VIB Sale Picks at Sephora + Weekend Sale Links

Sephora's big VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider) member sale begins today! This is one of my favorite sales of the year because I can stock up on all the beauty products I love at a rare 20% off with no exclusions at all. This year's holiday gifts sets have also debuted, so I'm also picking up a couple Christmas gifts early. This weekend, VIB Rouge members--those at Sephore's highest rewards level--get first dibs with code ROUGE20, and next week, all of the VIBs get access to the sale. I'll update this post with the VIB code for next week once I have it.

I've included a couple of my all-time favorite beauty products above. I've previously written a review about the NARS Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer, which is oil-free, light, moisturizing, and fantastic at helping makeup stay put all day. I've also reviewed the Makeup Forever HD Microfinish Powder in a prior post.

Also in my collage above are my "Holy Grail" lip products: the Fresh Sugar tinted lip balms and the NARS lip crayons (in satin, matte, and gloss). I wear one or both of them on my lips every single day. I'm pretty thrilled that there's a value set of every color of the Fresh Sugar balms available since I'm almost out of most of the colors I own. (Note: the collage I've made above is clickable, so anything you click will take you right to that product on Sephora's site.)

There are a couple other great sales going on this weekend: Nordstrom has its Fall Clearance with up to 40% off, J.Crew has 30% of its sale items and 25% off many full-price styles, and Saks Off Fifth has tons of designer fall items discounted even more than usual (I'm swooning over this pair of Stuart Weitzman's coveted OTK boots). I'll try and post some picks from these sales over the weekend.

Happy Friday!

x, Tam

Fall Mornings with St. Ives (and Tips to Soothe Your Winter Skin)

The weather in Colorado is finally beginning to feel like fall. Cooler temperatures here mean lots of cold, dry air, and my sensitive skin gets red and chapped quickly if I don't moisturize religiously. With the advent of fall and pear season, St. Ives has introduced their new Refresh & Revive Pear Nectar & Soy products. Last week, I received the pretty package below from St. Ives skincare with a request to test out a couple items from the line.

Over the last week, I've incorporated the body wash and lotion into my morning routine along with my favorite fluffy robe and daily soy latte. The pear scent smells just like the real fruit (not too sweet or overwhelming) and is perfect for the autumn season. The Pear Nectar & Soy line is formulated with pear extract, soy, and other natural hydrating ingredients, and it's gentle on sensitive skin. My skin will often react to harsher formulas, but I've had no issues with any of these products while testing them, and the natural moisturizers have kept my skin hydrated and soft all day long after using both products in the morning.



If you're looking to give this product a try, the body wash is available online and in stores, and it looks like the lotion will be available soon. The size of these bottles is such a great value--I can see mine potentially through the whole upcoming winter, which is no small feat. I thought I'd also include some tips here for my fellow sensitive-skinned ladies who might be reading.

• Don't slack on moisturizing. Slather some lotion on every day, twice a day, especially after you've just gotten out of the shower.
• Use a gentle exfoliator to get rid of flaky skin (gentle being the operative word there!). I've been using this St. Ives scrub for years, and it does the trick nicely.
• Use a hydrating body wash like the one I'm reviewing today to make sure your soap isn't stripping you of your natural moisture and making your skin feel tight and dry.
• Invest in a humidifier and try to remember to run it every night. I had a bad attack of eczema last year, and the humidifier made my nights so much better.

Do you have any tips for keeping your skin in great shape during the winter? What's your favorite way to stay hydrated? Let me know in the comments below!

x, Tam

Thanks to St. Ives for sponsoring this post. Opinions and content are all mine.

Travel Diary: Cannon Beach, Oregon + Summer Sun Safety + a J.Crew Swimsuit + Jack Rogers Review

Tee: Forever 21 | Shorts: Topshop 'Hallie' | Shoes: Jack Rogers | Hat: J.Crew | Bag: Givenchy| Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Watch: Michael Kors | Bracelet: David Yurman

Sean and I spent a long Fourth of July weekend in beautiful Oregon. It was my first time visiting this pretty state, and I loved it. For Independence Day, we drove out to the coast from where we were staying in Portland and spent the day at beautiful Cannon Beach. We were lucky enough to get a clear and sunny day, and the 70-degree weather was a nice respite from the over-90 temperatures we had been experiencing in Portland.

The town of Cannon Beach was charming and beachy, but my favorite part of the landscape was the huge Haystock Rock that juts over 200 feet out of the water. You can walk out to it during low tide, and it has an intricate cave system within the volcanic rock.

