Beauty and Makeup Monday: Lip Lock Pencil
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I used to be able to put on red lipstick without even looking in the mirror and it was fine, and now if I put on even just nude lipstick without paying close attention to lip liner and everything else, it ends up all over my face. For those of you who seem to be suffering from the same problem, I’ve tried a lot of these invisible liners that help your lipstick stay on your lips, and my favorite is this one from e.l.f. that you can get from Amazon. I prefer this to Sephora‘s and Milani’s versions, as well as MAC’s Prep & Prime (which isn’t really good for lining purposes but definitely does extend the life of my lipstick). Oh, and of course the e.l.f. lip lock pencil costs less ($3) at elfcosmetics.com, but do note that you need to buy $25 worth of stuff to get free shipping. I ordered a bunch of stuff a while ago and wasn’t too impressed with any of it (it wasn’t bad, just nothing was quite right) — those of you who’ve tried e.l.f.’s affordable cosmetics, what are your go-tos? e.l.f. Lip Lock Pencil
Psst: There are so many great sales going on! Of course the 2017 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is still going on (and it’s now open to the public — no rewards cards required!); Tahari is having a warehouse sale with prices starting at $15, and Ann Taylor’s semi-annual sale is on with some seriously crazy deals. Have you found any great deals, readers?
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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?
Does anyone have any tips to foster a love of books in young kids? My Kiddo (2 years old) has never really loved books all that much and rarely wants to read during the day. We read before bed, but sometimes he doesn’t want to do that, except the choice is between reading and going to bed. TBH, I care because I’m a bookworm and want Kiddo to grow up to enjoy books like I do, which may be a ridiculous and unrealistic expectation. But it’s really not that I want him to learn to read faster or that I’m worried about him being smart or keeping up or being ahead or whatever.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom on parenting a toddler who is quite shy/reserved?
I was like this as a kid. My daughter is 18 months old and she takes quite some time to warm up to strangers, new family members, even her grandparents if she hasn’t seen them in the last few days (they live semi-locally and she tends to see them maybe once every two weeks or so, often for extended periods of time). I think she’s shy and she’s also a serious, observer type. She likes to stare and take things in for a while before she is comfortable interacting with new people. Honestly, even when my husband and I come in to get her in the mornings, she sometimes takes a moment or two before she is ready to give us a big grin or hug (she’s obviously happy to see us, but takes a moment to compose herself or something in her crib).
As she gets older, I want to respect her personality and her feelings by not forcing her to interact, and I don’t want to make her feel like she always has to be smiling/outgoing/gregarious. I want her to feel like it’s ok to take things at her own pace, and that she can always say no to hugs/kisses/etc. if she’s not comfortable.
At the same time, I want her to learn that she needs to greet people in an age-appropriate manner when she meets them or goes to their homes, etc.
Thoughts/tips/strategies?
I just need some back pats. DH has been traveling about 3 weeks per month (home on the weekends) since the beginning of April. We’ve been making it work. He left at 8 am yesterday for another trip, so I solo parented all yesterday. And then kid got sent home from daycare with a fever around lunchtime today. So now I have two more days minimum (provided it’s a short-lived virus or something) solo parenting a sick toddler. No local family. And I don’t feel so great myself.
UUUGGGHHHH.
If anyone needs me I’ll be gently weeping under my bed.
Any thoughts on the new CDC pump cleaning guidelines (that pump parts need to be washed with soap and water between every pumping, more here: http://www.parents.com/health/parents-news-now/cdc-issues-breast-pump-cleaning-guidelines/)? I’m not a doctor but it seems alarmist to me, especially if you’re pumping for a healthy infant who’s at least a couple months old, since the baby who got sick was very, very premature (born at 29 weeks) and became sick when she was just a couple weeks old, i.e., well before her expected due date.
I’m due in a couple of months and planning to pump when I go back to work at 12 weeks. My understanding is that if everything goes well with my supply, etc., I’ll probably be pumping minimum two and maybe three times per day at work at first, plus maybe a few times at home. I don’t see how I can clean pump parts with soap and water and leave them out to air dry between sessions at work, since I’ll pumping in my private office and we don’t have a dedicated lactation room. We have a break room with a sink and microwave, but that seems unsanitary (not to mention awkward) to use for cleaning, since lots of people use it as a kitchen. I was planning to buy two sets of pump parts, but it seems like at least in the beginning I’d need 3+ sets if I’m not able to reuse them without washing.
Also, my understanding is most pump parts can be put in the dishwasher and so we plan to do that in the evenings, but the CDC seems to emphasize air drying – is it ok to let things dry in the dishwasher or is there some reason they have to be taken out and left to air dry (which seems like it would take up a lot of valuable counter space, especially if we invest in multiple sets of parts)?
