Giveaway Break - Lady Gatsby Handmade Soaps

Isn't scary how many labels  have ingredients in them that we can't even pronounce? Who wants to put something on their body, or even worse, eat, that has a mile long ingredient list of things you've never heard of? All natural is the way to go! Cue Lady Gatsby, maker of natural, scented soaps!

Called out in Cosmo magazine, Today Show and Daily Candy, Lady Gatsby makes handmade soaps using only shea butter, plant extracts, distilled flower essences, olive, coconut and essential oils. They provide a sudsy lather and leave you with a fragrant finish. 

To top it off, the package is adorably chic! At $4.50 a piece, they make a great holiday gift! They are sold on Etsy.com but you also have a chance to win some here!

***Giveaway***

 

Enter to win 3 full size bars to try out for yourself: Rose, Lemongrass & Unscented. 
 
Fill out the form below to win! There are also several different ways you can get extra entries: sign up for my mailing list, post a link to this giveaway on your blog, follow my blog, follow me & retweet on Twitter , follow me on Pinterest, add me to one of your Google+ circles, follow me on Instagram or become a fan on Facebook. Also be sure to follow Lady Gatsby on both Facebook and Twitter. Make sure to list the number of extra entries in the form below. Enter up to once a day!
 
This giveaway is open to US residents only. The contest will end on Saturday, December 14th. I will randomly select a winner and announce them on Lipgloss Break, so keep checking to see if you're a winner - Good Luck! 

TONI&GUY at Target

Here's a fun promotion from Target...starting today, through Saturday 11/16, pick up an y 2 TON&GUY Hair Meet Wardrobe products and receive a $10 Target GiftCard! Happy early holiday shopping!

Bloomingdale's Friends & Family Sale - 20%

Sales are starting EARLY this year! Don't wait for Black Friday to do your shopping. Start now! 20% off Bloomingdale's Friends & Family Sale! Now through Sunday, November 17. Use FRIENDS code when shopping online.

Beauty Blogger Coalition Weekly Roundup

Mama Fashionista: Let Quinn introduce you to the wonderful world of Micellar Waters with her Fab Five favorites!

Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: The Vampy Lip Trifecta Perfecta: Surratt Automatique Lip Crayon in Mahogany, Tom Ford Lip Color in Bruised Plum and Le Metier de Beaute Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss in Uma Paro!

TheFabZilla: How do you prevent makeup meltdown? TheFabZilla shares 5 steps to long-lasting makeup.

D.G.S.Beauty: FoM (Freshness of the Morning) Cosmetics Orange Blossom Facial Cleanser Review

Painted Ladies: Sheila has 6 easy tips for achieving a flawless red lip - just in time for the Holiday season!

My Highest Self: Check out swatches of the bareMinerals Kiss & Tell mini lipstick set, gorgeous colors!

A Little Polish: Stephanie review's 6 shades from the China Glaze HoliGlaze Collection to get your in the spirit of the upcoming holidays!

Glamorable!: Glamorable is reviewing The Coastal Collection nail polishes from Square Hue. Check out her swatches and review here!

BeautyTidbits: Enter to win Taya Buriti Nut Intensive Repair Haircare Collection worth $160+.Open internationally!

My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura from My Newest Addiction shares the Laura Mercier Holiday 2013 mini liner set!

In Her Makeup Bag: Stephanie checks out some of the limited edition goodies ChapStick will be rolling out for the holiday season!

Beauty by Miss L: How does look simple french manicure with dotticure?

daydreaming beauty: daydreaming beauty's October Favorites are all about lips!

Slashed Beauty: Slashed Beauty uncovers the heartbreaking YouTube trend: "Am I pretty or ugly?"

Peppermint Lips Beauty Blog: Fall/Winter lips with NYX Round Lipsticks!

The Stepford Witch: Étude House &Rose Flowering Eyes palette review & swatches.

