Saturday, April 14, 2018

april 2018 ipsy bag!

hey guys! my april IPSY BAG* (theme: social butterfly) arrived this week and i decided to go ahead and get this post up because i'm only keeping one item.... ~Lindsay
  1. meech and mia shadow in copper -- this is a really pretty loose shadow. i'll need some more time to actually test it on the eyes, but swatching it is really nice. i think i'd consider this more of a golden orange than a rusty red-orange kind of color though
    • repurchase: nah
    • delectable by cake beauty triple moisture body lotion in coconut & cream -- i'm not a fan of the scent or feel of this lotion. the scent is sort of your typical beachy coconutty type of scent, but not..? i guess that's where the cream comes in? either way, using a bit of this on my hand, i didn't like how watery it felt, and it took a bit to fully sink in. my hand does feel relatively softer but not enough for me to keep this and spread this all over.
      • repurchase: no
        • trust fund beauty that liquid glo tho liquid highlighter -- this is not a liquid product. as you can see how much i had to squeeze the tube, this is more of a cream consistency. i meant to re-swatch it for the photo, but this is more of a micro shimmer than like a lit from within glow. i think this product is more of a personal taste kind of thing, as this is really pretty from a distance, but i just don't want to deal with it being a liquid/cream product and the shimmer particles.
          • repurchase: no
        • h2o+ beauty oasis hydrating treatment -- this is a blue gel facial moisturizer, and it has a slight scent to it. i can't really place it, but it has a water-like "fresh" scent to it. while the scent isn't terribly strong, i am not a fan enough of to slather over my face. i'm also not up for trying new things on my face until it stops freaking out.
          • repurchase: no
        • nyx cosmetics soft matte lip cream in istanbul -- i'm going to pass this one along. i had a few of these way back and never really used them regularly. i can't remember really how i felt about them, but i want to say they had a vanilla type scent, and only lasted on the lips maybe a few hours or so.
          • repurchase: nah
          • butterfly ipsy bag -- i really like this bag design. it's a printed pleather with rose gold accents, and the back is like a darkened lavender type color.
            *Affiliate Link.

            re: walmart beauty boxes, instyle & spring trendsetter 2018 boxes

            hola! it's a rainy stormy day and i figured i should probably try catching up on at least one of the posts i promised i'd make this week..and haven't. 😅 ~Lindsay
            as i previously mentioned, i've personally have had issue with this subscription as of late (like over a year or so now...), but unlike ipsy, i do think that this subscription is still worth keeping and has great potential.
            let's start off with that second part... walmart beauty boxes are $5 and shipped once a quarter. occasionally there are "one off", limited edition boxes usually also $5. the contents of these boxes are not just makeup, usually they're a mix of cosmetics, skincare, and hygiene products. and you can definitely spend more than $5 on these items in their respective sections at your local store. these boxes come 4x per year (more often if you also get the limited boxes) which is great for me since i'm so freakin slow at getting around to using things these days. as far as value and variety of products, i think this is still a good subscription to have, considering they typically send stuff that i genuinely will need or want anyway and it's a great way to try new things.
            and back to the first note i mentioned..the complaintsssss.
            1. the web dev team -- i'm beating a dead horse here, but i'd like to remind you guys that there was an endless email loop that yours truly was stuck in for about 2 hours last year. 😒
            2. the first of the following images.. not sure if this is a knock against the web devs or the marketing people....depends on how things are done over there...... but is it that difficult to ensure correct dates are used in emails before running the email job? because i don't think so. either way, this is pretty embarrassing in my opinion to send out an email in march asking you to perform some action a whole month earlier.
            3. the second of the following images... i'm not sure who'd be at fault for this one, but what happened to the january box for both 2017 and 2018??? as i rummage through my old posts, the one i linked above also has this complaint. these guys are "promising" boxes starting in january, march, june, and september (an image stating such is included in my linked post). my order history determined that was a lie. (to make things less confusing, the InStyle box is the 2/28/18 order.) honestly, i would be more ok with a "sorry, due to unforeseen circumstances we couldn't send out xxx box." than not hearing a word. on that note, subscribers are only billed when the box ships. this is not a huge deal to me that i'm not being charged for a product that isn't delivered upon. that should be how any business should be run. but i don't like being told or promised something, and it not being delivered within my expectations (ie. a product or an apology)--especially if you are the one making the promise.
            i do want to let you know that i also voiced the above issues to a customer service person regarding my experience with these boxes. from the response i received, it sounds like i was somehow among the small few affected by items 1 & 2 above, and the issue was resolved for other subscribers. he apologized for this inconvenience, but didn't give any indication as to why i was not sent a followup email with the corrected date. the third item above, i feel like i received a less than satisfactory answer. the response given was more or less, 'we bill in waves, and you may not get your box at the same time as other people that you may see on social media.' this, to me, is an insufficient response to my issue. last time i checked, 3 does not equal 4. that's all i'm saying. at the end of the response, he thanked me for the feedback on how they can improve.

