Holiday Goodie Bag GIVEAWAY [CLOSED]

Hey everyone! I've been wanting to do a surprise goodie bag type of giveaway for a while, and I thought now would be a good time since the holidays are beginning to roll 'round! The concept is simple: I won't be telling you what goodies will be added to the bag, but I will tell you the brand. You will only find out what exactly you've won when the prize arrives at your door!

I know it's a little early for holiday giveaways, but I wanted everyone to get a chance to enter and I also wanted the prize to be delivered in-time for Christmas in case the winner celebrates it!

PRIZES & INFO:

As of yet, the goodie bag will include the following brands: Benefit, Covergirl, Burts Bees, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Essie, OPI, Tarte, Julep, Ardell and Annabelle. The items from these brands have already been purchased, so they are finalized! I will update here and on Twitter in case more brands are added (highlighted in yellow). I will also throw in some bonuses that I may not even list here!

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1) Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY
2) Must be 18+ years of age or have your parent's permission to enter
3) Must fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter
4) Must be willing to provide a shipping address if won
5) The winner will announced in a separate blog post and will be emailed
6) You are only eligible to win if you have not won a previous giveaway on Abundance of Erica
7) If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours, another winner will be contacted
8) All prizes will be shipped in pristine condition (none have been removed from their original packaging), but I cannot be held responsible for damages that occur in transit

9) Entering via accounts dedicated solely to giveaways will be eliminated.
10) GIVEAWAY ENDS ON DECEMBER 1ST, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck & happy entering!

My 1 Year Blogiversary + Celebratory GIVEAWAY [CLOSED]

Hey everyone! So I know I haven't been the best blogger this year (compared to last), but I wanted to celebrate my one-year blogiversary nonetheless. Despite this year's lack of writing motivation, blogging has been a lot of fun for me. I love buying new products, sharing them, and hearing your opinion in the comments. I feel like one year of blogging is a worthy cause for celebration, so I've put together a little giveaway to thank you all!

PRIZES:

1) EOS lip balm in "Summer Fruit"
2) Maybelline Babylips in "Cherry Me"
3) Sally Hansen nail polish in "Pacific Blue"
4) Rimmel Kate Moss matte lipstick in 103 (dusty pink shade)

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1) Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY
2) Must be 18+ years of age or have your parent's permission to enter
3) Must fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter
4) Must be willing to provide a shipping address if won
5) The winner will announced in a separate blog post and will be emailed
6) You are only eligible to win if you have not won a previous giveaway on Abundance of Erica
7) If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours, another winner will be contacted
8) All prizes will be shipped in pristine condition (none have been removed from their original packaging), but I cannot be held responsible for damages that occur in transit

9) Entering via accounts dedicated solely to giveaways will be eliminated.
10) GIVEAWAY ENDS ON AUGUST 24TH, 2013

Banner that you can add to your blog to gain an extra 10 entries (!!!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! xoxo

A Few Updates

Hey everyone! I thought I'd write up a post updating you guys and telling you about some new features on my blog that I've added recently!

First off, I made a page listing my favorite YouTube channels. This is a question I'm asked quite often so I thought it would be handy to compile a list for you guys. I've included beauty & non-beauty channels so there's quite the variety! Check it out if you're looking to add some new YouTubers to your subscriptions.

Second, I made a page where I wrote down giveaways currently going on in the beauty world. Instead of creating blog posts about giveaways I will now simply list them on this page. I'll give you guys a heads-up on my Twitter whenever I update the page. PS. I also have a post on how to win a giveaway! Click here if you haven't checked it out yet!

I now have a button that you can grab on the left-hand sidebar of my blog. Buttons are a nice way to showcase your favorite blogs on your page! So if you like Abundance of Erica, I would love for you add my button to your blog!

Also, in case you somehow missed it, I am giving away OPI Euro Centrale minis! CLICK HERE if you're interested!

And finally, I wanted to tell you guys that I won't be updating for a little over a week because I'm going to Florida! I might do a "What's in my Travel Makeup Bag" post and there will definitely be a haul up once I come back. 

Talk to you soon! :)

OPI Euro Centrale Collection GIVEAWAY! [CLOSED]

Hey everyone! So I was at the mall yesterday and decided to pick up the OPI Euro Centrale collection minis for a little giveaway. I've been really happy with my blog lately and I expanded my social media a bit (Instagram and Facebook), so I wanted to call attention to those as well.

