Winter Beauty Giveaway!

Christmas may be over, but the giving isn't! It's time for a beauty giveaway, and the winner could be you! I'm giving away a whole prize pack of beauty items. Keep reading to find the details, prize info, and how to enter.

Christmas Recap + Gifts I Got & Gifts I Gave

Hi there! So Christmas was Wednesday. I spent time with family, ate some food, exchanged gifts - the norm. Mark and I actually exchanged our gifts on Christmas Eve so that we could take our time since Christmas day was pretty filled up.

Vitabath Bath & Body Products

Press Samples 

Lately, I've been using Vitabath products for body wash and lotion. I got a couple samples at the iFabbo conference and then I was sent a bath set to try out from the company.

Butter London Wallis

Purchased by me

I just got this gorgeous polish in my recent Ulta haul. I ordered it online, thinking it was unique and pretty. Then, when I opened my order and saw it, I realized it was even more enchanting than I thought. I'm pretty certain that it has become my favorite polish.

Ulta Haul (Black Friday & Cyber Monday) + Video

Purchased by me

Tis the season of extraordinary deals. Every year, I take advantage of the low prices that come with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Although, this year I was a little disappointed that so many stores opened for Black Friday while many of us were enjoying family time on Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, I still got some good deals. This haul is from Ulta's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

Bare Minerals Kiss & Tell Set

Purchased by me

On my birthday last month, I made a stop at Ulta. I knew I wanted to get something, but I wasn't sure what I wanted. I came across the Bare Minerals area and I noticed the shelf full of value kits. I wanted all of them of course (who wouldn't?!), but I limited myself to just one. I chose the Kiss & Tell set because I usually gravitate toward eye kits.  This time, I was all about the lips!

New Studio Lights from Amazon

Purchased by me

As a blogger, I'm always trying to improve my lighting and picture quality. Now that I'm making videos too, I really need some good lighting, especially in Winter. I put a light set on my Christmas wishlist on Amazon and Mark got it for me. He gave it to me early since the box was wayyy too big to wrap or put under the tree. I've been playing around with them for the past couple of days and I notice a big difference already.

Beauty Blog Coalition $900 Giveaway!

The bloggers from the Beauty Blog Coalition are at it again and want to give you the opportunity to win a little money right before the holiday season!

Video: Birthday Haul & November Ipsy Bag

My birthday was last month and I got some beauty gifts that I wanted to show. I also hadn't shared my November Ipsy bag yet, so I included info in the video and this post about my bag. (Hint: it wasn't my favorite!).

Crown Brush Smoke It Out eye shadow palette

Press Sample

Not long ago, I was showing you a makeup brush set from Crown Brush. Today I have another product from Crown Brush - the Smoke It Out Palette. It's a colorful eyeshadow palette containing 36 shades of beautiful shadows. Keep reading to find more info and lots of swatches!

Studio Gear Holiday Smokey Eye Palette

Press Sample
 
Holiday edition beauty products are some of my favorites. Today, I have a holiday palette from Studio Gear to share with you (and a coupon code for Studio Gear's website!).  The Studio Gear Holiday Smokey Eye Palette contains 4 eye shadows and a blush. Keep reading for more info and pictures!

Victoria Jackson Foundation Duo

Press Sample
 
I've been using a new foundation lately! It's from Victoria Jackson Cosmetics and comes with two blendable colors. Keep reading for more info and pics.

Holiday Beauty Wishlist

My Holiday Wishlist with NARS, Dior, MAC

On my wishlist:

Happy Thanksgiving + NOTD

It's turkey day here in the U.S., so Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating today! I am spending time with family and enjoying some delicious food. I love Thanksgiving meals! What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

Lancome DreamTone

Press Sample

Today, I'm thrilled to share an amazing product with you - Lancome DreamTone! This is the first time I have tried anything from Lancome and I can say I'm thoroughly impressed by this product. It's a serum that is formulated to correct your skin tone. Keep reading to hear about my results and thoughts on the product.

Win $500 from the Beauty Blogazons!