Birchbox Home: Snow Day

Looking for a good Fall/Winter birthday, holiday or hostess gift? Look no further. Birchbox just announced the launch of their third limited edition box for the home, Birchbox Home: Snow Day. It retails at $39, with $105 worth of goodies inside. Goodies inside include:

 

 - Fireplace Matches, Jonathon Adler

 - Votive Candle, Malin+Goetz

 - Flower Infused Cleansing Milk, Chantecaille

 - Jasmine and Lily Healing Mask, Chantecaille

 - Shea Butter Hand Cream, L'Occitane

 - Matcha & Clementine Body Soak Bath Salts, Mox Botanicals

 - Organic Lip Balm, S.W. Basics

 - Combed Cotton Socks, Happy Socks

 - Single Origin Cocoa Powder, Davao, Philippines, Askinosie

 - Gourmet Marshamallows in Cinnamon, Three Tarts

 - Birchbox Limited Edition Travel Scrabble Game, Birchbox

Too Faced Cosmetics Sale

Stock up! 20% off entire TooFaced.com. Sale ends November 10th. Use code: FAMILY20

You can also refer a friend and get 25% off! Submit your friend's email here.

Transition from Summer to Fall

We are deep into Fall now, and some news reports are even predicting snow soon! Best part about living in the north is experiencing 4 different seasons...which means 4 different wardrobes! 

I love being able to carry some items over from season to season, and wear them in a different way. I'm currently loving layering sweaters over my summer dresses with tights. The sweater pictured is from the Catherine Malandrino line from Kohl's. It's layered over my black go-to sundress from this summer. Paired with black opaque tights and booties totally transforms this dress to a cozy, tres chic, Fall look.

Pictured: Catherine Malandrino Tres Chic Workweek Paris Sweater c/o Kohl's, Sundress from Marshalls (last Summer), black opaque tights (old), black booties from Marshalls (last Fall), vintage Louis Vuitton crossbody. Makeup from Mac.

What are some of your favorite Fall trends for clothes? Do you have an item or two in your closet that you like to wear year round?

Dove Hair Care Review Follow Up

 
Back in September I did a review of Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. I've continued to use this pair as part of my hair care regimen, and I can really tell a difference in my hair. After styling it looks much more softer and healthier (I previously had issues with dryness). 

My new hair condition also prompted me to try some new styles. Before, my hair was so dry, I didn't want to expose it to more heat than I already do with a flat iron. But now that its full of moisture, I wanted to try out the wavy bob look (totally inspired by Hannah from Pretty Little Liars). 

Voila! What do you think? I have some work to do on perfecting it but I think I'm off to a pretty good start, considering that I haven't used a curling iron in about 20 years! I blew my hair dry straight and then sectioned it off with clips. I started with the back and then worked my way forward, wrapping medium size sections of hair around my curling iron. After I was done curling I brushed all of the curls out. They came out very bouncy and soft! I finished it off with a spritz of hairspray.

Dove is sharing the love with Lipgloss Readers, offering up free samples from the Dove Hair Care product line to the first 500 entrants. Enter here!

Dove understands that having beautiful, healthy-looking hair gives you the confidence to feel your best. Whether your hair is dry or damaged, Dove has a tailor-made solution for your hair care needs. After just one wash hair is shiny, healthy-looking and full of life. Thanks to Dove, you can look and feel beautiful from the inside out.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Dove via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Dove.

What's Your Skincare Regimen?

My mom started me off on a skin care routine at a very young age. I always washed my face before bed and made trips to the dermatologist for breakouts and skincare advice. Thanks for starting me on a good path Mom! Now, in my early thirties, my skin care routine is MUCH more time and labor intensive than it was when I was in junior high. But the time you invest in taking care of your skin is worth every second. You only get one skin, so you have to take care of it!

My basic skincare routine contains two important steps...cleansing and moisturizing! I have extremely sensitive skin, so I use a gentle cleanser with a washcloth, morning and night. Once or twice a week I exfoliate with my Clarisonic. After my AM cleansing I use moisturizer with SPF in it. At night I use a thicker lotion. My house is so dry - I feel like I need double the moisturizer when I sleep so it can work harder for my skin.

If I'm not planning on wearing makeup, I usually just moisturize and then I'm done. But on days I'm going to work and wearing makeup, I've been trying out adding a skin primer to my skin care routine. I've tried primers in the past, but they usually made me breakout. I was recently sent Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex to try out and have had major success! No breakouts!

