i spent $100 at the drugstore for beauty bits on tour….
aria sa’id shopping at the CVS is probably the recession indicator you weren’t expecting.
hahaha very funny y’all. i crack myself up.
You can skip my musings and rambles and shop today’s musings here. Scroll down for links and treats. ✌🏾
hello from provincetown!
i’m writing this on my phone (normally i sit at writing desk and write to you all from my home office, but i’m up at 5am for no real reason so forgive the typos).
i’ve been on the road the past few weeks- Atlanta for the VIVA VOCE grand opening (a new partnership for BAACAL)
and then I was off to Martha’s Vineyard as a guest of the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival and supporting my client, The Theater Offensive, for their activations.
Then Boston for fundraising meetings and strategy- and now Provincetown, for TTO’s summer’s end fundraiser for their donors in Provincetown and Plymouth Rock.
As someone who exclusively travels with a carry on - after years of being that girl with 5 checked suitcases and 2 carry on’s- the past 3 (2 years has been me exclusively and proudly moonlighting as a minimalist.
The real reason: I’m lazier than I’ve ever been- and thus don’t want to have to spend brain power trying to sort out how i’m going to roll and carry and finesse all of my things every which way.
And thank goodness, because this trip has forced me to carry my things up hills, onto tiny planes, on boardwalks and gravel pathways and through backyard gardens and so on.
It’s been refreshing to be on the road again.
I do love being a homebody, and love my quiet life in Houston, and while I am a anti-social introvert who is slightly agoraphobic- I do contend that it has nice to actually wear real clothes and see people outside of ZOOM and meet new people.
It’s also been nice to be working again.
We know i love the soft life- but it costs money to live darling, so to have confirmed, paid work is a reality in these times that is not lost on me.
Cheers to gigs that pay the rent!! Yessss.
Bonus if the gigs are actually inspiring me- which has been a blessing I can’t even begin to articulate.
Can’t even- and won’t today.
Which leads me to the topic du jour- that I’ve seemingly rambled off of- is the drugstore!
Let’s not kid ourselves anymore- and let’s be truly authentic: by now you know all to well that I am not a bargain shopper. I am not a huntress, sifting through the racks at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx for the perfect finds. Thrifting for me is shopping for pieces that haven’t left my mind over the years, on The Real Real or Vestiaire Collective.
I only like thrifting in Paris- or browsing the flea markets and open air shops in London or Paris, specifically. I only shop at HomeGoods for the bar soaps- usually luxury bar soaps that are finely milled that you can score for $5 instead of $50 is my flex. Ohhh, and i do love buying wicker laundry baskets from HomeGoods too- (so much cheaper!).
I’m unrelatable (a crime on social media) in that all of my clothes and shoes are designer (though in my defense it means i live with substantially less items than most- and wear everything until the wheels fall off- but people conveniently leave that part out).
When it comes to beauty bits, over the years I have either been a Sephora loyalist- or I stock up at the french pharmacy for my favorite skincare products that are 50-75% cheaper there than they are in the states.
Up until recently, I hadn’t actually been to a drugstore in years- usually Instacarting or DoorDashing my last minute or “i forgot to pack” items that I ordinarily would score at Costco or Amazon.
So…
Aria shopping at CVS is probably not something you’d expect on your bingo card. Recession Indicator- but also, Provincetown doesn’t have a Sephora store and I ran out of beauty bits whilst traveling for 3+ weeks.
I raided the local CVS to restock for the rest of my travels, and it illuminated for me just how out of touch with the affordable drug store beauty products I’ve been- and as I write this, is having me rethink all of my financial decisions.
Maybe, maybe not.
I keep thinking about the obvious product placement of Carrie Bradshaw’s make up vanity from this last and final season of SATC/And Just Like That- where she had a cabinet full of Neutrogena- much to the surprise of us SATC loyalists who figured if Carrie were spending a fortune on shoes- how on earth did the production of AJLT figure that a Neutrogena partnership would feel aligned with her character’s sensibilities and shopping tendencies? (I’d like to think the product placement would be more fitting for Miranda, who is less feverish about fashion and the luxury marketplace as Carrie- and would be the sensible shopper).
