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July Favorites 2013

laelene Post in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Let’s do a recap of the things I enjoyed in July!

collage of july 2013 favorites including julep products, alo drinks, mossimo flip flops, juice beauty skin clearing kit, mossimo bikini, pocket planes, closetmaid cubeicals, dr. scholl's for her insoles, and minnie mouse tank top

1. Julep products – Ok, so this is actually a picture of the trade in which I got a bunch of my most recent Julep products. I’ve actually yet to purchase any Julep products since I’ve gotten much of what I want through trades. Still, if they start selling the green tea blotting papers on their site, I might have to spring for it. I’ve yet to find someone willing to trade! At least I’ve gotten to try their gel top coat, multiples shades of polish, and the cool nail polish dispenser shown here. I’ll definitely continue to try to acquire their products and one of these days I might just subscribe.

2. ALO drinks – I first tried these when they came in my March Goodies box. I really enjoy the bits of aloe floating around, as well as the light fruity flavor of the drink. So when I saw them at Whole Foods, I was pretty happy. I waited until they went on sale and took advantage of the cheaper price, plus the box discount that Whole Foods offers, buying a dozen. I got a total of 5 different flavors to determine which ones I like the most. I’ve now narrowed it down to the original watermelon+peach I got from Goodies and the pomelo lemon+pink grapefruit. Depending on if I want a sweeter or more tart taste, I alternate between the two.

3. Mossimo flip flops – I eyed these at Target for just about two weeks before they went on sale! Of course I had to jump on that the moment Panda told me. The gold tips of these flip flops are so nice and the overall look is casual yet fancy. I love simple things that make you look good but don’t require upkeep – that’s why dressed up flip flops, tinted lip balms, and summer dresses are my friend. Each makes you look like you put in a lot more effort, but they’re pretty effortless. 🙂

4. Juice Beauty skin clearing system – I get emails from Juice Beauty since they’re a brand I wanted to try. When I saw an offer for a 30-day skin clearing kit, I couldn’t resist. I mean, my skin needs help, I’ve been wanting to try this brand (especially the green apple peel), and they have a money back guarantee! Might as well try it, right? I’ve got to admit that the bamboo face towel was a big draw too. I can’t get enough of cute little super soft towels! I got the box on the 10th and have been dutifully using the products as directed. I’ll be sharing my experience in another post.

5. Mossimo bikini – The last time I bought a bikini was in Thailand about four years ago and that set was quite worn! I finally decided to get a new set this summer so I could enjoy the pool without oddly droopy swimwear. I had hoped to use our Disney gift cards in Orlando to find a cute Minnie Mouse bikini, but apparently Disney’s adult swimwear consists of boring black and white pieces best fit for older generations. So, where else would I turn but Target? They had a ton of styles to choose from and I’m most picky about the shape of the bottom, so once I picked that out I just found a top that matched. This one was super cute with the little twist in the front. I also got a reversible triangle top that I can pair with the bottoms, since this top is better for lounging and not too much movement.

6. Pocket Planes – Many years ago, I started playing Pocket Frogs, where you grow and breed frogs in an effort to “collect them all.” Every now and then I get back into it and the last time this happened, they showed me an ad for another game from the same company. I decided to give it a try and now I’ve been playing Pocket Planes consistently. I’m not sure what the draw is, but I sure do want to conquer the world and build airplanes at every available location. As you can see I’ve done pretty well in North America, but have yet to venture far from that. And so the flying continues.

7. ClosetMaid Cubeicals organizer – When I “moved” out here to live with Panda last month, it was the first time I knew I’d be staying for a long time. I finally started to feel like I could make this place home, so my first order of business was to get a piece of furniture I’d wanted. I then found this perfect cube shelving solution that I can use to store my stuff and as a pseudo desk when I’m sitting on the bed. We moved it out to the living area when Panda’s dad came to visit and I’ve yet to decide where it will go in our new place, but no matter what it makes my clutter a little less crazy.

8. Dr. Scholl’s For Her – I got not only the high heel insoles pictured, but massaging gel insoles as well! Both were free – the high heel insoles came in my Sunkissed VoxBox from Influenster and the massaging gel insoles came from BzzAgent. I’ve enjoyed trying these out in my shoes and I found the high heel ones particularly helpful in my recent interview, when I wore those shoes. Not only did they make it less painful to walk in the heels, they helped my feet fill them in better. Without the insoles, my feet would have slipped in and out of the shoes as I walked since they’re more spacious than my feet require.

9. Minnie tank top – I found myself wearing this shirt quite a lot in July! It’s the perfect summer shirt – loose, light, soft. I also love the design that is cute without being too over-the-top. It was the very first item I knew I was going to buy with the Disney gift cards we had. As soon as we were down in Orlando, I made sure to track down my size in a store and claim it. I may not be a huge Disney fan, but I do enjoy my sweet tank!

