Boxy Charm Review - November

Boxy Charm time!

After deciding to cut back on some of my beauty boxes this month (bye bye Starbox and Lip Factory), Boxy Charm still made the cut. It always has a fantastic value and I am hoping I continue to love it!

This box is $21.00 a month with free shipping and is a “beauty box subscription that surprises you each month with the best beauty products from popular and chic brands. Each box contains full size and luxury size beauty samples from preferred well-known brands.” They aim to cover a whole look from makeup to nails, which I really like. 

The theme is “Sparkle and Shine” which is strangely very close to the theme of this month’s Ipsy bag.  Coincidence?

Here is the November Boxy Charm!  

1)      MicaBeauty Eye Primer  –  .3 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Ok, you have got to be kidding me with that price.  Would anyone seriously pay that?  There 

are several very reputable brands that offer eye primers for muuucchhh cheaper.  My favorite 

one, from MAC, is less than half that price! So, this is a bust for me.  I just can’t even get  

past the full price.

Full Size: $44.95 My Value: $44.95

2)      OFRA Pressed Blush in “Paradise Pink” – .28 oz.  (FULL SIZE)

First of all, this blush is HUGE.  I can’t decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing.  It certainly won’t fit in my “day to day” makeup case, that’s for sure.  I guess the good thing is, you definitely get your moneys worth!  Unfortunately, this color is just too bright for me.  I look much better in peach and rose colors.

Full Size: $24.95 My Value: $24.95

3)   Tarina Tarantino Eyelicity Glitter Liner in “Glitter Mist” – .17 oz.  (FULL SIZE)

My second glitter eye liner this month….wah wah.  This really isn’t my thing, or at least any more.  I was addicted to this stuff back in high school! I’m not really sure I will be getting any use out of this one.

Full Size: $16.00 My Value: $16.00

4)   Kevin.Murphy Color.Bug in “White” – .17 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Ok this seems like it could be a really fun product, especially since it seems so easy to use.  My only complaint is the color….who in the world wants to color their hair white?!? Unless I guess you were going for the look of Rogue from X-Men. This is definitely a bust.

Full Size: $25.00 My Value: $25.00

5)   bellapierre Shimmer Powder in “Reluctance”– 2.35 g. (FULL SIZE)

If you can’t tell from the picture, this is a shimmer green color.  I have used several of their shimmer powders and I love them.  I think all of the colors I have used though are neutral, some I curious to see what one with some color looks like on! Hopefully it is still pretty subtle.

Full Size: $14.99 My Value: $14.99

Final Cost: $21.00

Final Value: $125.89

As always this box has an amazing value! The only problem is, I won’t get much use out of the items, considering I really only liked one of them.  I guess I will get use out of the ridiculously high priced primer as well, so the cost is covered for me.  If the blush and color bug were in different colors I would have loved those as well!

What are your thoughts?

If you’d like to get Boxy Charm, you can sign up here!

(Also, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these fun things! I have not been compensated for this review.)

Coming Soon....

A new teammate to the Dukes Family!

Phew, I can finally let you guys know why the heck I have been slacking so much on the blog.  I have literally been soooooo exhausted!

This Thanksgiving I really have so much to be thankful for. A wonderful family, an amazing husband, an awesome new home and now I get to become a momma!

C and I are super excited and can't wait to have a little one join our family next May.  I'll update you all with more details soon, but that's our big news!

Wedding Day - Bridal Cottage

These are pics from the Bridal Cottage where us girls finished getting ready. It was the cutest little room on the property. I love that they have a set up like this....they even have one for the guys on the other side of the venue!  The best part of this place was the giant fans and the AC. They were definitely needed!

This

Getting the dress on!

Trying not to freak out!

Last minute teeth brushing before the first look!

Ipsy Review - November

Ipsy time!  

One of my favorite times of the month….I love getting this bag in the mail! As I’ve always said, this is the best bag out there, especially for such a low price.  If you are looking to start a beauty subscription, I would definitely try Ipsy first.

The theme of this month’s bag is “Girl Meets Glitter,” which is cute. The back of the little card inside says “Life is short. Wear Glitter.” That makes me smile.  I don’t however see a ton of glitter involved except for the very sparkly bag!

So here it is…the November Ipsy bag!
  

            1)     Be a Bombshell Eye Base in “Submissive” – .09 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            With all the amazing eye bases and/or primers out there these days, this is just not something 

            I can get excited about. I mean, I’ll give it a try, but I don’t have high hopes for it!  I wish it 

            were a bit lighter color, but that’s just personal preference.

            Full Size: $14.00 My Value: $14.00

            2)    Marc Anthony Morocco Argan Oil Hairspray – 1.5 oz.

             It still baffles me that the singer Marc Anthony has a hair care line.  That being said, I really 

             like this! Argan oil is the new thing and to have a hairspray with that in it sounds exciting. 

             It’s the perfect size for travel too!

             Full Size: $8.29 for 9 oz. My Value: $1.38

            3)    Temptu S/B Highlighter in “Pink Pearl” – .1 oz.

