Sunday, April 29, 2012

Hi Guys! Please excuse the double header. I'm trying to find the problem...My computer took a turn for the worst Tuesday, so I had to take it three hours away to Baton Rouge and got to spend the weekend with my inlaws...While I was waiting for my computer to be fixed at the apple store,I went into Sephora for the first time -Wow! Was that place amazing! I think I want to try the Stila and Urban Decay brands in the future. Maybe some will come in my Birchbox next month? What makeup brands do you prefer?

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Jurlique Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer

Hi Guys!
 As you may or may not know, I am currently in graduate school working on my Ph.D. My field is Marine Microbiology. We wear gloves while in the lab as a precaution, although, generally the bacteria we work with aren't too poisonous. During the course of a day, we go back and forth from the lab to our offices or to the prep room to make media or operate the autoclave - the result several glove changes, hand washes, and hand sanitization's throughout the course of a day. To be honest I get tired of the Germ-X or Purell Hand Sanitizer smell....
Over the weekend, I came across a FABULOUS product on the Birchbox website (if you aren't a subscriber please sign up here). The FABULOUS product I found was the Jurlique Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer made with MINT!!! WOW! Maybe the amazing curators at Birchbox will slip a sample in my May box, I would love to try it, if not come payday I'm ordering some of this!!




This will definitely become a staple at work and at home as a replacement for the smelly (not in a good way....) hand sanitizers I normally use!! (Did I mention that I LOVE mint? Well I do. From Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies to the Olive Garden Andes Mints to my Mint Chocolate Chip candles....)
Is there a particular smell or fragrance that you are absolutely in LOVE with? Please leave me a comment and let me know! I would love to hear from you! (As you know I recently found a new fragrance Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien...What's yours?)

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Natural and Organic Products













Natural and Organic products. Why are we so apt to jump on that bandwagon? We all want to do what is best for the environment and for ourselves and one way we can do that is find natural and organic products, makeup and skincare products included. Personally, natural and organic skincare and makeup products, for me, are part of my goal this year to learn how to utilize skincare and makeup more effectively, while helping to do my part to conserve what is left of the environment.

Skincare and makeup products, like foods and cleaners, just because they are labeled as such doesn't mean that they actually uphold those beliefs. Juice Beauty is a skincare and makeup company however, that has a very good belief system and has a substantial lead on the organic content, compared to other brands, an organic content of 95%. Check out Juice Beauty!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Creative Girl Media and a Free E-book!





The Blog Designer Network and more specifically April of April Showers Design Studio now also of Creative Girl Media are absolutely AMAZING! She taught my class at TheBDN and she is an incredibly talented blog and web designer. She can teach you how to become a blog and web designer yourself, create AMAZING templates, or build you a unique custom site. Her previous (and still active site is April Showers Design Studio, but recently she started a brand new site called Creative Girl Media. If you are an aspiring designer, need a background template, or want a very creative site seriously consider Creative Girl Media! While you are on her site, take a minute to join her newsfeed and download "The Essential Blogging E-book" for FREE!!!

March and April Birchbox Reviews

If you haven't experienced Birchbox......check it out!!!

In the March Birchbox, my first experience of this amazing service, I received Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien perfume. This stuff smells absolutely amazing!! I am going to take the plunge after I finish my sample and pay a whole $85 for the full-size. I have never spent much money on perfume or body spray, but this stuff is definitely worth it!! The Color Club's Age of Aquarius is a nice teal/green shade, which I love and it is great for this time of year. A vibrant toe nail polish for spring and summer is definitely a must! The Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint in Bronzed was definitely WAAAY to dark for me. Like I've said, I love the introduction of organic products, but One Love Organics was another product that I have a love/hate relationship with. I LOVE how it made my face feel, but the oily/greasy texture and residue on my hands I HATED! I'm definitely on the fence about this, because I can't decide if it's worth the fuss or not. Orofluido's Beauty Elixir I haven't tried yet. I'm not sure if I should add any more oil to my hair, so this will have to take a back seat for the time being. The lifestyle extra Tea Forte's skin-smart teas are amazing! They taste wonderful! Although, I am skeptical about a tea having much power to improve anything internally....

