Event season just kicked into full gear in our community, and Chad and I try to show our support at as many after-hours cocktail parties, fundraisers, awards banquets, and other business/cultural events as possible. We’ve found that these networking opportunities are invaluable for our small business, and if we can design the flowers for the soiree — even better!

Last night I tweeted a photo of myself getting ready for one such affair in a makeshift dressing area at the flower shop. It’s an art I’ve perfected over the last couple of years, after several failed attempts to make it home in time to “fix myself up;” and subsequently, several fashion/hair/makeup emergencies that required frenzied speed-shopping trips and lots of wasted cash.

I’ve learned to accept the fact that the universe will never work in my favor on these days — inevitably, I’ll get caught up handling last-minute orders, fielding calls, and all other manners of running around like a headless chicken — and that setting aside a couple hours of at-home pampering just isn’t in the cards. So I save myself the frustration and chaos by getting ready at the shop 80% of the time.

I usually skip makeup on these days so I have a clean slate when it’s go-time. I bring what I plan to wear (bonus: skipping the madness of trying on 10 dresses in front of the mirror at the last minute) and I pack a bag with all the essentials:

• Appropriate undergarments. There’s nothing worse than realizing that the one-shoulder cocktail dress you brought doesn’t jive with the cotton t-shirt bra you put on for work in the morning. Or forgetting your Spanx {the horror!}.
• Deodorant
• Dry shampoo and a mini-bottle of Elnett
• My large-barrelled curling iron and a flat paddle hairbrush
• Foundation and a beautyblender
• NARS blush in Orgasm — my go-to that matches everything — as well as a sheer bronzer and a soft fluffy blush brush {say that three times fast}.
• Aquaphor. I just discovered this little beauty powerhouse on Into the Gloss, and now I keep a tube in my handbag at all times. I use it as a lip balm, dab it on my cheekbones for a little extra “dewiness,” and rub it into my ravaged florist cuticles.
• My favorite mascara.
• A LORAC eyeshadow palette that goes with just about everything.
• A few lip color options
• And finally… an evening clutch and pretty shoes!