            stahp complainin' and get to what you got!!

            Walmart x InStyle box -- i didn't mention above, but if i recall correctly, the email advertising this included a product listing for me to better decide if i wanted to buy this.
            1. secret clinical strength deodorant -- this is a mini, but i used to go through this deodorant for years!
            2. pantene sheer volume foam conditioner -- this stuff is so freakin weird. i didn't feel like it did anything. i'm not even sure who thought this was even a good idea. you use it in the shower after shampooing, right? but you have to shake this metal can and not drop it with your wet hands, before you can dispense the foam onto your hands/hair. then once you work it into the hair it like vanishes. and then you're supposed to let it sit and rinse it out?? this product really baffles me, and even more so that this is 'award-worthy'.
            3. found coconut sheet mask -- i haven't opened this yet. i'll have to update in an empties when i use it.
            4. olay whip facial moisturizer -- i've only used this once or twice since i got it and i'm not sure how i feel about it yet. i do like the texture of the product, but as far as effectiveness, i'm undecided.
            5. olay cleansing infusions body wash in crushed ginger -- so..this product made it into my empties post before my 'haul' post, lol. i really liked this, the scent is amazing. i want to get a full size to try this again, because i didn't really get much of the exfoliating effect from it because i generally use shower poufs with body washes.
            6. crest 3D white whitening therapy toothpaste -- i haven't opened this yet either. i usually reserve travel tubes of toothpaste for..travel. i do think this is pretty new, since i haven't seen these floating around at my mom's yet.
            Spring 2018 Trendsetter box
            1. aquaphor advanced therapy ointment body spray -- this is now the second of these that i have received from this subscription. that being said, i haven't even opened the first yet.... i will soon, i promise!
            2. p2 cosmetics polish in 440 double agent -- this is a really pretty creamy red, but i'm not into it for myself, and i passed this along.
            3. soo ae purifying brightening peeling gel -- another face mask that i am adding to the backlog!
            4. degree motion sense ultra clear black & white invisible solid -- while i'm not huge on the powder scent i received (or ever really, lol), i am interested in the black and white clothing promise to not leave marks or stains. this is currently in my travel bag since i don't like the scent.
            5. aveeno daily moisturizing lotion sheer hydration -- i really like aveeno body lotions, and i am interested in getting around to this sample at some point, since i don't like the heavy sticky feel, and this makes me think it's a thinner or faster absorbing product.

