Author: HairWeavings Editorial Team

Originally posted at: Paige DeSorbo’s Leather Jacket

Originally posted at: Taylor Ann Green’s Grey Camo Biker Shorts

Well, it’s that time of year again! Time to start thinking about holiday shopping. Sure, every year we tell ourselves we’re going to spend less, but we end up spending more, or worse, having no idea how much we spent!

The holidays can be busy, overwhelming, and stressful. It’s not uncommon for my clients to reach the upper limit of their bandwidth for decision-making during the holidays.

The result of all those thousands of choices is that we often get overwhelmed and say “forget it” to any plan for our spending. That apathy isn’t a personality defect, it’s a way we protect ourselves from getting even more stressed out and having to make ONE MORE decision.

But when those credit cards come due in January, we have ample opportunity to fail ourselves, beat ourselves up, and tell ourselves all the things we “should have” done.

It’s time to break that pattern.

As a holistic financial coach, I have a bunch of tools in my toolbox to help my clients learn how to reduce their spending (holiday or otherwise) without feeling restricted. Today let’s talk about just three:

Find the Purpose of Your Spending

Try this exercise for just a week: Every time you spend money, remind yourself of the purpose of the spending. What job is this money doing for you? Some examples: “This $100 is so I can have dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.” “This $4000 is so my family has a nice house to live in.” “This $45 is so my house feels decorated and welcoming.”

By reinforcing to ourselves the purpose of spending, we’re doing a few important things. We’re reinforcing to our brains that we are actually spending money, making it “real.”

Second, we are slowing down our spending. Any time you can include a little slowness in your decision making, you’re increasing the likelihood that you’ll make a better decision!

If you’re buying a holiday gift for a family member, really savor the purpose of this spending! Of course, as you slow down and understand the purpose, you might find other options. If the purpose of spending on this gift is so that this person knows you love them, how else can you show that love… which leads us to the second way to change holiday spending without feeling restricted…

Evaluate the Choice You’re Considering

Start with one option open to you (not a “this-or-that”). Let’s say I’m considering a very small choice; buying a bottle of carbonated water.

Step 1. What Are the Possible Values of This Choice?

The value of choice CANNOT be its price. Too often we conflate the value of something with its cost.

Possible values of this bottle of carbonated water:

• Hydration is necessary for life.
• It’s cold and I’m hot so it will be refreshing.
• It’s convenient.
• It’s delicious.
• It’s __________.

What other values can you think of?

Step 2: What Are the Possible Risks Associated with This Choice?

The risks of a choice CAN and should include its cost. The monetary cost of this bottle of water is $3. Applying the concept of an opportunity cost to this is pretty intuitive…. Once I spend this $3 on this bottle of water, I cannot spend that same $3 on anything else.

So the opportunity cost is one risk.

Other risks could be:

• It could be flat.
• It could have been manufactured incorrectly/gross.
• It could be ________.

What other possible risks can you think of for this bottle of water?

Step 3: Is There Any Other Way?

Specifically, is there any other way to get some of the values without some or all of the risks?

Sometimes there is no other way. What is important is that we are taking the time to LOOK for other ways.

What are some Any Other Ways for this bottle of water?

• I could get a cheaper bottle of plain water.
• I could hold out until I get home.
• I could drink from the drinking fountain.
• I could get a cup and get water from the soda machine.
• I could ______________.

What other ways can you think of?

One Last Thought

There are rarely right or wrong choices in life. Our lives are far too beautiful, complex and messy to provide us simplistic black and white, right and wrong choices. Locking yourself into only seeing your choices as right or wrong (need or want) sets you up for failure… and humans do not make good choices when we are acting from a place of failure, crisis, or limited choices. The beauty of the strategy is that it gets you looking for other choices.

How do you think your spending during the holidays will change if you practiced assessing the values, risks, and any other ways of just a few of the choices ahead of you?

Target Spending

I love this game! It reinforces expected spending and gives you permission to spend while trusting yourself.

Choose a Small, Variable Part of Your Spending

Good examples: coffee, ice cream, clothes, eating out, gifts for the kids, holiday decorations.

