Vampire Diaries chenille blanket

This Pier1 chenille blanket is used in an episode of The Vampire Diaries. It's on clearance at pier1 stores for only 10 dollars, so I decided to grab one. Pier1 has an online catalog, but you can't order online, you have to go in to a store. You can't even order over the phone. But, luckily, I talked with a super nice woman at the store closest to me(which was like, three hours away) and she took into consideration me being military and it would have been a three hour drive for a clearance item, and she took the order over the phone and shopped it straight to me! yay!

Anywho.... the blanket arrived a few days ago, and it is just amazing. It's 50"W x 60"H, so kinda big, and super, super soft. It's fairly warm- not hot enough for a winter night, but not so cold it feels like nothing. It makes a nice little throw, or wrap for days when you're just lounging around. It has been shedding a little bit, but I think that's just because it's new and hasn't been cleaned yet. And my nightshirt is white, so the little red bits show up really well.

Only downside I can think of is that it has to be dry cleaned. I have a feeling that if I ignored that tag and washed it normal, that it would just fall apart. I don't get... any of my laundry dry cleaned, so I have no idea how much it'll cost.

I totally recommend picking it up at your local pier1 if they've still got it. It's a really nice blanket, very "rich" feeling, and at 10 dollars, it is totally worth it.

MAC Prep+Prime SPF50

So I grabbed this product recently to try it out- here's my initial impressions.

I tried it the second I got it. Once I opened the package, I washed my face, and then applied only it to see how it felt. So far.... it's not too bad. Very light feeling on my skin. When I touch my face however(I know I'm not susposed to- oils and whatnot from hands can increase likelyhood of pimples) I can feel... something. I dunno. It's not a greasy feeling, and no grease comes away on my fingers... it's kinda, "balmy" feeling. Thats the best I could think of to describe it. It feels kinda like there's a very thin layer of a balm of some kind on my skin. But, if I don't touch my skin, it feels fantastic. I can't even tell it's there at all- no odor, it doesn't show in the mirror.

It was kindof difficult to spread, the formula isn't nearly as thin as what I normally work with. But so long as I dot it around enough, then I can spread the dots around fairly well.

The bottle is... hard. It's like, really hard. I've read a bunch of reviews where peopl have to cut of end off the bottle and scrape the product out and into another container to use all the product. But if the product itself is good enough, I'm prepared to do that.

The worst thing about it is the price. It's 30.00 for a 1 fl ox bottle. That's *really* expensive. But. Considering that I use two expensive face products daily, and that product acts as three, when I break down the math, this may be a better deal. I've got to go and break down the math.

So that's my initial impression- I'll do a more detailed review in a few weeks.

George Foreman minigrill review

I got a little george foreman grill because I've been wanting some steak, but I can't cook worth a damn. One of my co-workers mentioned that it cooks the meat well while still leaving it juicy and tender. And key- it's easy to use. According to them, all I have to do is throw the meat down on the grill, close the lid, and wait a few minutes.

After a description like that, I had to get one and try it out. I ordered the smallest size off of amazon, which came out to 17.99 plus tax. Fairly reasonable, imo. The picture showed it cooking two nice little steaks, with vegetables. It arrived kinda quick, and I left it in the box until I could go shopping and get some meat.


For my first use, I purchased a set of three little rib eyes and some hickory and brown sugar steak sauce. I also grabbed some pam grille cooking spray since my co-worker mentioned there was a problem with sticking. For the very first steak, I didn't let the meat sit in the sauce, I just slapped it down in a puddle of the sauce, flipped it, spread a bit around the edge, then threw it on the grill for five minutes. While that one was cooking, I sauced up the other two pieces and stuck them in a ziplock baggie, then put that in the fridge for later.

My first steak, when completed with its time, came out a nice color, with neat little grille lines. It ended up looking a little burnt on one end, but didn't taste burned. The sauce didn't really get a lot of time to sink into the meat, so it wasn't exceptionally flavorful, but I could still taste it a bit. The meat was a little(very little!) dry, but my five minute time was a guestimation between the two times in the book: 4-6 minutes for a 3/4 inch steak for medium-well. I went with 5 minutes, and ended up much more well done than I had hoped. I think a little less time will give me the juicy steak I'm looking for. All the grease had drained off, thanks to the slope of the grill.

