Cyber Monday Deals You Can't Miss

I'll be sitting at my desk Monday morning, sad that the long weekend is over, but happy to have Cyber Monday. It’s an extension of the holiday with opportunities to do a little (or a lot of) shopping, and far more enjoyable than Black Friday because you don't have to go anywhere at all. And on top of that, the deals are pretty worthwhile, so this makes it my favorite time of the year to shop beauty. These are some I'm most looking forward to:

The Balm Cosmetics

The Balm will offer 50% off everything online starting at 7 am, sharp, so rise and shine! One of my go-to products from The Balm is the Cindy-Lou Manizer, only $12 with the discount. 

Tarte Cosmetics 

All mascaras and lip glosses will go for $10, cheek stains and blushes for $20 and foundations for $30. Favorite include the Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara and their cheek stain in Blushing Bride. 

Nugg Beauty 

Nugg masks are perfect as stocking stuffers for the holidays. Nugg will be offering 10% off all orders, as well as a free deep cleansing mask with any purchase.

Julep

More great stocking stuffers! Julep is offering 50% off site-wide with code YAYTODAY. Yay today, indeed. 

Lorac Cosmetics 

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Lorac is releasing a limited edition Alter Ego lipstick and lipgloss collection including three best sellers and seven exclusive, new shades. And through Nordstrom, you’ll also be able to buy the Lorac PRO Matte palette, with an eye pencil and mascara for $28.

Bobbi Brown

You can get 20% off any order all day Monday on BobbiBrown.com. I’m a huge fan of the Creamy Concealer Kit - it has cream and powder in one, stays put for hours and has unbeatable coverage. 

Tata Harper 

A new favorite of mine this year, Tata Harper is offering 15% on all orders through December 8, with code FF2015. The Repairative Moisturizer is divinity in a bottle, and safe for your skin. 

Caudalie

The French skincare experts at Caudalie are offering free goodies with purchases of $25, $75 or $150 or more. An all time favorite is the Beauty Elixir, and a new favorite is the Instant Detox Mask.

First Aid Beauty

Because nothing cures dry winter skin like First Aid Beauty. They're offering a whopping 30% off with code CYBERMONDAY.

Dermstore
Dermstore always has great deals to begin with on skincare must-haves, they're offering 30% off all day with code CYBERMONDAY.

NARS 
The most pigmented makeup in all the land, and they're offering 20% off through Wednesday with the code TAKE20. 

W3LL People
The green beauty brand is offering 20% off online and in-store through 11:59 pm on Monday, and all orders ship free. This offer alone is worth taking for their Narcissist Foundation Stick.

MAC Cosmetics
MAC is offering free overnight shipping on all orders Monday, so if you're as impatient as I am, this is the best news. They're also offering 25% off all their holiday kits and pre-filled palettes.

You're welcome! 

In-Home Maternity Photo Session

I'm shocked at how quickly this pregnancy has gone by. I'm 35 weeks along, and the holidays and our little boy's arrival are just around the corner. I'm feeling a flurry of emotions and while I'm frankly very nervous, I can't wait much longer to meet this little person and see his face. I hope he has his dad's widow's peak and big heart, among so many things I love about him.

Amidst all the prep, I knew I wanted photos to remember these days by, and to one day show Baby Fig just how happy we were waiting for him. A few weeks ago, we had an in-home photo session with my good friend Celina McGraw of Happy Alpaca Photography, who just launched her photography business. With every opportunity I have had to be her subject, she amazes me more and more with her talent and craft. If you're looking for someone to capture your family's moments in the Austin area, I encourage you to reach out to her.

This is a beauty blog after all, so I do want to share about what I put on my face and did to my hair for these photos. Because this was an early morning session and I overslept, I had to expedite the getting ready process. Still, I managed. 

I shampooed with Kevin Murphy's Hydrate Me Wash and conditioned with his Angel Rinse. Before blow drying my hair, I applied his Anti-Gravity serum to my roots for volume. On the lower half of my hair, I applied Bumble & Bumble's Styling Lotion for ease when giving myself some soft curls. I took big chunks of hair, wrapped around a 1 1/2 inch curling iron and held for no more than 10 seconds a piece. 

