New Fave Website and Win Two $25 Giftcards for Skincare!!

Hey lovelies!! I want to tell you about this new site I discovered, Apothica, which has tons of cosmetics from many brands all in one site!! The cool thing about this site is that they are partnered with SkinCareRX, which has just about every skin care brand you’d want and is currently (until Dec 1) having a 25% off Friends and Family discount with code FF25 (better than the Sephora discount, eh?) and they are also partnered with my personal favorite, Skin Botanica, which carries natural and organic beauty products, and is currently running a 20% off sale…just click on the Skin Botanica link. How great to shop from 3 stores and get everything in 1 shipment!! 

I know many of you are like me and like products from a variety of brands, and I love that you can order say, one Bobbi Brown shadow, your fave Michael Kors fragrance that is running out, and whatever else you need (they also carry skin care, candles, body care, and hair care) in one order, for one shipment (did I mention free shipping over $49?), and not have to mess with other sites and multiple shipping fees!

Some of the cool brands featured on Apothica are DuWop and the popular Moroccon Oil, and one of my faves Japonesque! For awhile now I have been wanting to try their lashes and instant eyeshadow...yes instant eyeshadow...honestly I think it sort of takes the fun out of applying shadow but it’s so unique I just have to try it! Their products are pretty affordable too. Have you tried anything from them?

Smoky Eye Instant Eyeshadow

Now for the fun part:  Apothica has been gracious enough to give away a $25 giftcard to one of the fabulous Kajal Couture readers!! And if you are lucky, you can win an extra $25 giftcard for a friend!! I’m secretly jealous because I could totally use that to try those instant eyeshadows. Anyways, back to the giveaway. Here’s how you can enter:

1.     One entry for becoming a follower by clicking on the "Follow" button on the right hand toolbar

2.     One entry for following me on Twitter at @kajalcouture

3.     One entry for following Apothica on Twitter at @Apothica

4.     One entry is you "Like" me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kajalcouture)

5.     One entry if you become a fan of Apothica on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Apothica)

6.     Two entries if you tweet about this giveaway

7.     Two entries if you comment about Apothica and/or Japonesque in the comment section of this post

8.     Two entries for signing up for the Apothica Newsletter (found at the bottom of the Apothica website)

9.     Seven (yes 7) entries if you blog about this giveaway on your blog (your post must have a minimum of 100 words and include the word Japonesque and have it linked to http://makeup.apothica.com/Japonesque.html)

10.  IMPORTANT – If you do any of the above, make sure you comment on this post and let me know which entries you have completed.

In the spirit of the holidays, wouldn’t you love to be able to give a friend a $25 Apothica too? Well, if you do #9 above and blog about this giveaway and you win, you will win an extra $25 Apothica giftcard for a friend!!!

This giveaway starts today, Monday, November 22, 2010, and runs until midnight, EST, on Friday, December 10, 2010. http://apothica.com

Smooth Hair and Giveaway Time!

The kind folks at Misikko sent me the Hana Shine Shield Thermal Protectant to try out, and now that I have had a chance to use it a few times, I am excited to tell you all how great this product is! Now Misikko isn't paying me to write anything in this post (see Disclaimer), it is all my personal opinion and experience, but I do want to say that one thing I love about Misikko is that they always seem to have great deals and coupons that they email to you if you sign up for their newsletter. And you know I love me a good deal!

As you may know, I had my hair rebonded (Japanese hair straightening) in January when I was in India. 10 months later, my hair has grown significantly and I have about 5 inches of hair at my roots that is wavy and super frizzy. This product couldn't have come at a better time because I have been in desperate need of something to tame the frizzies and protect my hair from the hair dryer and straightening iron.

I use a nickel sized amount of the clear, liquidy serum and apply to my roots and all throughout my hair...all the way to the ends. I then blow-dry as usual, and if I have time, flat iron my roots. What I like about this product is that although it contains jojoba oil, it is non-greasy...so even the day after, my hair is not oily and gross. This really adds a lot of shine to my hair and makes it feel so nice and soft. And best of all, it does help tame the frizzies. If you have super curly or kinky hair, this might not be strong enough for your frizzies, but if you have thick, wavy hair like me, the Hana Shine Shield will work pretty well to tame those bad boys.

This also works as a good leave-in conditioner. If you have thinner hair and don't have much frizz to worry about, a few drops of this should help keep your hair soft and shiny. If any of you have tried the Chi Silk Infusion, this works waaaay better and is not greasy like the Chi product.

