I’m constantly using time saving hacks to get date night ready because, at this point, I’m just trying to look the best I can in the amount of time I have to get ready. It’s actually quite liberating, considering I used to spend waaaaay too much time getting ready. I think it’s because I would try to make everything look perrrrrfect. I would fret like crazy over my outfit (ok, I still do on occasion -ha!). Our previous house had no full length mirrors to scrutinize my outfit in and wow, did that save me a ton of time and fretting! Now I intentionally avoid the full length mirror! This actually works well for me because these days I have very little time to get ready because of well, LIFE, but truthfully it’s because I HATE getting ready! I procrastinate like crazy and typically leave myself with very little time to get ready. I’d just prefer to do something else… like, anything else, so I’m pretty strategic and I use a ton of time saving hacks.
Truth be told, on this particular day, I wasn’t feeling very date nighty. Since I sprained my ankle, I can only wear extremely comfortable flats, and I was on day 28 of tennis shoes and flat booties, humph. Plus, we were headed to a pretty posh restaurant here in Houston, so I really wanted to be in cuter shoes. Double humph. But by golly, I was just going to make the best of it! I decided to wear my booties, and to save time, I wore the outfit I had worn that day. I was going to wear my cute, casual outfit and own it! Can you hear the pep talk I gave myself? Yes, I give myself pep talks. If I don’t, who will?
But, I could tell I needed to do a little something to counter my “humphs”, so I decided to do my hair and makeup really well. Ha!
Here are the time saving hacks and tricks I used:
I used my two day hair trick, which means my hair is dirty and that I’ve worn it in a bun for most of the two days. Ha! I used my favorite dry shampoo to spruce it up and this hairspray for a little bit of volume. Full post here (although now I like this dry shampoo better).
Then I used my Conair wand to create the waves. Usually I only do the front strands of hair as a time saving hack, but I decided to go all the way around because I had the time and was feeling well, humph. Full hair tutorial here.
For my makeup, I decided to glam up the eyes with some high pigment eyeshadow because I don’t usually wear it during the day. It’s really quick and easy to apply. Full post here.
Getting date night ready looks very different for me these days, and I love finding new hacks. Usually my best hacks are born out of a desperate time crunch. See, it’s good to procrastinate! Do you have a hack you use?
Outfit Links: Top- B.P.; Jeans- J Brand both here and here; Shoes- H By Hudson; Earrings- Nadri; Bracelet- Miansai
Pictures by Traci Ling
Hair cut and color by Robert Moore at K. Renee Salon.
Rose says
Thanks Carly! Love your posts! I never comment but enjoy reading your posts. Date night is always so stressful for me. Thanks for the ideas! Hope your ankle feels better soon!
Carly Lee says
Hi! I love comments, they keep me going! Keep them coming! My ankle is feeling better, thank you.
Anne says
I love the hair wand you recommended!! It’s great!! Also, what mascara (and eyeliner) are you wearing (if you don’t mind sharing?). Love the hair bun and hair wand trick…I do this almost every day now and it’s really been great for my thick and frizzy hair…gives me smooth waves. Thank you for this post…glad you are still using the products you recommended almost a year ago!!
Carly Lee says
Anne! Thank you for your comment! I have frizzy hair, too! I’m so glad you the hair trick has worked for you! I am using L’oreal’s Voluminous Feline mascara. You can read about it in the previous post. Here’s the link–http://bit.ly/2e65MkZ I am wearing Chanel’s waterproof eyeliner in Marine. Here’s the link–http://bit.ly/2eixYB1
tiffany says
I love the BP shirt!
I only wash my hair once a week though – I’m Black, and any more frequency than that causes dryness and my hair to break off, but dry shampoo is a lifesaver!
I hope your ankle gets better
Carly Lee says
Thanks, Tiffany! It’s getting better!