The Beauty Bug had a truly beauteous Hanukkah thanks for her mother and step father, and her boyfriend. Thank you all.

She received clothes, and beauty products galore so expect a lot more reviews of the products pictured above. She got:

Sonicare Elite e7300 Power Toothbrush – This was a total surprise and something she’d never buy for herself, thus making it a perfect gift.

Jonathan Product Create Smooth Anti-Frizz Volumizing Serum – I’m obsessed with Jonathan and Blow Out, and am looking forward to trying this product out.

Jonathan Product Create Straight Straigtening Serum – Perfect for the Beauty Bug who straightens her hair everyday – thanks Mom.

Chanel Black Satin Nail Polish – No link to this item because you can’t buy this product ANYWHERE, but leave it to my Mom to get it. She just walked up to the counter, worked her magic and got it for me. She didn’t have one reserved or anything. I won’t attempt to tell the story, because I don’t do it justice, but I nearly lost it when I opened this up -complete with Chanel wrapping paper and a red bow. Perfection.

Patricia Wexler Universal Daily Trio – This is a great sampling of Wexler’s line and will come in handy on my upcoming trip to Florida.

Best of Origins Set – Again, I can’t find a link for this because I believe it’s sold out. It’s a 12 piece set for Origins worth $152. It’s really a great deal because all the items are full sized. I was eyeing it around Thanksgiving – and now I can’t wait to try everything.

Happy Holidays to all my fellow Beauty Bugs!

Amidst all the craziness of Black Friday, the most exciting deal of the day for me was when I was walking by the Aveda store and saw a sign outside that read “Trade in your old Lip Gloss for a new Aveda one.” And it was just as straighforward as it read, you just couldn’t trade in an old Aveda one for a new Aveda one. Lucky for me, I happen to have an old Bonne Bell lip gloss that I got from Walmart years ago and it was definitely due to be thrown out soon. I went in and exhanged it for a new Aveda Pink Vapor Lip gloss ( I could choose between that and this weird orange color) and I was one very happy Beauty Bug – especially I’ve never used Avdea makeup before.

Hope everyone else did good shopping and got good deals!

Sephora – 20% off now thru 11/26; code = FF2006

Kiehl’s – 20% off 11/24-11/27; code = FRIDAY

Benefit - 20% off now through 11/25; code = BENEFIT2

Skinstore – 15% off now thru 11/27; code = THANKS15R

Bobbi Brown – Free shipping thru 11/27; no code necessary

Victoria’s Secret – Free Supermodel tote with samples with $50 purchase; code = THANKS

And Speaking of Victoria’s Secret, before everyone crosses their T’s and dots their I’s on their holiday lists, check this out:

It’s their new Very Sexy Makeup Face Kit. Normally, $49.50, it’s now on sale for $37. Don’t be fooled, before you buy it make you check out the dimensions, because I saw it in person yesterday and it’s a lot smaller than you think, but nonetheless, very cute. I was particularly intrigued by the Mosaic eyeshadow and blushes. While I didn’t get to test them, the colors looked beautiful and shimmery.

One more thing to tell you about if you hit the malls tomorrow (not sure if it’s available online too) is the Best of Origins Collection. Unfortunately, I can’t find any info about it on their website, but trust me, this is worth putting in the time and effort to make sure you secure yourself one. For only $75 you get a collection of their best products including A Perfect World White Tea Skin Guardian, A Perfect World Antioxidant Moisturizer, Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Face Serum, Checks and Balances face Wash, plus many more – I can’t remember them all. All together it’s a $152 value. Get it quick so you aren’t scouring EBAY – last year they sold out before noon.

Mini Break – This includes three 1.7 fl. oz tubes of their Clear Improvement mask, Modern Friction (microdermabrasion), Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash. When I was in the store a women came in an went right for this face wash and the Origins employee went on to say that it’s one of their signature items and everyone seems to love it. If only I didn’t have 4543444 cleansers to use up…..

Ginger to Glow – This includes two 3.4 fl. oz tubes of Ginger Souffle Whipped body cream and Limited Edition Ginger Glimmer. Origins has won an Allure Beauty award for their Incredible Spreadable Scrub (also in the Ginger line) so I can’t wait to try these other 2 Ginger products.

I also found another set in-store (that I can’t seem to find online) called 24/7 Perfection which included items from their High Potency Night-a-Mins line as well as their Perfect World White Team Skin Guardian. I wish their site was just a bit easier to navigate – I’ll have to go back to the store to get more info on this set…and maybe buy it!

As I normally do, I went to the website to read up on the product and started experimenting with it. It smells absolutely fabulous – like you are spreading a Starbuck Chai Latte all over your face. For me the consistency is what is holding me back from buying a full tube. It doesn’t blend well enough to be a day-time cream to wear under your makeup (my face was very shiny for some time after applying the cream), and it’s not thick enough to constitute as a night cream (rememeber, night creams are supposed to very thick to penetrate the skin).

However, because I do like Origins and because I think they have quality products, I think I’m willing to give this another shot. Maybe my willingness has something to do with this stat posted on their website:

“In 8 week clinical tests, women who regularly used Youthtopia™ Skin firming cream with Rhodiola experienced a 44% reduction in the look of lines and a 61% lift in skin’s appearance.”

Youthtopia retails for $47.50