Luxe Box Winter Box Review

I still have mixed feelings about Luxe Box by Loose Button. I love that it's a Canadian company. I have some quads about service including not receiving boxes. I paid $25 for this box (semi-annual plan). Of all the boxes I subscribed to I thought this is the one that would be the best.

Each box is to have "a minimum value of $70+" and 7-8 products. 

I was able to log into my account and see my items prior to receiving the shipping notice. Which they originally sent out the shipping numbers from my previous Luxe Boxes, corrected the next day. I really wanted to upgrade to the Enchantress Box for an extra $8 but didn't because my first upgrade box had gone missing.

I love the boxes and the bags that they use. I find the are fantastic. 

There was a nice welcome letter. However it was a bit wrinkled detracting from the feeling of being a valued customer.

Foil Packet of Butter London Matte Lipstick. This sample was so small it was hard to tell if the trouble I had applying (and the creasing/staining outside) was due to low quality lip stick or logistics. Full size $20, sample Free. 

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Niagara Overlook. I like this colour and I look forward to trying it out on me. $10. 

Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool firming face Gels for smile lines. This might be really nice. I certainly have some wrinkles in my smile lines. Full size 8 gel packs, $35. One gel pack, $8.25

Amika Perk-Up Dry Shampoo. I like this one. I have two samples like this I haven't used yet. Sample size 30 mL, $10.

Paula's Choice Clinical KP Treatment Cloths. These have good reviews and will be gifted to someone with more use for them than me. Sample size 10 cloths, $14.

Suki Exfoliate foaming cleanser. Smells like lemon cuticle oil, but it does have an expiry date on the bottom. Sample size 30 mL, $10.95

Nicole by Opi in Profoundly Purple. This tiny bottle comes out the colour of mud. It's awful. I even tried to use it to remove my current nail polish, but even that didn't work. Sample size 3.75 mL, $3.99.

When I saw two eye-lash curlers I immediately checked to see which item I was missing. I wasn't. Loose Button places the value of these at $20 each.

The total value of these 7 items (I can't count the little snippet of lipstick as an item) is about $77.25 which meets and exceeds the claim of $70 value. 

I'm still torn if I should drop this box, or keep it another round. I don't like that I have to call to cancel and I'm sensing that I might not be able to cancel due to my subscription renewing next week. If you're interested, please use my link to save a few extra dollars each quarter. 

What did you get in your box? Are you a Luxe Box Fan? Did you upgrade? 

I think I obsess about checking my balances

And I don't think it's a good thing.

It started off as a way to keep me on track and focused on my new end goal. But even before I wanted to be debt free I would check in daily on my bank accounts, weekly on my credit cards, every month or two on my students loans, and no longer than three months on my mortgage once I had one.

But now my bank account is the first thing I check when I wake up, the last thing before I sleep, and probably once per hour in-between. Just like on The Price Is Right, "That's too much!".

I've got a pretty good budget that I think will work for January. I'm excited to try it out and continue to use it into the new year. If it goes as planned, I can save a bit of money to buy back my pension plan while paying almost twice the minimums on my debts. Not as good as I want, but it does mean by staying very frugal I will be able to stay at home with the kids. Oh, I'm also thinking of a shopping band for the new year. I'll let you know how that goes.

Ipsy December review

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription for $10 plus $4.95 shipping. Here is my Ipsy review.

You could probably use the zip as a key chain if you needed a new one.

This month is a cute, classy bag that nearly matches the bring pink bubble mailer. This month is about Inspiring Original [Women].

All the pretties.

I think this month was a really great month for me.
CAILYN Cosmetics
Just Mineral Eye Polish Full Size.$15. Interesting idea to include the applicator with the shadow. This shade is 005 Orchid, is lovely, pairs well with my GDE Fade to Fall and will also require a primer.

Coolway
Boost Repair Treatment Sample Size. $30/8 oz, $3.75 for sample. I've been putting off buying new shampoo/condition until I really need it, so this will help me get into January. ;)

Crown Brush
Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush Full Size. C476, on sale for $6.99

NYX Cosmetics
Butter Lip Balm Full Size. $4. Every one received one of these in their bag. It's not fabulous, it's not awful. I'll use it.

tarte
deluxe lights, camera, lashes™ 4-in-1 mascara Sample size. Full size, $19, sample size 0.10 fl oz or $8.25. This was another item that most Ipsters were to receive.

