Little Life Box Review August 2014

It's Little Life Box day! One of my favourite delivery days of the month. For those of you who aren't in the know, Little Life Box is a monthly subscription box service that delivers healthy snacks and eco-friendly beauty products to your door for $19.99/mth + shipping.

Here is my box for this month:

I received:

• GoGo Quinoa Crunchies in Original (www.gogoquinoa.com)
• Body Flex Super Greens sample (www.innotechnutrition.com)
• GoGo Quinoa Granissimo Basmati & Wild Quinoa Pilaf (www.gogoquinoa.com)
• DoMatcha Ceremonial Matcha On the Go Travel Pack (www.domatcha.com)
• Truebar by Bakery on Main in Fruit and Nut (www.bakeryonmain.com)
• Manitoba Harvest Hemp Pro 70 in Chocolate (www.manitobaharvest.com)
• Palmetto Derma Collagen Boosting Serum (www.palmettoderma.com)
• Zorah Biocosmetics Kaila Gel Cleanser (www.zorahbiocosmetics.com)
• Artisana Organic Raw Walnut Butter (www.artisanafoods.com)
• Home Free Mini Vanilla Cookies (www.homefreetreats.com)
• Tyrell's Hand Cooked English Crisps in Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar (www.tyrellscrisps.co.uk)

I received a lot of the items I normally like to receive - snacks for the kids, drink powder for on the go, skin care items. I would say the item I was most excited to receive was the DoMatcha Ceremonial Matcha On the Go, just because I'm on a matcha latte kick first thing in the morning. The kids weren't super wowed by the GoGo Quinoa Crunchies. It says you can use it them as a snack or cereal, and I gave them to the kids as cereal. The kids found them too hard though so I think they're better left as a snack.

Overall, another great Little Life Box! There are a lot of brands that I have received items from in previous boxes, but I don't mind because I really like their products. :)

For more information or to subscribe, visit www.littlelifebox.com

Makeup by One Direction Review

It's time! We were finally able to try out the new makeup collection by One Direction! Aislinn was SO excited when the box arrived last week. Thanks to Markwins and BrandBacker for sending this our way to try out!

It came in a cool collector's tin:

We received the Midnight Memories collection. See the previous Makeup by One Direction post for info on the other collections. Here is what it looks like inside:

The left side shows different looks you can do with the makeup. The right side (obviously) contains the MAKEUP! Here is what we received:

• 4+1 Eyeshadow Palette - colours are (clockwise from top left) Little White Lies, Don't Forget Where You Belong, Half a Heart, Strong, and Midnight Memories

• Liquilights Glow Gloss in Through the Dark (it glows under UV light!)

• Lipstick in Best Song Ever

• Mascara in Little Black Dress

• Nail Varnish in Right Now

• Eye and Body Crayon in Better Than Words

The kit also included a bonus stencil kit. 

I'm really happy with the kit we received. I would say the Midnight Memories one is my favourite of the 3 available. The eye shadow colours are pretty and versatile. I did find that the colours wore off fairly quick, but that's good for tweens and teens (whom this is aimed towards). This can be remedied by using an eye shadow primer. My favourite item would have to be the lip gloss. The colour just pops and is really long lasting. Here I am trying out a look with the makeup here:

Makeup by One Direction is already available at Macy's in the US and will be available at other US department stores as of August 25. Canada and International launch dates are TBD (as always).

Overall, this is just a really cool kit that girls are going to go crazy for. I know Aislinn's will be jealous come September when she tells them about her kit. Speaking of, here is Aislinn's video makeup review:

For more info on Makeup by OneDirection, visit www.facebook.com/makeupbyonedirection

Liebster Award

Jessica at the great review blog Ramyun Pie nominated me for the Liebster Award! The Liebster Award is a way for bloggers to help promote new and upcoming blogs and increase readership. Thanks so much for nominating me Jessica! :)

RULES:

1. Post eleven facts about yourself.
2. Answer the eleven questions provided by the person who nominated you and then create an eleven-question set for the next group of nominees.
3. Choose eleven people to nominate and link them in the post.
4. Let your nominees know they've been tagged - and no tag-backs!
5. Nominate blogs under 200 followers.

