Scentopia! Review of Siberie Perfumes

Hello Lovelies! *press sample*

     It has been a while since my last review and today I am reviewing a magical perfumery called Siberie Perfumes. I was approached by the owner to do a review of her lovely perfumes after she saw one of my reviews. Since I believe that one can never have too many perfumes that make you smell magical, I happily agreed. I sent her a list of perfumes I was interested in trying , since that would be a little easier to list those and the horrid death scents on me. She promptly sent me four glorious full sized scents to review. I was surprised and overwhelmed. Sadly soon after I had the worst sinus infection ever that had to go through two rounds of antibiotics before I could properly smell anything.

    Before I get started on my review, I will remind everyone that perfumes are truly a subjective thing. While I may think that something smells amazing someone else can thing that it smells like bottled wet dog. Furthermore, just because something smells amazing or even kind of meh in the bottle still do a test try. Because as I have said before, BODY CHEMISTRY is EVERYTHING. One of my holy grail scents on me smelled really meh in the bottle but turns into magic on my skin. Like I want to bathe in this scent because I love it so much. So even if you don't think it smells amazing in the bottle be sure to test to see because BODY CHEMISTRY IS EVERYTHING. Now on with the review!

      It was extremely difficult to choose from their massive collection of scents. I found their inspiration and well as the images used for the perfumes really pleasing. The four scents that were sent to me were Desideria, Giselle, Odette and Dragana. They arrived quickly and well packaged in a black bag sealed with a lovely thank you sticker.

Inside each of the full size bottles were enclosed in a black velvet draw string bag which was a wonderful surprise. The bottles are HUGE. Larger than any of the other bottles I have in my collection since they are 15ml and my largest bottle is 10ml I believe. See the bottle comparisons here.

10ml roll on, Siberie bottle, 5ml bottle and 2 dram bottle

 I am alway super paranoid when it comes to perfume bottles since I am SUPER clumsy. I swear it  must be a super power because if I can tip it over and spill it I will. Siberie bottles are completely in mind for us clumsy people because they have stoppers to save us from losing all that gorgeous scent. For you follow slathers it will take a couple of dabs of the perfume in order to get the amount you are wanting but if you are clumsy it is worth the extra dabs.

   Now on to the individual scents..

Desideria is listed on the site as a combination of vanilla bean, wood smoke, with a base of wildflower honey paired with sandalwood & myrrh resin. My body love honey and vanilla so I was thrilled that this was one of the perfumes that was sent to me. Initial cold sniff impressions , I can definitely smell the wood and the smoke with a hint of vanilla. The smokiness is very prominent in the bottle to me. When applied the smoke isn't as overwhelming at all on the skin and fades to a lovely light vanilla honey scent with a hint of sandalwood and myrrh.

Giselle is listed with the notes of ocean air, coconut cream, sweet vanilla, and a soft golden amber and is described as a beachy fragrance with an ozonic base. Both amber and vanilla are two of my go to scents I was super excited to try this one. We are also still sitting in the high eighties here in Florida I would be able to wear this as a "summer" scent.  First impressions from the bottle I get a lot of the coconut cream right off the bat as well as the vanilla sweetness. Applied it dries down light and airy mingled with the creaminess of vanilla and the hint of coconut cream and a dash of amber. It makes me feel like I need to be drinking nice cold frozen drinks with flowers and umbrellas.

Odette was described as sweet wildflower honey, delicate honeysuckle flowers with a base of fresh fallen rain and jasmine sambac. First sniff from the bottle I smell a good combination of rain and jasmine. After it is applied and mellows out on my skin the jasmine and the rain are no longer as strong and the delicate honey and honeysuckle scents come through. It reminds me of rains down here in the summer when the honeysuckle is in bloom. While it is a floral, it is a light floral and doesn't resemble the super florals grandmas love to wear.

Dragana is the bolder of the four with notes of burning firewood, dragon's blood, fresh oakmoss, red rose and a dark amber resin. It is was I would describe as a heavier more incense kind of smell verses the other three which are considerably lighter. First sniff impressions I immediately pick up on the firewood and the dragon's blood since I consider them the heavier of the notes.  Once applied on my skin it smoke and the dragon's blood are prominent at first but later mellow out to more of the woodsy smell of oakmoss and the sexy musk of amber. There is a slight hint of rose but my chemistry loves oakmoss and tends to amp it over. I tend to wear "heavier" perfumes during the winter so this will definitely be at the top of my daily list.


   I am super pleased with all the scents that I received from Siberie and even with them being in Canada and me located all the way down in Florida, they arrived super quickly and were packaged wonderfully. I am still in awe of how massive these bottles are and for $12.95 per bottle you won't break the bank picking up more than one. If you are new to perfumes and are just starting out I really suggest sampler packages so you can try a variety of scents to see what works with you. Or if you can't decide and want to try samples before committing to a bottle then they have the pick three scents options for 9.95 .They are vegan and cruelty free so get all the honey scents you want the bees are okay! Overall I loved all the scents I received and I look forward to ordering from them in the future.   You can order from Siberie on their website and on Etsy .  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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What's the Deal Dreadful? Review of Refresh Eye Recovery Serum

