…joy, joy!

Congratulations go out to Jill from Washington, Cheryl from Indiana, and Michelle from New York for winning my latest giveaway!!

Jill, Cheryl, and Michelle all won a copy of the book, Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?, written by the scientists over at the beautybrains.com.

Ladies, I hope you enjoy the book and thank you to everyone who entered to win!

xo

A month ago, I thought I didn’t care…but, these last few weeks I have gotten sucked into the William and Kate wedding hype and I cannot stop watching all those Wills & Kate wedding shows.  Yes, yes, my DVR is officially scheduled to record the huge event on Friday morning at 2:00 am Pacific Standard Time.  I’ve already reassured my husband that he is not required to attend the viewing.

So, me, and millions of other obsessed people like me, are now pining over what she might wear, what hair style she’ll don, and will her makeup look natural or glam…I. Can. Hardly. Waaaaaaaaaaaait!

With all my new education on Kate (thank you TLC) I’m pretty sure she’ll go for a modern wedding dress design, absent of a 25′ train, simple and classic makeup like she always wears…but, where I’m stuck is her hair.  I really have no clue how she’ll wear her hair…up, down, half up?

So whether you really, really care or if you’re pretending not to care, please vote below to pick how you think Kate Middleton, future Queen of England, should wear her hair on her big day!
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*BTW, it was nearly impossible finding an updo pic of Kate, so turn that pony into a bun or something when you’re imagining her walking down the aisle!

Are organic products better?  Why did my shampoo stop working?  Are my cosmetics poisoning me? Can I get hooked on lip balm?

These types of questions are why I love the world of beauty and also why I love reading the blog, The Beauty Brains.

Based on the blog, TheBeautyBrains.com, Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm?  is an informative book, that cuts through the confusing, misleading, and sometimes false information that beauty companies bombard consumers with and provides scientific answers to hundreds of questions about cosmetics.  Top cosmetic scientists answer your questions about the lotions, potions and other beauty products you use every day.

I had the chance to preview a copy of the book and I spent an entire Sunday reading it and getting both silly and serious questions answered.  Some of my favorite questions from the book were, ‘The shampoo secret beauty companies don’t want you to know’ and ‘can saliva cure acne?’ (guess what, it can!).  This book is chock-full of informative facts and was fun to read at the same time; it’s a must-have for any beauty junkie’s library…

…what’s that?  You’re a beauty junkie?  Well lucky you, because the kind people over at Harlequin books are hosting a giveaway with CTN, and three lucky readers will win a copy for themselves (open to U.S. and Canada residents only)!  Make sure to enter to win by midnight on Saturday, April 23rd because I know you’re dying to find out the top five reasons for darkened armpits.

  

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In these cold weather months, give your manicured tootsies just what they need…a pair of ultra luxe Whooga ugg boots!

Whooga uggs aren’t your typical sheepskin boots; they actually warm your toes faster and keep them toasty thanks to lusciously thick thermofleece.  Just close your eyes and imagine your feet enclosed in extra soft shearling goodness!

What’s even better is Whooga uggs is giving away a pair of their legendary boots to people who sign up for their newsletter!  Just follow the link, sign-up, and cross your fingers.  For those of you who like a sure thing, Whooga is offering a special discount to CTN readers!  Just enter the code:  1403CUPCAKE (valid through March 14).

The Miss Dior Cherie fragrance holds a special place in my heart, because I bought it to wear at my wedding as my fragrance.  Now, every time I wear it I think of my wedding day and it makes me smile.

What also makes me smile is Natalie Portman.  I have been a huge fan of her films as well as her beauty.  I’m also a huge fan of Sofia Coppola and her amazingly beautiful films.  So, when I heard that Natalie Portman was the new spokeswoman for Miss Dior Cherie and she was going to be in a commerical that was directed by Sofia Coppola, I was more than a little excited.

I’m sure some of you have already seen the commercial, but for those of you who haven’t…appréciez!

(First off, yes, I know…it’s been awhile…don’t make things worse by making me feel guilty.)

As much as I love cosmetics, I have to say I’m pretty smitten with skincare.  I love researching new products, trying them out, discovering what works, and what I probably shouldn’t have wasted my money on.  Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a natural kick.  By no means do I buy all my skincare needs at Whole Foods, but I do try to use natural and less harsh ingredients when I can. 

One natural product that has been on my radar lately, is Argan Oil.  It first caught my attention after psudo-model, Josie Maran started her own natural cosmetic company, and used Argan oil as an ingredient in many of her  products.  The JM line even sells bottles of the stuff in pure form, which ranges from $14 for a 15 ml bottle all the way up to $96 for a 4 oz bottle.  But, it didn’t truly catch my attention until a few weeks ago when I went on a business trip with my husband to Long Beach.  Here we were, cozied up in our separate beds (wonderful room, very small double beds) watching Josie Maran on HSN selling her Argan oil and Argan Color Sticks to America.  While I feel I was more consumed watching Josie and her models  frequently rub the oil  all over their  lips, cheeks, elbows, hands, etc with the grace and movement of a Price Is Right model, my interest did peak about the product.  So, when I got home I started my investigation.

