Giveaway Archives | star-crossed smile

White Sheets + A Giveaway!

August 27, 2014 29 Comments

I’ve been dreaming about switching to all-white bedding for a long time. I just love how light and crisp it looks. The thought that stopped me time and time again was, “How in the world would I keep them clean?”

Guys, I practically live in my bed. When I get home, I make a beeline straight for my bedroom and chances are that I’ll be in my bed, typing away on my laptop, until it’s time for lights out. I eat on my bed, I paint my nails on my bed, I drink coffee/tea on my bed…you get the idea.

Well, I don’t know what made me change my mind, but I finally decided to take the plunge and I picked up a set of white sheets over the weekend. I LOVE THEM. I had dark gray sheets before and the change to white sheets immediately transformed my bedroom into a lighter and brighter space. I also had pair of white/cream blankets that I picked up at Ikea a few months ago and they look so nice with my white bedding. I haven’t bought a new duvet cover yet because my duvet is currently stowed away for the summer. I’m thinking something white and textured, kind of like this.

I’m still nervous about keeping them clean, but it just means that I have to be a lot more careful around my bed (soooo, no more messy pasta sauce on my bed!). I think it’s worth it though- I’m just loving this little upgrade to my bedroom.

Tell me: How do you feel about white sheets? Any tips for keeping them clean?

On a completely separate and unrelated note, my blog friend Maru is celebrating two big days- her blogiversary and her birthday! A few of us bloggers have come together to give away a $270 gift card to Amazon, Etsy or Sephora! This giveaway is open internationally and will be running until Sunday September 7th. You can easily enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway

Giveaway: Win a DSLR Camera!

April 18, 2014 4 Comments

Yay, I’m so excited to share what’s been in the works for a few weeks now! The lovely Latrina of Of Trees and Hues turned 29 recently and as a big birthday blowout decided to giveaway a Canon Rebel T3i (!!!). I helped sponsor this giveaway, along with a crew of other creatives (click on the pictures below to visit their blogs).

I got my own DSLR camera a few years ago as a graduation present and I love it so much. I’m thrilled that we’re able to give one away to one super lucky person! This giveaway is open internationally and will run until 11:59 PM PST on Tuesday, May 6th. You can use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter and I’d love to know in the comments- What do you like taking pictures of?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Events

Garance Doré x Rifle Paper Co. + Giveaway

April 2, 2014 12 Comments

I’m super excited that I have a lovely little giveaway for you guys today! Keep on reading to find out how you can win the notebook set + pen pictured above!

When one of your favorite fashion blogs collaborates with one of your favorite paper companies, you do a happy dance and thank your lucky stars. I was thrilled when I heard that Garance Doré and Rifle Paper Co. would be collaborating on a stationery collection. To celebrate the launch of the new line, there was an Open Studio here in NYC last Friday and Saturday.

I ventured out on a rainy Saturday to visit the Open Studio. Not only could you purchase merchandise from the new collection (along with other Rifle Paper Co. products), there were also several different fun activities. In one area you could write and send a letter to a loved one. Calligrapher Nicolas Ouchenir was also present to jot down notes in his beautiful handwriting. When it was my turn, I just asked him to write down my name and I have to say, it’s never looked prettier.

Garance herself was also walking about and signing things. This is completely unlike me, but at one point we were close to each other and made eye contact, so I stuck out my hand and introduced myself! I was totally fangirling– she was every bit as chic as I imagined her to be and also so gracious when I gushed about how much I love her blog and her stationery collection.

At the Open Studio, they served free coffee from Jack’s Stir Brew. I’d never tried Jack’s before but you can consider me a fan now. The coffee was rich and flavorful and just what I needed to combat the rainy chill outside.

Later in the afternoon, Garance sat down with Lola Rykiel to talk all about etiquette. They were live-streaming the chat on Google+ at the time, but you can now watch the video online here (along with the video of the conversation between Garance and Anna Bond that took place the previous day).

Now, back to the giveaway! While I was shopping for myself, I also picked up a little something for you, just to say thank you for reading my blog. I’m giving away this notebook set along with one white signature ballpoint pen from Poppin. It’s super simple to enter- just use the Rafflecopter widget below! This giveaway will run from 12.00am Wednesday April 2nd- 12.00am Thursday April 10th and I’ll announce the winner on Friday April 11th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(P.S. The entire Garance Doré x Rifle Paper Co. collection is now available online- shop it here.)

EDIT: The winner is Maru of Fashiony Fab– congratulations lady!

Beauty

Julep Maven Review & Giveaway!

October 8, 2012 16 Comments

Julep Morgan (purple) and Julep Oscar (gold sparkle)

You guys already know that I am a fan of Julep, so when they contacted me with the opportunity to do a product review, I jumped at the chance! In case you don’t know, Julep has a monthly subscription service where they send nail polish and other beauty products. When you first join you take a quick quiz and are matched with one of the following style profiles: American Beauty, Boho Glam, Bombshell, Classic with a Twist, and It Girl. Normally I order the Classic with a Twist box, but for the purposes of my review I wanted to try something different and went with the It Girl Box.

One thing I love about Julep is the packaging- they always have cute packaging and clearly put a lot of thought into the way each box is presented. For my first It Girl box, my nail polishes were carefully wrapped in bubble wrap and tucked into the adorable tote above. The three colors I received are Claire (a pretty sky blue), Blake (a creamy pale yellow), and Morgan (a shimmery medium purple). I love all three of these colors and I love the Julep forumla. In my experience Julep colors always go on really smoothly and dry fairly quickly. Check out my swatches below to see how each color looks on my nails!

The Julep Maven subscription is only $19.99/month and I definitely feel like I get my money’s worth each time. Each box comes with at least 2 nail polishes (which retail for $14 each) and a little something extra (generally about $40 worth of product). If you don’t want to get a box one month, it’s really easy to skip the month, or if you want to try out a different style one month, it’s easy to do that too! Each month they come out with great new colors and I was particularly in love with the designer collaboration Julep did with Trina Turk for fashion week last month.

Now here’s the fun part for all of you guys! Julep has generously allowed me to give away an introductory box of your choice to one of my readers (U.S. and Canada only). This giveaway will be open until 12:01 am on October 15th and the winner will be selected randomly and announced that Monday- just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Even better, if you don’t want to wait to see who wins, you can get your own introductory Julep Maven box for one penny. No, you’re not reading that wrong- you seriously only have to pay one penny (including shipping and handling) for your first box! If that sounds like something you’re interested in, sign up here and use the code STARCROSSEDSMILE at check-out!

Disclaimer: This nail polish was provided for me to review by Julep; however, I only recommend products and services that I like and believe that my readers will like as well. All thoughts and opinions in this post are entirely my own.

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