Thursday, June 30, 2011

Gilt Groupe is doing gourmet food now! Heart be still....

They are currently also featuring Fancy Nancy stuff for the parents out there , clothing, inexpensive jewelry and some totally wacky cook Japanese kitchen gadgets!


Just Fabulous is, well, Just Fabulous

Just Fab, I love you! 

Some recent acquirements include

An insanely attractive - and comfortable!- shoe that looks gorgeous with a sundress.
 
This extremely well made purse that's roomy with tons of pockets and turns heads. 

And a pair of sandals I've been wearing religiously this summer, Aphrodite.
An olive faux snakeskin with with big square stone embellishments going up the front strap. 

LOVE!

These are all items I just finished reviewing for Just Fab, and I can't recommend them enough. Heck, right now they have an EXACT knock off of Christian Louboutin's!

Once you fill out your profile, they make recommendations especially for you and your needs and desires (not everyone has a clog and wedge obsession like I do!) Each month they showcase tons of shoes, bags and accessories, and with every purchase and survey filled, you earn points towards FREE shoes or bags! YAY! They also now carry foot petals, those amazing little gizmos that turn stilettos into tennies. Okay, well, not quite....

So check 'em out at Just Fab!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011


We looked in the mirror recently and had a bold realization: We’d become Lazy with a capital L when it comes to makeup. It was time to revive our look, so we experimented with some new eye makeup. And the compliments we received that day were worth their weight in gold eyeshadow. We encourage you to get out of your makeup rut and try these Napoleon Perdis products to create WOW eyes. Don’t wait for your next special occasion—try a new look now! 





Though these highlighters are usually worn on the face, we like to start by covering the entire eye area with the light shimmer—it makes the eye area pop!
Napoleon Perdis Light Patrol Luminizer Palette, $60




Then it’s time to apply shadow. Try a paler color from the lash line to just above the crease. Then do a shade darker, but in the same color family, in a V-shape along the outer edge of the eye line and in at the crease.
Napoleon Perdis Eye Patrol, $20



Follow that with a liner that’s in the same color family—try blues, greens or purples for instance. Use a liner brush to draw a perfect, thick line along the top and use the darker shade of eyeshadow as the liner on the bottom if you want lower liner.
Napoleon Perdis China Doll Eyeliner, $25

Finish with a few coats of this dramatic mascara that makes your eye color pop. It’s that easy!
Napoleon Perdis Lash Patrol, $19



Available at Dermstore 
Free Shipping with No Minimums & Free Samples! Dermstore.com - Find Popular Skin Care & Cosmetic Products.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Glimmer City- The New Spot for Deep Discounts


Love group buying and deep discounts?

Introducing GLIMMER CITY - your daily beauty [and fashion] deals site.

Every day [or every few days], a new deal will pop up featuring an amazing discount on products focused around the fabulous world of females. You'll score a discount of 50% off or more on the retail price of makeup, skincare, and accessories. Each deal is a new surprise of mind-blowing goodness.
Check out today's deal and receive a $5 credit when you refer a friend. Sign up for daily deals by email or visit the blog to enter to win $75 in Ulta giftcards.



- Your friends at


beauty marketing that fits your budget

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Indie Favorites



Sassy Minerals www.sassyminerals.com


The picture does not do this stuff justice. I have used Sassy Minerals before, and their shimmers are so shimmery that the husband was fascinated by it. I rubbed some on my hands and we were mesmerized by the multihues sparkles it left behind. He even suggested I coat myself in it some time just for fun! (Okay, so we do get a little silly sometimes....) I see blues, greens, pinks, and silvers, making this a gorgeous color for almost any eye color. On me, the blue and green sparkles really make my blue green eyes go kapow. It's a really long lasting color and has little cheek fallout when you apply it (though somehow I do have little sparklys. I actually like to put it on my eyebrows as an unexpected brow shadow with a glam glitz. Twinkle twinkle little brows......


Evan's Garden - Beauty That Won't Kill You

is a wonderful company that I'm proud to recommend and I strongly encourage you to check out their site. Not only do they have an astounding array of natural, handcrafted products, but their site is a font of informative and educational material! I highly recommend that you go and read their article on toxic chemicals found in many health and beauty products.