Cleanup of the grill was actually pretty easy. It comes with a nice little grill sponge cleaning thing, which was effective at pulling off all the juices from the meat and getting off any crusty bits. Right now it's sitting and air drying.

Escada Taj Sunset review

Ok. First perfume review. I found this nice little gem on a shopping excursion to Sephora. Well, more of a browsing excursion. Anyhow. I was walking down the perfume isle and you know how sometimes you smell a scent that just stops you in your tracks and has you looking around for the source of it? This is one of those scents. I smelled it and was completely stopped in my tracks. And then, being in the perfume isle... I proceeded to go down the isle, smelling each and every bottle in an attempt to find the correct bottle. But, even though I had the right one, I hadn't really budgeted for a perfume, so I put it off.

Then, while at a school, I was in the PX and found it again. I was sooo excited, because I remembered what it smelled like at sephora, and when I tried it again, it didn't disappoint. I ended up purchasing a little 1.0 fl oz bottle.

On to the actual scent. Sephora's webpage describes it like this: "A scent of tropical sensuality, it opens with a burst of citrusy blood orange and the exotic, fruity aroma of the Alphonso mango—the first fragrance to capture this unique note. Next, floral and fruity heart notes emerge, including watery blossom, sweet primrose, and raspberry. The scent lingers on a sexy, beach-inspired base of coconut cream, musky notes, and sandalwood. "

I gotta say, that seems fairly accurate. It is a very fruity smell, but definitely more in the citrus and mango end of the fruit spectrum, without being tart or sour. And, I completely agree with it being a very beachy smell, without smelling like the ocean. It's fantastic, and light, and sweet. I've never had anybody compliment on my perfume before, but with this one, I've gotten multiple compliments and inquiries as to what I'm wearing.

And, rather unfortunately, it appears to be a limited edition scent. It will only be available to purchase during 2011. I know I'll be stocking up.

Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel for Sensitive skin

I got a fairly decent size of this as a sample... Well I tried it today. Just now. and uuuhhhhh....... anyways.

So it says to apply for ten minutes, then rinse. I applied it. After about two minutes I noticed a tingling reminiscent of my allergic reaction to some proactive stuff, and went and checked in the mirror. I then proceeded to freak out and stick my head in the sink to desperately wash it off. My skin where I had applied it had turned bright red. Bright red. No swelling that was noticeable, just really bright red.

A quick browsing of the interwebs turned up that turning red is a fairly common reaction. And that it goes away. A re-read of the box turned up a "IMPORTANT: A mild tingling sensation and slight redness are normal with the Green Apple Peel."

I'll be trying it again later.... Overall, once it was rinsed off and my skin dried... My skin was softer and smoother. If also redder.

Ok. So I waited till the next day, and tried again. Now that I know the redness is normal and not an allergic reaction, I didn't freak out and rinse it all off early. I waited the time limit, rinsed it and moisturized. Skin is soft and smooth. It feels a bit tight, but it's not unbearable.

CC Skye Double Wrap Bracelet & Calypso polish

I ordered this, and it arrived today. I'm really liking it. Very cute and unique. At the 85.00 I paid for it, it was expensive, but not the most expensive piece of jewelry I've purchased. This is also something that I can throw on nearly any of my outfits and it'll work great. It probably wouldn't go too great with something exceptionally girly. On the other hand, maybe it would work, especially if I wore my black heels that have the gold studs all over them.



I also purchased this, and just now got a chance to use it. I did my toes, they're so cute now. The color is kind of an orangey-pink, more orange than pink, with a lot of sparkle. A lot. I love the color, but on my initial use, I kindof wish there was a little less sparkle. I might feel differently in a few days. Another thing I like about this polish is that it dries really fast. That's supernice. I don't feel like it'll smudge when I rack out for sleep. This is my first time using any of perfect formula's polishes and so far it's really great.

More on Jungle Conditioner

Ok. So after using it for.. almost two months? I've come to the conclusion that I won't be buying more.