The shades include (left to right): Can't Find My Czechbook, Suzi's Hungary AGAIN!, You're Such a Budapest, Oy-Another Polish Joke

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1) Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY
2) Must be 18+ years of age or have your parent's permission to enter
3) Must fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter
4) Must be willing to provide a shipping address if won
5) The winner will announced in a separate blog post and will be emailed
6) You are only eligible to win if you have not won a previous giveaway on Abundance of Erica (including this, this, this, and this)
7) If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours, another winner will be contacted
8) All prizes will be shipped in pristine condition (none have been removed from their original packaging), but I cannot be held responsible for damages that occur in transit
9) GIVEAWAY ENDS ON MARCH 15TH

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

How To Win a Giveaway: Top 7 Tips

Hey everyone! As you all know I love entering giveaways. I think it's a great way to acquire new products if your pockets are tight, and nothing really beats the feeling of winning a giveaway!

I've won I think about 5 or 6 giveaways to-date, so I thought I'd share some tips. I guess when it comes down to it, you need to have a bit of luck on your side, but I've noticed there are a few ways to approach a giveaway effectively.

An assortment of my giveaway wins to-date (not all of them - just a few)

1) Make sure you're eligible: There's nothing more disappointing/annoying than winning a giveaway that you were not eligible for in the first place (some giveaways are UK only, for example). It's crucial to read all the terms before entering - this will make your life and the giveaway host's life much easier.

2) You need to have a GFC account: To be honest, I've no clue how to make one - you'll need to Google that for yourself (sorry! I made mine so long ago I forgot how!), but most blog giveaways require that you follow them via GFC. Also - up your chances by creating accounts on the following platforms: HelloCotton, Bloglovin', Klout, SheSaidBeauty, Instagram, and YouTube. Of course, you will need Facebook to join a Rafflecopter giveaway, and a Twitter account is important too.

3) Enter every day/as often as you can via Twitter: Most blog giveaways allow an extra entry for a daily tweet. I suggest creating a separate Twitter account for blogging & giveaway purposes to avoid spamming your friends with giveaway tweets (mine is abundanceerica, for example), but be careful - many bloggers know that people create accounts solely for giveaways and could disqualify your entries, so make sure you use it to interact with #bbloggers as well (i.e. don't take advantage of people by creating multiple accounts!).

4) Misc. Twitter entry tips: The following are a few ways to make tweeting about giveaways easy.

Step 1: Click the "Tweet" button on the giveaway widget. This will open up a dialogue box containing a pre-written tweet & therefore will save you the trouble of having to make one up yourself.

Step 2: Add the hashtag #giveaway to the beginning of your tweet. This will simplify your life when it comes to tweeting daily. You can more easily discern giveaway tweets from your other tweets. For an example feel free to view my Twitter page - how quickly did you locate my giveaway tweets?

Step 3: For a split second, your dialogue box will change to this and then close. You'll need to be quick - before it closes, click "View it on Twitter -->". This will send you to a direct link of your tweet so that you can easily copy & paste it into the giveaway widget (seen in Step 1).

5) Write up a blog post about current giveaways: Every once in a while, write up a blog post linking current giveaways. Most giveaways give a good amount of entries for completing this. Also, you will get tons of hits on your blog - they're some of my most viewed posts! Check out my most recent one HERE.

6) Don't disregard non-Rafflecopter giveaways: Although I couldn't imagine holding a giveaway without using Rafflecopter (genius system, really), it's a good idea to enter non-Rafflecopter giveaways as well. These tend to be more low-profile and you will have a better chance in winning because they tend to circulate the web less.

7) Enter Twitter/Facebook/YouTube giveaways too: Many cosmetic companies will have giveaways on Twitter asking you to follow and retweet for a chance to win. I've won a Benetint from @BenefitCanada by doing this! Facebook giveaways are good to enter as well - except I participate less because they usually involve spamming your friends. YouTube giveaways are more difficult to win because YouTubers tend to have a bigger following, therefore more people will be inclined to enter, however I did win Amarixe's Lush giveaway recently so they're worth a shot! My tip would be to bookmark YouTube giveaways and re-name them to the date they close - that way you know how much time to you have to enter.

BONUS TIP: Never, ever, ever unfollow a blog after their giveaway is over. I won't even explain this. Just don't be rude.

That's all folks! I hope you found this post useful! I think I may write up a post about how to host a giveaway properly (seeing as I've done 4 thus far so I have some experience)... Let me know if you'd enjoy reading that in the comments!

