Beauty Blog » Deal of the Day

If you plan on scaring the bejesus out of people with your Halloween costumes this year and need to save some money, check out these deals on costume makeup that will help you create a face only a mother can love:

BuySeasons Stenciling and Face, Painting Kit: $24.75 Now: $19.04

BuySeasons Camouflage Make Up Kit: $19.99 Now: $14.99 Found on Smarter.com for $11.99

BuySeasons Skull Makeup Kit: $22.99 Now: $18.99

Severe Trauma Makeup Kit: $18.95 Now: $16.95

And for pretty costumes:

Glitter Makeup Kit: $3.99 Now: $2.49

Princess Makeup: $19.50 Now: $15.00

Shop for more costume makeup at Smarter.com.

It was all about the braid at this year’s Alexander Wang show. Fashion week unveiled many interesting trends that are being forecasted for Spring 2010, but the sight of the side braid made my heart skip a beat. The side braid has been my favorite style with long hair. As a matter of fact, I grew out my hair with the intention and hope that one day, I might have a long wild side braid, and sure enough, I got it. I wore one today! Extra messy with pieces falling around everywhere. It’s nice to see such an extraordinary designer such as Wang to catch on and showcase this look. Let’s just hope he doesn’t forget about the girls he got the inspiration from…yeah right, only in dreams!

Until then, we’ll be happy to watch from the sidelines and admire.

The stylists really nailed the messy factor. These side braids are inspired by a number of things: two that come to mind for me are wholesome Midwest farm girls that are born with those long, thick manes and wild bohemian artists that go to sleep and wake up with that side braid for days at a time…hence the messy, bed head component. As I sing all the praise for the hair, the eyebrows on the other hand make my stomach cringe. They look like Edward Scissorhand brows and really creep me out. They also look like stitches. More creeps. Love the nude lips and dewey skin. Aside from the eyebrows, I strive for this look on almost a daily basis. Natural, wild, yet well kept.

A small, almost minute detail that can make this amazing look all possible? The hair tie, rubber band, ponytail holder, whatever you refer to it as…that pulls this all together. Unless you have a short pixie haircut, you must need one or look for one at some point throughout the day when you can’t stand your hair anymore. Like many young women my age, I like to keep one on my wrist in case of an emergency. My favorite brand is Goody. They make an Ouchless metal free design which keeps my locks from being ripped out by tiny pieces of metal.

This pack is about $2-$3, and is available at goody.com or kaboodle.com

Image Source: style.com

I saw my best friend just the other day and as she was hugging me, she looked right at the sides by my eyes and said I looked like I had gotten some sun. What?! No, she was ever so sweetly trying to let me know that she had noticed some fine laugh lines by my eyes. Oh god, say it isn’t so. Whenever I inspect my skin in the bathroom mirror and spot any sort of aging, I begin to panic and slather on some vitamin E oil or some other natural remedy. But wrinkles and fine lines? Those are no joke. I know they are only a natural part of life and aging, but I don’t like it one bit. Laugh lines? Why do I have to pay a price for laughing and having a happy life I wondered. Okay, I stop panicking and remember an old wrinkle cream I once bought at, of course, the local drugstore. You can spend all the money in the world on expensive anti-aging products and have no result, medium results or actual disappearance. I can’t vouch for those brands and products, because the only one I’ve ever tried, stuck to and gotten results from has been ROC Retinol Correction Deep Wrinkle Night Cream that I bought at the drugstore.

ROC Retinol Correction Deep Wrinkle Night Cream $18.99

This deep wrinkle night cream works miracles, I swear by it. Since it has pure retinol in it, it will make your skin a little sensitive for the time being and maybe even a little itchy, but that’s only when you first begin applying it and your skin starts adjusting to the formula. After using it routinely, every night after washing my face and before bed, I applied this cream to in between my eyebrows to a frown line I’ve made for myself. I dabbed it on the sides of my mouth near my nose where I noticed some lines form from smiling, and also put it around the bottom sides of my eyes, but never too close to the eyes. About after two weeks, I did indeed start noticing a difference. The frown line was gone, as were the laugh lines. It was amazing results. I recommended it to a girlfriend and she loved it as well. Of course it’s not a permanent fix, but a temporary one is better than nothing right?