Don't get my wrong, I love it. Love the smell, love how it makes my hair feel when it's dry. But, I can't stand that it doesn't make my hair manageable when it's wet. I guess that's the lack of silicone stuff. But when it's wet, it's just difficult to work with. I feel like I'm yanking my hair out by the roots. So I'm gonna be using up what's left, maybe gifting some, and then going back to a silicone conditioner, one that makes my hair unbelievably silky both wet and dry.

I did try using the jungle to "perfume" my hair.... I used the silicone conditioner, rinsed, then used the jungle. Jungle just wasn't strong enough to beat out the smell of the other conditioner. Oh well. /sadface.

When Hope is Not Enough (capsules)

Ok. So I just HAVE to talk about this product. It's amazing. And even though it's expensive as hell, in my opinion, it is WORTH the splurge.

I was at Ft. Bliss shopping with my roommate when she saw these on the sample table and snagged one. She popped the capsule, and squeezed the contents onto her finger. It looked like a little gob of petroleum jelly. Seriously. I didn't believe that philosophy would sell something like that, so I snagged a bit off her finger and rubbed it into the back of my hand. Oh. Em. Gee. It was amazingly moisturizing, soft, and just, awesome. It provided a little shot of moisture to the back of my hand that left me amazed when I touched it. So, I purchased a jar of them.

When Hope is Not Enough Capsules

I've been applying them daily since. I was using them both morning and evening, but have since gone to only morning simply to try and make them last longer. A jar of 60 costs 50 dollars through sephora and 40 through AFFES. But, as I said before, I believe they are worth it.

Each capsule contains enough product to cover the entire face. When applied... it turns the face buttersoft, babybuttsoft, any kind of soft you can think of. The finish feels a little... almost powdery, but it's not. The finish also seems to smooth out skin, working as almost a primer. It gives an instant boost to moisture, while not being overwhelming. There is no crazy shine left behind by this stuff, either.

I daresay... this is quite possibly going to become my very first HG product.

LUSH - Continued

ok, so I used everything else (except for the shampoo) this morning and am ready to provide an initial review.

First up-

Buffy

This is an exfoliant and a moisturizer. I used it as the very last item in my shower regime this morning. I started by rubbing it on my skin, then slowed down. When it says it exfoliates, it means it. I doubt there is actual glass in the bar, but wow. It's very rough. I suggest doing a light sweep over limbs, then rubbing the resulting moisturizer and exfoliating goodies all over with your hands. Be... gentle. Moving on. After the shower, I was left very soft. Very, very soft. It's awesome. And my trouble spot with dryness- my tat on my arm, is soft and moisturized. It's awesome. I'll update after work when I see if it lasted.

American Cream

Uhm. Honestly, I'm not too impressed. I'll give this a couple more tries, but like I said- not impressed. My hair is a bit easier to manage, but not by a large amount. There's not as much of a yummy smell as I was expecting- more a dusty vanilla than anything. I'm really just meh about this product.

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I'm gonna take a moment and talk about Ultra Bland some more. I used it again this morning. I had a MASSIVE hormonal acne cyst on my forehead. massive, red, inflamed, GROSS. After using Ultrabland the first time, it went down CONSIDERABLY. I was shocked. I used it again this morning and let me tell you, it's looking even better. Now it's just down to a regular size. Inflammation is completely gone. Redness is down. The only noticeable bit about it now is a little scab where I picked a bit(I know, I know, not supposed to do that)

If this cleanser continues to perform like this, and manages to prevent my from even getting any hormonal acne next time, this is going to become my holy grail product.

LUSH

Ok, This is slightly different than doing a single product review. This is just my (pretty much still initial) review of all of LUSH. At least, everything that I've tried so far. I'll admit, I haven't tried everything. I haven't ventured into the realm of bath bombs yet, so nothing on that end. There are a bunch more products that I haven't tried yet, but I'm not gonna bother listing them. This is about the things that I have tried.

