Category Archives: Fashionista

For the times I feel fancy …. that may be few and far between!

November’s Dottie Box

Posted in Crafty, Fashionista by

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November’s Dottie Box came this weekend and I felt a little surge of excitement as I opened it up. I was enjoying things from the previous month’s box and I kept thinking about the fact that I would probably never have heard about them or even think to use them if it hadn’t been for this box.

After briefly admiring the packaging I opened up the box to find this month’s haul.

20141108_092759The first thing I opened up was the Lillian Eve Royal Affair nail polish. On the site it says it’s a blue hue but this looked greenish blue to me when I put it on my nail. I don’t usually use nail polish, except once in a while on my toes, so I gave this one to my sister.

According to their website, “Lillian Eve was born from a simple love of color and a desire for that color to have as little impact on our health as possible. It’s what drives each creative individual who makes up our little family.”  I thought it was nice that they are 100% American made and practice buying local.

Each polish costs $12.00, which I’m guessing is a bit on the pricey side for a nail polish. But, if you’re conscious of the things they stand for then it might be worth it.

20141108_092843Next in the box was a Crocheted Coffee Cozy from The Cozy Project, one of those things that I’d probably never buy for myself but that I could find use for. Now that it’s cold and I’m driving to the train station instead of biking, I try to take a cup of tea with me for my train ride, so this will come in handy. It has a very fall look to it, I’ll be sure to enjoy 🙂

I haven’t tried it yet (at the time of this writing), but there was chocolate from Cacao 7, a company that prides itself in making organic, nutritive, diet and diabetic friendly chocolates. I’m skeptical, but I have decided that I would keep it as a prize – hopefully it’s a good one – for when I double up my NaNoWriMo word count (which means 15k words more at the time of this writing).

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Finally, I opened up the Warm Vanilla Sugar Body Butter by Botanical Bars. I am not certain that this is a 100% homemade product – it seems to be made with lotion (from their etsy shop), and on the site it does have a list that looks like the ingredients found in the lotion in my bathroom right now – but since I use regular lotion I do want to give this one a try, see how different it is.

Did I mention that the smell is wonderful? The vanilla is strong with this one. I sort of want to spoon it out for eating.

If they are anything to write home about, I’ll be talking about them again in a month like I did with the last.

 

~*~

One month later …

Posted in Crafty, Fashionista by

Last month I got my very first subscription box! It was a box of handpicked, homemade, delights and as a person who likes supporting artists and their works I thought that I might enjoy the monthly goodies.

Now it’s one month after my first box, one month to use the products and form my opinions and I have to say, surprisingly, I still love pretty much everything!

20141016_211120I’m still using my Voodoo Colour Balm from Black Widow Balm. I did notice that, since the weather got colder, it’s a little harder – most likely due to the ingredients in the lip balm, but a few rubs and it’s back to a nice consistency. I love the colour and I love that it seems to stay on – something other colour lip balms haven’t been doing for me. I have really dry skin and when the weather turns it gets worse, however, I have found that if I am consistent with using this balm that it soothes the cracks.

Surprisingly I’m still using the Lip Balm Holder from Gabriel’s Good Tidings. This isn’t something I’d purchase for myself – I still don’t feel like I would if I ever lost it or had to replace it, but time will tell. However, having received it in the box along with lip balm I find that I’m using it more that I would have thought. Often it’s easy to clip onto my bag strap for easy access and because mine is so bright if I leave it in my bag it’s easy to spot it between the other things I carry around all day. I can see this and the lip balm making really cute stocking stuffers this year.

One thing that I wasn’t sure I’d use but I am absolutely loving is, Not A Dirty Hippie’s Chamomile and Lemongrass Shampoo Bar. First of all, the smell of this bar makes me think of carefree summer days and beautiful blue skies. It’s super easy to use and leaves my hair feeling clean. I use an apple cider vinegar rinse afterwards and I absolutely love the way it makes my curls look. I’m glad I used this, I will be frequenting this store a lot in the future.

Finally, Plain J Body and Home’s Soy Candle, I rarely use candles, but when I do I like them to leave the air with a lasting, but not overwhelming, scent. I used this for the first time a few days ago and I love it! Definitely a great gift for any candle loving friend of yours.

