AVON SALE and SMASHBOX LIP HEAVEN

Hey all -

Sorry I've been out of the blogging game lately again... sheesh. The truth of the matter is I've been trying to save some extra cash lately, so I haven't been able to buy much stuff. Bummer. The truth ain't pretty, people. :-) But I've decided that shouldn't stand in the way of me pointing out what YOU can still enjoy!! So, without further ado, I wanted to tell you about a fantastic AVON sale that they are having TODAY:


Free shipping and tons of discounted items!! Avon has been around forever, and many women I know SWEAR by it. I have tried several of their products, and have always found them to be of good quality at a good price. Plus, they've been cruelty free for quite a while too, so support one of the OG cruelty free cosmetics companies! Yes, I did just say OG. Wow, did I just make myself sound REALLY dated? Wait, don't answer that....

Also, just wanted to let you know that I recently got to try some of the Smashbox Wicked Lovely collection I blogged about in a previous post, and although it was all great, I am totally obsessed with the 3 lipglosses offered as part of the collection! The nude shades are luscious, there is simply no other word to describe them. Wearing these makes me want to throw all of my other nude glosses away. And the container has a little miniature cat-o-nine-tails on the top! I LOVE IT! So awesome, I just thought it was a tassle and when I realized what it was supposed to be I about died - FANTASTIC!

I want to feel Wicked Lovely

So, those of you who have read previous blogs know that although I am a CHEAPSKATE with a capital C, I have a soft spot in my cheapskate soul for all things Smashbox. Yes, they are a bit pricier than the products I normally indulge in, but they are consistently SO worth it. And their latest collection, entitled "Wicked Lovely", looks fantastic!

What first caught my eye was the lip gloss ($18)
which comes in three excellent shades: coy (sheer nude), sweet (sheer apricot) and sultry (black cherry). These look SO SEXY! And really, isn't that exactly how you want lip gloss to make you feel?

There is also the Cream Liner and Liquid Shimmer combo ($32)
This little wonder contains 3 liners and 1 loose shimmer in a single pot, great for on the go (or just those of us with shelves already brimming with products) The liner colors include metallics in taupe, bronze and charcoal, and the shimmer is what looks like a great semi-neutral called Sparking Pewter.

The blush, called Charm, looks like the PERFECT shade of sweet/sinful pink ($24)

More nude lip fun with the Double Take Lip Color ($22)
This double ended lip pencil and creamy lip color comes in Gossemer, with a peachy pink pencil and a soft pink color and contains caffeine and wheat glycerides to moisturize and protect your pout.

Lastly, the Wicked Lovely take on their classic eye shadow duo comes in two color combos ($24)
One is a shimmery peach paired with a shimmery deep brown, and the other pairs shimmery ivory with shimmery inky charcoal.

I love the packaging/artwork associated with this line too, it totally captures that mix of sweet and seductive that a good nude/pink can accomplish like no other. And the nudes and pinks in this line look like they will do just that. Luxurious without screaming "Look! Color!". Vintage beyond just red. Yes please.

Also, on a related note, I recently was able to get my hands on some of the other Smashbox goodies I had been coveting in a previous blog. I have already tried the Photo Finish Primer with Dermaxyl (I never though they could improve on the original Photo Finish but they have, it made my skin feel and look amazing) and the O-glow cheek color, which is my new favorite blush ever for a natural looking, "I just hiked through the mountains and I feel fabulous" sort of flush. I will report on the rest of the test drives soon :-)

ELF Makeup update

So as some of you might remember, I was very excited to order some of the $1 makeup from the Eyes Lips Face line, especially after I got a discount coupon to save even MORE. Well, I received my ELF shipment yesterday, and so far have been VERY pleased. So pleased that I ordered a few more things this morning :-)

DISCLAIMER: For some reason for the last 2 days I have not been able to successfully upload images to the blog. I have to look into this, as it has lead to various half finished blogs being abandoned out of sheer frustration. Therefore, I hope to get this fixed soon, but in the meantime, you will have to settle for the extra step of going to www.eyeslipsface.com if you want to see pics of the mentioned products. :-( Sucks.

