Coquette

Clarins Odyssey Holiday Collection

Clarins Odyssey Holiday Collection is not only a perfect collection of makeup for the holidays, the packaging itself is just drool-worthy. They're like little boxes of gold that fit in your hand. The overall color scheme of brown, bronze and gold will warm up any skin tone. The look is simply perfect with any holiday attire. My husband is taking me to out to a special birthday dinner (the big 4-0!) at The French Laundry in a couple weeks and I can't wait to create this illuminating and sleek look for my face. I'm also excited that I have a few more events than usual to go to this holiday season so I can experiment on different looks with this collection as well.

Here are my favorites from the collection:

Eye Quartet Mineral Palette Odyssey ($40)

I'm a huge fan of eye shadow quartets and this one is just perfect for the holidays. If you are like me, I'm really tired of the dark, smokey eye. Besides, it doesn't really work well on me at all. This limited edition quartet is perfect because you can create bold and beautiful eyes without looking like a racoon. Use the colors wet or dry depending on how bold you want to go. The metallic gold shadow is my favorite and it really helps your eyes sparkle! (You can even try it as a liner.) The look is just perfect for any oufit and I like that I can even wear some of the colors lightly in the day too. One of the best things about this quartet is that it comes with a little handy "cheat sheat" card showing you the order and the ways you can apply the four colors to create the right look. Such a great idea!

Odyssey Face Palette ($55)

This exquisite pressed powder will make your skin shimmer and glow on the holiday party circuit. Add it where you want a little sparkle (aka get noticed!) – on the high points of your face, neck, décolleté, or shoulders. It comes in a luxe gold compact emblazoned with the odyssey medallion which is also embossed on the powder as well. It will look perfectly chic in your cluch too when you want to do touch ups.

Note: Products were provided by Clairins for review.

Olivia Palmero's Motorcycle Boots - Report Jude Bootie

(Photos: Zimbio)

I just bought the Report Jude Bootie ($99 on Amazon) in black (also comes in brown) that have been seen on Olivia Palmero all over NYC. These booties are sold out almost everywhere. Piperlime is backordered for black until late Jan. Zappos is sold out too. I finally found them on Amazon and even got them on sale with their special checkout code. The fit is great and the shoes are really comfortable. The heel is mock wood and you can't really tell unless you hold up the shoe to your face really. But since the heel is all rubber, you get that super cushiony feeling as you walk. I have tried on a lot of motorcycle/buckle boots and these worked the best for me. I love how Olivia pairs them with skinny jeans and leggings for that street smart casual look.

Enter promo code CYBRSHOE at checkout and save $20 on $100 orders or $50 off $200 orders on eligible items sold and shipped directly by Amazon. (Btw, it works to get $20 off this $99 pair of booties.) Deal ends on November 29, 2012.

Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Show this Weekend in SF

(Pictured above: Top: Chunky Wool Shawl/Scarf from Nisey Knits and Wishbone Necklaces by Sora Designs, Bottom: Love this City iPhone Case by Mantra Style and Elephant Pillow from Lil Fishy)

Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Show
Concourse Exhibition Center, East Hall
620 Seventh Street (@ Brannan Street)
December 1-2, 2012
Saturday and Sunday
Hours: 11am - 6pm
web site

I am a craft fair lover and my favorite show has always been Bazaar Bizarre. This year's Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Fair happens this weekend! Over 200 vendors will be selling at the event so you can get your holiday shopping done by supporting local artists, designers, food makers and crafters. The first 200 visitors on both Saturday and Sunday will receive a limited-edition tote bag designed by indie illustrator Martin Hsu and packed with free goodies.

Get Crafty
The DIY Funhouse will have lots of workshops and demos from local arts organizations and non-profits including Workshop SF and Rock Paper Scissors who will offer silk screening DIYs for wrapping paper and t-shirts, creativebug who will teach attendees how to make books from matchboxes, and The Crucible who will host a jewelry making booth – just to name a few! For those who want to get competitive SCRAP will be holding a birdhouse-building competition with supplied recycled materials.

(Pictured above: Bacon Crack by Nosh This and Bow & Sparrow's Cookie Tree)

Bay area food lovers will enjoy lots of great eats curated by Forage SF and populated by some of the best food artisans the Bay Area has to offer including Kika’s Treats, Uncommon Pickle, Oaktown Jerk, Maison de Monaco, and more. You can also explore a non-profit area celebrating some of the cities most loved organizations including Center for the Book and Creativity Explored.

Chaiken Fall 2012 Sample Sale Wed & Thurs in SF

Chaiken is a San Francisco based clothing brand that is back again. Founder Julie Chaiken started the line to bring affordable, high-quality, flattering and stylish pants to women everywhere. She put the brand on hold to take time to raise her kids (kudos to her for that) and relaunched the brand last spring. I used to shop their sample sales in the late 90's and have a pair of their famous perfect fitting pants.

More on her Spring 13 collection soon. Until then, if you are in SF don't miss your chance to shop the fall 2012 samples!

Chaiken Fall 2012 Sample Sale
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 from 11am - 6pm
Thursday, November 29, 2012 from 11am - 6pm
785 Market Street, 13th Floor
San Francisco
www.chaikenclothing.com

No7 Poppy King Lip Crayons

The only thing keeping me sane this Cyber Monday (way too many emails on sales) is my new No 7 Poppy King Lip Crayon Raindrops Collection ($9.99 at Boots). Poppy King is an Australian entrepreneur who created a line of cosmetics available at Poppy stores in the 90's. This year she has teamed up with UK brand Boots to create these really cool lip crayons in five must have shades.

