Amalgam Scent Company Review!

Hello Lovelies!                                      *press sample*

     I am finally back after a hellish couple of weeks. Things always happen in threes and when disaster strikes this always holds true as well. It started off with our Playstation 3 stopped reading disks so there was much sadness in the house as all three of my kids immediately wanted to play PS3 games but couldn't. Then the big one is our computer BLEW up and was possessed by the matrix which slammed a huge halt to any blogging whatsoever. And finally the router decided to stop working in a house that streams everything. Obviously the last two issues are fixed, since I am finally able to post this much over due blog post.

   I was contacted by Laura from Amalgam Scent Company to see if I was interested in testing out her products for a review. I am always more than happy to review new products so I happily agreed. 

Amalgam Scent Company originally started off with making bath and perfume products but has now branched off into the beauty aspect. All of Amalgam Scent Company's products are vegan and cruelty free which is always a bonus in my book.  What makes this company different from other indies, is while they offer loose pigments, her entire line is pressed. There is always a debate on whether pigments are better pressed or loose but it simply boils down to these two things, what you like and convenience.  I really liked the aspect that her line is pressed because for me pressed shadows are easier to store since I am quickly  running out of room for my loose pigments. Don't get me wrong, I love my loose pigments but I really liked the aspect that she decided to stand out with her initial packaging and stuck with pressed. 

     I was sent three shadows, a highlighter and a liquid lipstick from Amalgam Scent Company's first collection, La Isla Bonita (which I always sing thanks to Madonna). If my rusty Spanish is correct, the collection translates to The Beautiful Island.  The items I got are true to the name, they are simply beautiful.  Just take a look at these swatches.  

**All swatches are done over Lunatick Lab's Eyeshadow Primer.**

 Porta Del Sol is a highlighter that is also safe for the eyes 

    Check out that pigmentation! The colors were nice and buttery, super easy to used and so blendable.  I am always worried how pressed items will arrive to me since often whoever handles my mail can get very angry at times and the boxes are not always in the best conditions when they arrive. However, that being said all of the items arrived in perfect condition and were sealed in these adorable little plastic pouches. They easily fit into an empty eyeshadow pan from either TKB or a Z palette.

I also received a gorgeous liquid lip in the shade Encanto. It s a rosy mauve with a hint of brown making an excellent every day shade when dealing with muggles or the school. It wasn't overly drying like some mattes were and is ultra pigmented since this is only one coat!  Check out that swatch and once dry they a pretty much transfer proof and easy to remove at the end of the day.

   Needless to say, I am in love with Amalgam Scent Company. This collection is simply gorgeous! There is a second collection, Soigne, which has released since I have received my products which is strictly liquid lipsticks. They are all gorgeous and I will be picking some of those up in the future.  Her newest collection , Tell Me a Story, is inspired by  Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and releasing on September 23. Not only will it be makeup but also a fall scent. I am super excited to see what that collection brings. You can follow Amalgam Scent Company on both Facebook and Instagram to see swatches, looks and what is releasing next. If you are located in the US you can also try out a shadow for free (with the cost of shipping) to see these gorgeous colors in action. She also has some yummy bath and body items that sound heavenly so head over to Amalgam, I promise you won't be sorry.  So until next time lovelies!

Scentopia! Review of Comet Comforts July Monthly Box. Here be Mermaids!

Hello Again Lovelies! *Purchased*

     

      I am back again with another review! Today I am reviewing the Comet Comforts Box July Box which had the amazing theme of Mermaids. Now this was the first launch of a collaboration between two companies, Comet Vomit Polish and Southern Comforts Fragrance. These two lovely ladies got together and decided to create Comet Comforts which is a themed vegan and cruelty free monthly gift set of polish, scents and a surprise. I was super excited to hear of this collaboration and I am a big fan of both companies, so I couldn't wait to see what they developed.  Once I heard that the theme was going to be mermaids, which I am slightly obsessed with, I knew the box had to be mine

 The boxes went on sale during the middle of  July, shipped on August 1 and showed up in my hot little hands on August 3. When I opened the box I was really impressed with the little extra touches they put into it. Right inside the lid for the box was a fabulous mermaid stamp. It was wrapped nice and neatly with a lovely information sheet describing this month's theme and of course welcoming you to the Comet Comfort's Monthly Box.

I love that stamp and I am now on a quest to find one for myself.

