Tarte Cosmetics sale!!!!

Posted on | Wednesday, December 9, 2009 | 2 Comments

I LOVE Tarte Cosmetics...LOVE THEM. I ordered a duo of cheek stains in the summer through Gilt Groupe and have been hooked ever since. I recently turned my sister onto their cheek stains too and we are eagerly awaiting another set of Tarte goodies from the last Gilt Groupe sale of Tarte products. PLUS, they have some vegan-friendly products AND they are "100% free of parabens, petro-chemicals, phthalates, sulfates and synthetic fragrances, just to name a few." Woohoo. And if that wasn't enough, head over now to their BIG sitewide sale. 40% everything (promo code FFDEC), free shipping with $40 purchase or more, and free gift with $25 purchase. If you ever considered trying Tarte Cosmetics, now would be a great time... or if you need to restock and build your collection. ;) I'm thinking of getting these items:

smooth operator oil-free foundation with SPF 20

Sunkissed cheek stain

Skin care

Posted on | Saturday, January 21, 2012 | 8 Comments

Sweet Yumi asked in a previous post about my skin care secrets. Here they are!
In my teens, I had horrible skin. I was so embarrassed by my acne and it was pretty bad. I tried so many topical products to no avail. Turned out it was my hormones and after I fixed that, my skin cleared up. When I hit my twenties, I really made it my goal to take care of my skin so I started a good skin care regimen and stuck with it. My mom and grandmother have always taken care of their skin and everyone thinks they are way younger than they are so, hey - might as well follow their lead! I also don't wear a lot of color on my face/eyes. I'm not that into it. Instead, I prefer to make my skin look the best and healthiest it can and I think that goes a long way as opposed to loading on color.

To cleanse my face, I'm not super loyal to any particular soap. I just look for something mostly or all natural that is simple and cheap. I figure that it gets washed off and goes down the sink so why invest a ton in soap. I usually use a vegetable based glycerine soap (1). I also like to exfoliate my skin. I LOVE Biore SkinPreservation Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator(2). It's really gritty and I feel like it polishes off all the roughness and dead skin cells very thoroughly. I use this once a week. I tend to be super lazy and impatient with most masks, but Bliss' Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask
is awesome as it only takes 5 minutes. It leaves my skin glowy and refreshed and I even got my sister hooked on it who then got it for our mom. I use this every other week or so.

To moisturize, I love La Mer products. I start out with a base of their Radiant Infusion(4) to prep my skin. I then slather on their Creme De La Mer (5). I finish at night with a dab of their Eye Concentrate(6) under my eyes. I also use their Lip Balm, which is the best.

Most days, I'm too lazy or busy to put on makeup. It's such a luxury! On the rare occasion that I do put on makeup, I like to prime my face with a foundation primer like Laura Mercier's Foundation Primer Radiance. I usually skip this step though. The foundation I've used for the past couple years is Tarte's ReCreate™ Anti-Aging Foundation With Wrinkle Rewind™ Technology SPF 15 (7). It's lightweight, mostly natural and has SPF. I have very oily skin that I used to hate but now really appreciate. I don't care how greasy my skin looks anymore (used to be hyper paranoid about it) as oily skin helps prevent wrinkles. I just think that if my skin looks like an oil slick, at least it's keeping wrinkles at bay. After applying foundation, I do like a little deliberate glowiness, so I dab on some of Stila's Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer Oil-Free SPF 20 (8). When I want some added dazzle, I tap a little Benefit High Beam onto the cheeks. After that, I apply Tarte's Cheek Stain in Dollface onto my cheeks. This is hands down, my FAVORITE cheek color & product of all time. I've been using for a few years and anytime I deviate away from it to try something new, I go right back to it. It is moisturizing, adds the perfect amount of blendable color and it smells nice too! For all the face makeup (foundation, cheek stain, etc.), I apply using my fingers. I don't own a foundation sponge or brush.

Whew! That was a lot, yes? BUT, most days, I just wash my face with soap and moisturize.... like 19 out of 20 days. :)
I try to steer clear from harsh chemicals and try to use as much "natural" as possible, with the exception of a few awesome products that work well for me.

I hope this was a fun read!!!

Sorry for the light posting lately... been busy, busy...

Posted on | Tuesday, August 4, 2009 | 2 Comments

I'm sorry for such light posting over the last few weeks! Thank you for continuing to visit the blog, you hardcore bloggers! :)
I've been tremendously busy behind the scenes fulfilling orders and being a wife during this lovely warm and dry Oregon summer. Can you believe it is already August? I got painfully sick mid-late July and was being treated for that, which contributed to the trickle of posts, and now Matt and I are in the middle of planning our exotic second honeymoon. We haven't had a chance to really get away since our honeymoon. We always say we will, but end of cancelling and sticking closer to home because I'm so busy with work. I think we deserve to escape for a week, don't you?
Well, I'm sure you are sick of my Gilt Groupe posts about now, but I just wanted to post my recent steals. I love this festive Marc by Marc Jacobs dress I nabbed yesterday (on its way as I type):

I was thinking it would be good for wearing on the plane and during our long layovers (since we are going to get the cheapest airfare possible)... roll it up and shove into a suitcase afterwards. Plus, Matt won't be able to lose me since it is so "loud".

I also got this pair of tarte cheek stains. I always wanted these, but never wanted to fork over the $. :) I think these would be great while we travel too... easy to apply and so fresh looking.
So what was the total damage? Well, the dress retailed for near $300 and the cheek stains retailed for $56. I'm thinking of pairing the dress with my previous shoe purchase which retailed for nearly $700. So total retail for the outfit and makeup was supposed to be about $1050. What did I pay out of pocket with the Gilt discounts and credits (thank you lovely readers and shoppers for signing up through my link)? Drumroll.......
$43! Yeah, now you're thinking, why didn't I check it out? If you're interested, you can sign-up HERE.
Happy bargain hunting!