Give ME all the pretties! ;)

I can estimate the total of this bag to be $38 and I'll use all of the items (even if I don't love them). It's kinda like Ipsy got the feeling I was about to dump the subscription in a couple months when it's time to renew and wanted to tempt me into staying with them. Well played. 

Take a picture of me!

If you like what you see, please use my link: Get Ipsy

Glamour doll eyes December OTM love

December was certainly a record month. Note my phone wanted to auto-correct to Texan month. Very appropriate. Winky face.

On to the love!

Glamour Doll Eyes is a indie make-up company specializing in eye shadows that offers an "Of the month" or OTM of a special one-of-a-kind eye shadow. I can't recall the price and it's going up next year. If you're reading about this for the first time, just stop here and decide not to get one ... until I get mine first :)

The OTM came in a lovely red stocking and included bonus indie samples.

This month was a bonus eye-shadow month. I apologize that I haven't had time to do swatches.

Official December color: Fade to Fall - a mauve pink with a copper shift. I swiped this one dry - it's absolutely lovely but definitely requires a primer (on my skin).

Second December color: Vintage Cardigan - a muted blue with golden sheen and copper sparkles. 

Shimmer Me in Final Victum (Copper sparkles) will look great with the above - Tomorrow's task ;) This color was named for Debra Morgan from Dexter. I'm guessing I just read a spoiler alert. I had to stop watching Dexter despite my love for the show because of pregnancy nightmares.

A vanilla (love!) lip balm from CostalScents.com

The world's grossest candy cane.

More extras!! The bag this month is a stocking that I'm about to put on the tree.

A brush from Sedona Lace - I love the brushes I bought from them to put my GDE shadows on with.

A indie lipbalm from Beauty Bar Baby in Immortal. See below for pictures. I hate when lip gloss arrives in the clam shells, I always make a huge mess getting it out.

I also recieved 5 sample eye-shadows, some from companies I've wanted to order from and a color I had in my bag but took out (Cake Pop). I'm excited to try these too. Any one have good tips on how to get the shadow out of the bag with out getting some of it on the brush handle? I find I have more fallout on my face from the bags. 

From Hello Waffle: Chopin

Chinovi: Cake Pop

BFTE Cosmetics: Wine Country

Black Rose Minerals: Disintegration

Brija Cosmetics: Kit

I also recieved a free gift with my cyber monday order - a sample that should have made it to the OTM's but was late. It was really great so I'll add a shout-out here to Coca Pink and their Coco Mango Body Butter. 

Here is my gorgeous, gregarious two-year-old modeling Immortal lip gloss and the heart hair clip from Kawaii. It's a nice golden shine with the gloss and the right amount of sparkle on the clip.

And that's my GDE OTM this month. I debated for days about not posting my review because I'm feeling pretty set that my only "indulgence" in my budget for the next few months will be this subscription and I don't want any more competition to snag one.

It's a total love for me! <3

TopBox December Review

Fast shipping Batman! I received my shipping notice yesterday and my Topbox arrived today! Topbox is a Canadian beauty subscription box at $12 per month plus taxes for 4 (deluxe) samples. There are also options to upgrade to prive boxes or get the regular Topbox.

Here it is! Sorry for the quick pics. My newborn needs some love after her vaccines, and I want to get this up before Christmas duties arrive.

Kinetics nail polish, $12. This had leaked in transport. Luckily it was wrapped seperately, so nothing in the box was affected. It went straight in the trash. I couldn't open it and some of the polish was sticky. 

UPDATE: Topbox has offered to resent the polish free of charge.

Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow, $22.50 The eyeshadow is a very bright yellow. I don't have one in my collection yet.

Faith Gingerbread shower gel, $15.99. If Gingerbread smells like poop (seriously, I thought my toddler required a new diaper) they nailed it! I'll be trying to off-load this at Christmas. 

