Thursday, January 21, 2016

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream Review

 

 
 
4/5 stars!
 
 
I received this little gem, complimentary from influenster to test and review. It has in no way, influenced my opinions or this review.
 
I am really picky when it comes to my moisturizers. It makes it hard for me to find ones that I like and that's not fun in the winter. My hands get so dry, chapped and horrible during winter. It's pretty ugly. I'm pretty busy and am always doing something that requires me to use a product that allows the on the go lifestyle. One of my biggest issues with creams is the greasy residue. I can't deal with it! I can't just sit for 15+ minutes, after applying a cream to let the grease sink in. Most of the times, I wipe it off and move on to a different product. I AM SO happy to report that I do not have that issue with this at all. I put it on and then my hands are soft and feel great. There is no greasy residue and that makes me so happy! I think it does a great job keeping my hands moisturized without having to keep applying constantly. The only issues I have with this are small and I can deal. For instance, I do not like when creams are in a pot type container. I have to dig in for the product and my nails are usually a bit long and then I have cream under my nails. I do not like that at all. Second, it has a very strange smell to it. It's not bad but not great. The good thing, is that it doesn't last terribly long, so I can deal with that. I do love how small it is though because I can just throw it in my purse and go. I can always have it with me and that's a bonus.
 
Overall, I think that if you can get past the smell and the container, go for it. It's a great cream and my hands seem to really like it. My hands definitely are extremely dry in winter and I can notice a change in the few days I have been wearing it.

Ore-Ida Tots aka #OreIdaTotchos #contest & Review

 I wasn't sure about this whole idea of totchos. I have actually never heard of it, until I received my voxbox and saw that it was one of the campaign items.  So, I went in and got my free bag, (thanks to Ore-Ida & Influenster for my complimentary bag) of Ore-Ida tots and tried to think of ways to make my totchos. I know there are a lot of recipes but I wanted to do something my own.

This is what I came up with.....



 
This was my simple recipe for two people:
 
1/2 bag of Ore-Ida tots
 
1/2 can of Wolf canned Chili
 
1 cup of cheddar/monetary jack shredded cheese or any you prefer.
 
It takes about 15 minutes and this was more than plenty for two people.
 
My husband and I thought these were great. It was a hit! What I did was just layer the totchos on a small baking sheet and cooked them, per the instructions on the bag. I then heated up some canned chili and got out some cheese. When the tots were cooked and ready to eat, I put them in a small dish and then I layered some chili and cheese, until we thought we had enough. They were delish and so easy to make! This would be a great party food too. I recommend making totchos. You can use a different recipe or come up with something off the top of your head. The sky is the limit. Here is the link for the Ore-Ida Totchos Hub , where you can find many recipes!



My husband and I love Ore-Ida products. We always buy their fries and tots. They are always so crispy and fresh. These were extra crispy and I just loved that. I know that sometimes it depends on how long you cook your fries/tots. These didn't take that long and they were perfect. Great brand and great product!

#JingleVoxBox - Love this one!

I was lucky enough to receive a Jingle VoxBox this holiday season. Well... I received it the week of Christmas but I was out of town. So, I didn't really get to dig into the box, until the next week. Anyways, I'm really surprised at how much they can fit into such a small box! My box is pictured below.





These are the following items:
 
Kiss Strip Lash adhesive in black  0.25 oz
 
Kiss Lashes 
 
Pure Ice nail polish in Home Run
 
Cetaphil moisturizing cream 1 oz
 
NYC CityProof 24HR waterproof eyeliner in Dark Brown(932) .042 oz
 
Three packs of Biscoff cookies
 
Hallmark IttyBittys- Rapunzel
 
 
I was so excited to get this because it had been a while since my last one. I love the ittybitty because Tangled is one of my favorite movies. Not the favorite, that will always be the Little Mermaid. Too bad, I didn't get that one! I actually have it sitting in one of my vases for my eye pencils.
 
 
 I have not tried the lashes yet, I will be doing that this weekend with the eyeliner. I am really excited. Lashes are huge right now and I didn't have any to try!
 
The nail polish is gorgeous and I've always liked Pure Ice. I can't wait for my nails to heal after the gel manicure to put that polish on. It's a perfect color for winter.
 
The cookies are long gone. They are so good. My husband was so excited and I definitely had to share.
 
The Cetaphil has some pros and cons. For example, it has this weird smell. It's not really bad but it's not really good. Hard to explain. I guess the good news is that it doesn't stay around too long. I don't like that it's in a little pot type container. When I have to dig out lotion it gets underneath all my nails. I typically have longer nails, so that's not fun. Now, I can overlook those issues, they are quite small. I think it does a great job of moisturizing my hands and it does not leave a greasy residue, At All. That's my biggest issue with moisturizes. I can't have greasy hands after because then I can't touch anything without leaving residue. So that's a major plus and I loved how it felt on my hands.
 
Overall, this is a great box. I haven't tried a few things but I've been wanting to try them out. I love when I get a box that I will use everything. Thanks @influenster !


Give Me Some Nude Lip! Swatches!





So... How funny that as I was posting my blog about coming back, UPS threw a package on my porch. Yes, I literally mean, he threw it on my porch. It's sad that they never ring the doorbell but I know when they are here because of the loud thud on my porch. Okay, done with UPS ranting... Now, I ordered the last "Give Me Some Lip" set and I really liked it. I found some favorite out of it and the box is just ... so cute! When I saw someone post about this, I had to order it right away. I also got 8% back from Sephora using ebates. If you want more info on ebates, let me know in the comments. It's amazing and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone. I did get a bag of samples with the code FOLLOW. It is literally a plastic bag, I don't even know why they feel the need to mention a free bag. You can see it a little under all the samples. I laid it all out because the one thing that is great about Sephora, is the samples. That's a lot of samples. I also got three samples with my order, in addition to the 8 in the bag. Notice the sample of the Bite?? It's soooo CUTE. I don't ever want to use it because it's the cutest. lol Now.. onto the lip products and swatches.

If you are not signed up with ebates, you are missing out!! You get a % back on most online purchases. Here's the link to sign up:

Ebates Sign up



Just a warning: This is my first swatch blog and I'm so pale!



 
Nars in Dolce Vita 0.12 oz (swatch below)
 
 


 
Nudstix lip+cheek pencil in Whisper ).088 oz
 
 


 
Tarte- Tarteist lip Paint in Namaste Nude .10 oz
 
 
 
 
 

Marc Jacobs long wear lip pencil in Primrose .01 oz
 
 
 
 

 


Laura Mercier Crème smooth lip in Milkyway .07 oz
 
 
I've used some of these and they are gorgeous but really nude. I'm not sure how these would look on deeper skin tones. The Nars went on so light, it almost looked like a gloss and very sheer. The tarte was beautiful and goes on so smoothly but doesn't have the longest staying power. I will update as I use the rest of them.







Friday, January 15, 2016

Back from Hiatus!

It's been a while and I've been so busy. I haven't had time to blog or read. Reading is a huge hobby of mine and my last book was in September of last year! So my beauty/personal blog has also been affected. The holidays are such a crazy time. I have a ton of make up that I purchased and got a new vanity. I'm going to be updating with reviews of some of the new makeup, new vanity and other things. Yay for 2016!