Naturebox October/November 2013 Review

I'm a bit mixed up on which month this box is for. I labeled my last post September, but I could've sworn this one was November and it came at the beginning of the month, so I think maybe Septeber was actually October and this is November's box. Anyway...

So, if you recall from my last month with Naturebox, I had been contemplating ordering some add-on snacks this month in addition to my regular 5. The first 2 are $3 each, the 3rd and 4th are $2 each, and the 5th is $1. I ended up going for it, haha! However, I also put my subscription on hold for the holiday season to tighten up my budget a bit for Christmas, so at least I'm set for a while!

Big box for 10 snacks!

Packing list/ info sheet

From the top:
1. Dried Pears - I love the dried granny smith apples, so I wanted to try out the pears and they don't disappoint either! I love them! They're really chewy and I just find it satisfying to sit and gnaw at them at my desk for some reason, haha. My only complaint with these is that the core is more or less included in the slices. There aren't seeds, but the hard parts around the seed is there, so I end up chucking small parts of about half of the pieces. It's only like a bite's worth, so it's not a huge waste, but I kind of wonder why they don't just core them like the granny smith apples. (3 servings listed)

2. Fancy Dried Figs - I just really like dried fruit. I find these yummy on their own and sliced up in yogurt or on salads. Or ooh, I bet they'd be great with some soft cheese, like brie! Yum! (3 servings listed)

3. Masa Crisps - I can't find these on the site anymore, oddly, but they're corn chips with flax seeds. I find them pretty tasty. Comparable to most corn chips, but the flax seeds add a bit more nutrition. Salty and yummy on their own, but the package recommends pairing them with hummus, which sounds great! (4.5 servings listed)

4. Garden Tomato Crunchies - Almonds coated in a tomato powder (with some other flavors mixed in). These are tasty! Crunchy and a small amount is satisfying. (4 servings listed, but I know they'll last longer)

5. Pistachio Power Clusters - I also can't find these on the site anymore, but they're "nut squares with almonds, cashews, and pistachios". I actually taste the cashews more than the pistachios, which bummed me out a bit because I like pistachios better. They're not bad though. Sweet and salty. (3 servings listed)

6. Toasted Cheddar Sticks - Cheddar flavored sesame sticks. I like sesame sticks and the cheddar flavor seems fairly true as opposed to, like, a Cheetohs flavor. They're pretty good, and my last sesame stick snack lasted me a long time, so I expect this to last a while too. (4 servings listed, but again, I think it'll last much longer)

7. Peanut Butter Nom Noms - I had heard great things about these and they were out of stock for the first box I got to choose my snacks for, so I snapped these up when I saw they were available this time. Sadly, I'm not in love with them. I don't really taste much of the peanut butter. They're just kind of dense oat cookies with a strong fruit flavor (there are raisins as well as fruit juice in the ingredients). Meh. Each serving is 1 piece and there are 4 cookies in a bag. (4 servings)

8. Whole Wheat Raspberry Figgy Bars - I had tried the blueberry figgy bars last time and enjoyed them, so I figured I'd try the raspberry ones this month. They're similarly satisfying, but I think I prefer the blueberry flavor slightly over the raspberry. Each bar is individually wrapped, which is nice to keep the bars from getting stale. (5 servings)

9. Mango Almond Bites - These are mango and crispy rice squares. One of the reviews from, I think, one of the other flavors of these rice bites had compared them to rice crispy treats and this flavor had the most good reviews so far, so I went with this one. They're good, but I wouldn't say they're terribly close to rice crispy treats. They actually taste more like Honey Smacks (do they even still sell that?) to me. That kind of puffed rice and they're fairly dry, so definitely no comparable moisture to rice crispy treat marshmallow. Good enough, but not quite what I was expecting. (4 servings)

10. Italian Bistro Pretzels - Pizza flavored pretzels. Oh man, these are good. Very strong flavor, but yummy!! These are probably tied for my favorite with the pears. So good. (5 servings)

Again, a pretty great box of snacks. And one that will last me a while! If you'd like to sign up, please use my link to get 50% off your first box! If you already get Naturebox, what did you choose this month? What are some of your favorite snacks? Any must tries?


