Boxycharm rave.

I've only been subscribed to three makeup sub boxes (ipsy, Sephora play, and now boxycharm) but I've done quite a bit of research on others, watched tons of unboxings looked at rants and raves. 

After all you want to know you're getting product for your money. You want to actually enjoy what get and use it all. 

I have to say, after two months of boxycharm I'm beyond impressed. If you weren't sure about boxycharm I hope I can settle some questions for anyone reading or curious about boxycharm.

1) they do not make you spam on social media. 

I'm more likely not going to recommend a site or a referral link if I feel pressured. I don't want to be a walking ad to my friends. 

For those who have or had ipsy, you know that pain. Ipsy has a wait list, in order to get off the wait list you must post on social media, send email or Facebook messages etc. all I could think is, I haven't even gotten a box but you're pushing your product on my friends already. Honestly I made ipsy as only me on Facebook and then posted. Want points for a review? You only get 10/15 if you don't share on social media. Want to see a preview of what you got? Well you get the point.

Boxycharm had none of that, they do have the option to share your reviews but if you don't you still get the charm points. 

There's no referrals unless you truly feel like sharing and you do get charms if someone uses your link. 

2) full size products

Out of two months all my products have been full size, that also includes an eyeshadow palette and a magnetic z palette with six ofra shadows. Their colors also aren't weird. I can't tell you how many times ipsy and sometimes Sephora play has sent me bright Barbie pink lipstick. It just looks awful on me. So far I have gotten red and neutral brown color. Or ipsy would send weird liquid liners, I was in desperate need one month and though ipsy was sending a black liner, well it was green. It wasn't even well pigmented. I swear ipsy sends out the items no one will buy while boxycharm sends stuff people love

3) you can sign up anytime 

When I say you can sign up anytime, if you see a box you like, say it's this month of September, if you sign up before October 1st you'll get septembers box. Which I have to say is amazing!!!!!

4) the quality

I was unsure because it brands I've never heard of but I haven't had one complaint about any product I've gotten. The packaging on this months pur lipgloss was so nice. Reminds me of my B.T.S mascara by too faced. 

5) mostly organic 

Pretty much all the products I've gotten have been chemical free. While I haven't done the research I believe some might be vegan and seem cruelty free. 

I had a real hard time with ipsy because I have very sensitive skin, I usually use vegan products because of that reason. But there were plenty of products that hurt me from ipsy, whenever I got a random item I was too scared to use it. 

I feel boxycharm prides on being universal and diverse. 

6) fast shipping

They were correct when they said you'll get an email 5-10 business days of when it ships, they also ship pretty fast. Tracking is highly accurate. Also have not had a broken item and the box is very sturdy. 

September 2016

Studio makeup on the go palette; this had minimal fallout, they are neutral colors it's small and sleek. They stay on real well with a primer. Their copper color right in the center is so ridiculously gorgeous, I can't stop swatching it. $49.95 usd 

Butter London nailpolish; I believe it's called yummy mummy, I like the formula, nailpolish hardly looks good on my bitten short stubby nails. I gave it to my mom and she loves it and looks great on her long pretty nails. $18 usd

Hairgurt hair mask; the scent is so good I wish strawberry banana things smelt as great as this. I had to use a good chunk of the bottle because my hair is almost waste length and thick. But my hair is also fried. As of right now my hair is still damp since I used it earlier but since my hair is still damp after this long it means my hair is holding moisture. My hair has been so fried that usually it dries within 5-10 minutes. My hair smells great and feels better. I still have a lot of hair mask left $10 usd ($24 for full size)

Hikari eyeliner; only product I wasn't happy with. The pigment was great and smudged well but it irritates my eyes. Some irritate my eyes and some don't and never been sure why. Marc Jacobs gel liner makes my eyes irritated too :( so I've been sticking with my it cosmetics gel liner. $13 usd

