Mother’s Day Gift-Giving Guide, Part 2: Long on Love, Short on Time & Money

So you still don’t have the perfect, pretty gift for the pretty lady in your life? Well, with Mother’s Day right around the corner, you still have a few last minute, lovely options that are sure to tickle Mom pink!

Our moms were there for us when we cried our first tear, said our first word, took our first step. So even if you’re short on time and/or money, you’ve gotta find a way to show the most important woman in your life how important she is to you on Mother’s Day!

Here are my top tips on how to honor and celebrate Mom this Mother’s Day without breaking the bank or running out of time.

1) Give Mom a present every month. Beauty boxes are a new, thoughtful, little service that Mom will love! A few times a year or once a month (depending on the service you select), she’ll get pampered with an assortment of beauty products to try. There are so many choices that it can be overwhelming so let me break it down for you.

Is Mom a glamourous woman? Does she love any and all things beauty? Is she always looking for the best new makeup or skincare?
New Beauty Test Tube is the way to go! For only $29.95 every 3 months, Mom gets a beauty box filled with goodies like this:

New Beauty Test Tube: The GoodsNew Beauty Test Tube: The Goods

For more info about New Beauty Test Tube, read our BF post here: http://www.beautyfrosting.com/mailbox-monday-new-beauty-test-tube

Is Mom eco-conscious? You’re own earth mother incarnate? A goddess of green?

 Eco-Emi is the way for you to go!

For more Eco-Emi details, read our post here: http://www.beautyfrosting.com/mailbox-monday-eco-emi-glamour-you-can-feel-good-about

There are lots more beauty box services where those came from but those are my BF-Best picks for this Mother’s Day! And while Mom won’t receive the actual box on Mother’s Day, when you tell her what you’ve done and that she’ll be receiving gifts all year long, she’ll be utterly delighted at your forethought!

2) Favorites are fun! Does Mom have a wine she adores? Buy her a case of her favorite wine at BevMo. Too expensive? Buy her a bottle and a fancy wine opener like CorkPops! The cork pops right off thanks to CO2 cartridge. I don’t wanna say she won’t need you anymore but…you get the idea!

Mom more of a tea-totaler in that she loooooves her tea! Buy her an antique teapot, a teacup and a box of her favorite tea (most people don’t mind an Earl Grey, English Breakfast or Darjeeling).Wanna be extra thoughtful? Buy her a box of sugar cubes. Every true TEAista loves ‘em!

3) Spa Day at a steal. Subscribe to  YipIt.com (even if only for 2 days) and get the best deals on all discounted spa services and favorites (everything on Lifebooker, Groupon, Daily Candy, Living Social and all the others in one place!!!) for your favorite lady!

You will get DEEPLY DISCOUNTED spa, restaurant and more deals that will make you look like the prince you are while paying like a pauper. Nice. How cheap am I talking? I’m talking $5 manicures, $29 massages, $25 blowouts, $30 hair coloring and more. Yes, it can be more than that but that’s as low as they go!

4) Pack a picnic. Gather your Mom’s favorite foods and beverages and hit a park, museum, beach, lake or backyard. Every girl, no matter the age, loves a picnic. It’s really that simple. Be sure to pack glassware, utensils, plates, napkins and a candle too!

5) Movie Matinee. Take Mom to a movie. Just don’t forget to sneak in her favorite champagne or candy! It’s that little extra step that makes it special!

6) In-Home Spa. Can’t get away? Need a last minute solution? Pamper your pretty lady at home. Many women I’ve talked to said that it really couldn’t get better than just getting a few moments alone. Draw her a bath, light some candles, pour her a glass of her favorite wine (or steep a cup of her favorite tea), grab her favorite book/trashy magazine and set her up in her own personal in-home spa night! Perfect for those moms with little ones running around. Let her relax and unwind in the bath while you pop in a dvd for the little darlings! And pop the bubbly for her. Just remember that she’s in a spa treatment. That means NOOOOO disruptions!

