Beauty Box 5 Review - August

So last time I wrote about Beauty Box 5 I told you I was going to fire them, which is totally what I did. I cancelled that bad boy the day I wrote the post.

Imagine my surprise when another box showed up in my mail this week after I had cancelled!  I immediately went digging through my statements to make sure I didn’t get charged.  Thankfully, I didn’t.  So….I guess this is just a bonus box?  Either way, I’ll take it. Free stuff yes?

Anyways, as I’ve said, this box is $10 a month.

So here we go….the August Beauty Box Five box! 

1. Swissco Nail File– (FULL SIZE)

A nail file? Seriously? Stupid.  It’s cute and sparkly yes, but if I needed another nail file I’d go to Walgreens. This is not introducing me to anything new.  Also, the bright pink glitter looks like it would get all over the place if I used this!

            Full Size: $1.50 My Value: $1.50

2. Nubar Nail Polish in Hologram Glitter – .25 oz.

If I liked this color I would be happy with this addition in my box….but I don’t. I tend to like neutral colors or the occasional pink or orange.  This is not exciting to me.

Full Size: $8.00 .5 oz. My Value:$4.00

    3. Bask Heavenly Silk Daily Skin Lotion – 2 oz. (TRAVEL SIZE)

Oooo lotion.  Yay!  Not. I just came from a hotel stay in which I confiscated no less than 7 bottles of free lotion from my room (and C’s too).  This is pretty worthless to me. It doesn’t even smell good.

Full Size: $19.98 22 oz. My Value:$1.81

     4. H2O Plus Aquafirm + Micro-Collagen Moisturizer – .27 oz

Looks like a regular old facial moisturizer. Except that the tube says it helps your skin look “plump and firm in minutes.”  I’m sorry, I rather not have my face looking plump thank you very much!

Full Size: $50.00 1.7 oz. My Value:$7.94

     5.  Be a Bombshell Eyeshadow in Starlet – .5 oz. (FULL SIZE)

Ok I love this!  Finally something I like!  The color is great and I know I will get some good use out of this.  This was totally worth the “free” box haha.

Full Size: $14.00 My Value: $14.00

Final Cost: $10.00

Final Value: $29.25

Like I said, I wouldn’t get this one again.  I mean, if they keep sending me free ones I will accept of course, but I won’t be signing up for this again. Plain old lotion and nail files aren’t worth it to me!

What beauty boxes do you get that you really like? Any suggestions for me?

(Also, 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.)

My First Cara Box - Reveal Time!

After seeing posts about it for months, I finally decided to sign up for the Cara Box exchange! 

I am glad I did, it was a lot of fun.  I am also really glad the format is changing to every three months. I think it will be nice to have more time to get to know the people you are paired with.

This month’s theme was Seasons of Life and we were paired with people who were in the same place in life. For me it was age 23-29, single, no children.  Yes, I’m technically not single, but neither were my partners!  One is in a happy relationship like me and the other is engaged. But alas, none of us could click the married box just yet.

My first partner was Cait over at Your Favorite Girlfriend.  She was so fun to get to know and prepare a box for!  She is just finishing up a semester of nursing school and is currently planning her wedding so she is quite a busy girl! There was one thing I was especially excited to ship to her so she could check it off of one of her lists.  You can see what I sent to her here!

My second partner was Pam over at Stolen Moments by Pam.  You guys she spoiled me!  It was awesome getting to know her as well.  She is a teacher in North Carolina and has a boyfriend in the military that she doesn’t get to see very often. I don’t know how she does it! Thankfully though, she gets to see him in October.  Yay!

She sent me awesome notepads and stickers, plus some cute little bag clips. How she knew I was in desperate need of some “chip clips” I do not know! I love them.  The notepads are awesome too.  I mean, how cute is that tiny clip board??  I also can’t wait to use the stickers.  Do you think C will get mad if I put the “smelly” sticker on his shoes when he leaves them lying around?

That’s not all though!  She knows I love to travel (and thankfully I get the opportunity to right now) so she sent an awesome Tommy Hilfiger travel case!  It’s perfect!  I am definitely taking this to Maryland :) Isn’t the wine glass the cutest too?  I love the sweet little pink bow….and its chalkboard paint!  I am so gonna have fun with that!

I was definitely blessed in my first Cara box exchange!  I am so happy to have “met” both of these gals and I know we will continue to be friends!

I’ve already signed up for my next Cara box exchange….are you going to sign up?

 

Leading Up to the Big Game - Arena Bowl 2013

Ok so now that the boring stuff is over, I can talk about the actual trip!

