Haul Time: Apothica and SkinCareRx

Happy Weekend!

I have been quite busy these past couple of weeks (and most likely for the next coming weeks as well) and I feel like I haven't been as present here on my blog and on Twitter as I used to be... I guess I just gotta learn how to balance my time well. ;)

Anyways, I was looking through my photos and I realized that I have a ton of haul pictures waiting to be edited and shared with you guys. So, I decided that I will slowly work my way through them... maybe one haul post a week? Sounds good, right? :)

For my first official "Haul Time" post, let's start with some items I got from Apothica and SkinCareRx...

I bought two things (one from Apothica and another one from SkinCareRx) and I got two packages, yay! ;)

Package #1:

I got a perfume from Apothica -- I always get so excited about getting new perfumes! :)

BVLGARI Omnia Green Jade Eau de Toilette Spray (2.2 oz) -

- A joyful, alluring fragrance for modern women inspired by the sophistication of jade gemstones. 

- Fresh, pure, and enticing as first spring blossoms.

- Notes of spring water, green mandarin, white peony, and nasturtium, blended with pear tree flower, jasmine, petals, pistachio, white woods, and musk.

Price: $80.27

Package #2:

NUXE is a really excellent brand, so I just had to get another product from them! ;)

NUXE Gentle Exfoliating Gel (2.6 oz) -

NUXE Gentle Exfoliating Gel/ CLEAROGEN Acne Lotion/ REJUVE MD Eye Moisturizer

NUXE Gentle Exfoliating Gel is a skin smoothing gel with Rose Petals that gently resurfaces and refines the skin.

It removes dulling dead skin cells and leaves the skin at its most radiant.

Price: $26

They also added two extra products -- I was soooo happy!

I will definitely review all of these products for you guys, so please stay tuned! :D

What are your most recent buys?

Have you bought anything from Apothica or SkinCareRx lately?

I hope you are all having a great weekend!!!

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To win a personalized/ monogrammed tote bag of your choice from Advantage Bridal, please click here.

Open to United States residents only. Ends on December 17th at 11:59pm PST.

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December: FreeBeautyEvents Giveaway! :D

Happy Friday!!! :)

Before I call it a night, I just wanted to share with you guys this month's giveaway/contest from www.freebeautyevents.com. :)

For the month of December, FreeBeautyEvents is giving away the following to ten lucky winners:

Yes to Blueberries Age Refresh Overnight Hydrating Cream, Maybelline Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Mascara, and Bio-Oil.

What an amazing selection, right?!

This contest will end on December 31st. Winners will be chosen on January 1st and notified by January 15th.

To enter, please click here.

Good luck! :)

At all Walgreens on December 15th, you can try the latest Sally Hansen products for their SaturDate with Beauty! From 10:00am to 5:00pm, Beauty Advisors will be showing customers how to apply Sally Hansen’s new InstaGel Strips, as well as giving away $2 coupons. They are also having another SaturDate with Beauty for Coty fragrances on December 22nd. Beauty Advisors will be giving away samples of David Beckham Homme, Shakira Elixir, Shakira Florale, Playboy VIP, and $1 coupons for any Beyonce or David Beckham fragrance. And there is a free gift with purchase: a free Shakira purse with any Shakira purchase. This is a great time for customers to get help picking out a fragrance for the holidays!

To find out if this event is happening near you, just enter your zip code in the upper right hand corner of their site. Information like this is available on the FreeBeautyEvents website where spas and retailers can promote their events. Anyone who would like their site visitors to know about their beauty event can make a posting for free at www.freebeautyevents.com/submit.

You can also enter your zip code to find out what makeover, gift with purchase, spa open houses, and sampling events are happening near your home.

Check out their product reviews and join their weekly contests.

Keep up to date with FreeBeautyEvents through Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter.

:D

What's New: Dorfman Pacific -- Scala Sinamay Feather Spray Fascinator Headband

Happy Thursday!

