New products from Sally Hansen, Borghese and more...

I was at my lucky Rite-Aid yesterday and finally, after weeks of nothing new, I spotted some interesting new products that I wanted to share with you!

First I spotted these Sally Hansen Comfort Shine Lip Glaze seasonal gift sets (retail: $9.99). The product itself isn't new (I own one of these cool little pots already and the packaging and applicator are super neat) but these gift sets are new and the flavors are definitely new:

(click images to enlarge)

The flavors in each set are "Cupcake", "Sugar Cookie" and "Sugared Berry".

Next I spotted these new Limited Edition Borghese mini nail polish holiday gift sets (retail: $9.99):

The colors in these two sets are definitely a departure from the regular Borghese nail color collection.

You can't really tell from the pics but all of the colors in this set contain micro-glitter.

The second color in this set is a gorgeous blueish-blackish-green with iridescent shimmer.

I wish I could have taken better pics of all of these shades because they are truly gorgeous in person and much prettier and more unique than the regular collection.

Lastly, I spotted this display of new skincare products by a company I've never heard of before: Bellaboo. Apparently they are an Australian company that offers a range of skincare products targeted at young girls (retail: $9.99 for the travel kit and $9.99 for each full-size tube). What sets these products apart are the natural ingredients and packaging:

Bellaboo is a three-part system that contains "Gorgeous Skin Moisture Dew", "Buff Skin Facial Exfoliator" and "All That Clean Skin Facial Wash".

I kind of like that they're trying to get girls to focus on skin care rather than just fixing skin problems and I have to say that after quickly scanning the ingredients on one of the tubes, I was surprised to see a lot of great natural ingredients (like 100% certified organic sea buckthorn berry oil) and no parabens. The only thing I didn't care for was that each part of this three-part system retails for $9.99. I don't know about you, but to me that seems a bit pricey for drugstore skincare aimed at young girls. Plus, I don't recall really wanting a moisturizer or exfoliator at that age--I really just wanted a cleanser. But maybe times have changed? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

New Giveaway: Nouveau Cheap's faves from BeautyTicket.com!

[NOTE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT ENTER. THANKS!]

I am SO excited to be bringing you another amazing giveaway sponsored by BeautyTicket.com! But ladies, this isn't just any regular giveaway. This prize package has been personally selected by me for my wonderful and amazing readers!

BeautyTicket.com (click here for more info and a coupon code) graciously allowed me to select these amazing prizes based on the brands and products I love (and have raved about right here on this blog). So here's what you'll receive if you win:

1) Stila Jade Blossom Perfume (retail: $52, 1.7 oz). Ladies! You can no longer purchase this product on the Stila website (or on Sephora or Beauty.com). I am beyond sad that Stila has chosen to discontinue this GORGEOUS fragrance (a luscious, fresh green tea and floral blend). I went into panic-mode when I recently realized it was no longer being made, but never fear because BeautyTicket.com has it and it can be yours. Yay!

2) Smashbox Eyeshadow Single in "Scan" (retail: $16). I've lost count of how many times I've raved about Smashbox eyeshadows. Seriously, the texture, blendability and staying power of these beautiful shades just cannot be beat. I love love love them (I think I own about a dozen of them at this point) and I'm thrilled to be able to offer you the chance to win this adorable shade of hot pink!

3) China Glaze Mini Nail Lacquer in "Code Orange" (retail: $5, 0.325 oz). I love mini bottles of nail color and you know I love me some China Glaze (can you name a nail polish fanatic who doesn't like China Glaze?). "Code Orange" is from the Fall 2008 "Operation Colour" collection and was inspired by the bold colors found in comic books and graphic novels. "Code Orange" is a cheery tangerine shade with very subtle shimmer. I love it on toes!

So there you have it! Three fabulous products (retail value: $73) brought to you by BeautyTicket.com and selected by me. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be hosting this very special giveaway!

Please read all of the following rules before entering:

1) To enter, you must leave a comment on this post telling me YOUR favorite brand available on BeautyTicket.com. If you leave more than one comment on this post, you will be disqualified.

2) You MUST leave me your email address in your comment OR I must be able to clearly identify your email address in your profile. If I cannot contact you directly, you will be disqualified. REMEMBER: Double check your Blogger profile settings to make sure your email address is visible in your profile!

