September Favorites

This month doesn't have a bunch of items on it, but there are a few newbies on here for once. I think from here out in terms of official categories for the site, the apps and websites will be combined into one Tech category but if necessary, I'll still keep them separate for my Favorites posts. I have to start checking out new apps and websites again; I've been slacking a little bit there. And everywhere else on this blog if I'm keeping it real, but that's another story for another day. On to the favorites!

LA Girl Glazed Lip Paint in Tempt

I didn't really try anything new this month in the way of beauty products, but I found this stunning blood red lip paint from LA Girl last weekend and I fell all the way in love with it. It is the perfect deep red lip that I was looking to wear for fall and I can't wait for the next time I feel like resembling a human so I can put it on. LOL I've had hair like Goku and (other than for a few minutes Sunday while I was trying out a look,) not a stitch of makeup on all weekend and I've been diggin' it. This lip paint does sweeten the pot of putting some on, though. lol I think I have enough of the LA Girl products I've tried to pull together a review that I'm satisfied with so you'll be seeing a swatch of it soon.

none this month!

Even though my answer is the same as it's been for a few months now, the difference is that this month I've actually been reading. I just haven't read anything that stuck out to me. I've read a few books but they were romances, which I prefer to review on book sites, or they just weren't very memorable. I'm hoping that the next batch of books I read give me something I can put up here. 

Narcos, The Blacklist, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Netflix really came through for me this month. I've been trying to get more involved with what's on regular tv this month, but the more interesting options were on Netflix for me. Firstly, the Netflix Original miniseries Narcos debuted earlier this month I believe, and I loved it. There's some heat on the main actor for being chosen to play a Colombian despite being Brazilian himself, but I thought he did a stellar job. If you aren't aware of Narcos, it is a miniseries about the players in the Medellin Cartel, and the various individuals in law enforcement who work to bring them down. I thought this was a gritty series that showed an adequate amount of what was going down on both sides of the coin. If you've seen the documentary Cocaine Cowboys then many of these names will be familiar to you; Narcos goes much more in-depth about the everyday happenings during that time in a way that's true to the meat of the story, while putting a new spin on things. 

I was in satellite timeout last year when season 2 of The Blacklist premiered and didn't come back until the end of the season, so I just waited until Netflix made the entire season available. I loved it. Season 3 premieres tonight, and I can't wait! I love the show and James Spader so much that I end up forgetting how much I don't care for Liz lol, but I'm still excited to see what the writers have cooked up for this season. 

Speaking of shows that I was in timeout for, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries was another one that I didn't get to see. Instead of it being satellite timeout like The Blacklist, this one was an American timeout. LOL MFMM is an Australian show, so being in America I didn't get to watch the third season when it premiered in the spring. Netflix didn't make me wait forever for once though so when the third season was uploaded last week, I was all over it. I am in love with this show and I really wish the Australian ABC affiliates aired it here in the States. If you like period crime dramas in the same vein as Agatha Christie's Poirot but with much more sassiness and less fussiness (I love my Poirot but anyone who says he isn't a bit of a divo sometimes is a liar lol), then I think you'll like Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. 

Murdered: Soul Suspect for PS3

I've had this game for a little while now, but I got stuck early on in the game and didn't touch it for months because I couldn't get past the level. I was talking to a friend a couple of months ago when she mentioned she had the game as well. A common complaint we had was the demon presence, which (despite it serving as the major obstacle to get past, which I understand) sort of detracts from the game overall. It was actually a level with the demons that I struggled to get past, so it killed my desire to play. Talking to my friend helped reignite it so I tried again, but this time I ended up addicted. 

Murdered takes us into the world of Salem, Massachusetts, where we're introduced to Ronan, a street-smart delinquent turned rough around the edges police detective. Unfortunately, we're introduced to him through his murder, which is the first bit of gameplay. After being thrown out of a 4th story window, the killer uses Ronan's own gun to kill him. As Ronan, the player gets to experience the spirit world through his eyes and find out who killed him before being able to reunite with his wife in the light. In finding out who killed him, Ronan finds an unlikely sidekick in a bratty but powerful teenager, and a backstory much larger than anything he could have imagined himself. I enjoyed this game immensely, irritating demons aside. I can usually take a stab at guessing how the story ends and be right, but I wasn't even halfway right for this game and I liked that. The controls were fairly easy to learn and remember, there are tons of smaller side stories to keep you occupied, and the graphics were awesome at illustrating the mysticism and supernatural influence that is part of Salem's reputation. It was a dark, eerie environment and enhanced the gameplay for me. I would suggest manual save options if I had any critiques, because the autosave can get irritating if you have to leave in the middle of an objective. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed this game and am probably going to play it again so I can complete all of the side missions. 

Official Packers app, Snapchat, Tumblr

Now that football is finally back on the radar, I can use my Packers app again. The spring and summer are the driest times of life in every conceivable way, including activity on that app because its off-season. lol I've been trying to catch the games when I can but since I often forget, I keep up via the app and the team's IG account. I think it's a very extensive app in terms of the team information and access to stats that it provides, but I'm not a fan who cares much for the stats (partially because I don't understand them and can't remember all those numbers anyway lol) so I hop on there for the schedule, player statuses, gameday scores and injury reports. All of those are fairly accessible but I'm subscribed to instant updates so it wouldn't matter anyway. It's well but simply designed and I like that as well. 

I've been on Snapchat a lot this month, but I have yet to actually post anything on it. The only reason why I have one at all is because some of the YouTubers I follow are active on there so I'll check in and be nosy a few times a day from time to time. I didn't see the appeal of Snapchat for the longest time and there's still no personal pull towards it, but I do like it. There's nothing interesting enough in my life for me to create any snaps myself, but that's totally fine with me. I can barely keep up with both blogs, the last thing I need is another barely updated social media account. But it's a fun app to be nosy on. lol 

I was really late to the Tumblr train and I still wouldn't say I'm on board with it entirely, but it is an amazing source of inspiration for a number of things. It has been an immensely helpful resource in helping me create my Fall Bucket List and Autumn Inspirations posts (both of which are coming soon), so I've been spending a lot of time on there. I don't post on there very often (shocking, right) but scrolling through the feed is a lot of fun. 