The flight to Tampa sucked. Seriously it did.  Our flight left at 1:13am, which is a terrible time to fly, but it’s what we had to do to get even a remotely cheaper flight.  I brought all the essentials to help me sleep on the plane: a hoodie, sweat pants and socks to keep me warm, a neck pillow, my eye mask, and some ear plugs.  What I did not bring was something to shut up the United Flight attendants who spent the entire 4 hour flight talking loudly right behind us (we were in the second to last row). Even with my ear plugs in I could hear exactly what they were saying and cackling about the ENTIRE flight.  I was livid. Also something I forgot? A heating blanket.  The plane was so dang cold that I even tried tying my hood around my face so only my nose and mouth were exposed….for breathing purposes only.  It was pretty miserable.

After a 4 hour layover in the freezing cold Charlotte airport and a quick flight from Charlotte to Tampa (which we spent in the front row of the business cabin….extra space yay!) we learned that the flight the entire Rattlers team was taking to Orlando that afternoon had been cancelled. Not a good thing. They were able to get on another flight (no small feat for 40+ people flying together) but it left at 11pm.  The boys were going to have to do the same thing we did and fly through the night. Not a good scenario when they had a big game to play in a few days!

After picking up our bags and our rental car we did what any four girls on a vacation in Florida would do….we headed straight to the beach!  Indian Rocks Beach in Clearwater is seriously gorgeous.  The water was warm and the sun was out.  It was a perfect beach day.

After spending a few hours on the beach (where we all fell asleep…whoops) we packed up and headed toward Orlando.  Nothing like an hour and a half drive covered in crusty dry saltwater and sand! It went quickly though and we were quite happy to arrive at our hotel.

The Rosen Shingle Creek hotel, which hosted both teams, was awesome.  It had 1500 rooms, 9 restaurants, and 3 pools.  Pretty much anything you needed for a great vacation. As soon as we checked in we ran downstairs and grabbed some dinner.  After dinner and showers we went to bed, where we all slept for 13 hours! Woah.

The next morning the boys had arrived at 6am (we were still sleeping) and had to immediately go to breakfast at 8am after they got to the hotel (we were still sleeping).  Then they sent them straight to practice (we were still sleeping). After practice, the boys got an hour to shower and take a nap (we were finally awake) before they headed to media day. Media day is where they interview several players and talk about the game with a bunch of media crews. It’s also where they announced a new AFL team had been purchased by the band KISS and they were calling the team the LA Kiss.  Manly right? Totally screams football.

After Media day the boys had just enough time to change again and we all went to the AFL Celebrity Gala being held at a nearby hotel.  The boys didn’t know if we would be able to join them until about 45 minutes before we needed to leave, so us girls we rushing around like madmen trying to get ready!

It was really a lot of fun to get dressed up and go to this event.  I have never seen C in a suit so it was extra special for me.  For buying the suit the day before he left and getting it hemmed last minute, it looked fantastic. We got to walk down a red carpet and had 15+ photographers fighting to take our picture.  Talk about fun!

Our paparazzi shot :)

The next day (after 10 hours of sleep) us girls spent the morning at the pool while the boys had practice and team lunch. It was a little hot out but the pool felt nice, especially with a pina colada in hand. 

C had the rest of the afternoon and evening off after the team lunch so we went out for mini date, which consisted of a late lunch (for me) and a little bit of shopping.  We got stuck in a torrential downpour on the way back so we stopped at Starbucks and watched it pour with our coffee in hand.  You don’t see that very much in AZ!  After that I dropped him back off for a nap and then we met up again with my mom in tow for dinner.

On our way back from dinner C all the sudden realized he was past curfew.  Oh geez. I didn’t even think about him having curfew (although I know they do have them on road trips).  We dropped him off at the front of the hotel and he tried to sneak up the stairs to his room so he wouldn’t get caught.  Too bad coach was standing right by his door when he got there!  Thankfully they didn’t fine him, considering coach joked that it would be $100 a minute and he was 11 minutes late. Phew.

Meanwhile back in the room us girls were getting stressed out.  The big game was the next day!  I think us girls get more nervous than the guys do for these games.  Yes, we obviously want them to win, but we also worry about injuries!  Thankfully, we had some wine on hand to calm our nerves and put us to sleep :)

Alright….I’ll stop now.  Sorry this post was so long haha.  Next time I’ll tell you about the big game!!

 

Pretty Little Beauty Swap...It's Time to Sign Up!

Yay! It's finally here!
Today is the day to sign up for the Pretty Little Beauty Swap! 

Do you love getting beauty boxes?  Or maybe just trying new beauty products in general?

What about making new friends or receiving packages in the mail full of goodies?

If any of these things sounds awesome to you, then the Pretty Little Beauty Swap is for you!

 

<div class="Grab button for BPOTW" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://southernbeautyguide.com" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag51/etagurl89/opt3_zps81a0b806.jpg" alt="SBG" width="200" height="200" /> </a></div>

Hosted by Justine of Sleepy Single Girl and Chelsee of Southern Beauty Guide, Pretty Little Beauty Swap is a bi-monthly swap between ladies who love makeup and meeting new friends!