3) This contest is open to residents of the continental US only, ages 18 and over. Void where prohibited.

4) This giveaway begins today, September 25th, and will end Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 11:59PM. I will select a winner via random.org's random number generator and notify the winner on Friday, October 9th. The winner will then have 24 hours to respond. If the winner does not reply within 24 hours, he or she will forfeit the prizes and another winner will be selected. If you are going to be unable to access your email on Oct. 9, 2009, please do not enter this giveaway.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation, and I wish you all the best of luck! :)

And the winner is...

I'm so excited to announce the winner of the Love's Glam Collection giveaway, but before I do, I want to address some of the comments I received as entries in this contest.

I noticed that some of you were not aware that Love's Baby Soft products are still being produced. So if you didn't win, I'd like to let you know that you can find Love's Baby Soft products at drugstores like CVS and Rite-Aid stores across the nation. I've seen them located with the other body sprays (in aerosol cans) and also in the perfume section of many drugstores (in glass bottles). And of course you can also order these fragrances online at DanaClassics.com. I hope this helps those of you who did not win, but would still like to pick up a bottle. :)

That said, I'm pleased to announce that Sharon Harmon has won this giveaway!!

Sharon, I'll be sending you an email right away, and you'll have 24 hours to respond with your shipping address. Congrats!!

Thanks to everyone who entered this giveaway, and please stay tuned because I'll be posting another giveaway TODAY! :)

Just a few more hours remaining to enter my Love's Glam Collection Giveaway...

I just wanted to remind you that my Love's Glam Collection Giveaway sponsored by DanaClassics ends tonight at 11:59PM Pacific, so if you haven't entered, click here for the details!

It's not too late: The Wednesday Question

Since it's technically still Wednesday here on the West Coast (it's 11:14PM as I write this) I still have time to post The Wednesday Question (sorry for the delay!):

What mascara are you currently using and how does it rate on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being awful, 10 being holy grail status)?

I've been pretty happy with Prestige My Biggest Lashes but I've been bopping around and trying other brands lately. Are you faithful to one mascara or are you currently testing out something new? I'd love to hear what's working for you, or what's not working for you--and why.

Review: CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain

Let me start out by saying that I used to have a slight lipstain addiction. I've owned several in the past, such as Stila (not the new lip stains, but the old and long-since discontinued ones that had a felt-tip applicator), Vincent Longo, TheBalm, Benefit, and the list goes on. So what I'm saying is, I know a thing or two about lip stains and how they should perform.

That said, one of my dear readers requested that I review the CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain (retail: around $7) and I was happy to oblige since I've owned one for quite a while now and have given it many chances. (Oops! Was that a spoiler?) :)

For those who haven't seen these or owned one, here are some pics:

As you can see, this is a pen with a felt-tip applicator. I've heard women compare it to running a Sharpie pen across your lips, and I have to say that I agree. It takes some getting used to, but I find that you can get an extremely precise application with pens like this, so that's a plus.

I'd say that my biggest complaint about this collection is that you truly do not know what you're going to get by looking at the color of the tube. When I purchased the above lipstain ("Teasing Blush" #415), I was hoping to get a nice, light, warm berry color. Sadly, these colors are much more intense than the tube would have you believe, and they go on much darker than you would expect:

As you can see, this is a very dark shade on my lips. In person it's a dark brick-reddish berry color. But I have to say that it does have the feel and consistency of other lipstains that I've owned in the past. The texture is almost watery at first, and it dries down to a feeling that's almost imperceptible. You really don't feel it on your lips after it sets, so that's a plus. However, the initial flavor is one that takes some getting used to. Again, this isn't unique to this lipstain--even my beloved Vincent Longo lipstain has a funky berryish-chemical flavor that takes a while to get used to. I think that's just the nature of lipstains.

Aside from the funky flavor and misleading color, let's talk about the staying power, which is the number one selling-point for lipstains.

This is a pic of this color swatched on my hand, taken a few minutes after application.

And this pic was taken after rubbing the color furiously for about 30 seconds.