I have been wearing sheer lipstick most of this summer and finally with fall am ready for more color. I've never used a lip crayon for daily use before, but let me tell you -- I am a new fan now. You get the precision of a lip pencil (I get great definition to my lips), with a creamier lipstick texture. I also love the cute packaging and that the cover for the lip crayon includes a handy sharpener.

You can head to your nearest Target to see and test out the colors but most of the good ones were sold out in my local one so I would buy them online. (Boots USA has free shipping for orders over $25.) I wear Dancing everyday now which is a perfect berry shade and I also have the bolder red called Smiling, which is perfect for a night out.

PDXBeautiful has swatches on her hand showing all five colors for you to decide.

Note: Products were provided for review by Boots USA.

Hello! Lucky Personalized Holiday Cards + Get 20% Off

Hello! Lucky's holiday photo cards are a beautiful way to spread some holiday cheer this season. There are lots of different designs to choose from featuring gorgeous typography and clever designs. I just ordered my cards yesterday and chose this woodblock ornaments design. I love that stamped look of the card which gives it a handmade feel. You can also customize everything you see for the card. Choose your own custom color scheme. I've never seen so many color choices available for customized cards. There are 35 standard ink colors where you can create your own custom palette. You can choose the pre-set text or insert your own special message. Plus I love the selection of stylish fonts. Preview it all online so you can see what you are getting. You can even choose what color envelope you want for your card. (I chose chartreuse for mine.)

I looked for a lot of photos to use from this past year of my girls, but kept coming back to this photo of Chloe and Lulu from last month. We had just come back from the salon for Chloe's first haircut and her hairdresser showed me how to do a cute twist to her hair. I wanted to snap some pictures of her hair before it unraveled later so I had them pose for me. I never expected such a cute photo to come out of that ordinary day.

If you aren't a photo person, you can choose from these personalized non-photo holiday cards as well as regular holiday cards.

Get 20% off your order at Hello! Lucky
Just for Coquette readers, shop for your holiday cards (and more) at hellolucky.com and get 20% off your order with the code Coquette2012. Offer is good until December 31, 2012.

Here's a preview of the great selection of holiday cards at Hello! Lucky:

Note: Cards were provided by Hello! Lucky for review.

Shop eBay and Get a Free Mani or Pedi at Bliss Spas on Black Friday

I'm not a big fan of braving the shopping crowds on Black Friday. That's why I like this eBay collaboration with Bliss Spa called Buy in Bliss. On Friday November 23rd, shop for personalized gift picks on eBay via your tablet or smartphone while getting free manis, pedis or foot massages at select Bliss Spas.

Book your free appointment now online at Bliss Spas in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, LA, NYC (2 locations), San Francisco and South Beach.

And to help give you some eBay shopping ideas now, don't miss the exclusive eBay Holiday Collective where for a limited time more than 40 gift items under $100 from seven leading designers (Tibi, Chris Benz, Jonathan Adler and more).

I am already eyeing these Fallon Micro-Spike Cluster Earrings ($58). So cute!

Winner of the Give Books Giveaway

Congratulations to Heather from Lena, IL for winning my 10 book picks in my recent Give Books giveaway from Chronicle Books. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Shop for all your holiday gifts with this special 30% off promo code from Chronicle Books:
Now through December 31, enjoy 30% off + free ground shipping on all holiday orders at ChronicleBooks.com. Enter discount code GIVEBOOKS at checkout.

Holiday Beauty 2012

I love browsing all the holiday specials from beauty brands. I always try to find one thing to treat myself to as I refresh my makeup drawer and discover new products. There are so many great palettes, mini brush sets, and great makeup that is just waiting to be tried. I also love the special gifts with purchases that's also an added gift for you when you shop for a friend or family member. Estee Lauder brings you the Estee Lauder Ultimate Color (pictured left) is only $58.50 with any Estee Lauder frangrance purchase. Similarly, the Lancome Beauty Box is just yours for $59.50 with any Lancome purchase. Choose from warm or cool colors and get 12 full sized beauty essentials.

Here are some other beautiful beauty products for holiday 2012 at Bloomingdales:

Dior Grand Bal Lip & Eye Palette ($85)

Laura Mercier Glamour Wardrobe - Dual Decker For Eyes, Cheeks & Lips ($98)

Bobbi Brown Bellini Lip & Eye Palette ($75)

Bobbi Brown Uber Nude Mini Lip & Eye Palette ($30)

Lancome Glamorous in Red Lip Set ($39.50)

Yves Saint Laurent Shocking Mascara Set ($30)

M·A·C Primped Out Eye Look Bag, Decadently Pink ($46.50)

Bobbi Brown Caviar & Oyster Collection Mini Brush Set ($65)

Lancome Holiday Brush Set ($67)

Kate Spade Locked In Wide Bangle

I love Kate Spade's stud design that has adorned their handbags. Now this iconic design is featured in some of their new jewelry pieces. My favorite is the Kate Spade Locked In Wide Bangle ($148). It's the perfect bold piece to add to your wardrobe to stack up or wear alone and features shiny gold plated metal. There's also a Locked In Thin Bangle ($88) if you like them thinner. These kinds of bracelets are essential because they work perfectly for the work week and also upcoming holiday parties at night.