Sephora Love

If you knew me in my pre-Germany days, you knew that Sephora was one of my regular stops. I could "pop in" for just 5 minutes and walk out with spending over $200 easily. I received many a gift card there for birthdays and Hannukahs. When I moved to Germany, my beauty routine world came crashing down as I made the discovery that not only did Sephora not ship to APO addresses, but that cruelly, they also did not accept credit cards with APO addresses so I could not just place an order and have it shipped to a friend's house. For two years I lamented this fact. Germany does not have a Sephora, so whenever we traveled to a country that would, I would make it a point to stop in, then immediately lament how marked-up the prices there were. (I'm sorry but I refuse to pay 16€ for a bottle of OPI nail polish. On principle.) Lather, rinse, repeat. Fast forward to Fourth of July when Pametto Belle tweeted to let me know that Sephora now ships to APO addresses. Shut the front door. This changes everything. After posting many over-hyped facebook statuses and tweets about this (insert high-pitched sorority girl shriek here) I got to work. Have I mentioned that I had not been on the Sephora site in a few months? So I did not even know what they had. I was sad to see that they discontinued a few favorites. And equally intrigued by new products on the site.

After some recommendations from friends, I placed my order and stalked the delivery confirmation like a hawk. On Tuesday, I got a little ray of sunshine in my mailbox. My first Sephora package in over 2 years people. Thank you for making me feel a little closer to home folks.

Inside it:
*Bare Minerals foundation (I love this stuff and am running low on my foundation)
*Benefit Cosmetics Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Dandelion (purchased on a recommendation from Chicago Prepster- immediately a new favorite in my makeup bag- thanks for the tip Carly!)
*Benefit Cosmetics Coral My World! set (I knew nothing about this and wanted to try the products- at $12, it seemed like a good way to try them out without investing too much money in things that I may not use a lot. I have yet to try them so no report for now.
*Beauty Insider Birthday Gift- I opted for the 2 mini lip balms from Fresh. I already use the lip balm and love it and am sad about just how not cheap it is, so it was awesome to get more, plus the minis are just so darn cute!)
*Bare Escentuals Finishing Touches Deluxe Sample Set (came with a mini Mineral Veil, mini mascara, and mini lip gloss)- again I already use Bare Minerals so it was great to get a mini size of the Mineral Veil to keep in my travel bag. The lip gloss is absolutely fantastic and a super flattering color (on me at least), so I will definitely be ordering a full size of it in the near future.
*Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel sample (I feel like I may have used this in the past, but honestly can't remember now)
*Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating treatment sample- have heard nothing but good things about this product and wanted to try it out for myself
*Perfekt Lash Perfection Gel sample- I have no clue about this. I love Perfekt's Skin Perfection Gel (seriously amazing) so I decided to pick this as my third sample to see if it would be any good. Again, have yet to actually try it.

I placed my order on July 19th, and it arrived on the 24th. I am already planning order #2. If you have any product recommendations that you feel I need to try, please let me have them. Also, if you are at an APO address, note that not all products can be shipped to us- they cannot send anything with alcohol in it overseas, which pretty much rules out all of the perfumes and nail products. I'm not sure what else is affected.

ETA: +2 points to Sephora for offering free shipping to APO addresses with a $50 order. It really irks me when companies that offer free shipping to the rest of the United States charge for APO shipping. (I'm looking at you Vera Bradley and Lucky Brand Jeans.)

Finally back and favorite things

I am finally back to the world of blogging after a brief hiatus. In the true spirit of "if it's not one thing, it's the other," I got a virus last week. When my mother came home from Morocco, she was sick, and I managed to pick up what she had, so I have been out of work since Friday.

I am now commencing with this month's much-neglected Favorite Things to showcase some more products that go towards promoting breast cancer research.

First up is this adorable pink straightener from Chi. $149 at drugstore.com. I have a different model of this baby and I have to say that it is amazing and there is truly nothing like it out there. If you straighten your hair religiously, you owe it to yourself to invest in one.