Current Giveaway Updates

Hey everyone! I thought I'd make a quick post to update you all on giveaways currently going on in the beauty world. NOTE: I haven't included all of the giveaways I'm currently entering - only the ones that offer additional entries for a blog post. If you want to know about more giveaways check out my Twitter which you can find on the right-hand side of this page (or you can click here to follow)!

http://daisy--meadow.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/nearly-500-gfc-followers-giveaway.html

http://aqeelakeela.blogspot.ca/2013/01/300-follower-giveaway.html

http://www.epiphanniea.co.uk/2013/02/mac-stereo-rose-giveaway15.html

http://lolarose1.blogspot.ie/2013/01/thank-you-giveaway-mystery-box-of.html

http://sophiameola.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/1000-follower-chanel-beauty-goodie.html

http://dawndugong.blogspot.ca/2013/02/giveaway-win-urban-decays-glinda-or.html

http://princesagr.blogspot.gr/2013/02/300-followers-giveaway.html

(If you have an international/North American/Canadian giveaway going on and would like to be added to this post - well worth it because my giveaway posts get hits for weeks & weeks after I publish - go ahead and leave a quick comment!)

2013 Beauty Giveaways

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I made a post listing the giveaways currently happening in the blogosphere, so I figured you deserved an update.

Quite frankly, I haven't been on my giveaway game recently because of the holidays and whatnot, but I thought hey, why not start 2013 with a nice giveaway win. And then I checked my Twitter replies and noticed that I'd won Where Can I Find The Perfect?'s Zoya Spring collection giveaway, so I figured luck's now on my side, I'm going to enter some more! So without further ado...

Enter here: http://www.nikmakeupjunkie.com/2013/01/my-year-blogging-tag-giveaway.html

Enter here: http://paigeypumpkin.blogspot.ca/2012/12/100-follower-give-away.html

Enter here: http://kitschsnitch.blogspot.ca/2012/12/200-followerschristmas-giveaway-occ-lip.html

Enter here: http://christineiversen.blogspot.ca/2013/01/giveaway-win-urban-decay-naked-basics.html

Enter here: http://shrinkingwallet.blogspot.ca/2013/01/celebrating-350-gfc-followers-giveaway.html

Enter here: http://thriftygirlloves.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/200-follower-mac-lipstick-models-own.html

Enter here: http://theamazingworldofj.blogspot.ca/2013/01/worldwide-mac-birthday-giveaway.html

Enter here: http://www.pdxbeautiful.com/2012/12/sigma-holiday-giveaway.html?spref=tw

Please let me know in the comments if you are having a giveaway at the moment and would like to be added to this post! :) Happy entering!

High-End Mascara GIVEAWAY! [CLOSED]

Hey everyone! Hope everyone had a lovely holiday. I definitely did! This is just a quick post because I've decided I would like to do another giveaway, since my last ones have been very successful.

READ THIS ~ The concept is simple: head over to my post about high-end mascaras (CLICK), have a look at all the photos, and decide which one you think did the best job. Next, go to the poll in the right sidebar and cast your vote for your favorite mascara. I will be purchasing two of the winning mascaras (one for myself, and one for you guys!).

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1) Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY
2) Must be 18+ years of age or have your parent's permission to enter
3) Must fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter
4) Must be willing to provide a shipping address if won
5) The winner will announced in a separate blog post and will be emailed
6) You are only eligible to win if you have not won a previous giveaway on Abundance of Erica
7) If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours, another winner will be contacted
8) All prizes will be shipped in pristine condition (none have been removed from their original packaging), but I cannot be held responsible for damages that occur in transit
9) GIVEAWAY ENDS ON JANUARY 9th, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway

100 Follower GIVEAWAY [CLOSED]

WOOOHOOO! The time has finally arrived for me to reveal my 100 follower giveaway! This giveaway is just a massive thank you to everyone who enjoys reading my blog. I have so much fun posting, but it's even more gratifying to know that there are people reading.

So without further ado, here are the details!

1) Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY
2) Must be 18+ years of age or have your parent's permission to enter
3) Must fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter
4) Must be willing to provide a shipping address if won
5) The winner will announced in a separate blog post and will be emailed
6) You are only eligible to win if you have not won a previous giveaway on Abundance of Erica
7) If the winner does not respond to my email within 48 hours, another winner will be contacted
8) All prizes will be shipped in pristine condition (none have been removed from their original packaging), but I cannot be held responsible for damages that occur in transit
9) GIVEAWAY ENDS ON DECEMBER 10TH, 2012

EDIT: Entering via accounts dedicated solely to giveaways will be eliminated. Usually I don't have a problem with this, but I want to make sure the prize goes to someone that actually reads/will read my blog. Sorry.

THE PRIZES:

1) LA ROCHE-POSAY THERMAL SPRING WATER: Can be used as a toner and is great for dry skin. It hydrates really well.

