If you’re wanting to try mineral makeup for the first time you should pick up Everyday Minerals’ free sample makeup kit! It comes with 3 foundation samples, a concealer, and a blush. All you have to pay for is shipping (which was $3.09 for me). Once you add the custom kit to your cart, it allows you to drag and drop the samples you want into your cart. If you’re asian, you’ll love that they offer “olive” tones!! BTW, I’ve tried the very popular Bare Escentuals and my face was really itchy from using it. I read reviews that said Everyday Minerals does not cause that itchiness so I’m anxious to try it!

If you need help picking the type, this might help:

Original Glo for that added touch of dewiness and long lasting coverage, and is ideal for normal to dry skin.

Semi-Matte for a more subtle glow, formulated for normal to combination skin.

Matte for a silky smooth matte finish that is ideal for normal to oily skin.

Intensive for a silky near-matte finish and controls oil where needed without drying your skin and is suitable for all skin types.

Free at Everyday Minerals

Since I part my hair I always risk getting my scalp sunburned. It sucks! Now I can get this:

It protects your scalp without leaving it sticky or greasy.

$26 at Amazon

Here are a few samples I found worth signing up for…

Clean & Clear Morning Burst Oil Absorbing Sheets - removes oil and shine without smudging makeup

Dove’s Shine Therapy or Go Fresh Energy Shampoo - click on Get a Free Sample at the bottom. Ooooh I want shiny hair! And I love Dove products

I just picked up this product a few days ago after reading a ton of good reviews. I have to agree, I love this product! It makes my face feel so nice and soft and I love that tingly feeling when you first put it on. You apply it while you’re in the shower and leave it on for a minute. Then you scrub and rinse. Simple and easy and it produces results! Thumbs up on this product.

~$7 at most drugstores or $6.99 at drugstore.com

PS. If you go to their website and click on “Print it” you can get a $2 off coupon!

I’m loving these kits that Sephora has. Check out this Sun Safety Kit that everyone should have now that summer is approaching. It comes with 11 travel ready sizes of their best skincare products.

$25 at Sephora (valued at $87!)

Since Mother’s Day is coming up I thought I would do a gift guide specifically for moms. I find that as I grow older, I end up buying my mom more useful gifts since those are the ones she seems to enjoy most. In fact, this angry asian girl wallet I own pretty much sums up my mom:

hehe, I love my mom! I hope that you’ll find something fitting for your mom in this list:

Breakfast In Bed Bath & Body Set for $30 - Not enough time to make your mom breakfast in bed? Just buy her this bath set, it’s the next best thing.

Sleekstor VeggieSteam for $10.99 - My mom’s a cook and I think this steamer would be so useful! You just stick it in a pot and steam your veggies away. It’s flexible enough to fit in a variety of pots and also dishwasher safe.

Sprinkles Cupcake Mix for $14 - These famous cupcakes come in chocolate, lemon, red velvet, or vanilla. Bake your mom a batch. MMMM!

Prepara Herb Saver for $29.95 - I hate when my herbs go bad before I finish using them. I know my mom would appreciate this. We’re viet….parsley and other herbs galore!

Deodorizing Refrigerator Egg for $16.50 - Is your mom as obsessed as my mom is with cleanliness? keep her fridge smelling good with this hitech gadget. She won’t have to keep replacing her box of baking soda since this lasts for months and can be renewed by just heating it up in the oven for 30 mins.

Mom and Me Photo Frame For $29 - How cute would it be to put an old picture of your mom and yourself in this frame??

Personalized m&ms (price varies on packaging but starts at $3.99) - Is your mom an M&M lover? How perfect would this be! Each time she eats one, she’ll think of you.

Pouch Mug for $11.50 - This is so convenient if you drink tea from a tea bag. Buy a box of her favorite tea and you got yourself a great gift!

Vacu Vin Wine Saver for $9.99 - ok, so your mom’s a wine drinker instead? This will help keep her bottles of wine fresher longer.

Uncooked Mother’s Day Card for $2.50 - I love these cards. All of their Mother’s and Father’s day cards are on sale for $2.50 too!

Or a more serious card for $2.75 - Love the colors!

There’s free shipping at Fred Flare all weekend with coupon code butterfly on purchases of $20 or more. That saves you $7.95 on your order! Here are my picks:

From left to right: cute as a button sewing kit $9, flowers in a can $10, kappa measuring cup and juicer $14, devil grater $20, zipits zipper pulls set of 2 $8, smooth skin face friends set of 2 $12

I just discovered that solid shampoo bars exist. The concept intrigues me. I’m not really sure how it works though. Like how do you lather your hair up with a bar? Apparently you can and apparently it’s great for your hair and the environment. Solid shampoos are all natural. Click here to see all of the reasons why you should switch to shampoo bars, including reducing hair loss and dry scalp!

Lush carries a wide variety of shampoo bars like this one:

Exotic floral inspiration to make dull hair shiny
A lovely white shampoo bar with gold sparkly bits (not loads, just enough to leave a couple of sparkles in your hair), Ultimate helps hair shine by using spicy elemi and ylang ylang oils to balance your scalp’s oil production. Deliciously sweet violet leaf oil is said to relieve anger and anxiety so you can shine socially too. Now proudly SLS-free.

$9.25 for a 1.9oz bar which supposedly lasts for quite awhile. Another plus? You can bring it on the airplane without worrying about liquid restrictions! I think I’m going to try this out.

Sarah contacted me a few days ago about her handmade soap shop on Etsy, 4thAveSoapCo. I love the goodies she has. Check out this lime sugar lip balm. I LOVE anything lime!!!!

Our lip balms are made with the BEST quality oils and butters to be found. With shea oil as the top ingredient, this balm has a silky smooth glide that leaves your lips incredibly soft with no waxy feel. With the exception of the fragrance, these are completely natural and contain no fillers or unnecessary ingredients.

Only $3.25. Be sure to check out her other wonderful items!

Here are a few products that were voted by readers as being their favorites. I’m always down to try recommended products!

Vera Wang’s Princess Perfume

Click here for a free sample! (Link at the bottom)

Best Face Wash: Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Power-Foam Wash

Fave Shampoo: Herbal Essences Body Envy and Hello Hydration (I really need to try this because winter has made my hair dry dry dry!)

#1 Face Lotion: Clinique Dramtically Different Moisturizing Lotion