Dealing with the Cyberbully

Everyone knows when they put themselves out there that they are making themselves vulnerable to haters. Especially bloggers and vloggers. Most of these people hide behind their monitors and laptops waiting to strike at the next person who comes their way.

After posting our opinion and revealing the truth about a website called Manhood 101 as our first post on Romance in Harmony, this finally happened to me. I was all prepared for haters, don't get me wrong, but I thought they would at least use some more intelligent language. But Honestly whatever, call me what you want to, I can delete your comment if I deem it inappropriate, I will delete it.

However this got me thinking. Have you ever seen the movie Cyberbully directed by Charles Binamé? If not you can watch it on Netflix or on Youtube in parts. So many people put up with these comments and people hiding behind desks. What are you supposed to do when this is happening. Well here's what I think:

1. You can delete comments and flag things. Remember that, especially if it's on a blog. If you are blogging, change your moderation settings. If they attack you for not letting them comment, simply say you didn't feel it was something that was appropriate or needed to be said. There are also settings on social media sites that you can change as well as blocking people.

2. If it follows you to school don't back down. I'm not saying fight them, but realistically bullies will only ever pick on you if they think you are weak. I was bullied throughout middle school. It was hard, no one let up and instead of saying anything I just let it happen. When high school came around I was just sick of people picking on me. So when it started happening again I pushed back. I didn't cry in front of them, and when started calling me names I asked "why?". Now this person gave me a reason. She thought I had called her fat. I told her I didn't but she didn't believe me so she took things to the next level. she tried to push me against walls and lockers. I simply pushed back a bit (enough to not fall over) and walked on with my head held high. Eventually they realized I wasn't going to be picked on and they left me alone. But often if you ask why it will confuse them. Even if it's just before they cal you another name. Just ask what you did to them and offer to apologize. It sounds weird but it does work. Also, if they call you a name just say "thank you" and keep walking as you were. Don't let them see they are getting to you. By the way, I was never bullied after that by anyone.

3. If it comes down to it you could take down your profile or whatever, but you shouldn't have to. These things blow over. Eventually they will find a new person to make fun of and leave you alone. At the end of the day cyberbullies are too scared to show their faces so they take out how hurt they are on people who they deem easy targets.

If you are going through bullying, I hope this helps.
xoxo
Courtney

The Scoop On Lip Monthly

As some of you may have heard, Lip Monthly is a new subscription service priced at $10 a month. This service has been around since June of this year. As this is a company still in it's infancy, I thought I'd give it a shot. my next four Beauty Subscription Smackdowns will be Lip Monthly Vs. Ipsy. Continue reading to find out what information I could gather about the company:

Photo Credit: www.lipmontly.com

So I want to start out with something that I feel is very important: Customer service. No one wants to wait a week to get a reply about a broken product or a credit card issue. According to Lip monthly staff, there was a technical issue on their email platform:

Screenshot from Lip Monthly's Facebook Page

Now, don't get me wrong I am glad someone finally said what was going on, but it took me posting on their page about how unhappy I was to get their attention. Not cool. Keep in mind that Lip Montlhy is supposed to reply within 2-3 business days. They would have been within this time frame had I actually received the email when it says it was sent (Aug 25):

But, I actually received it On the 27th as you can see here:

Yes, I did block out my personal email, but that isn't the point. I received this 3 and a half days after I sent it. Not horrible, but it would have been nice to know what was going on. Ya know?

Moving on from customer service, A big factor for subscription services is products. Duh. So there has been a lot of discrepancy on how many products are sent out and sizes. Even after checking their FAQs I found that it differed slightly from a video I found on their homepage. The video states that you get 2-3 full size products plus a couple samples. Which does technically add up to 4-5 samples, but when I asked Lip Monthly they simply said 4-5 samples. So I'm not entirely sure what's going on there.

Now in case you didn't know lip monthly's first two months were sent out in a box, however August was sent in a bag. It's also sounding like September's will also be in a bag. As this email shows:

Photo Credit: www.lipmontly.com Screenshot from promotional email

This could be kind of exciting. When I asked if they were switching to bags they replied with " for packaging, we’ll be trying the bags instead of the boxes but might switch back and forth." as seen in the email above.

