The rules are:
1. List 11 random facts about yourself
2. Answer 11 questions that the blogger who nominated you has asked
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers
4. Let those bloggers know you nominated them
5. No tag backs
11 Random Facts About Me:
1. I think President Nixon's "Checkers" speech is hilarious.
2. When I was a kid, I begged my mom to buy the squeezeable Heinz purple ketchup, and she never would. (and now it's gone--thanks Mom).
3. If I were a cat, the first thing I would do is take a nap in the sunshine.
4. I'm a Hufflepuff. We're not that exciting, but we're a happy bunch.
5. George is my favorite Beatle because he wrote "Something," which is the most beautiful song.
6. I think euros look like money from Life (the board game).
7. I preferred last year's Color of the Year (emerald green) to this year's (radiant orchid), which is strange because my favorite color is purple and I'm not super fond of green.
8. I can't touch my toes. Never have been able to, either; I'm just not very flexible.
9. I love cheese but I'm lactose-sensitive (the struggle is real).
10. I sometimes will wear a cute shirt and then throw a baggy hoodie over it because I like to feel pretty, but I crave comfort more.
11. Fuzzy pajama pants are quite possibly my favorite thing in the world.
11 Questions from Kriselle:
1. College. What comes to mind when you think of it? - Doing what I love. I love making friends, meeting new people, and learning about my favorite topics (and not-so-favorite topics). I love gaining new skills and improving upon the ones I already have.
2. Tell me something that's on your bucket list. - Do a show in London, either as a Props Master, Stage Manager or assistant, or any other job that comes my way.
3. What are you most excited for this 2014? - Just the possibilities of it all! Anything can happen in a year!
4. Who is your role model? - My mom. She works so hard and has so much love to give, even though she could just as easily be bitter about the things she's lost out on. I don't know how she does it, but it's incredibly admirable and I hope to be like that one day.
5. If you could eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? - Seafood. I love sushi, crab, lobster, shrimp, mussels, you name it. I just really love fish. And it's a broader choice than simply saying "bacon," although I also do love bacon.
6. What is your musical preference? - I'm pretty eclectic, but if I had to pick one genre, it would be either alternative/punk (think Fall Out Boy) or on the other side, singer-songwriter (I love browsing through talented musicians on YouTube).
7. Name one of your fears. (You don't have to go deep for this one if you're not comfortable.) - Failure. Just, anything. It encompasses so much and I'm a perfectionist, so it's like the worst feeling in the world.
8. Pick one: sunny beaches or snowy mountains? - Sunny beaches, please! Whether it be in Greece (please someday please) or on Long Island, I love beaches!
9. Describe your favorite mug. - There's actually a picture of it on my Instagram! I got it last year when I studied abroad in the Netherlands. This is actually kind of really awful, but it's a picture of a cute and chibi Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piete. They're just so cute though!
10. What is your favorite movie? - When Harry Met Sally. It's my feel-better movie whenever I'm sad, and it's just a perfect movie. I love it so much.
11. What is one thing that you have to do every day? - Drink coffee. It's an essential part of my morning.
My 11 nominees are as follows:
1. Ali at In Bloom
2. Miranda from Handmade. Homemade. Mermaid.
3. Megan at Lush to Blush
4. Nena at The Nenja
5. Hannah from My Lovely, But Crazy Life!
6. Alicia at river city chic
7. Megan from The Artistic Brunette
8. Brianna at Endlessly Beloved
9. Elizabeth at October June
10. Katrina from Kat Katastrophe
11. Tilden at To Be Bright
I also tag all of YOU reading this! If anyone wants to answer the questions below, you can either create a blog post and link it below, or just write your responses directly in the comments. I'd love to read them! :)
My questions for you lovely ladies are~
1. Top 3 favorite albums. Go.
2. What's you go-to sad-day movie?
3. Do you wear makeup? If so, what's your favorite kind of product?
4. You're stuck on a deserted island and can only bring four things. What are they?
5. If you could eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? (I'm keeping this one, Kriselle!)
6. Give me a fun fact about you.
7. Have you ever been to a foreign country?
9. The best concert you've ever been to?
10. What's your favorite cafe?
11. And the most important question of all - do you like Nutella? If so, what's your favorite recipe? I love Nutella Fudge. I also love eating it out of the jar with a spoon (no shame).
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Okay, that was fun, but let's get back to business. Here are the products I've used up in the latter part of November, December, and January. I'll tell you my experience with them, if I liked/didn't like it, if I would repurchase, and all that jazz. There is something exciting about using up a product, and even more exciting about allowing yourself to open up the new products you weren't letting yourself open before because you had too many in use! Here it is, the first Empties post of 2014!
(Sample-size [3mL]: $3) (Full-size [15mL]: $14.50)
I received this in my September Birchbox and I really enjoyed it. I used it as my nighttime lip balm, and though it looks like a very small amount, this lasted me almost two months of daily use. I kind of wish I had some now, with the cold and windy Boston weather making my lips all chapped. I think I'll spend my Birchbox points on a full size of this next!
