Another cool contest from Glam.com

Ladies, you know me and my handbag obsession. If it's a gorgeous, luxe bag in a to-die-for color and -- bonus! -- crafted by one of my fave designers (that would be Messrs. Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, YSL, and Hermes to you, plus Chloe, Ferragamo, and Dooney & Bourke), I am so there.

If you're as obsessed as I am and don't mind giving up your name and email address to a beauty/fashion/lifestyle blog ('cause you know you can never have enough beauty info, right?), click here to enter your stats and not only receive a free subscription to Glam.com's email newsletter, Glam Today, but also enter their contest to win a Chloe handbag and $5,000.

I know. Pretty nifty, huh?

Good luck!

Giveaway winners!

I so loved the answers everyone gave to the Accessories Giveaway that ended last night. You know, I was going to use Pretty Woman as another example of a "career girl" film, but thought better of it, so it was very, very cool to see a few of you guys offer that up as your fave flick. (My favorite answer? Debbie Does Dallas. Thanks, daw212!

My actual favorites are The Devil Wears Prada, His Girl Friday, Legally Blonde, Broadcast News, Working Girl (naturally!), Baby Boom, and yeah, even Out of Africa. (She was a writer and the owner/manager of a coffee farm, remember?) Love being inspired by working women, no matter the milieu.

And the winner of the Hammered Reel badge is....drum roll....agsweeps!!

The winner of the Kim lanyard is....Megan B.!

Thanks to everyone for participating, especially to BooJee Beads for the awesome giveaway prizes. If you haven't had a chance to visit their site yet, it's definitely worth checking out. If you need to wear a badge or ID around your neck or otherwise pinned to your clothing at work, this is the place to go for groovy, chic, sophisticated, and affordable accessories.

Don't forget to subscribe to Beauty in Mahogany, either via email or RSS, to be updated on the latest beauty and fashion news and reviews, not to mention future giveaways!

Free beauty products and samples from Allure

I've mentioned elsewhere (can't remember where) that Allure is, hands down, my favorite beauty magazine here in the United States. It's totally devoted to nothing but beauty, beauty and more beauty. No articles about female genital mutilation in Africa, child soldiers in the Congo or journalists being killed in the Philippines. Just pure, self-indulgent beauty.

Not that there's anything wrong with writing about crucial topics such as the above. I read the paper, write a regular column for the local daily and listen to NPR. I majored in political science and will return to graduate school, hopefully to study women's studies and Asian History.

When it comes to my beauty and fashion mags, though, all I want is pure escape. Give me all the latest on beauty products and Marc Jacobs' fall collection. Allure knows its core competence and doesn't dare veer an inch from it.

One of my absolute favorite things about Allure, of course, is their monthly giveaways. I've yet to win anything from Allure (although I did win an Escada purse from Elle, another great beauty/fashion rag). August is the best time to sign up, as they have tons of up-to-the-minute products, everything from skincare to haircare and fragrances. Sign up at Allure Access. Make sure that you go to Win It! Get It! to view all the current promotions.

BONUS: For a limited time only, Allure also has their great August giveaway, with dozens of designer products just waiting for eager fashionistas and beauty junkies. I signed up for just about everything! You'll have to actually sign up for each product individually, so prepare for a few minutes of entering your vital stats. But don't worry: they don't ask for your birthdate, social security number, or anything too personal. They will, however, ask for name, address, telephone number, age, household income, and email address. Just so you know, I've never received any junk calls or mail from them, save for the occasional Allure email promo.

So sign up! (The giveaways are all for a limited time only, so sign up now before it ends!) Someone's gotta win this stuff, right? Why can't it be you?

Beauty Review: Nature's Gate Tea Tree Calming Shampoo

I seem to be on a real hair kick of late, haven't I? The desert's summer heat has really done a number on my hair recently, and the latest humidity levels haven't helped. Last night it was supposed to reach over 40% humidity -- that's like Dallas levels! So much for living in the desert.

It's made my light dandruff condition more than a little picky of late. Normally I wash my hair everyday, which both helps keep my locks from OD'ing on oil and keeps the flakes happily away. I still haven't found the perfect dandruff shampoo -- I don't like the smell of Head & Shoulders, and all others just strips all traces of oil from my scalp and hair. Not a good thing.

