What's your makeup number?

• What is your makeup routine?  
• How much time do you spend putting your makeup on - on the typical morning?  

I just went through a survey that asked those questions in a way I have not looked at before.  Here is the question:  how many items are in your makeup bag that you use on a daily basis?  I thought this was a fair question, as I have never actually counted before.  If any of you have seen my  train case where I keep my "daily" makeup, you will know - it is quite large and extensive.  I like variety and honestly have gotten many cosmetics at a fraction of the retail cost and/or been given them via a cosmetic company's gratis program.  Hence I don't wear the same makeup items every day - mainly shadows and lip products and blushes tend to get rotated fairly quickly.

So, here is my number: 15 - yes, on the typical day that any of you may see me, I have used 15 pieces to pull my look together. What to know what that looks like?

This does not include skin care steps:

1. pore filler
2. primer for face
3. primer for eyes
4.  foundation
5.  bronzer
6.  face highlighter
7.  blush
8.  shadow 1
9.  shadow 2 (sometimes I use 3 and 4 shadows)
10.  eye liner
11.  lash primer
12.  mascara
13.  brows
14.  setting powder OR urban decays all nighter - depending on the day I expect to encounter
15.  Lip gloss or lipstick - some days both

wow!

So, let me get down and dirty:  If I had to pick 5 items (which I think is average for most women) - what would those be?

1. primer
2. foundation
3. bronzer (yes, you all know I am an addict)
4. mascara
5. lip gloss

How'd I do?  What are your five basics?  What would your 15 (we can also call this night out) consist of?

Reply to this post on the fb link - I would love to hear from you! 

A note on primers:  I don't feel any makeup should go on your face with out a primer, that is why you see it repeated in my routine so many times.  It makes all the difference in the world!  If you have not tried on makeup WITH a primer, go to your local department store and ask for a sample.  Or, here are my recommendations: 1. Mac (face only, not eye, but lash ok) 2. Bare Escentual's primer - it works best with loose mineral makeup, it tends to ball up with other cosmetics, but the makeup primer and makeup work best together.  (face and eye, not lash primer) 3. Smash box 4. Urban Decay (face and eye), Makeup Forever.  

I can go into skin care and hair another time, but those are things I do without leaving the house as well.

Quickly:  on a day to day basis, my hair is terrifically easy to take care of in terms of styling - maintaining my color is another story...  

Makeup Forever Limited Edition Kit

If you are a makeup artist or just wanna act like one, this is the kit for you.   

It has everything you need to get a very basic start except for foundations and brushes. 

Sometimes you will see train kits like this for sale filled with a bunch of junk makeup, but this kit is all MAKEUP FOREVER product and pure excellence.  

Makeup Forever Limited Edition Kit

Wild & Chic Collector Case ($616 Value)

Online Only - Limited Edition $330 

Sephora has free shipping for orders over $100

What it is:
A limited-edition makeup kit piled high with MAKE UP FOR EVER's bestselling products, handpicked by Creator and Artistic Director Dany Sanz.

What it does:
Perfect for every occasion and look, this wild makeup case features a combination of MAKE UP FOR EVER's most iconic products and newest additions for the complexion, eyes, and lips. As a bonus, these must-haves come in a fashionable, faux snakeskin case.

This set contains:
- 0.84 oz Travel Mist & Fix
- 1.01 oz HD Microperfecting Primer
- 0.04 oz Lip Line Perfector
- 2 x 0.04 oz Aqua Lip in Red 8C (true red), Light Rosewood 14C (muted dusty rose)
- 2 x 0.04 oz Aqua Eyes in Blue With Green Highlights 12L (metallic teal blue), Mat Black 0L (black)
- 2 x 0.058 oz Aqua Liner in 8 Iridescent Electric Purple (bright purple sheen), 13 Mat Black (matte black)
- 2 x Faux Lash 156 Genevieve (natural black with dense outer corners), 113 Betsy (extreme criss-cross flairs with glitter strip)
- 2 x 0.23 oz Smoky Lash in Black, 6 (plum)
- 0.20 oz Brow Seal
- HD Kabuki Brush
- 0.40 oz HD Elixir
- 0.84 oz Travel Sens'Eyes
- 0.55 oz Uplight in 23 (pearly golden flesh)
- 2 x 0.21 oz Aqua Cream in 1 Anthracite (silvery charcoal shimmer), 13 Warm Beige (champagne shimmer)
- 0.09 oz Metal Powder in Honey Gold 3 (tannish gold shimmer)
- 0.09 oz Star Powder White/Orange 940 (iridescent golden pearl)
- 2 x 0.09 oz Diamond Shadow in Diamond Burgundy 311 (burnish mauve with copper shimmer), Diamond Beige 306 (peachy tan with gold shimmer)
- 2 x 0.12 oz Rouge Artist in 43 Moulin Rouge (satin vibrant red), 34 (satin light raspberry)
- 2 x 0.09 oz Lab Shine Diamond Collection - D16 (shimmering beige), Metal Collection - M10 (chrome morello cherry)
- 0.35 oz HD Microfinish Powder
- Double Pencil Sharpener

What else you need to know:
MAKE UP FOR EVER Creator and Artistic Director Dany Sanz has autographed 100 of these kits at random. Buy this amazing kit and you may end up as one of the lucky few who gets a signed one.Sephora is the exclusive beauty retailer for this product.