I have a praise-hound of a 5 yr old. Piggybacking on the conversations from last week, I realized over the weekend that my 5 year old’s love language is words of affirmation. He loves to be “right,” and gets upset if he is corrected about something. He also absolutely glows under praise for a job well done, and really hates to be in trouble. I’m trying to move away from this, especially as I keep reading about how much better it is to have a growth mindset, and meaningless praise is harmful on a lot of levels.
My husband and I have tried to move from letting “great job!” roll off our tongues all the time (whoops), and moving towards enthusiastic gratefulness. So, instead of “great job setting the table!” – we say “thank you so much for your help!” Any other thoughts? I think we created this beast by a lot of mindless “great jobs,” and also saying “you’re right!” a lot when he was a little younger. I could tell over the weekend when we dialed back the some of the praise, he was extra sensitive and a little upset. He *likes* to be right and he likes to do the right thing, but I think we need to bring him back to center a bit.
What is/was in your post-delivery bedside (or chair-side) kit? Ie what are the things you need immediately at hand after baby arrives? I’d like to make one for a friend, but I’m not sure where to start.
What baby monitors do you all have? I’m due with DS #2 in a few weeks. We already have a Motorola MBP36 so I was just going to get a second camera for that, but now that I’m looking into it, an additional camera costs as much as a whole new monitor and our Motorola is 4 years old now and starting to fail anyway. Any recommendations?
I tried posting this earlier, so hopefully it doesn’t show up twice.
My not-quite 3-year-old starts preschool in mid-August. She’s starting at a new daycare/preschool, and the pressure to have her potty trained is amping up. So we tried the boot camp method this weekend (for us as much as her). I would say that it helped, but it was not a magical solution. We gave her lots of fluids and took her to the potty every 30-60 minutes. She happily sits there and really likes me to read the “Big Girls Go Potty” book, but she pottied in the stool exactly once the entire weekend. There were lots of accidents and we used diapers at nap time. Overall, we tried to be really positive and upbeat about the whole thing and gave her stickers for sitting on the potty.
So, the successful parts: Getting into the habit of going potty. She’s finally OK with being there and isn’t fighting it so much. She can get herself onto the potty and her little buns are finally in the right spot (i.e., not on the edge where she’ll dribble all over).
The not-so-successful: That’s pretty obvious. She isn’t close to potty trained and this boot camp method is going to take a lot longer than three days.
I sent her to school today in underwear and felt a little guilty about it because her teachers WILL have messes to clean up. But putting her back in pull-ups seemed like wasting the progress we made this weekend. If it weren’t for the preschool thing, I would be FINE waiting a little while longer. My oldest didn’t potty train until after 3, but he caught on almost immediately once he was truly ready.
I feel like I’m walking a fine line between preparing her and pressuring her, and I really hate that.
Upon the recommendations of several people here, I purchased Take Charge of Your Fertility. It’s overwhelming, to say the least. For those who read the book and successfully conceived, which pieces of the book did you find most helpful? Any other tips you found that worked for you? I know that everyone’s bodies are different but I’m just looking for general tips/advice.
We have been TTC #2 for a few months (I’m 37, so I already have a doctor’s appointment), I’ve been tracking my period via a few apps, and I used an ovulation prediction kit last month (it told me essentially that I hadn’t ovulated, but I’m skeptical).
Two questions on shoes this morning:
Preschooler: What are fun/cute/go-to sneakers to get for a 3/4 year old girl? she’s been wearing Plae sneakers for the past 2 years and before I buy another pair, I thought I’d see if there are any other brands we should check out. I tend to go for the more stylish (? not sure that’s the right word) over athletic look for sneakers, if that helps– things that look OK with skirt + tights. I thought about Toms but wasn’t totally sold on them…
Baby: I have a 1 year old with size 4 feet and they are the MOST NARROW BABY FEET I HAVE EVER SEEN. They are like narrow kid feet. I have had her in velcro water shoes and these orthopedic looking white sandals until now because all footwear options in sizes under 4 are made for chubby little baby feet and fall off my kid even on their tightest setting. She’s full on walking (running, if I’m being honest) at this point so I need a real shoe. She’s the opposite of my older one, who was in a wide shoe until she was 2.
It’s my due date and I’m officially a bit bored. Appreciated the two weeks post PhD break but now ready for baby to get here. Meeting some friends for lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday (baby permitting) and seeing the midwife on Thursday. At my 38 week appointment, the midwife seemed pretty confident she’d be seeing me again.
Bday gift ideas for 2 year olds? I usually do duplos, books, or art supplies. Am I just overthinking this? Specific suggestions that have been successful for your kids/kids’ friends?
Suggestions for the best nail polish brand (and/or specific shade for the super pale) for doing at home manicures? I know a lot of it is practice and technique, but wonder if my product is also hampering my efforts.
Does anyone have a nanny who is not a live-in au pair? If so, do you mind sharing what you pay?
I’d be looking for someone to start when an infant is 5 months old, and to also be there when my 2nd grader gets off the school bus until one of us is home (usually before 5)
I used to see elf cosmetics at target years ago and I haven’t in a while, is it no longer available there or am I just missing it?