These bags are pretty neat, I must say. They are made of recycled pop tops!  ”Escama Studio prides itself as an ongoing experiment in sustainability, focusing on design and high quality recycled products. Each item is handmade by a Brazilian artisan and the name of the artisan is included in the bag.” Haven’t seen anything like it before!

These bags have been featured in several publications including O Magazine and Elle Hong Kong. For more information, please go to www.escamastudio.com.

These accessories have such a girly charm to them, and I happen to love it! The layering of sheer fabrics gives this light, elegant, flutter-away type of beauty.  And of course, custom designs are available! From the Mollusa etsy shop:

I love the idea of these “clutches” as gifts for your bridesmaids. These In Touch Clutches are from DownstairsDesigns on etsy. Not only are they cute- but they seem so useful! You can tuck away to do lists, stationary, notepads, pens, etc. How cute would it be to have personalized notecards for your girls inside. They have more than 600 fabrics to choose from so you can easily coordinate with your wedding colors!

And they come with a Sharpie pen! (It’s the small things you know ) And if you buy six for your wedding party, you get yours free!

I am so intrigued by these handmade Paper Cuts by MadeByJulene. These would make a great first anniversary gift (paper is the first gift) or great signage for your wedding day. Really, you could find tons of uses for these. I want one!

Go to Julene’s website for more info and to see pictures of these in frames.  So unique!

Lovin’ these clutches by Percyhandmade on etsy. The bridal clutches are so subtle and chic- and the others would make great gifts to your bridesmaids. These clutches can go the distance after the wedding!

Check out percyhandmade for more!

I never knew soap could be this cute. These precious soaps are from the sunbasilgarden etsy shop. Are the wedding related? Well, they could be. They could be wedding favors (maybe a little pricey for that depending on your budget…). But they would make the cutest gifts- maybe part of a “Pamper Yourself” gift basket for bridesmaids. I don’t know, but they’re so fun, I’d find a reason to buy them!

This is the breakfast collection:

Java Latte Soap- a full robust flavor of fresh brewed coffee
Buttered Toast- the realistic scent of fresh bread
Pancakes, Eggs and Bacon-maple syrup scented bar
Lemon Square- smells like fresh lemons with a hint of pie crust

YUMMY!

From the top-left: Cookies & Milk (Chocolate chip cookie scent), Ginger-lime Sunrise (lime), Peas & Carrots (fresh lettuce), Honeysuckle Poppy (honeysuckle), Watermelon Rind (watermelon), Roll the Dice (black licorice)

This shop has so may more scents and designs- from root beer to carrot cake~ I love sunbasilgarden!

I didn’t want to the end the week without an etsy find! I love this little “pocketbook” by Brenda SantaFe on etsy. Wouldn’t this be a cute gift (a something blue)  for the bride 2be? She could write down all of her wedding day thoughts or even take it on the honeymoon to jot down some quick memorable moments.  It’s made with ceramic covers and Italian floral and blue textured papers. A beautiful keepsake!

So I may be  a little behind, but I just got put on to the  e.l.f. cosmetics line.  Can I just say…why didn’t anyone tell me about this stuff earlier?! If you don’t know about e.l.f, in a nutshell- they sell most of their makeup for $1 and the rest of it is pretty cheap too.

So what’s the deal with this company anyways?  Well, if you ask them, they’ll say:

We at e.l.f. believe that innovative technology, quality ingredients and superb delivery systems should not be limited to prestige retailers. Every woman should have the opportunity to participate in innovation, without sacrificing her budget. Our cosmetics are designed to improve and accentuate the individual, not hide her away.

Now, if you asked me, I’d say they make cheap, good makeup- and there’s always an opportunity to save even more with a discount code!

And what’s this internet buzz about them being owned by Nordstrom or something? According to the Nordstrom website:

06/18/08
Customer Alert – Unauthorized E-mails About eyeslipsface.com

Some of our customers have received e-mails from an unauthorized and unknown source regarding the website eyeslipsface.com. We have contacted the owner of eyeslipsface.com and determined that these e-mails are the product of a party unrelated to either Nordstrom or eyeslipsface.com.

Neither Nordstrom nor Nordstrom.com is affiliated with eyeslipsface.com or the e.l.f. product line. Nordstrom does not sell e.l.f. products.

I ended up ordering about $40 worth of makeup (that’s with a promo code and shipping). Shipping at the site is $6.95 unless you have a shipping promo code.

Side note: On the subject of promo codes- if you don’t do this already, you absolutely must get into the habit of googling for promo codes before purchasing online. No kidding-I probably saved over $50 bucks in the last month spending an extra 5 minutes searching for promo codes. You can really rack up the savings on sites that allow you to stack them. The e.l.f website, unfortunately, does not allow you to use multiple promo codes. I was lucky enough to find a code for 50% of their mineral makeup line, which resulted in a $15 savings for me!

Alright, so back to the review. I ordered some of their $1 line, mineral make up line, and a few from the studio line.

The $1 lip glosses were pretty good- very sheer with just a tint of color (the way I like them). I like the lightness of them compared to the MAC lipglasses that I typically use. A dollar well spent most definitely. I also liked the lip balms. The scents were very nice.

I did NOT like the $1 nail polishes. Out of the 3 I ordered, 2 produced a stringy paint coat when applied. I don’t know what the deal is, but I’ll stick to my more expensive polishes for my tootsies.

I also ordered the duo cream eyeshadows: grade A in my book. That’s me above after trying them out.

Okay…not really.

By far, I was happiest with my mineral makeup. The mineral eyeshadows were beautiful. I ordered a starter kit ($20) that came with a foundation, concealer, and blush. I liked the foundation, but admittedly,  I have not tried any other mineral makeup to compare. It gave me a very natural look that would be great for those days where you just want to “look” like you didn’t put any effort into being pretty.

The studio line is great too- a little more pricey (and by pricey I mean like $3 or $5 bucks). A lot of it seems to be out of stock too…oh well.

You definitely should give this stuff a try-I’m sure you’ll find at least a few things that you can use to replace the more expensive stuff in your makeup kit. And what about using the makeup in a cute little gift bag for your bridesmaids, or any other pretty chicky that takes part in your special day? Every girl loves lip glosses and eyeshadows!