June 2nd is the drawing! Don’t forget to join my list of subscribers to enter the product giveaway! More details here.
Beauty Blog News, Deals and Promotions
Memorial Weekend is a great time to do some shopping. Below are a list of some promotions and discounts to help you celebrate. Enjoy!
Crazy for La Mer? Neiman Marcus is offering a deluxe sample of Crème de La Mer Moisturizing Cream with ANY La Mer purchase.
Lancome shoppers, rejoice. Macy’s currently has a fantastic online gift with purchase. Spend $50 or more on Lancome Product and receive FREE SHIPPING and a 5-piece sample gift. Sample offer includes: Hypnôse Mascara; Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover, 1.7 oz; Color Design Lipstick in Trendy Mauve; Color Design Eyeshadow Quad in Vue, Model, Couture, and Positive and Bienfait Multi Vital Daily Moisturizer, .5 oz. Enter promo code LANCOMEMAY at checkout to get the goods!
Don’t forget the Bloomingdales Big Brown Bag Sale! Online shoppers can use Promo Code MEM20 at checkout for an extra 20% off sale and clearance items, or an additional 10% off of sale and clearance furniture. Offer valid from May 24 – May 28th only. Some exclusions apply.
E.L.F. Is offering Free Shipping with any purchase of $30 or more, when you enter code "memorial". Offer expires May 28th.
L’Occitane en Provence is offering a FREE Verbena Travel Treasures
with any purchase of $65 or more. This offer is available online only, and expires on May 27th.
Jane Iredale Concealer
In the market for a new concealer, I decided to give Jane Iredale a try. I had read such rave reviews about Active Light under-eye concealer, I was just itching to try anything Jane Iredale.
Right out of the box, Disappear worked differently from any concealer I’ve ever used. In a tube form, the concealer can be applied using its patented sponge-tip applicator, or using a concealer brush. The liquid is layered on thinly until the desired coverage is achieved. I’m a stick-form concealer girl, so it took a couple of attempts to get the application right. Once I got the hang of it, I was hooked. Coverage can be as light or as heavy as you need it. Jane Iredale’s website even claims it can be used to cover up tattoos!
Additional benefit… It contains green tea extract, an antioxidant that also combats acne bacteria. A concealer that helps clear the very blemishes you are covering? Brilliant!
I snagged my Disappear at Caliderma. Purchase $125 or more and get 15% off with the discount code SPRING15. Discount does not apply to iS Clinical Product.
Why I am Throwing Away my 40+ Bottle Nailpolish Collection
I love my nail-polish, all 40+ bottles of happy, simple, fun color variation. I’ve applied them lovingly, and have organized them by color for easy access. I love sifting through them to pick out a color before heading to the salon.
I love them all, and I’m throwing them out.
Why? The story starts during my pregnancy, about two years ago. While pregnant, I did everything in my power to ensure that my baby was given a healthy environment in which to thrive. I gave up caffeine, discontinued coloring my hair, and stopped using any topical product that seemed sketchy. I wasn’t certain if nail-polish was safe, so I did some research. My research unearthed that a common ingredient in polish, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), is linked to birth defects. Temporarily, I decided to pass on my manicures, too.
Turns out, there are a minimum of three ingredients in many nail polishes that are harmful to both you and your unborn child; DBP, Formaldehyde, and Toluene. According to articles I’ve read on the subject, these three chemicals statistically increase birth defects, reproductive issues, and cancer risk. DBP is in fact banned from cosmetics in the EU, due to its dangers.
This post has completely ruined your relaxing manicure and pedicure ritual, right? Well, just when all hope was lost, I contacted someone at OPI. Thao Nguyen, a technical support person from OPI Products, Inc. gave me more information on OPI’s nail-polish formula. In response to customer demand, Thao said "OPI has began [sic] transitioning out of Formaldehyde, Toluene and DBP early last year and we expect that transition will be completed by year end." Thao also said currently the only OPI products that contain Formaldehyde and/or DBP are OPI’s nail strengtheners (all "Nail Envy" products), Start-to-Finish base/top coat and RapiDry Top Coat.
The news keeps getting better. The new OPI Formaldehyde, Toluene and DBP formula will be available worldwide. So, regardless of where you buy it, you can be certain your OPI polish does not contain these ingredients.
My 40+ faithful Polish soldiers will become casualties of war. I’m going 100% DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde free. On a positive note, it gives me a fantastic excuse to purchase the entire Australia collection. It’s already DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde-free.
Allure Readers’ Choice Awards
Am I the only person who noticed that Estee Lauder brands completely dominated the Winner’s Circle in the Allure Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards? The conspiracy theorist in me actually wondered if someone had figuratively "stuffed the ballot box", so complete was the Estee monopoly. M.A.C., Clinique and Aveda each won in multiple categories, while the Estee brand only won one category. If you haven’t read the article, don’t forget to buy the June issue of Allure. Allure is my own personal beauty bible.
But the Reader’s Choice Award Winners are not why I am writing. Allure asked their readers to mail their VERY USED product to be photographed for the article. I was shocked to see people had been toting around blush cases with broken chunks of blush. There are better options!
When a favorite blush or eyeshadow breaks, you don’t have to part with it. After all, there’s still plenty of product left. Rather than keep it in its original case and make a mess, a great option is to buy the Sephora Powder Jar with Sifter sold for only $4 at Sephora. You can place the broken powder-based product into the jar, break it up until it’s completely in powder form, and then continue to use it by tapping a little product at a time out into the lid. An even more inexpensive option for you Bare Escentuals users is to save the containers your product comes in. They are reusable!
Interested in voting for your own favorites? Don’t forget to vote in the Best of Sephora!