Eslor foil packets. I can't remember the cost on these (I've also gotten them in beauty box 5, and maybe topbox?). These are new. I tried the gel mask just now and because I thought the foil pack would only be good for one use, I piled it on. It didn't dry, so I don't suggest it ;) 

Total value: $50.00 plus foil packets.

After this box, I actually cancelled my subscription - but in name only. You can currently buy gift subscriptions, so in theory, I replaced my monthly subscription with a gift subscription. Mostly because there are things I like about Topbox, but this month was disappointing for me - even though the value was great at $50.00 plus.

My Every Day

Fresh as a daisy, I get up up at 6 am (5:30 if the husband equilivant needs to leave early for work) and put a 45 minute work out in, maybe expressing some breast-milk before a cardio workout to reduce the pain and build up the storage in the freezer. After a quick shower, the newborn wakes up and feeds. The toddler wakes up shortly before 8am.

I feed the toddler breakfast and start some chores (Laundry, prep for dinner) between sips of coffee and checking emails. After she eats we either run our errands quickly and efficently or go out to play. I am able to get lunch served at ready at 11:45am. All three of us have a nap after lunch, and I wake up to do more chores - say fold the laundry, sweep the floors, wash the walls. If the day is nice, we go out for a walk, or stay inside and play with toys, colour and read books. I feed the baby quickly, and am able to make a tasty and healthly dinner complete with dessert ready for soon after the husband comes home. Dishes are done, left-over put away, and tables cleaned up immideatly after. The kiddos get to bond with dad while I relax. Bath time, teeth brushing and pajama story time are next and without a fuss the toddler goes to sleep before 7:30. I spend another 15-30 minutes cleaning, 30 minutes with the husband feeding the baby and prepare for bed at 8:30 pm including basic care like face-washing and teeth brushing. I'm alseep by 9 pm, up without problems to feed the baby again at midnight, and maybe again at 5 am - ready to work out on the next morning.

....

....

...

My reality?

Much more chaotic and sleep deprived. Less workouts, more messes. Attempts to remember everything I have do, lucky if I get one done. Groccery shopping in a complete haze. Trying to tell the toddler to stop emptying the whole tube of lotion, eating all the oranges, re-arranging all the shoes, ripping up floor boards while I try to feed the baby for what feels like the 3rd time that hour. Wiping baby puke off my face with my sweater and getting the toddler "the big ones" to distract her from trying to revert to nursing again. Spending two hours juggling the two kids while one has gas and needs a good burp that can't happen because the other repeats non-stop "I don't wanna go to my rooooooooom". Waiting for the husband equilivent to come home so that I just might be able to go to the potty in peace without a chant of "Mommy, don't close the door!!". Constantly checking my bank accounts/loan account and trying to see if I can put just a little bit more on my debt that month. Staring at the pile of laundry, looking at the clock of 1 am, and deciding a few hours of sleep are far more important than a clean house. Barely getting my contacts out and hitting the pillow before the baby wakes up to nurse, which wakes the toddler. Every morning the husband is home, I'm so, so , so grateful for the extra 30 minutes of sleep he gives me by watching the kids.

It's going to be awhile until I get those 6 am runs to the lake in...

The cost of subscription boxes

As the new year approaches, and I start to set my goals, I wondered how much has my subscription box habit grown? And then I promptly cancelled a few boxes.

I'm going to be on Maternity leave as long as I can - hopefully for the full year. There is some chance I may return to work a few months early, and some uncertainty that my position will remain. Academic restructuring is awesome. Not. I was lucky to have a job where I received some maternity benefit top-up for 12 weeks. Now, I'm looking for ways to get the most out of my EI pay.

As of December 1st, I had these boxes:

Beauty:
monthly
Ipsy $10 plus $4.95 shipping (US)
Beauty Box 5 $12 plus $3 shipping (US)
Top Box $12 plus taxes
Glamour Doll Eyes OTM $6 plus $8 shipping (US)
Birch Box $14.95
Indulge Me $20
Julep Maven $24.99 (US)

quarterly
Luxe Box box $26
Fortune Cookie Soap Box $20 plus $8 shipping (US)

Life Style:
monthly
Panty by Post $22
Indie Gift Box $24.99 plus $12 shipping

quarterly
Fab Fit Fun VIP Box $49.95 plus $8 shipping


I count 12 boxes total, some automatically renewing, some not. Many of these I paid for upfront which reduced the cost for a few of them, but also allowed me to forget about it in my budget. Much nicer than getting bills each month for all these.

