The All Natural Face box, December 2013

I feel like the blog is a bit redundant lately with only TANF reviews, but here we go again with December's box which arrived today. Here's what was in this month's box...

The box was filled with very festive red and silver crinkle shreds filler which made a mess and was promptly relegated to the trash. Tucked in a green organza bag were the eye products...sample sizes of Black Gold eye shadow (which I have been dieing to try since Wheaten Beauty showed it in November) and Gold Dust eye shadow. Two pots of gel eye liner in Mayan Gold and That Black and a jar of Awesome Black Primer. Although I'm not a huge fan of their gel eyeliners, I can not wait to try the black eye primer. I've recently gotten into using dark primers under my eyeshadow to really make the colors pop and I do love their other eye primers so this should be a win.

Two full size products were also included: Coconut Bliss body lotion (smells yummy!) and Edible "Love Dust". Uh, ok. I'm not sure exactly where that fits in to the picture, not what I expected in an "all natural face" box.

November's box was such a home run I had high hopes for December too. I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I'm definitely excited to try they eye kit and might even give the cat eye look shown on the idea card a try. The body products are not really up my alley. Both are quite shimmery and as I've mentioned when i got overly shimmery products in the past, it's just not a look I go for. Shimmer on the eyes, good thing, anywhere else, not so much so. So a 50/50 box this time. But that's totally cool. The All Natural Face's average is still way better than Birchbox ever was! :)

The All Natural Face box, November

In a nod towards Thanksgiving, Gratitude is the theme of the November The All Natural Face subscription box.

The highlight of the box is a set of 10 full size pre-release pigment eye shadows! The collection has a number of green-based shadows, which I sometimes find hard to pull off with my skin tone, but I have been adventurously testing them out this last week and have been pretty pleased. My favorite look so far used New Year's Eve as a brow highlight, Pumpkin on the outside corners of the lids and Absinthe on the inside corners. Softly blended the look is gorgeous. Be sure to use a base with the pigments since they don't seem to want to stick to my bare skin very well.

Also included were samples of Facial Cleanser and Bananas & Cream face food (which I haven't tried yet) and Oil Makeup Remover. I've tried the oil remover and find it works wonderfully at dissolving all traces of makeup with out being too greasy afterwards. I prefer to use it with a hot cloth as just rinsing doesn't seem to work as well.

Finally, they included a $10 gift certificate. This is amazing. The box only cost $15 and they ship priority mail which means they spent at least $5 to ship it. It's like they are just giving it away! I continue to be so impressed with this company. I've got a full fledged order on the way from them (finally redeemed my Groupon) and can't wait to post about all those new goodies when they arrive.

The link is back up if you want to subscribe to the monthly beauty box. Just click here.

ps...I'm not in anyway affiliated with TANF. Just a happy customer!

You Tube on Roku...FINALLY!

After years of frustration at the decline of cable TV (do we really need 900 reality shows?) and the ever increasing cost, C and I dropped cable almost 2 years ago. Now we get our home entertainment thru a Roku device. We love our Roku and highly highly recommend it. With subscriptions to Netflix and Amazon Prime, we find we can get plenty of content to keep us entertained. Not to mention the plethora of other channels that are available with more added all the time.

But I'm a total You Tube addict and have been frustrated by the lack of ability to stream You Tube content to our Roku. Until now. It's been several months since the last time I researched the subject and decided to give it another shot today. I found this article on CNet about using an app called Twonky to stream You Tube (and other content) from your smart phone to your Roku. I followed the steps and within 15 minutes (or less) I was watching You Tube on my TV from the comfort of my recliner. I used an iPod Touch with Twonky Beam rather than a smartphone, but it works exactly the same.

The article is a little outdated, there is now a public Twonky channel on Roku so you don't need to add the private channel. Also, your Roku can be wired, wifi is not required on the Roku as long as both devices are connected to the same network.

There is a handful of other content available on Twonky, but I have not tested any of it. For now, I'm just happy to be able to finally watch You Tube on the TV rather than being tethered to the computer or watching on a small tablet screen!

The All Natural Face box - October edition

I received my 2nd All Natural Face subscription box this week and am totally thrilled.

The October theme is "The Eyes Have It"and the box was jam packed with goodies.

As the title suggests, this box was all about eyes. There's a card showing some suggested eye looks and another card listing all the products. The card lists 12 sample size eye shadows, but I actually received 13. Also included is a nice looking eye shadow brush. I love TANF eye shadows and the selection of colors included in the kit look perfect for fall. Their samples are quite generous (I have yet to use one up) and they come in nice little pots. Some folks have complained that the pots are difficult to open. My trick is to set the pot on my counter and use a tweezers to gently lift the lid.

They also included a sample of the Eye Primer in Buff. I have their Vegan Eye Primer (which is white) and find it works very well at making my pigment eye shadow looks last all day. I'm looking forward to giving this one a try too.

