I made a YouTube Video

I made a YouTube Video to go along with the re-launching of my Blog. You can see it here:

My First Dia Box!

I got my first Dia Box today. I am going to go over the process here with others if you have no idea what this is. Dia is a Subscription shopping service for plus size women. I am generally a 12 or 14, but wanted to give it a go in an effort to get more business casual and professional outfits. I tend to go a bit more gothy than is probably usually acceptable.

When you sign up, you are asked different questions in your "Style Profile". Here are some of the questions alongside my answers:

Then they ask: "Is there anything else that you want to tell us?" And I wrote:
I'm mostly looking for business casual clothing that doesn't show off my bust and is at the knee or below to comply with dresscode restrictions. However, I want something that accurately reflects my personality. I work in IT, so I can show off personality in  my wardrobe just fine, it just needs to generally read as professional but flamboyant. I am not really into neutrals or pastels. I typically go for a black or gray paired with a bright splash of color. Think "Corporate Goth".

Today, I got my first box. It is shipped via USPS. Here is what the box looked like:

And right when I opened it:

Here are the pieces I got in this box:

An orange/brick red faux wrap top with half sleeves and relaxed, flowy waist paired with a heavy but stretchy black pencil skirt.

A soft, flowy, loose wasited top.

Tight, thick, stretchy jeans.

A huge and colorful scarf.

 The Jeans Brand is Junarose.

The skirt brand is Eloquii.

The t-shirt brand is Neri Skye.

The twist top brand is Kiyonna.

The scarf brand is Printed Village.

Here are the responses I input on their website for feedback:

Keira Bootcut Jeans:

Comments:
The size was fine for the most part. The thighs had a bit of rippling when I sit. Otherwise, were comfortable standing, sitting, and bending. The length was good. The color was good. The fabric (a heavy yet stretchy material) was perfect. I liked that the front pockets were real. Though they were a bit small for pockets, but I'm happy they had any!

Mary Skirt:

Comments:
I don't have many pencil skirts because I have been weird about showing off my butt and hips in the workplace. But I realize that I look nice in them and that others wear them and still look nice and professional. So I am glad this is an item that was sent. I like the heavy stretchy material. The hidden zipper at the bottom to adjust the back slit is an interesting and unique idea.

Kiyonna Knit Jersey Twist Top:

Comments:
I hate this color. Anything remotely orange or yellow is right out. This could probably be called Brick Red, but it is too much orange for me. The fit was fine. The fabric is nice and soft. But it was too much $ for all that it was. I actually have this same brand of top, same style (but w/o sleeves) in olive that I bought at the thrift store for $5, so I might be biased.

Harper Lattice Tee:

Comments:
This shirt fit great. It was definitely my style and color. But the quality did not match the price. Also, I found it a bit sheer. So would have to wear another top underneath in order to wear to work. I liked how soft it was. But I feel like I have this same shirt already in my wardrobe.

Katy Scarf:

Comments:
I loved: The size of the scarf. How soft it was. And the geometric pattern. I hated: the orange color in this. If this had been blue/green/purple/red, I would have kept it. But I really do hate orange that much.

Overall:

Comments:
I would love a top to go with the pencil skirt from this box. I like ruffly blouses, geometric patterns rather than floral, and interesting details. Unusual necklines and embellishments are nice.  My favorite colors are blue & green. I am not into "what's in-fashion" so much as what looks good on me, looks professional, and retains my personality. I tend to like textured clothing or very soft clothing. I'm more looking for work clothes than casual.



If anyone thinks this is interesting, please use my referral code. It gets me $20 off my next box. Not huge, but pretty nice: https://www.dia.com/r/qqe3

If this doesn't work out, I have a few other ideas from friends of my own who have had success. I have been giving these subscription services 3 tries before getting rid of them. My last one was Sephora. I will post about that another time!

Maybelline Concealer, Foundation, and Mascara

Maybelline Concealer, Foundation, and Mascara

• Maybelline dream velvet soft-matte hydrating foundation
• Maybelline Master Conceal
• Maybelline Mega Plush Volum Express
• L'Oreal True Match super-blendable Powder

I am really only reviewing the Maybelline Products in this image since the L'Oreal Powder is actually my regular go-to powder that I use to lock my foundation and concealer. 

The Concealer didn't have good enough coverage to cover my very dark under eye circles. And the foundation also didn't have great coverage. I'd say it was light to medium in coverage abilities. I'm used to a very full-coverage concealer and foundation. I think it would be fine if you were looking for something more light coverage. But I ended up taking both the concealer and foundation back. Neither broke me out too terribly. But I did feel a little big cloggy/caked with makeup. And I think it was because I was trying to overcompensate for lack of coverage with just MORE makeup. I give them both a 1 out of 5.

The mascara was fine. Not spectacular. But did its job just fine. It didn't flake off onto my cheeks, was dark enough, and didn't take too much to take it off. I give it a 4 out of 5. 