            Sunday, April 8, 2018

            march empties!

            hi guys! time for another delayed end of month post! empties!! i thought about making this a 'hit pan' post too, but i think i already included them in the past as hit pans, and they're at the point where i think their time is up. ~Lindsay
            what happened to you jigglypuff?!😆
            1. simple cleansing wipes
            2. tree hut sugar scrub in coconut lime
            3. clinique clarifying lotion 3
            4. clinique ddm gel
            5. fenty foundation in 140
            6. maybelline baby skin primer
            7. almay clear complexion concealer in light
            8. rimmel london stay matte in translucent
            9. tarte amazonian clay blush in paaarty
            10. makeup geek eyeshadow in havoc
            11. skindinavia oil control setting spray
            12. pixi endless silky eye pen in black
            13. glam glow supermud
            14. peace out acne dots
            15. marc anthony hydrating coconut oil & shea butter treatment -- while this smells amazing, i'm not sure it did much for my hair. yeah it nourished it or whatever, but my hair didn't feel any different when i used this. this product is suuuuper thin, and poured out very easily, but after maybe the first handful of uses, i just was at a point of wanting to use it up to get rid of it.
              repurchase? no
            16. its skin cookie & body ice cream in mint -- i'm currently working my way through the strawberry one and will update on that when i finish it, and i've used at least 2 of the "original" scent. i really liked this one. it smelled like mint chocolate, and that's one of my favorite things since before i couldn't have chocolate. mmmm...andes mints!
              repurchase? yes
            17. memebox i dew care space kitten mask mini -- i bought this in the mini meow mask trio kit, which was overpriced, which i already talked about that.. and i really liked this upon first use. i think this jar lasted me about 3 uses. after using it the first time, i went online to see what some of the reviews were and while i agreed with some, not so much on others. firstly, your pain tolerance level is definitely a factor. if nose strips are too painful then no, this product is not for you. otherwise it was super gratifying pulling this off my face. i will say that areas where the skin is thinner, like under your eyes, it will burn quite a bit as you pull it off. but you can either avoid applying it there, or just be careful during removal. i don't 100% think that this removed all the peach fuzz and whatever off my face, but i do think that it did feel quite a bit smoother and refreshed after using this.
              repurchase? already got a full size!
            18. sky organics kids bath bomb set -- i received this as a gift from a relative that saw this on my wishlist. i wanted to try this set because i liked the "adult" set (also on the same link), and this one had pokemanz toys in it. the scents in this kit are super kid friendly, fun and sweet types of scents, which i typically prefer over perfumey. i do like aromatherapy and earthy scents though.. anyway, this kit was fun, and it was fun pulling out wonky looking pokemon toys out of each one, but i'm not sure if i'd get this set again. i did see that on their site they offer build your own bath bomb boxes, which i'm interested in. --- side note on this note, i kind of wish they'd let you build a box with both the adult and kid bath bombs mixed, instead of one or the other.........
              repurchase? undecided
            19. soap & glory fizz a ball bath bomb in original pink -- i actually bought two of these because they were bogo. but at $4 each this was only ok. as mentioned previously, i have a 'garden' tub, so it's rather large. this bomb, while smelling amazing of their original pink scent did not linger for very long. the bath water turned a weird peachy tinge, and there was a toooooon of silver shimmer everywhere. anyway, i think that if i used both at once it would have been better...maybe, but i'm not sure. i'm going to pass the other along because i don't really want to keep it.
              repurchase? no
            20. olay cleansing infusions body wash in crushed ginger -- i kind of wish this sample was bigger.. it only lasted me like 3 uses, or i'm just a wasteful person..? anyway this is more of a body polish body wash, if that makes sense. it's got scrubby particles in it. i didn't really use it on bare skin, like i tend to use poufs so i never really got to use the exfoliating aspect of it too well. i do want to get a full size at some point to further try it though. also, this scent is amaaaaazing. if you don't like ginger, then stay away, but it's soooo spicy! i loved it!
              repurchase? yes
            double header: macadamia natural oil
            1. deep repair masque -- back to me going and using samples of all kinds of things, i unearthed this one to do a product smackdown against the new hair masks that they're selling. i can't recall when i actually obtained this, but it smelled and worked exactly as i had remembered it. it was amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing!
            2. nourishing moisture mask -- so, originally i saw this on amazon's prime samples page because this jar was like $4, and therefore it became a $4 credit toward your next macadamia natural oil purchase of select products. so i was like ok, i'll bite. amazon itself is no longer selling the deep repair masque, so that's why i wanted to give this a try. and nooooope. this is nothing. nada. zilch. compared to the "OG". first off the scent is completely different. secondly, it doesn't work or make the hair feel the same what so ever. i may as well have been using an ordinary conditioner. in short, if you're expecting this to be the original, you will be completely and sorely disappointed.

