Glamorous Gifts: Philosophy

During some of my holiday weekend QVC watching, I ended up catching several hours of a Philosophy promotion. In all honesty, it was pretty boring, but I think that's the problem with trying to promote delicious-smelling bath and body products on TV. There's only so much you can say about it. The real fun is in using it. Or, in gifting it.

Philosophy makes some really fun and unique products that are perfect for gift-giving. Who wouldn't love some luxurious, delicious-smelling bath and body products? Take a look at my favorite pics from their vast offerings.
For the angel on your holiday list, the Angel Cakes ($20) collection delivers classic vanilla angel food cake in the form of an 8oz. shower gel and a high-gloss lip shine. Plus, it comes in an adorable gift box that can be filled with keepsakes and holiday mementos. Whether for a young niece or a favorite co-worker, this gift set is sure to please.

If it is hard to choose on just one product, then a smorgasbord like the Holiday Cookbook ($35) would be perfect. It contains six 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel and bubble baths in classic holiday scents: red velvet cake, cinnamon buns, spicy pear cobbler, pumpkin spice muffin, gingerbread and double rich hot cocoa. Known for their rich, foaming lathers, these uncannily accurate scents will fill the bath or shower with deliciousness.
My personal favorite is The Winter Escape ($25) and I would be super psyched to find it under the tree this year. I sampled the Marshmallow Body Souffle and the Flavored Lip Shine this weekend and they are heavenly! The body souffle is sensuously silky and provides antioxidant age-fighting benefits along with intense hydration. The marshmallow scent is warm and cozy without (kind of amazingly) being cloyingly sweet. Also included is a fun new peppermint Hot Cocoa shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath. Hot cocoa with marshmallows are a favorite treat and now Philosophy has figured out a way to indulge without the caloric investment. Nice!
Lastly, for a cute stocking stuffer or a thoughtful hostess gift, pick up a few Philosophy Holiday Ornament Inspired Shower Gels ($6). Choose from one of three delightful varieties: Cinnamon Buns, Red Velvet Cake or Double Rich Hot Cocoa. Each 2oz. bottle comes in an cylindrical container decorated with color (and glittered!) vintage pictures of kids having some winter fun. The containers (with or without the shower gel) double as fun tree ornaments.

There are loads and loads more Philosophy options for gift-giving this holiday season and you are sure to find something for most everyone on your list. Currently, Philosophy is offering free shipping (no minimum) on their website, so don't miss out on that!

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Glamorous Gifts: Benefit Holiday Exclusives

I was trying to hold off posting about holiday beauty gifts until after Thanksgiving. Now that has passed, however, I'm about ready to burst with excitement over some of the amazing kits and deals that are out there. There are so many things to mention, it's kind of ridiculous.

For any Benefit-lovin' ladies out there, you simply must check out the amazing holiday kits they have put together this year. They would make some much-appreciated gifts, but I would honestly find it hard to part with any of them once they were in my tight little clutches! See for yourself and tell me that I'm wrong...

The Ford sisters have a way of creating blushes that seem to instantly become cult classics. Even people who aren't that into blush will be familiar with the virtues of Dandelion, Hoola and 10. Personally, I adore Benefit blush/bronzers, but at $28 bucks a pop, they definitely don't work their way into the budget very often. So imagine my thrill when I came across the Powderazzi Holiday Kit ($30) which contains three of Benefit's most beloved cheek shades: Hoola, Coralista and Dallas. They aren't full-sized portions, obviously, but with the high-quality pigmentation that is a signature of these colors, it won't take much to able to enjoy these warm and glowing complexion-enhancers for years to come!

Gloss enthusiasts will be glad to know that Benefit has not left them out in the cold for the holidays. The Glitz, Glam & Gloss Kit ($26) contains six of Benefit's most popular glosses in one fantastic kit. Each is a double-ended gloss/applicator that provides two beautiful colors in one easy to carry tube. Go from day to night without filling up your bag with separate lip color shades. Shades include:

Friends in High Places (sparkling raspberry)
Kiss You (clear fuchsia)
Almost Famous (copper penny
Zone Out (golden nude)
I’m With the Band (golden pink shimmer)
Fresh-Squeezed (pink grapefruit)

Mix, match, layer and love! There is no end to the fun to be had with this handy little limited edition set.

Lastly, we have a some store-exclusives that are just the most incredible values. The Benefit Love Your Look Lipstick Trios ($18) give you three of Benefit's beautifully saturated and rich lipstick colors for less than twenty dollars! Buying three of these separately would cost over $50, so this is a true bargain.

