6 Beauty Stocking Stuffers Under $5 - Holiday Gift Guide

You don't have to break your wallet to buy wonderful gifts for every single relative, friend, neighbor and associate. You can stuff stockings plump with beautiful gifts bought at lovely prices. Below are some fantastic holiday gifts for $5.00 or under:

Sun Bum SPF 30+ Flavored Lip Balm (Sun Bum, $3.99)

These smooth SPF 30 sunscreen lip balms contain cocoa butter, aloe, vitamin E and come in various yummy flavors such as Banana, Pink Guava, Mango, Coconut, Key Lime and Pomegranate. Toss one of these in every stocking to ensure all lips are soft and forever smiling.

Boscia Pink Peppermint Blotting Linens (Sephora, $5.00)

This slim, sparkling, pink package of 100 blotting linens infused with the invigorating essence of peppermint fits perfectly into your pocket, handbag, or desk drawer so you can instantly blot away excess oil and pep your face without disturbing your makeup. I am a true believer in Boscia blotting sheets and they usually retail for double the price.

Soap & Glory Hand Food Hand Cream (Sephora, $5.00)

Everyone appreciates a portable hand cream for the dry winter season. This eye catching hand cream is made with shea butter, macadamia oil, and marshmallow. Smooth hands mean more hand holding.

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

Urban Decay, recently bought by L'oreal, has just released their Naked Basics eyeshadow palette. The Naked Basics by Urban Decay is their first completely matte palette, featuring six Naked neutrals shades, including four never-before-seen shades.

The Naked Basics Palette (retails $27.00) is light, compact and comes with a large mirror. Add a quality brush to this palette and it could be the perfect travel companion.

This palette includes six eyeshadow colors:
Venus – soft, off-white demi-matte
Foxy – very light yellow/beige matte  
Walk of Shame – very light pinky nude matte
Naked2 – rosy taupe matte
Faint – warm, dusty brown matte
Crave – deepest, darkest brown/black matte
Naked Basics Palette is available from Sephora, ULTA, select Macy’s stores or online at Sephora.com, ulta.com, macys.com, beauty.com and urbandecay.com.


My biggest complaint with Urban Decay's Naked 1 and Naked 2 palettes was that they were way too shimmery. This palette is the polar opposite in terms of glitters, but I can't help but wish a more glowing highlighting shade was included.

Easy Gel Manicure with Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips

The Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips provide a two-step gel manicure you can do at home. The sticker-like strips apply quickly and with no dry time. The strips also remove very easily with polish remover. A starter kit contains the complete set for a full gel manicure: 1 Mini LED Lamp, 16 Gel Polish Strips, 1 Gel Top Coat, 2 Nail Cleanser Pads, Cuticle Stick, File & Buffer, Instruction sheet

At first I thought the long list of instructions was pretty daunting, but once I read through I realized that the process is simple and the whole procedure is a lot faster than a regular polishing session.


1. Cut and file your nails to the length you like.
2. First, you want to make sure your nails are clean and clear of any substance. The kit comes with wipes.
3. Peel off the appropriate-sized Insta Gel strip and apply to nails.
4. File off any excess.
5. Apply gel top coat.
6. Dry under LED light for 30 seconds. (The LED light turns off by itself so after 30 seconds so you don't have to count.)

Sigma Defining Eyes Palette Release (November 26, 2012)

The Sigma Defining Eyes Palette by Tiffany D ($55.00) was released on the Sigma website today. Unfortunately, it was released after the Black Friday sale so international readers lucked out on the free shipping deal. Fortunately, Tiffany released coupon code that takes $6.00 off the palette: TIFFANY. I can't say yay or neigh to this palette yet as I just bought myself the Sigma Defining Eyes Palette. I will try to do swatches and reviews soon! (You can check out Tiffany's blog for some lovely photos and swatches.)

Defining Eyes Palette by Tiffany D for Sigma Beauty features 8 eyeshadows, 2 gel liners, a dual ended brush and a dual ended eye liner.