I've been using Olay Regenerist skin-perfecting primer for about two and a half weeks now and haven't seen a single pimple or skin irritation. In fact, after using it for a week, the nurse at my doctor's office said my skin looked very healthy and that I was glowing!

I love how this skin primer feels on my skin. Super soft, like satin. I sometimes put it over my morning lotion, but sometimes I wear it by itself. My makeup goes on so nicely over top of it. It really does give me a smooth canvas to work with! It's also suppose to instantly reduce the look of pores, fine lines and wrinkles. 

I was also sent a sample of Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Eye Cream & Lash Serum Duo. This combo is suppose to hydrate your eye area and your eyelashes, helping your eyes to look brighter and eye area to look firmer. I've been using this eye cream two times day, once before applying makeup and the second time after washing my face at night. I'm a firm believer that your eye area can never get enough moisture! 

The concept of hydrating my lashes is new to me. I've been using the Lash Serum before I apply my morning mascara and at night. I've only been using it for about 2 weeks so I think it still may be too early to tell results just yet, but will keep everyone posted! This duo can be separated to only carry one or the other, which is a nice option for traveling.

I'd love to hear about your skin care routine and any secrets to prepping your face for makeup. Do you have a favorite primer you use? How long have you been doing the same routine? Please share in the comments below!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Olay through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Eye Cream & Lash Serum Duo and Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex, all opinions are my own.

adidas Routine Refresh - Keep your Body Guessing

Now that the weather is getting colder in Michigan I have to bring all of my workouts inside. Bundling up in layers and going out for a winter run is not appealing to me. I rather get a good sweat on indoors!

As you know from other posts of mine, I LOVE kettlebells. I discovered kettlebells about 4 years ago and haven’t turned back since. It only took me 28 years to find a sport that I love! Year round, I mix in cardio, circuit training and weight lifting with my ketttlebell workouts. I like to keep my body guessing as to what kind of workout it’s going to get. This can also be referred to as ‘muscle confusion,’ which basically means to constantly change up your workout routine so that your muscles are always exposed to a new stimulus (as defined on fitjerk.com). 

I not only like to keep my body guessing, but it’s also fun to switch it up! Here are a few example workouts….

Circuit training

The gym my husband and I belong to, Funk Fitness, has circuit training classes a few times a week. A workout usually consists of body weight movements, kettlebells, TRX, ropes and big tires. We usually spend about 20-40 seconds on each move, with a 10 second rest, and then repeat 4-8 times (depending on how many stations there are and how many people show up). It’s a ton of fun, and a great way to incorporate new moves into your workout.

Kettlebells

I’m currently training for a competition (Worlds Kettlebell Competition) and I’m less than a month away! My workouts right now consist of competition training, using my competition size bell (16kg) to do long cardio sets and a heavier bell to build strength.

Indoor cycling

I’m certified through my work, so I can only teach spin to my coworkers. This is the best cardio…for me. I can’t run for hours like some people can, and quite frankly, I think running is boring on a treadmill! I put together fun, fast paced classes to energizing music to keep everyone up beat and wanting to push themselves. I usually put together a 45 minutes series of sprints, climbs, rolling hills and jump drills to crazy up beat music.

Weightlifting

I also belong to a regular gym with your typical cardio machines, free weights and weight machines. Sometimes a girl just needs to do deadlifts and squats with a squat rack! 

I also switch up my gear depending on which workout I'll be doing. Tanks, capris and shorts are pretty standard. But if doing a competition workout for kettlebells, I also like short sleeve tees, like the adidas tee I have on in the above picture. The sleeves protect my arms so the kettlebell doesn't hit my biceps during my clean (kettlebell move!), and make my arm red. This shirt also wicks away sweat, keeping me cool. 

I'd like to encourage everyone to try a new workout with the changing seasons. Not only will you keep your muscles guessing, but you never know, you may find a new life changing workout too. 

Have you tried a new workout lately? If so, please share in the comments below. I'd love to hear about it!

adidas Women designs innovative performance products to help women commit to their best self and conquer their fitness goals.   We inspire women to look and feel their best - be pretty, be tough & be confident.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by adidas via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of adidas.