I ramble again. Let’s get to my finds:
I spent $100 at the Drugstore:
Here’s what worked + what gave me mixed reviews:
I tried the CERAVE’s Hyalauronic Acid serum after running out of my Shani Darden serum on the road.
I didn’t want to spend coins on any of the products I needed as it would be a temporary fix (i have a drawer full of new, unopened product at home since I shop Sephora’s deep sales twice a year and just restock in bulk if i can swing it).
I will say I was pleasantly surprised- the formulation is more of a lotion than it was a serum- which I found questionable.
It really felt like a lightweight moisturizer than it did a serum- and quickly affirmed for me why I shop the luxury marketplace. I hate blind buying anything- I really do like to be a fully informed consumer before swiping my card and I’m not impulsive (unless it’s something that feels incredibly aligned with my sensibilities and I know in my gut that it will work out). In my real life, I would’ve felt ripped off by having spent $20 on a product I can’t return because i’ve now opened it- and it’s not what I thought it would be.
But having used it for a week- it’s surprisingly fine and my skin feels incredibly moisturized by using this as a first step of my 3 step skincare regiment (face essence or serum, moisturizer and then SPF).
I do think I would be more open to shopping the drugstore more if i could sample or demo the product before buying- a luxury that Sephora offers that the drugstore does not currently offer customers. Because the price point is lower- you justify blind buying which I despise.
Perhaps that’s just me- and while I am a woman who often spends a fortune on this stuff, I’m not frivolous when it comes to spending my hard earned money.
That’s a misnomer often placed on women who like to shop designer or the luxury marketplace that I still don’t understand.
I am someone who would rather spend what my friends spend on 10 dresses that do/don’t work from Shein (yall know yall got stuff with the tags still on don’t play!) on 1 dress from The Real Real of a designer I love, with a piece that I know will work in my wardrobe for years to come.
Variety isn’t something I’m after as much these days. Another note for another day.
If you are on the hunt for more affordable skincare and serum options, my mom swears by this one - and she said I should’ve just bought this one but the CERAVE serum is growing on me as I use it daily for the remainder of my travels and I will likely buy again.
That being said- you all know from previous musings that if I exclusively shopped the drugstore for beauty bits- The Honest Company has been my absolute favorite (and I, for the life of me don’t know why I don’t see more on them. It’s soo good). The Rich Hydration Cream is stellar (they have different moisturizers for varying skin types) and I do in fact like their serum. The CVS I went to in Provincetown had a very small skin care section didn’t have their products sadly.
I have been a fan of ORIBE’s hair care line for a decade now- and I splurge on the products for several reasons: first, is the fact that I do all my hair- I haven’t been to a salon in years. And i mean years- last time was 2017?2018?
(Simone - my former stylist as I now live in Houston, is based in Oakland is still my go to for custom hairstyling though her expertise is natural hair and Lindsay Dabalos is my go to hair and makeup artist for photoshoots and video shoots but she also has her own salon in Oakland as well).
I’m hair handy, so I know how to cut and color and style my hair and fortunately for me, it means that money I would otherwise spend on a hairstylist is money I use to invest in salon quality hair tools and products.
Second, I wear wigs and weave- and have over the years determined that when it’s not growing from your scalp- you need to find the most moisturizing products in the world to keep longevity going.
During my travels, my hair started to look like side show bob- and as a trans woman, my hair is perhaps my most important part of my life. I typically don’t wear make up unless i’m paid too (i’m lazy) and I don’t mind wearing baggy clothes or adrogynous clothing.
But my hair has to be done. I feel off when it’s not.
So when my hair started looking like a hay stack inside of a chicken coop, I scored the L’oréal Shampoo + Conditioner- and I have to say it rivals my ORIBE products. I’m on the fence as to whether I’ll make the switch BUT the product is GOODT.
If you have color treated hair (i’m platinum blonde darlings!) or if you have dry hair- or I would reckon, coarse hair that you are straightening regularly- you’ll love this. Obviously marketed for color treated hair, I think you could honestly use even if you’re rocking your natural colored tresses.
