Review: Dashing Diva Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Strips

A couple of weeks ago I received this free pack of Dashing Diva Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Strips. I don't normally wear nail polish because my fingernails grow in weird ways and have strange grooves in them. But I wanted to see how these would work so I let my nails grow out and tried these gel strips. 

I looked on the Dashing Diva Website and saw that these strips cost $9 a pack and they have an assortment of different colors and designs to choose from. 

The ones I have came with two strips of solid colors as well as accent nail colors. There's 34 strips in all included as well as a nail file. 

So you can see I did let my nails grow out a little bit. It says to wash your hands with soap and water and dry them. I did that. Then you find the right size stickers for your nails, peel them off and apply them to your nails and press down. Then you take the file, fold over any excess and file it off. 

This is my left hand. It was actually easy to apply them and file off the excess.

Even though my nails curve in strange ways and have weird grooves in them I was still able to apply these stickers to my nails. 

It says they can last for up to 14 days and they lasted me 9 days on most of my nails. I think that if I didn't have the weird bumps in my nails and they were flat like normal nails, these would have lasted longer. But 9 days is pretty good for having them last through doing dishes, cleaning, showering and normal everyday activities. 

I like the different accent nails that came with this kit too. The solid color is nice and so are the accents. The instructions say that you just have to take a drop of cuticle oil or nail polish remover to the sticker by your cuticle and peel it off but I didn't even need to do that, they just peeled off easily when I went to take them off after 9 days. 

I still have enough of them to apply them one more time so I probably will. I would buy these and think they lasted a good amount of time for the price you would pay for them. This is easier than painting them, waiting for them to dry and then having them chip after two days. I will definitely be getting more of these. 

Disclosure: I was sent a free pack of these gel strips but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

I know ya'll are gonna laugh but I've never seen a double cherry before, let alone cherries in a bag of cherries that look like they're carrying around their own baby cherries. 

Ken brought me home a 1 lb bag of cherries and every single cherry was either a mature double cherry or was a single cherry with a baby cherry on it. LOL 

Each one had one stem but two cherries and I found it weird to say the least. So to make sure I wasn't about to eat some kind of mutant Area 51 type fruit...I did what anyone would do, I Googled it. Sure enough it was safe to eat. Sometimes for different reasons they just grow like this. First time I've ever seen it though. I still think Area 51 is out here experimenting on the cherries. 

I thought this strange occurrence needed to be documented and Ken laughed as I was taking pictures. But tell me, have you ever seen this before?

Review: Releasing Rage by Cynthia Sax

Book Description

Half Man. Half Machine. All Hers.

Rage, the Humanoid Alliance's most primitive cyborg, has two goals--kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that's all he's been programmed to experience.

Until he meets Joan.

Joan, the battle station's first female engineer, has one goal--survive long enough to help the big sexy cyborg plotting to kill her. Rage might not trust her but he wants her. She sees the passion in his eyes, the caring in his battle-worn hands, the gruff emotion in his voice.

When Joan survives the unthinkable, Rage's priorities are tested. Is there enough room in this cyborg's heart for both love and revenge?

Releasing Rage is a dark BBW Cyborg SciFi Romance.

My Review

As the first female engineer, she has most of the male engineers hating her because they think her job should have gone to a male. They see her as nothing more than a cyborg's whore when she's able to calm Rage down by being submissive to him and he doesn't instantly kill her. Rage is a tool made by the humans, nothing more than a killing machine. He was made to kill the aliens that are warring with the humans and he does his job well, too well. He killed his last handler because the man tortured him and abused him. But Joan is different, she see's past the killing machine to the man who is also there and she finds him attractive even if she's afraid he'll kill her when he's done with her. 

So she does what she has to in order to get Rage to trust her enough that she can be his engineer and keep him in working order so that he can keep going on his missions. But while he's gone, the other engineers taunt her and plot to kill her. 

Even though Rage doesn't trust her or any human because of what they've done to him and how they treat him, he comes to care for her. They find out that the cyborg's are in danger and have to find a way to deal with that. I actually liked this story and I liked Joan and Rage as a couple for the most part. There were a few things that bothered me and detracted from the enjoyment of the story a bit so I think this story really had potential that just came in a little short. I'll add why it came up short for me below. Warning: There are spoilers ahead. 

