Video | Life Lately: 9-5 WFH, Beauty Haul, and Vacation Prep
Hello from California, friends! Happy October! Welcome back to another Life Lately update. I hope you’re enjoying the video addition to this blog-turned-YouTube series. I’m having so much fun filming and editing these videos for you, although I also feel a little overwhelmed with the added responsibilities, as you can tell by the late upload of this month’s update.
In this week’s vlog, I take you along for another week in my life as I work from home, do a mindful routine reset to improve my health, and pack and prepare for vacation. I also share a couple — okay, a lot — of things I bought. 😬
WORK FROM HOME
There’s never a dull moment in my work as a PR & social media specialist. One day it's nice and quiet; the next day, people are freaking out. In addition to managing my corporate job’s social media calendar, creating content, and strategizing and managing the social media tactics for our large and small campaigns, I also assist people with their questions online.
When I started doing corporate social media in 2018, I was aware of people’s behavior on the internet, but I never personally experienced rude interactions until I worked in corporate social media. Customer service is a taxing job in and of itself, but as an empath, taking on some of the people who come through my company’s inbox can feel overwhelming. So, it’s important for me to take breaks, reset, set work and digital boundaries, and practice mindfulness.
Related: 4 Mindful Shifts I Made to Improve My Mental Health as a Social Media Manager
This week, we had an unexpected influx of (rude) messages due to an issue that could’ve been avoided. It was overwhelming having people take their frustrations out on me and my team. While creating content gives me joy, sometimes I need to prioritize time offline to reset.
Beauty HAUL
In this week’s vlog, I share a couple of beauty products I bought from Sephora and Mac Cosmetics. Links for everything I shared are listed below.
Function of Beauty — PRO Straight Hair Recovery Conditioner
I didn’t mention this in the video, but the cool thing about Function of Beauty is that you can customize your shampoo and conditioner with up to three serums based on your hair’s goals. I chose The Oil Heiress Scalp Control Hair Goal, The Color Savior Vibrancy Hair Goal, and The Shine Queen Hair Gloss Goal.
Sephora Collection 12-Hour Waterproof Contour Pencil Eyeliner
Fenty Beauty Shadowstix Longwear Eyeshadow Stick in Shroom Mate and Get on Taupe
Mac Cosmetics Lustreglass Sheer Shine Lipstick in Thanks, It’s Mac
VACATION PREP
Is it just me, or does anyone else do a lot of shopping before they leave for vacation? Please say yes because I spent so much (unnecessary) money before I left on vacation. I’m trying to be better about putting the toiletries I have at home in travel-sized bottles and jars, but there are some toiletries — err, skincare products, like the Mini Glow Recipe Pore-Tight Toner or Mini Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask — that need to be bought travel size. I’m weak for a travel-sized skincare product, friends! Weak… because it’s so dang tiny and cute!
All weaknesses aside, my true strength in vacation prep is organization. I organized pages of travel packing, to-do lists, and outfit planners in my Notes app on my phone into a simple travel dashboard on Notion, and I’m in love with it. If you, too, have pages of travel planning notes and you’re looking for a simple way to organize your next trip, download my Travel Planner Template for Notion.
This month’s Life Lately update was a labor of love. I appreciate your patience as I pushed back my deadlines to get this month’s post up for you, but mostly for me. If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, I always say that creating content for my blog brings me so much joy that even when stressed, I need to take a step back — take a breath — before continuing. Thank you, and I can’t wait to catch up with you in the next Life Lately update!