Bloglovin', YouTube, Google

I get daily updates from Bloglovin' on the blogs that I follow on there, and it has been a real lifesaver for me. There are tons of great websites, all of which put out awesome content, and I can't remember all of the names on my own so Bloglovin' saves me the trouble. It's one of my favorite emails to get every morning; it's like a collection of daily inspiration and ideas. If you follow a lot of different blogs or websites, I suggest getting a Bloglovin' account and adding them on there so you don't miss any posts. 

Duh, of course YT is on here. I'll go into more detail later, but one of the main reasons why I always watch YT is because since my satellite timeout last year, I noticed that I don't really care for regular tv anymore. I enjoy the more personal feel of YouTube, and I find myself more excited for new videos than I do for shows that come on tv. Well, except for wrestling and Scandal, because duh. My tv time this month was split pretty equally between Netflix and YouTube, and I have no complaints. 

Finally, Google is on here because I was building some ideas for Octoberfest over on ATV, and I needed to research those ideas first and see if they were feasible to make into an entire post. I had to consult Google quite a few times this month, so I had to put it up here. 

Fall and Halloween decor

I haven't had my eye on any other kind of DIY project lately except for the ones related to the season or Halloween. I was finally able to figure out how to integrate a little design into my room, so the only things I've been looking to be inspired by are fall and Halloween. Usually, I don't mind Halloween but I don't think much of it because I don't end up doing anything or going anywhere. The area is more often than not pretty dry of trick-or-treaters as well, so sometimes it feels like the holiday just skips by us entirely. But for some reason, I've been feeling really inspired by Halloween decor, so I've been testing out some ideas I came up with. If I'm satisfied with the results, the goal is for them to make it into a few DIY project posts here. The same goes for fall, although I haven't gotten around to testing a lot of those yet. But other than that, there aren't really any DIY projects grabbing my attention right now. 

Fall and Halloween decor/inspiration, website design, fall makeup, baking, cold weather recipes, bonfires, creepy Halloween topics

Fall and Halloween decor are about the only things that I'm seriously interested in creating right now, so I've been looking for project inspiration almost constantly. I think I'm finally getting somewhere in terms of realizing the look I'd like the blog to have, now I'm just trying to figure out how to bring that vision to fruition. There is a template that has an important element to it that I'd like to integrate into the final blog design, so I've been scouring the 'Net trying to find it. 

Fall makeup has been on the brain lately as well; after keeping my makeup neutral and light for most of the summer I'm looking forward to more intense looks. I've been looking for makeup looks that integrate some of my fall palette without being too dramatic or overdone, and I've found a ton. Those will be up soon; I'll probably put them in a playlist in case you're a little short on makeup ideas too.

When fall comes around, the desire to cook becomes similar to an obsession. I, despite my best efforts to appear otherwise, have a mother hen in me, constantly clucking at everyone around me to be careful, make sure you eat, and during the colder months that mother hen/hermit hybrid is amped up a notch. The way I show my love or hope to provide some comfort and warmth to someone else is through food (but not in an emotional crutch type of way) anyway, so this is really when I like being in the kitchen. I love stick to your ribs, feel-good-food, especially during fall and winter. I love to cook anytime of the year, but this is when I feel the most at home, so to speak. Delicious smells piping out of a warm home, all of the inhabitants full and happy inside the home, me surrounded by bubbling pots and pans of food, it sounds like heaven to me. I waited so long for it to be warm enough for me to grill again, but now that the season has officially passed, I'm over it. LOL I'm trying to break out the slow cooker and make a bunch of hot meals, even though the temps haven't cooled yet. But watch, when it finally does get cold I'm going to complain. I do it every year.

Since I was in high school, I have wanted to go to a bonfire party. I hear about those who live up north or by the beach doing them all the time, regardless of season, but I don't hear about them too often living here in the desert. I'm a bit of a firebug anyway so this is probably for the better lol, but I have always wanted to either build a bonfire or go to one. My mom and uncle used to tell me about bonfire parties they'd attend while they were in high school, but I don't hear about the kids doing that nowadays. If I could build a safer version of one so we could roast marshmallows in the backyard, I'm on it. lol

As I said earlier, I'm doing an Octoberfest of sorts over on ATV, so when I was using Google it was to research topics and content. I don't want to make things gory, but I wanted to find a way to combine history with the creepiness and jumpscare popularity of Halloween, so I've been trying to find all sorts of creepy Halloweenie subjects.

Documentary I watched: 

Pecados de mi padre/Sins of My Father

I came across this in the "Because You Watched" section of Netflix while I was watching Narcos, but I waited until I was finished with the season before I watched this. Sins of My Father is a documentary following the son of Pablo Escobar as he attempts to seek forgiveness from the sons of the families his father wronged. We get to hear his story, which we don't see much of in Narcos because he is a child. Juan Escobar, who has since changed his name, made headlines at 16 immediately after his father's murder by vowing vengeance on those who killed him. This statement, although said obviously in distress, ended up marking him forever, as if being Pablo Escobar's son wasn't enough of a marking, and he ended up being exiled from Colombia as a result. I don't want to spoil the story, but Pablo Escobar had political dreams that were shattered when news of his drug empire went public, and the public figures who opposed him the most were killed. His son makes it his goal to seek forgiveness from the sons of those men, and that's what a good deal of the documentary deals with. It also touches on the juxtaposition of the loving, doting father that his son grew up around with the heartless, bloodthirsty monster his father also had the capability of being and his struggle to accept both as truth. It was at that moment that I understood and sympathized with him because through no fault of his own, he was as dragged into the situation as the other victims were, but because he is the living 'heir' of Pablo Escobar's legacy, he now bears the brunt of his father's sins. It has to be an incredibly difficult situation to live with, and I applauded his courage in making this a documentary rather than keeping his story to himself out of fear of being discovered. It's an honest look into his son's path, from the uncertainty to the viewpoints of those whom he's seeking forgiveness from, and I highly recommend it. 

