Black Friday 2009: Beauty and Fashion Deals

I love shopping on Black Friday. I used to think Black Friday shoppers were crazy, but then I turned into one of them. There is something so thrilling and exciting about waking up at the crack of dawn to go shopping and wiggling your way through the mazes of shopping carts and mad shoppers. Yes, sounds painful, right? Trust me, try it once and you will realize how fun it is. I even got my mom into it! Most malls will even have free coffee stations set up to keep shoppers up and alert. So what do you say, will you join me this year in the madness that is Black Friday?

If that is not your cup of tea, here are some deals to fulfill that shopping bug on Black Friday and through the weekend. I will update as I find out about new deals:

• Korres: With any purchase over $50, get a FREE cherry lip gloss trio ($48 value) AND FREE shipping. Ente code FREEGIFT at checkout. Valid Nov 25-Nov 30. Also, if you visit Korresusa.com on Sunday Nov 29, you will be able to take an early advantage of the Cyper Monday specials
• Origins: Get a set of 6 bestsellers: Checks and Balances (150ml and travel size 50ml), Ginger Souffle (200ml and travel size 50ml), and Modern Friction (125ml and travel size 50ml) for only $55! This set is valued at $111.50, so you are getting it at half price. Valid Nov 17-supplies run out. They also have free shipping on any order through Dec 18 3pm EST.
• Lancome: 20% off your entire order plus free shipping. Enter code HOLIDAYJOY2 at checkout. Valid Nov 24 to Nov 30.
• Too Faced Cosmetics: FREE Beauty Addict Palette ($29.50 value) with purchases of $75 or more, while supplies last. Also, get free shipping with purchases of $50 or more. While supplies last.
• Bliss: 30% off create your own gift sets with code GIFT30. Also, get 30% off a gift or 2 or more items with code GIFT30. Both offers valid now till Dec 1
• Philosophy: Free Shipping, no minimum, plus up to 40% off select Philosophy favorites. Also get 40% off on select philosophy favorites. Enter code holidays at checkout.

Now for some non-beauty related deals:

• Express: 20% off your entire purchase online. Enter code 4389 at checkout. Valid PRE-Black Friday only, Nov 25-26
• H&M: 25% off item of your choice from opening - 10AM on Black Friday, Nov 27th only. All day long enjoy Fashion Finds from $5.
• GAP: 50% all women's and men's sweaters, and 50% off kid's and baby fleece styles. Valid through Nov 29
• The Limited: 40% off everything in-store and online, plus a FREE Pleated Ruffle Scard with $75 pre-tax purchase. Valid Black Friday Nov 27 only. Also, get free shipping on everything Nov 26-Nov 30.

If you know of any more great discounts, please share them in the comments. Some of the offers above last through Cyber Monday on Nov 30, but there might be more that will sprout through the weekend, so if I find out about new deals, I will do my best to post them for you. Happy Shopping!

Korres Ginger and Vitamins Foundation Review

I recently made my first venture into trying out Korres products, and let me tell ya, I am a very happy camper!! I had been on the Korres site many times, and always wondered what to try out. I read many a review before I decided on a couple products. The first that I will review for you is my favorite of what I got: the Ginger and Vitamins Foundation SPF 15:


This is a light-medium coverage foundation, and if you use a wet brush or sponge to apply it, you can sheer it out for a light finish. The product is so weightless on the skin, that it feels like tinted moisturizer. This foundation provides a very natural look, it does not look caked on, or give the appearance that you are wearing foundation, and that is what I love most about it. It is not oily or greasy feeling, but at the same time it is not matte, it gives a very natural, dewy finish. Of course, topped with a powder, you can achieve a very matte look. I bought the shade LF4 and I am usually an NC30 in MAC, and the LF4 matches me perfectly. Here is a swatch:

On the left side is a tiny droplet squeezed directly from the tube, the middle is a droplet blended out slightly, so you can see how lightweight and liquidy it is, and the right swatch is blended out. Keep in mind that is my hand, which is why the foundation does not blend naturally and the color does not match.

