Christmas Is Coming! Gift Ideas

As far as I can tell- every girl loves Victoria's Secret. I know I do! Even though there are simply too many great gift ideas to show you, I really wanted to share my favorites.

Gifts For All

These gifts are really great and affordable- so you if you're buying for many girlfriends you won't break the bank!

Victoria's Secret Pink®
Eau de Parfum Ornament
$10
Beauty Rush®
Holiday Gift Set
$15

Includes:
• Body Drink Lotion in Twinkleberry, 2.5 oz.
• Body Double Mist in Twinkleberry, 2.5 oz.
• Lip Gloss in Sugar High, a clear, shimmering shade

Victoria's Secret Pink®
Mini Gift Set
$15

 Includes Victoria's Secret Pink® Eau de Parfum, .25 oz., and Body Lotion, 1.7 oz. 
Secret Garden Collection
Hydrating Body Lotion Gift Set
$15

Includes:
• Amber Romance, 1.7 oz. 
• Love Spell®, 1.7 oz. 
• Pure Seduction, 1.7 oz. 
• Berry Kiss, 1.7 oz. 
• Sweet Daydream, 1.7 oz.

Victoria's Secret Pink®
Pink with a Splash All-over Body Mist Gift Box
$25

Includes:
• Fresh & Clean, 4.2 oz.
• Fruity & Bright, 4.2 oz.
• Warm & Cozy, 4.2 oz.

Victoria's Secret Pink®
Must-have Gift Set
$25

 Includes Sheer Fragrance Mist, 4.2 oz., and Body Lotion, 3.4 oz.
Victoria's Secret Pink®
Tank & panty set
$19.50
Tee & pant set
$39.50  

The price for this set is a REALLY GOOD PRICE for one of their shirts and sweatpants! This could be for a best friend, sister, or even your mom-my mom loves Pink!

For Makeup Lovers
POPbeauty
Hello Gorgeous
$20

Includes:
• 10 lip glosses
• 6 cheek shades
• 36 eye shades
• 2 duo applicators

Omg at the price for all this plus- BONUS! When you're done with the makeup you can pop it out and it doubles as a jewelry box!

VS Makeup
Heidi Klum Eye Shadow Palette
$24

Even though she had an adorable palette last year-she had her face plastered on the front! I prefer this. Plus the shades are gorgeous!
POPbeauty
Goddess Clutch
$32

Includes:
• 8 eyeshadows
• Lip gloss
• Highlighter
• Blush

Such a pretty way you can carry your makeup. Another deal from POPbeauty and another BONUS! Pop(haha! no pun intended) the makeup out and carry this clutch out on the town. 

For The Polish Addicts

Victoria's Secret Pink now has polish apparently. The top on these even house nail bling! Victoria's Secret Pink®
PINK ME UP™ Polish & Bling
$7 or Special any 3/$15 

(shown in sweet, love it, and amazing and available in 6 shades)

Anyone seen or used these yet? I'd love to see a swatch.

For The Girl Who Has It All

Let her pick her own gift, now or later. (I wish all giftcards were so pretty)

Deals Going On Right Now

Pink's "natural" line is on sale right now for $5- that's anything in the line! Hurry while they last!

Codes

• Free Pink limited edition tote  VSPINKBAG 
• Free Beauty Rush Lip Set  FREERUSH 
• $15 off $100, $30 off $150, $75 off $250, $150 off $500 FALL09 

All valid until November 18th 

Lust

Sabina Leather Satchel in Emperor Purple $198 @ UrbanOutfitters.com

The Beauty Chick takes a look a Go Girl's practical line of products.

Beauty Junkies Unite swatches of one of the hottest new nail polish shades, Jade from Chanel!

It's "Armani Everything" at Best Things in Beauty, where you can read all about the new Rouge d'Armani lipsticks and Crema Nera OMC3 and enter a giveaway contest for OMC3 ($185).

Denim Debutante talks about why she didn't go to Fashion Week.

"Match you nails to your emails!" Dell and O.P.I. at FeroHHHsh.

Kelly of Gouldylox Reviews sits down with Leslie Blodgett of Bare Escentuals.

Hot Beauty Health is giving you the latest jacket trends for fall!