As you can see, it's a true stain in every sense of the word. However, I have found that CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain does a much better job at staining my hand than it does my lips. If you have a tendency to lick your lips a lot (sadly, I do) then you will probably get about 1 hour of wear from this lipstain. But if you don't lick your lips at all while wearing this, you will probably get about 3 to 4 hours of wear from this lipstain.

Another complaint I've heard about this product is its tendency to dry out the lips. Fortunately, this has never happened to me, but you should be aware that some women have had this experience.

Speaking of drying out, the felt-tip applicator has a tendency to dry out mid-application, so definitely store this product tip-side-down. Also, and this is probably the most irritating thing about this product: this pen has a tendency to dry out when you're applying it to your upper lip. I've found that when you're applying it to your lower lip, you're holding the pen in a downward angle, so the liquid is rushing to the tip of the pen, which is great. But when you're applying it to your upper lip, the liquid is rushing to the bottom of the pen and away from the tip. So it's difficult to get the product on your upper lip because, well who holds their lip product UP while they're applying it to their upper lip? It's just not practical!

Let me add that I've worn this product by itself and also topped with a clear gloss or balm. In my experience, it lasts much longer on its own, because glosses and balms will break down the "staining" properties.

If you've never tried a lipstain before, you might want to give this one a shot just to see if you like lipstains in general. These apply, feel and taste very similar to other more expensive lipstains, so it would be a great test to help you determine if you should invest in a higher-end product. However, don't expect a true stain that lasts and lasts all day long, and definitely don't expect to get the color you see on the tube.

Review: New Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion

I can't really explain why I get so giddy when I see a new body lotion at my local drugstore. I guess it's because I'm always hoping that a new product will finally come around that meets all of my needs and I'll no longer be on a quest for something just a little bit better than the lotions I already use.

So when I saw this display a few days ago at my local CVS I got that giddy feeling again:

(click to enlarge)

Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion with Stratys-3 is a brand new collection of body lotions that promises "Superior moisture across all layers of skin" because it contains "Stratys-3" which, according to the Vaseline website, is composed of "three powerful ingredients that infuse and suspend moisture across all layers of skin--the top, the core, and deep down."

The real selling point of this lotion, for me at least, is that it promises to not only treat the top layer of skin, but deep down as well. I don't know about you, but I can't stand lotions that just sit on top of my skin and feel greasy, or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, absorb so quickly that I'm back to feeling dry a few minutes after application.

This lotion comes in three different formulas and fragrances: "Botanical Bliss", "Vitamin Burst" and "Mineral Renewal". It was hard to decide which one to purchase because I like the concept behind each one, but I went with "Botanical Bliss" because I like that it contains some actual botanical ingredients (eucalyptus and cypress bark extract) and the fragrance is very "botanical-smelling" if that makes sense. Here are the ingredients:

Water, Glycerin, Dihydroxypropyl Trimonium Chloride, Isopropyl Myristate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Tapioca Starch, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG 100 Stearate, Triethyl Citrate, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Cupressus Sempervirens Bark Extract (Cypress), Fragrance, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cetyl Palmitate, Propylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

As you can see, this lotion contains parabens (boo!). I'm not too jazzed about that, but I still couldn't resist giving it a try to see exactly how moisturized it could make skin. Currently my arms and legs are very dry due to the dry heat we're experiencing in San Diego right now, so I knew I could really put this lotion to the test.

Immediately upon application I could feel that this lotion was somehow different. It absorbs into the skin, yet it's got a texture that's very different from other Vaseline lotions I've used in the past. I can't really describe it but it makes my skin feel like it's got a very thin velvety, almost waxy, coating. I like this feeling very much, and I'm pleased to report that this lotion really lasts. Even through multiple applications of anti-bac to my hands, I can still feel the coating. But it's not a greasy coating--like I said, I really can't describe it but I like it.

I've been using this lotion for three days on my arms and legs and with each day that passes I like it more and more. My skin feels incredibly soft, even after showering. I don't need to reapply it at night and throughout the course of the day, whenever I feel my arms, they just feel so incredibly smooth. In fact, the only thing I'm not liking about this product is that it contains parabens. It would be wonderful if they could release a version that's paraben-free in the future, and hopefully this line will be a huge success and they'll be more inclined to do so...soon.

