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Lip Monthly September 2016

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September’s Lip Monthly has arrived.  I have to say that while the execution is pretty cute – the bag matches the nail wraps and there’s a purple lip crayon, the products are really lackluster.  I’d rather have no theme and the products be awesome which is definitely the opposite way around this time.  I believe I have one more shipment left before the end of my 4 month subscription, and I’m not going to miss it.. The first shipment was so great and this one?  I’ll use the nail wraps and that’s about it.  The product card was yet again stuck to the inside of the bag.

  • StarLooks Lip Crayon – 2.5 g / $12 – (Full Size Product)  The product card says it’s $19, but I could only find one lip crayon type product on the StarLooks website that was listed for $12.  The color is, “Dubl Dubl,” and just about matches the lighter purple stripe on the bag.  The formula goes on kind of like an actual crayon or even a crayon-pastel.  It smells like cheap plastic and, based on the ingredient list on the website, is a mix of petroleum-based ingredients.  The color is terrible, the formula is terrible, and I’m throwing this right away because it’s just plain awful.  I try to find at least something redeeming about products that don’t interest me as they are or a way to repurpose them, but I just can’t with this one.  It’s a total waste.
  • JCat Wonder Lip Paint – .33 oz / $4.99 – (Full Size Product)  The color I received is, “Heartadocious.”  I thought for something called Lip Paint this would be more like a liquid lipstick, but instead it’s a super runny gloss that goes on nearly clear.  It contains parabens and is another cheap, petroleum-based product that I really don’t like a single thing about.  Hugely disappointed.
  • Model Co Lip Enhancer – 1.2 g / $10 – (Full Size Product)  The value given on the card is $20, but it’s on clearance/sale on the Model Co website for $10.  Sorry, you don’t get to inflate the bag value by throwing in something that’s on clearance/sale but then list the full retail value when it’s NOT priced that way even on the company’s own site.  I honestly don’t use liners ever, and when I do, it’s one of the invisible ones, so this is completely useless for me.  The color is a lighter brown, so I may be able to use it as an eyeliner instead, but I think the product is a little too dry/draggy to work as an eyeliner.
  • NCLA Nail Wraps – 1 pack / $11 – (Full Size Product)  These were clearly custom-made for Lip Monthly this month and  I honestly dig the tie in to the bag design – it’s really rather clever.  I haven’t used these nail wraps before, so I’m interested to see how they fare against the other ones I use pretty regularly.  There’s even a mini emery board inside the package which is a nice touch!  And, HOORAY FOR NOT-PINK!  I love the simple purple stripe design.

The total value by my calculation comes to $37.99 which is a far cry from the advertised value of $54.99.  I’m kind of bummed that for a bag called Lip Monthly, the only thing worth keeping was a nail item, and the 3 lip items were cheap junk made in China that I could probably pick up on sale/clearance somewhere else for even less.  Since I purchased the subscription on a really good promotion, the nail wrap set at least covers the cost of the bag, but just barely.  After this complete failure, I will not be renewing my subscription.  I expected to at least receive one nice, well-known name brand lip product each month from the bag and this didn’t even deliver that.  The first bag I got was great, but it’s consistently gone downhill since then.

Sepia Saturday 343-b

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Another one on the “Play” part of our Work and Play theme for this month – a little late, but better late than never, right?  I know I posted a class photo from Doede Jaarsma’s technical school before (here), so this is likely the same class on a day trip to one of the islands off the northern coast of Holland.  The back of the photo simply says, “Day Trip, Douglas,” so that helps narrow down who at least.  In this photo, I believe Douglas (Doede) is in the next to last row, second in from the left, sitting next to the older gentleman who is likely their chaperone or teacher.  They’re sitting on what appears to be a beach dune in front of some sort of observation tower or lighthouse,  and if I were a betting woman, I’d bet it was the North Tower on Schiermonnikoog because it looks a lot like it, though the extra tower behind the lighthouse is gone now.  I actually found another old photo on Flickr showing the tower, so I’m pretty sure I have my location!  Doede was born in 1911, so if he’s about 13 in this photo, it was taken in the mid 1920s.  Neat to have finally figured out the location, and it’s probably a safe bet that the boys in that photo were enjoying a good bit of play on the beach on their day trip away from school.

EDIT: There’s actually a great image here showing the extra side tower.

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Influenster Endless Summer VoxBox

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I received my first Influenster box last week which was pretty exciting!  I’d just started to get involved with Influenster, so it was neat to be included in a campaign for the first time.  This box is the “Endless Summer” box which included a bunch of items, though they didn’t really fit any sort of summer theme – tea is definitely not a summer thing!  Still, neat stuff to try out, I’m in!