What I have tried so far:
The tinted moisturizer in Tone 1. It seems cool, I am TOTALLY inexperienced in the ways of tinted moisturizer though and feel that I will need to play around with this a bit to see if the coverage works for me.

The all over color stick in Pink Lemonade. This is nice. I like color sticks. This one is VERY shimmery, but I dig that at this time of year, and the pink color is suble but intense.

HIGHLIGHT #1: The nail polish in Nude. I went back and ordered another bottle today. It is a buck, has a great nude color and seems to be holding on well (believe it or not since applying it yesterday afternoon I have already put it through the ringer, I had a cook/clean-up night at the apt last night, which means I'm washing my hands or washing dishes ever few minutes it seems. This sort of night has been enough to chip lesser polishes within hours. This polish ROCKS!!!

HIGHLIGHT #2: The Super Glossy Lip shine SPF 15 in Angel and Pink Kiss. This gloss is EXCELLENT. Heavy but pretty, it won't be gone 5 minutes after you apply, it has sun protection, smells good, and looked REALLY REALLY pretty. I ordered some more of this too.

Still more to try, and I also ordered a few of their lip plumper glosses, 2 body lotions, and a pressed powder to try. SWEET!

ARE YOU THE NEXT BEAUTY GURU?

Hi all,To kick off the Are You the Next Beauty Guru? contest, Smashbox is hosting an in-store event at Sephora Hollywood & Highland (in Los Angeles, CA) where entrants will get the chance to pitch their idea live and get placed in the Top 100 online entries!

ARE YOU THE NEXT BEAUTY GURU?
Got an amazing new idea for a blockbuster beauty product?Live Auditions!
Sephora – Hollywood & Highland
Thursday, May 8th
12 – 4pm

Stop by Sephora at Hollywood & Highland to showcase your idea and superstar personality to our expert panel of judges, Smashbox cofounders, Dean and Davis Factor and celebrity makeup artist, Charlie Green, and you could get the chance to become a Top 100 finalist, have your entry videotaped and personally seen by the final judging panel!The grand prize contest winner will receive:•
The once-in-a-lifetime chance to design the official Smashbox Fashion Week Makeup Palette•
All-expenses-paid trip for 2 to LA Fashion Week for the star-studded debut of your palette•
$5,000 of Smashbox Cosmetics•
Your palette sold exclusively at Sephora nationwide

Stop in to Sephora or create a 2 minute video or blog showcasing your product idea and superstar personality and submit it online at: http://www.smashbox.com/beautyguru

THE WARRENTED SPLURGE

Sometimes, even for a cheapskate, a splurge is a good thing. I was at the hairdresser this weekend (no, that wasn't the splurge) and was, of course, perusing the magazines while getting my highlights applied. As I looked in an In Style magazine from a few months ago, I came across a product feature for Smashbox's "O-Gloss" ($22), and completely wanted it.

As you know, I am always on the search for the perfect pink-flushed lip gloss, and this product intrigued me. O-Gloss Intuitive Lip Gloss promises that "this innovative silky formula goes on clear and then reacts with your personal skin chemistry to instantly transform into your own custom shade of pink". It's like the mood lipstick from my childhood days, but a) I bet it actually works and b) mood lipstick always seemed to tell me that my mood was for lip color remeniscent of flamingo pink, but uglier. But Smashbox, oh Smashbox, I trust that your product will not do this. Not only does it claim to find the perfect pink blush shade to compliment my personal chemistry, it also has good for me stuff in it - "O-GLOSS is packed with our exclusive microcirculating Goji Berry-C Complex™ and ginkgo biloba, pomegranate seed antioxidants, revitalizing marine botanicals and moisturizing avocado oil for lustrous shine". Niiiiice. I will have to try this soon and tell you all the tales of my pink tinted adventures.

While on the Smashbox website, I found MORE products to covet. I think that because I have seen what a huge result the products of theirs that I have tried have delivered, I'm caught in their beautiful web now. Sigh....

