Last month, one of my favorite beauty bloggers, Stash Matters, ran an amazing giveaway to mark her first blogiversary, and I was so lucky to be one of the winners!

Since we live in the same city, Stashy suggested we meet up, and earlier this week, we finally did for the first time! Neither one of us had done such a meetup before, so it was a new experience for us both.

I was a little nervous at first, but was immediately at ease upon meeting her for the first time—the meetup ended up being a lot of fun! I had my peanut with me, as well, and he took to Stashy instantly (a great sign, because I tell you he can sense evil!). We both chatted for a while and then had a leisurely stroll through the shiny new Saks that had just opened up downtown.

Of course, we did a little gift exchange, too, which is what this post is mostly about! I was only meant to receive five items from her giveaway, but of course, Stashy had to go and throw in some excellent extras, as well!

Here’s what I received, all delivered in a cute, reusable shopping tote:

• adorable card with drawings of luxe handbags!
• Annabelle Smoothie Eyeshadow Pencil in Cocoaloco
• Bath & Body Works Waikiki Beach Coconut Eau de Toilette
• Bath & Body Works Waikiki Beach Coconut Ultra Shea Body Cream
• Clarins Pure & Radiant Mask with Pink Clay
• C.O. Bigelow Supreme 2X Lip Shine in Spearmint
• MAC Pro Longwear Eye Shadow Pro Palette Refill in Uninterrupted
• Nicole by OPI Oil to Go Cuticle Oil
• Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12HR Wear in Tiramisu
• Shiseido Perfect Rouge Lipstick Mini in RS612 Gilded Wine
• Smashbox Blush Brush #16

Um, that’s a heckuva lot more than five items! Thanks so much, Stashy! You’re way too generous! I’m so glad that I was able to give her a small gift in return, as well. Phew 😉

I’m most excited to use the perfume (actually I did as soon as I got home! LOL. It smells like a DELICIOUS VACATION), MAC Uninterrupted, the Clarins mask, and the Shiseido lipstick (it’s a deep red! Stashy knows my tastes well).

It was great to meet a fellow nail polish/makeup nut, and I hope we’ll have more chances to meet up again!

—fz