Handmade by Penelope

Happy December! Do the 12 days of Christmas start now or what? Honestly, I don't know!  Christmas starts right now for me, because I'm feeling quite festive this year (which means I'm really generous and gifty to myself).

Another present I recently bought for myself is an adorable hand-made makeup bag from Penelope-of-Inspired by Beauty's new e-boutique, Handmade by Penelope.  She had introduced her well-made bags in a roundabout way, gifting bloggers lucky enough to swap with her with the little treasures.  The stock is, as you'd expect, limited but fortunately I love the pattern I was able to order, Tanoshii (Fun) Patisserie:

I know this pattern might be cuteness-overload for some, but there are several more sophisticated or subtley cute fabric patterns as well. For me, as a crazy cupcake lady (thus far I've been able to keep cupcakes off this blog, but let me know if you'd like to see the extent of my cupcake possessions), the cupcake- and macaron-chowing colorful bears fit my personality and love of kawaii things :)

Penelope, generous and kind as she is, also sent a super-cute macaron charm as well <3 It wasn't listed with the makeup bag I chose, but maybe she saw my comments on her post and knew I really wanted one!  I'm so happy with this little gift to myself, and I'd be happy to buy Penelope's little bags for my sister, mum, etc., but I don't want to buy out her whole inventory at once and leave you guys out in the cold!

Natasha of Ain't That Pretty wrote a nice review of Penelope's little bags as well, so do check that out.  I seriously like even just looking at pictures of them - they are THAT cute!

I love the UK Giveaway! (My First Giveaway)

'ello guys! I follow no less than 20 Beauty Blogs from the UK on nearly a daily basis.  Some of these are by my favorite bloggers of all.  Most of my day is spent at the computer (for work, so only sort of by choice), and y'all make it a LOT more bearable!
 I understand a lot of you guys don't get the U.S.'s best inexpensive cosmetic brands and I think that's a darned shame!  I sure wish Sleek would hop the pond and be available at CVS already. 
So, I've put together this giveaway box open to U.K. and non-U.S. or Canada addresses only:

Physicians Formula Happy Booster in Light Bronzer
Wet n Wild LE Trio Eye Shadow in Fly Me to the Moon, Bright Idea, and Enter a New Realm;
Color Icon Shadow single in Brulee; Color Icon Eye Kohls in Purple and White
Milani Rose Hip Lipstick and Luminoso Baked Blush

MAC LE Hibiscus Cremesheen Lipstick from the Surf, Baby! Collection (Sold Out!)
Cherry Culture Bubble Gum Lip Balm (GWP)
Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss in Cupquake (My favorite! I repurchase this all the time)
Bath & Body Works Liplicious Lip Gloss in Cookies and Scream (LE Halloween 2011)
Too Faced (Sephora Exclusive 500 pt. freebie palette and Mini Shadow Insurance), Lash Injection Mini Mascara

Giveaway Rules:

• Open to non-U.S. or Canada followers only (don't worry, I'm going to do a U.S.-only Giveaway! Canadian Giveaways are complicated but I'll try to do it in the future)

• Please follow with Google Friend Connect (following constitutes entry unless you request to be removed from consideration.  U.S. and Canadian residents will not be considered for this Giveaway)
  
• Leave a comment below with your email address in order to be contacted
  
• For an extra entry (+1) mention this giveaway in your sidebar
  
• For an extra 2 entries (+2) write a post about this giveaway (3 entries maximum per person)
  
• Giveaway ends October 3rd, 2011

*If mentioning my giveaway in either sidebar or post, please leave me a link to your blog*

(Thanks to Penelope of Inspired by Beauty because I totally ripped off the format of your giveaway post. I hope it is okay!)

Official Rules so I don't get fined…

The approximate value of the grand prize is $80.00. This prize is non-transferable. There are no cash or other substitutes of prizes by winner. Beauty Vigilante reserves the right to substitute similar prizes of equal or greater value in the event the above prize is unavailable for any reason. Individual, parent, or legal guardian of the winner is solely responsible for all applicable federal, state and local taxes with respect to the grand prize. Prize will be mailed to the winner’s physical mailing address. Please allow six (6) to eight (8) weeks for delivery.  Beauty Vigilante is not responsible for lost/damaged/stolen items in the mail.
By entering or accepting the prize in this contest, winner agrees to be bound by these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions and to conform to all federal, state and local laws and regulations.
No purchase necessary to enter or win. This contest runs from September 26th, 2011 through October 3rd, 2011 at 12:01AM EST.

Eligibility

This contest is open to all non-U.S. and non-Canadian participants unless prohibited by their local state/country. Prizes won by minors will be awarded to their parent or legal guardian on their behalf. For reference, the age of majority is 18 years old in the United States, with the exception of Alabama (19), Delaware (19), Mississippi (21), and Nebraska (19). The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Eligible participants are allowed to enter up to three (3) times, as per the section above.