Lancome - Holiday 2011 Purchase with Purchase

Lancome has an example of a great deal this season: 

This is a little different than a gift with purchase, where you get a gift just for buying a certain $ amount of product from a fragrance or cosmetic company.  


In this purchase, you get a TON of product to purchase after purchasing the qualifying amount, which in this case is just any purchase (mascara, anyone?).  


You get the to choose between the warm or cool tones - nice to have a choice.  It is 57.50 and valued at $300.  If I have learned one thing it is this:  when the company tells you the purchase is valued at a certain price, it really is - I've done the math. 

Features:

- Choice of warm and cool shade collections allows you to customize your holiday look.
- Makeup artist look card provides tips and tricks to create looks for both day and night.
- Includes everything you need to create your complete look: eyes, lips, face and makeup brushes.
- The beautifully feminine train case makes it a perfect gift for a friend, a family member—or yourself!

Set includes:
- Two Juicy Tubes Lip Glosses in Bolole and Simmer.
- Two Color Design Lipcolors in It Girl and Sugared Maple.
- Blush Subtil in Cedar Rose.
- Limited-edition Eyeshadow Brush Duo (lid and liner).
- Le Crayon Khôl EyeLiner in Black Coffee.
- Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover.
- Définicils Mascara in Black.
- Three Color Design Eyeshadows in Latte, Kitten Heel and Mannequin.
- Signature train case.

Purchase here.

email me with questions! 

Deals: Clinique gwp: make the most of it

Clinique's Gift with Purchase started today.

Here's how to make the most of it: 

 Awesome deal.  Free Shipping.  You need to purchase $25 or more to get the gift.  

If you purchase $100 or more on Nordstrom.com, you get the bonus I blogged about last week AND Clinique's 8 piece gift!

CLINIQUE BONUS

Get our exclusive Tracy Reese for Clinique gift with your $25 Clinique purchase—a $75 value. Online and in store.

SHOP CLINIQUE

Gift includes:

• Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser (1 oz.)
• Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer SPF 20 (0.5 oz.)
• Different Lipstick in Raspberry Glace (0.14 oz.)
• Quickliner for Eyes in Black/Brown (0.005 oz.)
• High Impact Mascara in Black (0.16 oz.)
• Mini Colour Surge Eyeshadow Trio in Pink, Trax and Chocolate Chip
• Tracy Reese-designed cosmetics bag
• Tracy Reese-designed travel bag

Current Best Beauty Buy - October 2011

Note:  As of November 1st this deal no longer applies. 

As a follow-up to my blog about buying great quality makeup for a deal, here is one example of one of the best deals I've seen in a long time.  I always recommend buying at Holiday times (Christmas/Mother's Day/etc) because there are always package deals you cannot find at any other time - so this kind of seals the deal for me.

GET READY FOR A TON OF FREE PRODUCT:  

Ok, so just buy $100 worth of cosmetics or fragrances at Nordstrom.com (this is online only) - shipping is ALWAYS free - doesn't matter what amount you spend (to get free shipping) and you get the following:

EXCLUSIVE BEAUTY GIFTS—WORTH OVER $130

Get 13 travel-size beauty favorites in a sparkly black cosmetics bag with your $100 beauty or fragrance purchase.*

Gift includes:

• ARCONA Gentle Solution Treatment (0.33 oz.)
• Balenciaga Paris Glass Vial Perfume Sample (0.13 oz.)
• Bare Escentuals® bareMinerals® Flawless Definition Curl & Lengthen Mascara (0.16 oz.)
• Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Whipped Perfume Sachet (0.03 oz.)
• CAUDALIE Premier Cru Cream (0.06 oz.)
• Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream (1.06 oz.)
• Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Black (0.005 oz.)
• Elie Saab Glass Vial Perfume Sample (0.03 oz.)
• Kate Somerville® ExfoliKate® Intensive Exfoliating Treatment (0.16 oz.)
• Laura Mercier Deluxe Foundation Primer (0.5 oz.)
• Living Proof Full Body Boosting Thickening Cream for All Hair Types (0.5 oz.)
• Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream (0.17 oz.)
• philosophy 'the microdelivery' exfoliating wash (1 oz.)

HURRY AND GET MORE GIFT! For a limited time, spend an additional $25 and receive a selection of Lancôme bestsellers. Lancôme Génifique Eye Youth Activating Eye Concentrate (0.25 oz.) Lancôme Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate (0.25 oz.) Lancôme Cils Booster XL Super Enhancing Mascara Base (0.07 oz.) ___________ If you have ANY fragrances, beauty items for yourself or others (think holiday) - this is a fantastic deal.   Here is a run down of just a few deals from gifts that different Cosmetic/Fragrance lines are offering that you could make out like a bandit on:

MARC JACOBS 'Lola' Deluxe Holiday Gift Set ($136 Value) $92

Reveal your modern free spirit and irresistible attitude. Set includes an eau de parfum spray (3.4 oz.), sensual body lotion (2.5 oz.), silky shower gel (2.5 oz.) and deluxe mini eau de parfum spray (0.13 oz.) housed in a reusable container.

