September 29, 2006

Drugstore.com auto delivery

Drugstore.com is now offering auto delivery of items you regularly use! I think this is great – I just need to now figure out how often I use the few items I buy over and over again. They offer 30, 45, 60, 90 or 180 days options. You initial order is delivered at the regular shipping rate but subsequent deliveries are sent at $1.99 shipping (or $4 off the shipping.) Plus it looks like these orders accrue drugstore.com dollarsâ„¢ (and will automatically apply them where applicable as well.)

The full details can be found here:

http://drugstore.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/drugstore.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=607

September 29, 2006

E.L.F.

My favorites from the order I placed over a year ago:


e.l.f. Hypershine Gloss, Cloud Nine


9 piece brush set – my favorites out of this are the eye defining brush, eye blending brush. The only thing I don’t like about the makeup roll is that it’s so long. I have to roll it out on my dresser and my bedroom doesn’t have lighting that’s as good as my bathroom so I often end up running back and forth (I don’t have a big sink to roll it out on.)

In my order yesterday:


Hypershine Mini Cell Phone Lip Gloss Charms Promo code for 20% off of these is PHONE
Elf Cosmetics

Custom Pallet with: eyeshadow in dusk, eyeshadow in pink ice, blushes in shy, glow and bronzed. Yes, I bought a second incomplete pallet.

Other items in my order:

  • Eye shadow in Luxe and Butternut
  • Eye Shadow Brush x3 (2 for a friend)
  • Eyeliner Brush
  • Lip Defining Brush (for a friend – she asked what she should use to apply a dark shade of L’oreal HIP lipgloss and I recommended this)
  • Bronzer in Sun Kissed
  • Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15 in Pink Kiss (I’m giving this scent, grape vanilla, a second chance in hopes that they’ve reformulated.)
  • Moisture Care Lip color in Brownie Points (again, I’m giving this scent, vanilla mint, a second chance.)
  • Smudge Eye Brush (for a friend – I wasn’t too happy with this when I got it in the set but she wanted to give it a try anyway 🙂 )
  • Defining Eye Brush – I already have one and love it so much I want a second one.

As I mentioned in the comments of my other post, E.L.F. can be ordered directly or most items are also available at drugstore.com (the links to my favs are drugstore.com links and the links of my recently ordered items are direct – please support this site if you’re going to be ordering anyway.)

When I placed my order directly with elf yesterday it said “Due to high volume it may take up to 3 – 5 weeks to ship your order. We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience.” So it may be awhile before I get my order in. When I have it in, I will let you all know which products I liked and which I didn’t like.

It’s been awhile since my last order but I can tell you, steer clear of the mascara – it’s flaky. Shimmering facial whips were out of stock yesterday so I didn’t buy any but as long as you don’t get one that’s seperated those are pretty good (though I did get one that was seperated last time and it was oily – I hope they’ve stepped up quality control some… but they’re only $1 each anyway.) And the best scents for products are cotton candy, sugar orange or no scent (I’ll let you know if they’ve reformilated those couple that I could not stand before.)

September 25, 2006

Updated TSA list

I’ve added a couple of possible substitutions for hair gel. Aloe Vera powder and unflavored gelatine powder.

Not sure how well this will work but there are recipes out there that use the gelatine for homemade hair gel so it’s probably better than nothing. 🙂

September 15, 2006

Spring 2007 color predictions

Summary:

pantone fashion color report spring 2007
New York Fashion Week, September 8-15, 2006

New York fashion designers are flourishing in a season of new beginnings, using surprising neutrals with innovative splashes of corals, yellows and purples to create a spring in bloom.Tarragon is the freshly cut stem to the blossoming shades of sweet Strawberry Ice, warm Golden Apricot and violet-infused Hollyhock. Cafe Creme is the rich, creamy contrast to the serenity of calming Sky Blue or the deliciousness of refreshing Grapemist. The yellow glow of gleaming Green Sheen and the blushing beauty of diaphanous Silver Peony reflect the infusion of life brought by spring.

from: http://www.pantone.com/products/products.asp?idArticle=944&idSubArea=0&idArea=4

More info and designers:

http://www.pantone.com/articles/pdfs/PANTONEspring07.pdf

pantone spring 2007 colors

What’s hot isn’t just determined by Pantone or the designers, it’s the people and the media. If I could predict what would be the “it” colors for spring would be they would be rich deep versions of orange and raspberry sherbet colors with a lot of white – things that are a hint preppy, some well done paisley’s and stripes. This is what I’m leaning towards myself because when I find myself buying too much of one color I tend to start looking for another color.

clothing cult spring 2007 predictions

I think that the chocolates, teals and light chartreusy-lime colors will stick around in the background.

