jetpens haul and review - handlettering and bullet journal supplies

I have been a shameless pen collector all my life. I have boxes upon boxes of pens that probably don't even work anymore, yet I can't shame myself into throwing them away. Such is life for a stationery aficionado.

A small portion of my pen collection... Trust me, there is plenty more. This is just what's readily accessible at my desk.

That being said, Jetpens.com became a blip in my radar recently and I wanted to give them a shot. Usually I do all my pen shopping in-person (hell-ooooo, who can resist doodling on those test paper pads in Staples? Not I!), but for free shipping over $25 (it is easy peasy to do that, trust me) I thought JetPen might be a great option to try things less readily accessible.

These opinions are all my own, I bought these with my own money, yada yada yada. I've also ranked them from "MOST FAVORITE EVER!!!!" to "meh, alright" for your browsing pleasure. Enjoy!

the esteé edit review - metallishadow créme + powder, inside track eye kajal... and more!

Influenster was kind enough to send me these products in conjunction with The Esteé Edit. I had recently heard about the new line launching (and seen it at Sephora), but didn't pay any mind to the products since most of the line were things I already had plenty of. Though I will not pass up a free offer! The retail value for the package sent was way over any amount that I usually spend at Sephora, so receiving this was a nice treat. My honest first impressions are below! If any product strikes me as special, I'll be sure to do a follow-up post on it.

nadeau "furniture with a soul" orlando store review

I was recently in the sister neighborhood of Altamonte a little while ago and stumbled upon this store after discovering one was about to open in Tampa, close to where my best friend lives.

Being the dutiful best friend that I am, I decided to check it out.

I walked into what used to be a Pet Store and was amazed at the transformation. Floor to ceiling in almost every direction was beautifully painted furniture.

silhouette sunday: etched & nerdy wine glasses

If you haven't heard of etching cream, you need to get your eyes over to Amazon or a craft store pronto.

You know those expensive looking vases and things at Things Remembered that everyone used to go ga-ga over? With the personalized names or symbols? Well the magic (ha!) behind etching cream is that you can apply it to pretty much any glass (yes, even ones from the dollar store) and get a beautiful customized etch that is dishwasher safe!

For my designs, I started in Illustrator with a Harry Potter inspired font and brainstormed a bit (I think these phrases may have come from or were heavily inspired by Pinterest). After coming up with a design I liked, I cut my vinyl and applied to my stemless wine glass. To help with this (and the etching process), I used a half a container of Play-Doh to make a moldable "surface" for the glass to lay on. Forget those specialized cradles! I've found that Play-Doh works for a variety of projects, and holds things put with little to no effort.

I ended up doing two rounds of "etching" on these glasses, but compared to another project I used with only one pass, there wasn't much of a difference. I think from now on I'll skip the second etch. I've heard a thicker coat of cream works better, so I may use that advice next time.

Gratuitous slow-mo pour. Mmm yes.

Overall, I'm happy with how these came out and have already poured myself a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy in them. I'm glad to report they do their job very well (almost too well..)!

As always, a few tips:

• Be patient with the vinyl stencil application on your rounded surface, especially if it's taller than half the height of the glass. I had some trouble getting the vinyl to adhere correctly and had a little bit of etching cream that got into the bubbles-- not a deal breaker for this design but it could be an eyesore with others
• The Play-Doh trick worked so well for this project, I can't imagine doing it any other way! The etching cream needs at least 5 minutes to "etch" and this trick saved me from having to hold the glass in one place that would otherwise roll all over.
• It might be wise to invest in a larger size container (10oz vs the 3oz that I got) if you plan on doing more than just a few projects. I'm not sure why I only got this one, but I've read that thicker coats produce deeper etches, and I was nervous to use "too much" and run out of product and thus was more conservative with my layers.

Let me know if you end up trying this super fun project out! The possibilities are endless :) And here's a cut file for Silhouette software if you want to make these glasses.

Have a safe and awesome 4th of July!

Sephora Favorites Travel Perfume Sampler - Experiment and Review

I love samples. One could confirm this by the 2 and a half Helmer drawers I have full of sample packets, vials, and tubes. So when I heard about the Sephora Favorites deal, I naturally couldn't pass it up.

I was thiiiis close to buying a Daisy rollerball on the Sephora website when it caught my eye. There it was, in its sample-size glory... calling to me from its variety-touting thumbnail. I just had to know what it was about.

From the description, I just became even more excited. 7 samples of higher-end perfumes, you say? And it includes a voucher for a rollerball when you decide your favorite?! Perfect! It included the Marc Jacobs Daisy that I had originally been committed to, so I figured I might as well try more scents "just because."

