Okay. I’m going to fess up. I have been semi-consciously turning The Beauty Bohemian into a completely self-indulgent, all about everything and anything posting center. I’ll admit, the articles are getting more personal, as the beauty reviews are becoming way more sparse. When I started BB, reviews were my initial goal. The goal of BB was to be where I put all my product reviews and swatches and..well, that takes a lot of tedious work. More (way more) effort than I had initially expected. I don’t want my “for fun” outlet/website to feel like work. If it feels that way I end up not doing it by finding a million ways to procrastinate and even forget.

I don’t want that to happen. Hence, why I need to find a way to make BB fun again for me. I still want it to be something fun and uplifting and also a place where I can share my thoughts and daily musings. Despite my honest to goodness guilt due to turning this website into a non-stop babble about my life, events, and what not; I whole-heartedly promise to do my sharing in a way that is not completely obnoxious and shallow. (Hate when people do that.) After all, there are enough self-centered people walking around us on a daily basis, and vice versa, there are plenty of resources online that can give you good overall reviews and product announcements. FYI: I do that for a living with a few of my other jobs which I post links to every so often on my twitter.

To motivate and begin my overhaul to unabashed life-sharing and blog rebooting, I have come up with the “Come Clean” series. A day of the week/month/year where I will come clean about one thing that has been bothering and bugging my brain. This week, you guessed it, was this blog and it’s fate.

Because as a blogger/wife/mom/human/person with stupid uncontrollable emotions, I often feel the hankering need to explain things a lot even if no one really gives a hoot.

I also need to find a really clever new way to end my blog posts.

Any suggestions?

Mira

The Beauty Bohemian

So, I braved Black Friday today, all by my lonesome. I headed downtown to battle the cold, crowds, and Christmas decorations. Why alone? My mother and sister braved Black Friday in the South Bay and Johnny, well, he stayed home with John…Our son isn’t the biggest fan of crowds. Truth is, I like shopping alone. Sue me. Sometimes I just wanna get into one store and out, and buy extremely ugly, bright things on clearance without getting the side-eye from girlfriends. Haha! Oh gosh…Boy! I HAD FUN! I stopped by my three favorite places. Macy’s, Sephora, and Nordstrom. All in all, my Black Friday purchases saved me just under $300. Woot woot!

I didn’t have the guts to brave the BFri peeps until 2:30 ish, so I’ll be going back tomorrow morning because my $10 off Macy’s coupon works only before 1pm. I’m eyeing this adorable monster snuggle beanie for John and an American Rag faux fur vest… Ack! I’m so addicted to shopping!

Most of my purchases were from the Macy’s American Rag clearance rack. (extra 15% OFF sale items) Loving the Boho-influence on their darling dubs. Lots of peasant tops and cargo skinny jeans for under $10. I also bought kind a completely unnecessary amount of roller ball perfumes at Sephora with a giftcard – They’re great because you can throw them in your purse and it’s not a prob if you forget to spritz before you head out the door…Which somehow my hyper-active mind always forgets… and 3 MAC lipsticks with an exchange. Yes, I was supposed to do that last weekend – didn’t get around to it until now.

Oh…and I heard the sweetest thing that totally melted my heart. This couple was standing behind me as I was browsing and, I guess the girl had hurt her hand by banging it on a metal display case. Her boyfriend turned to her and said, “Oh no! Do you want me to kiss it?” ….Seriously, isn’tthat the sweetest thing a guy could say? In my head, I was like, “Awwwww… What a keeper.”

Haha. Anywhooooos, how was your Black Friday? Where’d you go and what’d you buy? Share, share, share.

Hope you had a fantastical Thanksgiving! I did. Diets still on hold. Eating pumpkin pie as I type.

xo,

Makeupless Mira

This weekend is going  to be a lowkey one. Perhaps, I’ll knock out a few so-so errands out of the way, make a few returns, and buy some shoes. No events. I feel like I have been going to events non-stop these past few weeks. Anyways, I just wanted to say “hi” to you all. Hope your weekend is chill or fun. I’m getting ready to head to the bank.  Talk to you Monday, if I don’t see you sooner.

A few things on my To-do List:

• Cash my work check
• Grab some coffee
• Buy lipstick: Pink Neauvoux from MAC
• Return some stuff
• Put away the laundry
• Clean the house

It will be the real me in the real world today. No false lashes this weekend…

plus, this week at Jetlag and Popsugar made up for all the fun that I could be having tonight. Haha.

A little extra something: I was surfing the web for Taylor Swift videos and saw this comment on one of them and thought it was hysterical:

“poor girl must have a douche magnet. Taylor i love your music but i think maybe you should give up on men and buy a cat.”

Here is the video. “Dear John” is a really great song. Good for low key days like today.