Monthly total $141 (!!)
Yearly (Monthly only) $1692

Quarterly total $105
Yearly (Quarterly only) $420

Yearly total $2112 (!!)

Wowza.

If I added this to my student loan payment, in 5 years it would all be paid off. Not cool me, not cool.

I've cancelled a few of the ones that bill monthly, and I'm going to work on reducing or terminating completely the rest. GDE's OTM I really want to get again, but seems unlikely with the popularity of this subscription. It sells out in minutes, or seconds!

I love getting these boxes, and they were a way to help push me to blog again. So far, I've knocked 5 off the list. Even I miss them, I'll  just remind myself staying home with the new baby (and working on minimalism despite having kids) is important for me. Oh, and debt-free would be lovely!

Do you have any subscription boxes or a small purchase that got out of hand? How you decide it was time to stop or which ones to keep?

Indulge Me December review

Indulge Me is a new Canadian subscription box. I joined for three months at $55. Currently you can join monthly for $20 or yearly for $220. I'm not sure what happened to the three month option.

This box was a huge improvement over last month. 

As promised the box was wrapped as "Pretty as a present".

What's inside:

A promo code for Trend Trunk. This made me a bit annoyed as I had to create an account and hand over my personal information to see the value on the card. My was for $5.00. I'm never going to use it. 

A set of 5 "Do It Yourself" gift packs. These are big enough for a gift card or some candies. 

A lovely smelling candle from Yankee Candles in Silver Birch. I used to buy other scents at my local Home Hardware.

L'Occitane Pivoine Flora hand cream. This smells amazing and unlike the Beauty Box 5 hand cream from November, feels really nice on.

Bizou Knit Scarf. The spoilers revealed pretty patterned scarfs.  I received a chunky knit in brown. It would have taken me 15+ hours to make this, but an experienced knitter 1-2? I like it.

The scarf is the actually same colour as my deck paint! 

As I said before much better box than last month. It didn't feel as ... dirty? rushed? suspicious? I consider it to have three items, a bonus and a promo code. I look forward to my last box, and I hope Indulge Me is able to figure out their brand soon. Looks like it will be nice.

Panty by Post November review

Panty by Post is a Canadian subscription where you receive a new panty each month. I bought a three month sub for my birthday! I choose the middle price for my panty selection for $22/month and for a three month commitment.

This is my lastest and last panty from them. 

It's a very pretty orange lace panty that I wouldn't have bought myself. But I do love. It's thin so no lines and full bottom for confidence. The panties come wrapped in pretty tissue paper and sometimes include a bonus gift! This month had advertising for a promo code for another subscription company.

When I first heard of Panty by Post three years ago, I loved the idea. My co-workers did not. I have found Panty by Post to meet my expectations of professional, clean, timely (the first shipped the day after my order!), and respectful. I would recommend them if you were looking to slowly fill up your panty drawer with a nice surprise. The panties have been good quality - I had one pair with buttons which all fell off the first day I worn them but otherwise held up with washing.

I have chosen not to renew but I do have the current promo code:

Use IMNEW15 for $15 off your order

November Top Box Review

Top Box is a Canadian Beauty Box that sends 4 beauty samples to subscripbors each month. There is a short waiting list to get one but as it's christmas one could bypass the wait by purchasing a present for themselves. $12 per month plus taxes.

First, I do feel duped by an email sent out to Top Box customers indicating if 1000, or 10,000 liked Benefit's instagram account, a benefit sample would be in the November Top Box. It was phrased to sound like an extra sample would be included, NOT one of the samples would be benefit. I fell for it, liked benefit, and now feel foolish. 

Benefit Cosmetics, stay flawless. 16 mL full size, $38. Haven't tried as I'm being stubborn. 

Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future Caplet Serum. 30 mL full size, $72. Sample $5. It's neat how the beads combine with the serum, but like all serum I need to combine it with moisturizer and my face looks good, but maybe it's just because I'm so tired I can't see the wrinkles.

