Wow! That was fast!  The first 40 years, I mean.
At 11:55 pm on August 30, 1979 I came into this world. (With a little help from my mom, of course. Thanks Mom!!) 

My husband has said to me "You are the only person I've ever know who was excited to be turning 40."
Of COURSE I am. This is a milestone and I thank God that I get to experience it.

Honestly, I've never understood the attitude that some folks have about turning 40. Why is it supposedly a bad thing? As much as I loved my teens, 20's and 30's, I wouldn't want to stay in any of those periods of my life indefinitely. 
I do not want to try to make anyone think that I'm not 40. Why would I? Am I supposed to think that there is some sort of shame in being anything older than a 30-something? That's not happening.
Maybe it's because of the fact that a good 90% of the people who I love and admire most are all over 40? I've pretty much always preferred the company of those who are older than me. Even when I was a little kid, I didn't want to "go play with the other kids". I wanted to talk with the adults.


Folks who are my age and younger have benefited quite a bit from the baby boomers in the sense that they redefined what was "old". My grandmother was a stereotypical "old lady" at age 60. That is so far from the case now. Folks who are 60 are running marathons, traveling the globe and being downright fabulous. 




More than anything else though, I'm excited to be turning 40 because I love life. I truly do. I love MY life. I love being married to my best friend. I love the life that we have built. Dare I say it? I wouldn't change a thing about our lives.

I get up each day and I go to the gym to exercise. That means that I'm a healthy able-bodied person. For that, I'm grateful. 
After the gym, I take my dogs and we go down to the harbor to watch the sunrise. 

Hi there!
 Popping on here for a special Thursday post. I've gotten so carried away with the end of summer that I almost forgot about Ulta's 21 days of beauty. 
If you are not familiar with the 21 Days of Beauty, it works like this ; each day for 21 days Ulta will pick between 2-3 high end products that will be severely discounted.  Normally, the discounts are between 40-60% off. 
They do limit the quantities that you can purchase (obviously). The sale is good just for that day though. Say there is a mascara that you really want and a blush that you are dying to try. If the mascara is on Monday and the blush is on Thursday, you cannot buy them both on Thursday. Monday's deals are only good on Monday, Tuesday's deals are only valid on Tuesday, etc.
The good thing is that you can get free shipping on Ulta's Website for the specials throughout the 21 days.


With no further adieu, here are the deals!

Week One Deals

• Peter Thomas Roth FirmX 360 Eye Renewal and Retinol Fusion PM Eye Cream: was $55 to $75, now $28 to $38 
• Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional Face Primer: was $32 to $54, now $16 to $27 

• Ofra Cosmetics Highlighter Singles: was $29, now $15 
• Foreo Luna Play Plus: was $49, now $25 

• Becca Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder: was $39, now $20 
• Mario Badescu Rose Hip Nourishing Oil: was $22, now $11 

• Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels: was $18 to $32, now $9 to $16 
• BareMinerals Concealers: was $20 to $24, now $10 to $12                                    

  Thursday, September 5

• Tarte Tarteist Double Take Eyeliner: was $24, now $12 
• MAC Lipstick in Diva and Cream In Your Coffee: was $19, now $9 
• Murad Nutrient-Charged Water Gel: was $60, now $30 

• Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara: was $25, now $13 
• Perricone MD High Potency Classics Collection: was $38 to $95, now $19 to $50 

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer: was $23, now $12 

Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream: was $69, now $35                                    

Happy hump day kiddos!
Here where I live, today is the first day back to school for the little ones. Its also my mom's first day back, her 30th as an educator.

Pretty frequently, I get asked which store I like better, Sephora or Ulta. I'm not going to go into a whole lot of blah, blah, blah before answering. For me, Sephora is my favorite. However, each store has it's pros and its cons. Depending upon what your beauty preferences are, you may have a different idea as to which of these stores is your beauty ideal.
I'm not here to tell you which is "better". That's for you to decide, I will break down the pros and cons of each and let you be the judge.

• All prestige brands
• You can get a pro makeup application done in store by actual makeup artists
• You can take home a sample of literally anything in the store
• They send you decent birthday gifts
• The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly
• Returns are a breeze
• When they do have discount codes, they are sizable
• The in-house brand is on par with all of the other high-end items
• Their app makes on-line orders easy to place and pay for
• Carries all of the latest and emerging brands

• The 21 days of beauty are EPIC
• Carries MAC
• Carries Chanel (on line)
• Offers frequent coupons
• Has an in-house salon
• Great rewards program

Hello! Welcome back from the weekend. The (gulp) last weekend before labor day.


