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Subscription Boxes

Sephora Play! January 2019

 

Since I’m back on blogging, here’s my Sephora Play! box for January 2018!   My box was variant #279, and I have to say it was mostly a miss, but I’ll get into that below in the box contents.   I’ve been subscribing to this one since nearly the beginning (since it was available in my area), and sometimes it’s a big hit, and other times it’s just all wrong.   They still can’t seem to get the curly hair items together, and I really don’t need yet another Smashbox Primer product (I’ve gotten Photo Finish twice, and I know I have samples of the Primer Water around too).   I do like the switch to these plastic zip bags – I mean, they’re plastic which, meh, but they’re way more useful for travel since they’ll contain spills and products that accidentally open mid-flight, but again, overall I could do without the bag.

  • Hum Daily Cleanse Supplement – 60 capsules / $25 – (Product is 6 capsules, value of $2.50)   These are going straight to the trash.   I don’t want ‘dietary supplements’ in ANY beauty box, not to mention that stuff like this is worthless.   You’re not going to detox or cleanse anything by taking these, other than that you’re going to pee out nearly 100% of what’s in there, and you could possibly do harm to your body by taking a supplement you don’t actually need.   What a waste.
  • Bite Beauty Matte Creme Lip Crayon – 1.56 g / $24 – (Product is .89 g, value of $16.27)   Color received is “Glacé” which is a dusty mauve.   Mauves usually don’t work well with my skintone, but this one is just cool enough that it looks great!   Plus, Bite is cruelty free and already a favorite.
  • Origins Clear Improvement Mask – 1 oz / $13 – (Product is .5 oz, value of $6.50)   Charcoal masks are great and I use them all the time, so I’ll definitely use this one.   It’s nothing new to me since I know I’ve bought this before, but at least it’s not sketchy vitamins.
  • Smashbox Primer Water – 115 mL / $32 – (Product is 5 mL, value of $1.39)   Meh.   I don’t use primers often since I rarely to never use foundation, and I know I have a sample of this around here already anyway, plus I have probably a dozen of the regular non-water Smashbox primers too.
  • Laneige Water Sleeping Mask – 70 mL / $25 – (Product is 10 mL, value of $3.57)   I have super dry skin, so this will be fun to try!
  • Marajo Cleansing Creme & Deep Treatment Butter – 8.5 oz / $29 and 5.3 oz / $29 – (Products are both .23 oz, total value of $2.04)   A hair product that contains silicones, acrylates, and sulfates.   Curly hair that isn’t washed using a traditional shampoo with SLS/ALS cannot use these products because they cause buildup.   This is going straight to the trade/give-away box.

I think the reason I’m so disappointed with this box is that here we are starting a new year, and it’s all old products really.   I’m super disappointed with the inclusion of a supplement especially considering the science keeps proving over and over and over again that they’re useless and can actually do more harm than good.   It’s irresponsible to send these out without having some kind of opt-in for this kind of product.   The value in total comes to $32.27.   For a personal value, the Bite Lip Crayon makes this box worth the $10.60 cost for me alone since I really do love the color and will absolutely use it.   The rest is kinda meh.   Two products (hair care and supplement) are either being tossed or traded/gifted, and while I’ll probably use the remaining three (primer, two masks), I’m not really thrilled about them.   I know Sephora is sending out TONS of these boxes at this point, but they’re doing a really poor job at customization and keeping things fresh and new – it’s been a lot of repeats and old products instead of new items to explore and discover.   I wish they’d let you review your box and give ratings to let them know what you loved, hated, didn’t use, or were ambivalent about.   Anyway, I suppose for $10.60 a month, I really don’t have a lot to complain about, and getting samples to try, even if I’ve tried them three times before, is still worth the money for now, but if this keeps up, it might not be.

 

Subscription Boxes

Medusa’s Makeup December 2018

 

I wanted to get back into the habit of posting subscription boxes and whatnot even though I’ve dropped a bunch of subscriptions this year.   We’ve been away or moving most of the year, so it didn’t make sense to keep receiving stuff I wasn’t home to use (or, not wearing yoga pants and t-shirts 24/7 for months on end).   Anyway!   I jumped back on Medusa’s Makeup after a hiatus when I saw this box teased on social media.   Unicorns, I’m in!