2) BATISTE DRY SHAMPOO (ORIGINAL): I've been loving my Batiste lately! This one is a travel size, perfect for you to try out and see if you like it.

3) ST. IVES APRICOT SCRUB: This exfoliator has been my love this past month. It honestly works just as well as my LUSH scrub. But, I know skincare products do not work on everyone, so this is also a travel size for you to try out.

4) NYC BRONZER IN "SUNNY": So everyone and their mother has been raving about this bronzer on the YouTube. It's inexpensive, but I know it's not accessible everywhere in the world so I thought I'd throw it in.

5) MINI BATH & BODY WORKS CANDLE IN "LEAVES": Although this isn't my favorite BBW candle, I know a ton of people love it.

6) MINI BATH & BODY WORKS CANDLE IN "PUMPKIN CARAMEL LATTE": This was my absolute favorite fall candle this season. If you like sweet-tasting coffees, you'll love this!

7) MINI BATH & BODY WORKS CANDLE IN "AUTUMN DAY": This is just an all-around nice-smelling candle. I think it's more widely appreciated, whereas the other two are a little subjective.

8) ARDELL DEMI LASHES: These seem to be the most loved pair of eyelashes in the internet beauty community, so I ordered myself a pair and one for you to try out as well!

9) NYX JUMBO EYE PENCIL IN "FRENCH FRIES": I absolutely adore this eyeliner. It goes on incredibly smooth and the color is a really pretty, shimmery brown. So nice.

10) DELUXE SAMPLE OF LANCOME HYPNOSE MASCARA: I had two samples of this so I thought, why not give one away. We can both try it out together! :)

11) ESSIE NAILPOLISH IN "CHINCHILLY": So I'm kinda jealous that you guys are getting this one, but it's an incredible taupe-grey color for fall & winter. Here is a swatch from Amarixe.

12)  KIKO NAIL POLISH IN "NUDE": I decided to give away the only Kiko nail polish from my trip to Italy that I haven't tried yet. I talk about Kiko polishes in so many NOTDs, I want to give you guys the opportunity to try it out!

13) RIMMEL LONDON LIPSTICK IN "BERRY QUEEN": I swatched this one in the store and thought it was a nice shade :)

14) RIMMEL LONDON LIPSTICK IN "CORAL QUEEN": Personally, I would hesitate to buy myself a coral lipstick, however, I would not mind receiving one to try out for free (in let's say, a giveaway) ;)

15) MAC LIPSTICK IN "REBEL": Last but not least, I wanted to get something a little more luxurious for this giveaway and figured a MAC lipstick would be the best idea. This lipstick has been a universal favorite this season, and I would love to give one of you the opportunity to try it. Here is a YouTube tutorial to give you an idea of how the lipstick would look.

OH, and the winner will receive all these prizes in a cute Lancome makeup bag! And I'll probably throw in some samples because I have way too many to use myself :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Quick Giveaway Mentions

As you may have realized by now, I am very keen on entering as many giveaways as possible, and I love sharing all of them with you! I know I already posted one this month but I came across a few new ones so I didn't want to leave them unmentioned.

Out Of Liner is having a 100 follower celebration giveaway that includes the beauty items above! (How funny that OPI Nail Envy was on my most recent wish list!?) It ends on October 27th so enter as soon as you can. CLICK HERE

The Amazing World of J is giving away a MAC lipstick and a MAC blush in your shades of choice to one of her followers which is a really great deal! You have until October 20th to enter! CLICK HERE

Blushing Noir is giving away two Butter London polishes in the shades Dodgy Barnett and Trustafarian (you can go check out her blog for swatches!). This giveaway ends on October 25th. CLICK HERE

Starry Eyed Beauty is giving away a MAC blush and MAC eyeshadow in your shade of choice. Her giveaway ends on October 30th! CLICK HERE

Natalie Roseanne is giving away this awesome mini Sugarbomb set by Benefit Cosmetics. Such a great little bundle to win :) Her giveaway ends in like, 50+ days so you have quite some time to enter (December 10th). CLICK HERE

Ellalogy is giving away a Sugar lip treatment (really moisturizing product, by the way), and a Deborah Lippmann nail polish (very exciting chance if you've never owned one before!). The giveaway ends on November 1st. CLICK HERE

A Berry Sweet Life is holding this awesome Pretty Little Liars inspired giveaway! It includes NARS blush in Mata Hari, and a Clinique Chubby stick! This giveaway ends on October 22nd. CLICK HERE

The Lovecats Inc. is offering this massive hamper of beauty goodies so you would be crazy not to enter this giveaway! It includes Barry M, Essie, Soap & Glory, and more beauty favorites. This giveaway ends on November 1st. CLICK HERE

X-Couturegirl-X is giving away a bunch of beauty blogger favorites including the ones above. There are better photos on her blog so be sure to check that out. The giveaway ends on November 6th. CLICK HERE

Let me know in the comments if you are currently holding a giveaway because I would be glad to include it in this post or my next one!

