Review: IPSY Glam Bag - November

Ipsy is a monthly subscription box that sends you 5 sample size makeup or beauty products and a makeup bag. 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. 

What did I get?

Skone eyeliner. 

TheBalm Cosmetics highlighter. 

It Cosmetics face cream. 

Pixi by Perta mineral duo eyeshadow. 

SLMISSGLAM tapered face brush. 

Makeup bag.

TheBalm Cosmetics highlighter is a cream highlighter and it's bright! A little goes a long way. I like a more subtle highlighter so I'll be using this sparingly. 

The face cream is a good one. I like to use it as a moisturizer under my makeup. The eyeliner works great and stays on all day. 

I didn't have this kind of brush so I was happy to get it to use with setting powder. 

The eyeshadow is definitely my favorite thing in this months box though. The colors are my kind of colors and they are really pretty once I used them on my eyes. 

I think the makeup bag is cute too.

Did you get this box?

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.

What did I get this week?

3 samples of FRE' face cleanser, moisturizer and serum.
Clarins face cream.
2 perfume samples.
Heinz Mayochup sample.
Chlorphen-12 allergy medicine samples.
I also won a $50 gift card to Crate & Barrel from Ranchology Rewards.

I liked the face creams and the cleanser. I didn't like the serum because it was a little sticky on my face.

I love the perfume samples. I got them when I spent my $50 giftcard at Macy's.

The Mayochop tastes just like mayo and ketchup mixed together. I think it's good on hot dogs.

The allergy medicine did nothing for my allergies.

Did you get any freebies this week?

Review: Birchbox- November

I signed up for a Birchbox subscription box. It's only $15 a month and this month's box came with 7 products.

What was in the box?

ACURE Seriously Soothing Blue Tansey night oil. 

Davines LOVE shampoo and conditioner. 

Wander Beauty mascara. 

Sunday Riley A+ high dose serum. 

Luscious Lip Stain- Holiday Getaway color. 

Juliette Has A Gun Not A Perfume Eau de Parfum. 

So let's talk about the Juliette Has  Gun not a perfume...perfume. It says not a perfume but the description says Eau de Parfume. I'm confused. lol It says it's a minimalist scent and has a single note of cetalox. Well it must be really minimalist because I smell...nothing. It's like spraying on water. No scent at all. 

The Tansey night oil smells really good. The shampoo and conditioner smells so good and works well. Of course I like the mascara. I can always use another mascara. I seem to go through them fast. 

I'm not a fan of the serum. Most serums are sticky to me so I'm not a fan. The lip stain is alright. Not my favorite though. 

So it was a mix this month. Some I liked and some I didn't. 

Did you get this box?

Review: Chosen Mate by Katie Reus

Book Description

Her past has taught her to be wary…

With an abusive relationship behind her, wolf shifter Leslie is quietly raising her young son in the Kendrick pack. If she’s occasionally lonely, it’s a small price to pay for son’s safety. And if she’s secretly longing for pack alpha Malcolm Kendrick, well…she’s keeping that fantasy to herself. Experience has made her a realist, and they’re far too different to work.

This alpha is about to stake his claim…

She has no idea Malcolm wants her just as fiercely. That he’s been subtly courting her for a year. But subtlety has gotten him nowhere—even if he thought it was the best choice after what she’d been through. He wanted to make sure Leslie didn’t feel obligated to him, that she was truly ready to move on. Now that he knows she is, he’s determined to make sure it’s with him. And when a threat from her past surfaces, he’ll eliminate anyone who would dare to hurt his mate.

My Review

Leslie got out of an abusive relationship a little over a year ago. She and her mom were able to get her baby out and leave. Her mate who had been abusing her was killed and now she's with Malcolm's pack. Leslie and the rest of the pack are wolf shifters. Leslie has taken things slowly and let herself heal from all she was put through but she's been dealing with her alpha, Malcolm whom she has feelings for but she doesn't think has any feelings for her. 

Malcolm is the alpha of his pack and ever since Leslie, her son and mother joined his pack, he's been showing her that he can be trusted and he knows that she feels safe with him but he's not sure she feels anything for him. He's been sending her subtle signals that he's interested for months but she hasn't picked up on any of them so now the only thing for him to do is make his intentions clear to her. 