Spoilers ahead:

This is a very dark SciFi romance. It should have come with a trigger warning but it didn't so I'm giving you one now. This story contains a brutal gang rape/beating at the hands of the male engineers. The other thing is she goes into this job as his engineer knowing or at least believing that he'll kill her when he's done with her. Why in the world would she work so hard for this type of job? That made little sense to me. One last thing...Joan worked on a farm with cows and was smart enough to take birth control so when she starts gaining weight and her belly starts protruding, she's too stupid to figure out she's pregnant? 

End of spoilers. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #87

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

I was sitting in my chair at my desk when I heard someone yelling outside. So I looked outside and saw some idiot running across the roof of the building across from me. I got my camera and took a picture from inside my apartment. He was staring right at me and started flexing his muscles. Yeah, total freak show right there. People were yelling at him to get down and he kept running back and forth screaming, flailing his arms. It was obvious to me that he was on drugs so I didn't go outside. His friends did finally get him down off the roof and inside their apartment.

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Review: Ipsy Glam Bag - June

Ipsy is a monthly subscription box that sends you 5 sample size makeup or beauty products. You can customize what they send you by filling out the personal surveys. I love the bright pink package they send it in. There's no mistaking who that's from when you see it in your mailbox. These bags are $10 each.

I have three extra products, the eyeliner and mascara. I took advantage of the add-ons you can add to your bag each month. These add-on were $3 a piece but worth it.

What was in my bag? 

The three add on items were... 

Jonteblu felt tip eyeliner. 

Buxom Cosmetics mascara. 

Tarte Base Tape primer. 

The other items were...

Tetris X Ipsy lip balm. 

First aid Beauty primer. 

Tonymoly jelly cleanser. 

Farmacy sheet masks. 

Sugar Cosmetics blush. 

Makeup bag. 

2 more sheet masks! lol It's like a running joke now. I was actually out of sheet masks so I guess fate thought I needed a couple more. They worked about as well as all the others I've tried. Good at moisturizing and that's about it. 

I love the blush, it's a nice peach color. The eyeliner is nice, works good and is very easy to work with. The mascara does exactly what you would hope it would and made my lashes look longer. I like getting the different primers and both of these work well under my makeup. The jelly cleanser smells nice and took off the residual makeup I had on my face. 

The only thing I wasn't thrilled with was the lip balm. It was a bright pink color and even though I like pink, I'm not trying to look like a cartoon. 

For the most part I like everything in the bag. 

Have you tried this subscription bag?

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

A free pack of Dashing Diva Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Strips.
Vichy Moisturizer.
Saba Pantyliners.

I'm really looking forward to trying out those nail strips. I like the colors I see in there.
I've tried Vichy moisturizer before and I like it. It always smells so good too.
And a whole pack of free pantyliners, I'll take it! Usually I get one or two samples so an entire pack is a plus.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Target Beauty Box -June

Each month Target releases a new Target Beauty Box but supplies are limited and it's first come first serve until they run out. These boxes go fast so I try to grab one as soon as I see it being talked about on Twitter or fb. I haven't bought a Men's Box before but this month I did because I liked what was in the box. They are $7 a piece and usually well worth the price.

Here's a picture of the Men's box. I mostly just wanted that razor and toothpaste for myself and will be giving the rest of it to Ken. 

The Women's Target Beauty Box had a few things in it that I wanted this month as well. 

In the Men's box there was...

Crest Gum Detoxify Deep Clean Toothpaste. 

Bulldog Men's Skincare, moisturizer, Face Wash and Shave Gel. 

Dove- Men+Care Clean Comforort Dry Spray Antiperspirant. 

Gillette Skinguard Men's Razor. 

Old Spice Deodorant. 

Head & Shoulders Old Spice. 

In the Women's Box was...

TRESemme Dry Shampoo. 

Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo. 

Pixi T-zone Peel Off Mask. 

CND Vinylux Mini Duo Pack nail polish. 

Pantene Pro-V Rescue Shots Hair Treatment. 

Ken got most of the stuff in the Men's box which he said he liked. He's tried most of the products in that box before and liked them so I figured he'd like the box. I mostly just wanted the razor. lol But I also wanted to show what all comes in the Men's boxes in case you haven't seen them before. Each month is something different. 

