The Glitter Blog

Join me on my new blog

2015-03-26T10:20:00.003-07:00

I have decided to switch over to wordpress because I would like my blog to be a little more organized and have a cleaner overall look, I wanted to totally start over pretty much. My blog is now located HERE but this one will remain up for those who still would like to reread archives.

Creations By Jerilyn- Jewelry Review

2013-02-10T14:20:00.001-08:00

Recently I had the pleasure of receiving a beautiful handmade necklace to review from a small indie online jewelry shop that I am following on facebook. I was drawn to her designs because I feel that they are very unique but also are affordable for the quality and materials used. I like that she utilizes crystals and natural stones in a way that is a bit more modern and distinctive than what one might expect. I've always been a fan of wire wrapped crystals, but let's face it..they are all pretty similar for the most part. However, I find Creations by Jerilyn to be just a bit more eye catching than that while still appealing to those of us who like the look of natural stones, glass and crystal.

The necklace I received was is a copper and rose quartz Tree of Life necklace. Each of these necklaces is a little bit unique as they are handmade. Mine came with a deep brown multi-strand cord necklace with a particularly pretty copper clasp.

Back of the necklace. I love the tree 'roots'.

Depending on the light the stones can either look pale pink or clear.

Packaging and business card.

First of all I would like to note that this particular necklace design comes in several styles and colors. It usually retails for about $35. I have noticed that this shop often has sales and promotions though, so if you're on a budget it's definitely worthwhile to watch out for those. Her jewelry ranges in price from around $10-$130. The Tree of Life necklace can be purchased HERE. or HERE.

The quality of the necklace itself was impeccable. None of the crystal beads are loose or cracked, the clasp is very secure, the cord is nice quality, and overall is a very nice piece of jewelry. I also liked the length of cord. I've worn this out and about several times and have gotten many compliments each time! It makes a statement without being gaudy or too large and flashy.

Her shipping was really quick, less than a week for me. I thought that her packaging was not only very secure, but also suitable for gift giving without any additional wrapping. I like the custom stickers and tags this shop uses a lot. I think this adds a professional polished touch to the jewelry.

Other than that I found the owner to be very sweet and easy to work with. I am confident that any problem with an order would be treated with excellent customer service. The web store is easy to navigate, and the etsy shop is also stocked with plenty of jewelry to choose from. If you live in Florida you may be lucky enough to catch this store at a craft show or in a brick and mortar boutique. If you're really, really lucky you may have even received one of these at the Academy Awards as part of their celebrity gift lounge ;)

Overall, I really enjoyed my total experience with this shop and plan to continue to be a customer. Whether you're looking for a jewelry piece for that special someone or just something pretty for yourself, Creations by Jerilyn is definitely worth taking a look at. Check out her Etsy store HERE and her facebook like page HERE.

I will be wearing this necklace in my next makeup tutorial so keep an eye on my Youtube channel if you want to see this beauty in action :)

XOXO- Kaitlyn

La Bella Donna Lip Crayon review

2012-12-21T22:55:00.000-08:00

Today I am going to be reviewing a great lip crayon I received from a mineral makeup company called La Bella Donna. This is the first product I've tried from this particular company. La Bella Donna was founded by mother-daughter team Kathy and Nicole Tracy who both previously had problems using traditional makeup with their skin types. As you know I absolutely love and prefer mineral makeup so I think it's cool that they just decided to make their own makeup line.

The duo lip crayon I received was in a color combo called 'Devotion' which is a brownish nude with pink tones. It also came with a pencil sharpener that works great with both sides. This is something I really liked because I can never find a good sharpener for my 'chubby' lip and eye pencils. The lip liner end is just a little bit sharper than the lip color end and gives you a nice crisp line. I really enjoyed the texture of both sides of this pencil because they were soft and easy to draw with without being mushy. The lip color end glides on very smooth with just a subtle hint of shine. The colors work perfectly together for a very nice neutral lip. I found that this pencil also lasted just a little bit longer than traditional lipstick even after eating & drinking. Overall I enjoyed this pencil and have no complaints. They make 3 other shades that are all very wearable for every skin tone. They can also be used together to make your own custom shade. The La Bella Donna Duo Lip Crayon is available for at La Bella Donna.com for $28.50

Lip color end

Lip liner end

Odacité Giveaway!

2012-09-26T14:54:00.001-07:00

All you have to do is be a fan on my like page and enter your email! It's simple and easy.

What do you win?

The Basic five 4-6 week complete skin treatment kit! A $79 value.
More info about The Basic Five can be found here: http://www.odacite.com/product/skin-detox

The giveaway will end on Sunday night at 5:00 p.m. PST so you need to get your entries in fast! Here's a link to enter:
https://www.facebook.com/theglitterblog/app_345369542218821

Be sure to enter & share with your friends who love ULTRA POSH organic skincare (who doesn't?!)

5 tips to help you prepare for a photo shoot

2012-09-18T15:29:00.001-07:00

Whether you are new to modeling or just having some amazing photos taken there are a few things you can do to look your best in front of the lens. These are things that I feel are important details but may be overlooked if you are unsure of what to do or even just in a hurry. So here are my best tips for looking the best for your photos:

1. Groom your brows.

Whether you wax or pluck your eyebrows, be sure they are freshly groomed a few days before your shoot. Do not do them the night before or right before your shoot in case of redness and irritation. Be aware of the shape of your brows-Do not overpluck, or create a crazy un-natural arch. For the love of God ..DO NOT shave your eyebrows off and attempt to draw them back on. Thicker eyebrows are very popular for fall this year. Here is a helpful chart that will give you an idea of what your ideal brow shape should be.

2. Maintain your hair.

This seems like a no-brainer here, but don't forget about your hair! Make sure your roots have been touched up if you have dyed hair. If you dye your hair bright colors be sure to get all that color off your hairline and skin or it will show up in pictures. Trim any split ends, and deep condition your hair if it needs a little bit of extra love. An ice water rinse will turn up the shine the day of your shoot. If you have frizzy hair you should use the appropriate hair products and blow dry your hair out. Do not show up to a photo shoot with dull, dirty hair that needs to be re-colored- Editing won't take care of that.

3. Have gorgeous skin.

Now before you run out and buy a bunch of new skin creams- DON'T! Stick to skin treatments and lotions that your skin is used to. You don't want to cause a breakout or allergic reaction right before your shoot. DO moisturize, take care of any streaky fake tans or tan lines, exfoliate, and most importantly drink a lot of water. DON'T freak out if your skin isn't perfect or if you have a last minute breakout- It's really not that big of a deal. Lots of models do have skin issues and they can easily be hidden with expert makeup.

Here's a video recipe of a very easy DIY spa mask I made a while ago.

4. Check your foundation.

Sometimes people have skin tones that are just hard to match. And sometimes people are just confused and buy makeup that is 2 shades too dark. Check and apply your foundation in natural light. Do you have a noticeable line at your jaw? Your foundation isn't blended/doesn't match. You may need to mix several foundations to make a shade customized to your skin so experiment with it. Do not use a BB cream or a foundation with high SPF in it on the day of your photoshoot because the Titanium Dioxide will cause a white reflect in your photos. Also avoid dark bronzers.

Bad Uma!

5. Blend your eye makeup.

If you are having a makeup artist do your makeup you can skip this step. If you cannot get a professional to help you make sure your look is polished. Do not attempt dark black eye makeup or a smokey eye if you have issues with blending- Black will call all the more attention to this problem. Go for soft neutrals instead. Don't do crazy eyeliner designs unless the shoot calls for that. Use colors that either compliment each other and look at a color wheel if you need ideas. Use professional brushes- don't waste your time with sponge tip applicators or your fingers. Don't forget primer and a base to make your mineral eye shadows more vibrant and long lasting. Tape, a business card, or a shadow shield will keep you from getting fall out under your eyes. Use colors that compliment your eye color to make them pop.

Pick colors opposite of your eye color on the color wheel

Hopefully you found this guide helpful, and do not forget that confidence is always the best asset you can have ;)

Nerd Out! contest-Open 9/16-10/5

2012-09-18T12:50:00.001-07:00

CONCEPT:

Nerdy stuff! Star Wars, Star Trek, Anime, LoTR, Sci fi movies, comic books, video games..ect. Just use good judgment and when in doubt ask. Makeup looks can either be wearable or dramatic. I will have a winner for each category. Winners will be picked based on creativity and execution. Hint- if you make me laugh you get bonus points.

Prizes TBA. I have 2 makeup bags that I am filling up with fun makeup and jewelry goodies. A MLP pony necklace/keychain will also be included in the prizes.

RULES:
1. Up to 2 entries per person.

2. Makeup must be done by you and on your body
.
3. All makeup must be done for this contest specifically. So I know you did this makeup just for my contest
please hold up a sign/write on your body 'Glitter Blog' somewhere. Do not photoshop it in.

4. No photoshop other than collaging or adding text.

5. No negative comments to other participants will be tolerated.

6. Open to people 16+ (open internationally).

7. Must be a fan of this page and any sponsors.

8. Please email 2-3 clear photos of your makeup (or a collage) to theglitterblog@yahoo.com- please do not post them too my wall or i may not see them!

This contest is not endorsed or sponsored by Blogger/Facebook or affiliated in any way.

A personal post and then back to business

2012-09-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged about anything all spring/summer. It's been a difficult few months in my personal life and as such it's been hard to concentrate on blogging. My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer after suddenly falling very ill. It has been pretty difficult for me to cope with my feelings while continuing on with my everyday life. But life has to eventually go on, and I am trying to do my best to get back on track.