This has become my new daily use foundation and I love it! Rarely do I feel that a product is worth every cent, but with this one I do. The other plus is that this foundation is actually good for your skin! It is Korres so it is made of natural ingredients, it has ginger to tone and clarify the skin, and Vitamins C and E to prevent the visible signs of aging! And if that wasn't enough, this baby has SPF 10 in it too! I mean, it's not a lot, but its better than nothing, especially if your moisturizer doesn't have SPF in it. If I had to point out a negative, it would be that after you apply this foundation, you have to let it set a minute or so before applying other face products. For me, that is not hard because I either wait till it dries, or I move on to my eye makeup. Either way, it is definitely worth that extra min or so because the finish is so great.

If you are interested in trying this out, they do have it at Sephora, but if you order online like I did, I heard that the even number shades (LF2, LF4, and LF6) are for people with golden/olive undertones, and the odd number shades (LF1, LF3, and LF5) are for those with pink undertones.

Kajal Couture Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Great foundation for those that want a natural look without looking like you are wearing foundation. Feels great on the skin and it is actually good for your skin too! I highly recommend this one, and it starting to become a favorite of mine.

I was so pleased with this that my next Korres plan of action is to try out their face primer...let's see if my wallet agrees.

Purple Eyeshadow: Drama and Fun...All Rolled In To One!!

It is almost the weekend, and that means time for some fun! Here's a quick look I did a few days ago that was bright, fun, and brought a little drama to the eye:

I used all MAC: Stars and Rockets on the lid, followed by a mixture of Smut and Satellite Dreams in the crease. I decided to go all out purple so I lined my top lid and waterline with Fab Orchid Eye Pencil, and did a sweep of Stars and Rockets on the lower lid. I'm not wearing mascara in these pics, but I did top it off with Lancome Definicils to complete the look.

I was on the MAC website earlier today and I noticed that this is somewhat similar to the model's eye look in the Magic, Mirth, and Mischief Collection photo. Her eye makeup is more winged out and has more fuschia in it, but it falls in the same purple category.

Speaking of purple, it is all over the place in the fashion world too! You know how most little girls choose either purple and pink as their favorite colors? I was never one of those! Somehow I didn't really like purple growing up, but I am now loving deep eggplant hues, vivid indigos, and even bright fuchia-violets.....ahhh....I love color!

Gisele in a Saree...East Meets West for the Cover of Vogue India

When I was in India a couple months ago, I picked up stacks and stacks of bridal and fashion magazines. I admit, I still have not flipped through them all, but I did go through my favorite, Vogue India, and am so mesmerized by this picture of Gisele in a saree:

She looks so natural, yet so stunning and I love that she is able to wear the saree, the saree is not wearing her. Of course, us normal people would wear a blouse with a saree, but in the spirit of fashion, its not necessary. Gisele looks so long and lean (who am I kidding, she IS long and lean), and I don't know what it is, but the photo is mesmerizing...

That photo was from the September 2009 issue of Vogue India, where Gisele graced the cover:

Her look is so natural and timeless. I love that she can pull of a super traditional Indian style necklace with a very non-traditional (for Indian standards) outfit.

In this close up look, Gisele is wearing very natural makeup, some taupy shades on the eyes, fresh glowy skin, and a my-lips-but-better pinky lipcolor.

All the images were scanned in, so they aren't fabulous, but I felt like sharing them with you. =)

Gold and Glamorous - Stila Shadow Trio Gold Glow Review

I love gold. There I said it. I am proud of it.

Gold is so glamorous and luxurious. It makes you feel gorgeous and makes you glow from the inside and out. I have always loved gold makeup, but gold eyeshadow in particular always holds a place close to my heart. I must have numerous gold shadows in my collection, but I never cease to pick up just one more....

