Friday Follower Freebie: Pumpkin Polish Edition!

You knew I couldn't just pick up the Blue Cross Pumpkin Polishes for myself and not pick up a set for one of my followers too! One of you will receive six Pumpkin Polishes, which you can use to decorate your nails, or place them strategically around your house if you're short on Halloween decorations! The photo above is a little dark, so if you'd like a better look at the polish colors and glitter details, you can see my earlier photo here.

If you'd like to enter for a chance to win these little cuties, just leave your eMail in the comments section below. The winner will be announced Monday morning (10/3), and I'll leave the entry period open until then. Followers only, please.

A Look at Deborah Lippmann's Footloose Exclusive Polishes on HSN

Last week I told you about a line of products (here) inspired by the new Footloose movie that are going to be featured on a Footloose Exclusive Show on HSN on October 12, and here's a look at the polishes from Deborah Lippmann. The products will be available on line beginning October 7. It's hard to decipher their finishes exactly, but the dark blue looks to be a shimmer, and it could possibly have some glitter shapes in there as well. I tried to enlarge it to see the detail better, but I can't really tell for sure. The other three shades appear to be cremes, and I love the Lippmann creme formula!

Photo Source

BCA 2011: SpaRitual In Pink

SpaRitual is offering a set of three pink shades for Breast Cancer Awareness, and I picked up the mini sizes from AveYou. 20% of the proceeds will go to support Cancer Schmancer to help promote the prevention and early detection of cancer. This collection contains two glitter shades that are rather similar, and one shimmer shade.

Strength is a gorgeous dusty berry shade with golden shimmer. This is my favorite from this collection for a couple of reasons...it covers beautifully using two coats, and the golden shimmer shifts around on the nail giving some truly unique looks. Sometimes the shimmer appears to have an overall placement, and other times it almost looks like a gradient effect.


Knowledge has a sparse amount of multi colored glitter mixed in with the foil glitter that matches the base, which is a tinted medium mauve/pink shade. This shade took three coats.

Clarity is a touch lighter or paler than Knowledge, and it also has a slightly tinted base with matching glitter. I used four coats on this, which is why I know I'll use it over a base color the next time. The glitter applies evenly, so I think just a coat or two at most would work well over another color.


I wasn't as impressed with the two glitters in this collection as I was with Strength, because they took three and four coats respectively to cover the nail. I do think these would look nice over a similar base color or perhaps even over a very dark shade. These shades are very close to each other in color, and I would have liked to have seen a little more variation between the two. They are for a good cause though, so that makes me happy.

Maybelline Fall 2011 LE Ravishing Rogue Baked Blush

I am a huge fan of Maybelline's nail polishes, but I don't normally buy too many of their color cosmetics simply because I've not been impressed with the quality and pigmentation of most of them. Ravishing Rogue is from Maybelline's Limited Edition Fashion Week 2011 Collection, which you can read more about on Nouveau Cheap here.

I've been lusting after Chanel's Joues Contraste in Rogue shown below, and so far, I've been able to hold off buying it! The quality of the two other shades I have from this line is excellent, very smooth and pigmented, but did I really want to spend $43.00 on another one? I don't believe I have to, now that I picked up this Maybelline shade that does resemble the Chanel to some degree, and shares a similar name. I spotted this at Meijer, and thought it was worth picking up at just $5.99.

Ravishing Rogue is a highly pigmented deep rose shade with the slightest hint of brick red. I find that the slight brick red hue is only noticeable in lower lighting, and the deep rose hue is normally more prominant. It has a little sparkle, but it doesn't look at all glittery on the face.



Here's a look at the ingredient list:



I do believe my desire to own the Chanel blush has been put to rest by the Maybelline blush, and my wallet thanks me for that! This product is incredibly pigmented, and to say that a little product goes a long way, is an understatement. Baked blushes are best applied with a light touch, and this one is no exception. It's smooth and blendable, and it gives a fabulous pop of color to your cheeks once you figure out how little to use! Clown cheeks are very possible with this if you're not careful, but a controlled application will work nicely for you.

Revlon Devil's Candy from the Masquerade Collection

I originally picked up Midnight Haze, Phantom Angel, and the popular Royal Cloak from Revlon's Fall Masquerade Collection (here), but something made me pick up Devil's Candy also, a week or so later. Color-wise, this is just a red creme, but it's a jelly finish with an excellent formula. I used two coats, and it applied smooth as butter. Cute name, jelly finish, perfect formula.