I try to keep my facebook page updated with sales, new products and giveaways but I've let that go by the wayside for probably too long as well. I do try to keep everyone informed on the new stuff from the companies I promote for Abigail's Boutique Designs & Jujubeads but if you haven't checked out their new stuff lately you should. I'm sure I've missed lots of cool things.

I haven't reviewed anything in about a million years but that doesn't mean I am done reviewing things forever. I honestly have tried a lot of things and new shops I loved this summer and just didn't end up with the time or motivation to write about them. Off the top of my head (and I know I'll forget a few) these are some shops I was super impressed by lately: StinkyMonkey4eva, CandiiBlossom Cosmetics, Lady Grenade Cosmetics, Whiphand Cosmetics, Deceptions, CC Bums & Mistical Arts.

I will be working on getting some back posts I started but didn't finish up this week and next along with some Halloween tutorials. Thanks for subscribing & sticking around :)

Influenster Spring Beauty voxbox loot: #2 Sally Hansen Salon Effects

2012-06-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

The second in my series of Influenster voxbox mini-reviews is for Sally Hansen salon effects nail polish strips. Once again I received this product complimentary from Influenster to review.

I absolutely loved these. I had heard mixed and poor reviews of these in the past so I had never purchased or used them until they were sent to me. I made sure to follow all the instructions and wipe my nails with alcohol first to clean them. I found that you had to be careful not to stretch the strip too much when applying them. Overall they are pretty easy to apply though. I only messed up one nail the first time I used these and luckily you get 5 extra strips. Sally Hansen salon effects lasted for about a week on me before they started chipping. I can barely get regular nail polish to last 10 minutes on me without chipping so needless to say I was impressed lol. I really love the wide variety of available patterns which range from solid colors to crazy animal prints and glitters. I have bought another pack of these since receiving my voxbox and will continue to purchase these in the future.

Want to make your box last longer? Paint your nails a solid color and just wear a nail strip on one nail for a fun pop of color/print. Zebra print + Black polish is a cool combo.

The verdict? I love these!

Purchase at your local drugstore, grocery store or walmart

Influenster Spring Beauty voxbox loot: #1 Sheer Cover concealer

2012-06-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

This is the first of several mini-reviews of wonderful products I received in my Influenster Spring Beauty voxbox. These products were sent to me for free for review purposes, and these opinions are 100% my own.

I decided my first mini-review will be of the Sheer Cover duo concealer because honestly this was the product I was the MOST excited about. I really have wanted to try Sheer Cover for awhile. I have a few skin issues from time to time and I like a concealer that offers heavy coverage without looking cake-y or too greasy. I also find that concealers are usually hard to match to my paler complexion. I was happy to put this one to the test.

I have used my Sheer Cover duo concealer alone for just light coverage, with foundation, and applied heavily to cover a tattoo. Here's the verdict: I found it light, and very blendable. I liked that you get two unique shades which can then be mixed to create unique shades for better color matching. I thought it was easiest to apply with fingers or a concealer brush with softer bristles. I love this for under eye circles, acne scarring, discolorations, and skin redness. I probably would not use this to cover a tattoo however because of how much product you end up using. Sheer Cover is something I would purchase for my personal use and my MUA kit because of it's versatility. Overall I was impressed with this product, and will be getting more.

I used my Sheer Cover duo concealer in light/medium set with powder and no foundation.

You can purchase Sheer Cover at www.SheerCover.com or by calling 1-877-489-2035

Abigail's Crafty Mom: June-Iversary Giveaway.

2012-06-03T14:53:00.001-07:00

Abigail's Crafty Mom: June-Iversary Giveaway.:

House Bill 4574: Making Makeup Artistry in Michigan a legal trade?

2012-04-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

On April 21st, a bill was introduced by Rep. Walsh and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform to amend the previous occupational code 1980 PA 299 which defines makeup artistry from cosmetology. The supposed purpose of this is to make makeup artistry a legal trade in Michigan.

The petition for this bill, started by Lisa Glickoff of Astute Artistry, states:

"This proposed Bill was introduced to amend the current laws about Cosmetologists vs. being a Makeup Artist. House Bill No. 4574 proposes why it is important to separate both fields. As many of you know, you do not need a license to be a Makeup Artist in Michigan. This Bill would open more doors for Makeup Artists to reach their full potential. It will recognize makeup artistry as a legal TRADE and give you the opportunity to become CERTIFIED through the state of Michigan! It will also give you the opportunity to receive FINANCIAL AID through the state of Michigan to pay for your schooling!
For many of you that have been on our prospect student list for several years, this will finally give you the support to start pursuing your DREAMS!

This new Proposed Bill Supports Makeup Artists as Independent Professionals and does not tie them in with Cosmetologists and Estheticians.

How can you help?

Students and Fellow Makeup Artists can help by Writing, Calling OR E-mailing to the following State Rep. Hugh Crawford. He is in charge of this proposed Bill change. You are encouraged to explain why this bill would personally benefit YOU as a makeup artist, someone who loves makeup, or anyone that is in the hair/skin/movie/photography or beauty industry at all."

I was curious to find out what that actually meant for already established, and aspiring makeup artists working right now in my home state. I needed to know if this bill would effect people like me who are self-taught and gain most of their knowledge and experience through things like trade work or apprenticing. Finding the answers wasn't exactly as easy as I had anticipated. It seemed like there was something a little controversial going on..but no one really wanted to address it. Why wouldn't we want a bill that would make it easier for people who wanted to better their skills? Why wouldn't we want to go to a makeup trade school in Michigan as opposed to having to pay more to go out of state? I had been considering taking a few classes myself recently, and while I must say I was taken aback by the tuition costs, I did not see any immediate red flags there. I am fairly new in this industry and boy let me tell you..I have A LOT to learn.

I wanted to find out first of all why people in the industry opposed this bill. Established Michigan makeup artist Andrea Duchesneau was kind enough to break it down for me.

"The basic premise of the bill as making Makeup Artistry a "Legal Trade" is not what the issue is, it's how they are seeking to do it. " She says.

" A large number of artists here are operating by technical standards "illegally" by not being "licensed" as "estheticians". This has always been a bit of a sore spot for most artists because an esthetician is someone who does Facial and Body Waxing, which largely has NOTHING to do with what we do. So many feel that it's a complete waste of time and money to go to school for 600 hours and spend $5k or more for an education that largely does them no good. This is really the only law that exists on the books, and "makeup artistry" isn't even really clearly defined in it either. There has never been anything done to enforce it though apart from people working in salons. So in other words, those who do primarily on-location work (production related or otherwise), have largely operated by getting educated out of state at legit schools or assisting, and then working on location without formal licensing recognized here unless they also want to work in a salon. The state, while aware of it I'm sure, has done nothing to police it (probably because of $$) and has pretty much not cared unless someone is in a salon. What is sad about the situation is that many extremely talented and legit artists (who have been trained at very legit schools elsewhere, assisted, or who were self-taught) are largely 100x more trained than the average esthetician coming out of school. So it's understandably viewed as unfair to the majority of artists (who aren't licensed) that they are discredited simply because they don't have a license in something that largely doesn't even relate to makeup!

My trade (especially from the production standpoint) traditionally has always worked by the "Old Hollywood" standard of apprenticing, "paying your dues", and working your way up the latter to gain experience and credibility. This system for the most part has always worked quite well, and no one has really felt the need to start imposing restrictions on people. It's always been a much more efficient way of learning anyway, because largely artistic skill is picked up through experience and practice (and natural talent of course). The business end is largely best understood by firsthand experience which is why apprenticing works so well. The only true liability to the public from an artist is product safety and sanitation, the latter of which is the only one that remains a true issue because the FDA regulates products so much. Really the only makeup specialities that NEED "schools" are spfx (because of how complex that is), however even that is something many artists still choose to learn through apprenticing or workshops.

Now going back to schools. Do I think schools are a BAD thing? No, not necessarily. I went to one of the best makeup schools in the entire WORLD and it was amazing. I came out of the program with a 5 star education that gave me a huge advantage then simply assisting or working my way up the latter on my own. However, not ALL schools are held to the same standard or provide the same education level because they and their educators aren't "regulated" by the state."

The main issues with the bill itself deal with the fact that it does not allow 'Grandfathering in' for already established artists. There is no other way to gain certification through apprenticing or otherwise. This is kinda bad because that would mean somebody with a lot of expierience would basically have to take full programs the same way somebody just starting out would. The other problem is that with no clear state licensing requirements or requirements on course content you may not be getting an education that will actually prepare you to work in the field. There is no separation between consumer makeup and production makeup- and that is a major red flag for me there. These all seem like fundamental problems for me as a matter of fact. It seems like these trade schools (currently there are only 2 in Michigan, Astute Artistry and Michigan Makeup Academy) would be able to charge students a higher tuition (financial aid, remember?) for education from an instructor who may not have much more knowledge than themselves! I know that I don't have the time or money to waste on bogus training. If I am paying $25k for a year of education it better be from somebody who has had YEARS worth of hands-on experience and first hand knowledge. Period.

I tried to get some sort of personal statement from Lisa on this matter because I felt that since she is the one proposing this bill that she would be the #1 person to talk to about it. I assumed that this was a good opportunity to stand up for her views and perhaps counter some of the backlash. I guess not? After about 2 weeks, several facebook conversations, and a cancelled phone interview- I received an email response to the questions i'd asked her. Except that instead of using my questions she simply forwarded me an email that she sent to another makeup artist. I'm just keeping it real here folks. I don't really feel comfortable quoting too much of an email that was not even addressed to me, but here are a few key points Lisa makes:

1."This bill is needed for makeup artists existing or those wanting to become an artist for many different reasons. First of all the bill I proposed was very simple.....To allow makeup artists to work anywhere with no regulations in Michigan and to be noticed as an artist without having to become a cosmetologist in this state. However, if you have never proposed a bill before than you or anyone else would not understand that it is not myself who wrote the bill but the politicians and their lawyers who picked it up."