How to Win

One (1) winner will be selected through a random drawing from all eligible entries after contest closes. In the event that the original winner does not meet eligibility requirements or he/she forfeits the prize, the prize may be awarded to the next randomly drawn eligible participant. All entries must be received on or before October 3rd, 2011 at 12:01AM EST. The winners will be notified via e-mail or message (as applicable), and blog post. Winners will have 48 hours to claim prize after initial notification. If winner fails to claim within 48 hours, an alternative winner may be selected.

Inspired By Beauty's Giveaway!

Hi guys! If you aren't already reading it, Inspired by Beauty (by one of my fave bloggers, Penelope) is running an awesome giveaway!  Click here to check out her page (I hope she doesn't mind I keep linking to it!). 

To be honest, I want to win because I collect all things cupcake and if you read my review you'll know I don't have those Sleek Palettes and that I want them badly, haha!  I haven't ever won a giveaway on a blog before (world's tiniest violin).

Also, I am dying to do a giveaway myself because I've got tons of stuff I bought too many backups of, but I feel silly doing it with less than 50 followers... if you have any suggestions for getting my readership up please leave a comment below!  I'd love to be a Cosmetic Fairy!

Tag Again! Top 10 Cosmetic Products Right Now

The other tag I got from the knock-out Penelope of Inspired by Beauty was a Top 10 Cosmetics award.  These are my current besties in no particular ranking:

1) Vivo Per Lei Peel ($28 at amazon.com)
2) Origins Vitazing ($35)
3) E.L.F. Personal Blend Foundation in Light ($8)
4) Bare Escentuals Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush ($20)
5) Cherry Culture Lip Balm (free with purchase at cherryculture.com, bubblegum-flavored)
6) Bath & Body Works Liplicious Double Delish Lip Gloss in Peanut Butter & Jelly ($4, bronzey-berry tint and tastes like grape lollies)
7) MAC Lush Amber (lustre) Lipstick ($14.50, LE Semi-Precious Collection, beautiful nude)
8) Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Light ($4)
9) Illamasqua powder blush in Lover ($24)
10) Ojon Damage Reverse Instant Restorative Hair Serum ($25 for 1.7 oz., lightly fragranced of warm spices mmm! Somehow I managed to forget it for the photo... weird)

Friday is tomorrow... huzzah!

My First Tags!

The breathtakingly gorgeous Penelope from Inspired by Beauty has tagged me!
Honestly, I'm not quite sure what a blogger award is, but I understand a tag :-D
The Top Ten Products Tag will have to come later because I don't have my makeup bag with me.  But I think I can scrounge up 7 Things about me that y'all don't know!
1) I'm the youngest of four siblings.  They all got married within 2009 and I had to stand up in two weddings!
Bridesmaid:

My hair wasn't long, rather it was chin-length and curls were stategically pinned up.

Maid of Honor:

My sister is the prettier one, argh!

2) I was a flight attendant for (now absorbed by Delta) Northwest Airlines for all of 2007. It was a blast and I wish I could do it again! But it's quite difficult to have any kind of life outside of work until you get seniority with the union. I don't have pictures easily available of me in uniform because around that time a flight attendant had famously been fired for posting (sexy?) pictures of herself online in uniform so I didn't want to risk having any online anywhere.
3) I graduated from uni a semester early because my parents were suddenly unable to pay and I hadn't saved any money. That's the way to do it! University is a blast, especially if you love learning like I do, but you pay through the nose for it. If you can manage to graduate early at all, learn on your own time for free and just graduate!
4) I taught English in Fukushima.  My town is very close to the Nuclear Evacuation Zone (between Koriyama and Iwaki).

The view from my apartment balcony in August of 2005. Yep, them's rice fields!

5) I was dumped by my first boyfriend (a redhead) on September 11, 2001.  Obviously, I didn't care that much because I was worried about terrorist attacks. So all in all, I guess that's not a bad time to dump somebody?
6) I got married on September 11, 2010 (to a redhead. Things really do come in threes, as my husband was my third redhead boyfriend!).  Wedding makeup post to come! And yeah, I know it's a weird choice of date, but it just worked out that way.

In our limo!

7) We opted for three short honeymoons instead of one long honeymoon:
The extended stay in Las Vegas after our wedding:

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum at the Venetian

Our quick weekend at Hogwarts:

Confession: I made this picture black and white because I can't stand my makeup!

And another (no makeup, just went swimming) long weekend trip to Oahu, Hawaii:

Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore, because we like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"

So I guess the only interesting things about me for the last several years are having to do with jobs/weddings.  Sorry I don't have any unusual talents!

I'd like to tag Jess, Jessica, Jessica, Steph, Kayla, Marie, and Tamara!  Well, and anyone else from my fave bloggers in the sidebar.  I really do love and read all of your blogs as much as possible :-D