...which is why I got the Stila Shadow Trio in Gold Glow. This is a mineralized shadow, and although I am not a huge fan of mineralize shadows, I decided to give this one a try because it did not have huge chunks of glitter in it, and the colors were very pretty when swatched:

Overall, I like this product. It is very similar to the MAC Warm Blend MSF that was released a few months ago, but that had large chunks of glitter in it, and with that came the fallout. The Stila shadow trio does not have fallout. I did a couple quick looks using this shadow trio, and was so excited to try out the product, I forgot to use the foil technique of dampening my brush before grabbing the shadow. I probably would have got a more intense payoff that way, but in any case, you can see how the colors are on their own, knowing that foiling them would result in a better look.

In this first look, I applied the darkest shade along my lash line and through the lid, the medium shade in the crease, and the lightest shade as my highlight. I was going for a subtle smoky look:

I ventured out a little more in this next look. I applied the lightest shade in the inner corner of my eye (I did a quick and messy job, which is why there is a little too much highlight in the bottom corner), the medium shade on the outer lid, and the darkest shade in the crease:

There was not a huge difference between the medium and darkest shades, but it was still apparent enough to give enough of a shaded effect. Overall, I really liked this shadow and will be using it a lot on those days when I want something glowy on my lids, but don't have enough time to spend creating a complicated look. The trio is so easy to use with all colors in one spot, they blend well together, and complement each other. The shimmer is not too over the top, so it is wearable for both work and play. The shadow pan itself is quite large so I will probably never finish it, but meh, do I really finish any shadows?

Kajal Couture Rating: B+

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Great shadow for an easy-but-still-has-visual-interest look. Colors blend well and are very smooth. I would have given it an A if the colors were more pigmented, especially the darkest shade, and the price was cheaper (alone this retails for $28, but is available right now in the Stila Gift of Appreciation set that is currently only $38).

What do you think of this? What are your Stila faves?

Benefit BOI-ING and Eye Bright Review

I picked up this Benefit To-Go Boi-ing and Eye Bright duo during a Sephora special. I thought it was a good chance to try out two popular Benefit products and I loved the cute little to-go packaging:


According to Sephora, this is what these products are supposed to do:

Boi-ing, the industrial-strength concealer, camouflages dark circles, shadows, and discoloration for a seamless, natural-looking finish, without creasing or fading. And Eye Bright conceals and brightens shadows in the inner corner of eyes while providing a lifting-effect for the outer corner. This dynamic duo works together to make sure your eyes radiantly pop!

It's nice that this compact has a mirror and two products in it, so it would be perfect for traveling (well, the packaging is perfect, the product itself, read below). The Eye Bright is a pinky white cream and the Boi-ing is in shade 02 - medium.

To jump to the chase: this product is going back. I actually did like the concealer, but it is not my favorite, so I would not go out to purchase this alone. It was creamy and blended well into the skin and it covered my dark circles well, but it did not last very long. I felt that this is something I would have to reapply after 4ish hours, and I need a concealer that lasts through the day.

The Eye Bright is the main reason I did not like this compact. It had a horrible consistency! It was so hard and difficult to 1. get onto my finger/brush and 2. to blend into the skin. It was not at all creamy, so it did not go on well, and it actually made me tug at the skin around the eye area, and I absolutely will not hold onto a product that makes me do that. I also did not think it did anything miraculous for me. Once on the skin, it looked a bit cakey and I felt like it highlighted the lines around my eyes instead of brightening my skin. I feel that you can use any non-shimmery highlighter or eyeshadow to get the effect this is supposed to do. I was so displeased with this one, I am going to return it...I can't make it work for me in any way.

So I am thinking about starting to do some sort of rating system when I do reviews. Do you think that would be helpful? I mean, its all subjective right since these are my own personal views, but hey, it would give a little more info on whether or not I think a product is worth trying out. I feel like there are lots of things I like, but I don't want you to feel that I like everything out there, or that I recommend you try everything I like. Ok, now I am just rambling. In any case, my rating of this product would be a D. I don't want to give products an F because that's just so sad, and I know some out there who actually might like this product, but its not for me. Does that help? Should I start this new rating for all reviews?

My Favorite Silver Things - Makeup and More!

