Makeup Fashion Style

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Donate To The ASPCA

I'm not sure how many of you have seen the commercials for the ASPCA featuring Sarah McLachlan and her song, Angel. I swear, everytime it pops up I have to change the channel because it makes me cry (the same goes for my Sweetie). Anti-animal abuse charities are extremely close to my heart. I adore my dogs and couldn't imagine anyone being so hateful that they would abuse dogs or any animal. Today, I finally made myself sit through the whole commercial so that I could get the web address and make my monthly donation. I came across a widget on their site that would allow me to place it on this blog so that people can make donations through it. If you can afford anything, I would love for you to donate it to this organization. It's tax deductable too so that's an added bonus!

If you can't afford to make a donation to this site but want to help out with abused and neglected animals, I highly recommend going to your local no-kill animal shelter and either volunteer or donate some items. My local shelter has a list of things they need donated on a regular basis such as towels and sheets. Everyone at some point and time has some old towels and sheets that they just end up tossing out. Give them to your local shelter instead. As far as volunteering, most shelters need volunteers to take the dogs out of the cages for walks. What is more fun than taking a dog that spends most of his life in a cage for a much deserved walk! Another thing that you can do that won't cost you anything is to always request free samples of dog and cat foods when you come across them on a freebie site online. We have dogs, but not any cats so while I usually keep the dog food samples I always request the cat food samples and give them to the shelter. It may not seem like a lot, but if everyone else does it, it does add up.

So this is my public service announcement for the day! If you're lucky enough to have a pet give them a hug and let them know how much you love them!

Donate to the ASPCA Today!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Free Sample Of Maybelline Mineral Power

Maybelline is the latest cosmetics company to flood the market with "mineral" make-up. Click here for a FREE SAMPLE of Maybelline Mineral Power make-up. Samples are available while supplies last.

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Elle MacPherson Comes To Revlon

Watch out Halle Berry and Jessica Alba...Elle MacPherson is the new face of Revlon. Technically, she's their new spokeswoman meaning not only will she be gracing their advertisements, but she'll also be involved in their charitable and philanthropic activities. I for one am a big Elle fan. She is absolutely gorgeous and she was great on Friends. However, I am not so enthusiastic about Revlon. I know this will make me come off as a beauty snob, but Revlon is one of the worst drugstore brands out there. Just about every product of theirs that I have tried has been a complete turn off. Nothing stays on all day. So while I'm sure Elle will produce some fabulous ads, they won't be enough to lure me into buying any Revlon products.

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Rakku Shoe Wheel

Bored out of my mind in class yesterday I did a lot of web browsing. Lately, my shoe addiction has been out of control! This past weekend, I was at Nine West Outlet and they had an additional 50% off their clearance section. I picked up 4 pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of boots for only $65! If my sweetie was sitting there, bored out of his mind, waiting for me outside of the store I probably would have done a lot more damage. I should also mention that I bought 3 pairs of shoes from other stores that day. I know, it's a disease and I need help!

Anyhoo, back to the topic of this post. As a result of my ever growing shoe collection, I am quickly running out of space. It's bad enough that our new bedroom has not only a huge walk-in closet but also a half closet and neither of those closets hold any of my Sweetie's things. I am constantly looking for better ways to house my shoes. I keep alot of them in their original boxes and just stack them up along the walls of the closet. The shoes that I wear most frequently obviously stay out of the boxes and litter the ground. I also have a three shelf shoe rack that was supposed to hold nine pairs of shoes, but through some enginuity and shoving now holds 30 pairs (mostly flats and loafers that have been kiss-stacked...Seriously though, who would need a shoe rack that only holds nine pairs of shoes???). Although I keep looking for new storage ideas, I have yet to find one that is practical. That is not to say that I haven't found tons that have been pretty creative.

Yesterday I came across the Rakku Shoe Wheel. To me, it looks like one of those heavy industrial floor fans that you would find in a factory, but instead of a fan blade you put your shoes in there. With expandable pockets, it holds up to 30 pairs of shoes. It measures about 30" around, so it's not the most compact thing, but I will say it's one of the better shoe holders I've come across.

