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Skip To The Escentuals

I'm having an eyeshadow moment.  I've been buying a ton of it lately and playing around with the ones I already have to find new combinations.  (That's a good thing to accomplish on your vacation, right?)  Most of my new favorites are the color combinations available in bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 2.0. The duos aren't new, but they've just recently released a bunch of new shades and out of the ones I've played with, they're all winners.  The formula is just great - the colors are pigmented and easy to blend, plus they last all day on me when layered over a primer. They also contain bareMinerals' special SeaNutritive Mineral Complex and antioxidants, cold-pressed borage oil, caffeine and cucumber, which are all known to have anti-aging benefits.  I mean, it's not a requirement for me in a shadow, but it's definitely a nice benefit!  I also like the wide range of different shade pairings - there's everything from neutrals to more fun colors (the one above is The Grand Finale), so there's really something for everyone. Love!  

Note:  Samples of this product were sent to me by a PR representative working with bareMinerals    

Ready for the Holidays?

Bare Escentuals has released new Ready shadows (their awesome mineral eyeshadows but in pressed form) and they are seriously amazing.  Even more amazing is this stunningly gorgeous holiday palette - The Cocktail Hour - which is only available for a limited time and contains 8 fantastic Ready shadows!  The shades are incredibly rich (no sheer colors in the bunch) and stay the better part of the day.  I love the sparkle for the holidays and am especially giddy over the combo of colors in the set (not the traditional smokey eye palette, for sure).  Palette contains Black Tie Optional (black velvet), Icebreaker (pink pearl), Swanky (dazzling plum), Spiked (copper blush), Elixir (luxe lilac), Invite Only (taupe slate), Libation (sugared cinnamon), and Shaken Not Stirred (jeweled navy).  I love how the colors compliment each other or you can wear just one shade if you want less-drama for daytime.  I am so freakin' excited about these Ready shadows and if you haven't checked them out, definitely head out to the store - the colors are stunning and totally affordable.  This palette retails for $40.00 and is worth every penny.  Perfect stocking stuffer!

Note:  A sample of this item was sent to me by a PR representative working with Bare Escentuals

Save On Bare Escentuals

Starting tomorrow, you can save 20% at bareescentuals.com or in your nearest Bare Escentuals boutique (by printing the coupon).  If you're ordering online, just use the code LOVE at checkout.  The discount is valid from tomorrow, June 16th through this Sunday, June 19th, so stock up while you can.  Happy shopping!

High Shine

I'm really digging Bare Escentuals' new High Shine Eyecolors.  I'm always a fan of any eyeshadow that's truly portable because it makes touching up on the go a million times easier, and when the colors are so pretty, that makes it a must-buy in my book.  I tested out three of the new shades - Bronzed, Patina, and Electric - and I totally love them all.  All the colors are highly pigmented, so they show up nicely, and they're all super shiny, with this really cool "foiled" effect that makes them almost glisten.  (Hard to explain - you kind of have to try them and see for yourself).  The sponge applicator makes it easy to apply the shades (although I did use my own brushes after I put them on to blend the colors the way I wanted) and although there's a little fallout, I kind of think that's to be expected with this kind of applicator.  I liked them so much that after I got two of them sent to me as samples, I went out and bought the third shade (Electric) this weekend myself.  High praise indeed, for someone supposed to be on a makeup buying ban.  (But there was a 15% off coupon at Sephora for Beauty Insiders!  I had to use it, right?  Right...?) 

Note:  Samples of this item were sent to me by a PR representative working with Bare Escentuals 

Plan for a Quickie

Bare Escentuals is revving-up their awesome pink Quickie vans, ready to tour the country starting this month.  The vans actually transform (so cool!) into pop-up boutiques and will be offering FREE make-unders (with a deluxe sized freebie to take home) on streets and sidewalks all across America!  The tour begins today and goes through October 31.  They are visiting 92 cities across the country, so click here to see if they're coming to your town. 

