PopSugar Must Have: December 2015

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I think this month's PopSugar box is my favorite of all of the boxes I've received! There's not one thing in this month's box that I won't be using. Plus, it's introduced me to a couple of new brands that I love and am excited to learn more about! As always, my curious little cat couldn't keep her paws off the new goodies so I've featured some of her shenanigans as well (: 

The PopSugar Must Have box is a monthly subscription (about $40/month or less if you make a 3 or 6 month commitment)  that sends subscribers full-size versions of the season's must-have beauty, fashion, home, and fitness products.

I love that the PopSugar box includes a little card each month with descriptions of all the products. Having these descriptionsmakes me even more excited to try all of the products because there are suggestions on how to use each one of them. Plus, being the nerd that I am, I love to go back through my past subscription cards to see all the goodies I've gotten over the years.

Luv Aj The Rose: Gold Ombre Bracelet - Retail $65

After an initial look at this ombre bracelet, I loved the style but wasn't sure how it would fit with my existing accessories/clothing since I very rarely buy anything that resembles a chain. After wearing it alongside my watch for a couple of days, however, the bracelet has really started to grow on me! The simplicity of the bracelet means that it pairs well when placed with other accessories. Although I do wish that the whole thing was rose gold instead, the ombre colors are very in tune with current trends.

Stowaway Cosmetics: Crème Lipstick Trio - Retail $30

I love the size of this sweet little lipstick trio! Lip products are my number one makeup purchase but I always find myself not being able to use up all of my lipsticks before they expire. These stowaway lipsticks are the perfect little size and incredibly handy to carry around in a purse or even a clutch. Plus the lipstick colors are beautiful and bright and the lipstick itself has a nice faint minty smell.

Nima Oberoi: Lunares Geo Stopper - Retail $24

I am constantly losing my wine stoppers (I have no idea where they disappear to - probably the same place as all my hair ties and bobby pins wander off to) so I was very excited to receive this geo stopper. All of my other stoppers are rubber and come in bright colors so I like that this stopper has a classy, more luxurious-looking design.

Swing Design Nova: Blue Mist Jewelry Box - Retail $36

This little jewelry box is so sweet and adorable! The light blue color is absolutely beautiful and the material on the outside is incredibly soft. Since I already have a bajillion boxes/hangers for my jewelry, my plan is to use this as a desk organizer for my office. Since it’s such a simple, classic-looking box it would pretty much fit in anywhere as the perfect place to store knick knacks. 

My Cup of Cake: Classic Belgian Chocolate - Retail $5.99

I was pleasantly surprised by this little Belgian cake in a cup mix! I’ve tried a couple of Pinterest mug cake mixes that ultimately didn’t end up being very tasty so hopefully a pre-made mix will make a slightly more successful cake. I’m excited to use this mix on a cozy holiday evening with some hot chocolate and slippers (: 

Meri Meri: Silver Stars on White Glitter Tape - Retail $4

One of the things I love about PopSugar is that the focus of their box is not just limited to beauty or fashion items. As someone who is not only beauty-obsessed but also an organization freak, I loved this little glitter tape addition to the box! Although I think it's intended for Christmas-wrapping, I love using different colored tapes in my planner so I plan to use this glitter tape there. 

Gift Tag Stickers + $20 Tiny Prints Promo Card + coupons

I used these Tiny Prints gift tag stickers (not pictured- sorry!)  as soon as I received them as I had a box full of presents labeled with sticky notes at the time! These gift tags are classically designed and simple to use so I will definitely be looking into more of the Tiny Prints products to see where I can use my $20 promo card! PopSugar also included two coupons for future Stowaway and My Cup of Cake purchases.

This was the last box of my initial 3-box test run of the PopSugar Must Have and I’m hooked! I’ve already been planning on buying more PopSugar boxes and saw that they had a fantastic deal for $75 off 6 more boxes. Unfortunately for me - because I didn’t read the fine print carefully - this meant that I made the mistake of buying two December boxes. Lucky for me, however, I love every single item in this box so much that I’m not even mad that I’ll be getting a double! 

What did you think of your December PopSugar box? I would love to hear from you! 

Hunter Tour Boots Review!

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I recently found a beautiful pair of Hunter Tour rain boots on sale on Black Friday (Similar pair on Zappo's: Hunter Tour) and thought I would share my experiences with Hunter boots. Unfortunately, this isn't the first pair of Hunter boots I've bought. The first pair I bought didn't work out for me for a variety of reasons I’ll mention below so I ended up giving them to one of my roommates. The good news is I love my new pair - which makes me excited to wear them for the rainy Chicago weekend forecast!

Style: 

Overall, I love the style of all Hunter boots! Hunter has really made your average clunky, heavy rubber rain boot functional and fashion friendly. I love adding pops of color to my outfits (especially since I live in the lovely snowy, cold Midwest) and Hunter has a huge selection of colors to choose from. Red is one of my absolute favorite colors so I got the beautiful matte red color.  Since I have longer legs, mid length boots don't work too well for me. I feel like they awkwardly cut off my leg in a strange place, so I try to stick with either really short booties or tall riding-esque boots. While I think the short Hunters are adorable, the tall hunters really suit my body type and clothing choices better. 

