Beauty

DIY Manicure Valentines + Free Printables

February 10, 2017 1 Comment Beauty

These manicure party favors were originally featured in my Valentine’s Spa Day Lunch post with FREE PRINTABLES! You might have also saw them on KATU’s Afternoon Live. This simple DIY is the perfect party activity and favor wrapped in one. Use them for a Valentine’s Day gift or party or use the non-Valentine’s Day gift tag printables below to use anytime!

Finding nice ways to say thank you to friends without breaking the bank has become a sort of hobby for me. There is just nothing like a thoughtful thank you gift, Valentine, or party favor for making someone smile. When planning the Valentine’s Day Spa party I wanted to incorporate a favor that could be used at the party and then taken home. Sharing nail supplies is generally unsanitary so this little manicure kit was a perfect favor solution that allows party guests to use fresh manicure supplies to do their nails. Putting together these little kits was simple and you can do the same with supplies you find at your local one-stop retailer such as Target or Fred Meyers.

DIY Manicure Kits

I picked up most of these items at local stores. You can really mix it up and add in an assortment of fun items to make a fun favor. When creating your DIY manicure kit you’ll want to make sure that you have a bag of some sort that will hold everything you are putting in it. You can use small bags found at a craft story like I did or even a mini-gift bag works great. Print off your favorite set of printable tags below to finish off the gift. The below links are affiliate links.

Supplies:

Bags (I purchased my bags ages ago and forget where… however, these linen drawstring bags from Amazon are similar.)
Manicure Kit (I picked mine up in a sale section at my local Target. However, you can pick up similar items online like this little manicure set from Revlon.)
Nail polish (I picked up several shades of pink so that guests could mix it up or trade.)
Favorite print of the free printables below!

Optional:

Nail polish remover wipes
Soap ( I bought heart shaped soap from my local New Seasons. You can also find heart shaped soaps online. )
Nail Wraps
Hand Lotion

Directions for free printables:

Save your favorite printable set below by clicking on the image or the link below it, right clicking the file when it comes up and saving to your computer. Print on white cardstock in full color. Cut out along the design. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top and tie onto your bag with ribbon. The circle printables can also be printed on sticker paper to make pretty labels. These printables are for personal use only.

Click Here > Happy Valentine’s Day! Friend, may you feel as beautiful as you are printable tags < Click Here

Click Here > Happy Valentine’s Day! “Mani” thanks for being a great friend printable tags < Click Here

Click Here > “Mani” thanks for being a great friend printable tags < Click Here

What has been your favorite Valentine’s Day gift from a friend? Or, do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day gift to GIVE? Comment below!

A Well Crafted Lady

Special Occasion Makeup

August 29, 2016 1 Comment A Well Crafted Lady

Some of my makeup was provided by Mineral Fusion for purposes of sharing about products I enjoyed on my blog. The makeup I share about are used on the regular and not just for my blog posts. All opinions are my own. For more information about my sponsored content please visit my policies page. This post contains affiliate links marked with *.

I have always been a big fan of beauty products— testing out and trying new makeup trends as they come and often way after they’ve gone out of style. I did my own makeup for my wedding and was planning on not dealing with it when it came to my anniversary party. However, the budget and my first choice of makeup artists were both a little unavailable, so I decided to do my own makeup for the party.

I really wanted to look put together for the party, but not overdone. After a lot of YouTube videos on contouring and several attempts at attaching false lashes gracefully… I landed on the look I wanted for the event. I thought I’d share some of the products I used to create my special occasion look.

Special Occassion Makeup Tips — My Snap on the way to the party!

Ignore the fact that my hair is doing something crazy in this photo. I posted this photo because, unlike the beautiful professional photos, you can see that I used some highlighter and contouring to slightly enhance my cheekbones and eyes.

My favorite products for Special Occassion Makeup:

This is gonna seem like a long list. However, a lot of it is building a good foundation that would both keep up all night and protect my skin from the sun during the day.

Lotion: Mineral Fusion Facial Moisturizer, Mineral SPF 40*

Base: Mineral Fusion Liquid Foundation, Neutral 2

Primer:Mineral Fusion Primer, Mattifying*

Eyelashes: e.l.f. Dramatic Lash Kit*

Concealer: Mineral Fusion Concealer Duo*

Contouring Palette: e.l.f. Contouring Palette*

Eyebrows: e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Kit*

Eyeliner:Mineral Fusion Liquid Eyeliner, Ebony*

Highlighter: Mineral Fusion Illuminating Powder, Radiance*

Blush: Mineral Fusion 3-in-1 Color Stick, Rosette*

Mascara: Mineral Fusion Mascara, Volumizing, Midnight*

Lipstick: Mineral Fusion Lipstick, Peony*

Finishing Powder: Mineral Fusion Brush-On Sun Defense, SPF 30*

Ten years ago when I got married—heck, even five years ago when I got a pretty awful burn at an outdoor wedding—I didn’t even think that I could really have good skin protection that didn’t completely mess up my makeup. The Brush-On Sun Defense is absolutely genius and my biggest recommendation for keeping your makeup looking awesome while protecting your skin from the sun.