The biggest news of the week has got to be the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy... and in honor of the fascinator-loving princess and her royal baby-to-be, I think it's the perfect time for me to share with you guys this new fascinator headband from Dorfman Pacific! ;)

Dorfman Pacific offers the most comprehensive collection of hat brands in the country. The company's research, development, and design departments are busy scouting the world for the best trends and materials so that retailers can offer consumers the paramount looks, always in the best quality and affordable price point. The upcoming Holiday, Resort, and Spring collections offer many silhouettes, colors, patterns, designs, and trims in a huge range of materials....wool, cotton, blends, acrylic, leather, suede, and straw are just a few. Organza and Sinamay dress up the options.

I am absolutely obsessed with headbands and I've always wanted to own a fascinator, so when they offered to send me this fascinator headband to review, I immediately said yes!

The Scala Collezione Collection is one of Dorfman Pacific's most popular brands. It features more than 50 formal looks retailing from $30 up to about $150 for a very involved Sinamay style with a seven inch brim, netting, and dyed to match feathers (and over $200 for a fascinator decorated with a butterfly motif and silk flowers in a 22 inch diameter!). Flowers, bows, ruffles, and/or feathers adorn each style in stunning, eye catching intricate designs. All fascinators are individually boxed to protect the fine workmanship.

Style LDF7 is a very popular style because it is flattering on all face shapes and has just the right detailing and trim for accessorizing most outfits. The headband is subtle, but secures the fascinator so it stays in place through dancing, partying, cocktailing, and the like. Black, White, and Pebble are all top colors in the style and work with any and all outfits... perfect for consumers to pick up all three.

I really like the design of this headband.

It's subtle, but is still capable of standing out.

The materials are top quality; plus, the colors are basic and are easy to pair with outfits.

It is easy to put on and to keep on.

I also like how it is attached to a headband -- wearing a fascinator takes some getting used to and not everyone can immediately feel and look fantastic in one à la the Duchess of Cambridge, so combining it with something familiar to all of us definitely helps.

It's basically just like wearing a headband with a big embellishment, haha! ;)

Trying my fascinator headband on...

This is not a headband I would wear on a daily basis... BUT, I think it won't hurt to have one handy just in case you get invited to a party requiring the use of a fascinator, or a derby, or perhaps if, for some reason, you find yourself in London (Oh, how I wish that's the case for me, haha!). ;)

Another idea... if you know anyone who is obsessed with London, the royal family, or fascinators, then you have THE perfect gift idea right here! :D

Colors available: Black, White, and Pebble

Price: $30

To buy your very own fascinator headband, please click here.

Have you ever bought anything from Dorfman Pacific and Scala Collezione before?

What do you think of this fascinator headband? Is this something you would wear? Which color would you choose?

One more day 'til the weekend, guys! ;)

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To win a personalized/ monogrammed tote bag of your choice from Advantage Bridal, please click here.

Open to United States residents only. Ends on December 17th at 11:59pm PST.

Like What Mimi Writes on Facebook and be friends with Mimi! :)

Twitter? WhatMimiWrites :)

IMATS Spotlight: NYX Slim Lip Pencil

Happy Tuesday!

While I was organizing my makeup drawer earlier today, it suddenly dawned on me that IMATS Los Angeles 2013 is just around the corner... and I still have items from the last one to review for you guys, haha! Let's get started on that now, shall we? ;)

My absolute favorite part of my daily makeup routine is putting on lipstick/ lip gloss.

I always get excited planning which lip color I will wear for the day -- I love love love it! ;)

When wearing lipstick, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to use a lip liner... that's why I will definitely stock up on them again when I go to IMATS in January. ;)

DEFINE YOUR LIP:

To give a flirty pink color more staying power, fill in lips with a matching liner before applying lipstick.

That gorgeous Chanel lip liner costs $29, and while I would love to own one, it's just too expensive for me.

My go-to lip liner? NYX Slim Lip Pencil! :)

Slim, trim but never prim, our lip pencils come in 60 dashing shades—from auburn to orange and traffic-stopping red.
The buttery, long-wearing lip liner formula goes on easily and resists bleeding.

Available in 60 shades.

I bought three of them:

Hot Red (817), Bloom (836), and Pumpkin (852).

Lip liner really helps keep lip color last longer.

It also helps make the color and your lips look fuller.

These lip liners from NYX are creamy and they go on very easily.

