archives: July 2009
My makeup bag, while not at all fancy, is near and dear to my heart. While coming home from Europe a few years ago, Air France lost three of our five bags. I panicked and worried that among the lost was: a) the bag of all the goodies we purchased and b) the bag that had my makeup in it. Do you know how hard it would be to replace either one? I shudder to think. (It was actually our suitcase full of dirty clothes that was rerouted through Dallas. Take that suckas.)
At any rate, I love my makeup stash, and the world would know all my dirty little secrets (I look like a zombie/John Mayer without my under eye concealer) if I were to be without it.
One of my favorite items is (rooting through bag) my Rimmel 1000 Kisses Stay On Lip Liner Pencil in Spice. A heck of a lot cheaper than the infamous MAC pencil that everyone can’t seem to live without, it lines my lips in a nearly imperceptible color that allows me to just color in the lines with any shade of lipstick. I also love using it all over my entire mouth and then using my Clinique Glosswear in Shy for a pinky/beigy yet-not-sickly look.
If you haven’t already, you really need to check out the Rimmel line. I discovered it years ago while trolling the aisles of Wal-Mart and now you can get it at most larger chain stores. Random bit of trivia: they were one of the few companies that didn’t skadoodle on Kate Moss after that rather unfortunate “photo-op.”
What was I talking about? Oh, yes…
…so, really, give this lip pencil a whirl. And if it doesn’t appeal to you, heck, it was only $3.49. I recommend.
There are many reasons to cook at home: it’s a good way to be healthy, save money, and bond with your loved ones as you eat off your laps on the couch around the dining room table.
Regular cooking, though, takes a decently-stocked kitchen, and stocking a kitchen can be expensive. I vividly remember, in my first post-college apartment, painstakingly picking out recipes to try and going to the grocery store to pick out ingredients, only to fall over dead when I saw the exorbitant price of the various spices called for in the recipe.
There are some ways, though, to build a well-stocked spice cabinet without going into hock. The first thing I’d suggest is stepping away from the spice aisle and heading to the international foods aisle. In many grocery stores, there will be a selection of spices in the Mexican food section, or the asian food section, sold at a fraction of the cost of what’s offered by McCormick and Spice Islands. You can also strike spice gold at specialty ethnic markets.
But if you live in a land of poorly-stocked ethnic foods aisles, or are just too busy to make another trip to another store, I’d highly recommend checking out The Spice House.
Located in Chicago, the Spice House has an online mail-order business where you can get any spice imaginable, at way higher quality than what you find in your supermarket, often at substantially reduced cost. They sell all of their spices in bulk by the ounce in little baggies. If you buy 4 ounces, they’ll put them in glass shaker jars which will fit perfectly into your spice rack.
I particularly recommend checking them out for spices that are astonishingly overpriced at the grocery, such as cloves and saffron, and things that may be hard to find in your average store, like smoked paprika and dried mushrooms. In fact, my holy grail of cooking publications, Cooks Illustrated, recently rated Spice House’s paprika as the best in a taste test. (You can see why: they sell half a dozen different kinds:)
They also hand-mix dozens of unique spice blends and rubs, which make great gifts. (To date, the only successful gift I’ve ever given my father in law was a gift set of their grill rubs for various meats. It cost less than $20.)
Good quality spices are a key to healthy, delicious cooking without a ton of unnecessary salt and fat. Don’t be afraid of recipes calling for cardamom, or Mexican oregano, or garam masala. Just buy them, try them, and wonder how you ever lived without them.
The Spice House, prices vary but are generally very reasonable, thespicehouse.com
Remember a little while ago when I said that dry skin makes me twitch? Well I still stand behind that statement, but what do you do if you need to slough BEFORE lotion application? What then? Go out and get some amazing Scrubz all natural body scrub that’s what you big silly!
I was given 2 oz. jar of their Warm Vanilla and a 2 oz. jar of their Pomberry Zing. I tore into the Vanilla first because it was chilly ’round these parts (even thought it’s officially summer but hey, I’m not bitter) and I figured I might as well embrace it. The scent is warm and cozy without being too sweet and gag-inducing. A little goes a long way and the aftermath left my skin smooth and soft. I went to town on my heels and elbows which always seem to need the most attention and it worked beautifully. The whole scrubbing experience was actually really awesome. Here’s a little nugget from their site:
I love Scrubz because there is truly a scent for everyone: Seasonal and Holiday, Floral, Fresh and Clean, Fruity and Sweet, Woodsy and Mint. If you’re sensitive to smells like I am you will appreciate not only the variety, but also the abililty to customize a Sample Pack consisting of any four scents from ANY line. This actually saves you $1.00 per jar so what better way to either splurge on yourself or buy in bulk for gift giving! You will forever be known as the generous person with amazing skin. HOLLA!