Come Monday...weekly newsletter

Did you have a nice weekend? All of the rain knocked a lot of leaves down here, so I guess I should think about doing some raking this week. I didn't say I was going to rake, but I will think about it! On Friday I'll be going to the local Apple Festival with my daughter's class, so we're looking forward to that. Fall is definitely in the air, and I think a trip to the pumpkin patch may be in order for next week. I always buy way more pumpkins than I need to decorate the outside of the house with, but I especially love the white, green and blue ones, and have a hard time not buying a lot of them!

Random.org has drawn the winner for the YBF Eye Cosmetics goodies! Congratulations to Susie L.! Thank you to all who entered, and just a reminder that the monthly contest for a set of China Glaze Eye Candy Glitters ends this Friday. If you'd like to enter, you can find the details in the right hand column.

Not too much new and exciting to report this week, so I wish you all a fabulous first week of Fall!

100 Percent Pure Green Apple Nourishing Body Cream

100% Pure is one of my favorite discoveries this year, with their wide range of quality bath, body, skin care, and cosmetics products. Their Green Apple Nourishing Body Cream is a lightly scented thick body cream that instantly moisturizes and nourishes your skin with a blend of anti-aging antioxidants, vitamins, skin softening fruit oils and moisturizing cocoa and avocado butters. You can find the entire ingredient list using the product link above. This product comes in 18 different scents and is packaged in an 8 oz. tube. They also offer this in a pump style bottle, which is available in 7 scents. All 100% Pure products are all natural, 100% vegan or vegetarian, cruelty, and gluten free.


The scent of this lotion smells exactly like a fresh cut apple, not too sweet, fresh, and a hint of tartness. It's very light and I find that the aroma doesn't last terribly long. What does last, is the hydration and softness that this product delivers. The formula is thick, like that of the Bath & Body Works Triple Moisture creams, and it absorbs quickly with no greasiness. This also works great as a hand cream.

100% Pure products are available on their site, as well as many other eTailers. If you're interested in this line or have already fallen in love with it, I urge you to sign up for their eMail list located in the top right corner of their home page. They offer some fabulous weekly specials with great price breaks. This week, they're offering a "Red Lips Are All The Rage" product package that retails for $104.00, and it's priced at just $49.00.

*Product featured was furnished by the manufacturer or PR firm.

YBF Beauty Eye Cosmetics & Giveaway!

Happy weekend to everyone! Today I have a look at some eye products from YBF Beauty, and a little giveaway at the end. YBF (your best friend) was started by Stacey Schieffelin, a former Ford model and now a successful beauty entrepreneur.

Stacey's philosophy is one that I agree with, and in fact, it's very close to the philosophy of my blog, "Beauty for the body, Happiness for the soul." She says "Personal beauty is an inside/outside adventure," says Stacey. "A woman needs to feel confident on the inside, and beautiful, on the outside. At every age. These two empowerments are two sides of the same coin, and they are within every woman's reach. With a little help from a friend."

Delightful Dips Eyeshadow: Caffeine lovers rejoice! Get ready to be dazzled and to be gorgeously revved up with the radiance of ybf delightful dips loose powder eye shadows! These beautiful shades mimic the style and color of a freshly roasted cup of your favorite caffeine – whether it’s smooth roasted coffee, warm and rich chocolate, or your silky chai tea, these colors will work for you! Each single shake lends exactly the right amount of powder with its all-in-one brush applicator and powder component. The long-wearing, velvety formula makes it easy to apply and blend, providing rich, and natural looking color for hours. This exclusive ybf formula resists creasing, fading or smudging! Indulge your moods with this color palette that “wakes up” any look in a refined sultry way!

This eyeshadow trio comes packaged in a little black patent storage case, and the shadow containers are huge! They weigh .07 oz. or 2 g. The three brown tones are inspired by colors associated with coffee and they have a slight sheen to them. They're not too metallic though, and the foam applicator works nicely to place the shadow with no fall out. The applicator does a good job of grabbing just the right amount of product needed, so you're not constantly re-dipping to get more. I use a separate brush to blend the colors once it's been placed on my eye lid and brow bone.