Pur lipgloss; mine was a brown color which I'm not usually into brown but it actually looks decent on me. It doesn't slide like usual gloss and is more pigmented than I thought. Packaging was beautiful. $22 usd (on sale at ulta right now for $8.80) 

August 2016

Tacha oil blotting papers; really does removal oil without budging my makeup. I didn't realize how much oil I had until I used it. Both sides can be used and keeps my makeup flawless. $12 usd

Dirty little secret liquid lipstick; a beautiful cherry red, it dries fast and is amazingly lightweight. It lasts a long time but does get a little flaky eventually if you eat anything messy like any liquid lipstick. $10 usd 

Ofra magnetic z palette; it's a magnetic palette that came with 6 ofra shadows. Was really happy to get this because it's large and I can buy single pan shadows and they'll stay put in the palette, or depot my single shadows. The shadow themselves are alright, quite a bit of fallout with the more matte shadows but the glitter ones are gorgeous. $59 usd

Aloe pure time repair serum; it's slightly sticky at first but isn't after it dries. I use this instead of moisturizer sometimes or before bed and it helps keep my skin soft. $48 usd

Amplilash mascara; it was alright, was a pretty good mascara but doesn't beat my holy grail. I gave it to my mom because I have mascara already and she never splurges on mascara. Been trying to keep her free from chemicaly mascara. She really likes it and it doesn't irritate her eyes. $23 usd

This is my referral link if you want to sign up through it. Or just go to boxycharm.com and sign up.

https://boxycharm.com/refer/Lara-PTRBIZAT

App games that don't suck

Anybody who knows me personally knows that I'm always playing games on my phone. With today's phone games it's not like in the past where you purchase or download and it's all yours. There are in app purchases, time waits etc. 

I am not a person who likes to spend money on apps and I certainly do not like spending money on in app purchases. 

I find myself playing games that are great but impossible to play longer than a minute or two without the nagging feeling of buying something. 

Then there are games like flappy bird and color switch which is fine and dandy but I get annoyed fast, and what achievement am I getting? What am I working towards? A high score isn't enough for me. 

Here are the non sucky games I refuse to delete on my iPhone 

1) township

This game can be a pain at first but it honestly grows on you. There are so many elements that come into play and it's very easy to earn township cash, gems and all other things you need. 

You build a community, houses, a population, and you grow different things. As you progress you have different factories and farms that you use to make items to either sell using your helicopter, loading your trains to get building materials, your large shipment plane, or for your shops in the zoo (available at level 40.) 

There are too many great qualities to share them all but you honestly should check it out for yourself. Save your township cash though, use it for additional spaces in your factories. Also try to hold onto all your building materials you'll need them to build community buildings and expand your barn. 

2) puzzles and dragons

This game is entirely unique on its own, you match 3+ orbs as many as you can to create combos to attack enemy monsters. Each character is unique and some dungeons are harder than others, some are special dungeons they come and go. 

The higher rank you get the more things unlock over time like using monster points, multiplayer dungeons and ranking dungeons. 

Every dungeon which usually have 5 mini dungeons in them you get a magic stone for completion. You get log in rewards and you can also gain pal points which are used for the pal machine. 

Pal machine has different events throughout the month, usually; Evo, enhance and rare. 

The monsters you use to battle with you upgrade by fusing other monsters into them, or specifically enhancement monsters. Once at max you can Evo fuse and you need special monsters for that but once you have them they upgrade even further with better stats. 

Tips; save your magic stones, they are $1 a piece if you want to go that route but I am cheap and don't want to spend real money to enjoy a game. Don't waste them on saving yourself in a dungeon if you are defeated. 

I personally use mine for friend expansion, box expansion and of course rare egg machine, but only during godfest. 

Godfest is amazing and if you happen to get an Odin do not take it for granted he's easily one of the best characters but any God character keep it and Evo. 

3) cross logic 

This may seem like a plain game, annoying even but this game doesn't require Internet. A big thing when I didn't have internet for awhile. I have beaten this twice before and got to 100% and restarted. It ends up making pictures and you logically have to find out where to fill in the blanks. 