What is your favorite beauty product for special occasions?

A Well Crafted Lady

Four Fast Beauty Tips to Get Out the Door in the Morning for a Busy, and Tired Mom

July 13, 2016 No Comments A Well Crafted Lady

I received complimentary products with purpose of trying out and sharing my experience with my readers. The products I share about today have made it into my daily beauty routines. Thank you for reading and helping to support the companies that help make this blog run. I’ve included affiliate links in this post, all affiliate links are marked with an *. For more information on my sponsored posts and affiliate partners please read my policies page.

I value sleep a lot. It is a commodity that my eight month old doesn’t seem to value quite as much as I do. When I had a 1.5 hour commute to work and was pregnant with the little guy, I came up with a few ways to get out the door and to work looking presentable in the least amount of time possible. I moved recently and have a lot less of a commute, but still have hung on to some of the habits I created then. Hopefully some of these daily habits of mine help another sleep-deprived lady out there!

Four beauty tips for getting out the door FAST

First I should mention that these five steps are what work for me. I don’t assume everyone has the same routine or beauty needs that I do. I often go out of the house with little to no makeup. I also have no problem leaving my house with my hair wet if pressed for time. Some days I do longer beauty routines, and other days I stick to a routine that takes fifteen minutes or less.

1. Multi-task showering

Showering is MY time. I shower daily and sometimes twice a day. While I do value the cleanliness factor, I really value my time in the shower as my time to myself where all other noises are tuned out. I take three to eight minute showers most mornings and in that time I wash my hair/body, oil-pull my teeth, shave my legs and clean the shower. Leaving my coconut oil* and a spoon in my bathroom helps make me remember to oil pull a couple days out of the week. (It all may be in my mind, but I find oil-pulling relaxing. On days I do oil-pull I feel like my teeth look whiter and my mouth feels cleaner. I also feel that when I am starting to get inflamed gums this habit helps with decreasing pain and inflammation. Note: I’m not a dentist.) I also leave a non-toxic shower cleaner* and handled sponge in the shower so that I can easily clean the shower as I am in it.

2. Quick hair solutions and routine

When I had short hair I would easily wash it every morning and either let it air dry or use a hair dryer for five minutes or less. Nowadays I have longer hair and air drying/ hair drying takes a lot longer than it used to and doesn’t always garner the results I want without some serious coaxing. I currently wash my hair every other day. When I wake up early enough I wash and use my hair dryer to give it the shape and style I really like. Most hair washing days end up with my hair in a bun. I swear by the Goody Spin Pins* for those days when I need to just throw my hair up in a hurry.

Typically the day after I wear my hair in a bun I use the wave of my hair (from being wound into a bun for a day) to my advantage. I spray some dry shampoo* through my hair, scrunch up the wave a bit with some sea salt spray* and hit the road!

When wanting a polished look with little time I’ll blast my wet hair with my Pro Tools Ionic Hair Dryer* using the diffuser attachment to make sure I keep the volume in my hair. I follow up with a heat protector (currently using the Infusium 23 Repair and Renew Spray*) and then a quick run over my bangs and face-framing layers with my Pro Tools Ceramic Straightener*.

3. Simple and quick make-up solutions

I’ve talked about my new favorite make-up brand in a previous post, but I am still using and enjoying products from Mineral Fusion, so I’ll be sharing about it some more. Most days I don’t have time to do a full face of make-up with eyebrows, eyeliner, bronzers and the like. Because skin protection is important, I moisturize with the Mineral Fusion Facial Moisturizer with SPF 40* (note: I’m pictured with SPF 15, but I liked it so much I ended up buying the SPF 40.

My on-the-go makeup bag is filled with what I believe are the essentials for my work face. I have the Mineral Fusion loose powder, blush, brown eyeliner and mascara in the bag. I’ve combined it with one of my favorite, inexpensive three color nude eyeshadow sets* and whichever lip color suits my fancy. My whole makeup routine takes approximately 2 minutes.

A curated selection of work outfits that you love will help make getting out of the house in the morning go much more smoothly! via A Well Crafted Party — Bathroom selfies happen a lot at my office since there are floor to ceiling mirrors!

4. Curated Work Wardrobe

I like clothes. I like them a lot. I don’t however like how anything in my closet looks on me at 6:30 in the morning. After having my second child I had to go out and purchase new work clothing to fit my new size and shape. When doing so I decided to purchase pieces that could easily go together and that felt good on me. I have probably a rotation of 10 work outfits that I mix and match. Sure, most mornings I look at my closet and feel bored, but for the most part, I’m feeling confident and comfortable at work with little effort.