I really liked the products in the Women's box even though they were all new to me. Two new dry shampoo's that ended up working pretty good. They do leave a bit of a white residue in my hair though so you really have to work them in if you have darker hair. 

I've been trying out the nail polish and like that as well as the peel off mask. You knew they were going to have to put some kind of face mask in this box. lol 

The Pantene rescue shot is like a deep conditioner and works really well. I have long hair so I don't mind trying something new that seems to help keep my long hair manageable. 

For $7 each, I think these boxes were a pretty good deal. 

Did you get either of these boxes?

Review: Unleashed by Diana Palmer

Book Description

She vowed to never trust another man…until she met him. 

A passionate new Long, Tall Texans romance from New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer 

Clancey Lang knows how to run. She’s been doing it since the day she fled her abusive home to save her and her younger brother’s lives. That was the same day she decided to never let herself depend on anyone else. Especially men. Though she’s tempted—mighty tempted—to put her faith in her boss, ruggedly handsome Texas Ranger Colter Banks. If only he would look her way…

For far too long, Colter has been distracting himself with women he knows will never fully satisfy him. But there’s something about his pretty assistant, Clancey, that he simply can’t resist. Something slowly but surely drawing every ounce of his attention. But is he falling for a woman who’ll never let herself be caught?

My Review

Clancy was young when her parents died, but she still had her grandpa and her younger brother until her grandpa disappeared. Her step brother was down right mean as hell to both her and her little brother but he's been in prison for a while for what he did to them. Because of what happened she's gun shy around men. But she comes to trust Colter, her boss when he takes care of her when she gets sick. 

Colter has been burned in the past and still pines away for the girl that got away but when he finds out that Grace is coming back, he thinks he might have a chance with her and he thinks that's what he wants. Then he gets closer to Clancy and her brother and finds he has feelings for her even though he thinks she's too young for him. 

When Clancy's step bother is about to get out of prison and come back to the house that she and her brother are living in, she knows that she has to get out fast. But she doesn't make enough money to find a place which puts her in a tough spot. But she thinks she has all her bases covered and her step brother won't be able to get at them when he gets out. Only problem is she was wrong and her step brother tries to get revenge for her putting him in prison. Thankfully things work out in her favor that time but that doesn't stop him which puts her and Tad in even more danger. Her step brother is hell bent on getting revenge for her testifying against him and even goes so far as to threaten others to find out where she's hiding. 

Clancy's grandfather has been missing for years and is presumed dead which was sad. Helping Clancy has brought her and Colter closer together and I was rooting for them. They make a great couple. He's exactly what she needs and she's what he needs even if he doesn't realize it yet. There was enough action, bad guys and romance in this one to keep me entertained.

I've been a big fan of Diana Palmer since I started reading her books 20 years ago so I was excited to get this one. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I received a free copy via NetGalley but all opinions are my own. 

Review: Alpha's Promise by Rebecca Zanetti

Book Description

To hell and back . . .

Though he has vampire, demon, and Viking blood rushing through his veins, Ivar Kjeidsen’s soul-crushing trip to hell broke him in ways he can barely fathom.  One vow keeps the deadly immortal standing: To rescue the vampire brother who had sacrificed freedom for him.  To do that, Ivar needs the help of a brilliant physicist with wary brown eyes, fierce brilliance, and skin that's way too soft.

Dr. Promise Williams understands the underpinnings of the universe but has never figured out the human beings inhabiting it.   Her function is to think—and not feel—until she’s touched by a vampire who’s nowhere near human. The primal hunger in his eyes awakens feelings in her that defy calculation. As she shows him the way to step between worlds, he brands her with a pleasure that could last more than a lifetime . . .

My Review

Promise is a physicist and one of the best in her field and because of this she's just been put at the top of a hit list. When scientists start getting murdered, Ivar and his team know they have to protect Promise. But Ivar jumps the gun and scares Promise when all he's trying to do is make sure she's safe. 

Ivar is half demon, half vampire...viking and one hundred percent badass. His head might not be screwed on right after being in a hell dimension but he knows that he has to keep Promise safe whether she wants him to or not because she is their key to rescuing their brother from a hell dimension. 