 As for brands in the box, it looks like they go with drugstore and mid-range brands like the ones listed in the picture below:

Photo Credit: www.lipmontly.com Taken from same promotional email as above.

This has also been shown in previous bags with brands like Stila and City Colors.

As you can also see in the email above they do run promotions quite often, making it pretty easy to find a good deal.

One thing I was really super concerned about was the rumor about discontinued products. They do have a blurb in their FAQ's about discontinued products here. They do say that they have not sent out another discontinued product since their first box.

Another thing I think is exciting is that they not only ship to the US but internationally as well. This costs an extra $5 for shipping.

The last thing I want to note is that they seem to be growing their company as well as the amount of customers.

Screenshot from Lip Monthly's Facebook page

I have a lot of hope for this company so I am going to give them a shot and see how it turns out. I'm really excited for the next four boxes/bags.

xoxo
Courtney

Jersey Shore Sans Tan Sunscreen SPF 35 and Dermalogica Protection 50 Sport SPF 50

So instead of having these two sunscreens face off in a little battle, I thought it would be more fun just to try each one and review them for what they are. Honestly, I was going to the beach and thought it would be fun to sneak in one last sunscreen post before the summer ends. I also want to  tell you that both of these companies sent me samples to review on my blog about two months ago, but as always I will give nothing but my honest opinion on both products.

Let's take a closer look at the claims and the companies:

Jersey Shore Sun Sans Tan Anti-Aging Sunscreen SPF 35- Something I think is really awesome is that this brand is not only cruelty free, but this product is also free of things like parabens, retinyl palmintate, oxybenzon, and a bunch of other yucky stuff you may not want on your body. It's also fragrance free and 100% natural, organic, and non- GMO ingredients. Jersey shore says it's also "reef safe" and FDA approved for babies under 6 months. So it just basically sounds awesome. The full size is 2 oz. and retails for $40.

Dermalogica Protection 50 Sport SPF 50- This company is geared towards making your skin as healthy as possible and less about glamor. This particular product is water-resistant for up to 40 minutes, and offers broad spectrum protection. The brand was founded by a professional esthetician who wanted to put the focus on products to better the health of the skin rather than how beautiful it was. All of their products are manufactured in the USA and they do not test any of their products on animals. The full size of this is 5.3 oz. and retails for $32.

How the products preformed:

As for the SPF factor, I think they protected about the same (not taking water into account). but the differences came down to application, smell and feel.

Jersey Shore Sans Tan Anti-Aging Sunscreen- I have to say, this has a thicker consistency so I like it more on my face than my body. It takes a bit if work to rub in and because it's more of a physical sunscreen than a chemical one, it's visible on the skin as well as a bit heavier feeling. But it's amazing for what it is and nice on the face if you aren't taking lot's of flash pictures. This is also fragrance free and it's not like the natural smell was gross.

Dermalogica Protection 50 Sport SPF 50- This stuff feels exactly how it claims. It does not feel greasy and absorbs quickly into your skin without feeling heavy. I really enjoyed the way this feels on and that their really wasn't too much of a sunscreen smell.

What this really comes down to is personal preference. I like both of these for different reasons and they are both awesome products. I want to give a big thank you to Dermalogica and Jersey Shore Sun for sending me the samples. That's all I have on this for today!

xoxo
Courtney

Dr. Brandt Pore Refiner Primer vs. Ulta Pore Perfecting Primer

So I went to my local Ulta not too long ago (shout out to the amazing girls there), and thought I would get something new to try out. Weeeeelllllllllllllll, that took me about an hour or so [believe me, my boyfrind can confirm this], but I finally decided on some ulta brand makeup since they were having a promotion and you got a free goodie bag with any $19.50 purchase of Ulta brand cosmetics. The thing that I picked up that I was most excited about was the Ulta Resolve Pore Perfecting Primer. As you may know I was not so thrilled to receive the Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer in my August Ipsy bag. I did an earlier review on it when the company sent me samples, but I thought I'd give it another shot. Here is what I discovered:

How much do they cost? Though the full sizes of both products are one fluid ounce, the price is one of the biggest differences. Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer is retailed at $45 for one ounce. Ulta Resolve Pore Perfecting Primer is retailed at $15, but coupons are easy to come by with Ulta.

What do these products claim to do?