Eyeko Black Magic Mascara, full size $24. Sample $12. I like this and I like the inventive packaging.

UniqOne All in One Hair Treatment. 150 mL full size, $20. Sample $1. I haven't seen anything special using this. I prefer the Argan Oil and the Fortune Cookie Soap Hair Oil but I'll use this sample up. Mostly I just think about all the poor kids named "Uniq".

The total value I arrived at for this box was $18. I've been using the face serum, and the mascara. I'm undecided if I should cut TopBox from my list of boxes or keep it as a Canadian Treat for the months were I get something amazing that I love. 

Did you get a TopBox this month? Are you annoyed at the Benefit Bait-and-Switch too?

Ipsy November review

Ipsy is a monthly beauty bag of 5 items. It's $10 per month plus $4.95 shipping to Canada. 

At first I hate the bag (it's sponsored by Forever 21 Cosmetics) but at night it's a very pretty glittery, shimmery sparkle of light. I'm heading towards really liking it and wanting to find a use for it.

J. cat wonder beauty lip paint in Red Potion. $4.99. I loved the colour of this, but I was able to get it to stay on my lips in every way - from application within my lip area, to loosing the colour immediately. The consistency is very runny, so I had to throw it out lest a toddler find it. 

Bye Bye Under Eye. Sample. This was a bit dark for me but only slightly. Included were instructions on how to use it, and by following the "heat then pat" procedure it worked well. Sample size.

Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Hair Spray. $3.25. I keep forgetting to use this on my toddler's sparkly frozen items to keep the glitter on. 

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil. $17.00. This was really pretty, and a colour I don't have. However, it's gone missing, and I think I know who took it. ;)

SeaRx skincare hand lotion. Sample. Gave this to the husband equivalent due to the warning seen below. He said it "was lotion". 

That's right, not for pregnant or breast-feeding mommas.

The small print on the hand lotion indicated that pregnant and breastfeeding women should not use it, so this was passed on to my husband equivalent. I believe he described it as lotion.

I haven't had time to do a full cost break down for this bag but omitting the two samples the value is $25.24.

If you're interested in Ipsy, please use my referral link here.

Beauty Box 5 November Review

Beauty Box 5 is a monthly subscription box that features 5 beauty samples each month for $12 US plus $3 shipping to Canada. I prepaid for a yearly subscriptoin early this year for $99, meaning each box is about $8,25 plus shipping. 

The little green boxes come with an info sheet to let you know what is inside, and sometimes provides promotional deals.

Let's check it out!



Dentek Floss pick case, pack of 4 $2.49, this sample $0.62. Note that this pack did not come sealed meaning trust in sanitary handling must be applied.

Hask Macademia shine oil, 5.8 fl oz, $2.99. I've used this with my other hair products. It's a nice oil, nothing of note.

Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash, $6.49 for 22 oz, sample $0.52

Laura Ashley Body Butter, $20 for a pack of 6, sample $3.33. Smells nice, feels a bit weak and greasy.


Afterfeather Refillable Travel Bottle, $8.95 for two, $4.50 for one. This is absolutely adorable. However, it's just one bottle so I don't know if I will ever use it. It's a shame.



The total value for this box was about $11.96 - just under breaking even if you paid the full price. Almost half of that value is from the bottle, although lovely, I likely won't use. It's been said over again that this box is one of the cheapest, and that is reflected in the quality of these boxes. However, I find I use most of the items on a regular basis. I like that. But... I'm only going to use maybe $5 from this box. I think I would rather spend $12 on something I really like or better yet apply the $8.25 I paid on my student loans instead.

Computer fixed!

While I was in the hospital and the few days before I managed to compose a massive amount of posts ranging from product reviews, to finance goals, plans and thought, to personal posts about what I loved about being pregnant, and what I hated. Maybe the pain medication in labour contributed, maybe fate, but ALL those posts were lost. From a combination of my stubbornness about being hurt they were lost and distraction of a new baby finally coming home after long hospital stay, I choose not to write. Did I mention my computer had slowed to 45 minutes per (very short) post as I literally had to wait seconds for the words I typed to appear on the screen? I think I could also bake cookies while I waited as the temperature of my laptop would go up so high.

