Wantable September 2013 Accessories Box

After chatting about boxes with my co-workers for a bit, a couple of us decided to give it a try because after all, there's nothing quite like getting accessories. Especially a few fashionable pieces -- that would encourage more fashionable outfits in the long run, right? :)

We decided to give Wantable a shot since it seemed to be one of the few that could be properly configured to different styles and desires. Plus Wantable has a great rapport with /r/beautyboxes, which definitely helps. We signed up thinking that we missed the window for September and were pleasantly surprised to see that we managed to get in for this month. The box came incredibly quick -- a day early (today) rather than Monday which made me a happy customer. 

Below are the pictures from my first ever Wantable Accessories box (here's my referral link)!

Don't mind the water damage at the top, it was raining and
nothing was damaged inside of the box.

Clockwise from the necklace on the right: Karah necklace,
Marie headband, Tatiana ring, and the Zanna necklace.

Marie headband

Tatiana Ring (I love this one).

Zanna necklace and the Karah necklace

Now for my thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised by this box. I was on the fence about the Kara necklace and the Marie headband, but that's not to say that I dislike them. The Marie headband gets caught in my hair which makes me hesitant to wear it but I think it's quite cute and definitely something I will wear (albeit carefully). The Karah necklace (the U-shaped one) seemed a bit harder to coordinate with something in my closet however, I think it would look gorgeous with a black dress.

I love the Zanna necklace and Tatiana ring though. They seem like easy pieces to integrate into my daily wear without issue so I look forward to trying them out. 

Overall this box was great -- it's not like I disliked anything, but rather that some items were a bit more complex which is fine. I look forward to trying out the next box since this seems like a great deal (and beats me having to store hop to find accessories that represent "me."

For those interested in the cost, I bought a single box for $40. They send along a slip that provides the name of each item and their retail value. The breakdown is below for your viewing.

• Marie Headband: $24
• Zanna Necklace: $24
• Kara Necklace: $22
• Tatiana Ring: $14

Soap Haul from Puddle Duck Soapworks

As it's getting colder (is that even possible for this area of the Bay?!), I've been trying to find soaps that had a higher content of moisturizing elements. This time I decided to narrow my search for soaps with a high content of goat milk. That inevitably led me to Puddle Duck Soapworks and after using the Farmhouse Cider bar (which is inconspicuously missing due to my having used it already), I just had to rave about this shop.

Presenting my haul!

• Pumpkin Latte
• Farmhouse Cider
• Cinnamon and Clove
• Oatmeal Milk and Honey
• Almond Vanilla
• Pushin' Up Daisies
• Lilac 
• Lavendar Luxury

The owner of the shop tossed in two samples of Sandalwood & Moonlight Lullaby which is pictured in the small bags.

Goodbye, For Now

The last few weeks I've been contending with continuing the blog or not. Today I even took some pictures about a new blush I'd been trying out in the mean time as well as a shampoo. But the reality is that my heart hasn't really been into lately. I've been focusing a bit on other art mediums and writing has taken the back seat.

I've been working on this blog for a while now and I've learned quite a bit. I still have a lot more to learn. Even now, I'm still on the quest for the perfect lipstick but last night I mixed my very first red lip balm. Still a ways to go, not just a lot to learn but a lot to try. With that being said though, I think I need a bit more time away from here to try other things. 

So for now, goodbye. 

Review: Garden Botanika Almond Cream Soy Hand Lotion

Items were received by Influenster VoxBox complimentary. 

Back in September, I received a Naturals VoxBox and ended up winning the brand challenge for the Original Drying Mat. Of all the brand challenges I could have won, that one in particular was close to my heart because I'm somewhat of a neat freak. I think I took pictures of everything but I immediately started using everything that I forgot to write about it. I seriously have everything still in use up to now (and I have two of those drying mats because they are amazing and I will preach their goodness everywhere). Anyhow, part of that gift I received contained some products from Garden Botanika.

Open opening the hand lotion and smelling it, I fell in love with the scent and decided that I needed to use it as a body lotion instead. The scent is almonds and it comes off as a marzipan. 

So yes, if you look at the bottle and wonder "How does someone use that much lotion in the span of two weeks?" it's because that someone was using it as lotion. And I adore it. 

Since it's a hand lotion, it's likely a bit thicker in texture and lasting power than it's lotion counterpart (and yes, according to the website, there is a body lotion). It takes a while to work itself in, but it lasts throughout the day and has kept my very dry skin properly balanced. Overall, I've been amazed at how well it works and how well my skin has reacted to it. 