Alright, that wraps up July for me. Have you tried any of these products? What would you have highlighted in your July favorites?

In the mail: a prize, skincare, and a ton of trades

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Yesterday was an excellent day for my mailbox. I received my July Ipsy bag, a reimbursement check, and two trades I set up last week! Before I started sending and receiving packages, I never knew how good a Monday could feel. Let me recap the items I’ve gotten in the past few weeks:

a magicalmom box giveaway collage

Even Missy wanted in on the box!

This box I won from Leigh of Whimsical Adventures of a Magical Mom. It was originally supposed to be a CraveBox, but then they shut down! Leigh was kind enough to put together a nice box for me anyway, one that is similar to what I might have gotten from CraveBox. Thanks lady! I absolutely LOVE that card – it is so beautiful. As you can see, the box is filled with some great items in the bath, body, and beauty departments. It’s so nicely packaged too!

origins skincare samples collage

I think I saw an ad for the Origins Top 10 Skincare Sample Pack, or maybe I came across when I was just browsing their site. I’ve always been interested in the Origins brand and got to try their A Perfect World face wash for an Earth Day trade a few years back. I also purchased a face moisturizer and used that all up. When I came across this sample pack, I decided it was a good deal because I get to try a bunch of their products to see which I might want full sizes of AND I get a code to use for $10 towards my next purchase, so I basically get to test these for the $0.50 in tax that I paid. That’s a pretty awesome deal! I’d share a link with you, but apparently they are no longer offering it. Sad times.

juice beauty 30-day skin-clearing kit collage

Another brand I’m super interested in is Juice Beauty. I learned of them sometime in the past year, from all the bloggers sharing their subscription boxes. When I got a chance, I did a trade for the Juice Beauty lip gloss and hydrating mist. Still, I coveted the Green Apple Blemish Clearing Peel so when I found the 30-day skin clearing kit I sprang for it. Major bonus that the kit includes a super soft bamboo washcloth – face towels are awesome! I didn’t realize at first that this signs you up for a subscription to get it sent monthly, so I’m going to have to cancel that until I’ve tried out this set and seen what it does for me.

collage of various trades including zoya polish, earth therapeutics foot scrub and lotion, butter london lacquer, lash food, cailyn eye liner, julep dd creme, lip gloss, nail polish, bliss and korres samples

What I got from the trades.

Finally, trades 5 through 9 that I haven’t shown before. A Zoya polish in Neely (from a previous trade) for the one in Julie (purple) that I really wanted. The Cailyn gel eyeliner in Iron for the one in Purple (from Ipsy June). Jane Iredale lippies (from Yuzen spring box) and the J.cat glitter palette (from Ipsy June) for Butter London nail polish and Lash Food. A Bath & Body Works lotion and Nivea lip balm for the Earth Therapeutics foot scrub and lotion. L’Occitane Hand Cream, Island Girl Hawaii cuticle oil, Pangea Face Mask, Bath & Body Works medium candle, and three Bath & Body Works small candles for Julep DD Creme, lip gloss, nail polish, and samples of bliss incredi-peel & Korres yoghurt facial.

collage of items traded for swaps including island girl hawaii cuticle oil, bath & body works candles in small and medium, pangea face mask, jane iredale lippies, bath & body works lotion, and l'occitane hand cream

Some of the items I traded out.

I’m about to set up trades 10 & 11 now so I have even more to look forward to! So now that you’ve seen what I’m getting, tell me: what have you been getting in the mail?

On My Mind, episode 5

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Ok, so I’m a day late, but I’m still linking up with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for “Thursday Thoughts” aka On My Mind. 😛

a~ Sometimes all this stuff happens that I want to talk about but then it gets to be too much so I hold it off. So here’s a little bit of catching up!

susiecakes cupcakes in chocolate and red velvet b~ I finally tried Susiecakes back when Panda was here in LA and I really enjoyed the way they swirl their frosting! Georgetown Cupcake has their “signature swirl” and so does Susiecakes. From what I can tell, the frosting actually goes into the center of the cupcake too, for an ultimate “oozing” experience. Quite good! I wish the cupcakes were a bit bigger though, but I guess it’s better for me that they’re not.

c~ For awhile, Missy (my cat) wouldn’t go outside and spent the day napping on my bed or otherwise lazing around. To me, this was normal cat behavior, but to my mom, it was a signal of distress. She kept asking me if something was wrong with Missy and eventually it seemed like there might be. I started to become convinced that she was depressed because she doesn’t have another cat to play with. We do have another cat, Molly, but she’s old and grumpy and abuses poor Missy. I even seriously contemplated getting another cat for Missy to befriend! But hey, she seems to have recovered and enjoys a good run outside again. Third cat idea? Tabled.