So, interested in trying this out for yourself? Well, one lucky reader will have a chance to win the Hana Shine Shield Thermal Protectant! I have been wanting to do a giveaway for awhile now, and thanks to Misikko, that time has come!

Smooth Legs for Santa.....Giveaway Time!

Several months ago during the summertime (in the US) I reviewed the Schick Intuition Razor. I must admit that in the colder months I don't shave as often, but with all the holiday parties right now, it means wearing lots of dresses, and in turn, smooth, hair-free legs. That means it's time for a giveaway!

I am giving away 3 Schick Intuition razors in 3 different colors/designs as pictured below:

You get two chances to enter. All you have to do is:

1. Comment telling me which color you want, and be sure to leave me your email address.

2. Follow me. Update: No need to follow me on Twitter, just follow me by subsrcibing to the blog using the Follow Me feature on the right hand side toolbar. If you are already a follower, you will automatically receive one chance to win! =)

Easy as that! The deadline for entering is Sunday Dec 13th, at 11:59pm EST. Good luck y'all!

Review of The Sweet 15 Kit by our Giveaway Winner!

Kajal Couture's lovely reader Kate was the lucky winner of the Jane Iredale Sweet 15 Kit from the giveaway last month. After having a chance to test out all the products in the kit, she was kind enough to provide all of you with an in-depth review of each of the products. Again, this is a pic of the kit:

So without further adieu, here is Kate's review:

Dear Kajal Couture Readers,

The Jane Iredale Sweet 15 Palette is a limited edition palette to commerate Jane Iredale Cosmetics 15th birthday. The palette contains 15 gorgeous eyeshadow, two blushers, a bronzer, three lip plumpers and a booklet with four eyelooks enclosed in a beautiful gold snakeskin print book.

Overall, the palette is amazing and I see myself using it a lot. Apart from a one shadow, all of the eyeshadows apply highly pigmented and velvety. The blushes are also highly pigmented. I had a few problems with the lip plumpers that will be discussed when I get to the plumpers. First up are the eyeshadows.

As mentioned earlier, there are fifteen eyeshadows: oyster, peach sorbet, glimmer gold, copper brown, topaz sparkle, taupe, aquamarine, dark suede, petal shimmer, pink cloud, sparkle dust, bubbly, silver, supernova, and charcoal. Application is a breeze and feel like velvet. All--except for two--apply highly pigmented.

If you're used to drugstore eyeshadows like I am, you may need to practice using a light hand before using these. L'Oreal HiP shadows are great to practice with as they're much cheaper and 95% of them apply highly pigmented. There are a few problem children in the HiP line, so if you need suggestions, don't be afraid to ask here in Kajal's blog or my own.

Oyster-shimmery very pale creamy yellow. It looks matte and chalky in the pan yet shimmers the slightest bit on the eye. A beautiful neutral.

Peach Sorbet-a light peach color. A good neutral but very dupable. Revlon Matte in Peach Sorbet is an exact dupe of the color and has the same texture of Iredale's Peach Sorbet.

Glimmer Gold-vintage gold. This color shines! A very pretty color and looks phenomenal on my brown eyes. I foresee myself wearing this color a lot come autumn.

Copper Brown-Bronzey-brown with gold flecks. I love this color as well! Paired with Glimmer Gold, the two would make a fierce autumn-themed smokey eye. I wear this kind of smokey eye a lot as it really brings out the grey areas in my brown eyes resulting in a really moody brown eye. This pairing would look stunning on blue eyes as well.

Topaz Sparkle-Copper with teeny tiny silver and gold flecks. Another color I love using for smokey eyes. Can you tell I'm a die-hard fan of the smokey eye?

Taupe-Exactly the color of taupe and it's a matte as well. Applies just a teensy bit sheer. Somehow I don't see myself wearing Taupe much. A great base color for those who are a bit more pigmented than my vampiric pale cool-toned skin or those with blue eyes, I think.

Aquamarine-The showstopper of the palette. Teal with blue green flecks. It reminds me of marmaid's tails and peacock feathers. I have a har-core love affair with her. I don't think I have anything close to her.

Dark Suede-Matte medium suede brown. Reminds me of horse saddles and the color of hiking/camping journals. I love this color as well but probably is more suited for the green-eyed and blue-eyed gals out there.

Petal Shimmer-A hard color to describe. The best way I can describe it is a pearlized white-pink or the color of Tinkerbell's wings. I'm sure it would be a pain to photograph accurately. Reminds me a bit of pixie dust too.

Pink Cloud-Shimmery bubble gum pink.