Two full size gel eyeliners were included (purple and brown) with liner brushes. These look like huge pots of eyeliner! Like enough to last for 3 lifetimes. I'm not a super fan of gel eyeliner but I will certainly give these a try. I've seen some rather dramatic eye looks using gel liner as an eyeshadow base so maybe I'll give that a go.

There's a product called Seal It which looks to be a product you can mix with the pigments for a foiled look or to create liquid liner. I will make use of this product since I do like using my pigments as liner.

And finally a full size cream blush. The color is a bit warm for my pale skin and cream blush is sometimes tricky on my dry skin but I may try it just to see how it works.

I am really loving TANF products and the surprise of the sample box. Definitely think I'll get more use out of this subscription box in the long run than the previous subscriptions I've had.

If you want to subscribe, the box is $15/mo and you can sign up here.

Sargento String Cheese

I like cheese as a snack. I remember when we were kids these little individually wrapped nuggets of cheese that were quite yummy (I think they may have been called Nips, but I'm not sure). They seem to have disappeared and now it seems the cheese snack du jour is string cheese.

Truthfully, I've never been a huge fan. I find most brands of string cheese to have a rubbery texture. But when Influenster invited me to try Sargento cheese for free, I figured I didn't have anything to lose so I'd give them a try. My local grocery store carries a few varieties of Sargento snack cheeses, I went with Light String Cheese.

The packaging is standard string cheese wrapping. Influenster sent along this nifty little cold case to carry your string cheese on the go. Even when I forgot to put my snack in the fridge at work, it stayed pretty cool in the case.

The cheese is really quite good. There's none of that icky rubbery texture. It is a nice, creamy but firm cheese. The flavor is relatively mild and not overly salty. The nutrition isn't too bad for a snack..50 calories per piece (25 from fat, 1.5g saturated fat/0 trans fat). I would definitely repurchase this cheese.

September Ipsy bag

Time for my September Ipsy bag. This months goodies came in a really pretty blue case. The last few cases have been the same style, just different fabrics. They are really nice quality and a good size. I like this nylon style bag better than some of the previous bags they used.

Inside was another terrific batch of beauty products.

First up is a Cailyn lip balm in Big Apple, a bright red. I received a Cailyn gel eyeliner in a previous Ipsy bag. While the eyeliner is quite nice, I hate the packaging. I see the point, the long cap is actually a brush to apply the product. So your brush is always at hand. But it takes up too much room and I never reach for it. I know right off the bat I won't use this lip gloss either. I hate applying lip products with a brush. As often as I reapply my lip products and as clunky as this packing is, I won't carry it with me. And I don't wear red. Three strikes, it's out. (full size)

Next is a trio of Freeman sheet masks. These I'm definitely going to try. I love being able to do a face mask without the mess clay masks have. My set included a hydrating (perfect timing with cool weather on the way), purifying (I don't have trouble with oil/acne so may put this right in the donate bag), and brightening (after a summer of limited sun exposure, I can use a brightening treatment for the evil age spots!) Freeman is generally not a brand I purchase because their products are pretty chemical heavy, but these don't look too terrible ingredient wise. I'll certainly give the samples a try. (full size)

A Starlooks eyeliner in Obsidian. I certainly don't need yet another black eyeliner pencil but I'm interested to try Starlooks (have heard they are a decent dupe of MAC). On the fence as to whether or not I'll open this or donate it. (full size)

Elizabeth Mott It's So Big mascara. Never heard of this brand. The info says this is a smudgeproof volumizing mascara. I can always use mascara so I'll give it a try. (deluxe sample size)

Last up NYX eye shadow in Pure Gold. I like NYX in general and this is a really pretty color for fall. (full size)

Another pretty good month for Ipsy. 4 of the 5 products were full size so definitely a good value. That being said, this is my last Ipsy box. At least for now. My interest in natural cosmetics has been rekindled and I've decided to switch to the All Natural Face subscription box for a bit (they are in the middle of upgrading their website and I don't see the link at the moment. Hopefully it's not discontinued!) I do still highly recommend Ipsy if you are looking to try beauty/skincare samples. Their service is the best I've run across so far.

Summer 2013 perfumes

Fall starts tomorrow and cooler weather is already starting to grace us. As always, I'm anxious to pull out my cool weather fragrances. But before I pack away my warm weather scents, I thought I'd revisit what I reached for most this summer.

My perfume buying has slowed down dramatically this year as I have come across some scents that are real keepers. Ones that I can wear day after day without getting bored. While my collection is still pretty large (my summer scent shelf around 36 bottles/decants) I found myself repeatedly reaching for these six...

Dolcelisir by L'erbolario. This was a new purchase and is insanely wonderful. It smells a bit like apple cobbler but the most amazing, totally out of this world apple cobbler you could ever imagine. This one will be a year-rounder.

