The Cheap Diva

Look Pretty and Stay Protected with SPF Makeup

The hottest beauty trend under the sun is makeup that offers SPF protection. I am not suggesting that a light dusting of powder with a SPF 20 will offer lasting protection. Even a high SPF sunscreen offers protection for only a few hours. But adding a little extra protection to your beauty routine is cheap and easy when you buy products from mass retailers.

This creamy Neutrogena 3 in 1 concealer is a concealer and eye cream with SPF 20. It has a nice easy to blend texture and natural looking color.

 Lip balm is the one beauty product that is reapplied throughout the day so a lip balm with a good SPF can offer more protection than a beauty product that fades if a few hours. I love the look of this Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm with SPF 20. It leaves a sheer layer of flattering color on my lips with a subtle sheen that makes my lips look moist, not like I'm wearing globs of gloss.

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For a natural summer look I like to apply a little concealer under my eyes and finish off the look with powder, a semi sheer tinted lip balm and subtle eye makeup. This Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation with a SPF 20 is perfect for summer. It gives my skin a nice matte finish so my face doesn't look like a grease ball the minute the temperature rises.  

Look Great with Beauty Products that Travel Well

Long flights, long waits and humid frizzy hair weather environments are few less than pretty aspects of travel. No matter where you go you can stil look great while traveling.

The beauty of this North American Hemp Co. Hemp Exfoliating Face Cloth, (Pack of 2) for $19.98 is that it can work as a makeup remover as well as a regular wash cloth.

Take your favorite beauty products wherever you go with this F.A.A. Approved Jet Set Solutions Travel Kit for $12.99 which provides a convenient assortment of bottles and beauty jars in a re-sealable F.A.A. approved pouch (complies with airline carry-on requirements). Almost any gel or liquid can be transferred into these handy containers. Pouch includes: 1 Plastic 50 ml. Cap Bottle 1 Plastic 100 ml. Lotion Bottle 1 Plastic 10 ml. Sprayer Bottle 1 Plastic 80 ml. Flip Cap Bottle, 1 Plastic 25 ml. Jar, 1 Plastic 30 ml. Sprayer Bottle, 6 Plastic 6 ml. Stack jars, 1 Plastic Square Pill Case 1 a Plastic Pippet and 1 Plastic Filling Funnel.

Face moisturizers with sunscreen, foundation with sunscreen and just plain old sunscreen are great for your face, but what about your lips? Show your lips some love by protecting them with a high SPF lip balm like this Softlips Lip Balm Protectant Value Pack, SPF 20, Raspberry, 2-Count for $14.34. A lip balm can be layered under lip stick so you can still rock your best lip colors.  

ULTA Beauty Reward Program Gets a Makeover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ULTA's old rewards program was so bad that I repeatedly passed up free, yes free merchandise because the free items were so lame I didn't want them. ULTA has just given its rewards program a major makeover that allows frugal beauty addicts to get better deals on the stuff we really want. With the new program  $1.00 spent equals 1 point. You can redeem points for what you want when you want instead of having to wait to accumulate a certain amount of points. Rewards points are good for a year so you can take your time and wait for your favorite brands to go on sale. Click here for the current ULTA sales ad packed with beauty bargains.

Hair Color to Dye For

My history with foaming hair colors is not pretty. Between the foaming hair color that made my hair smell like a chemical plant and the drippy foam that quickly went flat and turned into a messy liquid you would think I would have sworn off foaming hair color, but I love the way foam covers and easily reaches my roots.

I finally found the perfect foaming hair color in Garnier Nutrisse Nurishing Color Foam available at mass retailers. The foam spreads easily so I get great color down to my roots. The color looks so natural that I won't be running to a hair stylist to fix my color to resemble a shade that actually exists in nature. The conditioner that came with the hair color didn't weigh my hair down and the price is right. It looks like a salon job only without the high salon price.

Buy 2 Luscious Lip Glosses and Get 1 Free

Show your lips some love while saving a few bucks at the Bath and Body Works buy 2 get 1 free sale on lip products. Bath and Body Works is also having sales on a bunch of other stuff, but buying moisturizing skin lotion isn't nearly as fun as buying a juicy new lip gloss.

Pump up the volume with this Liplicious Plump Glass for $8.00.  This lip plumping gloss is designed to give you a perfectly full and shiny pout. Use alone for a sheer glossy look or wear it with your favorite lipstick..