             I’ve only used a highlighter once before, so I am curious to try this. Even though the bottle is 

             super tiny, I know that a little goes a long way with this stuff.  Gorgeous cheek bones here I 

             come!

             Full Size: $27.50 for 1 oz. My Value: $2.75

            4)  J.cat Wonder Lip Paint in “Red Potion”  – .33 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            Yuck, this is so not me. I really dislike lip paints for some reason and even if I did, I could 
             never get past this color. Womp womp.

             Full Size: $18.00 for .16 oz. My Value: $5.51

            5)  Elizabeth Mott Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in “Glitterati” – .1 oz. (FULL SIZE)

            I wish I were into glitter, but that was so ten years ago for me!  I do like liquid eyeliners 
            though, so maybe I can make use of this for special occasions.  Hopefully the glitter is not too 
            much.

            Full Size: $17.99 My Value: $17.99

Final Cost: $10.00

Final Value: $41.66

I think this was a pretty decent bag, minus the terrible lip paint!  There are a couple items I will be giving a try to and they are things I normally wouldn’t have if I had to purchase them.  Hopefully they all pleasantly surprise me!

What are your thoughts?

If you’d like to give it a try you can sign up here!

(As always, I swear I’m not a review blog….I just like sharing these things in hopes that other people will get to have the same fun that I do!  I am not compensated in any way.)

Wedding Day - Details Details

Ahhh....so sorry I've been MIA.  I promise I will update more soon.  In the meantime, I am going to try to do several wedding posts (if my computer would hurry up and upload the pics).

Here are some of the smaller detail shots for the day!

Beer Burro....doesn't get much more awesome than this

C showing off his Championship rings

My "princess" horse and carriage

My something blue

Had to add a Spartan for C!

Bon's Book Club - Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

This month’s book for Bon’s Book Club was Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler. I was really not sure what to think of this book and what I did think was waaayyyy off.  History buff I am not :/ I’m not even gonna rehash what I thought it was about because its quite embarrassing. Anywho, here is the description from Amazon:

  “When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the “ungettable” Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isn’t wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame. Her father is deeply unimpressed. But after Scott sells his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to Scribner’s, Zelda optimistically boards a train north, to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and take the rest as it comes.

What comes, here at the dawn of the Jazz Age, is unimagined attention and success and celebrity that will make Scott and Zelda legends in their own time. Everyone wants to meet the dashing young author of the scandalous novel—and his witty, perhaps even more scandalous wife. Zelda bobs her hair, adopts daring new fashions, and revels in this wild new world. Each place they go becomes a playground: New York City, Long Island, Hollywood, Paris, and the French Riviera—where they join the endless party of the glamorous, sometimes doomed Lost Generation that includes Ernest Hemingway, Sara and Gerald Murphy, and Gertrude Stein.

Everything seems new and possible. Troubles, at first, seem to fade like morning mist. But not even Jay Gatsby’s parties go on forever. Who is Zelda, other than the wife of a famous—sometimes infamous—husband? How can she forge her own identity while fighting her demons and Scott’s, too? With brilliant insight and imagination, Therese Anne Fowler brings us Zelda’s irresistible story as she herself might have told it.”

This book was…..meh.  I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it.  I think the story just got a bit long for me.  The beginning of the book, where the two met, was quite interesting and near the end where their troubles really start to go downhill were really the most interesting to me.  The middle was the same thing over and over again. 

It was really interesting to read about historical people that I have heard about, though know really nothing about.  I’m not totally sure that is a good thing though. For example, I have heard of Ernest Hemingway, but really only his name.  Because of this book, I have all sorts of unpleasant ideas about the man he was in my head.  I know the author’s intention was to try to shed some light on Zelda’s side of the story of being married to a famous author, but I’m not sure some of the stories are really true.

If they are true, it’s a tough story to take in.  The poor woman spent her life so unhappy and ended it in a mental institution.  It was so hard to read her struggles and how she felt fine but her husband would complain she wasn’t a good enough wife because she didn’t cook and clean and instead wanted to dance and explore.  Therefore, according to him and the male doctors, she needed to be in an institution to teach her how to be a “good” wife.  All the while he was away in Hollywood cheating on her and living however he wanted to.  Ouch, my heart hurts!

Also, she wanted desperately to be a writer as well, but no one thought she could do it.  She had a lot of her writing published though, but always under the name of her husband. They forced her to put it under his name stating that she wouldn’t earn nearly as much under hers alone. Can you imagine how that felt?  He got all the glory and she got nothing.  Another ouch!

I do love that an author took the time to shed some light on the other half of the Fitzgerald family, Zelda.  She went through so much as the wife of a famous author and no one ever thinks of the other half.  I wouldn’t highly suggest this book, but I wouldn’t tell you not to read it either.  If you know more about history and authors, I bet this book would be really up your alley!

Next up for Bon’s Book Club is Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  I’m almost already halfway through it because it is an easy read.  All of the chapters are 2-3 pages.  I love books like that!  It also makes me excited because this month I will hopefully have time to read a second book, of my choosing!

Have you read Z? What are your thoughts?