  • Unicorn Farts Lip Sparkle – 2 g / $10 – (Product is full size)   The sparkle looks like it would show up like crazy, but not a whole lot of it transfers to your lips, so it ends up being just a subtle pink shimmer.   AND, it smells like cotton candy.   What’s not to love?
  • Magical Makeup Setting Spray – 2 oz / $11.95 – (Product is full size)   It has a light, fresh smell, and while it dries a little slower than some other popular setting sprays, it didn’t feel tacky or sticky at all.
  • Disco Queen Lip Gloss – .2 oz / $11.95 – (Product is full size)   Oh boy, I’m usually not that into lip gloss, but this one is surprisingly not sticky and goes on more like a lip balm but with decent glitter payoff and has this pretty peachy shimmer.   It’s enough to be like HELLO GLITTER, but not so much that it’s WHOA, GLITTER.   Plus, it smells like cupcakes.
  • Glam Rock Eyeshadow – 2 g / $9 – (Product is full size)   The color is “Heroes” and is a shimmery, metallic forest green.   It’s really easy to blend, so it can go on as lightly as you want, or crazy full blast deep, dark green.
  • Rainbow Brush – 1 / ?? – (Bonus item)   I mean, how could you have a unicorn box and not include something ridiculously rainbow fantastic.   Love it!
  • Unicorn Hair Ties – 2 / ?? – (Bonus item)   I go through hair ties constantly, so extras are always welcome!

The value of the items comes to $42.90 and the value of the bonus items is reported to be $12 according to the product card.   The beauty box only costs $15.95 per month including shipping, so we’re well over double the cost even without including the bonus item value!   I was surprised that I love the lip gloss this much (and I mean, I really really do), and I’ll definitely use everything in here, so chalk this up as a winner for me.   What’s even better is that every item in the box is vegan and completely cruelty free.

Year in Review

2018 Year in Review

I used to have WordPress create those little year-in-review things, but I guess they’ve stopped doing that.   I did promise an overview of all the insanity that’s been happening behind the scenes here and why the blog went dark from May through pretty much this month, so here we are.
Our last dog (right, photo above), the boydog of a set of siblings, was 14 and while he was old and creaky, partially blind and deaf, and partially incontinent, he had been a pretty happy dude.   His health dropped off rather suddenly over the course of two weeks at the end of May, and we had to make the tough decision to let him go.   Medications weren’t keeping up with his arthritis pain, he couldn’t make it up the stairs without assistance, he’d lost weight, he kept having these bizarre spells where he’d fall down howling and shaking and need a few minutes to recover and get back on his feet, and he’d stopped being interested in food (typically he’d devour breakfast the second it hit the bowl, but he started taking two hesitant bites and walking away).   We’d lost his sister two years prior to cancer, but at just shy of 13 and 15, these two dogs lived long, spoiled rotten, and much-loved lives.   It’s still difficult, adjusting to life without another living being in the house after having a companion here for almost 14 straight years (nearly my whole married life), and I still have bad days where the loneliness and lingering grief really overwhelm me.   The husband is away long stretches with his new job, so it’s been really difficult.   I don’t think we’ll get another dog partly due to how I’m just not at all ready, and partly because we have opportunities to travel more and it’s not fair to have a dog only to leave it so often.

At the exact same time all of that was going on with the dog, we decided that downsizing from our single-family-home-with-yard to a townhome would be a good option.   Again, husband is gone 4+ months at sea for work and keeping up with the yard work, house work, gardening, weeding, etc on a sizable lot didn’t make sense for one person when the other was only home to enjoy the yard/house about 30% of the year.   We had a really fantastic backyard space and had done a lot of improvements, but in the last 2 years husband had been at his new job with these lengthy absences from home, it just stopped making sense financially and in terms of my time.   Also, I REALLY hate mowing the lawn.   Loathe it.   I’ll clean 1000 toilets before I’d ever mow another damn lawn.   So, I started looking and finally found (and successfully bid) on a townhouse.   It’s an end unit with a really great view, and now I enjoy watching the complex’s landscapers mow and remove the leaves while I sip coffee and work on the computer.   Of course, this is the year that everything goes wrong, so the moving process was not without a lot of problems.   We decided to have the flooring replaced in the new place since the carpets were original and in pretty bad shape, but the installers couldn’t come out for two months which set us behind and left us with four rooms we couldn’t move anything into (3 bedrooms and the main downstairs living space).   The new place is a whole mile from the old place, so instead of boxing everything up, we moved bits and pieces in reusable grocery bags and big plastic bins, mostly unpacking as we went.   That was going pretty well until we found out that husband’s truck had a major mechanical issue and was out of commission for the remainder of moving.   He also went back to work in the beginning of September (we closed on the new place early July), so that left me with my little car to finish up clearing out the garage and shed.   We’d never had cars in the garage, so you can only imagine what a job that was.   We closed on the old place at the end of October, so that was a solid four months it took us and me alone to get everything moved.   Just don’t ask to see my garage right now!   The beehives were moved to a property nearby – I had found a woman who wanted to host bees but didn’t want to do the work of beekeeping, so that worked out perfectly for both of us.