Right as Malcolm and Leslie are finding their way to each other, a new threat from her old life rears its ugly head and puts her son in danger. Malcolm isn't about to let anything hurt the people he's grown to love but first he has to figure out who the wolf is who's been stalking outside his his pack. 

This novella was packed with story. it was a fun quick read filled with action, danger and romance. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

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

Review: Stone Lover by Emma Alisyn

Book Description

Either she cures the Prince, or she is sold in marriage to a warrior she doesn’t love….

Brilliant scientist Surah, the half-human daughter of a royal concubine, endured the scorn of the gargoyle court growing up. She doesn’t care- the only warrior who matters is Malin, and she will cure his genetic disease if it kills her.

It very well may. Enemies at court threaten her life to stop her research- enemies who don’t want Prince Malin to reclaim his throne, or to see her as his mate and Princess. If she fails, he will lose his immortality and be trapped in human form forever… and die.

If she fails, her half-brother will sell her in marriage to the highest bidding warrior. But Malin will kill any warrior in court, winged or no, to prevent them from laying claim to his mate. Especially when she conceives his baby—the true Heir to the gargoyle throne.

This is a steamy paranormal shifter romance featuring hot, winged alpha males and a smart, strong heroine. With a futuristic flair, this is for readers who enjoy urban fantasy, dragon shifters (because hot men with wings are hot men with wings), surprise babies and stories with rich characters, meaningful relationships and plenty of action and adventure.

My Review

Prince Malin is the eldest brother but his brother, Prince Geza was in power because Malin had a genetic defect that was slowly turning him human. A family member, Princess Surah who is half gargoyle and half human is trying to find a cure for Malin but her half brother, Geza is threatening to marry her off to a warrior she doesn't love. Women aren't treated well in gargoyle society so she has little say. So when Malin speaks up and declares his feelings for Surah, there are those that don't like it including Geza. 

There are members of their culture that don't want Malin to be cured because then he could take control back and there are those that want Geza to stay in power. Gargoyles lived among humans and humans knew about them which I found really interesting. Surah isn't a female who is used to being told what to do. She constantly tells her brother, Geza what she's not going to do which I thought was funny. It's obvious that he cares about her in his own way. Geza and Malin are brother's as well but Malin isn't blood related to Surah so there's no reason they can't be together. 

I really liked the politics of this story even though it was confusing at times. There's a lot of drama, backstabbing and a a few interesting twists that made the story really fun. I already like gargoyle stories and this was a fun read. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

"I'm just sunning myself on this leaf"

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

"Yes, we do sleep with our slippers on"

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

"I'll be serving eggs for breakfast"

Apartment Life #107

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 the police helicopter was up flying right over my complex on three different days. No police cars showed up though which was weird. I have no idea why the police helicopter kept flying over my complex though but it was loud because he was so low and I was able to get a couple of pictures. 

When they fly really low it shakes the entire apartment and it's really loud. There were several people outside taking pictures of the helicopter. I wish I knew why they kept coming back for though. Things have been pretty quiet around here lately. 

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

Review: Native Deodorant

A while back I was sent a small sample of this Native Deodorant in Lavender and Rose scent. The sample was small, I pictured it here next to a penny. But it was enough of a sample for me to use it over a week's time so I could give my impression of it. 

Let me first say that the lavender scent is strong, like really strong. I didn't detect any rose at all. If you don't like lavender then this is not the right scent for you. 

I used it like I would normally use a deodorant but I found that it did not keep me from smelling bad. I had to keep re-applying it after about 5 hours. My usual brand I only have to apply once a day. It also didn't keep the wetness from being there like my usual brand does. This would not work for me at all in the Summer heat, not at all. 

After a week, I stopped using it and threw the remainder away because it just didn't work for me. I also have to say that I had to wash my underarms 4 times before the strong lavender scent was gone. That overbearing scent was just too much but even with the scent being so strong it didn't stop that stinky underarm scent from being there as well. It just didn't work as a deodorant.

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.

What did I get this week? 

Peach and Lily sheet face mask. 

Rituals overnight hand balm. 

I knew it wouldn't be too long before I got another face mask. This one worked as well as most. Smelled pretty good and left my face feeling soft but that's all I get out of these face masks. 