The Beauty Blogazons want to wish you Happy Holidays and what better way to do that than enter a giveaway to win a little cash? All you have to do is follow some of your favorite bloggers to enter to win $500 (Paypal or Visa Giftcard, your choice). Think of all the makeup you could buy!
Let's thank all the bloggers that are involved and get started, shall we?

The Start of Makeup Organization

The other day, I came to the realization that my makeup collection is growing out of control. It passed the point of a normal sized collection quite awhile ago. As a blogger, it's not a hard thing to accomplish. The accumulation of beauty products is just insane! So, I took on the task of tackling part of my collection in order to downsize and organize.

10-Piece Makeup Brush Set from Crown Brush

Press Sample

Being such a makeup fan, I need the tools to be able to use it all. Brushes are essential for every makeup lover. I've been searching around for a makeup brush set lately, and connected with Crown Brush. They seemed to have a big selection of brushes, as well as some great brush sets and eyeshadow palettes. Keep reading to see my thoughts on the brush set I got.

Video: What's In My Bag

In this video, I share what I carry in my bag. 

On my nails - Covergirl Vio-last

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Subscription Boxes: Birchbox vs. Ipsy

Subscription boxes are extremely popular right now, especially beauty ones.  I've tried two major beauty box subscriptions: Birchbox and Ipsy. They cost the same and are great services, but there are some differences. Keep reading to find which one is best for you.

Arganesse Hair Treatment

Press Sample

If you like luxurious hair products, I've got one for you! It's called Arganesse. It's a daily, leave-in treatment for your hair. Keep reading to find out more about this elegant product.

How to Earn Cash Back with Ebates

Saving money and getting great deals is on everyone's to-do list for the holidays. I want to get the absolute best deals I can get and make sure to save money where I can. I'm sure you do too (and maybe earn some cash back on your purchases as well?). Do can do that with Ebates!

October Ipsy Glam Bag

Purchased by me

October is gone, but I still have my October Ipsy Bag to share! I was going to share it sooner, but I was focusing on Halloween-themed posts. It's just a little bit late, but I thought it was still useful for you to see what came in my bag.

Fall Pumpkin Nails

When you think about Fall, what's the first thing you think of? I think of pumpkins! Between lattes, candles, baked goods, and jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins are everywhere. Today, I have an easy pumpkin nail tutorial. Follow the jump to find out how to recreate it!

Halloween Costume: Native Girl

Press Sample

Don't you love dressing up in costume for Halloween?! You get to become whatever you want for a night (or a few). This opens up a world of options for makeup, hair, nails, and clothes. This year, I was able to pick out a costume from the website, I Love Sexy. They had loads of costumes to choose from, so it took me some time to decide. I chose the Chief Hottie Body costume (or Native American girl). Keep reading to check out the costume and the makeup I did to go along with it.

Halloween Makeup: Wicked Queen

Halloween is coming! Do you have your costume? What about your makeup? I created an eye look that can be used for various costumes. It was inspired by a kit I found at the Halloween store.

Halloween Nails: Spiderwebs

This week I'm going with a Halloween theme on my blog. The other day I showed my boyfriend with an unzipped face! That was really fun to do on him. Today I'm giving you 2 spiderweb nail designs.

Halloween Look: Unzipped Face

It's that time again: Halloween time! And that also means time to paint Mark's face. Yes, my boyfriend is nice enough to let me paint his face every year just so I can share it with you guys! Isn't that sweet of him?? This year, I decided to give him an unzipped face. I think it turned out pretty cool and it wasn't hard to do at all!

Video - Beauty Haul

I just posted this haul video to my Youtube Channel. It's all the stuff that came in my gift bag from the iFabbo conference. Listed below are shoppable  links to all of the items mentioned.

October Wantable Box

Press Sample

This month I had the chance to try the Wantable box. Wantable is a monthly subscription box. There are a few options for the boxes you can get: Makeup, accessories, or intimates. I received the Makeup box. Keep reading to find what I got in my box!

