February '14 Birchbox Review!

I skipped a video for this box simply because of time. I've been so busy with schoolwork lately (last week with these two classes though, yay!) that I haven't really had time for much else. And as much as I'm fine doing a video, it's the editing process and all that that just makes it tedious sometimes. But enough of all that! Let's review!

Magnificent!

Happily, I can say that I've tried everything in the box!
Starting from the left~

Reviver Dry Deodorant Wipe - This thing is just really neat! Because of the whole "deodorant" thing, I initially thought it was just for your underarms. Buuut upon closer inspection, I saw that it was for your clothes. It smells really nice which is the obvious reason for masking foul odors. What I really like is that it's reusable, and thankfully, comes in resealable packaging. I don't use clothing fresheners often though so I probably won't use this too often, but it's nice to have the option. You never know!

Revealed Palette Sampler - Eyeshadow! Always a plus. I had heard great things about this brand and was excited to try it out. The shadows went on nice and smoothly and blended great. I feel like the intensity of the colors faded over a short time, but perhaps using a lid primer would help with that. In any case, I was pleased with this item.

Whish Body Butter (Pomegranate) - I honestly don't know what a pomegranate smells like. Despite being surrounded by them here in Turkey, I've only ever bought and opened one (although I do eat them just about every Friday, but it's along with other fruits). So as for smelling like pomegranate, I can't correctly say. But I will say that I like the scent. It smells light and a bit fruity. As a body butter, it feels thinner than what I expected, but I'm fine with that. Absorbs nicely and doesn't feel very greasy either!

Paula's Choice Antioxident Serum - I've come to really enjoy getting facial products that aren't makeup simply because I have so many I can actually compare them all! My first impression with this serum was that it reminded me of a serum I've been using for a while: Olay's Regenerist Serum. The consistency feels very similar, however Paula's Choice serum is a bit more on the oil side and Olay's a bit more on the cream side (though still very far from an actual cream). Because Paula's Choice is a bit more oil-based, it leaves a bit of shine on my face at first, but does go away. As I'm applying it on my face though, it seems to feel almost like a powder, or a matte type of feeling. In any case, I like it so far and since it's in this fun sample size, it will be a lot easier to take with me on trips.

Beauty Protector Hair Oil - I was really excited to receive this as I received the leave-in conditioner from them before and really enjoy it. Although the sample packaging can leave more of a mess (oily hands!), the actual product doesn't disappoint. It smells just as amazing as the leave-in conditioner and I can control where exactly it goes on my hair and really work it in. As I'm planning to bleach and dye my hair in the near future, I'm really happy to have all these hair products to prep for that.  I've been concentrating this oil on the ends of my hair and so far it feels like it's working!

So there we go! Another awesome array of products.
As always, if you're interested in Birchbox here's my referral link: https://www.birchbox.com/invite/c9z7v

More Knitting! A scarf and coinpurse.

With February almost over, looking back on the knitting projects I've done, I'm pretty satisfied! I only planned on doing two, and while I didn't exactly go way beyond that, simply the fact that I've gathered more materials and tried new things makes me feel like this month's craft has been a success. I'm still working on one and I plan to do another still so I won't write this crafting challenge off just yet, but it is almost over. For now though, I'll address two of the things I worked on.

First is the scarf I started so many years ago and just couldn't finish. Second is the coin purse that I planned on doing before the month even started!

Fun things!

The scarf I wanted to finish simply because I had been working on it for sooo long. I think it basically passed the point of being a practical scarf for me to wear and a weird experiment with knitting. It started off at 5.5 inches wide and then somehow grew to 7 inches wide! (Please note: Not a male enhancement ad.) Because I was really just ready to end this thing, I cast off and ended up with this awkwardly shaped and awkwardly not short or not long "scarf." The success of freeing up my needles worked, but now I had this thing that really didn't work as a scarf. Solution? Cat scarf! Maybe?

He looks cute enough in it at least!

 
Now, the coin purse. Because of all the cheap produce here, I'm left with such an abundance of change; it's crazy! I figured that a coin purse would be perfect to do as it's practical and completes my challenge quota. Since I used the same yarn as the wonky cat scarf, I didn't have much left of it. Instead of knitting to the suggested length, I knit a bit short of that, scared that I was going to run out of yarn. The result? A funky "coin purse" in which the flap doesn't quite fit over the case.

Although it does hold change!

I still plan on getting a button for it and completing the thing, just have to find a decent-sized button.

In any case, those were fun...
The month is almost over, sure, but plenty of knitting left to do!