Dr. Brandt: According to Dr. Brandts website, this primer is supposed to be resistant to sweat and humindy, mattify your skin, lessen the look of pores and imperfections, keep makeup from clogging your pores, and be antibacterial.  

Ulta: On ulta's website they claim this primer enhances the texture of the skin while making it look luminous, minimize skin imperfection and discoloration, and keep makeup in place all day.

Performance is really where this matters though, right? Though I stick by my original opinion about the blackheads being more noticeable with the Dr. Brandt, the initial overall appearance looks nicer. However I found that throughout the day, Ulta's Resolve wears better and looks fresh longer. I also feel like it kept my makeup on better. What I didn't see with Ulta was is helping with discoloration, but it is clear, so I really wasn't expecting it to.

I also want to note that Ulta's smells a little like rotten fruit when you first apply it, but the smell dissapates after a minute or so. Dr. Brandt's doesn't have a smell, so if you are sensitive to that you may want to consider it more.

Verdict- I don't hate the Dr. Brandt primer so much as I was just let down by it. For $45 I expected to be wowed and I just wasn't. When it comes down to it, I think that the Resolve Pore Perfecting Primer is more wallet-friendly and works just as well. I will use both products up entirely, but I probably wont splurge on the Dr. Brandt as the smell of Ulta's primer just doesn't bother me enough to justify spending $45 on a primer.

Keep in mind, my skin is combination and I am prone to blackheads, your personal results may vary for these products and this is what works best for me.

Have you tried either of these products? How did they work for you? Comment below and let me know!

xoxo

Courtney

Beauty Subscription Smackdown Month 3- August 2014 Ipsy vs. Beauty Box 5

Heeeellllooooo, it is the final month of this little battle, and I am super excited about both this month. So let the final round of the smackdown begin...

For those of you who don't know, I am taking three months to compare my Ipsy bag and my Beauty Box 5 and determine which one is better. This is my third month, here is where you can find the first and second ones.

Before we start I want to remind you of a few things:

1-Price. Ipsy is $10/month or $110/year. Beauty Box 5 is $12/month or $99/year. So though Ipsy is less expensive month to month, Beauty Box 5 is less expensive for a year.

2-Samples. Ipsy sends out 4-5 product samples a month ranging from deluxe to full size products, Beauty Box 5 guarantees 5 samples a month ranging from packets to full size.

3-Products. Though both boxes are beauty related, most often Beauty Box 5 seems more body and skin care where ipsy is more makeup. But both boxes tend to have a mix.

So I'm going to shake it up and start with BB5.

This months Beauty Box 5 theme is Radiant and Remarkable.

Item 1- Nanacoco Lip Gloss (Mysterious)- These were sent out in various colors. The color I got was a very bright pink. This is super pigmented and not too sticky, so I'm in love with this. Retail Value- $3.99

Item 2- Style Essentials Nail Polish (4?)- I couldn't really find a color name, but it's like an iridescent blue-green color. It's actually really cute, but I think it's more of a fall color since it's pretty dark. Retail Value- $7

Item 3- Pur~Lisse Pur Protect Essential Daily Moisturizer- Hmmm...we seem to have another product that I also received in an ipsy bag. I got this one last month and I LOVE it. It doesn't break my skin out, so I'm not too disappointed to have another one. Retail Value- $16.17

Item 4- LA Fresh Travel Lite Oil Free Makeup- I got LA fresh Oil Free Cleanser wipes in my October 2013 ipsy bag. I HATED them, they smelled odd and didn't feel that great on the skin. I'm hoping these will surprise me since it's a sensitive formula. This is a little 8 count one, so I will get to form a solid opinion. These were also featured in the May 2014 Ipsy bag, however I did not receive them. Retail Value- $2.49

Item 5-Novex Brazillan Keratin Hair Food- Again with hair masks? I think this will go with the one from last month. I will try it in the winter months and see how I feel about it then. Retail Value- $0.63

My total for this months box is $30.28 I'm surprisingly excited for this box, though I am not excited about the brand of wipes. I was about to go out and buy some, so at least I wont have to buy as many. The lipglosss is super bright, but I really like it on my lips. As for the nail polish and hair mask I may not have picked those up for myself but they will get some love pretty soon.