Vaseline Sheer Infusion retails for around $7 but you can click here to visit their website where there is a coupon you can print for $1.50 off a bottle.

Have you tried Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotions yet? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

New discount code at BeautyTicket!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that this recessionista loooooves BeautyTicket.com. Seriously, if you want your high end beauty product fix but only want to pay drugstore prices, this should be your first destination.

BeautyTicket offers amazing deals (up to 85% off retail!) on high end beauty products from names like Stila, Smashbox, Vincent Longo, YSL and the list goes on. How do they do it? Well they purchase seasonal and overstock items from the manufacturer and bring them to you for a fraction of the cost. So if you wanted a seasonal item from Stila and you just didn't get to a counter on time, you might find exactly what you were looking for at BeautyTicket and only have to pay half (or less) the original price!

I'm delighted to say that I partnered with BeautyTicket.com immediately after their inception back in April '09 (I hosted a China Glaze nail polish giveaway for them at the end of April) and I couldn't be happier to see them grow and succeed. They have amazing customer service (if you live in CA you just might get your order next-day!) and now they've partnered with People StyleWatch to bring you a fantastic 15% off code, which is good through October 11th: PEOPLE15 (click the image above to be taken directly to their site). Just enter this code at checkout to receive the discount.

Some products I've got my eye on (in case you need some ideas!):

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in "Acid Rain" for $7.99 (retail: $16)

Smashbox Eye Shadow Single in "Still" for $5.99 (retail: $16)

Smashbox Wicked Lovely Cream Liner and Loose Shimmer for $9.99 (retail: $32)

Stila Lip Pot in "Fraise" for $5.99 (retail: $18)

Bobbi Brown Nail Lacquer in "Baby Peach" for $6.99 (retail: $14)


Happy shopping!

The mother of all contests (you've really got to check this out)

(Charlie and Ted, two adorable rescue dogs. Their owner is Stef, from we heart this)

Attention, my fellow beauty addicts! You have got to take a minute to read this post (and my fellow So Cal residents, there's an extra-exciting opportunity for you, so please read this carefully!).

My favorite online community, we heart this, is hosting a raffle with the proceeds going to a very worthy cause: Race for the Rescues. This is a non-profit organization that helps rescue dogs and cats from various Los Angeles area animal shelters.

The gals at we heart this have REALLY stepped it up for this great cause and for just $5 a ticket, you can enter to win the following MIND-BLOWING prizes. And the best part? If you purchase more than one raffle ticket, YOU can decide which prizes you'd like each ticket to be put toward! In other words, if you buy 10 tickets and you want half to go toward prize package #1 and the other half to go to prize package #4, you got it! You can totally customize your tickets and put them towards exactly what you want!

OK, just check out these prizes:


1. The South Coast Plaza Experience (overall value $2110)
One VERY lucky Southern California winner is going to have quite the weekend at one of the best shopping destinations in the nation!
• Shu Uemura Master class (value $1575)
Our winner will be able to schedule a private class for themselves and 20 of their friends with the makeup artists at the amazing South Coast Plaza Shu Uemura. Complete with sake and hors devours, and sure to be a blast! The winner and guests all get to spend one on one time with an artist to achieve a customized look. Plus they’ll take home skin care samples to fit their regiment and needs. It is a great opportunity for women to expand their cosmetic knowledge (with the assistance of one the best lines on the market!), refresh their look, and mingle with friends.
• Jo Malone (value $185 + shopping event)
Schedule a private shopping event! Allow Jo Malone stylists to accessorize your home, bath and body with their fabulous signature fragrances. As the hostess of this private event you will receive a gift and each of your guests will receive a goody bag with samples. And to get you ready for the event? The winner will receive a gift basket with full sizes of Orange Blossom Body Creme, Orange Blossom cologne and Grapefruit cologne!
• Morton’s Steak House (value $100)
A gift certificate to the SCP location of Morton’s, one of the most famous and delicious steakhouses in the country.
• Finally, a $250 gift certificate to be spent anywhere at South Coast Plaza!