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It's bling for your lips and your purse! This Liplicious Lip Jewels Lip Gloss in Orange Glimmer for $8.00 features a tube s adorned with a faceted jewel like cap. The sparkling peach shade adds the perfect amount of shimmer to make your lips look glam enough for a night on the town. The moisturizing formula with vitamin E and jojoba oils comes in a delicious Citrus flavor.

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.The ability to care for lips and beautify skin make this multi tasking C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve for $5.00 the perfect travel companion. Instead of hauling a bag full of products across various time zones, travel light and just slap this soothing salve on your lips, face, cuticles, elbows, knees, or dry skin patches. The salve is emulsified with soothing rose extract, which helps condition the skin.

 

Color Tattoo Eye Shadow

Color Tattoo Eye Shadow by Maybelline fades faster than a temporary tattoo that disappears with soap and water. I loved the color of the Tough as Taupe shade I bought and I was excited by this product, until I looked in the mirror and noticed that after only 2 hours I was seeing some serious fading. With a name like Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eye Shadow I was not expecting a disappearing act after a few hours of use.

I tried wearing it alone and that didn't work so the next day I applied powder to my eyelids to absorb natural body oils on my eyelids and make the eye shadow last longer but the results were the same. I don't mind reapplying my lipstick throughout the day, but I refuse to reapply my eye shadow every 10 minutes. There are other eye shadows on the market better than this so don't waist your time or money on this fast fading product.

Shop Smart and Save on Beauty Products

Shop Smart Magazine, published by Consumer Reports, is a terrific shopping tool. It contains no advertising. No advertising means no hype for products and retailers that waste your money. The April issue of Shop Smart has a great article called Save from head to toe that talks about the best places to get beauty bargains. According to Shop Smart, Walmart is usually cheaper than drug stores like Wallgreens and CVS.  Supermarkets and online retailers like Harmondiscount.com are also good sources for beauty bargains.  Shop Smart also mentioned the Redcard Rewards credit card program by Target as a great card to have since it pays you 5% back off all of your online and in store Target purchases.

Sonia Kashuk Pink Train Case for $24.99 from Target.

 

Cheap Lip Gloss that Lasts!

At last, after years of buying crappy lip glosses I finally found one that lasts!  Rimmel Stay Glossy lip gloss has the staying power of a high quality lip gloss, without the high price tag. It's hard for me to tell how sheer the color is because the color I bought was close to my lip color. It looks like it leaves a sheer layer of color on my lips and a fabulous shine. Since the gloss is somewhat sheer I am eager to try other colors knowing no matter what shade I pick I won't look like a clown.  Rimmel Stay Glossy lip gloss is available at mass retailers.

After Valentine's Day Sales

The day AFTER Valentine's Day is the perfect time to stock up on gift items on sale. Mass retailers and grocery stores often have more than enough candy on sale to satisfy your sweet tooth. But some of the sweetest after Valentine's Day deals don't come with calories. Stores such as Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works have sales on wonderful scented body products so you can show your body some love every day of the year. 

Victoria's Secret is having a 3 for $25.00 or 5 for $30.00 sale on a variety of luscious body products including this Lost In Fantasy Fragrance Mist.

 

Not to be outdone, Bath and Body Works is having a buy 3 get 2 free and a buy 2 get 1 free sale on a nice selection of their fabulous scented products. When double moisture simply won't do, indulge in this Pink Chiffon Triple Moisture Body Cream  which is included in the sale.

Nice 'n Easy Haircolor is a Big Hairy Hassle

Talk about a bad hair day, there is nothing "nice" and nothing "easy" about the Nice 'n Easy foam hair color. Unlike other foaming hair colors I have used, the Nice 'n Easy foam did not act like a foam. I had to shake it repeatedly while applying it to get the liquid to turn into something resembling a foam and the foam did not expand and seep into my roots like the hair color foam from other brands. The haircolor consistency was often more liquid than foam. In spite of repeated shaking, the ingredients for the irregular tan and white "foam" that came out of the container never seemed to blend completely and it took over a half hour for the dye to set. The good news is that in spite of everything I did a pretty good job of getting my roots and my hair color looks surprisingly natural. I will gladly use foam hair color again, but not this brand!

Beautiful Deals from ULTA

Bad makeup makes me cry! No, I don't mean that I get emotional over lumpy mascara. My foundation irritated my eyes so much when I wore it recently that when I went grocery shopping my watery eyes looked like I was bawling over the selection of baked goods. Thank goodness ULTA is having a Buy 1 get 1 1/2 off sale on great drugstore brands including Maybelline, Physicians Formula, Neutrogena, and Cover Girl. Now I can buy some tear free foundation.

