Almay Mega Volume Mascara

Thanks to Crowdtap, I received a sample of the Almay Mega Volume Mascara to try out. I have never used an Almay mascara before, so I was really looking forward to giving this one a try. It claimed, as most mascaras claim, to have a new kind of mascara wand. This brush is extra fat on one end and skinny on the other.

The reasoning behind the shape of the brush is that the fat end will add length and volume to the outer lashes creating that falsie lash look and opening up your eyes. While I have found that it does, in fact accomplish this, it is a bit difficult to apply. I almost wish that the fat end was on the inner part of the wand and got skinnier as it went out. Does that make sense? It just is that the way that I normally hold a mascara wand, it puts the fat part of the wand on the inner part of my lashes.

The mascara itself is nice as well. It is gentle and easily removed but isn’t flaky. My eyes get easily irritated by mascaras, so I have to be careful. The one issue that I did have is the brush doesn’t separate very well. I’ve found that I need to use an eyelash comb after I apply the mascara to get the type of separation that I like.

In the end, the result is pretty nice and I think that if you like voluminous, long lashes you will enjoy this mascara. Unfortunately for me, I’m not crazy about clumpier lashes and the brush can be difficult. While I can’t see myself buying this specific mascara when I run out, I am excited about trying other mascaras by Almay.

Two Summers

By: Aimee Friedman
Published Year: 2016
Publisher: Point
Pages: 368

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): ONE SUMMER in the French countryside, among sun-kissed fields of lavender . . .

ANOTHER SUMMER in upstate New York, along familiar roads that lead to surprises . . .

When Summer Everett makes a split-second decision, her summer divides into two parallel worlds. In one, she travels to France, where she’s dreamed of going: a land of chocolate croissants, handsome boys, and art museums. In the other, she remains home, in her ordinary suburb, where she expects her ordinary life to continue — but nothing is as it seems.

In both summers, she will fall in love and discover new sides of herself. What may break her, though, is a terrible family secret, one she can't hide from anywhere. In the end, it might just be the truth she needs the most.

First Impressions

I had been craving a light summer YA, so I went searching and stumbled upon this one. The cover is a bit cheesy and very young. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up off the shelves if I wasn’t specifically looking for something like this, but obviously it did catch my eye enough to read the summary. One of my favorite theories is alternate realities based on choices that you make, so as soon as I read the summary I added it to my TBR.

What I thought

Summer is scheduled to go to France to spend about a month of her summer with her dad. While she is about to board the airplane her phone, which is about to die, starts to ring. In one scenario, she boards the plane without answering her phone and heads to France, in another she answers the phone and her vacation plans are cancelled.

I almost gave up on this book after the first chapter. There were a lot if irritating aspects to how this story was set up to come about. First of all, there is a massive rain and lightening storm that in no way impacts her flight leaving on time, then she apparently thinks she can’t answer the phone while she is walking to the airplane, and finally, when her phone dies, she just looks at it and goes “well, guess I’ll check that voicemail in August.” I understand that the author was trying to create a scenario in which she could create the alternate realities, but there are so many more ways that could have been done. One that immediately pops into my mind is leaving her phone in the car or at home in one scenario and in the other, she doesn’t. I just can’t believe that she would go to France for a month with a phone that’s dead, no charger, and no expectation to use it on WiFi. At that point, she might as well have not travelled with it at all.

Once I finally got past my irritations, the book was decent. I liked seeing her explore France and I liked seeing her life play out as she stayed back home. However, they are such two different stories that I didn’t feel like I every really got the full story I was looking for. It was like reading a glimpse into a summer YA book and getting just the taste but not the satisfaction.

When I picked up this book, I don’t know if I realized that Summer was 15 going on 16 and maybe that was part of my problem. She is very young and it got on my nerves. A lot of the problems she dealt with were irritating and like she thought she was better than other people. Again, this is likely due to the fact that I am a lot older than 15, so I didn’t connect with that.

