Yummy Snacks, Delivered: Graze

Hi everyone! Yeah, I'm writing a post on Christmas Eve :-) It's a relaxing night for me (everything in my family happens on Christmas Day), and blogging is a form of relaxation (to me anyway). Tonight I'm, sharing a new product from a company called Graze (Nature Delivered). Here's the scoop and some photos . . .

Unopened Graze box

Product: Delivered snack box subscription with four unique (self-chosen) snacks each week.

Where did I buy this? I got a free offer of this product from More magazine, and as soon as I tasted my first box, I signed up for weekly delivery.

Graze box opened

Price: Only $6.00 for one box (four snacks) per week (or two boxes per month [i.e., every other week]) or one box per month). Delivered. That's more than a fair price in my opinion.

Packaging: Cute flat rectangle box. Neat. Handy. Trim. Each treat is individually packaged and thus portable; labeled with the calories; and has a full nutrition label on a printed sheet in the box (they're on the Web site, too). You can even choose from the regular selections or the "light" selections. They clearly mark non-vegan, dairy-containing, and non-celiac selections. Here are the snacks that were in my trial box.

Jalapeno Fiesta (jalapeno peanuts, salsa almonds, and roasted seeds)

Apple and Cinnamon Flapjacks (rustic rolled oat flapjack with apples and cinnamon)

Fruity Mango Chutney (with black pepper dippers)

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake (white chocolate, raspberry cranberries, and hazelnuts)

Performance: The snacks are very . . . umm . . . snacky, LOL. I like single servings (portion control is  a huge bugaboo for me). I like unique snacks. I like the options Graze gives you. You can go through the entire snack selection on the site and either vote trash them (i.e., I can't eat peanuts [I adore them, but it's an acupuncture dietary restriction for my spleen-deficiency diagnosis], and I don't care for Asian-style savory snacks), vote to try them, and even vote to have a particular snack delivered every week. Did I mention that they were healthy, too?

If I lost or broke this item, would I buy it again? Silly question for a snack product, but yes -- if I broke or lost my "smoky gazpacho dip," my "key lime pie (trail mix), my "sour cream and onion cashews, or my "garden of England" (trail mix) -- i.e., all of the snacks in my latest box, I would reorder them!

You can try a subscription by clicking here and using the referral code LISAN7QM. You will get your first and fifth boxes free. Yes, I get a referral bonus if you go through my referral link and use my code, but it'd no big deal if you don't want to do that. If you prefer, just go through the general Graze link at the top of this post!

Overall rating: 5 of 5 lippies!

 

Moi Cosmetics

Product:  Moi Cosmetics eyeshadow


Where did I buy this? I bought this product from Moi Cosmetics (in Canada) on etsy.com. It should not be confused with Moi Minerals here in the United States!

Do these wee bottles not slay you?

Colors are swatched in order of right to left, top to bottom: Cherry Pie, Fairy Dust, Time Lord, Shocker, Mercy.

This photo shows Cherry Pie (top left) the best.

This photo shows Time Lord (top right) and Mercy (bottom right) the best.

Mercy is so beautiful, it deserves special mention: It's described on the MM Web site as: "Deep purple with blue lights . . . and then color shifts to rose/copper. But once applied foiled (wet) is where the magic begins . . . this color turns into a ''metallic copper'' with hints of blue shimmer a slight purple undertone." And it IS ALL THAT! I must get more of this stunning color!

Price: I think the small bottles I bought were $3.00 each (and I can't locate my receipt for these in mt etsy account). I don't see these tiny bottles on the site anymore sadly :-( They are adorable. Full-size jars of eyeshadow now appear to be $6.00 each, and samples of eyeshadow are $1.00 each. She does sell other products besides eyeshadow, too.

Performance: I've only tried Mercy on my lids over UDPP, and it was mesmerizing (no, I did not hypnotize myself, LOL) and seemed to last all day on my non-oily lids. Although I didn't actually wear the other colors, they swatched well (much better than appears in my photos; you have to see the video for the best swatch results).

Packaging: Adorable small bottles and samples in zip-lock sample baggies (long ones though).  

