2015 Update

I've been really lacking in my blog posts for this entire year, but 2015 has been a little bit crazy. As mentioned before, we traveled to the Dominican in January for a week. In March we took possession of our new house. In April we decided spur of the moment to take a trip to California (we booked our flight/hotel on a Monday afternoon and hopped on a plane Thursday morning - I'll write a post about that at some point).  In June we adopted an 11-month old miniature dachshund named Jax. At the beginning of July we adopted a 3 year old shepherd-cross named Magoo (#adoptdontshop). At the end of July my best friend got married in the mountains. We still have a 10-day trip to the Maritimes happening this year. And we have booked a trip to Florida in January (which is technically 2016, but all of the planning is being completed in 2015). Not to mention all of the concerts, sporting events and festivals we have attended. It's been a busy year! The fall is shaping up to be much quieter though, and I look forward to spending some time updating this blog!

xoxo,
Fallon

Memebox Blackout Box

I placed a huge order on the Memebox website on November 13th, which ended up being my last order ever with them. Shortly after that, they announced that they would no longer be shipping internationally, only to Korea and the US. Sad for me, happy for my bank account!

This is the blackout box - which I have absolutely no idea why I purchased it. I have never had an issue with blackheads or bad skin, but I sometimes just couldn't help myself when I went on the Memebox website...

Since I actually received this box in December 2014, almost 8 months ago, I no longer have the product card, so I had to google search images to find a clear picture to remind myself of what these products are...

Value: $25.99 (but I used all of my points plus had a promo code for placing an order over $200, so I actually only paid $18.70 for this box - and my total order ended up being MUCH less than $200)

Memebox has the best information cards! Too bad I threw most of them away when we moved....

Hair Color Keeper

This is a shampoo designed for colour-treated hair, which mine is not right now. I haven't dyed my hair in well over a year, so this isn't much use to me. It is made with sunflower seed extracts, argan oil and babassu seed oil to keep your hair silky and moisturized.

Size: 300mL (full size)

Value: $42

Honest Clinic - Black Hole Spot

This is a nighttime acne spot treatment. The directions sound a little scary to me - if you get any of this gel on a non-problematic spot it can cause reddening. How freaking strong is this stuff? I actually found this the other day while I was unpacking a box (yes, after 5 months in the new house we haven't even come close to being unpacked yet...) - maybe I'll make L try it sometime, he occasionally gets breakouts?

Value: $26

B&Soap Black Block

That thing on the right is a giant block of charcoal, rosemary and olive oil soap. I've always known that charcoal is actually very effective in removing impurities from the skin - but again, not an issue I've ever had. Also - the instructions on the product card for this say to create a lather in your hands and then rub the foam on your face. Even using this every single day, this brick of soap would last FOREVER! I'm sure I must know someone who would appreciate something like this?

Value: $24

TosoWoong Blackhead Nose Pack

These are basically just Korean versions of Biore nose strips.

Value: $6 for a box of 8

This Memebox had a total of 4 items, with a combined value of $98 - but I feel that price is quite overinflated - who pays $42 for a bottle of shampoo? I might as well have just tossed the money I spent on this box into the trash, I won't (and haven't) used a single item. Oh well, live and learn.

xoxo,

Fallon

Lip Factory November/December 2014

After a few month hiatus from blogging, I'm back! We'll see how regularly I can get back to posting again...

I haven't taken any pictures of subscription boxes I've received in the past few months, but I did have a bunch of posts from boxes I received in 2014 in draft stages with pictures already uploaded - I will try and get a few more of those posted - if you're interested in a box it's not a bad idea to see what they've sent in the past!

The November and December Lip Factory boxes shipped together, and since I'm not the best at signing online to subscription box websites I had no idea why. Turns out this ended up being the last box they ever shipped (I cancelled shortly after this when I started my big purge of all subscriptions so I wasn't expecting a January box to arrive). This was, in my opinion, one of the better ones out there, I was always impressed by the high dollar value of the products that showed up in Lip Factory.