the panda loves mystery box sent outd~ I got my first order for a mystery box and sent it out to a girl in Vegas. I had fun putting it together and trying to guess what she might like, but it’s hard to please people! I recently got her feedback saying she didn’t quite feel like it was the value she paid for, which made me a bit sad, but I really did try my best and I had outlined all the items she could expect. So now instead of mystery boxes I’m thinking of transitioning to grab bags so it’s even more clear what they’ll get.

cat laying in box on top of tissue paper and beauty products

Missy immediately thought: “Bed!”

e~ I’ve read up on some photo boxes used to take product photos and I found my own sort of solution. I “hacked” a photo box using a cardboard box from Costco and a solid colored piece of plastic. I’ve experimented with other things too, like tissue paper, but Missy seemed to think it was for her to play in! Check out one of the product photos I did for the Tatcha samples I got (review to come). I think it’s pretty good, though I wish the background didn’t have the blue since it doesn’t always look good. Still, not bad for a cheap version!

tatcha samples including deluxe sizes

corner of graze box with logof~ I have been sooo looking forward to my Graze boxes and even got a sneak peek when I went to check on the status. They ask you to rate the items in the box after they send it, so you can actually know what’s coming ahead of time if you’re curious. So far I’ve received two boxes and there have been some items I really enjoyed (and wished they had larger portions of) and some that I probably won’t want for awhile. Their rating system makes it really easy to get the ones you like and ensure you don’t get the ones you disliked. Reviews to come.

g~ So as you can tell from my Aveeno review, my Influnster VoxBox arrived! I really hope I continue to get more VoxBoxes since this has been fun and I enjoy using my new night cream. We were told we get in on the summer VoxBox automatically if we were one of the first 100 to finish the Aveeno brand challenge, which I’m pretty sure I did. We’ll see though!

h~ I got suckered in to signing up for Bulu box because of a free box offer, but I think I’m going to cancel before they charge me. After looking around at previous boxes, it appears that they’re too health-focused for my taste. I’ll still try that first box and see though – maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised!

pretty desk organizer for pens and paperclips/push pins at targeti~ I saw this super cute desk organizer at Target and I totally wanted it! I shouldn’t be splurging now though, so I will patiently wait for it to go on clearance before snagging one if I can. I find that when I have cool storage units like this, I’m much more likely to stay organized(ish). When I settle into my own home, I’m totally going to get things like this so I can stay motivated to keep things neater. I mean, when something’s fun, you tend to do it more! And how fun is a pretty little box like this? It’s just asking for me to put my pens and paperclips and push pins and rubber bands in there!

julep products including lotion, hand scrub, oxygen nail treatment, cuticle serum, and nail polish remover padsj~ In some more up-to-date news, I started day 1 of my 2-week testing for Pink Panel and just as I predicted, we got Julep products! Pretty psyched about that since I’ve been curious about their brand ever since I found out about their Julep Maven subscription service. I get to test out their glycolic hand scrub, oxygen nail treatment, and cuticle serum. The lotion and nail polish removers came to supplement the whole hand care experience so the entire testing period, I’m using all Julep products for my hands. I don’t know what to expect from the oxygen treatment and cuticle serum, but I already love how the scrub feels, smells, and works. It’s something I would definitely buy!

bottle of dried zoya nail polish held upside down

I held it upside down so you can see how solid it is.

k~ My Zoya nail polishes arrived today, though one got backordered and is on its way. One of the bottles was all dried out though! Whaaat? I was sorely disappointed and contact their customer service, so I expect a satisfactory resolution soon. This would involve more than just replacing the one I got, but we’ll see if they’re the “go above and beyond” types. [Update: they got back to me and they’re rushing a replacement. Meh. Maybe I expect too much of customer service.]

l~ On a similar note, the most recent Blissmo box contained a repeat item that was the bulk of the value of the box. Also not so happy about that, so I emailed their customer service. I do not enjoy paying twice for the same product when I’m paying to learn about new ones. As I mentioned to them, the least I would expect is another product from that company’s line, but a completely identical product is no bueno for a subscription box.

On My Mind, episode 4

laelene Post in on my mind,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Ready for another round of On My Mind? Here goes!

~Ha! I was just thinking about how my blog posts used to be so much more insightful/thoughtful/interesting when I started to get the inspiration bug again and went crazy preparing some draft posts. Tons of goodness to come!