Well I hope you enjoyed this month's collection of favorites and you're as excited for fall as I am! I have some fall-themed posts coming up this month and I am going to try my hardest to stick to the blog schedule I wrote out last night. I know it's been very dry around here for months and I promise that isn't the intention. I try to find reviewing jobs and opportunities all the time. I don't have money to spare most of the time, so more popular things to review often evade me and because I don't have the audience to market myself to larger companies, obviously they aren't going to be sending me items like they do with more popular vloggers and bloggers. They need to start a company that serves as a middleman between more popular vloggers and smalltime bloggers, and if they get sent a box of products that they have no intention of reviewing or even speaking about (which happens often), they can send it to us and we'll do it instead. lol I have no issues with reviewing a box full of makeup, giving my honest opinion on all of it and getting to put it all together into a post full of swatches and fun details. Anything that doesn't get used can then be added to a giveaway. And getting paid to do all of that too? Sounds like a review blogger's dream. I'll gladly put my name on a list for that. But anywho, let me pull my head out of the clouds and get to work on the next post. See you soon!

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August Favorites

Aww, it's already the end of the last full month of summer! On one hand, I feel like summer can't be over fast enough; it's been almost too hot to live. But on the other hand, I've been loving the warm nights, the late sunsets, and not needing to wear a jacket just to take out the trash. This month didn't yield many favorites for me; I've really got to start working on that...and posting on here more. Now that Summer Under the Stars is over, I won't have my attention split too much between here and ATV, so I should be able to put up a few reviews. Anyway, on to the favorites!  

Carapex Renewal Facial Cleanser, Carapex Super Moisturizing Butter Foot Cream

I reviewed a batch of Carapex products last month sometime and like I said during the review, two of the five products I tried have since become holy grail products for me. The facial cleanser has helped with my skin, which admittedly isn't too problematic, but it's helped clear my skin, even out the texture, and removed the excess oils. I read a few bad reviews before I tried it out, but none of the adverse effects have hit me so I'll file them away just in case but my skin's been much more behaved.

The foot cream has been a godsend because during the summer, when my feet are undoubtedly in their worst condition of the year, I need something that is a level above too legit to quit. This foot cream has improved the overall feel of my skin, doesn't make my feet feel crazy greasy, and it's been great for my feet since I've been using it. It's not too heavy on the feet but I feel like it's going to be awesome with socks come wintertime. It's the only cream I've been putting on my feet this summer and it's really the only one I've needed.

TCM's Summer Under the Stars

Part of the reason why I was so silent over here throughout the month of August was because of TCM's annual promotion Summer Under the Stars, which features an all-star lineup of a different collection of actors each year. It's always a lot of fun to participate in but it's also very time consuming because I make daily postings throughout the entire month over on All Things Vintage. I can barely pull off daily blogging; there's no way in hell I could ever be a daily vlogger. I fully tip my hat to those who do it. Anyway, this was probably the most tv I've watched in months, which is also time consuming because I live-tweet through the movie I selected to feature for that day, and as a result I wasn't really watching too much else. 

As for other movies, I did go see Straight Outta Compton earlier in the month and I loved it. Maybe it's stupid of me, but I feel like having Ice Cube's real son stepping into his shoes to play the part gave the film some authenticity. I absolutely loved the movie and I don't often want to go back to the movies to watch the same film twice, but I wouldn't mind seeing this one again. It was gritty, provided some understanding as to why these guys were the way they were, and allowed the message of the group to reach an entirely new audience, which I think is especially important with this being the dawn of a new generation of rap. 

Injustice: Gods Among Us (PS3)

This isn't a new game to me by any means, but I finally bought it not that long ago and while I beat it the same day I started playing, I am still stuck on it. It's actually why cosplay has been on my mind so much lately; I would love the opportunity to try my hand at creating some cosplay versions of the costumes in Injustice. Anyway, the world doesn't need one more review of Injustice but I thought the style of gameplay here was great. I had some trouble with the more complex combos than anything else, but I really loved the storyline and it reminded me a bit of DCUO, where I remember Booster Gold mentioning that there was a Squad K to handle Superman if he ever became a danger to the planet. I wonder where the hell they were for Injustice. lol

HellFire, Phonto

I went back to HellFire this month for a new tournament, just in time too because apparently, the creators have finally decided to listen to all the complaints and reset the style of the dungeon tournaments back to how it used to be. I know that was one of the biggest reasons why people started to leave the game, so resetting it might bring a few of them back. What keeps me on that site, honestly, are the cards. I love the graphics, love the lore behind them (when I remember to read) and the small competitive streak that I do have is always ignited when trying to level up my cards for these tournaments. 

Phonto has also become my new bestie, especially with Self-Love September going on. This is the only app that I use for those photos and for an app, I really like all of the customization options that it has. It already comes with a lot of base fonts, but you can add as many more as you want and edit them however you like. I wish that it had a GIMP/Photoshop feature with text layers that you could duplicate because that would make things easier, but it doesn't take anything away from the app by not having it so I can deal. It's a more than worthy option if you have to rely on mobile editing like I do. 

Wonder Forest

If you're a beginner to blog or website design, check out Wonder Forest. Dana has an entire encyclopedia of knowledge on both blog and website design, customization and coding, and if HTML doesn't make your brain hurt then it shouldn't be too difficult to implement into your site. There are also a number of articles on how to strengthen your blog through your content, audience reach, and how to strengthen your skills as a blogger. I think it's an excellent resource for someone just learning the ropes. She also offers her services for blog design, holds classes to assist bloggers, and has premade templates for sale on the site. 

Cosplay costumes, desk organization, fall room decor and accessories, T-shirts

As I mentioned earlier, cosplay has been on my mind quite a bit lately, partially because of playing Injustice and Dynasty Warriors. I've been looking at the different character outfits, trying to figure out which would be the easiest, cheapest or most fun to cosplay, either for a convention or for a "Cosplay in Real Life" inspired outfit. It's fun to break an outfit down into its various compartments and challenge yourself to figure out where you can create the base materials for said outfit from. I came out of my IMVU experience with a lot more respect for and understanding of cosplayers, and I'd love the opportunity to bring some of my ideas to fruition someday. 