Cost: $26/month US

This box was PACKED due to them combining two months into one.

EcoLips Ecotints in Rose Quartz - full size 0.15g

I received the Sugar Plum version of this in the July Lip Factory and I was a fan. This colour is even better than that one, and it has been used many, many times in the months after receiving this box (although I believe it has since been lost?)

Value: $4.49

Pari lipstick in Ballet Flats

Very pretty, very pale pink. I had a hard time finding their website, the only site I could find that sold it had prices listed in Euros.

Value: $20.88 (14.50Euro)

Supercute Lip Gloss
I can't find any information for this company online (you try doing a google search for "Supercute Lipgloss" - it just brings up a bunch of cute packaging for different brands). I don't love this type of lip gloss, so I passed it on to someone else.
Value: $3? $5? I wouldn't personally pay any more than that...

Color Club nail polish

This colour is gross. It went straight into the gift pile, and ended up travelling to the Dominican where I gave it away. 

Value: $8.50

Bellapierre Cosmetics lipstick in Catwalk

I have no idea what they add, but any Bellapierre lipstick I have received from a subscription box has a very sweet smell to it (not waxy or gross like other lipsticks). This isn't my favourite colour I own by this brand, but it's definitely the most daytime friendly colour I own by them.

Value: $19.99

J.Cat Twist and Kiss Hydrating Lip Balm in Secret Kiss

Another J-Cat beauty product I'm a big fan of! This isn't quite a full coverage lipstick, but it does have a lot of colour for a balm. I like these twist-up crayon type things, and this one goes on very smoothly.

Value: $4.99

Teeez Golden Glow Lipgloss in Desert Lilly

I love the packaging of the products Teeez makes. I was aware of this company before receiving this (I believe Topbox has sent out nail polishes before?), but I did not keep this.

Value: $26.35 ($20USD)

Mirabella Velvet Lip Pencil in Sweet and Rose

Love these! The colour of Rose is a very bright pink which works really well on my skin tone. Sweet is a colour most people would be able to pull off daily, it's a much lighter pink. These glide on so smoothly, and the colour stays vibrant for hours! I would never pay the website asking price of $25/each, but I ever saw these on sale for $10, I wouldn't hesitate in snapping up a few of the other colours!

Value: $25/each = $50

Be A Bombshell Eyeshadow in Dancing Queen

I really like any of the products I've tried from this company, but I just don't wear eyeshadow enough to justify keeping this one. It has already been passed along to someone who will get more use out of it than me. Also - who pays that much money for a single thing of eye shadow!?

Value: $14

Makeup remover towel

I need to find this, I know I packed it before the move. It would have been perfect to take on one of our trips this year! I use the disposable makeup remover wipes almost daily, it'd be nice to start using a more sustainable option. I would love to pick up more of these, but I can't seem to find them online :(

Value: $3?

The November-December combined box had 11 items with a combined total value of $157.20 (don't forget I totally guessed on the price for 2 of the items!). This was incredible value, considering I paid $52USD (or about $60 based on exchange rates last November/December when I paid for it). It's been about 8 months since I received this box, and only 3 of the items were not kept for myself.

xoxo,

Fallon

PS - Don't forget to follow me over on Instagram!

2015 in 2015

So, I realize it's already almost a full four months into the year, making me a little late to this party, but I have decided to jump on the challenge of ridding your life of 2015 things in 2015 (as found here). When a friend first mentioned it to me a few days ago, I thought it was insane! No way would I ever be able to part with that many things in a single calendar year, I like my stuff too much! But then last night, while staring at my new walk-in closet that is overflowing with clothes, I realized it wouldn't be such a terrible idea to at least attempt it.

Once I got over the initial shock of how big the number 2015 is, I started thinking about how many things have already been donated/trashed/given away/taken to consignment this year, and was pleasantly surprised, mainly because of moving. 