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? There are a number of colors I would get samples of to try. However, Mercy is a certain rebuy!

Overall rating: 5 of 5 lippies!

Coming Up for Air . . . and a Review of Vaseline Spray & Go

Hi everyone!

First off, I have to apologize for disappearing on you. I was just minding my business, living my life and doing my job, then BLAMMO! I was beset by a series of obligations that came from every side, top, and bottom. I took on a book-editing job in addition to my regular work (a whole new set of deadlines). I had purchased a new computer (Dell All-in-One with Touch Screen) and was getting used to all the new stuff on it and figuring out how to navigate Windows 8, and ZAP! Windows 8 crashed, and I had to reinstall the operating system as well as all of my programs. I must say that Dell support was excellent. Someone stayed on the phone with my until everything was done (about 2 hours), and they have followed-up, just like a good computer doc should! Of course, the Windows 8 learning curve plus the crash backed up my regular work. In the mean time (what mean time?), I was making bracelets for a vendor show that was held last Friday night. My bracelet sales went well, and I'm just getting back on track, praise God! Now on to the review . . .

Product: Vaseline Spray & Go

Product photo

Where did I buy this? I bought two bottles of this product at my local Giant food store.

Price: The regular price was $6.99, but I had one $2-off coupon nd one $1.50-off coupon, which brought the price down to  about $4.99 per bottle.

Performance: Wowzer, I LOVE this stuff! I loathe anything heavy or greasy on my skin, so I actually prefer dry flakies to that suffocating feeling. Luckily, I don't have to settle anymore. However, contrary to the nifty television commercial where you see a woman spraying it on her body, jumping in her clothes, and running out the door, you do have to rub this stuff in. Actually, it doesn't require much rubbing, so "smoothing" might be a better choice of words. It sprays on very easily, without nozzle-clogging, and with fairly good dispersion; however, I've had it spray narrow white strip on my skin from time to time. I think this has to do with the distance you hold the bottle from your skin. Anyway, I like to rub it on my feet and legs at night when I'm "couch-potatoeing" in front of the TV. I don't want to accidentally spray it on the couch, so I just spray some into my hand and rub it on. It sinks in within seconds and leaves no trace of grease or oil, so much so that it's almost hard to believe it's moisturizing my skin. But the proof is "in the pudding," and my skin is soft and clear of flakes or rough patches! The scents are nice and light and don't end up competing with my perfume. My favorite scent is Cocoa Radiant. I also have a bottle of the Aloe Fresh .

Not so "spray and go." You have to at least smooth it in!

Packaging: This product comes in a standard aerosol spray bottle. The bottle is tall and cylindrical in shape, which I appreciate because I have arthritis in my fingers and wrists, which sometimes makes it difficult to handle oddly shaped bottles and jars. My sense of touch like the smooth matte aluminum outside.

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Absolutely without a doubt I would buy this product again :-)

Overall rating: 5 out of 5 lippies (and five thumbs-up for good measure)!

 

Don't Give Me Any Lip: I Want Gimme Brow by Benefit!

Product: Benefit Gimme Brow

Where did I buy this? I bought this product from Sephora.com.

Price: This cost $22.00 -- quite a lot, I know -- but I didn't have too use much, so it should last me a very long time (plus free shipping with the Sephora Flash program).

Benefit Gimme Brow

Performance: I got the Light/Medium shade (it comes in Medium/Deep shade, too). It looks dark blond/taupe-y in the tube, but it looked great on my light-brown-turning-gray brows. It's biuldable, so you can get as strong a look that you're willing to go for. I was afraid that the darker shade would have been too stark against my pinked fair skin. The teensy-tiny wand is like the pointed end of a mascara spoolie but even thinner, perfect for brow work. It works by depositing tiny fibers in with your sparse and/or thin brow hairs, thus making them look fuller. They also look more tamed and professional, too.

Packaging: Wonky geometric tube. Sort of like an elongated three-dimensional rhombus (largest pic, middle row, far right image). Benefit is know for kitschy product packaging and gimmicky product names, but the is nothing kooky about the greatness that is this product. Benefit hit it out of the ballpark with his one!