2. The Extravaganza (overall value $616)
And oh, what an extravaganza it is! We’ve grouped together some amazing lines and one lucky winner will get them all.
• Renee Rouleau ($118) 3 fabulous products: Aloe Cleansing Milk, Elderberry Toner and Mint Buffing Beads. Plus a headband and toning pads.
• tarte ($65) we heart tarte! The eyeQuatic set and Natural Cheek Stain in Blushing Bride, all in a cute tote.
• Xen Tan ($65) Their Luxe line (and best tanning products around): Deep Bronze, Transform and Face tanner.
• Pacifica ($40) Yum, the Lotus Garden body wash and lotion (just launched!)
• Hourglass ($58) The beautiful Burlesque Blush Palette.
• Giella ($100) 6 items from these clever custom crafters: Lip pencil, Eye pencil, Nail polish, Cheek tint, Lip gloss and a Vitamin C Tonic.
• SKYN Iceland ($45) Their Detox kit, it’s like rehab for skin!
• Cosmoholic ($40) The lush and soon to be released Holiday liquid lipstick set with Rockstar Red and Gold Digger.
• e.l.f. ($25) A beautiful gift pack. ($25 at e.l.f. is a lot of product!)
• Sugar Baby ($10) Retro and cute: Beauty Queen Body Lotion.
• And as if there isn’t enough beauty in this prize already, the winner of the extravaganza will also receive a $50 Gift Certificate to one of our favorite sites; BeautyTicket.com!

3. The Fab Four (overall value $667)
Forget the Beatles, these four brands are truly fab, and some of our most highly rated favorites.
• Face Stockholm ($145) A gift bag of 5 full size items from this cult favorite: Swedish Solution Skincare, Magic Wand, Volumizing Mascara, Lip Treatment and a Creme Blush!
• David Babaii for Wild Aid ($129) Lucky you, you get the whole collection, 12 amazing products! From shampoos and conditioners, to every styling product you could possible need, you’ll be beautifully covered in an any hair situation.
• Julie Hewett ($143) We have been gushing over this brand for ages (most recently about their Noir red lipstick collection). Here’s the chance to see why. You’ll get The Petite Four palette, Lip Liner and Lipstick in Oona Noir, Camellia Balm, Jamie Cheek and Lip shine and a Chubbie Cheek brush.
• Benefit ($250) Could we heart Benefit anymore? Answer; not possible! This cheeky line of easy to wear products, with a retro nod in everything they do is one of our all time favorite lines. They’ve put together a basket of goodies for one very lucky winner that tips the value scale at $250!

4. Jo Malone ($350)
A perfect 5 star rating from us for the beautiful Kohdo Wood collection. Now, you get a chance to win 4 products from the line! Dark Amber and Ginger Lily Cologne and bath oil, and Lotus Blossom & Water Lily Cologne and shower gel.

5. Pets and Food! (overall value $267)
Pet lover? Foodie? Both? Well, this is the fab prize package for you!
• Silvermark ($100) This fab company has put together a deluxe Salad Lover’s Gift Basket which includes (amongst other items): The Toss & Chop, Herb & Garden Snips, Multi-Purpose Kitchen Shears, Assorted Color Coated Santoku Knives and a Folding Cutting Board. They’ve even included a bonus squirrel for one lucky dog!
• Xroads Philippine Sea Salts ($22) We loved these delicious gourmet salts, you will too.
• Caroline’s Cakes ($45, and they’ll even ship for free!) These are the best cakes on the planet, and you get to pick one to be delivered directly to your doorstep. We’d never tell you what to do, but we’d choose the Seven Layer caramel cake if we were you…
• Hot Dog Digital pet portrait ($50) Ever want to see what your pet would look if they were an old time dandy? Well, here’s your chance…
• Good Boy Design pet silhouette ($50) A custom silhouette of your own little angel, designed by yours truly.

6. JUARA Candlenut gift box (value $115)
We’ve flipped for JUARA, the line based on Indonesian botanicals (look for a review in the near future), as will the winner of this set. Hand Balm, Body Polish, Perfume Oil, Soap and Lip balm, all with luxurious Candlenut oil.

7. Crème de la Mer ($310)
There is a reason that this line has a cult following, it’s the epitome of the word fabulous. Crème de la Mer has generously donated the one and only Crème, plus their Body Refiner and Hand Cream for the winner.

8. Clarisonic (value $149)
You’ve heard us rave, now learn yourself why we heart the Clarisonic. One winner will get the Limited Edition Mia, a smaller but equally fabulous travel size version.

9. Origins (value $140)
9 items from Origins to make you smile (they do so for us): Make a Difference Skin rejuvenating treatment and treatment lotion, Clean Energy Gentle cleansing oil, A Perfect World Antioxidant cleanser, Jump Start Stimulating conditioner and body bar and Step Lively Energizing foot cream. Plus, Gloomaway Grapefruit gum and a foot soak!

10. McBride Beauty ($118)
Another line new to wht is McBride Beauty (review coming soon). We are all a-flutter for this natural NY line with their simple and cute packaging. The winner will receive Cucumber & Aloe body lotion, Soy & Coconut cleansing bar, Grapefruit & Aloe toner, Rosewater & Neem day cream and Wheat Germ & Avocado night cream.

I told you guys this was mind-blowing!! Oh, and for my So Cal lovelies, check THIS out:

If you are in the LA area, plan on visiting us at the Race (SUNDAY, OCT 4TH, 2009) and buying your raffle tickets in person. Because the first 200 people who buy $20 worth will get an amazing gift bag valued at approximately $100. The gift bags will contain at least 5 products and are valued at over $100 each. What will you get? A combination of the following amazing items:


Full Size Products:
• LuckyScent – Could we heart them any more? One of the first to enthusistically get involved with their donation of Monyette Paris Coquette Tropique Fragrance Oil.
• Jurlique – A do-gooder of a beauty company if there ever was one! You’ll love their organic Intensive Recovery Mask.
• McBride Beauty – Oh, wait till you smell their Grapefruit Sage line! It’s heavenly. We have a travel kit of all 4 items.
• Anatomicals – We could not be bigger anglophiles. So, how could we not love a brand as cheeky and bloody brilliant as this? Check out their No More Old Bags Allowed eye gel…
• Anatomicals – …or their Stop Cracking up lip balm, and tell me you aren’t loving the Brits too?
• Xen Tan – Have you heard the buzz? It’s true, they’re the best tanning products on earth! And now you can see so yourself with their Tan Extender.
• Giella – We happen to think this line, that allows you to custom match any shade you’d like, is brilliant. Try one of their concealers and see…
• Hourglass – We are gaga for the luxury line! You’ll be too, with their Petal eye shadow.
• tarte – The sure way to a lip gloss lovers heart? With their Fred and Ginger dual lip gloss, of course.
• tarte – Sealing our love for eternity with their second full size donation – the Kalalau Trail eye shadow duo.
• RGB – The hottest new nail polish line on the market. We’ll have a review of their fall line soon. Till then, snag the progressive and fabulous colors in our gift bag!
• TIGI – Ok, not full size, but generous 3 oz. travel size versions of their Masterpiece Shine Hairspray and After Party Smoothing Creams, from their amazing BedHead division.
And because we don’t live by makeup alone…
• Silvermark – Knows how to do a kitchen product right, an item with color that works like none other! We’re totally loving their paring knives and think you will too.
• DRY Soda – Which DRY Soda will you be lucky to try? It really doesn’t matter, because it’s sure to be delicious.
• Bean and Body – We have a review coming up of this, “the earth’s healthiest coffee.” Pssst, we think it may just be the tastiest too…
• we heart this journals – That’s right, with a little help from the world’s coolest print rep, Joe at Ironwood Litho, and RSC Equipment Rental, we’ve got the best looking journals we’ve ever seen!
• Xroads Philippine Sea Salts – Animal lovers and manufacturers of the finest gourmet salts you’ll ever taste.
Plus, deluxe samples from the following amazing brands:
JUARA
Shu Uemura
tarte
Dr. Hauschka

I've got to say, this is THE most insane beauty raffle I've ever seen, and the best part about it is that, even if you don't win something, you know your money went to an excellent cause.

Here's how to enter:



Step 1: Visit the weheartthis donation page (click that link!) on the Race for the Rescues site before October 3rd and make your donation in any $5 increment. One ticket for $5, five for $20.

Step 2: forward your donation confirmation email to us at: raffle(at)weheartthis.com and let us know which prizes you’d like your raffle tickets to be entered into.

Unable to donate but still want to help? We’d love you to mention the Raffle on your blog or retweet this message to help us raise as much funds for the animals as possible:
RT @weheartthis Hey Beauty lovers! $4000 in raffle prizes to be won. Race for the Rescues, for the needy animals of LA. http://bit.ly/2tLRXT

That's it! And of course, if you're in the So Cal area and you plan on attending the October 4th event, you can purchase your raffle tickets there (and get there early so you can pick up one of those insane gift bags!).

OMG! New Limited Edition "Poptimistic Pretty" Collection of Maybelline Color Sensational Lipsticks and Glosses!

Wow! I was at Walgreens today and I couldn't believe my eyes:

(Click to enlarge)

Maybelline has released a Limited Edition "Winter Trend 2009" collection of Color Sensational products called "Poptimistic Pretty". I'm very surprised that they've already created an LE collection since Color Sensational itself is so new, but hey, I'm not complaining! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I am a huge fan of Color Sensational (click here and here for my previous reviews) so this new collection totally made my day.

(Click to enlarge)

The shades of lipstick are: "Pink Pleasure", "I'm Mauved", "Blissful Brown" and "Best in Brown". I didn't memorize the names of the lipglosses but I can tell you that the two on the left side are what caught my eye. First of all, the first color on the left is "PINK ME UP"! If you've read my previous reviews, you know that "Pink Me Up" lipstick is my very favorite color of all, so I was totally freaking out that they released a gloss in the same shade. Obviously this immediately went into my shopping basket (btw, Walgreens is currently having a BOGO free on Maybelline!). The second lipgloss on the left is the other one that caught my eye. It looks white from faraway, but close up it's a super pretty iridescent creamy pinky-brownish-white. I think this gloss would look amazing layered over just about any lipstick to give it a punch of shimmer and depth.

The other glosses in this collection (from left to right) are: a mauve shade, a medium brown shade, a light brown shade and a plum shade. I think that you lovelies with darker skin tones should definitely check out both of these brown glosses because I think these would be gorgeous neutrals on you (oh how I envy you if you can wear brown glosses! Sadly, they don't look so great on me).

I was actually going to purchase the white gloss but then I opened the lid on the lipstick "Pink Pleasure" and I knew it had to be mine. At first glance, it reminded me of "Pink Me Up" but it seemed a tiny bit warmer. Here are some pics:

As you can see, they're very similar, but "Pink Pleasure" is a tad warmer and a tiny bit lighter than "Pink Me Up". I LOVE it, and I've got to tell all of my fellow yellow-toned girls: You neeeeed this. If you think you can never wear light-to-medium pinks, I think this will completely change your mind!

In this swatch you can really see how much lighter "Pink Pleasure" is, and also how much warmer it is. It really reminds me of a Bobbi Brown shade (I'll need some time to compare it to my Bobbi Brown lipsticks but of course I'll write a dupe post as soon as I figure it out).

OK, on to the lipgloss version of Pink Me Up!

As you can see on the label, this is Limited Edition, so seriously, if you like any of the shades in the "Poptimistic Pretty" collection, get them ASAP because I guarantee you they will sell out. You can never be sure if something is going to be made part of the permanent collection so run, don't walk, to your drugstore and get what you want now (sorry to sound forceful but I've learned my lesson the hard way about drugstore limited edition products!).

Here's a pic of "Pink Me Up" gloss with "Pink Me Up" lipstick:

Right off the bat the gloss looks different than the lipstick. In the tube it looks sheer, and it also looks shimmery ("Pink Me Up" lipstick is an opaque cream).

Sure enough, it's sheer, but I was surprised that the gloss swatched way less shimmery than it looks in the tube. I actually think the gloss is a wonderful counterpart to the lipstick and I love love love it on:

This is an extremely wearable, versatile shade that looks great alone or could be used on top of any shade of pink lipstick you currently own. I actually think it will look great layered on top of "Pink Me Up" lipstick and "Pink Pleasure".

OK, ladies! I need to hear from you: Are you as excited as I am about these new shades, or are you still busy getting acquainted with the Color Sensational permanent collection? Does anything in the "Poptimistic Pretty" collection make you want to run out to your local drugstore asap? I'd love to hear your thoughts!