1. PHOTO FINISH FOUNDATION PRIMER SPF 15 WITH DERMAXYL COMPLEX

AAAAAAAH! How could Smashbox make my favorite product even better? By adding SPF 15 and their Dermaxyl Complex (an advanced peptide treatment clinically proven to reduce the appearance of wrinkles over time) to their already fab formulation replete with vitamins A & E, grape seed extract and green tea for antioxidant protection. I LOOOOOVE the old Photo Finish to bits, and this one looks even better. It is an extra $8 ($42 for this puppy) but really, in terms of upscale cosmetics, that is still a steal and this product is SO WORTH any price! I must try this soon....

2. FILTER WITH DERMAXYL COMPLEX ($28)

I also completely want to try this product. It promises a one-two punch of camoflauge and correction. First, "this portable pen-like filler has a silicone tip that targets the delicate eye and mouth area instantly filling in laugh lines, flattening crow’s feet and disguising fine lip lines", plus the Dermaxyl to help actually improve your facial lines. Knowing how much I love their primer, I can't wait to test this one out.

3. SHEER FOCUS TINTED MOISTURIZER ($30)

I have always liked the idea of tinted moisturizer, but just haven't really ever tried it. But with the summer months coming on fast, and me feeling pretty dandy about my skin quality at the moment, I might give the ol' tinted moisturizer a try. Smashbox's take promises that their "unique citrus honey moisturization technology nourishes skin as it absorbs excess oil throughout the day and UVA/UVB SPF 15 guards against future damage so skin stays flawless and protected". Sounds sweet.

Lastly....

4. O-GLOW INTUITIVE CHEEK COLOR ($26)

It makes so much sense to me that the personalized color flush capability of their O-Gloss would also be a welcome addition to cheeks. I've been neglecting new blush advances lately, using a stick blush that I have almost worn through, so it is time to find something a bit better, I think. All the good stuff of O-Gloss, but for my cheeks! MUST TRY THIS!!

THE GREAT FACE PRODUCT EXPERIMENT UPDATE

I figured I would update you all on how I was liking the Alba night cream and mineral face powder I bought a few weeks ago...

First, the night cream. A few weeks ago I bought Alba's Sea Plus Renewal Cream as a new night creamand I must say that so far I love it! Now I must admit that before I got this cream I was guilty of not always washing my makeup off my face at night (SHOCK!). This is bad, I know, and most nights I tried to, but sometimes when I got home late my pillow was just too enticing. Since I got this, however, I have been totally steller on the night face care routine tip, so that may have had an overall effect too. Now, back to the cream: I have NOT broken out, and it has already made my skin softer. NICE! It smells good, and is really really thick (sort of a body butter consistancy). It tingles when I put it on, which freaked me out a little bit at first, but I have had nothing but good results. I noticed yesterday in the mirror that the texture of my skin just looks nicer. YAY ALBA! It has only been a few weeks, so we shall see what sort of an end result I get with a little more time, but so far so good.

During that same CVS trip, I also purchased both Revlon and NYC mineral face powders. I am still deciding on these. The Revlon powder was the first to be tried. I have had a bit of a problem getting very much to come out when I shake it, which is annoying, but once I get it on my face, I do have to say it looks really really nice. It gives me a subtle finish ALL DAY (seriously no shine for hours) and actually provides more coverage than I had expected. I think it works best on a good skin day, since it is still more subtle than the ol' foundation/powder combo, but I really dig it for daily wear.

I have only tried the NYC powder once so far, so I still need to do a few more tests with this one. It went on easy and lasted well, but I think the color I got (which was light) might actually be a bit too dark for my face still. Not sure, only had a chance to look at it for a minute or two. But neither has made me break out, which is nice, and both really keep my face matte for many hours (hallelujah!).