I want my total to be as accurate as possible at the end of the year, so here are my best estimates at the number thus far:

- I took an entire full-sized suitcase to the Dominican full of clothes which I gave to L's step-dad's sisters. I estimate 50 items of clothing there.

- I also took brand new makeup and new/slightly used nail polish to the Dominican, another 15 items.

- I tossed a bunch of old makeup that was well past it's expiration, another 20 items.

- L and I tossed at least 50 old magazines. Why did I think I needed to keep a copy of a MacLeans magazine from 2011?

- While preparing to move, we made it a priority to use up as many open things as possible - shampoo, conditioner, etc. Why we had so many half-full bottles was beyond me, but we were able to finish off ~20 items 

- I attended a clothing swap where I took 20 items. All of the items which were not claimed by anyone at the end went into one giant bag, which was donated. It's not something I'm going to track all the time, but I was very proud of myself leaving that party - I only brought home 4 new items (one of which is a pair of snowpants - something I did not own).

- Most of our furniture went to the eco-station when we moved - the couch, tables, chairs, a box spring, old CD racks etc. We bought new furniture for the new house, but it was needed. I'll say 30 items in total went to the eco-station during that time.

- My mom went through a stack of my clothes before I took them to consignment, and ended up taking 8 items.

- Two bags of clothes and shoes (mainly L's) were dropped off for donation - another 40 items

- A friend gets first dibs on the makeup from my subscription boxes I don't want, so she ended up with 5 items last time she went through it.

- We tossed a lot of things while packing - I'll estimate 150 things - old paystubs and paperwork no longer needed, broken items which had found a home under the beds/couches, etc. 

- While packing, the cats decided they didn't like the chaos, so they peed in a box - there goes that stuff into the garbage! Sorry old purses and set of curtains... (counted in the 150 above)

- I love consignment! Especially facebook consignment - the company has no overhead cost of renting a store space so they are able to keep the costs of the clothing lower - which means more of my things sell! Plus anyone with a facebook account can buy the items, so mommys can shop while their babies have their nap! I dropped off two large totes at consignment at the end of February filled with ~100 items of clothing. Some of these items will be coming back when I close out with them next week, but they will eventually be donated to Goodwill or taken along to the next clothing swap I attend.

- L and I went through our DVD collections and found all of the ones we had duplicates of. 24 DVD's went to consignment with my clothes in February.

So even though I am starting this challenge four full months late, I already have over 530 items checked off! I really like that you can interpret an "item" however you see fit, and trust me, I'll be counting everything.

Let me know in the comments if you've ever attempted anything like this before, and how you did with it! Or, feel free to join me now, and let me know you're on board! Let's keep each other honest and on track!

xoxo,
Fallon

Lip Monthly March 2015

I believe this is it - the last Lip Monthly bag I'll be receiving. After 8 months, it has never once wowed me (although I did get a few products I've liked and will continue to use). 

Ugh, the ugly blue bag has returned. This will head straight into the get-out-of-my-house pile.

Hurray for all the natural light we get in our house! It makes my pictures turn out so much better :)

Product card

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish in Mighty Mango

Meh, generic drug-store brand nail polish does not excite me at all. 

Value: $3? 

Jordana Easyshine Glossy Lip Colour in Raspberry

This is decent, especially for the price! It's fairly sheer, it just adds a pinkish shine to your lips. I don't know if I've ever heard of this brand before here in Canada?

Value: $1.99

J.Cat - The Big Lip Pencil in Caramel Mocha

I've generally liked every J.Cat item I've tried up to this point. This colour isn't really my style, but it goes on very smoothly! I just wish shipping costs directly from their website to Canada was cheaper, I have my eye on so many of their products :(

Value: $3.99

Hikari Lipstick in Crush

Love, love love! This is by far my favourite item in the March Lip Monthly! It's very pink, and oh so pretty!