  • Seche Premier Color & Top Coat – .5 oz / $9.99 – Unfortunately, this arrived with the cap broken, so the color, “Cunning,” was dried up in the bottle – I think you can even see in the photo that the bottle is only half full.  I’m not big on the color which is a bright coral pink (I loathe pink), so it wasn’t a huge loss, and fortunately it seems to not have leaked into the box.  Influenster customer service said they were unable to replace it, and I understand that.   The top coat was fine though, and it’s definitely one of my favorites already – it goes on thick, dries quickly and lasts by far the longest of all the top coats I’ve tried, and I’ve tried plenty!  I did want to see how the premier color held up, but unfortunately the polish is way too dried up to be useable.
  • Not Your Mother’s Way to Grow Leave-In Conditioner – 2 oz / $3.50 – It contains a silicone as the 4th ingredient, so after the initial try, I’m going to pass this off to someone who can use silicones in their hair.  Curly hair and silicones don’t work well together, and since I am low-to-no-shampoo with my hair, I really try not to use anything with silicones since they tend to build up.  Not using regular shampoo means I have to be extra careful about using products that build up since I’m not using regular shampoo that strips the life out of your hair.  The product is cruelty-free though, so that’s great!  I tried it out on wet hair under  my usual light gel.  I didn’t see any big difference – my hair is crazy curly and tends to go frizzy in the humidity and no amount of product can stop it, so I didn’t expect too much to begin with.  The scent was nice though, kind of fruity, and it didn’t linger on my hair or feel overwhelming.  Still, with the silicones, this is a nope for me – I just can’t use them on my hair.
  • Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara – 7.2 mL / $9.99 – Unfortunately, this contains parabens, but there’s no cyclopentasiloxane, so it shouldn’t irritate my eyes.  The brush is great – it’s a plastic spiky wand that helps keep lashes separated and reduce clumps.  It went on easily, not watery or too thick and stuck to my lashes very well, even allowing me to curl with the wand more than with other mascaras I’ve tried.  It didn’t feel heavy or sticky either and removed with makeup remover oil very easily and didn’t bother my sensitive eyes at all.   There’s also a coupon included for $2 off any Max Factor product.
  • Max Factor Masterpiece Max Liquid Eyeliner – 1 mL / $9.99 – No parabens, no cyclopentasiloxane!  The tip is a little odd – it almost looks like a teeny version of a popsicle stick and is definitely the first time I’ve seen a tip like this on an eyeliner.  Not having a perfect point means I feel like I can’t get a fine line out of it – it doesn’t come down to a chisel point, it’s much more like a popsicle stick with a blunt end.  The formula does go on smoothly and rather dark with one swipe which is great, and the wider/round part means it’s easier to fill in for a thicker line.  I have to admit though, for this being a rather basic “drugstore” type brand, I actually really liked both this and the mascara more than I thought I would.  However, the parent company does test on animals, so neither this or the mascara are cruelty-free.
  • Numi Tea Selection – 12-18 count box / $7.49 – $8.99 – Oh boy do I love tea, so these are great to be able to try before committing to a whole box.  I received three flavors, Chocolate Puerh, Jasmine Green, and Turmeric Amber Sun.  Each sample bag was stapled to a backing that has a coupon with it as well so that if you like the tea, you can get a discount on a full box which I definitely appreciate!
    • Chocolate Puerh – The chocolate isn’t quite as chocolately as I would’ve thought, but it does lend a warmth and richness to the Puerh tea that’s really pleasant.  This may be a good coffee replacement in the winter when I feel more like tea and less like coffee.
    • Jasmine Green – I don’t particularly like Jasmine or Green tea, so this is a bit of a miss for me.
    • Turmeric Amber Sun – Oh wow.  Such a delightful tea for fall, totally beats out anything pumpkin spice!  It’s a nice herbal blend and the bit of cinnamon and vanilla, and I  may need a whole box of my own so I can have a cup of this tea next to a fire.
  • Iron Tek Essential Protein – 1.5 lb / $35.99 – I’m not going to lie, this is really not up my alley at all.  I’m not a weight lifter, nor do I use protein powders, ever.  I don’t enjoy shakes either, so I have no idea what to do with this.  It’s the only product I haven’t tested because it contains Stevia, and Stevia and I tend not to get along well, digestively speaking, and I’m not willing to risk feeling ill just to test something I’m really not interested in to begin with.  I may save it for the spousal unit to try when he returns home, but that won’t be until well after the Endless Summer campaign has ended.

