My favorite foundation?

And my genuine knee-jerk response would be, “NO Foundation at All!”

Yeah, I would prefer the look and feel of 100% natural skin as opposed to makeup any day.  I never routinely wore foundations until my mid-30’s and started noticing some uneveness of my skin.  And although becoming a lot wiser with the passing years, my skin has continued to be blotchy in places around my cheeks, chin, and forehead. Finding a foundation that can provide natural light to medium coverage, without looking cakey, too matte, or shiny, blends perfectly with my skin tone, and most importantly, does not make me break out is a very difficult one! (more…)

Each one of us has our own version of expensive, a sort of conscious or unconscious stopping point we won’t pass when purchasing a particular product. Sometimes I will walk into the cosmetics department with a set budget and mix my product choices from there until I meet my limit. Most often I simply walk in craving something new and play with everything in sight until I discover what I’m in “need” of. And I had a definite list of needs when I walked into the mini Sephora inside JCPenney: EVERYTHING. (more…)

I love this holiday. Not for the food (okay, not JUST for the food), but because it’s one of those days each year that people pause for a moment and really assess the number of things they have in their lives that are wonderful. I have a fantastic family and wonderful friends, and just here in the beauty blogging community I’ve met so many amazing people who I  feel lucky to converse with daily. Often we forget about all these fantastic things in our lives, and I think that any moments we get to remember that are a blessing. Try not to wait a whole year before you sit down to be thankful again, okay? Beauty comes from within and happiness and peace are wonderful beauty tools!

I will be working at the crack of dawn and I usually skip Black Friday shopping anyways, but there are plenty of online deals to be had if you plan on staying home(hooray for the internets!). I am particularly fond of Zoya’s Green Friday event, which is a great deal and sounds like a ton of fun. Since Black Friday is SO last year, Zoya will reward  your $20 purchase from them with 6, count ‘em SIX, of their favorite green polishes for FREE. That’s a $42 value! Just make your purchase from now through 5 pm EST Friday afternoon and enter the code: GREENFRIDAY at checkout. Simple, no? And if you’re looking for something other than polish for stocking stuffers this year, might I reccomend picking up a few of their new Hot Lips Glossy Lip Balms? I grabbed Marachino, Meow, and Luck during the free gloss promo a few weeks ago and I have to say that I pretty much love them. They are a perfectly pigmented gloss with a hint of fruit punchy flavor. They aren’t the least bit sticky and they really leave my lips feeling soft and moisturized. Meow is a little lighter than I personally care for, but it is exactly as advertised and I adore the two others I recieved.  So look at it this way: You can buy 4 glosses, keeping two for yourself of course, and still have goodies to gift to 8 of your girlfriends for next to nothing!

Also out there right now is Lancome’s Friends and Family deal. Through November 30th you can save 20% on purchases from lancome-usa.com with the code: HOLIDAYJOY2 at checkout. Of course there are some exclusions (not valid on eGift certificates, Gift Sets or Beauty Box purchases), but if you wanted to stock up on your cleanser or try something new (like the La Laque Fever lipshine, which I love) this is the time to treat yourself.

So get off the computer and enjoy some time with those you love. Don’t worry, we’ll still be here when you get back!

Tis that time of year when our favorite cosmetic companies start dangling “Friends & Family” promos in front of our makeup-lusting eyes!

And just in, Urban Decay announced their 30% off Friends & Family sale, good now until November 20th. From their 24/7 Eyeliners to their newest Surreal Skin Cream To Powder Foundation, 30% off is too good to pass up!  Just use the code “FNFW1″ at checkout and hit REDEEM COUPON on the Urban Decay site.

Let our latest reviews of Urban Decay be your guide:

Fall Trends a la Jen

Trends for fall, or, Welcome back COLOR!

Shop responsibly and be gorgeous!

Just wanted to pass on a fabulous offer directly from Alison Raffaele!

We are having a 60% off sale on our glosses and shadows at RetailHappyHour.com…feel free to tell your friends and family, too!

Here’s the link:
http://www.retailhappyhour.com/landing-cat.php?cid=36

xox
Alison

I haven’t tried her glosses and shadows before, but if they are any bit as wonderful as her primers, foundations, and concealers, you will not be disappointed.  They put this clever countdown clock at the top of this page too, let me know what the number is when you on are on this site!  Right now it is at:  142 hours, 54 minutes, and 57,56, 55 seconds…

One of my favorite blogging friends Erin (The Cheap Chick) just asked for a list of our favorite beauty must-haves for Fall.  Mo’s post about current fall trends for eyes was awesome, as usual.  Here is my split second attempt at favorite fall beauty items:

For the dark lip look:

DuWop Private Red – a fabulous, deep red lipstick!

