But what I want to tell you about first is that today, Sept 23, 2011, Mally is the “Today’s Special Value” on QVC, with her “Defend Your Beauty” 7pc kit. This kit was one of the things I brought home, so I wanted to show you some pics to help you decide if the kit is right for you.

The kit includes:

When you look a little closer at the products you might be a bit worried about the colors – don’t be. I can tell you that the gold in the Volumizing Lip Gloss gives just a hint of sparkle and doesn’t overwhelming make you look all OG (*over-gold). The blush looks bright, but it really does blend down to a pretty natural flush color & the hightlighter just gives you a bit of glow, not glowY, if you know what I mean. Of course you know that the Face Defender is colorless because you remember reading about my love for it here, right?

You know what? Why don’t I just show you what I mean with the colors. The hightlighter on the far right just glows. I applied the blush very heavy at the bottom so you can see how I blended it in up top. I put the gloss on heavy so that you can see the barely there gold & the also the pink color. And you can see how nicely the Violet shadow stick works with the Black Cherry Liner. Now, this is on my pale skin, applied heavily – your results will vary depending on how heavy-handed you are on application.

So, what do you think? Are you going to make the call and pick up a kit for yourself? Let me know if you do – I wanna know what you think about the colors, too!

*UPDATE* Just to let you know that this kit is regularly available on QVC, and was not just a One Time Special Value!

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Guys, I can’t believe it is already that time of year again! Another year of trying out new products, going to fashion shows, trade shows, trying new services, meeting great new people – and sharing it all with you!

As a token of my appreciation for sticking around to read my ramblings, I want to give you guys a chance to win a bunch of goodies. This year I really wanted to make a point and share with you some of my go to faves – from the “cheaper than lunch” treat to the decadent “you spent how much?”. Here’s what I’m giving away:

• Eight Body Moisture – Ginger Lime: The fresh scent wakes you up and it feels so good going on. I’m just glad my kid doesn’t like lotion, or he would have taken this along with my body wash. ($24/ea)
• Talika Lash Conditioning Cleanser: Hands down my favorite eye makeup remover. So gentle on the eyes & no weird film left afterwards. I wept when I finished my last bottle. No lie. ($24/ea)
• Mally Beauty Volumizing Waterproof Mascara: I do not like waterproof mascara, except for this one. Seriously. When I got this one I used it for a couple of months before I even realized it *was* waterproof – it just didn’t feel like other wp mascaras out there. And it makes my lashes look good, too! You’ll get *2* of these, so you can decide to hoard them for yourself or share one with a friend. ($20/ea)
• Votre Vu Duette: This combo lotion/lip balm is a multi-taskers dream. I may or may not have had words with a TSA agent at the airport when I forgot to check it, since it is a smidge over 3oz. (*Spoiler: I won!) Also, this scent is heavenly. ($39/ea)
• Mario Badescu Lip Wax: I recently gave my tube up to my friend who had lips like Lisa Rinna used to have due to an allergic reaction. Her situation was dire. I would only willingly give up my tube in emergencies like that. It’s that good. ($5/ea)
• Mario Badescu Flower and Tonic Mask: Sometimes my face just needs a little TLC, so I’ll slather this mask on for a little soothing. However, last time I grabbed it, I realized I hadn’t closed it properly and it had dried out. I was so devastated I attempted to revive it with tap water. Don’t do that. ($18/ea)
• Mario Badescu Super Rich Olive Body Lotion: In the winter my legs get really dry and itchy. I squeeze some of this on before bed, rub it all in and the itchiness goes away. Heavy duty, but light moisturize. And it absorbs quickly so my sheets don’t get all gross. ($10/ea)
• CoverFX MintGlaze FX: This lip primer works great on lips, but it does amazing things on mosquito bites, too. Seriously. I don’t know how, but when I used this on some nasty bites this summer – *bam* – they went away QUICK. No lie. I’m giving away *2* tubes of this, so that you can use one on your lips and one on your bites, since you really don’t wanna mix the two, do you? ($22/ea)
• Three Custom Color Cream to Powder Blush in “Morning After”: I love cream blushes now. And I know some of you are afraid to try them because you might be intimidated. This almost neutral shade is a perfect way to ease into it, esp since it dries down to a powdery finish anyway. ($22.50/ea)
• Orlane Paris Extreme Anti-Wrinkle Regenerating Night Care: Yep, this is expensive and oh so decadent. It also feels good and works really well at soothing my tired skin by absorbing fast & not sitting on top of my skin like so many night creams do. It makes it feel like my has bounced back overnight when I use it. Of course, it better for the price tag, right? And I’m giving you a jar to see for yourself! ($300/ea)