As a side note, one of LUSH' big things is that they're all vegetarian and vegan and whatnot. I really don't care too much about that, I'm just liking the yummy smells and the effectiveness of their products. That said, here's my feedback on the products I've dabbled in.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="My LUSH Collection"][/caption]

1. The Godmother Soap

When I let the sales lady know that I was "a lush virgin" and that I liked fruity smells, she led me to this soap. It smelled absolutely delicious. I was a little torn between the godmother and Honey I Washed The Kids but I settled on this one. I ended up buying a good sized chunk. The whole chunk came wrapped in some paper, like when you buy custom cut meat from the butcher. I purchased a soap tin from them also and cut off a tin sized chunk from the main bar with a knife. I lather it up on a loofah and I end up with a really decent amount of lather. It smells delicious, leaves my skin squeaky clean, and makes my bathroom and room smell awesome.

2. New Shampoo Bar

I'm gonna be totally honest. I was baffled by the idea a solid shampoo. My "wtf" meter was all over the place. But I was hearing good reviews, so I decided to try one. I got this bar because of the awesome cinnamon smell. The first time I used it I was blown away. It just smells amazing. I got my hair wet, ran the bar over my hair a few times (honestly, the first time I did it about 5 or 6 times. Now, only 3 or 4) and lathered up. The lather from it is crazy. Especially considering that it's... a bar. lol. I'm so used to having a blob of liquid shampoo be necessary for a lather that I was shocked by what happened with the solid. But anyways, it makes me hair clean, smell like cinnamon, and makes it really soft when it's dried. The only downside I've got so far with it is that when my hair is still wet and no conditioner has been used it's really... tangle-y. Rough. Difficult to handle. It's fine when it dries, but a conditioner will help with handling when it's still wet.

3. Ultra Bland

Ok, I've only used this once. I got it this afternoon and used it when I got home, so I've only got the one use to go off of. My review for this everything else has been a week or so- this is... just the one time. My initial impression is that it seems greasy and is difficult to spread out on my face. There is no lather from this product. And when trying to rinse my face off, it was really difficult to rinse off, leaving my face feeling like it had a film on it. The up side is that my face is clean and now, a few hours later, my skin feels uber, uber soft and silky. I'm going to try it again tomorrow and see how it goes.

4. Buffy

I haven't used this yet. My skin always seems... ashy. dry. Gross. So I got something that says it will exfoliate and moisturize. I can't wait to try it.

5. American Cream

I got a conditioner to go with the shampoo bar that I got earlier. I haven't been able to use it yet, I'll be trying it for the first time tomorrow and am super excited.

6. I Love Juicy

A bottled shampoo that I haven't tried yet. I got it with my initial purchase because it smelled yummy and fruity, but haven't gotten around to trying it because of how much I've fallen in love with my shampoo bar.

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

I had gotten a sample of this and I just tried it last night. OMG! I love it. I accidentally got a bit in my hairline and eyebrows and that was a pain to remove, but other than that I love it. It's a mask that you need to spread out rather quickly becaue it does dry pretty fast. Once it dries, it stays very close to the skin, you'll need to be patient when beginning to peel becasue the edges don't curl on their own like some other masks I've used. Once you get it started you should be fine, but bear in mind it does stick to the skin rather well, so don't get any on the tender area around your eyes.
Some people complain that you have to put on a superthick layer, but i put on a relatively thin layer and it still worked great for me.
Once I had pulled it all off and then rinsed off the bit in my hairline my skin was just soooo smooth and soft. There was absolutely NO tightness like some masks will leave you with.

Kat Von D palette

So based on a recomendation i purchased my first kat von d palette. I got the one with all the purples in it. First of all, the packaging is just beautiful. I almost saved it. It comes in this awesome little envelope box and also has this great tissue paper wrapped around it.
This weekend i created a look solely with that palette and loved it. The colors are vibrant and long lasting(note-i was using a primer)
I would recomend this palette to anyone, but not as a very first palette.
As a side note, there is a cream shadow in it that has received a lot of negative reviews because of drying out. I haven't used the color yet, but i am concerned.

Sometimes it's so good, you gotta have more than one...

And that is totally the case with my rosebud strawberry lip balm. I ordered a second one, which I'll keep in my desk at work. I'm tellin ya, that stuff is amazing!

