Give Me a (Beauty) Break

They aren't real, but they are definitely spectacular.

I think we can all agree that Los Angeles is pretty much the place when it comes to maintaining your appearance.  Sure, I have my issues with Hollywood's youth obsession and the resultant "what happened to her face" queries, but the reality is that many of the women who live in LA strive to look their best.  As a result, one can find any number of weird beauty treatments being offered in  the City of Angels.

Looking to clear up some acne in your T-zone?  Try a urine facial!

Noticed a new patch of Psoriasis on your calf?  Why not give Whole Body Cryotherapy a shot?

And let's not forget good ol' Goopy's vaginal steam.

Thanks to my limited budget and the fact that I'm a bit of a dirty hippie, I'm not usually one of the people jumping on the band wagon for pee on my face or hot steam on my lady parts.  However, I have secretly been wanting to try out eyelash extensions.

Now I realize that I am super late to this party, but I didn't even know that eyelash extensions existed until a few months ago.  I always assumed that the reason my eyelashes didn't look nearly as good as other women around town had more to do with my sub par genes than the fact that they were purchasing eyelash hair.  Thank goodness my glamorous Sister-in-Law enlightened me and opened my eyes (pun intended) to this fabulous beauty trend.  I was all excited to line up for my own personal set of come-hither lashes...until I found out how much it would cost.  We're talking $200 for some teeny-tiny hairs and a little adhesive.  Once again, another example of having champagne taste on a beer budget.

Just as I began to despair of ever having movie-star worthy lashes, I got an email from a local company called UnBOOKed Appointments that wanted me to try their service.  It's a brilliant idea: service providers in your area offer discounts during their slower or, "unbooked" appointment times.  This means that if you wake up Tuesday morning and decide that you need a massage, you can pop on over to UnBOOKed and see if one of the massage therapists they contract with has an opening that works with your schedule.  From hair color to hypnosis, they offer almost everything, with more providers being added every week.

I poked around the site, noticed that they were offering a full set of lashes for $75 (!!!) and proceeded to do a little dance around my laptop.  Finally, I was going to get the lashes of my dreams without shelling out a fortune!  I chose a day and a time that worked for me and then began counting the hours until my transformation from dowdy mommy to MILF was complete.

The day before my scheduled appointment I received an email that there had been a problem, and the salon where I'd booked my lash extensions hadn't updated their online calendar, so my desired time was no longer available.  The wonderful UnBOOKed Customer Service Rep found an alternative salon with availability on the day and time I needed and took care of setting everything up for me so that I didn't have to worry about anything except showing up at the right address.  Everything was done via email, thank goodness, because a Mommy trying to use a telephone without interruption is nigh on impossible.  Oh, and here's the most generous part of it all: the new salon charged more for a full set than the original one, but UnBOOKed covered the difference so that the only thing I had to shell out for was the gratuity.

You guys, my eyelashes look incredible.  Seriously, I am not going to be able to return to the life of a natural eyelash individual.  Even the Hubster can't get over how much better I look with the lashes.  Oh sure, he thinks I'm beautiful no matter what and blah blah blah, but the lashes really just make my face pop.  I appear less tired, and it looks like I made an actual effort and put on makeup even when I haven't showered in four days!  Any beauty treatment that doesn't require me to expend effort is one I can fully embrace.  I guess it's a good thing that UnBOOKed found me, because it's the only way I can afford to keep up this new, glamorous me.
 
Now here's the really exciting news: I'm giving away two $50 gift codes for UnBOOKed to two lucky readers.  The service is currently only available in Los Angeles and surrounding areas (sorry, East Coasters) but that means two of my awesome readers will get a chance to get more beautiful for free.

To enter, post a photo of yourself on Instagram with the hashtag #givemeabeautybreak, then follow and tag both @theannalane and @unbookedappts.  Or you can post your photo on the Misadventures in Motherhood facebook page.  Be sure and tell me why you need some "me" time or what service you would get were you to win one of the prizes.

I promise not to make fun of you if you decide to indulge in a pee pee facial.