Comfort & Size: 

The first pair of Hunter boots I owned were the glossy red original boots. While they were absolutely beautiful in every way, I could not go anywhere without them rubbing against the backs of my heels. Every time I wore them I’d always end up with blisters no matter how many pairs of socks I wore. Given that I was a student at the time, I probably walked more than your average person would but I was hoping for a pair of boots that would be comfortable especially since I needed them on those messy winter days! Since they were so uncomfortable for me, I ended up wearing them very rarely and ultimately gave them away since they were getting almost no use in my closet. 

That’s why I was so excited about the new pair of Hunters I bought this past Black Friday. While they aren’t the glossy style that I originally owned, they look equally as cute in the matte style. On top of that the new pair is the Packable Tour style which makes it so easy to store and pack on trips. A side benefit is that this pair is also so much more comfortable because the material of the boots is thinner and more flexible. 

Price: 

I bought my first pair of Hunters on Zappos.com for the full $150 price tag but got the second pair for a steal at $87 at Nordstrom Rack! If you're in the market for Hunter boots (and not too picky about the specific color/style of boot) I would highly suggest checking out Nordstrom Rack. While their selection is more limited, you're much more likely to find a good deal. In addition, the Hunter website itself (www.us.hunterboots.com) also has some great deals in its sale section for select colors and styles.

Functionality: 

While I haven't had my new pair of boots for very long, I've worn it through a smattering of slush and rain successfully. The rubber material on the original style Hunter boots is much thicker and sturdier than the material of the packable Tour Hunter boots so they may not last as long as the original style but that's kind of the trade you make in creating something that's more portable vs. sturdy. In general, however, Hunters are not particularly warm so it's best to wear them with warm socks or invest in a pair of welly socks. I'm still looking for the perfect pair of welly socks as well - there are so many styles to choose from!

I'm in love with my new Hunter boots and so excited that I got them at such a deal price as well. I promise Hunter boots are worth the investment if you're looking for a functional rain boot that's stylish and goes with almost any fall or winter outfit (:

Ipsy Glam Bag: November 2015

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that gives subscribers 4-5 sample and full size products for $10 a month. All of the beauty samples also come in a handy little makeup bag. I love that all of Ipsy's products come in these adorable bags because they are insanely useful for holding just about anything!

This month's ipsy bag has a beautiful starry sky pattern which I loved! Despite the fact that I've been subscribed to ipsy for over a year, I still love receiving these makeup bags and am always finding new ways to use them - they're handy for storing and carrying nearly anything!

Absolute New York: Nano Liner

I love that this liner is specifically designed to help draw the perfect cat eye. As someone who wears the cat eye eyeliner style nearly every day, this is definitely a product I would have appreciated in my beginning cat-eye days. The liner is very thin which makes it much easier to make precise lines.  My only complaint is that the liner dried out halfway through my cat eye and I had to let it sit for 5 minutes before I could continue. I think I am going to stick to my go-to liquid eyeliner for my cat eyes but overall, I think this nano liner is a great product if you're looking to try a cat eye but haven't had much practice and need something that is easy to use!

Smashbox Cosmetics: Full Exposure Mascara

As I've said in my previous posts, I am not a mascara person because I still haven't figured out a reliable way to keep my stubborn eyelashes curled so as to prevent any and all mascara from stabbing me in the eye (If you have any suggestions or personal experience with this please share - I would love to hear from you!). This mascara goes on well but I don't love that the mascara globs pretty heavily on the tip of the brush. I'll be gifting this sample to someone else for the holidays. 

tre'StiQue: Mini Matte Lip Crayon

This is my favorite item from this month's ipsy bag! I am a huge sucker for any and all lip products - but especially for lip pencils/crayons. This lip crayon is just a touch pinker than my natural lip color and gives them a little boost to make them look more awake! This little lip crayon also has great staying power especially when I put a light layer of foundation over the top. 

Sinful Colors: Nail Polish

I've always been a big fan of the Sinful Colors nail polish line so I'm excited that I received this in my ipsy bag! The Sinful Colors line is very affordable and has a huge variety of colors to choose from. On top of that, You might not be able to see it in the picture but it's a beautiful deep sparkly red shade that I can't wait to try. 

Albertini International: Warm Love Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask

I love a good face mask so I was excited to try this Pumpkin Mask from Albertini. The mask goes on smoothly and tingles a little. While I don't love the pumpkin smell, it's a decent mask that I'm still happy to use. 

I also got a nice little bonus in my bag this month - a Pixi by Petra eyebrow set that I bought with my ipsy points. I love that ipsy allows you to review your bag for points because then I get to redeem cute little extras like this!

I liked but didn't love my ipsy bag this month. While I love my bag most of the time, my main complaint is that I often feel that the bag is not tailored enough to my specific beauty preferences. Through ipsy's online website, you can see all of the samples that were available each month along with which of the samples you received and this page always gives me serious FOMO. There are tons of samples that I would have loved to receive but for some reason they weren't chosen for me! I would love to see ipsy develop a better algorithm or even ask more specific questions to better determine my beauty profile. 

What did you think of your ipsy bag? Have any thoughts on a beauty subscription that I might like? Or one that might tailor more specifically to my beauty preferences? Shoot me a note!