Makeup & Beauty Monday: Makeup Sponge & Brush Cleaner
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When I was about 16, I had a birthday sleepover party and invited an acquaintance who I was only somewhat friends with. Well, it turned out this girl’s mom worked at a Yves Saint Laurent makeup counter, and this acquaintance gifted me an amazingly gorgeous set of YSL makeup brushes. When I opened them I was all, “meh” (teens!), but when I showed them to my mom she started drooling, and I gave her a few of them and started using the rest. To this day, I am STILL using them. I use this makeup brush cleanser after being given a sample in a Birchbox. A little goes a long way and it lasts forever. I know we are all probably guilty of not washing our makeup brushes enough, but buying a product specifically for that purpose has definitely increased the frequency with which I wash them. The cleaner is $18 at Amazon and is eligible for Prime. Beautyblender Makeup Sponge and Brush Cleaner
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Sales of note for 1/16:
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Cashmere on sale; AllSaints, Free People, Nike, Tory Burch, and Vince up to 60%; beauty deals up to 25% off
- AllSaints – now up to 60% off (some of the best leather jackets!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles with code — readers love this blazer, these dresses, and their double-layer line of tees
- DeMellier – Sale now on, free shipping and returns — includes select options like Montreal, Vancouver, and Venice
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; extra 50% off all clearance, plus ELOQUII X kate spade new york collab just dropped
- Everlane – Sale of the year, up to 70% off — reader favorites include their scoop tee, Dream Pant, ReNew Transit backpack, silk blouses and oversized blazers! New markdowns just added
- Hannah Andersson – Up to 30% off all pajamas;
- J.Crew – Up to 40% off select styles; up to 50% off cashmere
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything
- L.K. Bennett – Archive sale, almost everything 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Tag sale for a limited time — jardigans and dresses $200, pants $150, tops $95, T-shirts $50
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Semi-Annual Red Door Sale – 50% off + extra 20% off, sale on sale, plus free shipping on $150+
And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
What’s your favorite brand of insect repellent? Do you use a spray or patches? I have a 18 month old and 6 year old and will be traveling in South East Asia so need to stock up!
I’m taking a 7 hour car trip with kiddo, who is almost 4.5. Would appreciate any entertainment suggestions! She hasn’t enjoyed the iPad that much in the car, and we have the Melissa and Doug waterpen books, coloring books, a lap desk, etc. I load up podcasts that cover about half the trip, and dole out snacks liberally. I’ve got a few favorite playgrounds on the route. Any other fun and novel thoughts for car trip entertainment? Etch a sketch? Magnadoodle? Other similar things?
I have historically wrapped up little trinkets and handed them to her periodically, but it’s a lot of work for an often short-lived distraction…I’m trying to come up with one bigger car entertainment treat I can give her. Is there something like a Gameboy for kids now? I’m thinking something that she can operate more autonomously than a Kindle (which requires me to start it up with a passcode, and maybe navigate to the right screen or out of promo screens in the apps). I’ll be driving with no other adult, so my role needs to be basically nonexistent.
Thank you so much for all of this detail! My DD was also a champ sleeper until the sleep regression hit at around 14 weeks. Bedtime has always been a breeze but we’ve been struggling with night wakings ever since. I think her night wakings are a combo of habit and hunger at this point and I’m just so tired when she wakes that I nurse her simply because I know it will buy me another few hours of sleep.
Timing her feedings and picking two to respond to sounds very doable (just two night feeds sounds like a vacation at this point!). I will give that a try. It’s nice to know that this worked for you relatively quickly, too, because I just texted my husband that I’m at my breaking point.
Anyone have a product they can recommend for temporarily darkening a window while traveling? We are visiting family out of state this weekend and the last time we visited – which wasn’t even this close to the solstice – my kids were up late and up early due to the light. The windows have wooden blinds but they are insufficient. I see several products that affix by suction cups or velcro or other temporary means – didn’t know if you all had something tried and true to recommend. Thanks!
We dealt with this for awhile too (although much later –around 11 months). We found that she was starting to stand up in her crib and cry, unable to make herself lay back down and go to sleep. We found that having my husband going in every 10 minutes or so, giving her a hug and kiss, and laying her back down, seemed to act as a “reset button” and, after 2 or 3 times doing that, she just fell asleep. We’ve had to “retrain” a couple of times after that by following those same steps because she got sick (and I refuse not to comfort her when she is sick and therefore need to retrain when she is feeling better) and now, at almost 13 months, she is consistently sleeping through the night, 7 pm – 8 am.
Number 2 is due any day now, and I’m shocked at how much I’ve forgotten about labor & the newborn and immediate post-partum phase…and my 1st is only a little over 2! Posting for any of the labor/delivery & newborn tips/tricks/don’t-forget’s that you wise mamas might have in mind. Share away!
Help, please: My 6-month old falls asleep completely independently at night, yet we struggle with night wakings all night long. I feel like every baby sleep book says just to teach them to fall asleep independently (which she does and has been doing since she was 16 weeks old) and they’ll magically sleep through the night, yet that has so not been the case for us. I was up with her 4 times between 10 PM and 5 AM last night and I have a 10-hour day in front of me and I feel like I might pass out from sheer exhaustion today.