Now on to Ipsy! This month's theme was "Beauty Schooled" The bag this month is one of my favorites. I actually love orange and polka dots are awesome so this was a really nice bag to get. But the products I'm less excited about...

Item 1-Nicka K New York Absolute Lip Balm (Grape)- This is probably the best thing in my ipsy bag this month. The pot it comes in is HUGE, and it smells super yummy. Because it has glitter in it, I was expecting to see some on my lips and be uncomfortable to wear, but I have not experienced that at all so I'm quite pleased. It just feels really moisturizing and amazing on the lips. Retail Value: $3

Item 2- Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer- I was actually kind of bummed to see this in my bag, though I enjoyed the microdermabrasion a lot, and the mattifying lotion was awesome. I was not a fan of this product. So seeing this in my bag was kind of a let down. Retail Value: $11.25

Item 3- Urban Decay Perversion Mascara- I should have been excited to try this right? Right? I don't know. It's another black mascara. I wish ipsy would send more browns. I haven't tried this yet. I may do it in a few days, but I just bought a new mascara and I'm in the midst of testing it out. Retail Value: $5.50

Item 4- Coastal Scents Forever Blush Sample Duo- This was one of the few things I was looking forward to. I love blush samples, and these colors looked beautiful. The pigmentation is just plain awesome. I read some people complaining about the size, I was honestly expecting it to be about this big. It kind of reminds me of the Benefit blush sample sizes, but I think I actually like that I get to try two different blushes from the line. Retail Value: ~$1

Item 5- Lord and Berry Silk Kajal Kohl Eye Pencil- AGAIN with the black liner. I have gotten starlooks, UD, and now Lord and Berry. But let's just talk about how freaking tiny this thing is! I might be able to use this twice. I was actually more disappointed in this sample size than the blush duos size. Retail Value: $2

So my total for my ipsy bag this month is $22.75 . Honestly, I know I should be excited about these, but I have WAY too many black liners. I dislike black mascara, I have tried the primer before and was not a fan (you can find the review here). The only things I was really excited to try was the lip balm and blush. That being said, if you look at the ingredients on the blush, it seems like it's two steps away from being plastic. So I'm not sure about this month

I think the winner for this month is Beauty Box 5. Not that it would have tipped the scale either way, since the overall winner still would have been  ipsy. The reason I picked Beauty Box 5 this month is that even though there are two products that have been in ipsy bags, they are things I will get some use out of. I'm not sure I can say the same for my ipsy bag. 

 xoxo

Courtney

Girl's Night In- On a Budget!

Who says girls night has to be expensive?! Not me! Since my high school friends and I are all going different ways soon, I wanted to have one last get together.

Now, since I blog, have two subscriptions boxes, AND have an undying love of makeup I had a ton of stuff that I didn't want and hadn't used. So what did I do? Obviously I filled up a box with it.  Okay, but really, I filled a box over the course of a few months, and saved it for a party. Since my friends often ask me about products or to do their makeup, I thought it would be fun to give them some things to try out. So here is what I did-

Basically how this worked was I set up a date when all of my friends could come over, and I set out all of the makeup I accumulated on a table. The plan was, when they arrived we would have dinner. I used this recipe for Creamed Avocado and Lime Chilled Pasta both to accommodate my friends lifestyles and because it was super hot out. I also made a lime and herb chicken pasta salad, which I posted a recipe for here. Along with all that, I bought stuff to make Shirley Temples, and Orange Soda to drink. For a snack I set out chips and salsa.
 Total Grocery Cost- $17.69 (after coupons)

Party favors are so much fun, so even though everyone was already getting makeup I wanted to go the extra mile and find something exciting. SO I came up with these: These were pretty cheap to make, everything in here cost a dollar or less. It includes a compact mirror, a face exfoliating scrubby, a handwritten note, and a makeup item that I personally enjoy. I actually like suggesting low priced items for them to try so that they can go back and buy them if they love them. Total Favor Cost-$11.00

As you saw in the favors, the notes all had a green butterfly on the back. Now I did this using my embossing kit, but you could draw or stamp them on as well. Since I already had everything for that, it didn't cost me a dime!