For the April Birchbox, which I received super quickly contained J.R. Watkins Hand and Cuticle Salve, which I don't tend to use (cuticle salve), but the smell is absolutely AMAZING! I received the lavender scent. Also included were willa Gentle Cleansing Lavender Facial Towelettes, which I felt were for a teenager. I tend to prefer citrus scents for my face, and this smell was a little odd, but it was in a convenient packaging and is very affordable. Also, Taylor Swift's Wonderstruck perfume was included. I didn't care for the scent after falling in love with Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien. Zoya's TRUE Spring Collection in Bevin is a great color. I like it more than I did The Color Club's Age of Aquarius, because it's not a neon color, so I can wear it to work. This month's lifestyle extra was dropps Laundry Detergent. I love "pod" type detergents so the powder doesn't end up all over my laundry room!!

Check out Birchbox for these and other amazing products!

February and March Beauty Army Reviews

Hey!
I wanted to take a minute to give you my thoughts on the February and March Beauty Army boxes. Inthe February Beauty Army box, I received from mama mia skincare the Shrink to Fit Hip & Thigh Cream. I thought this wasodd, because there is absolutely no way in a sample size of a firming/tightening cream can you decide if it works. However,I loved thescent and it felt like it was tingling after applying it to my legs. I don't know if thisis indicative of what it is supposed to do, but it felt nice. (No. Upon completing the sample size, I had no idea if it was working or not. :) anyway....)

Next up in my February Beauty Army box, was from Control Corrective Skincare Systems the clear med 5%. People let me tell you! I loved this product! I truly felt that it was clearing up my acne breakouts! Although, it contained sulfur so there was a little bit of an odor. I would advise using this at night, if you think it may interfere with your perfume of the day. I will definitely be scooping this stuff up!













I also received Eye Prep from FX. Although, I haven't had the chance to use this yet. (Have I mentioned I still haven't gotten in a routine of wearing a lot of makeup). The premise of this product makes since though, use a "primer" for your eyeshadow and foundation just like you would do if you were painting a wall. (Makes sense right?)












Indie Lee The Body Wash was also in my box. I love the idea of introducing more organic products into my life, but not this one. I could not stand the smell! To me it was WAAAY to much of a lemongrass smell and not enough of a citrus smell. Also, it was VERY greasy during application and the rest of the day. (Not my favorite product in the box, by a long shot!) The sample was enough for about a week's worth of showers. I gave myself plenty of time to be sure that this product wasn't for me!












Shea Terra Organics Bananas and Baobabs Body Cream was absolutely AMAZING!! It smelled absolutely WONDERFUL!! In body cream's I have come to expect a little greasiness and this wasn't any different. I used this at night and smelled good enough to eat!! (....at least I thought I did.) I will definitely be purchasing this after I run out of my sample. I use this at least once a week and still have quite a bit left. (I've had it since the end of February.)












I am a big fan of dry shampoo. I use them from time to time in the afternoon and evening, especially if I am going somewhere after work to take some of the shine out of my hair (not the good kind of shine - oil.) Freeman Beauty Pssst Instant Dry Shampoo works as well as the name brand products I have used in the past. This size makes it handy to stick in my purse, unlike other products I've used. This rounds out my samples from the February Beauty Army box. Let's see what I received for March!












The first product from my March Beauty Army box is the FX Skin Prep, like February's Eye Prep, I haven't used this yet either. One day when I feel like using makeup I will have both the Eye and Skin Prep by FX to utilize!!













Next up is Kellet Clarifying Acne Treatment and Weleda Almond Cleansing Lotion. I loved the Kellet Clarifying Acne Treatment even more than I did the Control Corrective, because I felt like it was really working and NO SMELL!!! I also used the Weleda Almond Cleansing Lotion as a moisturizer and it worked beautifully! It gives my face moisture but didn't make it oily! It and the acne treatment pair beautifully for me!!













Also, included in the box was Sun FX Body Wash in Aloe and Chamomile and Indie Lee Coconut Citrus Body Scrub. I amazingly loved both!! The Sun FX body wash had a nice light scent, was non-abrasive and had a last scent and kept my skin smooth during the day. I wasn't a big fan of Indie Lee's Body Wash so needless to say I was VERY skeptical of this month's body scrub and was very impressed with it! This stuff is VERY abrasive, just what you want in a body scrub. Although, my body scrub was caked into the bottom of the container upon arrival, no doubt a product of the high humidity here already in April.














