If you’re out doing some holiday shopping in the next few days, here’s one to put on your list. L’OCCITANE just put out the Holiday 2015 Advent Calendar ($49) and there’s so much interest in this that it’s only available in their stores now and not online! It contains minis of 24 of their best sellers – from body lotions to fragrances to lip balms and shower gels. So make sure call your local store before running over to pick one up! Read more about what's inside here. 

How many times do you forgo matching your sunglasses to your outfits? I have about 20 pairs and I keep them stored in their cases in a drawer so they don’t get scratched. So they fall under the category of outta site, outta mind and I absolutely hate that!

So I was on the hunt for some kind of nice case I could keep on my dresser to store some of them and came across the OYOBOX Luxury Eyewear Organizer. Now I can store up to 8 pairs of sunglasses inside a beautiful box and it’s made just for your sunnies.

Click after the jump to see all the pictures of this one! And don't you love the way it looks on my shelf below the Barbie paintings?

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HYLAMIDE SubQ Eyes ($35/15ml @ target.com, urbanoutfitters.com) – this new-to-me line is made to work with your current skin care products in that it has the ability to penetrate deep into the skin to nourish and fix that targeted area. This SubQ Eyes contains some major ingredients to fix all around the eyes – puffiness, dark circles, hydration and fine lines. Yes, I could list all the ingredients but really, they’ll probably mean as much to you as to me. The proof is in the … serum and this one works and doesn’t take weeks to see results. So keep using the products you’re using and just add this eye serum!

BEAUTY 360 Portable Manicure Kit ($9.99 @ cvs.com) – this kit contains 5 interchangeable tips for giving yourself a manicure or pedicure at home: Buffing Tool, Emery Tool, Shaping Tool, Fine Shaping Tool and a Cuticle Pusher.

TATCHA Silken Pore Perfecting Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 35 ($68/2oz @ tatcha.com and barneys.com) – just because we’re changing seasons doesn’t mean you should ditch the sunscreen. New from Tatcha is a lightweight and non-comedogenic one that protects skin from both UVA and UVB. This one doesn’t feel greasy and I didn’t have to wait for it to absorb before applying makeup.

BUXOM True Nude Lip Foundation in Bare ($19 @ sephora.com) – not sure how I missed these when they came out a while ago but I’m glad I did. This one shown here in Bare, a chestnut brown, looks like a regular ol’ lipstick but it adheres to lips beautifully and acts more like a liquid lipstick. And it dries down to a super matte finish that doesn’t budget for hours. I’m in! Available in 7 shades

VOTRE VU Silk Stockings ($34/4.06oz @ votrevu.com) – nylons are still so uncool to wear but sometimes you want a little color but not a tan. This skin nourisher will give skin a dash of glow and it contains some  nourishing ingredients like vitamin E and extracts of calendula and Saint John’s wort. And what’s great about it is that it won’t wear off until you wash it off.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

I was recently invited to try out the latest eye candy from ACUVUE. It’s their 1-Day Acuvue DEFINE and what I thought was some new technology in the colored contact lenses front was not that at all.

Acuvue did a lot of research on eye color - what we perceive at beautiful, the uniqueness of one’s eye color and what cues we took in different settings. And what they discovered was quite fascinating! They found that those with a strong limbal ring (the dark circle around the iris which gets thinner as you age) were perceived more youthful, attractive, trustworthy and in overall good health to those interacting with that person.

Click below to find out!

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It never fails, I always find myself needing something beauty-related when I’m in the car going somewhere, so over the last year, I’ve put together a small kit that I keep with me in the front seat, so I’m never without ... anything. Here are 6 of my must-haves in the car. 

1. Nail Clippers, Nail File - REVLON Deluxe Nail Clippers ($2.49 @ bedbathandbeyond.com) – these clippers have been my favorite brand for years. The cutters are always sharp and it never falls apart. Of course things don’t last forever, so glad these are inexpensive. And for a nail file … I have my favorite that I keep in the house, so for the car, I just use the cardboard ones like these Beauty 360 Emery Boards from CVS ($1.99/10 pack @ cvs.com).

2. Tweezers – there’s always a stray brow hair that needs-a-pluckin’ and I’m in a serious relationship with ones from TWEEZERMAN. They’re strong, always there for me and I’m really attracted to their Pink Perfection Mini Slant Tweezers. $14 @ sephora.com.

3. Nail Polish Remover – L.A. COLORS Nail Polish Remover ($1.59/32 pads @ lacolors.com) these handy removers come in 6 different fruity scents and the grape-scented ones I have are actually able to mask the strong scent of the acetone.

4. Floss – I keep floss picks everywhere! In my purse, my car, my desk, hidden in a box on my coffee table. I’m not married to any particular brand but these Complete Clean Floss Ultra Strong Shred Proof Floss in Fresh Mint ($4.29/125 flossers @ target.com, amazon.com) by DENTEK work well.