Every other month, ladies will be paired up with another woman that they will have a chance to get to know and then get to send each other a gift of beauty products.

Swap boxes can be filled with beauty samples from past boxes that just weren’t your thing or purchased items you just know your partner will love!

Signups for the first swap will be September 1st -10th. Partners will be announced by September 15th. You will have a month to get to know your partner and then packages must be sent by October 15th.

At the end of the month we will all link up to share what we’ve received!! Who’s in for some new pretty little beauty products and some even better new friends?

*All of the rules listed below are mandatory. If you can’t complete them, you won’t be able to participate in future swaps.*

Rules:

1) We would love for you to follow both Southern Beauty Guide & Sleepy Single Girl!

2) Email your partner within 72 hours of receiving your match. If you haven’t heard from your partner after

3 days are up, please let us know and we will pair you up with someone else!

3) Spend the month getting to know your partner. Learn her makeup likes and dislikes and colors she tends to use or steer clear of.

4) Each box should be a minimum of $15. If you’d like to spend more, great! I am sure your partner will love you for it. You can include items you’ve received in past beauty boxes or even go out and purchase things you know your partner will love.

5) Please include at least 2 full size items. No one wants to receive a bunch of itty bitty lotion samples!

6) Items must be new, unless you’ve discussed with your partner beforehand and she is comfortable accepting gently used items that you have tried and didn’t like.

7) Ship your packages by the 15th of month two, which in this case is October 15th. Make sure to get a tracking number so we can confirm you sent a package if it gets lost.

8) Once you receive your package, create a reveal post and link up with us at the end of October.

Click here to sign up!

The most important rule of them all…..Have fun!

Meeting the Family...

You guys….I am meeting C’s whole family next week!!!

Eeeek!

I am so excited….and a little scared.

Little College aged C....how cute is he?

Since I didn’t get to meet them in Philadelphia for his game in May as planned we are flying to his hometown in Maryland for a week to visit them. 

He has a huge family.  Seriously. Giant.  His grandmother had 18 children….meaning C has 60 FIRST cousins alone. He has 4 immediate siblings which I know we will be spending a lot of time with, but I know I will be meeting a lot of the other family members too!  They are planning a surprise party for an aunt while we are there as well as a huge barbeque at Grandma’s!

To put it in perspective….I have 5 cousins. Total. That’s a big difference yes?

I can’t wait to see where C grew up. He plans on taking me crabbing and to explore an island near where he lived as well as barbequing an ENTIRE pig with his family. This city girl might have a bit of a culture shock!

Also, my brother is going to come by for a day or two as well.  He has to drive from upstate New York to Phoenix and Maryland it right on the way.  It will be an invasion of my family.  2 people. That’s half my family!

Finally, we just got tickets to the Redskins vs. Eagles game!  If you’ve been reading long enough, you know I have a goal in life to see a game at every NFL stadium.  This is one I will be able to check off my list.

Wish me luck!!

 

Calling All Beauty Lovers! (Oh and a Giveaway)

Calling All Beauty Lovers! 
I am so excited to be able to finally reveal something that Chelsee and I are working together to host. A while back I had an idea of doing a beauty swap and did a little post about it. I really wanted to make it awesome....but I had no clue how. After I posted I talked with Chelsee and she said she'd love to co-host!  
Now we know that there are a few programs with this concept in existence, but this one is unique in that it focuses on Beauty Products alone. How many of you have some Ipsy stuff laying around that you do not use? Well I for one love most of the products that I get in the mail, but sometimes I have some that I just do not use. 
What would you say if I told you that you could pass these along to someone, along with some more of your Beauty Favorites? Well I am happy to introduce you to a new program that will give you the opportunity to try some new beauty products.    Of course I am talking about the Pretty Little Beauty Swap! Basically, this is a program where you will be matched up with another beauty lover and you will exchange a box full of goodies. Sounds fun right? 
We thought long and hard about this program and decided that due to our own experience with other box swaps that we would hold this every other month. This will give you the opportunity to collect some real goodies for your partner, as well as get to know them better. I think the best part of this program is that beauty lovers will unite! I am so excited to meet other beauty enthusiast and learn what products they recommend, as well as make some new friends!

Do you love getting beauty boxes?  Or maybe just trying new beauty products in general?

What about making new friends or receiving packages in the mail full of goodies?

If any of these things sounds awesome to you, then the Pretty Little Beauty Swap is for you!

 

<div class="Grab button for BPOTW" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://southernbeautyguide.com" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag51/etagurl89/opt3_zps81a0b806.jpg" alt="SBG" width="200" height="200" /> </a></div>

Hosted by Justine of Sleepy Single Girl and Chelsee of Southern Beauty Guide, Pretty Little Beauty Swap is a bi-monthly swap between ladies who love makeup and meeting new friends!