So, I went to work. I started a page in my new bullet journal (more on that later, maybe? would that be of interest to you guys?) and went to work, trying on a new perfume each day and jotting down some notes at the end of the trial-- to keep track of my opinion on the daily victim. Here's a countdown of my findings, from least favorite to the winner:

1. Elizabeth & James - Nirvana Black
   ($25/ .34 oz. rollerball -- $73.53 per oz.)
• Stinky sweet musk. Very masculine, but vanilla (or other sweet?) notes. Not a fan, and that's coming from a musk lover. 
2. Stella McCartney - Stella ($22/.25 oz. rollerball -- $88 per oz.)
• Smells equally floral and clean without being soapy, however it doesn't last long on my skin. Maybe. 
3. Victor & Rolf - Flowerbomb ($29/ .33 oz. rollerball -- $87.88 per oz.)
• Floral, definitely. Not sure if it quite qualifies as a "flowerbomb," but smells pretty. Like, but not a "love" for me.
4. Tory Burch - Tory Burch 
   ($28/ .2 oz. rollerball -- $140 per oz.)
• Really liked this one! Lasted all evening and could still smell it the next day. Heavy floral scent.
5. Marc Jacobs - Daisy ($25/ .24 oz. rollerball -- $104.17 per oz.)
• Classic floral. Pretty and feminine but lasting power is... meh. Wish it stayed on my skin longer. Love this scent.
6. Prada - Candy Florale 
   ($27/ .34 oz. rollerball -- $79.41 per oz.)
• Floraly, yes. But also kind of soapy at first smell? Not sure how I feel about this. Lasting power was pretty solid. Day 2 - Actually kind of like it!
7. Chloe - Chloe ($28/ .2 oz. rollerball -- $140 per oz.)
• Floral and pretty. Lasted all day and got compliments from Ben. Can be kinda "old" but maybe the correct term here is "mature"

In conclusion, I found a couple of things with this expiriment:

• I ended up... not liking Daisy as much as I thought I was going to. It turns out, as sometimes is the case with perfumes, Daisy just didn't last on my skin. It still smells beautiful to me but for the price point, I just didn't see the benefits to redeeming my certificate for this scent. Womp womp.
• I tended to like the more expensive scents! I was surprised by this, however since I don't typically splurge on perfumes I suppose I shouldn't be. Two of my top 3 scents were over $100 per ounce!
• Spots #1 and #2 were a tie, however there was a huge price difference, so I went with what I did to get the best value out of this set. I think in the future I will probably consider purchasing Prada Candy Florale on its own. It was a truly impressive scent and I loved how feminine it made me feel.

Hope that helps! If you're interested in conducting this expiriment yourself, here's the link

Ferris disagreed with my list. His favorite was Tory Burch (still a good pick, bub!)

ColourPop experience: haul swatches, first impressions and review

I recently bought a few things from a new[er] company called ColourPop.

Initially, I was super excited to try out the shades I had chosen... but as I unpackaged my goods I found that every rose has its thorns. Here are some swatches to get you through the pros and cons ahead.

Barielle Falling Star - First Impressions and Review

A few weeks ago, I picked up this beauty in my local TJ Maxx. I kept telling myself "Gina, you really don't need any more nail polish," but I was so blinded by it's unique glitter combination I just had to buy it. 

This is the first Barielle nail polish I've owned, but despite a tiny mix up (I thought it was Barry M at first, had a fit of excitement, then whilst googling swatches on my phone realized it wasn't) I'm really impressed! 

The rose-gold glitter flecks really twinkle in the sunlight, especially against the creamy denim base color, but even in the shade its a beautiful combination. The formula was great. It only took my two coats to get this opacity, although the glitter was still a tiiiiiny bit rough even after two layers of Seche Vite.

Here, on my ring finger I have one coat with no topper, two coats with no topper, and two coats with a coat of Seche Vite over it. As you can see, the finger with one coat can easily be worn like that, but I prefer the stronger intensity blue. It's all up to you, really!

beauty blogger fall voxbox 2012: first impressions

If you haven't heard of Influenster before, it's about time you did. It's a great company that helps social networking extraordinaire get their feet wet in the public relation part of "blogging." Whether you're a bride-to-be, beauty guru or tech obsessed, there's an Influenster program for you. 

Your credibility on the site comes from the badges you earn. Your expert badges will eventually qualify you for free things to review and provide feedback for on the website. Here are my badges:

Beauty Queen • Fashionista • Gadgeteer

I was recently given the opportunity to review a Beauty Blogger VoxBox, which is pictured below. If you're interested in what I got, individual pictures or first impressions, just hit the read more and continue on!