  When I opened the box I was quite impressed with how nice and safe everything arrived and the colorful packing paper that was inside. I had a hell of a time keeping Doom Kitty out of the paper until I was able to pick out everything. Then I just gave up the battle.

Nothing was going to be damaged!

  After you move the paper and the 14 pound cat and kiddo hands out of the way I was left with this.

Check out all the goodies!

   Not only was there a fully sized perfume in a convient roller ball bottle, there was also a full size polish, a mini glitter top coat, a limited edition sample jar #mermaidgoals shadow from Darling Girl Cosmetics, nautical themed nail jewels, several pins, a fish scale heart temporary tattoo (which my five year old promptly claimed for herself), fabric flowers and a ton of swedish fish (which were devoured by my kiddos immediately.)  Another really neat thing about this box, is that if you are all ready a fan of either Soco or Comet Vomit each item in this box is unique to this release and will not show up in their stores. Now on with the goodies!

   We will start with the Comet Comforts Perfume, We Were Only Trying to Drown Her. 

It was a full size perfume in this box, in a 10 ml roller ball fragrance oil. My first sniff impression when I opened it up, it reminded me of the sea after a thunderstorm. There were hints of aquatics, ozone and even a hint of green. (But as stated in my previous review, I am still a perfume newbie and my super sniffer powers of picking out individual notes is very limited) I would definitely say that this is a unisex scent. When applied, my skin definitely brought out the ozone at first and then dried down to a lovely unisex aquatic.

Next up the two polishes. 

 The full size was Flippin Your Fins which instantly got the Little Mermaid song stuck in my head.

   Flippin Your Fins ( I am even still humming it now ) is a beautiful shimmery blue green polish. It applies evenly and I only needed two coats to get good coverage on my nails. I almost painted my phone this lovely color since I am a horrible klutz and dropped the brush since this was my first time dealing with a cap like this. With a nice top coat this last a week for me which is a record because I am horrible with polish. It CONSTANTLY chips on me. 

The mini glitter topper polish included in the box was called,  You Used to Call Me on My Shell phone It is blue/ teal colored glitter with lots of giant different colored glitter circles (I don't know if there is a technical term for it but they are pretty.) in various shades of silver, blue, pink , yellow and black. This is definitely a topper coat since it it would take way to much to attempt to even get full coverage. It gives just the right amount of sparkle when placed over polish. Sadly the photos of my mani with this were accidentally deleted so I will have to add them in at a later time when I redo my nails.

According to the Coco girls, there will always be a surprise guest to each box and for the first box Darling Girls Cosmetics was the guest.

Loved the name of the shadow! Who doesn't have Mermaid Goals?

 Susan from Darling Girls Cosmetics created a lovely shadow for this theme. Which is a lovely light shimmery blue with hints of pink sparkles when the light hits it just right. If you use a sticky base like the Darling Girl Glitter Glue and pat this shadow over it it really shines.

I am completely impressed with this amazing box. Each item was the perfect piece to the overall mermaid theme. Even the names were clever and fit the mermaid theme perfectly. The perfume reminded me of the ocean and what it would smell like after a storm when mermaids would come and sun themselves on rocks. Both the color and the sparkle of the polish reminded me of the mermaid scales. However I may have to give Tiffany the stink eye cause I since the Little Mermaid when I put on her polish.  Finally the surprise guest shadow from Darling Girl remind me of the ocean as well. The boxes of course as I mentioned before are both vegan and cruelty free are shipped to you in the States for $30.  It is a bit more for you international lovelies but they do offer international shipping which is nice. 

Now if you follow Comet Comforts on their social media you will know what next month's theme is..

 So, I needless to say I am an official fan and if there was any doubt I will definitely be picking up more of these lovely boxes.  The Harry Potter boxes go live for sale on August 19th through the Comet Comforts website. Follow them on Instagram for more sneak peeks for the upcoming boxes. Will you be picking up the Harry Potter Box next month? Well that is all for now lovelies, keep your eyes peeled for more posts in the future. Until next time lovelies!

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Mani Monday with MOAR Drunken Stamping featuring Vapid Laquer

*Purchased*

    Hello Lovelies!
         It has been forever and a day since I have done a Mani Monday post. Partially because my poor nails went through a horrible phase of peeling and being over all ugly little nubbies.  But I have managed to get it under control with lots of moisturizing and honestly cutting the split/peel out of them when they appear. While I don't know if that was the best solution it worked for me. I also moved to an acetone with a lavender essential oil added to it so it isn't such a harsh toil on my nails when I remove my polish. But since the "girls" are on the mend I decided to do a Mani Monday post featuring one of my favorite indies, Vapid Lacquer.
   