I get quite a bit of compliments on my business cards but I more so think it’s because of the quality of paper rather than anything else. That is all thanks to Moo.com – Moo makes cards on a type of cardstock that is seriously thick and with five-star quality printing and design …and if you have ever received one of the one’s I was lucky enough to get from Etsy (for free!) than you would be happy to know that that particular material was made of recycled paper. Yay! for that. My smaller, Moo MiniCards (w/out the Etsy logo) are made of a laminate type of paper. Though, not as Eco, those lil’ buggers are just as attractive.

In case you’d like to get some printed, click on this: www.moo.com

Why keep the secret all to myself? I’m sure there is plenty of MOO to go around.

(I interviewed coordinators Karine Brighten and Kara Ashe  if you want to read their opinions about veg food and fashion just the click the links on their names above.)

I met New York Times Best Selling Author Rory Freedman: (of “Skinny Bitch”)

saw some fantastic cruelty-free clothes and tasted some of the most DELICIOUS vegan food I have EVER tasted in my life. What  stood out the most?

Vegan Thai tea, I loved it so much I went back for seconds. Unfortunately, I lost the contact info and I cannot even remember the name. *Serious sad face..I even contacted head Veggie Fest man to ask if he could forward me their info and he said it was “Trader Joes.” No. No, it wasn’t. In fact TJ’s was on the opposite side of the hall. I know this is a long shot but, if anyone can e-mail me that info that would be fantastic!

Tofurkey Pizza. As my fellow examiner, @Parmie, tweeted “Very dangerous for the figure.” 

Vaute Couture. If you read my work on www.GreenByDesign.com, you know she is one of my favorite vegan designers.  Her coats were the highlight of the fashion show. as were Pansy Maidens adorable purses. (Interview coming soon!)

ColorCraft and Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics worked the runway makeup. They gave me a tube of their red lipgloss. Which is like a stain and a gloss. It’s Soooo addictive. I love it. More to come about that.

And so many more… I’ve actually been so busy that I haven’t been able to back track and look through my treehugger bag of flyers and business cards eversince the event…but I will. So just stay tuned.

I wore my favorite vintage blouse (from Goodwill) and all my best cruelty-free makeup products:

Smashbox Jetset liner in Black, MAC Minerlize in “Deep Dark,” MAC lipstick in “Bare,” and my Pixi foundation stick in No.3 Warm.

I really had a blast. Can’t wait for next years! The healthy 12thy! Woot.

More pictures are available on my Beauty Bohemian Facebook page. Just click on the 11th Annual VegFest album.

…and I mean invest in with both time and money.

As I continue my work as a freelance writer, I can tell that my clothes and my body, are definitely starting to show a little wear and tear. (My feet! My poor feet.) Currently, my wardrobe comprises of things that are often under $50 bucks. There’s nothing wrong with that, I love a good deal, but multiple washes and wears just aren’t in the future of frugalista finds. My blacks are fading, my heels are sanding down, and my bag is really old and really janky. I really am starting to look a little tore up from the floor up. So, it got me thinking…I really need to invest in some quality, comfortable work/play staple pieces. 

Being that the economy is absolute sheist, this means that I have to ensure that I am going to spend my money on functional items that I will actually use rather than because of the ”pretty-factor.” (Which means it will only be worn once and sit in the back fo my closet for all eternity.)  Below is the list of wardrobe additions I need to be extremely smart about. If you ladies can recommend some really awesome designer, semi-affordable duds (prolly, just $100 – $300 max)  that you think I will thank you for, for the rest of my existence, please share.

1. A Blazer – I might need two of these.

2. A Purse

3. Black High Heels

4. Work Pants

5. A Bangin’ Scarf

Oh! My wallet hurts already.

Hugs, boho babes!

Mira

1. It carries pieces and parts of my life, including a Hollywood keychain from the last time I went to Disneyland 7 years ago and an “I <3 NY” keychain from my trip to New York last April.

2. Pictures of my family adorn it, so everytime I turn a key, a smile plasters my face with nice thoughts of them.

3. All my shopping discount cards (Borders, Sally beauty supply, bev mo, etc.) So I don’t have to say my e-mail, name, or phone number out loud for stalkers to hear.

4. It has a Calfornia Raisin. (From my husband’s graduation from Serra Highschool – found it in the junk drawer at the  in-laws, claimed it, and now it’s mine!) 

5. It’s really easy to find in my purse. Like, really easy. And  I can literally feel the weight missing if it’s not there. Good tactics for a scatter-brain like myself.

I think everyone should load up their own keychains like so.  Random weekly happy thoughts and never ever losing your keys again? Win!

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Today,

Exercise

Trader Joes

Chai Tea Latte

In that order…

I can’t believe that it’s 8:26 pm and the sun is still out.

Love,

The Beauty Bohemian

P.S. Oh yeah! I effing love this song.