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A box a month …

Posted in Fashionista by

I’ve been eyeing the subscription boxes for a while now and recently I took the plunge. This month I got my first box!

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The Dottiebox came beautifully wrapped with handmade goodies from independent vendors that I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise.

The first thing I opened was the Black Widow Tinted Balm, which is made with familiar ingredients whose names I can pronounce. I like that it’s a little on the dark side, it goes well with my lips.

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The next thing to open was Gabriel’s Good Tiding’s Lip Balm Holder – the lip balm fit perfectly. I didn’t know I needed one until I opened this up. For me this makes perfect sense as I never find my lip balms and I have very dry skin and lips all year round. I can’t tell you how many lip gloss/balms I’ve bought only to find two stashed away at the bottom of my purse afterwards.

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Also in the box were Not a Dirty Hippie’s solid shampoo bar. I didn’t open this up because I’m doing the no-poo thing, but reading the ingredients on the site I might use it. The reason I stopped using shampoo was because of the chemicals, and since all the ingredients in this bar looks familiar to me, I think it would be OK to use.

There was also an Apples and Maple Bourbon Soy candle from Plain J Body and Home which smells delicious.

It’s only one box but I really like it so far. I’m excited to see what they will send in November!

Things I’m Loving

Posted in Bookish, Fashionista, Media, Social Media by

Lately there have been a few things that I was introduced to that I’ve been loving, so I thought I’d share!

modcloth lace hoodie

First, I was YouTube binging and came across a Lauren Fairweather video where she talked about her Etsy shop branding and a giveaway featuring this lovely hoodie. I hopped on to Mod Cloth right away, found it and ordered it. I absolutely love this hoodie! I wish there was a way I could incorporate it into every outfit. I’m seriously considering getting the grey and berry versions of it as well.

During the YouTube bing I found Carrie Hope Fletcher whose videos are both hilarious and thoughtful. Carrie also plays Eponine on West End’s Les Miserables and in a lot of her videos she says things that I’ve been thinking about/saying for a very long time.

After watching Carrie’s videos I saw one with her and her brother Tom, which lead me to his channel and to this video, which is a cover done by him and his wife of Love Is On The Radio a song from Tom’s band McFly – who is now joining with Busted to form a new superband. Busted sang Year 3000, which was covered by The Jonas Brothers and I believed featured in a cartoon movie.

So, basically I’ve been listening to McFly songs, the above included. I love their style, and am definitely curious to see how the McBusted style plays out.

I absolutely loved reading this book. One of my faves of the year so far. I reviewed it over on my book blog so I won’t go into the details but I’d highly recommend it if you want a strong story about life after war and how it affects family. Also Laurie is a great fiction writer.

Well, that’s it for now, my January faves. 🙂

~*~

My shoes are trying to kill me!

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Has this ever happened to you? You go to the shoe store, purchase a brand new pair of shoes and take it home, only to find that it doesn’t fit like it did in the store?

How about, you go to the shoe store, try on a pair of shoes, walk around a bit, take it home, walk around a bit, wear it the next day, walk around a bit and then half way through the day find that it doesn’t fit and your toes are about to fall off and your heels are raw?

The latter always seems to happen to me.

I’m not entirely sure how this could happen, but I recently bought a pair of shoes – “walking shoes” – I looked at all the reviews online and they all say the same thing, “These shoes run large, buy a size or a size and a half smaller”. I went to the store, tried a half a size smaller and felt it was too snug, so I tried it in my size and it fit, like a glove for my feet*! Excited, I paid for the shoes and took them home.

I wore those shoes for a full day with no problems, but the next day it was like a whole different pair! They were tighter and my heels were rubbed raw.

Now, I’m very confused, I read the reviews and everyone claims that the shoes are an entire size larger than regular shoes, this means they should be falling off my feet, not trying to strangle them. I feel like I landed in the middle of a shoe conspiracy. Were all the reviewers playing a joke on unsuspecting shoe purchasers? Did someone switch my shoes** during lunch? Did I upset the shoe fairy*** and this is her revenge?

But, I’m stubborn, so I’m willing to put up a fight. One of us will win, this war, Shoe, and I’m not going down without a fight!

* I guess those are called toe socks.
** Practical jokers, take note.
*** They do exist. Trust me. *nods*