In addition to this sale, ULTA has lots of other sales and deals in their current flier that cover everything from cosmetics, skincare and haircare. One of the deals that caught my eye was the $30.00 deal for a haircut and style  or accent highlights. If you feel like every day has become a bad hair day, this is a pretty affordable way to try a new hairstylist out. Another great deal is the 25% off select cosmetic bags, Caboodles, sunglasses and fashion hair accessories.

Trina Juicy Fruit Pencil Case on Sale for $9.00.

Get Better Looking Skin with Alpha Hydrox Cream

Beauty creams have often been called "hope in a jar", meaning they often give false hope. The only "hope" I associate with Alpha hydrox AHA Souffle with 12% Glycolic AHA beauty cream is that I hope I don't run out soon! Alpha hydrox AHA Souffle with 12% Glycolic AHA is the first beauty cream where I can see and feel a difference in my skin after only a few days. The 12% Glycolic AHA is strong enough to do some serious exfoliating leaving my skin a little smoother and softer in texture. I'm not talking about some miraculous transformation where I suddenly look 20 years younger. I'm simply talking about the product being strong enough for me to feel like it's doing something and I am getting my money's worth. Because it's a drugstore/mass retailer brand it doesn't have the hype and the high price of a fancy brand.

Stock Up Sale At ULTA!

Is it possible to go broke saving money?  That's the question I asked myself when I saw how many of my favorite products and brands are on sale at the mega beauty store ULTA. I can't list all the frugal and fabulous products on sale here, but I can share with you some of my favorite deals. There are buy 1 get 1 50% off sales on select hair care products (including essentials like shampoo), several brands of makeup from popular brands such as Revlon, Cover Girl and Maybelline, and the veggie loving Yes to Carrots skin care line. My strategy for shopping the ULTA sale without going nuts (or broke) was to focus on the buy 1 get 1 50% off items and buy only 2 products from different categories. Instead of buying 10 bottles of shampoo, I bought 2 bottles of shampoo on sale, then moved onto the skincare section to buy 2 bottles of face cleanser on sale also, then checked out the facial moisturizers on sale.  Then if I still had cash to burn, I allowed myself to indulge in a bargain priced cosmetic. If you shop at a physical bricks and mortar store, be sure sign up for their mailing list because their mailers always include coupons. Happy shopping!

Enjoy Luscious Lips with Boots Botanics Organic Lip Balm

Many lip balms contain wax, which is why I often feel like I am dragging a wax candle across lips whenever I try a new lip balm. Boots Botanics Organic Lip Balm is the first lip balm I have ever used that actually feels good on my lips! Yipeee! This lip balm is not a wax stick, but a really thick gel that has Shea Butter (not wax) as the first ingredient. The lip balm feels a little greasy but that's a lot better than feeling like a wax candle! Boots Botanics Organic Lip Balm is available at Target.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer

I freaked out a little the first time I tried Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer (available at mass retailers). I was expecting a sheer moisturizer and when I saw that the product was as opaque as a heavy foundation I was not thrilled. The good news is that the color is close enough to my skin tone that I don't look like I am wearing a mask. This moisturizer has a SPF 30 so I can skip the sunblock. It also looks good after hours of wear. It doesn't disappear or look patchy like some of the other foundations I have used. Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer only comes in a couple of shades and because it's so opaque it has to be a great match for your skin tone or you might freak out when you see yourself in a mirror.

Beautiful Gifts for under $20.00 from Bath and Body Works

Bath and Body Works is the perfect place to shop for the kinds of gifts women love so much they would never think of regifting or returning them!

This Metal Candle Sleeve Ribbon for $10.00 turns any 14.5 ounce Slatkin & Co candle into a lovely piece of holiday decor. Yes you do have to buy the candle separately, but buying the sleeve and candle separately lets you choose which sleeve (there are other styles available) you want to pair up with your hand selected scented candle.

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The only thing more irresistable than the buy 2 get 1 free deal on selected lip glosses are some of the flavors! Unlike the Starbuck's version, this Gingerbread Latte Merry Mentha Lip Shine for $3.75 does not contain hundred of calories. Think of it as a guilt free indulgence that cost less than a real latte. It makes a great stocking stuffer for the java junkie on your gift list.

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The beauty of this Sweet Pea Mini Tray Gift Set for $15.00 is that it travels well! This wonderfully scented travel-size collection is packaged in a clear, zip up travel bag and nestled in a colorful basket than can be used for decor or organizing. Includes a Mini Shower Gel, Body Lotion and Fragrance Mist (TSA approzed 3 oz. each size).

