Friday Finds & Check-ins, Volume #581
Share your recent beauty purchases or rediscovered favorites in your stash (for those on low/no-buys!), chit chat about weekend plans, and learn a little more about each other!
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Share your own answers in the comments!
- Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: NARS Claudette Collection, more Terra Moons Eyeshadows (not sure when I’ll be photographing these, so don’t get your hopes up!), Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in the new shades
- Weekend plans: Start putting together my year-end, best-of posts! It’s always interesting to reflect back on the new releases and what stood out (or how much didn’t).
- What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?: We’ll probably make some snack foods like nachos and cheesy bread, watch a movie or two, but it’ll be pretty low-key. Hubby and I very rarely make it to midnight, LOL.
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This week's doggo photo/video...
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Such a sweet, lovable moment there with Mellan enjoying his brand new toy!
Purchases/rediscoveries: Nothing purchased, but what an ordeal getting my shipment from MAC! Just unreal and super aggravating. Rediscovered that palette that I was less than in love with from CP, UR A QT. I think my feelings towards it are a bit more positive after using it the other day and getting a lovely softer purple eye look from it that just suited my mood the other day. Also rediscovered my Huda Beauty New Nudes this past week. I’d forgotten just how good that one is!
Weekend Plans: Nothing except my Zoom meeting tomorrow morning.
What are you doing for New Year’s Eve? Nothing special. I do enjoy watching the ball drop as it gives me a sense of closure for the year ending. This past year has been so rotten that I kinda wish that there was also a giant boot to kick it out, too!
Nancy – you sure have had the worst year ever and I hope that next year will be a better one for you. I hope your daughter’s pregnancy is going along well. Take care.
You’ve had a nasty year even by 2020 standards. It indeed needs to be given the boot.
Recent purchases and rediscoveries: not purchases but gifts – my husband knocked it out of the park by ordering the Natasha Denona Glam palette! I also got another tube of Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre in my stocking and a whole bunch of Kiehl’s goodies in an Advent Calendar that my daughter got me for Xmas. I also got another bottle of Patchouli essential oil. As an aging hippie, I still love patchouli….I put a few drops on an old face cloth and toss it into every load of wash and it makes for a beautiful, light scent in my laundry. Rediscoveries – it’s still the Nars Old Church Street duo – I really enjoy using the dark side with just about any lighter, shimmery shade on in the inner lid.
Weekend plans: we were supposed to go to Toronto today to drop off gifts for my younger son and his girlfriend but the snow was pretty heavy and going later was out of the question because my daughter and her husband are coming by later (like in half an hour from when I’m typing this) and girlfriend’s family was coming by later as well – co-ordinating all the visits while we’re all in lockdown is a tricky bit of timing. So tomorrow, it’s a quickie trip to Toronto (socially distanced and masked) then on the way back, stopping at the cemetery and meeting up with my sis in law and her daughter to visit my MIL’s grave – she died last month. Then hubs and I will have our Xmas dinner, postponed from today! Then I think I’ll just collapse, sleep and play with my new eyeshadow palette.
New Year’s Eve: our entire province will be in strict lockdown so hubs and I will be staying in, watching some favourite old movies, eating appetizers for dinner (yum) and at midnight, we’ll probably take our traditional walk around the block to welcome what I hope is a better year for everyone. My oldest friend, who always spends NYE with us, won’t be able to this year because of the lockdown, which is sad.
What a busy time you have ahead of you, co-ordinating all the Christmas visits so as not to violate the lockdown laws. I hope your Christmas Day goes well and that you can see your daughter and her busband. I think you will be exhausted.
I am so thrilled that your husband got you the Glam palette – what a gem he is! I am equally sure that you will love it like I do – it has ‘our kind’ of shades.
New Years Eve is going to be a quiet one for us too. Lots of the NYE festivities have been cancelled due to outbreaks in NSW and worries about outbreaks here.
It’s sad that your old friend cannot visit you – this darned virus has wrecked so many lives and there is no end to it.