At $65 dollars, it's not cheap either. Let's face it, I've got close to 200 pairs of shoes. I would need at least 7 of the Shoe Wheels bringing my total to a whopping $455. On top of it, where would I fit 7 of these Wheels? I love the picture of the closet on their website. Seriously, who's closet looks like that? I would think that most women would need at least 2 Shoe Wheels to house their collections. That would not fit into the closet pictured. And by the way, where is this person's purse collection? Far from a realistic closet.

I love the design and think that the Rakku Shoe Wheel looks really cool, but like so many other shoe holders, it's not practical for me. What about you guys? How do you house your shoe collection?

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Pink Satin Collection By Bobbi Brown

So let me just tell you how sad I am. This weekend, I received an email from BobbiBrown.com announcing their new Pink Satin Collection. Was I see the picture correctly? Is that a METALLIC PALETTE??? Yes it is!!! I quickly clicked the link, eager to purchase it. Lo and behold, it's only available if you plop down $140 and but the whole collection. The whole Pink Satin Collection includes the "Metallic Palette featuring three of Bobbi's latest velvety, shimmering shadows (only available in this set). Lip Gloss Palette with three shimmer and high-shine shades (only available in this set). Mini Brush and Palette Case crafted in black nylon that holds the entire set and includes three mini brushes: Blush, Eye Shadow, and Lip Brush."

The eyeshadow shades are Navajo, Hot Stone, and Pink Ice. All of them are gorgeous. The lip glosses include Spring, Posey, and Pastel. All of these shades screem Spring. I want them soooooo bad. My problem is that I refuse to spend $140 on this collection. Looking back to last Fall, the metallic palettes available then were priced at $45. So, if both of the palettes available in the new Pink Satin Collection were priced the same, that would obviously be $90 for the two. I absolutely refuse to spend another $50 on three mini brushes and a small case, especially when Lord knows I have more than enough brushes to last me a lifetime. I am going to have to make myself stay away from every Bobbi Brown counter so that I won't try these lovelies and fall even more in love with them. My only hope is that others will be just as upset as I am and will put their foot down and thus leave a stockpile of unsold products that will eventually be sold at a great discount at the Cosmetic Company Store at the outlet mall!

Bobbi Brown, I'm so disappointed! You're brand has finally started to come around again; you established quite a following with last seasons Metallic Palettes and now you're just teasing us. Please, please, please, release more Metallic Palettes and make them available by themselves!

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Gladiator Sandals

How do you all feel about the so-called "Gladiator Sandals"? They are popping up everywhere. I swear...they seem to be on the main pages of a majority of shopping websites, all over fashion magazines, in the front windows of the shoe stores on State Street, and not to mention on many television commercials. I for one, can't stand them! Truth be told, I'm extremely picky about sandals. I am completely grossed out by feet and as such tend to be selective in the types of sandals I like.

When I see someone wearing gladiator sandals I immediately think of religion class. Yes, all those years of Catholic School have left me with images of people in the Bible walking around with gladiator sandals. The problem is, we're not in BC Jerusalem! Nor are we on the set of a movie waiting to watch a lion eat someone as some form of punishment. What's next? Will people be wearing togas to accompany their gladiator sandals?!?!?!

So that's just my opinion. I have a feeling I'm in the minority here. What do you all think?

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The past week and a half has been brutal. I had a paper due, a mid-term, and a major test (read national test that must be taken by all students in my field prior to graduation and another MAJOR EXAM!!!) all within 4 days of each other. Needless to say that I did little more than study, study some more, and then study some more. The good news is that Spring Break is right around the corner! You know you're getting old when you're looking forward to Spring Break so that you can clean your house, go shopping for a new grill, and be home for multiple fence installers to come and give you quotes! Anyhoo, I just wanted to explain my lack of posting over the past week or so.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Great Offers At Prescriptives.com

Prescriptives (ELC)

I just received an email full of great offers from Prescriptives.com that I thought I would pass on. Use the following coupon / promo codes to get great freebies and free shipping. All of the codes are good through June 30th or while supplies last. Happy Shopping!