The Informed Makeup Maven gives away her must have Napoleon Perdis essentials.

Krasey Beauty explores glamour's Gothic side with Illamasqua Dystopia.

Lipgloss Break is giving away Pure Silk shaving cream.

Check out review and swatches of Chanel Glossimers at Makeup4all.

theNotice tries on Fall's dark lip trend -- and throws some blue and violet into the mix!

Obsession Confessions of Glamour and Love has tips for dry hair and skin in colder weather.

Prime Beauty learns that thin is not always in, with hair at least.

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month, and Sicka Than Average wants you to dip into a sea of pink with these BCA-themed fashions and cosmetics

Visit our website for more information about The HLMN or how to become an affiliate.

What is this feeling?

More From Nailene

After wearing the couture nails from Nailene for about a day they started popping off a bit ( I think it was because they are so arched and my nails are fairly flat) so I took them off and out the So Natural nails on for my Saturday night out. They held up much better but I still had one pop off, which was probably my fault. I like these nails a lot but they do have their cons. Here's my list of the good and the bad.

The Good:

• Cheap 
• Easy to apply
• Sturdy-thick enough to not break or chip but thin enough to feel natural.
• Very lightweight-I can't even tell they're on my nails.
• These have a slight sparkle to them which I really like.
• Contour to your nail really well. 
• Short length-I know a lot of people don't like the short length but I prefer this length.
• Natural looking tip-not bright white and no noticeable line between the nude and white.

The Bad:

• Tip wear started on day one and the top coat of the nail is flaking off. I think this could be solved by putting your own clear coat over the nail initially.
• Kinda plastic looking. 

Amazing Deal!

I was looking around for some cheap flats and having found my favorite pairs for cheap at Target last year I decided to check out the website. I found these great looking flats for $12.99! They have several colors and designs and at this price you can have a pair of each! Plus, all the flats have rave reviews from the customers that bought them. Check them out at Target.com.

7 Things

Kae over at The Hungry Asian did a 7 things tag on her blog and said if anyone wanted to do one that she chose purple. I had to do it since I love the color purple and thought it looked like fun! Here's what's in the pic-

• My purse
• My phone and phone sock
• My psp
• Chi nail polish in Passionate For My Work
• My flat iron
• A pair of socks
• A scarf from the Miley Cyrus & Max Azria collection at Walmart- this was only six dollars but is really nice. I also picked up one of the plaid tunics in yellow. I found a Walmart with several of the tunics in a bunch of colors. I really like the shirt and will take a picture when I get a chance. If I go back and they still have more I plan on buying a bunch up! Here's a pic in case you've yet to see the shirt-

Cardi Coats for $20

Old Navy is having a sale on cardi coats this week and after seeing the commercial a million and one times I decided to go see what they had. I looked on the website first and picked out a purple/maroon one. When I got there that color wasn't in my size so I ended up gettingone in gray. I have to say these are really a deal at $20- they were orginally around $44. They look exactly like they do on the website and are so thick and comfy! I can't wait for cold weather so I can start wearing mine. I got this one in gray. I really loved this color but I didn't want to get one too big. $20The sleeves on this one kinda freak me out but I love everything else about it. $20 Here's a shorter version but I seen this style in a long version also. Plus there's several colors to choose from in all the styles. $20I didn't see this one at my store but I really like this one. It's a little more expensive but still cheap at $29.50.

Starry Sky

I was contacted by Nailene Last week and they said they asked if I'd like some products to review. Well I love free stuff and nail stuff so I said of course! I didn't expect so much but they were really generous and it all came like a birthday present in a pretty purple bag with tissue paper. I was so excited to open it all! Here's what I got-

I tried the Acrylic Strong topcoat with some of the bedazzle decals first. The topcoat had a nice shine and dried fairly fast although the formula seemed thin. It could be that I'm just used to Seche being so thick. I really like the bottle design. It's frosted glass which makes it easy to hold on to and the shape feels comfortable to hold. The decals were easy to apply and seem really secure- especially with the topcoat over them. 

So after messing with the decals, I took them off because I couldn't wait to try the Couture nails on. 

These were easy to apply and I didn't get many bubbles at all. Plus I put decals on top to hide any flaws. I love the blue sparkly tips!