There are others with the same concept but I find this to be the most adaptable and largest collection. 

This game seems to calm me down when I have anxiety it's addicting and you'll want to play it a lot. 

4) temple run 2 

This is a fast acting little game, it can seem repetitive but you collect coins to further upgrade powers to make the game easier or whichever way you want to go. 

At least with this repetition there is a reason for it you have objectives as well as upgrades. 

This is also a game that doesn't require Internet another perk. The graphics are also very great for it being a simple game. 

There is temple run 1 it's good it's original but compared to their sequel the first one is purely for nostalgia. It takes way too long to upgrade power ups and you have no goals. 

Now everyone for my slight rant on games that made me almost break my phone. 

1) flappy bird; you've played, you know how annoying this is. It took my five minutes to not care anymore 

2) color switch; a flappy bird twist, rings matching colors instant death ugh.

3) fishdom; okay people this was made by the people of township, I thought it would be great until I realized it's impossible to win unless you spend real money. Clear 100 gold spots in 10 moves? No power ups and impossible to earn gems on a consistent basis. 

I loved the idea the creating a fish tank and I loved the puzzles the power ups all of it. But they are trying too hard to scam people and have no respect for that. 

Those were the ones on the top of my head. 

Honorable mentions 

Monster legends; awesome game except it constantly wants you to buy gems, better monsters at unfair prices. 2.3k for the better ones $50 for 600 gems (something along those lines) I'm not spending $100+ for a stupid monster. 

Clash of clans loved it for a time (sorry people became old after waiting a week to upgrade one building) 

Feel free to ask me any questions or make any comments. 

What are your favorite games?

The cream of the crop of mascara.

I had to write a rave review about an amazing experience. I had gotten a sample of better than sex mascara by too faced, (it came with a value set I purchased.) 

As I opened the little mini bottle I laughed at how "clumpy" it looked. I was a big fan of Rimmel scandal eyes and was not willing to budge. 

However, I tried it. As I applied I felt my flat little lashes move upward and stay there. One coat and my eyelashes were lifted and very well coated and evenly. There was no clumps, as I applied a few more coats it transformed my look. 

I completely underestimated this little bottle of lovelines, I now wonder how I ever survived without it.

I used every last drop of that sample, and ended up buying the full bottle. ($23) but they also had a 20% off sale and free shipping which too faced usually has a great sale.

Even for the full price it's now my special always buy. I needed to shout this out and especially because I see mixed reviews on it all the time. But the things people complain about I can't comprehend. 

Too faced's better than sex is angelic! 

Enough said.

Get the most out of your online sephora experience

Even though I love shopping at sephora and I love the high end products sometimes I feel it's a shame to get only one product in the mail. 

Since I shop on a budget and want the most for my buck my first tip about getting more is;

#1 take advantage of mobile sales. They usually require a $25 purchase to qualify. I don't feel a little packet of foundation is quite worth it but at times they have promos like the fall faves promo. With a $25 purchase you get (I forget) between 8-10 fragrant samples. 

I was beyond pleased about this because I was able to try scents that are very high end and there were quite a few that did not mix well with me. Some were too great and now I know about perfumes that go well with me. 

The Hanae Mori I've discovered is my absolute favorite. 

#2 birthday freebies

Sephora always has birthday freebies and this year is the choice between Marc Jacobs beauty (a deluxe sample lipstick and eyeliner) or fresh mini set which is skincare. You are eligible for a birthday freebie when you sign up to be a beauty insider. It's free and fast.

#3 rewards program

I'm not going to lie being on a budget it's hard to rack up these points which is 1 point per $1 spent. The deluxe samples are quite small but it's an extra perk. 

On the plus side for us frugal gals being a beauty insider I have received a couple of surveys from sephora. They just wanted to know about shopping experience etc and rewarded me with rewards points. 