Igneous Haystack Rock on the left / Fourth of July beach revelers on the right

Gift Guide: the Perfect Gift for the Busy Girl

1. Garance Doré Greeting Card Set so she can jot a quick
thank-you note while she drinks her morning coffee
2. Portable Ultra-Thin Charger to keep her phone charged all day long
3. "Whistle While You Work" Tackle Box to make her workspace a little prettier
4. Dachshund Trinket Dish for all her little treasures
5. Glittery holiday earrings to add a little sparkle to her party dress
6. The Naked Basics 2 Palette, the only eye shadow palette she'll ever need
7. A Jonathan Adler Zebra Dish so she can keep track of her keys
8. The perfect coffee mug for the girl on the go
9. This cute kate spade pouch to keep her purse organized
10. A Smashbox palette for quick, foolproof contouring
11. Every busy girl needs to relax sometimes, too;
this heavenly set of Diptyque candles should help

Today's gift guide is for the women in your life that do it all--and do it with style. Is she rushing to a 7:30 AM meeting, putting in a busy day at the office, going out to dinner with friends then off to a holiday party? These picks have your busy girl covered from morning to midnight.

Beauty Bonus: Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder

This is the second post in my little extra series about my favorite products--the ones that fall into the failsafe, can't-live-without-it, worth-every-penny, Holy-Grail-of-Beauty-Products category. (See the previous one on NARS Pore-Refining Primer.)

My post on the NARS Primer focused on what you put under your foundation and concealer to make it stay put and stay flawless throughout the day. Today, I'm going up a couple layers to what I put on top of my primer, concealer, foundation, blush, highlighter, etc. for a finishing touch to mattify any shine and "set" my makeup.

Make Up For Ever came out with a "High Definition" line a couple years back, and while I haven't fallen in love with the foundation, I really like their translucent finishing powder, the HD Microfinish Powder ($34, Sephora). It's made of 100% pure silica, and it really does seem like it's geared toward people who are on high-definition camera as it gives the skin a really lovely, soft, matte finish without ever caking or looking too "done." It subtly softens fine lines and blemishes, too. While my makeup can look a little slippery once I get my moisturizer, primer, concealer, and foundation on, this powder seems to set the whole look nicely, all while looking reasonably natural.

I've been using this product for several years now and have gone through a couple full-size jars. The great thing they've recently added is packaging that's much more conducive to travel. Instead of the crazy tap-into-the-cap-and-hope-for-the-best design of yore, it has a fine mesh inside the middle of the package, and the lid closes tightly over the mesh to prevent spillage. In the several months I've been hauling the new package around--I touch up a few times each day because of my oily skin--I've had no spills or near-disasters with it, which was not really the case before.

Small note of caution: use this powder sparingly (you really don't need a whole lot), and especially so if you'll be in a lot of flash photos. I've noticed that flashes can sometimes pick up the silica particles and give the face a ghostlt-looking pallor if this stuff is loaded on. (Bonus: using sparingly means a $34 jar should last a nice, long time--always a plus in my book!)

Do you have any amazing products you think I should try? Let me know--I love experimenting!

Note: I was not compensated in any way for this product review.

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Beauty Bonus: NARS Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer

I've had a few reader questions lately about my makeup routine, so I thought I'd start a little extra series about my favorite products--the ones that fall into the failsafe, can't-live-without-it, worth-every-penny, Holy-Grail-of-Beauty-Products category. (Bonus: seldom-seen close-ups of my face--who doesn't want that?)

First up is an unlikely superstar: foundation primer (specifically NARS Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer). Although I'd read about it in magazines and noticed it as I browsed through the aisles at Sephora, I have to admit that I wasn't really into the idea of primer. I didn't like the concept of adding another layer of goo to my face, thinking I was just upping the potential for my oily, sensitive, breakout-prone skin to have a complete meltdown by the end of the day.

My first experience with primer wasn't a happy one, unfortunately. A sales associate convinced me I should give it a try, and I haplessly spread a thick layer of a the non-oil-free (oil-ful?) variety over my skin and caked a layer of foundation over it. By the end of the day, the predicted oily meltdown and subsequent breakout were a reality. I swore off primer forever.

Against my better judgment, I gave it another try when I got a big sample of the oil-free formula in a NARS gift bag. I use bareMinerals READY foundation (likely the subject of a future Beauty Bonus), and I noticed immediately that the powder went on much more easily and smoothly. It had the same effect as buffing extensively with a kabuki brush, leaving the powder evenly spread over my skin. The finished look was smoother and more dewy-looking, which I loved, but I wasn't sure it was going to last. When I looked in the mirror at lunchtime, I was pleasantly surprised that it looked about the same as it did when I left the house. Later that evening, I was thrilled to discover that, barring some excess oil, my makeup was still holding strong, blush and all.

I kept using the Pro-Prime over several days (the true test), and my skin seemed to tolerate it really well--no extra breakouts, redness, or sensitivity. I was hooked. At $34 a tube, this new addition was not an inexpensive addition to the repertoire, but it was a great one that has continued to perform really well (it's my Photoshop for real life).

Do you have any amazing products you think I should try? Let me know--I love experimenting!

P.S. Make sure you stop by here tomorrow--I have a very exciting collaboration and contest I can't wait to share with you!

Note: I was not compensated in any way for this product review--I just love this primer that much.

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