Last week Tali from The Gloss Goss did a post about her gold beauty items. Since so many bloggers have been doing gold, she suggested we mix it up a bit and try to do a post about silver items. I was quite excited to see if I could even find anything silver in my makeup stash, since I use mostly MAC and we all know that's black. It was a little bit hard to find enough silver, so I cheated a lil and this is what I came up with:

Clockwise from the left:

1. Issey Miyake L'eau D'Issey Eau De Toilette - One of my FAVORITE fragrances (and my fiance's fave as well)

2. A Too Faced lipstick - The case is a silver-pinky color, so I threw it in for kicks

3. A bracelet I got while on an Alaskan cruise last year - I love this because it is so modern and unique, and I haven't seen anything else like it

4. Urban Decay eyeshadow

5. The two tubes are a Cover Girl Outlast All Day Lipcolor. The tube with pink is the lip color and the other silver tube is the gloss coat that goes over the lipcolor

6. Shu Uemura Eyelash Color - Nuff said

Work was super crazy today and I was on the phone with my client for 11 hours!! I could so use some girly pampering time right now. After I eat dinner, I think I am going to do a face mask and paint my nails. Ahhh....it's relaxing me already!

How was your Tuesday? Are you off for Veterans Day tomorrow? I'm not but I just look forward to the start of a fresh new day!

Urban Decay Friends and Family is Back!!

My friends, as promised, Urban Decay is doing another Friends and Family sale so you can grab all your holiday sets for yourself and/or get them for your gift giving pleasure! I heard from the official Urban Decay twitter account that the Friends and Family 30% off discount just started!


What: 30% off your ENTIRE order

When: Now Nov 9 - Nov 20

Where: Urban Decay Online

Code: FNFW1

Easy Peezy Earring Organization

Happy Sunday! Wait, Sundays aren't happy....it means the start of the work week. =/ The weekend is coming to an end and boy was it a busy one for me! I went to visit my fiance (he lives 1.5 hours away from me), watched a couple movies, went to a family friend's place for dinner, went to a class, and did makeup for a friend for a photoshoot. Man, I need a weekend to recover from my weekend!

On to some fun stuff....

Awhile ago my mom had gone shopping for some home organization and she got me this really cool earring case and I wanted to share it with you all:

It opens up to reveal 4 sides that have holes and little grooves so you can store both dangly and stud type earrings. I didn't do the math, but it holds a LOT of pairs! It's great for me because I like to wear lots of different jewelry, but I rarely change my chain and pendant (I wear a religious one), instead I am constantly changing my earrings.

She got it from the Container Store and it's only $15!! You can check it out here. I love that store because they have so many cute little containers and great storage ideas. I am all about organization and I can't function if stuff is all over the place. I'm kind of like Monica from Friends, though not as compulsive as she was about the cleaning part. =)

On a random note, I made this Roasted Butternut Squash and Feta Risotto a few nights ago. It was absolutely dee-lish!! There is some onion, garlic, spinach, and some other spices in there. In the fall I really enjoy using holiday foods in my cooking, like pumpkin and cinnamon. The original recipe for this called for pumpkin but I decided to try it with Butternut Squash instead. It is not squishy like regular squash (I'm not fond of squishy veggies), and it has a nice flavor and is even a little bit sweet. Mmmm, I will definitely be making this one again!

Benefit Lust Dusters - Amazing Deal for A Set of 3 Pigments!!

Once again I stumbled upon a great deal and just had to tell somebody....YOU!!! =)

Right now Sephora's Weekly Special is a trio of Benefit Lust Dusters that is selling for only $10!! Lust dusters are loose pigments and normally retail for $18 a piece on the Benefit website. All 3 of the pots that come in this trio are full size, so you are getting a $54 deal for only $10!! They have two different color selections:

The first contains: Snow Bunny, Goldilocks, and Nugget:
The second one contains GoGo Girl, Big Daddy, and Moon Doggie.
You can use these as shadows, blush (though probably not the green one), highlighters, mixed with lotion or dry for body shimmer. I warn you though, I have not used these before so I am not sure how good they are, but for $10 they are worth a shot!