I started at her website, then quickly sashayed over to Sephora to find out what the people thought (Sephora has great reviews).  JM’s Aragan oil got almost all 5 stars with most people loving it.  I know a bunch of you might be reading this and thinking, “okay, okay, what the heck is so great about argan oil?”…well, you’re right, let me fill you in.  Argan oil is extracted from Argan trees which grow in Morocco and it’s basically supposed to be a beauty miracle worker, curing/helping/preventing such things as acne, wrinkles, stretch-marks, split ends, eczema, psoriasis, scars, etc.  People use it on their face, on dry skin, they put it on their hair for softness, and mix it into lotions, conditioners…I mean, the list really does go on.

Even with all the raving reviews, I was still very leery about the price tag, because a 1.7 oz bottle was going to set me back $48. ouch.  So, me being a bargainista, I started doing some research and it didn’t take me very long to find an equally wonderful product, with the same raving reviews, but for A LOT cheaper.  Josie Maran Argan Oil, meet Watts Moroccan Oil.  JM’s oil is: 100% argan oil, organic, cold-pressed, free of parabens, vegan, fair-trade, and is made by a women’s co-op in Morocco, which helps to build jobs for women.  Sounds, wonderful, right…the high price tag might be making more sense, but wait.  Watts oil is:  100% argan oil, organic, cold-pressed, free of parabens, vegan, fair-trade, and is made by a women’s co-op in Morocco, which helps to build jobs for women.  And, what’s more, the jumbo 4 oz bottle is only $36.45 compared to JM’s 4 oz bottle at $96.  Fancy model, higher price tag.  Not so fancy bottle, lower price tag.  I’ll take the not-so-fancy bottle, please.

I ended up paying $18 total for my 1 oz bottle of Watts Moroccan oil, tax/shipping included in that price.  I’ve been using the product for a week now and so far I really like the product.  At night, I’ve been putting about 3-4 drops on my face and letting it sink in for a few hours before I apply my night-time retinol (Roc) at bedtime.  For the first time this weekend, I’ve applied it to my morning moisturizer and it gives my skin a nice glow (my husband even said my skin looked glowing without having to probe him first).  I’ve even applied it to my ends hoping my split ends might magically disappear.

Now, I can’t say that I will never have acne again, or that I will now forever look like a 28 year old.  But, I can say that my skin is very soft, I like the natural ingredients, and I do hope to see some long-term results.  I’m also pretty thrilled that I didn’t let Ms. Maran pull a fast one over me…and you shouldn’t either.

I know I have been super lame lately with zero posts for the month of October (thank my new job!).  I know, boo.

Can I buy your love again…or at least offer up a fabulous coupon code?  Hope so.

Visit Sephora before November 3 and get 20% off your entire purchase, just enter in the code:  FF2010 at check out!

Promise to post soon!!

xo

A few weeks back, I wrote about an amazing sale that was going down at Lorac…the VIP Discount to be exact.  Well, I’ve gotten the products in and have had many opportunities to try them out so now I’m going to share my opinions on what worked, and what thankfully didn’t cost me full price.

To drive my point home, I’m rating the products best to worst.

Lorac Lip Polish:  This stuff is A-MAZING.  The two colors that I got, Groovy Fruit and Sizzle, are beautiful and so wearable.  Groovy Fruit (strawberry guava sparkle) is great for everyday and Sizzle (berry with gold shimmer) is perfect for a night out.  The consistency is a little thicker than most glosses I’ve worn, but definitely not a lipstick.  The color has great staying power, doesn’t stray from lips, and is void of anything sticky feeling.  The bottles themselves look like mini nail polish bottles…and pretty much are, minus the nail polish.  The brush applicator makes applying the lip polish easy and helps to keep the polish on your lips.  Another bonus is that the lip polish smells amazing and yummy.  Talking about bonuses, the lip polish is on sale from $17.50 to $3.00…stock up on this one for sure (and amazingly enough, all the colors are in stock!).

Lorac Lotsa Lip Lipstick:  I was really excited about this lipstick for two reasons.  One, I was excited to try out the color I purchased, Spankin (sheer pink), because it was a step away from what I usually wear.  Two, I haven’t really played with lip plumpers and this lipstick just happens to have MAXI-LIP, a natural tripeptide that is supposed to visibly enhance lips by stimulating lip collagen.  When I tried on the color, it was very sheer, so I didn’t get that pretty nude lip I was hoping for.  In terms of plumper lips…I had actually forgotten the lipstick was supposed to plump up my lips until just now when I looked over the product description.  Maybe a different color would have sweetened the deal, but at $4.00 from $18.50, I’m not too shook up about it.