~Sooo I had said I didn’t want to buy any more nail polish until I used up one bottle. Just one! Which shouldn’t be that hard since I rarely buy nail polish anyway, but then I came across a BOGO deal and I couldn’t resist! BAH. I bought it and then promptly spilled one all over my carpet (which took out about a third of that bottle). Karma for going against my word? 🙁 I did manage to mostly get it out (and better than I had hoped at least!).

collage of sally hansen insta-dri nail colors in clearly quick, pronto purple, lively lilac, and blue-away~That nail polish I got? Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri. I’d never tried it before, but that coupon for buy one, get one meant each bottle was $2. While I may not want to pay $4 for some nail polish, $2 was a deal I couldn’t resist. I know, I’m terrible. But you know what? I discovered an AMAZING brush! Like seriously, why don’t all (or at least more) nail polishes have brushes like this? It applies so well, I just love it. Plus, I really love that these nail polishes dry so quickly, since clumsy old me would usually mess up at least three nails before they managed to dry.

~And if you keep up with the blog, you will see that I’ve decided to exchange some of my old nail polishes for some Zoya ones! At least I’m not accumulating more, right? That’s ok, right?!

~My family went out and got a bunch of Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge shampoos because of the current deal for them! Only $0.86 in CA if you bring your own reusable bag. Less in other states since our tax is a high 9%, ugh.

collage of broken galileo thermometer

I cleaned the bulbs and put them in a vase.

~About two weeks ago, Missy (one of my cats) broke my Galileo thermometer when she knocked it over – RIP 🙁 – and I learned that the oil they use in it smells naaasty. It smelled like a gas station exploded on my carpet. I guess that’s the only material the bulbs will float in correctly. I cleaned and scrubbed and patted for an hour and the smell didn’t dissipate, so I had to move to another room to sleep. Took about a week of leaving the window open and spraying odor remover on it daily before I could move back. My carpet is forever scarred though – for some reason, it grew a bump that won’t go away.

long raised bump in carpet

It used to be a lot worse but it has since shrunk.

~Panda (the boyfriend) was in town earlier in the month and we got a pretty cool room at the Hilton Garden Inn LAX! I loooved the rocker, which was so smooth and made me feel lighter. Reminded me of the zero gravity chairs they have a Brookstone. The bathroom was rather sweet too, with a jacuzzi/hot tub (what’s the difference?) on one side and an electronically-controlled shower on the other. I got to set the shower water to exactly the temperature I wanted!

panoramic shot of large bathroom in a hilton garden inn lax room

Here I am demonstrating the rocking chair…

awesome smooth leather rocking chair from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

~I had told my cousin about the 1 Second Everyday app, which she was interested in. I’ve been having a blast with it! I was sad, however, that I had redeemed an iTunes gift card for $50 and wasn’t able to split it into two $25 gift codes so she too could get some apps without paying. Then a few days later it dawned on me: gifting an app! I hadn’t thought of it because I never used it (and really wasn’t sure it was even a feature), but I checked and it’s so easy to do it! But by the time I told her, she had already bought the app. Womp, womp… next time!!

~I’ve been doing pretty well with the giveaways I’ve entered and won a couple more, yippee! You’ll see pictures of them after I get them. One in particular I wanted to point out – I actually won another 3-month Conscious Box subscription and this time I got to share an additional one with a friend! I mean, what is more thrilling than winning for you AND a friend of your choice? I picked a super awesome, super supportive friend and she was totally excited. Coincidentally, her birthday was right around then too! Happy birthday!

~I’m so glad I went through that long, long DMV line to get a new picture taken because I am SO much happier with my new picture! The original picture was from when I was in high school and it looks like I have a fake orange tan when in reality I just swam outdoors a lot for our high school team.

driver's license pictures side by side comparison

The old picture looks a lot more orange in person.

~I’m STILL waiting to get my first Goodie box and Graze box. Waaah! I’ve held myself back from buying snacks because they were supposed to replace my snack food shopping and THEY’RE STILL NOT HERE… -___- I, being hugely reliant on snacking to survive/thrive, feel so forlorn… BUT I should be getting my Goodie box today*! *fingers crossed* My Graze box was prepared on the 11th and if I don’t get it by tomorrow I’m going to contact customer service. Yes, you can call me Cookie Monster.

~And finally, I was SO off-the-walls (maybe too) happy to get an email from the Pink Panel letting me know I’m in their nail care testing group. I had just signed up and filled out the survey for the latest testing group and it was awesome to get that invitation!! I can’t wait – I remember seeing Julep in the survey URL so I’m pretty sure we get to test some Julep products. I’ve yet to try anything from them, but I’d totally love to. I’m turning into a nail polish/hand care fiend. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that we get a $75 Amazon gift card (code, probably) for participating. I’m getting my cats a fun feeding maze I learned about from an article on Squidoo with those funds!

*Yay the Goodie box arrived! Time to rip through it. 🙂

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