Burberry Brit Summer. I picked up both Brit Summer and a rollerball of Brit Sheer hoping to find a more hot weather friendly version of the original. Summer fit the bill. You get the lime/almond of the original, for sure, but this is lighter and fresher. I wore this one a ton, especially to work. It is totally non-offensive.

Avon/Mark Marrakesh. A lot of Avon's scents are average, run of the mill, dime a dozen variety scents, so I've kind of gotten away from purchasing them (and NEVER at full price. Ebay is your friend here!) Marrakesh I bought solely for the bottle. What a stunner! I held little hope for the juice. Even a whiff from the bottle didn't convince me. Straight up jasmine and coconut, neither of which are up my alley. But after wearing it a time or two, I found I really loved it. It is unique from anything else I own, so it's a nice change of pace. Only works for me on a really hot day, though. Dark horse winner of the summer.

The last three were all in my collection and (I think) might have made last summer's list. I made a point not to re-read last year's post because I wanted to keep this one fresh.

Lucy B Royal Egyptian Amber & Honeysuckle. Sweet, sweet, sweet. It makes your teeth hurt just smelling it. But it is yummy on the skin. A light amber that does very well in hot weather. Love this one for night time.

Tommy Girl. Still my favorite rose perfume. Super girly, insane longevity. Keeper, year-rounder.

Burberry Weekend. Going on year 3 for this bottle and still adore it. Another one I prefer for really hot days. Spring/summer only, I think, because it smells so much of hyacinths.

Honorable mention (not shown)...a new perfume house I discovered this summer, Imaginary Authors. I tried 4 of the 7 scents: Cobra & Canary, The Soft Lawn, Falling into the Sea and Memoirs of a Trespasser. All were excellent. C&C as too masculine for me, but the rest were all contenders. I wore Soft Lawn quite a bit but I ended up buying a bottle of Memoirs. Look forward to this in heavy rotation for fall!

Now I'm off to pack up the summer scents and dig out the falls. Let the party begin!

The All Natural Face box

I recently discovered a mineral makeup company called The All Natural Face. They carry a wide range of mineral foundations (both powder AND cream format), loose pigment eye shadows/blushes/powders, skin care, body care, and much more. Samples are dirt cheap. You can get a sample set of all of their foundation colors in your range (light or dark) for $6 (I'm currently testing the light shades). Eye shadow samples are $.35! I'm loving their shimmer shades, not so fond of the mattes.

When I heard they offer a monthly sample box I knew I had to try it. The box is $15/month and includes over $20 of products and free shipping. You can sign up on a recurring basis or for just one month to give it a try. This is what I did and my first box arrived this week. Here's what I got...

A sample pack of powder foundations with a mini kabuki brush. The brush is trash, but I know I'll use all of the foundation colors. The great thing about these powders, I find, is that they are very forgiving and many of the colors work well with my skin tone.

Glow in Champagne Rose: an all over or blush powder

Blush in Dusty Rose

2 eye shadows: Just Peachy and Brandied Peaches

Dark Brown Diva Stick. This is an eye shadow crayon that could be used as an eyeliner (according to their website).

Dead Sea Salt & Coconut Milk Scrub. This is a powdered scrub that you just add water to and mix as needed. I love this type of product!

Body Butter in Peppermint. This is melted right now do to the hot weather we are having, but I imagine it will be lovely in a few weeks when it starts getting cool and my skin starts drying out again.

I'm excited to use all of the goods I got in my box. Not sure if I'll go on a full time subscription or not. Since the value is not all that much greater than buying the products ala carte, I might just prefer ordering colors and items I know I'll use. If you are interested in checking out the sample box just scroll to the bottom of their home page for details.

Kindle MatchBook

Check this out...coming in October, Kindle MatchBook will allow Kindle owners who have purchased (certain) paper books from Amazon to get the Kindle version of the book at a reduced price (all the way down to FREE!!) The list appears short at the moment but a post on another blog mentioned they hope to be up to 10,000 titles by the launch in October. I've long thought it would be a great feature to get the Kindle version along-side the hard copy. Thumbs up Amazon for making this feature a reality.

Crock pot apple butter

I've been wanting to try making crock pot apple butter since I heard of it earlier this year. With it being a long weekend and the summer rambos looking great at the market yesterday, I decided it was time to give it a try. I worked from this recipe, cutting it in half as my crock pot is rather small.

I peeled, cored and sliced enough apples to fill my crock pot. Added a 1/4 c apple cider vinegar and set it on high for 8 hours.
Here's how it looked at the beginning...


And after 8 hours...

At that point I stirred it and turned the temperature to low. I left it go over night and here's what it looked like in the morning...

I added 1 cup splenda, 1/2 cup brown sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cloves. Stirred covered and let it go for another 4 hours...

It did not get quite as dry as I would have liked so I removed the cover and turned to high for another hour. Probably could have gone longer to get it thicker, but I think it's fine the way it is.

I ended up with a bit over 4 cups of apple butter and it is DELICIOUS. The recipe doesn't say how to store it but I'm going to freeze mine to be safe.