In June, we went to the Netherlands to take our first trip to Janine, the barge we now own in the Netherlands.   Husband was delayed arriving for a week due to a delay at work, so I spent the first week aboard on my own, cleaning, relaxing, taking time coping with the loss of our dog.   The trip ended up being complete bliss, and it was just the break I needed from the stress at home, but re-entry was REALLY hard.   I absolutely did not want to come home because I knew what was waiting for me – reminders of the dog we didn’t have anymore, the empty house, the stress of moving.   On the plus side, we did get to see friends get married early July, and I was asked to be their photographer.   It was an amazing, joyful weekend celebrating their happiness!

After closing on the old house end of October, November was filled with photography clients.   I got to see all of my yearly clients and take photos of their families for their holiday cards.   It was busy, so I didn’t get any unpacking or organizing done around the house, but I did enjoy seeing my regular clients all again.   I’m probably going to have to close out the business over the next year since the husband’s unpredictable schedule means I’ve had to turn away clients.   Having the barge now means that we want to travel more to spend time in the Netherlands and take advantage of our investment, so if the husband is off of work, we’re going to be gone.   However, I don’t really have much notice regarding the specifics of his schedule so it means I can’t plan basically anything in advance.   My Fall clients would still be okay to keep on, but I’m not sure that’s enough to support the business without incurring a loss (the cost of taxes/insurance/etc).   That would leave me with just beekeeping, and while it’s not a full-time job, at least it’s still something to tell people when they inevitably ask, “And what do you do?”   You guys, if you can find me a job that would be completely okay with me up and running off at short notice for 2 months straight, and can handle a super unpredictable schedule, I’m in.   I haven’t found one yet.   It’s really tough to answer that question without feeling like a complete loser for not having a job, but still have an answer that’s socially acceptable as an occupation (and for friends with kids, being a parent is a legit full-time job and I respect the hell out of you for it since that’s a job I’ve never wanted because it’s REALLY hard).   Or I need to find a way to not care (yeah, sure, that’s easy).

So, a bit of a bigger brain dump than I expected to write today, but that’s been my insane life since May, and of course, that’s not even all of it.   Things are starting to get quiet finally, but this is the time of year I naturally want to hibernate and disappear, so it’s probably part that too.   I’m not big on the December holiday festivities and generally don’t mind being alone, but it’s been especially difficult this year, not having a dog around and being *really* alone.   Friends are great, and I love seeing them, but the company of a beloved pet is different.   Anyway.   I hope to get back to putting stuff on the blog regularly and already have a few things planned over the next few weeks – stuff I’ve been meaning to post and just didn’t get to, so stick around!

Subscription Boxes

Storybook Cosmetics – November 2018

 

My poor little blog has been neglected since April, but it’s time to get back at it.   To be fair, there were a lot of crazy things happening, but I think I’ll get into that in another post.   This post is about the first shipment from the Storybook Cosmetics Book Club!   The first shipment was originally scheduled to ship in August, but there were a few delays, and this finally arrived on the 27th of November.   There was clear communication on social media about delays the whole way along, so I’m okay with that.   This being the first shipment, sometimes it takes a while to work out all the logistics and timing, and hey, it was well worth waiting for!