Review: Rosebud Strawberry Lip Balm

So I've been using it since I got it, and I really like it. It is....amazing! It smells crazy good- like fresh strawberries. When applied to the lips, it "quenches" their thirst like a glass of ice water on a hot day. It just sinks in, instead of most balms which simply lie on top of the lips until licked or rubbed off. Aside from sinking into the lips, it keeps them feeling hydrated and moisturized for quite awhile, with no stickiness or residue.

The ingredients are incredibly simple- the entire list fits on the back of the tin(petrolatum, vilvanolin, natural white beeswax, a "trade secret" blend of strawberry flavor, natural and artificial dyes) While there is no abnormal color, I prefer that. It's incredibly natural and easy to wear for work. It does good for wearing at work, and at night before you go to bed.

I totally recommended this for everyone. Beyond all the great great things I listed above- the price is AMAZING. You can purchase a 0.8 oz tin for only $7.00 USD.

http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P42205&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5671

My new lippies- Initial impressions

Ok, so I just got my package of lip goodies, and am gonna make a post on my initial impressions, because I don't really have time to use and write individual reviews on each item right now.

Here's what I ordered(in not particular order)

• http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P254222&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=1073


• http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P42205&categoryId=B70


• http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P253713&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5984


• http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P268009&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5781

My initial impressions are going to be of the packaging and smells.  The LipFusion has very nice packaging, a metal tube that I won't have to worry about opening on its own- it has a cap that needs to screw off. The Dior has *very* nice packaging- it's very pretty and feminine. The Buxom packaging feels very cheap in my hands, being made almost entirely out of plastic. But! It does have a saving feature- a small mirror in the cap.  Rosebud has a simple metal tin.

As far as smells, the Rosebud came out on top- it smells amazing! Buxom comes next; it's got a very unique vanilla-coco smell that I really like. The Dior balm came in absolutely last- it's got a very "old lady flower perfume" smell to it which I just don't like. I'll try it out, but unless it does something amazing for my lips, I'll be swapping it out. The LipFusion doesn't really seem to have a smell.

Aromaleigh

Wow. I saw a review on one of their products and tottered on over to the website. Best thing about it? You can order JUST SAMPLES. That's right- you can go through EVERYTHING in their inventory, and order just a sample of whatever you want. I ordered some eyeshadow samples, and am pretty impressed.

They individually package your samples, put all of them in a nice little baggie, then wrap it in some cute tissue paper and sent it to you. Even better was the personalized touch on the order form with my samples- handwritten "Thank you katherine!". Not that much seemingly, but it shows me that they take their time with their products and treat each person as an individual, instead of just turning all their customers into "the Borg"

Shipping was incredibly fast as well, even without any special shipping picked. I got my samples in three business days.

But wait! there's more! The samples are pretty decent sized. When you consider the miniscule amount of eyeshadow it takes to do a lid, and compare it to the one dollar sample, you're getting quite a bit of product. My estimation, if I used only one sample to do both my lids, I could do my eyes for two weeks to a month based on the sample size.

I did do my eyes today with the samples I got, and am pretty impressed with the eyeshadow quality. Beyond quality, they have an incredibly impressive amount of variety. Like, really. It blew my mind. Go to the eyeshadow page, and choose the "pick your free samples" link. The page it takes you two is a list (with pictures!) of all of their eyeshadows. It's not a short list. Speaking of free samples- with every order, you can choose three free eyeshadow samples.

Forever21 Hobo Purse review

So I got this purse along with some clothes the other day and just love it. It's going to be the Angela Pleather Hobo, currently selling for $24.80. http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=FOREVER21&category%5Fname=acc%5Fhandbags&product%5Fid=1065588254&Page=all&pgcount=25

When you hear pleather, you immediately think cheap, tacky, stiff. This doesn't fall into those categories. The outside is a soft, then, flexible pleather with fully functional zippers on the top, and on both sides. The side pockets are excellent for holding keys and cellphone- items that you'll need to get without having to dig around. The inside is lined with a olive/forest green color and has a small pocket(for makeup) and another small zippered pocket. The strap is adjustable.

Overall, I love this purse. It's an excellent casual purse, and totally worth the 25 buck you'll spend to buy it.