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Free Sample Garnier Nutritioniste Ulta Lift Deep Wrinkle Treament


I don't know if I've been living under a rock or a big pile of textbooks, but apparently Garnier is expanding from the world of hair care into the world of skin care. They have a new line of skin care featuring everything from cleaners to treatments. Click here for a FREE SAMPLE of Deep Wrinkle Treatment.

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Bobbi Brown Nude Eye & Lip Palette

I waited awhile before posting this review. When I first saw Bobbi Brown's Nude Eye & Lip Palette it was love at first sight. But a quick Google on the subject found a mix of reviews. Many beauty bloggers posted that they were "unimpressed" by the new palette. One noted that Bobbi Brown's "number might be up." Many thought that the four shades of eye shadows were too close in hues and therefore didn't give them much of an ability to create new looks. On the other hand, there were bloggers who thought this was one of Bobbi's "best palettes yet" and went on and on about the shades in both the shadows and the glosses. Because of the various rift in the beauty world, I thought it was best to wait until I had my hands on this controversial palette to give a proper review.

I was so excited when the UPS man rang the doorbell and left the Bobbi Brown box on my doorstep. I quickly ripped the the box open, pushed everything aside, and pulled out the new palette. When I opened the palette, I quickly saw what had turned off so many bloggers. The glosses definately cannot be judged by looks alone. In particular, 2 of the 4 glosses appear to be rather dark with bright reddish tones. However, when you apply the glosses they quickly transform into beautiful nudish shades. And let me just tell you, they are true nudish shades. What a lot of people sometimes forget is that nudes are supposed to be somewhat pink. They are supposed to be comparable to the natural colors of our lips. And these glosses do! I absolutely LOVE them! I've actually received compliments from about 10 different women asking me where I found such a beautiful true to nature shade.

Turning to the eyeshadows, a common complaint I found was the fact that the hues were too light on some people's skintones. One of the great things about any cosmetic item from Bobbi Brown is that it is made to be layered. She creates such great sheer products to allow us to build them up to the achieve the shades that we want. When you use a nude shade, obviously it's going to be fairly light. If you want it a little darker, simply sweep it on again. The layering power with this particular palette is awesome. All 4 of these shades can even be used as a base shade and then layered with other shadows if you're looking to create a look other than the natural look. And, being as this is a Bobbi Brown product, the texture of these shadows can't be beat. They are so soft and almost feel cream like. The shimmer sheers, as usual, create the perfect hint of shimmer. The matte shadows also are to die for.

So, to sum it up, I personally love this product! Although I wouldn't rank it above the Burnt Sugar Palette, I would say this is a close second in the recent Bobbi Brown Palettes. If you're not sure about this one, please, don't judge a book by it's cover. Go to the Bobbi Brown counter and check it out. Try it on and see what you think. Trust me, you won't believe how much better the glosses are on as opposed to in the palette. Anyone else have this, feel free to post comments telling us what you think...even if you don't like it. As usual, this palette is a limited edition. You know what that means.

I also bought 2 of the Glitter Lip Glosses. I'll add a review of those soon!

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Bare Escentuals Now At Target

I ran to Target this weekend to pick up a birthday card. Imagine my suprise as I ran through the store when out of the corner of my eye I noticed Bare Escentuals Beyond Basics kits on the end cap of one of the beauty aisles. I don't know if this is a sign of things to come. As of right now, that is the only product Target has from Bare Escentuals. It will be interesting to see if this leads to more BE kits and eventually individual products or not.

I'm on the fence with this new marketing approach. While I am a huge fan of BE, I do not expect to find it in Target stores. It's not a drugstore brand and as such does not have a drugstore brand price tag. I would think that some Target make-up shoppers would be turned off by the higer prices of BE. After all, if they wanted to spend more money on make-up, they would be shopping at places like Sephora or Ulta. On the other hand, I'm sure that smaller towns and rural areas don't have the luxury of having Sephoras or Ultas. I guess time will tell whether or not this new campaign works. What do you guys think?

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