Perfect Presents: Pretty Palettes!

Being who I am, and writing the blog that I write, I obviously think that makeup is amongst the best of the best gifts one could receive. My friend Cowgirl Warrior once gave me a gift bag full of lip balms and lip glosses (it was one of those Secret Santa deals), and it was one of the most memorable, most joyful gifts ever!

However, I understand that everyone is not as makeup-obsessed as I, and might find it a bit strange to receive an assortment of different cosmetics (you people are missing out, I say!). Cosmetics companies have caught on, and always release a plethora of shining, shimmering palettes around this time of year. It's still makeup, but feels more... complete, somehow. It's the gift of gorgeous, and it's practically already wrapped!

Half the fun is picking amongst the many many many sets available, but 2 in particular caught my eye.


Too Faced Lights, Camera, Glamour!

Perfect For: The make-up adventuress; The Hollywood starlet on a budget

Why it's Perfect: Too Faced's Lights, Camera, Glamour! palette struck me as being the most bang for your beauty buck. You get 8 eye shadows, powder eyeliner, brow powder, 2 blushes, a bronzer, a shimmer powder, foundation powder,and 6 lip glosses, all for just $40 USD (I can't remember if it was $50 or $60 CAD, sorry!).

The shades look nice and wearable, and the cute box it comes in looks like a mini Hollywood make-up kit, complete with an actual lighted mirror! The blush and bronzer shades are meant to be swirled together for a pretty, multi-faceted look. You can use the shimmer shades the same way, or just pick up one shade with an eyeshadow brush for more precise application. All in all, lots of great products for a reasonable price, in one of the more creative presentations this year!


Urban Decay Urban Survival Kit

Perfect For: The girl on the go; The simplistic stunner

Why it's Perfect: The Urban Survival kit, while not being as expansive as Too Faced's, seems like the kit you'd be most likely to actually use in your day-to-day life. It contains a mini version of the cult favourite Eyeshadow Primer Potion (it really works!), a mini Lip Envy in Greedy (a berry liquid lip stain), a mini XXX Shine gloss in Naked (a natural nude shade), 4 shadows, and mascara and liner.

The shadow primer and lip stain means that you just set it, and forget it! (Well, as it applies to your makeup, at least.) Perfect for the busy gal who doesn't have the time or patience for touch ups. The shimmery shadows can be applied sheerly for a natural day look, or with more intensity for the evening, and the shades pretty much go with everything. Great basic colours from some of Urban Decay's star products, for a cool $50 CAD. Looks like a sound make-up buy to me!


Of course, you can always just go with the tried and true Sephora gift card. But make it a little something special, won't you? Attach it to a lovely lip balm, or a mini perfume bottle, or even to a basket of cookies. Elevates the gift of gift card from "I didn't have time to shop for you" to "You're so wonderful that you deserve to pamper yourself in exactly the way you please"!

This review was posted for me by the ever-fabulous Ex-Roomie, who is kindly administering the blog while I am gallivanting around Asia. I will respond to comments and emails when I get back. Promise!

Comments For a Cure: The Final Count!

Whooooeeee! So the final comment tally on this blog over the past three days is .... 30! Accordingly, I have donated $30 to the Canadian Cancer Society. Thank you to all you commenters -- your support made this happen!



As promised, one lucky winner will be receiving this T-shirt:





And the winner is..... AMBER! She left a comment on the Dove Antiperspirant review. Congratulations, Amber! If you could please contact me at brainspammer@gmail.com, we can talk size and colour and all that. Please contact me by the end of Tuesday June 12th, as our fabulous CaféPress store will be closing soon after that.


Oh ho ho, but wait, the fun's not over! Remember those eBay auctions I talked about? Well, there's THREE of them, and they all kick off on Sunday, June 10th! Check it out:

Huge. HUGE! There is so much effin' stuff in those auctions! An entire collection of Tarte Cosmetics (pretty much every product you could think of using). $250 worth of Bourjois Paris. Nail products from China Glaze, Nubar, and Zoya. A frickin' T3 Travel Dryer!!! (You may have read about the BeautyAddict's yearning for a T3 dryer) Holy guacamole. Check out the entire product listings for each auction here. There's close to $1000 dollars worth of stuff in each of the big baskets. My eyes glaze over just looking at it all.

Even better, the entire winning bid will be going to the American Cancer Society. Every cent.

Here are the links for the auctions. They won't go live until Sunday June 10thso you'll just get an error if you visit the auctions before then:

[EDIT: The links here have since been updated, please see this post for the new listings!]


I... I can't even write about this anymore. It's just too much. I'm just going to spend the rest of the afternoon clicking through the slideshow, and count down the hours until Sunday when I can start bidding.