The bad guys are after promise which puts them all in danger but Ivar is really good at keeping her safe. Watching these two get to know one another was really fun. It was interesting to see Promise get to know the other members and mates of Ivar's team. They all seem to get along really well and they were really welcoming which is not what I was expecting from vampire, fae, demon type people. There was also a bit of a twist in regards to one of the bad guys but I kinda knew who the idiot was and knew he was going to turn out to be a bad guy. There's an underlying storyline that continue throughout this series and now that I've read this book, I need to know what happens next. I'm well and truly hooked but it was a really good story so I'm sure the next book will be just as good. 

If you haven't read the other books in this series, which I haven't, you're going to be a little confused about the other dimensions/worlds that they talk about in this book but I was able to pick up on what was going on pretty fast. I will say all the math talk did get a little boring at times but I understand why it was in this book, I mean Promise is a physicist and extremely smart. She't trying to find a way to save someone on a hell planet using math, so of course math is going to be a big part of this book, doesn't mean it didn't get a little boring to read though. While there is a lot of astrophysics talk going on in this, the author made it easy or at least somewhat easy to understand what they were talking about. I love Rebecca Zanetti's books so I knew I wanted to read this one out of order and just read the other books when I have a chance to. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given this book for free via NetGalley but all opinions and thoughts are my own. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I'm the new King of Amazon. I saw what you bought."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"We has a present."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Dis my strawberry, you find your own."

Apartment Life #86

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

This week we saw one of our old apartment managers that got fired back in 2012. He came here because he's still friends with one of the guys who lives here.

Back in 2012 he said they got fired because his wife got caught embezzling thousands of dollars from the company and she had 2 civil court cases against her from residents who she borrowed money from and never paid back. She had been taking all the petty cash the office had for paying small things like quick plumber calls, after hours maintenance calls ect. But she had been writing down all of these after hours calls that never happened and pocketing the petty cash. 

She had also been messing with rent papers and telling people they were late on their rent on the 2nd of the month even though we have until the 3rd to pay rent and then charging them a $30.00 late fee. And she was keeping all the late fee's that were bogus and she got caught.

Her husband had to sell his motorcycle and give the apartment management company $5000.00 or they were going to file embezzling charges against her. When they moved out of here they went into hiding because of all the charges they were facing. I know because we had been friends with them and the Marshall's as well as the Constable's office called us and came by several times looking for them and asking us if we knew their new address. We didn't know it so we couldn't help them so it was weird to see him the other day. 

Then the woman who I had to call the police on a couple of weeks ago was back knocking on my neighbors door screaming that she needed her phone. She left some of her stuff at his apartment when she left and now she wants it back. When he wouldn't answer the door she started knocking on all the neighbors doors. 

She knocked on my door too but I didn't answer the door. This is the same woman who used to live here and got evicted. She and her boyfriend would get into a big screaming match and she would yell that she was going to f*ck all the guys in this building so she could get money for some coke...and I doubt she was talking about the drink. And yes, she saw me taking her picture so I took the dog outside for a potty break and looked right at her. She just tried to stare me down...didn't work. She said nothing! That's what I thought. 

And then on another day the police helicopter was up in our neighborhood but no police cars showed up.

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Review: Drakon's Knight by N.J. Walters

Book Description

Drakon Jericho Drake, the child of a pure-blood dragon and human, has a simple plan: Kill the leader of the Knights of the Dragon and start a war. Except, when he meets his target, Karina Azarov, she can’t remember who she is. Worst of all––he can’t kill her. His dragon side has just claimed the dangerous woman as his mate.

Karina has no idea why these Drakon’s have taken her to their home. And she most certainly does not understand why she’s so drawn to her captor. Maybe because he’s strong, intelligent, and caring, in his enigmatic sort of way. One thing she knows, he’s not going to hurt her. If only she could remember something from her past that would explain why these Drakon’s hate her so much.

But if her memory returns, mated or not, he may get his war.. And one of them will die.

