Shop of the Week: Lil' Bundle of Joy

This would normally be a Monday post, but as with everything else in my life, I'm too busy to care about smaller details like that. *smile*

:::  LIL' BUNDLE OF JOY  :::

I discovered Lil' Bundle of Joy when they were featured as a special deal on Heartsy. I happen to adore owls — more specifically, owls with huge cartoon eyes {real-life owls, on the other hand, creep me out}. So the first product I saw featured on their Heartsy deal page was a colorful, owl-patterned-and-embellished burp cloth — obviously for babies {though who am I to judge if someone has other uses for them}, but that's okay. Someday I'll have a baby to spoil with these cute items. I can admire them as much as I want, thank you. *smile*

Photo from Lil' Bundle of Joy's Etsy Shop

Photo from Lil' Bundle of Joy's Etsy Shop

The hard part for me in regards to buying things like this is the fact that I have such talented aunts in my family who can whip up the same things, at little or no cost to me — and they'll mean that much more coming from family. However, if I were to seek out anything owl-related for a baby shower gift or for my future self, and didn't have such a talented family, Lil' Bundle of Joy would absolutely be my first stop.

They have a number of cute owl-themed items, including burp cloths, blankets, rattle toys, crinkle-tab toys, etc. The prices are reasonable, considering they're handmade and embroidered. But most of all... they're adorable! I love the patterns they use as backgrounds, and the whole look of the product line overall. I'll definitely be keeping this shop in mind for gift-giving purposes or simply to use as inspiration for pieces my aunts can make. If you're in the market for baby items, give Lil' Bundle of Joy a try!

Stay Fabulous!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I read about this idea on a blog that I read pretty regularly, and thought I'd give it a shot about once a month. The purpose is to acknowledge the things in your life that make you happy, putting focus on those things and appreciating what you have, rather than allowing yourself to be distracted by always wanting things. And these favorite things don't include people, of course, as my family and friends would take the top spots on that list. *smile*

So here's my first post of four random favorite things.

::: HTC EVO SHIFT™ 4G :::
The best phone I've had since my very first cellphone at the age of 16. It's pretty much attached to my hand, or at the very least, in my purse wherever I go. I recently got rid of my Samsung Moment touchscreen phone, which started out great but then slowly started to drain the battery within a few hours of charging it (and without even using it), and it would randomly drop calls. I go through Sprint, and after 9 months with a phone you get a $150 upgrade credit, so once I qualified for it, I started browsing new options on Sprint's online store. The HTC Evo had the highest customer rating (4.75 out of 5 stars) and was also rated the highest on cnet.com — the online electronics mecca that I refer to anytime I'm in the market for something like that. At that time, Sprint was also offering a special deal on the HTC Evo Shift. Usually they only offer mail-in rebates, but this time they changed them to instant rebates, so the phone went from $500 retail price down to only $150 with my upgrade credit and instant rebate. Well worth it. I went with the HTC Evo Shift, because it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and I prefer that to the touchscreen keyboard. I've had this phone for 4 months now, and it has never dropped a call, has never run out of battery and is seamless in its useability. There's a lot of great stuff for free in the Android Market too.

::: BILLABONG HANDBAG :::
Hello, heavy handbag! My favorite bag in recent history, with lots of space to fit... well, everything. I love carrying big purses, never leaving anything behind — though my chiropractor would disagree. The side pockets are perfect for carrying around my pink water bottle, which is another item I keep with me 24/7 {lots of H2O = fresh, clear skin!}.

::: BIC 730 R PEN :::
I'm a pen geek. In the time of computer convenience, I'm still writing things out with a pen and paper. And when I write, it has to be with the best pen available. I've tried them all, and the Bic 730 R is by far my favorite. So far I've only been able to find them at Target and Amazon.com, but it's worth the extra trip/order. It has super-pigmented ink, writes smoothly and lasts for a while. Aside from that, there isn't much more to say about a pen. *smile*

::: WILLOW TREE DREAMER ANGEL :::
I've been collecting Willow Tree Angels for a few years now, ever since my cousin started collecting them. I'm not much of a "collecting" person overall, so Willow Trees are the only collectibles a person would see in my house. Each one has different meaning behind it, and were received as gifts from a variety of different friends and family. The Dreamer is the one that is the most representative of my personality, and I got it from the cousin who got me started in collecting them initially.

So that's it for the first installment of my favorite things.
Stay Fabulous!

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Candy's Sweet Treats: A Review

I'm trying, slowly but surely, to get back into the swing of things, and carve out some time from my crazy schedule to update my blog on a more regular basis. So, let's start today!

I have quite a back-log of mineral makeup reviews to write up, and Candy's Sweet Treats is only the first of many.
Just a side note: it looks like Candy's shop on Etsy is on a hiatus right now, but it's not closed, so keep checking back if you're interested in the products.

I ordered four full-size shadows and a bunch of samples, though three of the full-size shadows were gifts for my cousin. So the swatches I've done below are only for the samples. But the samples contained a decent amount of pigment, so I was able to use them many times, and still have some of each color left.

Here are the sample baggies the pigments came in:

They were clearly labeled, and the ingredients were posted on the shop's Etsy page for reference.

Here are the swatches — one done in natural light and one done with a flash to show the shimmer/glitter/duochromatic effects.

 

::: My Thoughts :::

All of the colors went on very smoothly, and a little goes a long way. You can easily build up the pigment for a more opaque look, or sweep it on lightly for a sheer blend of color.
My favorite color out of the seven that I swatched is Fairy Abode. I have yet to find another company's color that matches this one — it's a beautiful pale green with a creamy champagne-like iridescent effect. However, the other colors are lovely too. I would definitely buy full-size versions of some of these colors.

::: Color Descriptions :::

My own personal descriptions of the colors:
Jezebel ... A buttery, golden yellow completed with the perfect amount of shimmer
Streets of Paris ... A champagne, off-white hue wit just a slight shimmery yellow tint
Little Liar ... A light watermelon-y pink with shimmer
Chameleon ... A soft white shimmer, perfect as a highlight color
Leprechaun Poop ... A shimmered spring green that complements a wide range of colors
God's Girls ... A lighter version of Jezebel, but in the same color family
Fairy Abode ... A pale green with an off-white iridescent overlay

Overall I'm pleased with the colors I received, and the shipping was quick and painless. *smile*
I'm always looking for new indie mineral makeup companies to try out, so leave me a comment if you have any recommendations! More reviews to come.

Stay Fabulous!