(Deluxe Mini Size: $10 for .14oz) (Full size: $23 for .3oz)
This was a 2013 Favorite, for its ability to create really dramatic lashes. I don't have the patience to put on false lashes, so I really enjoyed this. I loved the volumizing and lengthening effects it gave, but for the price I don't think I'll be repurchasing soon. Plus, this was really hard to get off, even with waterproof eye makeup remover (and this isn't waterproof). Now I'm back to my trusty ol' CoverGirl Lash Blast. This time I'm using a bottle of the LashBlast Luxe in Black Emerald, which is tinted green. I like it a lot, as I love all of the CoverGirl Lash Blast mascaras.
Bath & Body Works Hand Cream in Enchanted Orchid ($5 for 2oz)
I cut the top off to get to the remaining product, as I always do with tubes like this, because I don't like to waste. I found the texture to be similar to their regular body lotion, which I have multiple bottles of in different scents. I might as well buy a big bottle of body lotion for $10, which saves me money in the long run. I liked the scent of this, but I usually prefer my hand creams to be thicker and more moisturizing, so I don't think I'll be repurchasing.
Bath & Body Works soaps smell so good! I preferred their Harvest Marmalade scent (see my November Empties) to this one, but it was still nice. My roommates and I decided to save some money and go with regular hand soap this time around once we finished these, but I think I can convince them to go for fancy soap again next time.
I received this sample in my November Birchbox. I didn't care for the scent, although the texture was nice. For $38, I think I'll pass on the full size. After all, I have a literal basket of lotion (mostly from Bath & Body Works) at my house back home, so I don't need any more. One day I'll post a picture of it on here.
I've used these before, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm still not crazy about them. They're on the drier side of wipes, while I prefer ones that are more wet (I think they work better). These take off face makeup okay, but I prefer ones that are more saturated. I won't be repurchasing these since I usually don't use wipes, but if I did, I would use the Pond's ones.
Pond's Luminous Clean Wet Cleansing Towelettes ($5 for 30 towelettes)
Pond's Luminous Clean Wet Cleansing Towelettes ($5 for 30 towelettes)
I just finished up a sample pack of these, and I really like them! Unlike the Neutrogena, they're very saturated (and they stay that way), which I believe helps them cleanse the face better. These take off face makeup and eye makeup (even mascara, wow!) without a struggle, which I was happily surprised about. I would repurchase these, but right now I have two bottles of CVS Eye Makeup Remover in stock so I think I'll hold off for a little while.
I reviewed this mask, along with two others, in my post here. I wasn't really crazy about it, but I think it would be great for people with oily skin. I thought this one in particular was a little annoying to apply (it's so sticky that it sticks to everything, especially the hair on your head and your eyebrows), and it doesn't peel off as well as other peel-off masks I've tried. They're really inexpensive so it's affordable to try them out, which I like! I loved Freeman's Grapefruit Scrub, though.
My Beauty Diary Hyaluronic Face Mask ($8 for 10 masks)
I saw my new roommate using one of these, and when I asked her about them, she gave me one to try. I'd never used a sheet mask before, so it was an interesting experience. The mask was so saturated, not at all like I expected, and it was so wet that it didn't want to stay on my face! It kept coming off of my chin, and the eye holes weren't quite shaped right for me and the mask kept poking the outer corners of my eyes. Other than that, I found this to be very moisturizing, and I'm curious to see what other masks My Beauty Diary has to offer.
Skinn Cosmetics Gentle Exfoliating AM Cleanser ($18 for 4oz)
I got this in a duo with my beloved Skinn PM Cleanser, but I'm not as crazy about it. This is sulfate-free, but I still found it drying on my (dry) skin. Getting the PM cleanser alone doesn't pay, since the duo is only a few dollars more, but I'd feel bad buying it and not using it. Plus, I only wash my face at night (see why here), so this would also be kind of useless to me (unless I used it as a PM cleanser, which I wouldn't do). Do you see my problem? The struggle that is my life? (#firstworldproblems by the motherlode)
Herbal Essences Hydralicious Reconditioning Shampoo ($3 for 10.1 fl oz)
I purchased this before I went sulfate-free, but to prevent waste, I used it up anyway. As expected, it is not "hydralicious," because the first ingredient after water is a sulfate, which is very drying on hair (aka the reason I went sulfate-free). Good to know I still feel the same, I guess. I liked their Hello Hydration Shampoo back in April, but that was before I cut sulfates out of my life, so I don't know if I'd feel the same now. The purple is pretty, at least?
Crest Citrus Splash Whitening Toothpaste Plus Scope ($3 for 6.2 oz)
Make fun of me all you want, but I don't like minty toothpastes. I don't know if my mouth is sensitive or what, but I always find that they burn whenever I use them. So, when I found this toothpaste years ago, I was so relieved! This isn't like brushing your teeth with an orange or anything--it basically just lessens up the mint so it doesn't hurt to use it. I always have a hard time finding it in stores by me, but if I'm lucky, I'll find it at Target. I've never seen it anywhere else. Crest also used to make this awesome Vanilla toothpaste years ago but I think it was discontinued, which is a shame. More companies need to start putting out flavored toothpastes, and not the ones for kids. (This has been my rant of the day)
Wow, that was a long post! Thanks for sticking with me through that. I hope you had fun getting to know me, and I can't wait to get to know you!
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Disclaimer: I bought all of these, except for the Freeman Beauty Face Mask, which is a PR Sample. All thoughts are my own. I don't accept money to write about anything on my blog. Yada yada yada.