I swiped each color one time for these swatches, and applying another coat of color or applying them wet will intensify the shades. Colors from left to right: Can-Do Chocolate, Confident Cocoa, Carefree Chai. I've found these to wear well with very little creasing or fading throughout the day. All of the ingredients can be found on the YBF web site, and they are paraben and cruelty free.


Aquafusion Xtreme Black Mascara: Nothing says beauty like full, healthy looking lashes.. This specially formulated water-resistant mascaras help create the look of alluring, voluminous and glossy lashes. Time to express your eye-dentity! It contains vitamin E and beeswax and features a a unique half-moon shaped mascara brush that helps give high definition and length.

I'm not sure why these are sold in pairs rather than individually, but that's how they do it! This mascara gives lashes a glossy black finish, and leaves my lashes feeling soft. I use two coats, and I haven't experienced any smudging or flaking. It applies easily without clumping, and builds up both length and thickness to my lashes for what I would call a glamorous natural look. They're not over-the-top huge with this product, but they they look lush and full. The brush has an arc to it, which helps to lift and curl your lashes. The square metal casing is one of the larger ones I have in my mascara collection, and the product weight is .44 oz. This product contains Vitamin E and Beeswax, and it is water resistant.


YBF Automatic Universal Taupe Eyebrow Pencil Duo: No summer beauty look is complete with ybf’s number one best seller. The automatic dual-ended brow pencil with brush is specially formulated for easy application and natural-looking brows. The original universally flattering brow pencil, ybf’s unique formula changes color and intensities to match any brow color.

I'm having unexpected good luck with this product for filling in my eye brows, which is something I know I should do more often, but I've never been able to master the technique to my satisfaction. I have at least fifteen different eye brow pencils and a couple of powders, and I would say that previously, I've had better luck with powders, because they're less waxy and flaky, and I find that they blend easier. This product may just change my mind about powders though, because it applies light enough to look natural, and it doesn't need too much blending--which it does easily, should you need to blend. It's easy to make short, feathery strokes with this, and they blend together nicely for a very natural look. The applicator has a twist up end, so there's no need for sharpening. On the opposite end, you'll find a brush for grooming to complete the look. This pencil comes in only one universal shade that according to the product description "can change up to 22 shades for blondes, brunettes, red heads, black, salt & pepper and platinum silver." My eye brows are black, and as you can see by the swatch on my hand, this is a nice medium brown that doesn't apply too dark on the first stroke, and adjusts to match just about any tone/color needs.

If you've read this far, I have a little giveaway for you! One follower will receive YBF's Automatic Universal Taupe Eye Brow Pencil, and their Xtreme Black Mascara. If you'd like to enter, just leave your eMail in the comments below, and I'll leave it open for entry until Monday morning when I announce a winner.



YBF is another "new to me" brand, and I'm very happy with the quality and packaging of their products. You can purchase their products on their web site at the link above, or on the HSN website here.

*Products featured were furnished by the manufacturer or PR firm.

HSN Presents Exclusive "Footloose" Products, Including Deborah Lippmann Nail Colors

I don't know how well the remake of the classic film Footloose will compare to the original version...not all, but most remakes never quite seem to hit the mark, you know? It's rare that I've seen a remake top the original movie, because it's not an original idea the second time around, and rather than enjoying the remake for what it is, I often find myself comparing it to the classic. So I don't know that I'll be watching the new version of Footloose. I'll probably let the original version and Kevin Bacon live on forever in my mind!

Even though the new Footloose doesn't offer us Kevin Bacon this time around, it does offer us an opportunity to add some new Deborah Lippmann exclusive Footloose inspired nail polishes to our collection! The Home Shopping Network will be hosting a 24 hour event on Wednesday, October 12 "offering an exclusive shopping experience that celebrates the highly anticipated new movie adaptation of the beloved 80's film, Footloose." Included in the brands and products will be four polishes by Deborah Lippmann: Almost Paradise, Dancing in the Sheets, Footloose, and Let's Hear it for the Boy.

Here's some more information about the HSN event:

"Footloose provides HSN an opportunity to integrate products across all our platforms in a new and exciting way," said Bill Brand, EVP of Programming, Marketing and Business Development. "HSN's entertainment integration strategy continues to build momentum and we are proud to collaborate with Paramount Pictures to bring this new interpretation of the classic film to our customers with a fun and entertaining shopping experience."

