August Popsugar Must Have Review

The Box: Popsugar Must Have

The Cost: $39.95/month

The Goods: Hand-picked food, fashion, beauty, home, and/or fitness items.

Kendra Scott Elle Earrings - Slate: ($52)  Apparently both silver and gold versions were sent out - I'm happy I got the silver version!  I don't usually wear large earrings, but these are simple enough for statement earrings that I might actually wear them.

Lollia At Last Perfumed Shower Gel- No. 17: ($22) Floral scents aren't my thing, so I'm really not that fond of this.  It'll go into my "to-be-traded/gifted" stash.

Goodbyn Small Meal + Dipper Set: ($8)  This set comes with a small container inside for dips.  As soon as the weather cools off, this will totally get used as part of a picnic.

Paddywax Ocean Tide & Sea Salt Mini Jar Candle: ($10) LOVE.  Water scents are my favorite. This candle totally makes me want to visit the coast.

Mason Jar Cookie Company Celebrate! Mix: ($12.99)  I'm pretty much strictly a bake-from-scratch girl.  That said, one of my girl friends is in town for the weekend so I might break my habits to try this out with her. 

Bite Beauty Lipgloss - Popsugar: ($22)  The shade is custom made for Popsugar.  This gloss is a little sticky, but not so much that I find it unwearable.  The flavor is VERY strong, though, so I certainly wouldn't wear this when eating or drinking anything.

ThinkThin High Protein Bar - Brownie Crunch: ($1.99)  This is a "Special Extra" item.  ThinkThin bars are not terrible, but I still prefer Luna Bars.

Total Value: $126.99

I like this month better than last month's but I'm pretty neutral about it overall.  I adore the candle, but my feelings about all the other items are pretty much just..."meh."

Disclaimer: This post contains referral and/or affiliate links.

Manicure of the [Shark] Week - Dun dun...dun dun....

I've always liked sharks, but after diving with them I've become a bit more obsessed.  Obviously, I love shark week. (Even though this year a lot of Discovery's programming is a little...silly.)

I didn't really have a game plan when I sat down to do my nails, so I just kind of experimented with different things.  I used Zoya Godiva for the beach base LA Colors Wired for the water base. The fin is Sephora by OPI Metro Chic. I used a combination of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Pool Boy and Zoya Purity for the waves. The water on the "beach" is Pool Boy with several layers of Sally Hansen Ice Tint.  

JewelMint Olive Yew Style Surprise

The Box: JewelMint Style Surprise: Olive Yew

The Cost: $24.99

The Goods: Three pieces from designer Olive Yew.

 Peace Stud Earrings: I absolutely would have purchased these for myself.  I prefer silver jewelry, usually wear studs, and like peace signs.  They're right up my alley.

Ellipses Bracelet: ($38)  I didn't *love* it when I saw it, but it's starting to grow on me.  It's simple enough that I could wear it with anything.  Plus, the beads move around on the bar so it's perfect for fidgeting.

Gold Two-Bar Necklace:  Eh.  It's gold, so it does lose some points there.  I don't hate it, but I would have liked it much better in silver.

Black Jelly Clutch: ($29.99)  I ordered when this was offered as a GWP.  I'm not sure that I'll ever use it, but it is fun - and you can't beat free accessories.

Total Value: Over $38

It seems like the running theme with these Collective Style Surprises is that the majority of pieces are things that were never offered on the JewelMint website.  It is a little frustrating that for all I know the earrings and necklace could be something other than Olive Yew.  That said, I will probably wear all three of the pieces I received.

Disclaimer: This post contains a referral link.

Here There Be Dragon (Thumb Tack Eggs, That Is!)

Using Accio Lacquer's tutorial, I made dragon eggs!  Mine are larger than hers, though, and required about a million more thumbtacks.

The egg on the left is made with Color Club Haute Couture topped with Essie As Gold As It Gets.

The egg on the right is Sinful Colors Black on Black topped with Essie Shine of the Times.