 

 

Beautiful Deals From ULTA

I love shopping at ULTA because they let me combine my two favorite shopping shopping strategies, sales and coupons. Their current sale starting November 12 and going through December 2 includes more great brands than I can list here and lots of great gift ideas too. To print a $3.50 off your purchase, click here and look for the coupon link.

This ULTA Professional 6 piece Holiday Brush set on sale for $25.00 is the perfect gift for the glamour addict on your shopping list. If the only glamour addict on your shopping list is you that's even better. When you get gifts for yourself you don't have to know the person receiving the gift is going to love it!

Some of the other deals worth noting are the buy one get one half off on brands such as L'Oreal, Revlon, Almay, Cover Girl, Maybelline, and Physicians Formula not to mention the buy 2 get 2 free offer on their ULTA brand products. With a sale like this it's easy to go crazy and buy too much, so I select a few products that I want to stock up on before I head to ULTA and I limit myself to 2 coupons. I can use 1 coupon per transaction, so using 2 coupons means I am limiting myself to a maximum of 2 transactions and spending less than $12.00 per transaction. After all, spending smart is a beautiful thing!

The Perfect Blend of Lip Colors

I'm too cheap to throw perfectly good makeup away so I have learned how to make the "wrong" products look right.  Recently I bought two very different lipsticks and neither one of them was quite right. The Covergirl Natureluxe Lip Gloss has a lot going for it. It has a wonderful creamy texture, the color is opaque enough for me to see the color and I can tell that I am wearing gloss and it has the lasting power of a nice quality lipstick.  The only downside is the limited color selection. I bought a neutral shade that turned out to be a little too neutral on me. It made me look pale and lifeless which is definitely not the look I was going for.

 

 

The next time I bought a lip color I took a drastically different approach and bought a rich wine shade of Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer. The color was so strong and dark that the only time it wouldn't look out of place would be on Halloween.  After wearing this lip balm for a while I noticed that the color was still going strong but the nice creamy texture now felt dry and a little uncomfortable. At this point I don't want to spend even more money on lip products so  I applied the creamy neutral Covergirl to my lips aand then applied the dark Burt's Bees lip balm on top of it. The two combined gives me a color that is a lighter and softer version of the Burts Bees lip color and it's surprisingly flattering on me. I would be happy to buy the Covergirl Natureluxe lip gloss again, but once I use up the Burt's Bees lip balm I will replace it with something not drying and buy a color that doesn't make me look like an aspiring goth girl.  

 

High SPF Makeup Looks Like a Mask

It's not Halloween yet but lately I feel like I have been wearing a mask. The few times I have attempted to wear Healthy Wear Tinted Moisturizer SPF 50 foundation from Physicians Formula, it looked and felt like I was wearing a mask. I bought one bottle in the wrong shade and it seemed fine when I wore it on cool days that didn't make my skin oily at all. So I bought a different shade thinking that the reason I felt like I was wearing a mask was because it was the wrong color. I loved the idea of having a sunscreen built right into my foundation, so I bought another bottle, this time in the right color.  Unfortunately the color was the only thing right about it. The formula is so opaque that my face took on a flat one dimensional color like a store mannequin and the color had to be applied evenly and perfectly all over because if I missed a spot or didn't apply it properly it looked pretty obvious that I was wearing makeup, and unflattering makeup at that. My skin can get slightly oily and this foundation disappears faster than a designer bag at a clearance sale at the first signs of even the slightest moisture on the skin. I don't recommend wearing this foundation, not unless it's Halloween!

Get Thicker Looking Lashes Naturally with Organic Wear Mascara

The eco friendly/all natural makeup books I have been reading lately make it sound like every time I dab on a little nonorganic makeup I am essentially plunging my face into a bucket of toxic waste. It's too expensive to simply throw every beauty product that's not organic, but as I use up my old favorites, I am replacing them with eco friendly substitutes like this Organic Wear mascara from Physicians Formula (available at mass retailers). This is a very good mascara for the price. It doesn't clump, it makes my lashes look thicker without looking like I piled on the mascara like a drunken drag queen and the price is reasonable.  