Aubrey Organics used to make this cade tar dandruff shampoo that didn't smell all that great but left my hair clean but well-moisturized. Now, maybe they discovered that cade tar actually makes you sterile or whatever, but I miss it so. Their new scalp treatment shampoos just don't cut it.

I've been using Nature's Gate Tea Tree Calming Shampoo the last few weeks, but I have to say that it's nothing special. It smells lovely, and I like the clear consistency. Plus, it really does help keep my scalp clear and healthy, so it lives up to its job description.

Still, it does overdo it a bit on the oil-clearing part, as my hair then requires a super-charged moisturizing conditioner to make up for the drying effect of the shampoo. Maybe that's just the nature of dandruff shampoos, and on scalps with severe cases of dandruff this might be a godsend.

I use this only every other day and alternate with a good, moisturizing shampoo so that I don't punish my strands with all these drying products before I even get out of the shower. It's a solid, inexpensive product that's a good alternative to the really harsh, drugstore dandruff shampoos that pile all kinds of high-octane ingredients on your delicate scalp. If your dandruff condition isn't that bad, though, you might want to use this only 3-4 times a week and give your hair a break by using a mild, moisturizing shampoo on the other days.

Price: $8 for 18 fl-oz. Available at health food stores and their Web site.

Reminder: Don't forget the great giveaway currently being offered by Beauty in Mahogany! I've got a couple of gorgeous BooJee Beads products on offer for two lucky winners. Click here to find out more on how easy it is to sign up and enter!

Accessories Giveaway! BooJee Beads

I don't work in an office anymore (thank God!), but I know lots of my readers do. And I also know that lots of people work in companies that require their employees to hang their ID badges around their neck on lanyards, or at least pinned to their shirt. I've only ever really worked in one company that had ID badges; I hung it from a cheap lanyard issued to me along with the laminated photo ID.

I only worked at that company as a temp for about two months, otherwise I would have definitely sought out a more attractive option for such a pedestrian but necessary accessory. I've seen lots of good candidates, but these BooJee Beads take the award for Prettiest Lanyards. Check out this lovely and oh-so-elegant little number, the Icy White model:


These lanyards are so gorgeous, they're like jewelry for your ID. If you wear suits, they'll enhance the chic-professional look of your entire outfit, and if you wear scrubs, they'll upgrade your image from blah to beautiful. Plus, not only are they super-fashionable but affordable as well. They also come with two-way pockets so that you can insert your ID and start wearing them right away.

As a special treat to all my Beauty in Mahogany readers and to celebrate the re-launch of this blog, I'm giving away two prizes from the BooJee Beads collection:

• The "Kim" lanyard, a funky-chic silvery chain that's one of the newest additions to the collection. This baby would make a fabulous addition to any outfit and will definitely turn some heads!
• A Hammered Metal Reel Badge with colorful pink stones. This also comes with a two-way pocket ID that can be used either vertically or horizontally. If you don't have an ID badge, this would make an eye-catching accessory for your keychain.

Like what you see so far? So enter now, because this contest ends at 5pm Mountain Time on Wednesday, July 30th. Only one prize per winner, so in this contest, there will obviously be two winners. To enter, take careful note of the following rules:

• Submit a comment to this post telling me your favorite "career film" of all time. The examples are endless: The Devil Wears Prada, Working Girl, Broadcast News, even that old classic His Girl Friday. As long as the plotline revolves primarily around the heroine's adventures at work, it counts!
  
• Make sure that you also tell me which prize you want to win in your comment.
• Only one entry per person is allowed. Multiple entries will be disqualified.
• Two winners will be announced, and each will receive one prize.
  
• You must leave basic contact information when you post your comment. Blogger can link to your blog or site if you submit that information when you comment, but otherwise you'll need to leave an email address or URL in the body of your message.
• You don't have to be a resident of the United States to enter, but you will be responsible for any customs duties should they be levied during delivery by your country's port authorities.
• Deadline for all entries must be received by 5pm Mountain time, Wednesday, July 30, 2008. Any entries posted after this will not be eligible.
• Winners must respond to the email notifying them of their prize within 7 calendar days after the announcement, or they will forfeit the prize.
  

Remember to please follow the instructions, or your entry will be disqualified. The winners will be announced on Thursday, July 31st, after a random drawing.

So enter now, and good luck! And thanks for visiting Beauty in Mahogany!