I bought all of this at CVS. But there are plenty of pharmacy and non-pharmacy locations to get these from. Here is the CVS site for Maybelline:

http://www.cvs.com/shop/brand-shop/m/maybelline-new-york/N-gj59

Cadum deodorant micro talc

Cadum deodorant micro talc

This is a French deodorant I bought while in Paris. I bought it because it advertised no transfer to clothing and didn't have alcohol or aluminum. Both of which cause clothing discoloration (which is a serious problem for me in all colors of clothing).

I give it a 5 out of 5 for not transferring to my clothes. But a 2 out of 5 for smell-reduction. It took at least 2 weeks of sweating like a pig and stinking at the end of a work day before my body adjusted to the formula in this. But I kept on using it because I am always determined to use a product until it is absolutely gone before making a decision about it. It didn't cause any break outs or issues even on freshly shaved armpits!

Overall, I still only give it a 3 out of 5 at the end of the month or so it took me to use all of this. To apply, you really have to shake well each time. I recommend spraying it on in another room apart from where you are going to get ready for the rest of the day. The fog lingers and makes you choke a bit. And you need to let it fully dry before putting any clothing on, or else it does saturate your clothing. So I usually ended up applying it first thing as soon as I woke up in my office and then finishing my morning routine getting ready in the bathroom.

I bought this in a physical store. But you can buy this online in several places:
http://www.beaute-test.com/deodorant_spray_micro-talc_fraicheur_coton_cadum.php

Belif Hungarian water essence

Belif Hungarian water essence

This is a water-based moisturizer. I honestly give it a 1 out of 5. It didn't break me out. But it didn't moisturize me very well either. I did 2-5 pumps to no avail. This stuff just really couldn't quench my skin that well. And I don't have terribly dry skin either. I'm very combination oily/dry and lean a bit more oily. This didn't break me out though, and I have very sensitive and acne-prone skin. It was also terrible to apply my makeup over. It was not smooth at all.

In order to use this, what I ended up doing was doing 2 pumps of this and a full pump of my regular moisturizer (Neutrogena oil-free moisture sensitive skin) mixed together in my palm and then applied to my whole face and neck. I eventually used it all but really don't think it made a tremendously positive impact on my skin.

Buy the product here:
http://www.sephora.com/hungarian-water-essence-P394633

White Claw Hard Seltzer

White Claw Hard Seltzer in Ruby Grapefruit

This delicious boozy seltzer is amazing if you are doing a low-carb diet. I am doing the Keto diet on again, off again lately. I had went on it pretty hardcore for about 6 months to lose 20 lbs. Mission accomplished! Now I am reducing my carbs to maintain the weight I lost.

I like to drink and basically all beers and wines are off the table on a Keto diet. That typically leaves you with few choices. My go-to's were: vodka + Perrier, gin + Sierra Mist, rum + La Croix, or rum + Coke Zero. This pre-made fizzy drink makes it easier/lazier. It is good and I really recommend the Ruby Grapefruit flavor.

Please remember that with any diet to really not overdo any alcohol intake. Always be sure to get plenty of water before going to bed after a night of drinking. You might figure "but this IS water" and it IS, but do remember that hangovers are caused by dehydration due to alcohol consumption. Additionally, I found 3 of these on the Keto diet got me good and tipsy. If you are in ketosis, it's generally way easier to get drunk than when you are not.

To learn more about what the Keto diet is:
https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/

Origins GinZing Peel-off mask

Origins GinZing Peel-off mask

This was a lovely large sample I had sitting around for quite some time. I decided today was a good day to give it a try since my skin has been a bit clogged and dull. That was mostly my doing, though, since I didn't adhere to my skincare regimen very well last week.

As background, my skin is combination oily/dry. Very acne-prone, specifically in regards to cystic acne. Very sensitive.

I applied this on my clean, dry face after a shower. It went on smoothly, smelled a bit like oranges, and was the color of copper. I don't think I put it on thick enough because it dried in less than 5 minutes but was kind of a pain to peel off. As in, it didn't want to go off in a nice big sheet. I had to rinse with warm water and a wash cloth.

I give this a 3 out of 5. The results were pretty standard, but not spectacular. My skin felt nice and clean. Not too squeaky clean, but clean enough. This wasn't a super intense peel like a lot of others out on the market. So I feel like you could use this with more frequency than many. I just wanted to get my pores unclogged and it did a fair job at that. For a more intense peel, though, I'd go with the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask.

Link to buy the product:
http://www.sephora.com/ginzing-peel-off-mask-to-refine-refresh-P409768

Back from a very long break

I'm rebooting this Beauty Blog. I gave up on it because one day I accidentally deleted every single picture/image that I had uploaded to go alongside my reviews. I hadn't realized my Google Plus account and Blogger accounts were intrinsically connected the way they were. This irritated me so much that I rage quit the whole thing. But I am back. And I promise not to delete my pictures this time around!

~Sally