2. "Legally in Michigan you must have the intent to sell retail in order to practice as an artist in this state. Without that intent you have to be a cosmetologist. That leaves all of the working artists in Michigan at risk of violating this law, unless they are working dept. stores or boutiques that carry retail. Does this make sense to you? I am fighting for the artists in this community and they are fighting against me."

3. " If anyone who opposes actually did their homework they would not feel so misinformed. All of the info is at their fingertips to research. As far as my personal experience I have a website coming out with my past 22 years of experience as an artist, just to name a few things working in your hometown at [edited for privacy] and more across the states and overseas. As far as my licensing I am a licensed esthetician trained in Paris for 6 mos. Beyond working for a dozen makeup companies from account executive to national and international artist to working at the Oscars in 2006. I have touched dozens of famous faces. My movie experience is with Independent films over the past 10 years. I have taken numerous courses over the years and also just have an immense gift. As far as my special f/x education I have had many mentors over the years and am fluent in live casting, alginate casting and most recently have used my superb skills to make silicone patches for burn victims and cancer patients. I have held dozens and worked more than I can count on fashion shows, local editorial, and my high profile clientele here in Detroit are many . You see I am only explaining this to you because of all of the pettiness out there and frankly, I am so sick of it. I have trained over 500 artists in Detroit,"

This is all fine and well, but no the information was NOT at my fingertips. I DID do my homework, believe me. It took quite a bit of digging to make myself informed on this very topic- and I still feel as if I have only really scratched the surface. I am not sure if I can support this bill in it's current form because it could put people just like me out of work..at least until they have the time/money to get certified. I do think however that the idea behind the bill is a good one. There should be updated legislature in Michigan that protects makeup artists by separating our trade from cosmetology. Is House Bill 4574 going to do that for those of us here in the mitten state? Not until it's amended to include some points that will cover our already established artists, as well as people who do makeup for smaller events (like body painting at nightclubs, facepainting,glitter tattoos, ect). I also think clear regulations need to be put into place as to who is qualified to teach these courses, and what curriculum they have to cover. Trade schools need to be mindful regarding quality over quantity when they are putting these new artists out into the already crowded work force. Everyone should be able to follow their dreams of becoming a makeup artist in this wonderful state- I just don't think there should be only one way to go about doing that.

-K

Caboodle Ranch FAQ- CaboodleRanch.net (UPDATED)

2012-04-11T18:49:00.001-07:00

If you're a regular reader of my blog please be sure to check out the following previous posts regarding this situation HERE and HERE first for more information. Also be sure to read www.caboodleranch.net for up to date case information.

Flounce cats: caboodle ranch edition

I've gone back and forth about making another post on this subject here on my makeup blog. I feel like the vast majority of my posts should be about makeup, and that some people probably aren't super interested in my personal life (which is okay!). I feel though- as if I have some responsibility not only to stand up for myself publicly, but keep my readers sort of updated about this topic I've already discussed several times.

If you're a new reader I bet I can guess where you came from and who sent you here.

I also bet I can guess who sent you to my facebook, google+ account, fan page, and *snicker* some old textnovel account. Yeah, I'm not even kidding unfortunately. It sounds very naive, but up until now it never occurred to me that my involvement in the beauty community has made some of my personal information more accessible. Mostly people use that information to ask me a question or to do a review or some other totally innocuous reason.

I KNEW I'd face some negative attention from these people for my opinions (and I have since 2009). I can't be too angry that I've received backlash when I've put myself in the line of fire. But on the other hand I think some of these Pro-Caboodle Ranch people don't have a very clear sense of appropriate boundaries.

I expected a bunch of youtube comments to spill over on to my other videos at the very worst. I didn't think i'd have to pull my phone number and location information off of all the websites relating only to my makeup work. I didn't think some hack radiologist from South Lake Tahoe CA (who incidentally is also a furry... oh the things one can find out on the internets...) would use clips of my videos in his disturbing documentaries.

Here is just a few examples of what I've had to put up with:

Caboodle Ranch Lynching- "documentary" version 2 ( Now removed)

Caboodle Ranch Lynching- version 1 (Now removed)

and another video: At Caboodle Ranch They Had a Chance (also featuring me.. I feel so special) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-2xxy6sCNI&feature=share (new link - video reuploaded)

Just one of the many colorful posts allowed on Caboodle Ranch Inc. Fan page.

Still shot from "Caboodle Ranch Lynching".

I've never dropped off cats at Caboodle Ranch. I've been advising people to NOT drop off cats since 2009-2010.

It's really easy to harass people when you can hide behind fake names and cartoon avatars, isn't it?

Yo dawg..I luv your inaccurate statement by Peta!

If anyone wants to purchase my face jewelry I'll be sure to donate the profits to Craig & Nanette's legal fees.

OMG they know my secret!!!!

From what I've gathered from all their comments and videos this is a pretty accurate description of how Caboodle Ranch Inc. views me. LOL

I am tired of addressing these issues over and over again with unreasonable people, soo these are some misconceptions I'd like to clear up for those particular people once and for all:

1. I am not affiliated with Peta. I have never been affiliated with, employed by, volunteered for, or been an investigator for Peta. I was NOT the undercover investigator in this case. By spreading a rumor like that you are making me a target for anti-Peta extremists. That is exactly why undercover investigators remain anonymous. Giving out my information and telling people to do with it what they will is highly irresponsible.

2. I am not even a Peta supporter. I side with them on many topics involving animal rights, but I do not usually agree with how they choose to deal with those problems. In this case, I agree with their very limited involvement. I think anyone questioning Peta's euthanasia statistics needs to first do some research on the organization. A lot of Peta's work involves euthanizing critically injured/terminally ill pets whose owners cannot afford to take them to a vet to do so. Euthanasia to prevent suffering is a very sad part of pet ownership and animal rescue. You cannot save every animal, and to let an animal with no chance of recovery suffer is animal cruelty.

I wish I could live in a pretend wonderland like Craig Grant- where all cats need is cute little playhouses and no cat ever is sick/injured enough to be euthed. But unfortunately I do not.

3. I do support the ASPCA and the HSUS- however- I am not an employee or associated with them in any way. Nor is anyone I am involved with. My involvement with the HSUS is limited to volunteering to walk dogs from time to time :)

4. "What do you know about Caboodle Ranch? You've never been there.".

Nope, and neither have most of the Caboodle Ranch supporters from China, Japan and Germany. What I know about Caboodle Ranch is that when I came to them in 2009 with questions about how their sanctuary was run I was told to stop asking those questions. I met a lot of other people with the exact same questions. So we've been researching the ranch ever since..and in that time have learned more than we ever cared to know. I cannot just turn a blind eye to cold hard facts like some people choose to do. No one person can take in an unlimited amount of cats without adopting any out, or having a dedicated staff & on-site medical facility. Even if you overlook every other single fact in this whole case there is no getting around that one. Hmm..I think there's a term for that......oh yeah, I believe it's called common sense.

5. "You just want attention."

Yes, I love death threats and other random crazyness. No, actually I just wanted to bring some attention to this cause. It's safe to say I succeeded in doing that. We as a society utilize social media websites such as Youtube all the time to talk about all sorts of events in the media, as well as our personal lives. I figured it would be the fastest way to make the public aware that there was a side to Caboodle Ranch they weren't going to see from Madison Voice's staged videos. I've received many private messages from neighbors, former supporters, and from people who were going to take cats to Caboodle Ranch but then changed their mind after seeing that video. That is exactly the reason I made them. If Craig Grant has nothing to hide my personal opinions should be of no interest to him.

6. "What is your gain in this?"

Nothing. I just would like Madison county to stop harboring this hoarder who is doing a lot of harm to their community. I would like these cats to be placed in either real sanctuaries or in suitable adoptive homes. I would like this to not be allowed to reoccur ever again. I would definitely like the animal control officer working in this case to be fired. There is no personal gain for me here. And honestly even if every single one of these things happens there really will be no real sense of satisfaction. Hundreds of cats died horrible deaths at Caboodle Ranch before the raid and nothing can ever make up for that. Good people were lied to and swindled out of their money thinking they were leaving their cats somewhere wonderful. It's not going to be a happy-ending situation any way you wanna slice it.

7. "What have you done to help cats? You're a cat killer"

I would love to tell you all about my background in rescue, but since you're a bunch of unstable nuts I can't afford to give out that information. What I will tell you is that I have fostered since I was 20 years old, I currently have 3 cats who were rescued off of 'death row' from animal control, and I've been involved in the 'clean-up' of 2 hoarder situations in my state. One of those hoarder situations haunts me to this very day and is the reason I feel so very strongly about Caboodle Ranch and all other out of control hoarding situations.

Since I am a big fan of putting my money where my mouth is.. This is a picture of the last kitten I fostered, Spike. He came to me with a warble embedded in his eye,a URI, and he and was in pretty poor shape. Now he's a happy, healthy boy. (He's still up for adoption- feel free to contact me about him if you aren't crazy)

8. "What can I do to help?"