Laura Does London

I was already totally predisposed to love this set because London is my favorite, favorite place in the entire world and any makeup item that can come with little British flags in the shape of a heart on it just makes me happy.  The Buxom Laura Does London Collection is also a great value.  For $26, you get two full-sized items - a Big & Healthy Lip Stick in London (baby pink) and a Big & Healthy Lip Polish in Laura (fuchsia pop).  You kind of get three different looks with this package - you can use the London shade alone for a great nude lip look, wear the Laura Lip Polish by itself for gorgeous bright pink lips, or layer the two together for a third option.  (I'm really digging the Laura shade - I've been looking for a bright pink gloss for awhile now and this one is perfect.  It's bright without being too overwhelming and it doesn't scream "Look at me!" which I like.  It's sort of a subdued brightness, if that makes any sense).  Both products have the familiar cool tingling sensation when you apply them and the gloss is shiny and moisturizing.  The only bad thing about it is that the package makes me want to immediately drive to LAX and hop on a flight to Heathrow, just so I can ride the Underground and sit in a pub drinking cider again.  Remind me why I don't live there?   

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Buxom.

20% off Bare Escentuals!

Oooh, nothing like a great discount to get me excited!  Bare Escentuals is sharing the love from midnight tonight through Sunday, June 20th.  Either print out this coupon for in-store purchases, or if shopping online use the code SHARE to receive 20% off your order.  Happy Shopping!  

Escentual Beauty

Can you believe that there are only three more shopping days until Christmas?  Considering that I still have to buy the majority of my gifts, that should send me into a little more of a panic, but for some reason it just doesn't.  (Probably because I last minute shop every year - it's kind of like my very own little holiday tradition.  It just doesn't feel like Christmas until they're shoving me out of the mall and locking the doors behind me!)  If you're looking for a few gift sets for the makeup lover in your life, Bare Escentuals has some great ones.  Here are two of my favorites:

Buxom Babes About Town is a collection that includes four Big & Healthy Lip Sticks and four Big & Healthy Lip Polishes.  I'm a huge fan of both of these products - they're moisturizing and available in a wide range of shades, plus the fact that they have a gentle lip plumper in them means that I'm almost always carrying one or two of them in my purse.  You can wear them alone, or layer a Lip Polish over a Lip Stick for even longer lasting color (each Lip Stick in this shade has a coordinating Lip Polish, so it's easy to pair them up).  It's a great value too - for only $39, you get a lot of product and sizes that are sleek enough to fit easily into a clutch.  Definitely worth wrapping up for a friend of yours (or yourself).

The Sweet Obsessions set won me over before I even opened it because the eye colors all have delicious sounding names, like Strawberry Mousse, Dark Chocolate, and Spiced Biscotti.  I'm such a sucker for makeup named after food.  I swear, it could smell gross, not work, and be totally over-priced and if they just named it after something I could buy at my local bakery, I would totally snatch it up without even a second thought.  (Especially when the packaging makes it actually look like candy, like this one).  Like the lip set, you get a wide variety of shades so you can create lots of different looks, and the shadows all have a little sparkle to them that makes them perfect for the holidays.  And unlike real chocolate, these shades will last a long time and not make your butt look any bigger in your favorite jeans.  Reason enough to buy it!     

Note: Samples of these products were sent to me by a PR representative working with Bare Escentuals.

Big & Healthy

I realize that I say this a lot, but I'm totally obsessed with Bare Escentuals' new Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Sticks ($18).  (With all my makeup obsessions, I'm like the Glenn Close of products.  "I won't be ignored, lip gloss...")  They're these amazing chubby sticks of color that are easy to apply because of their pencil-like shape, but unlike regular lip pencils, the formula is really creamy and moisturizing because of the Vitamins A, C and E that it contains.  It also has the ingredient that all their Buxom lip products are known for that gives you that plumping sensation when you put it on.  (It's not super stingy, like Lip Venom - it's more of a minty, tingling feeling - so those of you who don't like lip plumpers should be fine with these).  The Lip Sticks are available in six gorgeous shades - my favorites are Las Vegas, a pretty pink perfect for the last days of summer, and Barcelona, a dark red that I wore out to dinner the other night and totally got compliments on.  Also?  I love Bare Escentuals for making them with a built-in sharpener.  I like these kind of lip products, but the weirdly-sized ones that come with their own sharpeners are only fun until you wear it all the way down, realize that you can't find the sharpener, spend 3 straight hours looking for it, finally give up in defeat, and never use the product again.  (But keep it in your bathroom so you can glare at it every time you open your makeup drawer).  Or does that only happen to me? 

More Friends and Family!

Friends and Family coupons really are the best coupons of all.  Can we all just agree on that?  From Friday, June 19th through Sunday, June 21st, just enter the code SHARE when you check out at BareEscentuals.com and you'll get 20% off your entire purchase.  I suggest you try the Buxom Babes Flower Girls set or the Peacock Collection, which looks adorable.  Enjoy!