So Excited! Just Qualified for my first Influenster VoxBox! ZzzQuil Campaign!

WOO!

I've been on Influenster since July and had just given up expecting to qualify for any of their VoxBoxes.

I JUST got an email for my first Campaign! And, as a chronic insomniac, NOTHING can be more perfect!

I will be testing out ZzzQuil™ Scented Sleep Aid 

I promise to report back with my findings!

Random Unboxing! A little gift from Thierry Mugler Angel!

So, I went to check the mail today as per usual not expecting much. And, to my surprise, I had a little box from Thierry Mugler.

This year, I had signed up for Thierry Mugler's Angel Room Service. I have been wearing Thierry Mugler's Angel since I was basically in High School and when I see people I graduated with they love that I still smell like "me."

This, I considered to be a huge cost for me at $70 a month for a year. But, I rationalized that whatever I couldn't or wouldn't use could be given as gift. I did the cost analysis, and for what I was getting perfume wise, it would last me multiple years and I would get some extra goodies that I've been dying to try.

I received my first box before I started this blog, so I don't have an unboxing to share :(.
But, here is a picture:

If that isn't a haul, I don't know WHAT is. 

Since then, I have been receiving little gifts from Thierry Mugler at random and they're always a delicious surprise.

So, I was a little over excited when I got this box today, so didn't wait to take a picture first:

I'm still waiting on my second Room Service box, which is the one I'm really excited about. So, I was wondering why I would receive something so tiny. 

Upon opening:

Ooooh a letter and a little box.

Seriously LOVE their stationary:

I know that I am paying a lot for this product. That being said, this little note is great and really shows exemplary customer service. This goes a LONG way with me and is such a nice gesture. The worst thing in the world is to have loyalty to a product or service for over a decade and have them kind of treat you badly. The BEST thing in the world is know that you've put your stock into a company like this that appreciates you as a client/customer and shows that they appreciate your business.

And the reveal!:

SO CUTE! I received

1. A sample of the Angel Liqueur De Parfum. Which, by the way, I REALLY want and is the reason I am on pins and needles for my second Room Service delivery, hoping it is in there.

2. A sample of the perfuming body lotion. These are taking over my apartment!

3. 2 samples of the Perfuming Hair Mist!

Thank you Thierry Mugler! This was an awesome little surprise. I think you will continue to have my business for yet another decade!

Escape Monthly October 2014 England Unboxing!

My Escape Monthly took a hot minute to get here this month. It seemed lost in the mail for almost a week :(

But, it's kind of awesome!

This month, we escaped to England! Here's my unboxing:

Upon Opening...

I was greeted with a waft of something that smelled wonderful and some treats on top!

Our List of Items:

1. Rick Steves' London Travel Guide listed At $19.99 (found on Amazon at a list price of $12.00, on sale for $ 8.85).

2. Soapsmith 3-Piece London Soap Sample listed at $8.00.

3. Westminster Caddy of English Breakfast Tea listed at $11.00

4. Hill Custard Creams listed at $3.00.

5. Rush House Vibrant Dry Body Oil listed at $7.00.

6. Walkers Nonsuch English Creamy Toffees listed at $4.50.

7. London Diecast Taxi listed at $12.00, found on various sites for $4.00!

8. Bonus Item: Corkers Natural British Crunch Chips listed at $3.00.

Let's Dig In!

1. Rick Steves' Pocket London:

As per the norm, I received a pocket guide book. I think this is a cute idea for Escape Monthly to do. However, I find it somewhat insulting that I feel like they are "padding" the value of the box with the guide books and expecting consumers not to pick up on this. On the Rick Steves' website the book sells for $12.99. They're also for sale for around $8 on Amazon and B&N.

I like the guide books, but no, not for "$19.99." Come on guys!

2. Soapsmith 3- Piece London Soap Sampler:

So THIS was that awesome smell? I really like this mini set. The box is adorable- there are 3 different types of soap in the sample and they all smell great. My only little issue was that scents available in the sample weren't readily available for me. But, I looked them up. I *think* I received Limehouse, Lavender Hill, and Brick Lane- but I'm not 100% sure. This cute little set is a win!