(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I have included referral links.)

Julep November 2013 Review

Back when I posted about Julep's November selection being open, I mentioned that I had chosen the It Girl box this month because I wasn't enthusiastic about the glosses. Earlier this month, my box arrived, nice and quickly using USPS (I wish they'd just send everything with USPS again, instead of DHL).

Opening the box

Monthly quote and a holiday catalog

Our bonus this month was actually a sample again instead of last month's candy corn that came with EVERY ORDER (even the one I made for something from November's secret store!!). The sample we got was of Julep's new Luxe Repair Skin Serum. It's a foil packet, which I hate because once it's open, it's open. It's hard to save without spilling it everywhere and I hate to waste any. And although I haven't tried it yet, I've read it's way more sample than you need for one face application and is quite messy. The reviews are also scattered - some complaints about it having a fishy smell and being too oily while others said it cleared and softened their face. I'm honestly a little scared to try it...

Sample of Julep's Luxe Repair Skin Serum (and a coupon code)

The It Girl selection does not come with the beauty product, this month a lip gloss. It does come with 3 nail polishes instead of 2. First, Lola, a matte navy blue. I LOVE it. I can't wait to wear it. I used to not really like matte shades, but I think I just needed to try them. To quote one of my least favorite kids shows, Yo Gabba Gabba, "Try it! You'll like it!" My second color is Winter, a very light gray creme. I think this will probably work best under a sparkle coat or with some dotting on top, but it may work alone in some wintery looks. The third color is Chloe, a "warm cocoa frost" as they put it, and I suppose at a quick glance it looks mostly like a frosty brown, but I actually used it this week in a mani and it definitely has a reddish tint to it. I really like it more than I thought I would. It's a great fall color!

Julep Lola, Winter, and Chloe

I also added on 2 colors. First, Cynthia from the Classic with a Twist box, which is a "desert sand microglitter". This one isn't quite as awesome as I'd hoped. Wet, it looks pretty good - there's a nice amount of sparkle and it almost looks holographic. Dry, it looks a bit more like the sandy description - it's kind of a mix of beige and white and the sparkles aren't as noticeable. I did only swatch 2 coats without a top coat though, so maybe a nice shiny topcoat would bring out the look it had when wet. The second color I added on was the featured add-on, Autumn. It's a red and orange glitter top coat. I love glitter top coats, so this one didn't disappoint at all. Nice fall colors! I paired it this week as an accent nail with Chloe. I'd like to try using it again in a gradient on top of another color!

Julep Cynthia and Autumn

Julep Winter, Chloe, Lola, Cynthia, and Autumn

Julep Chloe (2 coats) and accent nail Autumn (3-4 coats)

November 2013 Julep It Girl box

 Apart from Cynthia, I'm once again happy with my selections! I can't wait to use Lola - I think that's going to be next! If you'd like to sign up, I'd love it if you'd sign up with my link! AND! If you use promo code, FREEBOX, you can get your first box free! You just pay shipping! I started my subscription with a similar deal! :) As usual, the link at the top is a non-referral link if you'd prefer (but I'd be soo thankful if you used mine!). If you already get Julep, which box and add-ons, if any, did you pick this month?

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I have included referral links.)

Wantable November 2013 Review

Yay, Wantable! My favorite sub! I always get excited when Wantable arrives! For $36/month (or $40 if you just want to buy a single box without a subscriptions), you get 4-5 full size premium makeup products (they also have a jewelry subscription and a new intimates subscription if either of those is your thing - it's not mine). When you sign up, you fill out a quiz that has you rate different makeup types (like lipstick, blush, and eyeshadow) as love, like, or dislike and within those categories, you rate things like application type (like cream vs. powder blush) and colors (like neutral vs. brights). Things that you rate as dislike, you will never get in your box, while things you love are more likely to show up than things you like.

