With fall beauty launches starting to drop, I’ve shook up my everyday makeup routine for a super dewy, radiant, no-makeup look.
No Kayla makeup routine starts without first using the
Stila One Step Correct. I’ve used my fair share of primers trying to find one that rivals Stila’s, but to no avail. This truly is the best primer I’ve ever used. It’s hydrating like a moisturizer while having no silicone. Man do I hate that weird satin finish of silicone primers. This reduces redness while sinking quickly into the skin so I can move on to other steps in my routine.
I’ve been testing out the
Urban Decay Naked Skin One & Done Hybrid Complexion Perfecter* (phew!) lately and find it to be quite like the It Cosmetics CC Cream. It’s quite a sheer coverage base, but it’s perfect for an everyday makeup look where I don’t need too much coverage. Its finish is incredibly dewy and leaves a nice highlight to the skin making it look like I’ve spent my summer days at the beach rather than hunched over a laptop.
Next is brows and I used up my It Cosmetics
Universal Brow Power Pencil so I’ve moved on to the
Brow Power Powder* and am peeved I haven’t tried powders sooner. Although I do love a good brow pencil, powders are so easy to just quickly fill in my brows without fuss or worrying about brush strokes. Plus the color is a fantastic match and doesn’t budge all day. Huge fan.
Most days I can’t be bothered with eye shadow so I head straight to mascara.
Urban Decay’s Perversion* is my current favorite for bold, thick lashes that hold a curl all day long. My lashes are seriously sad so anything that can keep them upright and voluminous throughout the day is a winner in my book.
For blush I’ve been using the Sephora’s birthday gift from
Tarte in “Paaarty”. Luckily the have this in a full size because I’ve been going through this deluxe sample like crazy. It’s the perfect summer flush to the skin that leaves me looking warm and gorgeous. I’ve also been dabbling in a little bit of bronzer (I know who am I) as summer starts to wind down. Got to give the illusion of a sun tan somehow right? The
Urban Decay Beached Bronzer* is just the right light shade while still adding color and glow to my face.
Lipstick is another product I just slap on without much thought of color, but I have been finding myself reaching for
Bite’s “Pepper”* more than most shades in my collection. It’s a bit more on the purple side of mauve than my usual “my lips but better” shades, but I’m loving it to add a bit of depth and tone to my otherwise bright and poppy look.
Regardless of whether I’m going out all day or staying in to work, I love finishing off my makeup look with the
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. It’s just so dang refreshing on the skin that I just can’t help but spray a few spritzes on to the skin. I’m still working through my backup collection of old packaging and can’t wait to get one of the new, sleek black bottles.
All in all this look takes about five to ten minutes to slap on my face in the mornings and makes me feel ready to take on whatever the day has to offer. What’s your usual makeup routine look like?
Life lately has been filled with a lot of dogs. We’ve been watching my parents’ two dogs during the work week for about five months now and it really has been enjoyable having pups around. It’s made us rethink getting one for ourselves though since it feels like quite the full house as it is. Although I loved the idea of having a corgi to snuggle with, Tardis the cat demands more of the spotlight.
We’ve also been doing a lot of decorating in our place lately. Furnishing and decorating our house is something we didn’t want to rush in the first year since we had to get used to a lot of new expenses. Plus a wedding thrown in there really dampens the decorating budget. We finally finished up organizing the sand collection and are working on adding more
everything to our bedroom. A neighborhood friend built us
a lovely TV stand and a new desk is in my future!
The rest of our days have been filled with working, family time, and a lot of robe wearing. So much so that I wrote
an ode to this Erin Condren robe. You know it’s serious when it gets its own blog post. I’m sure you’ve gotten the vibe that change is in the air at the Benda household and we’re just weeks away from finally sharing everything we’ve been working on.
If you’re ever interested in more life updates, we post vlogs fairly regularly on our
vlog channel. Prepare yourself for a lot of messy hair, un-showered Kayla footage.
What’s been going on in your life lately?
One thing has become painfully obvious after two years of working from home. It’s hard to make new friends. Sure I could ditch the robe and start hanging out at coffee shops trying to meet people, but that seems like an expensive habit to pick up without any guaranteed results for new besties. So I resorted to the online variety with mixed results. I’d message someone here or there, but my heart just wasn’t in it.
The entire process has got me thinking a lot about how to make friends as an adult and I’ve realized something. You should make friends like you did in kindergarten. Man kindergartners have it made. It’s so dang easy for them to just walk up to someone, ask to play together, and presto hashtag bff 5ever. Adulthood friendships are a whole different story. Or are they?