Awesome Giveaways Happening NOW!

Last month I made an entire post dedicated to giveaways going on in the beauty blogger community as a way to get you guys into entering contests and such. (CLICK HERE to view it, there are some giveaways on there that haven't ended yet!) That post has now become my most-viewed post of all time which indicates to me that you really enjoyed it! So without further ado, here are the giveaways I have been entering recently. (Note that they are all either international or at least Canadian)

LolaStarHearts is giving away an Illamasqua beauty box which is, in my opinion, an awesome way to sample Illamasqua products if you haven't yet tried them. This giveaway ends on October 23rd. CLICK HERE

Tattooed Tea Lady is giving away a ton of skincare essentials, including UK brands, so if you live in North America/elsewhere in the world where you cannot get ahold of these, this is a great opportunity! This giveaway ends on November 2nd. CLICK HERE (Note that the above photo was taken by Sophia of Tattoed Tea Lady)

Lipstick Fridays is giving away 50 pounds worth of NARS makeup (that's about $79 CAD given the current exchange rate!). Good news is that you have tons of time to enter this because it ends on December 31st. CLICK HERE

Captivating Claws is giving away some great nail polishes (including Essie, OPI and DD) to celebrate one year of blogging! This giveaway ends on October 16th. CLICK HERE

The Scholarly Nail is giving away awesome Halloween-theme nail polish prize packs, including China Glaze, Sally Hansen and OPI. The beauty of this giveaway: there are FIVE chances to win! This giveaway ends on October 16th. CLICK HERE

EndlessPanache is giving away a bundle of beauty items including brands such as MAC and Inglot (two of my favorite!). The giveaway ends on October 30th. CLICK HERE

The Lacquer Factor is giving away Orly's Naughty or Nice holiday collection. In my experience, Orly is some of the highest quality nail polish that's out there, so be sure to enter this giveaway! It ends on October 20th. CLICK HERE

Laurzie Mack is giving away this bundle of NARS items! Super exciting considering NARS is an incredible brand. I'm always happy when I see NARS being given away lol! This giveaway ends on October 30th. CLICK HERE

Where Is My Mind? is giving away a box of cool beauty items. I'm really intrigued by her choice of Calvin Klein makeup because I've never tried it before! This giveaway ends on October 14th. CLICK HERE

Both Meg's Budget Boutique and The Beauty Belle are giving away your choice of MAC lipstick. Coincidentally, both of these end on October 11th! CLICK HERE for Meg's Budget Boutique and CLICK HERE for The Beauty Belle.

Epiphanniea is giving away MAC's Love Goddess from their Marilyn Monroe collection. If you didn't get a chance to pick this one up, definitely enter because it's a limited edition lipstick! This giveaway ends on November 8th! CLICK HERE

So that's it! Let me know if you have a giveaway going on at the moment and I will be sure to enter and add you to this post :)

Coastal Scents Smokey Palette: Review and Swatches

Hey everyone! About a month ago I won PasionStarButterfly's Coastal Scents Smokey Palette giveaway, so I thought it was about time to get some use out of it, swatch it, and review it for you guys!

The palette comes with 36 shimmery and matte colors. I love the incredible variety of colors in this palette, but at the same time, there are always two or three colors within the same color family which makes it relatively easy to pick and choose eyeshadow looks. Of course, you can go nuts and mix totally different colors, but I like how there are enough options within the same color range.

Honestly, I didn't expect to enjoy this palette as much as I do because it's relatively affordable ($19.95), so I was weary about the quality of the shadows. The good news is that I am very pleased! As usually is the case, the shimmery shadows are quite a bit more pigmented than the matte ones, but that was to be expected. The matte shades are a little chalky for my liking, but hey.

The packaging does feel a little cheap and I found the palette hard to open at first, but in the end it doesn't really matter. Most of the colors work great and are very smooth, so I would definitely recommend purchasing this palette because it's so versatile.

Alright, on with the swatches!

I also thought you guys should know which ones out of the whole palette are my four favorites, so I did proper swatches of those. I think these colors are the most pigmented and velvety which is why I picked them!

I hope you enjoyed this post! This is my first time swatching and reviewing so if you have any tips for me, please let me know in the comments. Also, tomorrow I will be posting an EOTD featuring some of these shades, so look out for that! :)