So, before I get into the review for this month I need to touch on something. I'm not entirely sure when it happened because there was no notification, but September was the last month I got 5 or 6 products, so I think it must've started in October. Wantable is now only sending 4-5 products each month. I'm fairly certain their site used to say 5-6 and I used to get 5-6. Oddly, there was a couple weeks where the site actually updated to say 3-4 products, and I got pretty upset about that, but now I just checked again tonight and it says 4-5. I'm not happy with the lack of communication about this downsizing of boxes. I don't think they're upping the quality of what we get, so it just bums me out that we get less for the same price now. Looking back, I used to get a value of $90-100 every month for the $36 paid, but now it's down to $70-80. It's still well over the purchase price, so I'm not disappointed enough to unsubscribe, and I do feel a little better now that the site says 4-5 rather than 3-4, but I just wish they'd let us know rather than sneaking it. Anyway, moving on.

Opening the box

Info sheet

My bonus item this month was a sample of Skiin Instant Skin Tightener and Line Filler (no value listed on the sheet, but ~ $8.10). This is a pretty good size sample, though I'm not sure the bottle would be closeable once opened. It looks like it's mainly for around the eyes, but I may try it on my brow crease!

Skiin Instant Skin Tightener and Line Filler sample

My first product is a Peepers by Darla Eyeshadow in the color Tiny Tooter ($18). I like the packaging on this - it's pretty cute. I didn't look it up until now, but I now see that the eyeshadow on the website appears way darker than the one I got. I'm sure I did get Tiny Tooter, but the difference in colors would make me a little wary of ordering from their website since their online colors appear way more dramatic and dark than in real life. To be fair, my pictures of it look a bit washed out, so they're unfortunately not accurate either, but I'd say the actual color is in between. I do like it somewhat. It's a pretty purple, although I don't see the gold sparkle the website mentions - it actually seems a bit more silver to me, and very faint. There's not a whole lot of fall out, but without a primer, it takes a lot to get some color payoff. That's my main complaint with a lot of pressed shadows, though. I like it well enough, but I wouldn't buy more.

Peepers by Darla Eyeshadow in Tiny Tooter

Better lit closeup to show sparkle

Next up was a Girlactik Beauty Precise Marker Liner in Black ($20 although the info sheet says $19). I like liquid eyeliner, so I like this! The formula seems good so far and the tip was good for making a variety of lines precisely, so I'll definitely add this one to my rotation. The brand name is weird to me. It just looks like something you'd see in the lower end of quality - something cheap from Walmart. But, whatever, it works.

Girlactik Beauty Precise Marker Liner in black

Swatches of the Peepers Eyeshadow (over primer and over no primer - pretty big difference) and the Girlactik Liner

Next, another Girlactik product, is Girlactik Heaven's Dust in Angel Gold ($19). Now, this, I LOVE! It's a shimmery powder for your body (or I suppose you could probably use it to highlight browbones) and it's gorgeous!! I could see the sparkle before I even opened it up to swatch it and I knew I'd love it. I also swatched this with and without primer, just to see how it might behave as an eyeshadow and I think it would be quite a pretty light gold shadow. I'll definitely use this product!!

Girlactik Heaven's Dust in Angel Gold

Pretty sparkle!

Swatches of the Girlactik Heaven's Dust (starting after the liner swatch) - the first faint one is alone and the second darker gold sheen is over primer.

Blurry shot to show off the sparkle!

My last product this month was a Cailyn Cosmetics Dramatic Impact Mascara in Blue ($17 although the sheet says $15). This is the first colored mascara Wantable has sent to me. To be honest, the last time I used blue mascara was high school, so I'm a little unsure of it. It does seem to be a fairly tame blue as far as blue mascaras go though, so hopefully that plus the promise of "long lush eye lashes with full volume thickness" will make this mascara a good one! I do like the heft of the tube! I kind of wonder about the usefulness of the short bristled brush though. I usually get the best results from nice thick brushes.

