Celebrating my Last Semester with the Uni Vox Box

It's Vox Box time again! Once again, Influenster has outdone itself by sending me another box of goodies to test!

This time, it's the Uni Vox Box, which is meant for college girls, which is perfect since this is my last semester and I am struggling to keep up my spirits through this last class. While the boxes from Influenster are usually packed with all kinds of goodies, like Sally Henson Polish, and other themed goodies, this one was literally stuffed full!

It had so many awesome things inside, and I was thrilled with what I was sent.

These Playtex Sport Fresh Balance tampons were the very first thing I saw. I don't normally think twice about what tampons I buy, but the scent of these had me hooked! They have some kind of really light floral scent that made the whole box of products smell amazing!

Look at all those beauty finds! I actually got to choose what shade of foundation I needed, and let me just say, its feels amazing on my skin. I have weird combination skin as well as eczema, so it's hard for me to find a foundation that covers all the issues without gunking up or looking oily after a few hours.

Then I tried the Rimmel London Stay Matte mousse foundation, and I fell so hard in love that my boyfriend should be jealous. Not only does it actually do what it says, but it doesn't gunk up after a few hours either. It's my new go-to foundation.

Included among all my pretty new beauty items was probably the item I was the most weary about. I'm one of those people who is beyond particular about my pens (Thanks Dad), and anything that isn't a needle point I generally don't use, or toss. being in the box though, i knew I had to try this Pilot Acroball PureWhite pen, and I was pretty surprised with how much I ended up liking it. It even got put into my purse, a place of honor among the pens in my office.

I'm not normally a lipstick wearer, especially in such a bold shade, but when I tried this, I was shocked at how well it went with my fair complexion. The color of this Expert Last lip color is called Forever Fuschia, and the texture isn't sticky like most lipsticks I have tried, so it was a nice change.

 Oh my Gods, these nails were GORGEOUS. Broadway Nails included a set of imPRESS Press-On Nails in this Vox Box, and I went haywire! My real nails are always so brittle, and I can never seem to grow them out, but getting my nails professionally done costs way more than I'm willing to pay, and even at-home kits were too much work (I always ended up gluing my fingers together, without fail). These nails were awesome, you just peel off the backing, and stick them on. No muss, no fuss, and I could do it in about 5 minutes.

I love tea in pretty much any form, but I was hesitant about this product. I know it's along the lines of MiO, and other water enhancers, but I wasn't sure how well concentrated tea syrup would work out. After trying it, I did enjoy it, but I will say this that "lightly sweetened" on the label is a lie. It could just be me, but the sweetness was a bit overpowering. I put much less of the stuff in my next glass of water, and it was way better.

Like always, the Influenster Vox Boxes are a huge hit with me! If you aren't a part of the Influenster nation, you should be!

Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Youtube Overhaul

Whoo, been a while since I updated last! Things have been a bit busy here with school, and I've been focusing on getting my Youtube channel off the ground, especially now that my brother is overseas, and he asked me to make more gaming videos for him to watch.

So my once history-heavy channel is now strictly for gaming! Check out my super cute channel art! It matches the new header I made for my Gaming Fan Page on Facebook too.

Here's the kind of stuff I plan on uploading, and just to be cautious, there is a lot of language in my play-through videos. Especially Bioshock.

I get terrified easily, and a slew of "OH MY F%$KING GODS" will undoubtedly ensue.


Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Rilakkuma, The Perfect Plush!

You know, no matter how old I get, I have always had a soft spot for the cute things in life.

Cute dishes (like the hoard of Bento Boxes that I own just to make sure I have the most adorable tupperware for my lunches), cute bedsheets, cute clothing, heck, even my toaster has Hello Kitty on it! So when I was pitched by Rilakkuma Shop, last week, you can bet I jumped all over that!

Rilakkuma is a Japanese character, designed by Aki Kondo, and produced by San-X since 2003. In fact, this little bear has become so popular, that's he's the fifth most well known character in Japan! He has a massive line of products, including computers, books, games, stickers, and his assortment of plushies.

In the few days I have had my Rilakkuma plush, he has quickly become one of my favorites! He is beyond soft, since he is made with a fine microfiber fabric that makes him feel like a mix between a rex rabbit, and velvet. His size also makes him perfect for a little travel buddy, but not to small that I'm afraid I'll lose him. He's just the right size for kids as well!

He is also well known for the little pouch on his back, that zips open and closed. I like to put a few spare dollars in it, but I think it could be awesome as a tooth fairy hideaway, or even a little treasure hiding place for the little ones.