7) A Little Something Special? Maybe you love all of the ideas above but still want to give her a little something special. Check out my In-My-Tub-Tuesday: Mother’s Day Edition post to get a few bathtub-ready treats. Anything by Kai or Darphin will tickle her toes!

8) Super Last Minute Fix. Buy 2 bouquets of flowers at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or your favorite neighborhood florist. This can be done for under $20. Keep it simple. Don’t buy a mixture of 15 colors. Women don’t want it.

Buy 1 or 2 colors (I’m partial to pink, violet, yellow or white and roses, hydrangeas, peonies, tuberose, tulips or gerber daisies) and divide them into 5 different smaller-medium sized vases.

Put one each in the bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen and anywhere else where when she sees them, she’ll smile. It’s that extra thought of scattering them through the house that means the most! Just be sure to clean up your mess, throw away the trash – and oh!- be sure to put water in the vases with a touch of Sprite (may sound crazy but they’ll last longer)!

***
If you do one of the above, I can guarantee you a smile (and probably a hug too) from the Mom in your life. And, if she likes it, drop me a note or send me a pic!

 

xoxo,
BF 

BF Asks: What’s the best Mother’s Day gift you’ve ever given or received?

 

FREEday Friday: We have a Glamour Birchbox Winner!!!

And….we have a winner in our Glamour Birchbox Giveaway!!!

And the winner is...ALLYSON!!!

 

 

ALLYSON!!!

Allyson, This is what you have won on FREEday Friday!

Glamour Birchbox July 2012

To celebrate their “Five Senses of Summer” July issue (on stands now), Glamour has partnered with Birchbox to stimulate the senses of beauty junkies everywhere.

Curated by Glamour’s beauty editors, the July box features treats from the following brands, among others:

See It: stila and Color Club to showcase the latest cosmetics trends

Hear It: Custom designed headphones and a Glamour edited “prettifying” playlist on Spotify – plus a month of free premium service on Spotify in every box

Feel It: AHAVA and Alterna® for skin and hair that feels silky smooth

Smell It: Oscar de la Renta fragrance to keep you uplifted

Taste It: LÄRABAR and Tea Forté for your snack cravings

You can get your Glamour Birchbox by subscribing at: https://www.birchbox.com/join

And stay tuned for another gorgeous giveaway on FREEday Friday soon!

xoxo,

BF

BF Asks: What are you most excited to get in your July Glamour Birchbox?

Are you entered in our Glamour Birchbox Giveaway yet?

Hi beauties,

Have you heard about the glamorous partnership between Glamour and Birchbox next month?
You haven’t?!!

Well, consider yourself informed.

Glamour Birchbox July 2012

To celebrate their “Five Senses of Summer” July issue (on stands now), Glamour has partnered with Birchbox to stimulate the senses of beauty junkies everywhere.

Curated by Glamour’s beauty editors, the July box features treats from the following brands, among others:

See It: stila and Color Club to showcase the latest cosmetics trends

Hear It: Custom designed headphones and a Glamour edited “prettifying” playlist on Spotify – plus a month of free premium service on Spotify in every box

Feel It: AHAVA and Alterna® for skin and hair that feels silky smooth

Smell It: Oscar de la Renta fragrance to keep you uplifted

Taste It: LÄRABAR and Tea Forté for your snack cravings

You can get your Glamour Birchbox by subscribing at: https://www.birchbox.com/join

And guess what? One of you lucky lovelies is gonna win it!
Just do the following:

1) Follow BeautyFrosting on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/BeautyFrosting, RT “Win July @birchbox by following @beautyfrosting!”  and comment below with “I heart Birchbox!”. Be sure to include a link to your tweet! *Contest open to U.S. residents only *Contest ends Thursday, July 5th at 6pm PST and 1 winner will be announced on Friday, July 6th.

Sending lots of lovely, lucky thoughts your way!

xoxo,

BF

BF Asks: What are you most excited to get in your July Glamour Birchbox?

FREEday Friday: Glamour Birchbox Giveaway Announcement

Hi beauties,

Have you heard about the glamorous partnership between Glamour and Birchbox next month?
You haven’t?!!