September 12, 2006

Cover Girl eyeshadow in Aqua Paradise

Cover Girl Eyeshadow in Aqua paradise teal aqua blue peacock

For those of you looking for a good vibrant teal color eyeshadow that’s affordable. I replaced the burgundy color (“Aubergine queen”) shown in the picture here with the Aqua Paradise. Closer to the eye-line I applied it with a wet brush and blended so that it was a bit thicker than a quick swipe of dry powder.


Quick note – I just got in the MAC eyeshadow in shimmermoss … can’t tell the difference between the covergirl and it.

MAC vs Cover Girl

The MAC is on the right and the Cover Girl is on the left.

September 4, 2006

TSA possible substitutions

EDIT: you can now carry on small amount of liquids but I still like keeping this list around should that change back to no liquids at some point in the future.

Many of you have probably heard by now about the banned liquids for carry-ons.
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm

I made a comment on Travel Commons about trying to compile a list of possible substitutes for those who don’t want to wait on checked baggage and also don’t want to spend a fortune on replacing their personal items at each destination.

I also want to note that I have heard of people at this point having their saline solution thrown in the trash so even though it’s one of the “acceptable” items you probably aren’t going to get away with carrying it on.

TSA’s website does leave a few loopholes that allow the final decision about your items to be made by the Screener:
“Some solid or powdered cosmetics items are permitted past the checkpoint; however, this is left to the discretion of the Security Officer. To minimize delays and hassle, we recommend that you pack all cosmetics in your checked baggage.”

Please note – these are POSSIBLE solutions and I have not tried these. If anyone has any feedback about their actual experiences with what works and what doesn’t, please please comment.

BANNED CARRY-ON ITEM POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTE
Deodorants made of gel or aerosol**
Regular Stick deodorant or crystal deodorant:

  • Too many to list in the stick deodorant category
    Groceries and Drugstores etc.
  • Crystal deodorant – about $7
    Natural Food stores. This type of deodorant is made of mineral salts and will prevent odor but not sweating so if your concern is the wetness this isn’t for you. But if your concern is odor and not leaving white marks on your clothes this may be a good substitute.
Hair styling gels and spray of all kinds including aerosol
I will try to find additional items to include in the hair styling products category.Hair Wax:
Make sure it’s a solid wax and then you may want to put it in an unmarked travel container or a product that comes in stick form so that a TSA screener doesn’t just assume it’s a gel.

Powdered Gelatine:
Unflavored gelatine like Knox

Powdered Aloe Vera:
Freeze Dried aloe vera gel that can be reconstituted with water http://www.chemistrystore.com/aloe.htm

Hair straightener or detangler
None found so far.
Lip gels such as Carmex or BlistexLiquid lip glosses or other liquids for lips
Chapstick or a wax lip balm in stick form, Lipstick or stick glosses with a little color:
Note that some of these that don’t have color may also be good thick moisturizers for hands and some even state they are good eye moisturizers and can be used as cuticle cream as well.No color or tint:

  • Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm – about $2
    Natural Food Stores, drugstore.com, burtsbees.com
  • Vermont’s Original Bag Balm Protective Ointment – about $6.79
    drugstore.com not sure where else – this one might be iffy because it’s a large square container
  • Rosebud Perfume Co. Smith’s Rosebud Salve – about $6
    drugstore.com
  • Alba Hawaiian Lip Balm, Coconut Cream – about $4
    Natural Food Stores, drugstore.com
  • Reviva Vitamin E Oil Stick – about $4 or Garden Botanika Vitamine E Stick – about $13 or Sugar Baby Vitamin Kiss Stick about $14 (different added ingredients)
    ulta.com

With color or tint:

  • Blistex Lip Tone – about $2
    Groceries and Drugstores etc.
  • Cover Girl Lipslicks Lip Gloss (this is a stick) – about $4
    Groceries and Drugstores etc.
  • Neutrogena Moisture MoistureShine Tinted Lip Balm – about $8
    Groceries and Drugstores etc.
  • Alba Terra Tints Natural Tinted Lip Balm SPF18 – about $5
    Natural Food Stores, drugstore.com
  • Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer – about $4
    Natural Food Stores, drugstore.com, drugstores
Liquid bubble bath including gel or liquid filled
Powdered or tablet bubble bath or soak:

  • Lavender Foaming Milk Bath Powder – about $15
    The Body Shop
  • Powder Sugar Bath Soak (cinnamon, orange or peppermint) – about $21
    Bath and Body Works
  • Davies Gate Bath Fizz Pop with Body Oil Filling (you might be able to get away with this because it’s a solid on the outside even though it has oil in the middle – I think someone makes one that is just the fizzy ball without the oil center.) – about $12
    Bath and Body Works
Liquid foundations
Cake Foundations:
I’m listing a lot of these since it’s hard to find the exact shade and foundation that works for each individual.

  • Cover Girl Aquasmooth – about $7
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • Clinique City Base Compact Foundation SPF 15 – about $23
    Department stores, clinique.com
  • Clinque Superbalanced Compact Makeup SPF 20 – about $27
    Department stores, clinique.com
  • Maybelline Express 3 in 1, Cream Stick – about $8
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • Revlon Age Defying Makeup and Concealer – about $12
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • L’oreal Instant Foundation SFP 14 – about $12
    ulta.com, Groceries and Drugstores
  • Shu Uemura Nobara Cream Foundation – about $26
    shuuemura-usa.com
  • Shu Uemura Water Perfect Water-In Cake Foundation – about $33
    shuuemura-usa.com
  • Orlane Compact Cake Foundation (use Wet or Dry – this starts out as a powder) – about $30
    strawberrynet.com
  • Red Earth UV2 (this starts out as a powder you wet to create a liquid foundation) – about $26
    ulta.com
  • NARS Multiple Makeup Stick – about $27
    Neiman Marcus, sephora.com
Liquid Concealer
Cake or stick concealer:

  • Physicians Formula Magic Cube Concealer – about $6
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • Cover Girl Smoothers Concealer – about $6
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • Maybelline Cover Stick Waterproof Concealer – about $5
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • Revlon Age Defying Makeup and Concealer – about $12
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • Nars Concealer – about $20
    Neiman Marcus, sephora.com
Liquid, gel or spray perfumes and colognes
Solid Perfumes:

  • Este Lauder, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs amongst others make a few solid perfumes. I also once had a small Victoria’s Secret perfume that was a waxy solid but don’t know if you can still find it. Price varies.
    Department Stores
Liquid sanitizers
Towlette Sanitizers *

  • Baby wipes ( some are also sanitizing wipes.)
Liquid soaps
Bar and powder soaps ( too many to list)
Liquid mascara
Cake Mascara:

  • Lola Cosmetics – about $25
    Sephora.com or Ulta.com
  • Paula Dorf – about $20
    Drugstore.com

(you may prefer a different applicator brush than the one these come with – you will also probably want to practice application at home before you go on a trip since these will be completely different from what you are used to)

Make up removers
Makeup Remover Pads*:

  • E.L.F. Eye Makeup Remover Pads – about $1
    eyeslipsface.com
  • Almay Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads – about $6
    Groceries and Drugstores
  • See also Face Cleansers
Facial cleansers
Cleansing Towlettes* :

  • Olay Daily Facials Express Wet Cleansing Cloths, Sensitive Skin, Fragrance Free – about $6
    Groceries and Drugstores (personal note – I really like these and have in the past used them for my daily facial cleanser, since I have found a few things that are a little better and cheaper per use.)
  • Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleansing Pads – about $7
    Groceries and Drugstores ( I have tried these and they are pretty good – the scrubbing side would not be good for those with sensitive skin but they have a soft side as well.)

Presoaped pads/towellets (dry in package):

  • Olay Daily Facials – about $7
    Groceries and Drugstores ( I have tried these and they are pretty good.)
  • Dove Cleansing Cloths – about $7
    Groceries and Drugstores ( I have tried these and they are pretty good as well.)