The Rituals overnight hand balm is a clear cream that smells so good and you're supposed to rub onto your hands before bed and sleep with it on. It rubs in really well and leaves a soft powder like feel on your hands. It didn't really help with my dry skin problem though. But I do smell good. lol

What freebies did you receive this week?

Review: Daily Goodie Box- November

The Daily Goodie Box has been around since about July of 2016. I signed up for an account right after I heard about them. They are 100% free, you don't even have to pay for shipping. And for a free box it's a nice sampler box of products.

What did I get in this box?

Hydralyte - Electrolyte Solution-  This was an orange drink that's good for you. I thought it had an ok orange flavor and it being good for you is a plus. 

Green Goo - Peppermint Toothpaste- This toothpaste has a nice peppermint flavor and it works really well. I used it for a week and I think it works as well as my other toothpastes that I've used. 

Teaonic - MOJO Herbal Wellness Shots- This really isn't my kind of thing. I didn't care for the taste of this at all. But for those who are looking for this type of thing and don't mind a medicinal flavored shot, this might be worth looking into. 

Sir Kensington’s - Pizza Ranch Dressing- This is a pizza flavored ranch and I will say that the pizza flavor is actually pretty good. I think I would use this more as a dipping sauce than a dressing but you can use it as both. 

WOLO WanderBar - Peanut Butter Protein Bar- I've said before that I'm not a fan of protein bars and this one was no different for me. I did try a small bite of it and it was just ok to me. Ken on the other hand loves these kinds of bars so he enjoyed it. 

Aprati Foods - Frutati™ Hard Candy Assortments- These fruit candies are actually pretty good. Ken and I both tried these and liked them. I like some flavor more than others but they were all pretty good. 

Que Bella - Peel Off Masks- I was sent 3 of these face masks and tried them all. They work about as well as most of these kinds of masks. After letting them dry and peeling them off they did leave my skin feeling soft and clean. 

Susan Brown’s Baby - Sensitive Baby Diaper Therapy® Cream- I think that it's always good to have some diaper rash creme in a kit with other medicines. I usually keep Desitin and if someone gets some kind of heat rash during our 117F Summers here I always tell them to use that. I think this would work just as well for anyone who gets any kind of heat rash or babies who get diaper rashes. This would also work well as a preventative if you are prone to rashes.

All they ask you to do is try the products and leave reviews for the products you got in order to be eligible for more Free Goodie Boxes. As you guys already know, I'm a fan of all these types of boxes. I love all the different subscription boxes and it's really nice to be able to try new to me products for free. This is a great box to try for.

Oh and one more thing, if you visit their FB Page, they give away Goodie Boxes to people who interact with their posts. So if you've tried before and weren't able to get a Goodie Box, there's even more ways to get one now.

Daily Goodie Box. It's more than just Free Samples!

Have you signed up? Have you received one of these boxes?

I'm a fan of subscription boxes and love trying new products for free so this was a huge hit with me. New products+free box = Fabulous!

Disclosure: I was given and free box in exchange for a review but all opinions are my own.

Macys Haul- Makeup and Perfume

Last week I told you on my Freebie Friday post that I cashed out a $50 Macys gift card. So I thought I would let you see what I was able to get with that. I like this time of year because of the sales and the gift sets. 

What I got?

A 15 piece sample bottle perfume gift set. 

A 3 piece CLEAN roller ball perfume set. 

A Tarte palette. 

2 NYX setting powders in Light/Med. 

A free gift of the eyeshadow brush. 

I also got free shipping for spending $49 or more. 

Last year I bought the CLEAN perfume rollerball set and loved it! So I bought it again this year. 

I bought my favorite NYX setting powder that I use everyday. I tend to run out of it the fastest so I got 2 of them. This powder is so finely milled, so silky and soft and just melts right into my skin. 

I bought another Tarte pallette. It has 6 pans *shades* that are really pretty shades and so easily blendable. 

I've bought one of these sample perfume sets before and loved the scents so much that I decided to buy another one. It's a nice way to try a bunch of expensive perfumes for a small price. 

I'm really happy with everything I bought.

Review: The Merman's Kiss by Tamsin Ley

Book Description

A sexy, sleek-tailed monster.

Zantu has evaded the mate-bond for thirty-five years, dodging promiscuous mermaids with vile intents. Unlike mermaids, mermen bond for life, and Zantu refuses to accept the heartbreak most mermen die of. That is, until the glint of gold catches his eye, and a simple salvage mission turns to passion. Now he’s bonded to a human.