Well for starters you can donate to the many wonderful legitimate organizations and rescues helping with the care of these cats who have been confiscated. I'll list a link for each one. Other than that you can keep yourself informed by going to CaboodleRanch.net or join the conversation HERE

Atlanta Humane Society

Bay Area Disaster Relief

Cat Depot

Florida State Animal Response Coalition

Good Mews Animal Foundation

Humane Society of Broward County

International Fund for Animal Welfare

McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center

PetSmart Charities, Inc. (Phoenix, Ariz)

RedRover

There you have it all in black and white. In the future I hope these people will either stop harassing me (and everyone else involved) or address their concerns directly in a less abrasive manner. There's always a price to pay for speaking out against situations like this one... but it's usually worth it.

-Kaitlyn

[Update]

The documentaries of Dr.Howard Friedman have now been taken down (but I do have copies saved). The youtube link has been reuploaded in a way so that I could not embed it here conveniently. The link however is still working.

Urban Style Look Book- Spring '12

2012-03-31T02:14:00.001-07:00

I wanted to do something a little different for this blog post than my usual so I grabbed my makeup, and a great photographer and we went on a little adventure in the city.

I am definitely no model let me tell you........ but I thought it would be interesting to have somebody else taking the photos for once. If anything it gave me more respect for what models do because I think it's totally weird and awkward to pose and such things ;) Nevertheless I thought i'd show off a few of my favorite makeup and clothing looks for this spring.

If you are looking for a photographer in Northern Ohio/Southern Michigan please contact my friend Melissa of Melissa Graden Photography HERE and check out her super cute boutique HERE

All photos taken by/property of Melissa Graden

Smokey eye with a pop of spring color- Abigail's Boutique Designs cosmetics

Ultra feminine jewelry-by: Jujubeads Jewelry & Addie LaDawn

Dress: H&M

Organized chaos

The Glitter Blog does not respect your authority ;)

Bright lips/lids for spring <3 Abigail's Boutique Designs cosmetics, Pretty Addictions cosmetics (blush, illuminator) Jujubeads Jewelry,

Can you guess what city I'm in?

Makeup Fairyz Review

2012-03-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of trying out a few samples of different products from Makeup Fairyz.

Cherries ala mode, Teena Marie, Pecan Sandies

I'd like to start off this review by mentioning that this is a VERY new company that has only been open about 6 months. I'm sure as time goes on they may decide to tweak some formulations and make other changes so please be aware that this is my review of how things are at this moment. I think this is a pretty unique business, and I look forward to watching them grow as time progresses..

The other thing I would like to mention is that my post office just destroyed this envelope. It was taped really good with some sort of decorative duct tape and the whole bottom of the envelope was still ripped open so I'm not sure what the heck happened to it. I do not think I lost any samples, but some of them got a little scrunched up and the names wore off. I really cannot comment much on the presentation of the products just due to the fact that I don't think that's an accurate representation of what a customer usually gets. I'm also unsure of the names of a few of the products because of that same situation. Please bare with me here lol.

L-R: Willow, Party Animal creme shadow, Smurfberry Souffle, Fair Maidenz creme shadow, Teena Marie, Cherries Ala Mode, Pecan Sandies, Cinnamon lip slickz?, A purple creme shadow?, and Bad Gurlz Browniez scented lotion & solid perfume

1. Bad Gurlz Browniez Scented lotion & solid perfume:

First of all I absolutely love the Bad Gurlz Browniez scent. It is a rich chocolate fudge brownie scent mixed with a hint of sharp organic cannabis. What I like about this scent is that the chocolate smell doesn't smell fake or cheap. I am usually very picky about fragrances that use hints of chocolate because to me sometimes it smells like plastic or something. This definitely smells rich and exotic. I also like how long lasting the scent is without being overpowering. I sometimes have trouble with heavily scented lotions due to my super sensitive skin. I was really impressed that Bad Gurl Browniez didn't irritate my skin at ALL and was actually very moisturizing. I like these two layered for a fragrance that lasts 6+ hours. These both came in clamshells, but I do believe the lotion is now available in a large size along with some other yummy scented lotions.

2. Fairyz Dusts:

I enjoyed all the dry fairyz dust colors very much. I especially love how vibrant Cherries ala mode is. Willow is just a tad bit pinker and less sparkly but the two photograph very similar. I thought the overall quality and pigmentation of all of them were very good. I think a few of the more pigmented colors could possible stand to be a tad bit more blendable. I think for a new company the shade range they have is pretty unique and fun.

3. Creme Shadows/slickz

Now all of these say they are lip safe except the one I couldn't read so I am assuming that these double as a lip color as well. At least I hope so..because I tried them all on my lips lol. I LOVE the party animal shade not only as a creme eyeshadow but definitely as a lip gloss as well. It's a very bright Barbie pink with tons of silver glitter throughout. Fair Maidenz is a creamy metallic brown shade and also looks nice on lips as well as eyes. I believe the gold colored creme is actually lip slickz cinnamon lip plumper. I am not sure how much plumper it makes my lips look but the gold shimmer is gorgeous alone or over lip stick. I really enjoyed all three of these and would purchase full size versions for sure. I think the texture and consistency of these is just perfection. Party Animal is filled with glitter and isn't gritty at ALL. I like these a lot.

Overall my first impression of the Makeup Fairyz is a good one. I like their creative style and friendly down to earth approach to their business. The owner seems very sociable, and like you could probably easily come to her if you had any issues with an order. I've heard lots of great things about her customer service from others as well. A lot of products are only available in clamshells or sample sizes but I think that is something that's in the process of changing. Their prices & shipping seem reasonable for their quality. I would definitely purchase full size versions of most of the products I tried.

Pecan Sandies, Cherries ala mode, Teena Marie

Party Animal as lip gloss

You can get your makeup fairyz HERE and HERE :)

Are you loving their bright reds or what???

Four Eyez: Colored contact lens e-store review

2012-03-19T23:58:00.001-07:00

As you already know I am quite a fan of not only circle lenses, but regular colored lenses as well as the theatrical type crazy lenses. Recently I have been searching for a few new places to order colored lenses from when I came across FourEyez.com.

I was immediately impressed with their selection of lenses I have never seen before. Let me tell you.. I have been buying contacts for years and most shops carry exactly the same things. Not this one. I absolutely love their Terminator inspired line of lenses, as well as the very cool selection of mesh pupil lenses. Even better than the selection is the fact that each and every single pair of lenses has a short video to showcase what the lens looks like in a real eye. I find this very helpful in picking out lenses that will work with my eye color, and gives me a really good idea of how the lens will look on me.

What's even better than their selection and videos? The prices. Four Eyez is out of the UK so lenses usually run anywhere between €12-€19 or about $15-$30 for us Americans ;) Each pair comes with a free mystery pair of daily lenses. I thought this was way too good to be true.. but it is! I ended up getting crazy shamrock lenses with my order and I was almost as excited about those as I was the pair I actually paid for. Did I mention shipping is also free? Not only is it free, but they are FAST. I received my order in exactly 6 days from the time I paid.

I ended up ordering THIS style called "Fusion Violet-Grey'. A lot of times companies will alter their photos to make colors pop thus you end up getting lenses that are disappointing in real life. Not this store. These lenses actually are a lot cooler than this photo or video would lead you to believe. They are probably one of the favorite designs I've ordered from anywhere. The violet inner ring is very intense yet these lenses are still subtle enough to wear just about anywhere. They are very moist, and fit comfortably during wear.

Fusion violet-grey

The daily lenses I received were also super cool although unfortunately they do not fit me comfortably AT ALL. Some crazy lenses just do not work for me for some reason so I do not feel this is a factory defect or other flaw in the lens themselves. I did wear them shortly, however, and was impressed with their opacity and overall design. I am so sad these don't work for me but I totally can't complain over the amazing free style they sent me! Like I said.. some of these just don't work on me but you can get your Lucky clover lenses HERE

the full st. pat's look lol

In total I spent $21 for 2 pairs of lenses that shipped internationally in less than a week. You better believe that I highly recommend this shop, and will be a repeat customer. I will be reviewing more lenses from this shop in the future so if you have any special requests for ones you'd like to see reviewed please link me in the comments :D

You can find the violet-grey and much more available at Four Eyez

HOT TOPIC: Junkyard Prophet preaches "virtue" to public school girls via intimidation

2012-03-12T19:30:00.002-07:00

Huh????

As you may have read on my fan page today I am starting a new little section to this blog that focuses on topics in the media involving body image, women's rights, self esteem, and young women's issues. I have some really cool posts lined up so far and would LOVE for others to submit some guest posts. If this interests you please shoot me an email at theglitterblog@yahoo.com.

This is (obviously) the first post in that series. I was actually going to write about cyber bullying and other abhorrent behavior that's been going on within the beauty community lately. But this topic really isn't so different..because it indeed deal with bullies of a much grander scale.

As you may or may not have read in the news yesterday, a public school in Dunkerton Iowa hired "Christian Rap-Core" (eh??) band Junkyard Prophet to perform an assembly at their school last week. Instead of the expected positive messages about anti-violence, anti-bullying, and anti-drugs students were bombarded with a totally different agenda. One that included pictures of aborted fetuses, anti-gay hate speech, and a very special lesson for the girls telling them to remain virtuous, pure and to "save themselves for their husbands and assume a submissive role in the household. According to witnesses, the leader in that effort also forced the young ladies to chant a manta of sorts about remaining pure."

“I’ve never had so many young women come up to me crying because of what was said to them. They were bullied by these people and forced to sit there and told to be quiet,” Manahl said.