Best wishes – Genevieve.
We did a Zoom meeting with our kids and their partners last night – what a SCREAM it was because, of course, the kids are far more savvy than we are. My younger son’s name is Matthew and he and his older brother have always, always teased one another mercilessly. My older son’s name came up as “Matthew sucks” and then my daughter and her husband changed their names to “Matthew sucks” and that sort of teasing went on the whole time. My husband surprised me with a great gift – and he’s pretty much incapable of surprising me and generally asks directly what I want and gets things from that list. But this year, in addition, he picked up a mitten and glove dryer. Years and years ago, we had a very naff one made of coated wire but it’s a thing you put over a furnace vent and you can put three pairs of gloves or mitts on it and they dry very effectively and evenly (it even works for leather gloves) = a great thing to have in a Canadian winter. Anyway, I went to show the kids what their dad had surprised me with – this one is 6 vented plastic cones on a base but they all thought it was some weird sort of sex toy (well, I don’t really think they thought that but they couldn’t figure out what it was and so started joking around about that and about how wild we are now that we’ve got the house to ourselves.
We’ll all get over the cancelled/delayed Xmas and New Years plans. It’s the people who’ve lost their jobs (we just heard that a favourite restaurant in a tiny town near here is closing), lost their homes, had serious effects after recovering from the virus or who has lost lives/lost loved ones – they’re the ones who’ve really lost in a serious way. I hope the cases in Australia can be brought down and that you and your family remain healthy. If only people would follow the public health guidelines – we would all still be having cases, no doubt, but numbers would be dropping (even with our lockdown here, numbers are still very high because people are breaking the rules)
What a scream Mariella! Having had two boys myself, and how their verbal trading went (and still does), I can imagine the comments…..
I always have to tell my husband about what beauty/fragrance present I want for Christmas as he would have no idea – so your husband has come up with the goods. I think having a glove and mitten dryer would be perfect for your winters and such a handy idea.
I agree with you completely about all those whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by this virus. There are lots of people who will have long term repercussions from this illness that we don’t really know about yet.
We get a minority here that still seem to think the virus is a Govt. conspiracy and aim to flout the laws whenever and wherever possible. So very selfish of them.
I am so glad you could catch up with your family and exchange greetings, albeit in a different way to the usual. And their banter reminds you of how loved you are and what great joy they bring (I can imagine them discussing the ‘sex toy’! OMG – what a laugh that is!). Aren’t we lucky to have such wonderful families?
Have a good rest today Mariella – as I head to the laundry!
My sister is an aging hippie too so I know the smell of Patchouli well. Its actually very clean smelling.
I’m so glad you the Glam Palette! I think you’ll live it. I love it a lot, even though I’m not usually a fan of taupe. It’s sooooo good!
Happy Christmas to everyone!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Still nothing, although I am contemplating the new Fenty powder foundation that drops tomorrow.
Weekend plans: I’ll think of something.
What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?: It will be quiet. We aren’t big on holiday celebrations in my house. We don’t even watch the ball drop although this year I am curious as to how the city will handle Times Square.
Happy Christmas to you too Lesley. I hope you have a relaxing day and weekend. Best wishes to you and your family too. Stay safe.
Merry Christmas. I’ve heard that the mayor has plans to block it off. No one will be allowed there. As bad as crime has gotten in NYC I’m not sure I’d want to be.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Nothing new.
Weekend plans: Keeping myself busy. Lots of time on the phone with my grandparents (also, my grandmother’s birthday is on the 27th), my brother (stuck back in our home country since he cannot return to UK until flight is again possible, hopefully on January 4th) and my mom (their cat died in a stupid accident on the 23rd).
Otherwise, I just keep myself busy. Yesterday I was on a hike in the redwoods, today I just strolled the empty streets of Santa Cruz and some of the less popular beaches (to avoid people), tomorrow I’ll get my car to service (I’m anticipating stricter lockdowns after the holidays, so I didn’t want to postpone it until January).
