I've heard nothing but terrible things about eyelash extensions, but I've always been curious about how it works!  I recently buddied up with an eyelash extension company in New York that has been super helpful in letting me know in all the pros and cons of the process.



In a nutshell, I really LOVE my eyelash extensions and I will tell you why! :)  Right off the bat, I don't think it's for everyone.  I think if you're the type of person who loves to scratch her eyes out in the morning (we all know how wonderful that feels) or the type of person who has crazy irritating contacts --- I don't think this will work for you.

But for the people who hate spending 30 minutes getting ready in the morning, who hate relying on eyeliner and mascara, and obviously for the people who were not born with long, full lashes--- this is definitely a great way for you to save time & money.  I actually have long lashes, BUT they are super thin and very hard to keep curled.  I REALLY hate spending more than 10 minutes getting ready, since I have to be at work by 6:30am. (Getting ready when it's pitch black outside is noooo funnnn...)

Here were my lashes before...


and after:




The great part about these lashes is that they act as an eyeliner, so for the past month I didn't wear ANY eyeliner or eyeshadow. I really liked the clean look it gave without any makeup! It saved me a LOT of time and I didn't have to rely on touch ups throughout the day. It felt liberating to basically wake up, put on some lotion and concealer, and walk out the door!

This is me with zero makeup:

And again, my entire face with zero makeup:


It kind of gives you a little eye boost/sparkle.  Ok, so what are the cons? If you DO wear makeup, you should be careful on how you take it off. I just used makeup wipes to remove makeup so that I didn't have to worry about getting any oils on the lashes. Any creams or oils may cause them to fall out easier.  Also, you might be scared when you wake up and see 3 eyelashes on your pillow... but they're supposed to fall out naturally like your normal lashes.

As long as you are careful with your lashes and can treat them gently, I feel as though eyelash extensions can really save you so much time & energy. Of course, I really miss having fun with my eyeliners and eyeshadows, so I would probably only do this for a special occasion like a wedding.  It could be GREAT for brides on their wedding days, but I highly recommend trying it out beforehand just to make sure you can handle the special instructions your eyelash specialist gives you.  Since there have been so many horror stories about eyelash extensions, I'm sure that the shape of your eyes, the growth spurt of your lashes and also the professionals who glue the lashes on all vary your experience. (Please let me know if you want any recommendations!)

Anyone else have any good/bad experiences with their eyelash extensions?

I love slideshows! I love seeing baby pictures, the pictures of your awkward junior high days, the pictures of when you were the skinniest (typically in high school) and old family pictures.  I knew exactly who was going to do our slideshow, because luckily one of my friends is a very talented visual artist!  I've seen him do slideshows in the past at friends' weddings, and Mr. Caramel and I both agreed that he has this certain style and quality to his work that is very unique and amazing.

Our slideshow:

C & D: Photo Montage from Atomic89 on Vimeo.

If you'd like his information:

Atomic89 Visual Communications
atomic89.com
andres@atomic89.com
949-903-3535

I really love how he made it photographical, romantic, editorial, and shows our "just friends" phase together in college then goes into when we first started dating after college.  The special song that plays throughout is what Mr. Caramel sang to me when he proposed... right before he sang the song he wrote to me.  It's always been "our song" especially because no one really knows it!  It's a beautiful song by Derek Webb called "Better than Wine."  Please feel free to steal it----he's an artist that isn't too well known, but I think he's a FANTASTIC singer/songwriter and would want him to get more fans!!

This past weekend, I had the privilege of throwing a bridal shower and bachelorette party for a close girlfriend of mine!  It's been awhile since I've actually been a part of the planning process, so it was really fun even though half of us are sprawled all around the country! The thing I love about throwing showers is that all the bridesmaids are supposed to think about what the BRIDE would want.  It's not just about throwing a fun, elaborate party with cute favors--- it's about thinking about the bride's taste, her quirks, favorite colors, favorite foods and inside jokes.  And that's exactly what we did!

The bride isn't a party animal, she's not into anything too crazy like clubbing or bar hopping--- she just wanted a great, relaxing time with her girlfriends over the weekend.


Some cute decor! We hung panties and pictures by the fireplace:


Another huge part about the shower was thinking of ways to make the bride as embarrassed as possible.  How about a game of Pin-The-Macho-On-The-Man??  Those are all individual penises I had to cut out. (About 20 of them!!) It was pretty funny that the winner was the pastor's wife who had quietly attended the shower.  She has 4 boys at home and the prizes were all naughty penis shaped candies!! (She generously gave them away to us afterwards.)


People were not entirely off the poster! We only had 1 girl who put a penis on the curtain.


After the bridal shower, we all headed to Temecula for some wine tasting and horseback riding! The bride had taken horseback riding lessons as a child, so it seemed fitting! Plus a lot of us have never been horseback riding and it seemed like an enjoyable experience for everyone. 


Horses are so funny! Some kept pooing, some were bi-polar, some had huge egos, and some kept eating random stuff along the way.. it was fun to call the horse you were on, "your" horse!




After half of us went horseback riding, we sat down in the shade to do some wine tasting.




After that we had dinner and rested up because early the next morning, we had a private yoga session right by the beach!!  (We were supposed to have it right ON the beach but the sand was too wet!)  The bride is a crazy yoga buff, so this was something that was very "her"!  We also got hooked up by getting her favorite yoga teacher! (Our teacher was Peggy Hall and she teaches at Yoga Works in Laguna, CA)

The weather was actually perfect... cloudy, crisp and a bit gloomy.  One of the questions of the bridal shower games was "what is the bride's favorite weather?"  Cloudy, crisp and gloomy!! :)


In addition to never having gone horseback riding, a lot of us had never done yoga!  So it was a great experience for all of us no matter what.  I have done yoga but have never done it outside.  It was SO great when the teacher would ask us to listen to the sound of the ocean.... it was so relaxing! (We asked the teacher beforehand to make the session fairly easy for us beginners.)



Along with the private session, we got a free copy of Peggy's DVD!


It was a great way to end the bridal shower instead of the usual drunkard night!  We had some good, clean fun with some unique activities.  It was a great, no-frills, no drama and very easy bridal shower/bachelorette party. And the most important of all---the bride was very happy! ;)