My Review

Karina was marked for death by the Drakon's because she's the leader of the Knights of the Dragon but when they pull her from the car crash, Jericho can't kill her because his dragon has claimed her as their mate. When the Drakon's talk to her they find out that she can't remember who she is or what she does. She has no idea why they would want to kill her. Even more curious is a tattoo on her that has a big wound through it from the crash that the Drakon's find is magical in some way. She's been having horrible migraines and has been taking pills for it but the pills aren't what they seem either. So she's been lied to by the Knights and didn't realize that either. 

Jericho knows she could get her memory back at any time and he and his team members know they can't trust her because of who she is but she's not what they expected at all. The Knights of the Dragon kidnap the Drakon who are half dragon half human and drink their blood to heal themselves and live longer. Drakon's can shift into a dragon so that's another reason they are caught, caged and experimented on. So there's a real problem with keeping Karina around since her people will be looking for her.

When they all finally come face to face with the person who has really been pulling the strings behind the scenes for the Knights of the Dragon, a shocking revelation will be revealed. Poor Karina has been lied to and manipulated for years and she didn't even know it. 

There were so many secrets and twists right from the beginning of this story and I was excited to see where it all was going. The second half of this book was filled with so many twists and turns, lies and intrigue that I never knew exactly where it was going. This is the 7th book in this series and while it would be better to start reading from the beginning, you can read this book and still understand what's going on. 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

Here's what I received this week:

Cheez It Snap'd chips
Coupon for a free Oreo flavored Creamer
Coconut oil
L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Towelette
10 free Snapfish prints
And I won a kindle ebook from a Goodreads giveaway.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

The Oreo creamer is good. I've never used coconut oil before so I'm not sure what to do with it yet. I haven't used the self tanning towelette yet. 

Review: Fire & Rescue Shifters Collection 1: Books 1-3 by Zoe Chant

Book Description

Three unique shifter heroes who will set your heart aflame!

Whether it's a rogue dragon or just a scared little lion cub shifter stuck up a tree, the firefighters of Alpha Team can handle any emergency. But there's one inferno even these powerful shifters can't fight... the fiery passion sparked by their true mates!

In this red-hot box set, you’ll find strong curvy heroines, sexy British shifters, interracial fated mates, and absolutely no cliffhangers! The set contains the first three novels in the hilarious, heartwarming Fire & Rescue Shifters series:

FIREFIGHTER DRAGON - Welsh dragon shifter Dai rescues a curvy archaeologist with a priceless find and a ruthless enemy who’ll do anything to get his claws on it. Can Dai protect his mate, and convince her the only treasure he wants is her heart?

FIREFIGHTER PEGASUS - No one know that Pegasus shifter Chase’s ready grin and reckless ways hide a broken heart. But now fate has handed him a second chance to win back his one true mate...

FIREFIGHTER GRIFFIN - Torn between two inner animals, retired firefighter Griff has only months to live. But his true mate and her young son need a man who can protect them forever...

My Review

I'm going to do a mini review for each of the books that I read in this collection. 

Firefighter Dragon (Fire & Rescue Shifters 1)

Virginia had been looking for proof that she'd found Brithelm's burial place when someone found her in a place she wasn't supposed to be. After running away, a huge dragon appeared in front of her and she ran. Virginia had inadvertently stolen something from a dragon's hoard and he wanted it back. Dai and his team save her from a fire but Dai realizes that Virginia is his mate. Dai has a face to face with the angry dragon who wants his coin back and assures Dai that he will be coming for his stolen property so Dai tells her that he is there to protect her from the dragon. The story was a fun one and ends with Dai and the other dragon facing off to see who will win. 

Firefighter Pegasus ( Fire & Rescue Shifters 2)

Connie was always finding her father making another gambling bet that he couldn't cover. She was always looking for him in the seediest of bars and making sure he got home before he got himself in over his head. When her dad gets caught cheating, she starts a fire in order for them to get away. When Chase and his team get there to put out the fire and he finds Connie in the fire and pulls her out. He can hardly believe he's found her again because they had a falling out years ago even though he knew she was his mate. He's hoping to explain what happened all those years ago and have her forgive him and have a second chance with her. Connie's father had gambled her plane in a bet and the thugs broke his arms so he couldn't fly the plane in a race so Chase decides to fly in his place and win so she doesn't lose her plane. Things don't go as planned, a surprise enemy surfaces to put them in danger and Connie finally finds out the truth. This was such a good story. 