What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?: Absolutely nothing! 😅 Personally I’m not that into celebrating, and I’ve been avoiding New Year’s Eve for ages. Guess it’s easier this year. I will be probably awake, since my cat goes all crazy when the fireworks start.
There is still a lot of puppy in Mellon – such a beautiful doggie, enjoying his Christmas gift.
Happy Christmas Christine – to you and your family and I hope you get to have a lovely day, just relaxing.
To the rest of our wonderful Temptalia community – I hope you and your family can enjoy some togetherness, although the pandemic may keep you apart. I hope you all stay safe and well.
Recent Purchases: Santa was pretty good to me and I received my CT The Rebel 2020 quad. I wore it yesterday (our Chrissy Day was yesterday) with a new olive brown top that I had purchased. It is a beautiful quad – much better quality than the old The Rebel.
Rediscoveries: Huda Beauty’s Smokey Obsessions has had a bit of use over the past few days. I have hit pan on a couple of shades.
Weekend Plans
Friday – Christmas Day. We had my twin sister and her husband, plus my younger son Nicholas, Anika and the family over for Christmas dinner. My sister hadn’t me baby Harry, so it was wonderful for them to meet. The children were really excited to see us and tell us about the trampoline that Santa had left them in the backyard (getting said trampoline assembled was a nightmare, according to my son. It involved the collective efforts of a few neighbours and friends!).
We had a beautiful time and the weather was just perfect – not hot at all. I had prepared a lot of salads and fresh fish to go with everything else.
Saturday – quite a clean up and I am going to hit the shops for the Boxing day sales, although I am expecting nothing much. Quite often they are a disappointment.
Nicholas, Anika and the children are coming over for a BBQ late lunch and we are going to finish off some of the salads and the children are going to play with their new toys.
Sunday – have no idea! But probably some cleaning….
New Years’ Eve: We are all going out for dinner at a lovely hotel neaby and then having a very quiet evening.
Genevieve, your son should tell Santa he was supposed to deliver the trampoline assembled, lol. Merry Christmas.
I tell you what Shari, my son and DIL were really panicking about this – because the written instructions were not that clear (as always) and my son is not what you would call a ‘handy person’. The children were taken up to Kinglake earlier on in the day by Anika’s sister so that they could assemble said trampoline. Luckily Anika’s niece and her friends were able to come by and help.
The kids absolutely love it – so all the worry and angst were worth it.
Merry Christmas to you too Shari
Enjoy all your family time Genevieve it sounds like so much fun! We are in lockdown and can’t have anyone from different households in our house so we have just been messaging everyone all day. Everyone is doing fine and we will make up for it when this is all over.
I think of all the people who are going to miss their family and friends at this time and am truly grateful that we had such a hard lockdown earlier on so we could enjoy this time together.
My thoughts are with you all in the States, Europe and Canada for what you are going through.
I’m so glad you had such a wonderful Christmas!
Love Mellan.
I recently purchased a new lipstick from NARS called Augustine- it’s a lovely satin taupe shade- perfect neutral and feels great on the lips!
Merry Christmas everyone🎄
No new purchases and I’m planning on doing a severe no buy next year. I’ll have lots of rediscoveries then.
Weekend plans, just work a few hours to lighten my work week and rest.
New Years Eve, no plans. We are homebodies and normally just watch some old favorite movies. I’m usually sound asleep by the time the clock strikes 12:00 anyway.
I hope everyone has had a very blessed day even under the covid restrictions. I’m hoping for a much better 2021.
Seeing Mellan makes up for not being able to see my Grandpuppy!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: I have been taking advantage of Sephora’s 20% sale on sale items no makeup but just skincare, one of the samples I received was the Tarte Sea Surfer Curl Volumizing Mascara and it was volumizing and didn’t flake all day, I was impressed. Otherwise nothing else has arrived we had a huge snow storm and our streets were impassable for a few days, so all my husband’s Christmas gifts are still in the mail.