She also will not calm down at night unless I nurse her when she wakes. Our ped has confirmed that she doesn’t need to eat at night, and I’m so exhausted that I’m tempted to do full-blown extinction CIO all night long, simply because I don’t know how else to teach her to sleep. My partner travels frequently for work, so I’m pretty much the only consistent nighttime caretaker and sending Dad in will only work for the few nights a week that he’s home. Any advice? I will sleep again someday, right?
I have a 10 month old who “slept through” from 8 weeks and I’m still BFeeding. I constantly recommend the Instagram / Blog TakingCaraBabies. I have taken her newborn class and the ABC’s of sleep class (skipped the 4-5 month booklet as my daughter did not have a sleep regression at that time). Every child and family is different, and in hindsight I probably didn’t need the ABC of Sleep class but I appreciated the guidance and encouragement to help me get through CIO (which ended up being only for 3 nights and with crying that was not as bad as I anticipated). Her class teaches how to wean night feedings in a way that is gentle. If he’s slept through, he probably doesn’t “need” that 3:00 AM feed but naturally wakes up at that part of his REM cycle and is used to being with you at that time. Cara’s class (or even just her blog tips) will teach you how to gently wean that so that you can get a much needed full night of sleep. I promise no affiliation, I just had great success with her programs and find her to be very sweet and informative. I definitely needed my hand held at the 6.5 – 7 month stage when we transitioned DD to a crib, and I needed a “program” to follow.
Ours lived in long sleeve footed sleepers because I like to keep my house at 68 in the summer. I rarely used onesies unless I knew we’d be outside or going in and out.
Can you help me either 1) help my baby sleep or 2) adjust my expectations? I have a seven month old. I am b-feeding (not sure if this is relevant). My first child slept through the night 7pm-7am at about 4 months, and I know I was very lucky for that to happen. (He was combo fed and, after six months, formula fed. Not sure if that is relevant either.) But this second baby is totally different (as they all are!)… He gets really sleepy and hits a wall about 7 or 7:30 every night. Any attempt to keep him up past that results in either a meltdown or him just falling asleep sitting up. So, I put him to bed between 7-7:30 each night. He gradually dropped his night feedings and has sometimes made it all the way to 6am. Last week, he had a stretch of several days where he slept from 7ish until 6am every night. But now he is back to waking at 3, 3:30, 4:00, etc. etc.
I think a lot of babies still have a wee-hours-of-the-morning feed like this at seven months. So maybe I have nothing to complain about. But I’m so tired. I am not opposed to a bit of CIO, but I’m not sure if it’s ok to do that yet if he still really does need to eat at 3am. But I also don’t think he necessarily needs to eat at 3am anymore? He made it through a week of waiting until 6am to eat… Our ped says at some point he’s just waking up out of habit, not because he “needs” milk. (Ped basically says it’s up to me to decide what point that is, though.) I guess my question is: should I let him CIO? should I comfort him but not feed him until 5 or 6? should I just feed him at 3am if that’s when he cries? I just felt like we’d be past this at seven months, and I realize maybe a lot of 7 month old babies are not…. but I just don’t think I can take 3am much longer. Any suggestions?
Cleaning makeup brushes is a simple pleasure – they are so soft and luxurious afterward. I use baby shampoo for mine and then roll up one end of a hand towel to elevate the handle so they dry at an angle. If anyone needs 5 minutes of a mindless self-care activity tonight, try it.
What do newborn babies wear in the summertime? Since the hospital is air-conditioned, should he come home in a footed sleeper and hat, or something lighter since it will be very hot outside?
I’m ready to stop pumping, but am prone to clogs/mastitis. How gradually should I taper my pumping? I’m baselining by timing my sessions the next couple days, and was then going to shorten by…5min? For a week?
LO is almost 11mos, I have a decent freezer stash to supplement and am not adverse to formula if I needed to, but he will be starting cows milk soon anyway. I’d love to keep nursing morning and night but I am sooooo ready to be done pumping. However if my milk totally dries up I’m fine w that too (see above re: freezer, formula & cows milk).
I pump 2x a day at work and nurse morning/night.
Suggestions from other clog-prone people out there?
It’s been about 7 years since I’ve shopped for baby stuff. Where is a good place to find a reasonably priced diaper bag and crib sheets. Our last diaper bag just had a long strap that went over the shoulder like a purse, but is a cross-body or backpack style better? I feel like I’m a first time mom all over again! Thanks.
I have a one year old and an exhausting job. My husband is traveling a lot for work so I do basically everything all day every day at home if not at work (LO is in daycare). I feel resentful that noone in my family has offered any help even though we have a good relationship and my parents and siblings could provide some help. Fwiw, I had a complicated birth and noone even came to visit. They said they didn’t want to impose – but all I could think was: Then don’t impose, just come to help me I am drowning. Now I am just utterly exhausted even though LO is happy and healthy and easygoing and I seem to have things together. I am growing more and more jealous of „everyone else“ who has help and asks me why I think it is exhausting… and resentful to not have any help (btw resenting husband for that mostly, then my family, and a little bit my friends). How do I let it go? Or should I ask for help / urge people to help me (and I know, no one owes me any help)?