Just a Dash

Monthly Sample Boxes

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012by SymoneFLeave a Comment

After feeling so good about my Birchbox, loving what I’ve gotten with my Beautybox5 and craving another reasonably priced monthly sample box, I decided to see what else was out there. I’d heard of a few: Testube, Glossybox and Luxe Box by Loose Button in Canada, but I wanted to know more. How many are there? How far does this monthly sampling box idea go? I’d also seen Petitebox which I really wanted to get for a friend but they had suspended subscriptions for a bit. Then today I heard of Wittlebee box.

So I hopped on to Bing 😉 to see what else is out there. I found a link to Beautylish which I recently joined and love their articles. What I was about to read I was not prepared for. One blogger Yasmin K (her Beautylish a/c here) created a list in a response to someone asking about monthly boxes as well. See the response below:

I hope you appreciate the effort that went into screen printing this as I got very frustrated when I realised I couldn’t scroll and select >_< Thanks Apple.

Today I joined the waiting list for Myglam and I was about to try Beauty Army but I don’t like having to choose what I get (even though that’s a good thing) I was hoping to be surprised. I tried Julep before and I thought it was too much money for what I got so I cancelled. I love getting these products even though I’m going to have to look for somewhere to store the ones I haven’t tried as yet but don’t want to throw out either.

I’m also on Shoedazzle, JustFab, Shoemint and Jewelmint. So far I’ve only made purchases on the first two but I’m very close to a purchase on Shoemint. As you can probably guess, Jewelmint and Shoemint are the same so you don’t need to sign up twice just use the account information for whichever one you create first.

Did you see any you want to try?

I think these are amazing. Funny enough my husband just asked if they had any for food and Yasmin pointed out that there are! I’ll see if he wants to try it. He won’t do Birchbox for men because he’s not one for trying different routines or is fussy anyway. All he wants is Old Spice and his cologne. *Sigh*. I hope you found this as helpful as I did and let me know if there are more to be added to the list!

Beauty, Uncategorized

Birchbox Hits

July 15, 2012by SymoneF2 Comments

I’ve just received my 6th Birchbox inspired by Glamour magazine and it had me on a high this morning. I now look forward to it every month because there is at least one product that I really like in it. Last month, it was the Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner that I have been wearing practically every day. You don’t have to go over it twice, it lasts all day and is easy to remove! I never used to wear eyeliner this much but recently I’ve been trying to add a little umph to my face. A little eyelid primer, eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss. Some days I’d use the Maybelline BB Cream over my sunblock and moisturizer if I want to look a little more finished but it’s definitely not a staple like the others.

Back to Birchbox! This eyeliner is what made me really look forward to this month’s box as none of the other boxes were pulling me in and I was actually contemplating canceling it. Then Glamour teamed up with Birchbox for one of my best boxes ever. I’ve been wanting to try Stila products but I never remember to get one product to test when I go shopping for make-up and if I don’t see the sign for it, I’m definitely going to pass it. I received a lip glaze in Camera and immediately tried it on. I loved it – not sticky and you don’t have to use a lot. I want to try this set next.

The small bottle next to the Stila lipglaze is a Harvey Prince perfume sample appropriately called Hello that had me feeling like I was floating. It smells amazing! And it boosted my mood so much I just felt like I was on an emotional high. I can’t find the little paper packaging it came in but it did say something about them adding an ingredient to boost your mood. Well it sure worked; I HAVE to get this perfume! It’s definitely a summery scent – not heavy, a hint of flowers with a fruity edge but it would last all day.

It could have just been that I was very excited about this box but the earbuds made me want to go in the gym! I love the colors and Glamour even created a playlist on Spotify for you to listen to. I still have to listen to it (got a little busy after unwrapping) but I’m hoping I’ll have a few to songs that I can add to my gym playlist.

I’ve also been finding different uses for the box after I empty it to add a little organization to what could have been little messes all over. As you can see below, I used my label maker to mark what goes into each box. It’s been a life saver and I haven’t had to go out and buy little containers! If you want to try Birchbox click here. They’re only $10 a month including shipping and they just introduced boxes for men! For my 6 “montheversary” gift I got 20% off a full-size product $25+ which I used to purchase Benefit’s POREfessional (I don’t have big pores but I want to try this product). So go ahead and give it a try, you never know what’s coming and maybe you’ll stumble upon a product that may change your life! 🙂

Life, Uncategorized

Marriage & Success

July 11, 2012by SymoneF4 Comments

In marriage, the little things that seem insignificant, count.

Some people define a successful union by the material things that the couple has managed to accumulate. They’re wrong. Money doesn’t buy happiness. It can’t. It can buy a thrill for the moment but what happens after?

As you may be aware of by now, I’m a housewife. My husband brings home the bacon (but I actually buy it). My mornings consist of getting ready to take him to work and run errands and doing breakfast (most days) and if I’m not having a lazy day, a little tidying up before we leave. But what really puts the icing on the cake is the drive to and from work. We have one car, and after this morning, a second may seem like a nice idea but it’s definitely not a priority.

We’re preparing for a move in less than two weeks and I am trying to get things done around here that when the day comes, I’m not too stressed out and it’ll be a smooth transition. Today, I have a lot I would like to accomplish, so I told him to take the car as he’ll be meeting a friend later and there was no sense in me driving back and forth all day. Well I wish I didn’t do that. After he left, I was just pacing. I saw things that I wanted to work on, even made notes, but I just paced. Then as I decided to go into the shower, he called. My heart almost skipped a beat but this was a good one. I wanted to call him but not while he was driving.

“I don’t want two cars. I feel a lonely. I miss you”

” 😦 I miss you too! Do you have a meeting? Can you turn around?”

“Yes I do. I can’t.”

“… I feel bad, I want to drive you to work now. I’ve been pacing. It won’t happen again. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye”

Three years of marriage in September, 11 years as a couple in October. Through thick and thin, break-ups and make-ups, highs and very lows, we still can’t stand to be without the other. Car rides are our backbone. I used to wonder if he was using me as a chauffeur since he’d be either sleeping or responding to emails and messages while I drove but he’s not. Our best jokes, arguments, rants, sincerest conversations happen in the car. It’s our spot. It’s where our best communication occurs. We don’t need an extra car. Not now at least. And when kids come in the future, I’m sure we’ll make it work somehow.

Yes, we’d like to live comfortably and be able to travel whenever but it’s your relationship that matters more than anything. If we had the house with two cars and had to schedule time to see each other, I’m sure we’d be not anywhere near as happy as we are now. We’re young. We’re able to try out a high-rise building before we buy a house. Able to take trips together (we hate flying alone as well) and just be each other’s company. We don’t need words to communicate, one look says it all. The support we share for each other coupled with the fact that we know what we want/need from the other, minus the material things… I’d say we’re pretty successful.

11 years and I’m far from bored with him. I’d say we’re just getting started. 🙂