There are some good aspects to this book if you can squint and ignore some of the irritating pieces. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless they are 15-16 years old or younger. Unfortunately this is the type of YA book that doesn’t ‘work for anyone other than a young adult. I’d also say there are a lot of other summer YA books I would recommend over this one. It’s not a terrible, but it’s not great.

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 400

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): From Taylor Jenkins Reid comes an unforgettable and sweeping novel about one classic film actress’s relentless rise to the top—the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Filled with emotional insight and written with Reid’s signature talent, this is a fascinating journey through the splendor of Old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it takes—to face the truth.

First Impressions

I have read two of Jenkins Reid’s previous novels and loved them. When I found out that she was coming out with a new book it immediately went onto my TBR list. I odn’t think I even read the summary for this one. Although, lets me honest, even if I wasn’t already a fan of Jenkins Reid this cover is gorgeous and I would have picked it up based on that alone.

What I thought

Jenkins Reid’s previous books have focused on marriage and relationships. She does a great job of writing relationships realistically and with wonderful complexities. This book is a bit different but just as wonderful.

Evelyn Hugo is an old time movie star from the 1950s-1980s. Monique Grant is a journalist who is just beginning to establish her career. While Evelyn is known for her acting talent, she is more known for the fact that she has had seven husbands and never told her story. One day she picks Monique to be the author of her autobiography, without telling anyone why it HAS to be Monique.

When I started this book, I thought it was going to focus a little more on Monique and her part of the story. However, it truly reads more like an autobiography of Evelyn Hugo with bits of Monique’s story thrown in. Monique is having her own life struggles, and through working with Evelyn, she learns some lessons that help her figure out her life. Of course, there’s also the mystery of wyh Evelyn chose unknown Monique in the first place.

The style of this book is definitely a departure from Jenkins Reid’s previous books, but it is just as compelling. The complex relationships are still as solidly there are they were in her previous novels, and for me, that’s what makes her stories so great.

I loved being brought back to the 1950s and seeing how Evelyn evolves from a nobody from New York to an Academy Award winning actress. The book is divided into sections by husband, so you get to see who she was with each of them and how they all impacted her life in their own ways. It’s a really unique book and I greatly enjoyed it. I’m left with the feeling that Evelyn really existed in out world and I wish that I could watch her films.

If you enjoy old time Hollywood, love stories, and celebrity memoirs, I think you will really enjoy this book. It’s almost like a memoir but definitely has some more story like elements to it. Like I mentioned, this is different than Jenkins Reid’s previous novels, but it is still so so good. It was a quick read and I could see myself reading it again in the future.

Play! By Sephora August 2017

Play! By Sephora is a monthly subscription box by Sephora. It costs $10 a month and you received 5 beauty and skincare samples plus a perfume sample each month. Previously, you needed to put yourself onto a wait-list and wait to receive an email before you could subscribe, as they were rolling it out to limited quantities.

In addition to the products, Sephora includes a booklet that includes information about the product, the brand, and then tips of how to use the products. Also at the back of the book is a Play! PASS. This Pass gives you a complimentary one-on-one session with a Sephora artist as well as an extra 50 Beauty Insider points when you scan the pass at the register with any purchase. If you have the Sephora app, you can also scan the images of the products to learn more about them.

When the subscription first started, it seemed as though everyone received the same box. Lately, it seems as though they have a handful of box varieties that everyone receives based on the survey you fill out at the beginning and their theme. This month’s theme is Elements of Beauty.

As a heads up, the boxes are a little bit larger and will not fit into a small apartment sized mailbox. For reference, a Birchbox box is able to fit almost perfectly into my mailbox, but this one has no chance. Therefore, I’ve started having it shipped to my parent’s house so I don’t have to go to the Post Office.

This month the products I received were as follows:

Beautyblender Micro Mini (Full-size $18)- The Beautyblender is a well known makeup tool if you are a part of the beauty world. The original/large size makes putting on your foundation easy and flawless. This micro mini is meant for highlighting, contouring and concealing. I’m a little curious to see how it will work for my concealer, especially right around my nose. I haven’t used the full size Beautyblender, so this will be my chance to see what the hype is all about. You do get 2 in a pack at the full price, but it’s still a bit pricey to me for such a small foam tool.

