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.

Zorak, is that you?

I spotted this awesome little guy when I was cutting back the lavender tonight. There was another praying mantis clinging to the wall behind the lavender but I couldn't get a picture of him.

**Bonus points if you know who Zorak is.

July Ipsy Bag

Time for another Ipsy bag. This month's theme is Beach Beauty.

The case is not to my taste. I really wish you could have the option of not getting the cases. They are sometimes cute, but who really needs THAT many makeup bags!

The contents, however, are totally to my liking!

First up was a little eyeshadow palette from BH Cosmetics. The shadows are quite pigmented. They go on smoothly and blend very well.

A sample of Coola mineral sunscreen for the face spf 20. I'm rocking sunscreen everyday since it seems the list bit of sun makes my freckles and brown spots more pronounced. I've heard of but not tired Coola so I'm excited to give it a go.

A Benetint cheek/lip stain from Benefit. I'm a fan of Benefit cosmetics kitchy packaging. Their boxed powders are fabulous. I've tried Positint and its ok. I'm not such a fan of liquid cheek stains. They tend to make me look a bit like a clown. Might try this as a lipstain, though.

A Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Rose Romance. This is one of those chubby stick lipbalms. The color is beautiful, the formula is smooth with a tiny bit of minty tingle. I think this is full size.

Finally, a sample of  Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray. Ironically, I had been contemplating purchasing a salt spray to try to get some beachy/peicey curls going. Glad I held off since this came in my box. Can't wait to give it a try. Although I'm a little worried that a salt spray may be too drying on my already dry hair.

All in all another fabulous box.

GHP follow up

So what did I think of my first experience with gel nail polish? First off, I received tons of compliments on the polish. People really seemed to love the shine/glossiness. I was pretty darn impressed with it's lasting power and chip resistance. The polish lasted 7 days before chipping (my norm is about 3 days). In that time I worked in the garden, pulled weeds, washed the Jeep, cleaned house, and cooked dinner every night. Work was probably the hardest on my nails. Typing on the computer always leads to tip wear. There was no, nada, zero tip wear with this polish! This week, however, I was doing hardware upgrades and I think that was the ultimate undoing of the gel.

  Even so, I only have 3 chips after 8 days.

 

I didn't break a single nail this week, despite the heavy abuse of ripping apart computers.

The big downside though is that removal was a nightmare. I read the instructions and watched a bunch of instructional videos. All showed soaking a cotton ball in acetone, putting it over the nail, wrapping the nail in aluminum foil and waiting 15 minutes. They show the polish just peeling off at this point. Uhuh. Not even close. I ended up having to soak my nails in acetone and scraping the polish off with an orangewood stick. Several of my nails peeled in the process. Not happy at all. I had finally gotten most of my nails to stop peeling through several months use of OPI Nail Envy. This was a pretty big step back.

Maybe removal is easier if you wait longer than a week, I don't know. At this point I'm not even sure I want to try again. I love the idea of long lasting manicures, but not at the cost of my nail's health. If I try again it will be a gelly sandwich (gel base and top coat with standard nail polish in the middle). Perhaps this doesn't create such an impenetrable barrier.

Gel Haute Polish - first thoughts

Recently Living Social offered a Gel Haute Polish starter kit for $30. I've been wanting to try gel polish but starter kits run anywhere from $50 and up so I kept putting it off. $30 sounded like a fair price and I had the money so I figured, why not?

I hit a stumbling block almost immediately. The kit came with the basic gel nail supplies (base and top coats, cleaner, remover and light) along with 3 color polishes. There were 3 color trios to choose from but the kits were not identified. I thought maybe the names were in the same order as the pictures (apparently not the case). I ordered the Fundamentals kit. Turns out this included a brown, tan and orange polish. Not my style. Thankfully LS issued me a refund so I could order a different color set. Unfortunately, they could not identify which name went with which kit. I really wanted the purple set and had a 50/50 shot at getting it when I ordered the 2nd time. This time I went with the Impluse trio. Still not right. This one includes hot pink, neon orange and turquoises green. I didn't feel like hassling with another return so I just went with this one. (FYI, if the kit comes up again and you want the purple kit, the name is Timeless).

When I redeemed my code there was an option to buy additional polishes at 50% off. I went ahead and ordered 2 purple polishes. The kit arrived in a little over a week (I paid the extra $2 for express shipping). Just in time for my long weekend.

The directions are simple to follow. The products are amazingly low in odor, much less even than regular nail polish. The process takes a while because you have to cure each coat of polish under the LED light for 2 minutes. You have to do the 4 fingers on each hand and the thumbs separately.  This is where I could see an advantage to buying one of the higher priced kits that include a more powerful light (I've seen cure times as low as 30 seconds on some of them). I didn't mind much, though. I loaded up my Youtube queue and just watched videos as my nails cured.

I found the color polish a bit difficult to apply. The instructions stress using multiple thin coats, rather than one or two thick coats. I had to apply 3 coats of color to get a decent opacity, and even this is a bit sheer for my taste. The polishes self level, which is sort of nice, but it seems to pull away from the tip of the nail. Even though my nails feel like the polish goes all the way to the edge when I touch them, they look like there is a sliver of white at the tips, giving the appearance of tip-wear. I've seen suggestions to "tip"the nails with polish (run the brush along the free edge to coat the edge with polish) but my nails aren't quite long enough to do this. I'll have to practice and see if I can't find a way around this issue.

All in all it took a little over an hour to paint and cure both hands (a normal manicure for me takes less than 20 minutes plus dry time). I love the way my nails feel. They are smooth as glass. The shine is gorgeous. I put them to quite a test yesterday afternoon...I washed the deck furniture, worked in the garden, pulled weeds, cooked dinner. Any one of those tasks would normally result in at least one chip, especially on a fresh manicure. The pictures in the post were taken today. As you can see, there is not a scratch or dent on them. Color me impressed.

They say the polish can last up to 14 days. We'll see. A standard mani lasts maybe 3-4 days on me before showing tip-wear or chipping. I'll post back how I make out with this gel polish. I'm a little anxious about the removal process (anything that involves wrapping your fingers in aluminum foil with acetone soaked cotton balls doesn't sound overly fun) but we'll see how it goes.