Sorry for the fright. This is my left brow without Gimme Brow.

Better. Left brow with Gimme Brow.

Right brow without Gimme Brow (can't you just see that big chunk o' skin right along the middle of it? I could host a small nest of birds in there!)

Right brow with Gimme Brow. Way better, dont'cha think?

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Yes, without a doubt. It's the best brow product I've ever used. Maybe Benefit is finally focusing more on product performance than on gimmicky product packaging and names.


Overall rating: 5 of 5 lippies! Yay!

New CVS Red-Box/Coupon Center Policy

You know those long strips of coupons that spit out of the CVS Red-Box/Coupon center machine, even the ones with CVS Extra Bucks on them and your quarterly Extra Bucks rewards, as well as coupons for $5 of a $15 purchase(or similar) that you might get at the bottom of a cash register receipt? I just heard from a CVS associate today that CVS coupons will be bow be accepted at any time after their expiration date, i.e., they'll never expire. Yay! Plus, this new policy is applicable nationwide.

All hail the new CVS coupon policy!

My regular weekly post will be up tomorrow :-

Fun Fingers*

*And probably the only time anyone will ever see me with more than a one-nail mani! (Yeah, I did my thumb, too. I didn't like the color [and ended up returning it], so I didn't include a photo it).

Product(s):  Sephora by Opi for Sephora Jewelry Topcoats

Indi-go With the Flow

Mauve-ie Star in the Making

Traffic-Stopper Copper

The Golden Age

Where did I buy these? Sephora.com

Price: $4.50 each when I bought them (regularly $9.50 each) ($13.99 at Amazon.com!!!!!).

Right to left: Indi-go With the Flow, Traffic-Stopper Copper, and Mauve-ie Star in the Making over base colors

The pinky is actually a pink WNW glitter top coat

Performance: Excellent. Fun and funky alone (multiple coats) or over a base color.  Personally, I would NEVER do a full mani with these . . .way OTT! But each to her own. If you can pull it off, then do eet (no, that's not  typo; it's my Pepi le Pew voice).

Packaging: Standard OPI-shapped bottle with "bullet"-capped wand.

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Yuppers.

Overall rating: 5 of 5 lippies! 

Snack Taxis: Speaking of Which

Regarding my last post on Snack Taxis, I just received a sale email from them today! So, now would be a good time to try them if you like. They rarely go down this low in price: Their sales are usually for 20% off.

Happy Halloween from snackTAXI!

Halloween greetings!    We'd like to invite you to celebrate the spooky fun of October 31 by offering 31% off all full-priced items!    Use coupon code  spooky31  at checkout!   Offer valid now through Halloween, October 31, 2013. Doesn't apply to sale items or bulk purchases.

Not Cosmetics: Snack Taxis :-)

Product: Snack Taxis -- The original bags for snacks and sandwiches since 2003
Where did I buy this? I buy these from www.snacktaxi.com.

Snack taxi product insert

Price: Snack-Sacks (6" wide x 4.5" tall; good for snacks like cut up fruit, corn chips, Cheerios [for young children], and raisins) are $7.95, and Sandwich-Sacks (7.5" wide x 6" tall; large enough for a generously sized sandwich or bagel) are $8.95. They also sell napkins and "sporks." They have frequent sales around holidays and back-to school time. If you sign up on the site, you'll be notified. I usually wait for the sales myself. And shipping is extremely reasonable, just a couple of bucks. No postage-overcharging here!

Small Snack Taxis open

Performance: I recently made my second Snack Taxi purchase because I loved them so much for toting snacks for the kitchen to my home office. I first bought the sandwich-size "taxi," which is ironic because I don't each sandwiches (gluten sensitivity). I've had these for about 5 years now, and they are still going strong. Recently I bought two smaller taxis, and these are perfect as well as adorable. Snack Taxi has a lot of patterns to choose from (you can even design your own). They are lined with a pliable, bright blue waterproof fabric so are easy to throw in the washer or just wipe out. They have Velcro closures. I've never put mine in the dryer, so I don't know how they would fare when subjected to high heat. I just air-dry mine. I imagine these would be great for kids' lunches if you can train them not to throw them away!