What I like about them:

• Affordable 
• Quick and easy to apply
• Seemed not to have as many bubbles
• Fun design
• Bubbled arch (I don't naturally have one but these give me one-which I like)
• No commitment (No going to the salon to maintain these. If I want nails, I just pop some on in the comfort of my own home and when I'm done I can remove them at home.)
• Looks as good as salon nails

What I dislike:

• While I found a good match for most of my nails, there was the one nail that I couldn't match well.
• No matter what there are always bubbles.
• These didn't seem to hold as well as the other nails I've used. This isn't totally a bad thing though, because this nail design isn't something I'd want for more than the weekend. 

Overall I really like these regardless of the cons. I was surprised these are made by the same company that makes Revlon's because I did not like the Revlon ones. I tried applying those and they turned out horrible so then I tried removing them which was even worse. I can't wait to try the other nails I received and will be doing reviews on them also.

Hungry Giveaway!

Kae over at The Hungry Asian is having a giveaway! The prizes are Mac Baby Goth Girl ,Hard Candy Mr.Wrong  and China Glaze Fortune Teller. 

All the info is on her blog, so click here and be sure to enter by October 16th!

It's In The Bag

Essie It's In The Bag

I always have trouble with this color polish- creamy off white- it always looks streaky and thick. Any tips?

Here's a few things I picked up today-

I got these buy 1 get 1 free. I already have a bottle of the intensive therapy but I wanted the foundation. These were only $4.99 at TjMaxx!

I used the base coat earlier on my damaged nails- they have torn spots on them from me peeling off my fake nails(I know big no no)-and it worked wonders!

I seen these last time but in full sized and liked at the scents, so when I seen them in a mini trio I had to pick them up! Essie Smoothies hand and body lotion in blueberry/banana, coconut/pineapple, pomegranate/mango. I picked these up at TjMaxx for just $4.50 for all three!

They also have these for $9.59 at discountbeautycenter.com

I'm always looking for some hand wipes to carry with me and found exactly what I wanted! I picked these up at Old Navy for $1.50 each-they only come with10 wipes a piece but they smell delicious and can be used for face or body. 

Vacation and Reviews

Hi Everyone! I'm on vacation this week. In my case it's a "stay"cation haha! So I'll have extra time to be more attentive to my blog and post some things I've been meaning to post, a few reviews, etc. I also just really wanted to say thank you to my followers! Everytime I see my small number go up, it just makes my day. Hopefully one day it'll be a big number! I  also wanted to tell you all how much I enjoy reading my comments and reading your blogs. 

On another note I got contacted by Nailene to try some of their products. I wasn't even aware of all the products they were producing. I can't wait to receive some of their stuff and tell you all my experiences with it. I seen some fake nails like the other ones I tried so cross my fingers I'll get to try some. I also have the Revlon ones I hope to get around to trying this week. The nail beds on these are rather transparent so I'm going to take some of the nails that are off sized and practice with those. If you have any tips that work for you, let me know. 

Nail Designs

I had some extra fake nails left over and thought I'd try some designs out. Some didn't work out so well. All are three coats with Seche Vite topcoat except Essie Mid Squad has Essie 3way glaze as a topcoat. These are my Halloween themed ones. I love the jagged tip on the green one.  I used my Nailene French tip pen in black. The color I used was Sally Hansen InstaDri Lickity Split Lime. I love this color but it stains my nails so bad(even with every base I've tried) and the brush sucks. The left nail is Sinful Colors Cloud 9 and Art Deco black.

These are Christmas themed. From left to right- China Glaze Adore (amazing coverage in just one coat with this polish) topped with Jessica An Affair To Remember. The next one is L.A. Colors in Pink Crush (a red pink) topped with Art Deco silver glitter. And last is Jessica The Way You Look Tonight with Art Deco gold glitter for the tip. TWYLT should be called Ruby Slippers! So pretty!

Ignore my messed up nail art please. I posted this one to show you how similar Sinful Colors Forever Pink looks to my new Essie Mod Squad. Not an exact dupe as the sinful is lighter in real life. The Sinful doesn't compare at all to the formula of the Essie. I see what all the raves are about now. Love this polish! The tip of the left nail is Art Deco in baby pink and magenta.