A woman looking for a reason to live.

Briana thinks her life is over after the loss of her child. Instead, she falls into the arms of a merman who is anything but cold-blooded. He’s wild, seductive, and sets her blood on fire every time he touches her, and soon she begins to need him for more than his magic to breathe underwater. He might just give her a new purpose.

But as dangers encroach from every side, Zantu must choose; keep his new mate at his side or keep her safe.

Either way, he’s sure he’ll end up with a broken heart.

Content Warning: Explicit love scenes, dangerous mermaids, and sexy merman secrets. Guaranteed HEA with no cliffhangers. Intended for mature audiences

My Review

Zantu is a merman who is afraid to fall for a mermaid since she would not stay with him and expect him to raise all her kids who were not his. Mermaids aren't the ones who fall in love, mermen are but the mermaids hardly ever stay with their mates so Zantu has kept himself and his heart away from the mermaids so he doesn't become mate bonded to a mermaid who will never love him back. 

Briana is desperate after losing her child and hasn't been able to become pregnant again and thinks she has nothing to live for anymore. But when she thinks all is lost, she finds herself being swept away by Zantu who makes her feel alive again. Briana's husband (yes, she's married) is a total heartless ass. 

The undersea world this author created was so vibrant in my mind from her descriptions and I loved how Zantu and Briana got close and fell for each other. Their romance was wonderful to watch unfold. Zantu is always afraid that she will turn out like mermaids and leave him but he's not expecting her to actually fight for their relationship. It was interesting to see that he could talk to the fish and sought advice and help from the whales. It was definitely an interesting and different world to have a romance take place in but I really enjoyed how they made it work. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Jin Wicked*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I still think these hats are a little over the top"

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #106

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.

About two months ago the tree trimmers came by and trimmed up the tops of the palm trees. Only problem is they left palm fronds hanging down on two of the trees. There's one palm fronds each on the right tree and the far left tree. 

The one on the right was harder to see so I enlarged it a bit. They have been pointed out to the manager by several people because these things have thorny spikes on them and if they fall and hit someone, they could potentially cause some damage. But the manager doesn't care. I was waiting to see if they would fall in the wind and one of them finally did so I took a picture of it from my bedroom window. Thankfully it didn't hit anyone on the way down.

****

This week my city also passed an ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor for homeless people to sleep on sidewalks or the ground. They can now be charged and given a $1000 fine and /or up to 6 months in jail but only is there are open beds in established shelters. Here's the article about it.

While I feel bad for the homeless people out there. I also understand the people not wanting to see tent cities pop up in their neighborhoods. I've seen some tents in my neighborhood over the years. This week the homeless people in my neighborhood took a mattress out of our garbage can and threw it over this wall which is just behind my apartment complex. On several occasions I've been walking by this mattress and people have been laying here smoking who knows what out of their meth pipes. It makes me feel less than safe walking by this at night knowing they are doing drugs because druggies are unpredictable and you never know if they'll try and rob you for money. It happens around here all the time.

So while I understand wanting more shelters, more beds and more resources for the homeless, I see the other side of not wanting the drug addicts who won't go to the shelters, in our neighborhoods sleeping on the sidewalks and near where we live.

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

Favorite Video of the Week

You've probably seen some of these videos but I found this one funny.

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.

What did I get this week?

I cashed out enough points on Crowdtap to get a $10 Amazon gift card.
I cashed out points on e-Rewards for a $50 Macys gift card.
And I won a plush bear in a Coca Cola instant win giveaway.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Fever by Donna Grant

Book Description

His kiss was fire and passion. She shivered, wondering how he knew just how to touch her, to

send her spiraling into an abyss of pleasure...

For centuries, the Dragon Kings have lived among mortals, forsaking their true selves. But for Kelton, hiding in the realm of shadows—and existing only in the world of dreams—is no longer an option. A human woman claims to know that he, like other dark warriors of his kind, is real. That the legends about these powerful, seductive men with hearts ablaze are true. And that, with just one embrace, Kelton could destroy her…or love her until the end of time.

