"Like" Models Own 50% Off Sale

 

Models Own, a high quality British budget brand (think: Sleek - eyeshadow palettes + nail polishes), will offer a 50% off sale if they reach 50,000 "Likes" on their Facebook page by August 31. The count currently stands at just under 34,000. The brand is also having periodic giveaways to followers during the month.

The Models Own products are inexpensive to begin with but the sale would be especially handy for us international customers, since the shipping fees are £9.95 (about $16). An added catch is that, sale or no, the minimum order has to be £20 ($33) for international shipping. With the items at half off, you might want to split the shipment with a friend or plan on having a decent sized haul of products.

New Zoya Promo!

I'm still recovering from my fourth plane trip in under a month but I'm happy I decided to kill some time on Facebook because I caught the newest Zoya promo as it was announced. The promo requires that you have an account already through the Zoya website (which is free, so if you don't have one for this promo, get it now to catch the next one). The deal is 2 free polishes with any Zoya or Qtica purchase. The super cheap color spoons do not count as a purchase.

To access your personalized code, log into your Zoya.com account, click the "My Account" link and then the "My Coupons/Promos" link. Add your items to the cart, input the code and you're ready to go.

I'm happy this code came along now because there were three shades from the Smoke & Mirrors Fall 2011 Collection that I wanted:  Cynthia (smokey, blackened peacock teal with soft warm undertones), Jem (dark red-toned purple with metallic dark pink highlights and subtle gold duochrome flecks) and Tao (light smoke grey with blue undertones and a muted, softened metallic finish.) I'm curious to see how Tao stacks up next to Butter London's Chimney Sweep, a gorgeous gray shade that sadly has major application issues for me.

Promo Ends: Friday, August 12th 11:59PM ET

Concrete Minerals Arkham Collection LE

 

In honor of all the boys, girls and Slave Leias currently cavorting about Comic Con, Concrete Minerals has released a limited edition quadruplet called The Arkham Collection. Arkham Asylum is the psychiatric hospital that appears frequently in Batman and Batman-related projects. (Bonus nerd points: The fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts was created by H.P. Lovecraft for his stories. H.P. Lovecraft went on to influence, well, everyone.) 

Here's a list of the shades, with descriptions from the Concrete Minerals website and brief name explanations by me (for the Batman-naive): 

• Poisonous Kiss: (red-pink w/ bright pink sparkle) If you saw Batman and Robin, and you didn't immediately arrange a brain bleaching, you'll remember that Poison Ivy has a poisonous kiss. And red hair. 
• Harley Girl: (satiny, true-red w/ pink sparkle) Harley is Harley Quinn, who you can read more about here. Short version: Former Arkham psychiatrist who hooks up with Joker and befriends Poison Ivy. Wears a red and black jester costume.   
• Bat-Breaker: (steel-gray with flashes of turquoise and red) Former prisoner, and Venom junkie, Bane broke Batman's back at one point in the comics. Bane's WWE-esque costume includes the colors mentioned in the shade description. 
• Ace of Knaves: (darkened purple with brilliant green and purple sparkle) The Ace of Knaves is one of the other nicknames for the Joker. If you don't know who the Joker is, at least a little, then we can't be friends. I'm sorry. 

I think I could get a lot of wear out of Ace of Knaves and Poisonous Kiss. Bat-Breaker looks amazing but I rarely wear gray shadows. Harley Girl is gorgeous but I just bought Sugarpill's Asylum and I think I've reached my shimmery red shadow quota for the month (possibly year). But it does have pink sparkles...

The Arkham Collection is on a super special sale for $22 through 11:59 PM on Sunday. Then the price will go back up to $28. Get yours soon because they'll go faster than the Scarecrow's mind.

NYX 12th Anniversary Sale

Beginning today at 12 pm PST, NYX Cosmetics will be listing many of their products for $1.20 each in honor of their 12th Anniversary. The NYX Facebook page store has a preview of the coming attractions. Get to the website as soon as you can after noon because stuff will sell out fast. Sale ends tonight at midnight (PST).

Bvlgari Jasmin Noir (Review)

When I spritzed a light mist from my sample bottle of Bvlgari Jasmin Noir, the first image that came to mind was "Estate Sale", a closed up house with a cloying gardenia garden near mothballed closets. As time went on, the scent calmed down a bit. The mothballs eased into a powder and the woodiness and vanilla spice (from the tonka bean) become more pronounced.

This is, in theory, a fragrance I should love. It features sambac jasmine, the musky floral note that also appears in my precious Dior Hypnotic Poison. But I think the gardenias are what keep me from loving Jasmin Noir. The sickly sweetness of that flower does dwindle with wear time but there's just something about gardenias that I can't sign off on. They smell of fermenting fruit and cheapness to me. Because of that, the settled Jasmin Noir reminds me of the heavily scented, low priced talcum powder my grandmother used.

If you like gardenias, Jasmin Noir might be your newfound love. I just wish the jasmine stepped up to the plate more to lean it into the musk.

Bvlgari Jasmin Noir Notes: Green Sap, Gardenia Petals, Sambac Jasmine Absolute, Satiny Almond, Precious Wood, Licorice, Tonka Bean Absolute

(I pulled those notes from Sephora. The licorice and green sap don't come out on my skin.)

Buy: $68 an ounce at Sephora

A sample of Jasmin Noir went out in May's Birchbox.

Dress of the Day: Dorothy Perkins Butterfly Dress

 

Swing into summer with this '50s style cotton dress from UK high street store Dorothy Perkins. The breezy, universally flattering dress comes with the skinny belt shown and can be thrown in the washing machine at the end of the day. A no fuss addition to your warm weather wardrobe. Available in Orange (shown) and Blue in sizes 6 to 22 (UK sizes) for £40.00 (about $66).

$40 Beauty Bar E-Code for $20

HauteLook has a deal today where you pay $20 to get an electronic code worth $40 to use at BeautyBar.com. Beauty Bar stocks high end brands such as Jemma Kidd, Butter London and Deborah Lippmann so this is a great opportunity to pick up something you normally would hesitate on due to price. I have my eyes on the Jemma Kidd Duo Eye Shadow Brush ($24) and the Jemma Kidd Duo Eyefine Brush ($24). Minus the discount, that's essentially four quality eye brushes for $28.

Deal purchase is only available until tomorrow evening. The code includes free 2 to 3 day shipping and must be used before July. It can't be combined with other offers. But Beauty Bar is currently offering $15 off $50 for new customers with code BBGIFT15. If you've never ordered there before, you could make your first order with the $15 off code then make a second order with the HauteLook code and save $35 off $90 overall.

Not yet a HauteLook member? Joining is free. Click here to join (affiliate link).

(HauteLook also has NYX cosmetics on sale today, but steer clear unless you want bulk orders of 20 plus products.)