• By MARC JACOBS.

• Add an Essie polish for $8 and you've got a your $100 for free shipping and the free gifts above! 

_______________

Katy Perry Set is amazing, purchase any Katy Perry items and you get the Katy Perry gift set AND everything above: 

KATY PERRY

Your Gift with Fragrance PurchaseReceive a packable tote bag that fits into a cat-shaped pouch with your $65 Katy Perry fragrance purchase.

Online only. One per person, while supply lasts. Gift will be added automatically in Checkout and can only be shipped to the same destination as your order. This item cannot be shipped to international addresses.

______________________________________


Amazing Lancome Holiday set: 

Lancôme 'Lancôme 'Rénergie Lift Volumetry' Holiday Set ($171 Value)

The facts:
Skin’s cells need to communicate with each other constantly to maintain a support structure that keeps skin looking youthful.

The Lancôme solution:
Rénergie Lift Volumetry is our first skin treatment featuring the GF-Volumetry™ complex, shown to help support cellular communication¹.

The results:
See your skin visibly lifted, firmed and reshaped. Cheeks appear re-plumped, jaw line appears refined and the facial angle appears improved by eight degrees².

Includes:
- Rénergie Lift Volumetry (1.7 oz.).
- Rénergie Lift Volumetry Eye (0.5 oz.).
- High Résolution Collaser-5X™ (0.5 oz.).

¹In-vitro test.
²Based on clinical scoring of the profile angle of the neck and jaw line after four weeks of use of Rénergie Lift Volumetry SPF 15 Cream. 


_________________________________________________________________________________________________


Go to the Nordstrom Beauty site to obviously see more - makeup and fragrance, but I just wanted to make you aware of some of the fantastic ways to either stock up for yourself, try something new or buy some great gifts.  


The last time I got one of these amazing deals, I found items that I would not have ordinarily purchased, but it opened me up to new items, like the Tanning Towel Self Tanner and the Marc Jacobs Hollywood fragrance.  


Note: Clinique at Nordstrom is about to have their gift with purchase that would make the *perfect* storm.  

1. Spend $125 in: special holiday gifts (always free, extra items, larger items), sets (new and different items, free items, larger/different sizes), your basics
2. Get all the free gifts mentioned above
3. Free shipping
4. Free Clinique gift that always has tons of great items

If that isn't the perfect storm.... I don't know what is! 

Happy Shopping!  


Let me know if you have any questions or have better or different beauty buy ideas! 


-Arica

Scared of self tanner? Never fear: Arica is here

This will be the easiest way to apply and enjoy self tanner that you've ever experienced, I swear.

So everybody hates those orange looking self tanners.  Everybody hates how long they take to dry.  Everybody hates how your fingers turn orange.  Welcome to a new way of thinking about how to artificially tan your face and body with out pain and minimal effort on your part.

No. 1 - always exfoliate before your use a self tanner.  This could be a scrub or your clairsonic.

No. 2 - If you want more color - apply right after washing your face.  If you just want to dip your toes in the waters of self tanning and get a lighter look, apply over your moisturizers.  If you use a serum, I suggest you skip it for that particular evening.

No. 3 - Protect your hair.  Pull it off your face.  If you happen to have light hair, such as a blonde, use a lip gloss and apply to your hair line to protect your hair from the self tanner.  Trust me, your hair and your hair stylist will thank you in the morning.

This is what you'll need: a proven product that will give consistant results.  I highly recommend Bare Escentuals Faux Tan - the one in the white bottle, currently $22.  I use it in the manner I will describe to you and it has lasted over 8 months.  Worthwhile investment for a quality product.

You need a little cup, such as a medicine cup - nothing large.

A medium size facial makeup brush - get a cheep one from the drug store.

I usually wear a tank to apply my self tanner.

After you have your skin prep done, put about a dime size portion of the self tanner into your little cup.  Be careful not to put too much in and therefore wasting product.

Take your makeup brush, dip it into the product and apply directly to your face.  It initially may look dark and streaky, but here is where your buffing abilities come into play.  You need to blend, blend, blend the product until you can see no streaks or marks.  I usually carry it down my neck.

Wash your brush and small cup.

Done.

How easy was that?  No mess, no fuss.

Body tanner?

I use a different method: I fell in love with the Body Drench Self Tanner Spray (aprox $20 through your local cosmetologist (I have not found it anywhere in a retail location other than Amazon.com).

During the winter months (yes, I am specifially talking to Seattle here), I only do my chest area and call it good, making sure that I have gotten my neck.  No Mess. Done.

Easy enough?  Let me know if you have any questions, but I do this a couple of times a week at night and love the results!