New Foaming Haircolor Covers the Gray and the Roots

  I love everything about the new John Frieda Precision Foam Colour permanent hair color, except the color! What's new and exciting about this type of hair color is that it come out of the bottle in the form of a foam instead of a messy liquid. This made it possible for me to cover all my roots much more easily than with a liquid hair color.  My only issue with this product is that the "Light Natual Brown"  I picked turned out to be a dark chocolate brown that doesn't look particularly natural on me. The next shade lighter is a blond and I don't want to go blond, I just want a more natural looking shade of bown. I love the way the foam hair color covered my roots as well as a salon application and I will absoluteley use foam hair color products again, I will just look for a drugstore brand that has a wider color selection so I don't have to choose between chocolate bown and blond. John Frieda poducts are available at mass retailers.

Be the Ultimate Beauty Shopper with ULTA

As much as I love popping into the local ULTA store to stock up on cheap beauty buys, I'm still tempted to shop on their online store. The 20% off sale they have going on through Saturday is nice but they are always having sales so that's not a big temptation for me. What has me reaching for my laptop and my wallet is the selection, free shipping and free samples. The ULTA.com web site stocks more merchandise than they could possibly fit into a brick and mortar store. There is free shipping on purchases of $50.00 or more and they give out 3 free samples with your order, which they do not do at the brick and mortar store.

 

 

 

  Electric blue eye shadow looks great on the models in the magazines, but in the real world it's more flattering to wear an eye shadow that draws attention to your eyes, not your eye makeup, try something more subtle like NYX eye shadow for $4.99. If you want to add a splash of color you can always do it with a colorful eyeliner.

Buy 3 Get 3 Free from Bath and Body Works

Bath and Body Works is famous for their fabulous scented products, and right now is a terrific time to stock up with their Buy 3 Get 3 Sale on their signature scents.

Summer fashion is all about bright tropical colors and dressing like you are heading to a destination a bit more exotic than the local mall. Keep the tropical vibe going with this exotic Into the Wild Fragrance fragrance mist for $12.00. The sultry scent  is an enticing blend of exotic mandarin, lush petals, and white woods inspired by a sultry tropical paradise.

 

 

 

 

 

Wake your body up with a splash of citrus. This Pomegranate Citrus Shower Gel for $10.00 is an energizing blend of burst of zesty citrus and fresh pomegranate. It's the perfect eye opener for those days when you are feeling more like a beach bum than a  sultry sun goddess.

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The bottle for this Country Chic Eau de Toilette  for $29.50 is so fabulous, I wouldn't care if the fragrance smelled like cow pies, I would buy it just for the bottle.  According to the description "Master perfumers have layered sparkling lemon, vanilla orchid, and juicy apple with bright spring woods to create this effortlessly sexy fragrance inspired by the fresh air and natural beauty of America's countryside."  So apparently they didn't take their inspiration from farmyard animals after all.

Outlast Lip Stain Goes the Distance

I have a love/hate relationship with Covergirl Outlast Lip Stain... mostly hate.  I normally wear creamy lip sticks, so it came as a bit of a shock to apply a lip product that looks and feels like I am dragging a Sharpie magic marker across my lips.  I don't believe a beauty product should look or feel like a common office supply product. The lip stain feels dry, which is the bad news. The good news is that this Outlast lip stain really does last, sticking to my lips like superglue for hours on end. I compensated for the dryness of the lip stain by applying it, waiting for it to dry they applying a sheer lip gloss over it. It's one of those products I will use up because I hate to waist money, but I wouldn't buy it again.

 

Get Beautiful Deals at ULTA

ULTA's fabulous cosmetics sale came in the nick of time. My favorite lipsticks are just about gone and soon I will be left with lipstick colors that are either painfully dull or circus clown bright.  ULTA has many different types of products on sale, including skin care items and hair styling tools, but the deal that has my inner beauty addict really excited is their Buy 1 get 1 50% off Sale  on popular brands such as L'Oreal, Cover Girl, Maybelline, and Eco Tools cosmetic brushes.  My favorite strategy for shopping at ULTA is to buy stuff on sale and add one of their coupons to the purchase for an even better deal.

Lips Love Moisture Shine Gloss

  I was bracing myself for buyers remorse the first time I applied Moisture Shine lip gloss by Neutrogena.  I purchases a shade I call bubblegum pink.   BUBBLEGUM PINK, what was I thinking!  Fortunately for me Moisture Shine lip gloss is so sheer that it deposits just a hing of color and my lips didn't look like they were covered in cupcake icing.  The pretty pink gloss looks fabulous on my lips.  The subtle shine of the gloss and hint of color makes my lips look fresh and moist.  Best of all, this bargain priced gloss lasts a lot longer than typical lip glosses which typically last about as long as a commercial break.  Look for Neutrogena Moisture Shine Gloss at mass retailers and drug stores.