The colors vary according to which store exclusive you are purchasing. The Ulta exclusive contains three creamy neutrals best suited for warmer skin tones:

• Finders Keepers -- full finish warm cinnabar
• La La Land -- full finish nude rose
• Sugar Rush -- silky finish spicy caramel

The Sephora exclusive contains pink, raspberry and plum shades for cooler skin shades:

• Do Tell -- full finish pink blossom
• No Competition -- full finish heathered plum
• On the Sly -- full finish raspberry truffle

The Benefit Full Finish lipsticks are some of my absolute favorites, so I am definitely not going to pass up on the opportunity to get three for the price of one! For a really economical option, break up the kit and give one fabulous lippie to each of three friends. They will feel completely glamorous and you won't feel like you are breaking the bank!

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NOTW: OPI Visions of Sugarplum

In addition to their 2009 Holiday Wishes Collection, OPI has released three Ulta-exclusive shades for the holiday season. One of these, Visions of Sugarplum, is this week's featured nail of the week (NOTW). Usually I try not to buy nail polish at full price because there are many discount websites out there. However, when I came across Visions of Sugarplum, I didn't want to risk not being able to find it online.

No kidding, this one is a real stunner. It's a darkened purple with gorgeous, iridescent sparkle. The color and sparkle combination makes it seriously jump off the nails. With its obvious eye-catching quality, it definitely won't be mistaken for a near black. Visions of Sugarplum is beautifully festive and would be a fun accessory to a holiday party outfit. The formula is flawless and the addition of the glitter makes it more long-wearing than other colors. While I'm always a sucker for purple polish, Visions of Sugarplum is already sure to be a prize of my collection.

See the other Ulta exclusive holiday OPI colors here.

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How To... Spice Up Your Routine

Stuck in a makeup rut and unsure of how to bust out without breaking the bank? Here are some quick and easy tips that don't require a big investment in time or money. Give one or two a try and see how they work for you!

-- While everyone loves the classic black, brown and brown-black eye liner, why not try something slightly more adventurous? Colored eyeliners are very trendy and will add an interesting punch to your usual routine. Swap out that tired brown-black for a navy, gray or burgundy liner. These colors are just different enough, but still appropriate for work environments.

-- And while we're on the subject of eyes, have you jumped on the smokey eye train? Not everyone can (or should, quite frankly) pull off a heavy-handed smokey eye, but most of us could stand to smoke it up a little bit now and again. Black and gray are always good, but if that's too intimidating, try a chocolate or purple smokey look. Currently eggplant is my favorite smoke color. Concentrate color just on the lower part of the lid, no higher than the crease, to create a look that is easy, pretty and appropriate for day.

-- Makeup artist Carmindy recommends choosing a "feature focus" when putting together your daily look. In other words, select one area to emphasize (whether it be eyes, lips or cheeks) to avoid looking over-done and unnatural. Most of us do this instinctively, so an easy way to revitalize your look is to just pick a new feature focus. Are you always hitting that smokey eye? Well, maybe it's time for fuchsia lipstick! Always rocking the fuchsia lipstick? Then maybe it's time to try a peachy cheek! You get the idea...

-- Which brings us to eyebrows. While I don't think that there are eyebrow trends, per se, sometimes it is worth re-examining the duo to see if there is room for improvement. Thick and natural brows are pretty much the envy of everyone, so maybe it's time to put the tweezers down and let things get a little wild! Since you aren't likely to be sitting on a sun-soaked beach any time soon, no one is going to notice a few stray hairs here and there. It can be a good idea to occasionally let your brows grow all the way in to confirm that you are, in fact, wearing the most appropriate shape for your face.

-- To that end, an easy way to punch of your routine is to spend a little money for professional brow waxing or threading. Even though I do a good job on my own, there is something really satisfyingly perfect about the brow shape that a professional can create. Every once in a while, it is nice to treat yourself to exquisitely shaped brows.

-- Lastly, when thinking about easy ways to shake up your routine, think of something that you never do and try that. Why not, really? It's only makeup! Especially for those of you that forgo blush on a regular basis, it is worth revisiting again. An easy way to go is to try a cheek stain like this one from Pixi ($18). It won't take much time and will enliven your face with a little pop of color. Click here to visit a post on cream blush tips.

So go on, what are you waiting for? Try something new and surprise yourself with how awesomely cool you look.

