Giveaway! $10 JewelMint giftcard

I recently used JewelMint's 2 for the price of one code ($29.99) and got some of the best pieces i've ever owned. I love these two items and I wear them almost daily even though they are statement pieces (there are also more simple things on the site for those of you that prefer that.)

While this is a monthly subscription service, you can skip each month (or cancel if you would like!) before the 5th of each month. Otherwise you will get charged a credit in your account for $29.99 to spend on the site in whichever way you which. This is expensive for one piece of jewelry, but luckily there are always codes and coupons going around! So here is a $10 gift card for one of my lucky readers to try out this service :)

US citizens only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beauty Box Challenge

I was reading Pammy Blogs Beauty's recent post  and I think her idea is fabulous and I am hopping on the train. I have been on a project pan/low buy since the middle of January. It has been going well (the low buy part) but it is just taking me FOREVER to use up products. And i'm realizing that I may not have a big enough library to do this to myself, considering I only have a few shadows (all browns...). I'm getting bored!

I canceled Birchbox, Ipsy and BeautyArmy last month so I didn't receive any of these this month. Pammy decided to use her budget that she would have spent on her Glossybox ($21) and instead spend it on products she considers "core," or essential to her everyday makeup collection. Whatever she doesn't spend for that month rolls over into next month's budget.

If I were to do this with my canceled beauty boxes my budget would be $32. However, I AM still on a low buy, so this seems to high. And I skipped beautyarmy the month before so I don't consider this a box that I would have spend that much on monthly anyway. So I'm giving myself a budget of $25.

Unlike Pammy I am not going to include shipping in my budget, since she was buying things in store and I do not have a car, so I do have to buy things online. However shipping still sucks and I am usually tempted to get above $50 to get free shipping...so this budget will make me stay under that limit (unless shipping is somehow $25 and I should just pay the $50...which I can't imagine it ever would be).

So I will be including this month in my challenge....and this is what I bought!

Sally Hansen Maximum Growth and polish in Green With Envy: I Paid $10.50 for these but got $5 in CVS bucks back (which I will probably spend on food...so i'm not going to count that as part of my budget). So I spent $5.50 then.


Cargo Safari 2011 Collection: I got this for $9.95 on Ruelala (I had a $20 referral credit so I just paid the ~$10 for shipping.


Total spent for March: $15.45
Budget rolling over to April: $10.55
Total budget for April makeup spending: $35.55


Seeing as how I spent so little this month (i'm very proud of myself!) I most likely will not spend the entire $35.55 in April. BUT TheBalm is having their 50% off EVERYTHING sale staring at midnight tonight...so we'll see :)

Season's Box - February 2013

Hi everyone! I'm really excited to be posting this review because I actually won a giveaway for it, and an additional 2 months of the subscription. So I will be getting my March box in a few days to show you as well!

www.Seasonbox.com says that "Each box is uniquely curated with luxurious eco-friendly FULL SIZE seasonal must-have products." 

And it costs $34.90 after shipping. I believer you can skip months as well...and you can usually skip them after you've seen what will be in the box (it's not a surprise, but at least you know if it's worth your money beforehand).

Kaia Naturals Bamboo Facial Cleansing Clothing 30 pack. Value = $17.99

- I use cleansing wipes every night. So i'm happy to try another pack/brand.


Bambu Earth Sugar Cookie Body Glow. Value = $18.00

- This smells awesome! It smells like a cupcake!


Dream organics Rose Water. Value = $22.00

- I don't know how I'll feel about this...I HATE rose...so we'll see. But i've heard that rose water is extremely good for you in a variety of ways.


Galerie Au Chocolat Fair Trade Bar in feufire (this has cardamon in it I believe.) Value = $5.00

- I was really hoping for their Cappuccino flavor :( But I'm just happy this didn't melt in our Texas heat!


Perfume Essence Aromatherapy Spa and Bath Shower Bombs. Value = $2.50

- Won't be using this just yet...unless I can figure out how to use it as a shower bomb...I don't have a tub!

The total value of this months Season's Box is $64.59. 

March Indie Gift Box - Squeaky Clean Edition

This was my first Indie Gift Box! It's a themed box that you can choose to buy every month (no subscription required) that send out products from Etsy shops.

So this is what I got!

4 oz bar of soap in pomegranate

probiotic deodorant

two small perfume jars (same scent). Probably has about .2 oz in each? they are super strong though since they're made from real oils

2oz of bubble gum scented lotion (kind of strange but I like it)

a full size lip balm in pink frosted cupcake

and 3 face wash mitts that are made of...knitting yarn?!?! I'm unsure of this one. Does anyone know how to use this?

Overall I liked this box. The value came out to $27 and I paid $26 including shipping. I don't know how often I would order an Indie Gift Box...it depends on the theme and how many products are included (you can usually tell because they will list the shops that are included in each box).

Have any of you had experience with Indie Gift Boxes?

Project Pan Update

Alright, I'm back with an update on my Project Pan. I've been on an extreme low buy, and a NO buy of cosmetics of skincare products! I had originally planned on buying myself an item after I had finished 10 products (including samples), but now i'm realizing how much I really have! I need to save money and decrease my stash! So this is what I have finished in the last two months.

1. Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel. I got this as a free sample from the company (I signed up through their site awhile back). This wasn't my favorite, it's unscented (and one of my favorite thing about products are the scents) and didn't foam very well. It'd be great for sensitive skin but I didn't have a need for it. I also don't break out so I've never actually NEEDED face wash, just some warm water. I ended up using half of this product to clean my makeup brushes instead.

2. Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz-Free Hair Cream. I really liked this product. It smells like coconut and I noticed a difference if I used it before straightening my hair. I'm not sure how much better it works than other similar products but I would buy this again if it was on sale.

3. Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange Body Butter. I really didn't like anything about this. I got it in my January Ipsy and it smelled like a synthetic strawberry banana smoothie. It also didn't do anything for me moisture-wise. I have dry skin and this didn't make the cut.

 4. L'Occitane Almond Oil Shower Oil. This is the first time i've tried a shower oil. It wasn't bad but I didn't like the smell, it wasn't almond...it was more aromatherapy. And I prefer fruity body products.
5. KTO Kelly Teagarden Organics Rose and Cucumber Eye Cream. I didn't finish this, I barely used any at all in the year I owned it. It didn't absorb into my skin and just sat on top of it and I had to blot away excess cream.
6. DermaE Anti Aging Eye Cream. i didn't finish this either. I had it for a year and it just would NOT ever end. I never did like the smell (smells like some kind of weird plastic) and since it has been a year I decided to toss it. I read somewhere that you shouldn't have eye cream for longer than 6 months.

 7. ELF Cream eyeliner in midnight. I didn't even get to USE this. It completely dried up just sitting in it's case. Which is weird because the silver one I bought at the same time is just fine.
8. Stila Smudge Stick in Purple Tang. I LOVE smudge sticks. They're my HG liners. Unfortunately I got this in a trade and the case was cracked. So I used it two times before the whole think dried out :(. I do love the pencil though and will find another one to replace it eventually.
9. The Balm What's Your Type? Black Mascara. I loved this mascara, unfortunately after 3 months of using it it started irritating my eyes. Usually I can get a good 6 months use out of mascara but this one just wouldn't have it.

10. CVS makeup wipes. These were good, and a good price. I'd buy them again.
11. 5 Perfume samples. I liked Juicy La Fluer but wouldn't buy it. I didn't like Coach...it smelled like rose. and Escada was way too sweet. The two Cartier Vole's I used as room sprays since they weren't my style.



That's all for now! hopefully I'll be back in another month with more empties!