I was already a fan, but after BlogHer this weekend I recommitted myself. Apparently I had a high Cute Factor with my shoe selection, but the Don’t Be Stupid You’ll Be Walking All Over For Twenty Hours A Day You Fool factor was rather low. So my heels were a mess. I lunged for the Scrubz and it didn’t disappoint. With sandal season among us, this is a good go-to product.
A 4 oz. jar is $9.00 which is a heck of a deal.
*In a shocking turn of events, the amazing Roberta at Scrubz has upped the ante! She is generously offering one reader their Sample Pack which is FOUR JARS in your choice of scents. SCORE. (7/28/09)*
To enter, leave a comment on this post. You can get extra entries by following us on Twitter (@livespend) and mentioning the contest with a direct link in your tweet or by blogging about it and reporting back with a link to your tweet or post. And if you refer others here and they tell us you sent them (“Sam sent me!”) both you and the person you referred will get a BONUS entry!
Contest will run until August 2nd, 11:59 pm CDT. For full information on how we run our contests, see our Disclosure policy.
Okay, here’s the thing: I adore buying new stuff. Am assuming many of you can relate, but, man–new stuff kind of makes me feel tingly.
A few months ago I was trolling the makeup aisles of Target like a junkie in need of a fix and came across lipsticks that cost .99. Yeah, that’s right–not even a full dollar. Made by N.Y.C. Cosmetics (New York Color Cosmetics), these lipsticks range in price from .99 to $1.99. I know, right?!
I bought two at each of the different price points because I wanted to try a deeper, wine color and then branch out and do a red. I’ve always been intrigued by red lipsticks, but I know it’s a tricky game. Too blue? Too orange? Too much of Dustin Hoffman in “Tootsie”? It’s a gamble. But at a $1.99, I was feeling sassy.
And you know what? Those lipsticks rock. They’re creamy, they stay on forever and when reapplying over partially gnawed off lipstick–it doesn’t look cakey or grody (okay, not terribly technical, but you know what I’m talking about).
And here’s the thing: The red? It lasted even longer. I wore it to a birthday brunch for a friend where I took no prisoners at the buffet. Really, it was scary. This involved lots of wiping with the napkin and drinking of mimosas and when I left 3 hours later, I still had red lips.
Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t miracle lipstick and it did wear off–but it was hard hitting enough to withstand a meal and lots of chatting, so I’m thinking that this affordable lipstick is something to be contended with. I recommend.
As I’ve mentioned before, space is at a premium in our kitchen. For something to earn a coveted place on the shelf, I need to use it a LOT. So it’s saying something that I recently went out and bought more of the following:
These are ramekins. They are small ceramic dishes with stright sides, like you would make a souffle in, but smaller. They’re glazed on the inside and sides, and unfinished on the bottom. They are, in short, magical, and everyone should have some.
Things I use ramekins for (a partial list):
- Holding prep ingredients (spices, herbs, mustard, etc) while cooking
- Separating eggs
- Making jello in individual servings
- Eating yogurt
- Serving small accompaniments to our meal (nuts for a salad, brown sugar for oatmeal, etc)
- Holding a spent teabag
- Baking individual fruit crisps or custards for dinner parties and/or for portion control
- Holding individual flowers as part of a casual table centerpiece
- Chilling butter, a la fancy restaurants (okay, fine, I only did that once, but it looked super cool)
As you can see, these are real workhorses. They’re microwave, dishwasher, oven, and freezer safe, so you can use them for just about anything. And because they’re simple and white, with nice fluted sides, they can be used on the table for serving just as easily as for prep in the kitchen. Plus, and this is important: they’re CHEAP. If you break one in a fit of pique when your flan separates on you? No biggie.
I have sets in two sizes: 4 ounce, which is perfect for prep and measuring spices, and 6 ounce, which is good for yogurt eating and dessert baking. Both are available in sets of six on amazon. They also come in a tiny 2-oz size, like a restaurant would use to serve salad dressing or ketchup, but I find those too small to get regular home use. I highly recommend both the 4- and 6-oz sizes, but if you’re going to get just one, I’d recommend the 6 ounce for maximum versatility.
