I Live with a SMOKER--But Get FREE STUFF!

I'll confess something to you if you promise not to tell.  When I divorced my first husband I SWORE on the heads of my future children that I would never, EVER date, much less marry, another smoker.  Now, many years later (never mind HOW many), I have to admit to having discovered one universal truth--never say never. 

My husband is a smoker.  God, it looks worse in print.  He doesn't smoke in front of me, or in the house, or in front of the kids.  He does, however, power smoke when he's outside working in the yard or tooling around in his mid-life crisis convertible.  I never thought I'd see a benefit.....until....UNTIL....Marlboro.com.  Yep, hubby smokes Marlboros, so I logged into the website to talk smack and forward hate mail.  Much to my surprise, I found......OMG, FREE STUFF!   I immediately signed up under my husband's name (what?  I didn't want to lie!) and have never looked back.  Over the past few years I've received flasks, spice rubs, lighters, butt holders, tshirts, and more.  Today, however, came the gift I know the hubby's going to LOVE--a gift that was, again, totally free, and unbranded.  Take a look!

 

WEIGHTED CUSTOM DARTS!  These little gems have pencil shaped barrels, smooth ring-grooved grips and standard black and white striped flights.  I would gauge them to be about 20 g. 

 

So out of my husband's dirty little not-so-secret habit has come some enjoyment for me in the form of great little packages haunting my mailbox.  Who would have thunk it?  ;)

Beauty Box Sample Society Subscription - April 2013

This is my second month with Sample Society, a $12 beauty subscription box service, and to be honest, I have yet to be impressed.  I don't expect dancing elephants and juggling mice, but I do expect to receive products I feel I can use--or comfortably gift.  Unfortunately, no dancing elephants, juggling mice OR me-friendly stuff in today's little black box.   I've listed the contents for you here, along with my witty (not) narrative.  Feel free to agree or disagree!  For the record, this is labeled box "C".

So....let's look at the box!

 

One thing I do have to say is that Sample Society makes a great presentation!  The nifty black box is filled with crinkly black paper, and the products themselves sit on a sheet of tissue.  I'm assuming that's due to the complaints last month regarding black "dust" on all the products.

 

 

 The first product is a 3g sample of CoTZ FACE Natural Skin Tone.  It's not exactly a generous sample, and, in fact, the card says "Try this 'free' sample".  Fail.

Next was a 2 ml. tube of an anti-aging treatment, Caudalie Premier Cru.  I'm actually anxious to try this, but I'm praying to the makeup gods not to like it, as it's $155.00 for a 1.7 oz. tube! 

 

 

The third product pulled from the box was .5 oz tube of Borghese Gel Delicato Makeup Remover.  I've heard good things about this, but I use simple Oil of Olay wipes for a fraction of the cost and find they work just fine!

 

 

Fourth on the list is a 10ml tube of Hanskin's Super Magic BB Cream.  I'm not sure why that name just tickles me, but I honest to God giggle every time I read it.  I can't almost hear the board room discussion.  "Let's call it BB Cream!"  "No, let's call it MAGIC BB cream!"  (collective ohhhhh).  Finally, "I've GOT IT!  SUPER Magic BB Cream!"  (Mad applause).   Ok, maybe not.

The next little gem was two hair clips (one barrette and one bobby pin) from Jane Tran.  Cute and useful, but don't these things usually come in pairs?  Ok, when "I" was young....wait, that sounds like my mother.  :: sigh ::

The last product I plucked from the crinkly black paper was a Hanskin Hydro Sheet Mask (obviously named by a different group at Hanskin).  I've read mixed reviews on this one, so it might sit awhile before I give it a go.

As always, there is a code for $15 off of a $50 purchase, providing one of the purchased products is made by one of the brands in the box.  I think this month I'll pass.



I'm a MAVEN--(ish) thanks to Julep!

So according to Wikipedia, a maven (also mavin) is a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. This wasn't exactly my mission when I recently joined Julep, but as a member, I am now officially labeled a maven.  With that in mind, allow me to share with you my "mavenish" experience (don't hate--the word worked).