Sign up for their newsletter while you're at it- the last one I got was a fascinating article on GMO's including links to a PDF shopping guide listing safe and unsafe brands (not my beloved Pringles! Nooooooooo!)

Their Company Credo is this:

Welcome to Evan's Garden! We handcraft all our natural
skin care, wellness, body care and beauty products in small, fresh batches. These are powerfully effective formulations Evan creates using the highest-quality natural ingredients.

You won't find mass-manufactured products here or so-called
"natural" products that don't make it through reading the label.
At Evan's Garden™ we always use truly natural ingredients and
organic ingredients whenever possible.

Just as important is what we leave out: petroleum and other toxic chemicals.
You won't find any of these in any of our products.

We're a small, family company known for our uncompromising quality
and personal customer care. We're here to make it fast and easy for
you to get what you need for a natural, healthy lifestyle.


Everyday Minerals

Everyday Minerals Eye Minerals are awesome! I love that they have colors available in matte, pearl and shimmer since most mineral makeup eye colors tend to be solely of the shimmery variety. While I do adore getting my glitter on, it's great that they have a matte option- a rarity in the world of mineral makeup. Particularly women "of a certain age" tend to have difficulty pulling off the sparklier eye since the light reflection can emphasize fine lines.
I like to use Pic Nic & Beach Towel together. The blue of Beach Towel really makes my eyes sparkle, and the creamy buttery Pic Nic as a highlighter really makes my eyes look a lot bigger. I love to use these with a liquid cat eye liner for a mod-ish go-go look.

Something else I love about these guys is their commitment to creating safe products. Based in my home state of Texas, too! Yee, ha!



Grateful Body Restorative Sea Cell Serum  puts things in balance when you’ve been cruel to your skin. This miracle in a jar was introduced to my by the All Natural Beauty Mall and I loved it so much that I bought a bottle for my mom. Right now, Grateful Body has a bunch of stuff on sale, so now is a great time to check them out. This is THE hands down perfect summer serum, since it's light and absorbs directly into the skin, providing a perfect base for your other skincare products. It leaves you feeling nourished and whole, and the herby scent is soothing. They actually have a feature where you can design your own skincare products to be custom made to fit your specific needs! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?


Handmade Lip Lickers Make Me Wanna SMOOCH!

I have been LOVING me some handmade lip balm lately! I put on some cherry chapstick the other day and had to wipe it off because I've gotten so spoiled that it felt like I'd melted a candle onto my mouth. INTO the trash it went, even though I hate to waste, but I can just never go down that road again. So what are some good alternatives that I've been rockin' lately?

From S Type Creative I LOVE their handmade chocolate fudge lip balm! It smells amazing, and the smell of chocolate is a proven aphrodisiac ;-)It's long lasting and smooth and deeply penetrating.
Delightful and emolient  handcrafted lip balm smells terrific and lasts for hours without being greasy or waxy. Includes organic dutch cocoa which is reputed to be an antioxidant. Regardless of it’s alleged health properties, it smells great!
.15 oz oval natural tube.
Ingredients: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil (and) Cetyl Stearyl Alcohol (and) Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil (and) Beeswax (and) Hydrogenated Castor Oil (and) Glycine Soja (Soybean) Lipids (and) Lauryl Laurate (and) Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax (and) Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Dutch Cocoa, artificial fudge flavor.

Naturally LeLa  has been a real head turner. I'm hooked on their lip balm and there's so much other stuff on their page I want to try! Check out the link and see for yourself- you'll be agog if you like imaginative and creative bath and body products. They have a chocolate face mask! I love the tasty lip balms, I have the sweet and sassy Peach Fuzz & Ginger Buzz and the invigorating and refreshing Sunshine. Bonus- the packaging alone is enough to make me smile!
Benefits: Natural Sun Blocker, Moisturizing, Deep Soothing Penetration, Healing, Uplifting, Sweet and Sensual, Aroma Therapeutic

can apparently do no wrong, because their C.A.D.D. (Cock-A-Doodle-Don't) lip balm is super flavored, smells lovely, and is another super rich, long lasting lip emollient. I have the Boonze Farm Tickle Pink. I love their hysterical product packaging! (I do wish their web page was a little easier to navigate though....) 