5. Face Wipes - wipes are soooo handy to have in the car and they’re great for so many other things! After using one, I find myself using it afterward to clean parts of my car interior when I’m stuck in traffic. In my car now is BURT’S BEES Facial Cleansing Towelettes with White Tea Extract ($2.99/30 wipes @ walgreens.com).

6. Clear Nail Polish – great for touching up a run in a stocking, a loose thread on a shirt button and I don’t have a favorite brand. I just use whichever one I’m using on my nails that’s starting to run out. One I like is MAYBELLINE NEW YORK Show Nail Lacquer in Clear ($4.29 @ target.com).

Now when it comes to makeup, yes, a makeup palette will do but remember, we are talking about a very small stash of items for an e-m-e-r-g-e-n-c-y. I found a really cool 2 ½” x 1” x 3” tall kit that houses 4 swippers of eye shadow, a small eye liner, lip liner, mascara and lipgloss. White the products are not your Lancome kind of quality, it will get you by and I so feel like this kit was made just for this story!

It’s called the Majic Kit and is put out by MAJIC BEAUTY. Choose from Golden Peach and Healthy Nude for $19.99 @ amazon.com.

Do you have anything else to add to the Car Emergency Kit?

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

I admit I stop on QVC and HSN when channel surfing and quite a few times I’ve bought exactly what they’re talking about at that time. But this next one has to be a necessity for every woman out there!

It’s called QUICKCLASP and it sure is correctly named. What is does is acts as an extra hand when putting on a bracelet.

How many times have you wanted to put on one of your clasp bracelets and spent the next 10 minutes playing chase the closure?? With this, you will get in right every time.

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Now who in their right mind doesn’t love a good dupe? When I was at the Craft & Hobby Show a few weeks ago, I came across this dupe for the Z Palette but it’s a lot less than the Z. 

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So it’s the day after Thanksgiving and time for my Annual Holiday Gift Guide! This year I will be expanding it to include non-beauty related items as I’ve come across some things this year that would make great gifts.

And as usual, you’ll know something is a gift pick by the holiday-related picture next to the photo. This year I chose a cute snowman. So let's kick it off with this one... 

As my first pick of the guide, I received this for my birthday and I’ve used it quite a bit and not just on my jewelry.

What It Is: BOGUE SYSTEMS Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner + Blitz Liquid Jewelry and Gem Cleaner - $23.49 @ amazon.com.

Why I Like It: You can use this big-as-a-small-loaf-of-bread machine to super clean not only jewelry but really anything metal that will fit into the 6” x 3 ½  stainless steel tank. It does coins, watches (there’s a special piece included so you can clean your watch), eyeglasses and so much more! I had a blast walking around my house and looking through drawers for items I could give a 3-minute run to.

This has truly brought quite a few of my items back to wearable condition again. 

I’ve tried different versions of the below items in their categories and here are the ones I have found to work best. Yes, some may seem trivial (a nail clipper, really??) but only when I’ve used one that’s crappy, do I actually think about it. And now, you don't have to!

Do you have any beauty tools that you stand by? Do share in the comments!

Best Foot Exfoliator and Nail File - FAN OUT Foot Scraper (small $35, large $42) and Nail File ($42). Both @ fanout.com – when did I write about both of these? Wow, back on September 7, 2011 and both are still going strong and I use them quite regularly! Now that’s proof in the pudding.

Best Nail Clipper - REVLON Deluxe Nail Clipper - $2.49 @ ulta.com and bedbathandbeyond.com - I’ve tried a lot of different nail clippers over the years and these from Revlon truly are the best. They're always sharp and never break. I keep one in the house, one in the car, one in my purse. I think I own about 6 of these total!

Best Tongue Cleaner - BREATH RX Gentle Tongue Scraper - $6.99/3 scrapers @ amazon.com – I know, I know, who wants to talk about something as sexy as cleaning your tongue? Food can get caught in there and simply using your toothbrush to clean it just doesn’t do the job so invest in some of these scrapers and really get that tongue clean.

Best Hair Styler - INSTYLER 3-1 Rotating Iron ($99 @ kohls.com, ulta.com) – a great tool for quickly taking out bedhead kinks in the morning. And they just came out with a new MAX version. Details coming soon!

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

I’ve always wanted to try color contacts, so what’s stopping me? Well, I’ve heard some pretty awful horror stories about the color inside the lenses scratching the eye and how uncomfortable they can be since the ones you see online are usually a one-size-fits-all situation. But I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t been tempted when I’ve gone shopping in downtown Los Angeles’ Santee Alley and see them for $10 a pair, but now with this next development, I’m glad I didn’t cave.

Air Optix Colors

Just out is ALCON AIR OPTIX COLORS contact lenses. They use a 3-in-1 color technology that’s able to blend with your own eye color so it looks natural. 

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