Firefighter Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters 3) 

This was my favorite story in this collection. Griff  has two animals inside him, a lion and an eagle but he's never been able to shift because neither animal will give up control and they fight all the time. Because he can't shift, he's dying and only has a couple of months to live. He's a dispatcher for the fire department and when one of the other dispatchers gets a call about a little boy turning into a lion and getting stuck up a tree, he knows he has to go check it out. He helps the cub down from the tree and finds out the boys mother is his mate. Hayley hasn't seen her son's father since before he was born. The guy just took off and wanted nothing to do with their son. But she sends him an email about him shifting into a lion cub which causes all sorts of problems because now that his son has shown that he inherited his shifter gene, he wants custody of him. The boys biological father turns out to be a complete jerk and Griff turns out to be exactly what she needs in her life. I felt bad for Griff with all her had to endure because his inner animals fought for supremacy and stopped him from being able to shift the way he should have been able to. But this story has a great ending and now I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series. 

I give this collection 4 out of 5 stars. 

Makeup Favorites

I was going to call this Makeup Haul but these are the 4 things that I buy every other month, so makeup favorites was more appropriate. So how about a review or 4?

Some of you are going to think I'm crazy but I wear two different foundations for two different reasons. lol I apply the NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat foundation first but only in places where my skin is red. It's great for covering up redness without having to cake the stuff on. I like a medium coverage foundation so you can still see through it to some of my skin which is why I use the Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid #30 on top of the NYX foundation. I like a medium coverage foundation that has pink undertones and this one has the exact right color for my face and you can see my freckles peeking through it. But using both of these foundations cover the redness on my face as well as making my skin all one color with pink undertones so I look like I got a little sun. That's what works for me, you might use something different. 

My next favorite thing is the Revlon Colorstay black eyeliner. It has a twist up top so you don't have to sharpen it but if you like a sharper point it comes with a built in sharpener and smudger. It's soft and glides on so smoothly. It's the best one I've found and I've tried a lot of them. 

Last but not least is my favorite Finishing Powder. I had been using a Maybelline powder until I found this NYX Mineral Matte Finishing Powder in light/medium. It's even more finely milled than some of the other loose powders I've used but what I really like is it keeps me from looking oily. I can use a fluffy brush to put this on in the morning and not have to re-apply it at all during the day and I don't get oily in my t-zone at all. This is the first powder that I've found that will do that and so once I started using it, I've stuck with it because it works so well. 

I use a lot of drugstore brands because I see no reason to pay $30 for a foundation or $40 for a powder when you can find great priced products elsewhere. I buy most of my makeup either from ELF, Walmart, ULTA or Amazon. The prices are just as good as going to the store and I don't have to leave my apartment. 

Here's the prices for the products when I bought them from Amazon. 

NYX Foundation $ 7.50

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation $7.67

NYX Finishing Powder $5.99

Revlon Colorstay pencil $3.51

Review: Real Men Howl by Celia Kyle and Maria Maddix

Book Description

Mason’s inner wolf will go crazy without her. Lucy thinks he’s already crazy. Werewolves aren’t real. Right?

Lucy Morgan left Ashtown, Georgia, ten years ago and planned to never return. Unfortunately, life didn’t get that memo. She’s back and now painful memories follow her everywhere. Until she meets him. Mason Blackwood is over six feet of sinfully gorgeous man who—for some reason—wants her. He also thinks he’s a werewolf so… yeah. He’s crazypants. But when he wants to have his wicked way with her, his sanity doesn’t seem all that important anymore.

Mason isn’t sure how much longer he can remain Alpha over the Blackwood pack. Without a mate to balance him, his wolf snatches more control every day. It won’t be long before he loses himself to the animal entirely. Then he meets Lucy—a sassy, curvaceous beauty who calms his beast with a smile. One sniff is enough to tell him she’s his mate, and nothing will keep them apart.

Not even the pack’s deadliest enemy who’s determined to kill Lucy before Mason can claim her.


My Review  

Mason was quickly losing control and was slowly going feral. If he turned feral his pack would have no choice but to kill him. The only thing that stood between him and death was a mate, if only he could find her. So when Mason meets Lucy, he knows he can't let her go but she just thinks he's bossy and irritating.

