Nothing freaks me out more than learning that I missed a particularly good gift time with one of my favorite brands.
Now, you can be sure that you don’t miss Estee Lauder gift time, because you can sign up for the Estee Lauder gift time text message service. The service will send you a Text two days before the gift special starts at your favorite store.
Comparison Shop for Estee Lauder Cosmetics
I received the following information from Beauty.com:
“Beauty.com has collaborated with New York fashion and wedding gown designer Lela Rose to offer customers a limited edition beauty valise filled with prestige beauty products. The exclusive Lela Rose Travel Bag comes just in time for the busy vacation season and is available to customers with a purchase of $100 or more on Beauty.com.
Ø Alterna Caviar Moisture Shampoo with Seasilk
Ø Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Ø L’OCCITANE Verbena Harvest Shower Gel
Ø L’OCCITANE Verbena Harvest Body Lotion
Ø Vincent Longo La Dolce Vita Lashes
Ø Vincent Longo The Curl Mascara
Ø Freeze 24/7 IceShield Facial Cleanser with Sunscreen SPF 15
Ø Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash
Ø tarte Cheek Stain in Tipsy”
I have been finding all sorts of new favorites recently. Fortunately, it seems like everything I try lately is a quality item. My recent Nars purchases were really no surprise in that department, since I purchased a couple of Nars’ most popular and well received products. Plus I tend to just love Nars all around anyway! NARS Sheer Lipstick, in Dolce Vita (pictured right) is a wonderful color for me.
This particular lipstick has often been touted in the magazines and from the PR folks as the most universally flattering color available, and I agree that it is pretty close, at least for my pale complexion. The shade is a neutral pinkish mauve that is not too opaque and not too sheer. And the Nars lipsticks always feel comfortable. There are no issues with caking or drying.
I also love the packaging of Nars products. Their containers have a soft, almost spongy feel to them, and the black tubes and cases look quite nice. My only complaint is that I don’t think the Nars lipsticks stay on quite as well as some other brands. I tend to find myself reapplying it a bit more often. I have had the same problem lately with Smashbox lipsticks, and hope it isn’t becoming a trend across my otherwise favorite brands!
NARS Lip Gloss, Orgasm (pictured below/right) is the lip gloss version of the hugely popular, cult classic NARS Orgasm Powder Blush (pictured left). Like the blush, the gloss is a peachy pink shade (more peach than pink) and it is gorgeous! I find that the gloss is a bit less shimmery than the blush, which is a bonus for me, since I always found Nars Orgasm blush to be a bit too much on the shimmery side for me. Plus, I like to avoid overly shimmery glosses and add a separate shimmer product if I want more. There is just more control that way. But if you are looking for a fully matte gloss, be warned, this one still is frosted/shimmery, just less so than the blush in my opinion.
This is quickly becoming a favorite gloss for me. I have read some complaints that it is thick or sticky. It is a bit stickier than some glosses, but I have been OK with it in that department. I would not categorize it as moisturizing though, so if you lean toward the moisturizing glosses, this one likely isn’t for you. If you like the blush, trying the gloss is a must do! Even if you don’t like the blush, the gloss is worth a look. 
Want to try several of popular Nars’ products? Take a look at the NARS Artist Palette Compact, Cool, which I came across when putting together the links for this post. It has a nice selection of shades.
Finally, one more piece of useful info: If you are making an online beauty purchase anytime soon, right now you can get a free Beauty.com Train Case
Today I opened up my book/package of The Beauty Buyble: The Best Beauty Products of 2007. This is a rather fun box consisting of a book, some advertisements and coupons, including a coupon for a free magazine subscription, a package of beauty product samples, and some shredded pink paper paper (I might actually reuse the pink paper). Full price for the package is 19.95 at stores such as Barnes and Noble. Amazon.com has it for $13.57. I imagine that as the year goes on, it could show up on the Barnes and Noble sales rack as well, which a great way to get books at discount prices.
The book, written by Paula Conway and Maureen Regan, is fine. I didn’t‘ love it, but didn’t dislike it either. It rates, in the author’s opinions, the best products in a number of categories covering hair, makeup, skincare and body care. Within each category several items are listed so that varying price ranges are covered. Generally there is a high, medium and low price item in each category, but some categories have more or less. Some categories also include an “outrageous” price item. Each product description is fairly short, so the information is not particularly in depth, but that also allows for many categories and products to be covered. In between the product listings are beauty tips from a variety of professionals. If the book stood alone, I don’t know that I would pay for it, not because there is anything wrong with it, but simply because I don’t have a real need for it. But when combined with the samples, I think it was worth the purchase.
The sample pack included the following: MD Skincare Maximum Moisture Treatment, Freeze 24/7 Lip Plumper, Cetaphil Cleanser, E.L.F. Brightening Eye Liner in black, Soft Lips Lip Balm, Biosilk Shampoo, Nivea Moisturizing Cream, Schwartzkopf Bonacure Smooth Express Hair Conditioner, Profoot Heal Rescue Moisturizing Foot Cream, Bananaboat Sport Sunscreen and Kid’s Sunscreen, Borba Skin Balance powder drink mix, 3 types of Vitabath, Lipmints lipgloss, Yu-Be Moisturizing skin cream, Jelly Bath hand soak, Cat Cosmetics lip pencils in naked lip (note, I was supposed to also get a Cat Cosmetics eye pencil, but got two lip pencils instead), NYC Pencil and Pout in ruby duet, Canyon Ranch cards with various beauty tips, Chupa Chups Watermelon Lip Balm, Maybelline Moisture Extreme lipstick, a ten issue subscription to Looking Good Now Magazine, some coupons, and a DHC catalog with eleven samples.
Among the samples, I am particularly excited to try the Yu-Be cream, the Schwartzkopf Bonacure conditioner, and the DHC products because it has been some time since I gave DHC some thought and I am interested in their olive oil cleansers.
Overall, this is about the entire package: The book has some fun tips and is giving me ideas for products to try. And I just plain love product samples! So generally, I think the whole package was a fun purchase and worth the price.
On a side note: If you like sampling products, another item of interest is the New Beauty Test Tube.
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