Free Clinique Gift with $25 Purchase!

Purchased by Me

 I was at Macy's the other day and stopped at the Clinique counter for a new bottle of moisturizer. I noticed that they were having a great deal - Spend $25 and get a free 8-piece gift. I've taken advantage of a similar deal before and I was very pleased with it. Since the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion is $26, I already qualified for the free gift.

My Weekend Trip to San Francisco

Hello wonderful readers! I just came back from a weekend trip to San Francisco. It's such a beautiful city and I always love my visits there. This little vacation was a little hectic. I had a couple things planned that took up most of our time. It was a great trip, but it feels so nice to be back at home!

Ipsy Glam Bag - September 2013

Purchased by Me

 I received my 3rd Ipsy bag in September and I didn't get around to posting about it. I showed the contents of the first month of Ipsy, didn't show the second, and now I'm late on the 3rd. I almost skipped it again, but I really wanted to share what I got because it was such a good bag for me.  So, I'll briefly run through September's contents.

L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation

 Press Sample 

Have you heard of the L'oreal Magic Nude foundation? It seems like everyone is talking about it right now and I had the chance to try it out. Keep reading to find my thoughts on it.

How to Fix Photo Quality on Blogger

Yesterday, as I was preparing my newest giveaway, I noticed my images that I had uploaded were looking grainy, splotchy, and had more contrast. It dawned on me that I had the same issues for the last couple of posts I published too. I opened my pictures on my computer and compared them to the ones on my blog and there was a noticeable difference. After a lot of frustration, I figured out why.

Giveaway: A Bag of Beauty Products ($60 value)!

Ready for the fourth and final giveaway of the month? I'm giving away a bag of beauty products totaling $60 in value! I added plenty of ways to enter. Keep reading for prize details and giveaway information!

7 Ways the Clarisonic Mia Changed My Skin!

Purchased by me

I mentioned my love for my Clarisonic Mia before. Now that I've been using it for over 2 years, I have even more great things to say about it! It has changed my skin completely - and in a great way!

Alima Pure Mineral Foundation, Blush, and Eyeshadow

Press Samples

Recently, I tried some mineral makeup from Alima Pure. I had only tried the brand once before, thanks to Birchbox, but I had heard of it many times prior. The cool thing about the brand is that their mineral cosmetics are not irritating nor will they clog your pores; they're actually helpful to your skin. The main product I was going to try was their Satin Matte Foundation, but I also got to test a couple other products too.

Pinterest Beauty Giveaway

Time for giveaway number 3 this month! This one is for the Pinterest lovers! I'm a Pinterest addict - I find all kinds of delicious recipes, home decor ideas, and great DIYs. I share a lot of my own stuff too, like pictures and blog posts. Needless to say, I'm very active on it. This giveaway is for my Pinterest followers (follow now if you aren't already!)

Twitter and Facebook Follower Giveaway

It's time for my second giveaway of the month (out of 4 total). I was planning this next one to be Twitter-only but I wanted to give people the chance to participate through Facebook who didn't get to for my last giveaway. So let's get this one started....

Weekend Post: Fall Favorites

It's not often that I post anything other then beauty-related topics here; after all, Peek & Ponder is a beauty blog. It's the weekend and I'm taking this post in a bit of a different direction. Welcome to my fall favorites! I made this fun image to express my love for all things fall! Enjoy and share if you love these things too.

Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner

Purchased by me

Most of the time, my favorite eyeliner is the Urban Decay 24/7 liner. I love how many colors are offered and it lasts a long time on my eyes. I was compelled to try a different brand this last time around though and found the Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner.

Love Letter Nails With Nail Tattoos

Purchased by me

Recently, I was at Walmart looking through the clearance aisle. I really had no idea there was even such an aisle at Walmart and I'm not sure if it will always be there, but I had to take a glance at what they were offering. There was all sorts of things in the aisle, including beauty items! I noticed a lot of nail art products that I hadn't seen before. I came across a pack of nail tattoos for $2.00. Two dollars for some nail art? Okay, I'll take it.