The first shipment is based on Little Women and is shaped like a book, complete with a dark green woven fabric printed book cover featuring gold lettering.   Inside the book, there’s a mirror on one side, and three eye shadows and a liquid lipstick on the other.   The eye shadow colors are Meg, Beth, and Amy, and the liquid lipstick is Jo.   This is just so perfectly on theme!   The packaging is gorgeous and sturdy with a magnetic closure.   As for the eye shadow colors, Meg is a shimmery sage green, Beth is a matte tan, and Amy is a shimmery, plummy pink sort of color.   The liquid lipstick is a deep raspberry shade – not a bright color, a good bit darker than my natural lip color, and it goes on much darker than it looks in the tube.   I really do love the color though, and the formula goes on creamy without drying out my lips.   It dries to a pretty long lasting matte finish.

I’m definitely looking forward to the next shipment which, according to an update today, looks like will arrive in January.   Honestly, I’d be okay with this being an every-other-month club since I could see it going to makeup overload pretty quick since those are all full-size products.   The cost is $24.99 per month plus shipping which came out to a total of $28.99 for me.   As far as a value goes, the liquid lipstick costs $14.00 on their website, and a 12 pan eye shadow book goes for $55, so it’s hard to come out with an exact value, but I’d say it’s right on target with their other products, plus, it’s a unique one-of-a-kind item that only goes out to subscribers which is always the draw of subscription boxes.   Overall, it’s a stunning product, and I can’t wait for the next!

Subscription Boxes

Benevolent Beauty Box April 2018

 

Another Benevolent Beauty Box is here!   April’s edition featured four items this time, but the one is basically a four-in-one by itself and is a huge item, so I’m perfectly fine with this!   Let’s get into the contents.

  • Bellapierre Colour Stay – .32 oz / $10 – (Full Size Product)   It’s essentially an eye-safe glitter glue or primer that helps cosmetic glitter or shimmer eye shadow stick in place.   I, um, I tend to use a good bit of cosmetic glitter, so this is great by itself, but it also goes well with the other products in the box.   I think this is a touch thinner and easier to apply than the Too Faced glitter glue I love, so I’ll have to see how it holds up against the classic.
  • Star Looks Makeup Remover Pen – 2.5 g / $14 – (Full Size Product)   I guess I’m good enough fixing makeup oops with a q-tip that I just never bother getting special pens.   I mean, this is great, I’ll use it, but the fact that the ingredients on the box don’t match the ones on the website make me a little worried.   On the website, it says it contains paraffin and on the box, it doesn’t.   *shrugs*
  • Manna Kadar Blossom Floral Compact – 3.2 g / $29 – (Full Size Product)   I don’t really use blush or highlighter, but it says this can be used as an eye shadow as well, so that’s probably where it’s going to go.   The colors are pretty neutral between the light, pink, and bronzeish color, so it’ll work blended together or separately, no problem.
  • Bellapierre Eye Slay – 1 set / $45 – (Full Size Product)   I received the color, Mermaid Glam, which is going to be SO much fun to try out.   There are three pots each with 2 grams of mineral eye shadow plus a brush.   One of the pots in my set is a cosmetic glitter (the super bright blue one in the middle), so GLITTER!   I’m definitely going to give this a whirl sometime soon.

Overall the value of the box comes to $98 which is probably around the lower end of average for this box.   The big item is that eye color set, and I’m glad there’s the Colour Stay glitter glue to go along with it.   I’m kind of neutral on the Manna Kadar compact and the Makeup Remover pen, but they’re still items I’ll use for sure.   As always, looking forward to next month!

Subscription Boxes

Sephora Play! April 2018

 

April’s Sephora Play! arrived this past week, and it was box variant #351.   I’m WILDLY underwhelmed.   I got a ton of anti-wrinkle products that the product sheet says were selected for my skin concern, but nowhere at all on Sephora’s website – not in the Play! Profile or in my regular Sephora Profile – do I ever list wrinkles as a skin concern.   In fact, I rather love my little wrinkles.   They’re badges of honor for all the times I’ve smiled and laughed, squinted and raised an eyebrow.   I don’t find trying to stop the inevitable march of time a worthy effort when I can actually do something about dry skin and acne.   It’s just silly to me.   Anyway, so yeah, this box was basically a total miss for me because I DO NOT CARE ABOUT WRINKLES.   Way off base, Sephora.   The theme this month was, “Insta Beauty” which was all about getting a perfect selfie, but again, if you know me, I’m not going to all perfect up my face when I take a selfie in my beekeeping suit.   I am who I am, and FWIW, sparkly lip gloss looks terrible on camera, so.   I don’t even.   *sigh*   But hey, at least the bag isn’t culturally insensitive this month?

