December 2014 BeautyBox 5 Review

My November Box was a little lack luster so I was really hoping for a much better box this time around.  And yes, I giggle at all the "box" jokes that come to mind.

The card that comes in the box telling you about everything.

My 5 goodies

First up I got the facial mist in Rose Bouquet.  It smells a lot like rose water.  Not my favorite scent but still pleasant.  I set this aside for the summer.  I think it will be a nice skin refresher in the Memphis heat.  It's a decent size so it should last a while.  I may even use it on my sheets for a nice relaxing scent.

Jaqua Facial Mist in Rose Bouquet

Next were the nail polish remover pads.  Cute little container with 32 pads that is perfect for travel and I can throw in my bag.  I liked that they are acetone free and you can use them on both natural and artificial nails.
One small pad is supposed to be able to remove nail polish from all 10 nails.

Absolute! New York Nail Polish Remover pads in Lemon

Third was the Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Moisturizer.  I haven't tried this yet.  But it's fruit stem cells and not human stem cells...I wonder if anyone got upset about that.  I was a little bummed I didn't get the 4 shade palette from Coastal Scents that was the other option in this box.  I don't know anyone who did.
Here is what their webpage says about the product: "Moisturize with a proprietary blend of fruit stem cells infused into a Vitamin C, resveratrol-rich grapeseed formula to aggressively firm and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Certified organic, antioxidant-rich ingredients and plant oils hydrate and improve elasticity for lasting, advanced age defy results."
 (from http://www.juicebeauty.com/store/stem-cellular-moisturizer.html)

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Moisturizer

Fourth was the nail polish.  I'm not really a glitter polish girl so this may end up going to someone else. I think if has been finer glitter particles I may have considered it.  But I'm just not in to this.

Nanacoco Nail Polish in Exotic Blossom

Last was the Lucky Number 6 perfume from Lucky Cosmetics. 
I thought it smelled horrid.  Really musty/musky which I don't like in my perfumes.  But I gave it a shot.   It smells MUCH better when it was on me. It ended up being a really sultry floral scent and even the hubby approved it.

Lucky Number 6 perfume by Lucky Brand

Overall not a bad box.  Things that I'm interested in trying and using.


I did not get compensated for this review. I pay for this service.

12 weeks and a top I never could have worn before

3 months after surgery and I'm still getting used to my body. My right expander still has a weird dent in it and probably will until my exchange surgery.
I have found that yoga has really helped me gain back my mobility. Losing weight is just an added bonus.

It's really hard to take a good picture of yourself

Another added bonus is that I can now wear tops I was never able to before because I no longer require a bra.
Case in point this awesome halter I made myself.

I'm learning to be more comfortable in my own skin, which is important when you feel like you had Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone's plastic surgeon.
Pictures and more after the jump

I'm bouncing around the apartment and squealing.  I've been lusting after a serger for some time now. It would be great to have with all the clothing I'm making for myself and others.
I know Ben had been setting money aside to get me one, but my mother is visiting and decided to cover the rest of the cost. 

It should be here in a week and I was so excited I started crying.  Now to buy some thread cones.

Ruffle shirt

I've been eying this awesome shirt for a while. I had some cute fabric in my stash so what was I waiting for? I was told that the summer here was going to be hell.
That was enough to get me to start making more clothing for myself.  I love that I can use light weight cotton for this shirt.

New shirt and a new haircut

I had 2 sets of fabric I was going to use to make 2 separate shirts. I decided to start with the one I liked less just in case I screwed it up the first go around.  I did try out the shoulder ruffles but moved the pockets from the sides to the front.
The pattern is simple and straight forward and I promise the math at the beginning isn't that hard if you write it down as you measure.

The nose knows

When I was 7 I had my ears pierced. It looked cute and I had a few pairs of earrings.  Within about 6 months I started to get horrid cysts in my ears, I had to let the holes close up.  10 years later I got them pierced again, same problem.
I've always thought about getting my nose or eyebrow pierced.  I didn't think tweezing or threading would work too well with a piercing.  This past Friday while looking at a webpage for a threading place I noticed they did piercing (place full of Indian women).
I took the plunge and got a nose stud.  I chose the left side for traditional reasons.
"In India the outside of the left is the preferred position of the piercing as this is supposed to make childbirth easier. This is because Ayurvedic medicine associates this location with the female reproductive organs.""

Baby needs some new clothes

Garrett has a mini-Cabbage Patch Kid that he calls "baby". (One of these days we will get him to call her by the name she came with, Julia Honor.)
She came with this adorable little nightgown. She also came with normal looking hair. 
Garrett loves her and will drag her around by her hair.  Last week he decided to dunk her in the toilet which meant we had to throw her in the machine to wash her. 

I had been meaning to make her some clothing but this was the kick in the pants I needed. I had to throw away the disposable diaper she came in because I couldn't get it back on her after she had been washed. 
I found a really simple tutorial.  I made some adjustments because "baby" is a fairly small CPK.

I could barely get her away from Garrett long enough to get her dressed and take a picture.  It's such a cute little outfit.  I know Garrett wouldn't care if she was naked but I enjoy the little project.

I've done it again

dyed my hair that is.  As much as I loved the blonde the upkeep was too much so now I'm back to brown. 

It looks good and I'm happy with the change in the cut as well.

20 minute toddler pants

Or in this case shorts.  I've already made Garrett a pair of pants but I wanted to make him some shorts.  I found a great cotton print and didn't really want to line them.  There's a super simple pattern for making pants/shorts that I found.  Even easier if you make them from an old shirt.

Check out those abs

Since I didn't want to use an old shirt I had to hem the bottoms as well as the waist.  They look adorable on him and Ben calls them his "golf shorts".   Now if only it would stop raining here so he can wear them.

Playing with daddy

White sweatshirts and toddlers just don't mix

I'm not a big fan of sweatshirts myself.  They go over your head and mess up your hair,when you take them off your shirt often flies up and exposes you to the world.  Now add a hyper toddler that doesn't want to sit still while you put something on his head and pull it off constantly and you end up with a cranky kid. 

The sweatshirt before dying. I forgot to take a picture before we wet it

My mom bought Garrett a sweatshirt that he still hasn't grown in to.  Beside it being a sweatshirt it was white.  Toddler and white don't mix. I thought green was a good color for Garrett so Ben and I went about dying the sweatshirt.

A nice green, with my ticket bowl in the background

I love the way the green came out.  1 issue down, 1 more to go.  Now I just needed to cut it and add a zipper to turn it in to a hoodie. I started with this YouTube tutorial and used the instructions for a separating zipper.  I forgot to take pictures while I was installing the zipper. Just make sure you watch the tutorial and then read the other instruction.  I liked being able to watch the video to get a visual of what I was doing. 

Daddy getting him ready to go out

Now it's a hoodie he can wear without a fuss because it's so easy to get on and off of him. There's plenty of room for him to grow in to it and green looks great on him.

Action Shot!

Spring is here

It took some time but Spring is finally here in Boston.  It means lovely weather and playground time, but it also means cute dresses.
I realized that this time last year I was nursing.  All my tops were nursing tops and I didn't have much clothing to wear for the warmer weather.  I've also been losing weight so my things aren't fitting me the same way. 
I found this adorable little dress for the spring.  It was too cute to pass up.

Forgive the roots and the tired look

I found a pair of Tahari wedges I had gotten on sale last winter (clearance for the win).  I can't wait to wear this dress on some deliciously warm day.