First, a little about Julep.  Julep is a company that caters to the nail lover in all of us--the place that exists "at the intersection of beauty and fashion".    The company specializes in marketing nail polish in enough finishes and shades to assure every fashionista is fulfilled.  In addition, the company offers a monthly subscription box, and this, my friends, is where it gets interesting.  First, readers take a quiz that leads to a Maven "label" based on the answers.  You might be a "Modern Beauty"; shimmy barefoot into "Boho Glam"; vogue your way into being a "Bombshell"; or walk with dignity into the label "Classic With a Twist."    Next, you are introduced to  "your first Julep Maven Box with at least two gorgeous polishes and other beauty favorites chosen just for you."   What if you don't like the selection?  You can manually choose whichever profile suits your fancy. (The first box is an "introductory" box, followed the next month by a regular box, which you elect to either receive or skip based on the contents that are listed.)  Finally, enter a credit card number, and for $20 a month you can call yourself a "Maven" and receive a box delivered right to your door. 

When I took the quiz, I found myself in the "Classic With a Twist" category.  After looking at the boxes, I decided that I was happy with the Classic With a Twist selection (which I got for just $4--more on that later!), entered my PayPal info and waited for the haul to hit my inbox.  Within a week, my stash arrived. 

The first item out of the box was a generous 3.5 oz. tube of Julep's "Instant Warming Foot Scrub".  The product contains not only pumice for exfoliation, but also chili pepper oil to "stimulate circulation." I'd never really thought about seasoning my feet, but I'm saving this for a coolish evening when I have some time for pampering.

 

 The box also contained a packet of glycolic hand scrub.  (Ok, less than impressed with this addition).



Finally, I received two full sized Julep polishes--Helen (described as a light lavender) and Claudette, a "smoky brick". 

To be honest, the Helen looked more taupe to me in the bottle, so of course, I immediately wanted to try it!  Before opening the bottle, however, I noticed a "Swatch Me" sticker affixed to the top of the polish. 

 

 

Ok, so I totally get the idea--you swatch the polish on the sticker so you know what the color actually looks like, right?  Also, I'm guessing if you have a huge polish collection, swatching in this way would make it easier to identify polishes that were packed closely together.  GREAT idea, I'm thinking.  So I unscrewed the cap to find that the sticker was on TOP of the cap! Now I'm not genius, but I don't think I'm the dimmest bulb either.  Color me confused, however, as to how one is supposed to paint the top of the lid when the brush is attached to the lid!  GRRRRRR.   I eventually peeled the sticker off, painted it with polish, waited for it to dry and stuck it back on the lid.  OK, let me retell that little story.  I DID take the sticker off, and I DID paint it with polish.  What I DIDN'T do was wait for the paint to dry.  Instead, I tried to carefully replace the little sticker without touching the wet polish.  EPIC fail.  I had polish on my fingers, the bottle, and even my makeup counter.  ::sigh:: 

 

Once I got the swatching right (or at least finished), I decided to try the Helen polish.

 

This photo shows what I thought was the case--the color, for me, reflected NO lavender whatsoever.  Instead, it was a beigy taupe that was VERY transparent after the initial coat.  I did love how easy the polish was to apply, but it took three coats to get decent coverage. 

 

All in all, I realize this was just an introductory box, and the fact that I only paid $4 for it made it that much more appealing.  I will say, though, that I am not over the moon about the polishes in either consistency or coverage, and the swatching thing is just really still bugging me.  I am, however, going to give it one more month so I can see what comes in a regular box.  If I'm still unimpressed, this is one sub that will have to go.

 

TOTAL VALUE:

2 polishes -  28.00

Foot scrub - 22.00

                   $50.00

 

TOTAL PAID:

$4

 

If you'd like to try Julep, here's a link. 

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/100200/

 

Note that I will get credit for you signing up if you use my link. Also, use the code COLOR2012 or JULEPVIP to get your first box for just $4, including shipping.

 

If you decide to go for it, let me know what you receive in YOUR box--and I promise to update when my first "real" sub is delivered!