Shop Miss A Haul - Part 2!


Shop Miss A is a fashion, beauty, accessories, and stationary website where everything on the site is $1. I love a good bargain so testing out Shop Miss A's products is a lot of fun for me! It's been a little while since my last Shop Miss A Haul so I thought I'd check out some of their new products and see if their might be any good stocking stuffer ideas there!

With bargain websites like Shop Miss A, it's really all about knowing what categories to shop in and going into it the purchase knowing that there's a chance the product you're buying will be a dud. While there are some misses on the Shop Miss A website, since every product is only a $1, I think it's a definitely worth a visit if you're looking to buy certain types of products or looking for some small gift ideas! I got a little bit of everything this time around so below are some of the hits and misses of my haul! 

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HITS

Lip Liners: I bought two lip liners in the brown color family that turned out to be pretty much identical. While I wish they were a little more different on the color spectrum, they are very wearable and a great shade! 

Brush Cleaner: I've been wanting to try a make-up brush cleaning mitt for a while but haven't really made the effort to go buy one because sadly, I don't clean my brushes often enough! This little brush cleaner is just big enough to fit two fingers in and has all the right knobs and lines to help get stubborn make-up out of my brushes! 

Lip Scrub: This actually turned out to be my favorite product of the haul! I love this lip scrub - it's effective, it smells amazing, and the sugar just melts nicely onto the lips after exfoliating. A+ 

Earrings: This is definitely my favorite category to shop in on the Shop Miss A website. If there are any accessory trends you want to try but aren't sure if you want to go all in buying a more expensive product, Shop Miss A has some great options to test out that won't break the bank if it turns out you don't love the trend after all. This time, I took home a handful of back-front earrings and have thoroughly enjoyed them so far! 

Face Masks: I figure you can really never have enough face masks because it's always nice to have different types to try and they make awesome gifts for any beauty lovers out there. So far, I've only tried a couple of these masks but have found them to be similar to any other face masks I might buy. I loved the variety of different masks on Shop Miss A's website and would highly recommend this one as a category to buy from.  

Scarves: I purchased a ton of scarves for this haul to use as Christmas stocking stuffers and was actually quite pleased with the result! I was worried that a $1 scarf might turn out to be too short, too thin or any number of things - but these actually turned out to be very standard, fluffy, colorful scarves that I'm excited about gifting this year! I loved them so much I'm even keeping a couple for my own collection (despite already owning way too many scarves!).

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MISSES

Liquid Lipsticks:  I've been on a huge nude lip kick recently and thought that I'd give some of their nude liquid lipsticks a try! The formulas are great on all of them, however, some of the liquid lipsticks have such a strong artificial smell that I can't stand putting them on my lips. Unfortunately, this makes them almost unbearable to wear so this one's a dud for me. 

Make-up Remover Wipes: These wipes were just a meh product. They were okay at taking off my make-up but took a little bit of extra scrubbing to get everything off. When there are make-up remover wipes out there for comparable prices that don't take all of that extra scrubbing to get things off, this one just becomes kind of useless. 

Washi Tape: I should have learned this from my last Shop Miss A Haul but if you can help it do not buy washi tape from Shop Miss A. Last time I bought a pink polka dotted washi tape that had almost nothing on the roll and this time, I bought two rolls of beautiful tape that ended up being so thin, you can hardly tell it's on the page at all! I haven't tried any of Shop Miss A's other stationary type products, but after my experiences with their washi tape, I think that'll be a category I avoid from here on out. 

iPhone Lighting Cable: I'm always in need of new iPhone charging cables, but this one just flat-out didn't work. It was a little disappointing, but also kind of expected given that a $1 charging cable seemed too good to be true.  

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Final Verdict: I'm pretty darn happy with my latest Shop Miss A haul. While there were a couple of duds, if you know which categories to shop in, then you'll get a great batch of small gifts that are perfect for the holidays! Have you tried any Shop Miss A products? What was your experience like? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

FabFitFun: Winter 2016


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This will be my last FabFitFun box for a little while because I've decided to swap my subscription box addiction for a happy budget! Even though I've decided to give it up, I still couldn't help but be happy when I saw this season's little box on my doorstep. FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription box that sends full-size versions of the seasons top fitness, fashion, beauty, and wellness products. Each box is about $50 if you subscribe month-to-month and slightly less if you select an annual subscription. While the FabFitFun box is not tailored specifically to each subscriber based on their preferences, I've found that subscription boxes that send the same products to all subscribers tend to select better products that they know everyone will enjoy. 