The pigmentation is fantastic and the color doesn't bleed.

It also stays on for hours -- from afar you can't even tell that I need to retouch my actual lipstick, haha! ;)

Hot Red:

It matches my Revlon True Red lipstick perfectly -- I have to get more of this, a girl can never have enough red lip liners, haha!

Bloom:

I bought this shade to wear with my CoverGirl Blast Flipstick... it's a bit darker, but it still works.

I'm still hoping to find a lipstick that will match it perfectly, though. In the mean time, I'm thinking I can use this to rock the ombré lip trend.

Pumpkin:

I got this one because I bought a NYX lipstick in almost the same orange shade (it's called Sunflower)... it's a perfect match!

Price: $3.50

Excellent quality at an even more excellent price! :)

There are 60 shades to choose from -- how amazing is that?!

Here are some of the colors I want to get next time:

Cabaret, Pinky, Deep Red

To check out the other shades available, please click here.

What do you guys think? Have you tried NYX's Slim Lip Pencils before?

Do you have a favorite brand of lip liner?

I hope you are all having a great week! :D

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To win a personalized/ monogrammed tote bag of your choice from Advantage Bridal, please click here.

Open to United States residents only. Ends on December 17th at 11:59pm PST.

Like What Mimi Writes on Facebook and be friends with Mimi! :)

Twitter? WhatMimiWrites :)

Advantage Bridal Giveaway: Win a personalized tote bag! :) ***CLOSED***

Happy Monday!!!

To celebrate the start of the last month of 2012, Advantage Bridal and I are giving away a personalized/ monogrammed tote bag to one lucky winner! :D

You guys might remember from my review that Advantage Bridal offers over 40,000 unique products and some of those products are their beautiful personalized tote bags...

A peek at the monogrammed tote I received from Advantage Bridal...

If you are looking for unique gift ideas or something special to give as holiday gifts, Advantage Bridal is THE website to turn to! :)

Now, let's talk about the giveaway...

What's up for grabs?

A personalized tote bag of your choice!

Choose between the

Natural Canvas Tote with Initial or the

Polka Dot Tote with Initial (color of your choice)! :D

Pretty, right?!

To enter:

Mandatory entries -

1. Follow What Mimi Writes via GFC -- let me know you follow in a comment, let me know which tote you would love to receive, and include your email address. (+1)

2. Follow @WhatMimiWrites on Twitter. (+1)

3. Follow @AdvantageBridal on Twitter. (+1)

Extra entries -

4. Visit www.advantagebridal.com and let me know which item from their site is your favorite. (+2)

5. Tweet about the giveaway, mention @WhatMimiWrites and @AdvantageBridal -- let me know/ leave me a link.

You can use this tweet: #Giveaway: #Win a personalized tote bag from @AdvantageBridal over @WhatMimiWrites! Ends December 17th! Join: http://tinyurl.com/crnnem4. :) (+1)

6. Follow Advantage Bridal on Pinterest -- let me know you follow in a comment. (+1)

7. Follow them on YouTube -- let me know you follow in a comment. (+1)

8. Follow their blog -- let me know you follow in a comment. (+1)

9. Like Advantage Bridal on Facebook -- leave your Facebook name in the comments. (+3)

10. Like What Mimi Writes on Facebook -- leave your Facebook name in the comments. (+3)

11. Say Hello! to Advantage Bridal on Facebook and let them know that What Mimi Writes sent you there -- leave me a link to your wall post. (+3)

12. Mention this giveaway on your blog, either on a post or on your sidebar -- let me know/ leave me a link. (+2)

A total of 20 possible entries!

Please leave one comment per entry or if you choose to put them all in one comment, please clearly list how many entries you have -- either way would be easier for me, thanks! :)

This giveaway is open to United States residents only.

It will end on Monday, December 17th at 11:59pm PST.

The winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email.

Good luck!!! :D

Daxon: Calling all fashion bloggers!

Happy Sunday!

In my opinion, one of the best things about blogging (besides getting to know all you awesome people, of course!) is learning all about new things that I wouldn't normally know if I had not been blogging -- new ideas, new interests, new products to try, new online stores to check out, etc.