Back on the Alba tip (I think I am getting obsessed with Alba products), I was so impressed with the face cream experiment that yesterday I bought their Green Tea Eye Gel

It promises the combined impact of aloe vera (with skin-building amino acid and protein compounds) and green tea (loaded with antioxidants) will soothe, smooth and protect while cucumber and kelp extracts will firm and tone my eye area. It also has chamomile and papaya extract, and Vitamin C. Sounds good to me. I have never used an eye GEL before, only creams, so using it this morning was weird. The consistancy was definitely very reminiscent on using an aloe vera gel, which felt weird. And I squirted out too much, bummer. BUT I have to say that my eye area actually feels really really hydrated and firm right now, several hours into the day. At $16.95 for 1 fl oz ( a LOT of bang for your buck for eye cream) I could get used to this.

Get on the SMASHBOX bandwagon

It's time I posted something about one of my favorite companies ever - SMASHBOX. I had known about Smashbox for some time, but as a certified cheapskate I hadn't gotten around to trying any of their oh-so-talked about products, until a friend of mine who works there changed my mind with the help of a few of their staples. First of all, let me say that everything, yes EVERYTHING, I have tried from Smashbox is excellent, you really can tell it is very high quality. Here are a few of the standouts that I think are worth a few extra bucks for what they deliver:

1. EYE SHADOW TRIO

I tried this little wonder in "Twilight", which includes a shimmering white, silver, and black, all colors that I didn't have too much experience with in terms of shadow. I needn't have worried about that though, the color was intense, so a little bit went a long way, but at the same time surprisingly low key. Perfect for that kicked up night on the town look. The trio comes in a range of color combinations, from bold to subtle, and once you try it you WILL notice the difference (I think the quality is even better than most of the other "higher quality" department store brands I have tried over the years). I admit, I still use other shadow too, because at $28 a pop this is an indulgence, but worth every penny.

2. PHOTO OP UNDER EYE BRIGHTENER

Ever since I can remember, I have what my family lovingly dubs "swedish circles", in an apparent effort to chalk up our dark under eye circles to our partial Scandinavian heritage (my family is odd). Regular old cover up helps, but until I tried this under eye brightener I had no idea how much the right product could completely transform the look of my under eye area. WOW! I'm going through my tube of this like there is no tomorrow. I am completely sold on this product, and at $18 a tube, its still a bit pricey but lasts for a while.

3. PHOTO FINISH FOUNDATION PRIMER

Holy flawlessness, batman! This is my favorite product hands down right now. I wasn't all over the primer idea, even though I had heard a lot about them, until I tried this product for myself. Not only does it add a whole other level of flawless finish to my makeup when worn in combination with it, if I don't feel like wearing a full face of makeup but don't want that "no makeup" skin either, I just apply this over my moisturizer and I'm so good to go. It goes on matte, lasts all day, and doesn't clog my pores. It is a bit pricey at $36, but seriously, if you get only one item from Smashbox, get this. You WON'T regret it.

Now, these are the products that really stuck out to me and justified the extra money, but you may be looking for something else. Whatever you are looking for, if you are in the mood to splurge while supporting a cruelty free and totally glamorous company, check out Smashbox first. They are totally TOP NOTCH.

I love NYC

Although I do enjoy the city, I'm actually referring to the cosmetics line. They are upfront about their products being cruelty free, both on the packaging and on their website :-) , they are SUPER affordable (like wet n wild affordable) and their products work much better than those in a similar price range. I love their translucent face pressed powder (the puff sucks, but they always do), I just bought another one the other day and it is exactly what translucent powder should be, for such a great price - ready? - $1.99!! Yup.

And now I see that they have something I have been wanting to try for a while now: Mineral makeup. Mineral foundation/powders for the face are supposedly the be all end all for an easy, natural, flawless finish, not to mention that many purport the actual skin benefits of using this type of makeup. So, I have been curious, but lots of these products are in the $20-50 range, wich is too much for this girl. But I have ignored the talk about mineral makeup for long enough. I have seen this, and am out of excuses

And the cost? $6.99... sigh... could I possibly be in love with a makeup company? I think maybe.

These are a few of my favorite things....