I ended up with 150 maybe more free rewards points. It's not constant but keep a lookout for those emails. 

#4 always snag your three free samples and remember that any purchase over $50 is free shipping. 

#5 buy value sets

If you are unsure about a brand there are numerous value sets with deluxe samples of products from their line. There is a pretty decent amount of them in the $25 range. 

# sales items!

Always check for items on sale you never know what will pop up and they go pretty quick. It's how I got my urban decay ammo palette for $16 

My tactic is I usually wait for a great mobile promo usually the bags of free samples, and my next purchase I'm planning on doing just that and adding numerous 100 points samples (3-4) and snagging up those three free samples. 

Ah nothing better than digging through a box of sephora goodies. 

Dancecrazy stretch strap by salsacrazy inc. review

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I recently got a dance crazy stretch strap in exchange for my honest review it is from the company salsacrazy. 

I didn't realize how much this product itself would change my life. 

I have had knock knees my whole life, my knees have been my biggest struggle my whole life and I started seeing a physical therapist in my teen years. Well that costs money and I didn't have insurance anymore. I since then have moved and as hard as this is to admit I have no license and I have no safe place to walk and my husband is gone all day at work. 

I've lost all strength in my knees it hurts standing, sitting, walking, especially steps. Running? Haha yeah we don't talk about that around here. 

Well the reason I'm spilling my guys is because I tested the product and was finally able to stretch my legs like I should. My knees shook and without this product My leg would have just gone back down to the floor. But no it held me comfortably, allowing me to get a stretch in my knees that I haven't felt in almost ten years since my physical therapy. 

I have circulation back in my knees and I looked at my husband almost in tears because of how good I felt/feel. Stairs aren't so much an issue now. Neither is yoga. 

There is my confessed love for this product. But before I go more about the product itself. 

It's made with durable material and has numerous loops on the siding. It's great for people of all heights. 

You can view it on amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00YA2N542/ref=yo_ii_img

I do feel a true loyalty to this company now and intend on purchasing other products of theirs. They are high quality and therapeutic, their shipping was also fast and very well packaged. 

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Crowdtap rave

I know I have mentioned Crowdtap before in a recent publish but I am just so pleased because like I mentioned before you can win gift cards from them. Earlier this month I won a few and now I have finally used them up. 

I was able to get my husband a game he really wanted and tonight I bought a lip balm from sephora. It was on sale for $5 and I did end up paying 1.68 sephora is super expensive so I feel so lucky to have even a lip balm along the way. 

I also that you can get samples from sephora too. I will be reviewing both items soon but probably the balm first and the game when my husband has time to fill me in on all details. 

Keep tappin crowdtappers! If you haven't been on Crowdtap this month everything starts over on the 1st of August. 

Emailing companies for products

I know that there have been articles like the $39 experiment and things like that. I just want to give my own opinion on the subject and give my personal do's and don't's. 

DO email companies if you love their products. DONT go looking to get rewarded. Companies need to know if their product is doing well how you like so they don't go changing the formula around. Sometimes they might feel they aren't reaching their customers interest level and do something drastic. Let them know you are loyal to them. 

DO email companies if you tried a product and there was a problem or if you didn't like the taste etc. DONT be mean and most of all DONT lie to a company that you hated a product to get a free product from them. It's my pet peeve with the whole scenario. Just. Don't. Do. It. 

DO give recommendations, or ideas on how you think they could improve. 

DO ask if they offer samples. If you want to try before you buy because you don't want to spend $30 on a product that might make you break out. Worse thing they can say is no and if they say yes you might find a company you would love to drop a pretty penny on (like my love for natures gate 😝) 

Give your opinion people it's your money, and body we are what keeps companies healthy so why shouldn't they do the same for us? 

But please I cannot reiterate this enough do not lie! 

If any of you have found great products you would like to share and give your own review please feel free to comment. Let me know your likes and dislikes. Let me know how emailing companies has worked for you.