Another thing I did for favors was give everyone a tote to take their things home in. I found these at Michael's craft store for $3 each. Now these have some designs already, but you can find blank ones at other craft stores. I bought six totes and some fabric markers (they were on sale for $3.50). So this activity cost me $21.50.

The next activity I had fun with was makeup trivia. What I did was make a slideshow with questions and multiple choice answers on various brands throughout history, and whoever got the most points won the prize.  (Nail kit, Covergirl Outlast lippie, Revlon Nail Polish) $7 after coupons

So the last thing we did for activities was a no-mirror makeup challenge. I had everyone bring their daily makeup and try to put it on without a mirror. The winner got a handmade state picture. Not a penny spent!



The only other thing that cost me a bit of money was the decorations. I spent $4 on a table cloth, and $2 on some fake flowers to make these centerpieces.

For utensils and cups, I could have gone with plastic cups and paper napkins, but instead I used some mason jars left over from another craft, as well as our own cloth napkins, finishing the look with some twine (Napkins were $3 total, jars $8, twine $0.75):

As you can see, we put a straw and the plastic silverware in the jars.

We then sat out table clothes that I previously made from burlap (I will post that DIY soon.)

My total for the whole party was $57.19, but the prices could easily be cut down if you chose to make it a potluck, or only make ONE main course. I had to make two since I had some picky eaters attending.  You also don't have to do favors, especially if you are giving away makeup, but I think just over $57 for a whole party isn't too bad, especially since everything for parties can get very expensive. If you make the changes suggested in this paragraph, you should save about $20.

Note:  This is not including sales tax, as it does not apply here.

That's all for today!

xoxo
Courtney

Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral Matte Pallet Review

Matte shadows are becoming more and more popular in the drugstore makeup world; Wet N Wild is releasing new trios and eight-pans with mattes, and recently released "Poster Child", an all matte color pallet.

Around November last year, I was on the hunt for an all matte neutral pallet. I originally wanted the Meet Matt(e) pallet from The Balm, however that was out of my price range at $42. I really just didn't feel like I could justify spending that much on a 9 pan eyeshadow pallet, kind of like how I can't justify a Naked Pallet, even though I've been dying for Naked 3. BUT, I still wanted a good matte pallet. I had heard a lot about some of the smaller single shadows from Wet 'n' Wild and and the matte quads from Physicians Formula, yet none of them were similar enough to what I was looking for.

I discovered the whole Sonia Kashuk line when I was looking around on the internet for dupes of the pallet. I have yet to find out if this is /really/ a dupe for Meet Matt(e), but I love it either way.

One of my favorite things about the Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral Matte pallet is that it has 12 different colors, all be it a bit smaller than the pans in Meet Matt(e), but it gives more variety. The colors are in the same ranges as the pallet from The Balm, but there are more browns as well as grays and even an awesome Matte black.

As for pigmentation, these are very nicely pigmented but the texture can feel a bit chalky, similar to some other matte shadows that are out (especially like Poster Child). The other main difference is the price point. While The Balm's Meet Matt(e) goes for $42, Sonia Kashuk's Eye On Neutral Matte pallet is $20 at Target. So it may not be the cheapest, but I definitely think it is worth it. Another neat thing to point out is that both companies are cruelty free. 

Well, that's all for today. I hope this information helped you out!

xoxo
Courtney

Be A Bombshell Mascara Replacement

IT HAS ARRIVED! No really, the replacement item for my Be A Bombshell mascara finally got here! I feel like it was stuck for an eternity in Georgia. But it's here now.

So in June I got the Be a Bombshell mascara and at first liked it, but I noticed my eyes were itchy and red. I assumed this was allergies from all the hay and pollen. Well when I smelled it, realized it was staaanky, and threw it out because I couldn't fathom putting it near my eyes again, and surprise surpirise, my eyes stopped being irritated... So I emailed ipsycare and they were kind enough to send me a new product.

So here is what I got...

It's a Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Amethyst.

Well....I did get this item in an earlier bag, but I got it in Topaz, so I guess this is alright. It's definitely pretty. I do have to say that Starlooks has some pretty nice liners, but make sure you set them since they can smudge a bit easier than most other brands. My opinion remains the same on these. They are nice liners, super pretty, but for $14 I'd probably buy a different brand. That being said, I like this color a lot and I can't wait to play with it.

xoxo

Courtney