Soap Powders:

  • Moisture White Cleansing Powder – about $22
    The Body Shop

Bar Soaps (too many to list – glycerine soaps are gentle)

Mouthwash**
Mouthwash Strips:

  • Listerine Pocket Paks Strips – about $3
    Most Groceries and drugstores carry these in flavors like cool mint, citrus and cinnamon

Mouthwash Powder:

  • Supersmile Single Dose Powdered Mouthrinse (60 uses) – about $29
    Bath and Body Works
Nail Polish
Dry Nail Enamel Strips:

  • Avon Instant Manicure Dry Nail Enamel Strips – about $5-$8 (they’re on sale at the time I’m writing this)
    http://shop.avon.com

Acrylic French Manicure with white tips:

  • See your local nail salon. This isn’t a nail polish but it is a way to have good looking nails for a long period of time. The white tips mean that your nail color won’t chip. The downside – it’s not great for the health of your nails.
Nail Polish remover
Nail Polish Remover pads/towelletts*:

  • E.L.F. Nail Polish Remover Pads – about $1
    eyeslipsface.com
  • Cutex Essential Care Nail Polish Remover Pads – about $3
    drugstore.com and most local groceries or drugstores will have some variant of this.
Shampoos **
Shampoo Bars and powders:

  • Burt’s Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar – about $6
    Natural Food stores, drugstore.com, burtsbees.com (I have tried a sample of this before and it’s really pretty good – can’t get used to the idea of a bar soap shampoo for everyday use, but I would pick it for travel.)
Conditioners**
Powdered Henna Conditioner:
Note: easier to find for red or brown hair since henna is often also a color enhance. Several brands have a neutral that can be used on any hair color (look for Rainbow Research and Surya Henna) – about $5 – $19
Search online or Natural food stores
Toothpaste **
Powdered Toothpaste:

  • Eco-dent – about $7
    Natural Food Stores
  • Baking Soda – about $1
    Groceries
  • Uncle Harry’s Tooth Powder – about $5
    Comes in a regular (which they say is a bit salty) and a whitening (which they say is lemony)
    Greenfeet.com (search for “tooth powder” on their site or if you google it you may find other brands as well)
Moisturizer**
Stick Moisturizer:
These will probably be too thick for typical use but if you are prone to dry skin and you have to have something…

  • Cocoa Butter Moisturizing Stick – about $13
    The Body Shop
Sunscreen (Suntan) lotion
Sunscreen Stick:
all can be found at drugstore.com, or depending on time of year and location also Walmart and local drugstores

  • Bullfrog Quick Stick SPF 36 – about $6
  • Neutrogena Healthy Defense Oil-Free Sunblock Stick, SPF 30 – about $8
  • Baby Blanket Sunblock Stick for Babies, SPF 45+ – about $5
  • Coppertone Sport Sunblock Stick, SPF 30 – about $5
  • Coppertone Kids Sunblock Stick SPF 30 – about $5
  • Hawaiian Tropic Ozone Oil Free Sunblock Stick SPF 50+ – about $6
Shaving gel** not specifically mentioned by the TSA site
Shave Soap:

  • You will actually need a Shave Brush (for the later and application) – about $6
  • Container to hold soap – about $2-$10
  • Shave Soap – about $2-$4

Drugstore.com carries several brands and you might also be able to find these at your local drugstore.

* Moistened towellets are mentioned above but they are iffy because although they aren’t liquid in bottles, they are wet and some screeners may consider this an opportunity to get rid of them. Most of these are worth a shot however because they aren’t expensive and they are at the very least a quick convenient item to pick up when you land.

** Check with your hotel and see if they have a sample size version.

If you HAVE to have a specific brand or product, consider getting a second set and calling your hotel ahead of time to see if you can ship it to them UPS, USPS, or FedEx before you leave home.

I weighed the liquids from my travel kit and they are about 1 lb 6 oz so from KY to FL it would cost about $5.15 to ship Priority Mail (2 days.) I think this would be worth the saved time if the hotel can accept it for you and doesn’t lose it in the process.

I luckily haven’t had to fly in awhile but the last time someone (a family member) convinced me to check baggage that I could have carried on, my checked bag took a 2 day trip without me to LA.


Other sites that have a plane friendly travel list:
http://www.sephora.com/browse/article.jhtml?id=200011#1