Every other month, ladies will be paired up with another woman that they will have a chance to get to know and then get to send each other a gift of beauty products.

Swap boxes can be filled with beauty samples from past boxes that just weren’t your thing or purchased items you just know your partner will love!

Signups for the first swap will be September 1st -10th. Partners will be announced by September 15th. You will have a month to get to know your partner and then packages must be sent by October 15th.

At the end of the month we will all link up to share what we’ve received!! Who’s in for some new pretty little beauty products and some even better new friends?

*All of the rules listed below are mandatory. If you can’t complete them, you won’t be able to participate in future swaps.*

Rules:

1) We would love for you to follow both Southern Beauty Guide & Sleepy Single Girl!

2) Email your partner within 72 hours of receiving your match. If you haven’t heard from your partner after

3 days are up, please let us know and we will pair you up with someone else!

3) Spend the month getting to know your partner. Learn her makeup likes and dislikes and colors she tends to use or steer clear of.

4) Each box should be a minimum of $15. If you’d like to spend more, great! I am sure your partner will love you for it. You can include items you’ve received in past beauty boxes or even go out and purchase things you know your partner will love.

5) Please include at least 2 full size items. No one wants to receive a bunch of itty bitty lotion samples!

6) Items must be new, unless you’ve discussed with your partner beforehand and she is comfortable accepting gently used items that you have tried and didn’t like.

7) Ship your packages by the 15th of month two, which in this case is October 15th. Make sure to get a tracking number so we can confirm you sent a package if it gets lost.

8) Once you receive your package, create a reveal post and link up with us at the end of October.

The most important rule of them all…..Have fun!

------------

Speaking of Chelsee, I want to share an awesome giveaway that I am taking part in over at Southern Beauty Guide. Who doesn't love winning things?? 

You can enter below!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Getting to the Big Game - Arena Bowl 2013

Ahhhhh….I’ve finally had the chance to really catch up on life after dropping everything and heading to Orlando.

You know what stinks?  Having to plan a trip last minute!

Since it was impossible to know if C’s team would win their last playoff game (on a Saturday) and make it to the Championship game (the following Saturday) we couldn’t really book flights in advance.  Yes, we could have done Southwest with no change fees….but their flights were over $800!

A few days before the playoff game I asked C to talk to his Director of Player Personnel and find out which hotel they would be staying at “if they won.” We were able to book their same hotel about a week in advance and would have no cancellation fees if they didn’t end up winning. Boy am I glad I did that!  Minutes after the final playoff game was over, the 1500 room hotel was completely booked up. We were really lucky we had secured a room beforehand!  The Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando was gorgeous.  I would definitely recommend it.

For a few weeks leading up to the big game I periodically checked on flights.  Watching prices go up and down for weeks knowing you can do nothing about it really sucks!  For some reason it was a TON (like $300+) cheaper to fly into Tampa from Phoenix, rather than flying straight into Orlando. Since Tampa is about an hour and a half away from Orlando we decided we would fly into Tampa and drive the rest of the way.  Huge money saver!  Plus, there are beaches in Tampa.  You better believe we stopped!

The day of C’s playoff game I watched flights go from $353 up to $415.  Not a huge change, but still, cheaper is definitely better. After the game and the mini celebration we got straight to work.  Me, my mom and two other player girlfriends called Travelocity to book our flights together.  When we got on the phone with the rep, our flights were $415.  This man seriously took forever to research the flights and secure the one we wanted.  He even apologized for how long he was taking.  Then after he was done he told us our flights (the SAME flights we originally called about) were now $525 each. What?!?  I was livid. I immediately asked to speak to a manager.  Guess what they did? They put me on hold and never came back (on purpose obviously).  I even called on another phone and they answered right away and put me on hold again. We waited on hold for over 50 minutes and no one ever came back to the line. Travelocity has the worst customer service I have ever, EVER experienced!  Hello!  We were trying to book 4 flights…that’s a lot of revenue they could have received!

Anyways…back to my story. Sorry about my angry tangent.

As we were on hold we began to look at other options on our cell phones.  We ended up booking straight through United.  The flights were $500 each though, which was hard to swallow.  But, we were officially headed to Orlando!

Since we knew we were going to fly into Tampa we also booked a car rental early that we could easily cancel.  We got a car for $10 a day! Man on man Florida is way cheaper than Arizona.  A car rental here is $40+ a day! 

Do you want to know what the bad news is about getting the cheapest flight available??  We had to 

leave phoenix at 1am and fly through the night.  Then, we also had a 4 hour layover in Charlotte, which is the coldest airport known to man.

I think that enough for today….and all I’ve talked about is setting up the trip!

Next time I’ll tell you all about what we did in Florida (red carpets included) and of course the game!