The bottle of hand lotion goes for $12.50 at the Garden Botanika website and you can check out their other products. I still have the hand wash (also almond scented) that I still need to try but based on this alone, I have pretty high expectations!

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Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary through the VoxBox product testing program.

Review: Freeman Chocolate & Strawberry Facial Clay Mask

As you can see, this facial mask has gotten quite a bit of love from me. Back in May when I went to visit my parents in New York, my mom found this at a Pathmark and grabbed it for me. It took me a while to finally get around to using but since then I've had a few masks and I'm in love with this.

Admittedly, I don't usually see results with masks but I do them out of routine and general maintenance since I somewhat subscribe to notion that over time it's actually doing something. Whether it is or is it not doing anything remains to be seen as I've never stopped long enough to see what would happen. 

TL;DR: I do a facial mask once every week. I leave it on for around 20 minutes to half an hour and then I wash it off. I pat down my skin and follow up with a toner.

This particular mask smells amazing as it really does smell like strawberries and chocolate. I've never really had much success with chocolate masks in the past but this particular one amazes me. I'm not sure if it's because I spend the entire time dreaming of chocolate covered strawberries and realize that I cannot have it but I face feels rejuvenated thereafter. I actually feel as though my skin looks younger (please note that I said "feel" rather than "see" because the latter has been harder to determine).

The long of the short is that it's a great mask for my combination skin. It makes my skin feel rejuvenated and therefore always seems to give me the impression that it created a glow. The only drawback I can think of about it (aside from dreaming about desserts the entire time I have it on) is availability. I have not really seen this line or any of the other masks in it out here on the West Coast. It could be that I'm not trying hard enough but at least on the East Coast it seemed to be available in every drugstore. Nonetheless, it can still be purchased online.

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Product: Freeman Chocolate & Strawberry Facial Clay Mask
Price: ~$4
Stars: ★★★★★
Would Recommend? Yes!
Takeaway: I love this mask and maybe I'm biased because it smells like chocolate and strawberries. I will say that for my combination skin, it makes it feel rejuvenated which is always a plus and definitely worth the price.

Influenster Sunkissed VoxBox

Items were received by Influenster VoxBox complimentary.

I received this box a little while ago but I've been slacking on writing about it. I feel a bit bad since I don't think this particular selection really fit me which made it hard to write about in the first place. This particular box came with four items: Dr. Scholl's For Her, Sinful Shine in Picante, Olay Fresh Effects (Light to Medium), and Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics.

Let's start with the good. I adore the bottle of nail polish quite a bit. I love the shine and how long it lasts and I think it's a great addition to my ever growing nail polish collection. Since I got this box, I've been furiously hunting them down and I anxiously await them to hit Walgreens' shelves. Thus far I haven't had much luck finding them but I have determination!

And now for the bad, which pains me to write about. As much as I love Dr. Scholl's insoles, I don't wear high heel shoes and these were made specifically for that cause. I can't really blame anyone for that since this goes back to an injury I had a few years ago. I did figure that I could slip them into my sneakers but that's largely why I haven't even opened them yet.

The Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream absolutely does not match my skin tone (I know, I've tried a sample of it before) so I don't want to even bother to open the box. 

Finally, that leaves the Ribbon Elastics which was my last hope for the box. I don't wear my hair in ponytails though and I prefer to go with buns. It turns out that the elastic on them is very limited and they can barely hold up a bun or even the rare ponytail that I'm willing to sport.

I definitely appreciate being selected to test the items in the first place, but I'm a wee bit sad that only one product really worked out for me.

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Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary through the VoxBox product testing program.

A Final Look at the Red Ladies

Back in June I tried out a bunch of red lipsticks -- I had a few others in the lineup that I didn't quite get to so I never got around to posting the comparisons. The experiment was to try out several different lipsticks over a span of a few weeks, and here are the lipsticks (taken the morning of that they were applied for the day) so that you can see the difference in colours.

e.l.f. Studio Matte Lip Color in Rich Red

Maybelline Color Sensational in Very Cherry

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Matte
Collection Lipstick in 107

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 01

Lancôme Color Design Lipstick in Red Stiletto

MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist Intense in
Moulin Rouge

Nuance Salma Hayek Color Vibrance Lipstick in Paprika