Along with my plushie, I also received a little book, that explains who Rilakkuma is, as well as his back story. He has a couple of friends that are often portrayed along with him, named Korilakkuma (the small tan bear) and Kiiroitori (the chick). There are easy to understand pictures and English words, along with the Japanese kanji, so that you could begin to teach yourself or your child some basic Japanese!

 Overall, I was head over heels in LOVE with this plush! I would highly recommend one for any family looking for that perfect toy, or any person who just loves the cute things in life!

Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

This is Why People Think I'm Weird

You know, I thought today was going to be great. I got a package for a gorgeous review item I had been waiting for, everyone in the house was in a good mood, I got to sleep in late, hell, it was going great!

Then a giant branch fell off the tree above my driveway, and dented to hood of my truck.

So while the hubby went outside to rant and rage and take his anger out on the tree, I sat down and did what I always do to make myself feel better.

I Bing pictures of the Pootoo Bird.

When you're flooded with page after page of the derpiest looking bird in existence, who either looks like he's extremely upset by something, or he wants to eat your soul, well...your day just can't be bad after that.

I mean, look at him.

Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

I Don't Need This Today

WELL, today must just be a day of snark and bitchiness in the world.

Not only did I have to deal with a not so nice email from a contact at a corset company I was pitching, The Burgandy Boudoir (who I really don't suggest you do any work with based on the sheer amount of snark and arrogance I got out of one e-mail), but my dog decided that she was going to pretty much ignore my entire existence.

Me: "Jessi..."

Jessi: ...

Me: "Jessi."

Jessie: ...

Me: "JESSI!!"

Jessi: *Looks up* "Were you addressing me human?"

Me: "Yes, I was addressing you, you senile old woman. Will you please move, you're in my way, and I can't get to the sink."

Jessi: *Lays head back on paws*

Me: "Jessie...come one now. I need to do the dishes."

Jessi: *Blinks, yawns, and rolls over on her side* No.

Me: "Jessi, just do me a solid. I really need to get the dishes done."

Jessi: *Turns her head away, and begins an amazing imitation of a rock*

Me: *tries to dance to get her attention, whistles, pats her head, opens the fridge door*

Jessi: *No movement*

Me: "Ugh...fine. Lay there on the hard linoleum floor. I'm going in the other room until you stop being so catatonic"

Jessi: *No Movement*

Me: *Walking in the other room, mumbling* Crazy old senile Border Collie....

Jessi: "I heard that human!"

Ugh...what can you do?

Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

Dressale FAIL

If you ever get pitched by a company called Dressale.com, DO NOT DO IT.

No matter how great the pitch might sound, it is not going to be worth the nightmare you're going to go through. I can speak from experience.

I was contacted by them way back in January, and they offered me $30 in credit to their website, if I were to publish a giveaway post for them. I thought that was fair, so I went ahead and did it, expecting my payment to be ready as soon as I emailed my contact back.

Well that's where it all started going to hell.

The post went live on January 10th, and I was told I would be payed when the giveaway ended. I IMMEDIATELY  responded with how my payment policy works, and I heard absolutely nothing back. It wasn't until February 11th when I was contacted again...only to be asked to repost the giveaway on my Facebook page.

You can imagine just how pissed I was, so I responded with this e-mail:

"I have to say, that unless I receive the $30 payment I was promised, I won't be sharing this, or any other post. I put up my blog post, as well as an additional post on my Facebook page, and still have yet to receive payment."

Two hours later, I received an e-mail letting me know that my account had been credited, and asking if I would share the giveaway post again. Obviously I didn't share the post, because I was a bit perturbed at this point. 

Well, I went about trying to find something to use my credit one, because dammit, I had invested too much time into this to not get something for my hard work. I found a couple of fascinators that I thought would be nice for Steampunk, and after making sure they were well under my limit, I went to check out...where I found out that I had zero choice in shipping choices. The absolute least I could pay for shipping two fascinators that weighed less than a pound was $13.79!

That insane amount of shipping made my credit go over, so I paid $4.77 out of my own pocket to just be done with this ridiculous nightmare.

About a week later my items arrived, in the worst packaging I have ever reen.

Each fascinator was wrapped in a single cellophane bag, with no padding whatsoever. Those two bags were shoved in a UPS bag, that again, had no padding or protection for what I think to be fragile items. Then I opened them, only to find out that what I thought I was getting was way off from what I actually received.

The photo from the website

What I actually received.

Well look at that, it's broken. The beads were just loosely hot glued to the tulle.

