I go a few days without posting...
Sep. 7th, 2016 07:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
I'm in the middle of my second fantasy football draft, and I'm feeling OK about it. Last night, T. and I went to BJ's to do the draft for the league we're both in, which was fun, except also not because I hate hogging a table at a restaurant for hours, and BJ's was way busier than I thought it would be on a Tuesday night. >< I did/do not feel so good about that draft. I dunno, it's not like I actually have a great sense for these things, but mentally I don't feel all that great about the players I got, maybe because there isn't a standout superstar that I feel excited to have gotten. Not that superstars never disappoint, but they sure make you feel good about having them! It was nice to have had you last year, Odell Beckham Jr. *sob*
Anyhow, I'm feeling okay about tonight's draft. The guys in this league seem really fun, so I like the league more, which is weird because I don't know them, and I only got into the league because T.'s friend, who runs the other league, knows this guy, who is also in the other league, and last year he needed more players. T. doesn't even know him! LOL. Also, I like the Yahoo interface/FF experience much more than the ESPN one, especially their summaries of the matches. Last year, Yahoo predicted that I would finish first in the league; I ended up finishing third. We'll see what it says about my draft this year!
*********
I've now used all the items in my first Birchbox and I remain a fan. Although, I'm a little confused about whether that was just my first box separate from the monthly box (I ended up subscribing for a year), because I got a notice today that my box had shipped, but I was like... I already got my box though. So...? Very odd. Anyway, my verdict on the products!
- Oribe "Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray"
I went lazy on this. There was a girl who posted a review of it who gave this long, detailed explanation of how to best use this (wash hair, dry to 90%, spray, braid, sleep, unbraid, curl pieces, spray again), but I went with another girl's recommendation of just giving a good spray all around on my wet hair. While it definitely did not look like beach hair, it still made my hair dry much more nicely than if I'd done nothing at all to it. In fact, I had the following convo with a coworker:
JW: I have to ask, what is going on with your hair? It looks so good.
Me: It does?
JW: There's so much volume!
Me: WELL. I have to tell you... [explains about Birchbox] And one of my samples was this Oribe hairspray.
JW: I guess it's good to know that a $50 hairspray actually works.
- Beauty Protector "Protect & Detangle"
Reviewers seemed to love the smell of this, while I think it's awful (it's vanilla-esque, and I just find vanilla scents repellent for some reason). However, it seemed to work really nicely as a detangler. The smell would prevent me from ever buying this, though.
- Hey Honey "Trick and Treat"
This was a nice surprise. I don't usually wear concealer; dark circles under my eyes aren't really a problem, thank goodness (I have plenty of others). However, just the teeniest tiniest smidgen of this goes a really long way, and it blends pretty nicely with my skin. And it does make me look more "awake," I'll admit. The sample is big enough, though, and so little is used each time, that it may last me years!
- Air Repair "Complexion-Boosting Moisturizer"
OK, I pooh-poohed this moisturizer, and I shouldn't have. I know this now. But come on, it's Birchbox, which normally does high-end products! Anyway, this moisturizer surprised me. It came out thick, almost like my regular night cream. I thought, "Oh, this is going to be way too oily for me as a day cream." Except... somehow, despite how thick it is, it blended beautifully into my skin without feeling the least bit oily. O.o I don't know what black magic is in this thing.
- Laura Geller "Color Luster Lip Gloss"
I REALLY love this lip gloss. It doesn't have any kind of off-putting scent to it, it goes on beautifully, and the color is fantastic.
*********
My Gravity Falls Journal 3 has arrived! I wish it were shorter and fatter, like the one Dipper uses on the show, and I wish it didn't say "Gravity Falls" on the front (does DIPPER'S say that? THEN OURS SHOULDN'T EITHER), but otherwise it seems pretty awesome and true to the real thing. :D
*********
I'm really anxious to make my first batch of soap, but I still haven't gotten the lye, so can't do anything until it arrives (ETA: Monday). :/ Meanwhile I'm poring over books and watching YouTube vids. I haven't made a single batch of soap yet, but I've done so much research that I feel like I already know more than some of the amateurs who have posted soap-making vids on YT. :)) This one woman bemoaned how soap ash had ruined her colors, and I'm like, "Duh, you could have easily prevented that by spritzing on a 91% rubbing alcohol solution after molding the soap." Also, given how much the colors faded, she probably used some coloring mediums that were light sensitive.
Meanwhile, I bought this mold to make little specialty soaps with. Isn't it cute?!
*********
My nail art templates arrived! They came all the way from Singapore, which is why they took so long. But there was a problem: I ordered 13 plates and they only sent 12. I either wanted a refund for the missing plate or for it to be sent out; to my surprise they chose to ship it to me. I can't see how they could possibly make any money doing that, but I think that about a lot of eBay businesses.
Anyway, the templates are really cute and I'm glad I got them. I even got a Halloween-specific one that I can't wait to use once we get into October!
