Sephora's TEN $10 Black Friday Deals - Amazing!

I've put together a list of Sephora's Ten $10 Deals for Black Friday. It's valid on November 25 ONLINE and IN-STORE for one day only! Some of the deals steals below are very tempting!!

Is anyone tackling the crowds this Friday in search of a good deal? I think I got most of what I wanted even before Black Friday, but I will still be poking around stores for the fun of it!

 
Tarte MultiplEYE Primer and Lights, Camera, Lashes Duo - $10 (value $30)


Stila Glitz and Glam Palette & Lip Glaze - $10 (value $76 LOL!)


Bare Minerals All Decked Out Set - $10 (value $44)


Sephora Beauty To Go Brush Set - $10 (regularly $15)


Tokidoki Cromatico Eye Shadow Palette - $10 (regularly $19)


Korres Guava All Butter Moisture Therapy Duo - $10 (value $22)


Kat Von D Adora Fragrance 1.7oz? - $10 (regularly $55)


Josie Maran Argan Color Stick in Petal Pink - $10 (regularly $22)


Buxom Welcome to the Party Mascara - $10 (value $33)


The 4 Elements of the Perfect Shave Travel Size - Lavender - $10 (value $25)

September Favorites

September favorites are more about what kept me cool in the summer than specific items from that month. + a couple beauty items of course. :)

David & Young Floppy Hat $20, on sale $9.90
My hat is actually straw colored but I'm tempted to pick up another color at this price! Black (which looks blue?) or Olive? This hat has the perfect amount of floppy vs sturdiness without making you look old. The weave is tight so you can shape it and the hat won't fall in your face.

Rayban Purple Aviator Sunglasses RB3025, $60ish on sale
At first I wasn't sure about the purple but now I love how it looks on. My favorite shades EVER! The gradient is nice because it makes the glasses blend into my face. Knock-offs can't come close!

Mac Ever Hip Lipstick $14.50
Revisting last summer's must have lipstick.

Dior Blush Vintage Pink (Rose) $42
This originally came out in a lace pattern last spring, so when it was re-release I had to get it. I used my $20 voucher to bring the price down on this. It's a gorgeous peachy-pink!

Got 2b Rockin' It Dry Shampoo $5.99
This is my second favorite dry shampoo after Batiste. The smell is better and the price is good at a BOGO but sometimes the spout gets jammed and only powder comes out. Then all you have left is liquid. Which is not good because it then it won't work right.

So with this post I have officially done more than a year of Favorites! I don't know if I will continue on with regularity or not. If I do I'll be changing how I do this.

The last day for Sephora's Friends and Family Sale

Today (Tuesday) is the last day for Sephora's Friends and Family 20% off anything sale! To get the code go here and enter your email address. Below are some of my picks! Please check them out. And no I didn't buy all of this! That's crazy! Let me know in the comment what you hauled!

Hypnôse Doll Lashes Set ($63 Value) $29.50

This set contains:
- 0.07 oz travel-size Cils Booster XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base
- 0.04 oz Artliner Precision Point EyeLiner in Noir
- 0.22 oz Hypnôse Doll Lashes Mascara in Black
A great value for the full size artliner or mascara alone! It's almost like buy one get one free!

Wild & Chic Best of MAKE UP FOR EVER Kit ($103 Value) $59

This set contains:
- 0.17 oz HD Microfinish Powder

- 0.21 oz Aqua Cream in 13 Warm Beige (champagne shimmer)

- 0.04 oz Travel Aqua Eyes in Mat Black 0L (black)

- 0.09 oz Lab Shine in Star Collection - S4 (pearly pink beige)

- 0.5 oz HD Microperfecting Primer

- 0.23 oz Smoky Lash Extra Black Mascara 
This is a good sampling of what MUFE has to offer.

Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer $32
A creamy, weightless moisturizing concealer that blends easily into the skin for an undetectable finish.
It's my favorite concealer and a pricey one!

Fresh Mini Sugar Kissing Trio $28
This set contains:
- 0.08 oz Sugar Passion Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15
- 0.08 oz Sugar Honey Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15
- 0.08 oz Sugar Plum Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15
If you're a lip balm junkie you can try three of the different balms in mini sizes. Perfect for all three to fit in your purse.

Danmari All About Cheeks Palette $65 
This set contains:
- 6 x 0.12 oz Cheek Color in Hungry Heart (gold ivory), Super Orgasm (peachy pink with gold glitter), Desire (cotton candy pink), Casino (dark brown with golden shimmer), Orgasm (peachy pink with golden shimmer), Sin (berry with gold shimmer)
There was lots of buzz surrounding this palette but now it's back in stock!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Tube $19
Or stock up on your favorite staples! Even the Naked Palette, Mariposa, or Book of Shadows IV! Most things are back in stock!