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Moleskin 2017 Weekly Planner (Purple) - $20.95

This was the item I was most excited to receive! I have an unhealthy love of all things stationary and am already envisioning how I'll be using this next year - probably to keep track of my blog posts and ideas! When you're stationary-obsessed like I am, you can never have enough planners.

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Butter London Iconoclast Mega Volume Lacquer Mascara - $20

I am not a big user of mascara (my eyelashes don't stay curled, then mascara gets on my contacts, then my eyes freak out - long story - I'm still trying to figure mascara out) so this one will likely be going in someone's gift this year. Even though I won't be using it, I can still appreciate the beautiful packaging of this mascara!

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D.L. & Co Candle: Bergamot Woods in Silver - $45

I have a love hate relationship with this candle because while I love the beautiful packaging on it, I'm not the biggest fan of its scent! I tend to love sweet and fruity scents and this bergamot woods scent was a little too out there for me! 

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O.R.G. Skincare Mineral Peel Face - $44

With how much dry skin I've had going on, I definitely needed this peel! I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this product - an exfoliating peel in spray bottle form? It's weird…but I kind of love it! After spritzing and letting it sit for a couple of seconds, your skin starts to peel even with just a gentle circular rubbing motion. It makes exfoliating quick and simple - something I definitely need for those busy weeknights. 

Anderson Lilley Beach Butter Body Cream: Sicilian Tangerine - $24

Guys, this lotion smells incredible. I am a huge fan of all fruity scents and this one is heavy on the sweet tangerine smell. I put some on before a workout class last week and kept getting heavenly whiffs of it amidst downward dogs and warrior 2s.

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Marie Mae Company: Thank You Card Set - $24

I will definitely be using these cards to thank people after the holidays! I love when I receive useful things in my boxes that I might not have thought to buy otherwise! 

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Gorjana Necklace: Taner Toggle in Gold - $75

I am so excited about this necklace because it's so dainty and cute! I can already tell that I'm going to get a ton of use out of it because it's beautiful, simple, and would complement just about anything. 

This month's box was just middle of the line for me. While I still enjoyed the box, not everything in it was something I could see myself using. This will be my last FabFitFun for a while since I've decided to ditch subscription boxes for the upcoming year (More on this here: Ditching Subscription Boxes) and though I've enjoyed FabFitFun over the past year, when I challenged myself to really think about how much personal value I'm getting out of each box I am subscribed to, this one didn't make the cut. In comparison to other boxes, I don't think FabFitFun gave me as much value for each box, their customer service is extremely slow, and they make cancelling their subscription box a lot more complicated than it needs to be. 

Instead of box reviews, I'll be posting updates on the "happy" budget (The Happy Budget, November Finds) I've created using the money I previously spent on subscriptions. What did you think of your Winter FabFitFun box? And do you think subscription boxes are worth the money? Let me know in the comments! 

❄ Classic Holiday Red ❄


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Dress: Target / Shoes: Payless / Bracelets: Francesca's / Bow: Amazon / Necklace: Gorjana / Lips: Smith & Cult

Dress: Target / Shoes: Payless / Bracelets: Francesca's / Bow: Amazon / Necklace: Gorjana / Lips: Smith & Cult

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Shop Similar:

My outfits during the holiday season become all about classic red! While it's a beautiful color no matter what the season (especially if you're a Badger fan in Wisconsin!), it gets a little extra love during the holiday season. This year, I won't be attending any company holiday parties like I did last year, but that doesn't mean I love planning my holiday outfits any less! :) I always used to think that I needed a reason to dress up - that I needed a party to go to or a fancy job to dress up for where I wouldn't look out of place if I looked a little overdressed. Nowadays, I work in very casual environment but still dress up like I did when I worked in downtown Chicago - simply because it makes me happy! I've come to realize that how I dress is about how it makes me feel - not about whether it fits in the people around me or how they'll perceive me because of the way I dress. If dressing up a little more gives me confidence and makes me happy, that's all the reason I need.

What are your favorite ways to dress up for the holiday season? I hope you all are enjoying the winter months and looking forward to the upcoming holidays! 

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