If you are trying to maintain that awesome tan you’ve been working on for the last few weeks, you may need to do some some soothing before you create some serious damage to the epidermis.  I will admit, I had my days as a sun bathing beauty, and still love to get in a session here or there (I am definitely not referring to the tanning booth).  But now, after literally having had spent years in the sun getting a deep, dark tan, I take it a bit easier on my poor skin and actually wear sunscreen instead of slathering on oil which will leave anyone, not just me, cooking like a chicken.  I try to stay between an SPF of 15 to 30.  This coverage allows me to both tan and stay protected.  If you opt for the tanning oil and think sunblock is for fools, OR if you accidentally fall asleep and the burn was inevitable, its good to have an after sun skin soother on hand…Burt’s Bees–creator of almost all things good, natural and sweet-smelling has their own after sun soother,

Burt’s Bees Aloe & Linden Flower After Sun Soother $6.25

This quick absorbing body and face lotion has aloe in it, the magic ingredient for sunburns and overexposure as some of you may know.  What’s the difference between this stuff and the bottle of green aloe vera gel you can get for two bucks at the local drugstore?  This lotion is packed with other aiding ingredients that will help the healing faster and may even be more moisturizing for the skin.  I have found that I enjoy the cooling factor of pure aloe vera gel on my skin, but don’t find it moisturizing.  I actually think it makes my skin feel sticky and have the urge to wash it off once I’ve slathered it on.  Linden flower has been said to be used in medical preparations, there is also coconut oil, and bee pollen in the formula to help restore the natural moisture to your parched skin.  Aside from all the good ingredients, this is a lotion that can be used year round for those of you who are in the sun on a daily basis (This applies to you coastal/beach town people).  Burt’s Bees can be found almost anywhere these days and I recommend that this would be one bottle worth picking up this summer.

As a fan of Weleda hair and skin products, I had been wanting for quite some time to try their Rosemary Hair Oil.  Weleda makes a good number of products that appeal to the senses, including a Wild Rose Cream Cleanser, and Sea Buckthorn Body Lotion.  Weleda is a great company to buy products from.  The Swiss based company is one of my favorites and has been featured in the blog before, I’m a big fan of the Skin Food Face Cream.  After browsing the site for a while today, I noticed that there are actual Weleda Spas!  Located of course in very chic places including Tokyo, Paris, and New York…I would sure love to have an appointment at one of those.  Anyhow, as a big supporter and consumer of products that are naturally made or include natural ingredients, Weleda is at the top of my beauty shopping list usually.  After becoming obsessed with their Skin Food, I moved on and tried a travel size Almond Creme for the face as well.  This stuff smells great if you love the scent of almond oil…a sweet essence.  I almost tried the Wild Rose Face Cleanser, but instead opted for the Rosemary Hair Oil, something I had been wanting to try for quite some time.  For anyone whose not aware but a fan of Weleda, Target has started carrying it on the shelves of their growing beauty section.  This made me happy because Target (being a leader in bargain shopping) actually puts this stuff on sale, which when purchasing natural products, I find something rare.  So the Rosemary Hair Oil was there, on sale and I picked it up finally!  It wasn’t really that expensive to begin with anyway…

Weleda Rosemary Hair Oil $7.77

Benefits of using this product? So many.

Rosemary is called a “brain herb” because it is said to stimulate the brain after massaged into the scalp and hair.  Along with stimulating your mind, it also stimulates the hair follicles and hair growth.  There are natural or “homemade” methods of using rosemary as a part of your beauty routine.  It can be boiled and the water or “tea” used as a rinse after shampooing in the shower.  I took the easy route and just bought a bottle, and I love it!  I’ve had great results.  It gives my hair shine and keeps it smelling great.  I’ve only been using it for about a month now and haven’t noticed a drastic change in my hair growth, but I don’t really care, I love this stuff anyway!

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more rosemary oil.

Liquid eyeliner is fun.  I’ve always worn it (not on a daily basis) but when the occasion is right or the outfit calls for it, I will put it on.  The benefit of wearing it is that liquid eyeliner can be dramatic without all the fuss of smudging regular pencil liner onto your lids, putting it on the inner rim, etc.  Really, it should only be worn on the top lid, some may disagree.  There are many cosmetic companies that make liquid versions, but when it comes to this product in particular, I’ve always gone with the more inexpensive brands that I find at the drugstore.  I guess for a while I was using it so frequently that I felt it wouldn’t make sense to spend $20 on one tube that would be gone shortly.  So, I started trying out different types from the drugstore and found that Almay makes a great liquid liner at a great price of $7.49 roughly.

Almay Liquid Eyeliner in Black: $6.30

This liner is fantastic!  I used it for several months and found that it goes on easy and washes off with soap and water…come on..who doesn’t love that factor?!  When applying, just pull the eyelid taut and with a steady hand, slide a thin line of the liquid across the base of your eyelid, closest to your lashes as possible.  Let dry for a sec and your done.  Mistakes will almost always be made so have a q-tip handy to clean up.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more affordable liquid eyeliner.

I do love when cosmetic companies issue out some neatly packaged new color palette that basically has the right amount of everything you’ll need for three or four months, even longer sometimes.  I used to indulge frequently in seasonal beauty palettes because not only do they boast great new colors in one set, (along with fancy makeup brushes and pint size lip glosses) but they are also reasonably priced for getting all of that product.  Right now if I were to shell out for one, it would be this Tarte Spring Greening Reusable Straw Palette ($20).