3. Westminster Caddy of English Breakfast Tea:

I don't even care about the price comparison, etc. We go through pounds of tea in the winter and we just got 14 new teabag! My fiance loves English tea. And the tin in really cute. I think he'll be happy to see this when he gets home! And, I will definitely reuse this tin and keep it with all my other English Tea tins! This is a win!

4. Hill Custard Creams

There is something wrong with you if you're going to complain about getting cookies in the mail. I got cookies. And I'm pretty happy about it!

5. Rush House Vibrant Dry Body Oil:

This was another great smelling item in my box this month. And, for some lucky reason, I received 2. Lucky me! I'll definitely use this... twice over!

6. Walkers Nonsuch English Creamy Toffees

I will retain mantra I had about cookies. If someone is sending me candy in the mail, I will not complain. Especially not a whole bag of candy. I am eating one of these now. They're delicious and will not last the week. We will all completely disregard the fact that I should be getting in shape for my wedding. 

7. London Diecast Taxi

Not gonna lie, this is probably the most WTF item I have ever received in a subscription box. And for supposedly $12.00- I feel like its a waste. First, a quick google search reveals that this item doesn't sell for more than about 5 Euro, max. Okkkkkk. I'm almost sure that the company that sells the item directly sells it for 2.99 Pounds- which is about $4.80.

To me, this is a waste and also jerking me around that this thing would be $12... Not a win.

8. Bonus Item: Corkers Natural British Crunch Chips:

Now, I'm not sure what the Escape Monthly "Bonus Item" is supposed to be about. I really didn't care for last month's bonus item. And, It's not really clear what the whole bonus thing is. But, moar snacks! I'm saving these for my fiance. The flavor is unusual, but something I may like. I'll report back!

Overall, my fiance and I are big London fans. For some reason, he made me hang a UK flag in our living room. The body products are lovely and I LOVE all the awesome snacks. I mean, that's the reason I signed up for Escape Monthly. That being said, a subscription box company should know their audience. And, I have generally found that most sub box subscribers are very internet savvy. I mean, take one look at Ipsy's and Birch Box's websites. It's kind of insulting to be sent items that are easily researched to be significantly less than what the actual cost of the item is.

For this box, I will give it Escape Monthly London, a 7/10 for the items. But, I am seriously considering the cost for these boxes after next month. Just because next month is we're off to...

Hawaii!! (Hopefully my honeymoon local!)

And I'm in the mood for more coconut stuff!

ShopMissA Review! $1 Products Review!

About a week ago, I posted a link to the Miss A Website that's been gaining popularity for it's $1.00 products. You can find all that info here!

I figured I would buy a couple things specifically for review for my blog!

I've been meaning to sit down and write a review. But, please bear with me, as this is a LONG one and has taken me a little while to sit and write.

To start, I tried to buy at least one item from a number of categories including jewelry and accessories, nail art and cosmetics. I was slightly disappointed that many of the items I liked and wanted were out of stock at the time I was trying to shop. To add to that, if something is out of stock, the site did not allow for me to add the item to my wish list. That was incredibly frustrating.

What I did to circumvent this was to create a Shop Miss A Wants Pinterest board with all the items that were "temporarily out of stock" that I would have considered buying.

To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the quick ordering and turn around- the whole process took about a week total and tracking was included with my order.

Everything came packaged nicely in a bright orange bag with lots of bubble wrap and tissue paper:

Upon open the package, I revealed a very nice stash!

1. KleanColor American Eyecon Wet/Dry Baked Shadow in Matte Purple:

From the make up section, I chose a wet/dry purple eyeshadow, I feel like my life goal is finding and sharing with the world every purple eyeshadow ever created. I'm extremely tentative about using an unknown product on my eyes. The eyeshadow is by KleanColor and is normally $2.99 as per the KleanColor website.