Hard Candy Lip Gloss at an Easy to Love Price

The downside of wearing a sheer lip gloss is that it usually disappears faster than a pair of cute shoes at a clearance sale. The Sheer Shine Lip Gloss by Hard Candy is one of the first lip glosses I have worn that lasted as long a high quality lip stick.  No more reapplying my lip gloss every five minutes, yippee!

Sheer Shine Lip Gloss offers a bit of shine and a subtle hint of color to the lips. A long lasting sheer lip gloss is a foolproof way to liven up your lips.  I say foolproof because no matter how intense the color looks while it's in the tube, when it's applied to the lips the color is so subtle that all you really notice is a slight shimmer on your kisser.  For more drama you can always layer the gloss over one of your more colorful lip sticks for added shine.  Sheer Shine Lip Gloss is available at mass retailers for less than 10 bucks.

 

Save Money and Look Better with Eco Beauty

  When I hear weird "natural" beauty tips like using rinsing your hair with beer to enhance volume, my first thought is "Gee, what a waste of perfectly good beer".   The book Eco Beauty by Janice Cox contains lots of beauty recipes based on food ingredients, but thankfully no bottles of beer were harmed in the making of the book.  The book contains 100 easy projects designed to help you save money and the environment, all from the comfort of your own home.  

Eco Beauty contains recipes for the body, mouth, hands and feet, hair and gift giving ideas.  The yummy ingredients include such kitchen staples as milk, salt, sugar, tea and baking soda.  For some of the ingredients you will have to head to the health food store, but some recipes are based on products you are already using, such as your own facial cleanser.

A few of the recipes were a complete surprise.  You can make a natural nail polish, who knew?  Some of the recipes, like the avocado hair conditioner which calls for avocado, sour cream and lemon, sound so yummy I was tempted to use it as a dip for chips instead of a hair conditioner.  The hot cocoa bath recipe has to be the one of  the most decadent beauty treatments I've seen, and the most decadent part of all is how fabulously cheap it is! 

Lessons of a Lipstick Queen Book Review

Lessons of a Lipstick Queen by Poppy King is a refreshingly honest look at the rise and fall of a beauty business.  Australian native Poppy King reveals personal behind the scene stories of her journey from a passionate teenager who dreams of the ultimate matte lipstick to the sole owner of a million-dollar company, Poppy Industries and the business lessons she learned from these  experiences.  What's so amazing about King's story is that she launched her lipstick business at the tender age of 18.  

King's discusses how she turned her quest to create the perfect matte lipstick into a multimillion dollar business in a pleasant conversational tone that makes the book feel more personal that a typical business book.  Poppy talks candidly about everything from her personal insecurities, to her mistakes, to the media frenzy that helped catapult her brand to success and the media attacks that came later when she had issues with her business partners. 

Throughout the book King includes many motivational message about following your dreams while developing a keen business sense.  King addresses some of the realities of business, such as the need for cold calling and doing research.  The harshest business reality that she addresses is the ultimate failure of her lipstick business.  The book is an entertaining read that includes plenty of common sense business advice.  Because the book was written buy someone whose business failed probably doesn't make it the best business book to learn success strategies, but her rags to riches and back to rags story makes for a fun and fascinating read.

Cheap and Chic Cosmetic Cases from Ulta

  Unless you own a private jet, traveling can be a less than glamourous experience.  Being packed into an airplane like a sardine after passing through a security check so thorough you're glad you didn't pack anything really embarrassing, like a trashy romance novel, doesn't lend itself to feeling glamourous.  Luckily, by carrying your essential cosmetic products you can look as glamourous as you like no matter what your trip is like.

For the well stocked beauty queen who can't quite grasp the concept of traveling light, I recommend this Cheetah Weekender Cosmetic Bag on sale for $18.00.  It's large enough to carry all the cosmetic and grooming products you need to achieve the "natural" look.

 

  Nothing ruins a vacation faster than accidentally burning down the hotel you are staying at.  That' s why this Zoe Thermal Pouch for $9.99 is such a terrific idea.  Place your curling iron or flat iron inside this portable pouch to protect surfaces from being scorched.  You can even cover a hot curling iron with the pouch and pack it in your suitcase without melting your travel clothes.

 

 

 

 

 

For those occassions when carrying around a bowling bag size cosmetic case isn't going to cut it,  downsize in style with this Trina Simply Classic Cosmetic Box for $18.75.  The small bag is big on style thanks to the bold print while the compact design lends itself to traveling light.