Whether or not you love loose pigments, have been wanting to try out loose powder colors, are a Benefit fan, or simply looking for a great, affordable holiday present, I highly recommend checking these out. They will definitely sell out so get yours quick!

Oh, and remember to use Ebates for all your Sephora online shopping needs! They are offering 8% cash back right now for shopping on Sephora.com. I did a run down of how Ebates works here.

Primed and Perfectly Tan - Laura Geller Spackle® Tinted Under Make-up Primer Review

Hello my lovelies!!! Did you do anything fun for Halloween? My friends and I were supposed to go out as characters from Gilligan's Island, but several of us were not feeling very well, so that went down the drain, and I ended up hanging out at home and handing out candy to the little ones, which was actually super fun! The babies especially were SOOOOO adorable! There were a few who came in strollers, and even a 3 month old dressed as a ladybug!! We also gave out the light up glow bracelets, which were a big hit! It's fun to see kids get excited and I love to watch their eyes light up!

In other news I recently tried a sample of the Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze. It is an oil-free face primer that creates a perfect base for your makeup, while giving you a hint of color. It is described on the Sephora website as the following:

Laura Geller Spackle® Tinted Under Make-up Primer has the same features and benefits as the best-selling Spackle®, but now shimmers with a sheer bronze tint. Revive your skin with a primer that re-texturizes the skin's surface to achieve a flawlessly smooth finish with a hint of sunkissed glow. The lightweight formula is also great for your skin—a complex of Botanical extracts nourish, moisturize, and protect. The velvety formula creates a perfect canvas for foundation and blush application and keeps makeup in place and looking fresh all day long.

This product is WONDERFUL! The product itself is very thin and liquidy. It feels light and silky on the skin and it gives a perfect, clean slate for makeup, but also looks wonderful on its own! It has a slight tint to it that makes you look sun-kissed. It gives you a nice tan glow without looking orange. Seriously, I would take this over self-tanners any day! It is not streaky, it blends so well into the skin and you won't even be able to feel anything. It does not provide the coverage of a foundation or tinted moisturizer, but if you are like me and don't really need coverage, this is great because the tint gives you just enough oomph that you feel like you are not naked (in the face that is), while giving you a natural, sun-kissed glow. This really is effortless, gives you a nice base for a natural no makeup look, or for a full face of makeup.

When you first pump the product it will look super dark, as in the swatch below, on the left. But then when you blend it out the color sheers out, as pictured on the right side of the swatch:

I know the blended out side makes it look glossy, but once the product is dry, it is matte, so you don't have to worry about being shiny. Even though the blended product looks almost colorless, I am NC 30 - NC 35 and this product makes me look perfectly tan. I am not sure how dark it will be on NC 15 skin tones so you might want to swatch it first at Sephora and see how it works for you. This is definitely tempting me to try out more Laura Geller products.

For a little fun & games, I was recently tagged by Fantastic over at Suka & Spice to do a one-word tag game. The purpose is to answer all the questions below with only one word. Here are my responses:

Where's your cell phone? Dresser

Your hair? Floppy

Your mother? Kitchen

Your father? Computer

Favorite Food? Chocolate

Dream Last Night? None

Favorite Drink? Limca

What Room Are You In? Dining

Hobby? Crafts

Fear? Pain

Where Were You Last Night? Home

Something That You Aren't? Short

Muffins? No

Wish List Item? Wii

Where Did You Grow Up? LA

What Are You Wearing? Express

Your Pets? None

Friends? Fabulous

Something You're Not Wearing? Bracelet

Favorite Store? Costco

Favorite Color? Red

Last Time You Laughed? Today

Your Best Friend? Fiance

Bestest Place You Go To Over and Over? Motherland

Person Who Emails You Regularly? Fiance

Favorite Place to Eat? TV

Now I would tag some of y'all, but I'm going to let it go this time....