I am happy to say that this is my test post, and that my boyfriend is absolutely wonderful for fixing it! .It's old so he was limited in what he could do, but I was going to stick to my budget and not replace it until I felt I had paid off enough debt. Aka, no time soon. It's fantastic to live with someone who has skills! <3

Happy Thanksgiving to my american friends.

6 month follow-up

Around April, when my pregnancy was beginning to get real, and all the legalities from the sale of my house had settled, I was able to total my debts. I was also starting to find some stable ground to stand on. Because I now had a tiny ticking time bomb inside me, I wanted to create a road map to get where I wanted to be to help the beautiful person-to-be inside me enter a more stable home. I love, love, LOVED my house, but it had become an anchor pulling me into financial terrority I did not want to be in. In addition to the value of my home dropping over 30%, I was losing money each month that it was rented out. I still feel confident that I had the capital to ride it out, in 7, 10 or 18 years the value of home would have risen, and the investment would have paid off well. Yet, at the time, I was struggling with credit card debt, lines of credit, and not making enough money to have a positive balance at the end of the month. At this point in time, I no longer had my home, and instead owed other people over $65,000.

My goals in May, 2014 were:

1. Pay off my $10,500 credit card balance transfer, at $4101 in May PASS - Paid in full :D
2. Pay $1800 of my line of credit  FAIL - only paid off $1000
3. Pay $600 on student loan #1 PASS - Paid in full :D
4. Pay $300 on student loan #2 PASS - Paid $575
5. Pay $1500 on personal loan PASS - Paid $1500
6. Save $1000 for maternity leave PASS - saved $1500
7. Save 5750 as an emergency fund PASS - saved $750

May:
Total Debt: $58,425
Total Savings $5

October:
Total Debt: $46.000
Total Savings: $2250

Total debt reduction: $12,425

There were broken down month by month and pay by pay. I had to alter these goals in August (I may write a blog post about this) as it was becoming clearer that I would be induced prior to the end of October, and I had some financial targets I wanted to hit to feel "ready" for the baby. I highly recommend this for both long and short term goals. It's a great way to see if your goal is realistic, and how hard it may be to obtain. In my case, I was incredibly hard to stick to my debt repayment/savings budget but being 1) short term 2) a upcoming huge life event and 3) just prior to pay reduction (taking maternity leave) a good choice for me.

Between March and the end of October I've reduced my overall debt about $19,000 and increased my savings by around $2000 (which I will be using until I receive my EI and can complete another budget). I've had a lot of demons but .... that's none too shabby.

Anxiety

It's amazing how much time just being sad can take up. I had a rather large moment of anxiety this morning. I thought it had only stumbled on a few moments of my day. The clock, however, indicated that over one hour of my precious morning time had been stolen. In the words of the Price is Right: "That's too much!". I'm concerned about what will happen to my finances, my relationships (including with the boyfriend and my daughter), my job, my routines, etc. when I begin maternity leave. Which could be any day now... Scary!

I feel like I am starting to get a good financial plan in, and I've been chucking money into my savings, hopefully to prevent me from having to use any credit until my EI comes in. I am also aware I can't do a complete budget until then, so I am thinking wisely, and make mental notes of what is a "need" and what is a "want". This can sometimes leads to spiraling because there are so many things I need to buy (food, gas, certain child care items, daycare, minimum loan payments, RRSP contributions, ...) and so many more that I want to buy (subscriptions, more food, birthday presents, household items, organizational items, ...). This sometimes leads to negative thoughts spiraling as I tend to focus on how I may have picked one or two "wants" in place of a "need" eventually becoming something along the lines of "I am such a failure, I don't deserve anything including happiness or respect. I am nothing but my failures which indicated by the amount of debt I have, and how little I am putting towards it". It can get as dark as "I don't deserve my child, she deserves someone better to be her mom.". Worse of all, awful negative sentiments from my daughter's father from when he wanted me to abort the baby will enter my mind and they are the most untrue and hard thoughts to get out! Keeping in mind that I have been put over 50% of my salary on debt, paid off $10,000+ credit card debt, and dealt with some major life changes in the past 24 months, I should have nothing but confident I can do this.