Cailyn Cosmetics Dramatic Impact Mascara in blue

November 2013 Wantable

Finally, they've been on sale for I think about a week now, but Wantable is offering special holiday boxes that are set to ship very soon. We got a note about it in our boxes and I checked them out on their site. They seem nice - they all include a small makeup bag, a sleep mask, a Bella Beauty roller eyeshadow set, a set of earrings, a Color Club nail polish, and a 29 Cosmetics Dew Lip Gloss, with 3 set combos to choose from. I was initially going to get one and was torn between the Majestic Masquerade and Starlight Soiree, but in the end, I decided against it. I'd rather save the money for Christmas. But if you like them, go for it!

Note about the holiday boxes

Even considering the fact that this was only (and I only say "only" compared to previous boxes) a 4-item box worth $74 (not including the sample which they valued at 0), I still mostly liked it. The shimmer powder and liner are awesome and will definitely get used and I'll play with the other 2 items. So again, disappointed about the downsized boxes without notice, but still liking the boxes overall enough to stay. And I'd still recommend signing up if you like makeup. If you are interested in signing up for this awesome subscription, here's my link! If you get Wantable, what kind of awesome stuff did you get this month?

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I have included referral links.)

Friday iPhone Dump

Argh, I'm late again! But, I really wanted to link up again with Jen over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Friday iPhone Dump!

The first 3 all take place at my in-law's block party. My mother in law was busy with a quilting convention, so my father in law asked us if we wanted to come with him to their block party. Emily ended up having a blast playing with the other kids (which I somehow managed not to take pictures of).

We took Chris's old wagon! Emily loved the ride!

Granddaddy, Daddy, and Emily! It kind of looks like no one else is there, but there were actually a lot of people!

Emily found this chair and pretended to sleep in it.

 The next day we were back at the park!

Going down the big slide with Daddy!

This next picture, I was just trying on a dress we had just gotten from Etsy and I feel like Emily looks so old in it! Something about her face!

Sorry for the mess - Hurricane Emily...

One of Emily's favorite naptime activities, if she's not napping, is to empty her bookshelf. She usually does read them, but regardless, it leaves a huge pile on the floor that I've been encouraging her to put away herself. I noticed this time that she seems to have learned by watching me how I organize the books! She was arranging the Sandra Boynton books by size.

Cleaning up!

 On Thursdays we go to the library for Toddler Storytime. Emily's ok about listening to the books, but generally likes the songs, puppet show, and art better. This week was a Native American theme and the art activity was buffalo masks.

She thought it was pretty funny to wear it

I've mentioned her a few times on the blog, but we have a cat named Buffy (like the Vampire Slayer). She's 10 and used to be the feistiest cat - very picky about who she let pet her, quick to change moods, biting ankles, etc. She has thankfully mellowed with age and even more thankfully is super tolerant of Emily. She goes away when she's had enough, but does like to come and bop heads affectionately with Emily and Emily loves her.

Emily reading a book to Buffy.

Buffy displaying her tolerance by accepting a hug.

Emily goes into our bathroom and feeds the cat way more often than she needs to be fed. Probably the source of their relationship.

Now that the spiders have been taken down from the front yard, Emily misses them. I did leave one in the garage for her to see, though! But, this week at Chick Fila, instead of an arm painting, Emily decided she wanted a spider balloon!

Spider balloon! How is this my child? I hate spiders. Passionately.

And finally, Emily has a ridiculously large collection of Disney Cars. They're actually her poop rewards. She calls them poop cars. Anyway, the other day, she brought these 3 up to me, laid them out, and said "Baby, Mama, Daddy! It's a family!" It was pretty cute.

The poop car family. And, argh, another huge mess in the background!

