My daily beauty routine. Made easy with lash extensions and microblading.
{In collaboration with GLAMD Chicago. Opinions are all my own.}
So I had been hearing all about the microblading experience. I didn’t know what or why people would do it but I am a sucker for new beauty trends. I started doing my research and learned about microblading- a semi-permanent tattooing technique that creates hairlike strokes to fill in sparse or thinning brows.
SOLD- I have pretty thick brows but have to fill in some sparse areas. I LOVED the idea of waking up with a done face. I barely have a minute to brush my teeth and hair in the morning. This would be a life saver. (I also have lash extensions) I could not just wake up and be ready.
This should be obvious, but make sure you DO YOUR RESEARCH! Don’t make an appointment with the first person you find on Google; make sure you see plenty of photos of their work, make sure they have stellar reviews, and be certain they are a highly trained microblading professional. After all, this is your face! I made sure to find the best local spot in Chicago. I found Brittani from GLAMD.
I was super nervous and truthfully, just wanted to try it out because I kept seeing so many people get it done and their great outcome. I didn’t do my homework on the healing process. SAY WHAT. Healing? I had no idea. There was gonna be stages of this.. I had pictured hopping into my session, leaving with a bit darker eyebrows and then washing them a few days later with perfect brows. WRONG. It took literally 2-3 weeks to look normal! SO PLAN! Don’t do what I did.. the week of Christmas and parties and NYE ..Whoops!
First of all, IT HURT! I didnt expect that. I did do the numbing cream for 30 minutes too! My eyes kept watering and I was trying not to complain (I have had 4 natural births), but I was surprised. Ouch.
What I loved most about the procedure is that she found my natural brow line and drew them proportionate to my face. One of my brows is higher than the other and thats why I need to fill them in daily. She actually corrected this problem but microblading that side higher.
Healing Process:
First couples days they were SO dark. I wore sunglasses and a hat to everything I could. I am glad I went darker because my results are so much better. I have heard people doing them too light and therefore the microblading results are much lighter and not as long lasting.
I did the “Dry Healing” vs applying aftercare creams. This essentially meant to kept them completely dry and did no creams. This was difficult but I wanted to make sure I had great results. I wore sweat bands while working out and showered very carefully.
2 weeks after my microblading is when the peeling happened. It looked so yucky. The pigment was peeling off and they were itchy. But you cannot touch or pick them! It was so hard to just leave them like that. After about 3-4 days of this I washed my face and my new brows were finally complete.
After 3 weeks of healing I am happy with my results. I literally wake up and wash my face and I am out the door. As a busy mom of 4, I am so happy to have a low maintenance beauty routine. Truthfully, I didn’t mind filing them in but it is VERY nice to be able to swim, sweat and not have to worry about my uneven brows.
Current Microblading rates are $550-$850. Glamd is currently running a special for $550. 6 week touch ups are recommended.
Lash Extensions rates are $250-$450. Fills are cheaper. I use a life long friend Raquel to do mine in Chicago. GLAMD does them as well! Lashes create an illusion of wearing eyeliner so I don’t need any. They also cover your lids so applying eye shadow is pretty unnecessary. I know its a pain to go get them done ( usually 3-4 weeks if you take care of them) but the thought of taking 2 hours every month to get them done would save HOURS of getting ready (especially quick daily routine). I do cleanse them daily with this eyelash wash. I also am sure to use a lash serum to keep my real lashes strong under the extensions.
SKIN!
Its all about the GLOW. I am always using self tanner when I am not in the sun. For my face, I mix this little tanning secret with my moisturizer.
My daily beauty routine consists of a great sunscreen lotion base, especially being in the FL sun. I then top with a tinted moisturizer. If I’m head to work out, I skip this step. I always apply a spf lip balm, because I just learned you get wrinkles in your lips! No joke….
For nights out, I am obsessing over these GLOW drops, contour pencil in “Ibiza” color, and a great bronzer!
xoA