Facebook Fan Giveaway

Happy September! I've decided I would do some small giveaways this month for readers/followers.
I decided on a total of 4 - Facebook fan giveaway, Twitter follower giveaway, Pinterest follower giveaway and blog follower giveaway.

IT Cosmetics Face Primer & Tightline Mascara Primer

Press Samples

 I've got two great IT Cosmetics products to share today. The first, a hydrating face primer, and the second, a product for your lashes.

Incoco Nail Polish Strips

Press Samples

 Raise your hand if you like your nails to look pretty! I'm raising both hands. Give me bright colors, cool patterns, and bold designs - I'll wear it all on my nails! Currently, I've been playing around with nail polish strips from Incoco. It has introduced me to a whole new world of nail fun. Keep reading and I'll tell you why they're so awesome.

Deborah Lippmann Rockin Robin

Purchased by me

In my recent nail polish rack video I mentioned that I wanted more Deborah Lippmann polishes. I had two already, but because of their costly price tag ($19), I don't get around to buying them very often. In fact, I didn't necessarily spend my own money on the ones I've acquired - they came from my Birchbox points! I checked my points a couple weeks ago and realized I had $30 to spend. So, I immediately took a look at the Deborah Lippmann lacquers in the Birchbox shop and picked Rockin Robin.

Empties: Products I've Used Up 3

The last couple of times I did an empties post, they were successful. You guys said that you liked knowing what products I would repurchase and which ones I didn't care for as much. I have another round of empties to show you, but this time it's in the form of a video.

IT Cosmetics Lip Products

Press Samples

If you've been following my blog for awhile, then you know that I love my IT Cosmetics products. I've shared some posts featuring some amazing products. Today, I have a few  lip products to show you - 2 glosses, and 2  liners.

Clear Nail Polish Rack from Amazon

Purchased by Me

Considering all of my recent nail polish buying, I needed a good storage solution. So, I finally got a nail polish rack!  I've wanted  one for months. My nail polish was being stored everywhere: next to the couch, in the bathroom drawer, in the office, next to the bed. It was becoming hard to remember what colors I even had in my collection!

Triangles and Dots Nail Tutorial

After browsing Pinterest, I was inspired to do some nail art for my manicure today. I always see triangle manicures and I wanted to do one, but put my own spin on the design by adding dots. It was incredibly easy and fairly fast. Keep reading for the tutorial.

Maybelline Falsies Big Eyes Mascara

Purchased by Me

I've been seeing commercials for Maybelline's new Big Eyes Mascara and I've been intrigued to try it. It's supposed to make your eyes appear twice as big and give your lashes 360 degree volume. I picked it up to put it to the test!

How to Get Shiny Hair!

Purchased by Me

While browsing magazines, tv, and Pinterest, you may notice shiny hair everywhere! You may take a glance in the mirror at your own hair and try to figure out why the heck your strands don't look so perfectly glossy (hello dull frizz, we meet again). I've found a product that gives my locks a silky, sleek look without appearing oily and it's inexpensive!

Ipsy Glam Bag - July 2013

Purchased by Me

This month was my first month with Ipsy. Ipsy is a subscription service, created by Michelle Phan, that includes deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products along with a cosmetic bag for $10/month. For this month, I received 5 products in my Glam Bag. Keep reading to discover the products in my bag and my initial thoughts on the service.

China Glaze Shocking Pink

Purchased by Me

Time to share my current manicure! This one is a bright pink shade from China Glaze. I'm in love with this color!

Urban Decay Giveaway!

Purchased by Me

Who doesn't love Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes?! I'm pretty sure everyone does and that's the reason I've decided to give one away! Follow the jump for details!

Urban Decay Haul 2

Purchased by Me

Last week I posted my haul from the Urban Decay sale on Hautelook. I got some great UD products for amazing prices. After I made that order, I realized Urban Decay was having a similar sale on their website as well. Since the Urban Decay event on Hautelook was already over, I made an order through UrbanDecay.com for more incredible deals!