Not so good examples: mortgage payment, utilities.

Choose a Fairly Short Time Frame

This should be between two days and two weeks.

Choose a Specific Dollar Amount

Example: “I’m going to spend exactly $17 on ice cream in the next 10 days.”
“We’re going to spend exactly $42 on towels in the next 2 weeks.

Not so good example:

“I’m going to spend up to $24 on pencils tomorrow.” (this is restriction)

Game play:

Your job is now to spend EXACTLY that amount of money in that time. No more. No less.

We want this to remain a game, not a budget, so that’s why we’re keeping the time frame and scope of spending fairly tight. And this is just a game. So, if you spend more or less, does that really matter?

Nope, because this is just a game.

You are now practicing expected spending. That $17 (or whatever amount you choose) has a specific job to do.

As you play this game, what do you think you might notice? Do you think it will be easy or hard to spend exactly that amount on that specific thing in that specific amount of time?

There is a dual purpose to this game. First, it’s to practice expected spending rather than restricted spending. Second is to begin to trust yourself with money.

The Test

Let’s test this out. Which statement is restricted spending, and which is expected spending?

“I’m going to spend $45 on a gift for Ginny this year.”
“I can’t spend more than $50 on a gift for Ginny this year.”

Our brains do not make good choices under the influence of restriction. Restriction is emotional and reactive. Expected spending, on the other hand, allows us to practice thoughtfulness.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What do you think you might notice as you practice reflecting on the purpose of your holiday spending? What kinds of patterns might you notice as you evaluate your purchase through the values/risks/any other way strategy? And finally, what do you think you might notice as you practice expected, not restricted, spending?

As a makeup artist, I always find it fun and interesting to check out the latest celebrity makeup hacks just in case they might offer quick and easy options that might work beautifully on our more mature skin. And while some of these hacks might, quite honestly, make us cringe, there are others that can really make a positive difference.

So, in today’s video, I thought it would be fun to try a variety of different celebrity hacks that just might work for us! But instead of using high-end products, I’ll be using some great inexpensive drugstore alternatives.

Whether you like all, a couple or none of the techniques I present today, is entirely up to you. However, as a makeup artist, I like to offer as many different makeup tips, techniques and product options as possible so you can choose what will work best for you.  And I also feel that makeup gives us an opportunity to just have fun and experiment. So even if these techniques aren’t your cup of tea, I hope you’ll have fun watching.

Brighten the Skin and Decrease Puffiness

The first hack was shared by model Ashleigh Graham. She loves using a face roller all over her face after applying her moisturizer. This gets the blood flowing by increasing circulation and helps with lymphatic drainage.

This process not only brightens the appearance of our skin, but it also helps decrease inflammation and puffiness. I especially love putting the roller in the fridge for a few minutes ahead of time because the cooling effect not only soothes the skin and decreases irritation, but it just feels wonderful.

Multi-Task to Create an Upscale Eye Look

These next eye tips were offered by several celebrities, including model Kendall Jenner and Lady Gaga. These tips offer a great way to save both money and time by multi-tasking with makeup products to create a beautiful and very upscale eye look.  And I have a drugstore product that’s perfect for achieving this look: Elf’s Cream Contour Palette.

To create a cohesive, really pulled together total makeup look, I’ll be using these same cream contour shades on my face later. And by the way, you can certainly use a powder bronzer or contour to do this, but I find a cream contour to be easier to work with and to give a more polished look.

I’ve already applied eye primer to cover up discoloration and even out the color on my eyelids. So, what I’ll do next is use a light bronzer or contour shade in the crease of my eyes – and slightly above the crease since I have hooded eyes.

I find it easier to use a brush rather than my fingers as it gives me the opportunity to be more precise in the placement of the contour color and to blend it out more easily. Next, I’ll use this same light color along just the outer third of my lower lash line. This makes the whole eye area look more cohesive.

Brighten the Eyelids

This look also includes adding some brightness to the center of the eyelids, so I’ll next pat a light shimmer eyeshadow color on the center of my lids.  My favorite product to use is Maybelline’s Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow in the shade “Front Runner.” Adding this lighter color to our eyelids helps them look larger.