Porceliein Ramekins, $11.99 for 6 4-oz cups; $14.99 for 6 6-oz cups, both on Amazon
Via random.org–the winners of the giveaway for the Pencil Me In Cosmetics eyeliners are…
(drumroll, please)
sil, and
leighann
Congratulations!
I am literally unable to function like a normal human being if I have dry skin. I have lotions stashed all over to avoid such a thing happening, and sitting here even THINKING about flakey, coarse skin is actually giving me heart palpitations. Say what you will, but my neurosis are here to help.
I’m as much of a snob as I can be when it comes to lotion, considering I refuse to pay an arm and a leg for it. Honestly, the first thing I look for right out of the gate is a nice scent. I get headaches easily and if something is too perfume-y I know I’ll get sick. I also don’t want to wear a whole bunch of scents that have to compete with each other, like deodorant, shampoo, lotion blah blah blah. So yes, I’m the one you see at the store doing a sniff check before making a selection.
I was interested in trying the New Jergens Naturals line and was relieved that their Renew Daily Moisturizer smelled great. It has grapeseed oil, and blueberry and pomegranate extracts which give it a fresh and fruity smell leaning towards the blueberries. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not fruity like old skool Strawberry Shortcake where you slip into a diabetic coma from all the sugar. No, this is light and pleasantly refreshing so nothing to worry about.
I always apply my lotion fresh out of the shower when I’m still wet, as I read somewhere that it helps absorb faster. I’ve also found that this makes the lotion go farther so I don’t need as much to get the job done. As soon as I slathered it on the first thing I noticed was that it was a little thinner than the stuff I normally use. At first I was put-off but I rationalized that hey, the real test will be throughout the day. Then the more I thought about it I realized that it’s not as thick because it doesn’t have a lot of goopy petroleum nastiness in it since it’s 93% natural. And really, the goopiness is more psychological than anything. Oh it’s super thick! That must mean it’s working! Well this lotion bucks the trend and really delivers moisture without having to give up natural ingredients.
From their website:
Key natural ingredients used in Renew:
* Grapeseed Oil: relieves distressed skin and boosts its natural barrier
* Blueberry Extract: a powerful source of antioxidants
* Pomegranate Extract: an antioxidant that combats skin-damaging elements that promote aging
I really like the breakdown about what the ingredients are and what they do. The more you know!
I’ve been using this once a day for a few weeks and my skin has stayed hydrated, without feeling like it has a film on it. (How gross is that when you put a lotion on and it’s like another LAYER all over you? Uck.) For 16.8 ounces it’s around $6.99. When I bought it it came with a $1.00 off coupon to be redeemed at check out. Um, just remember to actually USE it, ahem.
The winner of the Flip and Tumble bag giveaway is…..Tracey!
Congratulations, Tracey!
(For those who are sticklers for process, here’s how I did it: I ended up having to create an excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the referrals, tweets, blog posts, etc., and then I used random.org to pick a number from that spreadsheet. Did you catch that? I retyped all your names into a SPREADSHEET. That’s how much I love you people.)
If you’ve spent any time at all on the internet, you’ve probably heard someone raving about workout pants from lululemon. They’re so soft. They’re so comfortable. They make your ass look fantastic. Etc, etc, etc.
Now clearly, I am not going to be advocating in this space for pants that cost as much as a cashmere sweater but are designed to be sweat in.
But I AM here to tell you that if you’re aching for a little piece of that lululemon magic, you can get it for a lot less than $100.
Lululemon sells several headbands to keep your hair in check while you’re working out, and they are excellent. My personal favorite is the slipless headband:
I have hair that tends towards frizzy when it gets sweaty, plus bangs, plus a cowlick. This headband is made of the same soft stretchy material as those famous pants, and is lined with a strip of silicone about 1/2 inch wide, to keep it from slipping. Unlike some “no-slip” headbands I’ve tried, this one actually stays in place beautifully, without feeling like it’s pulling so hard that it’s about to rip my hair out from the roots.
I use the slipless model when I’m going running, and it keeps my hair off my face without requiring a single readjustment. This sounds like a minor thing, but after years of constantly battling with my hair, and hair accoutrements, during a workout, it’s a welcome change to have something work this well. There is also a less-expensive version without the silicone band inside, for those for whom slipping is not a problem.
They come in a rainbow of colors- there are several available online, and you’ll find even more if there’s a lululemon store near you and you go in to check them out.
These days, when I walk into my gym (which is full of lulu-lovers), I may be wearing 10 year old gym shorts and a tshirt from my high school math club- but my hair, at least, looks like it belongs.
Lululemon slipless headband, $12 at lululemon.com