Indulge in Dior Addict Lipstick if you haven't yet tried it. $28
Rose Déshabillé 260 & Tokyo 422 are beautiful shades!

Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream $32
I tried a sample and this made my eye really soft!

Collector's Edition Fragrance Sampler For Her $75
Who doesn't love these minis? And you get a free full size perfume voucher!

There are so many sales going on now it's crazy! Ulta mailed me a 20% off coupon too! Plus the VIB 20% off party is coming in November too! .

Trick or Treating Makeup

I hope everyone had a great weekend! This weekend was full of free beauty samples and full size items! Who needs Birchbox?? Act quickly and you can still get these!

1) Nars Pro-Prime Eyeshadow Base deluxe sample - free at Sephora inside JCP only while supplies last. Bring this coupon.

2) L'Occitane hand cream 30ml - it was free for liking them on Facebook a few weeks ago. Nov 1 is the last day to redeem it after the coupon was mailed to you.

3) Aquolina Pink Sugar - free random sample from the nice Sephora girl.

4) BareMinerals Big & Bright Eyeliner - This full size liner is free at your Bare Minerals boutique only with coupon! Print this coupon. You have until Tuesday!

 I hope everyone is handing out candy tonight! I hand out the GOOD STUFF thanks to CVS! :)

My delicious pumpkin macaron with fresh pumpkin puree! I more or less followed this recipe at Sweet Lady Sass.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

P.S. My brother went as Nyan Cat lol! I would post the photo but the costume is not around!

FNO: dessert porn

Blah blah fashion, but look a cupcake!!

Stopped by Mozart Bakery to let me sister see how awesome it is. This is a peach mousse. Their smoothies are AMAZINGLY smooth. mmm, taro boba.

Macarons and whoopie pies from Tart Bakery at Neimans. The macarons were good, but the whoopie pies were far from good.

I loved the cranberry tarts! One of them rolled down my shirt... opps!

FNO: Les Jeans de Chanel

The thing I was anticipating the most about FNO 2011 (Fashion's Night Out) was the release of Chanel's extremely limited new nail polishes. I've become a Chanel polish addict, and I heard these were only available for purchase on Sept 8 at Chanel Boutiques and select beauty counters. So I drove up to the only boutique in the area where I lucked out and got a sweet valet parking spot! I told the guy I just wanted to pop into Chanel real quick and he was very nice about it. :)

To celebrate FNO and the polishes, they brought in three nail techs from a local salon (Hollywood Nails on preston & royal) to offer complimentary manicures! It's my first time to use the base and top coat. (nothing fabulous btw) She did an okay job considering I told her I was in a rush.

It's kind of hard to take photos and dig in my purse with wet nails so my sister helped out while I waited for them to dry. Imagine me awkwardly waving my hands around at Chanel. Hopefully no one was watching me. The fun thing about FNO is you can waltz into any high end boutique, and they are less likely to be judging you.

Nail Swatches of Coco Blue and Blue Boy.

August Favorites

This month there was less makeup and more time spent baking. macarons and creme brulee specifically. This is my 12th favorites post! I can't believe I've done it for a year already.

Chanel Le Vernis in Morning Rose (557)
Surprisingly this rose with golden flecks polish sold out! The weird thing is there is no buzz about how it sold out like Chanel Jade. Morning Rose was not even the IT color, it was Mimosa (yellow). I managed to snag this during the Nordstrom Anniversary sale in July, and I noticed that it had to be shipped from the downtown Seattle location. As if it was the last one. It also didn't seem completely full... compared to a brand new polish. I'll never know, will I? Out of curiosity I checked Chanel.com and it was sold out there too! I had just checked the week before, and it was still there! Apparently it was a sleeper hit or they just didn't make very many of them. I hope you got one while you could!

Chanel Rouge Allure in Desinvolte (86)
At a glance it seemed similar to Rouge Coco Peregrina, but I'd say it's more pink than peach which is why I like it better. Plus I've always wanted a Rouge Allure but the colors in the permanent line are either too brown or too bright. This was the right pink I was looking for. This is also a million times better than the Rouge Cocos because it doesn't have a gross fragrance smell and taste to it. It's also limited, so get it from Nordstrom while you can.

Dior Crush Glow Quint (659) LE
When it first came out last year I didn't think it looked all that great compared to the Ready to Glow quint, but for $20 via blogsale I decided to take a chance and get it. I'm so glad I did! It's gorgeous! I'm a sucker for the soft purples and golds.

Half Sheet Size Aluminum Baking Pan (about 12"x17")
It's extremely thick at 18 gauge, and it will probably never warp. It's heavy enough so the heat from the bottom of my oven won't cook my macarons too fast. It also doesn't burn the bottoms of cookies. Aluminum doesn't burn quickly like non-stick (dark coating) does. Remember to use parchment paper. I got these professional pans from a restaurant supply store for only $7.38 each!