You all know I am nosy, so, this year’s contest question(s) is “Have you bought or tried anything that I have written about? If so, what?”. I’m really just curious if anything did so I can know if I am alone in my like for something. Anyway, enter your answer, name and email addy in the widget below, please:

I’ll run the contest from now until midnight the night of the 16th and will announce the winner next week on my birthday, the 17th! Good luck!

*Disclaimer: All prizes are being provided by PR on my, and their clients, behalf.

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So, if you haven’t heard from me, I’m sorry, you didn’t win this giveaway. But, I know that you will want to join me in congratulating Dawn, Elena and Phyllis, right?

Thanks to all of you for entering and good luck to you in my next giveaway, that should be coming up soon.

Three Custom was started by Trae, Scott & Chad out of Scott & Chad’s apartment in 1997 with 15 lipsticks, 10 lipliners and a custom blending service. It has now expanded to over 250 products and their custom blending archive has over 9,000 discontinued colors dating back to the 1930′s. It’s pretty dang amazing, right?

One of the other cool things they do are collaborations with great artists and company’s for special edition products. That is where “Morning After” Crème to Powder blush came from – a signature collection with makeup artist, and best-selling author, Robert Jones. Robert is the author of “Looking Younger”, a book to help the “maturing” lovely camouflage wrinkles, sagging eyelids, etc while teaching practical and easy tips to play up their best features.

Well, I’m happy to say that I am able to give you 3 of you lucky (*US only) readers a copy of “Looking Younger” AND your own “Morning After” Crème to Powder blush. All you need to do is enter your name and email address in the box below (*fyi, you will be signed up for 3C’s monthly email with tips, discounts & samples, but you can opt-out any time) between now and MidnightCST on Monday, July 19th for your chance to win.

Have any of you already tried Three Custom? What’s your favorite color matched product? Let me know.

MAC’s upcoming collection, “To the Beach” is packed with so many summer products, including a LOT of bronzing options. They are in colorful lime-ish green and orange packaging & have a highlighter that it just too pretty to use, in my opinion. I mean, look at it over there <---.

I’m not kidding when I say it is a big collection – I tried to show you as many of the prods, that I had a chance to try, as I could in my video, but it still seemed a bit rushed. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything and I’ll be sure to slow down a bit and answer you.

When I was growing up, the only kind of blush I ever used, or was even introduced to, were powder blushes. I have come to learn that there are so many variations besides powder now, that I want to make sure you know, too.

In this video I mention several different types of blushes/brands. They are:

• Three Custom Colors Crème to Powder Blush in “Morning After” (*PR provided)
• tarte Cheek Stain in “True Love” (*discontinued – boo! – GWP)
• Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick in “Shy Blush” (*mine is a mini-tube GWP)
• MAC Blushcreme in “Florida” (*PR provided)
• Benefit “Posie Tint” (*from a gift bag)
• NARS Cream Blush in “Penny Lane” (*from a giveaway)

I forgot to mention a couple of brands/products that def deserved to be shown, too. The first is the Sue Devitt Starbrights Lip & Cheek Gel in “Capella” (*got in a gift bag). This cheek gel scared me when I first saw it becaus it is *purple*. But after the lovely MUA put it on my cheeks and showed me how pretty it could be on my skintone, I was hooked.

The second one that should have been in the video is the Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush. Besides being a creamy blush that goes on easily, it is also the only blush that incorporates Olay’s Regenerist Serum into the mix – making it not only pretty, but good for your skin, too. (*of course, I can’t help but to mention that I was lucky enough to have celebrity MUA Jake Bailey apply it on me and it looked *good*). (*warning: I may be biased).

Like I said in the video, the colors are going to look more intense in the package, but with a light touch, you make just about any color work for you. Also, don’t forget what I said about layering – you can start with an alternate type of blush, finishing off the top with your powder blush for a longer lasting cheek.

Let me know if you have tried any of these, or if you have heard of another blush type that I didn’t list here. I would love to hear about it.