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil (Full-size $17)- I have to admit, this was the product I was easily the most excited about when I opened up the box. It is a cleansing oil that you put on your lashes, sit for at least a minute, and then you can just wipe off your mascara! I’m so lazy when it comes to taking off makeup and even when I do use a wipe, I do sometimes feel like I haven’t gotten off all of the mascara. I’m hoping the novelty of this will help me be better at removing my mascara.

Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer Crème in Cool Medium (Full-size $26)- While I do enjoy Kat Von D makeup and think that her colors and staying power are great, her makeup tends to be on the dryer side. I was really hoping that this wouldn’t be the case with her concealer but, alas, it is. I tried it around my nose and under my eye, and while the coverage is great (as to be expected), it clung to every dry spot and emphasized a lot of my pores. Maybe I can use it for spots?

Kopari Coconut Melt (Full-size $38)- An unrefined, organic, vegan free, cruelty free coconut oil. It is stated that Kopari only uses the highest grade coconuts for their product. This is definitely a generous sample size! I’m super impressed. However, I think that for the price of the full size I don’t exactly understand the appeal. There isn’t any different between this and the coconut oil you can buy at the grocery store right? Am I missing something? Either way, I’m going to try using this when I’m on vacation as a moisturizer since supposedly coconut oil helps to repel mosquitos.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo (Full- size $22)- I feel like I have received this before. If not from Sephora, then definitely through Birchbox. As a curly hair girl, I don’t tend to use dry shampoo. My hair just doesn’t work in a way that I could apply dry shampoo and be good to go. Also, my hair is naturally on the dryer side, so I don’t even need it for collecting oil. However, I’m sure it will find a good home with one of my friends.

Kat Von D Saint & Sinner Perfume (Full-size $65)- A double perfume sample! How cool! The Saint scent is floral with notes of mandarin, jasmine, tiare flower, and musk while the Sinner scent is a warm and spicy scent with notes of orange blossom, cinnamon, patchouli, and vanilla. I am absolutely in love with both of these scents! The Saint one is ever so slightly more of a favorite than Sinner but they are both great. I haven’t layered them yet, but I think that could be really fun. Price wise it’s not too bad for a perfume, but I’d probably want to get the travel size or roller balls because I’d want both scents!

I missed last month’s box, but this one is great! I’m excited for pretty much everything in this box and it feels worth much more than the $10 I paid for it. Yay!

Alex Approximately

By: Jenn Bennet
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 388

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is a whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

First Impression

I LOVE this cover. Everything about this cover makes me want to jump into this picture. I wish that I lived in this cover. This book was also described as a young adult version of You’ve Got Mail. I watched You’ve Got Mail when it originally came out, so I was really young. I don’t remember much of the details, but have since read one or two other books that claim to be modern day retellings of You’ve Got Mail and have greatly enjoyed them. My favorite romantic trope is when hate turns into love, so I think that helps too. When I saw that this was a YA version, I knew it had to go on my summer TBR list.

What I thought

Bailey lives in DC with her mom, while he dad lives in California. Her parents divorced about a year ago and while initially she decided to live with her mom, she has recently changed her mind and decided that for her senior year of high school she wants to live with her dad. In addition to wanted to get away from her mom and life on the East coast, she has an online film buddy who lives in the same town as her dad. They’ve been flirting and talking for a while and he’s been asking for her to come visit him for a while. Now that she is there, she decides that she doesn’t want to let him know right away, but instead scope him out secretly first. At the same time, she has started working a summer job at the museum The Cave where she meets a new friend as well as a boy that piques her interest.

I absolutely loved Bailey, Porter, and Grace. I wish that there had been a bit more of Bailey and Grace as the female friendship gets very much thrown to the side. It’s there in the background but I think it would have been nice if it had been more instrumental to Bailey’s growth. What I enjoyed about Bailey is that she is a stay in the shadows type of character. I liked that she knows that she enjoys staying in the shadows and moving quietly and she uses it to her advantage.