Most of my desk is finally organized the way I'd like it and I'm quite happy with it. It's been an ongoing process, partially due to my not really having a direction for it at the beginning of the year to finally getting inspiration but not the money during the spring, to being able to carry out most of what I wanted this summer. It's still not finished and I suspect it'll take awhile longer because of the money factor, but when I'm done I'll probably do a small DIY post on it. I'm really pleased with it so far and since I've been using it, it's helped my productivity skyrocket, which I needed for SUTS over on ATV for August. I think for me, I need an environment that speaks to getting work done in order for me to get in gear. When my health issues are flaring up, it really doesn't matter what environment I'm in at all, but it's been a really good motivator to at least try now that my desk is in working condition. 

Since fall is right around the corner, I wanted something festive I could decorate my desk with. I have a few ideas I want to try out and if they end up successful then I'll do a DIY on them, but I'm not sure yet. I love the various decoration options that come with the changing of the seasons. It helps me engage in the moment, in the season, and take everything in. I guess that sounds cheesy but stuff like that helps with me. 

I'm still looking to DIY some t-shirts. Since I can't afford a lot of the t-shirts I really like, I'd like to do a similar inspired shirt so I can still walk around in all my proud geekiness. I've already started buying shirts, but I want the time to figure out what I want to do with them before I potentially ruin them. LOL

Fall inspiration, Dunkin Donuts caramel iced coffee, cosplay, website design, 30-day challenges

Even though I love summer, the heat has been unbearable and feels like it's been going on forever so I'm looking forward to fall. A little bit. lol Not looking forward to having to put on layers of clothes and stay indoors for months again, but I'm looking forward to not having any more days at 95 degrees or higher. One thing I always love about fall is the color scheme and the difference in the types of makeup you can do. I keep my makeup light during the warmer months because duh, but fall is when I start to get into the darker, smokier looks again. I love mattes and darker colors during fall, so I look for both fashion and makeup inspiration to show those things off. 

I don't mind Starbucks, but it isn't the end all, be all in coffee for me. I love some of the sweets though. lol I've tried cold coffees from a number of places but wasn't able to find the one that did it for me until I went to Dunkin' last month and ordered a cold coffee. I'd never ordered from there before, so I randomly asked for some caramel in mine and it was one of the best cold coffees I've ever had. Not overloaded with ice or sugar, the brew doesn't leave a strong aftertaste and the caramel mellows everything out. Yum.  

 As I've mentioned a couple of times, I'm more of an amateur cosplayer in real life but I have what I call 'virtual experience.' LOL *Geek alert* (This is a side note, but as I writing the 'geek alert,' I had to push my glasses up on my face. Geek style. LOL) Basically, I was part of a RPG website called IMVU, which is something like Second Life, and I used to roleplay on there in a number of different roleplay factions. Even though its a virtual existence and you get to build your character and the advantage of that over a forum-based RP is that you get some visuals and real-time responses during an active scenario, imagination is still required. You get to build the look that you want your character to have, get to build their various forms (if that's the kind of RP you're in), in essence build their life on this site, all of which takes imagination and creativity because you're creating something from scratch. And then if you're a product developer or photographer (I was both), you get to either create products if you can't find exactly what you want or photograph others in their various forms, both of which were a lot of fun to do. So it gives you some experience in creating your own looks, and being on IMVU with so many different kinds of people from all kinds of walks of life (I mean seriously....it's so amazingly diverse and that's one of the things I loved about it. If you were in a crowd that understood you, there was no judgment if you came in a chat room looking like a pixie. If you were around real-life style chatters, however, all bets were off. lol) gives you more courage to really do you. Which then, in my case after I left IMVU, emerged as a love affair with cosplay. Really long way around a simple interest, but that's some of my story with discovering the joys of cosplay.

Website design is something I need to look into since being able to hire a blog designer really isn't going to be part of my life in the near future. I'm trying really hard to understand what HTML is so that I can do what I want to do with both of my blogs. I took a class in high school my senior year so some of the basic terms I am slightly familiar with but I barely...and I mean barely....scraped by. HTML just isn't my thing. One of the things that I've learned in life is that you can never learn too much and the more you can learn to become a Jack..or Jill..of all trades, thereby decreasing your need to seek outside help, it does nothing except serve to make you better. Many bloggers have to learn HTML at some point if they didn't go into it already knowing about it, and it's becoming imperative that I learn this, especially because I don't have the option to seek outside help. The look of one's blog can be a representative of the content and if you're a review blogger like me, it's extremely important that my blog has a clean look but still speaks to my personality and the content that I post. To be honest, the current design is very mismatched with the quality of the reviews that I'd like to put out, which doesn't make me confident when trying to pitch myself to companies. I would totally understand if companies didn't select me for their jobs because my blog doesn't reflect the professionalism that I'd like it to. Despite my cute nerd icons for the headers, I think those too, especially because I don't have pro level graphics design experience, may give my blog more of an amateur look rather than the look of a blogger who wants to be taken seriously. So HTML, website design and the like are definitely on my must-learn list. 

Lastly, 30-day challenges have been on the brain in spades lately. Currently, I'm taking part in Self-Love September, which thankfully was started as an open-ended challenge, because with me being too ambitious for my own good, I thought I'd be able to get it done within the month, but failed a few days in and now I'm behind. I think I might want to push it and do one more for December, just to end the year on a strong note. That's undecided though. Let's see how Self-Love September works for me first. 

Well that does it for me this month. I don't have too many new favorites, which I'm realizing is becoming a thing for me, but they're old goodies so I don't care. I rambled much more when it got to my Random Things, but I feel like that's sort of a reflection of my mindset lately, which has been more random than focused on just one thing. That's fine with me too, some months I'm really stuck on one or a few things, while other months my mind is all over the place. August was definitely a bit of both, which results in nothing but scatterbrained randomness and nonsense. lol I have a couple of reviews coming up within the week, so stay tuned for those and I'll see you soon!