Julep Halloween Set, The Bogeyman, Review

Ok, so technically this was October as well, and I know I just said the last post was the last review for October, but this isn't a subscription review. It's just a purchase I wanted to review!

In the middle of October, Julep announced that they were releasing a few Halloween deals including a few sets, a few duos/trios, etc. I honestly wasn't terribly sure it would arrive by Halloween since I knew it would ship via DHL (the monthly boxes go out USPS which is quick, but any other purchase goes out DHL which suuucks), but I found one set, The Bogeyman, that I thought was pretty fun and decided to just go for it. The box had a bit of an adventure, getting lost somewhere for a day, causing DHL to label it as "missent" with a big angry red exclamation point. I called Julep and they found out it wasn't lost lost yet, it looked like it was just sent to the wrong post office or something. They said they'd resend it if it didn't arrive by Halloween. Thankfully, it did arrive around noon ON Halloween. So, at least I got to use some of the stuff that night!

Opening the box

These were, I think, my 5th or 6th baggie of these wretched things.

So, the set I bought included some polish, a ring, and a scarf! The ring is a white and gold snake wrap around ring with some rhinestones. I hardly ever wear rings other than my wedding set and my ring with Emily's birthstone, but I thought it was pretty fun. Emily likes it too.

Snake ring

It was a little big on most of my fingers, but it seemed to fit best with only a little looseness on my right pointer.

The scarf was similarly fun. It's a black thin gauzy material with a skull print. I don't wear scarves often either, mainly because I have big boobs and I don't want to make myself look even bigger, but this one was nice and thin and I really like it! I thought it looked pretty cute!

Skull scarf

The 3 polishes that came with the set were Nicolette, a white cream, Cleopatra, a matte black, and Marjorie, a shimmery orange. Very Halloweeny colors! I already had Cleopatra, but when I saw the set, it struck me that I didn't have a white! What a basic color to not have!! Marjorie was pretty fun and I didn't have a shimmery bright orange. In addition to these, I also bought (not added on, just bought) Missy, a metallic silver, which was part of October's collection. At the time, I didn't go for the It Girl box because I thought Missy would be too close to something I had. I'm so glad I bought it anyway! It's by far the best silver I've ever used! It's so shiny and sparkly!

Julep Nicolette, Cleopatra, and Marjorie

Not part of the set, Julep Missy

Swatches of Julep Marjorie, Nicolette, and Missy. I don't know why I didn't put Cleopatra in here, but you can see the swatch here.

Also, apparently, this purchase came with a free Cabochon ring. I thought it was a mistake at first since it's not listed as part of the set on the website, but it is listed as included for free on the packing slip. Maybe they just needed to get rid of them? It does have kind of a cheap feel to it, but for free, I can try it out. It's basically a clear stone you paint the underside of with polish and then set into the setting. What I don't know is whether it's reusable. Like, can I use polish remover to change the color of the stone from time to time or would that ruin it? Or does the polish just not come off once you've painted it? It is adjustable size, so I did get it to fit quite easily, but it's a big stone. I'm not used to seeing something that large on my hand, so I'm not sure if I'd like it once it's painted, or if I just think it looks cheap. It kind of looks like a big bottlecap.

Free Julep Cabochon ring, unpainted

Julep Cabochon ring, unpainted

Julep's Bogeyman Halloween set

I just thought this was a fun set and I'm glad it came in time for Halloween. I do wish they had started selling it at the middle/end of September instead, so we could have had these goodies for more than the day of Halloween. I'll still wear the scarf often, the ring occasionally, and polish is polish (although I use oranges infrequently), so I'll still get a lot of good use of everything but it would've been fun to use it throughout all of October.

As always, if you'd like to sign up for Julep's subscription, I'd love it if you'd sign up with my link! AND! If you use promo code, FREEBOX, you can get your first box free! You just pay shipping! I started my subscription with a similar deal! :)

(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I have included referral links.)