Small Snack Taxis closed

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Yes, without a doubt. If you're trying to reduce your plastic use, you might want to consider a modest purchase of these cute and fun snack-portability options!

Overall rating: 5 of 5 lippies (taxis?)!

Femme Fatale Nail Polish Contest :-)

Some of FF's latest colors (they applied a filter here, so colors are slightly less saturated in real life)

Hi everyone,

This quick post is to let you know that Femme Fatale, an Aussie company that makes unbelievably good duochrome eyeshadows (you can see my review with video swatches here), is having a great contest to celebrate their second year of being in business. The contest is over on October 2, 2013, and there will be six unique winners of six unique nail polish sets (four colors in each set) as follows. You can enter the giveaway here.

Six unique nail polish sets for 6 unique winners!

Prize pack no. 1: Happy Hands, Shades of Phoenix, Serum No. 5, and Cadillacquer

Prize Pack no. 2: Emily de Molly, A England, Crows Toes, and Smitten Polish.

Prize pack no. 3: Cirque, Scofflaw, A England, and Wing Dust.

Prize pack no. 4: Contrary Polish, HARE, Enchanted Polish, and Emily de Molly.

Prize pack no. 5: Girlie Bits, Jindie Nails, Lush Laquer, and Arcane Laquer.

Prize pack no. 6: Gloss and Sparkle, HARE, Happy Hands, and Wing Dust.

I like sets no. 2 though 5 or 6. Which one(s) do you fancy?

Anticipating Small Aromaleigh Haulage: Brilliant Deductions Collection!

Hi everyone,

I'm prepping today for a medical procedure tomorrow, so I'm not doing the usual product review. Instead, I'm showing you photos (rather large ones to show their intricacy of color and contrasting sparkage) of the order I'm placing soon for samples (17 of the 21) from Aromaleigh v.2's brand-spanking-new Brilliant Deductions collection!

The collection is based on the PBS show, "Sherlock," which of course I now have to catch up on based on the quirky and intriguing names of the shadows :-) Makeup + mystery = "arresting" combination (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun)!

This new collection is currently 25% off at Aromaleigh.com, so now is the perfect time to buy samples. I have a strong feeling that I will be getting more of these shades.

I cut and pasted these swatches from the color chart that Aromaleigh v.2 recently released. If you scroll down about half-way down the page, you'll see written description, and if you keep on going two thirds down the page, you can also see a nicely put-together slide show of color collages of each hue, including product alone and several skin swatches.

For now, these are the colors I plan to order. I'm also getting a few more from the recent Ancient Magick collection :-)

Muted teal frost with soft grey undertones and bright sparks of chartreuse and silver

Rich purplish grey with overall iridescent shimmers of peach and rose

Smooth plush burgundy wine frost with striking gold highlight

Rich warm reddish brown with cool silvery iridescence of green, blue, and violet

Smokey cocoa frost with shimmering highlights of fuchsia and violet (*contains carmine)

Lush smoked navy blue with bright, saturated sparks of sapphire blue

Strong weathered gold with olive and khaki tones and tiny borealis shimmer

Warm brown frost with iridescent gold and rose effects and brilliant sparks of teal and blue

Muted warm mauve with coppery iridescence and bright golden sparks

Smooth liquid metallic bronze with rose tones and bright sparks of green

Frosted periwinkle blue with intense golden iridescence and bright lemon-gold highlight shimmer

Vibrant medium grape purple with subtle aqua iridescence

Smooth taupe frost with golden highlights and interference shimmer of green and blue

Deep low-sheen evergreen with brilliant sparks of warm yellow-gold and cool silver

Smooth English rose frost with golden highlights and tiny copper shimmers (*contains carmine)

Soft atmospheric twilight mauve with overall iridescence of gold, green, and blue

Smooth saturated dark purple with lush rose and violet iridescence and smoke tones (* contains carmine)