The color looked very vibrant. However, I did notice a chip on the right side of the shadow (by where it says Kleancolor). Ok, we're winning so far... Then I tried to swatch the shadow both wet and dry. I wasn't too too happy with the results...

Well. Ok then, I'm only out a $1 and I was wary about using $1 eyeshadow to begin with. I'm not going to have an emotional meltdown over this.

2. KleanColor Lavender Scented Nail Lacquer in Lavender Kiss.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet elsewhere on the blog, but lavender is one of the colors/themes of my wedding. So, OF course, I had to try this color. I've been looking for a nice (but inexpensive) polish to include in my bridesmaid's gift bags. The polish is $3.49 on the KleanColor website.

But, for the life of me, I couldn't get the top off!!!

So, I had to wait until my fiance got home, so he could give it a try. And I came to find this:

So, um. I got sent what is pretty obviously used nail polish. It was lightly scented. But more like bubble gum than lavender. I opted not to use the product because it seemed compromised.

Ok, $2.00 down the drain. But, I just started right?

3. 3 Sets of Kara Eyelashes (2 sets of Style #43 and Style #199).

I bought 2 sets of Style #43 by accident. But thought it would be nice to show try that pair to demonstrate here. I looked around and you can generally find these lashes for around $1.50

So, I took off all my eye make up before applying. How do I look? 

Had some eyelash glue at home. I'm not going to lie- with the nefarious shadow and polish- I did wipe down the lashes with some alcohol.

Waiting to dry...

Hey! The were easy to apply, took me about 2-3 minutes each eye and they were nicely shaped! 

5 minute make up...

Not too shabby! Ok. These lashes are win. I would definitely consider buying all types of styles if I ordered from Miss A again.

4. Michelle Hoop Earrings:

Meh, you can never go wrong with some cheap hoop earrings right? 

Website Picture: 

Here are mine!:

Ok. Looking pretty good.

5. Missy Pastel Pearl Necklace in Purple:

I was kind of bummed out that the actual pearl necklace I wanted was sold out. But, this one looked good to try. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it came with some cute earrings. And, for $1.00, I really can't complain but the necklace is very "stiff" and sits oddly on me. It is also tied at the base with an annoying little piece of plastic hanging off the decorative part.

Website Picture:

 

Here's mine plus the earrings:

And that annoying plastic piece that I can't stop playing with:

6. Elegant Pearl Hair Comb Cuff Pin in Gold:

I was also kind of bummed out that this was sold out in silver. But, I decided to opt for gold because I wanted to just see if I could pull it off. And, if I couldn't- whatever.

Website Picture: 

Here's Mine: 

Honestly, my hair is so fine that I couldn't even keep the clips in for more than 2 seconds. Maybe I'll play around with it to see if I can make it work!

7. 2 Flower Hair Combs:

I thought these were cute and could be added to my hair for the wedding. Just experimenting now.

Website Picture:

Here Are Mine: 

And, they actually stayed in my messy hair!!:

8. Chain Link Elastic Headband:

This is cute. I'll definitely use it in the future. But, I'm not sure how long it will last.

Website Picture:

Mine:

9. Luxe Nail Decor # 27

Ok. I have NO idea why I bought this thing. It is SO ridiculous. That being said, I was kind of just going nuts with the website at this point in time. It's just so silly

Website Picture:

What I got: 

Embracing my inner Dracula:

Yeh, I'm never going to use this thing. It's huge on my nail/finger and I.... I don't even know.

and FINALLY!

10. Vintage Cameo Pendant Necklace in Purple:

This was another consideration for my bridesmaids. But, truthfully, the chain is WAY too long. I do like the pendant though and may alter it to fit me better.

Website Picture:

Mine: 

It isn't too cheap looking and it's cute. I can dig it.

Overall, I would say my suspicions were confirmed. I will probably use Shop Miss A in the future for cute 1 or 2 time wear costume jewelry and to re-up on eyelashes. And, will forego the cosmetics.

Good stuff!

Will post if I buy more in the future!