From Red Envelope, a beautiful pink leather jewelry box. It is now on sale for $199.99. I love the color and everything about this including the fact that one of the drawers pulls out to convert into a travel jewelry case. I have been wanting this baby for quite some time.


A great necessity in a fun color- adorable pink eyelash curler from Sephora, $16.


From Ralph Lauren, the Pink Pony Polo, $125.


Are you a fan of the sweet stuff? Check out this cookie bouquet from Corsos Cookies, $29.95+. 20% of the sale of each bouquet will be donated to the Vera Bradley Foundation. (Thanks to my friend TLD for telling me about this one.)

More coupon codes

A. Tierney Friends and Family Sale: Take 30% off your order with code FFF09 through 10/27/09.

Sephora Friends and Family Sale: Get 20% off your purchase (online only) with code FF2009. Expires 11/02/09.

the makeup/beauty products that changed MRM's life

In the makeup world, beauty products that change your life are considered especially important. In MRM's makeup bag, they are represented by the following items. These are their stories.

I've mentioned on here before that despite the fact that I don't wear a lot of makeup and still can't even put on eyeliner correctly, I seem to have more makeup than the average 25-year-old girl. In fact, I have more than some small Sephora stores. KMH can attest to the fact that letting me loose inside of a Sephora can be a very dangerous thing. I thought I would do a post to share with you some of the products that I absolutely cannot live without.

1) Clarisonic Brush

I cannot say enough about this brush. I've mentioned in a previous post just how in love I am with my brush. I had wanted this brush for a while, but had a hard time justifying the $195 price tag. When I had $165 in gift cards to Sephora, I decided to buy it to try it out. Since then, I have fallen in brush love. I have definitely noticed a difference from using it, and if I go away and don't take it with me, after several days, my face starts to feel dirty. If you can afford to get one, do it. Your face will thank me.

2) Benefit Boo Boo Zap

I am one of those girls who was blessed with good skin. I am one of the only girls I know who managed to get through those awkward teenage years without having to worry about pimples. (Of course, I did have plenty of other things to worry about, but that's neither here nor there...) Of course, what this means, is that now that I am older, every time I get even the tiniest hint of a pimple, I automatically go into panic mode because I just don't know how to deal with them. It was on one such day that I frantically ran into Sephora on the verge of tears begging the saleslady to give me something that would get rid of my pimple. When she responded with "what pimple?," I thought she was crazy. How could she not see what was going on on my face? In any case, she led me to the Benefit counter and gave me a little tube of this wonderliquid. I have seen similar acne products, but nothing that works quite as well as this, in quite so little time. Bonus points for the fact that it does not sting at all. Since then, I always carry a tube of this on me, just in case.

3) Perfekt Liquid Foundation

To reiterate #2, I have very good skin. This means that I don't want to wear a heavy foundation that clogs up my pores. I hate the feeling of having a lot of makeup on my skin. This is why I don't wear it a lot. On one of my many trips to Sephora "just to look around," I discovered this little wonder. It is a gel foundation. You put a little dab on your finger or a sponge, and rub it into your skin. It is so light and airy that you don't feel like you're wearing anything, yet your skin instantly feels smoother and silkier to the touch. And looks softer/smoother as well. It comes in several shades, and is so light that you can wear a darker shade to get a hint of color without looking completely fake baked. Bonus points, it also comes in a smaller, TSA-friendly, 0.25 oz. size.

4) Imju Fiberwig Mascara

This is where you all start gasping ladies: I hate wearing mascara. I love the way it looks on me, but for some reason it hurts my eyelashes. By the end of the day I am annoyed and irritated and cannot wait to go home and take it off. I have tried every single brand of mascara known to man to see if I can get around this. Drugstore brand, higher-end brand, hypoallergenic, all natural, etc. And this was the only thing I found that doesn't make my eyelashes hate me. Another problem that I seem to have with mascara is that whenever I try to take it off, no matter what, I cannot get all of it off and inevitably look like a raccoon the next morning. Not only does this wonder mascara not irritate my eyes, but it also completely washes off in cool little rubbery clumps without smearing all over your face. No eye makeup remover required. Just warm water. How cool is that?

5) Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen

Despite the fact that I was blessed with perfect skin, one thing that I was not blessed with, is a lack of undereye circles. I have very fair skin with dark hair and even darker undereye circles. I've sometimes wondered if I'm the secret love child of Snow White and Rocky Raccoon. A sorority sister showed me this in Sephora, and since then, I cannot go anywhere without it. It conceals undereye circles and reflects light to make them appear lighter. Amazing product. I cannot stress enough how much I love it.

6) Sephora Brand Makeup Eraser Pen

The most ingenious invention ever! This pen is fantastic to get rid of any mascara dots that may form around your eyes or any other makeup mishaps so that you don't have to start all over. Every girl needs to have one of these in her makeup bag

favorite things

It's Friday, it's gorgeous out, and due to the fact that I handed in my report four days early, I have literally no work to do today. That means it's time for my weekly favorite things post. This week, in honor of my charity giveaway, I will be showcasing items that donate back to a non-profit organization. (If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, please do so. I want a lot of entries for this one.)

First up is this lovely necklace from Jewelry Without Jewels, $15 from her Etsy shop.

The color is pretty darn close to Tiffany Blue (yes, I'm a creature of habit), it's cute, perfect for summer, and makes a great gift. Also, 10% of it goes to the Save the Music Foundation which helps fund instrumental music education in public schools.

Since I can only go for, oh, 5 minutes without gushing about Lilly (I'm pretty sure it's 5 minutes, KMH you've been timing me- what's the official time?) here is a piece from their celebrity designed Jubilee Collection- A Colorful Cause.

The Shields Bikini, $178. I am in love with this print. Unfortunatly, I am one of those people who is two different sizes on the top and the bottom so I cannot buy a bikini that's sold as a set as opposed to two separate pieces. If you can buy it, do so, it's gorgeous and 15% of the sale of it goes to The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation.

Moving on to more Lilly, another thing that I have been buying a lot of is pretty stationary. I am absolutely in love with the idea of personalized stationary and hope to acquire some soon.

I am absolutely head over heels in love with these Winter Playground Pink Foldover Cards from The Preppy Princess. $75 for a set of $25, with 5% of the profits going to the Fisher House.

As I have mentioned on here before, I am really into ladybugs. Partly because they are my sorority's symbol, partly because I adore polka dots, and partly because they are too darn cute. When I found this serving platter from Uncommon Goods, my fingers could not type in my credit card number fast enough!

I always serve cookies on this platter when guests come over, and it's fun when I have sisters over for dinner and they see the ladybug and start to squeal. $40 with 10% going to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. (KMH, are you shrieking yet?)

For a long time, I was very fascinated by the Clarisonic Brush at Sephora, but could not justify the hefty $195 price tag. I just knew that if I bought it, I would only use it a couple of times and then it would sit there. Boy I was wrong. One day, I had a $165 gift card burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided that I would buy one. Since then, I have used it almost every day, and my face seriously feels dirty if I go for a few days without using it. When I got mine, there was only the plain white version available, but since then Clarisonic has created the pink version as well. Not only is it cuter, but the proceeds from this one go towards funding breast cancer research.

Since Passover has finally ended and I have survived another year, I can now talk about baked goods without turning into something resembling a drunk Cookie Monster on crack with slightly less fur. Therefore, I bring you to my final item on this week's list, something that we are all familiar with and that many of us hold near and dear to our hearts: Girl Scout Cookies.

At around $4 a box, these are the cheapest item on this week's list. They come in many varieties, my favorite being the Samoa, above. (Does anyone find it coincidental that my favorite cookie just happens to be the most fattening one? I sure as heck don't.) What could be better than knowing that while I'm sitting on my couch watching Phantom of the Opera on dvd, I'm actually helping girls become better and stronger leaders? You tell me.