Sunday afternoon odds & ends...

Everybody's got a junk drawer, right? The pic of the above junk drawer isn't mine (oh how I wish my junk drawer were this organized) but I'm using it to illustrate my "blogging junk drawer" of bits of information that don't quite fit into other posts. I'm going to compile all of these odds and ends into this one post, so here we go:

1) I have a new feature on my right-hand sidebar. I just put up a widget that is connected to my Google Reader. All of the articles displayed in this widget are articles that I've marked as "shared" in my reader, meaning I want to share them with you! They are mostly beauty-related news articles that I find interesting, so check it from time to time if you like to keep up on new products/lines coming soon. I might also share non-beauty-related articles here, but only if they're really amazing. For my non-beauty-related stuff, definitely check out my other little blog, Nouveau Sweet.

2) I expanded my Blog Roll to include blogs that I've been reading for a while but didn't have in my blog roll when I had my old template. I had been wanting to do a blog roll overhaul for quite some time, so I'm happy to have finally done it. A lot of the blogs on my blog roll are dedicated to budget-beauty, however I have included other fabulous beauty blogs as well. I've tried to create a good mix to cover a broad spectrum of the beauty blogging community so I hope you find it useful.

3) Info about The Wednesday Question: I want you all to know that I read each comment I receive on my weekly question, and I've been taking your comments very seriously. For instance, I received a ton of feedback on my concealer question, which indicates to me that you are just as curious as I am about new, budget-friendly concealers. This has prompted me to begin work on the "mother of all concealer posts" which I'm working on as I write this. Spoiler: I've received every single concealer that e.l.f. makes and will post a huge compare/contrast post very soon. I'll also be doing a Wet n Wild concealer post, as well as a compare/contrast post with Revlon ColorStay and Maybelline SuperStay concealers. So if you're looking for a new concealer, hold tight! Oh, and I've also got a huge mascara compare/contrast post that I'm working on as well, which was spurred by last week's question.

4) A lot of you have contacted me asking why I haven't done a review of Coastal Scents products. I agree--what kind of budget beauty blog would I be if I didn't cover this famous low-price cosmetics brand? So I'd like to let you know that I recently received my first shipment of Coastal Scents products and I'll be posting a review very soon. I received two of their most popular palettes, several brushes, brush guards, Hot Pots, and mineral samples. So please stay tuned because I'll be posting several reviews of Coastal Scents products in the near future.

5) I don't usually talk about Sephora on this blog because, well, it doesn't usually fit into the theme of budget beauty, but I do want to mention that they've got some great sales going on right now. For Smashbox fans, there's a pretty eyeshadow duo on sale for $5 (retail: $24), and there's also the TooFaced Smurfy-Eyed Liquid Eyeliners for $8.75 (retail: $17.50). Also, did you know that you can just put the word "sale" into the search bar when you're at Sephora.com and all sale items will come up (even the ones that aren't publicized)? Pretty cool trick.

6) For all you Hard Candy fiends, Jeweled Thumb just blogged about those shadow sticks that I mentioned in my post about this new collection. And guess what? They're not pencils!! You have to check this out: Hard Candy Foiled Again Metallic Shadow Stick Review.

7) If you're looking for new drugstore product information on my blog and you want it fast, just go to my labels list and click "Breaking News". I label all of my "new drugstore product" posts with this term, as well as any other information about new products, deals or sales.

8) A few of you have asked me recently why the name of my blog is "Nouveau Cheap." Let me try to sum that up as best I can and without getting too wordy:

"Nouveau Cheap" is a play on the term "Nouveau Chic" which is a term some people use to describe works of art or architecture from the Art Nouveau period (1880-1920). The Art Nouveau movement was a response by artists and architects in America and Europe against the cold, stark, post-Industrial Revolution buildings and objects of the time. Art Nouveau was an attempt to bring back beauty into the cities, and this movement was characterized by flowing lines and curves. Artists took their inspiration from the beauty of nature and it happens to be my very favorite art movement. To put it into perspective, this movement falls right in between two other very popular movements: Arts & Crafts and Art Deco. (For a great collection of Art Nouveau works, click here.)

So "nouveau chic" is often used to describe objects and buildings that are in the style of Art Nouveau. In other words, you can say that "nouveau chic" is loosely translated as a new and fresh type of chic (style, fashion, sophistication). Which brings me to the name of this blog! "Nouveau Cheap", to me, represents a new type of cheap. Yes, we all need to stick to a tight budget these days, but my goal in writing this blog is to prove that, just because you're being "cheap" doesn't mean you have to settle for crappy, low-quality beauty products. We are the NEW cheap, which means we want low-cost products that perform just as well as high-end products. We're not going to be forced to pay a lot of money for quality beauty products because, well, we shouldn't have to!

That's it for now. Hope everyone's enjoying their Sunday!

PS: I forgot to add that I have also recently added a translator widget (see upper left-hand corner). :)