So I wanted to show everybody my new phone! It's no blackberry or iPhone but I really like it and all I wanted was just a phone. I'm on gadget overload as is and the thing I use my phone most for anyways is the calculator. Swear. I hate talking on the phone. 

stock photo

My phone! <3

I love this!

My Pretty Sample Bag

I got my pretty sample bag today! I got the three sample bag just to try it out. If you're not familiar- My Pretty Sample Bag is brought to us by the same Linda who runs My Pretty Pink Box. With the sample bag you can actually choose your samples from a really good variety of samples. Be quick though! I waited and some of the samples I wanted sold out. I just checked the site and she's actually lowered the pricing so it's a HUGE deal. I paid $6.50 for 3 samples and now it's just $5.50. That's $1 cheaper! The five sample bag has gone down fifty cents if I'm correct- from $9.50 to $9.00. This all includes shipping also, so no hidden fees to jack up the price! So anyways, here's my bag and thoughts- O yea, there was no actual bag haha! Which is probably a good thing cause I have plenty of bags laying around as is.

This was taken with my phone by the way.

What I got-

A 1.5 oz. can of BigSexyHair Spray&Play volumizing hairspray

A box of Revlon Runway Collection nails in minx/medium length (hope these are as good as the kiss nails which were amazing!)

A bag of 3 mark. skincare samples and one perfume sample 

Not bad considering the nails run around $6 by themselves! 

I would definitely buy this again! I love sampling products before I buy them or having smaller sizes for my handbag and traveling.

Tagged!

Yay! I got my first tag from Lacquer Laine.

"10 facts about you"

It says I'm supposed to tell you lovely readers ten things about me and then tag ten other blogs. 

1. I don't have any pets or children, but I want both! :) 

2. I'm 5'1" tall. I grew about 2 inches after the age of 18, which I didn't even know until my dad made me measure myself insisting I was more than 5 feet tall.

3.  My favorite color is pink followed very closely by purple.

4. I can wiggle my ears.

5. I can't whistle but have tried as much as humanly possible.

6. I'm left handed but I'm right hand dominate.

7. I don't wear dresses or shorts but continue to buy them anyways. 

8. I ask alot of questions.

9. I'm a Gemini.

10. I love the rain. 

I tag...

Kae from The Hungry Asian

Pinky from Beauty By Pinky

Em from Too Much Blush

Fashion Court

Ashley from A Little Left of the Middle

Kellie  from Also Known As...