Obviously, I haven't been able to cope as effectively as I would like. I do not want to keep wasting my time (and likely my health) worrying this much about my financial future. I think I need to re-employ a few tasks that have helped in the past.

1. Set aside time for worry
2. Start journaling my worries
3. Follow with a list of three great things in my life
4. Focusing on the moment, and all the things I might be missing.
5. Revise my thought patterns. Stop spiraling before it begins.

For example, I am trying to turn it from.. "I am so in debt, I can't afford anything" to "I'm so thankful, I have had a change to pay off as much debt as I have". Or change "I wish I could buy that. Why did I make so many mistakes" to "I've made some hard choices, and I'm very glad I paid extra on my line of credit this month". Or "I'm going to be in debt forever. I should give up and buy this. Why does it even matter?" to "I'm not going to let myself still be paying off my student loans when I'm 40. I'm going to crush those suckers!".

Most of the time, I really do feel lucky. I am going to be proactive to make sure it stays most of the time. Life is beautiful. I intend on seeing it that way.

Are you able to tell when you anxieties are starting to interfere with your life? How to do change it around to focus on the good?

Meme Box My cute wishlist #2 review

Meme Box, which many bloggers are calling the best thing in beauty boxes, is a buy as you like beauty box from Korea. Prices range from $19 - $39 and vary from themes to complete mystery to "naked" boxes where you know what you are ordering in advance. 

I like cute things, and couldn't stop myself from ordering My Cute Wishlist #2. I had controlled myself and let the first one slip through my hands. 

All products were full size and I love the pink boxes they ship in.

1. Sally's Box, Friendly Berry lip patch. I tried this out and couldn't get it to stick on my lips. Glad I didn't buy it myself! $3. 

2. RoseMine, Perfumed hand cream. This both looks and smells like a grama. I think I might try to gift it to my mom, You know, a grama. $12

3. The Yeon, Style Y fruity swirl lip balm in Strawberry. It's a lip gloss, haven't tried it yet. $8. 

4. SaintPeau, Collagen pudding sleeping pack. The pig is cute, but I'm not sure if I would call this product cute. Apply after cleaning, wash off in the morning. I have been afraid to try sleep masks as I don't want to get my pillow dirty. $36.

5. Evas, Vitamin cleaning dessert in red wine. This smells nice, more grape-like than wine-like. I didn't like the chocolate variety, so I'm unsure if I would use this. $18

6. It's Skin, Babyface Blusher. Finally something I would call cute! $7

Total cost $23 plus $6.99 shipping

Total value (according to Meme Box) $84

A great value, even if prices were inflated 50%. However, I don't really see how these items fit "cute wishlist". If you like Korean beauty products, My cute wishlist #4 was just announced today. Please use my link and check out the superboxes/value sets. You'll be able to sace $5 on orders over $100.

Fall Luxe Box Review

After being very disappointed in my first Luxe Box - you know the one that never arrived, and then the replacement that wasn't shipped, and the cheque for the amount I over paid that never arrived - I wondered what my second Luxe Box would have. I was tempted by a few of the promotional upgrade boxes, but I was/am still upset about the half-assed attempt to correct their many mistakes and unhelpful customer service.

I do have to admit the boxes are nice. I have one problem with the cardboard boxes they ship in. The glue is so weak, I can't believe more boxes just don't go missing. Perhaps Canada Post only hires staff with delicate hands.

I received seven products. 

1. Loose Button, Fan Brush, $18

2. AG Hair, High and Dry Finish Spray, sample size 50 mL, $8.00

3. Lila Grace, Tropical scents body lotion, sample size 65 mL, $4.00

4. So Susan, Universal blush, full size, $17,50

5. Burt Bees, Lip gloss in "Ruby Moon", full size, $12.99

6. Amarte, Aqua Veil Pure Hydration Serum, sample size 5 mL, $4.50

7. Amarte, Aqua cream, sample size 5 mL, $10.00

I will probably use all these products, so no waste here. I like the brush, but to me it doesn't fit the $18 loose button value. I just don't feel wowed, and I'm still disgrunted from last month. I'll be pondering for the next few days if I want to continue this subscription or not. I subscribed to many boxes as I had "run out" of beauty products, but I think I have become well stocked again :) 

Total cost $26 plus GST

Total value $74.99 (Pretty amazing!)