  • Dr Dennis Gross Wrinkle Recovery Peel – 16 treatments / $88 – (Product is 2 packets, value of $11 by volume)   A wrinkle product I don’t need, not to mention how it contains AHA and increases sun sensitivity while we’re working our way into Spring and Summer.   This would’ve been way better in Fall or Winter, but nevermind that because I don’t even want this.   I don’t want to ‘recover’ wrinkles that are just going to come back anyway – again, I’d rather work on my dry skin and acne than worry about things you can’t stop.
  • Kiehl’s Line-Reducing Concentrate – 1.7 oz / $62 – (Product is .17 oz, value of $6.20 by volume)   Another ‘wrinkle reducing’ creme that contains ingredients that make your skin more sun sensitive.   Poor timing, and another poor choice for my profile.   Straight to the give-away box with this too.
  • Burberry Blush Eau de Parfum – 1.6 oz / $90 – (Product is .06 oz, value of $3.38 by volume)   Oh gosh, this is hideous.   I sprayed a little on the card and it’s just a mess of florals including my least favorite, Jasmine.   Straight to the give-away box you go!
  • Buxom Full-On Lip Polish – 4.44 mL / $20 – (Product is 1.5 mL, value of $6.76 by volume)   The color I received is Celeste which is described as a prismatic soft peach.   I have to tell you that I’ve never bought a Buxom lip product because I get SO many of them as samples, and I find the tingle a little off-putting.   This is no different.
  • Philosophy Purity Made Simple Moisturizer – 4.7 oz / $25 – (Product is .25 oz, value of $1.33 by volume)   It’s a pretty basic moisturizer, though the first two ingredients are water and silicone, so, I’m not all that impressed right off the bat.   For a moisturizer, I’d expect to see an actual moisturizing ingredient in there, but silicone is kind of an inert filler, not a moisturizer.   Philosophy is also not cruelty free, so while this is basically the one product in the box I’d consider using, I’d never repurchase it since their parent company, Coty, engages in animal testing (they sell in China).
  • Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Perfector Skin Tint – 30 mL / $36 – (Product is 5 mL, value of   $6 by volume)   The color I received is #6, Warm Sand, and it’s WAY off base for my skin tone.   I fall somewhere between a light and fair, and this has some wild yellow tone to it that shows up as fake-spray-tan orange on my face.   Another huge miss, not to mention that the company isn’t cruelty free anyway.

Overall the value of the box comes to $34.58 which is about average.   The cost is only $10.60 including tax and shipping for me, but my personal value here is basically zero.   This box is pretty much a huge waste and I feel like I got a box intended for someone else since NONE of it matched my beauty profile.   Hugely disappointed this month, Sephora.

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2018 – Meal 1

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Well, here we are with another One Local Summer coming upon us.   My local farmers market has already switched from their winter every-other-weekend schedule to every-weekend albeit still at the shorter, winter hours.   Last year, I dropped off blogging after Meal #7, but there were still local meals being made since it’s become a habit.   This is now year number TEN of One Local Summer for us and every year there’s something new to try – new recipes, cooking methods, etc.   But ten years is something pretty amazing.   The whole idea behind One Local Summer is that you make one meal a week during the summer using ingredients sourced from local farmers and growers.   The result is that you reduce your carbon footprint by using fewer “food miles” (instead of getting lettuce from California at hundreds of food miles, you get it from the small, family-run farm five miles down the road), and support hardworking local farmers and growers closer to home instead of large corporations that aren’t as invested in doing things the right way.   All of the producers at my local market love talking shop, whether it’s about how they care for their animals, their pest control methods, what new vegetables they’re trying out this year, and what works best for our local micro-climate.   Before I go on too much about how amazing my little farmers market family is, here’s the first meal!   I’m going to go on a meal-to-meal basis instead of sticking strictly to week-by-week since some weeks just get away from me, and that’s alright.   I don’t want this to be a huge chore or burden, so giving myself some leeway on busy weeks has proven to be super helpful.