Lucy moved back to her home town after being gone for ten years. She'd left after she'd witnessed her parents murder and it still haunted her. Lucy is accidentally hurt and goes to her childhood home to recover. She's not expecting Mason to show up at her door to make sure she's alright. She's instantly attracted to him but assures him she's fine and shuts the door in his face. He's stunned because women usually fall at his feet, but not this time which amuses him a little. 

Lucy is awesome! Omg this woman is all snark, snarl and verbal jabs. She's clever, smart and funny. I loved her character so much. At first she does not like how alpha Mason is or how bossy he seems and she lets him know... all the time. It was hilarious because he's not used to anyone talking to him like that. He's not used to a female not giving into his charm and good looks right away either and Lucy resists him at every turn. 

Watching these two get to know one another and slowly realize that Lucy is quickly falling for Mason as much as Mason has already fallen for her was a lot of fun. There's also an enemy causing problems for Mason's pack which turns into a huge twist towards the end but it fit so well in this story. I love a good curve ball when done well and this was. 

Mason's pack mates are very welcoming, so nice and everyone is so happy that Mason found his mate and not just because not finding her would have meant a death sentence for him. The best secondary characters were definitely Charlie and Ghost. I really liked how rambunctious the kids or pups were and Ghost the cat was a great addition to the story. 

I had a good time with this book and Lucy had me smiling more times than I can count. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of me*

"Dis bed is very comfy."

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #85

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

2 years ago I had a new neighbor and he had 3 little dogs. He didn't walk very fast because his legs and feet were terribly swollen so when one of his dogs ran out and he tried to call him back and it didn't work he started yelling, "Hamburger! Chicken nuggets! Din din! C'mon, I'll feed you something extra good if you'll just come back. Treat!"

Treat was the word that finally got the dogs to run back in his apartment. LOL

I remember laughing so much because it happened a lot while he was there.

Nothing crazy happened this week, which was nice so let's hope it stays quiet for a while.

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Review: The BEARly Tamed Grizzly by Jenika Snow

Book Description

Oli

I didn’t know her, what she looked like, where she was, but I knew my mate was out there. And it was that truth that had me saving myself for her. Only her. If I couldn’t fully give myself over to my fated mate, what kind of worthy male was I?


But staying in town, hidden deep within the forest, wouldn’t bring my mate to me. I had to go and find her.
I had to make her mine.

India


As a former foster child, I never had real family, no roots. I’d always felt like something was missing, so I worked hard on helping others. My mobile medical van was where my passion lay. It’s how I made sure no one else felt helpless.


But when my van was broken into, and my safety compromised, it was a big bear shifting male who came to the rescue.


Oli said I was his. He claimed I was his mate. He seemed certain of it just by looking at me. It was insanity, but I couldn’t deny the pull I felt for him, the way my body craved his.


Pushing him away wasn’t an option, not when he was always there, watching me, making sure I was protected. And it was that need inside of me, the one that grew and consumed me, that finally had me giving in.
I soon realized being mated to a bear shifter meant he was grumpy, protective, possessive, and wanted only one thing. 

Me.

My Review

Oli was having a hard time because both of his brothers had found their mates and he still hadn't. He decides to take things into his own hands and go looking for her. 

India is a nurse who has a mobile medical van and helps people who are in need.

Oli felt like something was about to happen but he didn't know what, didn't know when, he just had a strange feeling a few times. He finally put it together that the mobile medical van had been around when he had the strongest strange feelings so this time when he spotted it he went to it. That's when he realized it had just been burglarized and India was inside having just been attacked. They don't meet under the greatest of circumstances but she needed help and he was there to do what he could. 

When he realizes he just found his mate he does what he can to keep his grizzly from coming out and scaring her even more. She's not sure what the heck is going on but she feels better with him there. 

It almost seemed like it was a sort of intuition that made a shifter or their mate go in a certain way or stop in a certain place in this trilogy or at least it seemed that way to me. They always seem to go to the right place to find their mates which was fun. 

Watching these two get to know one another and get closer was fun. They are so good together and it was a great story and ending to the trilogy that I've really enjoyed. I like the little look at the end of each of these books where we get to see a little while in the future and how they're doing. This was a great novella and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.