Value: $13

The total value of this bag is $21.98, which is only slightly more than the ~$17 I paid, and the Hikari Lipstick alone is 60% of that value. Like I mentioned up above, I did receive a few decent products and became exposed to a few new brands through this subscription, but I'm not sad to see my time with them come to an end. Peace out Lip Monthly!

xoxo,

Fallon

Lip Monthly November 2014

I, along with a lot of other people have had issues with Lip Monthly's subscription, although I do find their products have been getting better. I prepaid for 4 months (August-November) and then it renewed for another 4 months before I was able to cancel, so March will be my last Lip Monthly.

I'm so happy they finally started switching up their bags, I hated the design of the blue one I received during the first few months of my subscription.

City Colour White Gold Shadow and Highlight Mousse - $5.99

This is so pretty! It's a light, creamy light-catching shimmery mousse. You can build layers of this to get the exact colour you want, I've used it a few times on the inner corners of my eye and it's gorgeous! I've actually liked everything I've tried from City Color, I just wish they didn't charge $25 shipping to Canada from their website :( 

Hikari Lipstick in Cabaret - $13

Love this colour! I haven't used it yet, other than to swatch it on my hand, but it's such a pretty bright pink. 

Ofra Lip Liner in Orchid - $13

I don't use lip liner very often, but I think this colour will actually work with the two lipsticks included in the bag this month!

NYC Expert Last Lipstick in Berry Me - $1.99

For being a cheap drug-store brand, this is actually really nice! 

Crown Lip Brush - $3

I don't think you can ever have enough brushes, and I love getting them in subscription boxes! I'm not sure if I'll ever use this for my lips, but it won't be wasted!

The total value of this bag was $36.98, which is decent considering I paid about $17-$18 after the exchange rate. This was actually one of the better months for Lip Monthly, I received this bag over 4 months ago and have actually kept everything. But, I'm still not renewing, 8 months with this company is more than enough - their customer service is terrible. From reading other reviews, I guess a lot of these items were included in previous ipsy bags which were sent before I signed up with them so that's a negative for some people, but everything was new to me so I was happy!

xoxo,

Fallon

Topbox Men's Stocking Stuffer

This arrived almost four months ago, so naturally it's time to post it... Seeing as how I have cancelled almost all of my subscriptions (there's just a few hanging on that I can't bring myself to let go) I should be able to catch up someday...

This was the second year Topbox offered a men's box before Christmas, and after seeing the success of the first one I knew I had to pick one up for L. These things sold out insanely quick this time, within a few hours they were all gone. In 2013 there were a few more things included in the box, and it cost $39. For the 2014 men's box the cost was only $19! So cheap! 

I knew this wouldn't last until Christmas, so L opened it as soon as it arrived (even though we both knew exactly what was going to be in it).

This was packaged in a mesh bag (which you can opt into on the regular monthly Topbox as well in place of the cardboard tube).

Eau de Toilette samples 

Azzaro Pour Homme

Mont Blanc Legend

I didn't place a price value on these, since you can get them for free if you ask at a beauty counter (like at the Bay). L has tried out both of these though, and they are both really nice!

Bioderma Atoderm Gentle Shower Gel - 100mL

Value: $5? I had a hard time finding this for purchase online in Canada

I honestly don't know if L has used this or not? I don't know where half of our stuff is since the move, so it's very possible this is still shoved in a random box somewhere in our house.

Epic Blend Lip Balm - Hemp Coconut and Hemp Citrus Kick

Value: $3.49/each

I had previously received the Grape Epic Blend lip balm in a subscription box (I think it was Topbox actually) and I loved it. These smell amazing and feel great on your lips.

Bread and Butter Daily Face Shave Gel (x2)

Bread and Butter Daily Face Cleanser

Value: $35 for a 3 piece set

These three things alone are almost double the cost of this entire Topbox! L had received this shave gel in the 2013 Men's Holiday Topbox, and he was a big fan of it.

The total value of this was about $47, plus the two eau de toilette samples, which is a great value considering it only cost $19! I wish Topbox would offer a men's box more frequently, I would be all over that!

xoxo,

Fallon