Well, consider yourself informed.

Glamour Birchbox July 2012

To celebrate their “Five Senses of Summer” July issue (on stands now), Glamour has partnered with Birchbox to stimulate the senses of beauty junkies everywhere.

Curated by Glamour’s beauty editors, the July box features treats from the following brands, among others:

See It: stila and Color Club to showcase the latest cosmetics trends

Hear It: Custom designed headphones and a Glamour edited “prettifying” playlist on Spotify – plus a month of free premium service on Spotify in every box

Feel It: AHAVA and Alterna® for skin and hair that feels silky smooth

Smell It: Oscar de la Renta fragrance to keep you uplifted

Taste It: LÄRABAR and Tea Forté for your snack cravings

You can get your Glamour Birchbox by subscribing at: https://www.birchbox.com/join

And guess what? One of you lucky lovelies is gonna win it!
Just do the following:

1) Follow BeautyFrosting on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/BeautyFrosting, RT “Win July @birchbox by following @beautyfrosting!”  and comment below with “I heart Birchbox!”. Be sure to include a link to your tweet! *Contest open to U.S. residents only *Contest ends Thursday, July 5th at 6pm PST and 1 winner will be announced on Friday, July 6th.

Sending lots of lovely, lucky thoughts your way!

xoxo,

BF

BF Asks: What are you most excited to get in your July Glamour Birchbox?

Mailbox Monday: May Birchbox “Gossip Girl” edition

Happy Mailbox Monday!

You guys know how much I love beauty boxes, right?
Have you subscribed yet to any?
Today we’re discussing the May Birchbox which celebrated CW’S Gossip Girl season finale.

May Birchbox: Celebrating CW's Gossip Girl

I received it on the actual day of the season finale so it was super fun!

In it, I received these little happier:

The little happies inside my May Birchbox: Gossip Girl edition

Details about May Birchbox: Gossip Girl edition

And here is the BeautyFrosting May Birchbox Gossip Girl video in our Mailbox Monday video series:

Mailbox Monday: Klutch Club

Happy Mailbox Monday!
I loooooove these days!
A box filled with lovely treats coming in the mail for a minimal fee every month?
Yes, please!
So when I heard how Klutch Club (out of Chicago) was taking the beauty box biz, turning it on its head, and bringing health & fitness into our mailboxes, I got verrrry excited!

And receiving my Klutch Club box was no less exciting!
It went above and beyond my expectations!

For just $18.00/month (for 1 month), $17.00/month (for 3 months) or $16.00/month (for 1 year), you can subscribe to Klutch Club and receive their bountiful goodies!

It comes like this – in a shoebox-sized box – bigger than the standard beauty box:

Klutch Club April

How does it work?

How Klutch Club works

Just fill out your profile, subscribe and receive the best in health and fitness geared to your lifestyle!

And this month included:

Klutch Club April

What did I find in this fabulous fit & healthy box?

  •     A detoxifying Yoga workout from MTV Power Yoga star, Kristin McGee
  •     A brand new energizing drink product to kick-start your workout
  •     Post workout coconut water hydration to replenish electrolytes
  •     Soothing teas with plant based anti-oxidants to improve your skin
  •     A cleansing organic deep-pore facial wash
  •     Organic omega 3, flax and fish oil supplements in new flavors
  •     Satisfying healthy snacks and nutritious treats
  •     A gift from an organic yoga clothing company

I hope I get to bring each month’s Klutch Club box opening to you but, for now, don’t you think you should receive it yourself? Click here to subscribe and receive your KC each month!  And check out my Mailbox Monday series on youtube here:

BeautyFrosting Mailbox Monday Series on YouTube

Who doesn’t need a little H&F (health & fitness) in their life?
I sure do!

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What is your favorite way to get fit & healthy?

Mailbox Monday: Target Beauty For Every Body Box – Better than ice cream…

Looky, looky cookie cone at what came in my mailbox last week!

A Target Spring Beauty Box: Beauty For Every Body

It was FREEE!!! And all I had to do was “LIKE” Target on Facebook! Done. It arrived less than 2 weeks later. Wow!

