Friday Finds & Check-ins, Volume #629
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!
Let's Chat!
Share your own answers in the comments!
- Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Still waiting to receive some orders!
- Weekend plans: Recover from all the food my parents’ cooked yesterday! This is also a pretty busy week for me since there are so many deals from brands, so I am pretty much checking my email and phone 24/7 through Monday.
- What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately?: We got the Hydrow a couple of months ago, which is rowing machine with a mega screen and a subscription to classes (like Peloton, which we tried and did not like at all), and this has been pretty good for me!
P.S. — Want to chat with readers on the regular? Check out Temptalia’s Discord where you can chat about beauty, makeup, and more! 🙂
P.P.S. — Check our hubby’s new site for video gaming guides — good if you (or someone you know or your kids!) is into games like Roblox and Minecraft!
This week's doggo photo/video...
Share your pet photos to the Temptalia Pets flickr group!
Recent Purchases: I just received the Sugar Drizzle Polish Dill Pickle palette, and purchased six Clionadh singles during their holiday sale.
Rediscoveries: I used the Lorac Pro Palette 4 today for the first time in forever! My style has changed a lot so it was nice to use it how I place my eyeshadow now.
Weekend plans: we’re all sick, so rest and recovery is the name of the game.
What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately? I still really enjoy a nice long walk. I listened to music and podcasts and breath deeply. It’s so nice.
I’m so sorry to hear that you and your household are all sick, Celesta. Hopefully, you’ll all start feeling way better soon!
Thank you, Nancy! It put a damper on our Thanksgiving, but we are starting to feel better! Most importantly, my son’s fever broke on its own and I didn’t have to take him back to his pediatrician for another round of antibiotics, which I was worried about, as he just got off a round for his bout of strep!
Hope you all get well soon, Celesta!
Thank you, Kira! ❤️
Sad to read that your family and you are all feeling unwell – I hope it’s not too serious. It’s so hard when you’re sick at the same time as your husband and child, you don’t seem to get a break. I hope you are feeling better soon.
Thank you, Genevieve! It’s nothing too bad, just an upper respiratory infection. We are all pretty tired; I’m just glad my son is feeling better, though that means even less rest for me and my husband. 😂
Winnie and Mellan make my day brighter! 💙🐶💙
Purchases/rediscoveries: Other than my fully going back to using my Fenty Profilt’r Hydrating Longwear Foundation in 260, no rediscoveries. Nothing purchased this week, either.
Weekend plans: Zoom meeting tomorrow morning and not much else going on. Well, except for nursing my poor old girl Clarissa back to good health. I had quite the scare with her yesterday! She was seeming to be trying to bring up a hairball, or so I thought at first. But when I wiped up the sputum, I saw some blood. And she refused food all day yesterday. I remembered that putting some room temperature butter in a cats mouth can help them pass a too large hairball the other direction, so I did that twice last night. Today, she got up and ate some cat food and looked a bit more herself. I’ll be watching her carefully today, though.
Exercise/physical activities I’ve been enjoying lately? Um, nothing really. A nice brisk walk is easier to do now that our temps are below 80°F finally! I really miss autumn walks back home this time of year. Swooshing the fallen leaves as I walk, the crisp, cool air clearing out my lungs, the smell of fireplaces burning and the brilliant red sunsets! I need to get home!
Glad to hear that Clarissa is feeling better, hopefully all will come to pass….
Purchases: The items I ordered for my spouse’s stocking arrived. I am now busy ignoring all of the various cosmetic brands telling me about their Black Friday sales, as I’m trying to not buy myself much of anything between now and Solstice. I did tell my spouse to get on Sephora at midnight and buy themself the FAB Ultra Repair Cream, since it was such a HUGE saving and they are all out at home. I will be curious to see if they got anything for my stocking while they were at it 😉
Weekend plans: Enjoying the long holiday weekend. We had a nice meal at home just the two of us yesterday. Today we’re staying home. Tomorrow we will probably also stay home. Sunday we will go to Geek Craft Expo, our first indoor craft fair since the pandemic started. We’ll both do lots of writing for National Novel Writing Month. I have already reached my 50k words goal but I have a secondary goal to write every day this month. I believe I will have a completed draft of my novel by Nov 30th!