         Now, I know that there was a HUGE HOT MESS going on in the indie polish community with the Mentality issue. There is no need for me to rehash that drama but in case you missed it there are several posts about what happened and seriously all you have to do is look up the #mentalityburns and see what I am talking about. This issue cause a huge backlash in the indie polish community causing people to stop buying indie polishes. Now what happened with Mentality is HORRIBLE ( and down right fucked up) but that is NOT the norm and all of the lovely ladies that I have purchases my indie polishes from are wonderful and I have had NO side effects whatsoever. Well, okay the only side effect I had was FABULOUS looking nails with kick ass polish on them but that is what we want. But enough of that...

    So we all know that Halloween is coming up and of course, with no surprise, it is my favorite holiday. Last year, Krys ( the talented owner of Vapid Lacquer)  made an incredible Halloween collection and I managed to score not one but two of these highly coveted polishes, Witching Hour and Vampires Don't Sparkle (which always reminds me of this image which makes me laugh EVERY time I see it).

Girl, you go that right, That is not acceptable at all...

      So I decided to do a vampy gradient of the two plus some stamping and I learned two very important things.

     1. Stamping is a skill and an art. If it isn't practiced on a regular basis you WILL revert back to your craptacular stamping skills. (So please don't judge these polishes on my shitty stamping)

     2. Gradients are awesome on all nail lengths however I need some practice doing it on nubs. (Again don't judge these polishes on my crappy gradient job)

Yup this is pretty crappy and doesn't do the polishes justice...

    I also took some polish bottle shots so you can truly see the beauty of these polishes since my nails are not a great representation. I know some of you may ask if you think that your polish job is so crappy why are you sharing it? Well honestly there are lots of people who love polish but are super polish masters or stampers right now. If I can get better seriously ANYONE can. There is hope for you. Also it is because Krys is a bad ass and makes incredible polishes. After the drama that has gone on from Mentality people need to know that there are incredible makers of kick ass polishes who aren't about the drama. (I will also be doing more Mani Mondays to feature and shout out the other awesome companies and makers so show my love)

    Now while you can't get these polishes right now you CAN get them for a limited time restock for the non sparkly spooky season on October 3rd for a one time restock! Yup ladies and gents mark you calenders and get your click on to purchase these two plus Apparition and Purple Poison only on this date until they are sold out. However Kry is also releasing a Fall Collection that will around until the end of the year so you don't have to kneecap your polish friends in order to pick up a limited stock of those. Now where can you pick up these gorgeous goodies? You can pick them up here and stalk them like a ninja on October 3! Now go prepare yourself to be the Vapid Lacquer Ninja ready to stalk the ALL THE POLISH!  I hope that enjoyed this installment of Mani Monday, until next time lovelies!

What's the Deal Dreadful? I'm back! With a review of the AMAZING Jord Wooden Watches!

*Press*

   Hello Lovelies!
       I am finally back after a long hiatus. I had an insane amount of things happen over the Summer and I wasn't able to blog at all between swimming lesson for my three Little Dreadfuls, going on a cruise and getting everything ready for all three of my little ones going to school. Since the school year has started, I THOUGHT (yes let's laugh now at my foolishness) that I was going to be able to get back to blogging, writing and all the other things I had been wanting to do but fell to the side. Oh how foolish I was, I am a unpaid taxi driver with taking my three kids to three different schools at THREE different times. Yeah, thanks school board for that one. But I am trying to squeeze in some much needed reviews and looks now of the weekends. So, without much further ado, on with the review!
 
       I was approached by Jord Watches if I was interested in doing a review of their wooden watches. Yes, you read that right, wooden watches. I love watches and in all honesty I don't see them as often on people as I would like. Yes, everyone and their mother has a cell phone but what happens when the batteries die or you are in some place you need to know the time and you had to turn your phone off? No clocks on the wall? No problem! You have this awesome watch on your arm now that doubles as a time piece and a fashion statement/conversation starter.

   "Is that a wooden watch?"

     Yes, yes it is. Behold it's epic awesomeness.