11 Facts About Me

1. I have 2 kids - Aislinn (7 1/2) and Hudson (6)
2. I'm a Medieval and Renaissance Studies student at Brock University with plans to add a 2nd major in French Studies.
3. My favourite musician is Matthew Good.
4. I love Photoshop and have trained to be a graphic designer (I've actually been published in Practical Photoshop magazine).
5. I was named after author Taylor Caldwell.
6. My favourite video game is Fable II.
7. I am addicted to Coronation Street.
8. I prefer tea to coffee and have around 20 varieties in my house right now.
9. I'm really into researching my family ancestry.
10. I just got a new puppy, a pug-zu named Rainey. She joins our beagle Annie and 2 cats, Olive and Sage.
11. I love knitting and also cross-stitch and sew.

Jessica's Questions

1. What is your holy grail makeup/skincare item and why?
• Right now it would be anything Clinique, as it's my favourite brand and I'm a poor student.
2. Do you play any instruments?
• I can play a little guitar and piano...terribly.
3. What is your favourite place in the world and why?
• Muskoka. We used to go cottaging or camping up there every summer when I was growing up. Now my FIL lives up in Bracebridge so we can go up whenever we want. :)
4. What is your favourite scent?
• Freshly cut grass. My favourite perfume is Gap Grass (they need to bring it back).
5. When did you start blogging?
• I've been blogging on and off since 2004, but AwesPosBlog has been around since January 2014.
6. What is your favourite type of food?
• Anything Asian. Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, you name it.
7. What would your ideal vacation be?
• I really really want to visit England and do some family and historical research. And take the Eurostar over to Paris.
8. What is your staple fashion accessory?
• In Fall/Winter I love big soft pashminas/scarves.
9. What is your favourite brand of makeup/skincare?
• As mentioned previously, I love Clinique. My other favourites are Rimmel, Almay, Benefit, and Physician's Formula.
10. Where are you from?
• I am from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
11. What is your favourite book?
• That's like asking a mother to pick her favourite child! I will tell you the last good book I read, which was The King's Grave by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones.

Nominations:

1. As Cute As a Bug's Ear
2. Bargnhtress
3. Life With No Naps
4. Eliorah
5. Frugal Maggie
6. Beautiful, Free and Wonderful
7. Krizia in Happyland
8. Mama Hearts Polish
9. Batting a Lash
10. Polished Perfect
11. A Polished Prance

My Questions:

1. Where are you from?
2. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would you meet?
3. What is you favourite 20th century decade for fashion?
4. Who is your favourite musician?
5. What is your favourite TV show?
6. If you could bring 3 things to a desert island, what would you bring?
7. What is your favourite makeup item?
8. What's your favourite childhood memory?
9. What's your favourite time-wasting website?
10. Do you have pets?
11. And finally, what's a blog you would recommend (# of followers doesn't matter)?

Good luck everyone! :)

Miracle 10 Cleanser II Review

Last month I won one of Miracle10 skin care collection's cleansers from a contest hosted by Girl Meets Box. Miracle10 is a skin care line from The Plastic Surgery Clinic Inc., one of the top plastic surgery clinics in North America. The Miracle10 line was developed to combat aging skin, fine lines, and acne.

I received Miracle10's Cleanser II. According to the Miracle10 website, it is "an active foaming, non-drying, antioxidant rich, pH-correct cleanser with exfoliating properties, designed to remove make-up and deeply cleanse the pores, removing oil and skin debris."

This may just be my new favourite cleanser. It gently foams when applied but afterward my skin feels throughly cleansed, as if I'd just used a face scrub. My skin felt tighter and was more glowing afterwards as well. I really want to try out the other skin care products in the Miracle10 line. The line includes creams, masks, serums, and toners.

The Miracle10 Cleanser II is $39 for a 120 ml bottle. For more information and to purchase, visit the Miracle10 website at www.miracle10.com