The husband is glad I now have around Crema de Coco from Diosa Botanicals because he doesn't like to use flavored or scented balms, and he enjoys the straightforwardness of this one, so this is what he reaches for. Coconut oil has been receiving a lot of attention lately as people are discovering it's wonderful properties for both the inside AND the outside of the body, something that the UA theater chain knew when we used coconut oil to pop our popcorn and were consistently voted best popcorn! These folks make their handmade lip balm using WILD HARVESTED coconuts! WOW! I need to move, all I can wild harvest around here is pecans!
The main ingredient, organic Coconut oil, is HANDMADE IN MONTEZUMA, COSTA RICA. Coconut oil naturally contains 7 SPF.

The coconut oil I use as a base in this lip balm is 100% hand made and organic from wildharvested Costa Rican coconuts. The oil is carefully slow toasted over a fire all day.

This is basically an unscented lip balm, but you will be able to enjoy the lightly toasted aroma of the coconut oil.

This lip balm is 100% plant based. The flavor from plants. This balm will not give you chapped lips, it leaves lips silky and lush. Won´t melt in yer pocket and one tube lasts forever!

Coconut Oil is an amazing healer. It is an emollient and leaves skin radiant and glowing. Coconut oil has a light amount of SPF. A light body, hand and face oil, coconut oil does not clog pores. It is an anti-bacterial, a mild insect repellant, and a skin cell regenerator. As many medicines grow in the place where they are most needed, coconut oil is a coolant for the skin that blossoms right from the steamy tropics.

Last but most certainly, definitely not least is the Lip Whip from Stinky D's. I have it in Orange, and if you watch my Summer Fun video review on my You Tube channel  , http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBeautyPirate  you'll see first hand how exuberant it makes me! Seriously, it makes me totally dork out and swoon.


So take a chance and support indie businesses! You get high quality products made with sincerity and sticking it to "the man" at the same time :-) Besides, it always feels cool to pull something out of your bag and have people ask "wow, what's that?" Be a trendsetter- shop handmade!
Please note this will never make me stop buying Lancome ;- )

Oh, wait! Duh- Cherry City's  Happy Hour Lip Balm in Margarita makes any hour happy hour! Again, watch my Summer Fun review to see just how much I love them- or better yet, watch my review of many different items available from Cherry City!



Friday, June 24, 2011

Now I Wanna Be Your Dog

Homemade, gourmet style dog treats are all the rage lately- heck, there's even an entire store catering to pampered pets in my neighborhood! For me, I have a very old man that gives me his big sad moo cow eyes and I feel like giving him a treat to cheer him up, but most commercial doggie treats are so full of unpronounceable crap that I don't feel comfortable feeding them to such an elderly gent (though the baby of the family is a different matter- she eats wood and animals that she murders in the back yard......)

So TADA! All natural handmade goodies for your four legged friends!

There's tons of choice out there,  but here's a few that, based on his reaction, must taste pretty good to a dog!





The-Vintage-Chest-Barkery makes treats to order and specialize in creating recipes for specific animal dietary needs. Just drop them a message and let them know what you're looking for!

makes organic treats that look like something I personally want to chow down on! Their ginger cookies make your dog's breath NOT smell like butt for a day or so, too!



Beagle Bites
are another one of those treat companies that they smell good enough that I almost am tempted to steal a nibble! Probably not the best idea I've ever had in my life, though :-)



Stylin' Pup Pillows carries so much more than treats! Goodness, they've got all kinds of unique, handmade items for the stylish dog (and cat!) Custom made collars! Non slip bowl mats! And I am SOOOOOO wanting to buy the custom made pink skull and crossbones leash and collar set for my Anna Nicole!
Stylin' Pup Pillows also makes kitty treats, like salmon cookies, so in honor of our friends who meow, I'd also like to mention
Colorado Catnip Toys , with organic and handmade catnip toys, kitty blankets and beds. Check out all the positive feedback on their shop and see why I recommend them. I've given their toys to 2 different feline friends who went absolutely nuts over them, and my own two meow meows fight over theirs. I caught Calliope hiding theirs :-)
So show some love to your furry babies and let them know how special they are while supporting indie business endeavors at the same time. PetSmart doesn't need any more of your ducats!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Death By Chocolate! Out of The Box just KILLS me....

