Nail Neophyte

It's almost Halloween...so what are you afraid of? Is it ghosts and goblins? Or is it the newest trend in nail polish? LOL! With the help of Penny Contributor Nancy-the-Nail Narcissist, Penny has conquered her fear of the unknown, and is excited to share more deep, rich colors on her hands and feet this season...purples, browns, wines, reds, navy and even charcoal have all been sampled! Penny was known for only wearing pastels or neutral nails (French manicure, American manicure, etc), but in contrast, would put any color on her toes (since it was easy to conceal). But now in the spirit of beauty experimentation, Penny has plunged into the sexy, edgy land of dark polish. Penny is currently sporting a manicure by called "Sole Mate" by Essie (shown here)...this rich dark purple, could appear wine with brownish undertones as well. (Read the whole story)

Pre-Holiday Beauty Specials at Target!

**Penny's Beauty Buzz!**

Many of you know that although Halloween is barely here, most stores are preparing for the Christmas holiday shopping season. That means that now is a great time to look for beauty bargains of all kinds. Many stores have cosmetics, fragrances, and skincare bundled together just for the holidays.

Penny contributor, Mavis-the-Mascara-Maven was all to excited to discover and end cap in her local TARGET offering great stocking stuffers! Several brands of mascara, and eyeliner have been packaged in sets of TWO for the price of ONE! That is a steal of a deal!

Some of the products displayed were:

• L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara
• L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara
• Maybelline Great Lash BIG Washable Mascara
• Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara
• Revlon Double Twist Mascara
• Various Pencil Eyeliners

Happy Shopping!

Be blessed. Be beautiful.

Color Confusion

There still seems to be some confusion about "matching your make-up" to your clothing or accessories. Penny understands that this is a slippery slope and sometimes hard to understand.  So let me see if I can help clarify my earlier post about "choosing the right colors."

Eye shadow should "compliment" your clothing. I think by saying you should "match" your eye shadow to your skin tone, hair and eye color, it is confusing. I should have said, eye shadow colors should COMPLIMENT your skin tone, hair and eye color. More importantly, pay attention to application and your overall look. If wearing dark or smokey eyes, your lips should be light or neutral. If wearing dark or red lips, your eye shadow should be more neutral. (Read full story)

The Mascara Maniac - At it again!

Most of you know that Penny is a self-proclaimed Mascara Maniac...trying more than 25 brands this past year! (Yes...yes, we are seeking professional help). LOL! Well, how could I resist the temptation when Sephora sent this V.I.B. (Very Important Beauty insider) an offer to receive Too Faced Mascara Layering Kit...for FREE!  With 'any purchase' of course (you didn't really think it was free did you? LOL!). This kit is sold regularly for $19.50. The idea is to use both the Lash Injection and the Lash Pinpoint mascaras to create the ultimate look of length and volume. (Read full story)

Sephora's Friends & Family Sale - ends 11/2/09!

Hello my pretties!
Go to http://www.sephora.com/  and get 20% off your order and free shipping on orders over $50! This is thier Friends and Family 2009 Sale and it ends November 2nd.  Use this Code at checkout:  FF2009

For shopping ideas Penny recommends that you check out the Beauty Central section that connects you to Sephora's Fall Runway Report. Talk about fun! You know those bright eyeshadows and dark lipsticks some of you want to try?...well here are some fun ways to wear them this holiday season. If you can't access the link below, when you go to Sephora's main page, look at the bottom left for the small box called Beauty Central.  Once you get to the Fall Runway Report, click on "Get the Look" on the left menu for quite a few fun and fab looks!

http://www.sephora.com/browse/article.jhtml?id=200024

Be blessed. Be beautiful.

No more Prescriptives Prescriptions?

Hello folks!

One of Penny's Posse members shared some interesting news this morning. Prescriptives is reluctantly going out of business! Some of you who use their products may already be aware of this but I had no idea. They are closing their cosmetic retail counters as of January 31, 2010. You will be able to purchase products online as long as supplies last (even after the retail counters close).  See the official announcement here by clicking on the link below. (Read full story)http://www.prescriptives.com/customerservice/cust_serv_about_px.tmpl

Choosing the Right Colors

Fall is a wonderful time of year. What Penny enjoys most are the beautiful colors of the season and how they influence the fun fashions, and cosmetics we see in stores and on magazine pages today. One of the most challenging things for the make-up maven is not just learning proper make-up application, but rather choosing the right colors.

Most professionals will tell you...your make-up colors should NOT match your clothes or accessories...but should match you skin tone, hair color and/or compliment your eye color. Matching make-up to your clothes can sometimes look juvenile and detract from your overall look. You want the focus to be on your complete look and not just one aspect of your make-up. Foundation shades are the hardest but Penny ain't got that much time today. LOL! (Read full story)

Penny is on a mission - Eye Cream Anyone?

How many of you lovely ladies use an Eye Cream that reduces puffiness and dimishes the look of dark circles? Some of you younglings might wonder...what is Penny talking about now? Well, Penny is no spring chicken (contrary to popular belief. LOL!)...so yes, dark circles, bags, and looking worn can be a problem sometimes for this old diva. Do you have any recommendations for Penny?

Unfortunately my dark circles are hereditary, so Penny will always be a slave to concealer. But if there is something that will help even a little (other than the obvious 'get more sleep & drink more water' solution), Penny would be truly grateful.

Recently I was told to try Garnier Eye Roll-On; this is a caffeine formula with Pro-B vitamins that is supposed to help reduce puffiness, diminish the appearance of circles; there were mixed reviews on this product ($12-$15). (Read full story)

Penny's Day at the Spa

Good evening folks:
Many of you know that Penny was on a SPA-ing assignment today. Penny took advantage of Spa Week and tried out the Veria (Ver-ria) Wellness Center in Bethesda, MD. The experience was great!

Although Penny prefers a full service day spa with the experience of private lockers, dressing rooms, showers, and relaxation rooms; for a small center the services and staff were excellent. The size of the rooms were standard; you undress in the room; they put your belongings in a copper basin to transfer from room-to-room, and they offer you a robe and slippers (if you're going for more than a facial). (Read full story)