Five on Friday: Beauty Things I'm All About

Benefit Cosmetics "Puff Off!"

This is one of those products that you think could be a gimmick but it's definitely not. It's almost like a concealer mixed with a tingly eye cream and it works wonders for mild under eye circles. Plus the packaging is wicked cute.

First Aid Beauty "Ulta Repair Hydra-Firm Sleeping Cream"

My skin gets super dry in the winter and this night cream is great. It's thick but doesn't feel heavy when you put it on. It's also essentially scent free which for a night cream is a must have.

Cuticle Trimmer

I often don't have time to make it for a manicure after work and this helps my nails to feel trimmed and fresh and makes for an easy manicure at home. It seems like some type of waterboarding tactics but I promise it's painless. You simply run the trimmer along your cuticle and it takes care of any excess.

Eye cream

I have an intense fear of aging and when I turned twenty five I decided that I an eye cream was a necessity to add to my skin care routine. I'm not quite sure what it's doing other than giving me peace of mind that I am halting the aging process. Right now my go to is Philosophy "Hope in a Tube"

Urban Decay De Slick

I have been cursed with oily skin and any trick that will help my make-up stay on and keep the oil in check is my new friend. A girlfriend got me hooked on Urban Decays "De-Slick Make-Up Setting Spray." It this magic juice that you spray on your face to set your make-up. Not only is it refreshing but it doesn't a nice job keeping the make-up in place.

All Mighty Dollah

"I love tax season!" Said no one ever...

Just kidding, I happen to enjoy tax season. Not only because I used to work in a tax office but because I love getting a big fat refund. 

I read somewhere that if you do it right, you really shouldn't be getting a tax refund at all. This means that your weekly tax deductions match up with you tax liability when you file your taxes. Quite honestly, I'm not about that shit. Taxes are like a savings plan that you don't even have to think about.

My lovely tax accountant called me today to let me know what my refund amounts would be. I feel like when you get that call, it's like an STD test results call.

Positive: You Owe

Negative: Refund city

Lucky for me, I tested negative. 

Then I was tasked with the biggest decision of my week, what the hell am I going to do with all this extra (not really) money. I decided that I am going to spend a little, save a little and pay down a lot! My man turns 30 this year so some of it will be used to help celebrate, save a little for my future and then use the rest to pay down some of my credit cards/student loans/other life shit.

It had me wondering what the trend is amongst ladies and their tax refunds. What do you gals do with that pretty penny? Do you treat yourself to something special, save it for a rainy day or deal with real life and pay down some debt?

Disconnecting

I have always had an unhealthy relationship with my career. E-mail on my phone, long hours and late nights and taking things to personally have always been part of my work life but at the same time I think they have also led to my great success.

I think there's a part of me that believes that in order to be successful, I need to devote so much of myself to my work which is why I've allowed the lines to blur significantly.

This weekend though, I took the first step towards establishing the boundaries between work and personal life.

I removed work e-mail from my phone.

Now this is a BIG, BIG deal. I always like to be accessible and in the "know" with what was going on at work. But this weekend, I realized the impact it was having on my peace of mind.

I was sitting in the parking lot of Whole Foods with my boyfriend and literally had to ask him "for a minute" because an e-mail I had just received had be fired up. I put my fingers to the bridge of my nose, hung my head and had to take a couple deep, deep breathes.

Nothing was on fire, nothing was time sensitive, but I allowed that e-mail to control that moment for me. And in that moment, my chest was tight and I was anxious and annoyed. I decided I needed a boundary.

I still have my work e-mail on my iPad and can connect remotely via my computer but it requires the conscious choice to look at it. It's no longer connected to my cell phone that I carry with me everywhere. And I can tell you that it feels REALLY, REALLY good.

Do you allow yourself to disconnect or do you find yourself being devoted to your work e-mail?