Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Holiday Gift Ideas

Most of the time, the tons of emails from stores that hit my email inbox are annoying. But a few, I always check: Sephora, Banana Republic, and LOFT. The one from Sephora today had an excellent suggestion for the holidays. Mix and Match!

During the holidays there are many parties, teacher gifts, friends, aunts, cousins, sisters (I go overboard with my sister...the only thing that keeps me in check is that the other family members will feel bad), etc etc. So what to do and how to not spend a fortune? Buy gift sets and split them up. Each year I like to attach a little "stocking stuffer" to my closest girlfriend's gift--a lipgloss, an ornament, a funny magnet, and so forth.

So here are three examples from the email that I happen to really like base-case (all can be purchased at Sephora). Philosophy has the best body wash smells EVA, the Sephora lip glosses are super fun, and you KNOW I had to throw some OPI off in there. Combining one of each would be a gift that is WAY awesome for only $14.33! Not too bad at all! Or you give the whole set as a gift--all are less than $35.

Happy Holiday shopping, and be pretty gals this season. :)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Quote

Ha! So I've been meaning to post this for a couple weeks but kept forgetting. And I had a free minute during my lunchbreak, so I wanted to share what the Sephora saleswoman told my friend S. (and she subsequently shared on Facebook):

"People may try and steal your glamour this week, but you just pull out your lipgloss and put it on; this will let them know that you aren't having any of this!"

Love it!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Burt's Bees Blemish Stick


So my friend LG forwarded me a post about some Burt's Bee's products the other day (from a blog she reads that I can't remember, so I can't give the proper credit...anywho). SO the girl in the other blog said that she found the Burt's Bee's Blemish Stick...and that it worked well. So I decided to check it out.

Ok, so I'm going to try and not get all excited cause I haven't had a maja-oh-my-god-am-I-frickin-16 face freak-out lately. I have, however, had a couple of minor spots...and stupidly fell asleep with makeup on the other night which could have been disasterous...and I used this stuff. Again, I don't want to get overly excited but I'm pretty sure this stuff is the real deal.

The real test will be next time I go all Rudolph, which happens occasionally. But cautious optimism abounds people!!!

Update 12/13/09: It works. I'm serious. Best stuff eva!

Review: Stila stuff

So a little bit ago I posted about the Stila Appreciation Set. Well, I broke down and ordered it. Ok, so first of all it REALLY was a good deal (HELLOOOO? $38 for like $150 of stuff? I couldn't resist that folks, you know that...my inner product junkie couldn't take it). To my surprise, all were full size, not samples like you would get with a bonus. So here's what came with it, and my review in no particular order:

Baked Eye Shadow Trio - Gold Glow:
I'm digging it. It may be a little summery, but I can definitely use it. I especially like the darkest color in the trio, which is this cool brown/bronze.

Kajal Eye Liner - Topaz
: Ok, so this is a bit of a strange color for eyeliner in my opinion. I'm also super pale, so it may not show up...but I could use it as a creme eye color...these Kajal eyeliners are VERY smudgy. Good in some ways, but a bit difficult to get a precise line. So if you're a precise-line kinda gal, I would go with another liner altogether. I have this liner in charcoal and purple...so I know.



Illuminating Finishing Powder - Rose Gold: This one is fun. It gives my skin a glow. Like the eyeshadow, it may be a bit more summer, but still good stuff!


Lash Visor - Brown: Haven't tried this yet, but looks like pretty standard mascara to me.

Plumping Lip Glaze - Minty Mint
: Hm, ok so I'm a little indifferent on this one. Applying is a little messy...and wear is a little messy. It does that whole burn-your-lips-plumping thing like it's supposed to, but I don't think I'll purchase again.

Long Wear Lip - Flushed
: I like the lipstick and the way it feels, but not a huge fan of the really light pink...but I wasn't given the option on the color, so oh well. I plan to mix with a darker color, and it should be fine. Feels nice though, almost like SoftLips chapstick.



Pressed Powder - Medium: Cute compact. Plain powder, nothing really special.

Lip Rouge - Pucker
: Ummmm....yeah. Not a fan. This I will probably just throw out. It's like a marker, seriously. And the color is this whacked-out fuschia, which just doesn't work for me. And they don't say it but it STAINS your lips...and I mean use make-up remover to get it really off.

Eye Pencil Sharpener:
Standard. My old one got lost though, so hey. Not a bad throw-in to the mix!

So. Winner? The powders and eye shadows. Losers? The lipsticks, especially that strange stain.


Disclosure: I bought this myself from Sephora. Pics from www.stilacosmetics.com

Friday, November 6, 2009

Shamelessly stealing...

Ok, so I had to share/steal Amber from Beauty Blogging Junkie's recent post, Advice I'd give to my high school self. Hilarious. She's 29, so she graduated in 1998. Graduating in 1999, I'm right there with her. #1 especially...I was so TRAGIC in high school with my skater-punk-Gwen-Stefani wanna be attempts at clothing, makeup, and hair. In fact, it took me all the way through college to get an ounce of decent beauty and clothing sense. I would post a pic but a) I don't have any electronic at the moment and b) I'm not going to demean myself like that.

Advice to my high school self?
1. Do not cut your hair above your chin. Twice. Trust me.
2. Your jeans do not need to cover your shoes.
3. Don't get your hair cut in M'ville (see #1). And haircuts cost a lot to be good, so pony up the cash.
4. Invest in a cleansing routine BEFORE college and stick with it. And I'm not talking Clean and Clear, hon, I'm talking Clinique. Yes it's expensive...there's a reason.
5. CK One is not the only perfume on the planet. And stop buying your boyfriend Drakkar Noir.
6. You're going to marry the boyfriend at the end of high school, and you know it. So be sweet to him.
7. Buying numerous pairs of Doc Martens will not make you cool like the kids in London. No matter what you think.
8. You can lay out til you can't lay out anymore. You will not be tan...it's your fate. Now get that SPF 30 out.
9. Wet Seal is really not the best store in the mall. Neither is Hot Topic.
10. You wear a size small. Not a large (or worse, XL). This is along the same lines as #2...it's amazing what clothes that fit can actually do for you.

Advice for your high school self? And thanks to Amber for the great idea, I can't take credit. She really has an awesome blog...so check her out!