Students were separated into 3 groups: Boys, Girls, and Faculty. Why nobody saw that as a red flag is totally beyond my comprehension. It is reported that students and faculty who tried to leave or disagreed with their radical message were shouted at, bullied, and intimidated by these people.

"Steve Phelan, an English teacher, said the leader in his group chastised the faculty for being disrespectful."Then he probably spent five or 10 minutes shouting at us about what we should believe," Phelan said. Four members of the faculty walked out. Phelan did not.

"I was upset, but I stayed to fight," he said.

Say whaaat???

Now let's just try to ignore the fact that a PUBLIC school paid $1,500-$2,000 of taxpayers money to hire a known Anti-gay hate group to perform at their school. Let's also ignore the fact that the superintendent could have simply google'd them and come across their hateful material. I'd like to think that we all know that is totally unacceptable. Let's just focus on one small aspect that might not seem as damaging as the rest of their harmful messages. "Virtue Class".

Now compared to in your face bigotry a message about virtue seems pretty positive. Virtue is defined as "Behavior showing high moral standards" and "A quality considered morally good or desirable in a person". When I think of virtue the things that come to my mind are: Being tolerant of others, Being honest in your words and actions, Being true to yourself, Being kind and loyal to those whom you love, Being a good a citizen in your community, and just generally not doing bad things. From what I gathered from the hour long watered-down online recorded version of virtueclass available here is that being virtuous means: Abstinence, No dating without the intention of marriage, No idolatry (no looking up to celebrities or public figures), Modesty, and looking good to please your husband??? They also aren't big fans of makeup *smirk*.

While I do not agree with abstinence-only teaching in schools.. that isn't really what bothers me here. What bothers me is how these people go about "teaching" these girls. From what I understand the program includes role-plays such as this:

A girl is made to put on a fake veil and wedding dress. Then she is told that today is her wedding day, and then she is told that because she's had other boyfriends in the past and lustful thoughts..she has to put black spots all over dress. And that if you aren't a virgin when you get married there is mud on your wedding dress.

A blind-folded girl put makeup on another teenage girl to represent the evils of looking up to celebrities and "The blind leading the blind".

Includes having girls chant "My husband is going to want to eat". And discourages girls from "letting themselves go" and "getting fat" once they get married. "No man wants a fat heifer" claims the speaker.

They are also made to look at VERY graphic photos of aborted fetuses.

There is no message like this for the male students.. it seems there is a bit of a double standard going on here. It seems very extreme, and intimidating to give these types of harmful messages to vulnerable young girls in their teenage years. It is unrealistic to expect every teenage girl to not only remain a virgin until marriage, but remain "pure of heart" and not "think lustful thoughts". This includes no kissing and no boyfriends. Condemning teens for their sexuality at an awkward time in their lives is not helpful to anyone. Neither is telling them to be submissive to their fathers and future husbands. It especially isn't positive to tell girls that vanity is evil unless you are trying to look good for your husband. It isn't a positive message at all. And it sure as hell does not belong at a public school assembly. These people not only are very anti-gay, they seem to be very anti-women as well. I went to the source to get the ministry's own opinion.
After deleting around 7-8 inquires i'd written on their facebook fan page (And telling me to "Go to bed" repeatedly) they initially agreed to answer some questions about what in their words went on at that assembly. They however chose to side-step my questions and gave a few vague and quite frankly rude responses before deleting my questions yet again and banning me from commenting further.

Some gems from this conversation can be read below. I cut out a lot of the un-related comments to make it easier to follow. Please note that this is AFTER they erased many of my questions, told me to go to bed repeatedly, and then finally agreed to answer my questions:

They never answered my question at all. I DID listen to both versions of VirtueClass (which are slightly different, I might add) I just wanted to know if the exact same material was taught to those girls which only required a yes or no answer. I would still love to hear how that situation was taken out of context but I do not expect further comment on the situation at this time.

Regardless of your stance on religion.. would you be comfortable having these people come preach this non-sense to YOUR daughters at a public school assembly or otherwise? Do you think their views on women are especially harmful to teenage girls or is it really no big deal? I'd like to hear YOUR opinions on the matter.

Media links here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/junkyard-prophet-anti-gay-iowa-high-school_n_1340228.html

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/dunkerton-high-school-assembly-stirs-protest/article_0f8c258b-2acd-5c64-bbb4-c7cb34fc22f6.html

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/iowa-school-hires-hate-group-to-preach-against-abortion-and-gay-marriage/discrimination/2012/03/11/36169

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/prophet-eyes-a-second-visit-to-dunkerton/article_159e75de-6af4-5527-93d6-54ec9614d8e7.html#ixzz1otQiuBZR

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/update-junkyard-prophet-ministry-group-to-return-today-for-conversation/article_ddc50c20-6c5e-11e1-a127-001871e3ce6c.html

http://marktindall.blogspot.com/2012/03/homophobic-jesus-jinglers-junkyard.html?spref=fb

The past 2 weeks..

2012-03-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Thank you ASPCA!!!

I was trying really hard to avoid going into all of this on my makeup page or blog.

Since my blog(and thus this page) and my Youtube channel are connected some commentary about *this* situation may spill over onto here. I haven't seen any yet except for on YT, but I felt like I should probably just clue you all in to what is currently going on just in case. Anyone who is a YT subscriber of mine may have already noticed some comments on this subject on my channel or latest video.

To summarize for those who don't feel like reading the news article: Caboodle Ranch is (was) a large scale cat hoarder who operated under the guise of being a wonderful 501c3 non-profit rescue & sanctuary for cats. In reality it was little more than a concentration camp for cats. He never adopted out a single cat, never kept medical records, didn't allow volunteers, no spay/neuter programs in place, not enough proper medical care or disease prevention, no protection from predators, no proper disposal of deceased cats, no euthanasia for suffering, dying cats, filthy conditions... the list is endless. Last Monday it was finally raided by PETA and the ASPCA in the largest seizure of cats from one location in the ASPCA's history.

How did I get involved in all this you ask?

By opening my big, fat mouth of course.

When I found out about Caboodle Ranch I was immediately suspicious of how one man could take care of 700+ cats with very little outside help. And upon asking several questions to the owners of this ranch, it was very clear that something was really wrong. And when something is REALLY wrong I do what I can about it. And the only thing I could do was email a lot of organizations, talk to experts, and take to social media to get my message out there. It turned out that I was not alone in this, and that actually there was a lot of evidence to back up my suspicions. I made a series of Youtube videos that were viewed by a lot of people involved (including animal planet) either directly or indirectly and garnered some negative attention for Caboodle. That is my only role in this story. But it has been enough for Caboodle Ranch supporters to harass me since that first video (which I took down when Nanette Entriken threatened to sue me). I never expected a video, and some random activism to turn into such a big part of my life these past couple of years, but it has. I am just a blogger.

So that's why my posting has been so flaky and erratic the past 2 weeks. That's why @Patricia is helping out on admin (Thanks so much!). And that's why I have not had time to enter a lot of your contests that I want to, and haven't interacted a lot. Things WILL settle down soon. It's just been crazy the past few weeks first with my Grandpa passing away, and then this and some other personal stuff. Just bare with me for now and when all this craziness is FINALLY over I WILL be having my amazing 500 fans/1 year Bloggiversary giveaway i've been promising to you. If anyone has any questions about any of this just feel free to ask. If you do see negative comments here just report them and ignore them.

Thank you for understanding!
♥- Kaitlyn

For more info on Caboodle Ranch's seizure please see the following:

This is the video that got me into trouble lol

http://www.aspca.org/Blog/caboodle-ranch.aspx

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Caboodle_Ranch_Cat_Sanctuary_Operator_Faces_Cruelty_Charges_140581263.html#.T0vJjy7NWN0.facebook

http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/peta-investigation-shuts-down-caboodle-ranch.html

Donate here

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Caboodle-Ranch-owner-denies-allegations/-/475880/9210152/-/sjhswp/-/index.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_322639001118787_3787226_322680017781352

Jacksonville news

I'm falling in love....

2012-02-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

....With these special edition items from my favorite indie shops. What did you think I meant? ;)

Anyways I am SO not into cheesy hallmark holidays, but I do like makeup and pink girly stuff so I thought a lot of the limited edition stuff was worthwhile this year. I've already reviewed Ragdoll's Bath & Beauty's Conversation Hearts collection-which was spectacular. So I figured I would briefly cover a few more things that I received lately and really loved.

1. Pretty Addictions's I Love You set/Sweetie Pie collection

The set includes 4 eyes shadow colors, a blush, and a luminizing powder. All of it came packaged in an adorable tinsel filled hard plastic heart. All of the eye shadows came in 5g jars without sifters while the luminizer was in a slightly smaller jar (3g I believe?) with a sifter, and the blush comes in a generous 10g jar with a sifter. The colors are all very finely blended, and super pigmented (especially the blush!!). The colors included in this set are:

1. Coconut Cream- A pure bright white with just a hint of shimmer.

2. Strawberry Cream- A shimmery pastel strawberry milkshake pink.

3. Banana Cream- A pale creamy yellow.

4. Choco cherry Cheesecake- a shimmery dark brown filled with red and gold glitter. My favorite of the bunch!

5.Shattered pearls luminizer- A gorgeous pinkish white shimmery highlighter. Think benefit highbeam in powder form.