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Nail News: Wizard of Ooh Ahz Re-Release

I usually don't post about individual polish collections, but I can't resist sharing the exciting news of the re-release of the classic fave China Glaze collection, The Wizard of Ooh Ahz.

Click your Ruby Pumps and come travel with China Glaze down the yellow brick road to meet “The Wizard of Ooh Ahz”! China Glaze will take you to that special polish place…some where over the rainbow with these gorgeous glitter polishes!"

Colors in the 6 piece collection include (from left to right as shown in the photo above):

• Ruby Pumps: An all time red glitter favorite!
• Cowardly Lyin’: Gold frost with specks of gold micro glitter.
• The Ten Man: Silver frost with specks of micro silver glitter.
• Dorothy Who?: Blue polish with massive amounts of silver and blue glitter!
• C-C-Courage: Purple Frost with specks of purple micro glitter.
• Good Witch: Pink Frost with specks of pink micro glitter.

I've been meaning to pick up Ruby Pumps for a while now, C-C-Courage is looking pretty sexy as well. The Wizard of Ooh Ahz will be available in stores and online any day now. Get those holiday gift lists ready...

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Shine by bliss at Sheraton Hotels

Staying at a Sheraton recently, I was surprised to find that the bathroom toiletries were made by bliss. The collection "Shine by bliss" is a line of amenities created exclusively for Sheraton hotels. All of the standard rooms come with the Mandarin-Mint shampoo, conditioner, bar soap and body lotion. In upgraded rooms for VIP guests, they also offer Shine shower gel and a specialty body sponge.

Given that most mid-price hotels offer generic "shampoo" and "conditioner" in their rooms, the Shine by bliss was an intriguing change. The Mandarin-Mint scent is fresh and pleasant, definitely leaning more toward the citrus than the mint. Most guests would probably find it to be refreshing and suitably inoffensive to men and women alike. However, the performance of the Shine by bliss products left something to be desired. Typical of hotel shampoos, this one stripped my hair of moisture and left if feeling dry and unruly. Even generous amounts of the conditioner did not correct the imbalance. The bar soap was fairly gentle, but again, too drying and harsh for use as a facial bar. My favorite of the whole collection was definitely the lotion. The texture was silky, it absorbed fairly quickly and provided adequate moisture to my travel-weary skin. I snagged an extra bottle of the lotion to bring home.

Overall, the Shine by bliss collection was a potentially exciting change to the usual hotel fare, but it disappointingly performs about as well as the usual fare. It would be much preferable if the usual bliss product line was included with Sheraton rooms -- the lemon+sage collection would suit me just fine. Unfortunately, for now, the lotion is great but remember to pack the shampoo and conditioner.

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Fun Hair Finds

Last month I reported on some cool hair accessories that my obsessive internet-ing had turned up. It would appear that trendy, fun hair things are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Currently, I am obsessed with these Bumble & Bumble Buttonbands ($15). I saw them at the salon and (feigning admirable amounts of restraint) passed on the impulse buy. Subsequently, I've been regretting that choice ever since. Honestly, how cute is the indigo-trimmed ocean blue color? Or the violet-trimmed black with their little coordinating button details? The answer: freaking adorable. Plus, they are designed to be used alone or as a base for wildly creative embellishment. Watch the video to see an impressive amount of creativity inspired by these little guys.

Anthropologie often has very beautiful hair accessories. Unfortunately, they often run in the really ridiculous $30-50 range. However, the very pretty Teavaro Headband comes in at less than $20. Delicate clusters of black pearls nestling on distressed chiffon petals strike that perfect balance of polished but unfussy. The subdued blue palette would be very pretty on all hair colors.


I've been completely obsessed with the etsy shop, Jessie Beans, since randomly meeting the owner/creator at a local fabric store. She was wearing one of her creations and, when I complimented it, she gave me the address for the website. Unlike most of Anthropologie's offerings, Jessie Beans' amazing hair accessories are sold at ridiculously affordable prices. This one, with white ostrich feathers ($20) was exactly the kind of thing I searched for (unsuccessfully) for my wedding. But, even if formal nuptials are not on the agenda, she has plenty other offerings with intricate beading, beautiful pendant cameos and even more feathers. All are individually made by hand and perfectly executed without being overly done or cheesy. They are as beautiful, or even more so, than many Anthropologie hair accessories at 1/3-1/2 the price. Whether ornate or quietly simple, Jessie Beans' headbands have the added bonus of being completely one of a kind and unique. And how can you put a price on originality?

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