   But I am getting ahead of myself, let's go back to the beginning. So, as I mention Jord contacted me to see if I was interested in doing a review of them and I was thrilled with the opportunity. After much pondering and consideration (and even consulting the family on this since all of the watches are that gorgeous) I finally decided on the Ely Watch in Red Sandalwood. It was such a stunning rich red color that constantly caught my eye. After my decision Jord send me some instructions on how to measure my wrist for the correct size of the watch so I wouldn't have the issue of having to send it back and resize it which just screams wonderful customer service because it is a horrid pain to receive your item in the mail and then find out it is too big or too small.


The watch arrived quickly there after in really unique packaging. The watch itself was nestled safe and secure inside a lovely wooden box.

It was just as beautiful in person as it was on the website.  Seriously, just look at this..

 Then came the real test, durability which is essential to me since I have three kids and a moose of a dog so anything dainty and delicate will probably not last long. This watch handled ALL four of those destructive forces as well as daily wear and tear with no problem. The watch is considered splash proof and is NOT waterproof. So take it off when doing dishes, going the in pool, or soaking in the tub.  Since this is a wooden watch you are going to have to take care of it a little differently than your metal ones. I asked what the best way to care for watch from Jord was and I was told that the best way to keep the watch looking like new is to apply a natural coating of beeswax, butcher block oil or even walnut oil to prevent the watch against damage and keep it's moisture balance. You can pick up the butcher block oil and walnut oil from Amazon easily for under $20 and it will last you FOREVER and your watch will look just like new.  As far as price, I think that these watches are a great deal. Granted watches vary greatly in price but I think that the cost of these watches are extremely affordable for the quality and beauty that you get.

Yes, the tag is STILL on it. I had to immediately put in on and take a picture. 

   Now if you have the overwhelming desire to have your own epic wooden watch you can buy one from Jord. And if  you need the Ely Watch in Red Sandalwood here it the direct link to it. I hope that you enjoyed this installment of What's the Deal Dreadful and until next time lovelies!

What's the Deal Dreadful? Review of Azara Oraganic's Organic Seaweed Powder

**Press**

     Hello Lovelies,
        I am back today with another skincare review. Today I am reviewing Azara Organic's Organic Seaweed Powder which is used for masks and wraps.  I am always looking for new facial masks to try out since they are part of my skincare routine. The product arrived quickly and was well packaged. The seaweed powder arrives in a huge plastic container with a black screw top lid. The powder itself is a mossy green in color and smells of seaweed (obviously). I liked the fact that I didn't need lots of other additional ingredients in order to whip up a mask for my face. Basically I scooped a small bit of the powder and added water until I had the paste light consistency that I wanted and applied with with a flat brush all over my face. The mask itself had a cooling sensation which was really quite pleasant.I allowed the mask to sit on my face until it was dry, about 20 minutes or so since I can do other things while I am waiting for my mask to dry. After washing off the mask, my skin felt wonderful. It was soft and clean so I am really impressed. I used this product at least once a week sometimes even twice when I want to feel pampered and revitalize my skin.

   If you would like to pick up your own jar of Azara Organic's Organic Seaweed Powder you can do so on Amazon. It is $59.99 however it is currently on sale for $19.99. I hope that you enjoyed this installment of What's the Deal Dreadful, until next time lovelies.

What's the Deal Dreadful? Review of Bella Organic Vanilla Mint Deodorant

**Press**
   
    Hello Lovelies,
               I am back again and this time I am reviewing Bella Organic's Vanilla Mint Deodorant.  Now I will admit that I was a little concerned with trying an organic chemical free deodorant since I wasn't sure that it was going to hold up to the test. I have been using the regular deodorants for years however I wanted to get away from all the chemicals since the aluminum in it isn't good for you. When I received my package I was a bit taken back by the size of the jar.  I was sure that since I live in the hot and humid South that this jar would instantly be used up in a week. However I followed the directions and started with the detox. I essentially followed the Deodorant Detox on this page.  I applied a pea size amount from the jar and applied it with my fingers. While I would have preferred a stick delivery system I was surprised and pleased how well it worked. The formula smelled wonderful and the consistency wasn't too dry or too wet. It works wonderfully! While I was sweating I wasn't stinking so I was thrilled. The true test will be when the summer arrives.

    If you would like to purchase your own jar of Bella Organic's Vanilla Mint Deodorant you can do so on their website and it is $10.25. I hope that you enjoyed this installment of What's the Deal Dreadful, until next time lovelies!