First meal up!   A friend was raving about how awesome the Instant Pot was and while I’d heard about it before, I guess I never quite knew how amazing this little kitchen gadget was.   It’s essentially a pressure cooker and crock pot in one, and the model I have has SO many features, it almost replaces the oven and a good bit of the stove.   Did you know you can make PERFECT pulled pork in a matter of an hour?!   YEAH, I KNOW!   CRAZY.   So, basically, I’m smitten with this thing, and you will pry it from my cold, dead hands before I’d give it up.   One of the neat options is the ability to do Sous Vide cooking since the temperature control holds steady within 5 degrees.   We already had the vacuum sealer gizmo that we use quite a bit, so I found a recipe for Sous Vide fajitas and went to town.   Using bison skirt steak instead of beef, I added garlic, cumin, pepper, salt, and chili powder to the vacuum bag, sealed, and let marinate overnight in the fridge.   I decided on 145 for the temperature using this chart since I tend to like red meat more on the well-done side, and I know bison doesn’t need quite as much heat as cow beef.   I set the timer for 2 hours to be sure it was cooked thoroughly, though I probably could’ve gone for less since the cut wasn’t terribly thick.   While that was going on, I got to work on the flour tortillas using this recipe.   They’re rather easy to make with only four ingredients, but it’s pretty time consuming, and there is a bit of a learning curve with the thickness and getting them on the skillet just right.   I got a little overzealous with the rolling pin and made them larger than my cast iron pan, so in hindsight, I should’ve probably set up the pizza stone on the grill for more space to get them thrown down nice and flat.   Yeah, they ended up a little smooshed and wrinkled at the edges, but do you know what?   The recipe says the wonky-shaped ones taste better, so, I’m just going to stick with that.   Once the bison was about done, I loaded up the cast iron skillet with olive oil and scallions and then wilted some baby chard on top.   Then I gave the bison a quick pan sear once it was out of the Sous Vide bath, and piled my creation on a plate with some cheese.   To top off the meal, there’s a glass of homebrewed hard cider made with apples from my grandparents’ place that we picked, crushed, pressed, and fermented ourselves.   It’s a true labor of love, and I’m going to be super sad when this keg is empty since we don’t have a batch waiting in reserve.   That’s that for the first meal!   I already have plans for another Instant Pot meal for next week once my fajita leftovers are gone.

Ingredients:
Bison – Backyard Bison
Flour –  Mill at Anselma
Chard –  Charlestown Farm
Scallions –  Charlestown Farm
Lard –  Deep Roots Valley Farm
Cheese –  Birchrun Hills
Garlic –  Hill Creek Farm
Non Local – Olive Oil, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, lime juice

Subscription Boxes

Dia & Co – April 2018

 

Another box, another new stylist!   Here’s the note from Cami,

Hi Melissa, I hope you are doing wonderful today!   I’m so sorry that the last box wasn’t all you hoped for.   Thanks for your feedback and Pinterest board.   They help tremendously!   Ok so don’t poison me for sending you the same intercoastal print as what you got in your last box!   🙂   I just know you liked the print, just not in bell sleeve form so I had to have you try it in skirt form!   Pair this skirt with the button down peplum top, tights and tall boots for a chic kinda casual/dressy look.   You can also wear this skirt with the twist top for a chic feel.   Both of these tops will pair perfectly with the camo jeans for a trendy but lightly edgy outfit.   You can also add this vest for an added touch of flair and warmth.   I can’t wait to hear what you think!   With Joy, Cami.

Well, it’s another mostly miss of a box, unfortunately.   I did have a lot of fun digging through my closet to pair with the items in the box, but ultimately, this is again too far over the line into business casual or workplace wear.   I work at home in my yoga pants and hoodies most of the time – I need less business casual and more “things I can throw on when going to the grocery store so it’s not always jeans and a t-shirt.”   At this point, I’m not sure if any of these subscription services are at all geared towards delivering what I’m looking for since I keep getting miss after miss.   Anyway, on to the contents of the box this month!