I'm going to be giving a lot of dragon eggs away for Christmas this year. ;)

Jinx Mysterious Bag of Mystery Men's: Giganto Edition Review #2

The Box: Jinx's Giganto Mysterious Bag of Mystery

The Cost: $30 (one time purchase)

The Goods: Over $90 worth of non-tee items.  Could be anything from hoodies to toys to stickers - all from the Jinx store!

Minecraft Creeper Scarf: ($16.99) Eep.  I love this.  Fortunately, J doesn't wear scarves much so I get to keep this all to myself.

Half Life 2 Lambda Leather Belt: ($26.99)  They sent us a L/XL in our Small bag, but I emailed them and they offered to swap it for a more appropriate size.  The belt has snaps so that you can remove the buckle and wear it on a different belt if you so choose.

Starcraft II Terran Cutout Sticker: ($4.99)  Yeah, I still know nothing about SC2.  J can have this without a fight.

World of Warcraft Horde Premium Hoodie: ($54.99)  YUS.  So, I totally have hidden this to give to J for Christmas.  It's a super nice hoodie with thumbholes, so I know he'll love it.  That is, if I don't break down and keep it for myself.

Total Value: $103.96

Y'all.  It is SO hard for me to not order another billion of these mystery bags.  The thing that has surprised me most about the two I received is that these are all current products!  None of the items are on sale or clearanced.

Jinx Mysterious Bag of Mystery Men's: Giganto Edition Review #1

I was so excited to tear into this that I forgot to take a picture first.  Oops.

The Box: Jinx's Giganto Mysterious Bag of Mystery

The Cost: $30 (one time purchase)

The Goods: Over $90 worth of non-tee items.  Could be anything from hoodies to toys to stickers - all from the Jinx store!

World of Warcraft Warlock Pin: ($1)  This is perfect.  I'm taking a break from WoW at the moment but when I do play, my main is a warlock.  Destro lock FTW.

World of Warcraft Horde Sticker Pack:  ($1.99)  Also perfect.  All of my characters - except for one lonely worgen - are Horde.  

Starcraft 2 Protoss Premium Hat: ($29.99) The back of this hat says "My life for Aiur."  I have never played SC2, so I have no idea what that means.  J used to play a ton, but he doesn't wear hats so this will either be gifted or sold.

The underside of the bill has a graphic printed on it.  I am told that it is Protoss.  Again, no idea what that is.

Aperture Laboratories Track Jacket: ($49.99)  Love, love, love.  I told J that we could have shared ownership of this jacket.  I'm generous like that.

Of course, no order would be complete with a few Jinx stickers.

Total Value: $82.97

Okay, so it came up a bit shy of the promised $90 mark, but for $30 this bag was a steal.  I ordered a second bag which I will have the review up for on Monday.  Both bags were originally supposed to be surprises for J but it looks like he'll have to fight me for this stuff!  They are supposedly going to be releasing a women's version at some point - I can't wait!

Disclaimer: This post contains referral links.

July Nadine West Review

The Box: Nadine West

The Cost: No upfront cost, prices vary per item.

The Goods:  They send you a few jewelry and/or tops and you decide which, if any, to keep and then return the rest.

The product names I have listed below are what Nadine West calls them, followed by the price I'd pay to keep the item.

Jewel Tortoise Pendant: ($14.99)  It's cute, but not my style.  I also found it on Amazon for $6.95. Returned.

Black Flowery Filigree Chandeliers: ($9.99)  Here again, these aren't my style.  I did include a note with my returned shipment that I prefer smaller pieces.  We'll see if that impacts future items. Returned.

It's All Sunshine and Ruffles Tank: ($14.89)  I'm a total ditz and forgot to write down the brand of this tank.  I'm sure on someone else it would be adorable as a swim cover-up, but this is absolutely my least favorite color ever.  I have a hard time pulling off yellows and this one made me look extra jaundiced. Returned.

This month was a total miss.  Like I said, I included notes on my return slip - which I've never done before.  It will be interesting to see if/how they take them into consideration.