For my face, I used W3ll People's Narcissist Foundation, a pregnancy favorite, and contoured with Trestique's Color and Contour Stick. I concealed and highlighted with Bobbi Brown's Creamy Concealer Kit, as well as Benefit's LemonAid. Eyeshadow was a combination of my go-tos - the Lorac Pro and Urban Decay Naked 3 palettes - and I finished my lids off with Nyx's Gel Eyeliner and Smudger and Ardell Lashes in #403 . I softly filled my eyebrows in with Trestique's Define, Sculpt and Set Eyebrow Pencil. On my lips I'm wearing a combination of Flower Beauty's Kiss Stick High Shine Lip Color in Baby Buttercup and Sweet Peony, with a dab of Urban Decay's Revolution High Color Lipgloss in Failbait. Blush was also Urban Decay, the Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in Indecent. 

2 comments

Instagram Beauty Favorites

My love for beauty came long before social media allowed us access to bloggers, vloggers and other beauty insiders. My first inspiration was my mom, with her endless collection of red lipstick, and her refusal to leave the house without a full face of makeup. But, today, it's easy for beauty aficionados like myself to find inspiration in other women (and men) whose approaches to beauty may resonate with us. I gravitate towards Instagram for inspiration, because it's simple and usually authentic, and narrowed down a list of my favorite folks to follow for nuggets of beauty wisdom, life wisdom, or simply because they truly own who they are, and there's nothing more beautiful than that.

Sophia Amoruso
@SophiaAmoruso 
What I most love about her Instagram presence, beyond the fact that she is striking and you just want to live vicariously though the snapshots of her incredible (and hard-earned) life, is that she is so comfortable making a complete fool of herself in front of her audience. She hides nothing about who she is (if you read her book, you know she put it all out there in those pages) and every single one of her posts makes me want to work towards having that kind of confidence. Of course, seeing her flawless complexion and eyebrows serve as reminders for my own personal maintenance.

Matin Maulawizada
@ItsMatin 

I had the privilege of meeting Matin while working for Pamella Roland, and he's one of those gentle souls -- and extremely humble despite the amount of success he's had as a makeup artist. Matin's account is a favorite because his approach to beauty is real and never intimidating, and he has a knack for highlighting his clients' (Claire Danes, Lena Dunham and Lupita N'yongo to name a few) beauty without gimmicks or masks, so to speak. I especially love when he shares personal stories about his family, adorable Italian Greyhounds, and his work with Afghan Hands, a nonprofit he founded which helps disadvantaged women in Afghanistan gain independence through the craft of embroidery.

Ximena Navarrete
@XimenaNR
I can appreciate sheer beauty in another woman, especially a fellow Mexican. This former Nuestra Belleza Mexico winner and Miss Universe's account is pure eye candy. Her features, reminiscent of Maria Felix, make for a beautiful post every single time. And all the makeup shots highlighting her usual makeup artist Victor Guadarrama give me loads of inspiration for beauty looks.

Into the Gloss
@IntoTheGloss
Into the Gloss is my go-to source for behind the scenes coverage of fashion week and trends in beauty that are real, approachable and actually attainable. The #ITGTopShelfie content franchise is great for discovering new products, and for causing some serious top shelf envy. And, this Instagram account has to be the must visually appealing and gorgeously curated beauty accounts out there.

Sarah Brown
@SBRogue 
I learned about Sarah Brown a decade ago (or longer), reading an essay she wrote in Vogue where she shared that her beauty resembled that of the Renaissance. Now I follow her on Instagram, and appreciate her account for the lack of pretense you might expect from a Vogue beauty editor, and all of the approachability and accessibility that you might not. I love the glimpses into her life, her travel and experiences, but am obviously there for the beauty products, the treatments, and even fashion from likely the most well-versed person in the industry.