Tag: health and beauty

Girls Night Slumber Party

November 2, 2013November 2, 2013 · Leave a comment ·

I’ve got a challenge for all of you lovely readers. I defy anyone to produce better friends than I have. It can’t be done. They defend me when I am sad, are incredibly loyal and also a lot of fun. I just love them and after the month I’ve had I wanted to say thanks and relax with my girls.

A few days ago I was talking to a box review friend that unfortunately I can’t remember who it was (if you are out there please remind me). We were discussing how we had more make up from box reviews than we could deal with. It really starts to add up quick and not all of it is good for my complexion so it could go unused.

So my friend and I were talking about our excess makeup problems and she told me she was going to have a makeover party with her friends to have fun and use up the makeup. All of you know I love a party so this sounded like a great idea to me! Plus I felt exhausted by October so why not?

I put out the word of a girls night out to my friends and gave them plenty of warning and reminded them a couple of times. I also invited a new friend Lindsay who I know from twitter. I always have an eclectic group at my parties. This was no exception. There was Emilee and Rachel who I knew from singles ward and Hawaii 2011, Stefanie my roommate from 2006-2007 and bestie, and Rachel my friend from book club (yes, 3 Rachel’s- party!) . I like having different people at parties so you have a mixture of conversation and personalities. It is a risk but usually leads to the best time by all.

The party was easy to plan. I put together goodie bags using dollar store items (and some see’s candy!). I figured it was my chance to put together my own beauty bag so it fit well with the theme of the party.

In Rachel's beauty bag we had lip gloss, nail polish, q-tips, glow bracelet, pedicure kit, cherry tea light and 2 see chocolates — In Rachel’s beauty bag we had lip gloss, nail polish, q-tips, glow bracelet, pedicure kit, cherry tea light and 2 see chocolates (there was also a washcloth I forgot to picture)

The food for the party was easy. I got a take and bake pizza and some baked chicken strips from a local restaurant. I didn’t have to cook anything which was good because I have been working and starting nanowrimo so no time to cook!

The girls got there at different times and we chatted for the first hour or so. Then we ate and started our makeovers. Masks, apple peel (from Juice Beauty, a great birchbox find) and exfoliants were used by various people. Then we moved on to the eyes, lips and nails. We looked very pretty by the end of the night!

Then we finished up the night watching Joss Whedon’s new Much Ado About Nothing which was really fun. They shot the film in 12 days with hardly any budget but that was all for the benefit of the film. I liked the black and white photography. You could tell the performers were all friends (I guess Whedon does Shakespeare readings with his friends (great idea for next party!) and he had a break between the Avengers and decided to make a movie in his house. Love that!

So I think the party was a great success and I look forward to the next one. What do you gals like to do for girls night out? I think as a 32 year old singlite I’ve got the girls night out down. So fun!

Now off to write my next section of nanowrimo! How are you all doing on your word counts?

“For man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion.”

Box Month: Escape Box

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013 · Leave a comment ·

Forgive me for writing quickly. I am so tired today. I stayed up to late and ended up getting around 4 hours of sleep. I hope I can crash tonight.

Anyway, I am down to my last two boxes for box month 😦 . The mail won’t be the same after this month and I still haven’t decided which one’s I’m going to keep. Which one’s have you liked or been interested in? Once box month is finished I will give the blog a rest and only do periodic updates but you will be able to find photos and such on my instagram.

Today I received a brand new box. Meaning this is the inaugural box. (This also means they are eager to get it out there so contact them if you have a blog with hits or a youtube channel). You can get 20% off using code ESCAPENOW. With this discount the box ends up being $39 and while that is a lot for the box you will find the value is there.

So the idea behind this box is you get all the stuff to get to know a vacation spot, including a guidebook if you decide to travel there. They also have a contest and give away said vacation with each box. There aren’t a ton of subscribers since it’s new so I think you chances are higher than in other sweepstakes.

The box this month was on Napa so unfortunately for me it had some wine/tea items I will not be able to eat. However, my friends will or I will use them for topical applications. Fortunately even with those items removed I still save $20 on the contents of my box. Pretty good.

Here’s the breakdown of the box:

Escape
3.95	luffa
3.31	cookies
9	white tea
4.49	dead sea salts
5.98	rose candles
4.48	napa soap
0.5	suki body butter cream
2.99	detox mud
7.89	lavendar body scrub
0.7	Clearly natural bar
3.39	mixture lip balm
13.19	Moon Guidebook
50	Wine card
109.87	subtotal
7.69	sales tax
117.56	total
58.56
59	value I can use
39	cost of box

I Love Boxes

July 16, 2013July 26, 2013 · 8 Comments ·

So lately I have gotten into the new trend of subscription boxes. A friend told me about birchbox and I decided to sign up. Its a monthly box of samples of health and beauty products. For $110 a year or $10 a month you sign up and have no idea what you are going to get. Since signing up for birchbox I’ve also signed up for ipsy and naturebox.

There are so many I could go box crazy. I’ve always liked ‘a month’ clubs but they are usually so expensive that I couldn’t afford them. For example, Harry and David fruit of the month is $405 a year and really the spoonable pears are the only thing they have that is very special.

You can also go on to any of the sites and order that month’s box items at full sizes for discount with free shipping. If you like everything than you can order a full size version of the box. I’ve already ordered a few things that I’ve liked. Its a lot of fun.

The coolest things about birchbox is you get points for putting reviews on their website of the products you receive. You get 10 points per review and 100 points you get $10 off. So I’ve only been a member for 3 months and already I’ve accumulated 168 points. Not bad. I can then get discounts. Also if you buy full size products you get points that add up like I ordered nail polish for $8 including shipping and got 22 points. Pretty cool!

Naturebox is cool because you get full size bags of all healthy products and you can go on the website and pick what you’d like or be surprised. I am always on the lookout for healthy snacks so I love that. Another box I just signed up for is called Goodies that is only $7 and gives 4-5 full size healthy snacks that are a surprise but like birchbox they also have a points system that can save you money. I mean what else can you get for $7 outside of a fast food meal? So fun!

So here are some fun things I’ve gotten the last few months: