I’m back from my little getaway trip to the Oregon Coast with my hubby, and was it ever nice. It was just two nights, and we weren’t planning on any dining that required dressing up, so I planned for some low key makeup.

For these quick trips (or really any travelling) I love combination palettes. In the past, Sephora has made some really nice ones, two of which I own. These have six eyeshadows, a blush, and a highlighter. It’s a nice slim palette too, so it’s easy to pack. To this I added a couple of brushes (basic eyeshadow and crease brush, blush brush, and powder brush in my slim brush tube), compact powder, mascara, eyelash curler, neutral eye pencil (brown in this case), and tinted moisturizer. It sounds like a lot, but it all packs down nicely into a small makeup bag.

With this, I have options. I know I was planning on low-key makeup, but on the chance that I might decide to glam it up for dinner out, it’s good to be prepared.

I don’t know how thin it is (probably not very, since it’s double-decker) but this new palette from LORAC looks amazing. Eight eyeshadows, two blushes, two lip colors, a mascara and a brush – it sounds perfect for a trip! It’s definitely on my wish list.

Stila also has some nice eyeshadow/blush sets, as does Tarte. Too Faced Quickie Chronicles are another favorite of mine, and I really want this one. Too Faced seems to be laying on the cute palettes this fall – check this one out.

Get some travel-sized hair and body care, or bottles to decant your own, and you are set! Bon Voyage!

Poor blog. Neglected again, as I got busy with work and came home so tired. With that in mind, I thought I might blog about comfort products – the ones you reach for when you’re worn out and need some serious pampering.

I love to take baths at the end of a long day. Dreamboat Milk Bath from The Body Shop is delicately floral scented, and super relaxing. It bubbles a little bit, too. I’m devoted to Lush bath bombs too, especially Big Blue and Butterball. Here’s a tip – for Lush bath bombs with stuff in them (Big Blue has seaweed), put it in the foot of an old pair of nylons and tie it off. It’ll contain the bits.

After the bath, there’s nothing quite like slathering on an oil to seal in the moisture. Supple Skin Oil from L’Occitane smells like delicious almonds and sinks in really fast. The Mange Too massage bar from Lush is also great – and it smells like chocolate and vanilla. It’s especially good if someone else will rub it on for you…lol!

Sometimes we are just too tired to do the whole night time wash-the-face etc. routine. In these moments, I love the Dramatic Results face wipes from Ponds. (Okay, they call them “cleansing towelettes.”) At any rate, I wouldn’t depend on them every night, but when I’m tired, nothing beats swiping my face with one of these and just slapping on a little moisturizer. If I don’t wash my face at all (bad Claire!) I get zits, guaranteed. These little gems help keep that sad fate at bay.

I’m taking a two day vacation, and then I’ll be back! Up next, quick getaway vacation makeup!

While cruising through Whole Foods Market the other day, I stopped to peruse the personal care section. I noticed some new products from Zia Natural Skincare.

I’ve seen Zia products on the shelves for years, but never paid a lot of attention because they are pricey. However, some new packaging caught my eye and I stopped to check it out. It looks like their “Skin Basics” line has been repackaged and reformulated, and the prices are a bit more reasonable for a higher-end (for a grocery store, anyway) natural skincare line.

I purchased the Sea Tonic Aloe Toner because it’s alcohol-free and has ylang essential oil in it (I’m so easy, scent it with something I like and I’ll buy it). However, it is also a lovely toner in a spray bottle. My skin feels very soft afterwards. I’m intrigued by the Herbal Moisture Gel that is recommended as the moisturizer to accompany the toner for blemish-prone skin. It has some nice stuff in it, but I’m concerned it won’t be enough moisture for me… I’ll have to investigate. I may have to give the Cleansing Gel a whirl too.

The new Everyday Moisturizer looks nice for a drier skin type – it has rice bran oil in it which is fantastic for the skin.

Overall, these new Zia products look really nice!

I love Fresh eyeshadows. I find them exceptionally silky, and I love the shades. I recently bought two new Fresh eyeshadow palettes and I’m in love.

Winter Picnic has cool colors, with a medium lavender, white pearl, medium khaki taupe, deep chocolate shimmer, muted sky blue, and dusty pink shimmer. I used the top row one day, for a slightly smoky lavender eye, and the bottom row for a more subtle look. It lives up to its name, being perfect for days when the bronze and coppers of summer don’t fit the mood.

Stage Door has warmer colors, and is fits the mood for fall perfectly. It has cement beige, iridescent russet, iridescent blue/gold, soft green, peachy-rose, and nude mauve. So far I’ve used the beige, soft green, and peachy-rose together and it was a perfect daytime look for work.

I really want to get Roman Holiday to complete my Fresh collection. The colors are so pretty!

Yankee Candle was having a sale on votives and tarts, $1 each with a minimum purchase of 24. So I was suckered in because of all the splendid scents for fall. Among my favorites are Autumn Leaves, Autumn Woods, and Fall Festival. I like their candles because they throw a lot of scent, and most of the scents don’t give my husband a headache – the ones that do aren’t the ones I like, anyway.

A visit to Target yielded some new room sprays from Method, the environmentally and people friendly cleaning product company. While they aren’t on their website, I believe that both Fig and Gingerbread (the two I purchased, and they are seriously nice!) are for fall. Method seems to do special holiday scents that don’t make it to their website – last year I bought the Peppermint Vanilla handwash (loved it!) and if they made a handwash in either of the two scents I bought today, I’d die happy.