The clip is insanely small. And glued on in such a way that it makes it impossible to open. Because I tried, I tried really really hard to get this clip to work, but the only way to fix it is to rip it off, and replace it with a barrette clip, because this alligator one is just useless. 

Look at that, MORE beads that were poorly glued on. I'm going to have to sew all these to the tulle, which won't take much time, but it's the idea that i shouldn't have to fix a brand new item that has never been worn, due to crappy construction.

The Website photograph of the second fascinator. Doesn't that look like a birdcage veil, that is full, and lovely, and will go around your face?

This is what I received. A singe piece of millner's veil in a long rectangle, that just falls in your face and looks dumb. I'm going to have to ripoff the veil, and try to reposition it, and sew it back on in a way that it's supposed to look.

This fascinator also has one of those useless alligator clips that is so small, and glued on in such a way, that  it makes it impossible to use. I'm going to have to replace this one as well.

Not to mention, the actual flower part is just crushed, and covered in glue threads.

 So, after all that, I emailed the company again, saying that I wanted a refund for my $4.77, since my merchandise was pretty messed up and useless. That was a week ago, and I still have yet to hear back from them.

TL;DR - DO NOT EVER EVER EVER WORK WITH DRESSALE.

Love and Lightning Bugs,
 

4 Blog Types You Shouldn't Let Your Blog Become

There are always popular genres in any medium that will eventually be successful. Successful, but also unoriginal and pretty redundant. Like the Spiderman movies. Sure, it's sort of different, with new actors and maybe a different story arc, but in the end, it's the same old story. Don't let your blog turn into just another bad sequel, by avoiding these blog genres like the plague.

1.) Mommy Blogs
Now, before you start raining down brimstone and hellfire, hear me out.

See those numbers? See just how many Mommy centric blogs there are on the internet? I'm going to be blunt here, but what makes your special snowflake any different than the snowflakes of another blogger? Writing a blog solely about the topic of your child and how difficult/easy/fun/exciting it is to rear them, is one of the best ways to not only stigmatize your blog, but also alienate new readers.

A person who might come upon your blog in one of a hundred ways will suddenly be bombarded with:  LOOK AT MY OFFSPRING. LOOK AT IT. IT'S THE BEST OFFSPRING ANYONE HAS EVER CREATED. THE FRUIT OF MY LOINS IS PERFECTION IN EVERY WAY AND FORM AND YOU SHOULD AGREE WITH ME.

Well, if that person is a mother, I'm sure they share your mindset, but what about those who don't have or want children? Or  those women who desire children more than anything, but are having difficulties getting pregnant? That kind of constant LOOK AT MY BABY content can get pretty tiring, and even annoying. Nothing turns off readers like a constant stream of baby news, with nothing else to alleviate the topic.

Now, I'm not going to tell you to never post about your kids, because every human on this planet has moments they would like to boast about. But don't make your blog just about the kids.

2.) Giveaway/Deal/Coupon/Freebie Blogs
I used to run a segment on my blog about once a week where I would gather up some of the better giveaways and freebies I could find around the web. Let me just say, that even for a simple once a week post, I was spending hours scouring all kinds of spammy websites, crappy mailing lists, and worse. Now imagine dedicating an entire blog to coupons, or freebies, or giveaways, and wave goodbye to your life.

Not only will your social calendar in real life suffer, but your online life won't get much better. Because even though you might have 10,000 people reading your blog, how many of them are actually sticking around to comment and interact with you? If the interaction will be anything like on other freebie blogs I have seen, it's going to be cringe worthy.

3.) Overly Religious Blogs
Like with everything else on this list, things in moderation can be great. I'm a religious person, I try to be a good Pagan and treat others like I would like to be treated, and sure...I might write the occasional post about my faith. However, I have come across a recent surge in blogs dedicated only to the writers religion, and how awesome it is, and how everyone should be (insert religion here).

Well for one thing, you just pissed off the rest of the internet population who isn't the specific religion you're touting, for another, we aren't getting any real information about you. I for one like to know things about the blogger whose posts I'm spending time to read. If all you ever post is sermon after sermon, well, I could just go to church for that.

4.) Recipe Blogs
I have literally millions of websites at my disposal that will give me recipes for anything and everything. What makes your blog about Grandma's super secret pumpkin pie any different? There is enough repetitious content on the internet without yet another food blog clogging my feed.

In the end, all I'm trying to say is don't let your blog become just a genre. You're unique, and your readers want to know more about you, not just one specific aspect of your life. Be more than just another throwaway blog in the blogosphere.

Love and Lightning Bugs,