Happy Friday! Today’s Friday Five has a bit of a wellness spin to it. I’ve been up to some “self-improvement” over here and thought I’d share that with you.
- Microblading: Have you heard about this? If you have a full set of eyebrows, probably not. But if you’re like me and left your eyebrows somewhere in the 90s, this might be on your radar. Microblading is semi-permanent makeup for your eyebrows (that in the state of Illinois is actually considered a tattoo!). I went to the Evertrue Salon on Oak Street in Chicago for this treatment. I found them because my friend and fellow blogger Nicole Regan visited them last year and had great success. Microblading is done by a skilled specialist using a specially-made tool to delicately scratch the brow into the skin, strand-by-strand. Dye is then applied into the brow design. The entire treatment takes about two hours and is virtually painless. Evertrue also has a studio in New York City and has quickly made a name for themselves as being very good at what they do. I plan to do a longer post about this later this month, but just a few days in, I’m very pleased with the results.
- Dermaplaning and BBL: Earlier this month, I went to Erase Medispa in Lake Forest to see Kara and get my face dermaplaned. I think this is my most favorite thing that I do for my skin. If you’ve never heard of dermaplaning, it’s when a skilled aesthetician uses a medical-grade blade and scrapes off the old and weathered top layers of your skin. I always feel so much better when I do this–my makeup just glides on and any products I use soak in so much better. Additionally, Kara did a BBL treatment. BBL stands for Broadband Light that is used to remove sun damage and produce skin that is more even in tone and texture. I will post a video in Instagram stories today to show you what’s involved, but the results are pretty incredible, even after only one treatment. In the days that follow a treatment, the brown discoloration is brought to the top of your skin and flakes off. It looks like coffee grounds. Other than that, there is no down time. And I just can’t say enough about Kara. She followed up with me a couple days post treatment, and she recommended I use the Skinmedica Ha5 Rejuvenating Hydrator to help with my skin’s dryness. I don’t think my face has ever felt better. I’m supposed to go back in another week or two for another treatment and I promise to let you know how that goes.
- Aquaphor: Sometimes the inexpensive drug store finds are the best ones! My daughter Annie is a skincare junkie and swears by Aquaphor for everything. I recently started to put it on my super dry feet (bleh!) and then cover with a pair of socks before bed and I can’t believe how much better my heels are. This is a great hack as we head into spring break sandal weather.
- True Botanicals Chebula Active Serum: True Botanicals is a new-to-me clean beauty brand that recently sent me their Chebula Active Serum to try in celebration of their products now being available in 50 Nordstrom stores across the country. You can smell the fresh ingredients the minute you open this product–it literally smells like flowers. Its purpose is to be a first line of defense in preventing, protecting, and correcting your skin from all signs of aging. I’ve been testing this over the last week and it’s very hydrating and absorbs quickly. I use it under my HA5 Hydrator. If you’re looking for something in this realm, this seems like a very good product.
- Sober Curious Workshop at Lake Forest’s Bird Studio: My friend Rebecca Asfour, owner of Bird Studio in Lake Forest, is hosting a Sober Curious Workshop in her studio on Wednesday, March 9, at Noon. She has been exploring an alcohol-free lifestyle and would like to share her experience. Rebecca is co-hosting this workshop with her friend, Lauren Towles, MD. They plan to share the benefits, the challenges, as well as a few of the books they’ve read about giving up alcohol. I shared with Rebecca that I stopped drinking three years ago and that I’d love to support her as she helps raise this topic in our community. This is a very sensitive and kind-of scary topic to talk about, but I’m so glad I made this change in my life. I’m planning to go to Rebecca’s workshop and I hope to see you there. Here’s a link to sign up if you’re interested.
This Friday Five was a long one, but hopefully it gave you some good things to think about. Have a super weekend!
xo,
Photo by Jenn Marie Photography
In case you’re interested, here are the details on my bag (in a pretty pink color) and puffer jacket.