The next step is to take a slightly darker contour shade and apply it on the outer thrid of the lid and the outer third of the crease and then to blend it in. Then, I’ll use this same dark color as eyeliner both on the upper lash line and on the outer third of the lower lash line. And be sure to feather out the edges so that bottom lash line looks softer and there’s not an abrupt start line.

Then take concealer and use it to clean up any stray eyeshadow and to also lift the eye by applying it along the outer edge of each eye and then up toward the temple. The final eye step is mascara.

Apply Concealer Before Foundation

Lady Gaga prefers to apply a slightly lighter than her skintone concealer before her foundation, so I’ll go ahead and apply my Elf Hydrating Camo Concealer in the shade “Fair Rose” in the same places that she applied her concealer: under the eyes, between the brows, along the center of the nose, on the Cupid’s bow and on the chin.

However, I’ll also apply it in one place she didn’t – the marionette lines around my mouth. Lightening these lines brings them forward so they don’t look quite as deep.

Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!

For foundation, Lady Gaga uses her own makeup brand called Haus, but I’ll combine two drugstore products: the Catrice True Skin Hydrating Foundation in the shade “Cool Rose” with L’Oreal’s Age Perfect Radiant Serum Foundation in the shade “Rose Ivory.”

I like combining these two foundations because the Catrice foundation gives me a little more coverage and the L’Oreal Age Perfect foundation gives a soft glow to my skin.

I’ll next dip back into my Elf Contour Palette for my face contour. As I mentioned earlier, using the same contour colors on our face as we do our eyes really gives a lovely cohesive look to our makeup.

Highlight the Cheekbones and Custom-Create Blush

These next two hacks also come from Lady Gaga. She likes to use her Haus Foundation in white to accent her cheekbones. I don’t have a white foundation, but I do have a white drugstore cream concealer from LA Girl which I’ll use instead of foundation.

For her blush, Lady Gaga likes to combine a drop of her white foundation with a cream blush color. So I’ll combine a little of the LA Girl white cream concealer with a combination of two liquid blushes from the drugstore brand Hard Candy. I like to combine these two blushes to custom create a color that I think looks better on me. I’ll be combining the shades “Born Yesterday” – which is a bright pink – and “Pop Star” which is a very light lavender. 

Highlight Strategically

Model Emily Ratajakowksi likes to apply a stick highlighter in a number of strategic places so I’ll do the same. I’ll use the NYX Jumbo Multi-Use Face Stick in “Vanilla Ice Cream” along the center length of my nose, on my cheekbones up into the outer half between the brows, between my brows, on my Cupid’s Bow and on the inner corner of my eyes. And I’ll also add in a little of this NYX Jumbo Multi-stick product in the shade “Blueberry Muffin” to my cheeks.

Create Fuller Lips

The last hack is from Victoria Secret model Josephine Skriver and it’s one for the lips. She suggests using a toothbrush or a disposable mascara wand to scrub the lips in order to exfoliate them and get rid of dead skin cells. She also feels that this helps plump the lips.

I’ll finish off today’s look by applying my L’Oreal Lip Liner in “Perfect Burgundy” and then my NYX Jumbo Stick in “Blueberry Muffin.” And I’ll top the NYX Jumbo Stick with Milani’s “Violet Volt” lipstick.  

The Most Unusual Makeup Hack

Before we conclude today, I just have to share with you one of the most unusual makeup hacks I came across that was shared by model Bella Hadid. She swears by a Japanese trick called Jasmu to create a flawless foundation.

First you apply foundation, then cover your entire face with a good amount of translucent powder and then dunk your face in cold water and pat dry. I don’t know about you, but I think this is one hack I won’t be trying!

I also want to share with you a quote I love from Audrey Hepburn who said, “On a bad day, there’s always lipstick.”

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you have a favorite celebrity whose makeup look you admire? Do you have a favorite makeup hack that you’d recommend? If so, please share it with us!

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Originally posted at: Lisa Hochstein’s Leopard Gloved Confessional Look