I am not, however, thrilled with my first attempt. :( Has nothing to do with the templates, or the stamper, both of which seem great. I chose the wrong color to stamp with, unfortunately. Or rather, it was the wrong texture. I thought it was going to be a thick nail polish, but it wasn't... It looks more like I drew with marker on my nails than looking like a really nice paint job. ><
I love watching nail stamping ideas on YouTube... people are so creative! That reminds me, I need to get a really opaque black polish.
Anyhow, I'm feeling okay about tonight's draft. The guys in this league seem really fun, so I like the league more, which is weird because I don't know them, and I only got into the league because T.'s friend, who runs the other league, knows this guy, who is also in the other league, and last year he needed more players. T. doesn't even know him! LOL. Also, I like the Yahoo interface/FF experience much more than the ESPN one, especially their summaries of the matches. Last year, Yahoo predicted that I would finish first in the league; I ended up finishing third. We'll see what it says about my draft this year!
*********
I've now used all the items in my first Birchbox and I remain a fan. Although, I'm a little confused about whether that was just my first box separate from the monthly box (I ended up subscribing for a year), because I got a notice today that my box had shipped, but I was like... I already got my box though. So...? Very odd. Anyway, my verdict on the products!
- Oribe "Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray"
I went lazy on this. There was a girl who posted a review of it who gave this long, detailed explanation of how to best use this (wash hair, dry to 90%, spray, braid, sleep, unbraid, curl pieces, spray again), but I went with another girl's recommendation of just giving a good spray all around on my wet hair. While it definitely did not look like beach hair, it still made my hair dry much more nicely than if I'd done nothing at all to it. In fact, I had the following convo with a coworker:
JW: I have to ask, what is going on with your hair? It looks so good.
Me: It does?
JW: There's so much volume!
Me: WELL. I have to tell you... [explains about Birchbox] And one of my samples was this Oribe hairspray.
JW: I guess it's good to know that a $50 hairspray actually works.
- Beauty Protector "Protect & Detangle"
Reviewers seemed to love the smell of this, while I think it's awful (it's vanilla-esque, and I just find vanilla scents repellent for some reason). However, it seemed to work really nicely as a detangler. The smell would prevent me from ever buying this, though.
- Hey Honey "Trick and Treat"
This was a nice surprise. I don't usually wear concealer; dark circles under my eyes aren't really a problem, thank goodness (I have plenty of others). However, just the teeniest tiniest smidgen of this goes a really long way, and it blends pretty nicely with my skin. And it does make me look more "awake," I'll admit. The sample is big enough, though, and so little is used each time, that it may last me years!
- Air Repair "Complexion-Boosting Moisturizer"
OK, I pooh-poohed this moisturizer, and I shouldn't have. I know this now. But come on, it's Birchbox, which normally does high-end products! Anyway, this moisturizer surprised me. It came out thick, almost like my regular night cream. I thought, "Oh, this is going to be way too oily for me as a day cream." Except... somehow, despite how thick it is, it blended beautifully into my skin without feeling the least bit oily. O.o I don't know what black magic is in this thing.
- Laura Geller "Color Luster Lip Gloss"
I REALLY love this lip gloss. It doesn't have any kind of off-putting scent to it, it goes on beautifully, and the color is fantastic.
*********
My Gravity Falls Journal 3 has arrived! I wish it were shorter and fatter, like the one Dipper uses on the show, and I wish it didn't say "Gravity Falls" on the front (does DIPPER'S say that? THEN OURS SHOULDN'T EITHER), but otherwise it seems pretty awesome and true to the real thing. :D
*********
I'm really anxious to make my first batch of soap, but I still haven't gotten the lye, so can't do anything until it arrives (ETA: Monday). :/ Meanwhile I'm poring over books and watching YouTube vids. I haven't made a single batch of soap yet, but I've done so much research that I feel like I already know more than some of the amateurs who have posted soap-making vids on YT. :)) This one woman bemoaned how soap ash had ruined her colors, and I'm like, "Duh, you could have easily prevented that by spritzing on a 91% rubbing alcohol solution after molding the soap." Also, given how much the colors faded, she probably used some coloring mediums that were light sensitive.
Meanwhile, I bought this mold to make little specialty soaps with. Isn't it cute?!
*********
My nail art templates arrived! They came all the way from Singapore, which is why they took so long. But there was a problem: I ordered 13 plates and they only sent 12. I either wanted a refund for the missing plate or for it to be sent out; to my surprise they chose to ship it to me. I can't see how they could possibly make any money doing that, but I think that about a lot of eBay businesses.
Anyway, the templates are really cute and I'm glad I got them. I even got a Halloween-specific one that I can't wait to use once we get into October!
I am not, however, thrilled with my first attempt. :( Has nothing to do with the templates, or the stamper, both of which seem great. I chose the wrong color to stamp with, unfortunately. Or rather, it was the wrong texture. I thought it was going to be a thick nail polish, but it wasn't... It looks more like I drew with marker on my nails than looking like a really nice paint job. ><
I love watching nail stamping ideas on YouTube... people are so creative! That reminds me, I need to get a really opaque black polish.