The last product in my March Beauty Army box was Boo-Boo Coverup, like the other makeup products I've mentioned, I haven't used this one either, but it has a clever and memorable name and cute packaging going for it!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Birchbox Giveaway

Hey Ya'll!

I have recently begun receiving the "curated" monthly subscriptions from Beauty Army and Birchbox to start testing the skincare and makeup "waters". (I pretty much quit wearing makeup after I graduated high school (six years ago), because it just took too much time and effort just for attending college and grad.school....) Anyway! I have decided that this year, to coincide with possibly graduating in December and having to look for a "real job" to start putting more effort into my appearance, from skincare, to makeup, to eventually a wardrobe overhaul/improvements. I can't dress like a college student forever. At least, I don't think I can. If I can get a "real job" dressing like I do now (t-shirt,jeans, sperry's/flip-flops) as a teacher please let me know! I would hate to think I'm going to put all of this effort into improving my appearance for nothing.
To start learning all of my options and all about the best in skincare and makeup I (patiently) waited (and am still waiting for MyGlam and Cravebox subscriptions) for a subscription to Birchbox to open up and in the meantime came across Beauty Army. (I will soon post reviews of the products I have recieved.) Both of these subscription services for ($10 and $12 respectively) will ship you monthly 4-5 samples (some full size products) of the products deemed worthy by "curators" or hand selected by you (Beauty Army). I have now received two Beauty Army boxes and one Birchbox box. A snafu occurred with my Birchbox shipment and I received two boxes (because I contacted them thinking perhaps my box had been lost, and a result of miscommunication they sent me a replacement free of charge, only to have my box arrive a few days later...) so after talking with the friendly and super helpful Birchbox staff, I will pass on this second, wonderful box to you - my readers, as a Welcome gift of sorts!
The Birchbox that I am giving away contains the following: AHAVA Essential Day Moisturizer, Normal to Dry; Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien; Color Club Nail Lacquer in Peace Out Purple; Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint; Orofluido Beauty Elixir, and the Lifestyle Extra Tea Forte' skin-smart Teas. This is an awesome subscription, which allows you to sample amazing products before you commit to full size products which can be found on the respective shop sites (Birchbox, Beauty Army, etc....).
Please leave a comment on this post and once I figure out how to number the posts, will generate a winner via random.org or some other non-biased approach. I will select a winner once I receive 50 comments on this post-so tell your friends to check out this site and leave me a comment. What is your favorite subscription service (curated or otherwise)?

Monday, April 2, 2012

Welcome!

Hi!

My name is Rachelle and I am an aspiring graphic designer. You will see this blog morph over the next few weeks as I have time to improve and personalize it, thanks to learning how to tweak code thanks to April Durham of April Showers Design Studio and The Blog Design Network back in January. However, first and foremost I am a Ph.D. student in Marine Microbiology. I am married to my wonderful high school sweetheart. We have been together for seven years, friends for twelve, and married for three. I am the proud "fur-mommy" to two adorable Boston Terriers: Zoey and Bear, whose antics are sure to make it to a blog post from time to time. I started a blog a couple of years ago, but didn't put enough time and effort into it and let it fall by the wayside. However, this time around I am fully intending to make a better attempt at this blogging "stuff", because I have been a blog follower and reader for several years and I know I have just as many opinions, ideas, and talents as other bloggers, so I can have a blog too!
This blog and eventually my graphic design business will be named Fleur De Lis Creative, because I am at heart a southern girl and have taken the fleur de lis to heart as a personal symbol, not because of the "rebuilding NOLA" crusade or anything, but because it is beautiful, memorable, and generally brings to mind New Orleans and the (Old/Romantic) South. This is particularly relevant to me personally, because I was married in New Orleans and my bridal shower was themed around that and the fleur de lis. It doesn't hurt that I have always been a Saints fan either. I hope to use this blog as an outlet for product and book reviews, blog and wordpress tutorials, tips,tricks, and designs, and an outlet for my varied opinions, ideas, and thoughts. Please feel free to contact me via email, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter with questions, comments, blog help, product reviews, etc.