It was incredibly moisturizing, and with a 10 minute deep condition + detangle- and a blow out, I was back in action and my hair felt incredible again. There was swing and volume, with just a blow dry (not a blow out but a blow dry). Highly recommend and was pleasantly surprised.
I am a diabetic and have extremely dry skin- as I’ve lamented to you all in previous musings.
I ran out of my travel size body butters from Josie Maran (which I will say 4/5 stars and talk about later), and the CVS didn’t have any travel size anything.
I am incredibly picky about lotions and body butters- as I like a certain amount of slip and while I need moisture, I don’t want to feel like a grease ball either. My holy grails are usually Clarins or L’Occitane
(and the deceptive body butters I regret buying are Jo Malone’s body butter which is loaded with alcohols and not moisturizing at all- and Laura Mercier changed their formula much to my chagrin).
I purchased the Gold Bond lotion mostly because in a pinch, it was marketed for diabetic skin.
I don’t love it and I don’t hate it. Is it moisturizing?
Yes.
Do I wish the formula was a bit different?
Absolutely.
Did it do the job?
Yes.
Will I buy it again?
In a pinch, it’s reliable and effective but more than likely not.
I didn’t like the smell- as someone who loves to be enveloped in scents, and this smelled like the pump soap they have in the Kaiser Emergency Room restrooms after you’ve been admitted (I’ve been in Kaiser ER for diabetic ketoacidoisis more times than i care to share which is why this was a bit too on the nose for me).
If I was married to a budget for toiletries, I would in fact consider buying this and add essential oils and jojoba oil to the bottle to change their formula to my liking but again, I’m lazy and I’d end up spending the same amount on body care as I would for my favorite products so it doesn’t even out to me converting to using this full time.
It was nice to find something at the drugstore that did in fact work for my skin, and I think it’s encouraging me to explore drugstore and more affordable options more frequently, moving forward.
I don’t normally travel with my salon level heat tools because I travel with a carry on- and Im typically not traveling any particular destination this long.
(it’s been 3 weeks since you’ve been looking for your friend)
For long haul flights and trips, my strategy is usually to bring a scarf from Hermes or Gucci and style my hair up and out of the way (while still being chic) but I needed to be “on” for my work events, and that just wasn’t going to cut it.
I’d do that for vacation, but I’m here for work and needed to feel like my best self.
This was the cheapest situation I could find- a purchase after I broke the $20 conair blow dryer they had in the airbnb (my hair got caught on the back, and the hair that was ripped out from the hot dryer stopped the internal fan).
I replaced the blow dryer for the Airbnb Host (not shown, my generosity in spite of it attacking me) with basically the same version in another color but it taught me a valuable lesson: don’t ever try to rely on super cheap blow dryers!!!!!!
i did finish my blow dry with the cheap blow dryer and then moved on to this guy to press out my hair without resorting to buying a $50 curling iron i’d never use.
This was $34 and I will say it did do the job- but in comparison to my Dyson system, not my favorite.
My Dyson allows me to do a beautiful blow out in 20 minutes- where it looks like I’ve just left the uber posh hair salon.
This Infiniti Pro did the job- but I spent 40 minutes on my hair swiping multiple passes through my tresses to get a finished look I could live with- leading me to wonder if I should’ve just purchased the flat iron to begin with, with all the heat I ended up using anyway. An aggressive flat iron with 400 degree heat and one or two passes or a blow dryer brush with 250 degree heat and 20 passes per section?
I’d say I would recommend in a pinch or just to have as backup- it is a bit easier to travel with than a dyson system which is a bonus. But I don’t think it’s reliable enough as a primary heat tool for my hair on a regular basis.
After much internet sleuthing, the girlies highly recommend this revlon hair straightener (allegedly rivals the dyson) and this one as well.
Shop my previous musings for BAACAL Links + use my discount code 18FROMLUSHLIFE for 18% off full price + additional discounting on previous season sale items.
I’ve been wearing my festive print dresses on this leg of the tour (Boston, Provincetown + Martha’s Vineyard) and some of you have raved about them.
They are old (Farm Rio + Stine Goya) and not available for purchase direct from the brands but I’ve made an edit of some of my favorites on the marketplace for everyone (size 00-26/28).
Until next time!
Aria