This post today is because I recently bought a beautiful pair of Jeffrey Campbell booties.
They are BEAUTIFUL. I was quite excited about them. 
Not too long after they arrived, I found an exact dupe of them on Amazon for $125 less. Grrr
I figured this was the universe's way of telling me its time for another "The look for Less" post.

Lets start off with those aforementioned booties.

This is the pair that I bought. Jeffrey Campbell Cromwell Bootie $175
They are so pretty. They will be an autumn staple, no doubt. 

However, here is their under $50 counterpart         Amazon Dupe $49
They look pretty similar to me!








Look at these wedge sneakers. Could the look anymore alike? 



Seriously though, I had to double check that I was putting the correct pictures in here as they look EXACTLY alike.
One pair is at Target for $38.00 The other is at Nordstrom for $120.

Felicia Wedge Bootie $120

A new Day Wedge $38


Pretty much everyone I know loves Madewell, myself included. They are Jcrew's cooler more sophisticated older sister so to speak. 
Madewell makes these shoes that they call  The Brady Low-cut bootie. To me they are a shoe though. Regardless of that they are called, they are super cute. The problem is the price though. $168. Yikes. Luckily, Target saves the day ...again.
Blondo Wedge $120
If you bought each pair of these in the more expensive version, the tab would be $ 583!


However, if you bought each pair of the lesser expensive version, it will only set you back $153.
That's a HUGE difference!

Well, there you go!


Have an awesome Monday, friends!


XO,
SheShe

Happy Friday! One of only a few summer Fridays remaining in 2019 *sniff*.

It seems like I'm always seeing countless articles and blog posts that highlight drug store beauty products. I think that's great. Drugstore products have come so far in the past 5-7 years.

Today though, we are talking about luxury beauty products. We are talking about the fancy, lovely things that just feel special when you put them on.
I've never hid the fact that I'm into high end beauty items. I always have been, literally since I was a child. From time to time, I'll pick a mass market item at Target or CVS on a whim. At the end of the day though, I always go back to my more luxurious items. I know that this isn't realistic for everyone. I also know that plenty of people just don't care to spend a lot of money on their cosmetics, and that's perfectly fine!
However, I do believe that all of deserve a treat now and them. All of us deserve a little bit of luxury in our lives.
If you are ready to add a dash of luxury to your beauty routine, this is where I'd start.



Hollywood Flawless Filter by Charlotte Tilbury       Buy Here: Charlottetilbury Hollywood-flawless-filter
Its a primer, its a highlighter. It goes on like a dream and gives you that "rich girl makeup" ascetic.



Chanel's Loose powder           Buy it here:   Chanel Powder
Aside from how it just looks so pretty on your vanity, it really works well. It sets your makeup perfectly and sends your pores into the witness protection program. 



Tom Ford Fragrance                                          Buy it here: Tom Ford

In my opinion, fragrance is one area where you cannot pass off something inexpensive as anything but something that is inexpensive. 
In my experience, both expensive and inexpensive perfumes can be detected from a mile away for what they are.
Tom Ford's perfumes are just down right intoxicating with their opulence. 
I own Soleil Blanc, its something that prompts total strangers to stop me and ask what it is. 



Pat Mcgrath   Eyeshadow                         Buy it Here :Mothership by Pat McGrath
Beware, this very well may spoil all other eye shadow for you. I bought my first Pat McGrath palette while on vacation in Vegas. I was feeling a little laissez-faire than normal. After opening it up, I knew nothing else would compare.


Cle-de-peau Concealer                    Buy it here: Cle-de-peau
Under-eye circles have been one of my beauty "issues" for as long as I can remember. I'm talking about as far back as my early teen years. I think my skin being as light as it is, is part of the problem. When I was a teen, it was an easy fix. Young, smooth skin can contend with anything. However, as we creep up past our mid twenties, crows's feet and resting lines start to appear. The wrong concealer can make them appear much worse than what they are. 
This stuff covers up all of that dark, without highlighting all of the things that I don't want highlighted.



Orbie Shampoo and conditioner                                          Buy Here:  Orbie
Your hair is the one "accessory" that you wear each and every day. Your hair also takes a LOT of abuse.
It deserves better an drug store shampoo and conditioner. 
This stuff from Orbie is SO luxurious. Getting in the shower first thing in the morning and lathering up with this stuff just feels good.



Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping oil            Buy it here: Sunday Riley
Ohhhhh, I love ,love,love this. My skin looks noticeably better when I use this regularly.
I have prescription retinoids that I use too. This is where its at though.  My skin literally loves this.


Well, there you go. 
What do you think? Do you ever feel the desire to indulge in luxury beauty? What are you favorites?



XO,
SheShe