Inspired by the movie, the multi-platform HSN event will include the Fall's hottest collections of high-end contemporary footwear, fashions, accessories and beauty including the HSN debut of Zodiac USA and Keds. The event will also feature exclusive denim from Levi's Curve ID and footwear from DKNYC, Libby Edelman, La Victorie.

Designers Matt Bernson Special Project, Vince Camuto, Steven by Steve Madden and Twiggy LONDON will also have exclusive styles including their own version of the film's iconic red cowboy boots.

"I'm very excited to be a part of the Footloose special on HSN," said Twiggy. "My design team and I have put together some great boots and shows and I love them all."

In addition, the event will showcase beauty products from HSN favorites, including an exclusive "Powder Pop Set" by Benefit Cosmetics, special designs by Foot Petals and exclusive nail colors from Deborah Lippmann inspired by the iconic music from the film including "Almost paradise," "Dancing in the Sheets," "Footloose" and "Let's Hear it for the Boy." HSN will also offer Footloose movie branded merchandise including apparel seen in the film, exclusive posters, and the film soundtrack featuring artists Blake Shelton, Big & Rich, Cee Lo Green, David Banner, Whitney Duncan, Lissie and Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band . As additional support to the Oct. 12 event on HSN platforms, the multichannel retailer has also developed a custom Footloose movie themed magazine with the editors of Footwear News, cross channel cable spots, and print advertising in Lucky magazine. HSN will also sponsor the movie premiere in Los Angeles October 3.

"The broad scope of this HSN Footloose movie partnership combining pre-promotion on air and online with the daylong broadcast event, custom publishing, and a print campaign definitely will build the excitement for the film with the vast HSN audience," commented LeeAnne Stables, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Partnerships for Paramount Pictures. "We are thrilled to be working with the HSN team on such a valuable and integrated program."

Tune in for the HSN event "Footloose" on October 12. Special features, videos, community boards and cast biographies, can be found at HSN.com/footloose.

Source: PRNewswire.com

Reviva Labs Brighten & Lighten Facial Cleanser

Earlier this year I noticed a couple of age spot, sunspots, whatever you want to call them, showing up on my face. Reviva Labs is my go-to skin care product line because I've had good luck with their products, they're reasonably priced, and they seem to have a product for just about every skin care problem that exists.

I used their Brighten & Lighten Facial Cleanser during the entire month of August with good results. I wanted to wait until I'd stopped using it for a couple of weeks before I posted my review to see if I noticed a change in the spots that it seemed to lighten. The spots didn't disappear, but they did look about 40% lighter after two weeks, and I wasn't noticing them nearly as much as I had been. They remained at that level through the month of August. I began using another facial wash September 1 (Shea Terra Organics), and last week I started to notice those pesky spots again. So while this product didn't entirely alleviate the issue, I would have to say that it certainly diminshed the pigmentation of the spots. This product didn't lighten my skin, which I was slightly concerned about based on the "Brighten & Lighten" name, but it did lighten the spots.

The formula itself is a thick white cream that has a pleasant light lilac scent. It doesn't foam or lather at all, but it seemed to do a very good job cleansing my skin and removing all traces of dirt, make up, and mascara. It's very rich, and it almost feels like it not entirely rinsed off because it's so moisturizing. I didn't have any problems associated with it though, such as clogged pores, breakouts, or oily skin. It also provides gentle exfoliation for your skin with lactic acid and cornmeal. My skin tone seemed more evened out, because it lightens discolorations/dark areas, including under eye circles. It is different in the respect that it doesn't lather and the formula feels more like a moisturizer than a cleanser, but it definitely seemed to do what it claims to do.

Here is the ingredient list from the bottle:

As with all Reviva Labs products, they do not test on animals, their products are made in the U.S.A., and they use all natural ingredients.


You can find Reviva Labs producst on their web site, Amazon.com, Ulta, GNC, and in many health food stores.

*Product featured was furnished by the manufacturer or PR firm for review.

Color Club Hot Like Lava & Fame & Fortune

Color Club has lots of new collections, and I picked up one from the Foiled Collection and two from the the Backstage Pass Collection. Today I have a look at Hot Like Lava (Foiled Collection) and Fame & Fortune (Backstage Pass Collection) for you!