Joanie from Joanie Loves Chachi

Celine from The Shoe Girl

Guitarrasara

Sylvia from Chaotic Cookie

TjMaxx Haul and New Toy

I love TjMaxx and finding deals, here's some of the stuff I got...I got the cutest little notebook to carry around with me  cause I'm always thinking of something I need to do or get and never have anything handy to write it down on and eventually I always forget. Now I won't! I was so happy to find this trio of little Korres body butters. I've bought Korres products from TjMaxx before and really love the products but not their retail prices- I got this for just $6.99- right now it's listed on Ulta.com for $24.50! It comes with Quince, Fig, and Guava. I found these Betsey Johnson ankle socks in the color purple, 6 pairs for $6.99- that's Walmart pricing! Haha! The retail tag says $65.00, now I'm a Betsey lover but no way am  paying $65 for some socks! I found this wallet I've seen on a couple of website for around 20 bucks for just $4.99. I really like this wallet because it's small and sturdy and cute enough to just carry around with you by itself. I also found a pink zebra hairbrush. I wouldn't proclaim myself as a zebra print fan but I guess I should because I always end up buying zebra print stuff. I am a cupcake fanatic though, so when I seen this cupcake candle with sprinkles on top I had to have it, it smells so yummy. The sprinkles look so real but I thought surely they must be wax right? My boyfriend was like- no they're real- and ate one! *Gasp* Turns out he was right- they are real! Haha! Stale but real. I now see why though- when the candle burns, they don't melt! I also got this water bottle with a skull and rose on it, I'm not a skull fan but I love the pink and black. When I used it the first time I was thinking wow this bottle sweats a lot because the bottle stayed soaking wet, but I realized there is a small spot where the seam wasn't welded all the way so it was leaking- that's one negative about TjMaxx, sometimes the product is there because it's defective. I fixed it though so no big deal. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a small selection of Essie polishes sitting there. I don't own any Essie polish so I just grabbed this double pack which came with a free 3 way glaze mini. The colors are mod squad and it's in the bag. I paid just $7.99 for the pack and they had singles for $3.99. They also had some Essie lotions that smelled amazing. I could kick myself for not getting any. And I seen some Rescue Beauty Lounge shower gel, but it smelled kinda yucky.  I also got a pair of Betsey Johnson sunglasses that I forgot to take a picture of, a shirt, and some workout pants.I didn't take pictures of these because they're in my shower but I found a large 25 oz. bottle of Bed Head Brunette Goddess for $11.99, smells like caramel. This was a deal for the one as they run around twenty dollars on amazon, but if you want the 2 pack of shampoo and conditioner, amazon has it for around $23- in the 25 oz. I found a small bottle of Sexy Bath and Body in Pumpkin. I love the big sexy hair products and this is from the same makers and smells like a pumpkin pie! It really gets me in Halloween spirit. This bottle was just $4.99 and it runs around $10 everywhere else- so another deal! I hate the body wash I've been using, Caress Tahitian Renewal. It's not so much as the smell but more the formula. It feels watered down or something. I had bought it to try and when I ran out my boyfriend bought me the same kind again.  I might turn it into handsoap...I bought this for my favorite Aunt's birthday. I'm going to wrap it in the pink box from MPPB because it's so pretty and it'll be a good repurposing. I love Precious Moments and this one reminds me of my aunt so much because when I was younger I would go to her house and help in the gardens and yard. Also because I remember her taking me to this gift shop that had all these Precious Moments dolls and I was so amazed. I always wanted this one doll named Patty, she came with a goose.

OMG PSP!

Ok so I'm not a Hannah Montana although I won't deny watching an episode or two or like maybe a lot...But anyways, I've wanted a PSP for a while now but just never wanted to spend the money but when I found this purple one online last week I had to have it! My boyfriend bought it for me and it's so pretty. I can't wait for Little Big Planet to be released for it in November! My nail polish almost matched this when I got it. I was wearing Orly Cashmere Cardigan with Sinful Colors Purple Diamond layered over it. I'll do some swatches later on and post them. 

Beauty By Pinky Nail Tutorials

I wanted to share these tutorials I found on YouTube. This girl makes these super cute nails look  so easy. 

My Pretty Pink Box!

Ok so I got my box yesterday! Yay! It wasn't exactly what I expected but I'm pleased either way. I didn't get any of that Totally Texty (I think that's the name of it) shampoo or conditioner and I thought there was a bottle of that in every box but I must have misunderstood. Here's what my box contained:

• Kiss Everlasting French glue on nails in real short 
• Revlon Fantasy Lengths self adhesive false lashes in defining
• Nailene French Tip Pen in black
• Orglamix mineral blush sample in allspice
• Paint Fx pigment sample in silversham
• Montagne Jeunesse Chocolate masque
• Mark. Sophistique sample

A lot of these are products I never would have bought for myself but I'm really enjoying them. I put the nails on this morning, they are soooo pretty! Sometimes my nails get in bad shape due to my job and I can't keep a nice manicure, so these are a really good solution to that. They're not perfect, as you can kinda see the glue behind the nail bed. But it's not easily noticed unless you're looking real close. The kit includes 12 sizes, so it made it easy to find a match for each nail. I always see other people use these and I just haven't ever had luck with them because they fall off almost immediately and look so bad but these were easy to apply and the glue feels secure. The box states you can wear them for 7 days, I only plan on wearing mine til Friday so we'll see if they last til then. I really like these because I had a fresh manicure in under 5 minutes! I definitely plan on purchasing some of these nails.

Edit: The reason for the air pockets was because I didn't apply them right. I should have put glue on both the nail and my nail but I only put glue on my nail. They still look good but I'll know for next time. 