One of my recent discoveries is Daxon:

Daxon specializes in top quality ladies wear for all occasions. From their women's tops, trousers, and blouses for effortless casual wear, to elegant ladies dresses, skirts, and accessories for special occasions. Whatever your style or size, you'll find the perfect fit on their website.

They also currently have an exclusive VIP Fashion Bloggers Program! :)

What do you have to do to join?

3 Easy Steps:

1. Visit this page on Daxon to grab your badge and add it to your sidebar to confirm participation as part of the Daxon blog network.

2. Write a post about this opportunity and don't forget to include the link to their website (www.daxon.co.uk) on the post!

3. Let them know you have completed the steps by emailing Katy at katy@mediayeti.co.uk.

Easy, right?!

Once the badge and the post go live, your voucher will be emailed to you immediately! :)

What voucher?

£50 voucher from Amazon or

£50 voucher from Threadless!

What an amazing opportunity, right?!

Leave your badge on if you'd like more freebies from future blog campaigns!

If you have any questions, you can contact Katy at the email address provided above. :)

Happy Blogging, guys! :D

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What's New: Personalized Tote Bag with Initial from Advantage Bridal! :)

Happy Saturday!

And what's that I hear? It's December?! Happy December!!! ;)

It's finally December, guys!

You know what that means... Christmas songs, Christmas movies, and Christmas gift shopping time!

I've already finished shopping for Christmas gifts (I decided to start early this year...), but if you are still in need of unique gift ideas, I have the perfect answer for you!

Advantage Bridal sent me a personalized tote bag to review for you guys.

If you ask me, personalized gifts are one of THE best gifts ever because it means you really thought about the person who will receive that particular gift. Plus, who wouldn't want to have personalized/monogrammed gifts, right?! ;)

Before I share my thoughts on the tote bag with you guys, here is a little something about Advantage Bridal:

Based in the city of Torrance, California, Advantage Bridal was formed in 1992 and operated two bridal shops in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. Growing to become the premier online wedding and special occasion retailer, now offering over 40,000 unique products... They offer thousands of discounted wedding invitations, hundreds of unique wedding favors, and a vast array of decorated apparel, stationery, accessories, and personalized gifts.

Learn more about them here.

Now, on to the review:

Since they are based in Torrance and I live in Los Angeles, I received the package the day after they sent it -- how's that for fast shipping?! ;)

You can have a sense of the other items they offer by looking at the picture above...

Stacy sent me this personalized/monogrammed tote bag: M for Mimi! :D

This is a great personalized tote for everyone on your gift list. In stock and ready to ship, this initial tote is made of durable canvas and measures 19'' x 17''.

(Also available in a fully customizable version with choice of initials, name, monogram, and fonts.)

I really, really love it!

It's so beautiful and it's of really excellent quality, I literally gasped when I opened it... I'm not usually a fan of tote bags because the ones I have aren't really durable -- the total opposite of this tote bag!

You can't go wrong with the colors -- natural canvas + black = classic!

I also love the font -- I always smile when I look at that big letter M, haha! ;)

Another great thing about this tote bag is it has a support for the bottom of the bag (pictured above).

It makes the tote sturdy and keeps my things from sinking and getting all mixed up inside.

A quick snap of my outfit featuring the tote bag...

It also has a really cute bow, it's a nice added touch to the bag.

If you want to add a pop of bright color, you can tie a thin colorful scarf around the straps. :)

The size is also perfect -- you can use this for school, for running errands, for a sleepover, etc.

Price: $24.94

But right now, they are being sold at a sale price of $21.20 -- totally affordable!

They also offer FREE ground shipping in the continental U.S.!

This is definitely the perfect gift for the girls in your life!

Advantage Bridal also offers a matching large men's toiletry case, so the guys in our lives won't feel left out, haha! ;)

You can keep up to date with Advantage Bridal through Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and their blog.

There will also be a personalized tote bag giveaway sponsored by Advantage Bridal right here on What Mimi Writes!

Check back this coming week for more details! :D

Have you bought anything from Advantage Bridal before?

What do you think of this personalized tote bag?

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to the last month of 2012!!! :)

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