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A "Wrinkle" in Time (pun intended)

First things first. I need to just touch on this span of time that has gone by in a wink of an eye. A span of time that has taught me some valuable life lessons along with some tough love, and thankfully moments of pure joy. A decade. An entire decade. This is the amount of time that has gone by since I first started dabbling in documenting my experiences with cosmetics, skincare, and fragrances! Whoa, geez! So much has happened over the past decade. An experience of broken bone hell (you can read all about it at: diary of my broken ankle hell), degrees earned (SpEd teaching credential and Masters Degree), careers started (from freelance makeup artist to high school special education RSP teacher), purchased and built a new home, my awesome sassy pants daughter graduated from high school and eventually moved on to study marketing in the beauty industry at FIDM (a girl after my own heart!),  a sweetheart son who recently turned eighteen and is on the verge of graduating high school, TWO fun little dogs--my precious fur babies whom I adore, and amazing personal successes such as celebrating my 20 year wedding anniversary (July 8, 2015) with the love of my life. We know there were a few naysayers calling us "crazy kids" when we were 18 and 21 years old, holding hands, gazing into each others eyes, and reciting our vows to each other but we knew THIS...WE... were experiencing true love. Clearly, a lot has gone down in the past decade! With the exception of my broken ankle hell, which I still have pain and issues with, I prefer to dwell on the accomplishments rather than the struggles, tears, and hurts,--of course there have been plenty of those too.


On November 26, 2016 I officially entered into my forties. I was excited about it. My dearest friends and family spoiled me all month long. My husband and I also planned a big trip to Napa, CA with a few of my closest friends and celebrated the right way! It was an exciting time...I just felt a little more grown up and accomplished. I know it sounds silly but I tend to be a little on the insecure side even though I know I have so much to be proud of. It's conflicting and lame but it's an honest struggle. Maybe coming into 40 was a new beginning for me in the sense that I could really own this decade and be confident in who I have become. So, a year into the decade and I'm working on it. I'm making progress and that feels good.



Now, beauty, hair,  cosmetics, skin care, fragrance--What this blog is REALLY about! Not gonna lie, SO much changes as you age......mature. I went from loving glitter all over like nobody's business to really appreciating a perfectly placed highlighter and a simple shimmer in all the right places. That doesn't mean I wouldn't love a pair of those sparkly VANS I've been eyeballing for the past few months
but for my beauty regime, I'll leave the glitter on the nails, jewels, and accessories! I've come to really value and appreciate fine skincare and the process and work that actually needs to be put in. I've been one of those fortunate souls who has not really had to do too much to maintain healthy looking skin. It's a "pro" in my running pro/con checklist that I keep in my head.
However, also on that checklist, in all capital letters, are WRINKLES and FINE LINES. You've seen them. Those stupid 11 lines that deepen between the eyes--like you're concentrating really hard or are really pissed off. Haha. Yeah those.  I blame my previous broken ankle on the development of those lines too. I'm in constant fear of tripping and falling so I walk with my head down concentrating (hard) on the ground beneath me, squinting my eyes--probably because my eye sight is going too, but whatever, I'm still blaming the broken ankle trauma--causing these deep, DEEP, 11 lines between my eyes.
And then the kicker question I am often asked, "Lisa, are you okay?" because I look worried or mad or confused. LOL. Well, I finally had it. And the month I was turning forty I also was researching and asking a lot of questions about BOTOX. I didn't think that I would actually ever go through with it but after numerous conversations about it with people I trusted and a great recommendation I figured, "what the heck; I'm doing it!" I scheduled my appointment and begged my hubby to come hold my hand and calm my anxiety as I had needles stuck in my forehead in the name of vanity. It was actually a quick and painless process. I wasn't expecting it to be so easy and I wasn't expecting the sensation that I felt as I was injected with the botox. It was this weird feeling or sensation/sound that reminded me of a needle going through iceberg lettuce. It tripped me out a bit but in less then two minutes I was done. And within 10 days those stupid, deep 11 lines were a lot less visible. Success!! I found myself saying to my husband, "look! I'm trying to make my mad face!" as my botox-ed forehead remained still and smooth. Haha!

It is recommended that you maintain your botox treatments every three-four months. I spent about $130 with the new patient special that was running and the botox running approx. $8/unit. Not bad but, Ummm, maybe maintenance would be more possible if I wasn't living off a teacher's and a painter's salary, or had a young adult we are supporting through college, or car payments, or a mortgage payment, or just normal expenses!!! And frankly, I'd rather spend the $150 I spend on getting my hair done every two to three months vs. botox injections so I decided to see how long I could really go before I felt like I really wanted to get injected again. I did well and waited an entire year.

The deep lines between my eyebrows never really came back as bad as they were initially however I noticed that I started getting more fine lines on my forehead where I raise my eyebrows and those awesome crows-feet around my eyes. So, right after I turned 41, just over a month ago, I decided to go through with round two of botox. I went to a new place based off of a recommendation and this time I went alone, like a big girl. The PA who would be doing my injections was lovely. She was sweet, beautiful, and made me feel very comfortable. Within no time we were talking fine lines and wrinkles and I was just like, "do what you think will look best!"

Mind you, I already thought that my skin, fine lines and all, looked to be in fairly good shape so I wasn't expecting much. I thought she might want to touch up those 11 lines and maybe talk about those crows feet but instead she recommended a whole lot more. Awk. Before I knew it I was getting Injections across my forehead and around my eyes.
Yikes! Not sure if it was all 100% necessary but I do like the results--just not the price tag that it took to get the results--or that uncomfortable conversation with my sweetheart when I had to explain why there was such a large charge on our credit card. Whoops. Happy birthday to me......????

Anyway, my annual birthday BOTOX kicked off a renewed love and focus on skincare and inspired me to start talking all things beauty again. Like I used to. A long, long, long time ago. When I was freelancing in my twenties and early thirties and thrilled to spend hours in Sephora or in conversation about hair, nails, skincare, makeup, and fragrance. So I'm working on a little friendly all-things-beauty review collaboration and will share more on that later!! Until then, welcome back to my journey. Glad you're here to keep me company <3 nbsp="" p="">


#VansChunkyGlitterOldSkoolSneaker #BOTOX #Beauty #Fragrance #Skincare #Hair #Nails #FortyYearOldLife

Comments

Unknown said…
I absolutely loved reading this blog! Thank you for sharing.
Tina Miller said…
This is awesome!
beyond blushing said…
Aw, thanks!! Love the support! xx ��
beyond blushing said…
So happy you like it! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Yolanda Wagner said…
Love this blog! ❤️

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