ProductWhores

Travel With Style

My three favorite words when shopping for beauty products are "gift with purchase."  It just makes me so very, very happy to buy something that I already wanted and get something else on top of it.  Beauty.com always has great GWP's and their newest one is no different.  It's a collaboration with designer Shoshanna Gruss and is available now until supplies run out.  With any $100 or more purchase, you'll get the exclusive Shoshanna-designed travel case full of deluxe and full sized products for free.  Free!  Love that!  The bag is so cute too - it's a retro-inspired floral print in bright colors and the inside has two polka dotted waterproof interior compartments. It's the perfect bag to throw your makeup in for a weekend getaway.  Says Shoshanna, "I chose to re-create a floral print from our spring line that really personified the Shoshanna collection.  It is pretty, bright, and fun, with a 1960s Palm Beach vintage feeling. It’s what every girl on the go needs; a cute makeup bag to fit all of her beauty essentials."

The bag packed with products is valued at more than $120 and includes the following:

• LORAC Breakthrough Performance Foundation
• ARCONA Booster Defense Serum
• Stila High Shine Lip Color in Amber
• tarte Blushing Bride Cheek Stain
• Frederic Fekkai Coiff Lifting and Texturing Spray Gel
• skyn ICELAND Glacial Face Wash
• (MALIN+GOETZ) Assorted Hair Care
• Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener
• Jane Iredale Eye Gloss in Champagne Silk
• Too Faced Lash Injection Mascara
• Ken Paves Healthy Hair Shine Serum
• Bliss Lemon + Sage Soapy Sap
• DDF Daily Protective Moisturizer

Get yours now at Beauty.com. 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

For those of you who wear contacts (which includes me), this is a contest you'll want to enter.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and from now until October 31, Bausch & Lomb (already my contact solution brand of choice!) will be giving away 40 limited edition pink Crystallized - Swarovski Elements contact lens cases.  To enter, all you have to do is go to ReNuCares.com and download a coupon for ReNu MultiPlus contact lens solution.  You'll be automatically entered to win one of the cases, which are created with 646 hand-applied crystal components.  They all feature the hallmark Susan G. Komen for the Cure ribbon and have a retail value of approximately $350. Even better, for every coupon that's redeemed, Bausch & Lomb will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, so you're saving money AND helping a great cause at the same time.  Winners will be notified by November 15, 2008.  I'm heading over to the site right now to get my coupon.  With all the time I spend handling my contact lens case, shouldn't it be as blinged out as possible?  Why yes, yes it should. 

My Lipstick Thanks you, IcyBag

With the summer months upon us, it’s nice to have a way to cart around make-up without risk of the sun destroying your expensive Stila foundation and Cargo lipstick.  The IcyBag is a really cool (pun intended) invention that is marketed as a bag for preserving heat-sensitive items on outdoor excursions.  Invented by a woman who was sick of her make-up melting into oblivion, the IcyBag has a neat little gel pack that you freeze and slide into the attached sleeve to keep your items cool.  I discovered the bag was a perfect way to protect my sunscreen and lipbalm on local hikes.  Also, I was able to fit a few snacks in there as well.  Because of the protective sleeve, the condensation on the gel pack didn’t leak through – important to me because there’s nothing worse than a soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich after you’ve hauled your butt all the way up a trail.  I really am a sucker for anything multi-purpose and this bag does the trick.  How better to lug your lipstick, sunscreen and string cheese to the beach?  C’mon, no woman should be left unarmed with melted lipstick, runny sunscreen and gooey cheese while sunbathing.  As a special treat to all ProductWhores.com readers, if you order an IcyBag and mention the code PW2GEL you’ll get an extra gel pack for free.  But, just like with melting lipstick, you have to act quickly – the coupon code is valid through July 15th.   

Learn Your Brush Strokes

I always was under the impression that you had to spend top dollar to get good makeup brushes.  While I believe that the synthetic cheaper brushes tend to be inferior – falling apart as you swipe them across your face – you really shouldn’t have to put a brush on layaway to know that you’re going to have a fabulous tool.  I am a fan of Sonia Kashuk brushes from Target.  While my brush collection is a bit schitzo – a few from MAC, a few from Laura Mercier and a lone Tarte brush – I find that the Sonia Kashuk brushes last as long, clean just as well, and spread color just as evenly.  Also, her large eyeshadow brush blends color beautifully.  With her low prices (compare a MAC powder brush at $42.00 and a Sonia one at $17.99) you can’t resist but have her full collection. What you save in brushes, you can easily spend on bags and shoes.  Or maybe that’s just how I justify my spending.  She has also just released her new contoured brushes collection which is a little more expensive, but still very worth the money.  Also, the contouring makes the brushes just sit perfectly between your fingers.  Now that you’re armed with the perfect brushes, if you screw up the application that’s your own problem.