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Self-Love September

When I first decided to post about this challenge, I thought I'd share my personal experience with self-love and how I learned to love myself, but I realized that I'd shared so much of the story that the challenge was pushed further and further down the page. lol So I had to start over and seriously condense it so the point of the post wasn't lost. But anyway, ever since I did my 30-Day Wellness Challenge (which I promise will be up soon) back in May, I've been itching to do another challenge of some kind. I got busy with trying to cross items off the Bucket List for the majority of the summer and all of August was pretty much consumed with completing Summer Under the Stars over on the vintage blog, so I didn't really have time to look for another challenge to do. Over the past month or so, I've noticed that the topic of self-love has come up a number of times in personal conversations and I thought a challenge focused on that would be a natural follow-up to those conversations. In one of those talks, I remember telling the person I was talking to that when I was younger and at times even as an adult, I wondered how one could know when they were doing something that promoted self-love. What specific actions could I execute to purposely show myself love? When the question was returned to me within that conversation, I found myself surprised...and proud...that I had a multitude of answers. It took me a long time to come into the knowledge of how to properly love myself, but then I realized that in small ways, I'd been doing small self-love actions for years, and you probably have too. But I remember back when I couldn't answer the question at all, so I looked online for some help on what it means to love oneself and actions that could help start the process, and I came across this article on mindbodygreen about a 30-Day Self-Love Challenge. It was perfect timing and killed two birds with one stone. I actually meant to post this a couple of days ago so that if you wanted to jump in the challenge at the beginning of the month with me you could, but my laptop hates me again so it held me off for a day. I'll mention that in another post.

Anyway, I decided to take on this challenge, not only because I never miss an opportunity to give myself some lovin' (not that kind ya nasty), but because it can be helpful to others starting out on the journey of taking time for themselves and learning to love spending time alone. I came to the realization that I needed to take time for myself and do things that I genuinely enjoyed, just because I wanted to do them. When I came across the 30-Day Self Love Challenge, I figured this would be a good time to make me stick to my goal of putting forth the effort to make myself feel good and take advantage of the opportunity to spoil myself. I don't mean that in a superficial way. What I mean by that mainly is that instead of expecting or desiring certain things from other people and being upset when I don't receive them, I would rather ask and get it from myself instead. So instead of feeling empty and upset like I have noticed many single people (myself included at one time) tend to feel because they're alone, I'd rather feel full and loved, because I am full of the love I consistently show myself. The mentality that nobody can treat me better than I treat myself has helped teach me to regard myself with nothing but the utmost respect, love and care. It has also ensured that I no longer put myself in situations that aren't the healthiest, with people who won't treat me well. That's not just for boyfriends, that's for friends and even family. Not only will I no longer allow myself to be put down and insulted by others, I try not to put myself down, insult or beat myself up like I used to. I won't compare my body to others and allow myself to feel worse about what I have..or don't have. I want to feel special to somebody one day; I mean who doesn't? But I need to feel special to myself first, and if I won't tolerate certain things from others because they hurt me then I shouldn't tolerate them from myself either. Nobody can treat, spoil or love me better than me because now I know exactly what I want and what will make me happy. It's not a long list of things and none of it is material-based, but they're all still important to me. If someone can come along and raise the bar because he loves me that deeply, then great. But if not, that's great too. I'm kind of a catch so whether some dude gets to reap the benefits or I do, it's still a win for everyone involved, right? LOL I kid. Sorta.

Anyway, since I have had that mentality, I try to spoil myself every now and again with a special treat, I'll challenge myself to go somewhere I've really wanted to go and just enjoy the experience when I get there, or I'll just lounge at home and do something I want to do. Everything that I normally expect from others, especially the things I look most for in a relationship with someone else, I give myself first. Respect, time, attention, consideration, a true commitment, trust, and love. Actions that foster those things help me to recharge my batteries, they make me appreciate what I can give to others a lot more, and I now know how to avoid my tank being depleted by others. I've learned more about what I want, I know how to articulate it now, and I know what fills me up/depletes me emotionally, all of which were things I didn't know definitively for a number of years. I knew I wanted to be treated with all the attributes I named, but I wasn't sure how to articulate what behaviors showed me those things, which I'm sure confused my boyfriends at the time. All of the attention, time, effort, support and love I would show to boyfriends I now put towards myself and to be honest, I feel more loved now than I did in some of those relationships. I think self-love is extremely vital to one's well-being and sense of self in general, so if you're struggling with taking time for yourself or learning about how to show yourself that you are indeed loved, I think you should take this challenge with me.

The original challenge is one that can be started at any time, but I wanted to do it for the month of September and finish up before the holiday craziness sets in. For me, the challenge is Self-Love September (I'm an alliteration fan, in case you couldn't tell by now. Hello, Pinterest Project and Subscription Box Series. lol) and the challenge is doing something for the sole purpose of your enjoyment or peace of mind for those 30 days. The original challenge has a template of sorts that you can use to develop your own list, which was a great starting point because I wouldn't have had the first clue of where to begin. Maybe you do some of these things now, but they don't feel as special as they should. You're doing them, but they're just normal things to you and you don't see them as self-love building actions. Make those small things feel more special. Start from the template list (I would paste it here but even if I properly source it I still feel like I'm stealing lol) and come up with your own list. I'm keeping some of the original things, but putting them in different days and adding a few of my own things to the list. Follow me on Instagram to keep up with the things I've chosen for that day; I've already posted what I did last night (earlier this morning, I'm an insomniac) and what I'll be doing later today for Day 2 of the challenge. If you decide to do the challenge, tag your posts with the challenge's original tag, #30daysofselfiecare and for the blog, use the tag #rrntselflove so I can see what you're doing. I really hope you decide to participate if you come across this post and if you do, good luck!

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Carapex Body & Skincare

Hi! I know it's been pretty ghost around here for a little while and I'm sorry. I promise I haven't been lazing around though; right now the problem is syncing my edited photos with Blogger so I can upload them. But I'll be back and hopefully with a bunch of new reviews soon, starting with this one, which I have been working on for awhile. I applied for a job last month on a site called Bloggers Required, which serves as the middleman between companies who need bloggers to test and review their products and bloggers looking for jobs. I found an ad looking for bloggers to help a company boost their Amazon reviews by testing out some products and writing their honest opinion on Amazon. I applied and in a rare twist of good luck for me, I got the job. Let me tell you a little about the company. 