The packaging on this is so cute and summery!  It is a sustainable and reusable straw palette that is filled with a bamboo eyeshadow brush, six new shades of mineral eyeshadow and three lip glosses.  The tray inside is made of post consumer waste and can either be recycled when you’re done using the shadows. The products themselves are all paraben free and the lip glosses are infused with acai, pomegranate, and gogi berry.

Use coupon code 3SJ9HQ at checkout at Sephora.com and get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $25.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more makeup and cosmetics.

Most of my beauty products last for a while, but when they do run out its usually all at once.  This means I have to go get everything that I am out of all at once, and that can get expensive.  I hadn’t been to Target in a while, but the trip was taken at the perfect time because that very morning I had run out of face wash.  Well, of course, once there I seemed to realize that I needed more of everything: moisturizer, mouthwash, shampoo and conditioner.  During the beauty product re-stocking bonanza I was on, my attention was suddenly diverted to a new line of natural face and skin care products that Target was now carrying. 

Boots, a UK based pharmacy and beauty retailer, has integrated a few of its skin care lines into the national superstore chain.  What drew me to Boots at first glance was its packaging.  Bottled up like old fashioned fancy bath products, I figured some of the stuff would be a little higher in price.  By that I’m thinking $14.99 for body wash, but prices were lower than I thought and even an extra 15% off.  When an entire line of products is being discounted I tend to become a little suspicious that the store is trying to get rid of those products quickly maybe because they were a bad batch of some sort, but I didn’t let my mind go there.  Instead, I couldn’t decide between the Bergamont and Clary Sage Bath Foam and the Geranium Cleansing Face Milk.  Both were packaged so nicely and at a good price, I decided on the bath foam which smells fantastic.

I haven’t used it yet, but I have set the pretty glass bottle it comes in on my bathtub and get happy just looking at it!

Boots Original Beauty Formula Bath Foam: $12.99 for 8.4 ounces

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more bath foams.
Discounts on bath products.

For those of you who don’t indulge yourselves in a hot bath every once in a while, you must start immediately!  Taking a hot bath has become something therapeutic not only for my body, muscles and skin, but for my mental state as well.  I’ve always loved finding great personal care products, but I especially love splurging on sweet smelling bubble baths, soaps, scrubs and bath salts.  You may have noticed these things have become a bit pricier over the years due to the fact that they are getting made with fancier ingredients and have an expensive label slapped on them.  Of course these products usually work fantastically and you feel good using them, but you can also create your own little spa atmosphere at a very reasonable price without sacrificing quality.

After recently using up all of my favorite Maria Evora Beach Rose bath salts (which are fabulous by the way…but also $12 per bottle), I went out late one night to pick up something a little more inexpensive at my local drugstore.  I ended up finding a great bargain:  Walgreen’s Apothecary Epsom Salt Lavender Soak: $3.49

These salts are great! Not only were they dirt cheap, they smell good and work well.  I try to soak in a bath full of these at least once a week…if not for my body, for my own mental health!  Upon returning from a desert camping trip this weekend, I came home grubby!  As does anyone after camping, but the salts worked wonders on ridding the smells of earth, dirt and campfire smoke that were in my hair and on my skin.  For years, epsom salt has been used as a natural remedy for soothing muscle aches, sprains  and stings.  Although these are perfect for the bath, the salts can be used for several different things and are a fantastic ingredient when creating your own products such as body scrubs for the face and body.  They are also perfect for soaking your tired, sore and aching feet in while giving yourself a home pedicure or when you just feel like pumicing your feet.  While soaking in a tub of the epsom salts, which are natural magnesium sulfate crystals, your body will be absorbing the minerals through the skin which will not only draw out toxins and relax your muscles, but will act as a sedative for the nervous system.

All this goodness for $3.49?!  Pick up a milk carton full, it will last long and your body will thank you.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more bath salts.

Drugstore.com always has a pretty darn good sale section. I’m in the market for a new hair dryer.  My old favorite was actually a Revlon dryer that lasted…forever!  So, I’m sticking to the brand and came accross this Revlon Toumaline Ionic 1875 Watt Dryer at Drugstore.com.  As my luck would have it it’s on sale for about $10 off!

                                                                    $34.44 Now: $24.11

The Revlon Ionic Retractable Cord 1875 Watt Dryer is also on sale for if appliance cords annoy you.

                                                                     $21.49 Now: $15.04

I’ll probably end up going with the retractable cord dryer and stock up on my fave Dr. Pepper Lip Smaker until the total comes to $25 so I can get free shipping!

Shop for more hair dyers.