6. Sex kitten (blush)- A HOT pink with blue undertones, and iridescent blue glitter. MUST SEE.

I was so impressed by the pigmentation of all the colors for starters. Pastel colors are kind of hit and miss for me, and these ones were definitely a hit. I am absolutely in love with the shattered pearls, and the blush. It really doesn't look like a wearable blush shade at first lol. GO EASY with your application and you'll be fine though. Pretty Addictions is a company I am fairly new to shopping with but I have to admit I am already a big fan. I plan to do a more in-depth full review of this shop at some point soon but this should give you a little taste of how wonderful their products are. :)

love this blush..no really, I do

2. JujuBead's Jewelry Valentine's day set #1

Jujubead's Jewelry tends to offer little combination sets from time to time and they are always a great deal. This one is particularly cute. It comes with 2 limited edition pieces of makeup (an eye shadow and tinted lip balm) and a pair of delicate crystal heart earrings embellished with tiny silver bows. Um..I seriously think I liked the cute box for the earrings as much as the earrings themselves lol. Juli is the queen of cute packaging! All of it comes wrapped perfectly in a small decorated organza bag.

The eye shadow is a pale rose pink with an antique gold shift. It is probably one of the most gorgeous pinks I currently own. Mixed with a small amount of clear gloss or balm, this makes quite a pretty lip gloss color as well. The tinted balm in this set is a super shimmery pinkish nude called "Secret Admirer". I am addicted to this balm and I am hoping she mite consider keeping this one around for while. I really like how pigmented it is without being dry or thick feeling. The sugared strawberry and white chocolate scent is very pleasant and almost smells like a real fresh strawberry. The earrings as always are beautifully crafted and one of a kind. The sweet bows combined with the fuchsia crystals are so feminine and almost have a lolita flair to them.

Juju never disappoints!

omg look at the tiny cute box!

3. Abigail's Boutique Designs Satin Sheets wickless candle

Okay, so you're probably like "Wait, this isn't makeup....". And no it's not makeup but let's not forget that Abigail's Boutique Designs does so much more than just make great mineral makeup. You may or may not be aware of this...but Robyn makes the best smelling candles on Earth. I don't know what she does special nor do I care. All I know is that her scents are beyond amazing. Forget about Scentsy forever and just get yourself one of these wickless candles.

I didn't really know very much about wickless candles previously in all honesty.

They are actually a lot cleaner, and safer than traditional candles. Just heat them up in the appropriate candle warmer and in minutes your entire house will be filled with your chosen scent. This limited edition scent is really hard to describe. It's kind of clean, floral, and almost powder scented? It smells soooo good. I thought the little heart in the middle was a cute touch too. This candle came in a square glass jar, and was packaged in a very pretty decorated box. It is a pretty big candle and i've already used it a few times without even making a dent out of it. I imagine these last quite awhile. I definitely am going to need to get more of these candles in different scents.

Annnd of course you know AbbyGirl has a special mini-collection called Urban Valentine out as well :)

You can check out these shops for yourself at the following links:

Pretty Addictions

JujuBead's Jewelry

Abigail's Boutique Designs

<3- Kaitlyn

RagDoll's Bath & Beauty: Conversation Hearts collection

2012-01-31T22:04:00.000-08:00

Soul Mate, Too Cute, and XoXo

Ragdoll's Bath & Beauty has done it again. Another gorgeous, unique and totally fun holiday collection!

The Conversation Hearts collection is a sweet candy-themed collection consisting of 6 pastel colors. They match the color of the real candy conversation hearts perfectly. These colors are as always very bright and vibrant! While a few of them look pretty matte, they indeed have a very subtle shimmer. I would say these are less matte than the Halloween collection, but I do like their soft shimmer. In my opinion these are SLIGHTLY less blendable than some of RDBB's past collections but these still all apply very smoothly. I really really like these when applied over NYX white eyeshadow base. The base tends to really grab onto the pigments and keep them super bright all day long. These colors stayed on me very well with minimal fading or creasing as the day wore on. For a softer pastel look simple use them dry over a good primer and blend away.

The Conversation Hearts Collection includes six of the following shades:

Soul Mate: A gorgeous soft lavender with subtle shimmer.
XoXo: A bright sunny yellow with subtle shimmer.
Too Cute: A minty seafoam green with subtle shimmer.
True Love: A pure white with very subtle shimmer.
Kiss Me: A vibrant sherbert orange with subtle shimmer.
Be Mine: A bright rose pink with very subtle shimmer.

Dry no primer natural lighting

I would try to narrow it down to my favorite shade, but honestly I love them all. Kiss Me is probably the most unique of the bunch (I so do not have an pastel orange like this in my collection). These aren't your typical everyday colors but they are all surprisingly wearable. This collection is great for those who love pastel or brighter colors.

Xoxo, Be mine, Kiss me

Soul Mate, Xoxo, Too cute

AS ALWAYS her packaging is amazingly cute. The sample set comes wrapped up like the cutest little love letter. I think these extra touches really add something to the whole purchase experience. The care put into putting together every single order is evident. This is one of my favorite things about RDBB! Not to mention every ingredient is listed on every single jar-even samples. It's very professional. I feel very confident in saying that this is a shop that will never ever disappoint you. You'll definitely want to snag this collection for either yourself or your valentine. As always sample sets are available as well as full sized collections at her shop HERE. Also be sure to visit Rag Doll's Bath & Beauty on their facebook fan page HERE to see upcoming collections first!

The Conversation Hearts collection is available for purchase later on today :)

Jujubead's Jewelry Review

2012-01-24T14:10:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with Jujubead's Jewelry's ear cuffs, and other whimsical jewelry designs when I first discovered the shop last year. Since then she has also released her own line of mineral cosmetics which includes mineral eyeshadow, primer, lip products and mineral foundation. As you may know I also recently became a promoter for her shop.

I don't know if I have said it before on here or not, but I'd just like to say that I would never promote or encourage anyone to buy anything I do not love (and use) myself. I think it's important to really believe in whatever you are promoting.

And Jujubead's Jewelry is definitely something I believe in!

Let's start by talking about the jewelry. The thing I love the most about this shop is that they have a very distinctive style. You can look at a piece and know right away who made it. I think it can be difficult to find unique jewelry even among independent shops. I see copycats of the same jewelry constantly on Etsy.

Jujubead's Jewelry designs are very clean, and meticulously crafted. They offer a wide range of different ear cuffs and earrings, and are now starting to make a lot of gorgeous new necklace designs. Now I know you're thinking of some big gaudy metal thing from the early 90's when i'm saying "ear cuff". These are soo not gaudy or outdated I promise. Ear cuffs are actually coming back into style here in America and they are already popular in Japan. I personally think they look quite stylish ;) These ear cuffs are also much more comfortable than you would guess they would be. She offers a traditional cuff, or a handmade wire wrapped cuff for those who do not have cartilage piercings in their ears. Don't fret if you do have cartilage piercings though.. as she will gladly swap out the cuff for a stud! I forsee these being a big trend in the near future.

If you are less daring, and just want something girly that's dripping with crystals Jujubead's has that covered as well. They offer many beautiful sparkly things for less than $10!

Moonlight Serenade necklace

Shimmering Night Sky ear cuff

so sparkly in the light!

Next up is their mineral makeup which is fairly new.

Jujubead's colors L-R: Sugar Daddy, In Da Nude, Defeated, Hazelnut, and Midnight Rain

I have only had the chance to try 6 colors of her eyeshadow so far (and one tinted lip balm that I am OBSESSED with) and I really liked all of them. They blend really well, and last a long time when used with a primer. I really like that they have a finely blended powdery texture. Most shades are very shimmery and sparkly while still being really smooth, and never gritty. As I said before this company is very new at selling mineral makeup so she doesn't have a million shades yet, but there definitely is a good variety so far. I do not have any of her bright shades yet, but I do plan on ordering a bunch and reviewing those soon. From what I have seen though her pinks and purples are amazing! (and I'm missing out lol)

As for other things of interest.. her shipping is super fast!! Everything is packaged really securely to protect your little trinkets. I love all the special touches she puts in all her wrapping and packaging. She even provides you with instructions on how to care for your crystal jewelry, and also how to use her mineral makeup. In addition to everything else Jujubead's has some amazing customer service. That is the main thing that attracted me to this particular business in the first place, and it's also the reason i'll always be a customer. I am pretty sure anyone else who has made a purchase from Jujubead's Jewelry or even just interacted on Juli's facebook fan page will agree with me.

I think the only "con's" for me about the makeup would be that I would like to see shrink wrapped jars in the future to prevent accidental glitter explosions lol. I also like to see jars with ingredients on the back, but she does provide you with a list of all the ingredients and is always happy to answer any questions about them. So for me neither of these things are a big deal.

Sugar Daddy- A sparkly money green

Hazelnut- A medium tan brown filled with glitter and shimmer

Midnight Rain- A true navy blue filled with silver glitter

In Da Nude- A peachy light bronze with a golden shift. Very shimmery.

Defeated- A shimmering sparkly eggshell white

Dry no primer- natural light

Midnight Rain, Hazelnut and Defeated

Hazelnut, In Da Nude and Defeated (with toki doki ninja dog)

All in all I think this is a wonderful business you should check out for yourself. Keep an eye on Jujubead's Jewelry's facebook fan page HERE to keep updated on the latest styles of jewelry and makeup products. She often has sales, ear cuff of the week, color of the week and just recently dropped the prices of all her makeup! Get your very own ear cuffs HERE and HERE.

What is your favorite item in Jujubead's Jewelry's shop?

5 tips to help you when shopping for indie mineral makeup

2012-01-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

I have been asked many times since starting my blog about how I determine which independent mineral makeup companies to buy from and which ones to avoid. I had never used very many indie brands before starting this blog so it has been a process of trial and error for me. While there is no exact science to picking a perfect indie company to support there are several things that you can look out for while shopping online.