My favorite exercise: DANCE! Specifically transcultural fusion, which is a hybrid of “belly dance” and various “western” dance forms such as ballet and hip hop. One rare silver lining of the pandemic is that since so many teachers have gone online to still reach their students during lockdowns, I am no longer bound by geography. In addition to local teachers here in WA, I have studied with teachers in Portland OR, Chicago IL, and NYC, as well as taking workshops from all over, sometimes even other countries! Currently, I’m studying with a friend of mine in NYC 2-3 days a week. She’s brilliant and I love the way she explains things, and the time zone difference means I wrap up class before dinner, instead of dancing on a full stomach, a big plus.
Oh, and for the past two months, I have been taking a course from a teacher in Canada, all about creating dance films, even if you only have a smart phone and have to be your own videographer. I have learned so much about filming and video editing, a whole new skillset for me (previously all I could do was trim videos and add title cards, poorly). We had our final class this week, and on the 30th we will get together to watch everyone’s final projects.
On that note, it’s time to go do some dance practice 😀
That’s something I miss doing these past couple years, AJ: Dancing! Nothing else quite like it for not just physical conditioning, but also as a release mentally. Mine was mostly modern jazz ballet mixed with some of the elements you described above. I need to get my groove going again!
Recent Purchases: I might end up ordering something on Paula’s Choice website, but otherwise I don’t really need things cosmetics and beauty wise. In between the 30% off site wide, the 1 day only 50% off face products and the 12% Cashback, I “had” to place a MAC order yesterday. I reorder two of my staples, the Prolongwear Concealer and Studio Fix Powder Foundation. I also got the In Extreme Dimension Mascara (Waterproof), the Technakohl in Black and the Teddy eyeliner. The gift with purchase was pretty nice, a pouch with two lipsticks (Devoted to Chilli and Werk, Werk, Werk), mini cleansing oil and mini primer, a pair of eyelashes; but most likely I’ll gift it.
Weekend plans: Do as many thinks as I can for this long weekend. I already enjoyed a hike in the woods yesterday, today I’m doing a Santa Cruz day trip (visiting the Boardwalk, the beaches, the Marine Discovery Center and the Art Museum, simply walking in the town center), and I hope to cram a San Francisco day trip and a musical during the actual weekend.
Off course, I also have to do some groceries and chores during the evenings, but at least I already did my long family phone calls.
What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately?: I’m a very active person, there’s nothing that I got into recently. I still love running and hikes, I also do a lot of strength training with dumbbells. I’m just not into using machines (treadmill, bikes, rowing) for cardio and I never liked dance classes or yoga. 😅 Fortunately I like in a climate that allows me to run outdoors year round.
That sounds like such a fun day in Santa Cruz! I haven’t been to the Marine Discovery Center or Art Museum there before – I will check them out next time I’m there.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Danessa Myricks Evolution Powder and a foundation sample. I had the Infinite Gemstone set in Buried Treasure in my cart but I am coming to grips with the fact that multichromes don’t work for me so I deleted it (for now).
Weekend plans: Just lounging about
What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately? I don’t enjoy exercise or physical activity at all. It’s an effort to stretch everyday to keep back pain in check and to walk, on the theory of use it or lose it.
RECENT PURCHASES: I’M MEME I’m Afternoon Tea Blusher Palette in Fruit Flavor.
WEEKEND PLANS: Making a big batch of enchilada sauce; laundry; hitting Black Friday online sales.
WHAT KIND OF EXERCISE/PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAVE YOU BEEN ENJOYING LATELY?: Lots of walking. I’ve lost 15 lbs. In the last six months. Slow, but steady.
Congratulations Rachel on losing the weight in a slow and steady manner – the walking really makes a difference. This has helped me to lose weight as well.
Thank you! I’m glad to hear that you have been successful, too.
Congrats on losing 15 lbs., Rachel! I know that you were super active and busy last month, so that had to have helped. That’s something I hope will happen for me soon, too. Just so that I can wear my favorite clothes again… especially some pricey jeans.
Thanks! I hope Clarissa is doing better.
I did a lot the last couple months. Michael and I were so wiped out, we had the family Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant for the first time ever. Brandon’s GF is coming back here Thursday, so we want to get things ready for her, and be able to concentrate on Christmas.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Picked up Pat McGrath concealer in LM13 lust gloss in Faux Real during the sale!
Weekend plans: Zoom catch up with a friend, go on a run, and get some more work done! I chose to more or less opt out of Thanksgiving and Christmas this year to just chill at home and do whatever I wanted to do. I ended up wanting to work, lol.
