J. Lynne Cosmetics is offering 20% off their Classics Collections, which is only available through 12/31! If you like beautiful pastels and also bright colors, check them out!

From the Classic Multi-Dimensions Eyeshadows, I decided that Mist was a must-have shade. I am strongly tempted by Dewdrop as well. If money wasn’t a consideration, I’d buy one of each, actually!

I chose Bluebell from the Classic Satin Pearls Eyeshadows, and would buy Java Berry, Jade, and Clover too, if I had the budget.

Wild Child, a purple shade, looked like my best bet in the Classic Ultra Intensity Eyeliners, but honestly, they all look great.

This is one of the few makeup collections where I seriously want one of everything. Every single shade is fantastic, they ALL look great!

Merry Christmas everyone! We wish everyone a peaceful and happy holiday time.

Lisa Hoffman, maker of my favorite body oil, also offers perfume oils in the body oil scent, called Japanese Agarwood. (Actually it would be more accurate to say the body oil is scented like the perfume, not the other way round…) Right now there is a limited edition two-vial set that is so cute and more budget-friendly.

Japanese Agarwood is a fragrance with notes of Bergamot, Spiced Ginger Accord, and Warm Amber. There are also some lovely woodsy notes that are particularly nice if you like earthy, woodsy scents like I do. It’s a fresh scent, and also unisex.

I just love how portable the little oils are – I can tuck them into my cosmetics bag in my purse for touch-ups during the day. The scent is long-lasting, but it’s still nice to refresh it mid-day. Treat yourself for the New Year and try Japanese Agarwood! I give it two thumbs up!

I ordered some samples from Meow Cosmetics’ various holiday collections and I’m really loving the colors! The collections have awesome names like “12 Pains of Christmas” and “Glacial Grove” and the shades are really perfect for this time of the year.

So far, I’ve tried Cat In The Tree from the 12 Pains, which is a great shade of dark green (dark forest green with copper undertones and gold metallic iridescent shimmer), paired with Iberian Lynx from Fyrinnae. (Iberian Lynx is a great slightly-darker-than-taupe shade.)

Hangover (another 12 Pains)  is a great purple color, bright but not too bright. I paired it with a silver color and got lots of compliments.

The Snowflakes collection has Flurry, which is an awesome icy blue color. I love it with a purple like Hangover or Fyrinnae’s Cupcake Sprinkles.

I still have samples from Glacial Grove and Winter Spirits left to try. I love new colors!

OMG I’m in love. Maison Francis Kurkdjian is the line of perfumes from nose Francis Kurkdjian. I had the pleasure of trying a sample of Lumiere Noire pour Femme and now I’m totally lusting for a bottle.

The fragrance notes include Rose, Cumin, Hot Pepper, Patchouli, and Narcissus. I have a bit of an obsession for cumin as a note in perfume, as it seems to “stink” things up just enough to take a perfume into the realm of really interesting. This is a rose scent, but it’s not sweet and pretty. This is a dark, mysterious rose, with some dirt and hot pepper to spice it up. It definitely comes really close to being my perfect rose!

I wish I could really describe this for you, but I’m not feeling particularly poetic today. Grain de Musc describes it perfectly, here.

I’m so strongly tempted to get a full bottle when my sample runs out.

Sometime earlier this year I picked up a mini-size of Bare Escentuals’ new Hydrating Mineral Veil, a Sephora Beauty Insider sample. I liked the sample, so I decided to spring for the full size product and the brush that comes with it. Also, Bare Escentuals recently had their Friends & Family sale, and since I work at a mall with a store, the lovely ladies there hooked me up with an invite. Yay! I bought the Sweet Obsessions set with the F&F discount.

The Hydrating Mineral Veil is pretty cool stuff. It’s a powder that actually contains water, as well as some flower extracts, that works to hydrate your skin without adding shine. It absorbs oil, and leaves behind a soft, flawless finish. I love it! It does seem to help keep my skin from feeling dry in the very cold, very dry weather we have been having. I also really like the very subtle shimmer the powder has. It brightens the complexion without any disco-ball effect. I bought the set with the brush, which seems to help with applying just the right amount.

The Sweet Obsessions set is an eyeshadow set featuring nine shades. It was the mint green that suckered me in, but really all the shades are really pretty and wearable. The box includes an insert with suggested combinations of colors, and so far I’ve tried the green with browns, and the purple/pinks. The finish is not quite matte, but not shimmery either. It’s a soft pearl finish, which looks really nice. These colors will be fun to wear year round, as they are not particularly “wintery” or anything, despite being a Holiday special.

What new products have you bought lately?

The subject of this post isn’t itself a cosmetic, but I liked these little bags so much I wanted to share them with you. The XSProject is a charity project that makes various kinds of bags, including some that work great as makeup bags, out of reclaimed flexible plastic collected by trash pickers in Indonesia.

It sounds a little complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple. 80,000 tons of flexible plastic packaging are manufactured each year in Indonesia. Because there are no safe disposal methods for flexible plastic, it may accumulate and then sit in a landfill forever. This type of plastic has little resale market value because there are no traditional recycling techniques for it. The XSProject Foundation acquires the plastic from trash pickers before it piles up in toxic landfills.

Who are these trash pickers? The Indonesian capital of Jakarta is home to an estimated 400,000 trash pickers, most of whom are undocumented workers surviving on a monthly income of about $35 per family. Because of the dearth of proper recycling programs in much of Southeast Asia, trash pickers look for items that can be sold for recycling to supplement their meager incomes. XSProject seeks out consumer waste materials that can be bought from these communities that will bring them new sources of income.

The collected material is then made into the bags and other articles by craftspeople employed in Indonesia. Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, the XSProject very kindly sent me a sample product, so I can tell you that they are very well-made and sturdy. The Beauty and The Beast Small bag is perfect for holding cosmetics, and is lined inside. The Facelift is also lined inside, and is a larger option for holding cosmetics and toiletries.

All of these bags are great for giving as gifts to your eco-conscious friends and family, or even if they aren’t so eco-conscious. Each bag comes with a tag explaining in a nutshell how the garbage to finished product process works, so your recipient can appreciate how neat the bags are.

Clarisea is a company making a line of skincare products to treat acne, using sea salts. I haven’t tried it, but have some samples on the way. In the meantime, I’m intrigued by the concept and wanted to share the site with you. Also, they are having a Friends & Family Sale, today through Saturday.

The product line is based around sea salts. Sodium chloride fights bacteria on the surface of skin while deeply exfoliating pores so existing blemishes heal more quickly and emerging breakouts are brought to the surface and flushed out. Clarisea’s salt blend is supposed to be less harsh and irritating than other products, so that the skin isn’t left irritated or red. The product line includes a face soak, scrub, cleanser, and a line of body care products also. If you know someone with acne, it’s worth checking out!