I also tried the chocolate masque this morning and it smells so yummy! I'm a big fan of chocolate and it was fun applying this to my face. It smelled and looked just like chocolate! I had to tell myself not to eat any. It says it's to relax and it was very relaxing. Plus it made my skin glow after I washed it off. I'd really like to try this mask again and maybe other mask by this same brand.

The Nailene pen I got is in black which will come in handy for Halloween. I tried it this morning on bare nails and it was really easy to apply. It says to use a top coat and I see why, when I washed my hands the polish washed right off. This was a good thing since I was only testing it and didn't want to keep it on, so it should be easy to experiment with this pen. It says it's for tips but you could do many designs. The tip is like a marker tip so it's completely goof proof, but if you do have trouble you can use tip guide stickers. 

I haven't tried my lashes yet but they look super easy to apply and are very natural looking. Dramatic but natural. It also includes more strips of self adhesive and an applicator in the box. The Orglamix blush is a nice warm color and comes in a good sized sample jar. The Paint Fx pigment sample is a beautiful silver color. Paint Fx also has a coupon included for one 7 gram pigment for just 1 penny. Kiss included a $1 off coupon for their nails. 

I really enjoyed my box! I actually even like the box it comes in. I know they started with another box and some people were disappointed with the change but this box is really nice and could be repurposed very easily. 

I can't wait for next months box and will definitely repurchase from My Pretty Pink Box again. If  you haven't gotten a box yet, there might be some left! Hurry! 

Also, Linda- the genius behind MPPB has started My Pretty Sample Bag where you can choose your bag size and what you receive. They have some great samples listed on the site, so be sure and check that out also!

Make It Big!

Here's a mascara I hadn't noticed from mark. til now. It's the make it big lash plumping mascara. I love the thought of this product for three reasons- 1. it's not one of those hookup things, I don't like those. I just want a single product, forget the gimmicks. 2. This looks like a dupe of my beloved Too Faced Lash Injection. 3. You can get it FREE! (full-sized! free gift is in black)

That's right, FREE! Use the promo code MAKEITBIG with any $10 mark. purchase from now til 10/1/09 at meetmark.com (value of $6.50)  

The coupon code - courtesy of the October issue of Cosmo- says for use only at meetmark.com but it works on avon.com also.

What they say about it on the website:

Build and lengthen lashes with this lightweight, smudge-proof formula that's paired with the super-sized brush.

It only comes in two colors-Espresso(brown) or Raven(black).

Most bang for you buck idea-

Right now you can buy a mark. flip for it in urban neutrals for $20 and get three mini brushes. Combine this with the free mascara code plus shopping with a Rep to get free shipping-and you get all this for just $20(plus applicable taxes). 

flip for it includes 2 eyeshadows, 1 blush, 4 lipglosses

Yum

Pop's Donuts

My Pretty Pink Box

I ordered my first one this morning! Did you order one yet? If not, click here.

Update! It's September 6th and there are still some available. Usually these are sold out on the first day so be sure not to miss your chance and order one!

Maybelline Great Lash Goes BIG!

Many of you might have seen the ads by now but for those who haven't...

The famous, well loved Maybelline Great Lash now has a version sporting a BIG brush. Here's what it claims-

Why You'll Love It
Live Big! Great Lash Big™ has a Bigger Brush for Great Big Live-It-Up Lashes! 
The Great Big Brush provides a bigger, bolder lash effect 
Great buildable formula still conditions as it thickens with even greater intensity 
No clumps or globs

I used the original Great Lash for a while and didn't like the brush but liked the formula so this is a must try for me next time I'm at a drugstore. You can find it at Drugstore.com for only $5.99. So cheap! Plus, the pink and green tube is to die for.

Clumps Of Mascara didn't like this product so much- check out her review here.  

Plus, enter Maybelline's Live Big Win Big Sweepstakes by texting BIG to 49737 or by clicking here.

SweetShuGaHon Giveaway!

SweetShuGaHon is giving away the items of your choice from Mac Cosmetics!

You get to choose-

1 lipglass

1 lipstick

1 eyeshadow

1 blush

That's the best giveaway I've seen yet!

Here's my mini wish list of items..

lipstick in pervette

lipglass in nymphette

eyeshadow in stars n rockets

blush in well dressed

Go enter now @ http://sweetshugahon.blogspot.com