If you're interested, use my link and I think you'll get a discount for the winter box. The final day to sign up is December 3rd, and the link should be active until then.

What did you think of the Fall Luxe Box? Did you upgrade?

September Topbox. Review

This is my last month of double topboxes. 

TopBox is a monthly Canadian beauty subscription box containing 4 samples for $12.00 plus tax a month. One of the features is a distinct mailing tube. I might use mine to wrap some Christmas presents this year.

My two boxes were very similar. 

My first box contained: 

Bioderma Sebium foaming gel. 15 mL sample, $19.95/20 mL. Value of sample $1.50

Amina perk-up dry shampoo. This seems very nice. Sample size 21.3 g, guessing value at $1.50

Illumalift brightening cream sample. Sample size. 

Teeez nail polish in raging ruby. Full size, $15. 

My second box contained:

Bioderma Sebium foaming gel. 15 mL sample, $19.95/20 mL. Value of sample $1.50

Amina perk-up dry shampoo. This seems very nice. Sample size 21.3 g, guessing value at $1.50

Lancôme genifique light-pearl. Sample size 5 mL, estimated value $22.

Essie nail polish in sand tropez. Full size, $9.99.

The value is good ($18 for box 1 and $35 for box 2) but the items I know I will use are the two lower end samples leaving me wondering if I should continue with the box or focus $12 on debt and introduce a few less things into my house. 

I didn't update my August topbox. I received a special box (x2) of three ombrelle SPF 60 samples. A great size to pack around, and I hope I'll be able to use them up this fall. 

September ipsy glam bag review

Street style is the word these day at Ipsy. A subscription bag from the US at $11/month plus $4.95 shipping to Canada.

   

I looked at the sneak peak, so I knew what was coming at the beginning of the month. I don't have prices now, but I'll try to go back later and add them. 

First, the Hikari lipstick in Cabernet. This is a gorgeous deep fall red. I'm not sure if this will match me, but it is a colour I would love to have the confidence to pull off. Full size.

UPDATE: Something in this lipstick causes an allergic reaction on my daughter's skin. I tried it out, saw it doesn't match my skin tone, and teased my daughter by leaving kiss marks on her belly. The rash was very mild, and cleared fast.

Pacifica 7 free nail colour in red red wine. Lovely packaging! I'm drowning in nail place polish, so I'll likely gift this to keep my makeup in one room of the house ;) full size.

Mitchell and Peach Floral no. 1 hand cream. This smells just like a hotel hand lotion, and feels similar. 30 mL.

Nourish organic face cleanser in cucumber and watermelon. True to its name, I can't smell anything. Organic and moisturizing. I'll add this to my shower. Size unspecified. 

Be a bombshell smooth criminal powder. This was the product I was excited about and true to BaB, I can't get it out of the box. I look forward to trying this. 4 g.

Cost of this bag $11 plus $4.95 shipping. I'm not feeling rewarded with goodies this month, but I did get a staple and a fun product. If I have time, I'll go back and update the prices, I feel like the value is higher than what I paid. If you want to try Ipsy, please use my link. 

Glamour Doll Eyes OTM September

Wow! I'm so happy with this month! 

Seeing the rainbow in the adorable bag made me think this was going to be awesome. 

First, the colour is "never be royals" described as a light blue with sheer orange overlay/duo chrome. To me, it actually looks liliac. I can't see the duo chrome in the jar, but perhaps once I get it on. 

Second, glitter! I've fallen for glitter, and want to get a few more. This one is beautiful. Called "unicorn tears" made of silver, pink, purple and blue in .004 and .008 hex. 

Third, Glitter Fix! I've been waiting for this to come back in stock (and it will October 15th) and I'm so happy to have a "mini" of my own! I'm going to be using this today. 

Lastly and in theme Unicorn candy. 

Love this month! I think I paid $6 plus $8 shipping to Canada, and I will gladly get this again if my budget allows. I have one more month on my subscription.