Porter is also my book boy crush of the summer! He is the perfect summer book boyfriend. He is a surfer who, while seemingly having it all is actually damaged. The banter between Bailey and Porter was a lot of fun and I’m glad that it didn’t stop once they started dating. I do wish that there had been a little more of a buildup, but I understand why it moved as quickly as it did.

The one issue that I did have with this book was some of the comments on Bailey’s style/look. At the beginning it seemed like there was a lot of focus on her style and her “Lana Turner” style curls. If I ever have to read the description “pin curls like Lana Turner” one more time I might scream. While I appreciated that she had a unique sense of style, it didn’t bring much to the story and I didn’t feel like it was necessary to describe it the same way every time she met someone.

This book was such a fun summer read. It’s light and fun and the romance is adorable. If you enjoy beach time romances or if you like retellings of You’ve Got Mail, then I highly recommend this book. It’s a quick read that is enjoyable from beginning to end. While I had a few issues with the writing, overall it was a well-written book and I definitely think you should check it out.

How to Change a Life

By: Stacy Ballis
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 400

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A dare between friends leads to startling revelations and simmering tensions in the latest novel from the author of Wedding Girl.

Eloise is happy with her life as a successful private chef. She has her clients, her corgi, and a recipe for the world's most perfect chocolate cream pie. What more could she need? But when her long-lost trio of high school friends reunites, Eloise realizes how lonely she really is.

Eloise, Lynne, and Teresa revamp their senior-class assignment and dare one another to create a list of things to accomplish by the time they each turn forty in a few months. Control freak Lynne has to get a dog, Teresa has to spice up her marriage, and Eloise has to start dating again.

Enter Shawn, a hunky ex-athlete and the first man Eloise could see herself falling for. Suddenly forty doesn't seem so lonely--until a chance encounter threatens the budding romance and reveals the true colors of her friends. Will the bucket listers make it to forty still speaking to one another? Or do some friendships come with an expiration date?

First Impressions

Last year, I reviewed my first Stacy Ballis book, Wedding Girl, and loved it! When I found out she was coming out with a new book this summer I immediately put it on my to-read list. I got even more excited when I was asked to review it! The cover I different than her previous ones, but it’s really cute. I would have picked it up without without knowledge of Ballis for sure.

What I thought

As I’ve grown to expect from Ballis, this book is cute and sweet with a lot of food, love, and dogs.

Eloise is 39 and relatively happy with her life. While she has no complaints, she isn’t exactly where she would have imagined herself to be at 40. When she is reunited with her high school friends, they decide to challenge each other to complete 5 tasks before their 40th birthdays, forcing Eloise to evaluate her life and push herself towards what she really wants to achieve.

Ballis’s novels have a very similar setup. The main character is a chef/foodie, they live in Chicago, own a dog, and have a Jewish background. Luckily, these are all things I love. I do appreciate that each chef is a bit different. The other Ballis book I read recently, the chef was an assistant to a TV chef whereas Eloise is a personal chef, so there are different aspects. One of my favorite story lines in this book tah I actually wish got a bit more time was her working with 10 year old Ian to compete on a Junior Baking Competition reality show.

One of the challenges that Eloise receives is to start dating again. After a disastrous relationship about 10 years ago, she has completely removed herself from the dating scene.  Now, she has to get back onto the dating scene and compete 18 dates before her 40th birthday. Along the way, she meets Shawn. I absolutely loved him! He’s pretty much perfect (which could be annoying) but he does have flaws which makes him more relatable and likable.

There were a few details here and there that didn’t seem fully thought out to me, which I haven’t experienced previously with Ballis’s writing. For example, in one chapter she is talking about how she has a steel stomach and has only thrown up once or twice in her life, but then in another chapter she’s easily queasy and gagging over the thought of someone else throwing up.

Besides that, the friendships were a major strength. There was everything from easy friendships, to difficult ones, whichyou don’t often see in stories. I appreciated seeing a friendship that was so essential to high school and how t worked at almost 40. I also appreciated the familial relationships and how supportive everyone was.