1. Look at their reviews!

This is kind of a no-brainer I know. The first thing I usually do when deciding if I want to buy from an indie company is to google their name + review. Usually there will be at least a few blog reviews for you to look at even if it's a newer company. Be wary if you can't find a review or if you find multiple well-written negative reviews. Also check out Youtube to see if anyone has done a video review. This should give you a pretty good idea of what kind of customer service and product you are going to get. Checking out color swatches from other customers can be helpful in not only determining if you want to purchase from that company, but it can also help you decide which colors you'd like to buy.

2. Check out their Facebook fan page!

Many indie mineral makeup businesses have turned to facebook to help promote their products. This is an excellent tool if you're looking to find out more about how that particular business operates. Watch the interactions on their fan pages. Are they courteous and friendly to customers? Do they frequently respond to feedback and questions about their shop? Do they respond respectfully to negative feedback/customer complaints? These fan pages can be a great way to gauge how reputable these businesses are. Do be cautious when ordering if: they are rude or disrespectful to their customers, have a closed wall, frequently erase comments, or you notice otherwise unprofessional behavior. Many business reward their facebook fans with great flash sales and giveaways so it's always good to support them on facebook anyways.

3. Do they sell repackaged makeup? Are they honest about it?

Now let me be clear before anyone gets their panties in a twist. I have no problem with people who sell repackaged makeup if they are 100% honest about it. In fact a lot of makeup companies do this for certain eyeshadow shades (in example: Beauty from the Earth). Some companies are not forth coming about this information and will pretend they formulated the makeup themselves in their "lab" (in example: Lime Crime).
There's nothing wrong with this makeup, in fact many shades are quite pretty. A business that respects your patronage will always be honest about what things are handmade and what isn't.

The topic of repackaged makeup is something that is coming up quite frequently lately. I do plan to do a more in-depth post on specifically this subject in the near future. Repackaged makeup is not just limited to mineral makeup by any means. In the mean time, here are a few blog posts that I feel are excellent sources to find out a little bit more about this: Little Pink Blog, Painted Ladies, Lipstick and Lightsabers, PopChampagne

4. Are they upfront about their ingredients?

This biggest factor in deciding to purchase from a company for me really depends on what is in the actual makeup itself. Do they list all the ingredients on their website? Do they follow all FDA labeling guidelines? This is something you should always ask about if you are unsure of. A professional business will tell you upfront what is in their makeup. If they won't tell you it's probably safe to say that you don't want to buy it.

Now if you aren't an expert at mineral makeup that's okay (I'm not either!) just keep in mind to avoid the following ingredients:

-Bismuth Oxychloride- An inexpensive filler that can cause skin irritation and itching.

-Parabens- (Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben,.) - Increases risk of breast cancer.

-Talc- A cheap filler that can cause severe respiratory irritation.

-FDC Lakes and Dyes- Studies have shown that dyes/lakes can have a neuro-toxic effect on the brain.

-Propylene Glycol- Permanently damages cells, linked to contact dermatitis, auto toxicity, kidney damage,
and liver abnormalities, may cause gastro-intestinal disturbances, nausea, headache, vomiting, and central nervous system depression.

-Sodium Lauryl Sulfate- A harsh detergent used to break down the surface tension of water. It may damage the outer layer of skin.

For more information regarding FDA guidelines for cosmetic labeling please see: Cosmetic Labeling Manual

And for more information regarding FDA approved color additives please see: Color Additives Permitted for Cosmetic Use

5. Talk to people!

Here's another easy step you can take towards making an informed purchase: just talk to people! Talk to other people who have purchased from that particular business. The internet has a host of makeup-related social networking sites/forums where makeup artists and aficionados converge on their favorite (and sometimes not-so-favorite) brands. Use that to your advantage. Are your friends really into makeup? Maybe they have tried a few of the brands you are interested in and can give your their opinion. Again, check out Youtube to see if anyone is mentioning this brand in their videos. It never hurts to ask around if you are unsure.

If none of these methods are useful to you, or if a business is super new and there just isn't a lot of info yet -BUY SAMPLES! It never hurts to try a sample or 2 before you make a large purchase. Many of these businesses even offer special deals on sample packs of multiples. It'll give you a good idea of what you're going to get and it'll show some support for a small business just starting out. Everybody wins.

Hopefully you found this somewhat helpful. Please leave your own tips for finding a great indie company in the comments below.

Abigail's Boutique Designs: Pitt Pals & Winter Solstice collection reviews

2012-01-16T23:23:00.001-08:00

I haven't blogged much over the holidays just due to being busy and overly stressed. I figured to make up for some lost time I would just combine these two short reviews into one post. I think Pitt Pals and Winter solstice are particularly cool collections to compare anyways because they have a few similar colors that are done in totally different ways. You guys already know that I am a promoter for ABD and have heard all about their quality product and service. I mainly will just be reviewing the colors for you here.

The Pitt Pals collection consists of six soft shimmery shades. The texture of these eye shadows is sooo smooth that it is almost creamy. It blends beautifully. All the colors are a little shimmery and some contain just a small amount of sparkle. I think the soft subtle colors are so nice for every day wear. This is a collection that would be great for someone who doesn't like very bright or loud colors.

Blue Suede- Is a pale shimmery light blue-grey. It is exactly the color of blue suede. It has subtle sparkles and a super creamy texture. This is my favorite color in this collection.

Red Almighty- Is a brown toned peachy pink that is filled with gold glitter. Again it's pretty subtle but at the same time it is packed with shimmery goodness. I really love this color used in combo with wine/brown/mauve/burgundy colors.

Socialized- Is a soft mustard-y golden shimmery yellow. It looks very pale in the jar but applies slightly darker than you would think. I really like how muted this gold is while still being pretty flashy.

Brindle Beauty- Is a soft medium tawny brown with cream and black colored sparkles. This is another one of those great sparkly browns I've been liking for winter 2012.

Fawn- is a very pale shimmery fawn brown highlight shade. This one I think looks slightly more pale than it appears in the jar when applied. I like to mix this one with Brindle Beauty for a super natural neutral look.

Bully this- Is a very light, sparkly pastel spring green. This is definitely the most sparkly one in the bunch. It's very shimmery, smooth and creamy textured like the rest of the colors.

The Verdict:

I love this collection as it's very different than what I usually purchase. I think the best thing about this particular Abby-girl creation is that you can tell Robyn put a lot of her heart in it. Pitt Bulls are not born bad. It's us human beings who exploit them into fighting, over breed them until their genetics are terrible, and dump them at shelters who won't adopt out bully breeds. Anything that brings awareness to these sweet dog's plight is an amazing deed.

I promise I will never ever take pics against a red background again. I dunno what I was thinking.

Bully This! super sparkles

Red almighty, brindle beauty, fawn, and also non-collection shade eggplant

Bully this, fawn, socialized, brindle beauty

Tutorial using Pitt Pals

*******************************************************************************

The Winter Solstice collection was like no other holiday collection this winter. It contains no boring traditional shades but instead ampted up versions of winter favorites. Each shade is packed with shimmer and glittery goodness. This collection is definitely not subtle haha.

Holidazzle- Is a magenta hot pink shade filled with pink shimmer and glitter. It looks similar to ABD color 'Tantrum' in some photos but actually Holidazzle is the brighter of the two.

Glitz- Is a bright gold shade that is SO shimmery it was almost impossible to photograph. I found it to be very pigmented for a lighter shade of gold.

Tuxedo- Is the most amazing Gunmental grey-black you will ever see. It is filled with deep blue and silver glitter. It can be worn very dark (almost black) or it can be blended to be a softer shade of steel silver. If you like sparkly blacks you will want this color.

Chillax- Is a bright medium blue filled with shimmer and glitter. It can be toned down quite a bit but a little bit of this color goes a long way. It surprised me with how bright it actually is.

Pucker Up- Is a medium evergreen shade. Like the others it is shimmery and fairly sparkly, but it's not too over the top.

Glam- Is the best silver ever. Period. This is so so so so so SPARKLY! Be mindful of fallout when applying this one. As with all glittery shadows you do not want them in your eye.

The Verdict:

Buy it if you're like me and love vibrant glittery shades. If you do NOT love glitter you're better off going with something more like the Pitt Pals collection. Personally I think Tuxedo and Glam make a very glamorous smokey eye.

Tuxedo and Glitz

Chillax and Pucker Up

Holidazzle and Glam

Blue Suede, chillax , tuxedo, and smoothie

Holidazzle and Chillax

As always feel free to ask me about either collection if you would like to know more. Both are currently available from Abigail's Boutique Designs . Are you a blogger/makeup artist/active youtube reviewer?? Abigail's Boutique Designs is currently looking for promoters. Go to her facebook fan page HERE to find out more info or just watch this video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9thD-dcOuC8&feature=share

NYE 2012: Sparkle in style with Dress Therapy

2011-12-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you guys, but I love the fun and excitement of dressing up on New Years Eve. There's something about the new year that makes you want to wear something just a little bit special. Let's face it. When you look especially gorgeous it can totally change your whole attitude. And there is nothing like a new dress to put that spring back in your step!

If you frequently shop elegant pageant dresses or cocktail dresses chances are Dress Therapy may already be on your radar. I know I have been lusting after *this* dress for a minute now. If you have not heard of Dress Therapy yet- Go. NOW. lol. I just love their selection of formal wear and undergarments that work well under said formal wear. Their prices on Spanx are slightly less expensive than in the department store so this is also something a girl can appreciate. The many prom dresses available would dazzle even the pickiest of teenage girls...and it makes me sooo jealous this website didn't exist when I was prom age!!! They also carry several styles of heels, many of them embellished with chunky glitter or rhinestones-both of which are very popular right now.