Source

Who are they?

Carapex specializes in body care products, from head to toe, that use different blends of essential oils and other natural ingredients to create a unique moisturizing complex and improve the condition of the skin. They do not test on animals (yay!) and make an effort to be eco-conscious with even the packaging when products are sent out to customers. There are two other lines under the Carapex brand. BcBud specializes in hemp-based products for the hair and body, and Pure Mauve has an Australian Tea Tree Oil base for its hair and body products. The main brand, Carapex, uses a blend of essential oils and natural ingredients for its hair and body line. 

I'd never heard of the company before applying for the job, so all of it was very new to me. After corresponding with a company rep, I selected a total of 5 products to review; I'd get the products for free in exchange for an honest review but because I'm not an Amazon Prime member, I had to pay for shipping, which wasn't expensive at all. 

Ordering & delivery:

I ordered the products from Carapex's Amazon Marketplace and finding/ordering the products wasn't difficult at all. The only thing about it that caused a minor hiccup was that there are also 3rd party shops that sell Carapex products, so if you're not paying attention you may end up buying from them instead of Carapex. I think the 3rd party retailer is called Etailz. After that got cleared up, applying the discount code and making the purchase was a cinch.

I ordered the products on a Friday afternoon, everything was processed by the following Monday and I received it that Friday. The shipment came early in the day, there was no damage to the box or any of its contents, and other than being sent an incorrect product (I'll get to that later), no problems there either. Amazon also sent me confirmation emails every step of the way, from when the purchase was processed to when it was sent out, then another email upon delivery about my satisfaction with the purchase. The last piece of correspondence I got from them was on Monday when I was asked to rate my items. I found that last bit kind of funny since I was planning to put the review up this week anyway, but it was a nice reminder for me to get off my duff and do it. On to the products! Here's what I requested:

From l to r: Dark Circle Reducer Spray, Renewal Facial Cleanser, Hydrating
Body Lotion, Hemp & Omega 3 Botanical Shampoo, Super Moisturizing
Butter Foot Cream

*All product links are to the Amazon Marketplace for the store so that you can see everyone's reviews.*


BcBud Hemp & Omega 3 Botanical Shampoo, $14.97




--Cleanses down to the root
--Doesn't have a heavy scent
--Makes hair feel thicker and softer (after repeated usage)
--Works well with different kinds of conditioners
--Exposes dead ends and leaves them tangled



This is the product that I was sent erroneously; I had actually requested the conditioner but was sent the shampoo instead. It wasn't a big deal to me though, so I tried it out. I've used it 3 times since I received it and I really like it so far. I'm a little surprised that I like it so much because I hate the smell of hemp. I smelled a hemp shampoo at Walmart once and thought it was absolutely horrid. I still do. lol I can pick up the hemp smell in this shampoo, but the essential oils help a lot. It gets my roots really clean and since I've been using it, my roots feel a little thicker as well. It works really well with different kinds of conditioners without diminishing its own benefits, and I'm digging how my hair's been feeling since I started using it.





Carapex Premium Hydrating Body Lotion, $15.97




--Works best fresh out of the shower; feels a bit greasy otherwise
--Doesn't require constant re-application
--Unscented fragrance
--Doesn't leave a greasy texture or appearance
--Suitable for very dry or sensitive skin
--Leaves skin feeling very soft



The first time I tried this, I wasn't fresh out of the shower and it was alright, but it was a bit greasy. I wasn't crazy about it. That one was my fault though, because the directions specifically say to use it after a bath or shower. lol So I listened to the directions the next time that I tried it and the results were much better. My skin wasn't greasy this time around, it felt much more moisturized and hydrated, and my body still felt that way a few hours later. At first it didn't feel like anything special, but as the hours went by and I didn't need to reapply the lotion anywhere except my hands, I realized it was much better than I originally thought.

*Carapex Renewal Facial Cleanser, $14.97

--Works well for sensitive or dry skin
--Rehydrates and moisturizes face
--Calms my breakouts
--Has improved the overall texture of my face
--Works best fresh out of the shower
--Doesn't have a heavy consistency or weigh down the skin
--Scent isn't heavy or long-lasting



This has an asterisk next to it because it's become a holy grail product for my face since I started using it. This is another one I was initially skeptical about because it has a slightly watery consistency and the smell reminded me of powdered milk. LOL But once I used it, my face felt so much smoother. It is advertised partially as being an exfoliant, but I didn't notice any abrasiveness when I washed my face with it. I was a little late in noticing, but I haven't had any major breakouts since I started using the cleanser per the instructions. I've had a couple of spots, but they were hormonal and never fully came to the surface. I have dry skin, so I have to be careful with both exfoliants and those that caution you to wear sunscreen afterward, but I haven't had any problems. The only time I wash my face with this is at night after I've already removed my makeup and it's been doing a great job on my skin so far.





Carapex Dark Circle Reducer Cream, $19.97




--Moisturizes the skin around my eyes
--Doesn't have a thick formula
--Unscented
--Improves the look of the skin around the eyes (after repeated usage)
--Leaves a slight shine behind but it's not heavy on the skin
--Best when applied at night but wears well underneath makeup



I don't have really dark circles under my eyes or severe discoloration, but I do have some light discoloration and the skin underneath my eyes is usually dry. I have recurrent sinus infections that usually end up hitting my eyes at some point, so the rubbing keeps the skin weak. I also wear the majority of my makeup on my eyes, so it's important that I keep the skin around that area properly moisturized and hydrated. The formula isn't thick, it's not weighed down with fragrances, and it sinks into the skin after application. It does leave a slight shine behind, but if you apply this at night after the shower (if you have a nighttime skincare routine) then it should be fine. Applying this before your makeup also isn't a problem though, as I have noticed that despite the shine, it sits very well underneath makeup and even after I remove it, the skin still isn't as dry as it normally is. It's been feeling much more moisturized and healthier, not paper-thin and flaky since I've been using it. I haven't noticed a significant difference in the circles, but the slight discoloration is starting to improve a bit.