If you are a fan of Ballis, or a fan of foodie romance novels you will enjoy this one immensely. The balance of friendship, family, challenges and food is a great balance that anyone could enjoy. I read this book in a day and enjoyed every minute of it. I wouldn’t recommend reading Ballis’s books one right after the other because they do follow a little bit of a formula, but they are all fun to read in a different way. I look forward to reading more of her novels in the future.

I'm Back!

Hi Everyone! I'm back!

I know that my blog has been down for a few months now and I wanted to apologize. Here's what happened. When I started my blog, I was originally hosted by Bluehost and that is where my blog has been for 3 years. This past year, I have been having nothing but trouble with Bluehost and Weebly through Bluehost. As a result, I decided to start looking into switching to a different hosting site. This then came with a whole host of problems I didn't expect.

While it was simple enough to switch my domain, switching the content of my site has been a completely different story. It turns out, that there is no easy way to do this from the way I had it set up. 

As you may (or may not) have noticed, there is a lot of content missing from my site currently. I will be slowly transferring my previous content to this new set up over time. I'm hoping it will be completely transferred by the end of the summer and I plan on posting new content while doing so. I do apologize if some of the older content isn't formatted exactly the same as the new content, but I'm doing the best I can.

I hope that you like the new site and that you will forgive my absence and continue to read my future posts. Here's hoping to a fresh start and getting back to consistent content.

Bookshop at Watersend

By: Patti Callahan Henry
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 352

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Bonny Blankenship's most treasured memories are of idyllic summers spent in Watersend, South Carolina, with her best friend, Lainey McKay. Amid the sand dunes and oak trees draped with Spanish moss, they swam and wished for happy-ever-afters, then escaped to the local bookshop to read and whisper in the glorious cool silence. Until the night that changed everything, the night that Lainey's mother disappeared.

Now, in her early fifties, Bonny is desperate to clear her head after a tragic mistake threatens her career as an emergency room doctor, and her marriage crumbles around her. With her troubled teenage daughter, Piper, in tow, she goes back to the beloved river house, where she is soon joined by Lainey and her two young children. During lazy summer days and magical nights, they reunite with bookshop owner Mimi, who is tangled with the past and its mysteries. As the three women cling to a fragile peace, buried secrets and long ago loves return like the tide.

First Impression

If a book has “bookshop” in the title it immediately lands on my radar. This cover is the perfect summer cover and drew me in. This book made a solid first impression and I immediately would’ve picked it up off the shelf based on the cover alone.

What I thought

This book was so cute! It was the perfect summer beach read and exactly what I needed.

Bonny and Lainey are lifelong friends who started as Summer Sisters at the age of eleven. Now in their fifties, Bonny is having a bit of a life crisis. Her marriage and job are falling apart, so Lainey suggests that she return to the summer home that they haven’t been to since they were 13. Bonny brings her 19 year old daughter Piper who is also having a bit of a life crisis. When Bonny, Lainey, and Piper head back to Watersend for the first time in 40+ years, their past catches up with them and they are all forced to face themselves.

This book is told in alternating points of view between Bonny, Lainey, and Piper with an occasional perspective from Mimi the bookshop owner. While my favorite perspective was Piper’s, because she’s the closest to my age, but I still enjoyed Bonny and Lainey’s stories. Each character had their own issues that they had to confront and I liked that it was really about personal growth. There wasn’t a lot of silly issues that got in the way of bigger issues and I really appreciated that.

What I enjoyed the most about this story was the writing. It drew me in and made me feel like I was at the river house and that I was a part of their vacation. I also found that the balance between the present and the past to be perfect. I never felt like I was stuck in the past stories and wanting to get back to what was currently happening, but at the same time I never felt like I was only getting the present storyline and was confused as to what the past had to do with anything.

If you enjoy summertime stories about family and personal growth this will be the perfect read for you. I loved the balance of the storylines and how they were so different amongst themselves. I’d highly recommend this as a beach read and am looking forward to reading more by this author.