Dress Therapy has so many beautiful dresses it can be a little intimidating trying to find your perfect dress.
So for this post I enlisted the help of a few stylish friends and came up with the ultimate list of must have NYE dresses. I also put together 3 makeup looks that I feel go great with these dresses and just NYE in general. So without further ado here are my NYE looks:

"The not-so-classic LBD"

Available for purchase HERE

Available for purchase HERE

I cannot say enough good things about these two Sherri Hill dresses. Neither are too short yet they are just short enough to be daring. They are fun, sparkly, and both are flattering styles. The gems on the top dress are just amazing. The second dress is what I'd describe as sophisticated fun. Both of these stunners would make any gals NYE a night to remember.

The makeup look I chose for these dresses is kind of 'old Hollywood glam meets gothic'. I used a lot of the champagne-y and warm highlight shades in my Tarte for True Blood Pallet, along with a golden toned blush, winged black eyeliner, thick eyelashes and a deep purple lip. Deep purple lipstick is popular this winter I have noticed. It's edgy and makes your teeth appear whiter. I'm digging the trend.

Remember to keep the eyeshadow soft and light since you're wearing such a dramatic lip color.

The 'Pop of color'

Available for purchase HERE

Available for purchase HERE

I picked these dresses because they both have a lot of deep metallic color and sparkle to them. I love wines, purples, and peacocky shades of blue for this winter. They are so flattering against many skintones and yet are still so vibrant. I love that Dress Therapy has a better selection of plus sized dresses than you will find elsewhere.

The makeup I chose for this look was a shimmering wine colored eye paired with a matching lip, pale pink blush, and just a little bit of glitter. I started out with a super sparkly deep brown from a company called Jujubeads called 'Dark Soul'. Again I used my Tarte pallet but this time I went for V. and Waitress. Then I used an amazing sparkling white shade from My Beauty Addiction called Snow Globe as a highlight. I finished it off by packing on Abigail Boutique Designs Big Papa. I blended it out and then packed on more Big Papa with a moist brush. I made my own lip gloss by mixing a tiny bit of Big Papa with a clear balm. Adding a little bit of glitter is totally optional.

And last but not least... 'the ultimate NYE party dress'.

Available for purchase HERE

Available for purchase HERE

They're sexy. They're silver. They're sparkly! What more could you ask for really? Both dresses have sweetheart necklines which tend to compliment voluptuous bustlines as well as smaller busts. Both of these dresses just glimmer and for me... that's what a New Years Eve look is really about. Wear one of these only if you're prepared to have all eyes on you ;)

The makeup I chose was easy. A simple silver and black smokey eye. I used the two sparkly black shades in my Tarte pallet to make my crease, Then I packed on Abigail's Boutique Designs Hidden truth all over under the crease and on 2/3rd of the eyelid. I used this shade because it adds an iridescent navy blue sheen as well as some gold tones. The gold tones give the silver on top of it sort of an antiqued color. I packed on Starchild from the Tarina Tarantino Starchild Pallet all over the inner eye and lid. I finished my eyes off using MBA Snow Globe and ABD Ice Queen as a browbone highlight. I kept my blush and lipstick a peachy nude shade with some gold tones.

There you have it! Perfect party dresses for your NYE 2012 bash. Which dress are you dying for?? Get to it and check out Dress Therapy out HERE

In accordance with FTC disclosure policies I need to mention that I received compensation for this post. All opinions stated are my own and in no way influenced by receiving compensation.

Work to play: Purple eyes in 3 steps

2011-11-29T02:01:00.001-08:00

I've been slacking on my makeup looks again lately. So..I figured now would be a good time to put up the 1st in a series of tutorials that features build-able looks that will take your eye makeup from day to night.

These are meant to be easy, simple and take only a few minutes for those times when you want to change your makeup but do not have much time or many products to work with.

First up is: Purple

1. Start with clean primed eyes.

2. Use a soft brown toned purple to define your crease and "V" area of the eye. I used the color 'Gargamel' from Abigail's Boutique Designs because it looks more or less purple depending on how much you blend it. I made the crease slightly deeper in shade and just blended it down over the lid a little bit.

3. Take a highlight shade ( I used Ice queen) and pat it into the inner corners of your eyelids, and sweep over your brow bones, For a shiner, more defined look you can also use a little to highlight the center of your eyelids. Finish it off with one coat of black mascara.


A perfect natural look great for work or school.

Okay now you want to kick it up a notch and add in a little bit more color, but you still want to keep your color light enough for daytime wear. No problem!

1. Take a slightly damp (NOT WET) brush and use a shimmery mauve-toned purple. I used Princess Purple in this look all over the lid and blended up into the crease. Using a damp brush will unleash the hidden shine within this color, and make the existing colors shimmer. Use a small angled brush to line underneath your eye as well.

2. Take a light lavender shade and blend it from the inner corner into the center of the lid. I used Smurfling from the smurf collection- which is actually a pretty sparkly color so I just used a little bit. You can use it dry for a more subtle shine or wet if you'd like to see more of the sparkles. I used mine dry here.

3. Add on another coat of black mascara and you're good to go!

Last Part! You're ready for a night on the town and need more of a purple punch....

1. Use a deep blueish purple shade to deepen the crease and the "V" of your eyelid. I chose Sonic Boom and blended it well with a fluffy brush using a circular motion.

2. Using a black liquid or gel liner make a very thin winged line above your lashline. Skip lining the bottom since we already have purple eyeshadow acting as an eyeliner there.

3. Define your brows, add a pair of false lashes or another coat of mascara and you're ready for whatever the night has in store for you!

finished :)

The top 10 reasons you should shop at small independant online businesses this black friday

2011-11-20T17:20:00.001-08:00

You can stay at home in your pajamas and shop to your hearts content! No lines or rude shoppers to deal with.

You'll end up with unique gifts that aren't available in department stores.

Many stores offer free gift wrapping all year long... save your money & time!

They offer more generous sales than major retailers so you will get more than your moneys worth.

Small businesses really care a lot about having stellar customer service because that is how they grow their customer base. You will almost be guaranteed to have a great and problem-free shopping experience.

Have green animal-loving friends or a relative with allergies? Many small cosmetics companies are committed to 100% vegan mineral makeup made with high quality ingredients that haven't been tested on animals.

Want a customized gift?? No problem. Lots of artisans craft lovely personalized items perfect for that special someone in your life.

Making a purchase intended as a gift for someone is a great way to help the businesses you love to grow! Chances are that if someone loves your gift they may want to make a purchase of their own.

Most importantly you are helping a small business owner ( many of whom are single parents, military spouses, college students and families just like yours) pay for their holidays. You'll get the satisfaction of knowing that you may have helped a mother to pay for her kid's Christmas presents or for a broke college student's bills that month.

In these tough economic times I feel it's more important than ever to support our indie shop owners and local businesses. For many people this is their lively-hood. Their shops put food on the table. Not only that, but you almost always end up saving money. I was spending at least $70 a month at Sephora before I started doing most of my shopping at smaller businesses. I wasn't getting nearly as many products as I am now, and I wasn't always happy with my customer service experience (although I would like to say that Sephora & the MAC counter in the Franklin Park Mall in Toledo, Ohio has some of the nicest employees ever!). For a mere $25-$30 I can get an entire eye makeup collection from Abigail's Boutique Designs whereas $25 will get you 1-2 high end eyeshadows if you're lucky. Who doesn't like saving money and getting better stuff?

In addition a lot of independent artisans use their skills to help others in need, not only during the holiday season..but all year round. In fact just last month I told you about all the wonderful auctions put on by TeamPinkEye to benefit breast cancer awareness. April's Army, a disgruntled group of hilarious crafters assembled by Regretsy-is constantly donating to charity. Often times to other etsy sellers and small indie business owners who have fallen on hard times. People who commit themselves to doing things like that on a regular basis really kind of restore some of my faith in humanity. So yeah, I'm pretty sure i'd rather visit their etsy stores this Friday instead of Walmart. It just makes sense.

Here are some of my top picks for practical gift ideas from a few of my favorite online shops :)

For the wild gal in your life:


Mango Tango Smoothie collection available for $15 at www.abigalsboutiquedesigns.com


Available from Pretty Addictions HERE

Available from My Sweet Escape HERE

For your girlfriend who loves earrings:

Available from Ma'iingan Treasures HERE

Available from Addie LaDawn HERE or HERE

For your favorite teacher/neighbor/work friend:


Cinnamon Sandalwood Bath Bombs BOGO this Friday at Abigail's Boutique Designs

For the socially conscience:


$5 of each purchase of this collection is donated to the APBA. Available from Abigail's Boutique Designs.

$10 of each sale of this $15 collection will be donated to lung cancer research. Available HERE


ALL proceeds are being donated to the education fund of two little boys who lost their father this year. Available HERE

For your favorite vampire-obsessed teen:


Rag Doll's Bath & Beauty Breaking Dawn collection. Available HERE and HERE


JujuBead's Jewelry Vampire's Desire earcuff. Available HERE and HERE

For the little ones:


CC Bums cloth diapers & accessories available HERE and HERE

Resin vanity pendants available HERE and HERE

Ed Hardy Bow from Abigail's Boutique Designs. Bows will be BOGO black friday AND cyber Monday!

So there's my little wishlist for you guys. What is on your wishlist this year?