Bernadette Davies is an anthropologist who knows better than to fall into the arms of a Dragon King. But how can she resist Kelton when he’s so willing to share his secrets and bare his soul? He hasn’t met a beautiful, trustworthy woman like Bernadette in…forever. But once they give into their mutual desire, their worlds will never be the same. Soon Bernadette must face her dilemma: Should she expose the truth about Kelton in the name of science? Or join him in his battle with the dark forces—in the name of love?

My Review

The Light Fae Queen came to Bernadette and convinced her that dragons exist and need to be brought to the public's attention. So for over a year Bernadette has been telling people about dragons and how she has proof they exist. She's been looking into Dreagan Industries who she suspects are all dragons so she confronts Kelton, one of the owners of the business. He knows she's being used by the Fae Queen and knows that she might have proof of their existence so he opens up to her and tells her the truth about himself. 

Kelton tells Bernadette everything but she knows that's only because he plans on erasing her memories before she leaves so he has no reason not to tell her the truth. I found that a little sad but I understood why she couldn't be allowed to remember anything. Dragons have been in hiding from humans for thousands of years and they know that humans would try to kill or experiment on them if they knew about them. I really liked watching Kelton and Bernadette get to know each other with no secrets between them.

Then there's the crazy Fae queen manipulating Bernadette for her own uses and the huge danger and fight that brought about in the story. There's a missing Dragon King, a crazy Fae queen who's been lying about a lot of stuff for a very long time. Kelton and Bernadette are staying together and getting closer while danger is looming just over the horizon. There were a lot of interesting secondary characters that I have more questions about and hope to see them in upcoming books but Rhi was by far the most interesting secondary character that I want to know more about and want to see again. She is going to be something else but I don't know what and I want to know what kept talking to her or who. It was strange that she kept hearing a voice but I have no idea who it was. I want to know more. 

I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next because there always seemed to be something happening in this story to move it along. The ending was phenomenal and has me wanting to read the next book in this series.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was give an ARC of this book via NetGalley but all opinions and thoughts are my own.  

Favorite Picture of the Week

Falcor was able to wear his new Winter sweater starting last week because the morning low was 35F. 

I got a picture of him stretching his leg out behind him. He does this all the time when he's outside and I have no idea why. He's just a goofy dog.

He likes his sweater and it fits good.

This is the same sweater that I won from an Amazon giveaway a few months ago. He's happy about my win and I'm happy it fits.

Review: Kate's Crew by Jayne Rylon

Book Description

Nothing’s sexier than men with power tools.

Sultry summer heat has nothing on the five-man crew renovating the house next door. No one could blame Kate for leaning out the window for a better view of the manscape. The nasty fall that follows isn’t part of her fantasy—but the man who saves her from splattering the sidewalk is definitely the star.

When Mike personally attends to her injuries, she realizes her white knight in a hard hat has a tender side, giving her no choice but to surrender to the lust that’s been arcing between them since day one. In the aftermath of the best sex of her life, she whispers her most secret desire: to be ravaged by his crew.

She never expected Mike would dare her to take what she wants—or that the freedom to make her most decadent desires come true could be the foundation for something lasting…

Warning: This book may cause you to spontaneously combust as five hot guys bring a woman’s wildest fantasies to life during one blazing summer affair.

My Review

Kate was painting in her place while ogling the guys next door who were working on their place. As she was ogling Mike, her balance tipped on the ladder and she fell all the while Mike was watching. He ran, and jumped to catch her from falling off her roof and the other four guys ran over to congratulate him and see if Kate was alright. She hurt her leg so Mike took her to the hospital and found out that she wasn't hurt more than a few bumps and bruises. 

Mike and Kate can't stop their attraction for each other and end up in bed but Kate tells him that she doesn't want a relationship so when he presses her on why she tells him that she wants the other 4 guys on his crew as well. After Mike hears her confession he has a confession himself...they all want her too. After that this story is all about whether or not she'll take them up on their offer to share her for a night ad what happens when she makes her decision. I have to say that I wasn't sure I would like this book but I think the romance and love scenes were done really well. I like the romance between Mike and Kate and how accepting and open minded all the guys are. This turned out to be a better story than I first expected it to be. All the guys are fun, open and good friends with each other which made it fun to watch them have a good time together. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Mary Kirkland*

"I'm not coming out of my sleep sack until it warms up and I need a robe."

"Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of Mary Kirkland*

"I hope this spider is a friendly one."