Weekend plans: Relaxing, doing a puzzle, maybe some laundry.
What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?: We will watch the ball drop at home, no parties this year. Wishing everyone a safe, relaxing holiday time.
Purchases/rediscoveries: Closest I came to a beauty purchase was some new loofah sponges for me and ponytail holders for the spouse. Alas, no beauty-related gifts for me, either! But I’ve barely been wearing makeup so I guess I can’t complain.
Weekend plans: Lots of sleep. Maybe dance class in the morning. Maybe see a friend for a gift exchange, if the weather isn’t too yucky to be outside. Takeout dinner one night.
NYE plans: Staying home and snuggling the dog and drinking something nice. I picked up a couple small bottles of bubbly so I’ll probably make us some sort of sparkling cocktail. My spouse will probably cook a nice dinner.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: NARS Claudette Collection, more Terra Moons Eyeshadows (not sure when I’ll be photographing these, so don’t get your hopes up!), Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in the new shades
Weekend plans: I have all Christmas weekend and all New Year’s weekend off, so I have no idea!
What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?: Stay home and watch some sort of New Year’s special. Basically what we usually do, only without going to my aunt’s house.
Gah, I copy-pasted but forgot to change recents to what I got! My brain is scrambled!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Various family members got me a ton of beauty stuff for Christmas! Essence G’Day Sydney, Bonjour Montreal, and Ciao Venezia eyeshadow palettes, Charlotte Tilbury Sexy Sienna and Velvet Underground lipsticks, Fenty Purp-a-Trader Flypencil, UD 24/7 Double Life liner, Marc Jacobs Love Drunk gloss, Rare Beauty Magnetic Spirit palette, Melt x Beetlejuice The Waiting Room palette, a Jennifer Aniston fragrance set, and an Ulta gift card!
Recent Purchases: Several Clionadh Multichromes.
Rediscoveries: nothing new, just using what I have!
Weekend plans: recovering from Christmas festivities.
What are you doing for New Year’s Eve? Nothing special. I’m sure I’ll be in bed at a normal time. Maybe sleeping more peacefully knowing that 2020 is done when I wake.
Recent Purchases: Sephora ($25 off $75): Charlotte Tilbury Superstar Glow Highlighter and Bobbi Brown Luxe Encore Eyeshadow Palette in Burgundy (on sale); Selfridges: Charlotte Tilbury Holywood Flawless Eye Filter palette in Star Aura.
Weekend Plans: Cleaning up! Now that Christmas Day is behind us, am doing a deep clean and continuing to organize one room. I’m hoping that Christmas dinner leftovers can be stretched out over the weekend so the need to cook will be minimal. I’ll peek at Boxing Day/post-Christmas sales.
New Year’s Eve: Like Christmas, our regular plans have changed as we decided not to travel this year. My husband and I will do take out and watch some shows, enjoy some bubbly, and chat with family throughout the night. I can’t wait to bid 2020 adieu and might stay up to midnight just to greet 2021!
RECENT PURCHASES:. None for the last 6 weeks, I think. Christmas gift palettes haul:. Musee Beauty Van Gogh, Sugarpill 10 Anniversary Capsule Collection and Black Capsule Collection, and Viseart Violette Etendu.
WEEKEND PLANS:. Spending time with kids and pets. Working on some redecorating in the living room.
NEW YEAR’S PLANS:. We always stay home, watch movies, make a nice dinner, and toast at midnight. IAnd get my kiss from hubby.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: I picked up my first pair of false lashes in years, just some Ardell demi-wispies for a video following a tutorial that requires false lashes. Hopefully I remember how to put them on!
Weekend plans: Finishing up a project for my internship. Also filming my first Tiktok, starting to post Tiktoks was my New Year’s Resolution but I got impatient because I wanted to talk about Christmas
What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?: My family normally doesn’t do anything for New Year’s Eve, but in lieu of other things we couldn’t do this year, we’ve been trying to jazz things up here and there. So we’re making pigs in a blanket on New Year’s Day