I had the honor this week of hosting an e.l.f. MUAH (Make Up At Home) Party at my house here in Alabama. I can’t tell you how excited I was to showcase the e.l.f. (Eyes Lips Face) cosmetic line – ’cause you know us Southern Belles just love our makeup! I have been a fan of e.l.f. for a while now. Not only do they have amazing products but they have amazing prices! Almost all their products are around $1, $3, or $5. The bigger full sets are around $15. It’s the perfect combination!

I also had the chance to meet Ted Rubin, (CEO at e.l.f. Cosmetics) while I was at Blog World in Las Vegas this past summer and he is such a fun, down-to-earth guy but also brilliant with this business.

So this week I invited a whole crew of ladies over to my place to introduce them to e.l.f. The mistake I made was holding the party the week of Christmas because so many of the women had to go to other Christmas parties. But we still had a blast with those who attended.

Here’s a look at the set-up for the party!


I live-streamed the whole party and completed 2 live makeover demos for the livestream viewers. I had about 20 live viewers over the course of the evening, which was wonderful. People were great about asking questions about what colors I used, what brushes I was using, etc.

I demo-ed 2 different looks, Bright Spring & Holiday Dramatic. I wanted our viewers to see that they can do just about anything with e.l.f. products.

Take a look at the live video of the two makeovers below. (I apologize, things didn’t go exactly as planned on the livestream, and the video kept freezing, so I had to stop and start it several times. Also, the intro part where I explained what a MUAH party is didn’t record, but you will still be able to see the live demos.)

The gals all had so much fun playing in the makeup and giving each other makeovers… the star product was the Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder! It was a HUGE hit! I’m pretty sure everyone ran out to Target or logged on to eyeslipsface.com to buy it the very next day!

Click here for the Flickr photo album to see how much fun we had!

Have you tried e.l.f. Makeup yet? If so, tell me what product is your favorite! If you haven’t tried it and have questions, please leave them in the comments below, I will do my best to answer them!

Finally, if you think I did a good job showing off the e.l.f. products do me a big favor and Vote for me to become the *New Face of e.l.f.* Click here to vote!

But then I jumped into reality and realize there are some really great places to get the rest of the gifts on my list, and they reside right here in my little white Macbook, ahh the joys of the internet!

Places like Amazon.com, Buy.com, Shoebuy.com, GiftGirl.com, & Shop Debt Free.  And that’s just the beginning!

But even when you have the leisure of shopping from your comfy micro-suede couch, you still have to shop around to find just the right gift for those on your list. Well, GiftGirl.com and Shop Debt Free are two places that help you with the shopping process.

Gift Girl is primarily for those of you shopping for the women on your list and looking for a higher end gift. The guys over at Gift Girl have made it easy for you, all you have to do is put in a few characteristics about the person you’re buying for and let the Gift Girl give you suggestions! Then you just click to buy. Plus, you can save the search for later Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc.

Now, on the other end, Shop Debt Free is similar; the good people over at eBillme have selected gift ideas for Men, Women, and Kids. All you have to do is choose the one you’re shopping for and see what they’ve suggested! Plus, you can pay with cash online through eBillme, and the site offers the lowest prices online, guaranteed! You can’t beat that! Oh and if you do, just let eBillme know, they will pay you the difference… no kidding!

So no matter who you have left to buy for, crank up the computer and get to shopping!

Here are a few of my personal picks:

Silk Sheets – Sale $67.00 (Reg. $129.99)

Cutting Board – Sale $27.95 (Reg. $32.95)

“Angel” Perfume – Sale $27.01 (Reg. $85.00)

So if you’d like to buy me a nice little Christmas present this year, feel free to click on any of those little links above.

You see, every year all the ladies in my family gather in the living room of my house and sort through all the ads in our local paper, cutting out deals, and clipping coupons, Thanksgiving night which is the night before Black Friday. Then we categorize our coupons by store and put them in separate envelopes. It makes shopping day go more efficiently.

This year, things are a little different. Now, we don’t have to wait for our paper to arrive the week of Thanksgiving to get great deals because they are posted online!

Take a look:

eBillme has posted their deals already in their Black Friday section. They have a few Coupon blogs listed where you can print out coupons and take them with you. On the deals page, they have broken it down by category for you, no matter who you’re shopping for, there’s a section of deals waiting for you!

If this is your first year to tackle the craziness of Black Friday shopping, the Tips and Ideas section will definitely help you out!

One other place you can check for Black Friday coupons and info is BlackFriday.info.

Now here’s what I always do to make my Black Friday go smooth:

• Stay Organized. Keep all the coupons organized so you know what coupon is for what store.
• Eat a good breakfast. You will be shopping all day long and you want to be able to start the morning off right.
• Bring snacks. You will get so wrapped up in all the great deals you’re finding and all the money you are saving that you will forget that you’re hungry for lunch until it hits you! Keep snacks to keep you going, you need the energy!
• Get to the mall EARLY. Most malls open around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. You should plan to be there when they open, if you wait until late morning, all the good items will be gone and the major discounts and coupons will have expired.
• HAVE FUN! Dress is all black, or make t-shirts with anyone else who plans to go with you that say something like “We’re Surviving Black Friday” – (I know, no the most creative thing I’ve come up with but you get the idea!)

Black Friday can be exhausting but so much FUN! And if you decide the big crowds just aren’t for you, there are many Black Friday deals happening online! The deals over at eBillme can be cashed in on at the online stores. Plus, there’s always Cyber Monday!

Leave me comments and let me know what your Black Friday traditions are, or if this is your first year to participate and have questions, let me know! I’d love to help you plan our your Black Friday strategy