            Saturday, April 7, 2018

            erin condren vertical life planner - my march

            hi guys! so, march planner post, eh? my march in general wasn't too bad, until the end there... i'll elaborate further below. ~Lindsay ^.~
            monthly calendar spread: this spread was from JoyfulPlanner! super cute floral design!
            week 1: all of the birthday stickers. so many different shops on one page here! my birthday was pretty whatever this year. i went to work, didn't really mention it was my actual birthday, then i got a slew of belated 'happy birthdays' becuase my manager sent out a happy birthday email to me. i guess he found out from my linkedin? i'm not sure...
            week 2: this spread was from ShepherdSupplyCo and i apparently have been liking florals a lot this year! otherwise, not a whole lot happened during this week..
            week 3: another floral?! i loved this st. patrick's kit from PlannerFrenzy! i liked how it was cherry blossom-ish plus all the greens!
            week 4: this was another PlannerFrenzy kit, i figured it was fitting as we were supposed to travel this week...
            this is where things got pretty frustrating. so, we were supposed to go to DC for a week for a wedding and do touristy things because teh paul has never been. tuesday rolls around and they decided to cancel our flight because of the snow and rescheduled us for thursday. after a few hours of trying to figure out what to do and such, we decided to cancel our trip entirely. as much as i really wanted to attend the wedding we were invited to, 1) i hate cold weather -- like i can barely stand how cold our winters are and i live in southern lousiana for crying out loud.... and 2) airports are a complete hassle. our original flight was a direct, and we ended up getting rescheduled for 2 flights on thursday, putting us at arriving a full 24 hours after we wanted to be there. this gave us less time to do anything we had wanted to do. the decision to cancel also came about based on the hassle my grandparents went through to make it up there, their first flight tuesday morning, and they didn't make it until wednesday night because of cancellations and redirects. and 3) protests. in light of current events, we found out that there would be a protest pretty much in downtown DC where like everything we wanted to do and look at would have been. and dealing with all that wouldn't have been enjoyable...
            anywho, we cancelled our trip, i ended up shortening my 6 days of vacation to 1, and paul's was a mere 2 hours. as soon as we were able to sort out our travel cancellations, he went straight back to work on wednesday. on the flip side of things, i was originally really bummed that i'd miss out on the first annual company picnic. our office has been here about 5 years now and they've been trying to think of fun things to do to boost morale. since we were in town, we went and got 2nd place in the dessert contest with paul's cheesecake recipe. w00t. also, i'm not sure why i never got prescription shades sooner, but they've been great!
            notes page: stop wishing start doing

            blog update - today's frustrations

            hi guys! so. an actual random post about random daily activities!
            this blog was down pretty much all day today, i was getting pretty irritated that it wasn't working and i couldn't figure out why. it was working perfectly fine yesterday evening when i put up the last three posts. but i did also mess with some settings because blogger was all like, 'heyyyy, https! you should enable it!'
            if you didn't already know, i manage this site through blogger on my domain. as a person who has formerly worked in the network security industry, yes, switching to use https is a great thing and this site should have been using it for ages now! what i don't understand is why a google product is incompatible with a google product and caused my site to be down the entire day with a single click. anyway, from what i can tell, it appears that blogger is automatically switching people to https, and for people who have theirs on custom domains, you have to manually enable it. but guess what? it has issues for people with said custom domains. 🙋 sooo, when i finally decided to disable the switch, lo and behold the site was up and running again. isn't that wonderful? 😑
            anyway, i wanted to give a quick update regarding that, and to give fair warning that there may be outages in the next several days as i monkey with it. later. ~Lindsay

            update: it seems like the issue is with redirects? my site now has https enabled. and i think the redirects are now working as well.
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