Overall, I really didn’t quite understand  how these fit into an “Endless Summer” theme, but it was really neat to be able to try out some new products for free!  I’m still a little bummed about the Seche nail polish arriving damaged since I did want to try out the formula even if the color wasn’t my thing, but the full size mascara and eyeliner were pretty awesome, and I definitely loved getting the tea, so that works out just fine.  I will probably spring for a box of the Numi Chocolate Puerh tea since that was my absolute favorite of the three samples included, maybe even the Turmeric tea too (you can never have enough tea).  All things considered, it was a lot of fun to get to try new products like this and offer feedback through Influenster and on my blog!

Full Disclosure:  I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  Thoughts and opinions are my own!

Sepia Saturday 343-a

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Another edition  of our monthly theme starts this week, focusing on, “Work and Play.”  We’re allowed a good bit of leeway with the theme and prompt image so, since I have nothing at all in my collection like the prompt photo, I went with “Play” to start and found a good reason to share this silly one of my husband’s grandfather, Douglas (Doede) Jaarsma.  The back of the photo says, “Douglas and the Ducks,” and you can see him sitting on a toy spring duck with quite the grin on his face.  The photo print date says March 1973, but I’d guess this was taken the previous summer and developed later since the trees are much too leafy for March!  I’m not sure of the location either, but it was probably in New Jersey.  The photo was taken when he was 62 years old, proving you’re never too old for being a little silly!

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One Local Summer 2016 – Week 13

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It may not be the world’s most exciting meal, but it’s classic Chez Sheetar comfort food – meat and potatoes.  It was a quick and easy meal to make in the oven in one pan, and I get to show off the peach jam I made!  Our single little peach tree yielded quite the harvest this year, so I was able to do two batches of jam, a run of canned peaches, and even froze two bags of skinned and pitted peaches for pies over the winter.  Of course, the squirrels got a fair share of the peaches too, but it’s no big deal since there were SO many.  Anyway, the meal is kielbasa with potatoes plus a small salad and some cheese and jam.  The cheese is Birchrun Hills’ Red Cat that was washed in Tired Hands beer and it was OH SO DELICIOUS with the jam.  It actually made for a nice little dessert!

Ingredients:
Kielbasa –  M&M Creek Valley Farm
Potatoes –  Jack’s Farm
Cheese –  Birchrun Hills
Lettuce –  North Star Orchard
Tomatoes – Our Garden
Peach Jam – Our Honey, our Peach tree
Non Local – Salt, Olive Oil, pectin (for jam), Salad Dressing

Benevolent Beauty Box August 2016

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Another Benevolent Beauty Box has arrived!  On time as usual (even if this post is going up a little late), and this month I  got a bonus product which was unexpected!  I know they were offering a bonus product to all members since they offered it to new subscribers, but I never emailed in with a preference since I didn’t feel like it was completely necessary to give current subscribers the same bonus offered to entice new people to sign up.  Still though, a bonus product, the Colorevolution eye shadow showed up in the box!  Totally unexpected but still  a nice addition.  Anyway, on to the contents!

  • Bellapierre Vanilla Bean Lip Balm – 7 g / $10 – (Full Size Product) It smells absolutely lovely!  On the side of the box, the directions tell you to mix it with your favorite pigment or shimmer powder which is a neat idea!  I find the balm nice and smooth without being sticky, and the vanilla scent is present but not overwhelming.  Really a solid lip balm.
  • Manna Kadar Priming Gloss Stain – 5 g / $24 – (Full Size Product) I received this in my first Lip Monthly shipment in July, so it’s not this box’s fault that it’s a dupe, I just subscribe to too many boxes!  I do really like this as an everyday lip product though – it’s enough that it’s something, but the color isn’t bold or outrageous.  It looks perfectly natural on my lips and very nearly matches their natural color, plus it seems to last a good long while and the formula is creamy and smooth but still matte.  I may pass this off to a friend though since I don’t need two of them, but I do like this product!
  • Nvey Eco Eye Shadow – 1.5 g / $17.99 – (Full Size Product) I received the color, “Mahogany,” which is a deep warm brown with a hint of shimmer.  It’s heavily pigmented and the little compact even has a mirror which is a nice touch!  Love the color and will definitely be using this often.
  • Your Minerals Transparent Veil – 7 g / $21  – (Full Size Product) I love powders like this especially for the summer months when I can’t bear to use anything heavy on my face.  This goes on silky smooth and the clay content helps absorb oil.  It can either be used under or over foundation, but I usually use it by itself just to give me a little more of a polished look when I’m not doing the bare minimum (eyes/lips).  I particularly like the texture of this one and I’m sure it’s going to go into regular makeup rotation right away.
  • Paula Dunne Cougar Blush – 7 g / $19.66 – (Full Size Product) I received the color, “Punch,” which is a rosy pink.  It’s probably a little too dark for my complexion and I don’t really use blush much anyway, so this is kind of a miss for me.  It shows up on my cheeks as leaning over to brown, so it’s probably got some yellowish tones to it that don’t mesh with my skin tone which is already pretty red on my cheeks naturally.  The formula is nice though, very easy to blend, but this just isn’t the shade for me.
  • Colorevolution Eyeshadow – 2 g / $12 – (Full Size Product) I received the color, “Sienna #2” which is a pink base with a gold shimmer, and this is the bonus product for the box, not part of the regular August shipment.  The shimmer comes out more than the color, but it’s a really nice effect and would work well over other matte shadow that I want to glitz up a little or for a good dose of sparkle just because.  The mix of the pink and gold is really growing on me and I’m loving it!  More eyeshadow is always welcome and I don’t think I’ve met a color that I didn’t like!