Ok, so I will confess. Here is my plan. Now that I have this blog, I can't wait to spend hours online and in stores seeking out the best new (and old) beauty and fashion finds for you! You will be immensely impressed, and many people will realize what a wide array of product options they have open to them in this day and age, and will check my blog regularily with a hungry look in their eye, pining for the latest news. Ok, so I'm thinking big. :-)


In the meantime, however, having made an effort to buy only cruelty free whenever possible for a while now, I have managed to find some gems that are already a staple in my home. I will now share them with you...

(At the top of my list for so long was Tresemme hair care products, because they were supposedly cruelty free, were TOTALLY cheap, and work great, but I recently found out that Alberto-Culver apparently DOES test on animals. So no Tresemme, St. Ives, or Alberto VO5 folks. Bummer)

But on to the fun stuff :-)

1. PROACTIV SOLUTIONFor years and years, I had bouts with breakouts. Nothing insane, but once I got into my 20's I felt I had paid my breakout dues. So I tried a ton of things, but nothing was great. Then a girlfriend of mine recommended proactiv to me, and she was so enthusiastic about it I broke through my fear of informercial-releated products and ordered some. And... it is GREAT! My skin is no longer an issue ever. It is in the best condition it has ever been in. AND, proactiv states on their website that they do not test on animals, so I'm good to go. :-) The price is so worth it with this product, and when you think about it, it actually breaks down to like 20 bucks a month, which is not bad at all.

2. REVLON COLOR STAY FOUNDATION

For many sad years I didn't know that Revlon was a cruelty free company. Then, one fine day, I was informed of this, checked on it, and the heavens parted :-) I love Revlon. They have quality products for decent prices all around. This foundation is a great mainstay. It doesn't go on too heavy, doesn't clog my pores, and keeps my face fresh all day long. I also love their Color Stay pressed powder too.

3. REVLON COLOR STAY NAIL ENAMEL

Ahhhh... the perfect nail solution. I don't have a dishwasher, and I'm a little bit of a germaphobe, so my hands are in soapy water far more often than I would prefer. Most other nail colors, regardless of the amount of coats, are chipping within a few days. This 2-pack from Revlon is available in a bunch of great colors, and when used with the sealer shine stays PUT for me for at least 2 weeks. Seriously. This was a miracle find for me.


4. ALMAY MOISTURIZING EYE MAKEUP REMOVER LIQUID

I've playing the field with my makeup remover for a long time. I like to wear eyeliner and waterproof mascara every day, and shadow on many a day, and having spent a nice chunk of change getting laser eye surgery a few years back I have been on a quest to find the perfect remover that will take off everything easily enough to not have to stretch the delicate skin around my eyes with too much rubbing, but that is gentle enough to not irritate my eyes. I picked this up at the drug store about a month ago, and, just like that, my search has ended. Voila! Seriously, if you wear eye makeup at all, GET THIS PRODUCT. Your eyes will thank you. And Almay (which is owned by Revlon) has been cruelty free for a long time.

5. NIVEA VISAGE Q10 ADVANCED WRINKLE REDUCER EYE CREME

This is such a great basic eye cream. It's totally reasonably priced (as opposed to what most eye creams cost!!) moisturizes like crazy, and has sunscreen in it. This is the only day eye cream I ever use anymore. I'm actually still looking for a good night eye cream, so if anyone has a good suggestion, shout it out! Really, everything Nivea makes moisturizer-wise is fantastic. There is a reason why they have been moisturizer staples for so long - they work extremely well! And Biersdorf, their parent company, is, of course, cruelty free.

6. BURT'S BEES LIP SHIMMER in "RHUBARB"

Burts Bees, an eco and animal friendly company, has these great lip shimmers I discovered last year. I have actually been about 50/50 on the colors I've purchased so far (do NOT get the frosty ones), but the shade called "Rhubarb" is THE perfect pink flush that looks natural, but not too pink. AND they tingle on your lips with a healing feeling that is great! I go through this stuff like candy.

That is just a few staples to start with, but each one is well worth your time and effort, take it from me.