Recently I’ve started this new “Kindergarten Method” (spread the word!) and much to my surprise, it’s working. If I meet someone or see someone I want to be friends with, I just ask to hang out or send them a message. No worrying about whether or not they’ll like me back, if I’m bothering them, or if we have anything in common. I also don’t bother to think about whether that person is “more famous” or has a bigger footprint on the interwebs. People are just people no matter how many followers they have. Kindergartners don’t care whether another kid has fancier toys; they ask to play anyway.
At first this sent my introvert heart into a tizzy and I wasn’t sure how I’d manage all this social interaction, but once I completely stopped carrying or worrying about all the stupid pressures adulthood adds to friendship, it became a hell of a lot easier. Plus no one is ever like, “Ew someone is being nice to me and making conversation. Grab the pitchforks.” Making new friends is hard for everyone regardless of social ineptitude. The Kindergarten Method just takes away all the unneeded pomp and circumstance attached with it.
I’ll break it down for you.
The Kindergarten Method
Step 1: Choose a person you want to become friends with
Step 2: Talk to them
Step 3: Become friends
And if someone doesn’t actually want to be your friend, doesn’t respond, or you find out that you are just not compatible, no sweat. I’ve reached out to people with no response dozens of times. It’ll happen. You can’t be best friends with everyone, but you could be missing out on great friends because you haven’t even tried. The whole, “it’s better to have loved and lost than to never love at all” applies to friendships too. Put yourself out there you feisty best friend in the making, you.
So pull out that box of crayons, tap back into your kindergarten self, and stop being afraid to meet new people. I’m definitely not anymore.
As Oh, Hello approaches its three year anniversary and we start to head into a different business direction, Alex and I decided it was time to bring in a business consultant. After just a few days working with him it became so apparent that we should have brought someone in years ago.
The thing about small business is you’re just too close to it. Oh, Hello is my baby. I live and breathe it day in and day out and I’m obsessed with it. So I have a hard time being rational when it comes to it. I may hold on to projects that just don’t bring in money or ignore holes in efficiency. Although Alex has done some business consulting in the past, he too was just too close to Oh, Hello to be objective in accessing our company.
Our consultant looked at our finances, helped us see where we should be spending money and where we should cut back. He also shared some of his business experience from another field of work that we may not have considered to use in ours. It felt great to be able to talk to a fellow business person without worrying about competition or sharing trade secrets. To know that our concerns and fears are credible, but there are things we can do to combat them.
Now I’m not saying you have to go out and pay a bunch of money for a consultant. We reached out to a friend who maintains his own business rather than going the corporate consultant route. Anyone who has more experience than you in small business can help you. You just need someone who isn’t attached to your company to come in, take a look around, and give you honest feedback on how things are going and could be going better.
So no matter what size of your business, if you want to take it seriously and work out any problems you may be having, I highly recommend a business consultant of some kind. Whether you’re doing this small business thing alone or have a partner, it’s good to have an objective third-party take a look at what you’re doing to try and help. They aren’t trying to destroy your business or turn it into something it’s not. They’re trying to help you do what you do, but better.
Best wishes in your business endeavors no matter how big or small. And feel free to ask any questions about business and I’ll try my best to help answer them!
Anti-hauls have been making the rounds on YouTube lately and it got me thinking about all the planner supplies I wouldn’t buy. We’re constantly posting hauls of new stickers and planner goodies on Instagram, so I’m here to share what I won’t be buying.
Up first is planner charms. Sure they’re adorable, but so impractical for my style of planning. I find that anything that dangles or sticks up from my planner just gets in the way. Plus if you’re trying to save a few bucks on supplies, charms are definitely unnecessary planner purchases.
Along those same lines are planner paperclips. I’ve damaged the few that I own with just casual use and I don’t see the point of having an accessory that only comes up for a photo every once and a while. If I used a personal planner I’m sure I’d pop them in the front pockets, but they really don’t serve a huge purpose in my planning setup.
Since I just can’t seem to get on the personal planner/bullet journal train I won’t be buying any expensive leather planners any time soon. Erin Condren definitely is my vice and I’ll be avoiding other expensive collections to save what little planning cash I have left at the end of a month. They’re truly gorgeous accessories, but they have a firm place on my anti-haul list.
Although I love the thought of planner stamps, I just don’t see myself ever buying any. It’s a whole separate world of planning that I just don’t know or understand. Plus then I’ll have to buy blocks, inks, and cleaner while finding place to store everything. I think I’ll stick with the ease and small storing solutions of stickers.
This last one definitely can be chalked up to my grandma-not-changing-in-her-ways lifestyle, but I won’t be buying new pens any time soon. I’ve found what works for me with the Sharpie fine point pen and the Papermate InkJoy gel and honestly don’t feel the desire to try anything new. I do lust over other planner addicts’ impressive pen collections, but at the end of the day I’ll stick with my mug full of two types of black pen and call it good.
What planning supplies do you have no intention of buying? Share your anti-haul list in the comments!