New product, and sunless tanner review

So I tried out the snless tanner. Uhm.... not bad, I guess. The first few things you're gonna notice when you open it is this: it smells, it's REALLY thin and runny, and it's shimmery.

Now, the smell isn't entirely unpleasant. I personally love coconut smell. Anywho. it starts out smelling really yummy and coconutty and whatnot. But I put it on, let it dry, and then went to sleep. When I woke up it did NOT smell coconutty, not at all. It smelled.... kindof like my skin smelt after putting on that tanning stuff and then getting on the tanning bad for 15 minutes. A little like.... well, burnt skin. The thin runny consistency isn't too bad. However, it does sink in a dry like, crazy fast. Way faster than normal drugstore tanning lotions(I'm thinking jergens) It doesn't leave any "lotion" texture, any slickness, any stickiness. None of that nonsense. It sinks in and then the only texture there is, is your natural skin. I love that. Because it sinks in so fast, only work on my section of the body at a time. be sure to spread it out and rub it in quickly. On to... the shimmer. I've never had a shimmer in my sunless tanner before, so seeing it on the palms of my hands was... quite a shock. Rest assured, the shimmer on your body is not as scary as the shimmer on the palms of your hands. On the palms of your hands it's scary and shimmery and really really shimmery. Once you spread it out on your body, the shimmer is noticable only as that "glow" that you see on the tanned legs of Victoria's Secret models. After putting in on everywhere and checking myself out(I did. many times. from different angles) I gotta say that I LOVE the shimmer. It's just... perfect. Longevity of the tan.... uhm. Well. it's a gradual tanner. I only used it for the one day, but I believe I did see a bit of coloration after I had rinsed the product off(about 12 hours later) it didn't really last long, but one application isn't meant to. Will definately be using again. Unknown if I'll purchase again. I'll have to see how the rest of the bottle turns out.

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Ok. As for what I got. I got a blush. I'm not really big on blushes cause to me, some of them are scary. But, I've seen a lot of reviews and heard that this one turns up very nice and natural, especially on fair skinned people, like me. So i got a box of benefit Sugarbomb, and am going to try it out. The box is cute, it comes with a little brush, and has a totally minimal amount of shimmer. It does have a scent, but it smells like.... roses. Not unpleasant.

Duwop and face primer

So another box arrived in the mail a couple days ago from sephora. I had ordered two things. The first is the duwop pure venom in pure berry. I'll get back to that later. The second item I ordered was some face primer from toofaced.

Now, everywhere I've read has said that primer is the shit and should be applied before makeup to help it stay in place and to help make the skin way smoother for application. I decided to get some and try it out. I picked too faced for no particular reason. However- I have heard that they make some amazing eye primer, so I guess I had hoped their face primer would be just as good.
Anyhow, I used a little on the back of one of my hands and could totally tell the difference. The skin was softer, smoother, and less... Oily I guess. Not dry, just less oil. So tonight I applied some before my makeup. It made my face very smooth for application- my foundation seemed to spread on and blend out better than without the primer. I'm not sure yet if it makes makeup last longer like it claims, I'll have to wait till the end of the night to know.

Ok!!! Back to the pure venom. First, please understand that i just love duwop lip products, so I'm a little bit biased. Anyways. I got this and love it. It comes in a little tin that is just adorable. The tin is really good of you want some lip product without carrying around a tube of lipstick. It smells great, too- very cinnamon. The actual product is a deep red in the tin, and a bright red on your finger. Don't get scared though!!! The density of color varies based on how much you apply, so a little bit will give you nicely colored pink/red lips that look very natural. For a more dramatic look, feel free to apply more until you've got the color you want. After I apply mine, I let it sit for a minute or two and then top with some natural lip balm or chapstick.

Those are the goodie I ordered- in addition I got two perfume samples and a bodywash/lotion sample packet. I'll review those later.



Ok, this is just a quick edit to let you all know how the primer worked. Quite simply, it's amazing. One day and I am completely sold on wearing primer with my makeup. My skin stayed smooth for my entire 12 hour shift, and my makeup stayed in place. It did make my skin feel a little "heavy" at first, but it's not *that* noticable, and I got used to it pretty quickly. I would reccomend that everyone get a primer for their makeup collection.