**Press**

    Hello Lovelies,
       I am back again with another skincare review after surviving my youngest's birthday this weekend. After a house full of screaming happy children who have eaten birthday cake with a sinful amount of frosting, I needed some time away with a drink in hand to recover.  But since I am fully recovered today I am reviewing Refresh's Eye Recovery Serum.
       I am always looking for the best eye serum since I do a lot of makeup promotions and I am always trying to make sure my eyes look the best so I was eager to try this product. It arrived quickly and was well packaged. The serum itself has a rather unique delivery system, it comes in a plastic syringe like container. The container itself can be a little tricky to work with at first, since you do run the risk of pushing out too much product. However after a couple of tries, I found it because like second nature. I like the syringe system since I can see how much I am going to apply and when I will need to order more. The serum has a water gel like consistency and it cools upon contact. I am also thrilled that this serum is Vegan so that everyone can use it and enjoy the benefits of it. This serum gave me super fast results! Normally I don't see results within the first two weeks at all and I did with this product. When you apply the serum not only does it cool but it has a tightening sensation which makes me think that it is working hard against those super fine lines that start to develop underneath the eye. After a couple of days I swear I could see a slight difference to them which was amazing. It is also fantastic for puffy eyes from lack of sleep and dark circles so I can't say enough good things about this product.

   If you would like to get your own syringe of Refresh's Eye Recovery Serum you can do so on Amazon. It is $49.95 however it is currently on sale for $29.50. I hope that you enjoyed this installment of What's the Deal Dreadful, until next time lovelies!

A Literary Dreadful: Review of Cookbook: 101 Healthy Vegan Asian Food (Quick & Easy vegan recipes Book 5) by Jonathan Vine (ebook)

*Press*

    Hello Lovelies,
      I am back finally after a small hiatus due to the plague. Being sick always sucks but being sick during the holidays with little dreadfuls being sick with me was absolutely miserable. So while I was laid up with the plague there was absolutely NO makeup going on since I am paranoid about contaiminating my brushes. But while I was sick I was looking for some new soups in order to help me and the rest of the Dreadful household feel better. Which leads me to this really awesome Asian Vegan Cookbook that I was asked to review.

    101 Healthy Vegan Asian Food (Quick & Easy Vegan Recipes Book 5) by Jonathan Vine is really pretty amazing. As some of you may know I am Asian and vegetarian. In fact the majority of the Dreadful Household is (Mr Dreadful isn't however if I cook vegetarian he is eating it ) and I have been wanting to incorporate more vegan recipes into our meals. Obviously we love Asian Food, so I was super happy to try this. It was really great since it cut down the research time since you don't have to look through every single ingredient to make sure that there isn't an hidden animal product listed and it also gives you a listing of common Asian ingredients. That helps out tremendously.

The book is divided up into four chapters which are broken down into essentially an entire four course meal : Appetizers, Soups, Main Dishes and even Desserts! Each recipe includes the total preparation time and cooking time as well as ingredients and servings. I found that the directions were extremely well written both clear and easy to follow. Some of my family's favorite dishes were the Spicy Tofu and Cilantro Wontons, Asian Cucumber Salad, Kale and Miso Soup, Kimchi Soup, Vietnamese Noodle Soup, Orange Tofu,  Peanut Noodles, Mango Sticky Rice (which we can never get enough of when it is mango season, Tofu Gyoza, and Almond Bars. We also liked that this book has a WIDE variety of recipes from various Asian cultures such as the Korean, Thai, Japanese, etc.
So we found that this is an excellent collection of Asian recipes and would satisfy both Vegan/Vegetarian and Omnivore!

   If you want to pick up the ebook you can do so on Amazon for the Kindle Price of $3.99. While I am more of an old school traditionalist for books I really liked the ebook format for this cookbook.
So until next time lovelies!

Mani Monday! Not one but two polishes from Ruby White Tips!

*Purchased*
Hello lovelies!
  I am back again from a crazy weekend filled with visiting out of town friends, meeting my new godson, dress hunting and outlet shopping. Needless to say I am dead on my feet but on a brighter note my nails look simply fabulous! This weekend I couldn't decide on what nail polish to wear so I actually wore two different ones from Ruby White Tips. She has a Mystery Box special that is going on her Etsy site right now and I picked up one with her special KP lotion (which another review is coming for that one) and I was blown away by the colors I received. I was super happy since I was wanting to try both of these polishes and the mystery polish extra which is a one of a kind and is simply gorgeous but I won't post it since it wouldn't be fair to show a pretty that you can't order.
  The first one I quickly painted on my nails which made my three year old daughter ohhh and ahhh and tell me that my nails were "boo-tifull" was Don't Open Dead Inside. While she doesn't have the appreciation of the Walking Dead like we do, I do have to say that she does have a good appreciation of an amazing nail polish. This gorgeous color is a lovely metallic like purple with a blue sheen depending on the light.

Check out this metallic purple!

While I am still working on my photography skills you can catch the blue hint in this image.

The next polish I need to grace my nails with was Misfit Toys. Misfit Toys is what I would call a metallic chameleon polish. It is a multi shifter which makes my little gothic heart flutter with delight since it is always something different depending on the light and angle. While there was no way that I could capture all the shifts I attempted to give this polish some sort of justice with the images below.

I love how metallic looking both of theses polishes are.

I managed to capture some of the amazing shifts of this polish in this image. 

Needless to say I am super impressed again with these two polishes that I received from Ruby White Tips. I was also super thrilled to learn that these two polishes are not only 5 free but also vegan which is a really awesome choice for vegans looking for amazing nail polish. I look forward to purchasing from her again. If you would like to pick up a Mystery Box you can do so her Etsy Shop (you can also pick up her lotion which is AMAZING for dry skin but I am getting ahead of my review on it but trust me it is awesome) and you can follow her here on Facebook and join the RubyWhiteTips Fangroup as well. I hope that you enjoyed this Mani Monday and until next time lovelies!