Lorac Oil-Free Foundation:  I had high hopes for this one, I really did.  I had fallen for Lorac Breakthrough Performance foundation, but with a price tag close to $40 (ouch) I just couldn’t justify not trying out the discounted foundation.  Sadly, it wasn’t a love…or really a like…it was more like a meh.  The foundation color was fine, no orangey after glow, but the coverage was so sheer and I had the dreaded sinking into pores action that I am just not okay with.  Original price $30, sale price $7.50 (still cheaper than many drugstore brands).

Lorac Under Cover Lover Undereye Concealer:  Out of all the products that I bought, I wanted to love this one the most, but as you can see this has made it to the bottom of my list.  I’m usually pretty simple when it comes to concealers…one product better do a bunch of things, but I really wanted to try out this undereye concealer because it promised to de-puff, brighten, and basically solve all my undereye problems.  Yeah, all lies.  First let me start with how teeny, tiny the tube was…I would never, never ever pay full price for something so tiny…let alone $11!  But, I let this slide at first, thinking how amazing the product was going to be.  Wrong, wrong.  This stuff was less like concealer and more like spackle.  It was impossible to blend, dried too fast, and the color was like 15 shades too light and I have fair skin!  Once on it looked dried and cracked and settled into every fine line…and lines that I didn’t even know existed.  At first I thought I might have put too much product on, but I found out that it was impossible to control the amount of product that came out of the pump.  No matter what I tried I always got way too much concealer, so I was left washing almost half off it off my hands…such as waste.  Original price:  $22, discounted price:  $11.

So even though there were some misses, there were also some hits…and at a total price under $30, I really couldn’t go wrong.  There are also tons of other products that I didn’t purchase that were on sale, so make sure to stop by Lorac to do some perusing…and most likely, some shopping!

Being a beauty junkie isn’t always easy on the wallet, but one of the perks of my blog is that I get sent some amazing products, and in turn, I get to host some amazing giveaways! 

When I was approached by Rosie Jane, celebrity makeup artist and creator of Leila Lou Fragrances and Rosie Jane Cosmetics, I was thrilled to try out her products.  Little did I know, I would fall head over heels for them and I have been using them on a day-to-day basis for almost two months now. 

In July, I held the Leila Lou Fragrance contest and now I am excited to announce the newest contest which features amazing products from Rosie Jane Cosmetics! 

Here’s the scoop:

Cheek Gloss in Poppy:  I am a sucker for cream blush, and this one happens to be so amazing that I wear it almost every day.  The blush is super blendable and an ease to apply (I smile big, tap onto the apples of my cheeks and start blending out towards my temples).  The color goes on sheer, leaving you with a nice healthy flush and glowing skin (colors also comes in Marigold and Rose).  I also like that the cheek gloss does double duty as an amazing lip color; not quite as heavy as a lipstick, but much more color than a tinted lip balm.  And hello, how cute is that hot pink bow on the packaging?!

Eye Defines in Beech Tree:  Out of all the Rosie Jane products I got to try, I think I actually did a little twirl in my bathroom when I saw this eye pencil.  You might be wondering how an eye pencil could make me so giddy…well, hopefully you will be lucky enough to see for yourself!  Let’s start with mechanics.  The pencil twists up, which means you don’t have to worry about sharpening.  The pencil is also slanted, like an eye liner brush, how genius is that?  Going from a pointy pencil to a slanted one makes application so much easier and more natural to apply.  Now let’s talk color.  I was so happy to see the rich bronzy, coppery, brown color in the tube.  The color goes on rich, smooth, and is super blendable.  I’m personally obsessed with all four colors (additional colors include: Fern, Grape, and Night) and would love to have them all in my arsenal.

Lip Dew in Apple Blossom:  Until recently, I’ve been on a bit of a gloss vacation, but lately I have been warming up to gloss again and this particular one has found a home in my purse pocket.  First things first, I was obsessed with this hot pink color as soon as I saw it.  Bright and punchy in the tube, sheer and pretty on my lips (also comes in Elderberry and Tara).  I also don’t have any problems with that sticky, white goopy gloss aftermath.  This gloss goes on with a gorgeous sheen and fades beautifully…all while keeping my lips moisturized (thanks to Shea Butter and Bees wax).

If you don’t want to take my word, then you might take the word of some of Rosie Jane’s celebrity followers.  Oh you know, people like:  Cameron Diaz, Katherine Heigl, Rachel Bilson, Courtney Cox, and Eva Longoria…just to name a few.

So here’s where it gets fun.  Starting today, you can enter to win all the lovely cosmetics that I have mentioned above:  Cheek Gloss, Eye Defines, and Lip Dew (total retail value: $57)!  The contest will run until Midnight on Tuesday, September 28th and is open to U.S. residents only.  Good luck!

You can also check out Rosie Jane and Leila Lou on Facebook and Twitter!

The winner of the Conair Infiniti Pro giveaway is…

Felicity, from Connellys Springs, North Carolina!!

I hope you enjoy your new hair dryer! 

Thank you to everyone who entered to win this giveaway…and if you didn’t win this time, don’t fret!  I have a new giveaway coming soon!!

xo