What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately?: I have really enjoyed going on short jogs in my neighborhood every couple of days. There is a picturesque trail nearby where I’ve been watching the leaves change color! It’s great for me to rest my eyes from looking at screens and get some fresh air. I hate that it gets dark out so quickly though, I need to shift to morning runs.
What a happy looking Winston in the video and it’s lovely to see photos of Mellan too.
Recent Purchases: Nada. When the Lorac Fairytale Forest palette is available on Beauty Bay (the only way I can get here in Aus.) I will place an order.
Ordered some Weeleda Skin Food, DB’s Centre Stage Mascara and foundation for my daughter in law’s Christmas Skincare and Makeup goodies bag I always get her for Christmas too.
Rediscoveries: Just being playing with my By Terry Bonjour Paris palette all week, in conjunction with others in my stash.
Weekend Plans: Just some shopping for the sales and deals on Saturday – I am after some summer tops and will peruse the makeup, although I really don’t ‘need’ anything. I will probably do some Christmas shopping whilst I am there. I have nearly finished it.
Sunday I am going out to my twin sister’s best friends place for a girl’s soiree in the afternoon, which should be lovely.
Physical Exercise: Wrestling with Harry to change his nappy/clothes and running around after the kids in general. Lots of walks to the park and so on.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: My NARS eye bundle-Climax eyeshadow palette and mascara and Broadway High-Pigment Longwear liner-arrived Tuesday. Since I never wear black mascara, I plan on giving the mascara to my aunt or cousin, if they’re interested.
Weekend plans: Worked all day today, Thanksgiving dinner on my mom’s side tomorrow (my dad’s side didn’t do it this year because several of those relatives are having health issues), not sure about Sunday.
What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately?: I don’t actually exercise-I have a relatively physical library job, so I do little things here and there to make it more physical.
Recent purchases: nothing, though I am going out later to take advantage of Shoppers Drug Mart’s bonus redemption offer. Rediscoveries: Shiseido’s cream eyeshadow in Patina (GR707). That Auric cream shadow you showed yesterday got me thinking about it and that I should haul it out and use it. It’s getting a bit dry but a droplet of Inglot Duraline took care of that issue.
Weekend plans: I do want to get to the MAC store at the mall to stock up on Craving and maybe a few other things but I don’t know if I can face the parking lot. I was already at the gym and I think I’m meeting a friend at some point this weekend for coffee and a chat.
Exercise/physical activity: I’m slated for knee replacement surgery this summer because my knee (which I totally destroyed running – a past favourite physical activity) keeps me from doing a lot of things I like. Even walking, I need to be careful about terrain because even the slightest little dip in the soil/grass or a pebble can cause me a lot of pain. Because of COVID, my yoga studio was closed for what seems like forever and I do want to get back into my regular yoga routine but, again, my knee issue is limiting. But I do really enjoy weight/strength training, walking (uphill, which most people hate, is my preferred walk but, of course, what goes up must also come down and walking down even a gentle incline can be painful). And my gym has one particular model of elliptical machine that doesn’t aggrivate my knee and I can really get my heart rate up AND listen to an audio book at the same time to make the time pass enjoyably.
Dogs! I love them Winston is such a cutie!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: I did order some stuff during the sales, hair care products that I already got. Skin care from Paula’s Choice, some makeup that I’ll report when I get whatever it was. I know I ordered some brow pencils, at least two as my favourite has been DC’ed 🙁
Weekend plans: This week the fall season has been at its worse, I think rainy, damp, grey and cold. I’ll stay inside as much as possible, cuddle the dog, as if he would let me! Watching either TV or stream something, or read. I’m thinking of taking up knitting again as I can’t find any nice knitted sweaters to buy.
What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately?: I hate exercising! I used to ride horses, can’t afford to these days, that was a lovely form of exercise. I guess walking the dog is what I do, sometimes I do some strength and core stuff, but very rarely.
Recent Purchases: None. I am going low buy the rest of the year.
Weekend Plans: church, some reading, preparing for a procedure
Exercise: Physical Therapy keeps my activity level up (and my strength is starting to show!).
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Lorac Mystic Oak palette!
Weekend plans: Recover from Thanksgiving and a big day of socializing yesterday also! Also we have free HBO for two days so I might watch Curb Your Enthusiasm for hours.
What kind of exercise/physical activity have you been enjoying lately?: None. I don’t enjoy exercise. It’s a real problem 🙁