The smoky eye:

Smoke Out Eye Pencils from Urban Decay (on sale right now for $9)

Fun way to go smoky, and love, love, love Urban Decay’s eyeliners!

Thick, beautiful brows:

Anastasia’s All About Brows Kit

At a spa last week, the esthetician went wack-o threading my thick brows, and I am so sad! Thank goodness for this amazing brow kit – the tweezers really rock too.

Please feel free to chime in your favorite fall beauty items too!

I am so happy to be moving out of the  pastels and bronzes of spring and summer. The light soft colors are fun as the buds begin to bloom for the first time, but I’m soon anxious for a splash of color and a little more pizzaz. To be fair, some of the big trends for fall have nothing to do with color. Once again we’re seeing the super smoky eye, which is really no surprise considering that there’s only so much you can do without repeating a previous trend. Since this is the “super” smoky eye we’re supposed to feel that it’s something new and different, but it’s really just another chance for all of us to walk around looking like raccoons. Stick with your regular smoky eye look and resist the urge to follow the adage that “more is better”.  And gray shadow is popular, which can be a bit dull, though there are some lovely purple and blue hued grays that are great for day wear. Or try them in the evening with black liner for a super hot cat eye. A pop of color on eyes with a nice pink cheek and lip leave me feeling all giddy, and dark vampy lips have me practically begging the leaves to start falling and the chilly breezes to blow. (more…)

Just in!  Two big time beauty retailers announced storewide savings online.

Urban Decay site is offering a 30% friends and family sale, enter the coupon code, “FNFF1″ August 10-20th!  Mo wrote up about her newest favorite lip primer at this post, “Urban Decay Hits Prime Time.”

My multi-talented friend Melissa sampled a couple of UD’s newest products.  Not only is she an amazing swimmer and athlete, her good humor and vocal talents keep us all laughing at work continually:

Oil Slick Lipstick

I love the hint of shimmer, though I was originally intimidated by the black shade. It makes my lips look like shiny, rich plum shade, rather than harsh and matte. It’s super smooth and long-lasting, so it’s definitely a new favorite of mine! (more…)

Per usual, the arrival of new Urban Decay products means everything else got pushed aside for a while. Hey, I love Urban Decay and I’m not ashamed to admit it! There are a whole slew of new goodies but I’m JUST going to give my thought on all the new primers I tried in this post.

Now, I’m a little outside the norm when it comes to UD’s Primer Potion. I just don’t love it. I know, I’m crazy, but I’m a Too Faced Shadow Insurance gal myself. Nonetheless, I tried not to let my feeling about the eye primer taint my opinion. With an open mind and a heart overflowing with adoration, I set out to test the endurance of UD’s newest babies.

At this point we’re all pretty familiar with eyelash primers. I’ve tried scads of them and most tend to be pretty similar. The problem I’ve had with a majority of them is that they tend to flake. By the end of the day I have bits of mascara scattered about my cheeks, like tiny grains of sand that have dropped to show people just how long I’ve been awake. NOT a good look for me. I’m pleased to say that this wasn’t a problem with the Urban Decay Eyeleash Primer Potion. Today it really got a workout, as I ran from one end of the airport to the other and back while filling in for missing employees. Our cave can get hot and muggy, and there’s no time for touch ups during a busy run, so products that stay in place are a must. Not only did the Eyelash Primer Potion do its job in that aspect, it also helped the bulk of my mascara stay in place when I had a quick cry later in the afternoon. These two exceptional events on top of great performance on average days make this primer something I can recommend with confidence. I didn’t get much extra volume from this primer, but I did get plenty of length without any clumping or spider eyes. At $17 it’s a slightly lower price point than many of the prestige primers out there, but a good deal more expensive than the mass market primer/mascara combos you’ll find at your favorite drugstore. Given my experience with the performance though, I’d rather layer my favorite mascara over this than use a combo I’m not really crazy about, less expensive or not.

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For those who love Lancome lipsticks and would like a chance to name a new shade, read on!

We’re thrilled to announce that we’re bringing back the Pout- à-Porter Lipstick series! The previous four lipsticks in this collection were collaborations with celebrated designers Behnaz Sarafpour, Proenza Schouler, Peter Som and Thakoon. All four of the lipsticks sold out and one Proenza Pink lipstick even sold for $122.50 on eBay. So many of you have been incredibly supportive of this project and it would not have been such a huge success without you. (more…)