Hot Like Lava is a metallic berry shade sprinkled with silver shimmer. I used two coats on this shade and the formula, while a little on the thick side, applied well. This polish covers without streaks or lines, which is a nice change from a lot other of metallic/foil polishes I've used. It covers so well that my first thought was this would work nicely as a stamping polish.



Fame and Fortune. WoW! This is one crazy glitter polish! I tried using three coats alone, but I much prefer this one over another polish. Used alone, it actually covers well and has a tinted berry base that builds up nicely. It's filled with multi colored and multi shaped holographic foil glitter, and is shown here using two coats over Hot Like Lava.







Crazy glitters swimming around in the bottle!

As long as I had multiple layers of polish, I thought I'd add one more using Color Club's Broken Tokens. You can still see the glitter peeking out from the cracks, and it seems to light up and glow even in these indoor shots with low light.






The foil shade applied very nicely--I wasn't sure if I would like them because those types of finishes can sometimes be streaky and show brush strokes, but not this one. Very nice! Fame & Fortune is one of those polishes that I'm going to play around some more with, because I think it has all kinds of potential. I think I'll layer it over black and then put a coat of glow in the dark polish over it next!

Maybelline Scene on the Runway: Cool Couture, Be Scene in Green, Purple Trend

Maybelline's Fall 2011 Limited Edition Scene on the Runway Express Finish Collection contains six shades, three of which I picked up. You can view the display and all six shades here at Nouveau Cheap.

Be Scene in Green is a medium turquoise green shade with gold shimmer. The shimmer seems to float to the top and cast a thin veil of gold over the base color. This applied nicely in two coats.



Cool Couture is my favorite shade from this collection, no surprise there! This grey creme shade with bright aqua hidden shimmer is so beautiful, and I absolutely adore it. This shade leans more grey/blue in certain lighting, and more grey at other times. This has an interesting formula in that the first coat shows a lot of bald areas and it's streaky, leading you to believe that the color isn't going to look as good on the nail as it does in the bottle. Surprisingly, a second coat performs miraculously, and all is well!



Purple Trend is one that I'm undecided about. This brown hued purple leans more brown against my skin tone than purple, and the bright blue hidden shimmer isn't as evident in this shade as it is in Cool Couture. I'm going to shake this one extra hard the next time I use it to see if I can get more shimmer to appear. The shimmer is more obvious in other photos that I've seen of this shade, and I want mine to look like that!




All in all, I am very happy with these shades, even though I may like Purple Trend better in the bottle than on my nails! All three shades that I picked up had good formulas that applied well using two coats. Who else thinks Cool Couture is the star of this collection?

L'Oreal Color of Hope 2011

Since 1997, L'Oreal has been committed to the fight against ovarian cancer, and has raised more than $19 million for the cause. Each year, they release a Limited Edition Color of Hope Collection to help raise awareness and funding for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. $1.00 from each and every item sold from this collection goes to the OCRF. You can view all of products in the collection at the above link, and here's a look at the the items I picked up.

There are two palettes available, and I selected Sentimental Splendor. There are a total of four polish shades, and I picked up two of them, Whimsical and Valiant. The collection also offers two lip sticks and a lip gloss.

Whimsical is a subtle sandy pink shade, filled with tiny not-so-subtle matching foil glitter, giving it a somewhat metallic finish. This is a nice neutral shade that's dressed up with the sparkly glitter. The formula was very good, and I used two coats.



Valiant is a medium grey shade that also has matching tiny glitter, but it's a bit less sparkly than Whimsical. The formula on this was excellent, and required just one coat.



I picked up the Sentimental Splendor palette because I was drawn to the shades...primarily the green one, because it's a duo chrome. It looks like a deep green in the palette, but it flashes from a reddish brown to green, and it's far more obvious than I was able to capture in my photos. These shades aren't too pigmented dry, so I've been applying them with a spritz of Reviva Labs Rosewater Facial Spray on my brush first, for a deeper color. All of them except the green shade seem a bit chalky dry, so the wet method seems to work best for me.


I always like to support a good cause, and when there's nail polish and make up involved, all the better! Each year I always see some shades of products that I like from this collection, and I'm planning on using some of that green eye shadow shade to mix into a nail polish. Did you pick anything up from this collection?