Anyway, I would like to congratulate Tiffany for the great design on this palette! I'm always happy to support a fellow blogger or video blogger when they find success. I very much look forward to trying this palette. It's also great that Sigma is being so supportive.

Giveaway winners, I know there has been a lot of you lately so be sure to send or tweet me a photo of what you won if you have the time. I would really appreciate it and I think so would other readers. If you haven't won yet, don't fret because there are giveaways still happening and many more winners will be selected.

Sigma Black Friday Coupon Code, Sale, Giveaway 2012

Sigma Beauty will be having a Black Friday sale this year as they did last Black Friday - but everything is better in 2012! The sale will extend for two days and start as soon as Thursday midnight! (We all remember last year's fiasco when so many people ordered that the server crashed several times. This year will be good!) All of the coupon codes and exact details will be posted here and on the Sigma coupon page as soon as they are available.

Sigma Beauty 2012 Black Friday Coupon and Sale

BF2012 »   Free shipping  to every country with no minimum order needed! Enter BF2012 at checkout. Sigma coupon valid from November 22, 2012 until November 23, 2012. (Combines with free gift deal, but not with 10% off coupon.)

Click here to see all Sigma Coupon Codes (Free Gift Coupon and 10% off Coupon)

As we celebrate Black Friday every year, 2012 will be no different. We already have a ModCloth Black Friday Giveaway going on, as well as our monthly Sigma Gift Card Giveaway. In addition, we will also have a countdown Sigma Brushes Black Friday Giveaway!

ModCloth Black Friday Giveaway & Coupons 2012

ModCloth Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals, Sales and Coupons

(November 23 - November 25) 'Tis the Season Sale is an amazing sale including 100's of brand new stunning styles at 50% off!
(November 26) - As You Wish Sale is a unique sale of your “Most Wished For” items and includes 100s of fan-selected styles at 25% off for a limited time!

UPDATE. Winners have been announced and contacted on Twitter. Please go here for the new monthly ModCloth giveaway.

ModCloth Black Friday Giveaway ENDED

There is nothing that feels quite as good as getting a great bargain - except maybe getting something for free! This Thanksgiving holiday, I'll be giving away two $50 gift certificates. This giveaway will end on November the 21st, just in time for the winners to get their gift certificates and shop the Black Friday sale. Get a holiday gift for your loved one - or for yourself!

This giveaway is open to everyone internationally. To enter, just tweet me @handmadereviews the link your favorite item from ModCloth.com. The winners will be announced on Twitter and will will need to DM me their email address. Only one entry per person. If you do not have a twitter, you can either make one or email me your entry (subject: ModCloth Giveaway). Twitter entry is preferred.

P.S. Regular posting will resume soon. I was without electricity for about a week and am somewhat behind on work. Stay warm everyone!

Sigma Brushes Coupon November 2012 (And Back from Sandy)

Updated Sigma December Coupons >>

I know I said I'll have the blog sale up by the weekend, but I've been a little preoccupied scurrying around thanks to hurricane Sandy. Hope everyone stays safe and dry! I'll try to get things in order soon and reply to all of your emails.

The new 10% off discount code for Sigma Beauty has been updated for November. The Sigma October Giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight, when the November giveaway will be posted. new one is up.

SBAP12 »  10% off  plus free gift if you click coupon & enter SBAP12 at checkout. Sigma coupon valid until November 30, 2012. Sigma free gift in November 2012 is a free Scarlett brow powder with any order over $30!

Click here to see the full list of this month's Sigma coupon and discount codes.

Sigma Coupons were provided by Katherine on November 01 2012. Sigma offers new coupon codes and discounts monthly. A new 10% off code and free gift were provided this November. Sigma Beauty sells many brushes, skincare products and tools and will soon release new eyeliner pencils, eyeshadows, eyeshadow bases and makeup. More updates, coupon codes and discounts will be posted when available. We are affiliated with Sigma Beauty, a company we truly like due to their 5 stars service.