Video should be up tomorrow!
(Okay, oopsie! It's up now! Sorry, but most of the edibles got scarfed almost immediately before I took photos and the photos are a tidge crappy since I had a lightbulb burn out :-( )
has knocked me dead with the Death By Chocolate Sampler Box! How sweet it is.....
(Keep your eye's open for the next sampler!)
 bar of chocolatey soap


www.erethascandles.com
Pumpkin Pie Candle


www.sweetcreationscakery.com
Chocolate Cake Pop



www.luxcandles.etsy.com
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough tealight, 2 Cappucino Brulee tars


 www.sayitsosweetly.etsy.com
 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie



www.sbsteas.com
Peppermint Gourmet Cocoa



www.quintescentials.etsy.com
Chocolate Mousse Whipped Soaps



www.sweetntreats.com
Edible Cupcake Topper



www.firefly1505.etsy.com
1 Kusudama Fower Cupcake Topper, a set of Heart Gift Tags, Chocolate & Ivory Heart Confetti, Kraft Paper Business Card Envelope, Alice In Wonderland inspired tags


www.candylandcreations.com
Chocolate Caramels


www.gobles6.etsy.com
Glittery Chocolate Chip Cookies Palm Wax Tart




www.storybooksoaps.etsy.com
Chocolate Truffle Soap



www.erinskincareproductsllc.com
Chocolate Covered Cherry Body Butter


www.whoossoap.etsy.com
Chocolate & Coffee Ground Hand Scrub Bar w/ ground coffee beans, tube of Fudge Lip Balm



www.shophandmade.com/Store/Apenny4U
handcrafted Thank You card

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JodisCraftEmporium
heart decorated ribbon



www.sweetsophiascreations.com
"The Works" Gourmet Caramel Corn (Er, sorta ate all of it before I took a picture! um, oops?)



www.Imajine.etsy.com
Bronze Mineral Eyeshadow


www.theuglyducklingdesigns.com
Caramel Fudge Cake Wax Tart




www.embossededibles.com
St Patrick's Lemon Springerle Cookies in tin


www.LucciPoochie.etsy.com
Fudge Brownie Scented Tarts



www.divatreats1.etsy.com
Chocolate Fudge Candy Hearts Soap



www.lustchocolates.moonfruit.com
Nocoa Truffle Company Truffle Set


www.magickmoon.net
Affair To Remember (chocolate dipped strawberries) Goats Milk Soap




www.LittleCreekCandleCo.etsy.com

Hot Chocolate & Marshmallows tealight




Passion-Parties-By-Kayci on Facebook
Flavored Passion Powder, Fireworks Body Lotion




www.bellacustomclothing.etsy.com
Handmade Shamrock Pasties



www.crystaltree.webs.com
 heart shaped wax tart



www.stickywrapper.etsy.com
Rocky Road Marshmallows



www.endorfinn.etsy.com
Chocolate Swirl "Hey There, Stud" earrings



www.treasuredsweets.com
Mini Chocolate w/ Photo Wrapper



www.saltboxscents.etsy.com
2 Wax Star Tarts



www.cookiechic.etsy.com
Double Chocolate Scone, Mud & Dirt Cupcake



www.nubiasedibleflorals.etsy.com
Shamrock Chocolate Pop



www.tlaroy.com
Amaretto Fudge Container Candle


www.PhenomenalCreations.etsy.com
Body Chocolates Massage Bars


www.healthyoptionsofdaysgoneby.com

  Double Mint Chocolate & Chocolate Lovers Body soaps



www.MiaJoyCandles.etsy.com
Love Conquers Spa & moisturizing Soy Scented Candle


www.gardengatebath.etsy.com
Solid Conditioner Bar for Normal Hair


www.scentapy.com
Hydrate Vanilla Bean & Cocoa Butter body lotion





www.blackberrysoaps.com
Chocolate Orange Goats Milk Soap