*Carapex Super Moisturizing Butter Foot Cream, $14.97




--Best fresh out of the shower
--Improves the overall texture of the feet (after repeated usage)
--Doesn't leave a greasy sheen on the skin
--Awesome when used overnight with socks
--Doesn't require repeated applications throughout the day



This is my other holy grail product of the bunch. The first time I tried this I wasn't sold because I didn't follow the directions (again), and much like the body lotion, this was a bit greasy on my feet. When I did follow the directions though, the results were totally different. The cream sank into my skin and kept it smooth for hours. When I'm out and about during the summer, I'm in sandals 99% of the time, so I need something that's going to be too legit to quit until I get back to the house. I don't have to take it with me and constantly reapply it; I may have to put on some regular lotion at some point throughout the day, but usually I don't. I've found that this works best when I use this at night or when I put socks on over it because it really locks in the moisture that way. Using this on a regular basis combined with regular maintenance has helped improve the look and feel of my feet, which I appreciate. The skin is a bit softer than it normally is, even when I don't have lotion on.

Overall:

Overall, my experience with this company and its products was a positive one. I was a bit concerned about my product reviews on Amazon and whether or not they'd read like an advertisement because I was happy with everything, but I'm honestly very satisfied with this batch of products. The biggest benefit of using all of these products, regardless of whether it was for the face, hair or body, was that the body part in question felt softer and more moisturized. For someone with naturally dry and sensitive skin/hair, I haven't had any adverse effects from anything that I tried and I love that. The packaging is simple and the ingredients list is easy to read. The company rep that I spoke to (hi Caroline!) was nothing but helpful, was able to recommend products with ease and any questions that I asked were easily and quickly answered. Navigating the website was easy as well; finding the various product lines and browsing through them, as well as making any purchases, was a snap.

As for the products themselves, I noticed that there were a few bad reviews on most of the products I requested (which is actually why I requested them), but I didn't have any of the problems listed in those reviews. Despite getting these for practically nothing, it has no influence on how I felt about the products, which I genuinely liked a lot. These are products that help improve your skin over time; they are not an immediate fix. I still have dry skin, but since I have been using these products regularly I haven't had as many issues with it. I'm going to continue using all of them because they really have helped my skin. The foot cream and the facial cleanser have become holy grail products because that's where I've noticed the most improvements in the condition of my skin. I've been using them for about three weeks and my heels are noticeably smoother even when I haven't applied any lotion, I haven't had any major breakouts, and I haven't had any more dry patches on my face. In general, my skin feels more moisturized and my hair is starting to feel a little healthier so if that is the goal of these products, then Carapex wins for me.


Do I recommend these products?

Yes, I do. I will say though that these products will probably have different results on different skin types or hair textures. My hair is coarse (being a gal of color, of course lol) so products that are meant to help bring or maintain moisture are best suited for me. The shampoo is also meant for primarily damaged hair or dry scalp, so if your scalp and hair are healthy, you'll probably have different results than I did. The same goes for the lotion. These have a different feel and result than drugstore lotions. The products I requested were meant to target dry skin, so if your skin doesn't fit that type then these may not be the products for you. If you have dry skin, damaged hair, or occasional breakouts, then give Carapex a try.

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July Favorites

I hate how fast time seems to go. It's getting annoying. lol Anyway, as I mentioned last month, I tried out a few new things, most of which were beauty related, but hopefully this month is a bit more interesting to read. Let's get started!

LA Girl Matte Lipstick in Rebel, LA Girl Glazed Lip Paint in Pin-Up

These were two of the many beauty products I've tried within the last month, reviews for which will be up soon, but these have to be my favorite two out of the bunch. Even though I've known about LA Girl for awhile thanks to YouTube, I've never had the opportunity to try the brand out because it wasn't being sold in too many local places. I noticed the Pro Conceal last month at a local beauty salon and from there, the obsession with trying the brand has spread. I tried the Glazed lip paints first, and out of the four that I bought, I liked two. My favorite, though, was Pin-Up, which obviously was red. I can't get enough of red and plum lipsticks this year, and Pin-Up is a shiny, red gloss. Love it. It smudges rather easily, but I'm digging it.

A couple of weeks ago I came across the Matte lipstick line next, and I fell in love with Rebel. Removing the color is like trying to remove a coat of paint without any water which can be hard when I'm trying to take it off at the end of the day, but the positive about that is that it doesn't come off once it's on. Rebel is this beautiful dark plum color that is going to look even better in the fall than it does now and I can't stay away from it, even when it doesn't match my makeup in any way. lol This is the first matte lipstick I've used and there'll be a review up on it soon so I won't go into too much detail, but I am in complete love with this shade. 

none this month!

It really bothers me that I haven't had the time to read again this month. I miss my books. lol I'm going to have to work to make some time because not only am I in way over my head in terms of the books I have left to do for reviews, but I've got some gems waiting to be read. 

Bloodline, The Fall

Both of these are shows that I'd been seeing all over the Netflix homepage but hadn't watched until earlier this month. When I didn't have any satellite service I decided to add Netflix Originals to the TV section of the site but hadn't done anything with it yet. This month I started watching the Original series Bloodline, with Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini and Kyle Chandler, which is about a small-town Florida family who seems to have it all, until their dark secrets begin to come out with the return of the oldest son. I'll probably review the show in full before the second season premieres, but the first season was pretty good. Even in the moments of supposed happiness and light-hearted moods, you can just feel the tension and this eerie sense of darkness beneath the surface of this family's history. It's a dark, gritty drama and despite my few complaints about it, it's every bit as good as the critics said. 

I watched both seasons of The Fall last week, and omgballs is it good. I'm not an X-Files or 50 Shades of Grey fan, so I'm not very familiar with either Gillian Anderson or Jamie Dornan's work. This was an amazing introduction to both. The Fall is an Irish crime drama about a Met detective investigating a string of murders in Belfast and having to get the local police to accept that it is the work of a serial killer, all while the killer picks (and then kills) his next victims. The first season moved rather slowly, the second season was a bit quicker, but the series as a whole was very intense. Jamie Dornan plays a great killer. LOL I became slightly obsessed with this series; it had a different feel from American crime dramas and the cast did an awesome job of giving the plot some authenticity. Maybe that's because I'm not familiar with them individually, but there was a sense of realness, almost uncomfortably so, about the series but that's another reason why I enjoyed it so much. I'll probably be reviewing this show in full as well, but I can't wait until the third season premieres on BBC sometime this fall. 

Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends, DC Universe Online

I have had my eye on Xtreme Legends for DW7 since it came out. I hadn't gotten 7 when Legends came out so I wasn't trying to pick it up. Then once I had beaten 7, I couldn't afford Legends because the price hadn't dropped yet. LOL Finally, the stars aligned and I was able to get it. I've loved it so far. What I like about this is that it syncs your game data from 7, so your progress with weapons and animal discovery as well as character levels all cross over to Legends. This is the first Legends game I've played, so I'm not sure if this is an old or new feature. You get 3 extra characters to work with and locations from previous games are available again, which helped because after so long of repeatedly playing the locations in 6 then 7, it was getting a little stale. New weapons, things to discover and secret weapons as well as new titles can be unlocked, and I'm loving all of it. I've gotten distracted by DCUO lately, but I'll be back. 

DCUO is a very old favorite for me; I've been playing the game since it went Free-to-Play on PS3 so I'd like to think of myself as an OG of the game. lol My old PS3 was only 40GB though (it's one of the originals) so DCUO didn't fit and I had to take it off, but after my mama made my life and got me a new one last month, that was the first thing I put on it. It hasn't changed too much in the two years I was gone other than to add more paid features and extras to the game, but it's still been a blast to play. It's been overrun by the chirruns (children lol) in the time I've been gone which is a bummer, but I expected it. It was fun to go back and level up my accounts. The irritating level cap at 30 is still there, but now there are a lot more DLC options to make the game more interesting after that, all of which you have to pay for, of course. lol I don't think I'll do all that, but while I'm making up my mind, I can make more money to put in escrow, I guess. lol 

EyeEm, Aviary, AfterFocus

I had EyeEm before but I don't think I really appreciated the app for what it was because I ended up getting rid of it a couple of months ago but I got it back a couple of weeks ago and got lost in it. lol What I love about this app is that if you're an amateur or aspiring photographer, it challenges you a bit to take better photos. There are a number of photo challenges you can enter and even if you don't enter for the prizes, you can still enter or browse through the current submissions to strengthen your own photography skills. I love photography, but I worry that I just don't have the eye for it. I have the mind for it, but I don't know that it translates to the actual photos that I take. Anyway, the ongoing challenges on the app look like a lot of fun, prizes aside, you get to discover other photographers using the app, and get all kinds of photo inspiration. I'm really digging the app this time around. 

Aviary and AfterFocus are old favorites; I had them on here a couple of months ago and they're still among my favorites. Whenever I'm editing photos for the blog, these are a couple of the apps that I always use to get my photos looking right. 

Pinterest

An old reliable is on the list again because per usual, I can't stay away from Pinterest. It really is the place where my blog schedule goes to die and the DIY receptors in my brain fire to life in its place. LOL This month I've been on there a lot, mainly for ATV's Americana theme, but the rest was all nerd decor. It's never going to get old for me. I need to pin all the things. 

Blog calendars, recipes, desk/nerd decor

There was a significant amount of anger at the exact moment that I realized Walmart sold a blog calendar for $10 that was everything I needed, because I had already spent more than that DIY'ing a couple of them and left the experience unfulfilled. LOL But whatever, ya live and ya learn. Unfortunately, my learning usually comes at my own expense (sometimes literally) but I digress. Anyway, one of the things on my bucket list was to try out some new recipes and I have. It's been really fun and served as a bit of (unneeded but still welcomed) confirmation that working with food is what I want to do. Finally, my desk is still a work in progress, so I've been trying to find ways to decorate and get it to actually look like a workspace instead of somewhere I just drop all my junk. Nerd decor is always on my mind because I wonder how creative I can get with inserting my favorite video games into my decor. 

Photography, ibuprofen (LOL), junk food, cold coffee, my Super Mario cup, nerd decor

Even though I don't yet have the camera I'd like to have for blog photos or practicing my photography skills, it's still on the list of things that I enjoy learning about. It's really important to me, for both blogging and hobby reasons, to get better at taking photos and I thought this summer would be a good time to test some of it out.

I've been needing some dental work for quite some time, but I recently figured out that a lot of my problems are tied into my chronic sinus issues, so the need to get this work done has been bumped up a few notches. Anytime I get a sinus headache or an infection flares up, my teeth feel like someone is cutting the nerves off with pliers and no anesthesia. It's awful, but prescription ibuprofen has been saving my life lately or I'm quite sure I would have pulled the teeth out myself by now. 

Another reason why I probably have the dental problems I do now is because of my need for junk food and cold coffee. Both of those are really hard on your teeth, especially if you're not getting all of your minerals and vitamins to keep them strong, and both of them are now taking their toll. I don't eat as much junk food or drink as much cold coffee as I used to, but I still think about them all the time so I put them up here. lol 

I bought a Super Mario cup at the beginning of the month and it immediately became one of my summertime companions. I get teased for it constantly because the top looks like the children sippy cups, the string on the cup allows you to hang it from your neck and the bottom part of the cup doubles as a separate snack compartment, but I love it. Lastly, I've had nerd decor on here for the past few favorites. Do I really still need to explain that one? LOL

What documentaries do I recommend this month? I was quite busy on Netflix this month. I would recommend I Hate Christian Laettner for old-school college basketball fans, Tricked if you want an in-depth story about the reality of human trafficking, The Immortalists if you want to meet the scientists who are trying to unlock the secret to living forever, or An Honest Liar, which focuses on one of the world's greatest magicians and his fight to expose all of the frauds who bring down magic....all while keeping some secrets of his own. 

So that's it for me this month. I didn't have a 3 paragraph entry for everything for once. I'm going to check out a few new websites; even though I love pinning all the things I'd really like to have something other than Pinterest in this category. I have some reviews coming up this week and I promise I'm going to stick to my word (and my schedule) this time. See you tomorrow!

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