Item:  Ryan Wythe Lenora 3/4 Sleeve Button Down Peplum Shirt
Cost:  $55
Item:  Marybelle Intracoastal Skirt
Cost:  $65
Paired With:  Boots, skinny jeans, crop jacket (all mine)
So, Cami suggested that I pair the skirt and peplum top together which.. Oof, that’s a big old nope on my shape.   I think the peplum top is too big to begin with (even though I changed my top size down one size after last month), and since my waistline is so high, the peplum covers nearly half the skirt.   So, on to photo 2, I paired the top with a red belt to bring in my waistline, and added skinny jeans with the   boots.   It’s a little better, but the peplum cut just does my hips (already the widest part of my body) no favors.   If I had a larger bust to balance out the peplum, I think it would work better, but.. Yeah, that’s not in the cards for me.   It’s also white, which, I mean, this is me, we’re just asking for a pasta sauce spill or something incredibly awful to ruin that shirt forever after the first time I wear it.   As for the skirt, it looked way better paired with a crop jacket to show off my waistline, and the cut is actually super cute, but.. it’s pink.   *sigh*   I have my profile set to avoid pink, yet there it is.   The colors on the checkout sheet say, “Red and White,” but I’ll be damned if that isn’t fuchsia with pink stars.   It’s also, again, too dressy, so even if I did get it in black instead, I probably still wouldn’t have kept it.   Both of these go back.

Item:  Morgan & Walker Gowanus Camo Print Jeans with Double Zipper Detail
Cost:  $75
Paired With:  Jacket, t-shirt, boots (all mine)
I know I went over my dislike of camo with Stitch Fix before.   I just.. It’s not me.   It’s not something I feel comfortable wearing.   I’m not a hunter and I’m not in the military, and.. EHH.   The fit was really odd, and you can’t tell it from the photo, but the ankles were REALLY loose – like, suddenly bootcut loose which was weird since they’re skinny jeans.   The waistband was also really loose and had a bad gap in the back.   So, between the print and fit, the jeans go back.

Item:  Ralph Lauren Winnipeg Quilted Vest with Faux Leather Accent
Cost:  $129
Paired With:  Jeans, shoes, top (all mine)
Eeechhh no.   I think the look on my face says it all.   It was too big around the middle and even too big across my hips (again, despite adjusting my size down a notch in my profile), and WAYY too long.   It’s also more preppy soccer mom than hippy grungeling, and was just such a huge stylistic miss here.   I also need to confess that I never saw the point of puffer vests like this – they keep the warmest parts of your body warm, but it’s my arms and hands that end up cold, so I basically need the reverse of this?   They just never made sense to me.

Item:  Kiyonna Knit Jersey Twist Top
Cost:  $58
Paired With:  Jeans, Shoes (all mine)
I’d always wanted to try this exact top from Kiyonna without commitment, so I was actually sort of pleased to see this show up in the box this month.   Again, it’s probably over the line into business casual or “date night” instead of plain old casual.   But, it fits nice and looks great on – I just worry that the cut is a little too “maternity” and that instead of making me look thin by disguising my middle, the extra fabric below the waistline makes me look like I have more bulk in the middle than I do.   I’m still on the fence about this, but if I do keep anything, this will be the only item.   I really hate the idea of wasting my $20 styling fee.   *sigh*

The box merchandise total came to $382.   Unfortunately, the only thing I’m thinking about keeping is the Kiyonna top, and after deducting the prepaid styling fee, it would only cost me an additional $38 to keep that top.   It *is* a nice piece to add to my wardrobe, but something that nice, I might get to wear maybe 10 times a year at most, and I just don’t have a need for dressy stuff like that.   I sort of wanted more casual, fun printed tops (nicer than a t-shirt, but not as nice as something you’d wear to an office job).   Jeans are great, and colored denim would be fun!   Crops, capris, destructed denim, etc.   Maxi dresses, cotton blend dresses I can throw a jacket or cardigan over.   I mean, I feel like there are options here, and all these boxes keep missing the target.   I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong or if I’m not setting my profile up the right way.. Well, one more box until I give up on these altogether.   Maybe it’s just not going to work for me at all anymore which is a bummer because I love the idea of someone else picking out clothes for me, but I can’t seem to land a stylist that gets me, and getting assigned a new one after a bad box means that no one has a chance to learn and adapt to make it work.

In case you’re thinking about signing up and want to use my referral link, here it is!