The box value comes to $92.65 without the bonus product and $104.65 with the bonus.  The box costs $29.95 for a month-to-month subscription, so this is really an incredible value!  This box consistently delivers products that I’m interested in and that are ingredient-conscious and cruelty-free.  It might cost more per month, but in this one, there are SIX full size products including the bonus.  No foil packets!  I’m really pleased, and even with the miss on the blush, the box is still well above the cost.  What’s really great about this box in particular is that a bunch of these brands, I hadn’t ever heard of or tried before, so it’s refreshing to see brands that are completely new to me.  As always, I’m looking forward to next month!

Espionage Cosmetics Nexus – September 2016

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Whaaat?!  It’s not even September yet!  I love it when boxes ship early and exceed my expectations!  The crew at Espionage Cosmetics shifted the shipping schedule around a little for the Nexus shipment which now ends up shipping between the 18-27th of each month and renews the 28th of each month for the following month, so September’s shipment went out on August 24th for me, and arrived today, the 30th.  I loved getting the heads-up about the change, and being a newer subscription, I’m glad they’re keeping us in the loop as they fine tune the process.  SO!  This month’s theme was, “Ancient Mau,” and I had a pretty good idea cats and egypt would be involved, but as usual, you never know what sort of magic will tumble out of the glitter cloud.

  • Peek-A-Boo Cats – Little black cats peek around the edges of an orange-red glossy ombre base.  There are even glow in the dark accents on the cats.  Too cute!  I have to admit that I’m more of a dog person (we have two), but I spent my youngest years being herded around by two cats, so these are absolutely welcome here!  I have a feeling these are going to be saved for October so I can show them off around Halloween because the colors paired with the black cats are purrrfect (sorry, had to be done).
  • hieroglyphics – Okay, so the cats are cute, but this is DEFINITELY without a doubt the nail wrap I’ll be voting for this month.  It’s a glossy nail wrap with gold foil accents featuring hieroglyphics and the eye of Horus.  I’m a history nerd in general, but Ancient Egypt has always held fascination for me, so I am positively over the moon for these!  They’re just stunningly beautiful and I cannot wait to wear them.

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The nail wraps usually cost $10 each on the Espionage Cosmetics website, so the value  definitely exceeds the cost of a month-to-month subscription at $15 per month.  Subscribers then vote for their favorite of the two, and the winner goes on to regular sale on the website.  That means Nexus subscribers get a super limited edition nail wrap that will never be produced again!  As usual, I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with for next month and I’m LOVING this subscription – I get two brand new nail wraps before they’re released to the general public, and I get to vote for my favorite and hope it wins.  This whole thing is ridiculously exciting.  I’m not sure any other subscription box does something like this!  In case you’re thinking about subscribing and want to send me some love, hit up my  referral link!

Sepia Saturday 342-d

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For our final choose-your-own-theme Sepia Saturday under the 342 prompt, I’m selecting this photo to coincide with what would’ve been their anniversary this past week.  In this photo are pictured Romayne Louella Greenaway and Leon Joseph Kitko in a photo taken around their wedding date  which was 24 August 1963.  This was Leon’s second marriage, so while Romayne wasn’t a biological grandma, she was married to Leon long before I was born and she had always been my grandma.  I found these photos in a trunk of old photos at their house after they both passed away.  From the photographer’s stamp, these were probably proofs, and I know there’s a larger photo that was hand colored in the house.  There’s something about this one that I love though – that stifled laugh on Leon’s face is one I remember seeing multiple times and makes me smile even just seeing the photo here now.  Short and sweet this week, and even though Romayne and Leon have both passed away, I’m glad to have this great photo to remember them by.

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