January Ipsy's Glam Bag Review

My first ever review for Ipsy! I get these bags so late compared to others and my Birchbox that I just haven't felt the urge to want to do a video about "unboxing" my Glam Bag or reviewing the products on camera. Though, heck, maybe in the future I will. :P

So Ipsy! The first difference between Ipsy and Birchbox is the "packaging" with which your products arrive in. While Birchbox sends items in the same style of box every month, Ipsy sends theirs in customized makeup bags. This was something I thought was really cool. I'm sure I'll find myself with an overabundance of these bags, but at least for the moment, I'm finding good uses for them. And of course, they can always be gifts to your friends and family.
Another key difference is that Ipsy's products chose for each person are actually based off of a quiz they complete; so Ipsy has the potential to be personalized. And don't worry, if your tastes change, you can always retake the quiz!

January's bag is a very pretty blue with lighter blue silhouettes with details of various makeup products.

I think it's cute, others that I've spoken to don't like it so much. I've also heard complaints of the material feeling somewhat cheap. I, personally, have no problem with the design or material. However, I did notice a strong chemical smell to the bag, something others seemed to notice as well. Luckily the smell seems to have dissipated for the most part and I expect it won't cause any problems in the future.

Now to the good stuff!

I'll be honest, I've only used 3 of these products so far. I'll still give general thoughts to the products I haven't used, but I won't be commenting on their performance since I can't judge it.
Starting from the top left, moving right, then down.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask: I haven't used this product. It's a simple conditioning mask for hair that you apply after you shampoo and then rinse out after a few minutes. I love the little tub for this. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I feel like it will be plenty for me to try. The smell is pleasant!

Nourish Organic Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion: I suppose that it's nice that it's organic. I'll go out of my way for an organic product once in a while, but typically I don't bother. I recall this brand being a good one by some friends, but I can't speak well for this product. The lotion is very thin, but leaves a kind of sticky feeling, but it's not that it's sticky, it's just that when I'm applying it, it feels like the product is suddenly gone (and not in the good way) and I have to get more. I can't say how it affected my face as I only used it once. After the first feeling it left on me, I'm not too keen to try it again.

MicaBeauty Tinted Lip Balm: This stuff came out of the pot surprisingly well and the color was nice enough to leave some color on my lips. The biggest drawback is the application. Because of the color, I was left with a very vibrant pink/red hue on my finger. While I was satisfied with the color, now I was left with the dilemma of where to put the rest of this stuff. In a usual setting, I probably won't have something suitable to wipe it on and I'll use my jeans, which is exactly what I did then.  I'm sure it washed out, though I haven't checked, but man it left a nice vibrant color on my jeans! In any case, aside from application issues, I liked this product.

Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow: My very first though was "wow, what a stingy sample!" However, I have been assured that I can simple whittle away at the wood (I think it's wood) and acquire more of the product. That aside, I love the color and glitter this item has. I've used this the most often out of the other products. I really like how the glitter builds so you're not getting too much straight away and can control just how much you want. It's good if you're unsure of a color for the day, but want something around the eyes. Definitely using more of!

Proactiv+ Mark Fading Pads: I thought it was quite a surprise to be receiving a Proactiv product! I haven't tried these yet, but I really like that four of them were included for actually trying the product and being able to tell if it's helped. A few friends I've spoken to said it seemed to work for them so that seems promising! Perhaps when I find a mark I'm fed up with I'll use them, but for now, I'll keep them shelved.

So that's all if it! If you're interested in Ipsy, here's my referral link: PumpkinLuv Referral
Sometimes you get things you love, sometimes things you're tired of, and other things you don't know what to do with. If you keep an open mind (and $10/month), you can forget about makeup and beauty products and just let them come to you. ;D

Crafty 火曜日 and February's Skill: Knitting

Sometime last year (actually while I was on vacation I think), I decided that there were too many things I was still a beginner in and that I needed to do something about that. So I decided that next year (2014) I was going to devote an entire month to one skill or craft in order to become more acquainted with it, gain more skill in it, and make some fun stuff! By no means do I expect to become a master in any of the skills, but it's a great reason for me to at least try.

I originally planned to start in January, but the stress of returning home and getting here late and getting back into the groove of things, not to mention back into school, made me decide to wait until February to start. I also decided that knitting would be the first skill/craft that I would try.

I'm glad I didn't rush it and glad it's also going well so far. Originally, I was planning on doing two projects from a knitting book I got back when I was high school (see! I've been on the cusp of beginner for too long!), but upon seeing a blog entry and video about arm knitting, I decided to give that a try first.

