NYFW Recap: Life in the Luxe Lane with Family Dollar & Colgate

Last Saturday, I hung out with Family Dollar and Colgate for their Life in the Luxe lane NYFW event as part of the Family Dollar Fabulous initiative. If you caught any of my Instagram stories, you know I was hype the entire day. Between meeting celebrity stylists and beauty experts, visiting a Family Dollar store, getting pampered at a beauty bar, and meeting black designers at Harlem Fashion Row, the day was jam packed with activities that embodied the affordable luxe lifestyle that I strive for on a regular basis. Here’s a look inside the day!

Full disclosure, I don’t typically visit Family Dollar because for the four years I was living in Harlem, there wasn’t one anywhere near me! I was surprised to learn that there are quite a few in the outer boroughs, so we started off the day by visiting a location in the Bronx.

While Family Dollar sells a lot of different things (they even have clothes now!), what I was most interested in were the hair, beauty, and home decor section. One absurdly affordable thing I saw was a gift set by LA Colors that included two eyeshadow palettes, a mascara, eyeliner, and a set of false lashes for $5. I thought I grabbed a picture but apparently photos taken in IG stories don’t save automatically and of course since I’m still figuring it out, I didn’t have the settings on. For all my naturalistas obsessed with Shea Moisture, Family Dollar has numerous products for just $7. $7 people! I definitely got a photo of that. Plus they have a new Smart Coupon system that makes it even easier to save!

After marveling at the offerings at Family Dollar, we were driven to Harlem Skin & Laser Clinic, where we got makeup & styling tips from AJ Crimson and Anastasia Walker, received express beauty treatments (I got a massage), had lunch, and rubbed shoulders with THE great Claire Sulmers of the Fashion Bomb Daily (where you can see my face!).

Here’s some of what I learned:

Beauty Tips:

• Use too-dark foundation as bronzer; apply on your foreheads and cheekbones to add color and dimension to your face
• Hold a sponge over your eyelid when applying mascara to avoid getting it all over your eyelid (I needed this!).
• Use eyeshadow you’d never wear as nail polish by crumbling it up and mixing with clear polish.
• Less is more – you don’t need fifty products on your face! Keep your application light and let your beauty shine through. Instagram makeup is not for every day.
• Make your smile pop by using Colgate Optic White Express White toothpaste as well as a blue-based lipcolor.

Style Tips:

• Wide legged pants are very in, and can be a great transition from work to play by just switching up jackets or jewelry.
• If you do your makeup before changing, or you want to change your outfit last minute, use a protector hood to cover your face so your makeup doesn’t stain your clothes! Can’t wait to try this, because I’ve not changed simply because I didn’t want to ruin my clothes.
• Play with texture and patterns to immediately make your outfit interesting. I couldn’t get a good shot of this Calvin fur & leather scarf was divine.

Our last stop was to a massive Harlem Fashion Row popup. HFR founder Brandice Henderson-Daniel personally took us around all of the tables, where we got to meet many up and coming designers, many of whom were black and female. There was one tee-shirt brand (Brandice said they rarely accept tee shirts) called We Buy Black that I loved! I also saw my favorite Project Runway designer Samantha Black (I wore her here), and bought one of her tops that is perfect for fall.

Thanks so much Family Dollar for inviting me along for a truly fabulous day of luxe living! Now that I live closer to a Family Dollar store here in Jersey City, I will definitely be popping over there to save big on beauty, hair, and tons of other products.

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