KitchenAid Hand Mixer Whisk attachment
Adding this whisk attachment to my hand mixer gave me more control over beating my egg whites in a smaller bowl. I prefer this over a big stand mixer!

July Favorites

My July Favorites are here! (yes I know it's September..)

1. Dior DiorSkin Shimmer Star Powder in Amber Diamond
A perfect finishing touch for the cheeks. I think it illuminates my cheeks without being too shimmery. It gives that light from within glow. Thanks Steph for the birthday gift!

2. Sigma Duo Fibre Powder/Blush Brush - F15
I bought this to use with the above powder. It's also workable with cream blushes. It's soft and deposits the right amount of powder with the duo fibre tip. Sigma actually makes good quality brushes!

3. Lmdb Rock and Romance Polishes
Perfect transition colors to fall. See my review here.

4. Dior Instant eye makeup remover
I received a sample of this, and I think it works slightly better than Lancome Bi-Facil!

5. Le Creuset mini cocotte in lavender
I found these cute mini cocottes on clearance at Dillards! My first Le Creuset, and I love the quality of it. It's perfect for single serving souffles or gratin! They were about $3-$4 from $20! I was also drawn to the Taro color likeness.

Apothica $25 Gift Card Giveaway

Lately I've been getting back into the Stila products I own. I have a few single eyeshadow pans here and there. What I love is the soft texture, the generous size, and the pigmentation. It was one of the first brands beyond the drugstore that I experimented with. I just ordered an empty palette to hold my shadows in. If you're looking to get a good feel of Stila, checkout this Smokey eye bold beauty set. I've seen other bloggers rock a look using this palette and the result is easily gorgeous!

Starting today thanks to the kind folks at Apothica.com you have the chance to win a $25 gift card towards brand name cosmetics, skincare, and more! The gift card is valid toward three sites: (Apothica.com, skincarerx.com, and skinbotanica.com) which carry more thatn 80,000 products! Apothica.com is so great because they have many high end brands, have free shipping at $49, a great return policy, price matching, and no tax! (for most)

This giveaway will run from August 8-23 and is open internationally, but Apothica does not ship to every country.

You'll have three ways to enter the giveaway:

Option 1: Facebook

1.       Visit Apothica.com

2.       Write on Apothica’s Facebook wall about what you think of Apothica

Option 2: Twitter

1.       Visit Apothica.com

2.       Tweet about @Apothica on your own Twitter Account

Bonus: Retweet Apothica’s tweet about this giveaway @apothica

Option 3: Blog

1.       Visit Apothica.com

2.       Write something on your blog about what you think of Apothica

Extra +1:

1.       Comment below what product you would like to try from their site!

Please fill out in the form below and I will contact the winner!
Giveaway OVER: The Winner has been picked!

DIY Nail Polish shelf display

Over the weekend I decided to make this foam board nail polish stand using a tutorial I found on Youtube.

You can fit 9 bottles per row. I ended up making a smaller shelf than in the video for space reasons. Mine has 6 shelves.

It doesn't hold everything and takes up more space due to the tiers but it does look cleaner! Though it is a little rough looking in person from using a dull knife, you can't tell once the polishes are on it.

Before: here are my stacks of polishes.

After: it's nice and tidy! I also shoved things underneath it like the Konad stamps. It's not a space saver & I can live with that. Since the black boxes of Revlon couldn't even make it to the shelf. Perhaps I need another...


If this video is a little raw it's because I edited and uploaded it with iPhone 4 only.

June Favorites

First, I've updated my blog sale with Chanel and R&R!

Here are my June Favorites!

1. Lancome Color Fever gloss in Paradise Peach - moisturizing and goes on smooth. It gives my lips a pretty pink-peach glow. I thought the Lancome glosses would be sticky like the juicy tubes but these are very nice and not sticky at it. It's thick but it settles nicely. It's also pigmented enough to use without lipstick! It's limited edition, so I bought a backup! :)

2. fresh Citron de Vigne edp - it's a "fresh" citrus scent that's light and crisp but still complex.

3. OPI Nail Polish in Steady As She Rose - This creamy pale pink-purple polish is from the Pirates of the Caribbean OPI collection. At first glance I thought I wasn't going to like how light it is, but on my nails it looks very pretty! It's a tad streaky at first but workable.

4. Revlon Nail Treatment - This is a ridge filler, and I like how it provided a nice and smooth base to my nails. It dries quickly, and I can apply two to three coats to prime my nails for polishes that usually require more coats.

5. MAC 219 Pencil Brush - An essential makeup brush, no other pencil brush compares! Thanks Megan! <3