So, I opened my box to find this adorable, silky, bubblegum & orange sherbet-hued, summer-travel-ready makeup bag:

Summer-Travel Ready Hot Pink & Orange Sherbet-hued Makeup Bag

So what was in this little beauty?
A generous sampling of delicious travel-sized goodies! And I am genuinely excited to try every one of them, y’all!

Here’s the scoop:

The Scoop: Summer-Travel-Ready Tastes

Pantene Color Preserve Volume Shampoo(50 mL): Yay! Maybe I’ll get a little extra oomph!

Neutrogena visibly bright daily facial cleanser. (0.5 fl oz) Said to transform dull, tired skin to visibly bright & refreshed. Looking forward to trying this and reporting back to you, beauties!

Third item is Nivea Extended Moisture Daily Lotion (1 fl oz) Said to relieve dry, tight skin 48 hrs. Helloooo summer legs!

Simple Sensitive Skin Experts Facial Cleansing Wipes (7 wipes)

L’oreal Paris Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer: Let there be light, darlin’!

Target Beauty coupons: Who can’t use these? This girl sure can. And sure will.

So, next time Target tells you to “LIKE” them and you’ll get a goody in the mail. Do it! Target is true to their word!

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What is your favorite beauty buy at Target?

Mailbox Monday: New Beauty Test Tube

Merry Monday, beauties!

Whew! What a weekend!

Today, I have another beauty box for y’all!

Some of you may be familiar with New Beauty magazine. For those of you who aren’t, New Beauty, is the monthly beauty bible for all of us who need to know about the best, brightest and newest beauty finds.

So who better to order a beauty box from? That was my thinking.

New Beauty’s Test Tube is AMAZING!

It was the one box I’ve received where I loved EVERYTHING in the box! Kind of like the best goodie bag you could hope to get at a party or event. Except filled with only the best of the best beauty products.

So what’s a Test Tube? It’s a cylinder filled with discriminating products aimed to delight! And at only $29.95 for a quarterly delivery (once every 3 months), it is clearly a “new beauty” itself!

New Beauty Test Tube: The box

New Beauty Test Tube: The Tube

New Beauty Test Tube: The View from the top

New Beauty Test Tube: The Goods

New Beauty Test Tube: The Goods

Touted as the “ultimate product sampling” program, New Beauty Test Tube delivers the goods. In this box, I found products that made me smile and squeal with glee:

MoroccanOil Glimmer Shine ($26)

Dr.Brandt Pores No More Anti-Aging Mattifying Lotion ($60)

Hydroxatone 90 Second Wrinkle Reducer & Instant Wrinkle Filler ($79.95 each)

Kerstin Florian Krauter Feet & Leg Balm ($32)

Garnier Skin Renew Clinical Dark Spot Corrector ($17)

LashFood ($95)

Kneipp Herbal Bath ($19)

Ahava Extreme Day Cream ($68) & Essential Daily Moisturizer ($38.50)

Also helpful? A detailed full-size booklet that tells you all about the products – much more detailed that most.

So have I discovered one thing I simply can’t live without thanks to this program?
No.

I’ve found 3 products that I can’t live without! And I still haven’t tried everything in “the tube”.

So far, I am madly in love with:

* the Kneipp herbal bath (having bought 2 additional Valerian & Hops herbal baths and a Kneipp herbal bath sampler for my mom since initially trying)

* LashFood! As a devotee of Latisse, I found LashFood to be extremely effective. I only used it for a few weeks but I found that my Latisse results continued with its usage and my lashes actually began to naturally curl which has never happened!

*MoroccanOil. Fun! Shimmery! Luminous! These are a few of the words that come to mind when thinking of this product

And I will try more as the weeks move on.

But what is one recommendation I feel compelled to make?

SUBSCRIBE TO NEW BEAUTY TEST TUBE!!!

Whatcha’ waitin’ for?
Treat yourself, you gorgeous thing!

xoxo,
BF

 

BF Asks: Which of the products above, featured in the New Beauty Test Tube, do you most want to try?