What's your earliest memory of Mary Kay makeup? Mine is of swiping some of my mom's fancy creams and face washes. The bottle said something about reducing the signs of aging. Who wants to age? I was already seven years old. I figured I'd better get the party started. So I started using Mary Kay as a kid, and I have no conclusive evidence, but it might've worked, because people always think I'm younger than I am. It's been many years since I dipped into my mom's sweet stash of Mary Kay. I hadn't thought about it until I saw the BlogHer program. I was happy to take part in the review program because I have some good memories of the products and I was curious about how the Mary Kay of today compared with the Mary Kay of my childhood. I have no idea why, but I rarely blog about my beauty routines and obsessions. I'm pretty hard-core and have been for ages. I'm very particular about what I put on my face and I am extra loyal when I find something I like. I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to my favorites. I kept an open mind about Mary Kay and am happy with the results. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am tossing aside a few of my staples for some of the products I tried.

Mary Kay© Compact Mini This super cute and portable magnetic compact holds three eye colors and a cheek color. My favorite part is the storage area underneath for three mini-brushes. This would have been a lifesaver back when I worked outside of the home and did a lot of business travel. It's perfect for on-the-go touch-ups.

Mary Kay© Mineral Eye Color This eye shadow is long-lasting and a little goes a long way. I might try it in a different color to get a better feel for the product since the sample I tried was a little darker than my usual eye shadow. I don't mind darker colors for nighttime, but I do try to avoid them since I'm usually sporting some under-eye circles. Don't want to make them worse. :) I did love how the eyeshadow didn't fleck and crumble underneath my eyes into my concealer. I told you I was nuts about makeup!

Mary Kay© Mineral Cheek Color Well, I tossed aside my cream blush for this. I've never found a powder blush that you could apply and then spread around without ending up looking like an old-timey clown. This stuff was great. Extremely happy with the mineral cheek color.

Mary Kay© Lash Primer I'm a huge fan of primers but haven't found one I liked for over five years. Although I don't need it during the week, I did enjoy using it on weekends. It helps your eyelashes hold a curl. I don't do it often enough, but curling my eyelashes is one of my favorite things. It makes my beady little eyes look bigger.

Mary Kay© Ultimate Mascaraô This mascara reminds me of one I use that costs twice as much. Looking for fat, dramatic lashes? Try this. The best part is the brush. It somehow gets your eyelashes looking super plump and long but is itself thin enough so you can coat all the lashes evenly. I'm not a huge fan of giant brushes because when you try to apply the mascara to your inner eye you end up with an ugly black clump. Not with this brush. L O V E it.

Mary Kay© Lash Love & Mary Kay© Lash Love Waterproof I liked this formula, and the waterproof Lash Love was easy to wash off, but I fell in love with the Ultimate Mascara. I'll definitely use the Lash Love when I'm in between tubes of the Ultimate Mascara. It's good, but I prefer the brush of the Ultimate Mascara.

Mary Kay© NouriShine Plus Lip Gloss If I had to choose an absolute favorite take-on-a-deserted-island lip product, this would be it. I was shocked. I usually hate those foam applicators. This time I wasn't bothered at all. It works perfectly with this formula. I ditched a similarly priced lip gloss I've used for three years for this stuff. I seriously can't believe how much I liked it. It isn't tacky, looks natural, has the right amount of coverage, and moisturizes your lips. This is a keeper.

TimeWise© Microdermabrasion Set I was pretty skeptical about this stuff. A lot of at-home microdermabrasion sets are nothing more than harsh scrubs that can scratch up the surface of your skin. I tried TimeWise and was pleased that the exfoliater consistency was very fine. It was pretty gentle but still left my skin a little rosy. It felt good and I've been using it once a week. The Step 2 replenisher is a lightweight and nourishing moisturizer. Applying tinted moisturizer after using this feels amazing. It felt as if my skin were a canvas. Pretty awesome feeling. I definitely felt a difference in my skin texture after use, but I don't have any fine lines or pore issues, so I haven't seen a difference there.

I was impressed with the products I tried and will absolutely be ordering a few things when my supplies run out. The best part about Mary Kay is that you don't pay luxury-brand prices for luxury-quality products. I can get down with that.

Giveaway Time: Tell us the greatest beauty tip you've learned for an opportunity to win a fabulous Mary Kay gift basket!

Rules:

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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

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d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 19 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 12/5/12-12/31/12.

Be sure to visit the Mary Kay page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers' reviews and find more chances to win!

I was provided with Mary Kay products to use and review, and was compensated for this post, however all opinions are my own.