NOT a double D. The other thing I learned though is that despite the reputation that anything over a D is gargantuan, cup sizes are proportional to their band sizes. So, a 30DD is certainly quite different than a 40DD. This graphic was helpful.

Image Source

The results are still a bit mind blowing, but so far, everyone that I have read feedback from seems to agree that this method is the best. The only downside is finding bras in these whacko sizes. I'm hearing that Nordstrom is a good source for these and Nordstrom Rack and Amazon are great for lower prices. Caty lists other store suggestions in her video description here.

All of that being said, my #5 random purchase for the weekend was for bras in my new size. I started with black and nude, here and here. I'm very anxious to get these and see if they truly fit and make my girls look marvelous! If you've been through this exercise already, I'd love to hear your feedback!

Started with gloss and ended with bras. Told you this would be random!

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