First I had to get some yarn! Apparently there's a big yarn store around here somewhere, but I don't know where. And they also sell yarn at the Sunday market, but I worked on homework the whole day so I didn't go. Oh yeah, I wasn't able to start this until the 2nd (again because of homework). But anyway! So I got yarn at the BX on base.

I chose these colors since I love blue and this combination reminds me of food for some reason. :P

Here's some details on it!

I feel like the yarn in the video was more bulky, but who knows! It's so easy to do though, getting more yarn and making another scarf is basically a reward.

After many many rewatches of the video and even some mistakes, about an hour later, I had my scarf completed! Even though I have a scarf I started years ago, the arm-knitted scarf is actually my first finished knitted creation! :D

Having completed this as my first project, I'm feeling super motivated to try more projects and even redos of this. Hopefully my next project goes well, but I think I'll finally try and finish that years old scarf first.

Yay filters! :P

28Jan14- New Years Update and January Birchbox Review

So!! Been awhile. 

As always, I feel like it... 

Moving on!

I hope everyone had a great winter break/holiday/vacation/etc...

My husband and I went back to the States for 2 weeks to visit family and friends and bring our pets to Turkey upon our return. 

What a journey that was!

It was a lot of driving, but I kind of liked it. It further set in me how much I enjoy travelling and all that jazz. Although the driving part wasn't as fun, but ehh, at least I wasn't alone in that.

I'm really hoping to do more travelling this year, but with the Air Force being crazy with cutting people, it makes me wary to spend any money on such things.

C'est la vie~

I revamped my blog a little. 

Really, I just chose another layout. 

I like it so far though I wonder if the dynamic-ness of it makes it hard to load.

Ah well.

Is this oddly aligned text annoying?

 I made a video!

Finally.

It's nothing fancy. I just briefly talk about new stuff and then talk about Birchbox stuff. Even though I don't consider myself to be some kind of awesome reviewer or makeup persona, I find that getting Birchbox stuff gives me something to talk about. So I do it.

Here's the video!

 

Mmm flattering~

 

I didn't do reviews for the products in my video (because I hadn't really tried them yet); so I figure I'd do them here!

Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle: This stuff smells awesome! I sniffed this stuff like 5 times before I finally sprayed it on my hair. It did a nice job of softening my hair too! I actually have a leave-in conditioner already so this gave me an opportunity to compare this new product to something else. Aaand, I like the new product! This stuff didn't make my hair feel slick like my other leave-in conditioner. Just soft. Which I like.

100% Pure Nourishing Body Cream in Pink Grapefruit: Another awesome-smelling product! I'm not even a huge fan of grapefruit, but this smelled sooo good. Nice and fresh and not sickly overpowering. The smell fades somewhat quickly though so if you're worried of smelling like grapefruit for the day, don't be. It's not as thick as I thought a body cream would be (it seems more like lotion consistency), but it absorbs nicely and isn't very greasy.

Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish: I was really excited for this, as I've never had anything like it. The color I got is a bright and vibrant pink that's supposed to change colors to a dark red. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this effect. I don't know what's supposed to make it change colors, but I feel like it's gone through enough exposure to at least change a little bit. I checked other recent reviews and a good bit mentioned the same issue so it looks to be something to do with this color perhaps? The bright pink is nice at least. A very fun color! I also feel like it covers nicely with just one coat. Can't say much for wear since I split the polish with another one and this one got the roots instead of the tips.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser Starter Kit: While I was pretty excited for the nail polish, I was way more excited for this! I was actually looking through the store on Birchbox for something I could spend some points on and thought about getting this. Luckily I decided to check what would be in my Birchbox and saw that this was part of it. It's definitely a unique experience for me, but a welcome one. It leaves my skin feeling soft and nourished so I don't have to apply a moisturizer afterwards (win!). The cleanser will last me a while, but I'm thinking of getting some more cloths as they're recommended washings are every 2-3 uses.

Ahmad Teas in Black Tea English Tea No. 1, Green Tea Jasmine Romance, and Black Tea Peach & Passion Fruit: Peach and Passion Fruit was my favorite flavor of the teas I got. I'm not really well educated on teas so I can't say too much, but I will say that I enjoyed them and their fun flavors and I wouldn't mind getting more.

So overall I was very very happy with my box this month. :D

Aand I think that's it for now! 

So far I've been pretty proactive in the new year so I hope to keep the momentum up and continue.

I have another blog, videos to do, and tweets to tweet so I often wonder what I can really post about that has substance and isn't just me rambling. Hopefully I get a better grasp at it, but for now I'm glad to just start up again. 

I do have some exciting plans for this year though! 

But that's for another entry. 

:P

Byyye!!