Sparkle Dust-Mauvey-brown with a multicolor flash. Does not remind me a bit of sparkle dust. My mind sees the name with more of a clear color with a multicolor flash.

Bubbly-Another color that does not remind me of bubbles at all. Milk chocolate brown with bright pink flash.

Silver-Another color like Bubbly and Sparkle Dust. White with pale pink flash. I'm wearing this today along with Sparkle Dust and Charcoal as a (you guessed it) smokey eye.

Supernova-Brand-new-penny copper with a gold flash. A very interesting color. I'm not sure how I want to use it yet.

Charcoal-The problem child of the palette. She looks black in the pan but applies a sheer light charcoal grey. She takes a two or three light coats to be opaque. Charcoals tend to be problem children in my experience with eyeshadow.

Blushes:

Blushes apply pretty pigmented as well so use a very light hand!

Cotton Candy-Cotton candy pink with silver shimmer. I love this color as it really brings out my pale complexion.

Whisper-Coral with gold shimmer. Definitely not the blush color for me. It makes me look horribly ill as most warm-toned corals do for me.

Bronzer--Matte taupe. I actually am one of the few who don't use bronzer by choice. Bronzers have a tendency to leave me looking gaunt as I have high cheekbones and a wide jaw and this is no exception.

Lip Plumpers:

I had really high expectations in terms of pigment for the lip plumpers. I don't know if this is an Iredale thing but they applied super sheer. I don't think they'd show up at all on darker skin. Also be warned they have a strong gingerbread scent. It disappears when on the lip but my sensitive allergies had a hey-day. If you don't have sensitivity to fragrance like I do, these are okay. Be warned that they don't plump lips up any and work more like a very sheer tinted lip balm. The plumpers take a good scrubbing to wash them off so be ready for a little elbow grease when taking these off! The only good thing about them, in my opinion, is that they don't have any taste.

Milan-Super sheer, shimmery rose pink.

L.A.-Super sheer, shimmery mauve.

Tokyo-Super sheer, shimmery coral.

Jane Iredale is a mineral cosmetic line so they are highly recommended for those with sensitive or hyper-sensitive skin like myself. I've had no reactions to them when testing them on my arm and when wearing them. I don't wear eye primer and the shadows haven't budged, creased or faded in the five hours I've been wearing them. They're still as vivid as they were when I applied them.

I hope this review is helpful and if you have any questions, fell free to comment on this post or on my blog (address at the end of my teensy weensy bio). I may or may not have the post up when you comment but feel free to comment on any of the posts as I'll still see it!

Kate is the human counterpart of the duo Kate & Zena. She is also known as Ellenora on the OnSugar network. A proud Decker Rat Terrier owner, she spends most of her time in college, doing homework or spending time with her dog, Zena. Her blog, "Confessions of a Dogaholic," is a new blog and is dedicated to just about anything along with hilarious true tales of Zena. You can find her blog at http://ellenora.onsugar.com

Giveaway!!!! - The Sweet 15 Kit

I have been wanting to do this for awhile now and finally it's here! It's my first giveaway!!!

You have an opportunity to win the Jane Iredale Sweet 15 Kit pictured below!! It is a limited edition palette featuring 15 shadows, 3 blushes, and 3 lip colors, all packaged in 1 kit that comes with a mirror inside. This palette is not even released yet but my people were kind enough to offer up 1 of these fabulous kits to the readers of Kajal Couture.

This kit is in a storybook form, when you open the first page you will see the 15 PurePressed eyeshadows pictured below. There is a really good mix of neutrals and colors, some are Jane Iredale's best selling colors and some are new.

The next page features the 3 PurePressed blushes and 3 Just Kissed Lip Plumpers. These are just too cute! On the left of the page is a decent sized mirror that can be used if you have no other mirror handy.

The little flyer that comes with this kit even has instructions on how to achieve different looks.

This is wonderful for both beginners and pros alike! The colors will suit almost all skin tones and you will definitely find at least a few faves. It sells for $78 but is valued at $129! Overall I think it is a great kit and I kind of wish I could keep it for myself, but I will stick to my plan and make one lucky winner very happy!

So what do you have to do to win? All you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment in this post telling me what you like about this blog and what types of posts you would like to see in the future, AND

2. Write in your email address in your comment post. If you are uncomfortable leaving your email address in the post, feel free to email me at kajalcouture@gmail.com and let me know which post is yours.

Entries/comments are due at midnight, Monday August 24, 2009 so make sure you comment by then. That's it! Good luck and I hope you use your comments to make this blog better for all of you!! =)